Register for this discussion starting June 2nd.
Pick up your copy of the DVD starting June 2nd.
Director – Bennett Miller
Screenplay – Dan Futterman (adapted from the book by Gerald Clarke)
Stars – Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr., Chris Cooper
“In November, 1959, the shocking murder of a smalltown Kansas family captures the imagination of Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman), famed author of Breakfast at Tiffany's. With his childhood friend Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), writer of the soon-to-be published To Kill a Mockingbird, Capote sets out to investigate, winning over the locals despite his flamboyant appearance and style. When he forms a bond with the killers and their execution date nears, the writing of "In Cold Blood," a book that will change the course of American literature, takes a drastic toll on Capote, changing him in ways he never imagined.” Product description via amazon.com
Review links:
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times
David Edelstein Slate
Read more reviews:
IMDB
Metacritic
1 comment:
Our biggest attendance yet: 11!
A comparison of the group’s impression of Capote as a celebrity during the Seventies and Hoffman’s portrayal of the man before fame truly struck was one of the major topics of the evening. Most of us were familiar with Capote through his appearances on major talk and game shows. He was the funny little man with the witty stories about other celebrities. The in-depth character study the film offered showed that Capote was not just a “life of the party” raconteur, but also an imaginative, ambitious, self-absorbed and manipulative person.
When the question of whether Capote had fallen in love with the murderer Perry Smith or not, there was no real consensus. Some felt Capote was merely exploiting Smith for information, others felt Capote identified with Smith as a kindred soul, an abandoned child who chose the wrong path in life.
Capote’s personal relationships were another point of discussion. He had managed to maintain a friendship with Harper Lee since childhood, and his relationship with Jack Dunphy was already a decade old at the time the film begins. Yet he is oblivious to their creative lives, and seems only to view them as supporting players in his grand existence. He is plainly jealous of Lee when he grudgingly attends the premiere of the film version of her novel. A relationship with him is a one-way street.
Several participants had read In Cold Blood or seen the 1967 film, and were able to compare and contrast the characters and story of the murders with Capote’s take on them. Smith and Hickock are portrayed very differently in each film.
Post a Comment