Movie Review: Capote

In the wake of the unexpected death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, I've decided to watch some of his more famous movies that I have not yet seen.  I've seen a bunch of his work, my personal favorite being Pirate Radio, but I thought it would be appropriate to watch the work that garnered him an Oscar. 

Capote

 

Released: February 3rd, 2006
Watched: February 6th, 2014
My Rating: 9/10 stars

Starring:

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Clifton Collins Jr.

Director:

Bennett Miller

As most of us know, or at least have heard, PSH is one of the greatest actors ever. He had the ability to transform himself into his character no matter if they were a gay boom operator (a la Boogie Nights), a super hungry tornado chaser (a la Twister), or in this case - an extremely odd novelist by the name of Truman Capote.

Before I get into the movie, I would like to point out that the only knowledge of Truman that I had before watching this, was that he was the party thrower Lionel Twain in one of my favorite comedies Murder By Death which if you haven't seen - I highly recommend. 

So, this movie chronicles the time during which Truman Capote was investigating the story of a quadruple murder in the plains of Kansas.  A newspaper article had caught his eye, and he wanted to write an article about it, but the story engulfed him so much, it ended up becoming his best selling novel, In Cold Blood. 

PSH captured all of the strange characteristics of Truman Capote that made him such a unique man.  From the way he stood (stooped) so as to shorten his stature, to his very feminine like whisper of a voice.  At times, I forgot I was watching an actor portray a man.  

To watch the struggle of Capote, between right and wrong, friendship and personal interest, was quite fascinating.  Capote (assuming most of this movie is true) actually created a friendship and a bond with one of the two convicted murderers.  Watching him make the connections to their lives and upbringing was pretty intense to watch.  You could always tell what Capote (PSH) was thinking. 

I'd also like to mention, I had no idea Truman Capote was friends with Harper Lee (Keener), and that she helped him do the research for this book.  Also - a fun fact, the character Dill in To Kill a Mocking Bird was based on Capote.  TKaMB is one of my all time favorite books, so this fact made me smile a bit. 

If you have not seen this movie, do it. It's PSH at his best.  Convincing and wonderful.  It's no surprise to me that he won the Oscar for this portrayal. 

On a final note, In Cold Blood is definitely the next book I read (if I ever finish Divergent). If you are interested in ICB or any other Capote novels, you can check them out here!