Capote

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/8/05 at 3:54pm

Just saw it- just marvelous. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a shoo in for an Oscar nod. Go see it!!!!

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 4:36pm

Ugh. I want to see this SO bad, and Im waiting for it to come anywhere in my area - which, according to the papers, it hasn't yet.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 4:56pm

I saw it last night, and I agree completely. The whole movie was just fantastic.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 4:57pm

Hoffman and Keener deserve Oscars.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 4:59pm

I don't agree with Keener. I mean, she was wonderful, but just not substantial enough to not be outshined this year - there are so many other movies to come. Hoffman, yes. But so far, my favorite supporting actress performances of the year are Rachel Weisz of THE CONSTANT GARDENER, and Hope Davis for PROOF - both greatly outsined Keener, in my opinion.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 5:01pm

From the promos I've seen, Hoffman's affectations are going to be distracting. I know that's how Capote actually spoke, etc., but sometimes it's better to play the person rather than the caricature.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 5:04pm

I disagree. I mean, maybe I felt the same way based only on promos, but his affectations completely helped. Jamie Foxx, anyone?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 6:45pm

And yet if he hadn't nailed the voice the way he did, he'd be getting raked over the coals for a half-assed approach.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 6:47pm

Yeah, I know.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 10/10/05 at 10:54pm

I look forward to it!

[lildogs]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 10:20am

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS...


I saw Capote on Friday night, and for a running time of 1 hour, 38 minutes (according to moviefone)it was a very long 98 evening...

Our very first images are of the actual murder scene...but only a snippet...no gore to worry about...yet...

First of all, PSH completely dominates the movie, which wisely begins with Truman entertaining the NYC glitterati with his great stories and ferocious wit. These opening party scenes immediatley bring to mind Holly Golightly's wingdings in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The film follows Truman as he gathers info about the case and befriends one of the accused killers. Clifton Collins plays this alleged monster with a quiet intensity and does fine by the role.

Keener is almost wasted as Harper Lee, acting as a listening device for Capote and smiling through one too many "Mockingbird" jokes. It's funny to hear the mangled title of Lee's yet-to-be-published classic, but one jab would be funny...after the 3rd or so, it becomes almost idiotic.

Chris Cooper brings much needed heft to the proceedings and Balaban does his usual professional job, but it's Hoffman's movie all the way--letting the virtuoso shine for the entire film.

And Hoffman is great, whether tossing off bon mots or working his way into the murder case--the director and writer seem to try to condition the audience to Truman's Southern gothic tones by making him a comic figure at the start; otherwise, we might find ourselves laughing at him later when it turns for a more dramatic approach.

It's very well-shot; with a grainy, realistic feel, the sttings seem real enough, and there are a few indelible images: the family coffins, Truman's emotional farewell, and the executiuon itself.

A tighter hand might have given this film some much needed energy. Instead, the director seems content to bask in Hoffman's glow, and he provides much light, but at the end of the film, all I had was the memory of a great performance, not a great film.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 10:22am

Oh well.

[lildogs]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 10:46am

I'm not saying avoid it at all costs, it's a just not a great MOVIE, IMO...better than a standard biopic, but it doesn't take a very dramatic point of view...it just presents events...which some might find intriguing on its own, I did not.

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 10:54am

I can't wait to see it. However, it's going to take some time before it reaches me.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 8:28pm

PSH deserves an Oscar for that role. There is no other way to play Capote. He had it down. I also loved Bobby Morse in "TRU". Not an easy one to play and actually pull it off.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 8:51pm

Hoffman's performnace is magical. He plays Capote as a fully rounded human being, although anybody who wants to judge the job he does a "caricature" based on "promos" he or she has seen is fully entitled to as much respect as I would ordinarily give him or her.

Dan Futterman's script is terrific.

I strongly recommend the film.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 8:55pm

Did you not feel that it was a longer film trimmed down, Namo? I felt it much less with Capote than with Good Night, And Good Luck but there were some moments when his overall arc seemed a titch disjointed and I felt there were scenes cut out. That's not saying I didn't truly enjoy the film because I did. It's one of the more worthwhile movies I have seen in a while.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 8:58pm

I wasn't aware of that feeling while watching but I have loved Capote's writing forever and had read the Clarke bio upon which Capote was based... so my brain could have been filling in the blanks. I'd like to see it again, and maybe get a better sense of that.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 9:05pm

It certainly made me want to read bio they based it on, hopefully I will get round to it soon enough. It was his descent into being miserable about the book and the protracted court case that I thought was all a bit sudden. But maybe that's an accurate portrayal.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 9:20pm

I think the key [SPOILER ALERT] is the scene where he's talking to Jack Dunphy in the phone booth and he says he gets the feeling he's "missing a piece." I think his anxiety was that he could never know if the story he put on the page was THE story or if he was going to be missing something. I think that absolutely terrified him to the point of immobilization.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 1:07am

This is the best film of the year, so far. Hoffman does that extraordinary thing of making you forget he is an actor playing Capote. The relationship with Truman and Lee is so full that a mere glance (watch the scene where the girl goes to get Nancy's diary after Truman tell her about not fitting in...)one little glance from Keener tells you she knows exactly what he did and what he is up to. So understated.
What I found brilliant about the film was the way it used the manner in which Capote forced the readers of IN COLD BLOOD into feeling sorry for Perry and Dick to make the audience feel the same way about Capote. What he was doing was self serving and extremely manipulative, yet your heart is ripped out at the end when he realizes what he has done to these two men. And using the quote from Unanswered Prayers was such a nice touch.
I think it is one of the best films ever made about writing, celebrity and obsession.

Oh,yes, and Oscars galore. Although saying that somehow makes this film seem less important than I think it is.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 9:44am

I agree Sueleen, it's very hard to pull off a movie about writing. And Capote does.

[broadway86]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 1:12am

This movie is incredible. Sure to be on my top ten (or even top five) of the year. I'm confident that Hoffman is going to get the Oscar, and he deserves it. I also hope that Clifton Collins Jr. gets some recognition.

And the scene where Truman says goodbye to Perry... Just brilliant.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 4:30pm

Bump, for what was easily the best film I've seen this year.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 4:35pm

A terrific and utterly brilliant performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman....but the whole thing isn't as absorbing as it should be, and the supporting characters (Catherine Keener, Chris Cooper, and the actor that plays Capote's lover) are barely sketched in. Weak screenplay filled with unshaped scenes and sometimes monotonous, overly "tasteful" direction leaves it entirely up to Hoffman to make the whole picture work. Miraculously, he does. So a mixed review from Borstal.