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CAPOTE

This movie has generally been evaluated as being either very good or quite average. It was said by many to be an excellent movie scoring 4 out of 4. However, this writer and others, judge the movie to be quite average and undistinguished.

The acting is very good, especially the representation of Capote by Philip Seymore Hoffman. But the movie, marked mostly by conversation, and very little action, may be seen as tedious.

The movie describes the six years during which Capote researched the murders and characters of two drifter-killers. The research gave rise to the best seller by Capote, “In Cold Blood.”

Main Actors:

Philip Seymore Hoffman as Truman Capote

Catherine Keener as Harper Lee, a childhood friend of Capote

Clifton Collins Jr. as Perry Smith, one of the two killers

Mark Pellegrino as Dick Hickock, one of the two killers

Bruce Greenwood as Jack Dunphy, companion of Capote

Chris Cooper as Alvin Dewey, a government agent handling the murder investigation

Bob Balaban as William Shawn, Capote’s agent

Bennett Miller: Director

Dan Futterman: Writer of screenplay

Gerald Clarke: Writer of book on which movie is based

Truman Capote, fascinated by the news accounts of the murder of a whole family in Kansas by two drifter-killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) and Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino), begins researching the gruesome event and the character of the psychopathic killers, especially of Perry Smith.

Capote is depicted in the movie as self-centered, shifty, clever, and heartless. The movie is impressive, but also slow and prodding.

Rating: 5 out of 10 (2 out of 4)

Haskel “Ben” Benishay