Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: Matt Damon in the shoes of a strange seducer.
In 1988, Matt Damon made his remarkable film debut alongside Julia Roberts, another rising star of the time, in the dramatic comedy Mystic Pizza. If he then chained the roles, turning in particular under the direction of Francis Ford Coppola in The Idealist, the young man decided to write the one of his dreams.
With his friend Ben Affleck, he wrote the screenplay for Will Hunting, which tells the story of a rebellious mathematical genius living in the poor suburbs of Boston. Directed in 1997 by Gus Van Sant, the film won numerous awards – including the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival – and allowed Matt Damon to shine as an actor. He thus attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg, who offered him the role of Ryan in Saving Private Ryan.
In 1999, Matt Damon, widely identified as a positive hero by the public, widened his acting palette by lending his features to Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley by Anthony Minghella. Troubled but charming, elegant dandy and usurper of genius, the latter is none other than the anti-hero of a series of novels by Patricia Highsmith and has already been played on screen by Alain Delon in Plein Soleil by René Clément .
In this captivating remake, Matt Damon offers a new version of this character: a penniless young man who discovers the glamorous and luxurious lifestyle of the couple formed by Dickie and Marge, respectively played by Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, during their vacation in Italy. His performance also earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Drama.
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Anthony Minghella with Matt Damon, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman…
Tonight on Arte at 8:50 p.m.