Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
HAVING IT ALL, October 25, 2004
When picking out films to see, I usually gravitate toward the "small" independent type of film usually avoiding the larger "major" productions. Thus, I avoided "the Talented Mr. Ripley" up until recently. My mistake! "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is outstanding and has, to me, everything a movie should have to make it the "complete film experience"-great script and direction, great acting, wonderful sound tract and beautiful cinematography. This film has it all!
The acting, by all of the actors, is superb. Matt Damon, as Tom Ripley is outstanding. He portrays a very complicated character believably. At no time are you aware that he is acting. This character does things that are, indeed, despicable; however, due to the acting skills of Damon, I actually liked the guy and felt deep sympathy and empathy for him and for his desire to be someone else
(I think we all have been there-at least I have-fortunately all of us don't do what Tom Ripley does, in the film, to achieve our wishes). To me the last scene of the film is fantastic and heart breaking due to Matt Damon giving a gut wrenching performance--the character Tom has finally found someone to love, and has found someone that accepts him as himself but due to past deeds and the need to keep his past hidden, he has to kill the person that could have brought him love and happiness. As usual, Jude Law, as the playboy and errant son Dickie, is awesome. He plays a cad but due to his acting skills you, like this cad. Gwenyth Platrow gives a "knock-em dead" performance, as Dickie's girlfriend starting out as a plastic rich "air-head" and ending up as the only one that really knows what has happened to Dickie when he has disappeared and becoming a completely different person because of that knowledge. Her knock down drag out with the character Tom is great. Cate Blanchett plays a socialite- debutante-type wonderfully. The acting alone would have made "The Talented Mr. Ripley" a great film; however, there is more!
The film has one of the best sound tracts that I've ever heard. The sound tract makes use of Renaissance Church music, so-called "Classical music" "cool" jazz and one of my favorites I (if not my favorite) pop standards-"My Funny Valentine" sung wonderfully by Matt Damon. The sound tract is gorgeous! What impressed me the most is that Matt Damon and Jude Law took the time to learn to really play the instruments that they were suppose to be playing in the film-Damon, the piano and Law the saxophone. One of my favorite scenes is in the smoked filled American-jazz nightclub--fabulous.
The recreation of 1950-era Italy is great and it is shot beautifully.
If you want to have an enjoyable film experience, buy this film
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98 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SLEEK SUSPENSE, June 18, 2000
Minghella's sleek, gorgeous movie version of Patricia Highsmith's classic novel of suspense is near-perfect. The story, set in and around stunning Italian coastal hot spots, circa the 50s, remains fresh and infinitely compelling; the main character, Tom Ripley, is that fascinating mix of vulnerability and psychotic killer, much like Norman Bates in Psycho. Matt Damon does his best with this role; casting him I think was the film's one half misstep -- Damon exudes such a glamour and self-possession that it is difficult to wholly buy his insecurity, though adding more than a hint of homosexuality does much to make him more believable. The other performances, however, are riveting. Philip Seymour Hoffman is perfection as a smart, slick, obnoxious friend of Dickie's; Cate Blanchett, an added character, is engrossing, funny and heartbreaking, too; Gwenyth Paltrow, often overlooked in the reviews for this film, is spectacular in each and every scene, conveying the privilege of her class and also her near-desperate need for Dickie's love. But Jude Law emerges as a superstar in the movie -- he has the matinee-idol look of 50s stars, and does an amazing job of creating Dickie Greenleaf, that kind of shiny, sexy person, someone who has it all, with a cavalier indifference to those who love him most. The musical score is evocative and moving. The opening credits, an artistic risk, set up, with glossy, hynotic camera work, a film that will often leave you breathless. A thinking man's thriller, one that is not easy to forget.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Visually impressive display of a psychological breakdown, February 2, 2000
From the surreal opening to its unnerving final scene,this film has a very mental impact on the viewer who can stand to sit and watch. Matt Damon portrays Tom Ripley, a young American in 1950's New York sent to Italy to retrieve the son of a wealthy millionaire. Ripley is offered $1000 to carry out this duty. But upon his arrival he not only sees the son, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) and his fiance (Gwyneth Paltrow) sunbathing on the beach, but also the luxurious lifestyle he is living thanks to his father's allowance. This sets off a wave of desire in Tom and he begins to make his way into both Dickie and Marge, his fiance's, lives. But before he even meets Dickie he is already impersonating him once he is mistaken for Dickie by Meredith (Cate Blanchett), who has background knowledge of the Greenleaf family. Tom begins to lust after Dickie, Marge, and his lifestyle, resulting in a tragic fate for Dickie in one of the film's most violently brutal scenes. After this comes the wonder of how he's going to pull off being both Tom Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf at the same time. He writes letters to himself and leaves himself messages all over Europe. At one point Marge and Meredith meet and neither one suspects what Tom is really up to in being two people, particularly at an opera one night. However another murder occurs, and Tom finds himself unable to carry on Dickie's life until yet another startling revelation surfaces. It's amazing to see just what Tom will do to live the life he was never meant to live. What makes this so hard to comprehend is the complexity of the plot and characters. Damon must portray not one but two people at the same time, whereas the other characters have no idea of what is really going on. John Seale's ravishing photography captures the beautiful essence and splendor of late 1950's Italy, enough to make it the next spot on anyone's vacation list. The music score conveys the inner confusion and lost focus of Tom's mind with pounding effect and tone. However the script is weak here and there and it is so easy to forget some scenes that are not emphasized enough and may leave some wondering. Jude Law never looked more attractive or desirable. Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett, both of whom were Oscar-nominees for Best Actress (1998-Paltrow won) are an added bonus to the film. It is a very complex yet compelling story that requires strict attention and understanding. Tom's homosexuality is clearly implied and deeply hinted at when he's with Dickie. This picture is another grand achievement from the creators of "The English Patient" and is worth all the wonder and speculation.
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