Homosexual Acceptance in The Talented Mr. Ripley

While in New York, Tom Ripley was never able to truly express himself. He was always assigned a job, working for someone else, and expected to act in a particular manner. When Tom ventures to Italy, we can see a stark contrast in the way Tom acts there when compared to the way he acts in New York. In Italy, Tom feels no pressure to act in certain ways. He is able to freely express himself and his true identity. The most obvious case of this new self-expression is Tom’s openness about his homosexuality. Even in a place such as Italy, where homosexuality is frowned upon, Tom feels that he is able to express his true inner feelings due to the individuals he surrounds himself with. We can understand these individuals acceptance of Tom and his open sexuality more through scene analysis throughout the story.

One character we see frequently throughout the film and who is very accepting of Tom’s homosexuality is Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law). Dickie is a wealthy man, who has eloped with his fiancée to Italy. Tom initially visits Italy to convince Dickie to return to his family back home. As the film progresses we can clearly see that despite Dickie having a fiancée, Tom is very attracted to him. Surprisingly however, we see that Dickie clearly accepts Tom’s open homosexuality towards him and makes no effort to stop Tom.

When analyzing certain scenes from The Talented Mr. Ripley, we can distinctly point out Dickie’s acceptance of Tom’s sexuality. One scene in particular where we see Dickie and Tom’s close relationship is when they are in the bathroom together while Dickie is bathing. This scene takes place in Dickie’s bathroom. Our eyes are first met with a close up shot of a chess board, spread out across the bathtub. The lighting is rather...

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...sed on this acceptance and his findings, Herbert has made the decision to transfer Dickie’s funds to Tom, rather than Marge.

Throughout the film The Talented Mr. Ripley, we follow Tom as he ventures from New York to Italy. Although we initially see him residing in New York, it is clear to us that Tom does not feel at home there. He is forced to contain his feelings and conform to the expectations that his jobs require. While in New York, Tom longs to express himself and be accepted. Once he ventures to Italy, we finally see the Tom that was forced to be repressed. Tom opens up about his love for the finer things in life, as well as his homosexuality. We see him accepted by Dickie Greenleaf, Marge Sherwood, Peter Smith Kingsley, and Herbert Greenleaf. Through analyzing certain scenes within the film, we have been able to better understand Tom’s acceptance in Italy.