---
title: "The Talented Mr. Ripley"
year: 1999
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-talented-mr-ripley"
fi1m_id: "the-talented-mr-ripley"
imdb_id: "tt0134119"
tmdb_id: 1213
wikidata_id: "Q390052"
fi1m_score: 80
critics_score: 74
critics_reviews: 16
published: "2026-09-14"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:44.450923+00:00"
region: "PT"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Directed by Anthony Minghella · 2h 20m · IGAC M/12 · Thriller, Crime, Drama

## Identity

The Talented Mr. Ripley

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-talented-mr-ripley
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-talented-mr-ripley
- **IMDb ID:** tt0134119
- **TMDB ID:** 1213
- **Wikidata ID:** Q390052
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134119/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1213, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q390052

**Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 74 from 16 reviews

*In a sentence:* An Italian holiday where the most alarming sight is Matt Damon trying to fit in

> Anthony Minghella makes class envy painfully intimate, with Matt Damon giving Tom Ripley a neediness that is hard to watch. The plotting becomes over-elaborate, but this is a persuasive, unsettling thriller with an unusually good ensemble.

## Synopsis

In late-1950s Italy, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) longs for the life that Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) takes for granted. Money, class and desire complicate his efforts to belong, while his fascination with another man’s identity becomes increasingly dangerous. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Marge Sherwood, with Cate Blanchett as Meredith Logue and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Freddie Miles in the expatriate circle around them. Anthony Minghella adapts Patricia Highsmith’s novel into a crime drama about an outsider trying to become someone else, and the people caught up in his ambitions.

## Review

Anthony Minghella’s *The Talented Mr. Ripley* understands how humiliating it can be to want the approval of someone who scarcely needs to think about us. His adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel is an absorbing thriller, driven by the unequal relationship between Matt Damon’s Tom Ripley and Jude Law’s Dickie Greenleaf. Money makes one of them comfortable and the other watchful. Minghella stays close enough to that discomfort to make the elaborate plotting matter, although he eventually asks it to bear too much weight.

Damon’s nervousness is the useful choice here, even when it risks making Tom seem too inexperienced for the story around him. His performance lets us see the effort involved in being agreeable, and the fear of getting it wrong. We felt painfully embarrassed for him beside Law’s Dickie, whose ease makes Tom’s eagerness look more exposed. That reaction matters: Minghella gives us enough of Tom’s longing to recognise it before asking how much of his behaviour we are prepared to excuse.

Law gives Dickie the careless confidence of someone accustomed to being wanted. He makes the attraction comprehensible without making Dickie particularly admirable, a distinction on which much of the film depends. Minghella also makes Tom’s sexual longing legible, so that his envy cannot be reduced to wanting better clothes. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Freddie Miles is unpleasant company, and his confidence makes Tom’s uncertainty more obvious. The ensemble is strong enough to suggest lives that do not begin when Tom notices them.

John Seale’s cinematography makes the Italian surroundings inviting enough for Tom’s fixation to seem understandable. Minghella gives us time to look at the places these people take for granted, and that patience is largely rewarded. Roy Walker’s production design makes their wealth seem settled and ordinary to them, which helps explain why Tom’s wanting feels so conspicuous. There are moments when the sheer polish softens the unpleasantness, but the scenery never seems irrelevant to what Tom wants.

Walter Murch’s editing is especially effective in the opening credits, which establish Tom’s sense of opportunity without a cumbersome explanation. There is an economy there that the rest of the film could use more often. Gabriel Yared’s score keeps us attentive to Tom’s distress, a useful contribution when the intrigue threatens to make him merely busy. The tension survives some slack pacing because we still want to know what this man can persuade himself to do.

The weakness belongs chiefly to Minghella’s screenplay, which keeps complicating a situation whose emotional terms are already clear. At 140 minutes, the film has room to let us study these people, but the later plotting begins to feel overworked. We start considering how the story is being managed when we should be worrying about the people in it. The performances sustain that worry better than the accumulating intrigue.

The film is less clinical than a psychological thriller about an impostor might be, and that warmth will trouble some viewers. For us, Tom’s neediness makes the attraction of his company more disturbing. Damon’s performance keeps that discomfort alive even when the writing labours. Give it an evening when there is time afterwards to argue about how much sympathy Tom deserves.

*Fi1m score 80, published 14 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like it, and the praise clusters in the same places: the Italian settings, the look of the thing, and the cast. Matt Damon’s Ripley is singled out again and again, with Jude Law and Philip Seymour Hoffman close behind. Minghella’s decision to make Tom lonely and pitiable rather than coldly professional is, for the majority, the film’s distinction; the later reviews in particular treat that sympathy as what sets it apart from other versions of Highsmith.

That same sympathy is where the reservations gather. The Los Angeles Times calls it a lack of nerve, and Empire finds the film over-plotted and without a sympathetic core; The New Yorker thinks Damon plays a nervous beginner rather than a sociopath. Pacing complaints recur, either a sagging middle or a lost stride near the end. The spread is fairly wide, from wholehearted to lukewarm, but nobody dislikes it.

