ViewGuide

Created Nov 23, 2011 08:54PM PST • Edited Nov 23, 2011 08:54PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Perfect 5.0

   Truman Capote was many things: a brilliant writer, a New York sociallite, the ultimate insider, fixed on martinis, and a teency bit disturbed. To put it simply, he was one of the most fascinating and controversial figures of the 20th century. In Capote, director Bennett Miller brings the real-life character to the big screen as he explores one of the most significant events in Capote’s life.

   The film begins in the late 50’s and takes us to the late 60’s. Author Truman Capote (Hoffman) has not yet recieved international fame yet, but is still the toast of New York. He drinks and sociallizes with the rich and famous whilst spilling details on their most personal secrets. Everything changes, however, when he reads an article about a gruesome murder in Kansas. Seeing the oppurtunity for a good article, Capote and childhood friend/future To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee (Catherine Keener) head down to the little town of Holcomb to find out what they can from lead Detective Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper), local residents, and friends of the Clutter family (the family that was murdered). After Dewey finds and apprehends the killers, Capote finds himself in awe of one of the killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.), and sees that there is enough information to write a whole book. Capote then befriends both of the killers and becomes Perry’s close personal confidante, despite the fact that all he wants is information for his book. Capote finds himself caught between two dilemmas: his wanting of fame and fortune and his loyalty to these two murderers.

   Philip Seymour Hoffman took home the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of Capote. And derservingly so. Though Capote was in some sense a real-life cartoon character, Hoffman goes far deeper behind that image. He reveals Capote as a tortured and disturbed soul whose obsession for fame eventually lead to years of alcoholism, obesity, and eventually his downfall. Catherine Keener offers terrific supporting work as Capote’s best friend Harper Lee. She portrays Lee as a character who wants what is best for her good friend, but still has her reservations on account of his own self-indulgences. Clifton Collins, Jr. is also great as killer Perry Smith. In fact, I honestly thought he should’ve been nominated for an Oscar, himself. He’s absolutely chilling as Smith and yet you still can’t take your eyes off of him. Chris Cooper is good as Dewey and he does well, but he isn’t quite as compelling as some of the other actors in the film.

   Bennett Miller has only directed two films: This and, more recently, Moneyball. Of the two, I’d say this is the better one. The portrait he paints of high society New York, Spain, and Holcomb during the 1960’s is just perfect. New York is dark, smokey, with lights shining in the buildings. Holcomb is bleak, gritty, and cold with the breeze brushing the tall grass. And Spain is just beautiful. I appreciate that he gave a reallistic angle to this era, whereas in Douglas McGrath’s Infamous, everything was just too stylized (NOTE: For those of you who don’t know what Infamous is, it’s the other Truman Capote movie that had the misfortune of coming out a year after this one. I would tell you my opinion on it but I’ll save that for another day).

   Capote is by far one of the finest movies of the decade we call the 2000’s. Hoffman’s performance is simply riveting and just unmissable and it should also peak interest for some to actually read In Cold Blood. If you haven’t read it, this movie is just as compelling.

4. Acting

   Perfect 5.0

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

10. Film

    Perfect 5.0

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

12. Play Perfect 5.0

13. Music Perfect 5.0

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 2.5

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Brutal 3.0

19. Rudeness Profane 3.5

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0