So, what's the story here? This semi-biopic tells the story of American author Truman Capote: a flamboyant personality that, at least in this film, used said flamboyance for his own personal accomplishments to his best-selling "nonfiction novel", In Cold Blood. The novel tells the tale of a small town quadruple homicide by Richard Hickock and Perry Smith.
In the film, Philip Seymour-Hoffman eloquently plays the namesake, which goes for obvious, as we can see from the Oscar he won for this role. Other parts, like War, Doubt, and The Master required Hoffman's extensive acting and undeniable talent, as he was nominated for Oscars for these films, as well.
One scene in particular stood out to not only me, but relatively anyone who sees this movie will remember the famous execution scene. Capote, after his egotistic intentions are revealed to Hickock and Smith, attends the execution of the two. There is an apparent balance of camera action on Capote, emotional with a lackluster apology, and the two prisoners, observant but continually displaying a strong demeanor. Highlighting Capote's repentance is a long camera shot of him and his internal collapse into a serious ugly cry.
Capote's disposition tells of his regret: the tears, the red face, the shaking. The camera highlights this by the use of a handheld camera to add a realistic effect to this. Capote is a horrible, conniving, and small (in stature and courage) man throughout the film, but the camera shots force an empathetic view (also, who can hate PSH when he's crying his eyes out?).
The 23 awards Hoffman won for his role in Capote do not only tell of his triumphant acting, but in reality, this film exceeds all expectations because, well, I didn't have any. Ignorance towards a film can pay off, especially when you find out halfway through that it's Oscar winning.
FIVE OUT OF FIVE JAMES FRANCO'S AS OZ IN "OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL" (2013)
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