Directed by: Anthony Minghella
Written by: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Rating: [4/5]
While convenient in the moment, lies continue to build upon each other creating this web continually difficult to keep together. It presents the opportunity to stumble in moments and all come tumbling down as the dominos fall, which The Talented Mr. Ripley manages to capture so well in the way it presents a fascinating character found on this picturesque adventure. One he intends to never let end.
After being mistaken for someone who went to Princeton, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) seizes the opportunity to go to Italy and befriend the alluring Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law). After spending time with Greenleaf and his girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow), Tom begins to emulate the charismatic man and wishes he could just take over his life. Something made complicated as Greenleaf begins to tire of Tom’s presence.
Set with the beautiful landscape of Italy behind them, The Talented Mr. Ripley brings us in through this ride with this engrossing story through a character who operates as a chameleon. A man who wants to take advantage he can get with others and ride that gravy train for as long as he can. Even with him serving as the protagonist, Tom operates as quite the wild card in this feature as everyone else brings a sense of normality. If anything, with the constant deception Tom displays in the feature, a suspicious feeling of us barely knowing the guy grows in prevalence, which makes this journey so fascinating and alluring as a result.
Through Tom’s journey, it answers the question of what one would do if one could assume the life of someone they admire or at least live a life they want to live. Tom certainly tries to live this out with Dickie Greenleaf in subtle and not-so-subtle ways where he begins to wear his clothes and try to copy his mannerisms raising some red flags as to what the protagonist eventually wants to do with it. This setup allows for a thought exercise of who the audience would choose to completely take over their lives because of the perks it would bring. In trying to take over Dicke’s life, Tom would receive a trust fund that would allow him to travel the world and live leisurely in a way he could never through his own volition. It makes the prospect of carrying through this plan so enticing and this feature nails this temptation so well.
While the mystery of the film plays out, sexual tension continually simmers on the surface of this feature, particularly with Tom and Dickie where the former builds something more than a platonic admiration for the latter. Something making this attempt to supplant Dickie something sexual in nature and having Jude Law look the best ever has in this feature certainly makes it even more compelling for Tom in this delectable journey. This friendship Tom has with Dickie and Marge then morphs into a love triangle of sorts getting quite messy in moments but so very easy to enjoy, especially with the cast brought together to tell this story.
The lead trio of this feature with Damon, Paltrow, and Law all do their parts in portraying these alluring characters in their own ways. Damon certainly has the toughest of the roles in trying to pass off as this kind man when he’s nothing but a snake waiting for his opportunity to pounce when the time is right. Jude Law needs to bring the necessary charisma to the role in making someone anyone, including Tom, would want to emulate and he certainly accomplishes that task. With these strong lead performances, this feature also employs one of the greatest introductions of a supporting character in film history with Freddie Miles as portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Coming in out of nowhere and somehow completely stealing the show, Hoffman’s Miles busts right into this story and adds quite a different element to how these characters interact and his disdain for Tom makes him a bit of an adversary as a result.
Quite the treat in its twisty story, The Talented Mr. Ripley delves into nothing but lies through its protagonist. The film enjoys keeping everyone in suspense as Tom finds it difficult to keep all of his lies together to create one singular thread to follow. Becoming Greenleaf serves as the easiest way to do it and he will certainly try to achieve that through any means possible. Through this feature, we get some delectable characters absolutely enjoying the beautiful Italian sun glow off of their skins as this trip shows the beautiful nature of the country. This lavishness makes it even more understandable as to why Tom would consider trying to take over the life of Dickie when he gets to live like that for the rest of his days. Quite the journey and one filled with poignancy demonstrating these lies can only be kept together for so long.
Films with Josh 
