Review of In Cold Blood (1967) by Brock B — 27 Jun 2011

Unlike the film Gangs of New York, which adapted a spell-binding text and rendered it into conventional Hollywood tripe, In Cold Blood enhances the true crime novel by Truman Capote and brings it to life on the silver screen. The events which permanently altered life in tiny Holcomb, Kansas - and perhaps throughout all small towns in the United States - have been the subject of a true crime novel by Truman Capote, a documentary, television movie and the first widely-distributed American film to use profanity.

Capote devoted six years to the project, compiling records and minutiae in order to uncover why Perry Smith and Dick Hickock murdered four members of the Clutter family during a botched robbery. Some claim that the book was the first non-fiction work to investigate a crime so thoroughly; others feel that Capote altered details and fabricated facts to suit his purposes.

The film is more succinct and streamlined, there are brief cameos by the criminalsâ(TM) families but it lacks the meticulous personal histories which help explain the motives behind a seemingly senseless crime. The combination of personal interviews, court documents and parole hearing testimonies reproduced in the book leaves the reader almost sympathetic towards the murderers and the difficult lives they have experienced. Several times during the film, a character may say that âindividually they were hopeless but together they formed some sort of evil sentienceâ? (or words to that effect) but the shallow reasoning does complete the puzzle of why this crime occurred in the first place.

The crime was subject to national media attention because of its seemingly futile nature. A family was killed for the sum of forty-three dollars, a radio and a set of binoculars. Capote chose to investigate the story further because it represented an attack on traditional values by unknown individuals; the Clutters could have stood in for any family in the country. Hence the major shortcoming of the film: readers know that the murders were the culmination of a lifetime of frustration but viewers only receive the Readerâ(TM)s Digest version.

Still, the film includes hallmarks of film noir, such as the chaotic jazz score and the grainy black and white footage. The first part of the book establishes how Smith and Hickock are moving inexorably towards the Clutter family -- although they seem to be exact opposites, fate has decided that they are destined to collide. Director Richard Brooks employs jump cuts to establish the parallel between the perpetrators and their victims.

Fate plays a central role in the story as there are numerous chances for the crime to be averted or the criminals to escape persecution. Yet the crime and its aftermath are unavoidable. Often, a birdâ(TM)s eye view follows Smith and Hickock in their car, providing the audience with extra information of which the drifters are not yet aware. Brooks chose to film in black and white, perhaps echoing the news coverage of the event and also signaling that the crime cut short a more innocent time period.

The film and the book develop very slowly. We know what has happened but we do not learn the details until later. The climax, a flashback of the murders, is not a surprise but it remains suspenseful nonetheless. The deliberate pace may not suit todayâ(TM)s audiences although it is more realistic portray of the crime and subsequent pursuit. Studying the characters becomes as enthralling as watching action sequnces.