{"id":15196,"date":"2026-10-20T17:14:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T21:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=15196"},"modified":"2026-10-20T17:14:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T21:14:06","slug":"a-talent-for-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2026\/10\/20\/a-talent-for-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"A Talent for Murder"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A Talent for Murder<\/strong> (2026)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bleecker Street\/Drama-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 106 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (sexual content, some violence and language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Anton Corbijn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Joanna Murray-Smith\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Dickon Hinchliffe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Robbie Ryan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: October 23, 2026 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich, Olivia Cooke, Juliet Stevenson, James Faulkner, Brid Brennan.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0What happens when the creator of Tom Ripley becomes the architect of her own psychological trap? In A Talent for Murder<\/strong>, Anton Corbijn (The American) trades traditional biography for a sleek, slippery game of literary blackmail, trading a traditional biopic for a sleek, slippery game of literary blackmail.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Adapted from Joanna Murray-Smith\u2019s play Switzerland, A Talent for Murder<\/strong> stars Helen Mirren (The Queen) as Patricia Highsmith, the abrasive author best known for her \u201cRipliad\u201d, the five books featuring amoral protagonist Tom Ripley, a charming sociopath and serial killer. I\u2019ve never read any of her books, but I did see the film adaptations of Strangers on a Train (1951), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and its French counterpart Purple Noon (1960). They\u2019re all good and clearly the work of a twisted mind. As played by Dame Mirren, she was quite the character.<\/p>\n

\u00a0A Talent for Murder<\/strong> tells the completely fictitious story of a young literary agent trying to persuade Highsmith to write a sixth Ripley novel. Edward Ridgeway (Ehrenreich, Weapons) travels by train to meet the reclusive writer at her Swiss chalet. On the way, he meets an attractive young woman named Clementine Harriet Balfour (Cooke, House of the Dragon). The two strangers on a train flirt with each other before parting ways (NOT forever).<\/p>\n

\u00a0Highsmith doesn\u2019t exactly greet her guest warmly when he arrives at her home. Instead, she wants him to go away, but not before he gives her the items she asked him to bring, one being a knife for her collection of weapons (guns and knives) hanging on the wall. Eventually, Edward\u2019s charm wins her over (sort of) and she agrees to let him stay the night at least.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What starts as a psychological battle of wits turns into a brainstorming session as they talk about a plot for a new Ripley story. This is where line between fact and fiction starts to blur. Ridgeway becomes Ripley in a story-within-a-story about the suave con artist romancing a young woman (depicted as Clementine) who stands to inherit a huge trust fund from wealthy relatives. He concocts a devious plan to expedite their demise.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Back in the real world, Highsmith challenges Edward to come up with a clever way to murder one of the relatives. If she likes it, she will write the book. The boundaries of reality start to warp as Edward shifts from corporate lackey to the living embodiment of Ripley, adopting a seductive and menacing persona that mirrors Highsmith\u2019s literary child. It shows in his interactions with the real Clementine who also has a trust fund waiting for her.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The two lead performances in A Talent for Murder<\/strong> are phenomenal. Mirren doesn\u2019t merely play Highsmith; she embodies the cantankerous, antisocial author in all her misanthropic glory. Every razor-sharp word is delivered with the pointed precision of a dagger laced with poison. It perfectly matches her co-star\u2019s deceptively calm counter-performance. Ehrenreich plays the dual role, the eager rookie and the smooth psychopath, with confidence, ultimately merging the two personas seamlessly. The verbal sparring between him and Mirren is a true highlight thanks to sharp and witty dialogue written by Smith adapting her own work for the big screen.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The claustrophobic setting, captured beautifully by cinematographer Robbie Ryan (Bugonia), brings to mind Joseph L. Mankiewicz\u2019s 1972 adaptation of Anthony Shaffer\u2019s Sleuth (1972). He deftly balances the shadow-drenched interiors with stark, sweeping backdrops showcasing the Swiss landscape with its crystalline, cold skies. It perfectly augments Corbijn\u2019s signature moody, high-contrast aesthetic with the sharp lighting to mirror the mental sparring and moral ambiguity of Highsmith\u2019s dark universe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0For all its good points, A Talent for Murder<\/strong> suffers from pacing issues and an ending that feels rushed. It\u2019s quite stagey at times, but given that it is an adaptation of a play, that\u2019s to be expected. It\u2019s a dialogue-heavy piece that will definitely put a few viewers off. The finale is somewhat confusing, but I suspect that\u2019s the point with the blurred line between the real and unreal. The film loses something when Mirren isn\u2019t on-screen. Her portrayal of Highsmith definitely deserves notice at this year\u2019s Academy Awards.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s safe to say A Talent for Murder<\/strong> will not appeal to all audiences. Anyone not familiar with Highsmith or her literary child Ripley will be lost at sea. On the other hand, it may inspire some to read her work. I\u2019m giving serious thought to it myself.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Talent for Murder (2026)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bleecker Street\/Drama-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 106 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (sexual content, some violence and language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Anton Corbijn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Joanna Murray-Smith\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Dickon Hinchliffe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Robbie Ryan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: October 23, 2026 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich, Olivia Cooke, Juliet Stevenson, James Faulkner, Brid Brennan. Rating: *** \u00a0What happens when the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-now-playing"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/A-Talent-for-Murder-POSTER.jpg?fit=620%2C930&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15196"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15201,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15196\/revisions\/15201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}