Bill Hagen (billha@ionet.net)
Sat, 25 Dec 1999 22:08:26 -0600 (CST)
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" opened in the US today, and I'm
sure we'll have some fun with it. Missed (lost) the earlier
Ripley discussion, so I apologiize if I seem to be
repeating.
The film has high "production values," in terms of the stars,
locations, and cinematography. Excellent use of frame, color
tones (almost too deliberate), and selective focusing.
[Though the projector lens for my viewing was not quite set
right.] I thought the acting was quite competent, even to
Matt Damon's Ripley, given the script he had to work with.
Although we are not given Highsmith's Ripley, we are given a
dark, conflicted character in what will strike many viewers
as a slow moving [by current standards] crime story. About
eight people walked out after the first half hour, and I
didn't sense any particular excitement in the crowd as they
filed out afterwards. I can see why it got Golden Globe
nominations; it will probably get some Oscar nominations too.
But I'll be surprised if it ignites much response from the
general public.
As a Patricia Highsmith fan, I WISH the writer/director had
tried to match her achievement: to present a moral monster as
a likeable main character. The man without a conscience who
keeps us on edge as to what he will do or how he will get
away with it. It would've probably called for different
casting, and probably a toned down production, but it would
have been interesting to try. I suspect Highsmith's Ripley
caused great unease, since he isn't a familiar types and
lacks adequate motivation, in Hollywood psychological terms.
So the film's Ripley had to be conflicted, a person who
absolutely needs the people he latches onto, who is really
pushed into his first murder, a latent homosexual who comes
out after he discovers he is able to murder, a
wholesome-looking kid who has enough conscience to have bad
dreams and guilt pangs after his crimes. One feels sorry for
Damon's Ripley (as black fills the last frame of the film) in
a way I don't remember feeling sorry for Highsmith's Ripley
in the novel. The poor boy in the film needs to be put away
for his own good, as much as anything. I don't see him coming
back in a second film.
But perhaps it would've taken someone with the sensibility
and clout of a Hitchcock to perserve Highsmith's Ripley in a
major feature.
What do other first-time viewers have to say?
Bill Hagen
<billha@ionet.net>
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