Review of Capote
October 22nd 2006 01:33
Finally a film that's almost as good as the book.
There can be little doubt that Truman Capote, author of Breakfast At Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood, was one of the most celebrated and recognizable literary figures of the twentieth century. There can also be little doubt that rarely has an Oscar been more justifiably awarded then it was this year to the perennially brilliant Phillip Seymour Hoffman for his pinpoint portrayal of this seminally tortured character. Capote is not just a film telling the story of a story, it brings us into the life of a unique man facing his own demons as he struggles to understand the greatest of all human tragedies.
In 1959, the small town of Holocomb, Kansas and the rest of America was rocked with the brutal and apparently unmotivated murder of an entire family in their isolated farmhouse. Truman, and his assistant Harper Lee (the then unknown author of To Kill A Mockingbird), set out from New York to investigate in the hopes of writing an article about the crime. As they gradually become familiar with the town and its people (no mean feat for the openly gay Truman), Capote realizes that there is far too much for one piece and decides to use the tragedy as the basis for his next book, a self-described non-fiction novel. After spending time with each of the killers, particularly the well-spoken Perry Smith, he finds himself feeling pity for these lost and desperate men, and offers them what support he can. In the end however, they committed the crime, and fancy lawyers or not, they must face the consequences - in 1960’s Kansas that meant the electric chair. And so Truman finds himself torn between the desire for his book to reach its foregone conclusion and his sense of sympathy for the two men. It is this dichotomy, played with sensitive perfection by Hoffman, which forms the heart of the movie.
A well-made, well-acted and very moving story, filled with comments on the nature of artistic truth.
9/10
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Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Yes, I agree, this film was definitely as good as the book. It was captivating and extremely well-done.
Tracy