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Cinema - Capote
Truman Capote, like many serious writers, was an eccentric
genius. This film is the story of how the act of writing his
most important book turned him into a complete nutcase. The
book in question is called In Cold Blood. It is a brilliant
piece of non-fiction, which examines the senseless murders
of a family of four in a Kansas home through the eyes of their
killers, a pair of psychotic drifters. Capote interviewed
the two time and again to try and find why they committed
the atrocious crime. In doing so he becomes obsessed with
the more intelligent of the two, Perry Smith. Capote continues
to interview Smith throughout his stay on Death Row; finally
understanding that he will only be able to complete his book
when the man he has come to love is executed.
Philip Seymour Hoffman doesn’t just play Truman Capote
in this well-made, thoughtful, intelligent film: he becomes
him. For this he rightly won the leading actor Oscar his quietly
brilliant career richly deserves. That he completely overshadows
all the other actors doesn’t matter. This film is about
what happened when Truman Capote stared too hard in the face
of truth. It needed a strong central performance: it got a
brilliant one. Go watch it. But first, if you haven’t
already done so, read the book. DL |
