THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY
The Talented Mr. Ripley is creepy and suspenseful, and well-acted,
but too long. A little judicious cutting on the part of Minghella would
have done wonders for the final product. As it is, the film meanders through
a circuitous route to arrive at a finish that defies logic.
Tom Ripley (Damon) is a restroom attendant at a fancy New York hotel
who is mistaken for a Princeton graduate by wealthy shipyard owner Herbert
Greenleaf (James Rebhorn). Thinking Tom must know his son Dickie (Jude Law),
who also went to Princeton, he pays him $1,000 to travel to Italy and persuade
the young playboy to return to the U.S. Upon arriving, Tom pretends to be
Dickie's former classmate, and soon becomes friends with the young man and
his fiancée, Marge Sherwood (Paltrow). However, Tom's propensity
for forging signatures and impersonating people soon leads to a confusing
situation in which Dickie turns up missing and Tom begins controlling his
affairs. Then a friend of Dickie's is murdered, and Marge begins to suspect
the worst: that Tom killed both men and is now masquerading as Dickie, living
off his considerable wealth.
Damon, Paltrow, and Law are all excellent; the three-way relationship
they establish is both easy and tense, at different times for different
reasons. Paltrow, especially, puts forth a performance powerful enough to
generate another possible nomination for her this year. Law, seen before
in Gattaca and Midnight
In The Garden Of Good And Evil, clearly shows he's comfortable with
much larger share of screen time than previously accorded him. Damon's work,
always reliable, is as solid as ever. Also on hand is Cate Blanchett, another
excellent young actress with an Oscar nomination already under her belt
for last year's Elizabeth. Blanchett
plays Meredith Logue, an acquaintance whose appearance threatens to unravel
Tom's intricate web of deception. Another good supporting performance is
put in by Philip Seymour Hoffman (Scent Of A Woman, Twister),
re-creating his stock role as the conceited jerk.
Minghella's direction of this film is well thought out, with many subtle symbols involving mirrors and multiple images embedded in the rich background of beautiful Italian scenery. John Seale's cinematography must also be credited for this, making the most of the beautiful setting and allowing Minghella to contrast it with the film's dark tone. Although the last scene leaves us with some credibility problems, The Talented Mr. Ripley is mostly an enjoyably taut thriller. ****