Having travelled the Italian countryside, along with road trips through Switzerland, Germany and Spain, in the summer of 2017, watching “The Talented Mr. Ripley” was a cozy trip down memory lane. Mesmerized by the beauty of Europe, I enjoyed the movie from the first 20 minute onwards given its setting in beautiful Italian places.
The movie has a quirky and interesting story. Watching a talented conman navigate his way through the struggles he faces in getting money and affluence and very amusing. Despite his wrong ways, I began to appreciate Ripley’s skills, especially impersonations. The scene where he alone sets up trails of communication between himself and another character in the movie (Dickie) brings up his attention to detail. Despite his wrong ways, I ended the movie with an appreciation for Ripley’s wits and ruthless execution of plans, with him killing his beloved partner to keep himself form being exposed the most ruthless executions of his plans.
I also covet wandering around in a small peaceful town in Europe a lot. The beautiful coastline and sunshine will cure all the worries that we have. I think the ending of killing his beloved partner is very irrational. I understand that it hurts to be embarrassed by the person that you love, but taking away his life is just not an equal thing to do to a partner. Even though he did not mean to kill his lover, the act of hitting him with the oar does not mean love anymore.