In the Belly of the Beast

Rating: 7/10 (30 May 2009)

In a nutshell, "Famed author Truman Capote befriends two murderers while researching his celebrated book 'In Cold Blood' - and finds himself changed to the core." Having relatives who knew Mr. Capote makes me want to disagree, slightly, with this film's closing theme. The film portends Capote "never finished another book" due to an emotional attachment formed with killer Perry Smith. But the real reason for Capote's writer's block was that he was never again really sober long enough to call upon Clio, or any of the other muses which fueled his creativity.
My grandmother told me some amusing stories about Capote, including how he'd order: "Vodka on the rocks," and, after a pause Jack Benny would appreciate, add, "hold the rocks." This was in a Sag Harbor, NY bar; Capote "held court" in many watering holes around the world, and was always the life of the party. Grandmother enjoyed this film, but not more than either "In Cold Blood" or the real Truman Capote (when he wasn't being too sardonic).
Capote might have appreciated this film (while trashing it in public), as it could be described as the dramatization (by Dan Futterman) of a speculative biography (by Gerald Clarke) about a nonfiction novel (by Capote). Secondary sources rule. And, for a 2005 film, there is a surprising lack of intimacy shown. Capote and companion Bruce Greenwood (as Jack Dunphy) are like brothers, his much-heralded "love" for Smith is debatable, and only once does Capote try to hook up (don't blink) with a potential sex partner.
The production is first rate, with director Bennett Miller guiding an excellent cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal doesn't inhale, but it's the best Truman Capote since "Murder by Death" (1976); and, it provided Mr. Hoffman with a mother-lode of "Best Actor" awards. "To Kill a Mockingbird" writer Catherine Keener (as Nelle Harper Lee) and aspirin-chewing Clifton Collins Jr. (as Perry Smith) are among the many notable "Best Supporting" players.
******* Capote (9/2/05) Bennett Miller ~ Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr.