‘Capote’ accurately portrays author

Humble, unostentatious, unobtrusive, resigned — the only way these adjectives found their way into Truman Capote’s vocabulary was if they were used to describe one of his characters.

Capote (played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman) was anything but normal, making it somewhat ironic that the film bearing his name is a subdued, deliberate piece. The film is not loud or ostentatious. It’s a personal piece — a tribute to the writer who had arguably the most lasting effect on his craft than any other novelist of the 20th century.

But director Bennett Miller’s adaptation of George Clarke’s novel proves to be as eccentric and poignant as Capote himself — a quaint film that quietly conveys the whirlwind life of a gay man from Louisiana and his recondite relationship with a cold-blooded killer.

“Capote” begins as the lives of the Clutter family come to a close. Laura Kinney finds her friend Nancy’s head splattered against the wall from a shot gun blast, then the film cuts from the rolling plains of Holcombe, Kan., to the bright lights of New York and Capote.

Capote learned of the Clutter deaths in a small article in the New York Times. From those few inches of newsprint, Capote gave voice and humanity to the four members of the Clutter family, the two killers with no apparent motive and the town that was left shaken.

Miller and screenwriter Dan Futterman had the difficult task of deciding the extent to which they would delve into back stories and the actual happenings within Capote’s “In Cold Blood.” The cutting and storyline stumble from time to time, but the decision to focus on Capote and the effects of a six-year emotional investment that rendered the author unable to finish another work was a wise one.

Capote arrives in Holcombe with childhood friend Nelle Harper Lee (Catherine Keener) in 1959 unable to tap into the heartbeat of a small town. Capote came along at a time when homosexuality was not a common topic, and Lee must act as Capote’s ambassador to the prejudiced Kansans.

To those familiar with the story, the nights with Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.) and Richard Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) on death row and the interviews with several of the characters in Capote’s novel are recognizable. But the little known relationship between Capote and killer Perry Smith is what drives the film.

Capote was often quoted as saying that he and Perry “grew up in the same house, then one day Perry went out the back door and I went out the front.” The troubled childhood of Capote is touched on briefly, but the extent of his distress can be felt as all Capote’s efforts fall short of saving Perry from execution.

The proud city boy was unmasked by his trip to Kansas. Behind the pretentiousness and gaudy attire was a little boy who grew up in Alabama, abandoned by his mother.

Not only does Hoffman accurately portray the accent and every mannerism of Capote, but he captures the flamboyancy along with the vulnerability. Hoffman had gone beyond proving himself as a supporting actor( See “Magnolia,” “Boogie Nights,” “Almost Famous,” etc.), but with this role he becomes an institution. There hasn’t been a finer character actor in the last 10 years — just watch a news clip of the real Capote with your eyes closed.

But beyond the acting and the filmmaking is the biopic and its subject. It’s the voice of Capote. It’s disheartening that general audiences are often unaware of this man, his life and his words. Read a novel, a story in a magazine, an article in a newspaper, and Capote’s influence will be there.

Grade: A-