There are various crime thrillers that have great screenplays and casts, but there is something about Purple Noon that makes it unique. What is it? According to a review by Geoffrey O’Brien from the Criterion Collection, “If René Clément’s Purple Noon (1960) is not a guilty pleasure, it certainly feels like one” (O’Brian, 2012). Purple Noon (Plein Soleil in French) is a French-Italian crime thriller based on the 1955 novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith. The film was directed by French director and screenwriter René Clément. This is an exciting film that covers the theme of fluid identity and material consumption through an intriguing plot and messages that easily catch the viewer’s attention and, indeed, serve as a guilty pleasure.

It is important to start with the title of the film, which is connected to the warm summer weather and the sea that we constantly see. In French, Plein Soleil means full sun. The film’s plot takes place in summer when the sun is burning bright. We do not see any scenes with rainy or gloomy weather; even the night scenes depict the warmness of the summer nights. Meanwhile, the title was translated to Purple Noon, which comes from a poem by Shelley that contrasts the poet’s dark mood with the bright sea and sunshine (N. Holland, n.d.). The plot, as it was mentioned above, is very intriguing. Tom Ripley (Alain Delon), a young American man, is in Italy with an important mission. He was sent there by Philippe Greenleaf’s (Maurice Ronet) father to convince him to return to San Francisco. Since he was promised $5000 if Philippe agreed to return, Tom was motivated to convince him at any cost. Philippe is enjoying his playboy, careless life and soon gets tired of Tom and his constant reminders of returning to the U.S. and becomes cruel and abusive towards him. We see this in the scene where he leaves him in the dinghy under the burning sun for hours, even though Tom claims to be afraid of the water. This scene also establishes Philippe as a narcissistic character who only cares about himself and his needs. The only person that keeps him on the ground is his fiancé Marge (Marie Laforêt), a beautiful young lady who wholeheartedly loves Philippe. Tom kills Phillipe on the boat after telling him he can easily fake his identity. Despite Philippe flirting with other women, his last word was “Marge.” Right after committing the crime, we see the puzzled emotions on Tom’s face: he looks confused and afraid, but he certainly does not regret it. The murder happens not even halfway through the film, and the viewer might wonder what will happen next. Tom indeed steals Philippe’s identity, fakes his passport, and lives the life of a rich man, constantly lying about Philippe’s location. The only person that figures out the truth is Freddy Miles (Billy Kearns), Philippe’s friend, who also gets killed by Tom. Eventually, Tom fakes Philippe’s suicide and earns Marge’s attention.

The film was shot in various locations in Italy, but the central location is a fictional town, Mongibello. Various details show the Italian culture: music, architecture, food, etc. But we mostly see how rich people enjoy those. Most of the scenes occur on Philippe’s boat, something that only rich people can afford, that was named Marge. According to a review by Geoffrey O’Brien from the Criterion Collection (O’Brian, 2012),

When it first came out in America, Purple Noon was like an advertisement for a life of luxurious sensuality, with hints of La dolce vita- style decadence and New Wave-style modishness, pristinely opulent hotel rooms and lobbies, and large helpings of sand and sun.

There is indeed a big emphasis on the motive of La dolce vita and Tom’s hunger for being rich. According to Grammarist, “La dolce vita describes a way of life that is easygoing, enjoying things to the fullest” (grammarist.com, 2023). We see the difference between the rich and the poor and the critique of consumption. The rich characters are shown as morally corrupted and abandoned by values, and Tom’s example shows how the poor can take immoral actions to achieve their level. The hunger was driving him in both direct and indirect contexts. After the two murders, we see how greedily Tom eats the peach and the roasted chicken.

The film does not have any strong or important ideas that can change the viewer’s mindset. However, there are specific themes that the entire plot is established on. One of them is fluid identity. At the beginning of the film, Tom signs a postcard with Philippe’s signature as he was told to do. They meet a blind beggar on the street, buy his cane, and pretend they are blind. Specifically, Philippe does it to gain a blond woman’s attention. In one scene, Marge, who is working on a book about Fra Angelico, a monk who changed his identity, receives a book from Philippe by an author that we do not know, so she can “present” it as her work. When the viewer meets Freddy Miles for the first time, he is accompanied by two women whose names he does not even remember. We see how mostly the rich characters are those with fluid identities, and Tom has to involve in it as well to taste the privileges of a luxurious life. All these little details come together as the idea that it is easy to pretend to be someone, but at the end of the day, we are who we are. Our morals and our values are what make us humans, not money or fame.

For more technical features of the film, it is fascinating how the camera moves when the characters are in the boat. When Tom is in the dinghy, the camera moves with the same flow of the water waves. The camera goes up and down, left and right, and to a certain extent, creates a feeling of motion sickness. This perfectly depicts his struggles, considering how unwell he was. Later, we see the usage of the same camera movement when Tom kills Philippe. For the rest of the movie, there are different shots during which the tertiary characters look directly at the camera. We also see zoomed-in shots of the eyes of the characters, specifically Tom. In one scene, we see the government official checking Tom’s fake passport, the close-up of Tom’s eyes, then the official’s, then back to Tom’s again, “It is a clear indicator that it is not light or dark we must look to for trust but rather our own point of view” (Ezell, 2013). “The Nino Rota music does not often go for sinister undertones; instead, it is quietly, unobtrusively cheerful, which is all the creeper” (Ebert, 1996). During the scenes when Tom commits the murders, the music gets more and more dramatic and evokes fear in the viewer.

The topic of social class struggles can be also linked to the film being related to the movement of New Wave rather than Film Noir. The film also fits into many characteristics of New Wave films, for example, the close-ups of faces and on-location shootings. According to Samuel Sandor (Sandor, 2022),

With an overriding sense of moral ambiguity, influence from existentialism, snappy and

innovative editing, and several stars associated with the movement, the film could easily

be classified as New Wave.

Plus, it is interesting that many details have been added to make it more appealing to Hollywood. Philippe’s name was changed from “Dickie” to make it seem more aristocratic, the aesthetically pleasing shots and the development of the theme all lead to this same idea.

The ending of the film seems to be “open” for the viewer to decide Tom’s faith. “The ending is not, as some reviewers have suggested, simply a gesture toward conventional morality but a culmination that logically follows Clément’s contrast of land and [MOU5]sea” (N. Holland, n.d.). The last shot shifts from Tom walking away to the sea and the boats, which again shows the sea’s importance in the plot. Tom was afraid of the water and it is not surprising that the evidence of his immoral actions comes out of the sea.

In conclusion, Purple Noon is a film that can easily grab the attention of the viewer. Even though the general development of the plot is quite different from the original book, it is still fascinating. This is the movie that made Alain Delon a star and gave him worldwide recognition. This is the perfect and aesthetically pleasing film that makes the viewer come back and acts as a “guilty pleasure,” as O’Brien has described. We can see examples of fluid identity even in real life. Social class struggle is another issue that many people face. Nevertheless, the viewers will never get tired of the beautiful scenery of the Italian coasts and there are definitely people who, just like Tom, are full of hunger for being rich and living a “lavish life.” It gives the viewer a chance to judge the characters and their actions and decide who is wrong and who is right. “Purple Noon” is worth watching, even after almost 63 years of its first release.