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I agree with an earlier reviewer that this film derives much of its effect from being set in 1962. The period feel is beautifully communicated and the plot needs to work itself out in a world where places like Athens, Crete and Istanbul were not just exotic but isolated, where holidaying Americans would still be surprised and interested to meet other Americans, and people on the run could hope to hide away. The chemistry between the three leads, who are all well played, does lack fizz and there is a clumsy and rather hackneyed third act. But the film is never less than engaging and all the better for not resorting to surprise twists. The music tries too hard to be exciting, almost as if the director thinks the visuals need some extraneous help to keep the audience interested. I think he is wrong - there is enough going on here, including some fine acting and cinematography, to appeal to audiences who like films with substance, a trajectory, and a sound sense of place and time.

Adapted by its director, Hossein Amini, from a little known novel by Patricia Highsmith "The Two Faces of January" turns out to be a highly satisfying tale of murder most foul very typical of Miss Highsmith. OK, so it's not on the same level as "The Talented Mr Ripley", "Plein Soleil" or "Strangers on a Train" but with its emphasis on plot rather than 'action' it's still a cut above a good many of today's so-called thrillers. Also typical of Highsmith is that the principal relationship in the film is between two men, (though one of them is married while the other starts to fall for the wife). The married one is Viggo Mortensen, apparently rich and touring Greece but also harboring a dark secret. The wife is pert little Kirsten Dunst and the man who falls for her is tour guide Oscar Issac. At first Issac thinks he has the upper hand, swindling Mortensen out of a few thousand dollars only to realize quite early in their relationship that he has bitten off more than he can chew. After awhile Dundst's character becomes almost redundant as the men start to play power games with each other. Whereas the male/male relationships in other Highsmith adaptations were mostly homo-erotic with at least one of the characters clearly drawn as gay. Here the relationship is meant to evoke a father and a son, (Issac's character has issues with his dead father). This slightly dilutes the dark heart of the picture. Movies like "The Talented Mr Ripley" and "Strangers on a Train" worked as well as they did because the villain was clearly homosexual and psychopathic and you never knew where his temper and jealous rages might take him. In this movie Mortensen is undoubtedly the jealous straight guy while Issac is just too nice, (he's too sweet to be a real con-man). Still, all three leading players are excellent and Amini tightens the screws very nicely as the film progresses. Filmed, for the most part, in Greece it will also prove something of a boost for the Greek Tourist Board this summer.

I have to applaud Hosseini's directorial debut. "The Two Faces Of January" takes us mostly to the 1960's Greece, with three main characters in focus.

Beautifully shot, this visually stunning period-piece (if I can call it that) relies on story and characters rather than trying to impress with extravagant plot twists and special effects. The narrative is very well balanced and restrained from the hyperactive traps of modern cinematic storytelling.

Good acting from everyone involved and my compliments to the music composer too, for providing a very fitting soundtrack.

This is classic film making. Nothing innovative but very beautiful to look at, a fitting choice to watch on a lonely evening.

Film opens at the Parthenon in Athens. A young male guide, played by Oscar Isaac, is guiding some impressionable girls. An older couple enter the scene. The male, played by Viggo Mortensen, is mature. His younger wife, played by Kirsten Dunst, looks like Doris Day. Thus we seem catapulted into the Hitchcock era. Film is in fact set in 1962, and all scenes seem authentic.

A central theme of far too many Hitchcock films to list, is that of an innocent man caught up in events over which he has no control. In this film, however, we quickly find that Mr Mortensen's character is no innocent. He is, however, quickly thrust into events that are out of his control.

Within the central trio of characters, it is unclear what are their individual motives, or, who is trying to con who. The sexual chemistry and tensions remind of 'Knife in the Water' (1962).

Film is a true Hitchcockian-style suspense movie rather than a thriller. As the tension rises so does the music, which also is pure Hitchcockian, and could easily have been lifted in great chunks from one or more of his movies.

As the tension rises, so too does the pace. From the start, the film moves at a decent pace, but this builds as the film progresses, and the pace gets faster and faster. Great camera shots, great chases, and iconic scenes, also suggest homage to 'The Third Man (1949).

All location shooting was superb. This reviewer, once attempting to follow in the footsteps of Plato, got lost in the mountains, and had to be rescued by shepherds. So it was with a fond familiarity that I saw those same mountains.

