Can we remain in ambiguity?

This video essay explores Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley and questions why its two film adaptations (Plein Soleil in 1960 and The Talented Mr. Ripley in 1999) fail to maintain the ambiguity and instability of protagonist Tom Ripley.

I do not claim any right over the content used in this video. All images are public domain. All rights reserved to the respective copyright owners.

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WORKS CITED

Benjamin, Walter. “The Translator’s Task.” The Translation Studies Reader, edited by Lawrence Venuti, Routledge, 2012, pp. 75-83.

Clément, Réne. Interview with Olivier Eyquem and Jean-Claude Missiaen. L’avant-scène: Cinéma, February 1, 1981, https://www.criterion.com/current/pos....

Clément, Réne, director. Plein Soleil. Robert et Raymond Hakin. 1960.

Cuddy‐Keane, Hammond, Peat. “Personality, Impersonality.” Modernism: Keywords. John & Sons, Inc., 2014, pp. 155-176.

Golsan, Katherine. "Adaptation as Forgery: The Case of The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Post Script - Essays in Film and the Humanities, vol. 23, no. 3, 2004, pp. 19-35.

Hesford, Victoria. “Tom Ripley, Queer Exceptionalism, and the Anxiety of Being Close to Normal.” Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities, vol. 23, no. 1, 2018, pp. 102-115.

Highsmith, Patricia. The Talented Mr. Ripley, W. W. Norton and Co., 2008.

Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Adaptation, Taylor & Francis Group, 2012. 

Minghella, Anthony, director. The Talented Mr. Ripley. Paramount Pictures, 1999.

Minghella, Anthony. “Director Anthony Minghella Interview on The Talented Mr. Ripley (2000).” Youtube, uploaded by Manufacturing Intellect,    • The Talented Mr. Ripley: Director Ant...  .

“Patricia Highsmith.” Youtube, uploaded by WWNorton,    • Patricia Highsmith  .

“Patricia Highsmith: A Gift for Murder." The South Bank Show, 14 November 1982.

“Patricia Highsmith | American Author | Good Afternoon | 1978.” Youtube, uploaded by ThamesTv,    • Patricia Highsmith | American Author ...  .

Shannon, Edward A. “‘Where Was the Sex?" Fetishism and Dirty Minds in Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Modern Language Studies, vol. 34, no. 1/2, 2004, pp. 17–27. 

Targan, Eric. "Identity Theft: The Amoral Vision of Patricia Highsmith." The Midwest Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 4, 2015, pp. 308-323.

Wyse, Bruce. "Living "as if ": Ripley's Imaginary and the Problem of Other People in The Talented Mr. Ripley." Clues, vol. 33, no. 2, 2015, pp. 44-55.

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