Ripley Under Ground (2005)

Ripley Under Ground (2005). 1h 41m

“Highsmith u0026#39;s excellent thriller -which is the follow-up to u0026quot;the talented Mr Ripleyu0026quot; -has undergone some changes:in the book ,Tom was the owner of the desirable Belle Ombre château (he bought with Dickie Greenleafu0026#39;s money ,;his victimu0026#39;s cousin appears in this episode ) and the happy husband of rich French heiress Héloise who has not got a single clue about her criminal husbandu0026#39;s activities .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe screenwriters kept the proper nouns and a vague screenplay ,added some hot sex scenes, and produced a movie too hurried for comfort ; besides ,Barry Pepper is the worst Ripley Iu0026#39;ve ever seen (heu0026#39;s got top-notch competition :Alain Delon, Dennis Hopper ,Matt Damon and John Malkovich,and he u0026#39;s not up to scratch) ,lacking charisma and giving a johnny-one-note performance ,displaying nothing of Highsmithu0026#39;s complex hero .When Willem Dafoe,easily the best actor of the cast ,appears ,one cannot help but wonder what this cerebral thespian could have made with the part of Ripley .Highsmith u0026#39;s story was slow-moving,but inexorably building the suspense ; the movie multiplies the coincidences,the implausibilities at such a speed itu0026#39;s difficult to follow the plot if you donu0026#39;t know the novel ; itu0026#39;s no longer a psychological drama, itu0026#39;s an action-packed flick ,like so many others , sometimes verging on horror ….entertaining at best ,but Highsmithu0026#39;s buffs will fatally be disappointed .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFrench François Marthouret appears as Héloise u0026#39;s daddy ,perhaps only to justify the would be cynical ending.”