20 Appropriate Ways to Celebrate "The Talented Mr Ripley"
Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 7:17PM 
1999 is considered by many to be one of the best years for cinema. The Matrix, Eyes Wide Shut, Fight Club, Election, Magnolia, All About My Mother, Run Lola Run, Go, Boys Don't Cry, The Sixth Sense, American Pie, Three Kings and Being John Malkovich. It is also the year that The Talented Mr Ripley was released. Ripley was well reviewed at the time if not ecstatically so. Perhaps that was because it came after the juggernaut that was The English Patient -- Anthony Minghella’s previous film was a big hit and won 9 Oscars. Since then Ripley has elevated in estimation in large part because of the subsequent huge careers of the then young actors who starred: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cate Blanchett. Aesthetics have also stood the test of time; the clothes, the attitudes, sun soaked Italy. The story still resonates with its undertones of queer identity and its thriller framework. Today Ripley is rightly considered a classic and beloved by many cinephiles.
Released 20 years ago this week, here are 20 ways you can celebrate this fabulous film...
1. Travel to Italy on false pretenses
2. Travel under an assumed name like Meredith Logue
3. Call your refrigerator an icebox
4. Go to a jazz club and sing "Tu Vuo Fa’ L’Americano"
5. Smoke slowly and deliberately like Cate
6. Go to the opera and see Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky
7. Cry while you are watching the opera
8. Peep in while your friends are having sex...
9. Get called out by your obnoxious but right frenemy
10. Invite someone who claims to have gone to college with you over for lunch
11. Try to get into a bathtub with Jude Law
12. Be part of a friend group that will eventually win 5 Oscars and be nominated 19 times
13. Avoid being the Jack Davenport of your friend group i.e the only one with no Oscar nominations
14. Recite the titles of the films and categories for all these Oscar nominations. Gwyneth has 1, Jude 2, Phillip 4, Matt 5 and Cate 7
15. Light a candle and watch a Philip Seymour Hoffman movie to celebrate his talent gone too soon
16. Light another candle for Anthony Minghella, also gone too soon
17. Sing a very sad version of My Funny Valentine
18. Freak people out by proclaiming "I always thought it would be better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody."
19. Listen to Sundays with Cate podcast episode about the film
20 ...and finally tell us an anecdote about you watching Ripley, now or then
Reader Comments (51)
More of a masterpiece and more deserving of the Oscar than the 99 winner.
21 - Drop the phrase "Why do you have Dickies rings" into any random conversation.
regarding #12
Can I just be a part of a friend group that writes about Oscar wins and nominations more than 195 times? Cuz I've already done that!Wow. 20 years. I remember seeing this with my family on Boxing Day and they are hated it. I immediately went to Chapters and bought the book and CD. lol My fave of that year for sure.
this list could just be “try to get into a bathtub with jude law” 20 times
I love this film. Gwyneth is more Grace Kelly than Grace Kelly.
Jude Law requested to keep his character's wardrobe. There are tabloid photos of him wearing the sheer shirt he's murdered in.
A great film that has aged into a classic
"The thing with Dickie..." (in Paltrow's inimitable phrasing) still goes through my head fairly regularly. Paltrow doesn't get enough credit for her performance here (post-Shakespeare in Love backlash, perhaps?).
Story: This was one of the first movies my mom let me see after being grounded. Why was I grounded you ask? My local college showed films to the people of the city and I was loving it so my mom, seeing how excited I was, wanted to join me. I couldn't tell her why I didn't want to, so she joined me in seeing.... A Clockwork Orange. The ride home was not fun. I consider it lesser Kubrick to this day but I wonder if my first experience with it made it impossible for me to like.
Question 1: How did THIS screenplay lose to The Cider House Rules? I mean, I know how (Weinstein) but still. That Minghella couldn't win screenplay for this or The English Patient (and the screenplays to both are effin' built) is a shame. A great writer-director.
Question 2: How gorgeous is Jude Law in this film? How good is he in general? I know 2004 became a punchline for him, which sucks because he's actually good-to-great in this films. But he (and this cast!) is divine.
