http://www.atnzone.com/moviezone/reviews/talentedripley.shtml

Dusin Putman
@N-Zone Magazine. c 1999 All reviews contained above are
copyrighted by it's individual authors and may not be
reproduced without their permission.


Anthony Minghella's last picture, "The English Patient," was lush
and visually beautiful, but its attempts at emotional catharsis
and intimately drawn characters fell flat, due to its ultimate
unevenness. Based on the first in a series of novels by Patricia
Highsmith, in which the protagonist (and antagonist) happens to
be Thomas Ripley, a sociopath, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" dilutes
Minghella's past problems to bring us one of the most challenging
and thought-provoking thrillers in recent memory. A film in which
we follow a character who just so happens to be mentally
unhinged, it also holds the ability to genuinely surprise because
we grow to, on some level, like Tom, and even at times when he
does awful things to other people, it usually seems perversely
just.

The ball gets rolling in New York City in 1958, when a man (James
Rebhorn) persuades Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), who says he is a
Princeton graduate, to travel to Europe and persuade his
rebellious son, Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), to return home with
him and leave behind his excessively luxurious lifestyle. Tom
agrees, and is soon in Italy, becoming pals with Dickie, who
starts hanging out with him and taking him to jazz clubs, even
after he discovers Tom's true purposes for the trip, and his
girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Things go well for a while,
but Tom gradually becomes more and more infatuated with Dickie,
to the point where he has the capabilities to do anything if he
can't have him.

One may read the plot synopsis and think to themselves, "been
there, done that," but they would be wrong, as I haven't even
begun to discuss the many further plot developments, all of
which come together to create a complex and absolutely
electrifying motion picture. Unlike most thrillers, which follow
a rather cliched pattern of rising tension before a "fight to
the finish" climactic battle, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" soaks
you into the story slowly, but surely, until you are completely
involved in the goings-on. The fact that the film's first hour
is rather deceptive only aids in the first violent outburst
being all the more startling, and the death at hand oddly
justified.

Matt Damon, in his first satisfying role since 1997's "Good
Will Hunting," is perfectly cast as the likable, yet
occasionally threatening Tom Ripley. Tom, a confused young man
who isn't sure where his life is going or who he should even be,
decides that impersonating others' identities might make more
sense, as he says, "I always thought it would be better to be a
fake somebody than a real nobody." Tom is obviously a conflicted
person who truthfully believes he is a nobody, and we naturally
care about his feelings, despite watching him commit crime after
crime. Damon is a boyishly good-looking actor who, here, also
believably hints at a darker side behind his winning exterior.
This is a top-notch character for Damon, and an intelligent
career move, as he really does need another movie that, like
"Good Will Hunting," shows off his refined acting skills.

Jude Law is also very good as Dickie Greenleaf, a man that can
be kind and caring, and the next minute be cold and hateful.
"There are those times when Dickie makes you feel like you are
the only person in the world besides him," Marge tells Tom.
"He's so good at it. That's why people love him so." Tom is
drawn to Dickie, even when he isn't being a very nice person,
and it is the attributes of Law that help to pull this tricky
role off. Dickie is so constantly alluring and fascinating that
one can wholeheartedly understand why Tom would be won over so
much by him.

The two central female roles are somewhat underwritten, but the
actresses that Minghella has cast are so extraordinary that
they make the characters their own. Gwyneth Paltrow, as Marge,
is somewhat limited in the confines of her role, but is
touching and sympathetic, nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett, as Meredith Logue, a beautiful
American debutante who meets Tom at the train station when they
first arrive in Italy, and keeps bumping into him, adds
wonderful flavor to her character. Blanchett may have even less
screen time than Paltrow, but in many ways, is far more
memorable. Meredith grows to care for Tom, even though she
thinks he is Dickie, based on what he told her at the train
station, and this confusion causes problems later in the
picture, especially in a scene of extreme technical beauty and
calculation, in which she meets Marge and her friend, Peter
(Jack Davenport), at a restaurant. Each one is waiting for Tom
Ripley, but Meredith believes he is Dickie, whom Marge has been
desperately trying to find since he, more or less, disappeared
from her life after taking a trip with Tom. This may sound more
complicated and difficult to understand than it actually is.
Not to worry; Minghella knows how to toy with the expectations
of his audience, and succeeds brilliantly in this respect.

Rounding out the major players are Philip Seymour Hoffman,
despicable as Dickie's snotty-nosed friend, Freddie; and Jack
Davenport, as Marge's friend, Peter, who grows a liking to Tom.
Davenport, an actor I don't believe I've ever seen before, has
extraordinary chemistry with Damon in their scenes together,
and appropriately comes off as a pure romantic as Peter.

Precise and texturally detailed in both its story and the
sumptuous cinematography of the Italian cities, beaches, and
countryside, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a somewhat old-
fashioned suspense film that Alfred Hitchcock would have been
proud of. Minghella clearly showed how good of a director he
might be in the right situation with "The English Patient,"
and with "The Talented Mr. Ripley," he has hit his full stride.
This a stunner of a thriller, both mature in its writing, also
by Minghella, and provocative in its inclinations and plot
twists, which always feel natural, rather than manipulative--
two refreshing qualities you almost never find in the same film
nowadays. A winner.