Anyone else seen it? I’m a fan of the Ripley novels, and I thought this film really captured the way Highsmith envisioned Tom Ripley and his, shall we say, talents. John Malkovich did an excellent job playing an older, jaded Ripley, living in Italy with his delicate wife who in the film seemed a little more hip to her husband’s more nefarious dealings than she wanted to let on. Ray Winstone was wonderful as Reeves, and Dougray Scott did a great job of playing Jonathan’s gradual descent into Ripley’s world. The film itself was quite a departure from Anthony Minghella’s vision of The Talented Mr. Ripley; it wasn’t so much a postcard of the Italian coast but a darker, more sinister landscape.
Ripley’s Game captured the one thing I enjoyed most about the Highsmith novels: the push and pull between feeling sympathy for Ripley while dealing with utter repugnance for his manipulative actions. There’s no judgment of Ripley or his behavior; while he’s self-serving, sociopathic, and often menacing, Ripley’s also decisive, intelligent, and probably someone I’d want to have dinner with once in a while but certainly not offend.
Any thoughts?