Matt Damon carries this movie with his acting ability while the story drags on and gets less and less credible.

Matt Damon is Tom Ripley who maneuvers himself into the position of fitting into the social circle of a young wealthy socialite, Jude Law, and his girl friend, Gwyneth Paltrow. Ripley has a talent for lying and impersonating others ranging from his ability to ape their behavior and voice to the ability to forge documents. His passion for this new life soon results in murder and cover up and gets less and less believable as each lucky break comes his way and each rich socialite lines up to be lied to, scammed, and possibly murdered.

Without Daman's intensity and acting ability there would not be much interest in this movie. He makes it worth watching. Neither Jude Law or Gwyneth Patltrow or Cate Blanchett are able to generate much interest.