One explanation for the Hitchcockian-feel to the movie can be explained by the fact that the film is based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1951 film 'Strangers on a Train' was also based on a novel by Miss Highsmith. Thus perhaps it may be more accurate to describe the feel and touch of the movie as Highsmithian rather than Hitchcockian. Miss Highsmith is also the origin of the 'Ripley' stories.

This flawless and faultless masterpiece of a film, is the first full-length film directed by Hossein Amini. He also wrote the screenplay.

This film will appeal to all, though the 12A certificate means that it is unsuitable for young children. Suitable for all others, it is very suitable, and it will be very much appreciated, by classicists and Hitchcock fans.

A masterpiece! 10/10!

A thriller centered on a con artist (Viggo Mortensen), his wife (Kirsten Dunst), and a stranger (Oscar Isaac) who flee Athens after one of them is caught up in the death of a private detective.

Not being familiar with the novel, I cannot really comment on if this is a good adaptation or not. But it definitely is not as good a film as it could be. Mostly because it starts out strong and remains strong for the first half hour before suddenly going flat and staying flat. If the film could have kept its earlier pace and tone, it would be an incredibly gripping thriller.

Kirsten Dunst is excellent and understated. Mortensen is not half bad as the con artist. But they seem trapped in this script that never fully allows them to show their potential.

It's 1962 Athens. Rydal (Oscar Isaac) is a tour guide charming and scamming his female visitors. He finds a mark in American couple Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst). A man looking for Dunleavy intrudes into the couple's hotel room. He's been hired by MacFarland's former clients and pulls out a gun. The man is killed. While trying to dispose of the body, Rydal comes up to return a bracelet. Rydal gets pulled into the suspicious cover-up that Chester initially claims to be a drunk making a pass at Colette. Rydal tries to help them escape while skimming off the top.

This has the feel of 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' which is another novel from Patricia Highsmith. However there is a fun and audacity of the con that is missing. It has the Hitchcockian backbones but the story feels tired. Isaac is a bit detached playing it more like supporting role rather than the staring role this is supposed to be. Mortensen is smoking up a storm and has a bit of fun. Dunst is beautiful but her character is too clueless. I rather she not play the innocent. All the material seems to be here for a great psychological thriller but it comes together as more flat than exciting.

'The to faces of January' is an old-fashioned, decent thriller with a nice sixties setting and solid acting. Everything about it is immaculate. The plot is intelligent enough: a couple of rich tourists meet a young American tour guide, who accidentally witnesses the husband committing a crime. One thing leads to another, and soon enough the guide is caught in a web of lies and deceit, and it becomes impossible to escape without incriminating himself. The crime story is spiced up by the mutual romantic attraction between the guide and the young wife. There is even a sort of life lesson included: money is the root of all evil.

The movie is well worth seeing, if only because it is nice to see a film that's not experimental, violent, provocative, filled with special effects or in one way or another trying to be hip or trendy.

I can see why so many reviewers make references to Hitchcock. The film is set in the early sixties, the era in which Hitch made some of his best films like 'The Birds' or 'Marnie'. Still, this film lacks the touch of a genius like Hitchcock. The characters have no extra psychological layers, and the unconventional scenes and themes that make the Hitchcock-movies so special, are absent in this film.

Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel, The Two Faces of January may not be quite what audiences expect, if they are unfamiliar with her literary canon. It is, after all billed as a crime thriller and boasts conmen, murder and crooks on the run.

Yes, it is all that, but cast aside thoughts of rampaging villains, car chases and gunfire galore; The Two Faces of January is a sedate thriller of a bygone era.

Greece, 1962. Rich, glamorous couple Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and Colette MacFarland (Kirsten Dunst) arrive in Athens, apparently for a sightseeing holiday, where they meet Greek-speaking, American tour guide Rydal (Oscar Isaac), who supplements his income through petty scamming. Rydal is seduced by the MacFarlands' money and Colette's beauty, contriving to accompany them on an outing. However, as he wheedles his way into their lives, events take an unexpected turn when Chester's past appears at his door with a gun and Rydal is dragged into a downward spiral of desperate acts.

Written and directed by Hossein Amini, The Two Faces of January is the feature directorial debut from the scribe of Snow White and the Huntsman and 47 Ronin. It is a convincing debut that meanders along with gentle compulsion and, naturally, shares a tone with the most successful Highsmith cinematic adaptation to date, The Talented Mr. Ripley. There are no great emotional explosions, rather a constant bubbling tension that permeates the relationship of the trio and snaps their precise and controlled façades. From the outset we know this isn't going to work out smoothly. It's just a matter of who cracks first and how the consequences will play out.

