reviewed by Charity Bishop
     

One of the most controversial novelists of his time, Truman Capote left his mark on society through several prominent books, the most well-known being In Cold Blood, the first "non-fiction novel" about the brutal murders of a family of four in Kansas. This film explores his relationship with the infamous murderers and his quest to complete his biographical work of the crime.

It is the year 1959 and Breakfast at Tiffany's is a rousing success. Its wildly popular author, Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the toast of every social circle on the publishing scene. An eccentric and flamboyant man who shares company with the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Capote writes part time for a local newspaper and has just heard something that has wet his curiosity: a young woman has discovered the bodies of her neighbors in a quiet farm house in the mid west and the killers are still at large. Convincing his editor it will make a sensational headline, Capote persuades his friend Harper Lee to accompany him to Kansas, where his popularity assists in landing him the inside story. As the investigation continues, Capote becomes convinced that this would not be a good newspaper article after all... but it would be fabulous book.

When the murderers are finally apprehended, Capote attempts to obtain the true story of what happened that night, little realizing that the emotional repercussions of his involvement will linger with him for the rest of his life. This biopic received a large amount of attention when it was released and nominated for a staggering amount of awards. It is not hard to see why. Hoffman gives a magnificent performance as a man who is both charming and utterly ruthless. One moment we are charmed by his charismatic personality and the next we are appalled at his manipulative and cold-hearted nature. Capote uses and discards the people around him with reckless abandon all the while building a successful career on their horrific but sensational past. Glimpses of this are seen early on when pumping up his own reputation to impress his friends but become more apparent as we near the end, in which he reveals that he wants the prisoners dead merely so he can finish the final chapter in his book. He is not without his nicer moments but most of his behavior is entirely self-motivated.  

I had limited knowledge of Capote going in and was surprised to learn he was friends with many of the more famous and popular novelists of the era -- from Tennessee Williams to Harper Lee. It was fascinating to me to see the author of the fantastic To Kill a Mockingbird on-screen! This is a very interesting look at a man of complex but chilling motivations. Everything about it is unnerving -- his reaction to the crime, his fascination with the investigation, the "friendship" he manufactures with the prisoners, even his presence at their execution. It's interesting to note that while the audience on occasion likes Capote, they are also horrified by him. The feelings are duplicated in the murderers -- there are moments we feel sorry for them, knowing they are being used, but the film does not shy away from their crime. It revisits their evil nature in a flashback of a slit throat and gunshots. Gruesome crime scene photos remind us these men murdered an entire family on a whim. There is not much content other than the crime scene and a hanging, but there is a reference to a criminal having intended to rape a girl (he was convinced otherwise by his partner) and a mention is made of trashy novels and pornographic magazines. There is one sexually used f-word, a half dozen abuses of God and Jesus' names (twice coupled with a profanity), and a few minor obscenities.

Capote is an open and practicing homosexual but it is almost a non-issue in the film. He phones his lover regularly and they talk about going abroad, they share a house and he is accused of having "fallen in love" with someone else, but that's not the focus of the movie. Instead, it's a footnote for the rest of the drama transpiring in Capote's life. I was surprised that the film took it in such stride, without adding in controversial content. There is an enormous amount of alcohol -- in almost every scene he and his companions are shown drinking and smoking. The movie focuses on the murders but is more about Capote's selfish, self-destructive obsession with the crime. It can be a bit shocking for that reason alone, since we are so accustomed to likable characters. Capote is charming and "fun" to be around but there is a darker side to his personality that the script doesn't shy away from, giving us a very honest and brutal look at a complicated man.

If the period, the crime, or the characters interest you, Capote contains relatively light content for its rating and addresses the serious moral and emotional issues in his life without lingering too long on them. It's a quiet, slower moving production but I never found it dull. It's quite a remarkable achievement.