About the characters: The
protagonist's deformed morality leads to murderous thoughts, but we feel caring and compassion. Tom is given a human good side in the movie, which is different from the ruthless protagonist in the book. For example, his occupation is a music teacher in the movie, but he is a liar in the book; the relationship between him and marge is not as tense as the original description; the scene where he kills dickie is also forced by circumstances rather than premeditated, and the scene in the opera house reflects The murder scene also fully expresses the inner torment, remorse and pain.
In addition, in the first Ripley series, the name peter was probably only an understatement (or not mentioned at all, I can't remember), and the protagonist has no real love except dickie. The creation of Peter's image is a reflection and amplification of the good nature of the protagonist, and it is also one of the reasons why the story resonates with the audience. Such a man is a symbol of beauty and kindness. He is neither Cain nor Abel. He has a gentle tolerance and grace that exists almost only in imagination. There is no doubt or jealousy in him, but such a man eventually becomes Tom A victim of lies. If the original book is a mockery of human genius and evil, then Anthony's adaptation is a praise and lament for the beauty and fragility of human nature.
About the
opening song: Minghella himself wrote the lyrics for the opening song, Lullaby for Cain. The strong religious color is reflected in the quotations of brother murder and the hymn-like melody. The melodious and ethereal female voice interweaves Tom's silhouette in the picture, leaning her head against the wall, which is the beginning and end of the story. Some people say that a movie is 80% visual and 20% auditory. There are not many people who can combine 80% and 20% of the tone like Minghella.
(I am reminded of movies that start with rock songs, sting or end with springsteen...)
After watching:
Humans are self-abusing animals. They could have forgotten everything after watching the movie and went to sleep in the morning, thinking and living as usual, but they easily fall into all kinds of rules. Some people are forever entangled in it, some people doubt it, think it's not worth it and pretend to forget, some people struggle and are soon swallowed in the steel-like coldness of the city, some people get rid of it, but are spurned and ridicule.
(I tried to write Tom/Peter's text, and I felt guilty!! Because I always thought that adapting the tragedy into a happy life was a misreading of the story, the audience tried to comfort themselves after experiencing mental torture, tsk tsk tsk)
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