Capote (30 September 2005)
directed by Bennett Miller
starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Chris Cooper, Harry Nelken, Amy Ryan, Clifton Collins Jr., Bob Balaban, Bruce Greenwood
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MPAA rating: Studio: United Artists, Sony Pictures Script: Dan Futterman Based on the book by: Gerald Clarke Music: Mychael Danna Running time: 114 minutes Suggested retail price: $20.95 (US) Tags: Biography; Crime; dead bodies; Drama; Kansas; murder; rifles; writing Tactical strength: [8/10]
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for some violent images and brief strong language
Capote tells the story of how Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) came to write his famous novel In Cold Blood. Capote reads about an entire family murdered in a small Kansas town, and he decides he wants to write an article about the effect of the killings on the townsfolk. At first the town has a standoffish attitude toward Capote, but through his empathetic character and charisma eventually earns their trust. When the Kansas police apprehend the suspects, Capote decides that he has much more material and needs to write a book. He says, "It's the book I was always meant to write."
A jury quickly condemns the suspects to death. Since Capote needs more time to interview the two men for his book, he gets them a high-power lawyer to process their appeal. The appeal process drags on for over three years, at which point Capote has finished his book except for the ending and just wants the men to die so he can complete the book. During the three years, Capote interviews the men, especially Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), repeatedly. Capote seems to genuinely care about the men, but we question his sincerity. He considers the convicts "a gold mine" of information for his book, and we often see him lie to Perry in an attempt to manipulate Perry into telling the full story of what happened the night of the murders. In an note at the end of the film, we read that Capote never published another novel after In Cold Blood, and the film certainly portrays the inner conflict and turmoil Capote felt about the execution of two men he had gotten to know well.
Hoffman does an excellent job invoking Capote. He gets the voice just about right, so close even that the closeness accentuated the differences between Hoffman's voice and Capote's. If you have ever heard Capote, you know that his voice has such a unique timbre that makes exact reproduction impossible. So I spent the first 15 minutes or so getting used to Hoffman's version of Capote, but once this period passed, I could appreciate the completeness of Hoffman's Capote, especially the body language.
Bennett Miller does an excellent job creating an overall tone and mood in Capote that simultaneously evokes the 1950s but also stays subtle enough to work as a canvas for Capote's character. Against this backdrop only two things really jump out of the screen: Capote's character and the execution. So without any distraction, we get a clear picture of Capote's character, and we have a nice contrast in Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), Capote's childhood friend and author of To Kill a Mockingbird, who provides a moral contrast for Capote. At the end, Capote says to Lee, "There wasn't anything I could do to save them." To which she replies, "Maybe not, Truman, But the truth is you didn't want to."
