Jul. 15, 2002 - 2:56 am
a.k.a. The Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley. the "full" title.
so we finish up Gwyneth Paltrow weekend with The Talented Mr. Ripley. oh, we might not hear from her for some time, but she's not forgotten. i'm thinking i might need to pull out my copy of Sliding Doors (1998) here soon.
so i finally sat down and watched my new dvd. i love this film. it's one of the most, if not the most haunting film you'll ever see. i will watch it over and over - just as is necessary with all films that receive a 10/10. i've definitely got tons of things to learn from this film. wow, i'm having tons of luck with movies this week. granted, a bunch of them are repeats, but who cares?
this is Anthony Minghella's most recent film. i think you'll remember that he directed The English Patient (1996) and is now working on Cold Mountain (2003). oh, i'm sure i'll have to buy that one too...in a year or two. but The Talented Mr. Ripley stars Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow of course, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. i know, i know. i'm amazed at that cast too. Minghella always gets all the best people to come together.
this film is difficult to explain i think. late 1950s. you have Tom Ripley who goes to Italy to look for Dickie Greenleaf, a rich man's son. his mission is to talk him into coming back to America. once he finds Dickie, he ends up becoming great friends with him and develops a somewhat latent homosexual infatuation. other than that, there's a lot of violent things that he does throughout the plot. lots of lying, to others and to himself, and he ends up impersonating Dickie Greenleaf for much of the film. wonderfully written. of course by Anthony Minghella who always does his own screenplays.
yeah, i'll have to say that this is my favorite Matt Damon film. as i've said before, i generally have mixed feelings about him, but he's perfect here. and Jude Law, nominated for an Oscar for this film, is just amazing as always. you really understand what Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow) is saying when she says "The thing with Dickie... it's like the sun shines on you, and it's glorious. And then he forgets you and it's very, very cold. When you have his attention, you feel like you're the only person in the world, that's why everybody loves him so much."
it's so weird because in Gattaca (1997) - wonderful film too - Jude Law's character is impersonated by another man. and there is also a photo of him that is very indistinct (a necessary plot element in both films).
yes, Gwyneth Paltrow also does a wonderful job in this film. she hits the nail right on the head in the many different emotions she has to portray. happy just to be with Dickie, kind to Tom who isn't quite up to speed with everyone else, scorned love, feeling that there's something not totally trustworthy about Tom, and then being the only one that knows his true nature. (a little too stream-of-consciousness? possibly.)
i keep talking about music this week. and that is definitely something that plays a big part in making a film great. this film has a wonderful score that definitely helps to define the film's atmosphere and tone as "haunting." that got an Oscar nomination too, for Gabriel Yared (who i just noticed worked with Rachel Portman on the score for Chocolat (2000)).
so yes, you must see The Talented Mr. Ripley. again and again.