The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writers (WGA):

Patricia Highsmith (novel)
Anthony Minghella (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

How far would you go to become someone else.

Plot:

In late 1950's New York, Tom Ripley, a young underachiever, is sent to Europe to retrieve a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy, named Dickie Greenleaf. But when the errand fails, Ripley kills the playboy and begins to assume his life.

Plot Keywords:

Italy | 1950s | Playboy | Love | Piano

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 52 nominations

Cast

Matt Damon	...	Tom Ripley
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Marge Sherwood
Jude Law	...	Dickie Greenleaf
Cate Blanchett	...	Meredith Logue
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Freddie Miles
Jack Davenport	...	Peter Smith-Kingsley
James Rebhorn	...	Herbert Greenleaf
Sergio Rubini	...	Inspector Roverini
Philip Baker Hall	...	Alvin MacCarron
Celia Weston	...	Aunt Joan
Fiorello	...	Fausto (as Rosario Fiorello)
Stefania Rocca	...	Silvana
Ivano Marescotti	...	Colonnello Verrecchia
Anna Longhi	...	Signora Buffi
Alessandro Fabrizi	...	Sergeant Baggio

Also Known As:

The Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley (USA) (complete title)
The Strange Mr. Ripley (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M (video rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Canada:14+ (Ontario - 2006) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Czech Republic:15 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Mirage Enterprises

Trivia:

Matt Damon lost 30 pounds for his role in the movie.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Modern construction cranes on the Venice skyline.

Quotes:

Marge Sherwood: The thing with Dickie... it's like the sun shines on you, and it's glorious. And then he forgets you and it's very, very cold.
Tom Ripley: So I'm learning.
Marge Sherwood: When you have his attention, you feel like you're the only person in the world, that's why everybody loves him so much.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ripley's Basque-R-Aid (2004)

Soundtrack:

PIANO QUARTET IN E-FLAT MAJOR; Opus 16

An Odd, Intriguing And - Yes - 'Strange' Film

This is an odd film. The first hour sets up Matt Damon's character, "Tom Ripley," to do what he eventually does, kill someone and then imitate the rich kid off in Europe. However, to be fair, his murder of friend "Dickie Greenleaf" (Jude Law) is almost made to look like self-defense. It's an odd scene in this odd movie. As the story unfolds, however, "Ripley" is shown to be a sick killer, hardly some innocent man caught in some self-defense predicament.

The second half of the film deals with Damon's character trying to get away with his scheme while other people slowly start to question who he is and what he's doing. Some people trust him; some don't. A few twists make the story even more interesting. The only facet that didn't appeal to me were the overt homosexual overtones in this film which were prevalent throughout Damon's relationships with a couple of men, although nothing sexually was ever done and even though these guys also had girlfriends. Speaking of the latter, Gwyneth Paltrow is good in here as "Marge Sherwood," someone who is ahead of the pack when it comes to uncovering the truth. Cate Blanchett is good, too, as usual, but her role was much smaller and one I'm not sure was all about.

Overall, this is intriguing drama-crime story with a lot of suspense and done so without a lot of violence. All the characters in this movie grab your attention. Combine that with good European scenery and involving storyline and you have a movie worth investigating.

I read where this film also goes under the title, "The Strange Mr. Ripley."

Strange, indeed.