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17 88 Minutes
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Talented Mr. Ripley, The
Paramount Pictures


7.9

based on 35 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 29 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for violence, language and brief nudity

Starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman

In the 1950's, a young American, Mr. Ripley (Damon), is sent to Europe to retrieve a spoiled millionaire playboy (Law). When the errand fails, Ripley kills the playboy and assumes his life.

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Patricia Highsmith (novel) Anthony Minghella
DIRECTED BY:	Anthony Minghella
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 27, 2000 Video: June 27, 2000 Theatrical: December 24, 1999
RUNNING TIME:	139 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie is as intelligent a thriller as you'll see this year.

100

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

It's that rare movie with a sense of timeliness that is eternal, and a protagonist whose soul-crushed angst, even at its most fatal, speaks to the little boy/girl lost in everyone.

100

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

This thriller is so expertly -- and perversely -- poised that audience members may find themselves secretly rooting for the duplicitous Ripley.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Minghella makes an enticing, intelligent, well-shaped picture about the extreme perils of class envy and sexual panic.

TNT RoughCut Christopher Brandon

The talented Mr. Minghella is aping Alfred Hitchcock as effectively as Tom Ripley is doing Dickie Greenleaf.

Film.com Ernest Hardy

A dark film that raises more questions than it answers -- and it's meant to.

Film.com John Hartl

In the hands of Minghella and his star, Matt Damon, Ripley has become a more complex character, in some ways more understandable and approachable, in other ways as enigmatic as ever.

Austin Chronicle Russell Smith

Just the thing to clear your Capra-glutted holiday movie palate.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Delivers all the expected moments of high suspense --that is worthy of Hitchcock

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The picture has fine ensemble acting and superb Italian scenery. It would have more power if it were shorter and tighter.

USA Today Mike Clark

In a possible breakthrough role, Law would seem to be the big winner.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

A slick, twisty, top-of-the-line crime thriller with gorgeously sensual textures and a screenful of wickedly faceted performances.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

The only thing missing from this rich production is an emotional charge, which Highsmith could create on the page but which Minghella doesn't quite capture on screen.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's a refreshing sensation, even if it makes you feel a touch seasick at first, and the fittingly eerie conclusion to a lavish and unsettling movie.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

It demands people pay attention and look inward to find the private compass that will navigate us through murky sensibilities that are as capable of seducing us as they are Tom Ripley.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

Carnal, glamorous and worth the price.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Performances are aces top to bottom

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A beautifully mounted and directed film that, despite the presence of Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, is unexpectedly lacking in emotional impact.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The talented Mr. Minghella has made an imperfect movie but not an impersonal one. His morality tale means to get under the skin, and does.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

Although he never matches the book in either brilliance or sheer perversity, Minghella has remained essentially true to his source.

Film.com Robert Horton

May be Hitchcock on holiday, but that's a perfectly enjoyable vacation.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Matt Damon's performance isn't bad, but it pales in comparison with Law's.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Takes startling - and startlingly unpleasant - turns. This is not a film with anything approximating a conventional ending.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Minghella's psychological redraft muffles the menace, squanders the tension, throws away the main character and plot engine and turns Ripley into something he never was or should be.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

This film of mistaken identity, murder, class envy and (bi)sexual tension doesn't live up to its own promise.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

A near-perfect confection, a beautifully executed Hollywood all-you-can-eat salad bar of glamour, plot twists, breathtaking Mediterranean vistas, and jazz.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

This coolly beautiful film is both a superior thriller and an engrossing study of a sociopath's progress.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

It must be hard to misread the tone of a book as single-minded as Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley, but Anthony Minghella manages somehow.

Dallas Observer Scott Kelton Jones

Numbs as much as it unnerves.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Enter the world of the sociopathic killer and enjoy.

Slate David Edelstein

Matt Damon can't quite piece together a compelling poseur.

Newsweek David Ansen

Damon's Ripley is considerably different from the charming sociopath in Patricia Highsmith's novel or the smooth lothario played by Alain Delon in the 1960 French thriller "Purple Noon."

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

This adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel is commercial to the core.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It's ploddingly directed, indifferently acted and insufficiently frightening.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

It's a sign of how watered-down the movie is that only the supporting actors have any bite.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

pablo e. gave it a3:
So much talent wasted!!! The movie just does not work, the characters are hollow, the dynamic of the plot fragmented.

Pip E. gave it a10:
The film captures the essence of the novel in a way many movies fail. It was brilliantly cast and shot, overall this movie is a gem.

Elizabeth M. gave it a10:
This film is my all time favourite film. The scenery is beautiful, the acting is great and the film is extremely well written.

Adam L. gave it a9:
To those who cast doubt on Jude Law's acting chops, this film should shut you up fast.

Mike gave it a10:
I've always been a bit confused by the lack of interest in this film... I think it is great.

Tony B. gave it a5:
Everything moves along quite well until Jude Law is gone and Matt Damon has to carry the ball. He is just not up to the task.

Alexander gave it a10:
I have been fascinated by this truly talented movie since I first saw it some years ago. This is the only film which I saw at least 20 times. Every time I watch it I feel as if I were an invisible film participant who constantly accompanies the characters. Tom Ripley, the main character of the movie, is an unwanted, poor lad who early understood that it was actually impossible to succeed in life without protection and support. I could sympathize with him. When Tom gets an opportunity to change his life and happens to know the happiness of that glorious world his bad instincts fail him. I don't identify myself with Tom. I could be Peter though. I think Jack Davenport played one of his best roles. The homosexual tendencies of the characters don't scare me and I don't focus on them. The characters of the movie are making their way in the world - that's what we all do - and how they do it attracts our attention. The cast is splendid. It's like a precious brooch - twinkling, scattered diamonds and emeralds - every stone in itself is of some importance and is strongly attracted by others. It's a beautiful film. Elegant, dramatic, fascinating, mysterious, exiting...... I really enjoyed every scene. I also liked the fine music so tastefully arranged by the authors of the movie - it fascinated me from the very beginning. In my eyes the film is perfect.

Talented Mr. Ripley, The Paramount Pictures

Talented Mr. Ripley, The
Paramount Pictures