A Talent for Murder Review (TIFF 2026)
Growing up, I was a big mystery novel fella. Sherlock Holmes, Hardy Boys, the works of Agatha Christie, etc. I was all over it. It’s why something like Rian Johnson’s Knives Out films speak directly to me, I love what those movies are doing, what they’re emulating. It’s a genre I quite particularly enjoy. Unfortunately, I never grew up with Patricia Highsmith’s novels. In fact, I didn’t even know what A Talent for Murder was about beyond the synopsis given on the TIFF ticketing site, but between that and the all-start talent involved, I just knew I had to watch it, it sounded right up my alley. But I didn’t expect it to tap into and tickle that specific corner of my brain that I just described above.
A Talent For Murder (dir. Anton Corbijn) is an adaptation of the play Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith. It follows Edward Ridgeway (Alden Ehrenreich), a man from a book publishing company in New York, sent to meet with Patricia Highsmith (Helen Mirren) and convince her to write one last novel of her Tom Ripley series.
It’s during this journey that he meets Clementine Balfour (Olivia Cooke), a woman also from New York who is visiting her Aunt Peggy (Juliet Stevenson), who is also the holder of the family money that she’s eyeing. When Edward meets Patricia, she’s unwilling to write that last novel, but slowly he begins to convince her, as the two work together to plan out the last machination of Tom Ripley inspired by what Edward knows about Clementine.
It’s an exploration of what happens when you’re too deep into this sort of stuff, both as a writer and as a reader/fan, as you continue to engage with stories about murder, as you delve deeper and deeper into that psyche and how it slowly damages you. As the story unravels, we see Edward go from a shy, nerdy fellow to one who almost seems a little deranged from how he takes real life encounters and turns them into plans for fictionalized murder. Similarly, we see what Highsmith really is like as she too shares more of herself with Edward, but she keeps herself guarded too.
Alden Ehrenreich’s transformation here, as he plays the nerdy Edward and the more confident, sly Tom Ripley is something to behold. Like the best Clark Kent/Superman actors (Ridgeway looks a lot like Clark too), Ehrenreich switches between the two so flawlessly, as the dual performance turns from two very distinct characters to slowly one and the same. Helen Mirren’s Patricia Highsmith is phenomenal, and based on my little reading of how Patricia was in real life, Mirren seems to have really nailed this fictionalized version of her down, with so many little quirks to her and the way she’s always cunning. Olivia Cooke is also a delight (she always is), and I’m a big fan of how she too transforms from the nice girl to someone that clearly has a hunger for more.
From a filmmaking standpoint, I’m not too familiar with Anton Corbijn’s work, but what he does here is so slick. A Talent for Murder is a horror/thriller, and the way it switches genres (much like Ehrenreich’s own performance) is a delight. The shift is always very apparent, and yet it always works to the benefit of the film. This is further cemented by Robbie Ryan’s framing choices which are all excellent. Dickon Hinchliffe’s score also sets the perfect mood for a film like this, and a reminder of the books that I used to read.
A Talent for Murder is electric, it’s such a delight, and one of those films that I hope gets the crowd that appreciates it. It will be released in the States on October 23, 2026.
