‘A Talent for Murder’ review: Strong cast powers this delicious thriller

Oct. 23, 2026 at 2:00 pm Updated Oct. 23, 2026 at 2:00 pm

Movie review

Sometimes, the fun of watching a movie has a lot to do with whether the actors seem to have had any fun while making it. Such is the case with Anton Corbijn’s “A Talent for Murder,” in which the great Helen Mirren appears to be having an absolute blast playing Patricia Highsmith, the brilliant, eccentric and famously misanthropic author of such midcentury crime-fiction classics as “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Strangers on a Train.” Her usual glamour hidden beneath baggy menswear and an unfussed-with gray bob, Mirren’s Highsmith smokes as if her cigarette has offended her, drinks like morning won’t come and stretches out her words deliciously; this is a woman who, though she prefers her own company, doesn’t mind holding center stage.

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