A Talent for Murder

In 1995, young literary agent Edward Ridgeway travels to the Swiss Alps to persuade Patricia Highsmith to write another novel about Tom Ripley. The ageing author refuses, but proposes a different challenge: together they will devise the perfect murder. As their game develops, Edward discovers that Highsmith may not be the only one playing.

Anton Corbijn’s A Talent for Murder brings Patricia Highsmith into a fictional encounter that gradually takes on the qualities of one of her own psychological thrillers. She draws her guest into an increasingly unsettling game in which storytelling, manipulation and murderous intent become difficult to separate.

Helen Mirren relishes the opportunity to play Highsmith, giving her a dry, mercurial presence that can shift from waspish humour to genuine menace. Alden Ehrenreich is an effective foil, initially projecting eager professionalism before allowing more ambiguous qualities to emerge. Corbijn makes the most of the Alpine setting and the house’s enclosed interiors, creating a visual contrast between spectacular landscapes and increasingly claustrophobic exchanges.

Adapted by Joanna Murray-Smith from her play Switzerland, the film uses its two-hander structure to turn literary conversation into psychological suspense.

This screening will be accompanied by Subtitles for Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences.