Moriarty Takes Notes On INFAMOUS!!

Douglas McGrath has had a fascinating career so far. The first time I knew his name was in 1994, when he co-wrote BULLETS OVER BROADWAY with Woody Allen. The film was one of Woody’s most fun in a while, and when McGrath wrote and directed the uber-charming EMMA a few years later, it seemed like he was going to be one of those voices worth paying attention to, an urbane adult humorist. COMPANY MAN, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, is a strange and frequently rotten movie that has no sense of tone. It’s all over the map. Once you see someone make a film that’s as uneven as that one is, you start to wonder as each new film approaches... which Doug McGrath is this film going to be? The witty urbane sophisticate? Or the guy who works too hard? I liked his NICHOLAS NICKLEBY quite a bit in 2002. I thought he demonstrated a deft touch with Dickens, something that’s not always easy to do. When CAPOTE was released last year to such profound acclaim, I felt like a grinch. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I thought it was a somber, smart movie with a strange and touching lead performance. I also though Philip Seymour Hoffman was absolutely wrong for the lead. It was one of those odd pieces of physical miscasting that just confounds me. He’s pretty much the opposite of Capote in terms of stature and bulk, and all the posture tricks in the world don’t really disguise that fact. Capote’s persona was tied directly to his size and the way he interacted with the world around him. When I walked into INFAMOUS a month or so ago, I didn’t expect much, and I knew next to nothing about the lead, the guy who would have to go toe-to-toe with Hoffman in the public’s mind. Now I can’t imagine anyone but Toby Jones ever playing the role. To my mind, this is the superior of the two films in every way because of a combination of things. Jones is the absolute right man for the job, as close to a reanimated Capote as you could ever hope for. One of the things this film has on its side is a sense of wicked humor. I absolutely believe that Truman Capote would want any film about himself to be at least partially funny. After all, he was one of those notorious laser-sharp wits, one of those guys whose acid tongue was part of what opened society doors for him. That’s another thing this movie emphasizes that last year’s movie didn’t. We see the way Truman leans on his support system of society women, all his closest personal friends, and we can clearly see what it is that he gives to them that they can’t get at home. He is the ultimate gossip, the best lunch date possible, born to be a social butterfly. He thrives in New York society, thrives on it. He lives to entertain his various friends and to impress in each conversation. He treats every encounter like a strategic meeting, seeing what he has to trade and what he can gather for later use. McGrath seems to get that world instinctively, and he does a tremendous job of showing how Capote operates. When the film jumps into the material that made up the meat of CAPOTE, INFAMOUS once again distinguishes itself. It makes explicit the strange relationship between Perry Smith (Daniel Craig) and Capote, and I think Craig’s version of Perry Smith is my favorite out of all the film versions including IN COLD BLOOD. Lee Pace is okay as Dick Hickock, but he’s honestly not in much of the film overall. Jeff Daniels does solid work as Alvin Dewey, the sheriff in charge of the murder case. I was surprised by Sandra Bullock’s Harper Lee. I think she did an excellent job playing the one person who can sort of brush aside all of Truman’s bullshit in the film, the one person who knows the real him underneath the carefully cultivated character. If she can see him for what he is and still be his friend, it lets the audience off the hook, as well. It’s okay for us to like him, even though there’s a lot about Truman that’s hard to like. The film is nowhere near as dour as CAPOTE, and that goes for the cinematography just as much as it does for the acting. Bruno Delbonnel is one of the quirkiest guys in the business. His work on AMELIE and A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT is magnificent, and I am very fond of the period detail of THE CAT’S MEOW, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Oddly, Bogdanovich shows up in this film playing Bennett Cerf, and he’s very good. Delbonnel gives this film a candy-coated quality in New York, and really captures the wide open spaces of Kansas when Truman goes there. Rachel Portman’s score lends just the right support, as well. And because the film has a more playful first half, it makes it hurt all the more when the film’s more tragic second half kicks in. This film’s got heart, and it’s absolutely broken. I’m sorry some critics went so far out on a limb for CAPOTE last year, because I think they’re invested now in not liking this film or tearing it down, and it’s a really strong and entertaining piece of work taken on its own merits. I’d hate to see it get overlooked, and I encourage you to check it out, even if you feel like you already know the story. I’m getting a late start on this week overall thanks to Time-Warner high-speed internet, which went out on Saturday night and wasn’t up again until now. Threw my entire calendar out of whack. I’ve got more stuff for you this morning, and I’ll be busy trying to get out from under this mountainous backlog all weekend long. Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles