The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

In late 1950s New York, Tom Ripley, a young underachiever, is sent to Italy to retrieve a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy, named Dickie Greenleaf. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writers:

Patricia Highsmith (novel), Anthony Minghella (screenplay)

Stars:

Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 52 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Tom Ripley
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Marge Sherwood
Jude Law	...	Dickie Greenleaf
Cate Blanchett	...	Meredith Logue
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Freddie Miles
Jack Davenport	...	Peter Smith-Kingsley
James Rebhorn	...	Herbert Greenleaf
Sergio Rubini	...	Inspector Roverini
Philip Baker Hall	...	Alvin MacCarron
Celia Weston	...	Aunt Joan
Fiorello	...	Fausto (as Rosario Fiorello)
Stefania Rocca	...	Silvana
Ivano Marescotti	...	Colonnello Verrecchia
Anna Longhi	...	Signora Buffi
Alessandro Fabrizi	...	Sergeant Baggio

Storyline

The 1950s. Manhattan lavatory attendant, Tom Ripley, borrows a Princeton jacket to play piano at a garden party. When the wealthy father of a recent Princeton grad chats Tom up, Tom pretends to know the son and is soon offered $1,000 to go to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf to return home. In Italy, Tom attaches himself to Dickie and to Marge, Dickie's cultured fiancée, pretending to love jazz and harboring homoerotic hopes as he soaks in luxury. Besides lying, Tom's talents include impressions and forgery, so when the handsome and confident Dickie tires of Tom, dismissing him as a bore, Tom goes to extreme lengths to make Greenleaf's privileges his own.

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Plot Keywords:

italy | 1950s | playboy | piano | forgery | 

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Taglines:

How far would you go to become someone else.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

25 December 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Strange Mr. Ripley

Filming Locations:

Cafe Florian, Piazza San Marco 56-59, Venice, Veneto, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,267,833 (UK) (25 February 2000)

Gross:

$81,292,135 (USA) (21 April 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax International, Paramount Pictures, Mirage Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The store Ripley visits to have his wallet embossed with Dickie's initials is the Gucci boutique on Via Condotti.

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Goofs

Tom sets his modern blue-covered U.S. passport on a desk. In the 1950s (when the film is set) American passports had green covers.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tom Ripley: If I could just go back... if I could rub everything out... starting with myself.

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Crazy Credits

The opening title uses all the adjectives of the complete title before cutting to the final "The Talented Mr. Ripley".

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Connections

Referenced in Brief Film Reviews: My DVD/Blu-Ray Collection (2010)

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Soundtracks

"NATURE BOY"
Written by Eden Ahbez
Performed by Miles Davis
Courtesy of Fantasy Inc.

User Reviews

The Talented Mr. Damon is Great in this Tense Psychological Thriller.

There are a lot of reasons to see THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. It is not your typical, run of the mill Hollywood thriller. In fact, it is refreshingly chilling and Matt Damon turns in what is by far his best acting job to date. He is able to shed the "Will Hunting" image here with a juicy role. It is a personality twisting story unlike, say, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, which was highly conventional and more of a slasher picture. I would equate it more with Ingmar Bergman's PERSONA. The audience is never totally clear as to why "Tom Ripley" wants to consume another personality which is all the more mysterious.

Anthony Minghella, director of ENGLISH PATIENT, sets the stage in late 1950's Italy, an exotic locale which adds to the suspense. As the film progresses and it becomes more apparent there is something deeply wrong with Damon, you almost begin to root for him to get away with his malicious acts. He is so effective as the quietly psychotic Ripley because his actions do not seem planned. He just kind of takes what is not his without reason.

The beauty of Rome, Venice, and Gwyneth Paltrow tends to hide the inner turmoil going on with Damon's character and Jude Law is oblivious to it most of the time. The madness builds slowly and Law, as the target of Damon's consuming desire, realizes it too late. Law has the looks and mannerisms of a 50's matinee idol which fits perfectly within the context of the film.

Some people have said THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY is like a Hitchcock film for the 90's. I would have to agree. Damon's ability to portray a fully realized, human leach is amazing at times and the fact that I actually had some sympathy for him proves it. There are scenes of utter shock and dismay, but it is the drowning build to the inevitable murder and mayhem that grabs you.

RATING: ***1/2