Capote (2005)

Capote: Directed by Bennett Miller. With Allie Mickelson, Kelci Stephenson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Craig Archibald. In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.

“Director Bennet Milleru0026#39;s u0026quot;Capoteu0026quot; is a film that shows great intelligence in the way it captured the essence of Truman Capote, a man who achieved fame and notoriety with most of the fiction he wrote. This film concentrates in the period of his life in which he got obsessed by a notorious murder case of the fifties about the murder of a family in Kansas.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDan Futterman has written the screen play based on the book by Gerald Clarke. The film is an account about the writing of the novel u0026quot;In Cold Bloodu0026quot; that showed how the two young men who committed the heinous crime are caught, processed and hanged for their actions.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you havenu0026#39;t watched the film, perhaps you would like to stop here.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen the film opens we get a vision of a lonely house in the distance. This being the Midwest, we are given a flat expanse devoid of elevations anywhere. The camera takes us to that lonely house as a young woman comes calling for her friend that lives in there. Not getting any response, she goes in to a room upstairs where she discovers her friend has been killed. The colors are dark, as is the tone of the film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTruman Capote, who had been connected to the New Yorker magazine, sees the article in the N.Y. Times and gets interested. This case that shocked the country, at the time, shows a promise for the writer. The next time we meet him, he is in the small town in Kansas accompanied by his good friend and steadying influence, Nell Harper Lee, a writer.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBy becoming friendly with the sheriffu0026#39;s wife, Mr. Capote gets a privilege by having access to the two murderers. Truman is clearly deeply affected by his relationship with Perry Smith, a handsome dark man who shows a lot of intensity. By gaining their trust, Capote is able to put together his best selling book u0026quot;In Cold Bloodu0026quot;, which will revolutionize American letters in the way the two criminals are portrayed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTruman Capote, while pursuing the completion of his book, doesnu0026#39;t come clean to Perry Smith. In fact, when questioned about things he has learned, Capote gives evasive answers because he is not prepared to share with his main subject things that clearly should have been clarified from the start.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWatching the brilliant take of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote on the screen, brought to mind another great actor, Meryl Streep, who like Mr. Hoffman is a chameleon in the interpretation of a character. Mr. Hoffman is perfect as the writer because he has captured every mannerism and the speech inflection of Truman Capote. Catherine Keener is perfect as Nelle, the true friend and companion. Bruce Greenwood plays Truman Capoteu0026#39;s companion Jack Dunphy. Chris Cooper is totally wasted as Sheriff Dewey.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAdam Kimmel excellent cinematography contributes to the atmosphere the director gave the film because of the use of muted colors in what appear to be the bleak winter of the Midwest.”