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Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, Sigourney Weaver, Gwyneth Paltrow ... see more see more... , Isabella Rossellini , Peter Bogdanovich , Rey Arteaga , Jeff Daniels , Justin Sherburn , Andrew Halbreich , Juliet Stevenson , Michael Panes , Hope Davis , Glover Gill , Frank Curcio , Terri Merritt Bennett , John Benjamin Hickey , Mitch Baker , Grant James , Sheila Bailey , Terru Bennett , Richard Dillard , Norman Bennett , Marco Perella , Sheila Bailey-Lucas , Bethlyn Gerard , Libby Villari , Glover Jamison Bennett , Joey Basham , Marian Aleta Jones , Mark Rubin , Terri Zee , Richard Jones , Steve Schwelling , Brian Shoop , Glover Johns Gill , Lee Pace , Brady Coleman , Paul Mitchell Wright , Paul Wright , Terri Pipkin , Turk Pipkin , Ray Gestaut , Joe Cordi , Lee Ritchey , Brett Brock , Leticia Trejo , Brady Hender , Zachary Burnett , Brent McCoy , Gail Cronauer , Austin Chittim , Morgan Farris , Dennis Letts , Gabriel Folse , Charles Mooneyhan , J.D. Young , Steve Flanagin , Michael D. Conway , Michael Conway , Heath Allyn , Peter Cornwell , Angela Ware

Douglas McGrath's Infamous represents the second major biopic about the avant-garde belletrist Truman Capote to be released within a year. It thus tells roughly the same story as Bennett Miller's earl... read more read more...ier Capote, recounting the events that belied the writer's six-year authorship of the seminal "nonfiction novel" In Cold Blood. The story opens with Capote (Toby Jones) visiting the site of the 1959 Clutter family homicide, on a Kansas research trip, accompanied by his close friend and colleague, author Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock). As Capote settles into the community, McGrath uses the preponderance of screen time to explore the emotional tapestry of Capote's increasingly risky emotional attachment to one of the two murderers, Perry Edward Smith (Daniel Craig), with whom he senses more than a few common bonds. McGrath weaves a decidedly bittersweet tale, contrasting the optimism and devil-may-care, "conquer all" attitude of Capote in his early years with a seemingly endless string of poor choices in the writer's later years, from addictions to drink and pills, to a failure to maintain healthy output as a writer, to poorly chosen romantic and sexual entanglements. Most significantly, however, McGrath reveals how the relationship with Smith virtually destroyed Capote as an artist and a human being, by inducing him to sell out on all levels to satisfy his lust for accomplishment and notoriety. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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60% liked it

19,876 ratings

Critics

72% liked it

145 critics

R, 1 hr. 58 min.

Directed by: Dogulas McGrath, Douglas McGrath

Release Date: October 13, 2006

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DVD Release Date: February 13, 2007

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Flixster Reviews (974)

  • blacksheepboy
    November 7, 2010
    blacksheepboy
    Toby Jones is truly great here, though shadowed by Philip Seymour Hoffman's fantastic performance in the far superior Capote - with which the comparisons are inevitable. However, this film suffers from many terrible documentary-like statements explaining what we can easily see.
  • flixsterman
    December 17, 2009
    flixsterman
    Having seen In Cold Blood (1967) and Capote (2005) I thought I knew what to expect from yet another film treatment of Truman's novel. Infamous, however, was a pleasant surprise. This one brought to light a little more of Capote's terrific sense of humor and... read more a slightly different perspective on his emotional entanglement with convicted murderer Perry Smith.

    If Infamous is overlooked and underrated it has only Philip Seymour Hoffman to blame. Very bad timing for a pretty good film.
  • arashxak
    February 1, 2009
    arashxak
    Far more interesting & better portrayal than the overrated Capote and imo nearly as great as In Cold Blood
  • sononothing
    December 13, 2008
    sononothing
    Infamous is the account of Truman Capote's research in writing the book In Cold Blood. I said Infamous, not Capote and it's Toby Jones not Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the larger than life writer.

    It's amazing to watch to different takes on the same story. Whereas Capote was ... read moremore of a darker film Infamous is more lighthearted as the relationship between Capote and Perry Smith (Daniel Craig-yes, James Bond).

    Infamous has some very good acting in it with Jones pulling off a Capote that is as equal as Hoffman's. The real surprise was Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee. In this film Bullock has gotten away from the pseudo action pictures and chick flick crap she usually frequents. A real stand out performance.

    The main problem with Infamous is how the story unfolds. As the tale continues to unwind before you the audiences is suddenly hit with a Larry Kingish testimonial on what happened and what it meant totally destroying the flow of the film. Compare it to pulling the emergency brake on a train that doesn't stop at Tucom Cari causing the once peaceful and moving train to come to a violent halt. A total distraction.

