Highly Intelligent Look Into the Mind of an Artist

Rating: 8/10 (31 October 2005)

The recent onslaught of bland, paint-by-number Hollywood biopics may leave you completely disinterested in seeing "Capote," the new film about eccentric author Truman Capote, directed by Bennett Miller and starring the chameleon Philip Seymour Hoffman. I hope you will reconsider if that is the case. "Capote" is not a biopic in the style of last year's overrated "Ray"---show childhood of celebrity (ideally working in some liberal doses of strife or abuse if possible), show scrappy rise of celebrity from modest beginnings, show celebrity reach peak status, show celebrity self-destruct (usually due to drugs and/or alcohol), show celebrity hit rock-bottom, show celebrity seek peace and affirmation, and end on fuzzy, heart-warming scene in which celebrity is honored with a standing ovation as the soundtrack music swells. "Capote" is not that kind of film. In fact, "Capote" is not really about the life of Truman Capote, but rather is about the chain of events that led to Capote writing the book for which he is best known, "In Cold Blood." This is perhaps the most intelligent film I've ever seen about the relationship between an artist/journalist and the subject about which he is writing. The movie asks: how morally responsible is a writer for his subject? As depicted in this film, Capote becomes fascinated by a brutal crime in a tiny Kansas town, in which two men brutally murdered an entire family because they thought a large amount of money was hidden in the house. As he spends a great deal of time with one of the men (Perry Smith) and begins to piece together his story, he becomes personally interested in helping him fight his case; eventually, however, Capote's desire to write a work of art overrides the personal interest he's taken in Perry Smith, and he leaves the prisoner clinging to a false hope that Capote is bringing the "true" story (that is, the story of the men's innocence, though they're not innocent) to the world.
Miller's film is unflinching in its portrayal of Capote as a selfish artist who plays with the lives of his creations; it's as if he's become so used to writing fiction that he forgets he is telling the story of real people, and moreover real people who trust him to have their best interests at heart. Hoffman has been great in just about every movie he's appeared in, so it was no surprise to me that he would be great here as well. His performance is more than a mere impersonation. He is so good at showing the audience the two sides of Capote: the endearing, lovable side that make people want to trust him; and the cold, manipulative side that takes over when he becomes Capote the artist. It's to Hoffman's credit that you don't leave the film necessarily despising Capote for his actions, but neither do you feel like you've just participated in a two-hour session of hero worship.
Catherine Keener drabs down to play novelist Harper Lee; Clifton Collins, Jr. is soft and articulate as Perry Smith, which makes his final confession of the murders all the more chilling; and Chris Cooper adds another fine character performance to his list of character performances as head of the Holcomb, Kansas police department, leading the investigation.
My only problem with the film is its monotonous pacing. I feel like the film makers wanted so hard to avoid any of the artificial traditional Hollywood trappings that they felt any burst of energy or activity would be betraying the film's realism.
"Capote" is a fine addition to the genre of films committed to exploring the motivations that drive artists, and Hoffman may finally get his due from the mainstream establishment for his award-worthy performance.
Grade: A-