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The novels of Patricia Highsmith, the high priestess of the psychological thriller, delve into the dark depths of the human condition. Lust, repressed desire, jealousy, suspense, class anxiety, rage—and usually at least one murder—are all recurring elements in her work.
The dramatic nature of Highsmith’s work, embodied by complex, riveting characters— from the charming but murderous grifter Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley to the aloof yet alluring housewife Carol Aird in The Price of Salt—lends itself well to the big screen. Strangers on a Train, Highsmith’s suspenseful first novel, was published in 1950 and made into a film just a year later by Alfred Hitchcock. Filled with blackmail, intrigue, and obsession, Strangers on a Train was the first of many film adaptations that would be made of Highsmith’s work, which comprises 22 novels and stories.
Though it’s been more than 70 years since her first novel was published, the thrills of Highsmith keep coming—her stories, though dark, tap into universal themes like moral conflict and forming identity, making them both apropos and timeless. Case in point: the new film adaptation of Deep Water, starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, which comes out on March 18. Though the film updates some elements of the story to situate it in contemporary times (Affleck’s character is a tech entrepreneur), Highsmith’s deft touch can clearly felt in de Armas’ adulterous and sharply observant housewife Melinda Van Allen, a classic Highsmith character: flawed, complicated, and yet somehow endlessly, discomfitingly relatable.
Below is our guide to every movie adaptation made of Patricia Highsmith’s work.
Strangers on a Train (1950)
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Source : time
