The Talented Mr. Ripley Review
by Lars Lindahl (sidspaced AT aol DOT com)December 26th, 1999
By Lars Lindahl
© 1999 Lars Lindahl
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999)
Directed by Anthony Minghella
Written by Anthony Minghella
Starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Jack Davenport, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Baker Hall, and James Renhorn.
Grade: **** (out of four)
The last movie I reviewed was Milos Forman's "Man on the Moon." Jim Carrey fabulously portrayed the mysterious comedian Andy Kaufman as a character who was a master at becoming anything but himself. Due to the ambuguity of Kaufman's persona, people were forced to make up for themselves who he actually was. "The Talented Mr. Ripley's" Tom Ripley is a character with the same chameleon-like ability of transforming himself into whatever he pleases. However, he does not let those he encounters decide who he is, instead he judges for himself what people should believe and know. Although Kaufman and Ripley are quite similar, the movies they star in are far from that. While "Man on the Moon" relies on the comedic talents of Carrey to entertain the audience, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a grim analysis of civilization in the 1950's which contains elements of trust and deception. When these two adjectives go together in the description of a film, it is expected that tragic chaos will erupt from the combination and strong feelings will develop for the victims and doers. The result of Anthony Minghella's masterpiece is certainly that as eruptions frequently occur during the fabulously suspenseful plot. The film throws its audience around with unique plot twists during every scene creating a thrilling unpredictable atmosphere.
The story follows the adventures of Tom Ripley (played chillingly well by Matt Damon) who finds himself on a journey to Italy where he is being paid to try to convince a young man, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law in a breakthrough performance) to return to America. Once he arrives, Ripley finds he is greatly attracted to Greenleaf's style of life. He becomes so obsessed with Greenleaf that eventually his desires take over his morality. "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a presentation of several classes from the snobby, selfish rich American to lower class Italians. Its wide range of analysis rather than just on Ripley makes it more interesting and disturbing in how social structure creates people. However, Ripley's obsession is the central point and for good reason. This villain is very unique because the majority of the public watching the movie can relate to him more than any other character. We all know that what he is doing is sick and wrong but for some reason we understand why he is doing it. Bonding with Ripley is what makes the film so frightening.
Both the script and the directing are responsible for non stop tension. The dialogue written by Minghella is so fresh and engaging that the film's 160 minute running time seems to fly right by. When one segment of the film begins to drag on too long, the film quickly shifts to a newer, fresher scene. Some very memorable lines and some clever sexual references make this one of the best scripts written this year, if not this decade. The directing also is flawless. Minghella was most likely influenced by Alfred Hitchcock, from his "Psycho"-like format for the opening credits to his very effective ability of spinning the camera to a point of near dizziness like that of "Vertigo." Minghella shows that without special effects a film can still be frightening.
Anthony Minghella utilizes the skills of each actor (most of them Academy Award winners) perfectly. Damon is superb as Ripley. Hidden behind some thick glasses, he looks harmless but once he is overtaken by desire his face completely transforms to a harsh coldness. Jude Law, who has given some decent supporting performances in films such as "eXitenZ" and "Gattaca", takes a surprisingly perfect turn as Dickie Greenleaf. As a snobby, rich kid who hates America, its hard to like him but it's even harder to hate him and to see him suffer from Ripley's wrath. His performance was accurate in creating mixed emotions for his character. Gwyneth Paltrow was also great as Greenleaf's suspicious girlfriend, Marge. Marge starts off a bit slow and underdeveloped but as the film continues Paltrow is given the chance to bloom and she does. Other supporting actors also contribute their talents such as Philip Seymour Hoffman as one of Greenleaf's friends. Hoffman is beginning to dominate Hollywood as he appears in three movies currently out in theaters and thanks to his talents gives three great performances.
The script, the direction, the acting; all are top notch in this thriller that plays with your mind by playing with the characters' minds. From the very first scene to the very last, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is perfection.
Grade: **** (out of four)
© 1999 Lars Lindahl
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