And yet, it's not enough just to say that Ripley is a fabulous, disturbing, haunting movie that you should all go see. I'd been frantic to see this movie ever since I heard they were making it; I loved the book (by Patricia Highsmith) and the 1960 French movie version of it, Plein Soleil (oddly translated as Purple Noon), with an impossibly beautiful Alain Delon. And now comes a version written and directed by Anthony Minghella, starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Cate Blanchett? (We're just going to ignore for the moment that Gwyneth Paltrow is also in it.) If I could get this excited about every movie that comes out, I'd never need sex again.
Speaking of sex, you get to see both Jude Law's and Matt Damon's asses, and both of them are yummy. In fact, Matt Damon looks yummy all over -- there's this scene where he gets out of the bath and his towel falls off... oooooh, I need a glass of ice water just thinking about it.
Okay, I'm all right now. Actually, Damon gives a performance even more stunning and awesome than his pecs. It seems like I've seen so many stellar performances this year from major stars who inhabit their characters instead of just acting them: Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe come to mind. Well, here's another one: Damon is uncanny as the complex, fascinating Tom Ripley. He's absolutely perfect for this role, and he does it absolutely perfectly. Ripley is by far the most developed character, but I really liked Cate Blanchett in her too-small role, and even Paltrow was pretty good, though I couldn't help thinking as I watched her cry that she was probably just recreating her Oscar speech.
This is a dark, unsettling movie, one that's going to stay with me for a while. Ripley is such a frightening character because he's just a few steps beyond us... well, beyond me, anyway. He does horrible things, but they stem from his pathological desire to be liked, to belong. I think we've all had that feeling at one time or another, some of us more than others. You can't help but root for Ripley to get away with it, however appalling his acts are, because part of him is so tremendously sad and sympathetic. He's just missing the circuit-breaker that stops the rest of us from going over the edge. And it's all right there in Damon's face, every nuance of emotion. (Premiere Magazine, by the way, has an excellent article about the movie and Damon, which you should read AFTER you see the movie.) The film takes its time unspooling, but stick with it, and you'll be richly rewarded.
I'm a little too tired to go into the audience rant tonight, though god knows there's enough material. There was the guy behind me in line who told his girlfriend the entire plot; he's lucky I already knew it, or I would have gotten medieval on his ass. There were the two girls sitting on the floor behind us who didn't once shut their mouths throughout the entire movie. There were the brainless morons in front of us who giggled during some of the most wrenching parts. Anne thinks these people follow me. The depressing thing is, I think she may be right.
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