Capote (*****)
Where to begin…
When performing a role where the character is someone that is/was famous, an actor has a difficult decision to make. Do they channel the character and mimic them, or do they take on some vague characteristics and trust that the audience doesn’t notice.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman took the high road and impersonated the famed late author, Truman Capote, using craftsmanship and technique that would make Rembrandt or Frank Lloyd Wright proud. I would say it took me about fifteen seconds to get pulled into the concept that I was watching Capote on the screen.
This is the story of Truman writing one of the most horrifying and realistic books an American author has produced, “In Cold Blood.” It is the true story of the murder of a Kansas Family and the capture and eventual execution of the men who killed them. The book was a turning point for literature in general as it launched the new genre of “True Crime” stories. Previously pulp fiction magazines and suspense detective novels were the only crime stories, other than newspaper articles.
We also meet Nelle Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), the woman who wrote another American classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She starts out as Truman’s research assistant during the early years of investigating the murders. She is a major help to Truman in Kansas. Capote’s open gay lifestyle is fully accepted in New York, but in Kansas it gets in his way. However his fame as a popular author and association with Hollywood celebrities helps him gain acceptance in the small rural community where the murders took place.
We follow the investigation with the lead detective Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper) and the eventual capture of the two murderers Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) and Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino). Capote befriends Smith and manipulates him into telling him the whole story about the killings. This process takes over four years, and Truman helps get the convicts lawyers to delay their execution.
What may have been a drawn-out character study of a literary genius turns out to be an excellent slice of how that genius manipulated the people and circumstances to complete his masterpiece.
I am giving this film 5 stars (out of five). I was moved, entranced and totally absorbed by this film. The dialog is superb and the relevant structure of Truman Capote’s life was revealed in such a way as to show the man for what he was.
I did not find even a mediocre performance throughout the film, so kudos also to the entire cast and Bennett Miller, the director. If I was to vote right now, I would give the Oscar to both Hoffman for Best Actor and the producers for Best Picture. Yup, damn good.
When performing a role where the character is someone that is/was famous, an actor has a difficult decision to make. Do they channel the character and mimic them, or do they take on some vague characteristics and trust that the audience doesn’t notice.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman took the high road and impersonated the famed late author, Truman Capote, using craftsmanship and technique that would make Rembrandt or Frank Lloyd Wright proud. I would say it took me about fifteen seconds to get pulled into the concept that I was watching Capote on the screen.
This is the story of Truman writing one of the most horrifying and realistic books an American author has produced, “In Cold Blood.” It is the true story of the murder of a Kansas Family and the capture and eventual execution of the men who killed them. The book was a turning point for literature in general as it launched the new genre of “True Crime” stories. Previously pulp fiction magazines and suspense detective novels were the only crime stories, other than newspaper articles.
We also meet Nelle Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), the woman who wrote another American classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She starts out as Truman’s research assistant during the early years of investigating the murders. She is a major help to Truman in Kansas. Capote’s open gay lifestyle is fully accepted in New York, but in Kansas it gets in his way. However his fame as a popular author and association with Hollywood celebrities helps him gain acceptance in the small rural community where the murders took place.
We follow the investigation with the lead detective Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper) and the eventual capture of the two murderers Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) and Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino). Capote befriends Smith and manipulates him into telling him the whole story about the killings. This process takes over four years, and Truman helps get the convicts lawyers to delay their execution.
What may have been a drawn-out character study of a literary genius turns out to be an excellent slice of how that genius manipulated the people and circumstances to complete his masterpiece.
I am giving this film 5 stars (out of five). I was moved, entranced and totally absorbed by this film. The dialog is superb and the relevant structure of Truman Capote’s life was revealed in such a way as to show the man for what he was.
I did not find even a mediocre performance throughout the film, so kudos also to the entire cast and Bennett Miller, the director. If I was to vote right now, I would give the Oscar to both Hoffman for Best Actor and the producers for Best Picture. Yup, damn good.
posted by Mr. Don at
10:18 PM
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