The Talented Mr. Ripley

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant movie-introducing Jude Law
Review: The movie is about the talented, wicked, dishonest and many many other (mostly bad)qualities loaded Mr Ripley who tries to climb the social ladder through telling lies, pretending, murder and well, talent. Tom Ripley is a poor guy and one day meets wealthy Mr Greenleaf who thinks he is a classmate of his son (due to his borrowed jacked). Greenleaf puts money in Tom's pocket and sends him to Italy to fetch his carefree son. Tom befriended with Dickie (Jude Law)and his girlfriend Marge (Paltrow) and starts to have the time of his life. However, no lie lasts forever, and besides Dickie gets bored of people easily, so after a rough discussion and kind of love declaration Ripley murders the having-it -all Dickie. Was it jealousy, anger of unreturned feelings (yes Ripley is a homesexual, and he hints it from the start, he is so passionate about every beautiful thing but women) or the fear of returning back to his ordinary life? Then he takes Dickie's identity, and continues his enchanted life with some more crimes. He is really clever and calculating, he takes every little detail into account. So, he gets away with all murders and lies-well almost all since the end leaves a question
The plot and directing is very good, as well as the atmosphere. The small Italian village, the costumes and the gorgeus Jude Law alone can save any movie. It was the first time I saw him on screen and became a fan immediately-handsome with talent. I think he could be Ripley as well, he could be better one as he has more charm.Paltrow is lovely, so is Cate Blanchett but very underused-she was the starring in Elizabeth and had an oscar nomination, why she admitted such a small part is a mystery to me.Hoffman as Dickie's arrogant friend Freddie displays a super performance, as well. For me the only problem was Damon. He is a fine actor and playing well, but I dont think he has the charisma and energy Ripley should display. He looks like more of a good student trying to cheat in exam rather than a jealous and wicked personna. But he was good in the murdering scene-his expression while hitting Dickie with the stone was marvellous. He could do better in earlier Tom Cruise type movies-a la The Firm. I dont buy him as the smooth criminal.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This movie has great a plot, photography, wonderful actors and actresses and is made with beauty... Jude Law's perform is so wonderful, I think nobody else could make Dickie's character as him, so real, charming and full of life... Matt Damon... I'm sure he made it very well, convincing and disgusting because I can't see him anymore with good eyes (I really hate Ripley)...

Rating:
Summary: This movie is delicious
Review: This is by far one of my favorite movies of the 90's. It truly has everthing - gorgeous scenery, amazing actors, mystery, and glamour. Jude Law is flawless as Dickie Greenleaf, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is divine as Freddie Miles. All the characters in this movie are very entertaining. The costumes and the Italian backdrop make this movie total eye candy. If you love cozy Hitchcock movies, you'll love The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Rating:
Summary: It is better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody
Review: "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is about a young man named Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) who discovers, as a result of a fateful accident involving a jacket with the Princeton emblem upon it, that he can pass himself off as someone he is not. Given that he is not much to begin with, this is a startling revelation. His initial lie affords him an opportunity to travel to Europe on a mission to persuade a prodigal son, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), to come home. Living the good life with Dickie and his girl friend, Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), Tom comes to the conclusion that he could be a better Greenleaf than Greenleaf himself. After all, Dickie is cheating on Marge and wasting his time (and his father's money) on jazz clubs and living the decadent life in sunny Italy. Meanwhile, Tom finds his talents for impersonation are becoming quite formidable and the only problem is that Dickie's friend Freddie Miles (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is suspicious of a young man who wears Dickie's clothes, eats Dickie's food, and gets Dickie's parents to pay for it all. Consequently the viewer is left with two compelling questions. How far will Tom be able to go with his efforts and can be possibly get away with it?

I know of several people who objected to Ripley being portrayed as a homosexual, offended that this would be presented as his motive for the bad, bad things that he does. However I see this element as being more ironic in terms of the character. Keep in mind that the story is set in the 1950s, when what the conventional idea aobut what came out of the closet was not someone who was gay but a monster (and despite his natural charm, Tom Ripley is a monster). This does not mean that gays are monsters and the suggestions of Ripley's homosexuality have nothing to do with the motivation for his crimes. Instead it suggests another level of attraction to Greenleaf for Tom and the irony that he is aspiring to a life of a notorious womanizer when he is not overly interested in either Marge or Meredith Logue (Cate Blanchett). This raises an interesting question: Is Tom trying to become Dickie Greenleaf because it is a life he desires above all others or because it is a life that he can assume because of his talents?

One of the strengths of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is how director Anthony Minghella makes us take Tom Ripley's perspective throughout the film. Even if he is the bad guy in the film and not a person in whom we are likely to readily see ourselves, he is also the movie's protagonist. Even though it might be against our better judgment part of us roots him on through his endeavors. After all, if Dickie Greenleaf is not going to make anything worthwhile out of his life, Tom might be able to do better. The result is a solid suspense film with which Minghella has invested some of the style of Italian cinema from the 1950s. Final Note: I sure was glad I did not know that Patricia Highsmith had written a series of novels about Tom Ripley, of which this is the first, because that sort of gives some broad hints as to how this particular story is going to play out.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but the book was better.
Review: Now, I am a person who generally judges a movie and a book independently of each other, as the screenwriter is generally only using the novel as an outline. (Unless the screenwriter is the author, in which case, no holds barred.)

But in this case, the above holds true -- the book is better, but this is a good movie. Once I divorced my memory of the book (which apparently only provided character names, setting, and very general plot) the movie went along quite nicely. Although, I must admit, I think that Jude Law would have made a better Ripley -- his acting seemed better suited for that role, and perhaps Damon should have been the carefree playboy.

