Ripley's Game (2002)

A dying family man in need of money is persuaded to assassinate a European crime boss.

Director:

Liliana Cavani

Writers:

Charles McKeown, Liliana Cavani

Stars:

John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, Lena Headey

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Winstone	...	Reeves
John Malkovich	...	Tom Ripley
Uwe Mansshardt	...	Terry
Hanns Zischler	...	Art Dealer
Paolo Paoloni	...	Franco
Maurizio Lucà	...	Franco's Assistant
Dougray Scott	...	Jonathan Trevanny
Evelina Meghnagi	...	Maria
Chiara Caselli	...	Luisa Harari
Lena Headey	...	Sarah Trevanny
Sam Blitz	...	Matthew Trevanny
Emidio La Vella	...	Shoe Shop Owner (as Emidio Lavella)
Lutz Winde	...	Ernst
Nikolaus Dutsch	...	Dr. Wentzel (as Nikolaus Deutsch)
Wilfried Zander	...	Belinsky

Storyline

Tom Ripley - cool, urbane, wealthy, and murderous - lives in a villa in the Veneto with Luisa, his harpsichord-playing girlfriend. A former business associate from Berlin's underworld pays a call asking Ripley's help in killing a rival. Ripley - ever a student of human nature - initiates a game to turn a mild and innocent local picture framer into a hit man. The artisan, Jonathan Trevanny, who's dying of cancer, has a wife, young son, and little to leave them. If Ripley draws Jonathan into the game, can Ripley maintain control? Does it stop at one killing? What if Ripley develops a conscience? Luisa prepares for her concert.

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Plot Keywords:

villa | villain played by lead actor | art forgery | based on novel | character name in title | 

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Taglines:

The talented Mr Ripley is back. Older. Wiser. More dangerous

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language, some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Fine Line Features [United States]

Country:

UK Italy USA

Language:

English German Italian

Release Date:

7 February 2003 (Italy)

Also Known As:

El amigo americano

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€210,408 (Italy), 9 February 2003, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baby Films, Cattleya, Mr. Mudd

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Financial difficulties caused shooting delays which meant director Liliana Cavani had to leave the production before filming had been completed, due to a previous commitment to direct an opera at La Scala in Milan. John Malkovich took over and completed the film, directing around a third of the footage. Consequently, this marks his unofficial debut as a director

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Goofs

When Reeves is at Ripley's house, he prepares a tray with his breakfast and walks from the kitchen into the library. In the shot before he goes through the interleading door, the only bottle on his tray is his beer. When he sits down in the library he suddenly has a bottle of HP sauce on his tray as well.

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Quotes

Jonathan Trevanny: One of them's still alive.
Tom Ripley: How do you know?
Jonathan Trevanny: Well, I heard it on the world news.
Tom Ripley: Jesus. I always figured you for a talk radio man. Okay, well, I guess I didn't strangle him long enough. It's not like a garrote comes with a manual.
Jonathan Trevanny: Ah, one of them got a very, very good look at me.
Tom Ripley: Jonathan, that's the first rule of the game. Don't ever worry about anything you can't control, ever. Anyway, I don't think they can trace us here and if they get close, I'll let you know.
Jonathan Trevanny: What about my family? I'm just...
[...]

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Connections

Follows The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

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Soundtracks

Animal Cannabus
Composed by Colin MacIntyre
(c) Warner/Chappell Music Ltd.
By kind permission of Warner/Chappell Music Ltd.
Performed by Mull Historical Society
Courtesy of Warner Strategic Marketing UK

User Reviews

A Solid Crime Movie, Thanks To Three Leads

This was good; a solid crime story. It's the "Tom Ripley" of "The Talented Mr. Ripley," but now older and being played by John Malkovich instead of Matt Damon. He's also, at least to me, a totally different character so this story stands on its own. There's no tie-in to that previous film

Malkovich plays his normal role, playing the kind of character he's good at playing: the smart, sarcastic and sadistic villain with the interesting vocabulary. In this story, he blends in with the locals as somewhat of a nondescript guy but inside he's a man with no conscience who is a killer. Late in the film, he admits and brags about having no conscience.

The plot in this movie revolves around Ripley having someone else do some of the latest killings for him, an "average Joe" that no one would suspect. That role is played by Dougray Scott, a young Englishman with a wife and young son, but a man who is dying of leukemia and could use a little extra money for his family when he's gone. That seems to be the lure when the evil Ripley and his partner give him the murder sales pitch. It takes some convincing, but "Jonathan Trevanny" eventually gives in to some persuasion, shall we say. Scott's reaction after the killing is very interesting...and he gets another assignment.

Ripley's partner "Reeves" also is an intriguing guy, played by Ray Winstone who also often portrays this type of character: a vicious, profane thug. If you saw "Sexy Beast," you'll know the type of guy Winstone plays here

Anyway,without giving the story away, suffice to say this wound up a pleasant surprise: great dialog, good photography and acting, some dark humor along with good suspense and just the right amount of action and lulls. It is heavy on the profanity, so beware of that.

This is a film one doesn't hear much about and is recommended for those who enjoy modern-day, tough crime films.