tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post107979681345305572..comments2024-03-25T11:29:25.356-04:00Comments on Existential Ennui: Ripley Under Ground Movie ReviewNick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-80101058451422092362016-02-15T12:58:53.880-05:002016-02-15T12:58:53.880-05:00I might have to watch it again now!I might have to watch it again now!Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-63155796592596783452016-02-13T18:04:58.013-05:002016-02-13T18:04:58.013-05:00Well that certainly took me long enough. Hooray fo...Well that certainly took me long enough. Hooray for computers being able to play DVDs from anywhere.<br /><br />Maybe my expectations were lowered after a decade of hearing about how mediocre the film supposedly was, but I liked it a lot more than you did.<br /><br />It commits the same sin as the Matt Damon film, making Tom too innocent by turning intentional killings into accidents, but it worked far better for me overall. It plays up the black comedy elements of the books and captures their humor better than any of the other Ripley films, and it does a very good job of showing Tom as a brilliant improviser as the shit just keeps piling up. And despite making Tom's crimes less severe, it still portrays him as a magnificent bastard and scoundrel; and it's confident that we'll root for him despite said bastardry without resorting to embarrassing attempts at "humanizing" him by, say, making him a lonely closet case who just wants to be loved.<br /><br />It's well-directed, looks good despite the low budget (aside from an awful CGI explosion with the car crash near the beginning), the actors were all good, and the script has some great witty dialogue. The whole thing moves like a thriller should and actually captured the tension of Highsmith despite the lighter than usual tone, no small feat. So many nice details I could waste paragraphs commenting on: finally seeing Tom in disguise on-screen (Pepper's great here), making Heloise more implicit in Tom's scheming (arguably an improvement on the book), Tom having to clean the bloodied dogs (one of them is named Nietzsche, an especially nice touch), etc. I could go on, but I'm trying to curb my long-windedness these days.<br /><br />It's watered-down Ripley for sure, but I think after four other films, I've grown accustomed to them not really capturing the books entirely, and I'm more willing to accept these standalone adaptations, at least as long as they're well-made and entertaining and capture at least something of the spirit of the novels without completely insulting them. <i>The American Friend</i> is still my favorite by far. <i>Purple Noon</i> I'll always have a love/hate relationship with because of that fucking ending with Tom getting caught. I guess I would rank <i>Ripley Under Ground</i> alongside <i>Ripley's Game</i>; both are terrific films and don't especially offend me as a fan of the books despite the liberties they take. And then there's the Matt Damon film, which I'd like to take out on a boat, somewhere in Italy, way out where nobody can see...<br /><br />I'll certainly give <i>Under Ground</i> another viewing soon, and maybe I'll be less pleased with it the second time around, but this time I finished it with a smile on my face.Craig D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02798473771333728151noreply@blogger.com