Purple Noon

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Original Title: Plein Soleil Release Date: 1960 Director: René Clément Netflix Link IMDb Link

It’s probably evident throughout this blog that I’ll watch pretty much anything with one of my favorite actors in it. I’ve waded through a lot of direct-to-video nonsense due to my irrational completism. That torrid, romance novel cover alone would normally steer me away from this film. Purple Noon falls into the ‘I wouldn’t have even bothered watching this if not for Alain Delon’ category.

Purple Noon was remade as The Talented Mr. Ripley. I haven’t seen the remake, nor am I likely to, but if it’s anything like the original, I certainly wouldn’t bother now. I can’t imagine that Matt Damon could come anywhere near Delon’s awesomeness, and really, Delon is the only reason to watch this film.

Purple Noon is supposed to be a thriller. Perhaps I’m a little jaded on the concept of what is thrilling, but this wasn’t it. Hitchcock did it better in Rope. By that I mean that we know whodunnit and the tension lies merely in whether the killer will be caught and how.

If you’re interested in seeing Delon in a swimsuit, it’s worth a watch, but others really needn’t bother. Although, I would probably recommend this version over the remake (that I haven’t seen), but 9 times out of 10, I’d do that anyway.