The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

In late 1950s New York, Tom Ripley, a young underachiever, is sent to Italy to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy. 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 10 wins & 76 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:

nudity | italy | sociopath | neo noir | saxophone | 

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Taglines:

It's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody.

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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 USA:

$12,738,237, 26 December 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$81,298,265

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$128,798,265

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Paramount Pictures, Mirage Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

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

After Tom's first meeting with Marge and Dickie on the beach, Dickie tells Marge he doesn't remember Tom from earlier, and Marge mouths the word "funny", but nothing is heard.

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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 Saturday Night Live: Jude Law/Ashlee Simpson (2004)

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Soundtracks

Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major; Opus 16, Second Movement
By Ludwig van Beethoven (as L. Beethoven)
Performed by Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax (as Emmanuel Ax)
Courtesy of Sony Classical
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

The best film of 1999, possibly the 90's.

Matt Damon turns in one of the most effective performances I've ever seen in recent memories. He trashes his golden boy image to play a psycho, so creepy it will make your skin crawl. Every person in Hollywood after seeing this film must be scared of him. Story involves Matt Damon staring as a poor working class who borrows a Yale or was it Harvard letter jacket to play the piano at a party for some rich snobs. After it is over he finds himself being asked to go to Italy to retrieve a millionaire's son (Jude Law). Upon arrival in Italy, Damon becomes so wrapped up in the rich life style, that he kills for it. Special attention must also be payed to Law for effectively stealing every single scene he is in, even though the cast includes two Oscar winners and one Oscar nominee. And then there is the beautiful cinematography, and the brilliant music score, and the terrific costumes and locations that makes us feel like we're back in Italy in the 50's. And then there is of course the brillant direction and script. What a terrific film. My favorite film of 1999 and one of my favorite films of all time. A perfect 10 for 10. Go see this film right away.