Sunday, July 27, 2008

"Ever since I was a child, folks have thought they had me pegged, because of the way I am, the way I talk. And they're always wrong."

Capote, 2005. Three and a Half Stars.

I didn't know anything about Truman Capote when I saw this movie. I still don't really. So I'm not able to discuss whether the movie was true to his character, or history, or anything else.

This movie as a movie, however, was REALLY GOOD! Written well, excellent acting, just very interesting. And I thought the time period was well-captured too.

For being a man of a very particular physique, Philip Seymour Hoffman is an e-x-t-r-a-o-r-d-i-n-a-r-y character actor. I first really took notice of him as "Rusty" in Flawless, and I've been flabbergasted by him ever since. Whether playing a not-so-leading role to being a main character, he's always appropriate and spot-on.

So, like I said, I didn't know much about Truman Capote, but Philip Seymour Hoffman owned that character in this movie. I felt like I wasn't watching an actor. And his performance sparked my curiosity about the real man, and to learn about him and his work (which I kind of haven't done yet, BUT STILL).

And Catherine Keener, who I also love in movies, did a phenomenal job as well. I also don't know much about Nelle Harper Lee, but the way Keener played her actually helped the audience to better understand Capote's character: she was the antithesis of Capote, which completely complemented him.

BTW, I love the quote that I used for the title of this review. It would be so rad if this is something he actually said.

2 comments:

PublishingMojo said...

Harper Lee wrote the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" which was made into a hugely successful and acclaimed movie. But like Capote, she was overwhelmed by her own success, and never wrote anything of any consequence afterwards.

PublishingMojo said...

To see the real (although much older) Truman Capote, rent the 1976 murder-mystery spoof "Murder by Death" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074937/)