It's wild to think that they were all in their twenties and so advanced as actors. I honestly can't think of a group to match them in the current crop of 20-something actors in Hollywood. The 90s really produced such a strong group of not only actors, but also stars.
22. Watch René Clément's 1960 Purple Noon, the first film version of Patricia Highsmith's novel. The contrast between the two adaptations is an pleasurable intellectual exercise.
This movie is a feast for the eyes
@Arkaan
I watched Naked Lunch with my parents. I consider Clockwork the less transgressive of the two.
What a wonderful film ! You just feel the glamour and the pathos just by mentioning it. And Jude is sensational in it - he should have won the Oscar.
Loved this film- Paltrow's best by far, as well as Jude Law, and it was overlooked in key categories. My own nominations and wins for it would be
WINS
Best Supporting Actor - Jude Law
Best Adapted Screenplay - Anthony Minghella
Best Costume Design - Ann Roth
NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Actor - Matt Damon
Best Supporting Actress - Gwyneth Paltrow
Best Director - Anthony Minghella
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction - Set Decoration
Best Original Score
Best Song - "Lullaby for Cain", Sinead O'Connor (was it eligible?)
I would agree with that. Also, full-body-cringe.
This post is giving me life
Has aged so well. Damon doesn't get enough credit for this performance, which everyone thought was too subdued. Jude - I miss that Jude. Cate was so young and so chameleon already. Gwyneth the diva. This movie was key in awakening my queer sensibility, at a time when the Internet was about discovery. Love it.
Career best performances from Damon Paltrow and Law.
Also Blanchett is fabulous. The haunting voice of Sinéad O Connor in the soundtrack is unforgettable.
A true classic.
YES!!! to all of this. <3
In regards to awards, I really think the combo of Damon and Paltrow's recent wins (plus her over exposure/ "Shakespeare In Love" backlash) kept the film from more acting noms and deserved Best Picture and Directing mentions. Although "American Beauty" surely hogged most of the Dark Sexual Drama votes while "Sixth Sense" was the thriller pick. But at least Law scored a nomination. Easily one of my all time favorite (genuinely) supporting male performances.
I haven't seen it since I saw it in the theatre when it came out, time for a rewatch - at the time, my biggest impressions were 1. Jude Law is a golden god, and 2. this movie is disturbing and amazing and I can't really deal with it (at 17).
Whenever I see or read about this film I instantly hear... "I know it was you. I know it was YOU!"
Masterful filmmaking and acting all around.
I liked this movie at the time well enough but watching it again years later when we did it for an episode of HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT was a revelation. It's so undervalued. Great movie.
Odd... I was walking my dog today and it came to my mind this and The Cider House Rules were 20 years ago, and despite being Oscar films (Michael Caine won), I have never seen them (nor never been fully interested in them). On this film's case, it always because I already saw the french original adaptation with Alain Delon and did not like it that much.
i must add, on the 1999 summary of great films, the extraordinary (but divisive) and influential The Blair Witch Project was forgotten... probably the most influential film in the industry, from that year. Also, one of the greatest and funniest animated musicals of all time, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut... I think the only film I saw 3 times in a theatre in 10 days.
OVER & OVER Again ! On the list of my 10 absolute favorite movies, that I don't get tired of. Gorgeous absolutely perfect in every sense.
Despite undeniable charm & talent by Law - I absolutely can not understand why Damon didn't manage to score an Oscar nom. - what happened ? Spacey was frontrunner all the way - but I guess Penn & Washington to beloved in mediocre films... and Damon to young ?! Shitty politics ...
Movies that will survive the test of time are (not so) hard to predict - A Star Is Born, is a good example I revisited it yesterday for the first time... and it's such a clear classic.
I think in this decade the Academy missed more chances then they crowned greatness (besides Moonlight, Artist & 12 Years) - Just thinking: Social Network / Black Swan, Up / An Education / Inglorious B.(not my personal favourite), Boyhood, Mad Max / Brooklyn, Call Me By Your Name / Get Out / Lady Bird ... most of them will or are on a good way to become beloved classics. Green Book, Shape Of Water, Hurt Locker & Kings Speech I'm not really sure off ...
