Psychology Haunts Me Again

Oh hello there! I know that it's a bit late, not a bit, very, oh maybe super, yes super late. Because Im going to write a review and my thought about two old movies which are "The Hours" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." I knew those movies actually from couple years ago. But I never watched them until now. I know it's late, yes. But tell me what am I supposed to do? I was 11 when The Hours was released. Yes, The Hours was released in 2001. Don't be kidding but my parents of course won't allow me to go to the cinema to watch the movie alone. Since my parents are not a movie mania. But let me tell you something, I don't care whether you believe me or not but I really want to watch the movie at that time when Nicole Kidman won the Academy Awards for Best Actress in 2002. I don't know why but deep in my heart I know that the movie must be extremely good. What about “The Talented Mr. Ripley?” The Movie itself was released in 1999. I was 9 at the time. I know this movie from one of the TV station. I forget when it was. Also I didn't watch the movie completely (I don’t remember why). But what I remember is the movie is quite interesting. Anyway, why I talk about those old movies now in the end of the year of 2015? Simply because I’ve just watched them. Nah you can laugh!

Actually those movies are typically my movie. Why? Because I place an interest to watch or read a psychology problem. First let’s talk about The Hours. The Hours was adapted from Michael Cunningham’s novel with the same title. I have the book but I don’t have an interest to read until the end because I don’t like the translation. Not too comfortable to read it tho.

 

here's a book of mine

The Hours is talking about three women living in different places and times. They are Virginia Woolf (1941), Laura Brown (1951), and Clarissa Vaughan (2001). Those three women face different problem with their lives and how to deal with. Virginia Woolf at her time was busy in finishing her book Mrs. Dalloway while she have to deal with her mental-illness. Yes, Virginia was suffering from Schizophrenia where she has to hear mysterious “voices” in her head. She tried to commit suicide twice but failed. But then she gave up by drowning herself in the river. The second character is Laura Brown. A pretty wife and mother, has a good husband and a cute lil son, who was strangely unhappy with her life. Spending days by reading Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” and…she tried to commit suicide also but didn’t make it. Until she made a decision to leave her husband and her two children. The third is Clarissa Vaughan, a New Yorker who was embodiment of the novel title’s character.

Second movie is The Talented Mr. Ripley. This movie was also adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel with the same title. Here, let me introduce you to Tom Ripley, a shy mysterious guy who has one talent. One dangerous talent. He can marvelously impersonate somebody, their voice, the way they talk, they laugh, even he can simply copy their hand writing style and signature. Wohoo! Dangerous little guy. Im sure you don’t want to mess with this kind of person in real life if you found one. Because once you hurt them, you are finish! I bet you! At first I feel myself is like Mr. Ripley because sometimes I can copy someone else’s voice but Im not an expert like him. Well actually I can if Im serious in this business (now you may worry! Nah just kidding). Back to the story. Tom Ripley got a job from Herbert Greenleaf, a wealthy shipbuilder, to find his son, Dickie, in Italy and ask him to go home. Tom accepts the proposal eventhough he never met Dickie before. Then he made it to Italy and found Dickie. Before Tom meet Dickie, upon arriving by ship in Europe, Tom meets a young and wealthy textile heiress named Meredith Logue. During their brief conversation he impulsively pretends to be Dickie. Shortly after his arrival in Italy, Tom fakes a chance encounter on the beach with Dickie and his fiancée, Marge Sherwood, and attempts to convince Dickie that the two met at Princeton. Here I found that he’s a liar too. Long story, Dickie is finally know that his father pays Tom to bring him home but Dickie refuse and make Tom his bestfriend. Tom is also detected as a gay as he intimately sees the naked Dickie in a bath up scene. As a friend, there must be so much emotions in it. Laughter, tears, sadness, happiness, anger, and others. Until we have to face the fact that Tom killed Dickie after a long debate in a boat. Tom tries to hide Dickie’s body by drown it to the sea. As the story goes, Tom realizes he can assume Dickie's identity. He forges Dickie's signature, modifies his passport and begins living off Dickie's trust fund. He uses Dickie's typewriter to communicate with Marge, making her believe that Dickie has left her and has decided to stay in Rome. He checks into two separate hotels as himself and as Dickie, passing messages via the hotel staff to create the illusion that Dickie is still alive. His situation is complicated by the reappearance of Meredith, who still believes that he is Dickie.

 

Wait, Im tired to write because the movie is quite long and it’s difficult to sum it up. For the complete synopsis you can google it ya. Sorry :p Filmnya dua jam lebih bo, ijk nontonnya sampe pegel gonta-ganti gaya tapi penasaran. Oh here's my favorite quote from this movie:

I always thought it would be better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. -Tom Ripley

I watched those movies in two days in a row. Pertama nonton The Hours aja udah linglung kaya orang bingung mau ngapain. Kadang jadi parno juga denger-denger suara kaya Virginia gitu. Lalu perasaan entah kenapa jadi suram, sedih, pokoknya mendadak gloomy. Well, ini adalah film kedua Nicole Kidman yang hooking me up. Nancep banget rasanya. Film pertama itu The Others. Kelar nonton The Others rasanya langsung bertanya-tanya kira-kira orang-orang yang saya jumpai tiap hari ini real manusia bukan *merinding*. Belum selesai linglung akibat The Hours, entah kenapa jemari tangan menunjuk The Talented Mr. Ripley untuk ditonton. Jadilah semakin koplak dengan terjangan psychology-thriller yang maha dahsyat. Dunno how those movies will affect you but they leave me speechless. Terbengong-bengong kenapa mereka melakukan this and that. But personally I love Tom Ripley. A genius yet danger guy. Im questioning myself if this kind of guy were really exist in this world? Yang secara sempurna meniru gerak-gerik orang lain, bahkan dia bisa lolos dari dakwaan pembunuhan ya karena bakat luar biasanya itu. Bakat niru orang lain. Dan untuk kesekian kalinya saya bertanya, kenapa penulis jaman rata-rata end up dengan commited suicide? Selain Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath dan Ernest Hemingway juga meninggal dengan cara bunuh diri. Some say writing is liberating. But why don't they feel free after made some writings?

Dunno if you like those kinda movie or not. But it’s not too late to watch them now.