Dunst gives a beautifully controlled performance as a woman both deceived and deceptive and one knows that, though she may be the victim here, she has her own hidden daggers to thrust.

Isaac, on an impressive career trajectory after last year's Inside Llewyn Davis (three features in the can and currently shooting Star Wars: Episode VII) is at once comfortable in the skin of petty criminal Rydal, whose certainty unravels as life becomes unexpectedly complicated and hurtles out of his control.

Mortensen, turns another commanding performance that is both subtle and severe as a man with secrets that may prove terminal for those involved. Variously suave and confident then panicked and desperate, his Chester has obvious demons and has committed his own fair share of crimes, but there is never really any question of disliking him. Mortensen plays Chester with genuine care, accepting of his foibles if not quite condoning them. As Mortensen continues to deliver solid, engaging performances, it is maddening that one of Hollywood's most dependable actors is not the Oscar winning A-lister he deserves to be.

The Two Faces of January is not going to excite a lot of cinema-goers and I'm guessing last night's audience was fairly typical of those it will attract: limited, select but, on the whole, contemplatively satisfied.

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Hossein is the same writer of amazing films such as "Wings Of The Dove" (1999) and "Drive" (2011), but at the same time he contributed to some not so amazing ones like "Snow White and The Huntsman" (2012) and the weak "47 Ronin" (2013). So chances were quite good that the production qualities would be somewhat uncertain, even being based on Patricia Highsmith's novel, the same author of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999), amazingly adapted by Anthony Minghella and one of the finest movies of his career.

After Minghella's adaptation, which was praised by everyone for its outstanding visual and technical qualities, and his skills to develop the story as a captivating and progressive dramatic thriller, also including a character that does not exist in the book that instead of negatively change the course of the story only increased the hitchcockian tone he gave to the plot, Hollywood didn't produced anything like that since then.

When people watch the trailer of "The Two Faces of January" some honorable resemblances to Minghella's adaptation of Highsmith's Ripley will pop, and strong comparisons will be inevitable. That's what I felt, so my expectations were high. The attempts to repeat the same successful formula were so evident that one of the executive producers is Max Minghella, son of the late director.

Really, the comparisons cannot be avoided, but rather to become nostalgic references or even an excellent opportunity to honor Minghella and his merits achieved by one of his greatest works, "Two Faces Of January" becomes a very frustrating experience in many aspects.

The condensed narrative, the thrilling moments involving the unknown past of each one of the characters and some key events that occur within the first half hour conducted by Alberto Iglesias music (with great references to Bernard Herrmann's in Psycho) clearly lead and prepare the viewer to a thrilling expected atmosphere. But unfortunately the robustness presented loses strength when the story achieves a shallow plateau that forgets to explore the past of each one of the characters as well as never taking truly advantage of their personal psychological conflicts as happen in the book, especially Rydal, the main character.

The title is a reference to Janus, a roman god with two faces, guardian of the transitions, doors, decisions and the beginning. One face looks to the past and the other to the future. This mythical figure represents the reckoning that Rydal is about to face and the dangerous decisions he will have to take. Also, the story take place in early January, which also means a new beginning in popular culture. In the book Highsmith makes clear those associations with the title when Rydal feels a strange and painful resemblance between Chester and his late father, and between Colette and a girl he was madly in love when a teenager. The transference he makes of these two strong figures of his life to Chester and Colette is what leads Rydal keeps himself close to them in the unconscious quest to solve his traumatic relationship with his hateful father and also try to continue an interrupted love interest he had in the past.

But in the movie, none of this fundamental matters are explored the way it should. There are only brief moments that loosely make clear Chester's resemblances to Rydal's late father but no major developments about that is given to clarify the reasons why the love-hate relationship grows so strong between them. Hossein makes it feels like all the love-hate relationship is because they share the same love interest: Colette. On the contrary of the psychological thriller that the book is, the movie makes it all a common passion crime flick, with silly police chasings, love triangle in the simplest possible way exploiting a naive Colette that does not exist, since the book makes reference to her recurring infidelity. The result is an empty movie with a trite ending that makes entire plot feels redundant rather than being Rydal's final journey in search for absolution over his most inner conflicts.

