소설 <재능 있는 리플리 The Talented Mr. Ripley>와 각색영화 비교 연구

A Comparative Study of the Novel 《The Talented MR. Ripley》 and Its Two Adapted Films: 《Purple Noon》 and 《The Talented MR. Ripley》 on center of Plot and Characters

Patricia Highsmith’s novel, <The Talented MR. Ripley> was workedthrough adaptation and transformed into a thriller film, <Purple Noon>,and a complex genre film of melodrama and thriller, <The Talented MR. Ripley>. The goal of this paper is to compare and analyze the adaptationof one original story into two different genre films. <Purple Noon> wasconstructed with reduction, expansion, and addition of events in order toenrich suspense and anti-climax of the original work’s double plot. Onthe other hand, characters in the film are less complicated than in thenovel. Tom Ripley is described as an avaricious man desiring to snatcheverything that Dickie Greenleaf has. The feature of a character(homosexuality) is deleted, but the character is expressed only with figuredescriptions. Such way ofintroducing a character is a component ofthriller films. Consequentially, it is clear that <Purple Noon> is awell-adapted crime thriller film. On the other hand, the film <TheTalented MR. Ripley> expands the homosexual aspect of Tom Ripley inorder to enhance the characteristics of Tom Ripley from the originalnovel. Plots are relatively simple in melodramas whereas characters takemore significant roles. However, <The Talented MR. Ripley> employs theexactly same double plot composition of the original work. Furthermore, a sub-plot between Tom and Meredith and another between Tom andPeter are supplemented in order to enhance the complexity of the originalwork. Through the comparison of two films adapted from the novel <TheTalented Mr. Ripley> shows that a balance between a plot and charactersis a substantial contribution to the quality of the work.