This is a brilliant movie, and I personally don't understand why some reviewers here loathed it so much. The film has great acting, deliciously dark & narcisistic characters, and a plot that at times reminded me of Hitchcock. It is a story of a great talent born out of self-hate.
As for the casts, they did a great job. Jude Law is great being an obnoxious rich boy. Cate Blanchett, while she did not have much onscreen time, she is as lovely as ever. I've always viewed Matt Damon as the more talented actor than his other "creative" counterpart, Ben Affleck. In the beginning of the story, Mr. Ripley is a social mess, always nervous around people, and hates himself. However at the end of the film, he is the epitome of moral grayness, a dangerous mix of being a sociopath and conflicting emotions. He becomes both repulsive and pathetically sad at the same time. Hoooboy, not good.
As for people hating this movie, I often hear complaints regarding the character Mr Ripley; about how bad, wacko, and crazy he is and that the movie is terrible because of him. Well I always say to these people: what is wrong with you?? It is like having an unstable element - much like the excitement of waiting for a deadly fire underneath the shimmering surface to explode - that makes Talented Mr Ripley worth watching. Another word, this movie is nothing less than a A+ grade psychological thriller. Did those who criticized this movie saw their own insecurities within Mr Ripley and in turn becomes uncomfortable to fully appreciate its finer points? Perhaps, I don't know for sure.
I loved The English Patient with its melachonly, ambient middle-eastern atmosphere, and now Anthony Minghella has taken us inside one person's dark & disturbing mind and his pathetic effort to cover his own identity ... at all costs. Highly recommended for the intelligent viewers.
As for the casts, they did a great job. Jude Law is great being an obnoxious rich boy. Cate Blanchett, while she did not have much onscreen time, she is as lovely as ever. I've always viewed Matt Damon as the more talented actor than his other "creative" counterpart, Ben Affleck. In the beginning of the story, Mr. Ripley is a social mess, always nervous around people, and hates himself. However at the end of the film, he is the epitome of moral grayness, a dangerous mix of being a sociopath and conflicting emotions. He becomes both repulsive and pathetically sad at the same time. Hoooboy, not good.
As for people hating this movie, I often hear complaints regarding the character Mr Ripley; about how bad, wacko, and crazy he is and that the movie is terrible because of him. Well I always say to these people: what is wrong with you?? It is like having an unstable element - much like the excitement of waiting for a deadly fire underneath the shimmering surface to explode - that makes Talented Mr Ripley worth watching. Another word, this movie is nothing less than a A+ grade psychological thriller. Did those who criticized this movie saw their own insecurities within Mr Ripley and in turn becomes uncomfortable to fully appreciate its finer points? Perhaps, I don't know for sure.
I loved The English Patient with its melachonly, ambient middle-eastern atmosphere, and now Anthony Minghella has taken us inside one person's dark & disturbing mind and his pathetic effort to cover his own identity ... at all costs. Highly recommended for the intelligent viewers.