Infamous (2006) Rank 3 Reviews

FirstShowing.net (Barry Wurst)

Infamous is another telling of how celebrated author Truman Capote came to write â��In Cold Bloodâ��; this was made at the same time as Capote, but released a year later. Infamous starts off with an odd but lively scene with Gwyneth Paltrow singing in a ...read the complete Infamous movie review at FirstShowing.net (Barry Wurst)

Window to the Movies (Jeffrey Chen)

We know by now that Infamous covers the exact same story as Capote -- the story of how Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood is apparently such a good story that two movies had to be made of it concurrently. What's interesting to me, though, is how Infamous ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Window to the Movies (Jeffrey Chen)

Bullz-Eye.com

Because one movie about the exact same period of time in author Truman Capote's life wasn't enough, less than a year later we have Infamous, a decidedly unnecessary and over-the-top hodgepodge of a film depicting events already hauntingly portrayed in ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Bullz-Eye.com

Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)

Comparisons are inevitable, although they're not truly necessary. The last couple of years have bestowed two Truman Capote pictures on the moviegoing public, and not only that, both movies concentrate on the same period of the writer's life the years ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)

Cinema Blend

For those who missed the 2005 picture Capote, it will be very difficult to find anything wrong with Infamous, the bigger budget, all-star retelling of Truman Capote's life as he created his famed work, In Cold Blood. But as the Yankees have taught us ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Cinema Blend

LA Weekly (Scott Foundas)

Infamous is the better Capote film, yes, but also the less easily digestible one, the more eccentric one and -- yes -- the gayer one. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at LA Weekly (Scott Foundas)

Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)

Though it's not as good as the brilliant "Capote," it's nevertheless a riveting, well-made picture. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)

New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)

I don't know if that makes Infamous a better movie, but it's certainly as good and a lot more fun. British actor Toby Jones is so physically right in the role, you'll think Capote is playing himself. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)

Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)

"Capote" is serious, deep and unadorned in the manner of the 1967 movie adaptation of the writer's true-crime novel "In Cold Blood." And Infamous boasts the high-gloss frivolity of the 1961 film version of Capote's "Breakfast at ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)

Chicago Tribune (Matt Pais)

As Truman Capote (Toby Jones) researches the gruesome Kansas murders that became the basis for his book, "In Cold Blood," he befriends one of the killers, Perry Smith (Daniel Craig). "Infamous" covers the same period in Capote's life as last year's ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Chicago Tribune (Matt Pais)

San Diego Metropolitan (Jean Lowerison)

Writer/director Douglas McGrath must have had that experience when he called studio exec Bingham Ray about his new script about Truman Capote, only to be told that Dan Futterman's script for "Capote" was on his desk. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at San Diego Metropolitan (Jean Lowerison)

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

It'll provide prime fodder for film students for years to come: comparing "Capote," which earned Philip Seymour Hoffman a richly deserved best-actor Oscar, with "Infamous," which had the unfortunate coincidence of being developed at the same time ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City

KYW Newsradio (Bill Wine)

nfamous has got an uphill battle to fight as it comes to the marketplace. Many moviegoers feel either that they've seen it already or that it's been out before and they already decided not to see it. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at KYW Newsradio (Bill Wine)

Tiscali UK

It's a somewhat surreal experience watching Infamous - the second Truman Capote biopic in a year, and one which deals with exactly the same subject matter, namely the effervescent writer's attempt to break new ground with his 'non-fiction novel' In ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Tiscali UK

Boston Globe

Why, a year after ``Capote," would you want to see another movie about how Truman Capote came to write ``In Cold Blood"? ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Boston Globe

Entertainment Weekly

So much for my high-minded vow to avoid comparisons to Capote when discussing Infamous: The latter's own promotional campaign recognizes that thoughts of formidable Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman will inevitably arise at any mention of a new movie ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Entertainment Weekly

San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)

Watch Infamous on its own. It's a worthy film in its own right, with its own virtues. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Starved for respect, attention and access, not to mention civilized provisions, Capote (Toby Jones) is thrilled to find a care package from Manhattan. "Babe sent Beluga!" he gleefully tells childhood friend Nelle Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock) in the movie " ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

L.A. Daily News

You cannot watch "Infamous" without comparing and contrasting it to last year's movie about the same subject, "Capote." And that's part of the fun. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at L.A. Daily News

Comingsoon.net

If you ever wondered what "Capote" might be like as a comedy, here ya go! Adding humor doesn't necessarily make this better than last year's standout drama, but it does offer another entertaining side to the same story. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Comingsoon.net

The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)

I don't have to act like a little windup toy with you, writer and New York society wag Truman Capote confides to convicted killer Perry Smith in Infamous, and it's a shocking and powerful moment, one of many. Capote, last year's Capote ...read the complete Infamous movie review at The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)

ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

"Capote" is the more intellectual of the two films; Infamous is the more emotional. They exist to complement, not eclipse, one another. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

E! Online

First there were competing movies about volcanoes (Dante's Peak, Volcano) and then asteroids (Deep Impact, Armageddon) and now...Truman Capote? ...read the complete Infamous movie review at E! Online

