The American Friend
Dir: Wim Wenders
1977
*****
Wim Wenders take on Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley is an interesting one. It's not a thorough adaptation but more of a personal reworking. Dennis Hopper seems to have been cast due to his interest in and active work as an art dealer. Nicholas Ray, a hero of Wenders, is cast as the master painter. Both are real life friends and inspirations of Wenders, as is Bruno Ganz whose character gets more screen time than Ripley and who may or may not be dying. Wenders cast seven film directors in total in the film, all of which played villeins. I do wonder whether this was him making comment on the film making process rather than just another adaptation. Deceit, fraud and persuasion are the famous characteristics of Tom Ripley but the same could be said of the film director, especially one like Wenders and Ray. I love the grainy style of the film, it's a late 70s classic with one of my favorite ever endings - something Wenders is great at.