My Take - Capote - review
My Take on the Movies
A Mini-Review of
CAPOTE
By: A. L. “Toni” Anderson
Due no doubt to the furor over the 2006 Academy Awards, Capote (2005) has been re-released into local theaters. I am not certain how I managed to miss it the first time, but I am glad that I did not repeat that initial mistake.
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Empire Falls - 2005) is a splendid Truman Capote, bringing the spirit of the famous author back to life. Seymour deftly duplicates the voice and speech patterns, the mannerisms, and the wit of Capote, and even resembles him somewhat. He recreates the unmistakable essence of Capote, down to his incessant smoking and drinking and dirty fingernails. The movie is “based on” true events, but one cannot help but believe that the characterization of Capote is right on the money!
The film tells the story which is the basis of Capote’s 1966 book In Cold Blood (perhaps the first non-fiction novel), the product of his increasing fascination with journalism. His nose for news results in a trip to Holcomb, Kansas on behalf of The New Yorker to investigate the grisly murders of the Clutter family in 1959. Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) (who are both portrayed sympathetically in the film) are subsequently apprehended for the crime, and thus begins a long series of meetings and correspondence between the accused and Mr. Capote.
Catherine Keener (The Interpreter - 2005) depicts Nelle Harper Lee, Capote’s childhood friend and the author of To Kill a Mockingbird (in which a character is in fact patterned on the real Capote). Chris Cooper (Syriana - 2005) portrays the character of Alvin Dewey Jr., lead detective of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, who was largely credited with solving the case.
Capote’s duplicitous relationship with Perry Smith is at the center of the film, although representations of Truman’s “friendships” with many luminaries of the time are woven throughout. Bruce Greenwood (The World’s Fastest Indian - 2005) portrays Capote’s companion and fellow author, Jack Dunphy.
The dismal rural Kansas landscape is recreated in Manitoba, Canada, and the atmosphere is thoroughly reminiscent of the American Midwest of the 1960s. The film feels authentic, down to the famous Dick Avedon photographs, if one is not too picky. It keeps one on the edge of one’s seat, even as Capote is himself edgy over the eventual outcome of the Smith and Hickock trial and subsequent appeals.
I was thoroughly intrigued by the film, although I am certain that I missed some of the movie’s finer points. I would recommend the film to anyone who has a thirst for true life stories and a passion for the macabre.
♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠
[© 02/08/2006]
A Mini-Review of
CAPOTE
By: A. L. “Toni” Anderson
Due no doubt to the furor over the 2006 Academy Awards, Capote (2005) has been re-released into local theaters. I am not certain how I managed to miss it the first time, but I am glad that I did not repeat that initial mistake.
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Empire Falls - 2005) is a splendid Truman Capote, bringing the spirit of the famous author back to life. Seymour deftly duplicates the voice and speech patterns, the mannerisms, and the wit of Capote, and even resembles him somewhat. He recreates the unmistakable essence of Capote, down to his incessant smoking and drinking and dirty fingernails. The movie is “based on” true events, but one cannot help but believe that the characterization of Capote is right on the money!
The film tells the story which is the basis of Capote’s 1966 book In Cold Blood (perhaps the first non-fiction novel), the product of his increasing fascination with journalism. His nose for news results in a trip to Holcomb, Kansas on behalf of The New Yorker to investigate the grisly murders of the Clutter family in 1959. Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) (who are both portrayed sympathetically in the film) are subsequently apprehended for the crime, and thus begins a long series of meetings and correspondence between the accused and Mr. Capote.
Catherine Keener (The Interpreter - 2005) depicts Nelle Harper Lee, Capote’s childhood friend and the author of To Kill a Mockingbird (in which a character is in fact patterned on the real Capote). Chris Cooper (Syriana - 2005) portrays the character of Alvin Dewey Jr., lead detective of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, who was largely credited with solving the case.
Capote’s duplicitous relationship with Perry Smith is at the center of the film, although representations of Truman’s “friendships” with many luminaries of the time are woven throughout. Bruce Greenwood (The World’s Fastest Indian - 2005) portrays Capote’s companion and fellow author, Jack Dunphy.
The dismal rural Kansas landscape is recreated in Manitoba, Canada, and the atmosphere is thoroughly reminiscent of the American Midwest of the 1960s. The film feels authentic, down to the famous Dick Avedon photographs, if one is not too picky. It keeps one on the edge of one’s seat, even as Capote is himself edgy over the eventual outcome of the Smith and Hickock trial and subsequent appeals.
I was thoroughly intrigued by the film, although I am certain that I missed some of the movie’s finer points. I would recommend the film to anyone who has a thirst for true life stories and a passion for the macabre.
♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠
[© 02/08/2006]
Labels: Capote, film, movies, Philip Seymour Hoffman, review
posted by A. L. "Toni" Anderson @ 7:51 PM
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