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-- ------ - 4 ' PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2000 - 9 Evocative Ripley ultimately SCREENING ily By John Foote THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (eve) Directed by Anthony Minghella Now in theatres Anthony Minghella's last film was the vastly over praised work The English Patient (1996), which went on to win a stunning nine Academy Awards, rave reviews, and world wide fame as the breakthrough independent film from Miramax. Considering Miramax is fronted with Disney money, | would hardly call The English Patient an independent film, especially at a cost of $25 million, which in fairness, could make twenty five indies. Though there was. a great deal to admire in The English Patient, | remem- ber seeing the film for the second time and wondering when it would end. Much like Elaine Benis (the popular Seinfeld character), | was tortured by the film, impatiently awaiting the death of the lead actress so | could go home. There are beautiful desert vistas, spectacular set- tings, and strong performances from at least two leads, but over all, the film weakens with repeat viewings. With all that in mind, it was with more than a little concern | walked into Minghella's new film, his first since win- ning the Academy Award for best director. The Talented Mr. Ripley reminded me constantly of the work of Alfred Hitchcock, albeit sadly lacking in character develop- ment, and missing the vicious comic edge Hitch gave his best films. Still, there is much to admire in Minghella"s new picture, particularly the performance of Matt Damon 'as the deeply psychotic Tom Ripley, a poor American thrust into the lifestyles of the obscenely wealthy by a fluke circum- stance. He is sent to Europe to bring home the wealthy son of his employer, but once there he is seduced by the power and beauty that comes with money. Ripley decides he will take the place of the man he has been sent to fetch home, but that will of course involve mur- der and all sorts of mayhem, none of which bothers Ripley all that much. Damon has proven himself as an actor with an Oscar nominated performance in Good Will Hunting (1997), and of course was the title character in Steven Spielberg's masterpiece Saving Private Ryan (1998). Here he-delves deep into the troubled Ripley, losing himself com- pletely in the character, and having the courage to portray a gay man who wants to be a part of a world that will never accept him. The performance is brave, because Damon does not have to do this type of acting; he could rest on his laurels (as his parther Ben Affleck has done), and make a disappointment Mace way NE: LI] 3 # aa 8 + INL Le Matt Damon turns in a strong performance in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley. stupid studio pictures for great money. But I sense he is cut from the same cloth as Johnny Depp, a young man blessed with good looks, but undemeath all of that lurks a true artist who wants to be challenged by roles. There is talk of an Oscar nomination, and | daresay it could happen for him. The supporting roles are where the film runs into trouble. There is not a sin- gle well defined character, which, consid- ering the talent within the film, is some- thing of a shock. Jude Law does what he can with the role of the spoiled young man who meets his doom at the hands of Ripley, and Gwyneth Paltrow suffers admirably as the woman Ripley is fixated on for his trophy. Only Cate Blachett, the wonderful Australian actress who should have won the Oscar last year for Elizabeth (1998), carves out a character, but her screen time is far too limited. Exotic locations dominate the film, giv- ing it the look and feel of Hitchcock's work * in the fifties, the decade The Talented Mr. Ripley takes place in. Not there however, is the perverse feel of the great director's work, and though Damon gives a smash-. ing performance, the film is ultimately a disappointment. Cabinet / 699 | (NAPOLE Pog A ; a . ON UXBRIDG (905) 852-0369 7 MODEL GD16™ *1399 installed 3 | (905) 985-0715 | January 17, 2000 The Port Perry Star 188 Mary Street Port Perry, Ont. LoL 187 Attention: Ginni Todd | Dear Ginn. advertisement that to write this letter tO let you K eo | placed in your Fn kend Star worked. meet me at know how well the day January 14th edition of | advertised our annual the Port Perry Wee Customer Appreciation Day and offered half price on many i different items in our restaurant. | nse from this ad, | have decided to ation day again this Saturday for your help in putting me and | look my Star again for my Due to the incredible respo offer a second customer appreci ks 22.2000. Once again than abd this very effective advertisement for i forward to working with you and the port Pe future promotions. Sincerely = ght bbie McKni De r Dairy Queen Owner/Manage