The fairly short career of the late
Anthony Minghella may be best remembered for
The English Patient, but of his short filmography it is
The Talented Mr Ripley, a cold, unsettling thriller, that I find myself returning to most often. It is based on
Patricia Highsmiths 1955 novel, already filmed as
Plein Soleil in 1960 by
René Clément (there have been five Ripley movies altogether, all of them completely separate). Minghellas adaptation portrays him as a fairly sympathetic psychopath; he appals you with his behaviour, and yet you find yourself hoping he gets away with it. Tom Ripley played elsewhere by
Alain Denon,
Dennis Hopper,
John Malkovich and
Barry Pepper is embodied here by a pre-Bourne
Matt Damon. He isnt quite as ingenious as he in the novels, but gets by on luck and an amazing ability to ingratiate himself anywhere. He also has an almost automatic way of lying when under pressure; he is not interested in the truth, probably deceiving himself as much as anyone else. What he is interested in is how people see him, and how he can become, in one way or another, someone else. The story kicks off when the rich parents of Dickie Greenleaf (
Jude Law) see Tom at a piano recital in a borrowed jacket; noticing the insignia on the jacket, they deduce, wrongly, that Tom must know Dickie; Tom affirms this without pausing to consider its implications. Before he knows it, Dickies father (
James Rebhorn) is paying for him to travel to Italy and convince his unruly son to return home. In preparation for the trip, Ripley studies jazz records, knowing that Dickie, whom he has never met, is a jazz fanatic and looking for a way of getting close to him. When he reaches Italy, before introducing himself to Dickie he observes him through binoculars. The opening credits have barely finished, and Minghella is already telling us a lot about his Ripley. He has a way of looking at people indirectly: through mirrors, windows, binoculars even his spectacles act as a shield between him and his subject.
The central tension of the movie is an interior one: Tom cannot change his essential nature, cannot control his emotional attachments and responses, and yet he is able to convince people easily that he is someone else. He is a complete outsider, viewing society as something he can only fake his way into. Damon is perfectly cast in the role; you can never quite trust the way his upper lip curls over his teeth when he smiles. His uneasy handsomeness is diametrically opposed to Jude Laws. The first hour of the movie centres around these two characters, who are almost inversions of each other. Dickie has everything Tom wants, but the two are linked by dishonesty. Dickie is unfaithful to his girlfriend, Marge (
Gwyneth Paltrow), which Ripley hypocritically objects to. Particia Highsmith, herself bisexual, often gave homoerotic undercurrents to her characters (she also wrote
Strangers on a Train). Damon and Minghellas Ripley is pretty clearly not straight, although his sexuality remains undefined; in his superb book Nightmare Movies, Kim Newman argues that it is reductive to turn Ripley into a simple, sad gay guy who wants a friend. While I understand his criticism, it seems itself a reductive reading of the movie, which never settles for so straightforward an explanation. The film suggests a curious link between his sexuality and his desire to become someone else, but whether he is attracted to Marge or socialite Meredith (
Cate Blanchett) is left open. He spends so much time manipulating people that its not easy to tell.
The first act of the film is an engrossing dramatic contest between Tom and Dickie; Tom, who toys with everyone, doesnt respond well to the fact that Dickie is ultimately toying with him. The latter part of the movie is more Hitchcockian, which is probably the most overused adjective in film criticism but nevertheless fits in with the mounting suspense and the audiences allegiance being with the killer. The photography by
John Seale captures the romance and adventure of Toms new life, as well as his fragmented state of mind, two elements also encapsulated by
Gabriel Yareds superb soundtrack. The use of jazz is particularly effective; when Ripley sings My Funny Valentine its both a surprise that a) Damon can sing, for it is his voice, and b) he can sing while still in character. This may not be the definitive Ripley, or indeed Highsmiths Ripley (Malkovichs version is closer). But on its own terms its a compelling, fascinating portrayal of a budding sociopath trying to find his place in the world or, failing that, stealing someone elses. He can get by on imitation and flattery up to a point, but eventually those he forms relationships with start to see through him, and he must dispose of them and move on. Everyone who knows him only superficially believes everything he says, but by the end Marge looks at his forced smile and his cold eyes and can sense the vast, dark emptiness inside. FILM: 4.5 out of 5 A superb, intelligent thriller that, though it divides people, stands for me as Minghellas most engaging, important work. VIDEO: 3 out of 5 A decent, though far from stunning, transfer. There are still little scratches and imperfections here and there slightly surprising for a movie that is only 12 years old but the transfer is good enough to make it worth owning on this format, particularly for the sumptuous photography. AUDIO: 3 out of 5 Again, a fairly standard 5.1 mix that doesnt utilise the full capabilities of surround but its sharp and immersive enough. EXTRAS: 3.5 out of 5 A decent selection, but all available on the standard DVD. There is an audio commentary from Minghella, featurettes, interviews, trailers. PRESENTATION: 3 out of 5 Clear, straightforward menus; same packaging as the original DVD. OVERALL: 3.5 out of 5 As with other recent Miramax Blu-Rays, this seems to be a pretty straightforward DVD-to-Blu-Ray upgrade with little extra incentive. The sound and image are good enough to merit the purchase, as the movie is always gorgeous to look at, but there seems not to have been a great deal of effort put in.
The Talented Mr Ripley is
available on Blu-Ray now.