My
official UK DVD of The Talented Mr Ripley
(© Anthony Minghella/Mirage Enterprises/Timnick Films/Paramount
Pictures/Miramax International – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial
Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)
My DVD movie watch on 8 April
2022 was somewhat of a genre departure for me, as it did not feature any
monsters of the cryptozoological or prehistoric kind - however, its titular
character was a very real monster of the human kind. The movie was The Talented Mr Ripley.
Directed by Anthony Minghella,
and released in 1999 by Paramount Pictures in North America, Miramax
International everywhere else, The
Talented Mr Ripley is based upon the eponymous 1955 novel by Patricia
Highsmith (the first of five novels by her that star this chameleonic
anti-hero). Like much of her work, it is seductively sinister, which was translated
to great effect in this most famous movie version (an earlier one was the French movie Purple Noon, released in 1960 and starring Alain Delon in the lead role).
Set in the 1950s, The Talented Mr Ripley stars Matt Damon
as Tom Ripley, an impoverished New York lavatory attendant but skilled pianist. While performing at an outdoor piano recital one day, he is
mistaken by shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) for a Princeton
graduate (due to his wearing a borrowed Princeton jacket) and thus offers him a
considerable sum of money (plus all expenses) to go to Italy and bring back the
magnate's exceedingly wealthy but wayward, ex-Princeton playboy son Dickie Greenleaf
(Jude Law).
Not surprisingly, Tom readily
accepts this dream offer of a lifetime with great delight, so off he goes to
Italy forthwith. Moreover, due to his profound talents as an inveterate liar
and sycophantic, manipulative charmer, Tom swiftly inveigles his way into the
lives (and home) of Dickie and his equally high-class fiancee Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth
Paltrow), greatly enjoying the entrance into high society life that his friendship
with them brings to him. Tom even takes pains to secretly develop a working
knowledge of jazz, knowing that Dickie is a passionate jazz lover, thus
enabling Tom to bond even closer with him, as Dickie is keen to take Tom with
him to jazz performances.
Eventually, however, fickle
Dickie tires of obsequious Tom, and tells him so when just the two of them are
out at sea off San Remo on a small boat together. But Tom, hating the prospect
of his gilded life coming to an end, murders Dickie, dumps his weighted-down
body overboard, and scuttles the boat – but that is not all. From then on, Tom
masterfully assumes Dickie's identity whenever the opportunity to do so arises,
as well as skillfully forging his signature on a stream of cheques, not only to
ensure that no-one realizes that Dickie is dead but also to maintain the high
life and adoration by others that by now Tom's hedonistic, narcissistic nature
has become very accustomed to.
Unfortunately for Tom's
dastardly, Machiavellian machinations, however, whereas some of the friends
that he has made in Italy know him as Tom, others know him as Dickie (due to
his impersonating the latter after murdering him), so he spends much of the
remainder of the movie ensuring that these two groups of friends never meet up
when he is present. And how does the sociopathic Tom do this? Those who seem
likely to discover and thence publicly expose his identity deceptions are soon
disposed of...permanently, while he also strives to stay one step ahead of an
increasingly suspicious, investigative Italian police force!
This dark and creepy yet
thoroughly fascinating psychological thriller is very engrossing, and I absolutely
loved it – due in no small way, of course, to all three leads playing their
respective parts with great verve and conviction (Jude Law went on to win a BAFTA
award for his performance, and was nominated for an Oscar). In particular,
Damon and Law work together very effectively in conveying the diametrically-opposite
yet (initially) mutually-attractive natures of their characters, both outwardly
and behaviourally.
For whereas Damon's
hitherto-friendless Tom Ripley is so physically inconspicuous and bereft of any
individual personality that he spends his entire time metaphorically concealed behind
a mirror whose surface reflects whatever its onlookers wish to see of
themselves, Law's uber-popular Dickie Greenleaf is the handsome, perpetual
focus of public attention who almost literally radiates golden beams of light illuminating
the lives of all who encounter him.
Moreover, during the early
stages of their friendship, it is abundantly clear that, far from pretending to
do so, Tom does genuinely like Dickie very much – a little too much, however,
as it turns out. For Tom's feelings for Dickie become ever more obsessive, possessive,
and ultimately lethal, especially once Dickie, who initially treats Tom like a
favourite little brother, ceases to reciprocate them, and finally rejects them
altogether, thereby sealing his own fate.
Interestingly, various other
actors were considered for the role of Tom Ripley, including Leonardo DiCaprio,
Tom Cruise, and Edward Norton, whereas Law initially turned down the role of
Dickie Greenleaf. Happily, however, Damon was eventually chosen (after director
Minghella saw his superb performance in the 1997 movie Good Will Hunting), and Law changed his mind, accepting it – thus
establishing the dynamic, magnetic on-screen friends-into-foes relationship
that totally captivates the audience.
