O Talentoso Ripley

Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is a struggling lower class bathroom attendant in 1950s Manhattan. He's mistaken for being in the world of the super wealthy when an upper crust man hires Tom to retrieve his wayward son Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) from Italy for $1000. He finds Dickie with his girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow) and is lured into the world of the leisure class. When Dickie gets tired of Tom, Tom does the unthinkable and uses his underhanded skills to hang on.

Director/writer Anthony Minghella has instilled a sense of dread and foreboding. The acting is top notch with the most important coming from Matt Damon and Jude Law. There are honorable mentions to Philip Seymour Hoffman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett. I do wish they play up Tom Ripley's homosexual side with Dickie and intensify the creepiness. Other than that, this movie has the perfect tone and sense of doom. It is such a perverse movie that you almost root for the conniving Tom Ripley.

I'll admit that I rented "The Talented Mr. Ripley" without the slightest clue about what the story entailed. However, this caused no problem as I soon became involved in the twisted and rather bizarre plot; I was immediately interested in the movie as it was unique and unusual right from the start.

Matt Damon portrays the mysterious Mr. Ripley, who, more or less, remains a mystery throughout the film. I was intrigued at how, when you first see him on screen, you are given the impression that he is nothing more than a shy, innocent, and intellectual young man who pretty much keeps to himself. However, this image is only visable for the first five minutes or so, and is virtually shattered once he accepts the offer to go to Italy in search of Mr. Greenleaf's son, Dickie. I was fascinated at how rapidly his personality altered, and suddenly I understood that he was rather odd, as he deceived Mr. Greenleaf in the first place by wearing a Princeton jacket and pretending that he knew Dickie. Now, I haven't explained this entirely, as those of you who have seen this film know, as I am not writing this to create a summary of the plot, but rather to give my comments. Basically, Mr. Greenleaf saw Ripley playing the piano at a wedding wearing a Princeton jacket, and since his son also went to Princeton, he asks Ripley if, by any chance, he knew Dickie. Of course, since Ripley never went to Princeton in the first place, he couldn't possibly have known Dickie. Despite this fact, however, Ripley says that he did know him, and that they were friends. As soon as he says this, he manages to get himself in a deep hole of trouble as Mr. Greenleaf asks him to go to Italy to try and retrieve his son, as he couldn't do it himself due to that fact that Dickie wouldn't listen to his father following a serries of arguments.

I thought that the acting was brilliant, especially that of Jude Law (Dickie) and Matt Damon. I was on the edge of my seat throughout most of the film, and I felt that all the characters were believable in their own ways. I believe this to be a splendidly clever story, which is well written and directed. I thought that the music playing during most of the film was excellent as it matched the strange, eerie atmosphere of the story beautifully.

I would like to conclude this review by saying that this is a very good movie with an unusually unpredictable ending; it's nice to see a movie that doesn't finish perfectly for a change.

Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley gets a deluxe reincarnation here, merit of the talented Mr. Minghella. A sensational script adaptation, stunning Italian locations and an extraordinary supporting cast. Tom Ripley saw the light before, most memorably with the face of Alain Delon in another beautiful outing by the underrated Rene Clement. This time, the winning feature is the superbly tailored script that gets inside the heads of the characters giving us a full panoramic view of their privileges as well as their desolation. Tom Ripley, the amoral, becomes the tortured immoral here. Anthony Minghella gives him a conscience, a self-awareness giving the tale an extra chilling touch. Matt Damon's natural dullness works wonders here. This may be his best performance to date. But it is the supporting cast that makes "The Talented Mr. Ripley" fly so high. Jude Law as the spoiled, vain and ultimately cruel Dickie Greenlef is truly remarkable. His worthlessness, crystal clear for everyone to see, becomes irrelevant due to the astonishing charisma and oodles of sexiness that Jude Law exudes. That, in itself, makes Gwynneth Paltrow's character totally believable. She's an intelligent woman who must know Dickie for what he is but she puts that aside and we don't question it. Philip Seymour Hoffman's Freddie is a fully fleshed out character who's on the screen for a few minutes but leaves and indelible impression. Great fun to witness his two faces. Creepy and wonderful. But it is Cate Blanchett, in a creation worthy of W Somerset Maughan that becomes the icing on this scrumptious cake. I would love to see a film where her Meredith is the central character. This "Talented Mr. Ripley" cemented my film relationship with Anthony Minghella. I wait for his films with childish anticipation.

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a psychological thriller film written and directed by Late Anthony Minghella. The film is based on Late Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel of the same name. The film stars Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Jack Davenport, Late James Rebhorn and Late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The strongest part of the film is probably it's strong casting with almost all the characters were aptly perfect for their roles and did a terrific work.

The screenplay of the film is slow but still will not deviate the attention of the viewers. The atmosphere of the Italy in the 50s is mesmerizing. The twists and turns at regular intervals of the film will keep the guessing game on and the film ends with a good climax.

Yes The Talented Mr Ripley is slow at times, but to me it is always absorbing and very rarely boring. The scenery is simply dazzling and really quite exotic, and the costumes and cinematography are gorgeous too. The music is superb, as is Anthony Minghella's direction. The story is very compelling with a number of interesting and well-handled scenes, while the script is both intelligent and thoughtful. The acting is excellent, Matt Damon does wonderfully in a difficult and perhaps controversial role, and Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Phillip Seymour Hoffmann are equally terrific. Overall, quite an excellent film. 8/10 Bethany Cox