It's film noir in style and mostly set in late 1976 Hamburg, Germany.
Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper) is a wealthy American con artist who lives in Hamburg. He works with artists who create forged paintings of dead painters to sell at auction. At an art auction where he's plying his trade, Tom meets Jonathan Zimmerman (Bruno Ganz), a former art restorer now reduced to picture framing because he is ill with leukemia. Jonathan refuses to shake Tom's hand when introduced, which ticks Tom off.
One of Tom's gangster friends, Raoul Minot (Gérard Blain), asks Tom to murder a gang rival. Tom says he doesn't do murder but suggests Minot use Zimmerman. Tom sends a fake telegram to Jonathan, suggesting his illness is much more severe than previously realized. After receiving it, Jonathan worries about the impact of his early demise on his wife, Marianne (Lisa Kreuzer), and son, Daniel (Andreas Dedecke). Minot then promises Jonathan he can get a second opinion in the American hospital in Paris, with the possibility of experimental treatment. Jonathan falls for it and goes to Paris with Minot. However, Minot fakes the medical report from that visit and convinces Jonathan his time is short. Jonathan then agrees to murder "one or maybe, two" of Minot's rivals.
Jonathan is successful on the first murder, despite great hesitation. He feels great relief when it is over but is pressured into a second by Minot. Meanwhile, Tom has come several times to Jonathan's place of business, and the two have begun to develop a genuine relationship. Tom follows Jonathan onto the train where the second murder is to take place in order to try to prevent the murder.
Things do not go as Tom hoped. As the trajectory of events spins out of control, we see the changing relationships between Jonathan and Marianne, Jonathan and Tom, Jonathan and Minot, and Tom with the world. The final resolution fits the film noir mold.
This was a fascinating film. The viewer first has to set aside the implausibility of the plot. Having done that, the story is very engrossing. The cinematography by Robby Müller is excellent, and the character development between Hopper and Ganz is very well done. The film gets darker as it goes along, and in the end, no one wins.
Sometimes Dennis Hopper is over the top; that's not the case in "The American Friend."
Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper) is a wealthy American con artist who lives in Hamburg. He works with artists who create forged paintings of dead painters to sell at auction. At an art auction where he's plying his trade, Tom meets Jonathan Zimmerman (Bruno Ganz), a former art restorer now reduced to picture framing because he is ill with leukemia. Jonathan refuses to shake Tom's hand when introduced, which ticks Tom off.
One of Tom's gangster friends, Raoul Minot (Gérard Blain), asks Tom to murder a gang rival. Tom says he doesn't do murder but suggests Minot use Zimmerman. Tom sends a fake telegram to Jonathan, suggesting his illness is much more severe than previously realized. After receiving it, Jonathan worries about the impact of his early demise on his wife, Marianne (Lisa Kreuzer), and son, Daniel (Andreas Dedecke). Minot then promises Jonathan he can get a second opinion in the American hospital in Paris, with the possibility of experimental treatment. Jonathan falls for it and goes to Paris with Minot. However, Minot fakes the medical report from that visit and convinces Jonathan his time is short. Jonathan then agrees to murder "one or maybe, two" of Minot's rivals.
Jonathan is successful on the first murder, despite great hesitation. He feels great relief when it is over but is pressured into a second by Minot. Meanwhile, Tom has come several times to Jonathan's place of business, and the two have begun to develop a genuine relationship. Tom follows Jonathan onto the train where the second murder is to take place in order to try to prevent the murder.
Things do not go as Tom hoped. As the trajectory of events spins out of control, we see the changing relationships between Jonathan and Marianne, Jonathan and Tom, Jonathan and Minot, and Tom with the world. The final resolution fits the film noir mold.
This was a fascinating film. The viewer first has to set aside the implausibility of the plot. Having done that, the story is very engrossing. The cinematography by Robby Müller is excellent, and the character development between Hopper and Ganz is very well done. The film gets darker as it goes along, and in the end, no one wins.
Sometimes Dennis Hopper is over the top; that's not the case in "The American Friend."