Review of The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) by Raven D — 25 Mar 2015

You can only endure the quaint towns,the little porcelain cups of coffee,the open court cafes and diners,the luxurious boats and hotels,the tans,tailored clothes and the beaches for so long.

Matt Damon´s Ripley is so real,as is Jude Law´s Dickie (Of course that´s his name.One of the things that make you too aware of this being a novel adaptation) ,as well as Paltrow and Hoffman.Yet it´s all so upper-class that it eventually numbs after 2+ hours of "rich-white-people-in-more-dramatic-than-usual" problems.The film would benefit from a lesser running time,or from showing a different point of view,or any kind of contrast.Ripley´s humbler background, a rougher part of town (like the jail),or anything other than beautiful trust-fund pompous playboys and princesses wining and eating and jazz-listening through Europe while followed by someone who wants to be them.

It is perfectly executed,and everything that happens feels real,no matter how frivolous.Yet that same frivolousness lessens the impact of Ripley´s tale.