The Two Faces of January (2014)
You can take this as a chilling drama about theft and murder and duplicity set in 1962 Greece, as several Americans get interwoven with mistakes and misplaced passions. The great scenery is unending, and varied, and the acting and filming are really great. It's good stuff, and you might give it a go. I think it's underrated, too.
But read at least another graf here: it's not half of what its inspiration is, the Minghella version of "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Yes. And it's obvious all over the place. The gorgeous Mediterranean setting (Greece instead of Italy), the Americans abroad (more on them next), the characters who are not who they seem to be, and who turn to murder almost by necessity. Even the parade of location work, from historic sites to busy public squares to a ferry boat will make the two movies feel and move in similar ways. And finally, the writer of both stories is the same—Patricia Highsmith—and one of the producers of this movie is the son of the director of the earlier one. Yup.
So think again if you didn't like that Minghella "Ripley." It's my good luck I loved that movie, and it's worth saying right away that this is not as lyrical, rich, surprising, moving, or stunning by any stretch. You might prefer its slightly more restrained palette, and you'll surely notice there is very little music, but overall the fullness (and amazing cast) of the first movie is winning.
Kirsten Dunst is the biggest star here, playing the somewhat innocent wife to a scammer husband (Vigo Mortensen) who has gotten rich off his dealings. When someone tracks him down in Athens to get his money back, things go bad fast. A Greek- American tour guide and small time swindler himself (Oscar Isaac) has befriended this pair and gets pulled into their orbit for money, and for love. As any three mismatched characters on the lam soon learn, they are more dangerous to each other than they realize.
So it has a lot of great elements, and it's pulled together quite well by director Hossein Amini. There a couple of times you wonder why the characters would quite do what they do, but in general the growing psychology works, and with all the beautiful side attractions, it's fun to watch.
You can take this as a chilling drama about theft and murder and duplicity set in 1962 Greece, as several Americans get interwoven with mistakes and misplaced passions. The great scenery is unending, and varied, and the acting and filming are really great. It's good stuff, and you might give it a go. I think it's underrated, too.
But read at least another graf here: it's not half of what its inspiration is, the Minghella version of "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Yes. And it's obvious all over the place. The gorgeous Mediterranean setting (Greece instead of Italy), the Americans abroad (more on them next), the characters who are not who they seem to be, and who turn to murder almost by necessity. Even the parade of location work, from historic sites to busy public squares to a ferry boat will make the two movies feel and move in similar ways. And finally, the writer of both stories is the same—Patricia Highsmith—and one of the producers of this movie is the son of the director of the earlier one. Yup.
So think again if you didn't like that Minghella "Ripley." It's my good luck I loved that movie, and it's worth saying right away that this is not as lyrical, rich, surprising, moving, or stunning by any stretch. You might prefer its slightly more restrained palette, and you'll surely notice there is very little music, but overall the fullness (and amazing cast) of the first movie is winning.
Kirsten Dunst is the biggest star here, playing the somewhat innocent wife to a scammer husband (Vigo Mortensen) who has gotten rich off his dealings. When someone tracks him down in Athens to get his money back, things go bad fast. A Greek- American tour guide and small time swindler himself (Oscar Isaac) has befriended this pair and gets pulled into their orbit for money, and for love. As any three mismatched characters on the lam soon learn, they are more dangerous to each other than they realize.
So it has a lot of great elements, and it's pulled together quite well by director Hossein Amini. There a couple of times you wonder why the characters would quite do what they do, but in general the growing psychology works, and with all the beautiful side attractions, it's fun to watch.