Infamous (2006)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Douglas McGrath

Writers (WGA):

Douglas McGrath (screenplay)
George Plimpton (book)

Release Date:

16 November 2006 (Israel)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

There's more to the story than you know

Plot:

While researching his book In Cold Blood, writer Truman Capote develops a close relationship with convicted murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Truman Capote | Book | Writer | Kansas

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sigourney Weaver	...	Babe Paley
Toby Jones	...	Truman Capote
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Kitty Dean
Sandra Bullock	...	Nelle Harper Lee
Isabella Rossellini	...	Marella Agnelli
Peter Bogdanovich	...	Bennett Cerf
Rey Arteaga	...	El Morocco Band
Jeff Daniels	...	Alvin Dewey
Daniel Craig	...	Perry Smith
Justin Sherburn	...	El Morocco Band
Andrew Halbreich	...	El Morocco Band
Juliet Stevenson	...	Diana Vreeland
Michael Panes	...	Gore Vidal
Hope Davis	...	Slim Keith
Frank G. Curcio	...	William Shawn (as Frank Curcio)

Also Known As:

Every Word Is True (USA) (working title)
Have You Heard? (USA) (working title)
Untitled Douglas McGrath Movie (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence and some sexuality.

Runtime:

110 min | Canada:118 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Croatia:118 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | Malaysia:(Banned) | Ireland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #42330) | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Jack and Henry Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Samantha Morton was originally cast as Harper Lee

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Vacuum-formed yellow "Dollar General" sign visible as Perry and Dicky are being brought in by the police. The Dollar General name was not used until 1968.

Quotes:

D.A.'s Secretary: I'm sorry. The D.A. doesn't take calls from strange women.
Truman Capote: Who says I'm strange?

Movie Connections:

References A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Soundtrack:

Stealin' the Bean

I saw Capote and I saw Infamous. Infamous captured my impression of "In Cold Blood" when I read it many, many years ago.

When I saw "Capote" I was really impressed by the presentation of the story and the quality of the acting. When I saw "Infamous" today, I was caught up with the story in a way I had not been before. It was closer to the experience when I read the book many,many years ago. "In Cold Blood" is about killing human beings, and I believe that it is no more right for cold blooded murders to do it than for me do do it as a member of society that authorizes the death penalty. I believe that the film as well as the book makes people think about this issue The cast was superb, and I said the same about the earlier rendition, but this time the characters were fully developed and believable under the circumstances. I had been impressed before, but this film is different from the last--it is more emotional, more detailed in rendition of the characters, and more interested in showing not just the destruction of Truman Capote, but in sharing the ideas that he expressed in "In Cold Blood".

When I was growing up (I am 62 now) I recall that I did not like Capote when I saw him on talk shows repeatedly. I really knew nothing of gay culture or what even that meant at the time, so it had nothing to do with the sexual orientation. It had to do with the ego that was constantly expressed and realted to nothing that I really cared about.

But what was incredibly important to me then and now is that we can lose track of the fact that we are all human beings, a point that was stressed in the film. Killers may be killers, but they are us, in a way, filled with some of the same ambitions, hates, emotions that most of us can control. What separates us from them might not be very much, so why do we need to kill them as they jailed their victims? It is easy to kill, but not so easy to try to understand. This film hits an emotional level that the previous film did not. I am pleased that it ultimately was made. I am also pleased that the quality of the performances, the writing and most especially the direction, were so superb. Watch the scene where the farmer speaks only to Harper Lee and not Capote. It is an incredible monologue, but the circumstances are noted.