Matt’s & The Talented Mr Ripley
Bad Dads Film Review heads to the Italian Riviera this week for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) — a sun-drenched, jazz-soaked psychological thriller where gorgeous people do terrible things, and the worst person in the room still somehow isn’t the guy committing the murders.
We follow Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), a small-time grifter with big social ambitions, who’s handed a golden ticket: travel to Italy and convince trust-fund prince Dickie Greenleaf (prime Jude Law, unfairly beautiful) to come home. Tom doesn’t just want Dickie’s friendship — he wants Dickie’s life. And once he’s tasted that world of money, effortless charm, and endless leisure, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to stay in it.
What we talked about
- “Great Gatsby, but murderous”: Tom as the outsider who doesn’t just observe the rich — he tries to become them (and wear their face if needed).
- The grift mechanics: the Princeton jacket con, the “research” phase, practicing mannerisms and music tastes, and how the film turns impersonation into a craft.
- The seduction of wealth: why you’re weirdly happy to watch Tom infiltrate a circle of vapid, obscenely privileged characters.
- Obsession and desire: the homoerotic undertones, Tom’s fixation on Dickie, and how the film frames identity as something you can steal… if you’re ruthless enough.
- Set-piece escalation: the boat trip and the brutal turning point; the forged signatures, dual hotel check-ins, staged evidence, and the constant “one more lie to cover the last lie” tension.
- Freddy as the threat (Philip Seymour Hoffman): the first person with enough real-world instincts to sniff out “new money” fraud — and what happens when he pushes it.
- The ending sting: Tom “gets away with it”… but the price is isolation, paranoia, and the realization that the spoils aren’t worth much when you can’t live as yourself.
- Aging and attitudes: how the film plays in 2026 — including a chat about whether some of the sexuality/“homosexual as threat” framing feels dated.
Plus: we somehow opened with a Top 5 Mats segment that should not work… and absolutely does.
Standard Bad Dads warning: spoilers throughout, strong language, and the kind of moral compass that’s been left outside on a bath mat since the Blair government.
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