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CapoteReviewed by Aricson Tarasova
Capote is the true-life story of the Beat writer Truman Capote, an eccentric and self-absorbed New York homosexual socialite, who goes to a conservative small town in Kansas to research and write about the brutal murders of a family for the New Yorker Magazine in 1959. The crimes inspire Capote to broaden the article into a full-length book that would become his groundbreaking non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood . Capote with the help of his assistant, Harper Lee, investigates and interviews everyone that was connected or affected by the brutal murders including the two killers that were convicted of the crimes, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock. Through his close relationship with Perry, Capote finds the murder's darkness reflected within himself. That realization drives him to near madness and an emotional self-destruction at the cost of writing a book that many have called genius.
Capote requires some thought and reflection in order to appreciate and comprehend it. I don't feel this film is for casual viewing, especially for those who want to simply be entertained. The film is too introverted to just sit back and relax. It doesn't spoon feed answers to an audience that would expect psychological explanations and clarifications or offer comfortable morals to defend from such disturbing experiences. What Capote gives is a man's journey into the sublime catacombs of his mind and the emotional truths revealed there: that great works of art and great acts of barbarism originate from the same psychological conflicts. This is a morbid film. Happiness has been erased from Capote 's world. Writer/director Bennet Miller does not give the audience much time to breath or take refuge from the dark cloud of evil that shadows this movie. Even Capote's humor at his parties plays off as a self-absorbing ego and his brilliant wit comes off as an intellectual monstrosity. An audience that accepts they will be taken down a dark journey with little sunshine to comfort them will be given a superbly moving tale. Philip Seymour Hoffman delivers a valid and stirring performance of the flamboyant Truman Capote. The film's narrative centers on strong character development and emotional realizations. The story tightly illustrates how an artist works and what the effects the artist's creation has on its creator. The direction is handled with high aptitude within the confines of the bleak and morbid subject matter. The cinematography skillfully plays as a visual poem along side of the film's narrative by expressing normally oppressive landscapes, such as the Kansas State Penitentiary, as monuments of reverence and beauty. The only major cinematic weakness in Capote is the unoriginal, even clichéd, soundtrack. The soundtrack is boring and cheaply manipulates sentiments in certain scenes. I would like to have heard a more creative choice in music that would have made the film's dark themes more engaging, possibly more digestible and perhaps give the narrative more energy. In fact the scenes without music work better than the ones that are accompanied with notes that could make the most afflicted of insomniacs fall asleep with a thundering snore. [Click Here for more Oscar Nominee Titles]
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Director: Bennet Miller
I would like to see how this film would play on DVD, although as a rental. Capote is too dark for me to have an effective replay value for an initial purchase. If you enjoy exploring the dark side of human nature, I can safely recommend this film to you, but if you're the Pollyanna type: forget about it! I do feel that the film's Oscar nomination for best picture is worth it. As far as winning, the Academy has nodded to depressive films in the past such as Million Dollar Baby, but Capote may be too morbid for the Academy to admire. Perhaps if Capote was double-featured with the movie version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's , it might even out the bleakness. 