Question: The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 film about what fictional character in a series of crime novels by American novelist Patricia Highsmith, as well as several film adaptations?
Context: The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith.  This novel first introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in the novels "Ripley Under Ground" (1970), "Ripley's Game" (1974), "The Boy Who Followed Ripley" (1980), and "Ripley Under Water" (1991).  The five novels are known collectively as the "Ripliad". Purple Noon (Original: Plein soleil) (Italian: "Delitto in pieno sole"), (aka "Full Sun", "Blazing Sun", "Lust for Evil" and "Talented Mr. Ripley"), is a 1960 French-Italian film directed by René Clément, loosely based on the 1955 novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith.  The film stars Alain Delon in his first major film, along with Maurice Ronet (as Philippe Greenleaf) and Marie Laforêt (as Marge); Romy Schneider appears briefly in an uncredited role as Freddie Miles' companion, and Billy Kearns (an expatriate American actor well liked in France) plays Greenleaf's friend Freddy Miles.  The film, principally in French, contains brief sequences in Italian. Thomas "Tom" Ripley is a fictional character in a series of crime novels by American novelist Patricia Highsmith, as well as several film adaptations.  The five novels in which he appears—"The Talented Mr. Ripley", "Ripley Under Ground", "Ripley's Game", "The Boy Who Followed Ripley", and "Ripley Under Water", published between 1955 and 1991—are referred to collectively as the "Ripliad". The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella.  An adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel of the same name, the film stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf, Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge Sherwood and Cate Blanchett as Meredith Logue. William Horberg is a Hollywood film producer, chair of the Producers Guild of America on the East coast, and guest curator at ArtYard.  His films include Anthony Minghella's adaptations of the novels "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain".  He also produced the critically acclaimed "Fallen Angels" series for Showtime from 1993-1995. Ripley Under Ground (also known as White on White) is a 2005 German-British-French crime thriller film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and based on the second novel in Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley series.  It stars Barry Pepper as the cunning psychopath Ripley and features Willem Dafoe, Alan Cumming and Tom Wilkinson in supporting roles.  "Ripley Under Ground" was produced during July and August 2003, but was only released two years later.  The film was shown on the 2005 AFI Fest by American Film Institute, receiving a low-profile wide theatrical release. The Talented Mr. Ripley is the soundtrack of the 1999 film "The Talented Mr. Ripley" starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Cate Blanchett.  The original score was composed by Gabriel Yared. Stefania Rocca (born 24 April 1971) is an Italian actress.  Rocca is best known for her roles in the films "Nirvana" (1997), "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999) and "Dracula" (2002).  She also was the lead in Dario Argento's "The Card Player".  Among her most recent appearances she was in Alessandro D'Alatri's comedy film "Commediasexi" where she played the main character, Pia Roncaldi.  She starred as Mary of Bethany in the 1999 film "Jesus". Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for her psychological thrillers, which led to more than two dozen film adaptations.  Her first novel, "Strangers on a Train", has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951.  Highsmith wrote 22 novels, including her series of five novels with Tom Ripley as protagonist, and many short stories.  Existentialism is the literary movement that most influenced her writing, with "Dostoyevsky and Gide through Camus and Sartre" among her favorite authors.  Graham Greene described Highsmith as "the poet of apprehension rather than fear.  Fear after a time...is narcotic, it can lull one by fatigue into sleep, but apprehension nags at the nerves gently and inescapably."  Published under the pseudonym of "Claire Morgan," Highsmith wrote the first lesbian novel with a happy ending, "The Price of Salt", republished 38 years later as "Carol" under her own name. Ripley's Game is a 2002 thriller film directed by Liliana Cavani.  It is adapted from the 1974 novel of the same name, the third in Patricia Highsmith's ""Ripliad"", a series of books chronicling the murderous adventures of con artist Tom Ripley.  John Malkovich stars as Ripley, opposite Dougray Scott and Ray Winstone.  Highsmith's novel was previously adapted in 1977 as "The American Friend" by director Wim Wenders, starring Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz.
Answer: Tom Ripley