Certificate: 15 Running Time: 110 minutes Starring: Toby Jones, Daniel Craig, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels
Coming just a year after Bennett Miller's award-winning 'Capote', it's inevitable that 'Infamous' - Douglas McGrath's attempt to bring the circumstances surrounding the creation of writer Truman Capote's masterpiece 'In Cold Blood' to the big screen - will come off looking like a poor imitation. However, while it inevitably cannot avoid treading the same ground as the Phillip Seymour Hoffman movie and drawing unfavourable comparisons as a result, it still packs an emotional punch and draws some great performances from its cast... This time around, the role of the flamboyant Capote is portrayed by British actor Toby Jones, who takes on the role with tremendous gusto. Physically, he's much more a match for the slight and fey Capote than the much bulkier Hoffman and he can more than match him in his perfect capture of Capote's mannerisms and bizarrely high-pitched voice. In a much more bizarre piece of casting, however, it's new 007 Daniel Craig who takes the role of Perry Smith, one of the men responsible for the brutal murder of the Clutter family, which Capote sets out to write about, and the man that he becomes obsessed with. Physically at least, Craig - with his rough good looks and muscular physique - is all wrong for the part of the much shorter and slighter Perry, but it's to his credit as an actor that he manages to pull off the role, managing easily to convey Smith's emotions in his more vulnerable moments... While the events of both 'Capote' and 'Infamous' are obviously the same, both films are based on different Capote biographies (Miller's film is based on Gerald Clarke's book, while McGrath's is based on George Plimpton's) and there are noticeable differences between the two. Perhaps the most obvious is the portrayal of the relationship between Capote and Smith. While 'Capote' left any sexual attraction between the two men unspoken, giving the film an ambiguity which made the ending - and Smith's execution - more powerful because of what was left unsaid, 'Infamous' is more overt in its portrayal of the sexual attraction between the men and, because it's often handled in a somewhat clumsy way, it just highlights the fact that sometimes it's better to make a point by under-emphasising a situation than being blatant about it. However, where 'Infamous' gains the edge over 'Capote' is in fleshing out the characters of both Capote and Smith, showing a warmer side to Capote than Hoffman's portrayal, which perhaps focused too much on his ruthlessly ambitious side which led to his exploitation of Smith's friendship in a bid to finish his book. Craig's Smith also gets more of a chance to show more depth to the man than Clifton Collins Jr did in 'Capote', which gives the ending of 'Infamous' more of an emotional impact than 'Capote'. Overall, though, it's hard to see which film is better, as each has its own individual merits. So, if you enjoyed 'Capote', chances are you'll enjoy this too, but it's certainly worthwhile to see it anyway for the standout performances from both Toby Jones and Daniel Craig. Kirsten McAlpine
Infamous is now showing at Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast
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