In this second week of looking at some of the best Oscar winning movies and performances of all-time, I must once again begin an article with a melancholic note as another Hollywood great, Philip Seymour Hoffman, passed away last week at the age of forty-six. The talented character actor was able to bring forth complex, varied and nuanced performances throughout his career, with his Oscar winning role of Truman Capote, in the 2005 movie Capote, being a perfect depiction of his amazing talents.
Directed by Bennett Miller (Moneyball), the story follows the iconic writer of Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Capote) as he researches his next book, a newly invented ‘true crime’ novel. He gets the idea when he reads a press clipping in the newspaper about a family of four that were murdered in Holcomb, Kansas. He makes the trip along with friend and writing partner Harper Lee (yes, the Harper Lee who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird), played by Catherine Keener (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), where they interview and befriend the people of the small, tightknit community, including lead detective Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper – The Bourne Identity) and his family.
It does not take long for Capote to make his way to the killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr. – Pacific Rim) and Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino – television program Supernatural), and forge what amounts to a bizarre mixture of friendship, professional working relationship, a strange kind of love and hatred (especially with Smith), not to mention the fact that he is also using them for his story.
He comes up with the title In Cold Blood and does a public reading to get people interested in his upcoming book while keeping the negative depiction of the criminals a secret from them, as he still needs to discover exactly what happened on the night of the murder. He finally gets what he wants and finishes the book, with it becoming his masterpiece; yet at the end of the movie we see a fragile and fractured man who has been severely impacted by the toll of telling this very dark tale. During the end credits, we learn that the author passed away at the age of fifty-nine due to alcohol abuse, thus drawing an eerie link to Hoffman and making the movie even more potent.
The acting in this movie is brilliant, with the centerpiece of the film – Philip Seymour Hoffman leading the way. It is mind-boggling to listen to him keep his voice at such a high pitch when he had such a naturally low one. His facial movements and mannerisms are also something to behold, a sign of a truly great actor. The rest of the cast is exceptional, but it is Hoffman’s outstanding performance that makes the movie what it is as he perfectly captures the iconic figure.
Despite the dark subject matter of the movie, there are some moments of levity to give the audience a respite from the serious tone. Also, as an interesting side note, it was filmed mostly in Manitoba, giving us a unique view of the Canadian province. Finally, during the end credits we read the epitaph Capote chose for his last unfinished work, “More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.” A sentiment that captures the essence of the film just watched.
Capote is a very good movie that contains excellent performances, especially from Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won his only Academy Award for this role. He was a man who could play the hero in a movie, as well as a villain (brilliant in Mission: Impossible III), fractured soul, or comedic friend (and everything else in between). He had the diversity to evoke every emotion, a talent not very often found in Hollywood, and one that will surely be missed.
I didn’t know the film was mostly filmed in Manitoba – interesting. I am in awe of hoffman’s performance in this film. It seems like the role was made for him and I hadn’t before noted the irony in the way he died and how capote died – maybe he and capote had similar characters even though they lived such different lives? Was Hoffman just a brilliant actor or did he see something of capote in himself?