No. It falls short. That doesn't make it a bad movie In fact it's pretty good. As for suspense, I could put the VCR on pause, go make a sandwich  & come back later. Harder to do with Hitchcock. The back-drop, for the  movie, Italy in the 50's was gorgous as a playground for the rich,  beautiful & spoiled.  Jude Law's character, Dickie, didn't really  captivate me. His character was inconsistent but maybe that is what he was  aiming for. I didn't feel the charisma the other characters felt for him.  He was basically conflicted over his bi-sexuality. He hated himself &  was a little off. I love Gwyenth Paltrow, but not in this movie. Her  character was necessary but she wasn't. The part was too light-weight. Any  actress could have played it. Actually Matt Damon as Tom Ripley did the  best job. He was not a psychopath as some reviewers have maintained. I  think his character resembled a much rarer & dangerous sociopath. It is  also much harder to play. The detectives were totally unbelivable as such  total morons. I don't want to give up the story, but by this point, it's  probably too late.  Don't expect too much. It's not Hitchcock. It's a  popcorn movie. Enjoy it in that vein.
No. It falls short. That doesn't make it a bad movie In fact it's pretty good. As for suspense, I could put the VCR on pause, go make a sandwich  & come back later. Harder to do with Hitchcock. The back-drop, for the  movie, Italy in the 50's was gorgous as a playground for the rich,  beautiful & spoiled. Jude Law's character, Dickie, didn't really  captivate me. His character was inconsistent but maybe that is what he was  aiming for. I didn't feel the charisma the other characters felt for him. He was basically conflicted over his bi-sexuality. He hated himself &  was a little off. I love Gwyenth Paltrow, but not in this movie. Her  character was necessary but she wasn't. The part was too light-weight. Any  actress could have played it. Actually Matt Damon as Tom Ripley did the  best job. He was not a psychopath as some reviewers have maintained. I  think his character resembled a much rarer & dangerous sociopath. It is  also much harder to play. The detectives were totally unbelivable as such  total morons. I don't want to give up the story, but by this point, it's  probably too late. Don't expect too much. It's not Hitchcock. It's a  popcorn movie. Enjoy it in that vein.