A Talent for Murder

This smouldering chamber thriller from director Anton Corbijn (TIFF ’07’s Control) imagines a strange confrontation between a literary agent and legendary author Patricia Highsmith, whose acclaimed, icily intelligent crime novels were the source material for such classic films as Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Adapted by Joanna Murray-Smith from her play Switzerland and starring Alden Ehrenreich (TIFF ’23’s Fair Play), Olivia Cooke (TIFF ’19’s Sound of Metal; also at this year’s Festival in Slow Horses) and Oscar winner Helen Mirren, A Talent For Murder pits ruthless careerism against dark genius in a slippery battle of wills. 

It is 1995, and American author Highsmith (Mirren), now in her seventies and in poor health, has retired to the Swiss Alps, where she largely confines herself to her study, surrounded by her books, her cats, and her collection of antique weapons. Enter Edward Ridgeway (Ehrenreich), emissary for a New York publisher sent to persuade Highsmith to craft one last instalment in her bestselling series of mysteries featuring the murderous antihero, Tom Ripley. Irritated by this youthful, overly eager visitor, Highsmith refuses the offer — unless, that is, Ridgeway can dream up the perfect murder along with her. 

Highsmith was famously charismatic and problematic — and as wickedly manipulative as her most celebrated character. Mirren embodies the formidable scribe with seductive wit, while Ehrenreich infuses Ridgeway with enough duplicity to keep us unsure of his motives. With its brilliant twists and trenchant dialogue, A Talent for Murder is a deeply intriguing foray into the realm where history and myth become deliciously entangled.

Content advisory: themes of violence