1999 was such a great year, so this movie may have fallen under the radar that year. Also The Virgin Suicide´s is a gem of a movie
The combination of Minghella masterful directing, the screenplay and that Anthony managed to utilize every inch of the young actors talent. They are all so different with their acting style, but masterfully melts in each other and creates magic.
32 year old character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in two great movies in 1999
30 year old chameleon and future Queen Cate Blanchett showing her immense talent
29 year old Matt Damon had just won the Oscar for co-writing Good Will Hunting
27 year old Jude Law was an up and coming sexy Briitsh leading actor
27 year old Oscar winner Gwyneth Plaltrow was the biggest star
26 year old under the radar Jack Davenport
As of 2019 they have been rewarded with:
Hoffman: 4 Oscar noms/ 1 win, 5 GG noms/ 1 win, 5 BAFTA noms/ 1 win, 9 SAG noms/ 1 win
Blanchett: 7 Oscar noms/2 wins,10 GG noms/ 3 wins, 7 BAFTA noms/3 wins, 14 SAG noms/3wins
Damon: 5 Oscar noms/ 1 win, 7 GG noms/2 wins, 1 BAFTA lifetime, 6 SAG noms
Law: 2 Oscar noms/ 4 GG noms, 2 BAFTA noms/ 1 win, 2 SAG noms
Paltrow: 1 Oscar nom/ 1 win, 2 GG noms/ 1 win, 1 BAFTA nom, 2 SAG noms
One of the most beautiful movies ever about pain, loneliness, and the yearning for connection. Matt Damon absolutely should have won Best Actor that year...a performance of both force and delicacy. Cate, Gwyneth, and Jude are all perfection. Stunning script and direction by Minghella. This post is glorious, and it's great to see this film grow and grow in stature.
I didn't see it until this year and I thought it was just a summer romance going in. Had no idea it was a thriller - that was a memorable experience.
Anyway, great GREAT film - the ensemble is just insanely stacked.
Read the Patricia Highsmith novel upon which the film is based. There are some differences, of course, (the platonic friendship between Marge and Dickey, Marge's dislike of Tom from the start, Ripley's premeditated murder of Dickey) but it's still a page turner from cover to cover.
I believe that in an expanded Best Picture field The Talented Mr. Ripley definitely would have made it into the race as a sixth or seventh place inclusion. With the benefit of hindsight I think that it is leaps and bounds better than many of 1999's biggest awards magnets, including and especially American Beauty (which has aged dreadfully) and The Cider House Rules (which I never thought was good). I remember finding it underwhelming upon seeing it in the theater but developed a new appreciation for it on DVD. It truly is a gem.
Am I mistaken, or did Matt Damon come close to a Best Actor nod? I feel like he might have been a surprise exclusion.
Troy -- i dont think it was close to more nominations personally. I remember there being a distinct whiff of "it's a letdown, but beautiful sure" in the reviews/reception. It's crazy that THE ENGLISH PATIENT fever affected this one so adversely given that it was three years later but people were weirdly dismissive of this film at the time. Even people who liked it a lot (like me). I look back and I'm like "why wasn't that on my top ten list?"
Nathaniel, it was the most nominated film without a Best Picture nod. What else would have gotten in ahead of it? In an expanded field I could make a case for Topsy Turvy, Being John Malkovich, and even The Matrix possibly being nominated in addition to, but not at the expense of, Mr. Ripley.
The best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock did not make- and those costumes should have won an Oscar
It’s such a beautiful film, golden and idyllic. It makes me want to live in it, and dress like Cate Blanchett.
It’s a different thing than the novel by Patricia Highsmith, and that’s fine. There’s lots of versions of the Ripley story. It kind of elides the social bite of it though.
