Rated:
R
Runtime: 2 Hours
and 19 Minutes
Reviewer:
Dale
Grade: A-
Whenever something is described as Hitchcockian, that generally means
that it takes some of Hitchcock's shots and rips them off. Most of
De Palma's films are called "Hitchcockian" for this very
reason.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley", however, is Hitchcockian just
because it is the sort of story that Hitchcock himself would likely
have been drawn to making. It is the sort of tale that Alfred thrived
on. And while "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is not quite as
good as Old Alfie would have made it be, it is still surprisingly
good.... especially after reading Jones's review of it.
Matt Damon plays Tom Ripley, a self-described "Nobody".
He is a washroom attendant at a New York hotel. He also plays a mean
piano, something he is doing at a party in a Princeton jacket he has
borrowed from a friend. Someone at the party notices the jacket and
the two of them get to talking. The man asks Ripley if he went to
school with the man's son, one Dickie Greenleaf. Tom has never been
to Princeton, of course, but in a desire to belong he says that he
has.
Soon, the old man is making an offer that nearly anyone would probably
have a hard time refusing. He asks Tom to venture to Italy, find his
son, and lure him home. Tom agrees and goes to Italy.
Enter Dickie.
Dickie is a cool guy, in Tom's eyes at any rate. He has a beautiful
girlfriend, he attends plenty of parties, he does a lot of sailing
and, in short, he has a pretty enviable life. Tom soon grows addicted
to it. Before long, Tom finds that he would do anything to keep in
Dickie's confidence and be part of his circle of friends.
Anything.
From there, Tom spins a complicated web of deceit. He poses as other
people, he forges, he does a lot of lying and he even does some killing.
I must say that Tom Ripley is one of the more disturbing sociopaths
in recent film, and that is all due to Matt Damon's expert performance.
He got raves for playing, well, a little prick who happens to be a
genius in "Good Will Hunting"
but I barely heard anything about him here. Which is too bad, because
this is the sort of performance that made a star out of Anthony Perkins
in a certain Hitchcock movie. It is subtle, nuanced, and very natural.
Matt does a good job of sinking into this role, and both drawing sympathy
and chills from us at the same time. It is disturbing, in fact, just
how on top of things Tom Ripley is. There isn't a situation that he
doesn't seem to have a way out of, even when his lies threaten to
do him in.
This movie does a superb job of conveying just how delicate a thing
a web of deceit can be.
It also illustrates that murder is like Lays Potato Chips. When you've
done one, it often becomes necessary to do another one.
There is some truly beautiful footage of Italy here. This movie is
probably going to help more than a couple people plan their vacations.
Every actor in this film does a good job, with the exception, perhaps,
of the overrated Miss Paltrow. I honestly cannot see what all the
fuss is about her. She isn't doing anything that a dozen other Hollywood
actresses aren't capable of doing. But other than her, it's uniformly
excellent on the acting front. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Baker
Hall both turn in the usual assured performances (showing why they
have been in just about every movie nominated for an Oscar this year,
between this and "Magnolia"
they seem to be carpooling to their gigs).
But, all in all, this is a very intriguing thriller which draws one
in with its surefooted performances and beautiful scenery. The atmosphere
of this movie is chilling and decadent and really sells the idea of
how Tom could want to invade this man's life. It's a fascinating film
that, although not as good as it might have been in the hands of someone
like Hitch, is still very absorbing thanks to the work of the talented
Mr. Damon.
Reviewer:
Jones
Grade: C-
There is a point in this movie where Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) says that
he always thought it "would be better to be a fake somebody than
a real nobody." After seeing this film I feel that, that is an
accurate way to describe the movie itself. It seems more content to
pretend to be some sort of grand spectacle in the realm of film than
owning up to how decidedly average it really is.
It is the story of a guy by the name of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law)
and the man (Matt Damon) who would like nothing more in the world than
to become him.
After his son has been away to Italy for an extended period of time,
Dickie's father sends Tom Ripley, a former classmate of Dickie's, to
Italy in order to convince his son to come back to the United States.
When Tom arrives in Italy, he quickly makes the acquaintance of Dickie
and his ladyfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow). He befriends the
two of them and begins modelling himself after Dickie. Once the plan
to get Dickie to go back home fails, things fall apart with Tom eventually
killing Dickie. Tom then continually flip-flops between being Tom and
being Dickie.
That's about all that is necessary to say about the plot in terms of
content. The film has a couple of key problem areas. One..... It has
nothing to say.....and....Two. It moves at a snail's pace. Wait a minute.
That may be an injustice to snails all around the world. Let's, instead,
liken it to the pace of a glacier. The film does absolutely nothing
for the first hour. If you were to feel for a pulse you would feel nothing,
as this film has no heart to speak of.
After Dickie gets done away with, the film's pace accelerates to the
level of a turtle that is high on angel dust, which (if you can't tell)
isn't too terribly fast at all. I have no problem with a slow film (I
love "Eyes Wide Shut"
for Christ's sake!), but please let's have a bit of a story to keep
me awake during the considerable downtime that is prevalent in this
film.
The only reasons I grade it as highly as a "C-" are that it
is, at times, shot beautifully and it does have it's moments of brilliance.
Problem is, these moments only seem to come around every forty-five
minutes or so. Hardly the makings of the masterpiece I was hoping/expecting
to see after all of the praise that surrounded this film at Oscar time.
If you have seen the trailer for this movie, then you have pretty much
seen the movie. The only scenes that have any real impact are in the
trailer for the most part. On a side note, I must say that Cate Blanchett
does a wonderful job in a role with limited screentime. Perhaps, if
she had been given more time, she could have made this movie a real
somebody, rather than the fake somebody that it inevitably ends up becoming
as it meanders along it's way to the two hour mark and beyond.
Unfortunately, after a promising premise, this film falls flat. In watching
this film, I felt nothing for the characters. There were times when
they looked happy, and times when they looked sad. That was nice and
all, but I just didn't find myself caring for anyone at any point during
the proceedings. Gwyneth's crying? Big surprise... Wait. Let me get
my Kleenex. Matt's being a pompous bitch? Another big surprise. Just
once I would like to see him bring life to a role that doesn't involve
arrogance coupled with a shrivelled little pansy on the inside.
Jude...... You did a good job. I still didn't care about what happened
to your character, but you did good, because I think you had the one
character that I wasn't supposed to give a shit about.
Bland, boring and presumptuous are all terms that can be applied in
describing "The Talented Mr. Ripley". This film is a lot like
a blind date. In theory, alluring and intriguing, but in reality an
utter disappointment that will not be revisited anytime soon.
This bitch just flatlined.................
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