The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

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Director: Anthony Minghella

Writers: Anthony Minghella, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith

Stars: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, James Rebhorn, Sergio Rubini



Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), a talented but penniless young man, pretends to be a graduate of an elite school while playing piano at an upper-class garden party.

 


When he is asked to go to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), the playboy son of a shipping magnate, to return to America, he sees an opportunity to taste the kind of high life that he has always dreamed of.

 


In Italy, he continues his pretense in order to ingratiate himself with Dickie and his fiancee, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow).

 


He becomes infatuated with Dickie and his lifestyle; his desperation to continue this idyllic new life leads him to increasingly desperate measures, ultimately including murder and the complex juggling of identities.

 


One of the many pleasures of this excellent film is watching the evolution of Ripley's character. 



In the beginning, he is likable.

 


As his situation deteriorates, we see his horror and panic as he commits crimes he had never anticipated. 



We also see his dawning belief, powerfully dramatized at the end, that he can never go back to a time of innocence; he can only go forward, which means maintaining his deception at all costs. 



It's a tribute to Damon's performance.
























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