The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

With his son off galavanting around Europe, the wealthy "Greenleaf" (James Rebhorn) happens upon the eponymous character (Matt Damon) whom he charges with travelling - first class - to track down "Dickie" (Jude Law) and bring him home. He manages an introduction to his quarry, and his girlfriend "Marge" (Gwyneth Paltrow), on an Italian riviera beach and suggesting they'd both gone to Princeton, manages to inveigle an invitation to lunch. Now "Tom" has done his research here. he knows "Dickie" loves jazz, and so by feigning a recently acquired interest in the music he manages to comprehensively ingratiate himself into their lives. The arrival of their mate "Freddie" (Philip Seymour Hoffmann) manages to unsettle the wealthy man who concludes that he wishes to be rid of his newly acquired parasite. Next thing, well "Dickie" appears to have done his best Greta Garbo "want to be alone" and "Tom" is providing an initial shoulder to cry on for "Marge" before they part company. Now we know what happened, so are not too surprised when we see "Tom" start to live the life he'd always wanted to, he hooks up with "Meredith" (Cate Blanchett) whom he met on the boat over, and a life of fraudulent frolics ensue. As ever, though, one lie is never enough and the reappearance of "Freddie" and a chance meeting with "Marge" at the opera starts to cause problems for "Tom" that only increase when "Greenleaf" arrives wanting to know what the hell is going on... This is one of these characterful mystery dramas that hits the ground running and uses a solid cast to keep the momentum going until a denouement that i felt was just a little too serendipitous but that still works well. Damon is on good form and it's not hard to see why Jude Law made it initially either. Paltrow is underused at the start but does come into her element more as the the plot thickens and by the end there is an enjoyable will he/won't he uncomfortableness about the ending. The photography is classy and stylish illustrating well the scenarios in which these spoilt and malevolent folks find themselves, there's a bit of humour and some cracking jazz to pepper this superior thriller.

An intricate web of lies that spirals out of control. Law is easily coveted. Damon is calculated and cunning. Hoffman had to go.