Ripley's Game
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Movie Reviews of Ripley's Game
Movie Review: "One Less Car On The Road"
Summary: 4 Stars
If you are a mild-mannered picture framer and you invite Tom Ripley to a party and then describe him as an American with a lot of money but no taste, make sure he is out of earshot. Tom Ripley (John Malkovich), deeply offended by this insult by Jonathan Trevanny (Dougray Scott), engages the gentle Jonathan in a plot to commit murder, partly because he is an innocent but also because of Jonathan's harsh words spoken about him in public. Ripley also knows that Jonathan is dying with leukemia, is strapped for money and very vulnerable.
"Ripley's Game" is based on the Patricia Highsmith novel of that same title. Although I have not yet read the novel, I have read two other splendid Ripley novels, THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY and RIPLEY UNDER WATER, Highsmith's last in the series. Malkovich's portrayal is in keeping with the Ripley in those two novels and I suspect is pretty close to the way Highsmith develops him in RIPLEY's GAME. He is a cultured sociopath who kills with no conscience. As he tells the deeply troubled Jonathan so new to the art of killing, when you take someone out, there is "one less car on the road." On the other hand, he likes fine food, good wine, art and classical music.
Much of the film, directed by Liliana Cavani, takes place in Italy and Germany. Tom is far afield from the young American we met in both the first Ripley novel and the film starring Matt Damon. Malkovich is believable as a cold-blooded killer. Just look at his eyes; they tell it all. Both Scott as the reluctant killer and Ray Winstone as the crude Reeves who is responsible for Ripley's hiring Jonathan as the killer give credible performances.
"Ripley's Game" is quite an entertaining crime movie.
Movie Review: A ripper
Summary: 4 Stars
If you were a keen follower of the Hannibal's franchise, this movie would suit you nicely. Whilst the Talented Mr. Ripley (the movie) showed us of the coming of him, Ripley's Game indicated how he had blossomed into a seasoned sociopath. John Malkovich was at his sleek-slimy self & it's hard not to be enchanted by him. The setting was gorgeous and did I mention about the preusal of an actual Palladio villa in Italy? Ripley described himself nicely when he told Dougray Scott's dying character who was enticed to commit a murder(s) that it used to bother him that he didn't have a conscience but not anymore. To top that up, Ripley explained that one good thing about committing evil things were that after a few days, he wouldn't remember anything anymore. How Dougray Scott's character found attachment to the enigmatic Ripley was inexplicable but they did anyhow and formed a rather surreal alliance against the mobsters. The movie was moving along at an even pace and amid the calmness, there was always a tense or edginess to the environment. The relationship of Ripley and his live-in partner, an accomplished Italian harpischodist revealed a conditional relationship of the dominating and the dominated, no questions asked and rewards would come accordingly kind of a relationship. I guess this movie revealed to us that we all have a propensity to do something outlandish or totally evil. We are standing on a very fine line and all we need is a very minor catch to catch us off-guard. Outstanding cast all around but notably, Ray Winstone who played Ripley's ex-partner. Such a tasty movie to sit through. An edge-of-the-seat thriller that slowly unfolded itself but truly satisfying. Highly recommended.Movie Review: Murder amidst sophistication arttistically done
Summary: 4 Stars
Insults lead to bad tidings in "Ripley's Game", an Italian production that contrasts high art with everyday murder and thievery and effectively pulls off this dichotomy. John Malkovich stars as Ripley, a self-described "talented improvisor" that lives like a prince in an Italian estate thanks to his mischevious nature. His lifestyle as killer and art thief supports his girlfriend's high falutin' keyboard career in addition to his own very prosperous lifestyle.
When a 9-to-5 married picture framer unknowingly insults Ripley during a party, he sets up the schnook through lowlife partner Ray Winstone -- an earthy foil to Malkovich's refined character -- and he is soon knee deep in an enterprise of murder and mayhem that monumentally disrupts life for his lovely wife and young son. This, Ripley suggests, is "the game."
Soon the picture framer -- who is driven to murder by greed and his own cancer -- is led into a deepening morass of killing and greed where Ripley is both antagonist and protagonist. The action is carried out with worldliness, humor and subtlety, all very European. In the end it is never clear who wins or loses and which is really the bad guy. Almost everyone besides Ripley loses something, proving he is master of his own game.
My favorite John Malkovich movie was filmed in Italy and Germany. Ennio Morricone's alternately minimalist and lyrical score adds dimension to the mystery. This is a rewarding flick for anyone that likes mystery, murder and good filmmaking with a few plot twists. There are enough unexpected turns -- watch for Malkovich to exit a train's restroom at a critical juncture -- that the movie never gets boring.
Movie Review: Fun and games among the sociopathic elite
Summary: 4 Stars
Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley is a true sociopath and Malkovich plays him chillingly. Although I had trouble understanding the basic scam that seems to be driving the plot of this movie, I have a hunch it is not really significant anyway. The movie seems to be primarily a metaphor for modern (postmodern?) life and the seduction of an honest (but weak and dying) man by evil. Dougray Scott plays the "innocent" party. His moral struggle and agony is constantly displayed on his face. It is hard to imagine how he as an actor could produce all this intense emotion when he is getting nothing but deadpan understatement from Malkovich. But their partnership on the screen is truly eerie. And the stony coldness of the Berlin setting (with its unforgetable associations with nazi evil) only adds to the general atmosphere of creepiness. Although I don't know if his line comes from Highsmith's novel, it does seem consistent with the existential aura in which she casts her killers to have Scott's character (at his most distraught) ask Ripley, "Why me? Why did you choose me?" Ripley's answer would have done Camus proud.It's hard to picture Malkovich as the elder version of Matt Damon's Ripley (from The Talented Mr. Ripley). There is no sense of Ripley as the romantically disappointed lost soul committing murders in spite of his earnest desire to be socially accepted. Malkovich "thrives" socially--has a wife (or lover), and even enjoys harpsicord music. It's just not clear what he "gets" from all his success. That, to me, is the definition of a sociopath.
DVD extras can only be accessed via computer/internet.
Movie Review: Highsmith's Ripley Plays His Game
Summary: 4 Stars
Although I enjoyed the film version of 'the Talented Mr. Ripley with Matt Damon in the lead, John Malkovich's portrayal of an older more desensitized Ripley captures the essence of the Highsmith character more accurately. Bravo Mr. Malkovich! WHile Damon's Ripley ponders over his crimes with a sense of regret fueled by his need for love, Highsmith's and Malkovich's Ripley is too amoral to care. And while in this story, the third of the Ripley quintet, we do encounter a slight bit of conscience and perhaps a tad of regret as Tom maliciously involves a dying man in an assasination simply because he was overheard insulting him, we see Ripley in all his unsavory glory, taking control of situations with the swift precision of the sharpest meat cleaver. The plot pretty much follows Hishsmith's novel; a slight change of venue from France to Italy and the substitution of an Italian wife rather a French one for Ripley does not change the opulent backdrop depicting the spoils resulting from Tom's doggedness to live a life of good taste and extravagent wealth.
If you are a fan of the Highsmith novels, I recommend this as a must-see. If you are not acquainted with the books, do become so---get to know Tom's malignant audacity and then check out Malkovich's rather on target portrayal. Would love to see Malkovich as Ripley in 'Ripley Goes Underground' where his art deal scam is explained more thoroughly.