Capote

2005

1h 54m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

1.6K

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Crime

Drama

A biopic of writer Truman Capote and his assignment for The New Yorker to write the non-fiction book "In Cold Blood".

Directors

Bennett Miller

Writers

Dan Futterman(screenplay by)

Gerald Clarke(novel by)

Stars

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Catherine Keener

Clifton Collins Jr.

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Top cast

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Truman Capote

Harper Lee

Perry Smith

Jack Dunphy

William Shawn

Dick Hickock

Warden Marshall Krutch

Marie Dewey

Linda Murchak

Alvin Dewey

Laura Kinney

Christopher

Barbara

Rose

Grayson

Williams

Porter

Car Rental Agent

Directors

Bennett Miller

Writers

Dan Futterman(screenplay by)

Gerald Clarke(novel by)

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Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Actor or mimic or both? Philip Seymour Hoffman certainly delivers a plausible and captivating portrayal of the eponymous acclaimed novelist in the late 1950s. He is researching his latest novel when he alights on news of the brutal murder of a Kansas family. Pretty unscrupulously, this rather unfulfilled writer decides this is a rich vein for him to exploit, and so using just about every (legal) means at his disposal manages to ingratiate himself with friends of the victims and then once the police apprehend two suspects, he does the same with Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jnr.). He intends to use the template of this case and the true nature of the personalities to construct a novel - but one based in fact not fiction. What ensues here is quite a cleverly crafted look at just how the shrewd and intelligent man uses his intellect to manipulate the scenario so as to provide him what what he wants, when he wants it - but it also exposes his slightly controlling character to some fault lines. He begins to form a relationship, of sorts, with his quarry - he has a fondness that compromises his objectivity to his story; the accused serves to begin to humanise this rather aloof and frankly quite arrogant figure. There is a distinct power shift here. It's a tightly cast effort this, with most of the emphasis on the efforts of Hoffman, a strong performance from Collins and a useful supporting contribution from Catherine Keener as the foil/conduit for much of her friend Capote's thoughts and behaviour. The style of the production, the attention to detail and the Mychael Danna score all add to the richness of this, admittedly quite speculative, drama that shines a bit of a light not just into what made this man tick, but also just what made the USA tick too.

Geronimo196707 Aug, 2023