Author Truman Capote confronts the horrors of humanity in 1959 Kansas.

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2006)

In November 1959, a family of four was brutally murdered in the quiet, clothes-pinned dust-bowl of rural Kansas. Soon after the suspects were rounded up, the story caught the interest of 'New Yorker' prodigy and celebrity-socialite Truman Capote, hot of the success of his first novel "Breakfast at Tiffanys" and eager to absorb himself in what would later be considered the very first non-fiction novel. But was his attraction to the mysteriously alluring killers an act of friendship, or a fiendishly designed plan to capture the true story behind a terrifying massacre In Cold Blood?
Director Bennet Miller effectively films the legendary relationship between death-row inmate Perry Smith and the fragile Capote to whom he confided. Philip Seymour Hoffman, the most famous unknown in Hollywood, channels the exasperating uniqueness of the title character perfectly, tip-toeing into every scene like an injured sparrow, his ever-present tear-pooled gaze mirroring every Milo-second of emotion. The camera treats Truman like an inmate himself, cleverly trapping him in empty rooms and barred conversations with those he loves, or rather, those who love him.
The story confronts the viewer with several questions, not the least of which being Why do we commit such atrocious acts and how far are we willing to go to justify them? In the end, Truman's seen as the delicate, feeble genius he was. In love with himself, his work, his friends and his enemies. Devoted to them, and plagued by them.

E Albert Bansom