Question: Build a movie plot around this: Who does Ripley meet on his way to Rome? Freddie Miles
Answer:
Tom Ripley is a young man struggling to make a living in 1950s New York City. While playing piano at a cocktail party in New York City, he is approached by wealthy shipbuilder Herbert Greenleaf, who mistakenly believes that Ripley went to Princeton University with his son, Dickie, because Ripley is wearing a borrowed Princeton blazer. Greenleaf recruits Ripley to travel to Italy and persuade Dickie to return to the United States, for which he will pay Ripley $1,000 (equivalent to $8,834 in 2015). Ripley accepts the proposal, even though he did not attend Princeton and has never met Dickie.Upon arriving by ship in Europe, Ripley meets a wealthy textile heiress named Meredith Logue. During their brief conversation, he impulsively pretends to be Dickie, later commenting in voice-over that "it is better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody." Shortly after his arrival in Italy, Ripley fakes a chance encounter on the beach with Dickie and his fiancee, Marge Sherwood. Ripley later discloses to Dickie and Marge that Mr. Greenleaf paid him to travel to Europe and persuade Dickie to return home. This revelation infuriates Dickie; he declines the invitation and suggests Ripley go back to America and inform his father that he has no intention of ever returning. Ripley instead ingratiates himself into Dickie's life under the pretext of being a fellow jazz lover. The two concoct a scheme for Ripley to wring additional funds from Greenleaf by regularly mailing letters suggesting Dickie is wavering and will likely return to America if Ripley can remain in Italy and continue applying pressure.On a jaunt to Rome, Ripley meets Dickie's friend Freddie Miles, who treats Ripley with barely concealed contempt. A local girl, pregnant by Dickie, drowns herself after he refuses to help her financially; this sends Dickie into a downward spiral. He begins tiring of Ripley, resenting his constant presence and suffocating dependence. Ripley's own feelings are complicated by his desire to maintain the opulent lifestyle Dickie has...