Even developing an excellent job, Viggo Mortensen has his talent wasted here because of the forgettable film that it strikingly is. Kirsten Dunst seems to not yet have learned how to be sophisticated without always look like a college student, and as always, her best moments are when her character is under pressure. Wasted are also the locations in Greece and Turkey instead of doing the same thing Minghella did when making all the exuberance within the Italian landscapes an extra mix of beauty and soft cruelty in "The Talented Mr. Ripley". Oscar Isaac has impressive moments, perhaps because he did know the original work and also that his character is much more complex than the script provided, but for the viewer that is poorly cleared thru the 96 minutes, the attitudes of his character will feel just like an empty and romantically misplaced fixation without any coherent foundation.

The Two Faces of January is a gripping and highly watchable film which I would highly recommend. Set in the sixties, it is undeniably "old school" – a twisted tale of murder, treachery and double-dealing, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, where you half expect Alfred Hitchcock to appear in cameo at some point.

Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) and Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman) play Chester and Colette Macfarland a rich and affluent couple touring the sites and sounds of Europe, with us first catching up with them in a glorious looking Athens.

Appearing to be relaxed and happy together, they hide a dark secret that is about to catch up with them. Oscar Isaac – so fabulous in Finding Llewyn Davis earlier this year, and about to hit mega-stardom in the Star Wars reboot – plays American rogue Rydal, who seems to stare intently at Chester. Is he part of the impending storm, or just an innocent caught up in events he can't control? Tensions rise, not just because of the plot pressures but also because of the obvious sexual tension growing between the charismatic Rydal and Chester's lovely and much younger wife.

The compelling story – albeit somewhat predictable in places – takes in some fabulously atmospheric locations in Athens, Crete and Istanbul.

This is the feature directorial debut of Iranian-born Hossein Amini, who also wrote the screenplay – this being his forte have written a range of films including Drive and Snow White and the Huntsman. And what a good job he does, orchestrating location, lighting and music to great effect. Some of the editing is also very tight, cutting away from scenes at crucial points to maintain the story's mystery.

The trio of actors also bring great star power to their roles. Mortensen and Dunst are very watchable, but it is Isaac that again really shines in his role. In turns enchanting, brooding and cowed like a cornered animal, he plays the perfect James Stewart character in this Hitchcockian homage.

In the coming blitzkrieg of summer blockbusters, here is a jewel of a film that will be particularly enjoyed by older viewers who remember when story and location were put far ahead of CGI-based special effects.

(If you found this review helpful, please see my other reviews and 'Follow the Fad' at bobmann447.wordpress.com. Thanks.).

I recently rewatched The Two Faces of January (2014) on Tubi. The storyline follows a couple on vacation in Athens who meet an opportunistic tour guide who becomes obsessed with the wife. When the husband kills a private detective and the tour guide witnesses the crime, he agrees to help the couple escape the country and find a path to freedom. As the tour guide spends more time with the couple, the web of lies and deceit deepens, making it hard to tell who is conning whom.

Directed by Hossein Amini in his directorial debut, the film stars Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings), Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight), Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man), Daisy Bevan (Elizabeth), and David Warshofsky (Running Scared).

This is a unique storyline with unpredictable characters and some smart twists and turns. Some aspects of the story feel a bit far-fetched, while others seem more authentic, but the cat-and-mouse game is well-told. There are plenty of scenes that induce anxiety. The actors deliver excellent performances, with a consistently awkward relationship between Mortensen and Isaac. Dunst plays the perfect beautiful, innocent, naive wife, with her own part to play in the storyline. While there are some predictable aspects to the film, it keeps you intrigued until the worthwhile conclusion.

In conclusion, The Two Faces of January is a well-crafted tale of twists and turns until the very end. I would score this a 6.5-7/10 and recommend seeing it once.

An old school, Hitchcockian style thriller from the writer behind Drive, The Two Faces of January commences with sexy, mysterious intrigue, but slowly dovetails into a soggy noodle. Shot against the glorious, sun-drenched Greek landscape by cinematographer Marcel Zyskind and boasting immaculate costume and set design befitting its 1960s period, January looks a million bucks, yet this can't cover up the fact the final hour is bland and devoid of tension. One of the finest (and underrated) actors of our generation, Oscar Isaac is once again astounding despite his failing surrounds, here portraying the smooth, enigmatic operator who gets in over his head when he witnesses a crime by an attractive American couple. As the wealthy tourists with a secret, Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen are another major weakness, the duo sharing zero spark together and Mortensen in particular possessing all the charisma of a plank of wood. It's a noble directorial debut from screenwriter Hossein Amini, but remains a missed opportunity in a subgenre not visited nearly enough.

