Review of Infamous (2006) by Aaron L — 12 Mar 2009

Infamous is in very many ways superior to its, shall we say, counterpart Capote ( a movie which possesses the same exact subject material, released only a year earlier ).

While Capote is steeped firmly in a very quiet, dark, and brooding tone throughout, Infamous has a very flamboyant and celebrated tone quite often throughout the film. Fans of Capote have put down Infamous for this, but could we not argue that this works for making the story a little more believable in that we are viewing pieces that are based on true events in the life of a flamboyant and openly gay man?

Still-- While often flamboyant and glossy, Infamous is dark and subtle in all the right places, though admittedly tries to cram some of the drama down the viewer's throat with occasional hammy writing and the surprisingly silly handling of character Perry Smith. We can never hope for confirmation of all the details of the true events that inspired these two films, but Infamous is definitely the more liberal of the two with its creative license in its dramatization.

Its also worth mentioning that Toby Jones is ( perhaps surprisingly ) every bit as engaging as Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman with his portrayal of the eccentric main character.

All in all, Capote has the mood and the atmosphere, but Infamous has slightly better pacing with perhaps a more detailed story ( even if at times it is overly dramatized and in some parts simply fabricated ). Both films are definitely worth your time. 3 stars.