This week I finally got around to watching Ripley on Netflix, the recent adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley written by Patricia Highsmith. I didn’t know a lot about the story, I’ve not seen the 90s film starring Matt Damon and not read the book even though it is in my digital library waiting to be opened. So I went into this with no expectations other than the love I’m assuming everyone has for Andrew Scott.

The first episode was okay but it didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped and I was almost put off by the choice to be completely filmed in black and white and the general artiness of it all. Was it a bit pretentious? I kept going though, and soon all those concerns just washed away. It wasn’t pretentious; it was careful, crafted and beautifully put together. The scenes of the third episode, set in and around the boat were so well done, that’s really when I was a full convert and couldn’t wait to watch the rest of the episodes.

Of course Andrew Scott lights up the screen - as much as you can in a black and white production. There’s something entirely creepy about his portrayal of Ripley, right from the very beginning. You don’t really know what his motives are or what’s going on in his head, other than the occasional glimpse of jealousy and perhaps greed. Dakota Fanning and Johnny Flynn are good supporting actors but it’s all about Scott who takes up the maximum amount of screen time and yet I could have watched even more.

The show has won a couple of awards already and has been nominated for a lot of Emmys and I can see why. It’s striking and beautiful, quiet and menacing, awful and brilliant all in equal measure, and most importantly, it’s completely engrossing. A big recommendation from me. And normally I’d go on to say how I can’t wait to watch the film to see what that’s like, but it’s never going to stand up to this so maybe not.