Review of The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) by Kris M — 16 Jan 2010
This film is a guilty pleasure. We are allowed, and made, to root for a protagonist who is thoroughly deranged, a not-quite-right quality that Matt Damon pulls off excellently in this film. We are with him when he commits evils, and we feel guilty and recognize those evils as wrong; against our moral judgment, we are on his side against.
Tom Ripley doesn't desire to possess the possessions of others; he desires to be someone else -- have another's identity. Why are we on his side? Possibly because we've all had this desire at some point in some short-lived sense.
Perhaps this film lets us act vicariously on that desire that we feel on occasion but Tom Ripley feels incessantly. It lets us experience the amoral life, and, though we feel guilty for his actions, we also feel some twisted form of pleasure.
This review of The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) was written by Kris M on 16 Jan 2010.
The Talented Mr. Ripley has generally received very positive reviews.
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