Janjira Gardner
RIPLEY UNDER GROUND (2005)Tom Wilkinson. Simon Callow. Clare Forlani
The casting is fine with the unfortunate exception of Barry Pepper (excellent in The 25th Hour) who is miscast as Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley. Then again, this movie is only nominally a Ripley film. Why, because the misfiring slapstick of the screenplay taken with the frenetic "action" orientation of the pedestrian direction are wrong-headed. And that's a shame. Actors, however competent, cannot save films lacking intelligence, wit, subtlety, and style. Highsmith requires these four things, plus atmosphere. Postcard shots of a French château, jump cuts, and wooden dialogue just don't meet the mark. Nor is mere attitude (for example, an arty archness) any substitute for substance (in this case, the mental machinations of Mr. Ripley). And yet, there are worse movies on offer. Far worse.
giorgos-grigoriou
I randomly watched the movie in the TV,having no idea what i was going to see. Not bad but pretty fake at some point but even with the the cliché' of trying to be unpredictable,i enjoyed it.Tom Ripley with his friends are trying to hide the death of their talented painter-artist friend and make money out of his name pretending that he is alive but this isn't an easy job to do,Tom Ripley in his try to not be revealed is willing to do anything.....It is an average movie but it keeps your interest to watch it till the end,Barry Pepper's (Tom Ripley)acting was good and Claire Forlani(Cynthia) was the hottest in the movie,i enjoyed her sexy scenes and dialogs the most.So just fine to watch it but yet there is anything great to remember from the movie
Enchorde
Recap: Tom Ripley is struggling to get by as a actor in London. However, as his credentials are discovered as fake and he is kicked out. But his friend, Derwatt, a painter, has just made it big. But Derwatt's proposal goes wrong and Derwatt kills himself. His friends, all in need of money, decides that it would be best if Derwatt was still alive and sold his paintings. Or better yet, still produced new paintings. So they hide the body and starts an elaborate plot to keep Derwatt hidden, but alive. But a lie needs a lie to cover it up. And soon events spin out of control.Comments: It is unfortunately too clear that this is a (second) sequel that has lost budget and quality. The few effects are simply not good enough, but what is worse is that the story is not really believable or engaging. It's a little over the top, too many accidents or random events are just too convenient to Ripley and his games. And what might be the worst, Tom Ripley is hard to sympathize with. He lacks finesse and ingenuity, instead his answer are violence and murder to keep his lies covered up. It is not about false identities or a psychological game of hide and seek. It's a murder story gone wrong.And when you lose interest in the lead characters, the movie is normally in deep trouble. This is, which is unfortunate because I like the cast. Barry Pepper, Alan Cumming, Claire Forlani, Tom Wilkinson and Willem Defoe is all good and talented actors. Most of them normally do much better productions than this.5/10
rogersrj
I was able to see a screening of White on White (which was called Ripley's Art) and was greatly surprised. Going into the film, I was thinking that it would be a very dark, serious film. However, the film is nothing like the first. This is much more of a dark comedy with some mystery aspects. If you liked the first film because it was so dark, then you probably will not like this film. Good performances from all the actors, but some of the lines were a little corny.Overall, I enjoyed the film, but many of the people at the screening said they did not enjoy it.
AD
