Annotations

Glogster: http://laurenhowse.glogster.com/ripley/

Still #1 

"Do you know the land around here?" Tom shouted over the roar of the motor. "Nope!" Dickie said cheerfully. He was enjoying the ride.

This scene still is Dickie right before Tom kills him. He had been acting grumpy towards Tom before they went boating, but they were actually having fun on their outing. Dickies outfit is a black shirt and white pants. The black represents his death, where the white pants represents his innocence, and the fact that he is so unsuspecting of Tom's motives.  The background image is still water which represents Dickies attitude towards Tom. They are also completely alone out in the open which is symbolic to Tom's feelings  of anger and lust towards Dickie, their in a location where they can truly express their true feelings.  Dickies face is in complete light which is symbolic that he is good humoured as well as good natured. He does not have the dark side to him that Tom Ripley possesses. From his casual body language we can tell that he is completely at ease with himself.

Still #2

He knew that he was going to do it, that he would not stop himself, now, maybe couldn't stop himself, and that he might not succeed.

This still is a picture of Toms face, and it is when he is thinking about and debating killing Dickie. He is wearing a white shirt is is symbolic for the "new beginning" that he is about to embark upon. The water in the background represents the rebirth of Thomas Ripley into Dickie Greenleaf.  There is a little bit of shadow on his face which is unmasking, and reveals his true intentions, the darkness within Tom is coming to surface. He also looks like a bit of a creep, and this is done to manipulate the audiences opinion of Tom.  The still is also a close of up of Tom's face, and this portrays the fact that Tom is completely involved with himself and only thinks about his own personal gain. 

Still #3

He picked up the oar, as casually as if he were playing with it between his knees, and when Dickie was shoving his trousers down, Tom lifted the oar and came down with it on the top of Dickie's head. 

This still is of the murder of Dickie Greenleaf. The once still water has now become much more choppy as Tom murders Dickie, all is not at ease any longer as the story undergoes a major plot twist. Tom is standing over Dickie, conquering him in a very physical and symbolic gesture. He  is standing on top of a boat which shows that Thomas is finally feeling as if he can take control of his life. He beats Dickie with an oar (which is a masculine symbol, also possibly a phallic symbol) showing that he is still trying to take control of his masculinity which is something he has always struggled with because of his uncertainty with his own sexuality. The darkening clouds overhead foreshadow Tom's new path of life into lies and secrets. 

Still 4

"For God's sake!" Dickie mumbled, glowering, fierce, though the blue eyes wobbled, losing consciousness.

This over the shoulder shot shows again the power that Tom now has over Dickie. He is at a lower angle than Tom showing his helplessness. His wound is facing Tom as if showing him what he has done. Dickie is looking down and not at Tom showing that he is not aggressive in nature and seems to be in disbelief that somebody could do this to another. He is wearing black which could now symbolize the death of his life and his memory as Tom will take his identity. 

Direct Comparison

        I found the book and the movie to be very different from one another. Overall the themes and plots were similar, but there were additional characters and a different ending. There were also small details that were changed, but overall I did not enjoy the movie as much I thought I was going to after reading the book. It was because of these changes, even though some were minor that I did not enjoy the movie. I do understand though that in order to appeal to a more broad audience the producers had to add and change details in order for it to be more appealing. The differences did not make the movie unenjoyable, but the book is defiantly better. 

Throughout the whole movie the themes were identical. It is about Tom Ripley not being comfortable with who he is and going to great lengths to achieve his perception of happiness. Tom comes from a poor family, and was orphaned at a young age. He is obsessed with being apart of the elite world of the rich and kills many people in order to join in. He is also uncomfortable with his sexuality. It is hinted throughout the movie that he is homosexual, but the book takes place in the 1950's where being gay was not widely accepted. A difference in the movie though is that he has a love interest Meredith Logue. I found this weird and unnatural for Tom, and I found that him having the love interest, played down the fact that he was homosexual and did not know how to handle his sexuality, let alone embrace it. There is one bathroom scene in the movie that hints towards his homosexuality, but I felt it was played down more. The themes of the need of belonging and class struggles in both the movie and the book.

In the movie the characters were different than what they were portrayed as in the book. That really bothered me and I think is one of the main reasons why I did not like movie. There was the addition of a whole new character Meredith Logue as Tom's love interest. There was also Peter Smith-Kinsley who had a very small part in the book. In the movie he is Marge's  and a close companion of Toms. Peter plays a large role in the movie and contributes greatly to the plot. Also I found that the characters of Marge and Dickie were both changed. In the book Marge hates Tom, and does not trust him from the start, but in the movie she is very kind to him and argues to Dickie that he should befriend Tom. I did not like this change though because it made Marge's and Tom's relationship very different and the plot of their general loathing for each other was lost. Dickie was portrayed of more of a snotty rich kid with bad morals. He was portrayed as more of a pig. I did not like this change either because I felt the audience has less of a reaction to his death because of this. In the book he is a caring and generous person. Lastly, Tom's character stayed pretty similar. Matt Damon did a fantastic job and Tom was exactly how I pictured him. Only a minor change, but again Tom was nice to Marge in the movie and they got along very well. In the book Tom absolutely loathes Marge and actually debates killing her at one point. This did not happen in the movie. 

A major change from the book was the ending of the movie. The last scene was Tom and Peter sailing off into the distance, but Tom kills Peter and we can only assume that he will now take over his identity. It was very open ended, but I guess that was done in case there was a sequel, because there are more books. Also, in the movie Marge confronts Tom on killing Dickie and has to be dragged away, that did not happen in the book. Dickie was portrayed as a womanizer in the movie as well. He cheats on Marge with a local women and impregnates her.He wants nothing to do with her and she ends up drowning herself rather melodramatically. Also in the movie it is said that Dickie was sent to Europe by his parents because he almost beat a frat boy to death over a girl at a party. This again changes the audiences perception of Dickie for the worse and makes him less of a free spirit. Another huge change is the fact that Marge and Dickie are a couple. In the book they defiantly are not but you can assume that Marge was in love with Dickie, and Dickie was slowly falling for Marge, even though I don't think he knew this. 

Differences from the book and movie:

1. Dickie is interested in Jazz music instead of painting.

2. Marge likes Tom as a person.

3. Dickie and Marge are together as a couple.

4. Dickie cheats on Marge and then impregnates another women, who then drowns herself in the sea.

5. Tom has Meredith as a love interest.

6. Hamlet like scene at Opera.

7. Peter Smith-Kinglsy has a large role in the film, him and Tom become close and at the end of the movie they are traveling together. Tom then of course kills him though.

8. Tom can't speak Italian

9. Marge publicly accuses Tom of killing Dickie but is dragged away and put on a boat before Tom can react.

10. Dickie has a shady past and was sent to Europe because he almost killed a frat boy at Princeton over a girl.