The Talented Mr. Ripley

I bought this DVD two months ago for only $2.99. Totally worth it. I placed the disc in the tray when I awoke this morning with no expectations whatsoever; I just assumed it would be about a mysterious man played by a young Matt Damon. And yet, it was much more than that. I suppose I would have to classify it as a suspense-filled drama, if not as an outright thriller. The character of Tom Ripley was way more complex than I could have imagined, and so was his story. What starts out as a simple con job of sorts quickly turns into a dark and downward spiral for everyone involved, as obsession, lies, lust, and murder all come into play before the movie hits the one hour mark. The film itself seemed like a mixture of the light-hearted Catch Me If You Can and the much grimmer and darker Match Point, two other flicks where circumstances get out of hand for charismatic law-breaking protagonists. I wasn't looking forward to seeing Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett, two of my least favorite actresses, in the same movie together. But I must admit, each played her part adequately enough, and my respect for both of them rose a notch or two. Rounding out the cast were Jude Law and Philip Seymour Hoffman, both just as good as you would assume, and a much cheerier than expected Jack Davenport (Commodore Norrington in the Pirates of the Caribbean series). It's always nice to see a lesser known actor playing a drastically different role than you recognize him from, and the contrast between Davenport in this film and the Pirates series was no exception. A classic "Wait, that's what I know him from!?" moment occurred when I checked him out on IMDb after the movie ended. The film has a somewhat ambiguous ending - it's pretty clear what has happened, but I was, and still am, extremely curious about what happens next. Fortunately, I learned that this film was based on the first novel in a series of five by Patricia Highsmith known as "the Ripliad." Unfortunately, there are no real sequels to this specific version of the story that can tell me more about what becomes of Matt Damon's Tom Ripley; the adaptation was a one-off project. Some of the other books in the series have indeed been adapted into films of their own, the most critically acclaimed one being Ripley's Game, but all of them have different actors and directors, so no continuity is established between the films. It seems as though the only way I could learn more about Tom Ripley and his dangerous adventures in deception and identity theft would be to read the Ripliad, but we all know that I've got a pretty lengthy reading list as it stands. Oh well. I'll take the small amount of closure I was given and call it a day. And yes, The Talented Mr. Ripley is definitely a movie I'd recommend.