Ripley's Game

Color. R (mature themes, language, sexual situations, violence), 100 min., CC, VHS rental priced, DVD: $ $22.99; DVD: $26.98

DVD: no extras

Street: March 30, Prebook: March 2

First Run: Independent Film Channel, Sept. 2003

Cast: John Malkovich (Johnny English), Dougray Scott (Enigma), Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast), Lena Headey (Possession), Chiara Casselli (Beyond the Clouds)

NEW LINE/WARNER

Story Line: While living the good life in an Italian villa, Tom Ripley (Malkovich) is called on by British gangster and former colleague Reeves (Winstone) to kill a Russian mobster. Instead, Ripley enlists Jonathan Trevanny (Scott), a British picture framer suffering from a terminal illness, to carry out the assignment.

Bottom Line: The last time audiences saw Tom Ripley, acclaimed author Patricia Highsmith's slick and handsome American con artist, it was in the guise of Matt Damon in 1999's acclaimed The Talented Mr. Ripley. This adaptation of the story, which also served as the basis for Wim Wenders' 1977 cult fave The American Friend, boasts Malkovich as Ripley, now more mature and even married. He's still a murderous creep of the highest order, now sporting a darkly comic sensibility in the Hannibal Lecter mold. Believe it or not, Ripley's Game bypassed theaters for a 2003 debut on IFC, but the European production from director Cavani (The Night Porter) should please fans of the aforementioned Highsmith adaptations as well as viewers seeking a solid, atmospheric thriller with a real nasty streak. --Irv Slifkin

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