|
All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
The Talented Mr. Ripley
|
  out of 4
Review by Susan Granger
4 stars out of 4
|
"I always thought it would be better to be a fake somebody than
a real nobody," says Matt Damon as the chameleon-like Tom Ripley in
Anthony Minghella's creepy, star-studded thriller adapted from
Patricia Highsmith's novel. Tom Ripley's a leech, an amoral outsider,
obsessed with the hedonistic la dolce vida of Dickie Greenleaf, a
charming rogue, brilliantly played by Jude Law, whom he's sent to
bring home from Italy: "You're the brother I never had. I'm the
brother you never had." Frustrated, Ripley not only covets Dickie's
privileged lifestyle, he wants to be Dickie, so much that his brutal
killer instincts take over. Ripley's so diabolically clever, so adept
at imitation and fabrication that he fools everyone except Dickie's
girl-friend - that's Gwyneth Paltrow, a bland Grace Kelly clone, which
is quite appropriate since the story's set in the '50s, when social
distinction and class status meant everything to this detached group
of people. Also involved in this spellbinding, sexually ambiguous,
melodramatic intrigue are Philip Seymour Hoffman, as Dickie's snotty,
suspicious friend, and Cate Blanchett, as a rebellious socialite who
believes Tom's ruse. (I'm curious: what if Blanchett had exchanged
roles with Paltrow?) After The English Patient, Anthony Minghella
does not disappoint with this visual portrait of a pathological
liar. John Seale's cinematography is stunning - from the shimmering
waters of the Mediterranean to the twisting, cobbled alleys of Italy,
particularly the eerie final shot in which a mirrored Ripley is
reflected in a subtle myriad of distorted identities. Gabriel Yared's
music, primarily period jazz, truly complements the story. On the
Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a complex,
provocative, potent 10. It's frightening yet fascinating.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
| |
|
|
Buy movie posters!
|
