Plein Soleil

Alain Delon was a movie star with uncommon good looks and charisma, but only a few directors really knew how to fully exploit his particular gifts. René Clément’s Plein Soleil stands alongside Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece Le Samouraï as the best Delon vehicle, with his portrayal of the murderous Tom Ripley possessing an iciness and ambiguity that make him a particularly creepy character.

Delon’s magnetic performance is the best reason to watch Clément’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel, but it has plenty of other pleasures too. Henri Decaë’s vivid cinematography makes the most of the film’s Italian locations and is particularly impressive on the boat where most of the film’s early action takes place. Clément’s direction is elegant and stylish, drawing plenty of tension from the many sequences in which Ripley has to think on his feet to avoid detection, and he throws in a few surprises too, with the film’s ending being a sly and unexpected alteration of Highsmith’s story.