Since it's a much, much better film than CAPOTE in pretty much every respect, it is very sad that INFAMOUS will probably always linger in the shadow of its bloated predecessor. The key to the success of McGrath's film is the way he recognises that this is essentially a small, sad story, that will suffer by being inflated to a quasi-tragic level. Capote was a talented writer but not in the same league as, say, James Baldwin, or Tennessee Williams - two contemporary gay writers with whom it's pretty fair to compare to him, and about whom it would be interesting to have two movies. But Capote? Nah. How this has happened I really don't know, as it suggests that his story teaches a more general lesson than it actually does. McGrath seems to have grasped the uniqueness, the particularity of Capote's situation, and reflected it in the intimate scale of his screenplay, especially in the talking-head sequences, and the splendid dinner party-scene.
Having scaled his story to an appropriate level, this writer/director has not stinted on casting. The opening moments are given to Ms Paltrow, who is terrific, enabling the movie to pull off a remarkable structural feat - Paltrow sings of love, breaking down into silence as the emotion overwhelms her, which is exactly what Capote does at the dinner party. Very clever, and managed with a lightness of touch that characterises this movie, and sets it well above the heavy-handedness of its rival. And as we move through the story, this lightness is all, until we come to the heavy metal of the ever-excellent Daniel Craig. Even his lowering performance is kept within the movie's bounds, however. Intimacy is the key to this. The cell scenes are wonderfully initmate.
As the story moves on, Capote finds himself wishing for the death of a man he loves. This is what both films make their moral centre, and in neither does it really work. Capote is not established in either movie as a man of particularly strong moral fibre. His torment therefore seems rather contrived.
Still, the superb Toby Jones does everything he can to make sense of it, delivering a nuanced performance that makes Capote much more real than the pantomime that Mr Hoffman was so highly praised for. Not for the first time, sentiment overcame sense at the Academy.
Finally, a word for Sandra Bullock, who manages what I would have thought impossible: she more than withstands comparison with Catherine Keener in the other film. It may well be a career-best for Ms Bullock. Jeff Daniels, on the other hand, is slightly pipped at the post by Chris Cooper. But don't let that get in the way: if you're choosing between the two on DVD, get INFAMOUS. It's a very good movie.
Having scaled his story to an appropriate level, this writer/director has not stinted on casting. The opening moments are given to Ms Paltrow, who is terrific, enabling the movie to pull off a remarkable structural feat - Paltrow sings of love, breaking down into silence as the emotion overwhelms her, which is exactly what Capote does at the dinner party. Very clever, and managed with a lightness of touch that characterises this movie, and sets it well above the heavy-handedness of its rival. And as we move through the story, this lightness is all, until we come to the heavy metal of the ever-excellent Daniel Craig. Even his lowering performance is kept within the movie's bounds, however. Intimacy is the key to this. The cell scenes are wonderfully initmate.
As the story moves on, Capote finds himself wishing for the death of a man he loves. This is what both films make their moral centre, and in neither does it really work. Capote is not established in either movie as a man of particularly strong moral fibre. His torment therefore seems rather contrived.
Still, the superb Toby Jones does everything he can to make sense of it, delivering a nuanced performance that makes Capote much more real than the pantomime that Mr Hoffman was so highly praised for. Not for the first time, sentiment overcame sense at the Academy.
Finally, a word for Sandra Bullock, who manages what I would have thought impossible: she more than withstands comparison with Catherine Keener in the other film. It may well be a career-best for Ms Bullock. Jeff Daniels, on the other hand, is slightly pipped at the post by Chris Cooper. But don't let that get in the way: if you're choosing between the two on DVD, get INFAMOUS. It's a very good movie.