DVD available at Amazon.com
Director:
Bennett Miller
Cast:
Philip Seymour Hoffman……….Truman Capote
Catherine Keener……….Nelle Harper Lee
Clifton Collins Jr…………Perry Smith
Chris Cooper……….Alvin Dewey
Bruce Greenwood……….Jack Dunphy
Bob Balaban……….William Shawn
Mark Pellegrino……….Dick Hickock
United Artists and Sony Pictures Classics present Capote. Written by Dan Futterman. Based on the book by Gerald Clarke. Running time: 114 minutes. Rated R (for some violent images and brief strong language). Available on DVD: March 21, 2006.
The movie:
Back in the fifties there was no Internet, no 24-hour news networks. Most people had to rely on the radio or pick up a newspaper. While it may be typical for journalists today to write articles without leaving their cushy desk chairs – or without knowing all the angles – old-school journalism was about documenting the story first-hand, providing all the necessary facts, and elaborating on events outside the report. Guys like Truman Capote would leave their posh Manhattan lifestyle and travel to the heartland of America for a story.
And that’s what he did on November 15, 1959. Sitting comfortably reading a newspaper, Capote noticed a news item about a Kansas family who was shotgunned to death. Cutting it out he phoned the editor of The New Yorker, William Shawn, to see if he would be interested in an article about the murders. Little did Capote know the lasting effect this “heartland of America” story would trigger.
The perspective Capote hoped to portray for his story was not about the killer or killers, but how the rural community of Holcomb, Kansas was feeling now that four of their own were no longer alive. He was not concerned with whether or not the murderers would be apprehended, instead favoring the psychological melodrama of a town still reeling.
As luck would have it, two drifters are arrested and charged with the crime. While chatting up the townsfolk, Capote turns his attention away from the town; his interest in the criminals, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, now piqued. He gets to know them, and wrestles with the idea of writing a story that will make him famous – maybe infamous. His finished work is a non-fiction novel, a rarity back then, called In Cold Blood. Widely regarded as the best novel of the decade, and a classic in its own right, the book would be the last written work of Truman Capote.
Forty-six years after the Clutter killings in Holcomb, Bennett Miller directs a motion picture about Capote. His film is not a biopic per se; Miller chronicles the six-year span where the writer dedicated himself to gathering information about the killers, investigators working the case, and the friends and neighbors of Clutter family.
The experience behind the actual story is an interesting parable for Capote. Especially with Truman Capote befriending the two killers and his ongoing relationship with Perry Smith. On one hand, he needs the killers to die so that he can finish his book. The perfect ending for a classic book, I suppose. On the other, he understands the plight of the two men, and is conflicted with his own mortality.
Philip Seymour Hoffman gives an emotional-draining performance in his Academy Award-winning role as Truman Capote. Many could argue that he got the golden statuette by mimicking Capote’s mannerisms or speech patterns. Yet, what he is doing is struggling to live with peculiarities and intellect bestowed upon the writer himself.
Helping Capote with research is his friend Nelle Harper Lee (Catherine Keener). Best recognized to many as the novelist of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee was his childhood friend. The two share an animated rapport with each other. In one scene the two are boarding a train to Kansas. A porter compliments Capote on the recent success of his second novel. “Even better than the first,” he says. After the porter leaves Nelle is skeptical of her loquacious friend. “You paid him to say that, didn’t you?” Capote pauses a beat and replies, “How did you know?”
Truman Capote was a small man with a wispy voice that made him appear to be an outsider. But his large ego outweighed those peculiarities. Talking to a young Kansas girl, who isn’t accustomed to someone like Capote, it allows for introspection on his character. “Ever since I was a child, folks have thought they had me pegged, because of the way I am, the way I talk.” And also with his relationship with Perry Smith. While the two men are different, comparisons can be made to their childhood, both coming from the same type of broken home. “It’s like Perry and I grew up in the same house, and one day he went out the back door and I went out the front,” he tells Nelle.
With such superb dialogue one would think a literary thespian penned the script. Actually, Dan Futterman – a first-time screenwriter – wrote the screenplay, which was based on the book Capote by Gerald Clarke. The film focuses on how this little story about a killing in Kansas became so much more.
The investigation, Capote’s part, anyway, is laborious and toilsome. So much so, Lee finishes her masterpiece, publishes it, and sees it adapted to the big screen staring Gregory Peck. Nelle is the exact opposite of her extroverted friend as she is practical and sees things that others would not. Like how Truman is deeply devoted to Perry, but won’t hesitate to exploit him.
Not nearly a one man show, an impressive ensemble joins Hoffman and Keener. Clifton Collins Jr. plays Perry Smith in a brooding performance about a man coming to grips with his misdeeds. Other supporting characters include Chris Cooper as Alvin Dewey the agent assigned to the case, and Capote’s lover Jack Dunphy (Bruce Greenwood). Dewey is not the bureaucratic type, but can be serious when he wants. Alvin becomes very perturbed when Truman tells him that he doesn’t care if the criminals are ever caught. “I care,” Alvin hastily responds. Still, he is able to warm up to the writer through entertaining anecdotes about the likes of Humphrey Bogart.
