The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, James Rebhorn, Sergio Rubini, Philip Baker Hall, Celia Weston, Rosario Fiorello, Stefania Rocca, Ivano Marescotti, Anna Longhi, Alessandro Fabrizi, Lisa Eichhorn. Written by Anthony Minghella, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. Directed by Anthony Minghella. 139 minutes. Rated R, 4 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Edward+Johnson-Ott
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Combining beautiful people in glorious, exotic locales with a lurid tale of duplicity and murder, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is the big screen equivalent of the thick paperback thrillers so popular with vacationers. Like most of those novels, the film is also a bit overstuffed, but that's easy to forgive. With this well-acted, wonderfully textured work, director Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") has crafted a wicked psychological study that would do Hitchcock proud.
Based on the 1955 novel by Patricia Highsmith, the film centers on Thomas Ripley (Matt Damon), an ambitious, facile young man who envies the lush lifestyle of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), an American expatriate lolling around Italy with his girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow), so much that he decides to take over his identity… by any means necessary.
Tom Ripley's fractured journey begins in New York City, when industrialist Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) mistakes the impoverished young piano player for a classmate of his wayward son. He offers to fund Tom on a trip to convince Dickie to return home.
Ripley soon finds himself in a wonderland of beaches, villas, trendy clubs and an air of privilege. In short order, he ingratiates himself with the handsome, charismatic Dickie, furthering the bonding process by revealing his "mission" to the urbane layabout. Now operating as a "double agent," Tom writes encouraging letters to the senior Greenleaf, while spending the father's money knocking about the country with his son.
All is well until the relationship begins to fray. Dickie tends to aim his full attention toward the latest arrival to his social circle, giving scant time to those who have been around longer. Ripley soon finds that he is no longer the flavor of the day. Rather than an intriguing newcomer, he is now perceived as a hanger-on. As if this isn't bad enough, Dickie reacts negatively to Tom's quasi-erotic advances. While on an out-of-town holiday with Dickie, the calculating young Ripley strikes out. His plan is to lay low in various Italian cities, using forged letters and his skills as a mimic to co-opt Dickie's identity. The scheme is clearly a house of cards, but then again, Tom Ripley is a very resourceful man.
In Patricia Highsmith's novel (the first of a series of books on the character), Ripley is a flat-out sociopath. A large part of the story's twisted pleasure comes from seeing life through the eyes of this coldly efficient shark. Minghella changes the tone by giving Tom a bit of a conscience. He also plays up Ripley's sexuality. While it was established in the book that Tom was at least bisexual, if not entirely gay, his sexual orientation was almost irrelevant. People were just a means to an end and their gender meant little to this self-absorbed acquisition machine. While I understand why Minghella felt the need to make the changes, I still prefer Ripley in his undiluted asexual mode.
But thanks to the immense skills of Matt Damon, the altered Ripley still works. To emphasize the class differences between Tom and Dickie, Minghella wanted Damon to initially appear pale and scrawny. Accordingly, Damon dropped 30+ pounds and stayed in the shadows. His efforts were successful. When Tom first meets Dickie and Marge, turning up on the beach in an ill-fitting Speedo, he looks underfed, out of place and remarkably exposed. Anyone who dismissed Matt Damon as just another Hollywood pretty boy will learn better here - Damon is the genuine article; an accomplished actor who will do whatever it takes to make his character credible. He is extraordinary, deftly playing his wholesome good looks against an ever-darkening persona in one of the year's best performances.
Jude Law is his match as the magnetic Dickie Greenleaf. He totally captures the spirit of the character; a tempestuous, supremely confident dilettante who perceives himself as the real thing. It's easy to understand why Marge and Tom would be drawn to this smoldering young firebrand. While Gwyneth Paltrow has far less to do, she acquits herself nicely as Marge, who is far more assertive here than in the book.
Anthony Minghella does a masterful job with his exceptional cast and stunning Italian locations, creating an alluring sense of bohemian abandon. After watching the film, I was ready to hop the next plane to Italy and hang out with these people, even if it meant maneuvering around the dangerous Mr. Ripley. Minghella uses the radiant settings to maximum effect - the darkest moment of the story takes place in bright sunlight, which makes its impact even stronger.
While the mechanics of the film's last act play better in the book than onscreen, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" still packs a considerable punch. At two hours and 20 minutes, the film is a bit longer than it needs to be, but Anthony Minghella's sprawling creation remains one of the most captivating, and chilling, character studies to come along in quite a while. So skillful and seductive is the portrayal of Tom Ripley that you find yourself hoping he'll get away with his crimes. Now that's truly disturbing.
© 1999 Ed Johnson-Ott
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