Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Harmonia (A) on February 09, 2006 at 17:45:47

In Reply to: "Capote:" why all the enthusiasm? posted by tinear on February 8, 2006 at 14:14:58:

...an artful, complex and honest examination of a gifted individual at the turning point of both his career and his life. The moral and critical issues raised by this film are as relevant today as they were when Capote was researching the Clutter murders.

Neither fiction nor journalism has been the same since the publication of In Cold Blood. Truman Capote was never the same as an artist or a man after his experiences in Kansas. He fed his inner beast - and it devoured him. Moreover, he let loose the beast across this land.

That's why this fine, small film deserves to be nominated for Best Picture.

Capote, along with Good Night & Good Luck, may be miniatures but they go deeper than other films painted on a broader canvas dare.

IMO Hoffman does a superb job of playing Capote - the portrayal could so easily have veered into caricature or parody of this larger than life artist. I found Hoffman utterly believeable and tragic - no mere mimicry or impersonation in his performance - an extraordinary balancing act.

Tinear, with such highly charged material as Capote, understated & subtle are virtues.