Alas, the final murder in the movie is not in the novel -- so, if they are setting The Talented Mr. Ripley up for sequels, they will most likely not follow Highsmith's next novels, either.

A pity more wasn't done with Gwyneth Paltrow, who seemed almost at points more like a flat character out of 'Friends' than a movie-drama character. Alas, our Ripley gets away, for now -- will movie goers return to see the next installment?

The atmosphere of the drama was classic for the time-period of the novel. The 1950s Italy, still recovering from the war and still catering in many respects to wealthy Americans at play fills the screen. The posh airs of the almost-aristocracy, the world to which Ripley yearns to belong at any cost, come through with crisp realism.

The direction, art direction, costumes and general cinematography help this film to shine; the story, alas, is the part the drags, despite being based upon the sterling novel of Patricia Highsmith. A little more allegiance to the novel, and perhaps some judicious minor editing would make this a truly classic film.

That said, it is a film I rarely tire of seeing. It is worth seeing, and worth owning.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful people living beautiful, yet strife-filled lives
Review: The Talented Mr. Ripley offered many enticements--beautiful people, beautiful scenery and atmospher--and the fantasy of lives that are full-time leisure. Into this dream world steps an intruder--a likeable con artist named Tom Ripley. Matt Damon fills the role flawlessly. He is charming, intelligent, deceitful, caring, conflicted, and ultimately . . . WOW what an ending!

Ripley wins the trust of a shipping tycoon, whose son is living a playboy existence in Italy. This father has a minor role, yet plays it so convincingly. He is a paragon of hard work, high expectations, and disappointment in a son who realizes he is rich enough to play rather than work. So, he hires Ripley to go to Italy and convince him to return.

Thus Ripley enters the world of the son Dickie, his beautiful girl friend, and many other rich, beautiful people. As he entangles himself into their lives there is suspense, intrigue, and throughout we wonder where Ripley is heading and who will suffer how in the wake of his ambition.

The acting is crisp, subdued, yet poignant. The plot flows, and yet offers surprises along the way. The ending is pure poetry.

Bottom-line: This multi-layered drama is worth seeing several times. In a sense, it revisits King Solomon's ancient quest to discover what is truly meaningful in life. Answers may not be forthcoming, but the Talented Mr. Ripley reminds us that the question is truly worth asking. Five Stars for a truly great film.

Rating:
Summary: "I always thought it would be better to be..."
Review: a fake somebody than a real nobody." Chilling words from the pseudo-sympathetic Tom Ripley. I thought Matt Damon was extraordinary, and gave a fanatastic performance; however, having said that, I enjoyed the scenes with Freddy and Dickie and Marge much more; I did not LIKE the character Damon portrays, and at times (most of the time) it was hard to watch him, knowing what he was and what he was capable of. Freddy, especially, was wonderful and one of my favorite scenes was the one where he confronts Ripley in the "out-of-the-way apartment." He busts him superbly, (love the piano bit, and the eye rolling...he is so natural!) a gallant act that costs him much more than he would have paid, were he to have known the ramifications. The most heart-breaking character to me in the entire movie was Peter...you somehow knew that Marge would survive, albeit with great difficulty, but Peter was tragic. My only complaint is that it rather glorifies a serial killer...and portrays him in a way too sympathetic light. Hey, we all would love to take on the real life role of a rich man's son/dfaughter, but fortunately we (at least most of us) have moral limits. Sanctimonious? Yes, but from my heart.

Rating:
Summary: Dillon or DiCaprio, not Damon
Review: A great movie - taut screenplay, astounding cinematography. The beauty of Mediterranean Europe & the period have been captured beautifully. Jude Law is amazing. He is so expressive... every look, every gesture!
If there is a flaw, I think it is Matt Damon. A little too wooden for my liking. Matt Dillon would have been a better choice as the sinister Mr. Ripley. Or Leonardo DiCaprio. But still, a great film.

Rating:
Summary: Dark and unsettling thriller
Review: This is a superbly adapted, dark and unsettling thriller with fantastic casting and acting. It is a really clever film-maker's experiment which leaves you haunted and shaken and even quite depressed.

The thing about The Talented Mr Ripley, is that you really want to like Ripley (or whatever his real name is). You empathise, you want him to get away with things...and the film toys with you in building this up, but then crushing you with his immorality. And all through the film however bad it gets you're willing to forgive that immorality, until very end, where it over-steps the mark, and the film ends, leaving you feeling quite shaken.

However it is an incredible film, and reccomended by all accounts.

Rating:
Summary: Can you believe Tom Ripley?
Review: This film is NOT about the infamous Robert Ripley of Ripley's Believe It Or Not! fame. This screenplay is about a Tom Ripley, an imposter and a killer. He plays gay, lives with Dickie (Jude Law) who is in love with Marge, played by Gweneth Paltrow. In self defense, he kills Dickie and takes over his identity. (Spoiler: Tom Ripley also took over his brother's identity). This DVD includes a 22-minute featurette, "Inside The Talented Mr. Ripley". Another bonus is a 14-minute "Reflections On The Talented Mr. Ripley" with interviews by cast and crew. Also a commentary with Director Anthony Minghella, making of the soundtrack for the film, and two music videos, "My Funny Valentine", performed by Matt Damon with The Guy Barker International Quintet. "Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano", performed by Fiorello, Jude Law, and Matt Damon with The Guy Barker International Quintet. (I think I prefer Sophia Loren).