On R List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
Ripley's Game (2002)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
12/17, 1/22
12/17:
Ripley's Game is a strange, unusual movie, but it works pretty well.
I have seen Plein soleil and The Talented Mr. Ripley, and each lead actor plays
the same character differently for various reasons. But there's no question that John Malkovich was born to be Tom Ripley.
I liked Dougray Scott in Mission: Impossible II and was curious to see him in
another film. It turns out he didn't do that bad in Ripley's Game. Yet his performance isn't consistently convincing.
Ray Winstone is well known for Sexy Beast with Ben Kingsley. As gregarious as
Reeves, I wish there was less profanity in his lines. The more he curses, the more cartoonish his character becomes.
Remember the moment when Jonathan was insulting his brother and Tom asked him repeatedly for his "meaning"? Then, think to
later about why the whole thing happened the way it did. This was about revenge for Tom Ripley, a man of no conscience, who
didn't care about the consequences either way.
At one point during the train scene, I had thought of a Hitchcock movie called
Strangers on a Train. It turns out
that it was Patricia Highsmith's first novel and she also wrote the book series (1955-1991) about Tom Ripley
(The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley,
and Ripley Under Water).
All in all, John Malkovich is perfect as Tom Ripley.
1/22:
John Malkovich was born to play Tom Ripley.
Like Dougray Scott and Ray Winstone, it's a perfect casting choice. Ripley's Game has a strange plot. It's unclear
if Ripley wanted to take a revenge on his brother for verbally insulting him in front of friends or give him the most
criminal adventure of his life because he was going to die sooner than later. At any rate, the cinematography, especially
the interior, is magnificent.
All in all, John Malkovich should've gotten at least an Oscar nomination for Ripley's Game.