I was thinking about the ending to The Talented Mr. Ripley 1999 (spoilers ahead) and whether Tom ever had a choice, and if he did who he would choose, the Cate Blanchett character or Peter. First off I thought Tom did have a choice and he chose to kill Peter instead of Cate as a representation of choosing hetero life. That is the whole point in general and the point of the conversation he and Peter have before he kills him, but then I remembered that Tom asks Cate whether she’s alone and she says she’s there with her family. and then I realized the more depressing aspect to all this. 1 tom didn’t have a choice and 2 the reason he doesn’t have a choice is because Cate has a support system and a place within the hetero familial unit… but Peter doesn’t. neither does Tom. the whole point is that they’re alone and they only have each other. Peter is doomed by what isolates him… and Tom DOESNT choose heterosexuality, but he is FORCED INTO IT to SURVIVE … not even to survive survive, since killing peter in particular Killed his Spirit, and his chance to be loved and love TRULY, and to be Gay which he is to the 6th degree. But to survive in the world at large. To survive materially.