With Highsmith, they aren’t golden boys and girls, but trust fund babies, shallow, selfish, stupid, untalented, and completely undeserving. Ripley isn’t a whiny weaselly poor boy like Damon, stealing from the rich and getting punished for it.
Ripley gets away with it, and makes a much better rich person, far more appreciative of his good fortune.
“Purple Noon”, with Alain Delon as Ripley, went in the other direction. Delon/ Ripley is so gorgeous it seems completely unfair that he is poor. Dickie in that movie is a revolting girlfriend-beating rich slime ball. But it was still too subversive to not have Ripley caught and punished.
So in that way the Damon/ Law movie seems dated. The view that the rich and trust fund babies are beautiful and to be envied and admired, but if you cross class lines or take anything from the 1%, you will be severely punished.
American Beauty is a great film. American Pie? The first? Eck. The Insider is also great.
The Matrix is good but goodness, there's no world where it's a great film.
I am seeing Eugene Onegin at the Seattle Opera next month. Now to find Jude Law’s bathtub, and I’ll really get a jump on this list.
Count me with those who thought the film was great in real time, and was incensed that movies like The Cider House Rules and (gag) The Green Mile outpolled it in Hollywood. Dare I suggest it was the gay elements that cost it support (along with some English Patient backlash -- people unaccountably turned against Minghella's earlier film)?
And I'm with the person above: I understand Spacey has become radioactive, and there's always been a reaction against American Beauty, but to list the year's notable films and exclude it while including American Pie is...a choice.
I paid to see Brokedown Palace in the summer of 1999 just bc i knew the trailer to TTMR was attached to it. I watched the trailer and then left the theatre.
Jesus Alonso: Those were the two films I was thinking of to - Blair Witch and South Park. Both excellent (and South Park hilarious, tuneful, touching...).
I remember liking The Talented Mr. Ripley but I do think that Plein soleil, the French version of the novel, is very interesting too. Both are good. Ripley is a terrific role.
Of the 1999 movies, my best picture list would be:
The Talented Mr Ripley
The Insider
Fight Club
Eyes Wide Shut
The Matrix
With an expanded 10 my best picture list is:
Being John Malkovich
Eyes Wide Shut
Fight Club
Magnolia
The Insider
The Matrix
The Sixth Sense
The Talented Mr Ripley
The Virgin Suicides
Todo Sobre Mi Madre
No one else has mentioned Ripley's amaziing score by Gabriel Yared so I'll do that here. It's fabulous. My husband and I have watched Ripley together tons of times over the years and many quotes from it are in our lexicon: "Do you want to say something?" - "I think I'm *saying* it" & "I KNOW it was you!" Etc Etc. Great great movie. Should've won all the Oscars.
Also: agree that listing American Pie in the list of classic 1999 films and excluding films like Virgin Suicides and Blair Witch is odd. American Pie was no more than a fairly well-executed dumb teen comedy (albeit with a handful of memorable moments). At any rate, thanks for this post!
The cinematography in The Talented Mr. Ripley was also, surprisingly, disregardes. Yared at least got his nod.
I was in high school, but was in love with the trailer. Strong film, but felt cold. Beautifully coordinated (some of the shots were classic), but didn't think the screenplay built up enough...tho it was a good film.
Always felt a second viewing would make me a big fan. The English Patient isn't good tho.
LOVE this movie. Matt Damon has never been hotter. And don't even tell me about Law!
Really liked it when it first came out. Love it know. Paltrow should have been nominated.
@Tyler, Ikr!! Gwyneth is totally channelling Grace Kelly here!
It's a shame tt Damon n Blanchett were snubbed by Oscar, but their respective fields were super competitive!! And Talented Mr Ripley was actually not v well recv back in its days.
Virgin Suicides was a 2000 release in US cinemas.
I love this movie, and its cast were at their peak beauty.
Funny you should mention this film. It was my choice for Best Film of that year.
My grandma, God rest her soul, also called the refrigerator an ice box! And a couch was a Davenport.
I recall this being a great Supporting Actor lineup of Caine, Clarke Duncan, Cruise, Law, and Osment.