One of the worst movies I've ever seen

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Tom Ripley is a young, pasty fellow with a knack for imitation (and accumulating skills) and little to no experience of the world outside his neck of the woods when a well-to-do older fellow approaches him about a son living it up in Italy on daddy's money who he wants to come home. Will Tom go over and persuade him to do so, for pay and expenses?Such is the setup to one of my favorite films and among Matt Damon's best, and arguably one of the best of the '90s (though it was released in the final week of that decade). Based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel of the same name, the first in a quintet, it is the most faithful adaptation of two - the other being "Purple Noon." In this version Ripley, after falling in love with the young man's life and possibly the young man (Dickie), decides to use his various abilities (one of which is an aptitude for homicide) to dispatch him and appropriate his identity. Regardless of whether he loved or was merely infatuated with Dickie one thing about the apparently scrupleless titular character is clear: Ripley does not love himself; who he is, actually is, will not do. Perhaps 'becoming' someone else allows him some temporary relief. But it also opens the door to all sorts of problems, both legal and social - ultimately necessitating more murders.Can the creepy chameleon with a preference for the finer things ever be free of the law's long reach, or himself? Is Ripley incapable of love or is he only unable to not kill those he loves? This film is a superb character study, of an atypical, multifaceted sociopath on the loose in Europe (and with the skills to pay the bills - in someone else's handwriting). Featuring a solid supporting cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, James Rebhorn, and Jude Law as a charisma-oozing priveleged type - and helmed by "The English Patient" director Anthony Minghella - "Ripley" is a thriller/drama that is a cut above. A mentally lingering minor masterpiece that revolves around a lonely rootless man who might be an empty husk that fills itself with clever tricks.

I've not read the novel but seeing this film has definitely piqued my interest in doing so. The scenery, costumes, and overall performances are quite good and helped me for the most part enjoy this film. In particular I thought Jude Law gave an effortless yet excellent performance. Matt Damon on the other hand I think was miscast and too cloddish in his performance. It is this shortcoming that is the greatest detraction to this film. It's a shame because everything else is so good, and Damon can act for sure, I just don't Ripley is the role for him.

When you put Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchette and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman together, you get a superb film. The fact that it's set in beautiful Italy only adds to how good this movie about deception, love, greed and jealously really is. 10/10

The movie by Anthony Minghella differs in quite some way from the older French movie Plein soleil, which is based on the same novel by Patricia Highsmith. Especially Tom Ripley (M. Damon) is quite a different character, more emotional and less coldly calculating his deeds but also alarmingly adaptive like a chameleon and elusive like a snake. In fact, his real character is quite intangible, as he is constantly taking over the roles which best meet the expectations of his environment to be exactly the person that people want to see in him. He is so spookily good in this, that people hardly realize that they are also being manipulated by Tom to his own favour. Not being accepted, however, is not part of the game and if it does happen, Tom is getting out of control. Not for very long though, since after the murder Tom soon regains control and he reaches top form in setting out wrong tracks. In this sense, however, he is very similar to the Tom Ripley given by Alain Delon in the older French movie. Another feature that makes the film different from its predecessor is the fact, that Tom's homoerotic affection to Dickie Greenleaf (J. Law) becomes obvious. In fact it is the rejection of this affection that greatly contributes to the murder, which makes it a far more emotional deed. The murder of Dickie's distrustful friend Freddy Miles, however, is in both movies a mere necessity in order to reveal the first murder, but it needs to be stated, that Freddy left a deeper impression on me in this version of the movie since the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman as young rich snob is really outstanding.I also liked the fact that Marge (G. Paltrow) in the newer version of the movie sees through Tom Ripley's game, although she cannot prove it, a fact, which drives her almost crazy. To me it is quite plausible that the person, that best knew the victim of a murder, can judge whether a faked suicide is in line with the person she used to know. This also means that Tom Ripley is actually unmasked in both movies, although it has to be conceded that from a sense of justice the two endings are truly different. That the older French movie version of the Highsmith novel does a better job in bringing across the atmosphere from the 50's can hardly be valued as a merit since the movie was almost shot in this very time. Still, from a today's point of view, it may be taken as a criterion to decide which movie should be the preferred choice.