“A
clever and manipulative Manhattan
hotel worker experiences the other
side
of life when he’s paid to go to Italy
and persuade a wealthy man’s
son to
return to America — but it is a trip that is
to lead to a horrifying series of events
in the psychological thriller The Talented
Mr Ripley...”
IN LATE FIFTIES NEW YORK, Tom Ripley (the terrific Matt Damon) is working
as a rest-room attendant in an up-market Manhattan hotel when is given an opportunity
to play the piano at a Princeton alumni party where he is approached by the
wealthy Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) and his wife Emily in the mistaken
belief that he was at Princeton with their son.
Greenleaf pays Ripley $1,000 dollars (a princely sum in the 1950s!) to go to
Italy, just South of Naples, to persuade their rich, spoiled playboy son Dickie
(Jude Law) to return to America, travelling first class and using the Greenleaf
name to open doors.
On arrival in Italy, he briefly meets the lovely textile heiress Meredith Logue
(Cate Blanchett) and cheekily introduces himself as Dickie Greenleaf —
a deception he is also to use to his advantage much later.
Ripley teaches himself Italian and tracks down Dickie and his fiancée Marge
Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), convincing them he was at Princeton with Dickie.
He tells them he is a piano player with a shared love of Jazz (also Dickie's
favourite) and a fiancée named Frances; moves in with them, and quickly becomes
firm friends with them both. When Ripley — who has a gift for mimicking
voices — tells Dickie what he is really doing in Italy, Dickie says wild
horses wouldn't drag him back to America.
Becoming more involved with Dickie and Marge's lives, Ripley realises that Dickie
has been unfaithful to Marge. They are joined by Dickie's brash friend Freddie
Miles (Philip Seymour Hoffman), whose constant jibes are a source of irritation
to Ripley, whose growing sexual obsession with Dickie is becoming apparent as
Dickie begins to tire of his company.
Dickie is overcome with remorse when a young Italian woman, Silvana (Stafania
Rocca), whom he has been seeing, becomes pregnant and drowns herself after Dickie
refuses to help her.
Tension mounts as Ripley makes homosexual advances to Dickie, who rebuffs and
ridicules him, and they begin to fight while out sailing together. Ripley accidentally
kills Dickie in anger and goes to extreme lengths to make it appear that his
friend is still alive but has abandoned Marge.
Enjoying his wealthy lifestyle, Ripley assumes Dickie's identity — but
his deception leads him once again to the attention of Freddie and a switch
of location from Rome to Venice. As he rouses the suspicions of those around
him, Ripley finds himself pushed into a corner, but there is a further twist
as he tries to avoid discovery.
Ripley's life has spiralled out of control, but will he be forced to commit
more murders in order to keep one step ahead of the law? The Talented Mr
Ripley is a memorable film driven by a terrific cast against a backdrop
of beautiful, historic Italy.
Written for the screen and Directed by Anthony Minghella, The Talented Mr
Ripley is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name,
published in 1955, and was previously filmed as Plein Soleil in 1960.
The Talented Mr Ripley also features: Jack Davenport as Peter Smith-Kingsley;
Sergio Rubini as Inspector Roverini; Philip Baker Hall as Alvin MacCarron; Celia
Weston as Aunt Joan; Lisa Eichhorn as Emily Greenleaf; and Gretchen Egolf as
Fran.
Director of Photography is John Seale ACS, ASC; Exec Producer is Sydney Pollack;
Produced by William Horberg and Tom Sternberg; and Screenplay by Anthony Minghella,
who also directed the film.
• The American psychological thriller The
Talented Mr Ripley is released on Blu-ray on 19 September 2011. Certificate:
15 | Running Time 138 Minutes | Catalogue No: MIROPTD2280 | RRP: £24.99.
Extras: Audio commentary with Director Anthony Minghella | Teaser Trailer |
Full length Trailer | Cast and Crew interviews | Inside The Talented Mr Ripley
| Making of the Soundtrack.
"The Talented Mr Ripley is a memorable film driven by a terrific cast
against a backdrop of beautiful, historic Italy" —
Maggie Woods, MotorBar
“A
clever and manipulative Manhattan