Capote

Before you continue, I must provide this disclaimer:  I wrote this post originally for my other blog (it has to do about my adventures as a wanna-be writer - check it out here) so it's going to be a slightly different feeling post. My language and tone is going to be slightly different and most noticeably will be the absence of capitalization. Don't ask me why; I just don't feel like capitalizing  on my other blog. This is however, a film I watched on Instant Netflix so here it is! Enjoy!

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it is rare that i sit down to watch a movie, and find myself scouring the kindle store for a specific book as the credits roll. rare, but not non-existent. such an event happened this very morning... the coincidence of said coincidence and this post is shocking, i know, but let me tell you all about it.

image from imdb.com

i remember quite a buzz about the entertainment world when this movie first came out seven or so years ago, but was too young (13 or 14) to watch such a film, let alone appreciate it. as i have grown, along with my passion for literature - especially dark and edgy literature - this film has stayed on my radar screen waiting for the right time. a week or so ago i realized that it had shown up on my instant netflix queue as a recommended movie. i didn't have the time to start it just then, as i knew it would warrant my full attention, and made a note to watch it as soon as possible.

this morning wasn't exactly the ideal time, but as i was looking for something mindless to turn on for noise in the background as i worked, i couldn't turn away from it. i knew that it was going to be good, but i seriously underestimated just how much it would touch me.

now, when people say a movie or song or book "touched them" it tend to think of an emotional lovey-dovey, nostalgic kind of connection; not the raw, gut-wrenching, draining experience i had at the hands of this story.

for those of you who know nothing of truman capote, or his non-fiction novel in cold blood, i will tell you enough to get you interested without spoiling anything. below is the description from imdb.com followed by my own, slightly more detailed and interesting synopsis.

truman capote (hoffman), during his research for his book in cold blood, an account of the murder of a kansas family, the writer develops a close relationship with one of the killers, perry smith.

what the official movie bio doesn't tell you, but you quickly realize, is just how much of an emotional journey captoe takes as not only a writer but a person in general. what makes this film so exquisite is how well it connects you on multiple levels with capote via hoffman. during many points in the movie i felt myself chuckling to myself and at others, on the verge of tears. to say that i found myself on every stop of the emotional spectrum would both be a hyperbole and an understatement. to say that would imply a sense of cheesiness that would betray the raw side of humanity that this movie shows.

as phenomenal as the writing of this film is, the true reason for such a connection with the audience is the lead actor: philip seymour hoffman. hoffman has played roles in a few of my favorite films (most notable of which include; pirate radio, moneyball, and the big lebowski) and as such i am no stranger to his merits as an actor. after seeing this movie though, i can say that this, hands-down, was the role of his lifetime.

as much as i would like to continue ranting and raving, i cannot do so without boring you to tears or spoiling the rest of the movie for you. regardless, it caused me to instantly download the book the film is about (in cold blood - for those of you who can't remember) and want to recommend this to all my literature-loving friends and readers. and so, without further ado, i bid you this:

go to instant netflix right this instant and watch capote. grow as a person and as an appreciator of fine literature. then! go get the book and grow even more!

official rating: 9.5/10!