HAVING IT ALL
When picking out films to see, I usually gravitate toward the "small" independent type of film usually avoiding the larger "major" productions. Thus, I avoided "the Talented Mr. Ripley" up until recently. My mistake! "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is outstanding and has, to me, everything a movie should have to make it the "complete film experience"-great script and direction, great acting, wonderful sound tract and beautiful cinematography. This film has it all!
The acting, by all of the actors, is superb. Matt Damon, as Tom Ripley is outstanding. He portrays a very complicated character believably. At no time are you aware that he is acting. This character does things that are, indeed, despicable; however, due to the acting skills of Damon, I actually liked the guy and felt deep sympathy and empathy for him and for his desire to be someone else
(I think we all have been there-at least I have-fortunately all of us don't do what Tom Ripley does, in the film, to achieve...
SLEEK SUSPENSE
Minghella's sleek, gorgeous movie version of Patricia Highsmith's classic novel of suspense is near-perfect. The story, set in and around stunning Italian coastal hot spots, circa the 50s, remains fresh and infinitely compelling; the main character, Tom Ripley, is that fascinating mix of vulnerability and psychotic killer, much like Norman Bates in Psycho. Matt Damon does his best with this role; casting him I think was the film's one half misstep -- Damon exudes such a glamour and self-possession that it is difficult to wholly buy his insecurity, though adding more than a hint of homosexuality does much to make him more believable. The other performances, however, are riveting. Philip Seymour Hoffman is perfection as a smart, slick, obnoxious friend of Dickie's; Cate Blanchett, an added character, is engrossing, funny and heartbreaking, too; Gwenyth Paltrow, often overlooked in the reviews for this film, is spectacular in each and every scene, conveying the privilege of...
A bloody lullaby
Every year, certain films are released that are completely misunderstood, either by critics, or by the movie-going public and Anthony Minghella's take on the Patricia Highsmith novel "The Talented Mr Ripley" falls into this category.
It was perceived as a suspense thriller, which the trailer did nothing to dispel but it is so much more than that. It is a thought provoking character study of a man so uncomfortable with his own personality that he must try an inhabit that of another man, the unfortunate Dickie Greenleaf. However to do so means a few murders and this is where the film gets its marquee appeal. Matt Damon invests the role with such subtlety that you are taken by surprise - no longer the apple-pie boy of past films, here he is a sad character, and one which the audience feels for, despite resorting to murder. It is a standout performance which deserves far greater recognition. Jude Law confirms his status as the new star in the sky (remember Joseph...
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