Capote is the simple drama of the prolific 20th century author Truman Capote who sets out to write a book about the brutal murder of an entire family in a small, quaint American town. Little does he know how close he will become with one of the killers and how profoundly the writing of the book will impact his life, even contributing to his death.
Leading the film is Philip Seymour Hoffman, a long time character actor who is only just now being recognized with a major lead role, one which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor – and he deserves it. His portrayal of Truman Capote was a dangerous one to undertake as there was a very thin line between being authentic and being a parody. However, Hoffman nails the role and is just about as authentic as it gets. From the gestures to the voice to the way he carries himself, Hoffman did a fantastic job of being Truman Capote. His performance was seamless enough that it is almost as if he really didn’t even act, but rather simply became Capote while on character.
A performance is meaningless with out a strong script, however. Fortunately for Mr. Hoffman, the script is terrifically written, and has quite a genius twist to it – instead of just being about Truman Capote, it is about Truman Capote and his relationship with a killer and his struggle to write In Cold Blood. Because the movie is set-up this way, it doesn’t jump around his life with little focus as many bio-pics do. I loved how in the movie Truman was always so dedicated yet so tortured to the creation of the book. I adored the scenes and dialogue between Capote and Perry Smith, and some of the scenes such as the execution, when combined with the exceptional performances, were shockingly effective. The subtle themes and obstacles Truman runs into are woven together very well into the fabric of everything, and the results of Truman’s decisions become painfully clear as the movie moves forward. Much kudos to the script, which I believe deserved an Oscar nomination
Because the performance and script were so strong, director Bennett Miller, I believe, decided to let these two powerhouses be the driving force behind Capote as the direction is very simple and understated, not flashy in any way. It simply lets the characters and performances do the work and hold up the film. That said, the cinematography is still very beautiful in its simplicity and there are many gorgeous shots throughout, and the overall photography is generally very graceful and neat.
I should also mention a couple other things however. At the forefront is the supporting cast – Hoffman, rightfully so, got a huge amount of attention for his performance, but actors like Keener, Cooper, and Clifton Collins Jr. do fantastic jobs as supporting actors and should have had more attention. I believe Cooper got a couple of nominations here and there. Unfortunately Collins, who plays the killer Perry Smith, who Truman befriends received no nominations when in truth his performance was incredible. The performance was so high-quality that when I found out Collins received no major nominations, I was shocked. He had an amazing diversity between being a sometimes unsympathetic killer and a wounded human with a sad and lonely past.
All of these first rate performances, a powerful script, and the strong supporting direction and photography amount to what is one of 2005s best films. The exacting look at Truman Capote, his struggle with In Cold Blood, and the relationship with Perry Smith is all, simply put, brilliant. Capote is a movie that hopefully will be remembered not only for Hoffman’s powerful performance, but for the supporting cast, the writing and the subtle touch of Bennett Miller’s simple direction.
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