Capote (2005)

Truman Capote was a famous author in the 1950s who's career ultimately culminated in the publication of the non-fiction book In Cold Blood, about two men accused of killing a family of four in rural Kansas. The film Capote is about the lengths and convenient mis-truths Capote engaged in to reach his goal of getting inside the head of one of the killers. It is both a subtle and effective film.

Shot beautifully by director Bennett Miller and cinematographer Adam Kimmel, the story follows Capote, played so effortlessly and convincingly by Philip Seymour Hoffman, from the time he reads about the murders in the New York Times through the next four years until the men are put to death. In a move that exemplifies Capote's commitement and ruthlessness to get the information he needs, he hires a lawyer to put the appeals motion in place, not because he believes the men are innocent, but to buy him more time to build trust with one of the murderers as to get his version of the events that night.

Other wonderful actors include Catherine Keeler, who plays a friend and Capote assistant Nelle Harper Lee, who also happened to write To Kill A Mockingbird, Chris Cooper as lead detective Alvin Dewey and Bruce Greenwood as fellow writer and Capote companion Jack Dunphy. The film does a wonderful job of weaving in the social life of writers in the 1950s, the vibrancy of New Yorks literary scene and the self-centered and often contradictory drives that propel Capote to write his most successful book.

This is a wonderful, exceptional film without a false note. Nor does it use any Hollywood cliches. In a media that been around over 100 years, it is rare to find a truly unique film. Capote is one such film.