Red Digital Readout

Within the first several minutes of Capote, Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performance as the title character reveals itself as phenomenal, the complete transformation in character that most actors could only dream of. Every solitary word, movement, and gesture is flawless, engrossing in ways equal to the best work of Brando, Di Niro, Olivier, and Penn. As far as reviewing films go, Capote plays out like a baseball game where one team scores 20 runs before the first out.

Truman Capote, the (in)famous writer and celebrity gossip machine, was not an easy figure to grasp. He was a brilliant writer and man in general, with no qualms about gleefully showing his genius off. He was also as effeminate as three Miss America pageants, deeply insecure, with a childhood that would outright obliterate lesser men. Early in the film we see him as the center of attention at a hip New York party, but minutes later he pays a bellhop to rave about his works in front of a pre-TKAM Harper Lee.

Capote is drawn, almost mysteriously, to a small Kansas town where a family was brutally shot-gunned for no apparent reason. The locals do not quite know what to make of him, but he is charming and manipulative in a way they have never seen, and before long he has befriended everyone he needs to, including the sheriff (Chris Cooper). His ability to recall 94% of what he reads comes in handy for both interviews as well as impressing the citizenry. When the murderers are apprehended, he nearly jumps for joy, seeing an opportunity to write an amazing book, a ‘non-fiction novel’.

Exploiting someone for material for a book isn’t a pleasant experience, even if they are a murderer. Capote, ever seeking approval in a world he can never call home, barely even tries to defend himself when others accuse him of exploitation. When one of the killers asks Capote about the book’s title, claims not to know, neglecting to mention that In Cold Blood has been decided upon.

He immediately finds himself attracted to Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), a soft spoken but undeniably chilling man with whom Capote sees as both a kindred spirit and a gold mine. His visits to Smith on death row are light on homo-eroticism and heavy on desperation. Smith desperately needs a friend, and does not want to be remembered as a monster; Capote must balance his attraction and desire to help Smith with the fact that he needs a gruesome re-telling of the murder, and most morbidly, a final ending to his book. Life in prison won’t do the trick.

Capote’s relationship with Smith and experience when writing his masterpiece becomes all consuming, dragging his psyche into places more horrific than even he imagined. Smith can appear gentle and pained, but the vicious murderer never moves far under the surface. When Capote finally hears Smith’s calm and straightforward description of how he murdered an entire family with no remorse, Capote’s soul crosses the point of no return.

Nothing short of spellbinding, gut-wrenching, and brilliant, Capote deserves recognition as an instant classic. Masterfully crafted on every level and with physically palatable power, it epitomizes why the movies are the most poignant and relevant art form today.

5 out of 5