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"Mr. Ripley Goes To
Hollywood" |
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Directed by Anthony
Minghella - Written by
Patricia Highsmith,
Anthony Minghella
Starring Matt Damon,
Jude Law, Gwyneth
Paltrow, Philip Seymour
Hoffman
Distributed by Paramount -
1999 - 139mins - Rated R |
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How far would you go to become someone else? |
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Beautifully shot, wonderfully acted but unsatisfyingly flat, "The
Talented Mr. Ripley" is like a once fine champagne that was left on
the kitchen counter for too long in hot weather. Nice to look at, but
rather tasteless.
Matt Damon stars as the man of the title, a quirky young guy who
befriends an eccentric millionaire (Jude Law, in a wonderful Oscar
nominated performance). Jealousy and anger (and perhaps some
homosexual undertones) lead to murder and secrecy. Gwyneth Paltrow
also appears in a mediocre performance, and Philip Seymour Hoffman
does wonders with a thankless role.
Director Anthony Minghella (an Oscar winner for "The English Patient")
lets the film run on for too long. He lets it get too repetitive. He
lets it end with an unsatisfying fizzle. This was a thoroughly
disappointing film for me.
I'm not saying it is all bad. I enjoyed the acting and quite a few
scenes (most of them involving Law), but that doesn't mean this isn't
tedious and often boring.
All of the right actors and talent, but not used to the fullest effect |
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© Written by Jacob Hall -
Email
Me! |
TC Candler's Comment
All the elements seem in place for a magnificent
film, but the characters are all very hard to
care about. I really didn't sympathize with any
of the leads, nor did I like them, nor did I
feel like I really knew any of them. Director
Anthony Minghella has a deft and delicate touch
in all of his films, but "Ripley" is a
disappointment because of the writing rather
than the direction. The ending was also an
enormous and anticlimactic disappointment
Richard Propes' Comment
How much
do I not enjoy this film? So much that I even
consider it one of Hoffman's weaker films...now,
that's a lot!
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