Trilogy

This trio of Truman Capote stories features an odd mixture of emotions: pity, nostalgia, and fear. It's a little odd that this has become known as a holiday staple, but that's only because of the final vignette: "A Christmas Story" starring Geraldine Page. She plays Truman Capote's cooky cousin. This autobiographical story shows young Tru's childhood as he enjoys the winter with her and his aunts. Every Christmas, she bakes dozens of fruitcakes and then hand-delivers them throughout the neighborhood. It's sweet, but as many nostalgic stories are, there's a touch of sadness in it.

In the first story, Mildred Natwick takes the lead as a lonely old woman who wishes for company. She finds it in a chance meeting with a disturbed little girl, Susan Dunfee, who has the same name as her. Their interactions are upsetting and eerie, but I was happy to watch it and support Mildred's meaty role after her comeback in Barefoot in the Park.

The middle vignette features Maureen Stapleton as she visits a cemetery with the express intention of finding a husband - how sick is that? She picks out a lonely widower, Martin Balsam, and ingratiates herself while he's putting flowers on his wife's grave. He's very polite (perhaps because he's afraid of her mental state and wants to placate her) and she keeps trying to create a romance between them, thinking that lonely men who visit cemeteries must want the companion of a wife.

Now that I've spelled it all out for you, you'll be in a good position to decide whether you want to rent it or not. There's some good acting, but the stories, like most of Capote's work, are a little unsettling.