However, a pleasant surprise in the 2nd half of the program: the articulate hostess interviewed Mingella himself. And this fellow is articulate, humble, and warm - exactly like Matt. And to my delight, the only actor they talked about was Matt. She described his performance as extraordinary, noting his facial expressions. He said much of what we've already read about, saying how (i) Matt transformed himself from his natural "heavy-footed American" to the Ripley on screen, and (ii) his character does not have many good lines - Ripley is always observing and reacting. I think what was said on this program is right on: Matt did come across as dorky and less than charming as Ripley, which is exactly what he was supposed to be. And his acting was truly outstanding. But the sad thing is: The American public does not want to see that. They don't want to see Matt Damon looking nerdy, and they won't catch the nuances and subtleties of Matt's performance. I think a lot of people will walk out of the theater disappointed, maybe even annoyed, by the film. This is one film that probably wins the respect of (some) film critics and (some) insiders, but perhaps not the heart of the public.
For me, it has really sealed my faith in Matt as an actor. What guts. What delivery.
BTW Ripley is in the top-10 lists of the NY Times, the SF Chronicles, and surely many others, but of course not the L.A. Times. It didn't quite make Roger Ebert's list, but it is one of five on the Speical Jury list - sort of like the "honorable mentioned".
Anthony Minghella interview
Q: Tom Ripley is the kind of role most actors would kill for.
AM: The most important casting element in the film, obviously, was Matt
Damon. The search for a Ripley was enormously significant insofar as I
wouldn't have made the film if I hadn't felt excited by the actor in that
role because he's in every scene. The film requires him to be fantastic and I
required him to be fantastic in a personal way because I would have to work
with that actor every single day. I was looking for a collaborator as much as
I was a leading man. When I met him I was so impressed by his understanding
of the screenplay, by his desire to work, by his passion for the subject of
the film and his humility. He's a marvelous man, a really exceptional man,
somebody I feel very lucky to have come across. He was as excited, as
conscientious and as decent on the 95th day of shooting as he was on the
first and I can't speak highly enough of him. He's a tremendous actor and a
tremendous person. I think he has a huge, huge career ahead of him.
Q: In addition to being a talented actor, Matt Damon is also an Academy
Award-winning screenwriter for Good Will Hunting. Did having writing in
common help your relationship as actor and director?
AM: Absolutely. The remarkable thing about Matt is that he was so loyal to
the screenplay. He didn't have a single note about the script, he didn't
change a single line in the script. And nor would I have expected him to he
didn't enter into the project as a writer. His understanding of the
screenplay and what I was trying to do as a writer, his enthusiasm for it was
very important. It was something that we both understood and it was very good
for me to know the degree to which he inhabited the role and cherished it. It
made me feel honored and able to relate to him on a completely different
level as a peer, not just as a director, because he's another man who writes.
That was one of many areas of compatibility. I would describe him as a really
close friend.
Commented Felicity:
(That's the strongest praise for Matt, personal and professional, that we've
found from Minghella so far)
Aftermaths of the Golden Globe announcement:
Matt Damon is absolutely mesmerizing in this film; despite the fact that he's often sharing the screen with tantalizing eye-candy like pristine Italian seascapes, Gwyneth's beautiful clothes and Jude's naked butt, I could barely take my eyes off him. With this role, he's created a character who's impossible to forget: a killer who is desperate but not cold-blooded, a bitter, twisted outsider whose yearning for love and the good life we nevertheless completely understand. Can you say Oscar nomination?
***
And in another EW bit, writer Mark Harris writes of the six best performances of the year, and includes Matt:
Felicity wrote:
December 13, 1999
Mary Hart: You look like you had lost a lot of weight for this film. Matt: I
was probably twenty pounds less than I am right now.
Mary Hart: Was that hard to do?
Matt: It's not rocket science. You just don't eat as much and you
run for, you know, an hour a night.
Mary Hart: A lean, mean Matt, at that time.
Matt: Yeah. Mean was right. I wanted to eat. The food there was
really good.
Mary Hart: Is there any one person in particular whose shoes you
really wanted to be in?
Matt: Every young actor at some point has wished they were Marlon
Brando or at least had the understanding he has about what it is we
do.
Mary Hart: Now, is this buddy-buddy stuff [with Ben] getting to be
too much, because it's constantly in the press, "Matt and Ben"
Matt: We were friends from a very early age, along with a whole group
of people.
Mary Hart: We have to prove to Bob we're really working here in New
York.
Matt: I gotcha. Bob, we're back to you in the studio.
(I would have seen this segment if not for the fact that the show was preempted in my area for the Billy Graham show.)
In the film, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel that opens Dec.
18, Damon portrays an American in Italy who assumes a fake identity.
Probably not that of a singer, judging by the two tracks here.
The first is a swinging little number in Italian called ``Tu Vuo Fa
L'Americano,'' and Damon is joined by a ringer, Italian singer Fiorello,
and his co-star Jude Law for what sounds like a raucous bar sing-along. The
track has a lot of energy and sounds as if it will be fun to watch. The
Oscar-winning screenwriter for ``Good Will Hunting'' is barely audible, but
he gets points for keeping up in this very fast-paced song and for singing
in Italian.
There are bound to be two minds about Damon's rendition of the standard
``My Funny Valentine.'' There will be those who will give the actor credit
for taking the risk and defend his ability to carry a tune - his pitch is
pretty good - and his skill at working his light tenor to show its
strengths.
Then there will be those who only hear Damon's technical flaws, including a
thinness of tone, hesitant phrasing, a constant threat of flatness and the
non-dynamic whisper he uses to sing.
As for the somewhat creepy and fey delivery, we'll have to wait for the
film to see if this makes sense.
But in his first musical outing, Damon doesn't score too badly on the
gifted-film-actors-who-can-also-sing-a-little scale. He falls somewhere
between Robert Preston (``The Music Man,'' ``Victor/Victoria'') at the top
and the entire cast of ``Everyone Says I Love You'' near the bottom,
hanging out near Michelle Pfeiffer (``Fabulous Baker Boys,'' ``Grease 2'')
and Kim Basinger (``The Marrying Man''). Not bad company at all.
We also finally know the answer to the burning question of who would win a
karaoke match between Damon and hometown buddy Ben Affleck: Damon, hands
down.
For proof, rent ``Armageddon'' to hear Affleck sweetly but tunelessly
struggle through ``Leaving on a Jet Plane.''
Damon also can brag that he made it onto his soundtrack. For
``Armageddon,'' they hired real singer Chantal Kreviazuk to do the honors.
The balance of ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' soundtrack disc is a quality
blend of jazz - played by Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and
the Guy Barker Quintet - and sweeping and evocative classical music
composed by Gabriel Yared.
Sinead O'Connor contributes mournfully beautiful ballad ``The Lullaby of
Cain.''
All three mood setters promise a dark and interesting film with extreme
moments of joy, rage and fear. All things that Damon will no doubt feel as
in roll the reviews of his singing.
Jude's Time
One thing I've heard more than once is that the Ripley standout is Jude
Law.
He plays Dickie Greenleaf, the blase rich kid whom Damon idolizes and then
victimizes. I'm told his performance here is going to really put him over.
"I
think it's going to make his career," says my friend who saw the film
Tuesday. "Absolutely - it's going to make him a huge star," says another
colleague.
I haven't paid a lot of attention to Law, who turns 27 later this month. I
barely remember him in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. (I barely
remember the film.) I liked him in David Cronenberg's eXistenZ, but wasn't
knocked out. He's in Miramax's The Wisdom of Crocodiles, which opens early
next year.
...For all I know his Ripley role may result in an acting award or two...
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