Celebrating The Books Of Patricia Highsmith

Coinciding with the release of the new documentary “Loving Highsmith,” which premieres at Sag Harbor Cinema on September 9, the cinema is hosting three classic film adaptations from the work of the great Texan novelist Patricia Highsmith — Alfred Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train,” Wim Wenders’s “The American Friend” and Anthony Minghella’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”

Based on Highsmith’s novel of the same name, “Strangers on a Train” ranks among Hitchcock’s most praised films and is one of the few to feature his daughter in an acting role. The accidental encounter between two men — a tennis star, whose wife won’t grant him a divorce, and a wealthy young man who wants rid of his father — leads to a casual conversation about “the perfect crime.” What if each committed murder for the other?

Hitchcock had asked several famous writers to adapt the book, among them John Steinbeck, Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. The first two refused the job; Chandler delivered a draft which the director did not like. Three weeks before the shoot was set to begin, the task ended up with three women: Hitchcock’s assistant Czenzi Ormonde, the associate producer Barbara Keon and his wife, Alma Reville.

A longtime fan of Highsmith’s novels, in “The American Friend” Wim Wenders pays homage to the work with a loose adaptation of the author’s “Ripley’s Game.” Dennis Hopper stars in the neo-noir as an amoral art dealer involved in the criminal underworld of West Germany. Countering the German setting, Wenders scored the film with Bob Dylan’s songs and “Ballad of Easy Rider.” Highsmith was initially skeptical about Hopper’s portrayal of her iconic character, but came to respect him and the film.

Basking in golden Mediterranean light, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” is likely the glossiest Highsmith adaptation so far. Matt Damon, cast against type, plays Highsmith’s most famous and devious creation. With Cate Blanchett, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in supporting roles.

The documentary “Loving Highsmith,” written and directed by Eav Vitija will open at Sag Harbor Cinema the following week. An insightful look about the author’s life and creative process, the film draws from Highsmith’s diaries, notes and correspondences and from the personal accounts of people who knew her well. The multilayered documentary explores the connection between her personal life and frequent themes of love and identity in her work.

Tickets for the screenings are available on the cinema website, sagharborcinema.org. Sag Harbor Cinema is at 90 Main Street, Sag Harbor.

After the Oscar-winning “The English Patient,” writer and director Anthony Minghella attempted another tricky literary adaptation with “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” which features Matt Damon cast against type as a psychopathic bisexual murderer. Tom Ripley (Damon) is a bright and charismatic sociopath who makes his way in mid-1950s New York City as a men’s room attendant and sometimes pianist, though his real skill is in impersonating other people, forging handwriting and running second-rate scams. After being mistaken for a Princeton student, Tom meets the shipping tycoon father of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), who has traveled to the coast of Italy, where he’s living a carefree life with his father’s money and his beautiful girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Dickie’s father will pay Ripley 1,000 dollars plus his expenses if he can persuade Dickie to return to America. As Ripley and Dickie become friends, Tom finds himself both attracted to Dickie and envious of his life of pleasure. “The Talented Mr. Ripley” was based on the first of a series of novels featuring Tom Ripley written by Patricia Highsmith; the story was previously filmed in 1960 as “Purple Noon,” with Alain Delon as Ripley.

Wim Wenders pays loving homage to Hollywood film noir with this film which is a loose adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel “Ripley’s Game.” Dennis Hopper oozes quirky menace as an amoral American art dealer who entangles a terminally ill German everyman, played by Bruno Ganz, in a seedy criminal underworld as revenge for a personal slight — but when the two become embroiled in an ever-deepening murder plot, they form an unlikely bond. Filmed on location in Hamburg and Paris, with some scenes shot in grimy, late-1970s New York City, Wenders’s international breakout is a stripped-down crime story that mixes West German and American film flavors, and it features cameos by filmmakers Jean Eustache, Samuel Fuller, and Nicholas Ray.

Alfred Hitchcock directed this classic suspense tale — widely considered one of the master’s best works — tapping into the evil that lies in each of us. When two strangers, tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger), whose wife will not grant him a divorce, and wealthy but deranged young Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), who wants to be rid of his father, meet on a train from Washington D.C. to New York, the conversation casually turns to a possibly perfect crime. What if each committed murder for the other? There is nothing to connect the two men. No apparent motive for either killing. When the trip ends, Guy believes the conversation was hypothetical, and that he will never see Bruno again. Then his wife is murdered ... and Bruno returns for payback. Hard-boiled crime novelist Raymond Chandler co-wrote the screenplay of this film adaptation of the novel by Patricia Highsmith.

A unique look at the life of celebrated American author Patricia Highsmith based on her diaries and notebooks and the intimate reflections of her lovers, friends and family. Focusing on Highsmith’s quest for love and her troubled identity, the film sheds new light on her life and writing.

Most of Highsmith’s novels were adapted for the big screen; the best known of these are “Strangers on a Train” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” “Carol,” a partly autobiographic novel, was the first lesbian story with a happy ending to be published in 1950s America. But Highsmith herself was forced to lead a double life and had to hide her vibrant love affairs from her family and the public. Only in her unpublished writings did she reflect on her private life.