Review: The Talented Mr. Ripley
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I just bought The Talented Mr. Ripley VCD today, but I've been watching it online since last week.
My god, it is such a detailed and creepy movie.
But admittedly, I watched it for Jude Law.
Not ONLY because he looked gorgeous in it, but also for his promising performance in a gay role.
How could we forget Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, the rebellious spoiled brat, in Wilde, and Kevin Spacey's violent toyboy in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?
Well, in this thriller, Jude's character, Dickie Greenleaf, was not OFFICIALLY gay.
In fact, he had a fiancee, Marge Sterwood (played by Gwyneth Paltrow). He also had an affair with another woman and showed interested in a lot of females.
But it doesn't matter, since he was sensual to both genders.
Dickie was a carefree rich snob who adapted the italian flirty, touchy-feely culture. He was easy in leaning close, linking arms, kissing with men.
I like the scene where an italian man, who was apparently sitting on another man's lap, whistled at a passed by hot girl.
It's a meaningful scene as it showed us the bisexual subtext in this movie.
Peter: Officially, there are no Italian homosexuals. It makes Michelangelo and Leonardo very inconvenient.
It was ironic that this quote came from Peter Smith-Kingsley (played by Jack Davenport) as this character subtly showed all the gay characteristics.
We can tell that no characters in this movie would confess being gay since homosexuals in 50s were rarely self-awared or embranced to their own sexual orientation.
Plus, the ambigious SEXUAL TENSION between Dickie and the opportunist Tom Ripley (played by Matt Damon), who had a natural gift of mimicy, was beyond my sanity!
NSFW picsspams under the cut.
When Marge told Tom that Dickie's favorite song was My Funny Valentine, Tom sang this song to impress and express his hope to Dickie's love in the jazz club while Dickie was playing saxophone.
Dickie occasionally threw a few knowing glances at him as if he was skeptical to Tom's intention.
Nevertheless, Dickie was not offended by Tom's crush on him.
That night, Dickie sorta "shared" a bath with him. They played chess in a candled bathroom together while Dickie himself was taking a bath.
Althought Tom was fully dressed, Dickie was completely naked in the tub.
It doesn't take a genius to foretell that Tom would be checking Dickie out the whole time, and Dickie was well aware that he would be watched by Tom.
Dickie: We're all only children. What does that mean?
Tom: It means we've never shared a bath.
Tom: I'm cold. Can I get in?
Dickie: No.
Tom: *embarrassed* I didn't mean with you in it.
Dickie: *stands up* Okay, get in. I'm like a prune anyway.
IDK. The way Dickie glancing at Tom was like daring Tom to say anything about their intimacy .
When Tom suggested to get in the bath, Dickie spared him a long stare before rejecting him with a tiny false smile.
Then Dickie just stood up and walked around naked in front of Tom, did not even bother to shade his junk.
He even caught Tom checking out his ass in the mirror while he was towelling himself dry. He playfully flicked the towel at Tom's face and laughed.
In this moment I was sure that Dickie knew about Tom's sexual desire on him, but he did not eliminate any unnecessary physical contact with Tom after the incident. He still took Tom to Rome cheerfully and promised to buy him a new jacket.
Was Dickie teasing him? Was he testing him?
Was it purly for fun, or because Dickie was slightly interested / curious in Tom / homosexuality?
What bothers me was why Dickie invited Tom to bath with him in the first place.
Dickie was not amused when he discovered Tom was dancing in Dickie's clothes and even shoes.
He was also annoyed by Tom's growing dependence on him, and his jealousy on his friends, so he cold shouldered Tom a little bit.
Dickie deliberately fucked Marge loudly while Tom was sailing with them, which made Tom tempted to peep. ("Peeping Tom", that's it.)
But when Tom gave a touching speech on them being a brother for each other they had never had before, Dickie softened and decided to took him to San Remo as their last trip by train.
Dickie: Why you do that thing with your neck?
Tom: What thing?
Dickie: On train. You always do that thing.
[Tom looks away.]
Dickie: Spooky. Spoo-ky-ky-ky ky-ky-ky ky-ky-ky-ky.
This was when Tom's sexual obsession on Dickie turned to be a fetish.
How he inhaled Dickie's scent really creeped me out.
Then Tom started studying Dickie's face in the reflection on the window, and positioned his own face so it looked like they were KISSING in the reflection.
"that thing with your neck" indicated that Dickie always been aware of Tom turning his head to study him when Tom thought he was sleeping.
Someone pointed out that Dickie was not comfortable to give an obvious statement about their homoerotic tension, so he dispatched it in vagueness.
San Remo, an unexpected end of Dickie Greenleaf's life.
In the table of a jazz party,
Tom: To Mongibello and the happiest days of my life.
Dickie: To Mongi. You're cheerful tonight.
Tom: I'm suddenly quite happy to be going back.
Dickie: That's good.
Tom: I've got plans!
Dickie: Ripley's plans.
Tom: Esatto. I'm always planning.
Dickie: Did I know you at Princeton, Tom? I didn't, did I?
Tom: Why are you asking all of a sudden?
Dickie: No reason. Because you're leaving, I guess. I don't think you were there, were you?
Tom: Why?
Dickie: I mean it as a compliment. You've got such great taste, I don't know. Most of the thugs at Princeton had tasted everything and had no taste. Used to say, the cream of America: rich and thick. Freddie's the perfect example.
Tom: Then I'll take it as a compliment.
Dickie: I knew it! I had a bet with Marge!
Tom: *pauses* Ha.
