Great Performances

Rating: Null/10 (28 February 2008)

Capote (2005)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) travels to Kansas to get the story on a couple guys who executed a farmer, his wife and two children and these events would create the best seller 'In Cold Blood' but it would have an even bigger impact on the author. I was really expected a rather poor movie with a great performance from Hoffman but that certainly wasn't the case in the end. Now that I've seen all the Best Picture nominations, if I had a vote I might put it towards this film, which is certainly a masterpiece of a character study and storytelling. I was really shocked at how captivating this film turned out to be. I knew of the actual case but I didn't know too much about Capote but this film certainly made me interested. Hoffman gives the performance of his career as the troubled author. It was rather amazing to watch him with this eccentric voice and how he could use it for comedy or drama. The closing moments of the film are unforgettable but I'm glad the film didn't try to paint Capote as some sort of saint. I've now seen most of the "big" (ala "great") pictures from 2005 and it was certainly a great year for films.