Home/Episodes/The Talented Mr. Ripley
‘The Talented Mr. Ripley,’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Amanda Dobbins
December 24, 2019 · The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) · Crime · Drama · Thriller · 1:30:41 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Casting What-Ifs
Amanda DobbinsEmphasizes the remarkable casting chemistry needed between all five actors individually, noting they went five for five in finding people who became movie stars▶ 34:34
Bill SimmonsGretchen Mol — Discusses how director wanted final say over Tom Ripley casting and found the brightest young actors who weren't yet movie stars - mentions Cate Blanchett and Jude Law weren't stars when cast, and notes Gretchen Mol could have been cast instead of Gwyneth Paltrow but would have hurt the movie▶ 33:59
Sean FennesseyGretchen Mol — Notes Jude Law had momentum from Gattaca and was in the 'gonna be a thing' stage of his career, and agrees that casting Gretchen Mol instead of Gwyneth Paltrow would have made a worse version of the movie▶ 35:09
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill SimmonsWas this the year the anti-hero was officially born - citing Mr. Ripley, Tony Soprano, Fight Club's Tyler as the first three that launched the anti-hero era▶ 37:04
Sean FennesseyDisagreed that anti-heroes weren't done before, citing Dirty Harry and 70s versions as precedents▶ 37:23
Most Rewatchable Scene
Amanda DobbinsTom sings jazz with Dickie for the first time - calls it irresistible and says it condenses all the movie's themes into two minutes▶ 41:52
Bill SimmonsTom hangs out with Dickie for the first time (forging signatures scene), Tom sings jazz with Dickie, Freddie enters the movie, Freddie making fun of Tom at breakfast leading to the boat murder▶ 38:44
Sean FennesseyOpening credits sequence (Saul Bass style), the chess scene with Dickie in the bathtub, and agrees with the jazz singing scene▶ 40:19
What's Aged the Worst
Bill SimmonsThe last 45 minutes of the movie being a little slow and could have cut 10 minutes, plus Sylvana's confusing death scene▶ 1:00:09
Sean FennesseyAgreed about Sylvana's death scene being confusing and hard to understand what they were going for▶ 1:01:46
Dion Waiters Award
Amanda DobbinsPhilip Seymour Hoffman — Supports Freddie Miles as the pick and discusses changing award name▶ 1:06:11
Apex Mountain
Amanda DobbinsJude Law — Jude Law - absolutely his apex mountain, coming out of this movie with James Bond speculation and peak career options▶ 1:07:22
Bill SimmonsGwyneth Paltrow — Gwyneth Paltrow - as an actor, this is her apex mountain coming off Oscar win with six commercial movies in two years and maximum power▶ 1:06:32
Sean FennesseyJude Law — Agrees on Jude Law and discusses Anthony Minghella as potentially his apex mountain, though acknowledges The English Patient was also a major triumph▶ 1:08:32
Joey Pants Award
Sean FennesseyJames Rebhorn — James Rebhorn - agrees and lists his filmography including My Cousin Vinny, Basic Instinct, Carlito's Way▶ 1:09:46
Half-Assed Internet Research
Amanda DobbinsExplained Hadrian built a wall, was Roman emperor with a gay lover; confused Jack Davenport with Robert Sean Leonard from Dead Poets Society▶ 1:12:52
Bill SimmonsMatt Damon lost 30 pounds, learned piano, ran 6 miles daily, wore makeup to look pale; Jude Law learned saxophone and gained weight; broke a rib filming the boat scene; Tommy Wiseau was inspired by this film to make The Room; Tom kills Freddy with a bust of Emperor Hadrian▶ 1:11:27
Sean FennesseyThe Room IMDb trivia connection is incredible; compared The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Room as similar stories about sociopaths▶ 1:12:21
Picking Nits
Amanda DobbinsWouldn't newspapers have actual photographs of Dickie Greenleaf since he's famous, the son of a shipping heir, and there would be Princeton yearbook photos?▶ 1:16:37
Bill SimmonsQuestions the logistics of Tom's situation on the boat with witnesses and suggests alternative solutions like throwing Cate Blanchett overboard▶ 1:17:57
Sean FennesseyHow does Tom get off the boat after killing Peter and dispose of the body without being caught during manifest checks?▶ 1:15:35
Best Quote
Bill SimmonsMultiple quotes: 'I always thought it would be better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody', 'No matter what you do, no matter how awful, no one ever thinks they're a bad person', and 'Why is it when men play, they always play at killing each other'▶ 1:18:40
Movies Referenced (46)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good Will Hunting (1997) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 3:05 |
| Fight Club (1999) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 13:32 |
| Almost Famous (2000) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 29:52 |
| Dirty Harry (1971) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 37:23 |
| Magnolia (1999) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 29:47 |
| Basic Instinct (1992) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Sean Fennessey | ▶ 1:09:47 |
| Boogie Nights (1997) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 53:36 |
| Cold Mountain (2003) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Sean Fennessey | ▶ 29:01 |
| Dogma (1999) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 10:50 |
| Enemy of the State (1998) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 40:59 |
| Forrest Gump (1994) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Amanda Dobbins | ▶ 1:28:23 |
| Gattaca (1997) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 35:03 |
Directors Referenced (4)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clint Eastwood | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, Unforgiven | ▶ 1:13:31 |
| Mike Nichols | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | The Graduate | ▶ 11:02 |
| Ben Affleck | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Argo, Gone Girl, The Town | ▶ 6:22 |
| Wes Anderson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | The Royal Tenenbaums, Isle of Dogs | ▶ 23:48 |
Actors Referenced (40)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Damon | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 31 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey | Good Will Hunting, The Martian, The Departed | ▶ 3:05 |
| Gwyneth Paltrow | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 27 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey | Shakespeare in Love | ▶ 2:59 |
| Jude Law | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 26 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins | The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Grand Budapest Hotel | ▶ 3:01 |
| Philip Seymour Hoffman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 17 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 3:07 | |
| Cate Blanchett | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 16 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey | Blue Jasmine | ▶ 3:12 |
| Joyce Greenleaf | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:08 | |
| Philip Baker Hall | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Magnolia, Boogie Nights | ▶ 52:55 |
| Jack Black | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Amanda Dobbins, Bill Simmons | High Fidelity, School of Rock, Nacho Libre | ▶ 1:14:45 |
| Jack Davenport | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins | The Talented Mr. Ripley | ▶ 1:13:50 |
| Jennifer Aniston | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | We're the Millers | ▶ 7:24 |
| Phil Baker | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 52:55 | |
| Robert Sean Leonard | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Amanda Dobbins | Dead Poets Society, The Age of Innocence | ▶ 1:14:16 |
Writers Referenced (3)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patricia Highsmith | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins | The Talented Mr. Ripley, Strangers on a Train | ▶ 7:43 |
| Anthony Minghella | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins | The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, The English Patient | ▶ 13:48 |
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 35:41 |