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Tired of writing fiction, American author Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in November 1959 spots a news item about the
massacre of the Clutter family in Kansas. He phones The New Yorker editor William Shawn (Bob Balaban) and offers to write an article on the mass murder of the farm
family by shotgun. Capote is at first not interested in sleuthing; he is not out to uncover the murderers' identities.
Rather, he means to focus on how the local community in a bucolic setting is taking the tragedy. But when Perry Smith (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) are arrested and charged with the crime, the story consumes Capote. Falling in love with Perry in spite of having a lover, Capote gets emotionally enmeshed in a symbiotic relationship where either partner both loves and exploits the other. He eventually writes In Cold Blood, his "non-fiction novel" that would become a best seller, inspiring a movie and eroding his personality until his alcohol and drug-related death.
Capote tells two stories: of the author and of the book (In Cold Blood). Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant as Truman Capote.
In 114 minutes Hoffman portrays the homosexual author with depth, sensitivity and abandon—from the flamboyant eccentric at the beginning of the film to the spent, morose character in the end. To date, the role has earned for Hoffman Best Actor Award at the Oscars, Golden Globe and Red Carpet; it wouldn't be surprising if he wins more.
Capote offers much ground to discuss moral dilemmas. It is a
virtual expose of the author's soul—many wouldn't know Truman Capote was a homosexual until they saw the movie.
An account of the inner workings of his mind, it reveals the driving force behind his love-hate relationship with the convict from whose crime he was to fabricate his most successful—and last—book, In Cold Blood. Imagine the inner conflict of a man who uses his relationship to fulfill his ambitions: growing
impatient for his book to end, Capote would reach that point where he'd want his beloved Perry to be hanged.
He even watched him die. This alone raises many issues: What kind of love is that? When does a lover's heart turn cold? What are its effects on the soul? As the film states—this inner conflict devastated Capote who would not be able to complete another book for the next 20 years until his death ignominious death from substance overdose.
(Date Reviewed: 17 March 2006)
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