--- title: "The Talented Mr. Ripley: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-talented-mr-ripley/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-talented-mr-ripley" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 16 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): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 16 reviews: 12 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative. 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. ## The Times — Ed Potton Rating ★★★★★. 22 April 2022. 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 the review](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 Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2000. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/feb/27/philipfrench) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 June 2016. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-talented-mr-ripley) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 1999. 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 the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-talented-mr-ripley-1999) ## Evening Standard — Tim Lusher Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. 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 the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/minghella-puts-cool-back-in-jazz-6331775.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 2013. 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 the review](https://www.avclub.com/matt-damon-s-signature-performance-is-the-chameleon-at-1798236141) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 1999. 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 the review](https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-talented-mr-ripley-2-1200460048/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Rating Critic's Pick. 24 December 1999. 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 the review](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 Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 1999. 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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/12/27/killing-time) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/talented-mr-ripley-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 1999. 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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-24-ca-46952-story.html) ## Sight and Sound — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 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 the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/548) ## Collider — Jacob Slankard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2024. 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 the review](https://collider.com/the-talented-mr-ripley-matt-damon-review/) ## The Ringer — Haley Mlotek Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2019. 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 the review](https://www.theringer.com/2019/12/23/movies/talented-mr-ripley-anniversary-20-years) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. 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 the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-talented-mr-ripley-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Paste — Brogan Morris Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 April 2024. 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 the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/matt-damon/the-talented-mr-ripley-loneliness-patricia-highsmith-anthony-minghella) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-talented-mr-ripley.md