Now we know what kind of character Ripley was. He was inferior, vain, and good at disguising. There is a natural causal relationship between the three, and disguise is needed because of low self-esteem and strong vanity. This kind of camouflage penetrated into Ripley's words and deeds, so that he felt a sense of disorientation. This camouflage had an alienating effect on himself, making him restless for a moment. Ripley's extreme behavior is a special case, but Ripley's role has deep practical significance. In modern life, most people do not wear disguise. At work, at home, and of course on the Internet, they spare no effort to carve and carve an image that does not belong to themselves. In this kind of camouflage day and night, it is easy for people to lose themselves. The nature of this loss can be temporary or permanent. Personally, I think this is what the director really wants to express.
Finally, I want to discuss the title of "The Genius Ripley", because the discussion of the title can support some of my views in some ways. I read some film reviews, and some said the genius in the title was an expression of the director's appreciation for Priley, because Priley is a criminal with a high IQ, I really can't agree. First of all, I want to analyze whether Ripley is a high-IQ criminal. Maybe I have read too many mystery novels, and judged by stricter standards, borrowing a line from the protagonist in a Japanese animation "The Prince of Tennis": It's still far from it! Ripley killed Dickie on the boat, then wrote a so-called pre-suicide confession in Dickie's name and stayed in the apartment, and at the same time took $1,000 from the bank in Dickie's name, and wanted to commit suicide. What do people do with so much money? Secondly, he killed Dicky's friend because he inexplicably stuck his head out while the landlord was chatting with Dicky's friend, and was discovered and forced to kill! Also, after he killed someone, he left a plaster statue of the murder weapon at the crime scene and hid the license plate in the basement of this apartment building! The license plate was eventually found by private investigators. Such examples abound in the film. Since Ripley is full of loopholes, what is the reason for him to escape again and again? I can only say that it was a fluke, which was based on the poor handling of the case by the Italian police and the misplaced judgment of Dicky's father and his private detectives about Dicky. Then one more question needs to be answered, why did the director name the genius Ripley? My personal feeling is that this is a sarcasm. Ripley is a piano tuner who has done nothing. When Dicky asked him what his TALENT was, he said he was very good at imitating people. In fact, is this kind of imitation or even disguise really so successful? I want to end this article with the roar of Dickie's girlfriend: I know it's you!
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