Fans of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” brace yourself. Netflix’s B&W “Ripley” takes a more studied approach, and it works. But you’ll have to be patient.
Meanwhile, fans of sexy historical series get more than an eyeful from Starz’s sizzling “Mary & George,” while those of us seeking something fun can choose from “Wicked Little Letters” or Apple TV+’s second season of “Loot.”
But the best watch arrives in limited release. “Femme” earns four out of four stars and is our find of the week.
Here’s our roundup.
“Ripley”: Netflix’s eight-part adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” is such a visual masterpiece that individual screen grabs from the B&W series could well find a welcome home on an art collector’s wall. What cinematographer Robert Elswit achieves is that good. The highly visual, exquisitely detailed “Ripley” holds you in its visual spell throughout as it views a 1950s world from the deadened eyes of Tom Ripley, a sociopath whose opportunistic “talent” is to deceive and assume identities since he is utterly lacking one himself. Ripley’s story is hardly novel to anyone who’s read Highsmith’s off-centered tales about him or watched the four film versions that featured the wily criminal.
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Director/screenwriter Steven Zaillian (the S.F. State University alum won numerous awards for writing “Schindler’s List”) takes a stab at the inner workings of this anti-hero, and does the noir genre and the character proud. Low-key Andrew Scott gives a calculated, deliberate performance that’s unnerving and serves Ripley better than previous takes on him.
The real star, is the atmosphere and the sleek, slow-jazz feel that Zaillian and crew have gone to extraordinary lengths to create. (It also features a feline performance extraordinaire; just watch for it.)
Ripley sets this deception into motion when he lands a cushy job from overplaying his acquaintance with a layabout son of a wealthy industrialist. Ripley laps up the healthy salary (especially in the ‘50s) in his latest role — to persuade Dickie (Johnny Flynn) to leave Italy and return home. Dickie wants nothing to do with that while his sort-of girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning) wants nothing to do with Ripley. She doesn’t trust him at all. She shouldn’t.
What unfolds from there needs to unfold in front of your eyes, but it is safe to say that desperation and paranoia ensue, along with a clever cameo from John Malkovich, who played an older version of the character in 2002’s “Ripley’s Game.”
While some might be put off by “Ripley’s” measured tempo and its detached icicle of a protagonist, noir fans won’t be and will admire how effectively it revives an often overworked genre. Simply put, “Ripley” nails it. Details: 3½ stars out of 4, all episodes drop April 5.
“Mary & George”: Starz’s sexy and spicy period melodrama certainly kept intimacy coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt gainfully employed throughout. The addictive, oh-so gossipy seven-part standalone series is one bawdy affair with numerous bodies in all sorts of action. Creator D.C. Moore uses as his template 2017’s “The King’s Assassin” for this fluffed-up bit of shocking England history set in the 17th century. We follow the zealously ambitious Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore, channeling Bette Davis stares and glares) as she connives her way into into becoming a countess. She does it mostly by pimping out her pretty-boy son George (Nicholas Galitzine of “Red, White & Royal Blue”) to King James I (Tony Curran). The pouty-lipped and strapping George — Galitzine is perfectly cast — stumbles at the beginning but then maneuvers his way into becoming the main lover of King James, a position held firmly by the duplicitous Earl of Somerset (Laurie Davidson). Mom and son’s royal ambitions metastasize from there, leading to family backbiting, a beheading or two, murder, death and more plots. Never staid and often kinky, “Mary & George” stumbles halfway through but remains chew-up-the-scenery entertainment, a spicy affair that gets more outlandish and wicked with each episode. It helps that Moore and Galitzine are so good at forming this chess-like alliance and that a trio of top-notch directors — Oliver Hermanus, Alex Winckler and Florian Cossen — never let the high drama topple over into outright camp. The writing is good too. Just consider this tart line delivered with aplomb by Moore: “Self pity is for the ugly. Leave it for the ugly.” Positively delicious, as is this series. Details: 3 stars; first episode drops April 5 with a new episode dropping weekly through May 17.
