In honor of Pride Month, we're highlighting a few Great Moments in Gay. Here’s Christopher James
Spoilers and NSFW Images to Follow…
For those of you who have not yet seen The Talented Mr. Ripley, do so immediately. Matt Damon plays expert interloper Tom Ripley. One white lie lands him an employment with millionaire Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn). The job: go to Italy and convince his wayward son, Dickie (Jude Law), to move back to America and take over the family business. Tom goes to Italy and becomes smitten with Dickie, his way of life and his beautiful girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Okay, he’s mostly smitten with Dickie, and Dickie knows it. He brings Tom along because he enjoys the attention. This leads us to a bathroom game of chess. Tom is clothed and outside the tub, while Dickie soaks in the tub, a chess set just barely covering his not-so-private parts.
Dickie Greenleaf: We're all only children. What does that mean?
Tom Ripley: It means we've never shared a bath. I'm cold, can I get in?
Dickie Greenleaf: No.
Tom Ripley: I didn't mean with you in it.
Dickie Greenleaf: Okay, get in. I'm like a prune anyway.
Compare reading the scene to watching it. On paper, this looks like a clear advance and rebuff. Tom hits on Dickie, Dickie shuts him down. Watching the same words acted out by Damon and Law is a completely different story.
Find someone who looks at you like Jude Law does while in a bathtub.
Pauses speak louder than words, as each man tries to push the boundaries of what the other is comfortable to go. It’s a game of chess with glances. Move the pawn forward two spaces, move your hand two inches closer to the water. Seductive jazz plays as the two talk about whether either of them have any siblings. Once again, the camera communicates the raw sexual tension at play in this game. It looks down Jude Law’s body as he takes a drag of his cigarette. It then cuts to a close up of Tom’s eyes. We don’t see each of them talking, we hear them. It’s all about sight lines.
When Tom asks “can I get in,” the two stare into each other’s eyes. Tom has made an advance as clear as the water in the tub. Dickie considers this. It’s not that he is considering having sex with Tom, per se. He considers what emotional chess move he’ll make next with this lovelorn gay. His “no” isn’t said with disdain. It’s almost tossed off, with a coy half smile. Dickie still wants Tom in his camp because he loves a fan club.
A picture is worth a thousand words. A gif is worth a thousand replays.Now it’s time to recover. Tom knows his advance was considered and rejected, so he backpedals. Neither of the men believe it. Both out of vanity and cruelty, Dickie gets out of the bath, letting Tom (and us) marvel at his body.
Wouldn't you sneak a peek?Tom has so much self-loathing that he doesn’t characterize any malice to the action. He’s just happy to see Dickie naked. As Dickie dries off, Tom has a perfect view through a mirror of Dickie’s butt. He gawks at it, before Dickie playfully slaps him with his towel. Every rebuff is played with homoeroticism, rather than homophobia. What Dickie wants is to be desired, so who is he to be offended by Tom’s horniness. It’s a quick scene, but it’s integral to understand Tom’s motivations. Yes, he’s in love with a straight man who doesn’t share his feelings. However, he’s also led on, and knows it. Why care about that when you get what you want: spending intimate time with a naked Dickie Greenleaf?
Tom Ripley: First of all I know there's something. That evening when we played chess for instance it was obvious.
Dickie Greenleaf: What evening?
Tom Ripley: Oh sure, no, no, it's too dangerous for you to take on. Oh, no, no, we're brothers. Hey. And then you do this sordid thing with Marge. Fucking her on the boat while we all have to listen. Which was excruciating! And you follow your cock around like a - and now you're getting married! No, I'm bewildered, forgive me. You're lying to Marge and then you're getting married to her. You're knocking up Silvana. You're ruining everybody. You wanna play the sax, you wanna play the drums. What is it, Dickie? What do you actually play?
Dickie Greenleaf: Who are you? Huh? Some third class mooch? Who are you? Who are you to say anything to me? Who are you - to tell me anything! Actually, I really, really do not want to be on this boat with you. I can't move without you moving. It gives me the creeps. *You* give me the creeps!
Tom Ripley: You shut up!
Dickie Greenleaf: You can't move without, "Dickie, Dickie, Dickie." Like a little girl! All the time.
Tom Ripley: Shut up!
Jumping forward, this Great Moment in Gay™ is central to Dickie’s death later in the movie. Tom has lusted over Dickie throughout the film, but this is the one moment he can point to where Dickie understood and encouraged it. It’s a “but now we said it moment” that neither of them can take back. By acknowledging the attraction, Dickie immediately has to go on the defensive while Tom bears his soul. This heated interaction ultimately ends in Tom beating Dickie over the head with an oar, definitely NOT a Great Moment in Gay™. Still, they’ll always have Italy and they’ll always have the bathtub (as will we).
What are your favorite Great Moments in Gay from a movie? Let us know in the comments below.