Disappointing

Rating: 6/10 (5 December 2018)

Having just completed Truman Capote's gripping non-fiction novel In Cold Blood the night before, perhaps my expectations were never going to be met. Granted, this is not a film adaptation of that masterpiece, although it undeniably plays a big role in the plot. Unfortunately, the story's complexities and subtle, nuanced characterizations are given an all too simplistic treatment.
Anyone who has seen The Master, Boogie Nights or Magnolia knows what a masterful performer Philip Seymour Hoffman is. His portrayal is impressive, yet it often veers too close to caricature. That strange, high-pitched voice can feel like a really good impression more than anything else.
He's not helped by a workmanlike script that eschews subtlety, opting instead for an easy, broad-strokes narrative. Whole chunks of plot are dispensed with in late-night telephone conversations that never ring true.
Chris Cooper's pointless chief investigator feels nothing like the book's Alvin Dewey. He is instead very "Chris Cooper-y": a stoic, stone-faced man's man that spends his time on screen storming out of rooms.
But most damaging of all is how the film chooses to handle the two killers. Richard Hickock might not have pulled the trigger on that fateful night, yet In Cold Blood is unequivocal about his key part in the murders. He barely registers here, and is instead treated like a cameo.
This could have been excused if the relationship with Perry Smith, the main crux of the film (and arguably, of In Cold Blood) was satisfactory. Clifton Collins Jr. is not a bad actor, but he doesn't come close to the real thing, or at least, to the Perry Smith described in Capote's book.
This guy was an insecure, boastful, angry, sometimes charming man, with complex psychological issues. Yet he is reduced to a quiet, naive, kindly guy. By the end of the film, as he finally reveals what happened on that fateful night, you half-expect him to break down in tears and proclaim his innocence. His portrayal as a fallen angel is dangerously misleading.
The movie desperately wants to generate a powerful connection between Capote and Smith, yet it feels forced. Their relationship does not come close to having the depth required, which robs the emotional climax of any authenticity.
Again, I'll fully admit that having just read In Cold Blood prior to seeing this, I was kind of setting it up to fail. But I truly think such a fantastic writer, and such a masterful novel, deserved a bit more effort and a bit more subtlety.