'The murder's no mystery, only the motive'
In Cold Blood 8.7
In November 1959, America was shocked by the discovery of the murdered Clutter family in thier rural Kansas home. As is often the case, the exact detail of actual events will never be known, but Truman Capote, author of Breakfast at Tiffany's, made it the subject if his book, which was then brought to the screen in this classic of the sane name.
Perry and Dick (played by the both excellent Robert Blake and Scott Wilson) plan to rob a house of the $10,000 they have heard is in the safe there and 'leave no witnesses'. We see them arrive at the house, Perry has second thoughts and before they do anything, it cuts to the next morning and the family being found dead. This is a very well known case in America, not unlike OJ Simpson's in it's infamous cultural impact at the time. The story follows the investigation and efforts of the two men to avoid it.
It is tonally engrossing and very strange - it was very offbeat to start with, and had Lynchian echoes. In fact it occurred to me early on that this is the kind of film that David Lynch would be a fan of, only after it finished did I Google it and recognised the older Robert Blake from Lost Highway - so I think I must be right. Alot of the runtime is spent getting in the fractured mind of Perry by seeing nightmarish visions from his past, setting up his tortured existence, more on that to come. The film studies the two criminals in very interesting ways, with different music to the wholesome innocent family (the music for the boys puts you on edge, and for the family it puts you at ease), whilst using parallels between them to edit back and forth.
They are two very interesting characters, but even more interesting is their relationship. Paranoid, uptight Perry has an intimidating, nervous energy and incomprehensibly touches things to his chin (I have never seen this other than with Robert Barone - who perhaps was influenced) And smooth, casual Dick, without doubt the more normal seeming of the two, reminds me of the carefree abandon of Woody Harrelson's Mickey in Natural Born Killers - and in fact the script actually uses that phrase. The two seem like an odd pair at first, but as we see more of them together thier relationship becomes clearer. Early on, the pair go to try on suits, we and the salesman see Perry has badly scarred legs and Dick jumps jumps to his defense. I think the pair feel like they need, but perhaps don't want, eachother to be around - most people can probably relate. Dick seems to feel like something of a mentor to Perry, who takes Dick's orders but doesn't necessarily look up to him. It's a really interesting dynamic that is made the focus throughout the entirity of the film. In a telling scene, Perry talks about his childish fantasies of finding buried treasure and Dick shuts him down coldly. Perry seems to have much more of a moral compass or concience but lacks a solid grasp on reality, whereas Dick lives life one day at a time and enjoys himself guilt free, no matter who gets in the way. It appears Dick is the ideas man and Perry is little more than an unfortunate, coerced passenger. The film relies on the wonderful performances and creative filmmaking touches to bring these traits to the surface.
We meet the father of each man, who have each unsurprisingly had formative impacts on thier sons and added to their personality flaws, interestingly, Perry's father in his flashbacks is the more aggressive of the two, and Dick's is more passive. We wonder if each man, Perry especially, is subconsciously looking for a father figure. As the audience, we are likely to side with Perry, but funnily enough when I was watching I didn't really think of it like that, you think of the two as a pair. Perry is a slow burning fuse, Dick is a flash spark. Individually they pose little harm to anyone, but together it is a different story.
The police investigation plotline forms a much more procedural arm of the story. Their portrayal shows them trying to solve the crime of course, but tellingly not because they are sickened by what they saw or to do the right thing, they are more strategic to get thier conviction by the letter of the law - because it's thier job. It is a puzzle to solve, not a moral calling. We hear the police disparagingly talk about theories of 'foreigners', 'jealous neighbour' and 'hired killers', and their opinion of the American public is pretty low - 'Who would kill 4 people in cold blood for a radio, pair of binoculars and 40 dollar in cash?', 'These days, take your pick on any crowded street'. This seems to show that the story is set during a period of unrest and distrust in American History (what period wasn't). Every now and then you watch a film and can see the influences to and of - you can see it's place in the timeline of film history. I believe this is one of those, in it's dark subject matter but almost playful tone, it may have helped usher the positivity of the 1960s out, and the dark morbidness of the 1970s in.
We do eventually see the events on the night of the murders, which slightly surprised me. It answered some questions and shed some light on things but I was enjoying how the film wasn't really focused on the factual timeline of events, more on how the two men dealt with it (being on the run). Saying that, the home invasion still manages to focus much more on the pair than the victims - it really is, as Perry says 'between us, it's got nothing to do with them'. The offbeat score that characterised alot of the film didn't reoccur after we learn the events of the night. Interestingly, considering that we already know the outcome, the scene of the home invasion still has considerable tension, mostly as to which of the men decided to, and eventually kill the family and why. It would seem logical that Dick would have taken that step, perhaps to Perry protestations. I won't spoil how it plays out on screen, but it wasn't quite that simple, and still manages to be centered on the relationship of the two more than anything or anyone else.
This film showcases much of it's greatness in moments, below are the pock of the bunch;
- There is a great flashback scene to give us more insight into Perry's past. Dick is getting intimate with a girl whilst Perry sits in the corner. He envisions the pair as his mother and another man, before long the childhood Perry and siblings are in the room with them, frightened by what they see. Again the music adds a jarring juxtaposition. This is not only crucial to developing the character's backstory but was particularly memorable and almost hard to watch.
- Another great scene comes where Dick and Perry pick up two hitchhikers who have been surviving off of recycling glass Coke bottles for 3 cents a piece. As Dick slowly drives along, Perry and the young boy run alongside picking up the bottles littered around beside the highway. There are hundreds of bottles left in the middle of nowhere, I thought it might be a sly Metaphor for the American streets being paved with gold. I always like scenes like this that seem out of place at first, but have thier own points to make and add to the overall effect. They can act like a brief departure from the plot moving forward, and somehow help to maintain your focus.
- There is a wonderful shot at the end, Perry is stood by a window calmly bearing his soul about his father before he is hanged. The rain running down the glass is lit on his face to look like tears, but he is not crying. Maybe he wants to, wishes he could or thinks he should.
- In the moments before the hanging, a heartbeat is heard until the rope becomes taut. This is one of a few genius touches in the sound design of the film.
It is worth mentioning the title 'In Cold Blood' - does it simply refer to the murders? Perhaps, but the killings were almost incidental. The film is almost always all about the two men, the past that has shaped them and the future ahead of them. Technically I thought it was approaching a masterpiece, a wonderfully intense, surprising and individual work of art. The pacing is perfect with frequent creative editing touches. The filming uses lots of intense lighting changes and the classic black and white images are so effective and evocative at showing light and dark, literally and figuratively. This is one of those films that belongs to no specific genre and manages to feel like many films in one, but still keeps itself together admirably.
N.B.
Since watching In Cold Blood for the first time, I have rewatched Capote. I enjoyed it very much, not just because of the exceptional performance from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, but it actually adds to the legacy of ICB. I am not going to review the film but it is Well worth making the two a double feature.
Comentarios