Capote on DVD (2005)

The Whispering

Vladimir Ripjakokof from London, UK [Highly rated reviewer] , 30/04/2007

Philip Seymour Hoffman must do an incredible job of impersonating Truman Capote in this movie (I don't know this for sure because I, unlike the self congratulatory critics it seems, never knew Mr Capote). I have no idea why else this film would have met with the critical acclaim it did. I refuse to believe that I just didnt get it or that it was too smart for me--this film was anything but.

Hoffman whispers his way through the movie making the dialogue very difficult to hear, let alone care about.

The film plods and this is compounded on by underdeveloped characters for whom the viewer can build no kind of empathy.

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To be honest I didn't know who he was.

Antony Leigh from Manchester, England , 08/01/2007

I had no idea who Truman Capote was until this film was released. I have not read In Cold Blood but I did see Breakfast at Tiffany's! Does that count?

Anyway I watched it and thought it was fantastic. Excellent acting worthy of the oscar he achieved. Catherine Keener goes from 40 yr old virgin to a brilliant portrayal of Harper Lee.

Basically it's worthy of all the great reviews that are better written than this one!

5 stars and worth it.

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Over Hyped

A customer from Belfast , 27/02/2006

This flim and its reviews have hyped the style and skill of this film far too much. It has raised expectations past what any film can achieve. The first hour or so is made of bland and largely uninteresting conversation pieces between Capote and various other actors.

The film uses dull colours and shading so much that this lighting method becomes incredibly obvious adn thus ineffective. The acting is largely drab with many seeming to rely on Seymour-Hoffmans strong acting.

There is a strong lack of exploration of the psychology between Capote and Perry. When quite obviously Capote sees a huge similarity between himself and Perry.

Also what comes accross is Truman Capote's callousness, self adulating arrogance, attention seeking and arrogance in how he used these two men for his own gains. Is this really the kind of man a film of this stature should be made about?

Save the £4 or so and just go to the pub.

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In Cold Blood

KitKat from North London , 04/03/2006

Philip Seymour Hoffman's Truman Capote is smug, self-involved and downright creepy. Hoffman undoubtedly deseves some credit for creating a character so monstrously unlikeable; unfortunately, the narrow scope of the film means that it is cold and unlikeable as well.

A biopic of such a repulsive man is akin to a well crafted but portrait of an ugly person: you can appreciate the skill and effort that went into making it, but you don't really want to sit and look at it for two hours.

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A fascinating insight to Capote

Sam from Maidenhead , 19/12/2006

An interesting insight into the story behind Truman Capote's book In Cold Blood. Played magnificently by Phillip Seymore Hoffman the film can appeal to those familiar to the novel and to novices alike. Being a complex character it was fascinating to watch a masterful manipulator using people for his own self promotion and pity. Capote seems to be a dilemma of contradictions - befriending the murders behind a massacre in Texas in 1959 yet at the same time wanting them executed so that he could finish his novel. The film is very engaging but viewers used to a more pacer films may find it boring. It is wonderfully edited and shot. The acting is phenomenal and at all times feels right and authentic .Unlike other biopics quite a lot can be surmised from this film. The film leaves the viewer with a taste to read In Cold Blood or at least to know who Truman Capote was.

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An effective remembrance of a rather sad man

Savage from London, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 12/04/2007

Truman Capote considered himself the greatest writer of his age,and 'In cold blood' was going to be the book which confirmed this opinion. Up to a point, it did that, but, argue writer Dan Futterman and director Bennett Miller, in doing so, the man sold his soul for on-going celebrity and an endless round of Martinis. I'm not sure the film ever quite convinces us of this, partly because the screenplay refuses to dig very deeply (relying heavily on Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar-winning impersonation), and partly because of the distinctly one-paced direction.

It's a hard, cold film which eschews the drama, and aims for a sort of barbed biopic, with light, rather unfocused social satire added on for good measure. Given the hype surrounding the picture, you might expect more: all you get is a very professional scuttle across the surface, and, without anything to represent Capote's genuinely glittering prose, it's rather an empty affair.

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