Even though in recent years Matt Damon (Oppenheimer) has been closely associated with a nice-guy persona in movies, one of his earliest and most famous roles was a disturbing lead in a psychological thriller released in 1999. The Talented Mr. Ripley helped show Damon's range as an actor and the movie earned several nominations at the Oscars. This month, you'll be able to find out why because Paramount+ has added it to its catalog for you to stream.
The Talented Mr. Ripley follows the title character (Damon), a con artist who, in 1950s New York, struggles to make a living. After being mistaken for a Princeton alumnus, he is recruited to go to Italy and convince a man (who is supposed to be his friend) to return home. Ripley then sees the opportunity to escalate the plan in order to make easy money, but things start to take a dark turn when he starts getting obsessed with the man who he was tasked with bringing back to America.
The cast of The Talented Mr. Ripley was one of the reasons why the movie became a standout. Aside from Damon, it also features Jude Law (The Order), Cate Blanchett (Borderlands), Gwyneth Paltrow (The Politician), Jack Davenport (The Morning Show), Philip Baker Hall (Messiah) and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Hunger Games franchise). It was directed by Anthony Minghella, an Oscar-winning filmmaker who also helmed The English Patient and Cold Mountain.
'Ripley' Is More Popular Than You Might Remember
Despite not being a mega-hit, The Talented Mr. Ripley was compelling enough to rake in a little over $128 million worldwide, a pretty solid number. The story of Ripley is so powerful that it was adapted several times. It was based on a 1955 novel by best-selling author Patricia Highsmith, and the 1999 version was not the first adaptation of it. The novel was also turned into a movie by French director René Clément in 1960 under the title Purple Moon with Alain Delon (The Godson) in the lead. In 2024, Ripley made his way back to our screens with a Netflix series adaptation starring Andrew Scott (All Of Us Strangers).
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Talented Mr. Ripley has an 85% score. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie four out of four stars, and called the movie "intelligent" and "insidious" because it makes us "a co-conspirator" to Ripley's actions. Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum praised the protagonist's performance and wrote that the movie "works surprisingly well when Damon holds that gleaming smile just a few seconds too long."
The Talented Mr. Ripley is available to stream on Paramount+. You can check out the trailer above.
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The Talented Mr. Ripley ThrillerDramaCrime
In late 1950s New York, a young underachiever named Tom Ripley is sent to Italy to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.
Release Date December 25, 1999 Director Anthony Minghella Cast Matt Damon , Gwyneth Paltrow , Jude Law , Cate Blanchett , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Jack Davenport , James Rebhorn , Philip Baker Hall Runtime 139 minutes Writers Anthony Minghella
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