I was very impressed by this film. Usually I don't like American movies much but this one is above the usual Hollywood gum and it was certainly more than I expected. It is directed by Anthony Minghella, who became famous by The English Patient. I didn't like the latter one much, there was something "oscaresque" in it and the story was too much melodramatic, both parts of it. Ripley is much stronger and much more whole.
The film tells us a story of a young man named Tom Ripley. Having seen him once playing the piano at a party wearing a jacket with a Princeton badge, a rich tycoon wants him to go to Europe to bring back his son, also a Princeton graduate. Tom immediately agrees since he dreamt to visit Europe and besides the tycoon paid him a good sum for this errand. But having come here his plans change…
He easily wins the confidence of Dickie and his girlfriend Marge. Very soon he reveals them the true aim of his mission and they continue to travel all the three, spending Tom's (i. e. the tycoon's) money. Dickie inquires about Tom's talents. It happens that Tom can falsify signatures, make lies and impersonate other people. And sure enough, all his talents came handy later. He brilliantly made an impression as Dickie's father right on spot and by this little performance completely enchanted Dickie for some time.
It was found out soon though that Dickie was not very constant in his affections. Some time after the first excitement was over Tom began to bore Dickie. And then the events become really unpredictable. Ripley is on the edge of the cliff. After tasting that delightful life of a rich heir he can't return to his usual routine in New York. One event triggers his anguish and he makes Dickie disappear.
Then Ripley gets Dickie's documents, rents a hotel room as Dickie and begins to perform both Dickie and himself. But the situation is very dangerous, Dickie's friends are searching for Dickie, Tom is always at the edge to be revealed. So when one of Dickie's friends almost discovered the masquerade Tom gets rid of him.
After that he understands that it's too dangerous to continue playing Dickie. The police inquire him as Dickie, his girlfriend Meredith knows him as Dickie and Marge suspects something too. He simulates Dickie's suicide and decides to act as Tom Ripley from now on. The police didn't find anything so Ripley can breathe freely. Meanwhile he is getting a close friend of Marge's new boyfriend Peter and they very quickly develop very warm and friendly relationships. They go together for a cruise. But then another unpredictable turn of events happens and in the last scene we see Ripley sitting alone in his cabin. It's the same scene that was in the beginning. Loneliness and despair.
The film is based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. I read the book too and I can say that Minghella did a wonderful job out of the book story. He transformed a plot a little and shifted the accents so the film even wins over the book. On the first glance the idea is quite simple: a man is trying to be significant by performing other people who seem significant to him. But in fact it's not so simple as that. The film makes you think. There are still questions. It embraces many themes and motifs and even the image of Ripley is not quite definite: in Minghella's interpretation he is compared to the characters of Dostoyevski rather than more straightforward Ripley of Highsmith.
The irony is that Ripley is really a talented man. Compared to the same Dickie who loves jazz, seduces numerous girls during the trip and changes his affections as quickly as the breeze changes its direction. And this Dickie is an object of admiration among his friends. Ripley tries to modify this style of a rich heir to his own needs as his taste and Dickie's are kind of dissimilar. It is clear that by impersonating Dickie he uses his own talents and good taste applied to Dickie's surroundings. Even his newly acquainted girlfriend Meredith is almost an exact correspondence to Marge. Yet, it is noticeable that he is not used to these surroundings, he does his best but the environment is alien. He loves it, he enjoys it greatly but it is more like of Edgar Poe's kind enjoyment of being revealed. In film it is shown masterfully.
He was a piano player but he quickly learnt all about jazz because Dickie was a jazz fan. He managed to produce an impression of a fine jazz connoisseur. He tried to do his best in the opera when he was almost caught. The episode of duel in the opera was the exact reflections of his recent actions and feelings. But when he found a friend, he jumped back into (or maybe out of) the role he had assumed. This last action of him is really unexpected.
It is an excellent film. All the actors play very well, especially Matt Damon as Ripley and Jude Law as Dickie. The epic narration helps to show all the details of the situation. And the film is very dynamic in spite of length, you watch it holding your breath. It keeps you in strain, you expect what will happen next and what happens is unexpected and becoming more and more complicated and tragic. It achieved a perfect harmony of all the elements: an interesting and quite a complicated story, an excellent casting and actors' play, peculiar music very suitable to the general atmosphere and all the episodes. It is a marvellous film, maybe it lacks some really deep philosophy (the idea is quite simple) but its representaton is great.
Back to Movie Reviews Back to Home Page
