Other Voices, Other Rooms

By: Scott Cranin
In-House Review - Aug 21 2012

Before Truman Capote hit the talk show circuit as a bitter old alcoholic worthy of mockery, he was one of the most original voices in American writing. From his best known work, Breakfast at Tiffany's to his lesser-known, but not lesser works, Music for Chameleons and Other Voices, Other Rooms, Capote gave the world a stunning, very queer body of fiction. Watching this evocative 1997 filmed adaptation of Other Voices makes this writer want to go back and read the whole Capote ouvré again.

Joel (Speck) is a very handsome, sort-of-odd young man of about 12 - not unlike Capote. In fact, the narrator, Robert Kingdom, sounds just like Truman Capote himself. Joel's mother died and his father had abandoned him years ago. Sent to live with his aunt, he always wondered caused his dad to run away. When he received a letter from his dad summoning him, Joel quickly packed his little suitcase and set on a journey to a Southern antebellum mansion with Spanish moss on the trees and deep dark secrets not to be revealed until the end of the film. When Joel arrives at this ramshackle mansion in a backwater Louisiana swamp, he is greeted by Cousin Amy (Thompson) and the Blanche DuBois-like Randolph (Blutheau). Randolph drinks sherry all day while listening to old opera and sketching what he sees from inside his heavily over-decorated boudoir. Randolph, in trying to bond with Joel, spins tales of his love for a macho boxer Pepé, who was managed by Joel's dad. When Joel finally meets his father, he finds a vegetable-like man in bed all the time. He is told there was an accident that caused this. Joel befriends the maid, Missouri Breaks, knows as Zoo and a local tomboy Idabell - all elements from Capote's own life. What makes this film special is the intense atmosphere and the relationship between the burgeoning young gay boy and his gay uncle Randolph.

While Blutheau's accent isn't perfect and Thompson seems to be over-acting, these are sore points in a really entertaining film - well worth watching.

By: Amos Lassen

"Other Voices, Other Rooms'
Capote's First Novel
Amos Lassen
When the film of Truman Capote's first novel, "Other Voices, Other Rooms, came out in 1995, it was considered to be very radical. It is the story of the bridge between two cultures. In the spirit of Capote's Alabama, the film was filmed in the Deep South and reflects the beauty and the idiosyncrasies of the region. This was the book that gave Capote fame, even before "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and he ever again was able to write again the way he did then. He was much too busy becoming a celebrity. Once he had tasted fame, Capote was more intent on being famous than having a reason to be so. It really wasn't until his great novel "In Cold " that his fame was justified. Yet he made a wonderful dive into the literary world with "Other Voices, Other Rooms".
The story he tells, both in the book and in the film adaptation is as if an old folk song became a gorgeous operatic aria. It is perfect ad its beauty was never repeated. The way it melded differentiation and alienation of the exotic and the elegant gave new definitions to the words.
The homosexuality in "Other Voices, Other Rooms" is covert but it is there. At the time the film was being made could not yet bring such material to mass audiences and because its a major theme of the book and could not be seen in the film, the result is ultimately hurt and if you have read the novel, you realize how missing the subject is.
The name Capote has come to signify that there will be something strange, something unclear. If there is a young man in the story, it is safe to assume that whatever happens is going to happen to him. Because of that, it is very difficult to adapt any of the Capote's opus for the screen. The storyline must not be offensive to the audience. But this was before the rise of the new gay cinema. If the same movie were to be made today, I am willing to bet that it would be much different.
The screenplay of the film is beautiful as is the cinematography. In dealing with an issue of child as does the novel upon what the movie is based, certain guidelines had to be adhered to. There did not have to be a scene on film of what happened but the implication could have been talked about. It wasn't and this hurt the film greatly. This does not mean that the film is not good. It is wonderful but it is more wonderful if you read the book both before and after viewing the movie.
The movie has the feel that it was made exclusively for the small screen, for television. It is one of those typically Southern gothic dramas and it is set in the 1930's when the legends of the South were, for lack of a better word, legendary. A young man is in search of his father who is known to be ailing. The ill father is being cared for by two eccentric cousins played by Anne Thompson and the very good looking and outrageous, Lothaire Bluteau (star of "Jesus of Montreal" and "Bent" and a fine character actor who gives a "tour de " performance). The character lives somewhat in the past depending on "the kindness of strangers" and it is his performance that makes this movieorthwhile.
A movie made of a book that has layered subplots is a special challenge and is hard to transfer to film and I can only wonder why the film was even attempted. But since the film was made, we can be thankful for what we have. Sensible coming of age films are challenging and difficult to make because of the emotions involved in reaching manhood. Using a classic novel as basis is even more difficult. The novel is one of the