Ripley's Game

Comments about Ripley's Game:

It is misleading to describe this as the follow-up to The Talented Mr. Ripley, as it is a standalone film with none of the heavy-handed symbolism or arty posturing of Minghella's film, and gives us quite a different view of Ripley. The titular character is played here in a career-best performance by John Malkovich as an older man of the world who has apparently settled in Italy in a life of opulent idleness, but when his apparently ineffable composure is ruffled by an insult from local picture framer Jonathan Trevanny (Dougray Scott, also very good) he plots revenge. Ripley finds, however, that even the best-laid plans have a way of spiralling out of control, and games, once begun, must be played to the end, even as the body count increases.

The script, by director Liliana Cavani and "Brazil" co-writer Charles McKeown, is well-written (with some particularly memorable pearls from Ripley); its deliberate pacing may put some viewers off, but the way in which character motivations and subtexts are implied rather than explained in dialogue makes this a film that can be enjoyed in numerous viewings. We are required to guess at why characters behave the way they do, and what this tells us about them, in a way so few recent films demand of us. The centrepiece, a ten-minute murder sequence on a train, is a tour de force, combining horror with black humour reminiscent of the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera, as bodies are piled one after the other into a bathroom cubicle. (Ripley's comment after the grisly but necessary work is done: "I never thought it would be this crowded in first class.")

The extras, short interviews with the participants and on-location footage, do not dredge as deeply into the film-making process as some might like, but the finished product is what counts, and it's great to be able to get hold of such a memorable film at such a low price.

Service and delivery comments:

Quick delivery.