In 1959, Truman Capote, a popular writer for The New Yorker, learns about the
horrific and senseless murder of a family of four in Halcomb, Kansas. Inspired
by the story material, Capote and his partner, Harper Lee, travel to the town to
research for an article. However, as Capote digs deeper into the story, he is
inspired to expand the project into what would be his greatest work, In Cold
Blood. To that end, he arranges extensive interviews with the prisoners,
especially with Perry Smith, a quiet and articulate man with a troubled history.
As he works on his book, Capote feels some compassion for Perry which in part
prompts him to help the prisoners to some degree. However, that feeling deeply
conflicts with his need for closure for his book which only an execution can
provide. That conflict and the mixed motives for both interviewer and subject
make for a troubling experience that would produce an literary account that
would redefine modern non-fiction.
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
Special Features:
- Audio commentary by director Bennett Miller and star Philip Seymour
Hoffman
- Audio commentary by director Bennett Miller and cinematographer
Adam Kimmel
- “Answered Prayers” – a documentary about Truman Capote
- “Making Capote” – a 2-part feature on the making of the movie