The Talented Mr. Ripley: Who's in the Mirror?

This film is all about identity. The metaphor throughout the film is reflections. Those reflections are sometimes a glossy floor, a window, a puddle, but often times its a mirror. Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), is not content with his life, and idolizes Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) and his relationship with Marge (Gweneth Paltrow). Once Tom gets to live inside Dickie's shoes he thinks trying on this identity will be freedom. What it actually brings though is confinement. According to his words its like having demons in a cellar that there's no key for.

There's a scene where a mirror gets fractured and we see Tom's distorted reflection through the pieces. It shows his struggle trying to live between two lives, trying on one identity after another and finding nothing fits. The final image again is a scene of mirrors, and makes us ask the question Citizen Kane style: Who is Tom Ripley?

Identity is a big theme in the Christian world. The words "in Christ" appear over and over again in the New Testament. Simply put: it's who you are. Knowing who you are matters, and trying to be someone else...shatters.