| News Items: |
| Headlines |
| News Briefs |
| Stories |
| Movies |
| Word To Life |
| More News: |
| Vatican |
| Africa |
| Archives: |
| John Paul II |
| Tsunami |
| Election 2004 |
| Charter update |
| John Jay study |
| Other Items: |
| Client Area |
| Links |
| Origins |
| Movie Review |
|
Infamous By Harry Forbes Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- Every so often, great Hollywood minds do, as they say, think alike, and the public gets a serious case of cinematic deja vu: "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Valmont"; "1492" and "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery"; and "Wyatt Earp" and "Tombstone," to name a few. Now, less than a year after Bennett Miller's highly praised "Capote" starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as flamboyant writer Truman Capote, we have "Infamous" (Warner Independent), with a bravura turn by English actor Toby Jones as Capote. Incredibly, the film charts the exact same period in the writer's life: when in 1959 he traveled to Kansas with his friend, "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Nelle Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock), after the brutal murder of a wealthy farming family, the Cutters. The films were made at the same time, but the release of "Infamous" was held back. Both films show how Capote planned to cover the murder for a lengthy piece in New Yorker magazine, but decided he had enough information to write a book in a new genre he calls "the nonfiction novel," drawing the characters with psychological detail. "In Cold Blood" became his masterpiece, and the movie shows how, with great persistence, he systematically won over the townspeople with stories about glamorous Hollywood luminaries. Once local police detective Alvin Dewey (Jeff Daniels) is on board, Capote is able to win access to the killers themselves: Perry Smith (new "James Bond" Daniel Craig) and Dick Hickock (Lee Pace). The similarities and differences between this version (by writer-director Douglas McGrath) and Miller's are interesting. But both show Capote as sincerely compassionate about the killers, especially regarding Smith, while at the same time using them for his own ends -- not only as fodder for the book, but for callous cocktail banter back in New York. In each, the gay Capote seems to almost fall in love with Smith, in spite of himself, though "Infamous" is more overt. It is suggested both killer and chronicler shared similar backgrounds, including mothers who killed themselves and fathers who deserted them. "Capote" overall had a more serious tone, while "Infamous" is leavened with humor. Jones -- supported by McGrath's script -- gives a comic touch to Capote, whom the Kansas townsfolk take to be a woman with his long fur coat and effeminate voice. And yet, for all the film's humor, the Cutter murders are quite graphic here, and the ultimate hanging of Smith and Hickock more wrenching as well. The supporting cast is especially impressive, offering as it does Gwyneth Paltrow as a cabaret singer, Sigourney Weaver as Babe Paley, Hope Davis as Slim Keith, Isabella Rossellini as Marella Agnelli, Peter Bogdanovich as Bennett Cerf, and Juliet Stevenson as Diana Vreeland. John Benjamin Hickey is Jack Dunphy, his low-key partner back in New York, who begins to worry about Capote's romantic attraction toward the disreputable Smith. The narrative's sordid elements will not be to every taste, and some may feel once is enough, but for others "Infamous" is rewarding viewing. The film contains some gay elements between Capote and one of the killers, innuendo, discreet but strong re-creation of the murders, some grisly images, two hangings, rough and crude language and expressions, an irreverent remark, domestic violence, and abortion and suicide references. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. - - - Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies. END Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
| FIND A MOVIE |
|
Looking for a movie review? |