It seems to me this one of those unusual cases when the movie made a story better than it was in the original book. I'm not saying the book isn't brilliant, it is very much so, but I think that watching the movie first helped me to build a very concrete image of passages in the book. Actually, I recommend people interested in a good thriller to see the movie first and then read the book. There are many similarities between the two, but also many interesting differences. Characters that do not exist in the book have key parts in the screenplay and end up complementing the story in a masterful way. I'm not the first one to say that was the most underrated movie of 1999. Ok, back to the book.
It is unfair to say that Tom Ripley is a criminal. He's so much more than that. He's one of those people who can get away with it thanks to his good boy charms and a vast amount of luck. When he is living his small life in New York City, the father of an old acquaintance asks him to go on a trip to Italy and bring back his wayward son. With all expenses paid and more money to get in the end, struggling, poor Ripley embarks on this first class voyage to the Old World. What happens next is complicated to describe, analyze or judge because you're offered a view of the world through Ripley's eyes and, in that framework, all his actions are understandable, if not justified.
I found this an incredible story that put me on the edge of my seat, sometimes sweating along with the main character, sharing his terror and his sadness, commiserating with one of amoral behaviour who, for the most part, really deserves no sympathy.
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