Current Watching

[Sam]

Ah, thanks Sits.

[Sits]

Forgive me for breaking the unspoken rule that we don't ask about who or what Lang Spoon means by something (winking emoji, no offence LS) but who or what is a Sting Minimus?

Ripley cast member Eliot Sumner is Sting's lad.

Gah!

[Sean of the Shed]

It's his offspring Eliot Sumner.

[Sam]

Forgive me for breaking the unspoken rule that we don't ask about who or what Lang Spoon means by something (winking emoji, no offence LS) but who or what is a Sting Minimus?

[Sits]

Haven't watched Ripley yet so skimmed the last page and a half.

Have just finished S3 of The Great Pottery Throwdown. Enriching.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Once you suspend your disbelief re him being almost as old as Dickie's dad, it really works.

Sort of, yeah. But it does beg the question as to what he was doing with his previous life in NY.

Sting Minimus is up there with their dad for inert and utterly without presence. And also obviously waaay younger than supposed peer Dickie.

Gotta admit I found him seriously creepy, which I think was the point.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Thank god for the cat in that episode.

Yeah. The Maine Coon was great. Worth an Emmy for sure.

[Lang Spoon]

He doesnt have a Deefer accent here, its generic American thats a lot better than that Carcetti wanker. He is far far too old, as is the Dickie actor, which would make sense if theyd planned it as the first adaption of the series of novels, but i dont think thats the case (and this was filmed years ago, for Showtime not netflix, id say any sequels are dead in the water).

Once you suspend your disbelief re him being almost as old as Dickie's dad, it really works. Well, except for the Freddy Miles actor. Noone could do better than PS Hoffman seeing through and freaking out Matt Damon Ripley ("Tommy, hows the peeping? Tommy Tommy"), but Sting Minimus is up there with their dad for inert and utterly without presence. And also obviously waaay younger than supposed peer Dickie. Thank god for the cat in that episode.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Does Andrew Scott change his accent for this? Also isn't he a bit old for the role? He's nearly 50

[Satchmo Distel]

Andrew Scott's take on Ripley the person:

["The challenge was to find] where Tom’s heart may be, in this dark world we’re examining, where a lot of the characters, not just Tom, are quite morally ambiguous, and not ultimately that generous. For me, it’s when Tom’s on his own, looking at beauty. He has a strange affection for things. He likes handsome hotel clerks. He’s moved by art and music. He’s just never been exposed to it in the way the privileged characters are.

“I think that’s what Highsmith is really talking about. If you dismiss certain people and deny them the art and beauty that other people in the world have, a darkness arises. And people go to great lengths to rebalance that lack of dignity.”

True. The scene where Tom has tears in his eyes during a song (a song which then recurs in most episodes) is significant. The people he kills (+ Marj) pretend to be creative but are totally shallow. Marj can't write (as shown by Tom's red ink all over her draft) and her beau can't paint (his dad and Marj don't flinch when Tom reads the letter "confessing" this).

[Hot Pepsi]

I figured it was already crowded because, as you say, the whole region is crowded. I blame cruise ships and instagram for that.

I guess it takes a bit of effort to get there, but only about 800 people live in the town, it wouldn't take a lot to make it feel a lot more crowded.

But it is likely to get worse.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...urism-visitors

I've never been to Italy and I don't think I ever will. I just really don't like travelling all that much and I really do not like dealing with crowds that I cannot escape easily.

[Hot Pepsi]

I dont think it was that crowded till the show though, at least in Amalfi hellishly crowded terms, now itll be fucked.

I figured it was already crowded because, as you say, the whole region is crowded. I blame cruise ships and instagram for that.

But it is likely to get worse.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...urism-visitors

[Amor de Cosmos]

Andrew Scott's take on Ripley the person:

["The challenge was to find] where Tom’s heart may be, in this dark world we’re examining, where a lot of the characters, not just Tom, are quite morally ambiguous, and not ultimately that generous. For me, it’s when Tom’s on his own, looking at beauty. He has a strange affection for things. He likes handsome hotel clerks. He’s moved by art and music. He’s just never been exposed to it in the way the privileged characters are.