“Girls State”: Talk about being at the right place at the right time. For their follow-up to 2020’s “Boys State,” Bay Area documentarians Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss tagged along with young women as they participated in an annual weeklong American Legion program, this time held in Missouri alongside Boys State, to form a mock government. The first film came out during a volatile period just as the world went into COVID-19 shutdown. This one arrives just as news trinkles out that Roe v. Wade might be struck down by in the Supreme Court. McBaine and Moss focus on seven 17-year-olds as they form platforms, participate in campaigns, discuss issues — including abortion — and even hold mock Supreme Court hearings. They also cry foul over discrepancies between Boys State vs. Girls State (particularly over how much more money gets spent on the guys). Watching it is akin to opening up a long-stuck window in a stifling room so we can gasp some rejuvenating air that holds the promise that future generations might help us out. The breath of fresh air in the film are the determined young women — including conservative journalism student Emily Worthmore, dynamic speaker Cecilia Bartin and the more reserved but smart Nisha Murali — as they listen to each other, debate and try to fill in the foundation for a better tomorrow. Details: 3 stars; available April 5 on Apple TV+.
“Wicked Little Letters”: The matchup of Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman (they co-starred in “The Lost Daughter,” but didn’t appear on-screen together) produce hilarious, go-for-broke acting fireworks in Thea Sharrock’s irresistible charmer set in a 1920s English village. It is in that quaint place where an unknown serial letter writer belts out creative profanities in missives that send everyone living there into a tizzy. Who is the profane author of these blushable teardowns?. Fingers point to feisty single mom/Irish migrant Rose (Buckley), a pariah hardly adverse to cursing. Her way of being ruffles the feathers of pious, uptight neighbor Edith (Colman) who tsks-tsks nearly everyone for not climbing to the highest moral ground. Sharrock’s breezy features loses the pep in its step during its wrap (it should have been punchier), but there’s much to keep you delighted (particularly those inventive caustic letters). In a small role, Anjan Vasan nails the put-upon female cop (the lone one in the department) seeking to unmask this cursing culprit, a task that’s hard to achieve since she through the quicksand of sexism that surrounds her. Details: 3 stars; in theaters April 5.
“Loot”: Season 2 of the Maya Rudolph-headlined Apple TV+ series carries the torch held high from the first season with shallow billionaire-turned-philanthropist Molly breaking the ties officially with her smarmy tech ex (Adam Scott). Or so she thinks. Season 2 finds love and lust commingling for Molly (the episode with her exhaling at a blissed-out retreat with Benjamin Bratt is the season’s high point) as well as for her crew, particularly driven nonprofit executive director Sofia (Michaela Jae Rodriguez). Filled with eccentric supporting characters that rival those from “Parks and Recreation” (and series creators Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard had a hand in that classic TV show), “Loot’s” humor comes with a dusting of a message about work, play, love and what ultimately makes us rich — the friends who accept us unconditionally. Details: 3 stars; two episodes available April 3 with one episode dropping each week afterward through May 29.
Find of the week
“Femme”: Two incendiary performances that should be remembered during awards season provide the spark that sets off Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choong Ping’s queer-themed powder keg, a revenge tale where a a hate-crime perpetrator gets targeted by the drag queen he brutalized. The uncompromising drama wrings your emotions dry and challenges your own ideas of what is right and just as Aphrodite Banks (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) plays with fire by striking up a relationship with his attacker, the jumpy, muscled brute Preston (George MacKay from “1917”). True to the nature of that premise, this expanded version of the directors’ short film strikes like a python time and again and wraps itself tightly around thorny ethical questions. It’s impressive visually as well and takes us into dark places and spaces, always under the neon guidance of director of photography James Rhodes. Stewart-Jarrett and MacKay have already collected an award for their work together from the British Independent Film Awards, and more accolades should be headed their way. Freeman and Ping deserve high praises as well. Details: 4 stars; in select theaters April 5.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.