Capote
Release Date:
September 30, 2005
Limited release
On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
17/85 |
Kim Hollis |
Philip Seymour Hoffman is nothing short of fantastic and deserves all accolades he's been receiving. The film itself is difficult to watch, though it is an intriguing examination of ambition and the |
28/60 |
Les Winan |
A good film with a great performance. Hoffman is distractingly good. |
111/166 |
David Mumpower |
Philip Seymour Hoffman offers the male lead acting performance of 2005, but Capote is so despicable that I don't enjoy the film despite his excellence. |
In 1959, a brutal murder took place in a quiet family farm home in a small Kansas town. The shocking nature of the crime sent the entire nation reeling, and as a result the country was captivated with the investigation. Ultimately, two drifters named Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were arrested for the crime.
Writer Truman Capote was sent to Kansas to write a magazine article about the murders for New Yorker Magazine. He ended up going much further with the story, with the final result being one of the most read non-fiction books of the 20th Century. In Cold Blood is a detailed account of what happened to the family of four, but it also takes plenty of time to examine what Hickock and Smith did in the aftermath of the crime as they attempted to elude the police.
Capote specifically centers on the author's work to complete the book. It looks at his journey to Kansas and his efforts to befriend the locals alongside his good friend Harper Lee, who wrote the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Eventually, Capote finds himself forming a close friendship with accused murderer Perry Smith, a relationship that causes the author both anguish and confusion as he looks to relate the story from an objective point of view.
The role of Capote will be played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, with Catherine Keener portraying Harper Lee. Clifton Collins Jr. will have the critical role of Perry Smith. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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