Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Bolstered by an Oscar-caliber performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role, Capote ranked highly among the best films of 2005. Written by actor/screenwriter Dan Futterman and based on selected chapters from the biography by Gerald Clarke, this mercilessly perceptive drama shows how Truman Capote brought about his own self-destruction in the course of writing In Cold Blood, the "nonfiction novel" that was immediately acclaimed as a literary milestone. After learning of brutal killings in rural Holcomb, Kansas, in November 1959, Capote gained the confidence of captured killers Perry Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) in an effort to tell their story, but he ultimately sacrificed his soul in the process of writing his greatest book. Hoffman transcends mere mimicry to create an utterly authentic, psychologically tormented portrait of an insincere artist who was not above lying and manipulation to get what he needed. Bennett Miller's intimate direction focuses on the consequences of Capote's literary ambition, tempered by an equally fine performance by Catherine Keener as Harper Lee, Capote's friend and the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, who served as Capote's quiet voice of conscience. Spanning the seven-year period between the Kansas murders and the publication of In Cold Blood in 1966, Capote reveals the many faces of a writer who grew too close to his subjects, losing his moral compass as they were fitted with a hangman's noose. --Jeff Shannon
Synopsis
Bennett Miller's CAPOTE is a finely crafted biopic that recounts a historic chapter in American history and, in the process, captures the unravelling of a truly gifted mind. Starring an extraordinary Philip Seymour Hoffman as the legendary Truman Capote, the film concentrates on the seven-year period during which Capote wrote his groundbreaking non-fiction novel, IN COLD BLOOD. One morning in 1959, Capote learned of a horrific family killing in Holcomb, Kansas. With the intention of writing an article for the New Yorker, he travelled to the Midwest with his good friend Nell Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), who was about to publish her own masterwork, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Somehow, the soft-spoken, eccentric writer managed to earn the trust of local authorities most notably, reserved K.B.I. agent Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper). But when the two killers were caught and returned to Kansas to await trial, Capote began to form an intense emotional bond with one of them, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr). The pressure of this connection threatened to push an already fragile Capote into the darkest recesses of himself. His only hope was to finish the book that he was convinced would shock the nation and change the course of writing forever. Hoffman's tender portrayal of the writer is a remarkable achievement. He slips into the skin of Capote flawlessly, allowing viewers to experience Capote's inner turmoil for themselves. Keener and Cooper once again deliver compassionate performances. But it is Miller's overall vision, based on a script by Dan Futterman and beautifully realised by his technical collaborators (especially director of photography Adam Kimmel and production designer Jess Gonchor), that makes CAPOTE an Oscar-worthy production.