The Talented Mr. Ripley [1999] [Blu-ray]

Mistaken for a Princeton graduate whilst wearing a borrowed blazer, the low born New York charmer, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), is dispatched by rich businessman Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn), to travel first class on an all-expenses-paid mission, to bring his errant young playboy son, Dickie (Jude Law), back to New York from his champagne and party filled life on the Mediterranean. However, on meeting the handsome and charismatic Dickie (and his equally attractive girlfriend), the awestruck Tom falls for his charms and an ambiguous relationship begins. Tom, the social chameleon who has talents for forgery and impersonation, feeling that he cannot enter this world as himself begins to transform his identity, by learning new skills, studying jazz, art, geography and foreign languages. He not only changes his clothes he also changes his character. Meanwhile the innocent and trusting Meredith (Cate Blanchett) who met Tom on his arrival in Europe accepts Tom as an equal because she thinks he is Dickie Greenleaf. But all is not well in the playground of the rich, for Dickie is in turns as unpleasant and rude as he is debonair and charming, and soon he and his rich friends begin to tire of the financially inferior and all too clingy Tom, who has no intention of being cast adrift, for it is his belief that "its better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody"...

The Talented Mr Ripley subtly portrays the hedonistic lifestyle of rich, young Americans in the 1950's. In the movie, Tom is less the casebook amoral psychopath of the novel and more a victim of class in his desire to be like the rich but cruel Dickie and Freddie. The film is, however, anything but simple and only about an hour in does the film become anything approaching an orthodox thriller. You are kept hooked throughout as we guess at Tom's motives..., which is at best ambiguous. We observe the mercurial Dickie toy with his affections, whilst Dickie's girlfriend Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow), aware of Dickie's weaknesses, looks on.

Although fans of the novel may be unhappy with the liberties taken with both the plot and the characters from Patricia Highsmiths novel, most people will agree that Anthony Minghella has done an excellent job in imaginatively and successfully bringing The Talented Mr Ripley to the big screen. Not only does he direct this excellent and very intelligent thriller with a sure and subtle touch but he perfectly captures the beauty of the mediteranean, as the movie moves from one spectacular venue to another; from San Remo to Naples, Rome, and Venice. It also stars a top notch and perfectly cast array of the worlds finest young actors, including Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting), Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare In Love), Jude Law (A.I.), as well as Philip Seymour Hoffman (Happiness) and Cate Blanchette (Elizabeth), all on top form. Damon's Ripley is an odd figure, his cumbersome awkwardness contrasting perfectly with Jude Law's cool and casual arrogance as Dickie Greenleaf, lolling around on his Riviera deck-chair as if the world owes him a living. And, although Matt Damon is truly outstanding, it is Jude Law's Oscar-nominated turn and Hoffman's brilliantly obnoxious performance as an ugly-rich American that come close to stealing the movie.

There are many unforgettable moments, in this beautifully crafted movie that Hitchcock would be proud of, as Tom struggles to maintain his dual identity. More dramatically satisfying than The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley is an intelligent film, carefully cast and immaculately performed. Highly recommended this for people who love suspense and prefer to watch movies that come with an IQ!!!

This is an absolutely must see film. It is haunting, and very tense. I wasn't sure that Matt Damon was the best actor for this role, but the more I've watched his performance the more I am captivated by his sociopathic portrayal of Ripley. I thought the end sequence with Peter was absolutely blood tingling - and Jack Davenport (from the BBC's This Life) adds marvellous support to a top notch cast. The extras on this DVD are incredible. Minghella's academic commentary is excellent. For example, I wasn't aware that Cate Blanchett's character wasn't in the book, so now I've got to read Patricia Highsmith's novel! And the way Minghella informs how he condensed the first 40 pages of the novel into 4 pages of script, to produce a wonderful prologue to his film, demonstrates his excellence as a screenwriter and director. The cast interviews are worth buying the DVD for alone. Overall, this is an excellent format that truly offers value for money - and Mr Ripley is one of the most haunting films I have seen for years, and can now see time and time again.

From the first reading of Highsmith's novel I felt she was a minor genius in evoking both the mind of a deeply disturbed character and the divided society of high elegance and low misery in which he moved and from which he was alienated. Was the split in his mind or the society's? Surely both. For years Holywood seemingly "bottled" out of confronting the issue as it avoided Highsmith's most masterly opus. This film was eagerly awaited. Disappointingly the whole comes to less than the sum of its parts. The locations and period values are stunning. The direction is considered. The essence of Highsmith's novel sporadically peeps through some of the acting. Yet the final article fails to convince. Damon and Law are too unsubtle and lack the chemistry to realize the homoerotic undercurrent essential to the evolution of the plot. The characters fail to fit within the lovingly evoked '50s settings. It felt weirdly as though 21st century characters were transplanted into a 1950s milieu. The "spirit" of the acting failed to coalesce with the externals. The departures from the novel merely contributed to the diffusion of the plot and the unconvincing ending. I can empathize with other reviewers who thought the film went on too long....from the point at which, I believe, it departed from the understated tension of the novel to overdramatize Ripley's anti-heroic personality. One of the strengths of the novel lay in suggesting how precisely such an understated and chameleon personality as Ripley's could literally "get away" with murder by (unconsciously or instinctively, perhaps) taking advantage of his society's readiness or need to turn a blind eye where elegant appearance conflicted with bloody reality. The overwhelming feeling at the end of this film is that this character could never have got away with it. So - good in parts, I feel; but we still await the definitive English version of Highsmith's 'magnum opus' on film.