I A Hard Man To Find – As the opening episode of Ripley begins, a woman hears a commotion nearby as Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) tries to move a body downstairs. Six months earlier, Tom goes outside and picks up the mail belonging to Marvin Katz. He keeps one piece. He goes home and writes a letter to Mrs. DeSilva saying there is an outstanding balance on her account with Dr. Katz Chiropractic. Tom asks her to send the payment to a specific address. Tom goes to a bar where he is introduced to Alvin McCarron (Bokeem Woodbine). Al says he’s a private detective and Tom is a difficult man to find. Al was paid to find him and give him a card for Herbert Greenleaf of the Long Island Shipyard.

Herbert wants to speak to Tom and there could be some money for him. Tom doesn’t commit to meeting Herbert. He makes it back to the motel and learns that IRS Investigator John W. Rudolf came by for him. Tom uses a payphone to call Mr. Reddington claiming to be George McAlpin. He asks Reddington about the balances and late charges on his account with Dr. Marvin Katz. Tom claims the check was never received even though it appears he has it. He tries to convince Reddington to send another for the original payment and a late fee. Tom picks up the payment later. Then, he goes to the bank to get the check cashed. Tom ends up leaving without the cash. The next day, Tom meets Greenleaf who says this is about his son Richard.

Herbert (Kenneth Lonergan) thinks he might know him by Dickie. He says it’s time for him to come home because he’s too old for this. Richard says he prefers it there. Tom admits he remembers Richard. Herbert believes he’s in Italy where there’s nothing to do except sit on the beach. He wants Tom to go there and speak to Richard face-to-face. Later, Tom has lunch with Herbert and Emily. Tom says his parents died when he was young before he is shown pictures of Dickie. Emily says Dickie is in Atrani. His girlfriend is called Marge. When they’re alone, Herbert gives Tom what he needs to travel to Atrani. He also offers to wire money if he needs it. Tom appears to go through the money while clearing out his apartment. Later, he rides on a train and receives his passport book. Tom writes a letter to Aunt Dottie from the Orient Express.

Tom confirms he’s not dead and she doesn’t need to send him any more money. He says he’s free of her and she’s free of him. When Tom tries to get a bus, a man nearby leads him outside. Tom is eventually dropped off at the bus stop where he stays until the bus arrives in the morning. He goes to a motel where he tries to speak to the clerk about Richard Greenleaf. Eventually, Tom finds Marge (Dakota Fanning) and Dickie (Johnny Flynn) on the beach. He follows them when they leave the beach. Tom looks at their stuff before following Marge to the terrace. Marge tells him about her house and Dickie’s boat. When Dickie joins them, Marge leaves. They go inside and talk about art. Tom goes back to the motel and asks the clerk about Hotel Miramare.

He goes there and checks in. Then, it appears Tom practices becoming Dickie.

 

Ripley Review

The opening episode of Ripley was interesting and the decision to make everything black-and-white was good. However, it’s hard to be overly excited after the first episode because the pace is incredibly tedious. Based on the first episode, this never needed to be eight episodes. There are tons of drawn-out scenes that go nowhere and don’t really push the story forward.

It looks great, but it only prolongs the story to the point that it’s easy to lose interest. The performances are hit and miss mainly because of the erratic accents. A lot of that can be blamed on the casting because it’s easy to see which actors are American and which aren’t. As a result, Tom has a very monotonous delivery that is just as dull as the show’s pacing.

Dickie isn’t much better. Both actors have been great previously so the accents are probably to blame here. There is nothing gripping about Netflix’s Ripley even though it looks great. It’s like it was purposely shot, edited, and acted to be as monotonous as possible. The opening episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Ripley can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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