Life's Work

Rating: 9/10 (7 November 2005)

Basically, "Capote" is a study of Truman Capote's greatest accomplishment and eventual downfall, which happens to be one in the same event, the Clutter killings. Capote on a whim decides to prove to people that non-fiction can be every bit as creative and dramatic as the wildest fiction. So he opts for doing a magazine article on the murders of the Clutter family, a kind of observation on what the murders did to the small community in Kansas. Interestingly enough, his secretary/assistant on the trip was his close friend Harper Lee ("To Kill a Mockingbird"). After the arrests of the two killers, Capote has a chance meeting with Perry, he is amazed at this "cold blooded" killer. Perry is not a violent mad dog killer, but an intelligent, peaceful and timid soul. Even during the savage killings, Perry did small things to comfort his victims. Capote can't help but sympathize with Perry and build a relationship with him (they do have a lot of things in common). Of course, part of this relationship is to get Perry to open up more and more to Capote, so Capote can get the information he needs to make his article into a book. There is a fine line in this relationship. You sense that Capote does have a compassionate feeling for Perry, even so far as hiring them an appellate lawyer. However, you also get the sense that Capote's motivation might be more commercial and business in purpose. As the story progresses, Capote starts to come to the realization of just how horrific these crimes were and that through his actions (getting the lawyer for them), he just might be letting two murderers go free. Moreover, he is constantly hounded by the two killers, who sense that he is their only friend and are relying on him for their own survival. Capote is in hell. Here is this book that will be his defining moment, but to finish it, he must stay involved in this perverse relationship with two savage killers. His life as come a long way from his happy days of endless parties in New York. Capote starts to drink excessively to escape the reality he has made for himself (and never stops). This movie is a very interesting character study and better get Hoffman a Oscar award for best actor, because he really does deserve it.