Guide Note

Capote is a 2005 drama film directed by Bennett Miller.

Fast Facts

1. Director: Bennett Miller
2. Screenplay: Dan Futterman
3. Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Chris Cooper
4. Released: September 30, 2005
5. Run Time: 114 min
6. Budget: 7 million USD
7. Gross: 49.2 million USD

Where 1967's In Cold Blood was an adaptation of the same-titled book, Capote documents the author's emotional journey through the researching and writing of it. The book detailed the murder of the Clutter family at the hands of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock.

At the start of the film, Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and friend Harper Lee (Catherine Keener) travel to Kansas to visit the crime scene and interview residents who knew the murdered family. Capote is later granted the opportunity to interview Smith, who tells the writer about his troubled past and, most significantly, that it was Hickcock alone who killed the Clutters.

Capote forms a a bond with Smith, but it gradually dissipates until Smith's execution. By the end of the film, Lee speculates that perhaps, for the sake of finishing his novel, Capote wanted Smith to finally be hanged.

The film opened to positive reviews, and Hoffman, who channeled Capote's voice and effeminate mannerisms for the role, won a "Best Actor" Oscar in 2006.