Upper Middlebrow

Upper Middlebrow


“The Curious Case of the Beard and the Mustache,” or our final Ripley coda

June 13, 2024

We spend a few final minutes with Steve Zaillian's Ripley, wondering if the resemblance between Inspector Ravini and Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau is intentional, and considering what the overall effect of the luscious high-contrast black and white footage has for viewers. Dukes posits that this style is a new way of shooting, rather than a throwback, but Bagg thinks that there is a disconnect between the visual and narrative effects.