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:

Everybody should have one talent... what's yours?

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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

Tom Ripley presents Marge with a bottle of perfume from Santa Maria Novella, the same perfumer who concocted Hannibal's telltale fragrance in Hannibal (2001).

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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 Will & Grace: Advise and Resent (2000)

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Soundtracks

Stabat Mater
, 1st Movement
By Antonio Vivaldi (as A. Vivaldi)
Performed by Clifford Gurdin and the London Metropolitan Ensemble
Produced by Anthony Minghella, Gabriel Yared and Graham Walker

User Reviews

A fine ensemble performance by a winning cast

First of all, I saw this movie twice, which is a rarety in itself these days. The actors did what all actors should do in a successful motion picture, or stage play, and that is submit their own egos to the needs of the production. Matt Damon especially surprised me with his total devotion to the part of Ripley. Jude Law, once again, proved his talents as an actor by becoming Dickie Greenleaf. Paltrow and Blanchett also totally believed in whom they were playing and brought that to the screen. While I have been told that the movie is different than the book, I applaud Mingella for his tight script and seamless direction. Yet again, we are given a prime example that when violence grows out of a strong plot we, as an audience, accept it. There was not wasted motion or emotion in this film and I cannot say enough good things about it. I am surprised that the Academy so overlooked this film. Go see it.