Ripley Under Ground -
If you had no idea this Tom Ripley movie exists, you are not alone. I only became aware of it while randomly browsing Patricia Highsmith's Wikipedia page. Living in London and moonlighting as an actor, his main gig is promoting a painter, Derwatt, who is the new star of the art world. After something tragic happens, Ripley gets the opportunity to do what he does best: keep up appearances. Of course, there are other complications: his romance with beautiful Parisian Heloise and one of Derwatt's biggest American fans and buyers suddenly showing up.
This is not a hidden gem or anything, but it did not deserve to be buried, no pun intended. First, the not so great that could explain its obscurity: all the other Ripley movies I have seen ooze with style befitting the character's taste. This one, despite some trippy montages typical of early '00s movies, screams workmanlike. This especially applies to the overly efficient editing, which enhances the parts that make it a thriller, but it barely lets the character moments or luxuries of the galleries and mansions linger. Luckily, this does not mar the performances too much since it has a very fine cast. I like Barry Pepper as Ripley, who understands that to play him, you must be deceptive, charismatic and make you root for him even though he is not a very good person. Other highlights are the always delightful and funny Alan Cumming as his fellow promoter, whose hatred of cell phones and the internet likely mirror the creators' thoughts about having to add them to the script. There's also Willem Dafoe, who got under my skin in the best way for how he makes the buyer such a dullard and square. The most fun parts of these movies are when Ripley is on the verge of being exposed, but manages to save his skin just in time, and it does not disappoint in this regard. While he gets so lucky at times that it verges on the ridiculous, especially whenever grave digging is involved, I found the ridiculousness to be so amusing in and of itself that it is more feature than bug.
Since I have been on a Ripley kick for a while, discovering this movie made me feel like Christmas came early. Now that I've seen it, it's more like getting an extra prize in a Cracker Jack box, but not one that is your favorite. It would never top my list if I ranked the Ripley catalog, in other words, but for the way it takes a jab at the art world and proves that a man scorned is no less furious, I'm still glad I watched it. Oh, and if it has anything over its predecessors, it's that it's the only one where Ripley showers with three standard poodles.
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