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Plein soleil
1960 Thriller
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Credits
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Director: René Clément
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Script: René Clément, Paul Gégauff, based on the novel "The Talented Mr Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith
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Photo: Henri Decae
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Music: Nina Rotta
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Cast: Alain Delon (Tom Ripley),
Maurice Ronet (Philip Greenleaf),
Marie Laforet (Marge),
Erno Crisa (Riccordi),
Elvire Popesco (Mrs. Popova),
Frank Latimore (O'Brien),
Billy Kearns (Freddy Miles)
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 118 min
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Aka: Blazing Sun; Full Sun; Lust for Evil; Purple Noon
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Summary
A young American, Tom Ripley, is offered a handsome reward from a wealthy businessman
to bring his son, Philip Greenleaf, back home. For several years, Philip has been
living the life of a playboy idler in Italy, amusing himself with his girlfriend Marge,
at his father’s expense. Far from persuading Philip to return home, Tom ends up
becoming the object of his cruel jokes. After one such incident, Tom manages to
separate Philip and Marge and then cold bloodily kills Philip whilst on board a yacht.
Having disposed of the body, Tom assumes Philip’s identity, forging his signature to acquire
money. All goes well until one of Philip’s friends, Freddy Miles, turns up and uncovers
Ripley’s game. Tom finds he has another body to dispose of …
Review
Despite its sumptuous colour photography and expansive Mediterranean location, Plein
soleil has all the characteristics of a classic film noir and is unmistakably director
René Clément’s most confident and inspired foray into the thriller genre.
The film is based on a popular novel by Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr Ripley), although
Clément makes a number of significant changes to the plot (most notably the ending).
The character of Ripley is significantly altered – he is less the ambiguous, somewhat
vulnerable creation of Highsmith and more a kind of cunning amoral opportunist.
References to Ripley’s closet homosexuality are also neatly sidestepped, the only hint
of this being the chilling scene in which Ripley first steps into Greenleaf’s character
(adopting the millionaire’s clothes, voice and mannerisms). Clément is clearly
far less interested in the motivations for Ripley’s actions than in the process by which
he executes his various crimes, and as such his Ripley is far more of a mystery, far less
sympathetic than that conceived by Highsmith.
This was to be Alain Delon’s first significant film role and the one which pretty
well defined his screen persona for the rest of his career. With panther-like stealth,
steely cold eyes, chiselled boyish features and an aura of sleek decadence, Delon was
the epitome of the cold-hearted villain or seemingly emotionless hero – a throwback to
classic film noir. Delon is perfect as René Clément’s conception of
Tom Ripley, gradually evolving from the apparently innocent plaything of a millionaire
playboy into a dangerously manipulative sociopath. The film also marked the screen
début of another great talent, Marie Laforêt.
It is worth comparing
this film with Anthony Minghella’s adaptation of the same Patricia Highsmith novel, The
Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), which starred Matt Damon as Ripley. Minghella’s
version is more faithful to the original novel than Clément’s and makes far greater
effort to develop Ripley’s back story (his deprived background, latent homosexuality and
various personal disorders). Plein soleil is primarily a plot-centric suspense
thriller in the familiar mould - many have compared Clément’s technique with that
of Hitchcock (for example, both directors have a knack of using black comedy to heighten
dramatic tension). By contrast, Minghella’s film is less a thriller and more a traditional
character-based drama (marred only by its slightly off-putting Hollywood gloss).
Both films have their merits, although Clément’s film slightly has the edge in
terms of style and sophistication.
© James Travers 2005
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