[4.0]
A gorgeous tale of deceit and identity, this original Talented Mr. Ripley is a slow-building sun-baked worship of the fine life, centered around the camera’s worship of star Alain Delon. The film opens with some lazily paced scenes introducing us to easy-going forger Tom Ripley (Delon), who has been sent to Italy by the wealthy father of Philippe Greanleaf to bring his freewheeling playboy son back home to California. Philippe takes this in stride, befriending Delon and carousing around town with him. These lovable goofballs seem like lifelong buds, clowning around by pretending to be blind in order to get a girls’ attention, and throwing money all over town. Soon, however, the two men are joined by Philippe’s girlfriend, Marge, and the atmosphere grows darker. The three go out on a boat (in a sequence with rich shades of KNIFE IN THE WATER) and Philippe begins nastily picking on Tom, at one point forcing him into a lifeboat and then (accidentally) letting him drift off to sea, where he gets sunstroke. Philippe also tells Marge that, despite Tom’s insistence that they’ve known each other since childhood, he didn’t meet Tom until recently in Italy. This is the film’s first major clue that Tom has some pathological delusion and lying issues. Marge discovers a woman’s earring amongst Philippe’s things and storms off the boat. Philippe confronts Tom, telling him he knows that Tom is the one who set him up, and that he found Tom’s copies of Philippe’s bank papers. He suspects Tom is planning on stealing Philippe’s identity. Tom jokingly says he could do it. Suddenly, a knife is pulled, Philippe’s body falls, and Tom quickly wraps it up and throws it overboard. The film continues by showing us Tom taking over Philippe’s life: dressing as him, staying in hotels as him, and even writing to Marge in an effort to steal her affection for himself. But soon, Tom commits a second murder and, in an act of self-conceited showmanship, frames Philippe for the murder and then implicates himself as a friend of the wanted man. Tom is so sure he will get away with it, and the film has fun thwarting him at various turns. Of course, in the end, Tom has made a horrible mistake with his disposal of the original corpse…
The story of an attractive young hustler, doing anything to make a living, taking over the life of a rich man he admires and fooling so many people along the way, is charmingly told. Even though he is a murderer, it’s hard to hate Tom, as his wide smile and clever stratagems win him over to our side. As our protagonist, we see the story through his eyes, and we understand his warped logic. There’s some light psychological examination of the character, but the film doesn’t want us to pity Tom, but to just accept him for who he is. The complexity of the story comes in through Delon’s casting and performance. His fetishized body and implicitly intimate homosocial bond with Philippe stir up all sorts of queer desire and questions of identification. Tom wants to be someone else so badly, so who is the real Tom Ripley? Does he fully believe his own lies? Delon’s effortless performance is accentuated by the stunning cinematography, with beautiful location shooting and creative staging adding to the erotically charged atmosphere. And yet, the movie never bogs down in its sex-and-murder scenarios, but stays light on its feet, playfully dancing in the sunshine. It is a story of the upper-class, and the unburdened freedoms of their lives. And as talented as Tom Ripley is, he will never belong among them.
burning retina 