"It's the book I was always meant to write."

I’m not sure what’s wrong with me but I haven’t been watching nearly as many movies lately as I should be. I think I only watched eleven movies this month. 11! It’s just not right. I know I should be ashamed of myself. But I’m not. I’m too busy playing computer games. Pretty soon I’m going to have to quit my job so I can play games and watch movies full time. Shauna’s going to love that…

Despite my recent addiction to WoW, I did find time to watch Capote on DVD. This is a fascinating movie about Truman Capote and how he came to write ‘In Cold Blood’, one of the first “non-fiction novels” that relates the real life events of November 15, 1959 when two men entered a house in Kansas and brutally murdered a family of four. Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Magnolia, MI:3) portrays the eccentric Capote who sets out to learn more about the killers and why they did what they did.

Essentially, Capote is a biographical film, of which we’ve been seeing many lately. Though it is one of the only non-musical biographical films I can remember. Ray, Walk the Line, De-Lovely, Beyond the Sea and a host of other films have become quite popular in recent years. Capote is no exception and delivers a thought provoking look at another famous life. Truman Capote himself is intriguing and mesmerizing in his manipulation of others. The saying about genius and insanity being separated by a fine line is evident in the life of this man who is fascinated with a brutal family murder and sees it as his opportunity to produce the greatest book of his time.

“When I think about how good my book could be, I can hardly breathe.”

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the reason to see this film. I can completely understand why he won the Oscar for Best Actor. This character is unlike any you’ve seen before and Hoffman manages to get to the very core of who Capote was. His mannerisms and speech alone are impressive, but the subtle manipulations and chameleon-esque behaviour are without equal. Several times I was surprised and stunned by Capote’s decisions and motivations. I’ve seen Hoffman before in a number of roles but he completely disappears into this character, creating a totally believable Truman Capote.

The highest praise for this film is simply this; I would now like to read ‘In Cold Blood’ and possibly other Capote novels. At the very least I feel I got an important education on one of history’s more influential authors. It’s a wonderful look at an intriguing individual and I highly recommend it.

Click here for 'Capote' trivia.