He's hard to root for. Entirely unlikable. Had anyone bothered to listen they would have maybe made Tom less mysterious, unlikable, sinister-like, and less conniving for sure. He would've been way more upbeat and especially verbally appealing. His ambience is off. Granted he was down on his luck early on, but he had this over abundance of appealing attractiveness, as it was his way 'in' that's not seen here. He's not likable at all. At least not for me. No wonder everyone suspects him. Granted our lead actor is fantastic, and coming to this with a full lineup of excellent works behind, and in front, of him he does his best under direction. His likability was one of the 'secrets' to Tom's abilities including his friendliness, approachability. His paranoia was there but he hid it well. And while awkward at first, his.buoyancy always won everyone over so they overlooked his dastardly ways and were willing to aid and abet. The production is flawless creating atmosphere, and I personally completely loved seeing no graffiti (anywhere), I would have LOVED to have seen this in color. I'm a huge Highsmith fan so somewhat a 'snob' regarding these novels which were so dear to her eclectic heart. So his standoffishness leaped off the screen at first. Con men are typically exuberant chameleons that lure you pleasantly in, at least that's how they're depicted in the narrated versions of all 5 Ripley books. He does express Ripley's deceptive isolation well. But how can you con if you're not amicable and friendly?
Review of Ripley
