THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999). Anthony Minghella's masterpiece, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's creepy favorite, is fashioned the old, classical way. Tom Ripley (Matt Damon, in Princeton sportscoat and horn-rims) shows up in Italy after accepting $1000 from shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) to bring back Herbert's prodigal son, Dickie (Jude Law), who's fled his legacy to be a jazz musician. Tom introduces himself to Dickie and Dickie's "fiancée," Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow), as an old Princeton classmate, but in truth he's a blank page who borrows Dickie's clothes and absorbs his mannerisms. That abyss of selfhood and the need to fill it with identity is what drives Ripley, despite its canny guises of homoeroticism and homicide. In every aspect of this rendition of Highsmith's most disturbing novel, from Gabriel Yared's icily complex and insinuating score to the wry tragedy of Cate Blanchett and Jack Davenport in throwaway roles, Mr. Ripley is the consummation of many talents into one triumphant, subversive illusion.

Now Playing at:

Click for a full review.

Now playing at:

Patriot Cinemas