CAPOTE
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins,
Jr, Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood

Cinema 3, Greenbelt 3

No, I didn't watch Capote just because Philip Seymour Hoffman won an Oscar. In fact, I planned on watching it before the Academy Awards but my sister was out of town and she wanted me to wait for her.

Alright moving on, the film is a quiet testament to the great acting skill of Hoffman. It focuses on an episode in the life of the famed writer of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" when he decides to base his next novel on the massacre of a family in a remote Kansas town. Accompanied by his good friend, Nelle Harper Lee he embarks on a quest to ingratiate himself to the killers. Being down right manipulative, Capote exploits one of the killers by coming across as a sympathetic soul who is interested in their plight. But it is all a guise because he is a greedy self centered author who wants to gather enough material for his new book "In Cold Blood".

Hoffman tackles the role with aplomb. His portrayal is superb and he is Capote in every sense. That in my opinion is what acting is all about. You forget that he is Philip Seymour Hoffman for all you know that could be the real Capote on screen. Catherine Keener's performance is humble and subdued. For some reason, my impression of her is stuck with her role in "Being John Malkovich". An eccentric always in a daze sort of floozy. I know that isn't fair but it is ingrained in my brain. Screenwriter Dan Futterman is a name I'm familiar with. I remember him as the son of Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in "Bird Cage".

It is a rather slow paced movie. I remember thinking while I was watching "Capote" oh gosh the silence is deafening. It was so quiet, I hardly moved in case I disturbed the ambiance. But then in this age of short attention span and multitasking, it is refreshing to just focus intently on one subject (in this case, Capote) and not worry whether you are missing out on the details.