Movie No. 87 (2014): THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Director: Anthony Minghella
Cast: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman

This is another one of the noteworthy films that have been recently shown on My Movie Channel. This is my second time seeing it in full. The first time was more than a decade ago.

The movie is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel. Matt Damon plays Tom Ripley, a bisexual psychopath who has unbelievable talent in  assuming another person's identity. This talents brings him to mingle with a shipping tycoon who mistakes him for a Princeton student who knows his son. The tycoon's son is living a carefree life somewhere in Italy and the tycoon contracts Tom Ripley to go to Italy, find his son, and persuade him to return home, in exchange of a large sum of money. But, while in Italy, having finally met the tycoon's son, Tom Ripley becomes attracted to the tycoon's son and his affluence and carefree dispositions. Plan changes. Tom will use his talent to steal the identity of the tycoon's son. The movie details about how far Tom Ripley can go to be someone else.

Performances of ensemble cast are outstanding. It was reported that, although the movie was released commercially in 1999, it was made before Shakespeare In Love (1998), Elizabeth (1998) and Good Will Hunting (1997). Gwyneth Paltrow won an Oscar for Best Actress for Shakespaeare in Love, Cate Blanchett snatched snatched an Oscar Best Actress nomination for Elizabeth. Matt Damon starred in critically acclaimed and commercially successful Good Will Hunting; he also co-wrote the award-winning script of the movie. This movie turned all of them (including Jude Law and Philip Seymour Hoffman) into important Hollywood stars and actors.

The movie is well-polished, even in scenes that contrast glamor and violence. It is written in a way to sustain suspense; it also attempts to get into the psyche of a cold-blooded murderer. The movie is as good as the Purple Noon, the French adaptation of the novel.

Rating: 4.0/4.0

Date seen: November 30, 2014