    At the end of the Capote vs. Capote match I have to go with Capote. Infamous is a decent film with some good performances (Bullock's being the best) it has the feel of a made for TV film, which isn't a good thing.
  • pier007
    December 1, 2008
    pier007
    Just as good as its more acclaimed and popular counterpart, though a lot less somber and emotional. Toby Jones looks more like the author, his performance is correct, but it pales before Philip Seymour Hoffman's.
    Daniel Craig's rendition of Perry Smith is outstanding.
  • bookmunki
    November 26, 2008
    bookmunki
    As much as I liked Philip Seymour Hoffman in and as Capote, I think that Toby Jones portrayal was spectacular. His depiction shows the gossipy, humorous, and human side of Capote. A very well done movie.
  • gor41
    July 13, 2008
    gor41
    Jones gives a convincing turn as Capote but the starry supporting cast distract from the story. Craig in particular is a mistake.
  • drago25
    December 25, 2007
    drago25
    This is a film that is going to be consistently overlooked because it deals with basically the exact same subject matter as the highly acclaimed Capote - they were being made around the same time but the makers of Capote were just lucky enough to get their film out first. Althoug... read moreh both films share essentially the same story (although with significant variations): writer Truman Capote's writing of the novel In Cold Blood based on the brutal murders of a Kansas family - the films do diverge a good deal because they are based on different books about Capote's journey. While Capote was marked by somberness and dramatic weight, Infamous gives us a much more lighthearted, brightly coloured take on the story; though Infamous does get down to serious business when it needs to, and does it very well. Toby Jones plays Capote (an actor who I've gotten very interested in after seeing him in The Mist and now this) and does a marvelous job. Comparing his performance to Philip Seymour Hoffman's powerful turn in Capote would be foolish - because Jones takes a different route in portraying Capote and I think it`s just as brilliant a performance, just different; Jones has extremely moving dramatic moments here, too, and it really doesn't hurt that Jones naturally looks a lot more like Capote than Hoffman (the resemblance is actually very striking if you look at pictures of a younger Truman Capote). Just as in comparing the performances of the lead actors, comparing the two films would be folly because they are adaptations of different books and because they differ so much in style and tone - it's much better to appreciate both interpretations for what they are, as both are very good films. I think what surprised me most, though, is that Infamous joins the very short list of films in which Sandra Bullock does not annoy the hell out of me; she is actually very good here, playing Nelle Harper Lee with a straight-edged sincerity that is highly appropriate. Daniel Craig seems to channel Robert Blake's amazing portrayal of Perry Smith in the 1967 adaptation of In Cold Blood and does a great job. The rest of the cast is good also but doesn't stand out as much as these three. In the end, Infamous is a very worthy take on this story that shouldn't be overlooked as much as it has.
  • mjgildea
    September 19, 2007
    mjgildea
    Picture a bipolar Woody Allen directing Capote and this is exactly what you'd end up with. Well done with a mostly great cast (even with Sandra Bullock present and a generally pointless appearance by Gwyneth Paltrow,) but Daniel Craig stole the show. Not quite as good as Capote, ... read morebut definitely more light-hearted--if such a thing is possible. If you've had your fill with Capote (because let's face it, there is no way in hell to talk about either Capote or Infamous without mentioning the other,) Infamous probably won't do a damn thing for you, but it's definitely worth checking out.
  • fernandorafael
    June 20, 2007
    fernandorafael
    This biopic/drama, directed by Douglas McGrath is based on the book "Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career" by George Plimpton, and it covers the same timeline and subjects as Bennett Miller's CAPOTE (with Oscar winner... read more Philip Seymour Hoffman). It stars relatively unknown british actor Toby Jones, romantic comedy queen Sandra Bullock (in a great performance as Harper Lee, Truman's childhood friend) and the new James Bond, Daniel Craig (here as the murderer Perry, in a brilliant performance, very different to his usual action roles, he was nominated this year for an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting actor; anyway, his was the best performance in the movie, very raw and real and believable. Jeff Daniels and Sigourney Weaver also star. This indie with A-List actors is great!

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Critic Reviews

Stanley Kauffmann
November 3, 2006
Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic

Why did they go ahead anyway? Did they believe that an immense Capote audience was hungering for two films about him?

Richard Roeper
October 17, 2006
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

Two good films about one subject [are] much better than a lot of bad films about different things. Full Review

Anthony Lane
October 17, 2006
Anthony Lane, New Yorker

Jones gets everything -- the gestures, the generosity, the mean streak, the bending of the ear to recitals of woe, whether across a lunch table or a prison cell.

Joe Morgenstern
October 13, 2006
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

The film benefits from three splendid performances: Toby Jones as Capote, an aggressively gay elf exuding a tosspot charm; Sandra Bullock as Nelle Harper Lee, a novelist who uses spoken words with qui... Full Review

Claudia Puig
October 13, 2006
Claudia Puig, USA Today

It's a stellar cast, but you can't help but lament the bad timing. Full Review

Peter Howell
October 13, 2006
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

No matter how noble the competitor, coming in second in a contest always feels like a lesser effort. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
October 13, 2006
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

[With Hoffman], it was easy to see Capote as someone truly extraordinary, perhaps a genius. Toby Jones... doesn't have that quality, though he does offer something almost as good: Watching him it's ea... Full Review

Roger Moore
October 13, 2006
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Infamous covers just enough new ground to be interesting, but it will always suffer by comparison. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
October 13, 2006
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Even judged on its own, though, McGrath's movie feels slightly misjudged. Full Review

Kyle Smith
October 13, 2006
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Jones wears the title role so well that you simply forget he's acting, which wasn't true of Philip Seymour Hoffman last year when he gave a performance that deserved its Oscar. If Jones fails to pick ...

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    • Perry Smith: I sang and nobody listened, I painted and nobody cared to look, I killed 4 people and what happens? A work of art.
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