Hoffman's Brilliant Retribution.

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2006)

Bennett Miller's sophomore film, Capote, is best described as a silent killer riding atop the shoulders of a giant. That giant is Philip Seymour Hoffman. The film itself is fluent in objective and prolifically entertaining, making for a very steady film, with an unbeatable trump card.
Capote focuses on the life of famous author Truman Capote, from 1959  mid 1960's as he travels to Halcomb, Kansas to write an article about a brutally murdered family. When he, and good friend (and sidekick for the film) Harper Lee arrive, what they find is something much more engrossing, something that changes Truman Capote for the rest of his life, and end in the best work he will ever write, In Cold Blood.
Bennet Miller does not spend much time outside of Capote's obsession with his research for his novel, and that goes much appreciated. Focusing on the strong bond that Capote forms with one of the murderers, Perry Smith, we get to see who the real Truman Capote is. The basis of their entire relationship, which drives the film, is a kind of catch 22. Does Truman really come to ever care enough to want Perry alive, or is it Capote's selfishness to complete his novel, and more so, does Truman himself even know? The library of mannerisms unique to Truman Capote is brought to light in some fashionably played and surprisingly humorous scenes. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is unshakable in his interpretation. He executes an all eyes on me performance, which caricaturizes the real Capote's ability to entertain a crowd flawlessly.
Truman always had a way of being the life of a party, by talking about nothing but himself and his work, yet with no one catching onto the egocentricity of it all, and this is the highlight of Hoffman's brilliant performance. There is a scene in Capote where Truman is at a party after spending months researching in Kansas, wooing the crowd with tales of the convicts and the murders. He goes on to exclaim that "This is the book that I was born to write," turning to the woman next to him and asking "So what have you been up to?" letting out a hearty sarcastic laugh as if to say "Well it doesn't compare to me or my work, so what does it matter?" Next to never do you get the chance to see an actor immersed so completely in a role as Philip Seymour Hoffman is as Truman Capote.
The only minor problem I had with Capote, as a whole was the almost depreciated expectations that Bennett Miller placed before Hoffman. I felt that Miller limited Hoffman to a commonly linear formula, and despite Hoffman's brilliance, he couldn't break free far enough for what I really wanted to see. This role was Hoffman's ascension to a level that most actors will never reach, and while his performance will be talked about by film classes for decades to come, it is clearly obvious that Phillip Seymour Hoffman wasn't done, he was consumed, and he was more than able to take on more of Truman Capote.
I adored Capote from start to finish, absolutely adored it. For those of you, like me, who have been watching Hoffman through Magnolia and Love Liza, there is no better retribution for Hoffman than the acclaim he has received for his role as Truman Capote. With a new level of fame surrounding Hoffman and up and coming director Bennett Miller, I can only hope we see a pairing of these two talents again in the near future. As far as Capote goes, it is without question a film to be added to the must see lists of everyone in the interest of educated cinema.