The murder story has more style than the framing device.
“A Talent for Murder” is the second thriller I’ve seen this month to have an author caught inside a world of murder and betrayal. “Verity” was a crappy film of the genre that still found an audience because of its star power and the fact that it was based on a book by Colleen Hoover. And though I can’t really recommend “A Talent for Murder,” I think it’s the better choice than that film in terms of its story construction within a story.
Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was a novelist best known for creating the conman, murderer, and career criminal Tom Ripley in her book series: “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Ripley Under Ground,” “Ripley’s Game,” “The Boy Who Followed Ripley,” and “Ripley Under Water.” The closing credits of “A Talent for Murder” state that this portrayal of Highsmith was entirely fictional. So, Helen Mirren is cast as Highsmith and she does a good job in the role.
Alden Ehrenreich plays Edward Ridgeway, a young writer from a New York publisher sent to Switzerland to convince Highsmith to write one last Ripley book with a contact. When they first meet, it’s almost like “Scent of a Woman” where Al Pacino’s Lt. Col. Frank Slade insults Chris O’Donnell’s Charlie Simms. She’s portrayed here as the unhappy hermit, who can’t stand what were modern times in the 90s. She constantly tries to kick him out, judging him for his age and the “I’ve worked hard” comments, and insulting his intelligence. And she refuses to write the book as a cash grab for his company. But he convinces her to let him stay and examine her iconic character in a different plot.
As the preparation for what could be her last novel, the movie has Edward imagining himself as Ripley. Easy way to tell when the movie jumps back and forth, Edward wears glasses, and Ripley doesn’t. Ripley finds himself into the life of Clementine (Olivia Cooke), a girl he meets as she’s leaving a restaurant, and plots a murder or two in her family. And the girl portrayed in Edward’s mind is a girl he meets on a train.
“A Talent for Murder” is based on Joanna Murray-Smith’s play, and she also wrote the screenplay. And the director is Anton Corbijn, who also made the overrated “The American” and the brilliant “A Most Wanted Man.” Their first collaboration works well with the leads and the Ripley murder plot being constructed. There’s a sense of charm and style within, and Ehrenreich plays the Ripley character quite well. There are elements when were convinced that he can be a Ripley character, as we see him planting suicidal weapons to cover up a murder, and I think we can agree that this is a movie Corbijn would direct.
But it exhausts us with its framing device. The conflicts between the leads and the insults from Highsmith begin to wear out their welcome. And the story starts to draw the lines between what is fiction and non-fiction. There are times when we feel that “Adaptation” vibe when Highsmith holds one of her guns at him and fires a bullet elsewhere. And we’re glad the movie makes it clear that her portrayal here is fictionalized, especially when there may be an identity crisis with one of the two main characters.
“A Talent for Murder” is better acted and stylishly played than “Verity,” but it’s not a movie with the right literary focus. Less wisecracks and insults, and more examination of what makes a literary character a killer. Now that’s something to think about.
