Capote Avoids Biopic Territory

Rating: 9/10 (4 July 2006)

For the film Capote director Bennett Miller, along with his cast and crew traveled back to the late 1950s and early 1960s to shoot their film. Somber lighting, empty fields of farmland and poignant color conveys an assortment of moods throughout the film, from impending death, to the infectious laughter of a high society party scene.
Cast and Crew are in top shape; it is a rare treat to find such rich performances from both principal and secondary actors. It is not only an era that is captured on screen but the personalities of the characters within the frame. Especially important in films depicting actual historical figures.
Never condescending or judgmental the filmmakers offer a rare and intelligent discourse concerning the relationship between writer and subject. The score is used to conjure a specific mood, and though the same solemn piano score has been used to the same effect in other films, the restraint of the director and others involved prevent the film from indulging in any kind of sentimentality or forcing the audience to feel something that is not present.