I know very little about Truman Capote. I've never read any of his books, though I saw the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's," which was based on his book. The movie is supposedly a sanitized version of the book, though. I did once see Truman Capote as an actor, in the movie "Murder by Death," but I don't remember if he was a good actor or not. I DO remember thinking that he was a little guy with a funny voice.
"Capote" probably doesn't qualify as a true biopic, since it only covers a small period in Truman Capote's life, when Capote, fascinated by the murder of a Kansas family, decides to write an article about it. As he does his research, he develops a close relationship with one of the killers, and realizes that the story is worthy of a book, a "non-fiction novel." It would go on to be his masterpiece, "In Cold Blood."
One of the things that interested me the most about this film is that Harper Lee, the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird" (my favorite novel of all-time), was one of Capote's closest friends, so she's a character in the movie. In fact, the completion of the novel, its subsequent success, and even the eventual release of the classic film, are all covered in "Capote." "To Kill a Mockingbird" (to date, the only book Harper Lee has ever written) is somewhat autobiographical, as the main character and narrator of the book, "Scout," is based on Lee. Her best friend in the book, "Dill," is based on her real life childhood friend, Truman Capote. In a roundabout sorta way, this movie can be considered the sequel to "To Kill a Mockingbird." Okay, that's reaching, I know, but I still think it's cool.
I had a conversation at work with someone about "Capote," I don't remember who, and when I said that Philip Seymour Hoffman played the title character, that person's response was, "isn't that the guy who 'sharted' in 'Along Came Polly'?" I guess that would be true, though I've never seen the movie. When I think of Philip Seymour Hoffman, however, I think of his movies directed by Paul Thomas Anderson; "Punch-Drunk Love," "Magnolia," "Boogie Nights," and "Hard Eight" (that's right, he's been in all of them). I also think of his unforgettable role in "Almost Famous," his creepy performance in "Happiness," and the movie that introduced me to him, "Scent of a Woman." He's an incredible actor, and I'm a big fan of his work. However, I think he was miscast here. He looks nothing like Truman Capote, and hearing him do Truman Capote's squeaky voice is hard to get used to, because Hoffman's voice is actually pretty deep. Like I said, though, the fault is with the casting, not the acting, and after a while, it doesn't matter. You get used to the voice, and Hoffman's acting takes over. I eventually accepted Hoffman in the role, and all was good. Yes, he was miscast, but it's an awesome performance nevertheless.
The role of Harper Lee is played by Catherine Keener, and she's an actress I like a lot. Not only is she a Miami girl (born and raised here... she attended Monsignor Edward Pace Catholic High School, where controversial talk show host Bill O'Reilly was a teacher), but she's an amazing actress. Most recently, she was in one of my favorite movies of the last year, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," but she was also in "Being John Malkovich," "8mm," "Your Friends & Neighbors," "Out of Sight," "Johnny Suede," and many others. Her performance in this movie is a subdued one, and she isn't in it as much as I would have liked her to be, but my favorite scenes are the ones when she's with Hoffman. I loved their chemistry, and I hope to see them in more movies together.
The pivotal role of the killer Capote befriends is played by Clifton Collins Jr., and he does a great job. I remember Clifton Collins Jr. from a few roles ("The Rules of Attraction," "Traffic," "Tigerland"), and he always impresses me, but his performance in this film really blew me away. It was interesting to see his character and Capote manipulate each other while trying to maintain a legitimate friendship, and it was believable because of the two very talented actors involved. I was a little worried that the movie would make the killer too sympathetic (he DID slaughter an entire family, after all), and you do sorta sympathize with him a little, but it's made very clear that he's a cold-blooded killer throughout the film, especially the end. Also in the film are veteran actors Chris Cooper (he plays the detective who catches the killers) and Bruce Greenwood (he plays Capote's life partner). The acting is impeccable all around. Great stuff.
"Capote" was directed by a guy I never heard of, Bennett Miller. This is his second film, the first being a documentary titled "The Cruise." He went to high school with a guy named Dan Futterman, who wrote this movie (perhaps not too coincidentally, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Futterman are childhood friends). Like I said, I'm not familiar with the work of Bennett Miller, nor am I familiar with the work of Dan Futterman, but the work here is very good, although the movie does drag a little bit. The screenplay is based on the book by Gerald Clarke, by the way.
I liked "Capote," but I think I expected to like it more. It's a very interesting movie, though, and it has some awesome acting. Also, it made me decide to go read "In Cold Blood."
Scale of 1-10: 8