Original interpretation — not a still from the production
The most beautiful film ever made about wanting to be somebody else.
The Continental Verdict
Essential
Minghella understood something most directors of this material miss: the horror is not the violence, it is the wardrobe. Ripley arrives in Italy in a borrowed jacket and spends the picture assembling a self out of other men's linen, other men's jazz records, other men's easy afternoons on the water. The Italy on screen — Ischia standing in for Mongibello, Rome in its last unhurried decade, Venice out of season — is filmed with the sincerity of a man who genuinely loved it, which is precisely why the corruption lands. Nothing in it is hurried. The betrayals arrive at the pace of a long lunch.
What stays with you is the sound: a bathtub, a scooter two streets away, Jude Law's laugh arriving before he does. Watch it once for the plot, then again for the tailoring and the light on the water, which is the correct way round.
Why Watch It
The Gentleman Factor
Every rule of dressing well in heat is demonstrated here — and every rule of behaving well at another man's expense is broken.
Look Out For
- Ripley's first jacket, and how badly it fits compared with Dickie's
- The jazz-club sequence in Naples
- Venice in winter — the antidote to every tourist photograph
The Locations
Ischia and Procida play Mongibello; the Roman scenes were shot around Piazza di Spagna and Palazzo Taverna. Both islands remain quiet in May.
More from the travel pages →The Cars
The Fiat 600 Multipla and a Vespa doing more for Italian glamour than any supercar has managed since.
More from motoring →The Wardrobe
Ann Roth's costumes are the syllabus: unlined cream jackets, striped seersucker, camp-collar shirts, sunglasses as punctuation. Note how Dickie's clothes look lived in and Ripley's look purchased.
More on style →The Soundtrack
Gabriel Yared's score, plus Chet Baker's 'My Funny Valentine' — cross-referenced with the music pages.
Into the music room →Watch Next
Where to Watch
Streaming on Prime Video and worth owning on Blu-ray for the colour grade alone.
For the Collection
Also in The Gentleman's Canon
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