Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Hey, Fine Line... any particular reason you’re releasing this in other territories, but leaving us Ripley fans hanging here in the States?
Hey Harry, I love the site.
This is my first-ever contribution to Aint-It-Cool, and so hopefully it won't be too woeful. I live in Australia, and since "Ripley's Game" has been released for for a little while, i thought you may like my review of this intriguing film.
"Ripley's Game" is based on the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name, and is of course the follow-up to Anthony Minghella's "The Talented Mr. Ripley". However those responsible for the previous film are nowhere to be found in this low-budgeted sequel.
First off, i must quickly sort through the criticisms i had with this great little film. Foremost, the production design is muddled and imbalanced. The beautiful landscapes and villas found in Minghella's film are downplayed here, and the reason behind this is partly the scope of the story, which i shall get to later. It is clear when watching "Ripley's Game" that the budget has been dwongraded, and as such many of the sets are drab and uninspired. The rich visual palette of Minghella is lost here. It must be said however that Ripley's new villa is an amazing building, it's just a shame it isn't filmed more elegantly.
With that gripe out of the way, let it be known that John Malkovich as Tom Ripley is utterly fantastic. Perfect. Excellent (Insert further hyberolic statements here). He absolutely nails the character of Ripley, and makes you forget totally that just one film ago, the character was a snivelling wimp (as played by Damon), unsure of his abilities and struggling with guilt. The Ripley of twenty years later is sophisticated, charming, and teeming with malevolence and macabre wit. I cannot stress how much fun Malkovich is to watch here. He's as good as i've seen him in a long time, and has some wickedly funny moments, none of which i'll divulge here. If you're a fan of this man's work, and let's face it, who isn't, then you owe it to yourself to watch "Ripley's Game".
The rest of the cast is utilitarian, with some notable exceptions such as Dougray Scott, who shares equal screen-time with Malkovich in his role as Jonathan Trevanney. Scott plays another morally-ambiguous character, akin to Damon's Ripley in the first film. As Trevanney and Ripley's relationship grows more and more twisted, one can see Scott constantly adapting his performance. The pair bounce of each other well, portraying the protege and mentor relationship with gusto and honesty.
The supporting characters are not as well developed, but all are solid. Besides, this is clearly Scott's and Malkovich's film...which actually leads me to another small complaint...the thing is, the film is as much Scott's as it is Malkovich's...and as compelling as Scott is, his character never measures up to the monstrous heights of Tom Ripley. Despite this, the acting in the film is good all-round.
The plot itself is a much more taut affair than the first film's. This is, let me stress the point, a fabulous thing. In "The Talented Mr. Ripley" i found myself growing bored after a while due to the flaccid pacing of the film. It was an overly-long and drawn out experience, not without merit, but not to my personal taste, and while that film is much more complex, and far more beautifully shot, scored, and edited, "Ripley's Game" remains engaging for the entire duration of it's two hour running-time, thanks to Malkovich, and the source material.
The story, which i will not reveal to any degree here, is adequate and entertaining, merely an excuse for Ripley to do his thing. And my oh my how he does it! The evolution of the character is fascinating, as he has transformed from a weedy improviser with feelings of guilt to a man who is even more talented than before, and without the emotional tug-of-war. He is more devious than ever, and some of his lines are hilarious. This film, far more than Minghella's, knows how to have some fun with Highsmith's creation, who is, let's face it, a sort of Hannibal Lecter/James Bond hybrid, or at least that's the way Malkovich portrays him.
My god this review is everywhere, and overy long, i apologise!!! I realise i haven't given much of an indication of what the film's about, but that's half the fun of watching it. Let me just say that despite it's technical inadequacies, and a few wasted characters, "Ripley's Game" is a film well worth seeing. If only Minghella had directed THIS film, then perhaps we'd have had the best of both worlds. Alas, it wasn't to be, but we do have is a tight little thriller with an amazing protagonist at it's core. Bring on more Ripley films starring Malkovich, as this one is very talented!
I’m still kicking myself because Mr. Beaks got to go interview John Malkovich last week, and I was stuck at home writing. He’s an absolutely perfect choice for the reptilian Ripley, and I can’t wait to see what he’s done with the role.
Thanks for the review, man.
"Moriarty" out.
