Mr Ripley Movie Vs Book

1559 Words7 Pages
The 1999 movie Talented Mr. Ripley directed by Anthony Minghella is a film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s crime fiction novel of the same title. Both the book and movie follow Tom Ripley through Europe after he is asked by Richard (Dickie) Greenleaf’s father to convince Dickie to return home to America. A crucial crucial aspect of the story’s plotline is the exposition because understanding Mr. Ripley and his actions throughout the novel is not possible without a strong background knowledge of his character. Both versions of the story provide an adequate introduction, however due to the time constraint the movie is missing valuable information which contributes to the atmosphere presented in the book. To recreate it the director changes…show more content…
In the book the audience learns that this applies to Tom when he is thinking to himself “What was he himself doing with his life? Living from week to week. No bank account.” This occurs when he is having his initial conversation with Mr. Greenleaf. Tom thinks he is not living a meaningful life in America, therefore Mr. Greenleaf asking him to travel to Europe is a fantastic opportunity. In the movie it shows him working in a theatre cleaning men’s suits in the restroom which also gave him a reason to leave. However the way it is shown fails to produce the same feelings in the audience that the book does. The book allows the reader to sympathize with Tom’s mediocre life whereas the movie merely offers a glimpse that presents his life as somewhat…show more content…
In the book the reader is introduced to Tom’s personality by the time he travels, as compared to the movie where the audience is left with less of a grasp of who Tom Ripley is. His personality is shown through his interaction with a character who only appears in the book named Cleo and his impersonation of a man named George McAlpin. While in the movie the director tries to replace both Cloe and the impersonation by having Tom interact with a woman named Meredith. Considering the interaction with Cleo shows the reader that Tom Ripley is a friendly person and encourages the reader to identify with him one can see that the change made for the movie hurts the exposition . He narrates that “Cleo is the only person he could tell that he was going to Europe and why” (Highsmith 31). This shows that although he doesn’t have many friends he still has one person he can share his life experiences with. This causes him to be relatable since that’s what the majority of people desire in their lives; a close friend who they can spend time with without judgement or expectation. The other event removed from the movie shows the darker side of his personality. Tom is pretending to be George McAlpin and sending out letters to people telling them they owe money to the bank. Although he convinces people to send checks to him he cannot cash them as a result of people making them out to the bank.
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  • Mr Ripley Movie Vs Book

    1550 Words  | 7 Pages

    The 1999 movie Talented Mr. Ripley directed by Anthony Minghella is a film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s crime fiction novel of the same title. Both the book and movie follow Tom Ripley through Europe after he is asked by Richard (Dickie) Greenleaf’s father to convince Dickie to return home to America. The most crucial aspect of the story’s plotline is the exposition because understanding Mr. Ripley and his actions throughout the novel is not possible without a strong background knowledge of

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