In Italy, Tom attaches himself to Dickie and to Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow), Dickie's cultured fiancée, and soon finds himself soaking in luxury.

Through Damon’s performance and Minghella’s direction, each of Ripley’s lies, and murders, have an emotional immediacy in a story of self-destruction so convincing, so compelling, that we want to believe Tom’s lies as much as he does.

The cast also includes Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman