Patricia Highsmith’s fictional creation Tom Ripley has been an inspiration for filmmakers for many years, resulting in adaptations including Purple Noon (1960), The American Friend (1977), and Ripley’s Game (2002). Possibly the most famous adaptation of Highsmith’s books in The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), which was adapted by writer/director Anthony Minghella and starred Matt Damon in the role. I must confess to never having read any of the Ripley books, and as such have no perspective on how Minghella or Damon translate the character to cinema. On its own merits, Ripley is a wonderfully slow burning and unsettling thriller.

A simple case of mistaken identity sees young American Tom Ripley sent off on a wealthy industrialist’s dime to convince the man’s wayward, irresponsible son Dickie (Jude Law) to responsibly return home. Tom pretends he went to university with Dickie, and ingratiates himself into both Dickie and his girlfriend Marge’s (Gwyneth Paltrow) lives. When Tom’s deception is exposed, and Dickie tires of his presence, Tom begins to take extreme measures to sustain his newfound life of European luxury.

There is a truly sensational cast bringing Tom Ripley’s story to life, one that also includes the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, James Rebhorn, Jack Davenport, and Cate Blanchett. Each role is wonderfully played. Even Paltrow, whose acting rarely stands up to serious scrutiny, is hugely effective. Minghella and cinematographer John Seale do a marvellous job of bringing 1950s Italy to life, and the entire work a deeply seductive, appealing look. You can appreciate immediately why Tom Ripley wants to stay immersed in the world of beaches, holiday villas, and smoky jazz clubs.

It is a relatively slow film, one that may frustrate some viewers, but the careful build-up of suspense is necessary for Minghella’s narrative to work. The film opens very much on Tom’s side: his deception seems like misbehaviour more than a crime, and Dickie is an immediately charismatic target for Tom’s obsessive personality. It is tempting to laugh at a few early moments of homo-eroticism, because they initially feel unintentional. Then they feel very much purposeful, and Dickie begins to look less charming and more vain. Tom’s behaviour grows and transforms, and where we might have briefly worried for his safety in light of Dickie’s growing callousness it soon becomes clear that it is not Tom we should be worried for at all.

Matt Damon’s Tom Ripley is a 20th century Iago: he lies for advancement, he lies to protect himself, and he lies because it does not occur to him to simply tell the truth. He is obsessive, but while he infatuates others he inevitably works to destroy them too. Like Shakespeare’s villain Tom is an improviser. Much of the greatest pleasure of The Talented Mr Ripley is to see how Tom gets himself into serious trouble, and then magically finds a way to stay just out of harm’s reach. It is a superb act of character development by Damon, still relatively early into his career at this point, and it is a shame he did not return to the character to adapt any more of Patricia Highsmith’s novels.

Anthony Minghella directed seven feature films before his untimely death in 2008. The English Patient (1996) won all of the awards. The Talented Mr Ripley is the better film.

The Talented Mr Ripley has recently been re-released in Australia on DVD and blu-ray by Paramount Pictures.