If you’ve started watching Ripley on Netflix, you’ll have noticed the obvious: the show is shot in black and white.
The series stars Andrew Scott as the calculated murderer and conman Tom Ripley, who weaves a web of fraud and deceit in 1960s Italy in the hopes to keep up his sinister ruse.
Anyone who has seen the 1999 film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow will spot that the TV adaptation is missing the sun-splashed colours of the Italian coastline setting.
You might be wondering why this stylistic choice was made, and if it lasts for the whole show.
It turns out, there was a very specific reason behind the decision…
Why is Ripley in black and white?
Steven Zaillian, the show’s writer and director, told Vanity Fair that the decision was inspired by the original source material – The Talented Mr. Ripley book written by Patricia Highsmith.
“The edition of the Ripley book I had on my desk had an evocative black-and-white photograph on the cover,” he shared. “As I was writing, I held that image in my mind. Black and white fits this story—and it’s gorgeous.”
He continued: “I also felt that this story—the one that she told, the one that I wanted to tell—was quite sinister and quite dark.
“I just couldn’t imagine that taking place in a beautiful Italian setting with bright blue skies and colourful outfits and things like that.”
Steven elaborated on this in another interview with IndieWire. “When Patricia wrote it, if she imagined a movie being made from it back then, it would be in black and white,” he explained. “The cover of that book that I had was in black-and-white, so as I was reading it, it was in my mind to be that way.”
Is it all in black and white?
Yes, all eight episodes are shot in the same monochrome neo-noir style, and it does not transition to colour at any point.
Even if the unusual stylistic choice takes some adjusting to, critics have been raving about the series and Andrew’s “mesmerising” performance.
Elsewhere, the Fleabag actor recently revealed the one thing that “terrified” him about his new role.