Movie Review
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett

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January 1, 2000 -- Tom Ripley has committed that gravest of
sins against the rich: He has ceased to amuse. "You can be
quite boring," wealthy American expatriate Dickie Greenleaf
(Law) tells Ripley (Damon) dismissively, not fully aware of
how desperately besotted Ripley has become with both Dickie
and his sybaritic lifestyle in late-1950s Italy. Ripley will
not be discarded so easily. Instead he will get rid of Dickie
and attempt to become him.

The Talented Mr. Ripleyis about reinventing one's self, that
oldest of American dreams. A shimmering thriller with more on
its mind than just whether psychopathic Ripley will get away
with murder, the film is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955
novel. Director-adapter Anthony Minghella (The English Patient)
displays a finely tuned appreciation for character and style,
not to mention the influences of Hitchcock and writers F. Scott
Fitzgerald and Theodore Dreiser. Ripley's second half goes a
little limp as plot mechanics clank, but the movie is
fascinating, helped enormously by dazzling performances by both
Damon and Law and a thoughtful one by Paltrow as Dickie's
girlfriend. (R)

Bottom Line: Rippingly good

-- LEAH ROZEN

Copyright c 1999 Time Inc. New Media.