“I think that’s what Highsmith is really talking about. If you dismiss certain people and deny them the art and beauty that other people in the world have, a darkness arises. And people go to great lengths to rebalance that lack of dignity.”

[Lang Spoon]

××××××SPOILERxxxxxxxxxxx

I thought Ripley fell apart somewhat in the last episode. In fact an imagined scene with the private detective seemed to be an admission to the viewer that what follows is not intended to be plausible but was rather engineered (either by Highsmith, the film writers or these writers) to avoid an ending that could not be spun into a sequel.

The Caravaggio parallel also escaped me. Was Caravaggio a grifter sociopath? If not, why go there? Or is Ripley's delusion that he's some kind of Renaissance figure.

The character of Marj (Marg?) is clearly pre-feminist but her behaviour in Venice, if written today, would make the writer appear misogynist.

Well Highsmith, pretty much was not a fan of other women whatsover even if that was her sexual preference. Though her dislike of other women was nothing as to her hatred of jews. But you dont go anywhere near Highsmith (or stabby chiaroscuro boy) if you can only tolerate art from non problematic sources.

[Lang Spoon]

Yes, I'm friends with a few Maggies too. I have no idea why I forgot that.

I don't know anyone under 65 that goes by Peg or Peggy.

Atrani looks amazing in the show, but I suspect I would hate it because of the crowds.

I dont think it was that crowded till the show though, at least in Amalfi hellishly crowded terms, now itll be fucked.

[San Bernardhinault]

Good luck on that coastal road. Watch out for all the tourist coaches!

All the hotels up that way tell you not to drive because there's nowhere to park. Surely, therefore, everyone cycles? Southern Italy is famous for it's dolce vita relaxed approach to driving, too.

[Hot Pepsi]

The few Margarets I knew went by Maggie, although obviously in the UK that can be a bit loaded politically.

Yes, I'm friends with a few Maggies too. I have no idea why I forgot that.

I don't know anyone under 65 that goes by Peg or Peggy.

Atrani looks amazing in the show, but I suspect I would hate it because of the crowds.

[slackster]

Yeah. That’s where Dicky Greenleaf lives with Marge (though I think his Villa was filmed on Capri).

Good luck on that coastal road. Watch out for all the tourist coaches!

[San Bernardhinault]

Is it set in Atrani? In stopping there on my bike ride in a few weeks. I guess I should watch it for that alone.

[slackster]

We had a Peggy in my Primary School class. Wonder if she stuck with that, chose some other ‘pet’ name, or reverted to Margaret?

Anyways, enjoying Ripley (I know how Highsmith ended the novel). I can imagine Atrani might be seeing an uptick in tourists who’ve watched the show, if they can squeeze any more in. That whole Amalfi Coast is one of my favourites (off-season). 2 episodes to go.

[San Bernardhinault]

The few Margarets I knew went by Maggie, although obviously in the UK that can be a bit loaded politically.

[Hot Pepsi]

Marge is usually spelled with an e. It rhymes with large or barge.

It's usually a short version of Margaret although maybe it could be for Margery.

It's fallen way out of fashion since the 50s. The few Margarets I knew went by Meg.
A friend of mine name Margaret/Meg was sometimes called Marge by her soccer teammates. It was considered funny because it made her sound like an old woman.

[Amor de Cosmos]

The Caravaggio parallel also escaped me. Was Caravaggio a grifter sociopath? If not, why go there? Or is Ripley's delusion that he's some kind of Renaissance figure.

In later books Ripley becomes a successful art forger/dealer (the gestation of that impulse is indicated in the series.) Caravaggio was a murderer, also gay and used rent boys as models in many of his paintings. He was also a stunningly great artist. He's an ideal that justifies Ripley actions, and a figure he attempts to emulate.

[ursus arctos]

While accurate, that significantly underplays his sociopathy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carava...rom_Rome_(1606)

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Caravaggio was a renaissance "cultural entrepreneur" and murderer. Handy with a brush as well