13. Infamous (2006)

Of the two Truman Capote biopics released in 2006, Infamous is both the less notable and the less impressive—with one crucial exception. Its

opening credits appear over a live performance of “What Is This Thing

Called Love?” by Gwyneth Paltrow, who appears only in this one sequence. Since Paltrow has only a mildly pleasant singing voice, this choice seems bewildering—until she suddenly falters for no apparent reason. The band grinds to a halt, and she sings the next verse a cappella, in a mournful whisper, as if each syllable is causing her tremendous pain. Then she takes a breath, snaps her fingers, and the band launches back into the song at the original jazzy pace, as if nothing ever happened. This credit sequence is essentially the entire movie in miniature, as it’s not clear whether the audience just witnessed a genuine breakdown—the singer unexpectedly overcome by the emotion of the song—or merely the canny simulation of a breakdown, à la one of James Brown’s famous fake walk-offs (complete with cape). There’s no way to know whether this woman is feeling something or simply manipulating her audience into feeling something, which speaks more to the queasy relationship between Capote and Perry Smith than anything in the film proper.