Talented Mr. Ripley, The

It may not be quite as good as Hitchcock, but "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is as close as anyone's come to evoking memories of the Master of Suspense for quite some time.

Yes, that is a strong statement. But it's almost as much a reflection on today's exploitative filmmaking as it is praise for this classy, good-looking thriller based on a novel by mystery writer Patricia Highsmith. (She also wrote the book that was the basis for Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train.")

"The Talented Mr. Ripley" was also adapted by director Rene Clement in 1961 as the cult-adored French thriller "Purple Noon," but frankly, this new version is more engrossing — it's equally suspenseful and heartbreaking, and its performances are devastating.

At the same time, filmmaker Anthony Minghella has created something here that could divide movie audiences as much as his Oscar-winning adaptation of "The English Patient."

Probably the biggest question is how moviegoers will react to the sight of "Good Will Hunting's" hero, Matt Damon, playing a gay-conflicted, chameleon-like serial killer. It's a bold move that could force his fans to reject the film outright.

If they do, it would be a shame, because Damon's transformation — including a physical change, since the star actually "bulked down" to play the slight title character — is nothing short of astonishing. (The film's homoerotic content is limited to a strong undercurrent and implied activities, not any exploitative content.)

As played by Damon, Tom Ripley is a mysterious cipher who gets a very lucky break, thanks to mistaken identity. Wealthy shipbuilder Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) believes the bespectacled piano tuner is a classmate of his son Dickie (Jude Law) and sends him to Italy to bring his hedonistic offspring back.

Once he arrives, though, Tom falls under the spell of the charismatic playboy and his expatriate girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow). Suddenly forgetting his mission, Tom begins hanging out with the two and emulating their lifestyle — particularly Dickie, whose mannerisms he begins to adopt as well.

However, his ruse is partially discovered by Freddie Miles (Philip Seymour Hoffman), another globe-trotting friend of Dickie's who begins monopolizing Dickie's time and correctly pegs Tom as a hanger-on.

And because of Freddie, Dickie becomes disenchanted with Tom and tells him so during a heated discussion at sea. Unexpectedly, that sets Tom off, and he winds up bludgeoning his friend to death.