## Straight answers

**Is The Talented Mr. Ripley worth watching?**

*The Talented Mr. Ripley* is worth watching for anyone who likes a slow, character-led thriller, and we scored it 80. Matt Damon's needy, watchful Tom Ripley and Jude Law's careless Dickie Greenleaf make the class envy painfully intimate. The plotting grows over-elaborate in the later stretches, so it suits viewers who prefer discomfort to pace.

**How long is The Talented Mr. Ripley, and what is it rated?**

*The Talented Mr. Ripley* runs 2h 20m and is rated M/12 by the IGAC in Portugal. It is a thriller and crime film.

**Where can I watch The Talented Mr. Ripley in Portugal?**

*The Talented Mr. Ripley* is streaming on HBO Max in Portugal, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from €2.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is The Talented Mr. Ripley, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Talented Mr. Ripley* is a 15 in the UK and an R in the US, and it is not for children. The film is more unsettling than gory, built on tension, sexual longing and the question of how much of Tom's behaviour we are prepared to excuse. Older teenagers who can sit with 140 minutes of slow dread should manage it.

**How does The Talented Mr. Ripley compare to Mississippi Burning?**

*The Talented Mr. Ripley* and [*Mississippi Burning*](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning) are both tense thrillers with strong lead performances, but they are very different in kind. Minghella's film is an intimate study of one outsider's envy and desire in 1950s Italy; Parker's is a procedural about racist violence and an FBI investigation. Ripley is the more coherent and the more disturbing of the two, while Mississippi Burning has the stronger surface tension but a narrower view of its own subject.

**Is The Talented Mr. Ripley based on a true story or a book?**

*The Talented Mr. Ripley* is based on Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name, not on a true story. Anthony Minghella adapts it as a crime drama about an outsider trying to become someone else, and knowing the book is not necessary to follow or enjoy the film. Tom Ripley, Dickie Greenleaf and the expatriate circle around them are Highsmith's inventions.

**What should I watch after The Talented Mr. Ripley?**

After *The Talented Mr. Ripley*, try [*Purple Noon*](https://film.one/film/purple-noon) (1960, Fi1m 82): Another encounter with Ripley, colder in manner and just as absorbed by money. Then [*The Servant*](https://film.one/film/the-servant) (1963, Fi1m 89): For the uneasy pleasure of watching class confidence begin to fail; and [*Burning*](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning) (2018, Fi1m 72): Desire and class resentment make another young man’s fascination difficult to shake.

