Directed by Anthony Minghella • 1999 • United States
Starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
Gorgeous Italian coastal scenery and equally gorgeous stars are the beautiful facade belying an undercurrent of creeping menace in Anthony Minghella’s sumptuous adaptation of the first book in Patricia Highsmith’s series of novels centered on the cunning sociopath Tom Ripley. Here, the young Ripley (Matt Damon) is a New York nobody who gets a chance to experience the good life when he is mistaken for a friend of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), the playboy son of a wealthy businessman living in Italy. Using his charm and facility for deception to insinuate himself into the glamorous lives of Dickie and his girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow), Ripley hatches a sinister scheme to get ahead in the world.
Up Next in Ripley Films
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Ripley’s Game
Directed by Liliana Cavani • 2002 • United Kingdom
Starring John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, Lena HeadeyFrom the third entry in Patricia Highsmith’s celebrated series of novels centered on the charming sociopath Tom Ripley—previously adapted by Wim Wenders as THE AMERICAN FRIEND—comes this thrill...
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Purple Noon
Directed by René Clément • 1960 • France, Italy
Starring Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Marie LaforêtAlain Delon was at his most impossibly beautiful when PURPLE NOON was released and made him an instant star. This ripe, colorful adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s vicious novel “The Talented Mr. R...
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The American Friend
Directed by Wim Wenders • 1977 • Germany
Starring Dennis Hopper, Bruno GanzWim Wenders pays loving homage to rough-and-tumble Hollywood film noir with THE AMERICAN FRIEND, a loose adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel “Ripley’s Game.” Dennis Hopper oozes quirky menace as an amoral American a...
