Capote Review
by Jerry Saravia (faustus_08520 AT yahoo DOT com)April 17th, 2006
CAPOTE (2005)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: Three stars and a half
"Capote" is not a big-screen biography of one of the most famous writers of the 20th century. In fact, this is one of the great films about the process of writing and how the subject of what one is writing can affect the writer so deeply.
The book was "In Cold Blood," considered one of the finest non-fiction books ever written. The writer was the fey, egotistical Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The movie begins in 1959 where Truman is enjoying the fruits of his success after writing
"Breakfast at Tiffany's," though he feels the need to pursue something other than fiction. He finds it when he reads about the brutal slaying of a family in Kansas by two killers. The killers are apprehended and Truman sees the potential for a New Yorker
magazine article, something to delight his crowd of friends
and intellectuals. Capote visits Kansas with Nelle Harper
Lee (Catherine Keener), another writer who's just completed
"To Kill a Mockingbird." He wants to see the mutilated
bodies and visit the murderers, as well as question the local police on the grisly details. After assimilating so much
information, Capote decides that a non-fiction book would
be more appropriate.
The killers are, as most true crime enthusiasts know, Perry
Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Richard Hickock (Mark
Pellegrino). Capote spends more time questioning Perry and
developing his confidence in the story, realizing they both
came from similar backgrounds. Capote feels pity for Perry
and requests the help of top lawyers to avoid a death sentence. But something happens to Capote as he feels the essence of
the crime to be too brutal to feel any kind of pity for the
murderers. When Capote starts learning the details of the
crime and hears a confession of true evil from Perry (one of the most startling, stark confessions of the power of evil
since Polanski's "Death and the Maiden"), we see that
Capote feels remorse and shame at himself for being
lured by such a grisly crime.
Philip Seymour Hoffman gives the first truly knockout
performance of his inspiring career (that he won an Oscar
and so many actor's prizes for this role should come as
no surprise). He captures Capote's look and voice with
vivid fidelity, but there is more than gifted mimicry at work here. Hoffman captures the man's humanity, his loss of
ethics and morals in writing such an emotionally draining
book, and his growing disintegration through alcohol. His
performance is certainly complex, evoking the deceit of his
character and the bond he develops with Perry, despite
fake promises and lies.
Catherine Keener is a slight weakness in the film's structure playing Nelle Harper Lee, Capote's dedicated friend.
Somehow Keener is a little flat and doesn't have enough
scenes - I would've been fine if her role was omitted
altogether. Her role is so brief that you'll forget she was
ever Capote's research assistant in the first place.
The real crux of the film is Capote's relationship to Perry and Clifton Collins, Jr. is exceptional as Perry. Collins doesn't channel Robert Blake or even Eric Roberts - he opts for a
complacent quality that is just as creepy and realistic. Same with the short-shrifted role of Hickock, as played by Mark
Pellegrino who has an eerie laugh.
"Capote" is not an entertaining film. It is a slow-paced, dark, penetrating look at the ethics of exploiting someone for the purposes of a book. It affected Capote till the end of his days, to the point that he never completed a book after "In Cold
Blood." I get the sneaking suspicion that Capote might have
wished he never wrote it in the first place.
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at:
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