Difficult to watch but still an excellent film

Rating: 8/10 (29 August 2006)

In the years between 1960 and 1965, author Truman Capote (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) formed an unlikely friendship with Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), a killer on death row accused of murdering a family of four in Kansas. His conversations with Perry and research into the murders would form the basis of his greatest literary work, "In Cold Blood."
Capote is a terrific film that succeeds on every level. It was difficult to watch at times but it was still an emotionally engaging experience. Capote himself was an interesting person even if he did act a bit pretentious. In the film, he did have a few annoying moments like when he said "I have 94 percent recall of all conversation. I tested it myself." That line sounded like he was bragging and he was very much in love with himself, as other characters pointed out. At the same time, I felt sorry for him when he was talking about his childhood since people would make fun of him. He said, "Ever since I was a child, folks have thought they had me pegged, because of the way I am, the way I talk. And they're always wrong." As an adult though, he got the respect of most people. I think Philip Seymour Hoffman did a fantastic job as Capote and he deserved the Oscar. Some people called his performance an imitation but I think he did more than just talk like him. He actually became Capote.
The main thing the film focused on was the relationship between Capote and Perry. At first, it was hard to tell if Capote was just using him for his book or if he actually cared for him. As they continued to meet, a friendship developed and Capote was looking past his book. He didn't want to portray Perry as a monster despite his crimes. He actually wanted to portray Perry correctly. The scenes between Capote and Perry were interesting to watch and they were done very well. The ending was particularly memorable and I think it was the best scene. I have to give credit to Clifton Collins Jr since he gave a very good performance as Perry. It was a shame that he wasn't nominated. I also have to give credit to director Bennett Miller because he managed to capture Capote's research and relationships pretty well.
There were a few other people in Capote's life that were portrayed in the film. Harper Lee accompanied Truman to Kansas to help him with his research. Their relationship together was nice to watch but I think Catherine Keener should have gotten more screen time. Her performance was fine but it wasn't really Oscar worthy. I don't think there was enough of the character to really warrant a nomination. Alvin Dewey was portrayed by Chris Cooper and he did a decent job, nothing special though. Jack Dunphy was Capote's boyfriend and he was portrayed by Bruce Greenwood, who did a decent job. I didn't really find this relationship very interesting. Their conversations were kind of dull but Greenwood didn't get a lot of screen time so it didn't hurt the quality of the film. In the end, Capote is an excellent film and it's worth checking out. Rating 10/10