Review of The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) by Sara F — 06 Aug 2010

The Talented Mr. Ripely Review.

I read the novel after watching the movie, so I can compare the difference. This is an adaptation of a famous crime novel, one of the biggest mistakes of ? ?The Talented Mr. Ripely?? is its disloyalty to the original novel.

Instead of making Tom Ripely a smart but mean lair and killer, they made him a phony guy who looks very dumb, and all the crimes he committed in the movie were so rough and without careful planning.

? ?The Talented Mr. Ripely??is a 1999 movie directed by Anthony Minghella( who also directed ??Truly, Madly, Deeply ??), which was based on Patricia Highsmith`s crime novel which was published in 1955. Tom Ripely( Matt Damon )goes to Italy in order to convince a tycoon`s son, Dickie Greenleaf, to go back to the U.S, for which his tycoon father paid Ripely money.

Dickie is an outgoing person who is crazy about jazz, he lived there with his girlfriend Marge( Gwyneth Patrow). Dickie didn`t have any job,all he does is look for fun, hang out with his budies, and spending his father`s money. Tom became good friends with Dickie, but at the sametime he was planning to kill Dickie and take his place.

People who had read the novel before watching the movie might feel quite confused while they found that Tom Ripely was completely a different kind of crimer in the movie.

For example, in the novel, Tom started considering killing Diclie when they were on a train. But in the movie, they had a serious argument on a boat and they started to fight. That`s why I thought the criminal tricks were not thought through, and similar to the way Ripely killed another fellaw later.

Another thing that confuses the viewer is the movie was supposed to be a crime story, but it seems like director Minghella was trying to make a romance. In the novel, we can guess that Tom Ripely was a homosexual, but it was simply a subtext. But in the movie, Minghella put a lot of attention on Tom`s gay relationship with Dickie and another character called Peter. Minghella made ? ?The Talented Mr. Ripely?? a slow story with wasted footage, trying to imply that Tom Ripely is a homosexual. What`s the point spending more than 2 hours just to see howthe director proves the lead character is a gay?

When Dickie and Tom were on the boat, their dialogue was childish! ??I love Marge! I `m going to marry her! ??said Dickie. ??You love me, but you`re not going to marry me!? said Tom. ?? I don`t love you???? Doesn`t that sounds like dialogue in those popular teen girls TV shows? (Just imagine a teenager couple arguing and you`ll understand what I`m saying.).

One part I like is when Tom Ripely(pretending to be Dickie) goes to the opera with his girlfriend( Cate Blanchett). The opera made him think about Dickie, and the tears in Tom`s eyes showed he still has a bit of huminity.

Compared to the novel, Highsmith shows Tom Ripely`s huminity when Peter( who was one of Tom`s friends in the novel, but in the movie they had gay relationship) was consoling him, Tom told him that he missed Dickie( he was telling the truth0,and he felt ashamed inside because he once thought the thing that happended to Dickie might also happen to Peter. Highsmith made this part and touched my heart, as did the opera part in the movie.

Although the screen writing had a lot of problems, the photography was incredible, and most acting skills were good, especially Jude Law. When watching ? ?The Talented Mr. Ripely??, I really enjoyed the beautiful scenes of Italy and the costuming.

Jude Law was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the role of Dickie. Jude Law played Dickie with his vivid intonation and provable facial expression, as he did in?? Cattaga??, ??Sleuth?, and other films he played in.

If you were interested in photographing, or you are a Jude Law fan,and you don`t mind if the storyline is credible,you might enjoy ? ?The Talented Mr. Ripely??. But if you are a die-hard crime movie lover, this film may disappoint you.