Saltburn Fans Should Check Out This 1999 Psychological Thriller With Matt Damon
Despite being released toward the end of 2023, "Saltburn" has quickly become one of the most talked-about films of the year. The murderous social satire follows Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) as he cons a wealthy upper-class family into accepting him as one of their own through increasingly duplicitous and sinister tricks.
If the plot of "Saltburn" sounds familiar to you, you're not alone. Everything from the character lying about his background to essentially taking over the life of the person he was once in love with is almost beat for beat the plot of the 1999 psychological thriller "The Talented Mr. Ripley." In the film, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is tasked with bringing rich playboy Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) back to America but instead ingratiates himself into Dickie's illustrious life and penetrates his social circle. As the truth about Tom starts to trickle out, however, he handles his loss of control with murder, just like Oliver.
Even his motivation in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" — to have the wealth and privilege of the man he desires even as he pines for Dickie himself — is reflected in the plot of "Saltburn," where Oliver changes from desiring Felix (Jacob Elordi) to wanting to steal his life.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is better reviewed and more nuanced
While "The Talented Mr. Ripley" shares many of its plot points and character motivations with "Saltburn," viewers who enjoyed the latter because of its shocking scenes of depravity will be let down if they expect the same from Anthony Minghella's psychological thriller. Though there are shocking bursts of violence as Tom loses himself to his increasingly vast web of lies, nothing in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" approaches the infamy of the graveyard or bathtub scenes in "Saltburn." On the other hand, the 1999 film does tick a lot of the same boxes and manages to execute them even better.
Critics agree, too, as "The Talented Mr. Ripley" outstrips "Saltburn" on Rotten Tomatoes by 85% to 71%. The audience margin is narrower — 80% to 79% — but either way, that ought to be enough to have fans of Emerald Fennell's film at least intrigued at the prospect of watching the late-'90s thriller.
Furthermore, with the upcoming Netflix limited series "Ripley," with Andrew Scott, set to retell the events of "The Talented Mr. Ripley," there's never been a better time to watch the film. After all, considering the time jump and the expanded runtime, the upcoming series is bound to be different from the 1999 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's book. Finally, with a cast that also includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Cate Blanchett, the film is an absolute showcase for its actors, on top of being a taut thriller.