The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

When you put Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchette and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman together, you get a superb film. The fact that it's set in beautiful Italy only adds to how good this movie about deception, love, greed and jealously really is. 10/10

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) really is one of the best crime thrillers I've ever seen. The film is set in late 1950's, it centers around Tom Ripley, a man who gets hired by Jude Law's father to go to Italy and persuade him to come back to America. When he does and gets to know him and his fiancé (Gwenyth Paltrow), things take a different turn.... The plot to this movie is very layered, and that is one of the many things that makes it great. One thing is for sure, if you like crime thrillers then you are sure to love this one. The acting is another great part about this movie. Almost all the actors were coming off of big hits when this movie came out, and every cast members great acting abilities are showcased. Matt Damon is absolutely fabulous here, it's probably the best performance I've seen him give in his career. And Paltrow's performance is very good here too... I loved her dramatic scenes, I really thought she nailed it. Jude Law and Cate Blanchett are good in their roles as well, I honesty think that Damon deserved an academy award nomination more than Law did. The writing in the movie elevates everything and really pulls it all together. Overall I 100% recommend this film this film to everyone! 10/10.

Off my back the musical backgrounds to "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is really ear-friendly thanks to the great composer Gabriel Yared. The score is very reminiscent to the classic scores from the old Alfred Hitchcock films that Bernard Hermann contributed to like "Vertigo", "North By Northwest", and the always crowd-pleasing "Psycho". The opening titles has that feeling like Hitchcock as the picture slowly materializes into a stream of different colours. However, the film falls flat in trying to be a modern-day Hitchcock film, because the Master of Suspense would never consider making something so disjointed and muddled.Under the direction of Anthony Minghella who directed the riveting ghost romance "Truly Madly Deeply" and the overlong and mundane "The English Patient", which won him an Oscar in hopes to repeat himself here as well being that this film is also within the 2 hour and 30 minute range. That's five times longer than Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" with the difference being that Hitchcock's film starts slow and the intensity builds up as the film progresses. Minghella's film fizzles as it goes along and ends without any kind of logic once the credits roll.Set in the 1950's, Matt Damon stars as Tom Ripley, a low-income musician who gets mistaken for a Princeton graduate. When approached by a wealthy shipbuilder Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn), he's assigned to go to Italy to bring his son Dickie (Jude Law) back home. Dickie is enjoying the life there with his wife Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow). Ripley get adjusted to this lifestyle and does everything he can to nurture it as much as possible. Damon and Paltrow have been good in many films, but here, they seem to be streaming along with very little complexity. Jude Law seems type-cast in roles he's played before like "In the Garden of Good and Evil" and "Wilde". The real standout performances are by Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman, but they're just fillers and it saddens me to see how underused they were.I went to see the film because I was fascinated by the wonderful novel it was based on by Patricia Highsmith who also is known for her book "Strangers on a Train". The movie looks good when wrapping up around the two hour mark, but instead we're forced down out throats with a unnecessary scene by dawning Ripley's homosexual urges which before then was only pondered upon. The gay subtext was only meant to be a mystery and should never have been revealed. This is just another fine line of Hollywood clichés of gay serial killers which to this point has become homophobic and inexcusable.On the positive side of this movie, it's great to see the legendary Walter Murch in charge of the sound design and the editing. He's done plenty of collaborations of some of the biggest films in cinema including "The Godfather Trilogy", "Apocalypse Now", and "The English Patient". His specialty is cutting a scene with its sound to follow and it proves effectively in this suspenseful drama. It's probably the best thing about this movie that's worthy of a second look.The first hour of the movie was incredible and I enjoyed it very well. Still I have my doubts if its highly recommendable. It could be to some extent, however I get better satisfaction watching classic suspense films like "North By Northwest" and the original incarnation of this film Rene Clement's "Purple Noon".

Tom Ripley is a bit of a non-entity but also a bit of a chameleon who can make people think he belongs. After the wealthy Herbert Greenleaf mistakenly thinks Tom was a friend of his son Dickie he is given a job… to go to Italy and persuade Dickie to return to New York. He quickly meets Dickie and his girlfriend Marge Sherwood and befriends them. He is honest about why he is there but makes Dickie believe that they share similar interests. Soon he is staying with Dickie and Marge while still being paid by Dickie's father. Eventually Herbert Greenleaf writes to thank Tom for his work but also to let him know it is clear that he has failed in his task and will no longer be paid. At the same time Dickie starts to get tired of Tom's presence. Tom doesn't take this well and strikes Dickie; a struggle ensues and Dickie is killed. Tom manages to hide the death and carries on his life… he also starts playing the part of Dickie; a role he enjoys. Inevitably the deception is hard to maintain; Marge wants to know what happened to Dickie and when a friend of Dickie pays a visit Tom must kill again to protect his secret… a killing the police believe Dickie may have committed.This was a really enjoyably film; plenty of time is spent introducing the characters and by the time of Dickie's death Tom is the more sympathetic character so it is easy for the viewer to see it as self-defence and hope he gets away with it. Even when he kills again it isn't hard to still hope he gets away with it as this victim was a frightful snob who had always looked down on Tom and people like him… it is only when Marge starts to be emotionally harmed by Tom's actions that sympathy for him starts to wane. The cast does a fine job; Matt Damen is particularly good as Tom Ripley; a character who isn't naturally dynamic but can play the part when needed. Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow also impress as Dickie and Marge. The story isn't rushed but nor does it drag and once Dickie has died the tension gradually rises; there is always the possibility that Tom will be exposed, either by the police or somebody who knows Dickie, and each to it looks like he could be exposed there is the feeling that people around him are in danger. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to anybody wanting a good drama set in some beautiful Italian locations.