film - Capote

3 / 5

This film is generating Oscar buzz due to the acting of Philip Seymour Hoffman, but overall, I found Capote to be less intriguing than I expected.



Truman Capote was a celebrated writer in the US and hobnobbed with other famous and entertainment industry people, not unlike Andy Warhol. He chanced upon a story of a family killed in small town Kansas and became close to the two imprisoned men, particularly with Perry Edward Smith. Capote was like an unofficial advocate for them, by doing things like finding them a lawyer, and visiting, etc. In the film, he is shown lying to Perry Smith, in order to coax him into revealing the exact details of what happened the night of the murders.

Hoffman is lispy, subtle and portrays the character as being truly obsessed with obtaining details for what became his bestselling book, In Cold Blood.

When films are made about real events that happened, you already know the outcome and so events that are supposed to be suspenseful come across as being a bit anti-climatic.

Here's hoping Hoffman wins an Oscar to help put Manitoba's film industry more on the map than it already is. Apparently, the Winnipeg co-producton company is receiving a lot of scripts for possible produtions for Manitoba. US filmmakers receive a hefty discount on hiring film crew, if they shoot in Manitoba. This is why you hear about Brad Pitt, Richard Gere, Jaylo, etc., coming here to film. Overall, I can't list Capote as one of the top ten films that I have seen this year.