The true Truman

Comparisons are often odious and unnecessary, but in the case of the films Infamous and its forerunner Capote, they are going to be pretty hard to avoid.

Capote was released last year amid all kinds of critical hoopla. It won Philip Seymour Hoffman an Oscar as Best Actor for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote undertaking the most controversial work of his life, the chilling murder study In Cold Blood.

At the same time as Capote was being made, an equally impressive line-up of talents was at work before the cameras on Infamous, which tells almost exactly the same story -“ how the feted New York writer ventured into a rural community in Kansas to uncover what went on in a brutal murder case.

Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock were arrested for the quadruple murders, and then Capote used all his charm and influence to gain access to the men so he could uncover what turned them into killers. From these experiences, he created In Cold Blood.

But two different casts, scripts and the tone of the storytelling make for very different films. And Infamous really does live up to its billing of being the gay version of Capote.

In Infamous, Capote’s sexuality is front and centre of the storyline, and influences his methods of obtaining his story. He is conflicted between his relationship with his partner, writer Jack Dunphy (John Benjamin Hickey), and the growing infatuation he has for the rough-trade sexuality of killer Smith (Daniel Craig). While Capote suggested that the writer was using every manipulation he could think of to milk details from Smith for the book, Infamous is far more potent, showing the raw passion Capote had for Smith and how their bond eventually became a physical one.

But while Capote was sexually besotted by Smith, he was even more attracted to the tale coming out of his mouth, and was not going to let any detail escape. And when Smith finally faced the gallows, Capote suffered the torment of losing a man he had become intimate with, but also of having to live with guilt about all the ways in which he had lied and manipulated the man.

Capote was charming and flirtatious with everyone, obviously adoring his swans, the Manhattan socialities he surrounded himself with. Sigourney Weaver, Isabella Rossellini, Juliet Stevenson and Hope Davis make up the quartet who adored peering into the darker side of life through Capote’s tales of the killer.

Toby Jones is brilliant in probably a more faithful interpretation of the real Truman Capote. It is a performance which runs the gamut from high-pitched high-camp to dangerously sly. Sandra Bullock is a revelation as Harper Lee in a finely understated performance. Daniel Craig is also powerful as Smith, oozing sexuality, but also presenting a fatal presence of a doomed man.

Infamous may be the second movie telling of the same chapter of Truman Capote’s life, but that in no way makes it second best. It is not necessarily better than Capote, but it does take bolder, braver moves in its storytelling, which ultimately makes the tale more compelling and complete.

Infamous opens in cinemas 17 May. See page 30 for free tickets to previews screening the weekend beginning 11 May.