THE TALENTED MR.RIPLEY (1999)
Grade: B+
Director: Anthony Minghella
Screenplay: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, James Rebhorn, Phillip Baker Hall
He's a shy, ingratiating fellow when we first meet him. That's part of his charm. Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is an every man, a dreamer, much like many of us. And like some of us, he actually gets what he desires. And he adores it, adores it so much that he refuses to give it up. He will kill for it, and he does. The Tom Ripley Anthony Minghella (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) gives us is more of a tragic figure than a cold, calculated killer. He's like a drug addict; he's so addicted to his new life that he would do anything for it to endure.
As THE TALENTED MR.RIPLEY opens Minghella presents us with some brief snippets of Ripley's life that speak volumes about the personality that is to emerge. Ripley is a piano player, decked out in a borrowed Princeton jacket. Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) is a rich socialite with a son, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), who once upon a time attended Princeton. Now Dickie lives with his fiancée, Marge (Gwyeneth Paltrow), squandering his father's money in Italy. Greenleaf mistakenly assumes that Tom must know his son, and Tom does nothing to dissuade him from the thought. For Ripley, lying comes as easy as breathing. Greenleaf hires Tom to locate his son, and bring him home.
Once in Italy, Ripley finds Dickie and Marge on an ornate Italian Beach, approaching them with the irresistible come-on, "Don't you remember me? We went to Princeton together". Dickie doesn't, but we get the feeling that Dickie probably doesn't remember too many people. And with his seemingly virtuous charms, Ripley manages to insinuate his way into Dickie's life. He wears his clothing, spends his money, and develops a bit of a crush on him.
Minghella is walking a tightrope in these moments; Ripley is both likeable and eerie. There is something creepy about how he goes about latching on to Dickie with such ease. And he becomes creepier and less endearing as the film continues. But strangely, he's still human, and, even after he does horrible things, we never despise him the way we despise Hannibal Lector.
The early scenes with Dickie and Ripley basking in a newfound friendship amidst the harmonious euphony of 1950's Italy take on a kind of naturalistic sense of discovery. Everyone knows what it's like to meet a new friend, and gulp down their presence like a cold drink on a hot day. You can't believe you've lasted this long without them…until for some it becomes old and stale. Maybe you need a break, or maybe you're just plain tired of the friendship. In that respect, Dickie is like a fickle child, and he grows bored with Ripley, following the arrival of a snobbish American friend, Freddie (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Hoffman has a brief role, but he works wonders with it. Playing a lascivious elitist, his face never conceals the contempt he has for Tom. On the other hand, Marge is delighted (at first) with Tom's arrival. Paltrow approaches her role in a comparable manner to her performances in all those British comedies she did for MIRAMAX. She doesn't have the English accent, but a hint of its affection remains. Here, she speaks in the manner of Old School actresses like Bette Davis, with a hyperbolized, pompously "proper" inflection that seems to say look-at-how-tremendously-ladylike-I-am. Her bland courteousness appears to be a bit of a put on, like a mask of proper edict. She's a snob for sure, but doesn't seem to know it.
However, Dickie is a snob, and sure as hell knows it. But that might not be his fault, after all he does have everything; he's impossibly attractive, filthy rich, and devilishly charming. He's the kind of guy who wears his narcissism like a badge of honor. And he doesn't mince words. When he tires of Tom, he tells him.
Tom can't accept that the ride has come to an end. He somewhat inadvertently kills Dickie, (though he might have done it anyway), then assumes his identity. Ripley sets up a new life for himself and gains an air of confidence he never had. No longer pale and insecure, his complexion has darkened from the European sun, he walks upright exuding confidence, and his hair is combed with a newly symmetrical thrift. He looks as if he has finally come into his own. It's like he was born to be Dickie.
The second half of the film is constructed as series of schemes and near escapes, masterminded by Ripley in order to stay where he is, or just to avoid getting caught.
Minghella uses a great deal of restraint to tell his story; he's not interested in stylistic excess, and he doesn't need to be. It's tremendously invigorating to watch these actors slip into their respective parts. I wanted to see them perform without the added distractions an Oliver Stone-type might heap on the material.
Matt Damon as Tom Ripley is a bit of genius casting. Like Leonardo Di Caprio in WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, or Anthony Hopkins in the SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Damon hides himself in this part. He plays Ripley exceptionally (putting his boy-next-door looks to good use) as a young man yearning for something more, forced into doing sinister things to stay where he thrives. It's rare in American thrillers for the protagonist to be the villain, and it's even more rare for that protagonist to be played by a screen heartthrob with a skyrocketing career. Damon does just that and does it very well.
THE TALENTED MR.RIPLEY is old fashioned in it's presentation. At times it's downright graceful, and watching it I couldn't help but smile at the screen. This kind of film is made all too rarely. In my humble opinion, even those elegant 1940's thrillers missed the mark. They all seem so fallacious to me, like filmed stage plays where all the men are stoic lugs speaking in deep, commanding voices, and the women in elite "ladylike" tones. (Paltrow and Cate Blanchett do that as well, but I got the feeling that their characters behave in this manner because that's how they were taught to behave in the upper crust society that raised them). And of course homosexuality is the root of all evils! Ripley is less a man than a boyish schemer, and he does have homosexual tendencies, but this has less to do with gayness than his desire to possess another human being (be it Dickie or Marge).
Sometimes all a great film needs is one great character and THE TALENTED MR.RIPLEY has just that. Ripley is an engrossing blend of human qualities innate in us all, with an extra coldness. Though some of the machinations of the second half tend to get a little redundant, Ripley held my attention through it all.