A fairly good standalone film, but weak and shallow in comparison to its source material, Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name.

Mortensen is brilliant in the role he is given, despite it being removed from the Chester of Highsmith's work. The gradual transition in presentation and attitude perfectly encapsulates the spiralling of events around him. Dunst isn't given much to work with, but performs her part as the unfortunate spouse in tow well, it's a shame the character wasn't given wider motivations. Isaac plays a mostly new character but does so well, giving a range of emotions and contexts to adapt to.

The plot is simple to follow, all internal struggle is largely removed and the events that unfold give the aura of a low-intensity thriller. Its still clever in its way, but far from groundbreaking. The period in which the film is set allows for many visually appealing settings. Scenery is well matched with wardrobe, coupled with the use of lighting, the atmosphere matches the situation well.

Readers of the original book will be disappointed. Not only are the main characters' personalities and backstories different from the start, the dynamic between the two men is lost, key events are altered, and overall the plot is significantly diluted. Nearly all traces of any Greek characters are removed, particularly Nikos, who receives very little screentime and even then is changed into a far more suave counterfeiter. Motivations behind the binding of the trio are changed, and therefore lose a lot of depth into their wider development, and although everything couldn't be fit into a film, the clearer cut good guy/bad guy foundations for the film remove much of the interest.

This is a film I would have hoped to have been better.. it just doesn't make you care much about anything. It's 1962, just for the sake of being '62.. so what (oh, yea.. the book). And in the normal course of events, Mortensen and Dunst are two favorites.. but here, again you're not really much at all interested what happens to them. She's an actor can deliver so much more than what's asked of her. In this role, she could have easily been replaced with a whole bunch of others, and the switch would hardly matter.. that's poor use of one of the better professionals in the business. In a meaningful role she dominates, and takes you where you're looking and need to go.. it should never be you just don't care, as it is in this production. The viewer rating average now hovers around a six.. and that I'd say is pretty much dead-on accurate.

Although Oscar nominated for writing 1997's The Wings of the Dove, Hossein Amimi shone brightest in the spotlight for writing the acclaimed Drive, enough so that he earned the opportunity to write and direct his own film, The Two Faces of January. Although a thriller drenched in style, it couldn't be further from Drive. While Drive relishes in quiet tension, The Two Faces of January is much more obvious, but in an equally enjoyable if much a much weaker way. Its tone is hard to place, while dark and certainly not comic, there's an accessible lightness about it. I can see why others found it risible. The drama between Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac feel like high school teenagers. While some moments between them fumble, others hit a tender spot. It's breezy, with a great atmosphere in its Greek production design, and it blends well with the tension of its Hitchcockian thriller narrative to make an engaging and occasionally resonate film despite its silliness but it stops it from being cold or dry. It may not live up to Amimi's potential, but it's decent stuff. Hopefully he has more to offer later.

7/10

Writer Hossein Amini makes his directorial debut adapting Patricia Highsmith's novel.

Set in 1962. Rydal Keener (Oscar Isaac) is an American tour guide in Athens who makes money by skimming visitors. He negotiates prices in Greek and tells the visitors a higher price.

Rydal meets a wealthy American couple Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst.) There is something about Chester who reminds Rydal of his recently deceased father.

Chester is a financial adviser on the run for swindling his investors. He has been tracked down by a private detective who Chester accidentally kills in a struggle.

Chester ropes in Rydal to hide the body by telling him some lies. Rydal chooses to help obtain false passports for the MacFarland's in the hope of making some extra money off them.

As they travel to Crete, Colette tells Rydal off her frustrations of living a life on the run. Chester grows jealous from seeing his wife getting close to Rydal.

There begins a cat and mouse game between Chester and Rydal, another dead body leaves Rydal in danger of being the fall guy.

It has location shooting in Greece and Turkey. There are actors in good form but Amini is too inexperienced as a director. It is a handsome if anodyne movie.

Amini is no Hitchcock, there are thrills and intensity missing.

Nice movie, I liked the atmosphere in which it was shot, Kirsten Dust she was excellent in her role.

