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Jude Law has firmly established himself as one of the most successful and unique movie stars of his generation, and shown a rare ability to take risks on all types of projects in his later years. While the phrase “a character actor in a leading man’s body” is often overused, it’s a fairly accurate way to describe someone like Law; between his heartbreaking role as a wounded Civil War deserter in Cold Mountain to his outrageous take on the leader of the Catholic Church in HBO’s wildly experimental miniseries The Young Pope, Law can never be accused of giving the same performance twice. While Law has already been receiving acclaim for his performance as Captain Hook in Peter Pan & Wendy, it’s worth remembering that it was his steamy, effortlessly charismatic role as Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr. Ripley that made him into the icon that he is today.
Jude Law Is Both a Great Movie Star and Actor
It was somewhat odd to see Law in such a prestigious project at the time, as previously he’d been best known for his work in experimental genre films like eXistenz, Gattaca, and Shopping. However, The Talented Mr. Ripley finds the perfect balancing act between trashy fun and elevated cinema. Even though the storyline revolves around youthful insecurities and ridiculous scenarios, the direction of Anthony Mighella elevates it into a brilliant tragedy of indulgences. It required a unique understanding of the material; these characters are the epitome of society’s ills, but they’re also compelling in their own right. A film like The Talented Mr. Ripley needed both great actors and charismatic movie stars, and thankfully Law fit both of those descriptions.
Law was essential to the complex commentary on youth culture at the heart of The Talented Mr. Ripley. He co-stars as Dickie Greenleaf, a former Princeton student who has escaped the domineering control of his father Herbert (James Rebhorn) in order to live in an Italian village with his expatriate girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow). He’s free to indulge in all of his wild expenditures, but there’s something illustrious to his youthful ignorance and passion. Dickie still holds on to the nostalgic idea that youth is meant to be about exploring art, culture, and love, and doesn’t want to conform to the rigid societal rules laid out by his father. While these could have come off like the musings of a spoiled, rich child, Law is so overwhelmingly magnetic that it’s hard not to get swept up in his schemes.
Unfortunately, Dickie’s dreams also attract the attention of a suitor whose intentions aren’t quite as noble. His father dispatches the troubled young man, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), whom he has mistaken for an old classmate of Dickie’s, to convince his son to return home to America. Tom’s initially impressive ability to impersonate Dickie turns into a full on obsession once they become friends and begin spending time together; Tom isn’t just hooked in by Dickie’s lifestyle, but his life specifically. Law finds a nuanced way to hint at why this relationship might take off; he’s naturally seductive in every passing conversation, yet to Tom it feels like he’s being singled out and made to feel special.
The Depiction Of Relationships
Law’s excellence at being the heartthrob is actually important to the audience’s relationship with all of the characters. Dickie is a character the viewer can’t get enough of because of how charming Law is, and so there’s an aspect of Damon’s depiction of a truly disturbed character that is slightly understandable, if not empathetic. Minghella understood the delicacy of handling a relationship like this, and to his credit he’s able to hint at the homosexual undertones in a respectful way considering the more restrictive parameters of the 1990s. The Talented Mr. Ripley is also a film that succeeds on what’s left unsaid and up to the viewers’ imagination; Law has that wistful quality that reflects something more overtly sexual in a way that’s more compelling than an actual scene of intimacy. He succeeds in making this searing love story even steamier, which is why the film is more successful than many other Patricia Highsmith adaptations.
The audience begins to fear the tragedy that’s coming because of that casual kindness that Law shows, as any slight dismissal Dickie makes toward Tom puts his life in greater danger. There’s no indication of what Tom is capable of, but it’s clear that his obsessions are reaching dangerous levels. Tom even takes Dickie’s friendship with his fellow socialite Freddie Miles (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as a personal snub, even if it’s just a fun scene of Law and Hoffman goofing around. A moment where Dickie reveals to Tom that he impregnated a local woman during one of his late night excursions feels like he’s making the mistakes of a slasher movie victim; getting close to Tom and letting him in on a personal secret is the last thing Dickie should be doing. Yet, it’s not framed as a callous mistake because Law does a great job at showing how genuinely heartbroken Dickie is that his behavior caused personal harm to someone else.
The Role That Made His Career
As a result, Dickie’s shocking demise isn’t just one of the most horrific moments of the film, but one of the most heartbreaking. It’s a result that’s been anticipated as soon as Tom notices Dickie’s passing lack of attraction, and the sexual tension between the two heats up into a deeply one-sided relationship. Damon may now be the king of “dad movies,” but he’s perfect in The Talented Mr. Ripley as an obsessive weirdo. However, it’s Law that adds a wistful, tragic elegance to this sordid story; he encapsulates the hopefulness of youth, and the promise of a future that was never meant to last.
The film’s impact on Law’s career was evident; the role earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and one that he probably should have won over Michael Caine’s generic “wise mentor” role in the offensively bland Oscar bait The Cider House Rules. Law would go on to become one of the coolest leading men of his generation before making a switch to being a character actor in recent years. Yet, The Talented Mr. Ripley encapsulates everything that makes Law so unique; his bravery, his subtlety, his star power, and his ability to evoke emotion. While Law has had many great performances since, it doesn’t seem possible that he’d ever surpass his breakout role.
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