Freakishly weird…what exactly does that mean? An ending that was inadequate? One that I didn’t see coming, one that was bizarre…some endings deliberately try to shock you and make you go “a-ha”. Most often they fall flat, it wasn’t that I didn’t see this ending coming – I didn’t – the delivery of it was just eerie – brilliant – but weird.
SPOILERS – obviously (Haven’t seen it? Don’t read it)
Unlike the runaway for The English Patient Minghella’s 1999 masterpiece The Talented Mr. Ripley wasn’t wholly loved (REVIEWED). Based on the eponymous novel it tells the story of the nefarious body snatcher (not literally of course) Ripley, played excellently by Matt Damon in probably his best performance. Ripley is at first infatuated with Jude Law’s deliciously mean Dickie Greenleaf, but eventually he murders him when Dickie gets tired of his friendship. He adopts Dickie’s personality for some time before having to kill again. Along the way he meets Meredith Logue (Cate Blanchett in a beautifully understated performance). After convincing most of his innocence in Dickie’s disappearance he makes his way out of Italy on ship with Peter, a mutual friend of Dickie’s who Ripley may, or may not, start a love affair with. Unfortunately, Meredith Logue is on the ship – she still think he’s Dickie, and so is Peter. He can’t kill her, she’s with her family – but he can’t be revealed so in the final scene Tom kills Peter. It’s more than a rote killing because he does love Peter, but he loves his freedom more so as Peter tells us all the great things about Paul Ripley we see him sitting in the dark and hear the murder as he begins to cry tearfully and the screen fades to black. No ending will be creepier, even if they try more overtly. I’m repulsed, fascinated and moved by Ripley’s plight, which he of course brought on himself – that ending is definitely something special.
Am I the only one who was creeped out by this?
(More of the MEME)
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