This story of the events that took place during the writing
of Truman Capote’s pioneering work of the ‘true crime’ genre In Cold Blood was probable Philip
Seymour Hoffman’s greatest film. For his role as the author he won five best
actor awards including an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.
In Cold Blood is a
true account of a multiple murder that took place in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959.
The victims were farmer Herbert Clutter, his wife and two of their four
children. The film Capote (2005) follows Truman and his close friend and research
assistant the American novelist Nelle Harper Lee (Catherine Keener) from when
the news first broke of the murders, up until the culprit’s execution some five
years later. It attempts to define the strange relationship that developed
between Capote and the emotionally detached Perry Smith, a sad and lonely man
who, it was proved, actually killed the Clutter’s.
Although a very challenging role we again find that Hoffman has
actual become his character, the mannerisms, the voice and the way he moves. He
manages to bring out Capote’s personality and makes us, the viewer, completely
spell bound and we are totally convinced of the strengths and weaknesses of the
man. He gives us a believable insight into how the author, a man fascinated by
people, wins over the suspicious Holcomb locals, the police chief and his wife
and the two men who committed the horrendous crime.
Perry Smith and his accomplice . |
Directed by Bennett Miller (Moneyball 2011) and written by Dan
Futterman who based his story on Gerald Clarke’s biography of the same
name. The static camerawork of Adam
Kimmel and the muted palate with no blues or reds was brilliantly worked to
heighten the audience’s acute awareness. Shot on location in Winnipeg with a
small budget and little time, but what we get is a masterpiece in
characterisation from an actor who will be sorely missed, but who thankfully
left us a body of work that I fully intend to return too from time to time just
to remind me how it should be done.
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