Film Review: Capote (2005)

I must say that my only real knowledge of Truman Capote was in the classic whodunit Murder by Death and that he wrote what some people would say are great American classics in literature. So, off we went to the movie box to find out more about the literary icon of the not so recent past.

All in all, this interpretation of a segment of his life was very well done. Philip Seymour Hoffman was the personification of Capote. It was truly amazing. The mannerisms, the voice, the subtleties of movement, facial expressions, appearance, etc were all embodied in his performance. It reminded me of Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. I was thoroughly impressed. The premise of the film is to delve into the psyche of two men who end up murdering a family during a botched robbery attempt. Capote learns of their story while working in New York and is intrigued. He sets off to rural Kansas to try to get an understanding as to why someone would commit such a heinous crime. Each encounter with the prisoners shed a little more light until the true reason is let out of the bag. This is, by no means, a simple process. Capote toys with them in an almost cat-like way. He constantly is looking for a way to extract what he wants to know with a fine precision. The murdered victims are certainly not the focus of the film.

There were fine acting all around. The rest of the cast was admirable as well. There really isn't anything I did not care for in this picture. The cinematography was excellent. Scenes were shot well, the pacing of the story was even throughout, the interaction of the primary characters was interesting, the anxiety of Capote. All these elements made for a very enjoyable and enlightening movie going experience. The only negative issue I had was Capote's procrastination. This was probably attributed to his frustration in not being able to get the information he wanted. With the way he manipulated the convicts, he must have thought the world revolved around his timeframe. This is a minor concern, but I felt life saying would you please get on with it.

Top to bottom, Capote is one of the best films of the year for 2005. I would highly recommend this film to any adult. I almost feel inspired to go get me a copy of In Cold Blood. I probably won't, but there's always hope.

Mike's Rating: 8 Eccentric Writers (Excellent Biopic)
MPAA Rating: Rated R for some violent images and brief strong language.
Running Time: 114 minutes