Ripley is sent to Italy to bring home a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy but befriends him instead. As he begins to enjoy the rich life, Ripley kills the playboy and assumes his life.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 29-DEC-2004
Media Type: DVD

“I feel like I’ve been handed a new life,” says Tom Ripley at a crucial turning point of this well-cast, stylishly crafted psychological thriller. And indeed he has, because the devious, impoverished Ripley (played with subtle depth by Matt Damon) has just traded his own identity for that of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), the playboy heir to a shipping fortune who has become Ripley’s model for a life worth living. Having been sent by Dickie’s father to retrieve the errant son from Italy, Ripley has smoothly ingratiated himself with Dickey and his lovely, unsuspecting fiancée, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). In due course, the sheer evil of Ripley’s amoral scheme will be revealed.

Superbly adapted from the acclaimed novel by Patricia Highsmith (also the basis of the acclaimed French version, Purple Noon), The Talented Mr. Ripley is writer-director Anthony Minghella’s impressive follow-up to his Oscar-winning triumph The English Patient. Re-creating late-1950s Italy in exacting detail, the film captures the sensuousness of la dolce vita while suspensefully developing the fracturing of Ripley’s mind as his crimes grow increasingly desperate. And where Hitchcock was necessarily discreet with the homosexual subtext of Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Minghella brings it out of the closet, increasing the dramatic tension and complexity of Ripley’s psychological breakdown. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Cate Blanchett are excellent in pivotal supporting roles, and the film’s final image is utterly effective: Ripley’s talents have gone too far, and this study of class distinction, obsession, and deadly desire reaches a disturbing yet richly appropriate conclusion. –Jeff Shannon

“The Talented Mr. Ripley” was released in North America on Christmas Day, 1999 and became a boxoffice smash. Starring Oscar winner Matt Damon in the title role, the movie is about a man who entangles himself into the life of a rich shipping heir, Dicky, played superbly by Jude Law. Thomas Ripley goes to beautiful Italy, on the advice and expense of Dicky’s dad, who wants Tom to bring his playboy son back to the U.S.. Once he gets there not only is Tom Ripley smitten by Dicky’s extravagent lifestyle, but he is also smitten with Dicky himself. Once Tom realizes that Dicky will not give into his (Tom’s) advances, he kills him. This is where the movie really takes off as Thomas takes over Dicky’s life. The film is about stealing not only someone’s identity, but their very own life.
The acting is flawless, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Cate Blanchett, and Gwyneth Paltrow all deliver excellent supporting acting performances. Anthony Minghella, who directed the superb “English Patient”, outdoes himself in this film. He should have received an Oscar for his directing, as not only does he bring out the best in his cast, but he brings out the best in his shooting locales. Filming on location is difficult for any director, but once you see the directorial work in “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, you will understand that filming this piece of art was no easy task. When I watch this movie it is unlike any I have viewed, as I feel like I am actually in Italy. The scenic locations are exquisite and they add to the drama of this masterpiece of the cinema.
The movie was nominated for five Oscars, sadly winning none, and the film was budgeted at forty million dollars. No expense was spared when making this work.
The DVD contains a neat commentary by Minghella, and there is a neat documentary on the making of the film with the cast. The trailer is included and the film is in widescreen.
This is definitely a five star movie!

Related Products

• The Talented Mr. Ripley
• Purple Noon
• Alfie (Special Collector’s Edition)
• Good Will Hunting (Miramax Collector’s Series)
• Ripley’s Game

Where to buy cheap prices? -The Talented Mr. Ripley $4.26



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