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Directed by: Bennett Miller Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Clifton Collins Jr. , Chris Cooper, Catherine Kee I'm surprised this doesn't have a thread yet. 'Capote' isn't a biopic of Truman Capote's life, but rather follows him during the six years in which he wrote about a brutal family slaying in a quiet Kansas town, Malcomb. Already established as an author (as well as an eccentric), Truman Capote (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) travels with his friend Nelle Harper Lee (Catherine Keener) to write an article on the town's reactions to the killings. After meeting with locals, agents, and eventually the killers themselves, Capote realizes that there is more than an article could handle, and decides instead to write a novel. In Cold Blood would be Capote's biggest success and eventually lead to his downfall. The story mainly focuses on Capote's relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), and I would say this is the movie's biggest strength. The relationship isn't easy to describe, and I probably wouldn't do it justice, so I'll simplify in saying that Capote geuninely likes him, yet needs him to be part of his book much more. The performances are all around excellent. I always liked Hoffman but (as I've only seen him in supporting character roles) I was wondering if he could hold a movie on his own. He can. He doesn't look like Capote much, but that's pretty irrelevant; he captures the personality. This is especially well done as with someone like Capote it could be easy to go overboard in some bizarre Pacino matter, but Hoffman gets the right mix of eccentric and human. Beyond that, Keener, Cooper, and Collins all give very good performances (even if Keener's role seems a bit irrelevant in the end). The cinematography is bleak, dark and harsh; quite fitting. Finally, I like how the movie was smart enough to not shove anything in your face about the Capote/Smith relationship. It wasn't purely Capote needing a face to sell books, yet it wasn't quite "geunine" either. Rather than shove an idea leaning to one side either way, the movie lets the viewer come to their own conclusions. Only real problem (nothing too damaging) was that the pacing felt a bit off at points. Some scenes feel a bit short as the movie keeps an oddly fast pace (particularly in the beginning). Overall, quite worthwhile. edit: upon looking at Collins filmography, he hasn't...done much of anything, really. He wasn't absolutely amazing here but he did a good job with a hard role. Could be someone to watch. RATING: 4.5 PROS: Excellent performances, engaging, smart CONS: Occasionally odd pacing, a few lines that break the realistic feel ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379725/ The Landstander fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Nov 1, 2005 |
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Nov 1, 2005 04:10
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 16:08 |
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I really liked this movie as far as biopics go, and P.S.H really makes it. He plays a real bastard of a character in Truman Capote, but you still sympathize with him, even when he's backstabbing everyone he cares for and who cares for him. I probably won't end up buying the DVD, but it's not a bad way to spend nine dollars and I would watch it again if I caught it on HBO in the future. 4/5 very solid movie
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Nov 1, 2005 05:34
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Absolutely amazing, incredible cinematography, and Hoffman's acting is some of the best I've ever seen, and the supporting cast is very good as well. A very powerful and moving movie. 5/5
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Nov 20, 2005 23:29
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I thought this was a fantastic film. Capote isn't really a sympathetic character all around and they didn't really try to portray him as such; I was worried that it might be preachy on either side but it really isn't- you can take from it what you will, and I know that some people disagree with my personal feelings about Capote's work. Hoffman is absolutely amazing and I think this was put together very well. Normally my main complaint about movies is the pacing but I think that it worked very well here. 5/5.
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Nov 22, 2005 11:05
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I loving hate about 90% of biopics, and I thought this was one of the best movies I've seen this year. It avoids the mistakes seemingly every other biopic makes and doesn't try to tell a person's life story on the screen. It knows that that is utterly impossible, and instead chooses for a more detailed version of a specific event. This is clearly the right route. It also doesn't try to glamorize its subject; I didn't come out hating Capote, but it certainly doesn't make him look good. Initially I was put off by the direction, which was a bit choppy and I felt paced very slowly, but by the end of the movie, I was as involved as I was in the movie specifically because of the style it takes. I hesitate to describe it. Let it suffice to say that scenes cut at seemingly odd times, which at first seemed to me like it would detract from the emotion of the story. It winds up working the other way, though; while it may not have drawn me in, I found the whole thing built emotionally until I was nearly in tears by the end. I can't think of a higher compliment for Phillip Seymour Hoffman than saying that this is his best performance. If you've seen his other work, you'll know that that pretty much puts it on a short list of great all time performances. 5/5
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Dec 2, 2005 22:28
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Loved everything about this movie. One of my personal favorites of '05. 5/5
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Jan 28, 2006 04:36
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One of the best movies of 2005, it had unbelievable cinematography, and very solid acting from Hoffman. I hope he gets the Oscar.
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Feb 2, 2006 00:26
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This is a unique movie. It is very subtle yet holds a deeper meaning. In that sense, it reminded me of Lost in Translation. Hoffman is on screen for the entire movie and his performance is totally engrossing. I had no prior knowledge of Capote's reputation or voice, but from what I hear, it is exactly how Hoffman portrayed it. 5/5
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Feb 4, 2006 08:29
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There's a part in this movie where Capote is questioned whether or not he's fallen in love with Perry Smith; he responds, "It's as if Perry and I grew up in the same house. And one day he went out the back door and I went out the front." This, perhaps, is the most elegant phrasing of Capote's situation - he's a man who can smile at you with part of his soul and then slit your throat with the rest. His never-ceasing search for the perfect book winds up tearing him apart in the end, but you feel that it's what he deserves. Hopefully this will compel people to read In Cold Blood, which, regardless of Capote's character, is a terrific book. 5/5
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Feb 23, 2006 19:03
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This moive stunned me into silence. I sat afterwards, attempting to digest whgat I had just seen. Hoffmans acting isn't simply a job, it is a transformation. He simply becomes Capote. This movie encapsulates a complex, dark and tortured man in and story concerned with the mopst central aspect of Capotes long dark journey into the depths of his own soul. It leaves one thinking of Capotes central fear. That he walked out the front, and Perry walked out the back. Simply beautiful. It touched my soul in a way that no movie before it had. I haven't the words to adequetly describe my reaction. 5/5
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Mar 4, 2006 09:17
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I simply didn't get it. I didn't get why this essentially worthless man merited two hours of my life. He had so little insight into himself that it's impossible to believe he could really write about people (which was my conclusion after reading his books too), which was reflected in the fact that there was essentially no explanation of what let Perry to kill the family. And though he must have had immense personal charm to keep loyal friends while being such a poo poo, it didn't come across at all. Plus I felt the very light touch on his sexuality was dishonest. He didn't seem at all a sexual being in his relationship with Jack, yet there's the hint that he's into anonymous sex with strangers in seedy bars, and since his relationship with Perry seemed to be informed by some kind of sexual attraction, it would really have helped to know if he was into rough trade or this was new ground, or what. I ended up wishing they'd made a film about Harper Lee instead. 2.5/5
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Mar 6, 2006 10:15
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