FILM REVIEW: The Talented Mr. Ripley

First released in 1999 and starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman as not-yet-fully-formed newbies, The Talented Mr. Ripley is lots of fun to watch today. (Philip Seymour Hoffman acted rings around everyone and his performance in this film led to his being named the year's Best Supporting Actor by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, a New York City harbinger of the Academy Awards.) But then it turns psycho, with gruesome images you will not soon forget, that is if you can stand to watch them unfold. 

The story, adapted from a novel of the same name, is quite convoluted and sometimes hard to follow. I was lost even before the opening credits were over. Tom Ripley (Damon) is an impoverished young man/sociopath with aspirations of becoming rich by assuming the life of handsome playboy Dickie Greenleaf (Law), who is already rich. 

He does this over a period of several months, having initially fooled Greenleaf's shipping magnate father into thinking he had attended Princeton with his son. The father pays him to go to Italy and persuade Dickie, an avowed expatriate, to return home.

Fine. A good story with Hitchcock-type twists and turns set in beautiful rural Italy, with visually exhilarating stops in Rome and Venice. But then things go downhill: The murders! The blood and gore! The very creepy take on homosexuality before it came out of the closet. Matt Damon's silly ultra-white fake teeth! Jude Law trying too hard! Gwyneth Paltrow in any role! Plus it's really long, two hours and 20 minutes to be exact. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley kept my attention by continually confusing me, which I suppose is one way to do it. But the creepiness factor kept me up half the night, so if you see it, it's best to do so in the daytime.