Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Judged solely on its own merits, an excellent film, 6 Jun 2007
I went into this film with only the most basic knowledge about Truman Capote and his writing. I knew he wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood, the latter of which was based on a real crime, I knew he was as exceedingly odd little man, and that's about it. I've never read any of his work, and I haven't seen the film In Cold Blood or 2005's Capote. As I first began watching Infamous, I found myself wondering how I could possibly sit through almost two hours of a film about this dandyish, hopelessly pretentious man smarming his way through New York high society. His incredibly annoying voice didn't help, even though it was nowhere near as bothersome as Sandra Bullock's horrible fake Southern accent in her role as Harper Lee. As the film progressed, though, this strange little man began to grow on me. By the mid-way point, I was pretty much engrossed in the story, and the ending clinched all five of the stars I have to give this film (which is pretty amazing given the fact that it includes three of my least favorite actresses: Gwyneth Paltrow, Sigourney Weaver, and the aforementioned Sandra Bullock).
Obviously, Truman Capote is one of the most complex and fascinating of men. I certainly won't define the man by the interpretation on display in Infamous (which is based on Douglas McGrath's 1997 oral biography of the man); after all, this is a fictionalized story of a man known for his own obfuscations with the truth. You can't even look at In Cold Blood with purely objective eyes because Capote relied on memory rather than notes to produce the book. And, from what I gather, 2005's Capote provides a noticeably different perspective on the man as it tells basically the same story as Infamous, focusing on the writing and later publication of In Cold Blood. One thing I am sure of is that Toby Jones turns in an absolutely captivating performance as this most inscrutable of characters. Capote seemed like such a fake in the early scenes, but Toby Jones transformed him into an incredibly human soul long before the end credits began rolling - sympathetic to a significant degree, as some of the flaws in Capote's character manifest themselves, but not without his own emotionally cold-blooded moment here and there. If nothing else, this Truman Capote is not a man you would want to confide in with your darkest secrets.
Infamous gets pretty emotionally complicated once Capote finally gets access to both killers, especially a reluctant Perry Smith (Daniel Craig). It's a bumpy ride, but the relationship that develops between Smith and Capote serves as the lynchpin of this film. Infamous dares call it love, although I imagine that is debatable. Clearly, though, the two men understood one another in ways few others ever did, and that makes the drama of the concluding scenes truly palpable.
I find it somewhat ironic that the actual murder that gave rise to In Cold Blood and these two recent films about Truman Capote doesn't seem to generate much interest at all. Capote, both the myth and the man, towers over his subject matter. I certainly don't feel as if I know the real Truman Capote after watching this film, but I'm intrigued enough to go and seek out 2005's Capote and see the story of In Cold Blood told from an alternate viewpoint.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More memorable than "Capote", 25 May 2008
I watched "Capote" a few months ago and forgot it almost immediately. Like most Oscar-winners, with the notable exception of "Crash", it was something of an effort. I watched "Infamous" mainly as an exercise in comparison and found it far more memorable, although admittedly this may be due in some part to Capote's more sympathetic and likeable portrayal. I've never seen footage of the real Capote so I can't comment on whose performance was "better" but Toby Jones' is certainly the more colourful, extreme and entertaining, less sneering than Hoffman's interpretation. Undoubtedly condecension WAS a significant element of Capote's personality, as even Infamous' writer refers to it in his commentary. It's therefore interesting that he chose to play it down in his version.
I was drawn into "Infamous" from the first scene and it held my attention pretty much throughout. Sandra Bullock continues to prove there's more to her than cute and dizzy rom-com queen and I believe it's already a matter of record that the Bond franchise was lucky to score an actor of Daniel Craig's ability.
Well worth a watch.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much better than Capote, 25 Sep 2007
Infamous is a great film and, to my mind, a much more insightful retelling of the story of how Truman Capote came to write "In Cold Blood".
What lifts it above the ordinary are the stand out performances from Toby Langdon, as Capote, and Sandra Bullock as his friend Harper Lee. The two central characters are strongly supported by the cast which includes Daniel Craig as Perry, and Isabella Rossellini as one of Capote's socialite "swans".
What is amazing about this film is that although none of the main characters are truly sympathetic: Capote is shown as self-serving, mendacious and utterly snobbish, quite apart from his voice, whilst the film never shies away from showing Perry as a violent psychopath (whatever may have happened in his childhood) you are still carried along by the story.
It has much to say about the nature of reporting, and the place for emotional involvement in between writer and subject.
I had seen Capote, where, despite Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar nominated performance, I continually found the voice and the world-weary affectation of the character grated. Not with Infamous - this film has an emotional heart and explores deeper themes, which lift it above the ordinary, even if you know the background already.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has not yet seen it.
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