Quentin Tarantino “Didn’t really like” This Very Popular New Netflix Thriller
Quentin Tarantino, if nothing else, is never shy about sharing his opinion on any given movie. Sometimes, as was the case with Joker: Folie à Deux, those opinions are incredulous. Other times, they’re downright infuriating, such as his remarks last century about David Lynch. And occasionally, they make my horror heart sing. After all, who else is willing to spotlight titles like Prophecy and Don’t Go in the House. He’s nothing if not consistent, and for better or worse, he’s as earnest a cinephile as any.
With Quentin Tarantino, you have to take the good with the bad, and for what it’s worth, I remain an ardent fan of his body of work, even The Hateful Eight. While his commentary is often limited to older titles, the kind of decade-defining hits and flops that made up the bulk of his filmic education, he does occasionally remark on more recent titles. Such was the case with a recent podcast chat with American Psycho scribe Brett Easton Ellis where Tarantino didn’t mince words about this acclaimed Netflix hit.
Per Netflix: A grifter in 1960s New York is hired to convince a wealthy man’s son to return home from Italy and begins a life of deceit, fraud and murder.
Ripley was a huge hit for Netflix. Star Andrew Scott was remarkable, and beyond regularly topping the streaming charts, Ripley additionally secured an impressive 14 nominations at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, winning four. Critical and audience reviews were strong, and the interpretation is absolutely worth checking out alongside Anthony Minghella’s 1999 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel.
When asked about some of the more recent titles captivating the zeitgeist, Quentin Tarantino principally took umbrage with the nature of remakes. Dune was the first to get cut down. Tarantino shared, “I saw [David Lynch’s] Dune a couple of times. I don’t need to see that story again. I don’t need to see spice worms. I don’t need to see a movie that says the word ‘spice’ so dramatically.” Oooph. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune two-parter is sensational cinema. And then he arrived at Ripley.
Asked about other remakes, he shared, “There’s six or seven Ripley books, if you do one again, why are you doing the same one that they’ve done twice already? I’ve seen that story twice before, and I didn’t really like it in either version, so I’m not really interested in seeing it a third time. If you did another story, that would be interesting enough to give it a shot anyway.” Which… Highsmith’s novel is a classic? Come on, Quentin!
Still, he’s nothing if not honest, and if you’re interested in checking out whether Ripley is worth loving or decrying, you can catch it streaming on Netflix now. When you do, let me know what you thought over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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