Infamous: Film Review

Those who are expecting a challenging and deep account of Truman Capote’s life and especially of the labours that went into writing his masterpiece, In Cold Blood, should not look for it here. Douglas Mcgrath’s film does nothing of the sort. What it does do instead is mixing a handful of sensationalism into a large bowl of random gossip. The result is very hard to digest.

Guns and Swans

The stellar cast put together for this venture is sadly wasted as the film struggles to reach the depth that it sets out explore. Granted, the project is indeed an ambitious one: Mcgrath wants to boil down to less than two hours the multifaceted life of one of the most flamboyant players of the post-war literary and social scene. Still, the film does not deliver.

There are two main story-lines: Capote’s involvement into the Clutter’s murder case and his bon viveur, party-savvy side. There is the social animal surrounded by his swans (Gloria Guinnes, Babe Paley, Marella Agnelli, the Bouvier sisters) and the committed author who travels to Kansas to research his work. It is complicated stuff to fit together and surely it takes more to achieve a balance than the mere alternation of scenes we are offered here.

Over-acting and Over-reacting

Although Toby Jones may seem physically right for the part, his Capote is too charged, almost a caricature. Likewise, Daniel Craig overdoes his Perry. Exaggeration is the common denominator of the movie. The plot deals with too much; the actors’ deliveries are forced. Here, there is none of the finesse found in the earlier Capote directed by Bennett Miller and it is no surprise that it was Philip Seymour Hoffman that bagged five Best-Actor Awards including an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Bafta for virtually the same role.

A special mention is due to the scene in which Perry assaults Capote and to the implication that the two become lovers. There is no proof that this ever happened. Rather, a careful reader of Capote’s work and letters would probably assert the opposite. But that is not even important. What is important is that the way the issue is treated is very demeaning and distasteful. Just because Capote was homosexual that does not necessarily imply a sexual or romantic liaison with one of the murderers. The question is: why did Mcgrath have to throw this into his already too thick mixture? Sensationalism is a bad counsellor.

Capote on Capote

Whatever merit is left in the film is down to the late Capote himself. The wit, the charming anecdotes, the remarks, the mannerism even, are all copied and pasted from different books by the writer and mostly from his correspondence with friends and colleagues.

Amidst all the shots in the movie- camera shots and Dick and Perry’s gunfire- one blast is loudest of all: it is McGrath’s shooting himself in the foot.

Credits

• Written & Directed by Douglas Mcgrath
• Produced by Jocelyn Hayes
• Starring Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig
• Distributed by Warner Independent Pictures

Mcgrath looks too close and loses the picture

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