Wednesday, October 14, 2026
By Peter Hummers on September 11, 2026
Patricia Highsmith‘s novels aptly demonstrated her mastery of psychological suspense, including the recurring character of human chameleon Tom Ripley. In 1999 Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) filmed his own screenplay from Highsmith’s 1955 novel. Like the book, it’s a pip!
In a great-looking 1950s New York City, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon, The Departed), a young and innocent-looking drifter, albeit talented in forgery and impersonation, is approached by wealthy shipbuilding magnate Herbert Greenleaf, who mistakes him for a Princeton alumnus due to his borrowed university jacket and hires him for $1,000 to travel to Italy and persuade Herbert’s wayward son, Dickie Greenleaf, to return home. (Today that would equal more than $13,000.)
The cinematography by John Seale (The English Patient) is brilliant. But wait: Tom accepts the job and sails to beautiful Italy; he first meets a woman named Meredith Logue (Cate Blanchett, The Aviator) on the ship. He casually introduces himself as Dickie Greenleaf to impress her. (Might be habit-forming.) Upon arriving in the gorgeously presented coastal town of Mongibello, Tom locates Dickie (Jude Law, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), a carefree playboy living off his trust fund with his artist girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow). Tom is able to ingratiate himself by demonstrating his skill (he is talented!) at playing the piano in a jazz style that Dickie likes. (Tom has done his homework!)
Tom’s initial charm (Matt Damon in a tour de force) wins Dickie’s friendship, and he moves into Dickie and Marge’s villa, even adopting Dickie’s wardrobe. The trio enjoy chill days boating and socializing—but tensions arise when Dickie introduces Tom to his skeptical acquaintance, nasty Freddie Miles (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche, New York, Capote, The Big Lebowski), during a trip to Rome. A local girl who had secretly been involved with Dickie becomes pregnant and drowns herself, which strains Dickie’s relationship with an unknowing Marge, and leads him to confide in Tom about his transgressions and frustrations. And so, as Dickie grows closer to Marge and announces his engagement to her, he begins to tire of Tom’s constant presence.
During a sailing excursion off San Remo, an argument erupts between Tom and Dickey. Long story short, people go missing. Tom exercises his real talent for mimicry, but when Meredith, who knows Tom as Dickie, and Marge, who knows him as Tom, get together, hilarity ensues. Well, not hilarity, but a real problem for Tom, who begins to dance as fast as he can. And folks can get killed near his dancing; it’s very dangerous!
The local police feel compelled to investigate the goings-on. Sergio Rubini as Inspector Roverini is a wonderful character, a little like a native Italian Columbo.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is a good two hours and twenty minutes of riveting suspense: there are side-plots pendant and a good deal of mistaken identity. It looks beautiful, like a Hitchcock travelogue, and is a must-see movie in my book. (Now I’m thinking of reading the five Highsmith “Ripley” novels.) There are more cinema treatments of Tom Ripley, too, with which I’m unfamiliar: 2002’s Ripley’s Game, with John Malkovich as Ripley, and 2005’s Ripley Under Ground, with Barry Pepper, and a 2024 Netflix TV series. More on these later.
#Matt Damon #Philip Seymour Hoffman #suspense #murder #psychology
(Pete Hummers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to earn fees by linking Amazon.com and affiliate sites. This adds nothing to Amazon’s prices.)
Click here for more Stream On: What to watch on TV columns by Pete Hummers. Columns are archived and updated when necessary on Substack.
