Philip Seymour Hoffman impressed me greatly in Synecdoche, New York, so when he passed away earlier this year and various people commented that his best role was in Capote, I knew I had to watch this film. Unlike my wife however, I don’t really read mainstream fiction so I only have the vaguest of ideas of who Truman Capote was. Furthermore, I tend not to like biography films, so I went in with reduced expectations.

As it turned out, I shouldn’t have worried because this is an excellent film on every level. Rather than try to cover Capote’s life as a whole, it focuses on the years during which he worked on In Cold Blood, his magnum opus, beginning in 1959 when he goes to Kansas to research quadruple murder of the Clutter family and ending in 1965 with the execution of the criminals involved and the publication of the book.

This focus gives the characters plenty of space to breathe, and boy, do they ever. Hoffman naturally stands out. There’s a brief moment of dissonance when you first hear him speak but after that it’s impossible to look at the screen and see anything but Truman Capote. Clifton Collins Jr. also stands out as Perry Smith, one of the murderers. This makes it possible to believe how Capote could be fascinated by the idea of how the quiet, artistic and oddly erudite Smith could be capable of such horrific crimes.

Yet at the same time, the film is neither about the crimes nor the book. It is about the character of Capote himself. What emerges is a complex portrait of a clearly talented writer who feels genuine empathy for Smith yet exploits him ruthlessly for his book. It  shows Capote’s masterful understanding of the human condition as he uses flattery, bribery and even his fame as tools to gain access to perform the research he needs. But it also reveals his almost comical narcissism as he shows off his expensive clothes and delights in regaling crowds with his stories.

This won’t ever be one of my favourites. Its subject matter isn’t something that speaks to me as its an in-depth character study of someone I don’t personally care much about. But this is undeniably superb film-making, combining a subtly intelligent script with great acting and as such I would recommend it unreservedly.

Interestingly, I note that Infamous, another film about Capote and covering roughly the same time period was released only one year after this one. I haven’t watched it either it too received good reviews and stars Toby Jones (probably best known now as Arnim Zola in the Captain America films) as Capote, Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee and interestingly Daniel Craig as Perry Smith. Something to look into a long, long time down the road perhaps.