There are some excellent
supporting performances to savour here too. These are provided by the likes of
Cate Blanchett as society girl Meredith Logue (not present in the original
novel, who is spurned as a lover by Tom in Dickie guise); and Philip Seymour
Hoffman as Dickie's comparably-rich longstanding friend Freddie Miles (who not
only despises Tom on account of his socially-awkward, gauche attitude when in
affluent company, but also begins to suspect that Tom is not at all as he seems
to be…).
Last but certainly not least, The Talented Mr Ripley is augmented by
gorgeous on-location Italian scenery, as well as exquisite original music
composed by Gabriel Yared (which is supplemented by several classical excerpts
by Bach, Vivaldi, and Tchaikovsky, plus a haunting ballad sung by Sinead O'Connor
and fittingly entitled 'Lullaby For Cain' – click here
to listen to it – Cain murdering his brother in the Bible).
In the movie, Tom offers the following telling
insight into his twisted thought processes and raison d'être for his unbalanced,
amoral behaviour: "I always thought it would be better to be a fake
somebody than a real nobody". So if you'd like to view some excerpts revealing
his disturbing and deadly duplicity in action, be sure to click here and here
to watch a couple of official trailers for The Talented
Mr Ripley on Y0uTube.
Gwyneth
Paltrow as Marge Sherwood, Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf, and Matt Damon as Tom 'The
Talented Mr' Ripley (© Anthony Minghella/Mirage Enterprises/Timnick
Films/Paramount Pictures/Miramax International – reproduced here on a strictly
non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)
After watching a few nights ago the
excellent 1999 American movie The
Talented Mr Ripley, starring Matt Damon (in the title role as the murderous
master impersonator) and Jude Law (as his unsuspecting rich boy victim Dickie
Greenleaf), and based upon the 1950s novel of the same title by Patricia
Highsmith, on 12 April 2020 I watched the English dub of the much earlier
French movie version, whose original title was Plein Soleil but was retitled as Purple Noon for its English-dub release.
Directed by René Clément (who also
co-wrote its screenplay), and released by CCFC and Titanus in 1960, Purple Noon stars a young Alain Delon in
his first major film role as the titular Tom, with Marie Laforêt as a very
sultry Marge, and Maurice Ronet taking on the role of Dickie Greenleaf (but
renamed Philippe Greenleaf here, for reasons that I have yet to uncover).
The photography in Purple Noon is sumptuous, almost like some ravishing oil painting
come to life, and the entire movie while enjoyable is unequivocally arty in
style, all very mean and moody in places, with plenty of emotional pauses and
close-ups of deep meaningful eye contact. Nevertheless, I personally found it
much inferior to the American version for one very prominent, crucial reason,
which is this:
Following closely Highsmith's original
presentation of him, in the 1999 movie Damon portrays Tom Ripley as a totally
ordinary, bespectacled nondescript, the kind of nerdy guy that no-one would
look twice at, let alone remember, which is exactly how an impersonator needs
to be if he is to fool people into believing he is someone else. In stark contrast,
Delon in Purple Noon has matinee idol
good looks, not to mention an amazingly close facial resemblance to James Dean.
In short, both a total heart-throb and a film idol facsimile that, once seen,
would never be forgotten, thereby wrecking any chance of passing himself off as
someone else, and, in turn, wholly destroying the plausibility of the plot.
Also, because cinematic morality back in
those days carried much more weight than it does in these days, a surprise
twist added right at the very end of this movie by its makers ensures that its
smug, calculating serial killer has not been as clever as he'd supposed. This
movie-manufactured twist apparently annoyed Highsmith, as she saw no reason why
even a villain as heinous as her Tom could not escape the clutches of the law
on screen.
Speaking of which, there is no doubt that
Delon's Ripley is a much more sinister, less likeable character than Damon's
(who did at least show a genuine fondness for Dickie until Dickie eventually rejected
his friendship). So too, interestingly, is Ronet's Philippe/Dickie in
comparison to Law's. And Leforêt's Marge is decidedly more Mediterranean than
Paltrow's prissy counterpart!
But for me, as a longstanding James Dean
fan, Delon's incredible resemblance to that latter movie icon is an
impersonation too many – Ripley mimicking Greenleaf is one thing, but when the
mimic is also such an uncanny Dean doppelgänger, I was fully expecting at any
moment for Ripley to break down and scream out: "You're tearing me apart!" –
Rebel Without a Cause fans will understand!
All in all, Purple Noon is an interesting, visually gorgeous interpretation of
Highsmith's classic novel, but I much prefer the later Damon/Law version, as a
much closer, far more faithful screen adaptation. However, you can make your
own mind up by clicking here to watch
an official English-subtitled trailer for Purple
Noon on YouTube.
To view a complete chronological listing of all of my
Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly
accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a
complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.
An
official Blu-Ray release of Purple Noon,
giving both its French and Italian titles, and depicting Alain Delon as Tom
Ripley (© René Clément/Robert & Raymond Hakim/Paris Film/Paritalia/Titanus/CCFC
– reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for
educational/review purposes only)
