For one to rationalize the life of Truman Capote is a far unachievable goal. One of the great American authors of all time, Capote was the Southern born New York socialite author who penned the earth shattering novel In Cold Blood. This was his story of the emotional unraveling that led to one of the greatest works of non-fiction that the world has ever beheld.
The Story
The story brings us Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as he travels to the small town of Halcomb, Kansas with friend and confidant Nell Harper Lee (Catherine Keener) to research the murder of a family of four for an article in The New Yorker. And as Capote begins to unravel the senseless and horrific acts taken by the two murderers he begins to see that his article is much more, and it soon becomes his greatest work, the novel In Cold Blood.
Capote begins to form a close relationship with one of the murderers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) and even attempts to help the murderers so that he can have enough time to seek out the entire tale of the murders before Smith and Richard Hickock (Mark Pelligrino) are executed for their crimes. As Capote continues his work he is drawn into his relationship with Smith, and it nearly consumes him in the end as he awaits their execution so as to find a sense of closure for his work.
The conflicts of his emotions and his motives as an interviewer make this a disturbing set of events for Capote, and all contribute to his work which would become the novel that would change the face of non-fiction literature forever.
The Acting
Philip Seymour Hoffman was absolutely staggering as the annoyingly brilliant Capote. He captured Capote's walk, his talk, and his emotional instability without flinching. His performance will go down as one of the best of the year, by far. As I watched the film I felt drawn into the world of Capote, the ever glamorous New York socialite whose emotions conflict ultimately with his work. I was in awe of the level at which Hoffman portrayed Capote, giving new meaning to the phrase "in character." And while Hoffman was brilliant, I believe it was the performance of Clifton Collins Jr. (Perry Smith) that really brought the story to life.
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