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Ripley<\/em> is an unusual show for many reasons, but chief among them might be its astounding visual command. All eight episodes of Netflix\u2019s limited series, adapted from Patricia Highsmith\u2019s iconic novel The Talented Mr. Ripley,<\/em> are directed by writer and creator Steven Zaillian,<\/strong> and they\u2019re all lensed by cinematographer Robert Elswit.<\/strong> This singular vision gives Ripley<\/em> both an impressive aesthetic cohesion<\/a> and a radical kind of ambition. The camerawork and lighting are playful, risky, curious, and endlessly surprising\u2014not to mention rather gorgeous.<\/p>\n Neither Elswit nor Zaillian has done much work in TV outside of their previous collaboration, the Emmy-winning HBO hit The Night Of.<\/em> (Elswit is known for lensing films helmed by Paul Thomas Anderson,<\/strong> including his Oscar-winning work on There Will Be Blood,<\/em> while Zaillian is a five-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter, winning once for Schindler\u2019s List.)<\/em> Their Ripley<\/em> follows the events of the book more closely than Anthony Minghella<\/strong>\u2019s Oscar-nominated 1999 film<\/a>, The Talented Mr. Ripley<\/em>\u2014in part because it has nearly eight hours of storytelling space. We meet Andrew Scott<\/strong>\u2019s enigmatic grifter in \u201950s New York before he\u2019s tapped to find the wealthy scion Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn<\/strong>) and his girlfriend, Marge (Dakota Fanning<\/strong>), as they live out an escapist fantasy on the sun-dappled beaches of Italy. What follows is a dizzying saga of lust, murder, impersonation, and deception, all captured in radiant black-and-white.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI knew from the beginning that I wanted to have this high contrast film-noir style,\u201d Zaillian says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to do anything that was familiar to us\u2026 I didn\u2019t want to make a pretty travelogue.\u201d<\/p>\n With the show now streaming on Netflix, Zaillian and Elswit joined Vanity Fair<\/em> for a comprehensive breakdown of Ripley<\/em>\u2019s visual storytelling. The pair pulled over a dozen shots and frames from Ripley<\/em> that reflect some of their major goals and themes behind the camera, which contribute to its singular and immersive feel. These images and conversation cover all eight episodes, so while plot details are kept to a minimum, light spoilers follow.<\/p>\n Film Noir Lighting<\/p>\n<\/div>\n