Beautiful cinematography, but that's about where it ends. The casting and more specifically interpretation of Tom Ripley is completely off. The sullen, sour, sneering Andrew Scott makes for a very unconvincing Ripley. The beauty, charm, naiveté and youth portrayed by Matt Damon in Anthony Minghella's masterpiece is what makes Tom Ripley's sociopathy so devastatingly scary. Also, if you know anything about the rich crowd the creepy greasy slicked back hair and leather jacket wearing Ripley, as portrayed by Andrew Scott, would never even have gotten his foot through the door. It's so incongruous.
Matt Damon is amusing to the spoilt rich for his gaucheness and his eagerness to please, and although we discover his darkness as time progresses, we also begin to root for him in the face of the naked classism and patronizing he endured from his snobby new friends. But none of this in the Netflix version. We don't care about anyone or anything. The long drawn out arthouse silences and withering glances. It feels so beautifully executed for another story, but just not this one. P.S. Interesting that The Talented Mr. Ripley is now trending on most watched on Netflix in many countries, which just proves the point really doesn't it...