Review: This is a dramatic movie about a con man who kills a undercover agent and finds himself on the run from the law, with his wife and a tour guide who tries to help them get out of Athens. After a while he realises that the tour guide has fallen in love with his wife and after a dramatic chain of events, the tour guide and Mortensen, both find themselves on the run from the law. I found the movie to be very basic but full of tension throughout. The storyline wasn't overly complicated and the director didn't really show the depth of the characters. All the way through the movie, the characters are nervous and scared of getting caught so there wasn't anything else that interesting going on. The chemistry between the characters was good and believable but the storyline seemed a bit weak. The showdown at the end between the two main characters could have been better, but overall, it's an average movie that won't go down as a classic. Average!

Round-Up: Viggo Mortensen really doesn't take on that many projects, which is a shame because I rate him as an actor. I liked him in A History Of Violence and he was great in the Lord Of The Rings franchise, but he hasn't done that much since. Kirsten Dunst seems to act the same in all of her roles so I don't really class her as a versatile actress. In this movie, her style worked as the love interest of both main characters, but it would be good to see her in something that is out of her comfort zone. Oscars Isaac is starting to bloom in the latter part of his acting career. Starring as the main character in Inside Llewyn Davis and having cameos in the Bourne Legacy and Drive, I'm sure that he's happy with his port folio. All three actors put in good performances, but it's the storyline that really needed some work. 

Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $4million

I recommend this movie to people who are into there intense dramas about a tour guide trying to get a couple out Athens after a tragic murder. 5/10

If this movie had been made back in mid-century when Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Donen and Billy Wilder were at their peak, it probably wouldn't get much attention. But given we're in an age where Transformers XVI is a possibility, a movie like this--taut, suspenseful, well-acted, well- written, is kind of a marvel. It doesn't promise a lot: there are no special effects, the plot twists aren't terribly surprising; in fact, nothing in the movie really surprises. But it's all so seamlessly put together, so pleasingly directed, and shot with such loving attention to the scenery, Two Faces is a real delight. Don't come with great expectations--come simply for the pure entertainment of what a movie can be when everything in it works well. (Also, it's based on a Patricia Highsmith novel, so you know that if nothing else, there will be sophistication and wit.)

The Two Faces of January (2014)

You can take this as a chilling drama about theft and murder and duplicity set in 1962 Greece, as several Americans get interwoven with mistakes and misplaced passions. The great scenery is unending, and varied, and the acting and filming are really great. It's good stuff, and you might give it a go. I think it's underrated, too.

But read at least another graf here: it's not half of what its inspiration is, the Minghella version of "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Yes. And it's obvious all over the place. The gorgeous Mediterranean setting (Greece instead of Italy), the Americans abroad (more on them next), the characters who are not who they seem to be, and who turn to murder almost by necessity. Even the parade of location work, from historic sites to busy public squares to a ferry boat will make the two movies feel and move in similar ways. And finally, the writer of both stories is the same—Patricia Highsmith—and one of the producers of this movie is the son of the director of the earlier one. Yup.

So think again if you didn't like that Minghella "Ripley." It's my good luck I loved that movie, and it's worth saying right away that this is not as lyrical, rich, surprising, moving, or stunning by any stretch. You might prefer its slightly more restrained palette, and you'll surely notice there is very little music, but overall the fullness (and amazing cast) of the first movie is winning.

Kirsten Dunst is the biggest star here, playing the somewhat innocent wife to a scammer husband (Vigo Mortensen) who has gotten rich off his dealings. When someone tracks him down in Athens to get his money back, things go bad fast. A Greek- American tour guide and small time swindler himself (Oscar Isaac) has befriended this pair and gets pulled into their orbit for money, and for love. As any three mismatched characters on the lam soon learn, they are more dangerous to each other than they realize.

So it has a lot of great elements, and it's pulled together quite well by director Hossein Amini. There a couple of times you wonder why the characters would quite do what they do, but in general the growing psychology works, and with all the beautiful side attractions, it's fun to watch.

A very bland film. Neither terrible nor terribly good. Decent cast. Viggo Mortensen a pleasure to watch as always. Kirsten Dunst injects some moments of quality into a rather empty character. Oscar Isaac does nothing to interrupt his upward career trajectory. I doubt any of them will regret their choice of roles but equally doubtful that this film will come top of their personal favourites' list. The storyline has just enough threads and twists to engage the viewer though, with more drab settings, it might have been more of an effort. If there are winners from this film, they must include the Greek and Turkish tourist industries. The ending when it comes neatly ties off their issues, individual or collective, for all the main characters. But a bit too neatly for my money. A loose end or two left fluttering might have meant the film lived longer in the memory. As it was, the process of forgetting started as the credits rolled.