Director
Anthony Minghella's filming of Patricia Highsmith's
1950s novel has provided Oscar-winner Matt Damon
with the plum role of a lavishly complicated rogue.
Throw
in lush Italian locations and co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow,
Jude Law and Cate Blanchett, and Damon is in good
company. Director Minghella, who felt a bit of an
outsider growing up in Britain as the son of immigrant
parents, can understand the desire to be somebody
else.
Although
admitting to taking certain liberties with the
plot shifting attributes from character
to character and stressing elements only hinted
at in the book he's remained faithful to
the essence of Ripley as Highsmith envisioned
him.
Though
Highsmith died before Minghella completed the first
draft of the script, he has said: "I imagined her
sitting with me as I wrote my screenplay".
by
Anthony
Minghella