In Cold Blood
Capote
Review by Ross Anthony

This film starts out with great promise, but eventually imprisons itself ironically in the same sort of languishing peril suffered by its main character - Truman Capote. Hoffman cries out, "I'm desperate for an ending, but there's no ending in sight!"

As for Hoffman's performance, I don't really see what all the Oscar talk is about. I've always felt he was an able actor; but in this film, he really feels like that - an actor. Perhaps Capote also carried himself as an actor, then Hoffman's performance certainly would have been wasted on me (my recollections of T.C. are sparse and vague).

However, kudos to the rest of the cast -- even the one-line actors all give strong believable performances. Catherine Keener is absolutely smashing as Nelle Harper Lee. Further, the direction is mighty until the scene where one main character is supposed to be emaciated after a month long hunger strike (he looks pretty healthy to me - perhaps a make-up failure). From there the picture relies heavily on Hoffman to deliver the goods with a deep emotional connection between the prisoner's past and his own. That communication is made mostly with words, not so strong via feeling. Scripting and direction may be in part to blame as well. Nonetheless, from there on, this reviewer lost some interest in an otherwise interesting premise.

Oh, btw, this isn't really a Capote bio pic as the title implies -- just an interesting/important slice of his life.

This film screened at a Laemmle Theatre.

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  • Capote. Copyright © 2005.
  • Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr., Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood, Bob Balaban, Mark Pellegrino.
  • Directed by Bennett Miller.
  • Screenplay by Dan Futterman. Based on the book by Gerald Clarke.
  • Produced by Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven at UA/Sony/A-Line/Cooper'sTown/INfinity.

Grade..........................B (2/4)


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Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.


Last Modified: Saturday, 16-Sep-2006 08:16:25 PDT