The father of the reckless and spoiled playboy Phillipe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet) sends Tom Ripley (Alain Delon) to Rome to bring his son back to San Francisco, promising a fee of US$ 5,000.00 to Tom if he succeeds. Phillipe uses and humiliates Tom, without any intention of returning to USA, and Phillipe's fiancée Marge Duval (Marie Laforêt) feels sorry for the bad treatment spent for Tom. When the father of Phillipe considers the deal off, Tom kills Phillipe and assumes his identity. When the snoopy friend of Phillipe, Freddy Miles (Bill Kearns), chases Phillipe, Tom Ripley feels pressed and also kills Freddy, using Phillipe as escape goat for the murder and Marge to reach Phillipe inheritance.
The cult "Plein Soleil" is the movie that projected the great French actor Alain Delon to the world. This stunning thriller is engaging even when the viewer watches it for the fourth time (my case) and the scene on the yacht when Tom Ripley wants to dump the body of Phillipe in the ocean is still very impressive in the present days. I have not watched all the movies of René Clément, but "Plein Soleil" is certainly his most known and important movie in his filmography, actually a masterpiece of the genre. The plot is awesome, with one of the most impressive characters of the cinema history, the cold blooded killer Tom Ripley, and even Hollywood was not able to destroy this story with the remake "The Talented Mr. Ripley", with the also excellent Matt Demon. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "O Sol Como Testemunha" ("The Sun as Witness")
The cult "Plein Soleil" is the movie that projected the great French actor Alain Delon to the world. This stunning thriller is engaging even when the viewer watches it for the fourth time (my case) and the scene on the yacht when Tom Ripley wants to dump the body of Phillipe in the ocean is still very impressive in the present days. I have not watched all the movies of René Clément, but "Plein Soleil" is certainly his most known and important movie in his filmography, actually a masterpiece of the genre. The plot is awesome, with one of the most impressive characters of the cinema history, the cold blooded killer Tom Ripley, and even Hollywood was not able to destroy this story with the remake "The Talented Mr. Ripley", with the also excellent Matt Demon. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "O Sol Como Testemunha" ("The Sun as Witness")