| Film Review | Dana Place |
Capote
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Catherine Keener
Clifton Collins Jr.
Directed by: Bennet Miller
Plot: Famed Author Truman Capote travels to Kansas to write
an article about the murder of a farming family and how it
affects the lives of a small town community. After spending
time in the town, he finds inspiration in one of the killers
and ends up writing his masterpiece “In Cold Blood”.
Review: Phillip Seymour Hoffman is terrific. His portrayal
of social butterfly Truman Capote is phenomenal and
Catherine Keener’s subdued role as Nell “Harper” Lee, author
of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, gave me a new respect for her
acting. Both of these performances turned what very easily
could have been a very forgettable movie at best into an
Oscar contender. While the movie itself was beautiful, the
pacing was slow and the filmmaker seemed to actually take
pride in just how bogged down the film could actually get in
its own storytelling. The film takes a look at a short
period of Truman Capote’s life and I think that may be the
problem. There just isn’t enough story there for a full
length film. At least enough to move the story from point A
to B to C. This movie has some of the most incredible acting
of the year, and should be applauded for that, but I think
it was wasted on a film that probably did not have enough
legs to be made into a feature film.