The real mystery is the man himself

Rating: 8/10 (6 November 2005)

Fascinating portrait of an incredibly complex and gifted writer. Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance is amazing; despite his lack of resemblance to Capote, he so inhabits the character that it's easily overlooked.
What's always mystified me is how such an odd-sounding, fey little man could've infiltrated the homes, and souls, of people so unlike him, especially in the uptight 1950s. The movie deftly answers, by showing how Capote combined wit, the attraction of celebrity, and simple courtesy and kindness to overcome the resistance of clannish Midwesterners and sociopathic criminals. Even as his subject, Perry Smith, learns that he's being played by Capote, and learns the depths of Capote's betrayal of his appeals of his murder case, he still can't help reaching out, even as his time runs out.
Powerful supporting cast, especially Catherine Keener as Harper Lee, Capote's childhood friend, research assistant, and literary rival (his petty jealousy over her success with To Kill a Mockingbird is especially telling). She's the only one capable of calling him on his manipulative ways, and the only one capable of seeing past his egocentricity to see the insecure, small man beneath. Bruce Greenwood and Chris Cooper are fine in underwritten roles. But the real revelation here is Clifton Collins Jr., as the doomed murderer, Perry Smith. Collins' portrayal, both sympathetic and vaguely menacing, should certainly earn him an Oscar nomination for supporting actor.