The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

There are a lot of films that have slipped through the cracks over the years that I have not seen that I am regretfully getting to now. Obviously, if you make the time to view those said films then you have the chance to catch up and the film I chose for today, The Talented Mr. Ripley is one of those films and it was released in 1999 and had the screenplay adapted from the book by Patricia Highsmith and was directed by Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain). The film stars Matt Damon (Jay And Silent Bob Reboot) as Tom Ripley, a New York underachiever who has an unique talent that has carried him through life which is the art of imitation. He is so good at it that he is hired by the Greenleafs, a rich family in New York to track down their son in Italy and to return him home. The only problem is that when the mission fails, Tom has to resort to extreme measures. The film also stars Jude Law (Road To Perdition) as Dickie Greenleaf, Gwyneth Paltrow (Mortdecai) as Marge Sherwood, Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth) as Meredith Logue, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead) as Freddie, Jack Davenport (Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) as Peter, James Rebhorn (Scent Of A Woman) as Mr. Greenleaf, Philip Baker Hall (Boogie Nights) as Alvin MacCarron, Stefania Rocca (Nirvana) as Silvana, and Celia Weston (Dead Man Walking) as Aunt Joan.

The film was actually really good and that surprised me because I didn't know what to expect especially when it was almost an two and the half hour film and one of your main characters is killed halfway through the film. Some films might sink at that point as they try to figure out how to navigate through while also trying to keep your attention and they do a great job here. In fact, I would go as far as saying that is right where the film gets really good because that is when the thrill and suspense begin. Is he going to get caught and what happens if some of Dickie's friends end up in the same place as him? Those were some of the questions that were burning through my mind and it baffles me all the way to the end of the film how lucky Tom Ripley was, but it was an ugly downward spiral for him for sure. The film featured some great performances from the likes of Paltrow, Blanchett, Damon, and Law who were just dynamite all the way through. Davenport and Hoffman were great support for the previous four I mentioned, but they still had really good performance as well. The real star of the film is the cinematography and all of the shots of all the beautiful sights that are found in Italy were the true stars of the film. That was definitely my favorite part of the film and it makes me want to visit Italy for sure. So with all of that being said, I am going to go ahead and give the film an A- for a final grade.

Dead Man Walking (1995)

One of the points of doing a challenge or a blog like this is to watch films that have some critical acclaim to them or made an impact when they came out. I definitely remember the film that I chose for today made an impact when it was nominated for four Oscars and took one home and that film is 1995's Dead Man Walking which was written and directed by Tim Robbins (Mystic River). The film stars Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise) as Sister Helen Prejean, a nun who works in the slums section of New Orleans. One day she receives a letter from an inmate named Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) who is sitting on Death Row and is hoping that Helen can help him try to get off death row before his number is called. The film also stars Robert Prosky (Mrs. Doubtfire) as Hilton Barber,  Raymond J. Barry (Nothing But Trouble) as Earl Delacroix, R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket) as Earl Percy, Celia Weston (Observe and Report) as Mary Beth Percy, Lois Smith (The Nice Guys) as Helen's Mother, Scott Wilson (The Walking Dead) as Chaplain Farley, Roberta Maxwell (Brokeback Mountain) as Lucille Poncelet, Jack Black (Jumanji: The Next Level) as Craig Poncelet, Jon Abrahams (Meet The Parents) as Sonny Poncelet. and Peter Sarsgaard (Shattered Glass) as Walter Delacroix.

I know that Sean Penn is a method actor so I would love to know what he did to research the role and I wonder if he stayed in a cell to stay in character. Those are definitely some of the questions that burn through my mind while I spend time in this isolation. One thing is for sure and that is while I did like his performance in the film a lot, I thought the true MVP of the film was definitely the Oscar Winner Susan Sarandon who deservedly won the award for her role as the real life Sister Helen. She conveyed every emotion exactly the way a director would have wanted her to. You could feel that she was scared at first and by the end of the film you knew all she wanted to do was good by everyone including Matthew Poncelet who she grew very close to. The whole film, all she wants to do is get him to take full responsibility for what he had done because it would mean with the little time that he had left, she made an impact on his life. She would have gotten him to admit responsibility and in turn he grew up and finally became a man. FYI, I did not choose this movie because it's Easter weekend, if that was the case I would be watching some Bible film right now. I had always wanted to see this film and never had the chance to, but thanks to Kanopy (all you need is a library card) I took full advantage of them having it. It's beautifully shot and well acted by everyone involved in the film so I definitely suggest getting this. The end is a little hard to watch because it's very emotional and surreal, but I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.