In Cold Blood was one of those works that influenced how people wrote, changing the whole dynamic of the literary world. This could have been Truman’s intention after all. The way the ending came about is illustrated in heart-breaking detail in Capote as Truman lies to Perry about getting another appellate lawyer for the two criminals. Perry refuses to accept the betrayal, but becomes accustomed to his fate. Maybe that’s what Capote wanted as well.
Score: 9.5/10
The DVD:
THE VIDEO
(Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen)
SONY gives us another fantastic release with a splendid transfer. This is due in large part to Adam Kimmel, the director of photography working on the project. His choice to avoid rich colors helps lull the viewer into a composed state. His color palate is accentuated by earth tones and shades of grey. The only drawback is the detection of dirt on the print, especially in the static landscape shots. The culprit was most likely Capote‘s minuscule budget (only $7 million) and the production itself. Still, it is easy to look past this problem and enjoy Kimmel’s cinematography.
Score: 8/10
THE AUDIO
(English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French)
The dialogue is crisp with the Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but it is Mychael Danna’s musical score that hits all the right notes. A simplistic approach, he uses a piano and string arrangement to provide a poignant score that is sure to linger with the viewer well after the credits have rolled. Also quite clear are the sound effects, namely the shotgun blasts that resonate through your sound system.
Score: 9/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentaries and featurettes!!!
Sony Pictures Classics was kind enough to include a nice array of bells and whistles to keep the viewer satisfied.
While many DVDs only include subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, the Capote disc also offers Portuguese, Bahasa, Cantonese and Mandarin, Korean, and Thai subtitles. Not sure why I included this under special features instead of my two cents take on the audio soundtrack. Though some would agree nine subtitle selections for one movie is something special.
Moving on to the real special features, we begin with two audio commentaries. The first is a screen-specific commentary with Philip Seymour Hoffman and director Bennett Miller. The two are friends first and foremost. For the commentary they provide insight on Capote’s character mostly, while also exploring other avenues of the film: cinematography by Adam Kimmel, the musical score, casting and relationships. As they talk about the production, we learn that the introduction of Truman Capote – where Hoffman is acting like a socialite at a New York party – was shot three to four months after principal photography wrapped. The entire scene was improvised, ad-libs of stories fed to him by writer Dan Futterman. Something else that is quite humorous is when Hoffman jokes during the scene involving him, Catherine Keener, and a teenage girl. It was the first day of shooting and Keener, as Harper Lee, is talking to the girl. Hoffman is just sitting back wondering to himself, “how am I going to pull this off?”
The second commentary track features Bennett Miller again, this time with his director of photography Adam Kimmel. At the beginning, Miller announces Dan Futterman was going to be contributing to the proceedings, but had to bow out because of his newborn child. With only the director and his cinematographer we get anecdotes about location scouting and the importance of filming in widescreen. Interesting fact, the scene that involved the most set dressing was Capote and Nelle driving from the train station to Holcomb. Lots of vintage cars were needed for the background. Also, there are no establishing shots the movie follows Capote throughout.
Following the commentaries are three featurettes about Capote the man, and the making of Capote the film. Answered Prayers (6:43) is a quick look at the bigger-than-life author. Recorded sound bites by the likes of biographer Gerald Clarke, Hoffman, Miller, and Futterman are intercut with vintage footage, including a dated interview with the “real” Truman Capote. In the small clip Capote converses about his research on the killings, “First, it was hard. Now, I’m practically the mayor of the town.”
The succeeding featurettes are a two-part affair on the making of the film. Making Capote – Part I (17:13) explores the concept to script. It was Dan Futterman, an actor in such works as The Birdcage and TV’s “Judging Amy,” who had read In Cold Blood and Clarke’s Truman Capote biography and thought it would make for a good movie. He had never attempted a screenplay so it was a new experience. Sound bites by the star and creative staff (Miller, Futterman, and producers) elaborate on the filmmaking experience. Characters like Nelle Harper Lee, Alvin Dewey, and Perry Smith are examined. In one bite Hoffman admits that he originally did not want his character to cry when he meets Perry for the last time. “That’s horseshit,” he proclaims. But alas, he does the scene and cries in front of the two murderers.
Making Capote – Part II (18:25) defines the style of the film. Definitely not a sedate style. It is controlled. The camera doesn’t move very much. The picture is attempting to heighten your awareness. As for where Capote was shot, much is discussed about the town of Winnipeg, Canada, and certain locations. Strangely enough, the downtown of Winnipeg looked like it was something out of the 1950s. The director goes on to discuss the production design and why the film was shot in Super 35. Lots of insight about the house used for the Clutter House. Like the disquieting fact that the family who had lived there abandoned the property the same year the Clutters were killed.
If this wasn’t enough to satisfy your needs of supplemental material, there are also 13 previews including Junebug and Where the Truth Lies. And like most SONY releases, the original trailer for the film you are watching is nowhere to be found.
Score: 8/10
| InsidePulse’s Ratings for Capote | |
