August 24, 2005

When Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini made the wonderful American Splendor after a career in documentaries, it made some sense. The film was somewhat of a doc and it showed the out-of-the-box storytelling ideas that come from a career of spending years trying to structure a story after it is told.

But after seven years of public silence since he gave us the head turning The Cruise, which gave us a fresh perspective on New York as well as the mental gymnastics and Mel Blanc-esque voice of Tim "Speed" Levitch, Bennett Miller returns with a different kind of statement. There is no sign of a documentarian here. No aggressively aimless handheld camera… no feel of verite' at all. The character scenes are steady and assured. The performances are flawless. And the landscapes are as clean and simple as the work of Ansel Adams and Laura Gilpin. Beautiful.

The story of Capote is concentrated on the In Cold Blood era. The broad story of Capote's ascent to literary greatness and descent into decades of writer's block in that time is well known. But there are arguments within the story. The truth is, no one really knows. Harper Lee, who had her own triumph in the midst of Capote's authoring of this book, probably knows more than anyone. But she's not here to tell the tale. The NY Observer ran a story about the other Capote film, Have You Heard?, that allegedly is tougher on Capote. But I doubt it is much tougher in any but a cosmetic way. Miller and screenwriter Dan Futterman's Capote is no white hat. He is a smart and skilled manipulator and self-promoter.

As Capote, Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives as flawless a performance as I can imagine. It was hard for me to get past his natural girth, which conflicts with the frailty of Capote's fears of Kansas and its corn-fed men. But Hoffman has the light touch and distracting voice down. (It's funny that both of Bennett Miller's films are centered on a man with a whinny squeak of a voice.) More importantly, we feel what Hoffman's Capote feels simply by looking into his eyes.

As Harper Lee, Catherine Keener delivers a character we really haven't seen from her. She's not a 50s era woman who would be a modern girl if times were different. She is a strong, smart woman who would probably be similar if she were here now, albeit with better hair. She is a central character in the first act and fades a bit from the film as Capote gets past his first visit to Kansas.

In fact, the first act of the film plays kind of like a brilliantly twisted period version of The X Files. Capote & Lee know something is out there…

Both Hoffman and Keener are wonderful, but the big story here is Clifton Collins, Jr. You probably don't know the name. He did a lot of small roles before he broke through in Traffic, stealing every scene he was in from some very accomplisher veterans. He takes a minute to recognize here, but through his eyes we see the humanity that drew Capote into an emotional love affair. The potential for the kind of danger that a murderer embodies is never gone. But his personal agony, for his plight and his actions, flies of the screen and right into the theater.

Chris Cooper is also along for the ride, but his role is not terribly unique… though, as always, it is unclear than any other actor on the film scene can bring simple integrity to a down home professional like him.

The film is a fascinating look at how a journalist works a subject. In this case, there is a combination of power, personal charm, the manipulation of expectations and an enormous amount of patience. The question of whether Capote did the right things is part of it, but it is part of the issue on every story, whether it's important or boilerplate.

This is a small, intimate film… a classic case of a very good story very well told. Guiding this film through awards season may be as complicated as Capote dealing with this story. If there is a single major Oscar contender, it is Clifton Collins, Jr. As great as Hoffman is, this is not a character that feels far out of his range. And given how small the film is, that is usually a necessity for an Oscar campaign. But an Indie Spirit win, assuming the budget is in line, seems almost inevitable. Regardless, Capote is a fine piece of work that deserves the consideration of everyone who cares about good films taking a good long look.

E-ME.