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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Based on the serialized
novels by Patricia Highsmith, Anthony Minghella’s
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) is a brilliantly
conceived, adroit, brooding noir-ish thriller. The
film ably captures a time capsule in post war
European decadence spawned by the influx of rich
American tourists. Matt Damon headlines as Tom
Ripley; Highsmith’s darkly cut all-American fellow
who turns out to be anything but.
At the behest of a close friend, Tom impersonates
a musician for a receital at the fashionable
penthouse of shipping magnet, Herbert Greenleaf
(James Reborn). Mistaking Tom as a Princeton
alumni Herbert asks an interesting favor; he wants
Tom to go to Italy and bring back his wayward son,
Richard (Jude Law) – better known to his friends
as ‘Dickie.’ Seems Dickie and his girlfriend,
Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow) are indulging
their every whim on Herbert’s expense account.
For the impoverished Tom, living in a basement
flat, the offer to travel on an unlimited expense
account is too good to pass on. Herbert provides
him with the means to travel and money to spend
while he’s in Europe ‘convincing’ Dickie to come
home. Quickly, however, Tom realizes that his
mission is pointless. Instead, he lies about a
prior association and becomes part of Dickie’s
intimate inner circle of friends.
But Dickie is unstable. He makes and breaks
friendships as easily as he ruins lives to suit
his own purpose. When Dickie figures out Tom’s
secret there is only one thing to do about the
struggling young man who desperately wants to fit
in…murder.
Casting is inspired: Damon is quite chilling as
the wallflower with everything to lose and much to
gain if he can keep perpetuating the lie about his
true identity. Jude Law proves a perfect
counterbalance as the brooding and unpredictable
object of Tom’s admiration and homo-erotic
affections. As Dickie’s fair-weather friend,
Freddie Miles, Philip Seymour Hoffman proves a
delightfully unscrupulous character. Cate
Blanchett briefly appears as frivolous socialite
Meredith Logue – the one woman who might be able
to figure it all out in the end.
Paramount Home Video’s DVD is quite satisfactory.
The anamorphic widescreen image exhibits rich
colors and a refined quality with fine details
realized throughout. Contrast levels have been
nicely rendered with deep solid blacks and
relatively clean whites. Occasionally,
pixelization and edge enhancement intrude. Age
related artifacts are present. The audio is 5.1
Dolby Digital and quite aggressive in its sonic
spread. Extras include a brief featurette on the
making of the film, audio commentary, two music
videos and the film’s original theatrical trailer.
Recommended. |
