Review: Capote

The story of flamboyantly gay (and flamboyantly flamboyant) writer Truman Capote (The late Philip Seymour Hoffman, very impressive, despite being too big) and his quest to investigate a murder spree in Kansas as the basis of (initially) a non-fiction article for the New Yorker. He ventures to Kansas, with author pal Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), slowly manages to schmooze the local police chief (Chris Cooper) and meets the killers; Richard Hickcock (Mark Pellegrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.). Capote manipulates the men into telling their stories for what eventually becomes the true crime novel In Cold Blood, but soon develops a bond with the more articulate Perry, with whom he sees perhaps a kindred spirit who simply took another route in life to his own (Hoffman as Capote puts it better himself when stating; ‘It's as if Perry and I grew up in the same house. Except, one day, I went out the front door and he went out the back’). Bruce Greenwood plays Capote’s lover back in New York, Bob Balaban is his editor, and Marshall Bell is the tough, matter-of-fact prison warden.

 

The best of the two 2005 Truman Capote biopics, this overrated Bennett Miller (in his debut) drama still doesn’t quite impress me. Part of this is because, unlike most people, I saw this after the more superficial “Infamous”, and so my frustrations over there not being enough reason or material for two films on the same subject (it really is the exact same damn story, some of the dialogue is even the same!) is mostly aimed at this film. But more than that, I don’t think Capote’s character or story is terribly interesting anyway. This is definitely the better and more in-depth of the films, but I can’t say I cared very much for it.

 

Hoffman’s impressive Oscar-winning turn is far more 3-D than Toby Jones’ caricatured mincing in the other film, and in fact, the portrayal of Capote here is a far more critical one (he’s seen as narcissistic, manipulative and cold and yet at one point Capote does indeed seem to be genuinely feeling for the boys, if only because of his increasing personal affection for Perry. It’s a great moment for Hoffman and the film), which makes it a little more interesting. Clifton Collins Jr.’s Perry Smith is more convincing than the miscast Daniel Craig in “Infamous”, but I’m still not sold on the idea of Perry being articulate and possibly gay. Maybe I’ve just got too much allegiance to Robert Blake in the terrific film version of “In Cold Blood” (wherein Hickcock was wonderfully essayed by the underrated Scott Wilson as well. I found Wilson and Hickcock more interesting, to be honest). Oscar nominee Keener’s Harper Lee, sadly, gets short shrift and cannot compete with Sandra Bullock’s fine work in the other film (Did I just praise Sandra Bullock? Sorry, won’t happen again). Ditto Chris Cooper, though he’s still pretty solid.

 

Overall it’s pretty well-made, but whether I had seen “Infamous” previously or not, I doubt I’d care much. Capote might’ve been fun to have hung around with or listen to as he talked, but his life, or segments of his life? Not so interesting. The screenplay is by actor Dan Futterman (he was the son in “The Birdcage”), from the book by Gerald Clarke.

 

Rating: C+