IMDb > The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
The Talented Mr. Ripley
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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   58,187 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Anthony Minghella
Writers (WGA):
Patricia Highsmith (novel)
Anthony Minghella (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Talented Mr. Ripley on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 December 1999 (USA) more
Tagline:
How far would you go to become someone else. more
Plot:
In late 1950's New York, Tom Ripley, a young underachiever, is sent to Europe to retrieve a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy, named Dickie Greenleaf. But when the errand fails, Ripley kills the playboy and begins to assume his life. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 52 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(63 articles)
Afm: Cry of the Owl Sales Art and Teaser
 (From Dread Central. 6 November 2009, 1:16 AM, PST)

Myriad Pictures Hears the Cry of the Owl
 (From MovieWeb. 5 November 2009, 4:31 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Thoughtful psychological study or perversely entertaining? Your pick more (650 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Matt Damon ... Tom Ripley

Gwyneth Paltrow ... Marge Sherwood

Jude Law ... Dickie Greenleaf

Cate Blanchett ... Meredith Logue

Philip Seymour Hoffman ... Freddie Miles

Jack Davenport ... Peter Smith-Kingsley
James Rebhorn ... Herbert Greenleaf
Sergio Rubini ... Inspector Roverini

Philip Baker Hall ... Alvin MacCarron
Celia Weston ... Aunt Joan
Fiorello ... Fausto (as Rosario Fiorello)
Stefania Rocca ... Silvana
Ivano Marescotti ... Colonnello Verrecchia
Anna Longhi ... Signora Buffi

Alessandro Fabrizi ... Sergeant Baggio
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley (USA) (complete title)
The Strange Mr. Ripley (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity.
Runtime:
139 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Italian
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital
Certification:
Australia:M (video rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Canada:14+ (Ontario - 2006) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Czech Republic:15 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Has been followed by the sequels Ripley's Game (2002) and Ripley Under Ground (2005), in which the role of Tom Ripley was played by John Malkovich and Barry Pepper, respectively. Matt Damon appeared with Malkovich in Rounders (1998) and Pepper in Saving Private Ryan (1998). Pepper and Malkovich also appeared together in Knockaround Guys (2001). more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Freddie and Dickie are talking on the boat, Freddie has a drink in his left hand, and stirs it nervously with his right. From the reverse angle, the drink is in his right hand and there is no stirring. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Tom Ripley: If I could just go back... if I could rub everything out... starting with myself.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "I'm Alan Partridge: The Talented Mr. Alan (#2.1)" (2002) more
Soundtrack:
KNEES UP, MOTHER BROWN more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
85 out of 107 people found the following comment useful.
Thoughtful psychological study or perversely entertaining? Your pick, 29 December 1999
10/10
Author: Sean Gallagher (naes@cgocable.net) from Oakville, Ont. Canada

Patricia Highsmith's original novel is about a charming, amoral man who already has all the elements in place before he does his terrible deeds, and while Rene Clement's adaptation, PURPLE NOON(1960) doesn't show us Ripley before he came to Europe, Alain Delon certainly was all amoral charm. In his adaptation, Anthony Minghella takes on a different tack, showing us Tom Ripley before he became the Talented Mr. Ripley(just as last year's ELIZABETH showed Elizabeth before she became The Virgin Queen; by coincidence, both films star Cate Blanchett). When a filmmaker tries to add psychological depth to what is generally pulp entertainment, it doesn't always work, but Minghella has pulled it off, while keeping it entertaining.

There have been some people who think Matt Damon is too colorless here. In Clement's adaptation, that might have been true, but the point here is Ripley is SUPPOSED to be a nonentity, a blank page waiting to be filled(thus lines like "I always figured it would be better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody," or when Dickie Greenleaf(Jude Law) tells Ripley that with his glasses on, he looks like Clark Kent) by someone like Dickie. Ripley may have been pretending from day one(which is how he gets to meet Dickie in the first place), but there was nothing sinister about it, just a bunch of little white lies. It's not till he gets entranced by the life in Italy, and Dickie's life in particular, and then finds himself shut from it, that things happen. And Damon is excellent at going through the transformation(and it's not just the glasses, as one comment suggested, it's the hair, the clothes, and the whole attitude).

Anthony Lane of The New Yorker, probably my favorite critic today, liked the film, but he thought it would have been better if Damon and Law had switched roles. Again, if Minghella was remaking Clement's version, sure, but not this way. If you want someone to be an object of desire, you better make sure they're desirable, and Law is quite good there, along with showing the layers underneath. Gwyneth Paltrow has the tougher role, because she has to be both smart and able to be fooled, but she pulls it off, especially in the scene when she tells Tom she really knows what he is. Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman are also good in small roles, James Rebhorn is dependable, and Philip Baker Hall makes a memorable cameo.

One more thing; there have also been complaints that the first half is too long, and the ending is weak. The first half not only sets up Ripley's slowly falling in love with Dickie's life(and even Dickie), but also sets up some plot points which pay off later, so it's necessary. And when Ripley finally becomes The Talented Mr. Ripley, it's unsettling and still delivers a perverse kick. As for the ending, without giving anything away, it's the only way it could end; he goes on, but at what cost? This is terrific moviemaking.

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Am I the only one who didn't like this film ? carliah-xo
This movie -- in one word The_Great_Pantubo
What Ripley do you like better? james-lyons-iv
Matt had Oscar stolen from him. keyser_soze_smokes
Major hole in story wel-kom
How annoying was Marge?! music_nut165
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