Ripley - Frames in Frames - Cinematography Breakdown

In this instalment I take a look at the use of Frames within Frames in the new Black and White Netflix Series Ripley.

Breaking down the cinematography of a series can be a lengthy and subjective process! So I'm trying to be more focused and look at a particular element each episode, I will always deviate and go off on a tangent when there are other elements at play... But I want to try and stay fairly focused!

The Cinematography in Ripley is striking, the most obvious aspect being the bold black and white, which often made me smile when characters commented on a colourful thing in world.

The use of frames within frames can help to create layering and depth within shots. It can also have a narrative purpose by separating characters with an in world barrier, that can easily be circumnavigated... but often is a representation of something else that is keeping the separate.

For Ripley the theme of art works, passport photos and light play a pivotal part in the story telling. So the constant use of frames within frames has more than a little symmetry to those themes.