Two Hours of Begging for Oscar

Rating: 6/10 (7 August 2007)

Capote seemed bent on presentation for presentation's sake, not trying to construct a picture as a stand alone work. I'm usually a fairly accurate judge of what I will like and dislike and so I had put off watching Capote because way too many people were buzzing about how hip Capote was. Usually whenever the general public talks about how hip or artistic something is they're discussing something that is a cliché, so familiar that it is hip in the cartoon sense, palatable for the general masses. Hardly something that is cutting edge or unique. Very much like the new sirloin burger at MacDonald's, not what I'd call real gourmet cuisine.
The main reason I decided to finally watch Capote was because I had watched Infamous one night a month or so back and was so pleased I watched Capote the next night. The first night I was left surprised and thinking, the next I was left sleepy and disappointed. Capote was so busy with trying to create atmosphere and style it never developed the characters with anywhere near the depth that Infamous did so briefly and elegantly. The solid character development in Infamous was due to much better casting all around as well as a much more alive script with rich, layered dialog. I was impressed by all the performances in Infamous, even the usually commercially thin Sandra Bullock who, sans make-up, appears as real and convincing as I've ever seen her. By the way, who did the singing for Gwyneth Paltrow? If it was her, she may have missed her true calling. Capote on the other hand, most (almost all) of the characters were presented as thin, stock characters used to push the story along, as well as manipulate your emotions and mostly to support the starring role of Hoffman. As a side note, I'm usually a big fan of almost all instrumental soundtracks but the repetitive piano chords replayed over and over in Capote, an obvious and flaccid attempt to create a gloomy, heavy mood, became a distracting annoyance after the umpteenth time. By the end of Capote I was bored and distracted and felt that the obvious attempt to manipulate me as an audience member failed. I also felt detached and uninterested in all the characters, nothing had happened to give me a sense of their unique humanness or that most of them were real. Infamous on the other hand, I found to be one of the most intriguing and touching love stories I have seen in quite a long time. I happen to be a straight male who usually sees most theatrical (and public) displays of love as false, unconvincing and badly clichéd. Toby Jones and Daniel Craig were both very much alive and the love they created fascinating. And though they were of characters that I would not think I could find so interesting and feel so much for, a psychotic criminal and a gay society party boy, I was nevertheless quite touched by their love and seriously saddened by its tragedy. I was finally able to realize very clearly after Infamous why Truman Capote slowly self destructed after writing "In Cold Blood". It did the job of top notch cinema and art, it changed my perspective on many points. To paraphrase the Perry Smith character from Infamous, it had the most important element to writing and a great story and which Capote lacked: kindness.
Granted, Mr. Hoffman does give an admirable performance in Capote but it's just that: a performance. He appears to be acting. To me the essence of great casting is to find someone who so fits the character they really don't need to act. Great acting should never be obvious, it should be invisible. Toby Jones was a much more accurate fit and gave a much more natural (and therefore believable) performance as the real Truman Capote than Philip Seymour Hoffman working so hard to act like Truman Capote.
Capote was not bad but a bit of a moody disappointment, much like it's repetitive soundtrack, striking one chord over and over again in an overdone, calculating fashion. Infamous, on the other hand, was not only surprisingly more entertaining, richer and alive but I think a more accurate picture of the real Truman Capote than the rather one sided, coldly brooding version in Capote. If Mr. Capote were so cold blooded and ruthless I hardly think he would have been the darling of high society everywhere. Capote was adored by the party jet set everywhere when he was still happy and living life with such glee. And even though he could be a vicious gossip and somewhat of a backstabber he still had a tremendous charm and real affection for others, otherwise it's quite doubtful he would have had so many devoted friends. In Capote the charm and affection for others is just not there, certainly not as it is in Infamous, which paints a more human and humane picture of Mr. Capote.
It's true that "In Cold Blood" led to Truman's deterioration. If you want to see the underpinnings that were responsible for zapping his life away I think you'll find Infamous to be more accurate as well as a much more enjoyable motion picture experience.