TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, THE

(December 1999, U.S.)

With the closing of the twentieth century, I noticed the fall films of 1999 becoming more interesting and intriguing, with titles like AMERICAN BEAUTY, THE GREEN MILE and THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. Alfred Hitchcock surely would have been proud of the late Anthony Minghella's psychological thriller based on Patricia Highsmith original 1955 novel. Actually, he'd already adapted her novel STRANGERS ON A TRAIN into his own successful 1951 screen adaptation, so there you go.

If ever there was a human definition of the word sociopath, then perhaps the character of Tom Ripley(played by Matt Damon) is it. In 1950s New York City, Tom is struggling to make a living as a piano player. But really, even as he jokingly puts it, his true talents are "telling lies, forging signatures and impersonating people". While working at a party of rich NYC socialites, Tom is approached by wealthy shipbuilder Hereber Greenlead (played by the late James Rebhorn) who, simply because Tom has borrowed a Princeton jacket, believes that he attended Princeton with his son, Dickie Greenlead (played by Jude Law sporting a somewhat convincing American accent). Tom is recruited and paid one thousand dollars to travel to the Italian seaside town of Mongibello, Italy to persuade Dickie to return home to a more stable and responsible lifestyle. While en route, Tom strikes up a friendship with American socialite Meredith Logue (played by Cate Blanchett), pretending to actually be Dickie Greenleaf. Once arrived, Tom easily charms Dickie and his fiancée Marge (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) into accepting him into their lives. It's not long before Tom is completely sucked into the life of wealth and privilege that Dickie lives in Italy, as well as sucked into his own homosexual attraction toward Dickie. But one thousand dollars can't last forever, and it's not long before Dickie tires of Tom and his inability to pay his own way in Italy. These building tensions eventually lead to Dickie's murder at the hands of Tom aboard a rowboat in the middle of nowhere.

Bearing a good resemblance to Dickie, Tom decides to impersonate him and forges a letter to Marge, convincing her that Dickie has left her to live in Rome. He further creates the illusion that Dickie is alive and well by checking into a hotel Rome under his own name and Dickie's as well, creating an exchange of false communication between the two men. Through his continued lies and forgery, Tom becomes Dickie in the eyes of those who don't know him, while remaining Tom in the eyes of Marge and her circle of friends, including Peter Kingsley, who's developed an immediate romantic crush toward Tom. There's also the suspicious Freddie Miles (played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), who's persistent attacks on Tom and his fraudulent character inevitably get him killed by Tom. As the Italian police slowly close in on Tom as a person of interest, he's eventually able to convince the law that Dickie (remember, he's dead) was responsible for murdering Freddie. Through a forged suicide note, Tom is finally able to dispose of his Dickie persona and even manages, through sheer luck, to bequeath Dickie's trust fund by his father as a reward for Tom's loyalty to Dickie (oh, Tom IS good, isn't he!). Marge, however, is convinced of the evil and deceiving person that Tom is, but can't get anyone to listen to or believe her accusations. Finally free and clear of his horrible crimes, Ripley boards a ship to Greece with Peter, implying that they're now lovers. He's surprised, though, to run into Meredith on the ship, who still knows him as Dickie. Realizing he must now kill Peter to prevent being exposed as the impostor he is, he does so by crushing and strangling him to death. even as he's tearful and remorseful in doing so.

Now, realizing full well that I generally don't condone the making of endless films into a franchise, this is one of those rare situations where I do wish they'd continued Highsmith's RIPLEY novels in order to learn what eventually would become of Tom Ripley in the hands of Matt Damon. This first (and only) installment of the Ripley saga is an intelligent and insidious thriller that grabs our attention and takes us on a journey of who Tom Ripley really is and what he's willing to do to ultimately protect his identities and the lifestyles they've afforded him. While Matt Damon may still remind us that he looks so much like a boy, it's a man's, a diabolical man's mind continuously working the gears toward what's most important to him, and that is, as Tom puts it, "to be a fake somebody instead of a real nobody." The ensemble cast rounds things off perfectly, but it's necessary to recognize that they're job is to constantly feed off of Matt Damon and the identities he's struggling with. The talents belong to Mr. Ripley and it's their job to simply (and successfully) feed off of that talent, regardless of destination and consequences.

Even to this day, I still want to visit the various seaside villages on the Italian islands of Ischia and Procida, where THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY was filmed. Ah, the undeniable power of on-location cinema!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Freddie Miles: "I want this job of yours, Tommy. I was just saying, you live in Italy, sleep in Dickie's house, eat Dickie's food, wear his clothes, and his father picks up the tab. If you get bored, let me know, I'll do it."