'The Talented Mr. Ripley' Film Review.

 "To become what one is, one must not have the faintest idea what one is." - Friedrich Nietzsche.

‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ is a 1999 American Psychological thriller directed by Anthony Minghella. It stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf, and Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge Duval. The movie was an excellent success for Mirage Enterprises as it received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best supporting actor for Law. The film revolves around Tom's ambiguous and unstable personality, who loves to imitate people and steal the identities and lifestyles of wealthy people. Tom, the movie's protagonist, is a charming, intelligent and thoughtful pianist. The movie successfully portrays that a villain with a disrupted morality can last through multiple crimes and how villains are more colorful and attractive than heroes.

The movie is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1995 novel of the same name. Highsmith is widely known for her suspenseful, psychological thrillers. The film is successful in portraying the beautiful and dark side of homosexuality. Narcissism and sexuality are so mixed up in Ripley's mind that to exist in a society, he wants to become Dickie so that he can truly love himself. The character of Tom points out the idea of existentialism, in which Tom wants to create himself as a free individual beyond any conception of good and evil.

The movie starts off when Tom meets a wealthy businessman at a party. The wealthy businessman notices him in his school uniform and assumes that he and his son attend the same school. He offers Tom $1000 to travel to Italy and return with his playboy son. Ripley was aware that his school clothing had been borrowed, but instead of explaining himself, he accepted the offer. He landed in Italy without a hitch and quickly made a friend named Meredith. To make Meredith believe he was the son of a wealthy businessman, Tom introduced himself as Dickie.

Finally, Tom meets Dickie with his girlfriend Marge on a beach in Italy. At lunch, Tom shows Dickie his talent of imitation. In addition to imitating signatures, he can also vividly imitate other people's voices. In Dickie's fathers' voice, Tom tells him the reason behind his visit to Italy, but Dickie isn’t persuaded, and he tells Tom that he would never leave Italy.

Tom catches Dickie's attention by intentionally revealing his briefcase full of Jazz records. Dickie was fond of Jazz music and wanted to enjoy his life with Tom, and that's why he urged Tom to stay. Dickie’s kindness and his outgoing and social nature affects Ripley. Tom begins to have different feelings for Dickie, but his feelings don’t last far too long. The arrival of Dickie's good friend makes him feel inferior and out of place. Inferiority Complex leads him to develop intense personal feelings of inadequacy, weakness and insecurity. In the afternoon, on a small boat, Dickie tells Tom that he will get married soon. Tom expresses his feelings for Dickie, and in return Dickie makes fun of him and says in an disgusted tone, "It's boring! You can be quite boring." Tom loses control of himself, and they both begin fighting with each other and unexpectedly, Dickie is killed by Ripley. Tom loses the only person he loved the most.

Tom then comes to Rome to start a new life as Dickie. He uses his fantastic imitation skills to communicate with everyone in two identities. He made it seem like two different versions of a person existed at the same instance. With everything in hand, The Talented Mr. Ripley meets Peter through Marge, and Tom can easily sense a feeling of amusement and attractiveness for Peter. The movie takes a turning point when Dickie's friend Freddie suddenly visits Tom. Freddie knew Greenleaf for a long time, and with his judgemental personality, he was able to see through Ripley's lies. Cruel and disrespectful words of Freddie make Tom lose his temper, and he kills Freddie with a statue. Dealing with all the suspicion and conspiracy against him, Tom returns to his identity and goes to Venice, where he is warmly welcomed by Peter. They both talked about the beauty of life and how their sweetest of songs are the ones that tell the saddest of thoughts. Peter supports Tom in his darkest times when he had terrible nightmares about the murders he committed. Tom gets everything he ever wanted, a good life, all the wealth of Dickie through his witty techniques. Ripley and Peter set out on the journey, and while enjoying the moment, Tom sees Meredith on the ship. Tom kisses her to keep her silent and steady, but Peter sees them. Tom couldn't face his puzzled and despairing eyes. At the end of the movie, Tom finally loses to himself. He sacrifices his emotions, feelings, and desire as the consequences of his past catch up. The word punishment is very suitable for Tom, as it signifies the disfiguration he suffers because of his actions.

Throughout the movies, Tom seeks to demolish any imposed ego, whether external or internal, to become an existential hero while demonstrating authentic artistic expressions. Ripley's Gay, frequently reflected in the mirrors, signals to the audience that his motive is based on sexuality rather than on plurality and instability. The mirrors in the film clearly refer to the ecstatic moment when tom considers all the pleasure ahead of him, i.e., Dickie's money, ships, suitcases, shirts, watches, years of freedom, and years of enjoyment. The violence of murders have a significant importance in the movie. It portrays the psychology crucial to interpreting Tom's intention; without the violence, we don't have the conflicting character struggling against an internal pressure from his identity.

There are multiple close-up shots of Tom with suspenseful and dark music playing in the background to keep the audience on edge. Dark music has been used in such a way to showcase the disturbing feeling and internal conflict of the protagonist. Music elicits an emotional response in an audience, making it easier to relate to a tale on the big screen and propelling the storyline forward. We see the use of Crescendos, which is one of the most popular techniques for creating tension in the film. It is the music that gradually increases in intensity and volume until it reaches a climax.

Talking about close-up shots, they help in connecting with the audience, and close-up is one of the most potent shots used in visual storytelling and are primarily responsible for our love affair with the movies. When used on a human subject, the primary objective is to allow the audience to observe minor nuances of behavior and emotion. The shot should be structured to exclude or hide unnecessary visual aspects that may be distracting.

A medium shot image system can also be seen in this movie; it is used to present a wide field of view, showcasing the aesthetic view of Italy. It is ideal for establishing visual relationships between characters, and between characters and their surroundings.

The film is one of the most ingenious thrillers you can see. It is also sneaky as it makes us identify with Tom Ripley. Tom's deception and actions will not be discovered. He is a charming killer, and I assure you that everyone would want him to get away with it. The movie ends on a soft note while raising many questions in the audience's mind. Ripley says, "he'd rather be a fake somebody than a real nobody," 

Written By,
Ayush Pal