USA Today (Claudia Puig)

It's a stellar cast, but you can't help but lament the bad timing. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)

The Onion (A.V. Club) (Tasha Robinson)

Ultimately, the problem with Infamous isn't that it revisits Capote's turf--it's that it does the same things well, and leaves the same unsatisfying holes. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Tasha Robinson)

Village Voice (Robert Wilonsky)

It's just a lesser version, light in weight and absent the ache that permeated the movie for which Philip Seymour Hoffman won an Academy Award. It can't withstand the comparisons. It's good, especially during its first half, just not good enough. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Village Voice (Robert Wilonsky)

Variety (David Rooney)

Writer-director Douglas McGrath's boldest stroke is to impose a more overtly gay interpretation on a central relationship in which the attraction was generally supposed to be unspoken. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Variety (David Rooney)

The New Republic (Stanley Kauffmann)

McGrath says that he considers his film to be lighter in tone than TC 1, which is baffling. The reverse seems the case. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at The New Republic (Stanley Kauffmann)

The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)

My heart goes out to Douglas McGrath. The writer, director and occasional actor was hard at work on "Infamous," telling the story of how Truman Capote researched "In Cold Blood," when he learned someone else was making a movie on the same subject. A movie ...read the complete Infamous movie review at The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)

The Arizona Republic

Rarely does a movie come with a letter of explanation. But most don't face the uphill climb of Infamous, a film about Truman Capote and his most acclaimed work, In Cold Blood. The movie comes just a year after Philip Seymour Hoffman won an Oscar ...read the complete Infamous movie review at The Arizona Republic

Pop Entertainment.com

It was just a matter of bad timing that Infamous and Capote come a mere year apart from each other. Both films examine the same portion of an eccentric, enigmatic artist's life, but looking at it from different angles. Just because Infamous is coming ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Pop Entertainment.com

Political Film Society

In 2005, three films with gay themes were for the first time in contention for major film awards. Brokeback Mountain nearly swept the Academy Awards. Actress Felicity Huffman was nominated for an Academy Award for the starring role in Transamerica. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Political Film Society

Chicago Tribune

Didn't we just have a film about Truman Capote writing "In Cold Blood"? Yes, last year. It was called "Capote," and it was excellent. Now there's another one, and though stylistically all over the place, it's not without interest. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Chicago Tribune

Seattle Post-Intelligencer (William Arnold)

The only difference between the two films is that this one chronicles Capote's New York environment in more detail (and with humorous interludes), and it's a tad lighter in tone and perhaps a bit less high-horse condemning of its subject's literary ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (William Arnold)

Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)

Compared to "Capote," this new film is altogether lighter. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)

Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)

A garish and fascinating little movie that comes bouncing in the wake of Bennett Miller's "Capote" like a yipping puppy trying to keep up with an elegant show dog. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)

Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)

The film's most pleasing surprise is the beautifully nuanced portrait of Capote's confidante, "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee, by Sandra Bullock. You heard me. Bullock gives the film what it otherwise lacks: the ring of truth. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)

Premiere (Glenn Kenny)

Understanding what McGrath is trying to pull off is not the same thing as McGrath pulling it off; as ambitious as it is, Infamous falters in execution too often to create a lasting impression. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Premiere (Glenn Kenny)

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)

Flashy, fun, shallow, easy-going and without a hope of brilliance. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)

Chicago Sun-Times (Jim Emerson)

"Infamous" is that other Truman Capote movie, and it plays like doodles in the margins of last year's "Capote" -- more Answered Prayers than In Cold Blood. That in itself is fine, and for the first half hour or so of "Infamous" I found myself ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Jim Emerson)

<dnb@dca.net>

It's not uncommon for two competing Hollywood studios to simultaneously develop projects with a comparable subject matter and/or analogous themes but it *is* unusual for the completed films to follow such an identical path as to be, at least plot ...read the complete Infamous movie review at <dnb@dca.net>

Boxoffice Magazine

On November 16, 1959, an innocuously small item buried in the pages of the New York Times catches the eye of writer Truman Capote and changes his life forever. Entitled Wealthy Farmer, 3 of Family Slain, the piece seems a perfect fit for the project ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Boxoffice Magazine

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

There is no Oscar nomination in Toby Jones' near future. If there was, it would create a whole new statistical subset: actors honored for playing the same character in the same story in subsequent years. ...read the complete Infamous movie review at The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)

Pundits have, for months, been busy asking America if they're ready for the slew of 9/11-related films being pushed on the public in 2006. The important question going unasked is this: Is America ready for another movie about Truman Capote and his ...read the complete Infamous movie review at Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)

One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

It's inevitable that Douglas McGrate's Infamous will be referred to as Capote Lite. This second picture in as many years about the effect that writing In Cold Blood had on Truman Capote covers the same ground as the subdued but powerful film by ...read the complete Infamous movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

filmcritic.com (Anne Gilbert)

If the cogs of the movie-making machine are going to keep turning out the exact same movie, why do I have to write up a whole new review? ...read the complete Infamous movie review at filmcritic.com (Anne Gilbert)

Critic Reviews

Infamous (2006) Rank 3 Reviews

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