Ripley
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As far as grifters go, Tom Ripley is unorthodox.
He is smart but awkward, careful but clumsy.
He is all-American-boyish, broad-shouldered, and clean-shaven, handsome in a commonplace way.
Tom Ripley scams because he wants his life to be easy, not hard.
That determination makes Tom a true grifter.
If he knows what hedoesntwant, he also knows full well what hedoeswant, down to the last detail.
Confidence, of course, is key to swagger which goes a long way toward explaining Toms enduring appeal.
Alain Delon played Tom in 1960sPurple Noon, as did Matt Damon in 1999sThe Talented Mr. Ripley.
You feel bad for him while also having to admit he gives you the creeps.
It opens in Rome in 1961 as Tom drags a dead body down a set of stairs.
But the IRS is on his tail, so he finally decides to give Mr. Greenleaf a call.
Its here that Toms lucky grift starts to emerge.
Over dinner at the Greenleafs, Tom eats oysters and looks at baby photos of Dickie.
Besides, Tomlikesthe Greenleafs: They are luxurious without being ostentatious, entitled without being presumptuous.
Tom did grow up an orphan, under the care of his garish Aunt Dottie.
But he didntreallyknow Dickie, though he lets Mr. Greenleaf believe he did.
Its not a lieper se, more like an obfuscation of truth.
He asks Matteo, the sweet local post office man, where he can find Dickie.
Tom dutifully climbs up the stairs that snake up the mountainous town.
He finally finds Dickie at the beach, sunning himself with Marge, her head resting on his stomach.
By comparison, Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fannings Dickie and Marge are less openly sex magnets.
They are coarser, less blonde.
Where Law and Paltrow are sinewy and bubbly, Flynn and Fanning are rugged, close-faced.
Dickie doesnt really remember Tom but invites him up for lunch anyway.
Back up the stairs they go.
Lunch is really awkward.
The whole encounter has the distinct flavor of an interaction no one involved wants to participate in.
Tom leaves kind of resigned.
Up the stairs Ripley goes again.
Theprospectof wrongdoing, the possibility of it, trails Tom.
Itstooeasy to fool these people.
The stairs right angles combined with the black-and-white and the appearance of a P.I.
But then again, the moodiness tells us that shit will hit the fan, and imminently.
Before leaving Dickies house after lunch, Tom swipes a fountain pen from his desk.
An opportunity has presented itself to Tom, whose style of grifting were just coming to know.