Dickie: Do you even like jazz - or was that something for my benefit?
Tom: I've gotten to like it. I've gotten to like everything about the way you live. It's one big love affair. If you knew my life back home in New York...
Dickie: *walks towards the drummers* I'm thinking of giving up the sax, what do you think about drums?
Tom: What?
Foreseeing Tom would be leaving him alone soon, Dickie started to reveal his annoyance and suspicion to Tom's presence.
Dickie seemed to be distracted by the drums when Tom was confessing his love. I think Dickie ignored Tom's confession deliberately because he did not want to deal with it. He handled it like the way he always did -- dismiss the touchy subject by obliviousness.
Once again, Dickie invited Tom to take a boat with him despite of the tension between them. He had no intention to prove how much he "disapproved" to Tom's feeling.
In the center of the ocean, on a boat,
Tom: I wanted to tell you my plan.
Dickie: So tell me.
Tom: I thought I might come back. In the New Year. Under my own steam.
Dickie: Really? To Italy?
Tom: Of course. Let's say, for argument's sake, you were here - perhaps we could split the rent on a house - I'll get a job - or, better still, I could get a place in Rome and when we're there we could be there and if we're here we could be here -
Dickie: Oh God, I don't think so.
Tom: You see, particularly with the Marge problem, you can just blame me.
Dickie: Marge and I are getting married.
Tom: How?
Dickie: How?
Tom: Yesterday you're ogling girls on the terrace, today you're getting married. It's absurd.
Dickie: I love Marge.
Tom: You love me and you're not marrying me.
Dickie: Tom, I don't love you.
Tom: No, no, it's not a threat, I've explained all of that.
Dickie: I'm actually a little relieved you're going, to be honest. I think we've seen enough of each other for a while.
Tom: What?
Dickie: You can be a leech - you know this - and it's boring. You can be quite boring.
Tom: The funny thing - I'm not pretending to be somebody else and you are.
Dickie: Boring!
Tom: I'm absolutely honest with you, about my feelings.
Dickie: Boring.
Tom: But you, first of all I know there's something - that evening when we played chess, for instance, it was obvious -
Dickie: What evening?
Tom: Oh sure, no no, that's too dangerous for you to take on. Oh no no, what? We're brothers. Hey! And then you do this sordid thing with Marge, fucking her on the boat while we all have to listen, which was excruciating. And you follow your cock around - and now you're getting married! You're lying to Marge then getting married to her. You're knocking up Silvana, you're ruining everybody. You've wanna play the sax, you've wanna play the drums, which is it, Dickie? What do you really play?
Actually, I think Tom was right this time. Dickie was a fickle person he might not be sure about what he really wanted.
Dickie was "hot and cold" to Tom. Playing chess with Tom in the bathroom was the worst move of Dickie 'cos it gave Tom an endless illusion to their sexual tension. He'd been aware of Tom's fascination for a while but he did not clarify his feeling to Tom nor reject his love. He mocked Tom then he shared his high-class lifestyle with him. He could have made their relationship less complicated but yet he did not. He kept sending wrong signals to Tom like he was a manipulating jerk.
Moreover, the way Dickie interrupted and humiliated Tom by kept repeating "boring" was extremely childish and self-deceiving. Is it because he could not accept others' opinion on his personality, or because he could not accept he might be into homosexual?
The end of this scene was Tom lying down on the boat with Dickie's dead body, in an embrance he could never had when Dickie was alive. So gay!
Eventually, Tom absorbed Dickie's identity and status, in either a "If I can't be with him then I will BE him" or "I could live Dickie's life FOR him" manner.
What ridiculous was Tom flirted with Meredith Logue (played by Cate Blanchett), a heir who believed Tom was Dickie, whom he had no sincere interest in. He probably just wanted a witness of the "existence" of Dickie.
Girlfriends, fiancees, women... meant nothing more than a cover in this film!
Tom later met another friend of Dickie, Peter, who subtly pursued him.
His new love interest was more confident on his own gayness than anyone in the movie.
I think if Tom met Peter before Dickie, they could make an adorable couple instead of two tragic brief romances.
One more subtext in the movie:
Tom kills Freddie Miles (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman), a friend of Dickie, with a bust of the Roman emperor Hadrian which he treasured so much before the murdering.
Hadrian had a close relationship with a Greek youth, Antinous, whom he met when the boy was thirteen or fourteen.
While touring Egypt, Antinous mysteriously drowned in the Nile.
Deeply saddened, Hadrian founded the Egyptian city of Antinopolis and had Antinous deified.
It is likely that Hadrian created the cult of Antinous as a political move to reconcile the Greek-speaking East to Roman rule.
The concept of "homosexual" as an identity did not exist in ancient times since attraction to youth of both sexes was a norm, at least for an adult man.
The casting of this movie was the best!
I totally understand why Jude Law was the nominee of Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He stole the scenes whenever he was in. He was born to play the charm.
Jude: Face it, I didn't become famous until I took my clothes off.
It's just half of the truth. I think Mr. Law became A-list because he blew-up our minds in those seductive homoerotic scenes. He was too convincing in them for anyone to deny his talent.
Of course, his perfect bubbled ass gained him a few more millions fans.
Matt Damon successed in portraying mysterious and vulneable Tom Ripley. Don't forget how gooey his eyes were everytime he stares at Dickie. I thought he deserved an Oscar nomination for this performance too.
Besides, his singing voice was so passionate it made me shiver.
Credit to
IMSDB for the transcription
Wikipedia for the information of Hadrian