Daily Dialogue — October 14, 2012

DICKIE: You can be a leech — you know this — and it’s boring. You can be quite boring.

RIPLEY (volcanic): The funny thing — I’m not pretending to be somebody else and you are. I’m absolutely honest with you. I’ve told you my feelings. But you, first of all I know there’s something — that evening when we played chess, for instance, it was obvious -

DICKIE (incredulous): What evening?

RIPLEY: Sure — I know, that’s too dangerous for you, fair enough, hey! we’re brothers, fine, then you do this sordid thing with Marge, fucking her on the boat while we all have to listen, which was excruciating, frankly, plus you follow your cock around like a — and now you’re getting married! I’m bewildered, forgive me…you’re lying to Marge then getting married to her, you’re knocking up Silvana, you’ve got to play sax, you’ve got to play drums, which is it, Dickie, what do you really play?

Dickie, furious, gets up, and lurches towards Ripley.

DICKIE (attacking him, administering tiny slaps as punctuation to his tirade): Who are you — some imposter, some third class mooch — who are you to tell me anything? Actually, I really really really don’t want to be on this boat with you, I can’t move without you moving, which is exactly how it feels and it gives me the creeps. (he goes to rev up the engine) I can’t move without — “Dickie, Dickie, Dickie” — like a little girl. You give me the -

RIPLEY SMASHES HIM ACROSS THE HEAD WITH THE OAR. DICKIE SLIPS OFF THE WOODEN SEAT, HIS EYES ROLLING IN GROGGY SURPRISE.

RIPLEY: Shut up! Just shut up! Just shut up!

The boat slows as Dickie releases the tiller. Dickie looks up at Ripley wearily and slides onto his back.

DICKIE: For God’s sake.

Ripley, shocked at himself, goes to Dickie, rocking the boat, catches him up, then is horrified to see Dickie’s face, apparently unmarked, SUDDENLY SPLIT OPEN, a line of blood and then a peeling like a fruit bursting. Ripley’s appalled. A terrible roar issues from Dickie as he launches himself at Ripley.

DICKIE (cont’d): I’ll kill you!

Ripley finds himself pushing him away, picking up the oar, kicking off Dickie’s hand around his ankle. The boat is rocking and swerving crazily as Dickie falls against the tiller. Ripley almost loses his balance. His glasses come off. They struggle, locked together in a life or death wrestle to get control of the oar. Dickie’s blinded by his own blood, loses his grip.

Ripley, terrified, hits Dickie again and again, the oar like a carpet-beater banging down flat, blood on the blade, blood on Ripley, until he’s on his knees, heaving for breath, letting his arm drop, then realizing, disgusted, that he’s let it rest in a pool of blood. He starts to sob, sprawls there, sobbing, next to Dickie, horrified by what he’s done.

Nobody’s in sight. The boat rocks, gently, the sun sparkling indifferently on the waves. Ripley lies by Dickie in the bottom of the boat, in the embrace he’s always wanted.

The pretty blue-and-white boat rocks peacefully. The sea calms.

— Ripley (Matt Damon), Dickie (Jude Law), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), screenplay by Anthony Minghella, novel by Patricia Highsmith

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is Anti-Heroes / Villain Protagonist, suggested by Shaula Evans. Today’s suggestion by Teddy Pasternak.

Trivia: Dickie’s suicide note is dated 6 January 1959, director Anthony Minghella’s fifth birthday.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Great way to end a week of anti-heroes and villain protagonists, a final image of red blood… and a pretty blue-and-white boat… rocking peacefully on a calm sea.

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