Capote* (2005)

Every year there are a handful of films produced in Hollywood that can be summed up in two words: Oscar bait. In 2005, Capote was one of these films. This biopic, starring the ever wonderful Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is the kind of artful, cold and moody drama that the Academy loves to lift up despite a lack of general popularity at the cineplex.

The story focuses on Truman Capote, an eccentric, homosexual writer, who is at the height of his popularity as the film opens. Capote has just written Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the literary world is in love with him. After reading a short article in The New York Times about a Kansas family’s brutal murder, Capote offers to write an account of the tragedy and the impact it has had on the small community.

At first, covering the story yields little more than the expected somber tones from shocked neighbors and relatives. But Capote and his traveling companion, the soon-to-be-famous Harper Lee, are caught in a whirlwind of events and storylines when the killers are found and arrested. Capote moves in to further flesh out his story by trying to communicate with the killers. He eventually resorts to bribery in order to get past the staunch Mid-West police who otherwise aren’t fond of the quirky little writer.

Along the way, Capote’s reporting turns into a larger project- the novel In Cold Blood that would eventually usher in a new genre of true crime literature. As his ambitions grow larger, so do his sacrifices. Capote becomes transfixed by one of the killers to the point of developing mixed feelings of sympathy and attraction for him. Capote’s struggle to play both sides of the fence causes him serious anguish and would plague him for much of the rest of his life.

If you like biopics, this might be right up your alley. Capote captures a lot the elements that define a great biopic. Phillip Seymour Hoffman devotes himself completely to affecting the vocalizations and mannerisms of Truman Capote. Hoffman has made a career out of perfectly realized supporting characters and it is about time that he is given a meaty leading role. The only possible point of contention with Hoffman’s performance is that he is noticeably heavier than Truman Capote ever was. If you don’t do your research on the movie’s subject though, you’d never know, so this is amenable.

Capote is very much old-school Hollywood drama. There is very little action to speak of in the nearly two-hour film. Instead, we get a slow, methodical building process, layer after intricate layer as we watch Capote become consumed by ambition and get torn apart by his final realizations on the case and his work. The limited color pallet used in costuming and set dressings sets an appropriately bleak tone. Very little inventive camerawork is employed, keeping things straight on and never losing sight of the film’s focus.

Between these two aspects, Capote is a final product that feels more like something to be seen than something to be enjoyed. True crime lovers may just eat it all up and fans of Truman Capote’s work will likely want to see the film for its biographical content. As for the rest of us, well, we’re not exactly left in the dark. Capote is a very well made film that has a lot going for it. Most of these highlights are things that cinephiles will latch onto and the kinds of things that Academy member look for come Oscar season.

Having little to know knowledge of Truman Capote or his legacy before seeing this film may have held me back a little in fully grasping why this film was as important as it was. This did not, however, take away from my ability to recognize good filmmaking, which is exactly what this film is.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5