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This Issue 10/12/2006

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In 1959, four members of a Kansas family were brutally murdered in their home. The gruesome killings inspired both a media frenzy and a literary classic, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

Infamous illuminates the motivation behind the murders and Capote's coverage of the story. Arriving on the heels of last year's Academy Award-winning Capote, Infamous delivers essentially the same plot as its predecessor, albeit with different dialogue and radically different actors.

Toby Jones plays a remarkably multifaceted lead: although Capote was a deceptive, manipulative and often exasperating egotist smitten with his own celebrity, Jones captures the charming and captivating essence of the writer as well.

A dark-haired Daniel Craig, looking unsettlingly similar to Tommy Lee Jones, portrays Perry Smith, one of the two men responsible for the murders. Craig emits bitter sarcasm and a contradictory personality; soft-spoken and intellectual, but bursting with sudden rage, he provides an unusual but fitting complement to Capote's flamboyant persona.

A mix of the amusing and the serious, Infamous expertly juxtaposes scenes of merriment with descriptions of brutal homicides. The film effectively documents the curious relationship between Capote and Smith as they progress from strangers to ironic lovers. Shots of prison cells and pans of bleak prairie landscapes meld with interior views of wealthy residences, further emphasizing the contrast between writer and criminal.

Also starring Jeff Daniels, Sigourney Weaver, Hope Davis and Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee, the sidekick and external conscience to Capote, Infamous proves a worthy and well-crafted rendition of a compelling true story.