Infamous (DVD)

...any rate, the arrival of Infamous was met with a confused stare from hubby - "What's that?" Me (slightly confused as well as had forgotten what it was): "Er...it's the other Capote one". Now I had in fact wanted to see this at some point, despite not having seen the much lauded Capote. I figured I would see them both, but from what little I had heard of Infamous, it seemed to be a bit more lighthearted than Capote. Whilst dealing ...
...Kansas town.

Infamous opens with Truman Capote's social swirlwind of a life in the glamorous society of late fifties Manhattan. He flits from cocktail parties to lunches with his circle of "Swans" - rich, society ladies whose gossip he insinuates and draws from clearly in his work - it is easy to see why he was so successful at creating the effervescent fizz of Manhattan in Breakfast at Tiffany's, while at the same time working ... more

Having recently joined Lovefilm, my household had become accustomed to the top choices of our list of films popping through the mailbox - this changed when recently, like a dull thud, came a film that was on our mid priority list. I had heard this happens with Lovefilm over time, so we shall see how this progresses. At any rate, the arrival of Infamous was met with a confused stare from hubby - "What's that?" Me (slightly confused as well as had forgotten what it was): "Er...it's the other Capote one". Now I had in fact wanted to see this at some point, despite not having seen the much lauded Capote. I figured I would see them both, but from what little I had heard of Infamous, it seemed to be a bit more lighthearted than Capote. Whilst dealing with the same period of his life, the writing of In Cold Blood, which was based on Capote's investigation and involvement with the murderers of a family in a small Kansas town.

Infamous opens with Truman Capote's social swirlwind of a life in the glamorous society of late fifties Manhattan. He flits from cocktail parties to lunches with his circle of "Swans" - rich, society ladies whose gossip he insinuates and draws from clearly in his work - it is easy to see why he was so successful at creating the effervescent fizz of Manhattan in Breakfast at Tiffany's, while at the same time working his own southern roots into the story. In this telling, Toby Jones plays the infamous one with charm, verve, and tenacity. There is a real bravery to the brazen-ness of this performance, and while the voice is a shocking creation I have read several accounts that is far closer to the real thing than Hoffman's more subtle turn. The voice he created is something like Deputy Dog on helium, and initially it is very giggle-worthy. This film is based on the book "Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career" by George Plimpton, and contains many addressed to camera vignets of the friends of Capote recounting their observations of the man.

His social circle is not explored with any great depth, but it is amusingly portrayed, with Capote's insincere promises of confidentiality evaporating the minute he gets a chance to gossip. The dinner party round table witticisms come off well, Jones delivers his punchlines with such ease it is easy to believe Capote could charm the social elite with whom his life was so destined to be intertwined. (It comes to light later in the film that Capote's mother was so obsessed with being a Park Avenue Princess and escaping her rural southern roots that she virtually abandonned her son to achieve this, and once she had the threat of losing it drove her to madness). In fact the film opens with so much lighthearted laughter that the switch to the darker themes of Kansas later in the film does jar a bit - that said, I think it is important that the director strove to show Capote's New York life as it is in such stark contrast to the sinister themes that would consume him later in the film.

Capote's childhood best friend was the novelist Harper Lee, who like Capote created genius in "To Kill A Mockingbird", but failed to reproduce any significant writing for the rest of her life. The film foreshadows this as at the time the book had just come out and she was still hopeful for her future career. That said, there is a knowingly poignant quality to Sandra Bullock's performance as Lee, especially in the monologue sections. Her characterization is very quiet and muted, but interesting and her bond with Capote is believable. She accompanies him to Kansas, where he is determined to continue his unique brand of journalism, seemingly viewing the whole thing as an opportunity for curious psychological analysis and personal glorification.

Their arrival in Kansas is hardly inconspicuous, with Capote dressed to the nines in fur coats and most locals assuming he is a woman when they hear his voice: (Truman: "I mean, really, even Ethel Merman didn't have these!" (points to droopy jowls). The film strives to keep it light, the oddball pair move into the local hotel and try to worm their way in with the locals dramatically unsuccessfully. Their telegrams from royalty contrast with their local surroundings, the duck out of water theme is carried through amusingly. Eventually they win over the local sheriff's (played by Jeff Daniels) friends and family at a dinner party, which leads to much local demand for Capote's tales of celebrity encounters.

Capote eventually uses his influence to get interviews with the two men accused of murdering a local family (it is alluded that he would have to know the President to gain that kind of access). He finds the two men to be in sharp contrast with one another - while one is boastful and unrepentant, the other, Perry Smith (played by Daniel Craig), is un-tempted by Capote's promises of money and unwilling to talk. Capote does some digging and finds out that Perry had artistic aspirations, and plays on these desires to win him over. Daniel Craig's Perry is an unpredictable, wounded animal sort of portrayal. You never quite know when he is going to snap, as he does attack Capote when he feels he has been betrayed. He has had a rough upbringing and you do sense the bond he and Capote share is a bit deeper than what is on the surface. I found their relationship sympathetic but also perplexing.

The mercurial nature of Capote makes him an unreliable creature and you never quite know when he is being sincere, although it does seem that despite his sometimes coldly callous analysis he does feel for Perry. This would have been fine but I felt the film strove a little to hard in its portrayal of the two men's relationship to make Capote seem more sympathetic. It gets the balance right when he is recounting the ghastly tales to his New York friends for dinner party entertainment, but then finds himself lost in contemplation/emotion as he does indeed feel a bond with Perry. It went a bit over the top towards the end with the romantic aspect I felt( without giving too much away), simply in that I was not entirely convinced of Capote's motives and would have preferred it left a bit more ambiguous. However I do not know what really happened and perhaps this is close to the truth.

The aspect of the murders was I felt not analysed very deeply and did make me curious to see Capote or read In Cold Blood. They are shown in fairly graphic flashbacks; we learn that the men were mistakenly led to believe there was a safe full of money in the house, that neither were particularly adept criminals, and the senselessness of the murders is felt acutely. The focus of the film, however, is more on Capote and his journey, the immense success of In Cold Blood is indicated to have been the peak/end of his artistic powers. The experience did change him, we are essentially told, and while
Jones' s performance is excellent and genuinely moving at times, I felt the film didn't quite open enough doors into his psyche to truly understand what it all meant to him. There is power in the enigma, yes, and poignancy I suppose if that was all that was his legacy. We merely see snippets through other's impressions of him. Jones's portrayal does seem a genuine approximation of the man and has made me curious to read more of his work.

I really enjoyed most of this film, although I did feel it dragged slightly towards the end. I do think this film would have garnered more attention and suffered unfortunate timing due to Capote being released a year or so before it. It captures the era stylishly and contrasts the town and country differences in America to great effect. It has an excellent supporting cast that includes Sigourney Weaver, Juliet Stevenson and Isabella Rossellini. The general consensus in my house at this one was of pleasant surprise. It is full of Capote's bitingly good humour and wit despite its darker themes, and contains some fantastic performances, particularly from Toby Jones, Daniel Craig and Sandra Bullock. It was co-written and directed by Douglas McGrath, whose previous directorial credits include Emma and has a long writing history including Bullets Over Broadway for Woody Allen. 

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