### Reviews we read (16)

- **The Times**, Ed Potton (★★★★★): The critic highlights the film's visual ravishment and moral intrigue as an adaptation of Highsmith, praising the cast's beauty (especially Jude Law) and the Italian locations while noting its corruption and menace. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-talented-mr-ripley-review-1999-nonchalant-cruelty-has-never-looked-so-good-qjj88wxfn)
- **The Guardian**, Philip French (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a seductive triumph and an intelligent, beautifully crafted movie. He praises its immaculate performances, gripping thriller elements in the second half, and the way it evokes the expatriate world of 1950s Italy while exploring class envy and identity. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/feb/27/philipfrench)
- **Time Out**, GA (90/100, inferred): Minghella's imaginative but mostly faithful adaptation is a class act in every sense, elegantly polished with top-notch performances, magnificent camerawork and editing. It is acutely aware of how class, money and sex shape desire and resentment. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-talented-mr-ripley)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as an intelligent thriller that leads viewers to identify with the charming but amoral protagonist. Minghella's adaptation stands out for its strong performances, particularly Matt Damon's, and its exploration of identity and deception. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-talented-mr-ripley-1999)
- **Evening Standard**, Tim Lusher (80/100, inferred): The critic praises Minghella's integration of jazz into the film's style and story, making it sexy and stylish with an impeccable soundtrack. They highlight the director's achievement in elevating the photogenic cast and material beyond typical jazz film clichés. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/minghella-puts-cool-back-in-jazz-6331775.html)
- **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (80/100, inferred): The piece highlights Matt Damon's signature role as the chameleon-like Tom Ripley in this emotionally driven adaptation. Minghella trades cool detachment for passion and sympathy toward the sociopath, creating a tragic figure amid luxurious Italian settings and strong supporting turns. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/matt-damon-s-signature-performance-is-the-chameleon-at-1798236141)
- **Variety** (75/100, inferred): This highly scenic adaptation is a mostly intoxicating and involving tale of intrigue and crime, splendidly served by a beautiful cast and proving a fine follow-up for Minghella. It loses its stride somewhat in the home stretch after emphasizing the gay angle and the murderer's desire to assume another's identity in late-1950s Italy. [Read](https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-talented-mr-ripley-2-1200460048/)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (Critic's Pick): The critic praises the film's diabolically smart surprises and exquisitely economical opening credit sequence that sets up Tom Ripley's thrilling new world of opportunity. Minghella broadens the source material by adding characters and bringing Tom's sexual longings to the surface, yet Matt Damon's performance keeps the character dangerously compelling. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/24/movies/film-review-stealing-a-new-life-carnal-glamorous-and-worth-the-price.html)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (65/100, inferred): Minghella turns death into something swift and easily settled in this lush psychological thriller that struggles to capture Highsmith's philosophical edge. Damon's Ripley comes across as a nervous neophyte on a dangerous dare rather than a sociopathic pro, resulting in an intriguing but uneven nineties take on the material. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/12/27/killing-time)
- **Empire**, Ian Nathan (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a fascinating but flawed study of an outsider driven to extremes, praising the brave central performance by Damon and the stylish supporting turns but faulting Minghella for over-plotting and lacking a sympathetic core. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/talented-mr-ripley-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (50/100, inferred): The film is a wonderfully accomplished work that is unconvincing at its core due to a lack of nerve in portraying the chilling protagonist. Minghella and his top collaborators deliver gorgeous Italian atmosphere and strong supporting turns, especially from Philip Seymour Hoffman, but the central portrait lacks emotional impact. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-24-ca-46952-story.html)
- **Sight and Sound**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (50/100, inferred): A tense, troubling thriller full of vivid, miserable life, with strong performances such as Philip Seymour Hoffman as Freddie. It is marred by pacing issues in the middle and some implausible characterisation, and is more conservative than the source novel. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/548)
- **Collider**, Jacob Slankard (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Minghella's 25th-anniversary-celebrated adaptation as a sympathetic, humanized take on Highsmith's story that stands out among versions for its focus on Tom's vulnerability, thwarted queer desire, and tragic loneliness. It singles out the lush production design, strong ensemble (especially Jude Law and Philip Seymour Hoffman), and Minghella's blend of romantic thriller elements with visual tension. [Read](https://collider.com/the-talented-mr-ripley-matt-damon-review/)
- **The Ringer**, Haley Mlotek (80/100, inferred): The critic celebrates the film's enduring visual and textural appeal as a stylish meditation on surfaces, desire, and the intimacy of objects, with Minghella's version standing out for its emotional sympathy toward the scammer's obsessions. It singles out the opera scene and lush evocation of 1950s Italy as highlights of its melodrama and warning about beauty and privilege. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2019/12/23/movies/talented-mr-ripley-anniversary-20-years)
- **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film too long, slow and sometimes incredulous, yet praises Anthony Minghella's elegant direction and the visual opulence of its Mediterranean settings. Matt Damon's low-key performance as the enigmatic Ripley is highlighted as a standout, along with Jude Law's exuberant turn. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-talented-mr-ripley-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)
- **Paste**, Brogan Morris (70/100, inferred): The critic notes that Minghella's romantic approach humanizes Ripley more than other adaptations by emphasizing his terrible loneliness and desperate need to belong rather than pure sociopathy or class envy. It singles out the glamorous yet isolating Italian setting and the tragic, sympathetic portrayal that makes Tom a pitiful figure at the end. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/matt-damon/the-talented-mr-ripley-loneliness-patricia-highsmith-anthony-minghella)

## Details

- **Director:** Anthony Minghella
- **Director:** Anthony Minghella
- **Screenplay:** Anthony Minghella
- **Novel:** Patricia Highsmith
- **Cinematography:** John Seale
- **Editor:** Walter Murch
- **Music:** Gabriel Yared
- **Production design:** Roy Walker
- **Costume design:** Ann Roth, Gary Jones
- **Producer:** William Horberg, Tom Sternberg
- **Cast:** Matt Damon as Tom Ripley; Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge Sherwood; Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf; Cate Blanchett as Meredith Logue; Philip Seymour Hoffman as Freddie Miles; Jack Davenport as Peter Smith-Kingsley; James Rebhorn as Herbert Greenleaf; Sergio Rubini as Inspector Roverini
- **Runtime:** 2h 20m
- **Certificate (IGAC):** M/12
- **Release (Portugal):** 18 February 2000
- **Genres:** Thriller, Crime, Drama
- **Also in:** [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 1999); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 1999)
- **Budget:** $40 million
- **Box office:** $129 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylc5ToQoLg0

## Where to watch in Portugal

- HBO Max: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: rent €2.99, sd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy €9.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-14.*

Also available in: AT, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HU, IE, IN, IT, LT, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2000: Best Costume Design (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Purple Noon* (1960), Fi1m 82: Another encounter with Ripley, colder in manner and just as absorbed by money. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/purple-noon.md)
- *The Servant* (1963), Fi1m 89: For the uneasy pleasure of watching class confidence begin to fail. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-servant.md)
- *La Cérémonie* (1995): Domestic routines grow troubling as resentment gathers inside a comfortable household.
- *Burning* (2018), Fi1m 72: Desire and class resentment make another young man’s fascination difficult to shake. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning.md)
- *A Place in the Sun* (1951), Fi1m 81: Another ambitious outsider discovers how much he wants a wealthy person’s life. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-place-in-the-sun.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-talented-mr-ripley