Capote (2005)

(In theaters, January 2006) Given how Truman Capote himself was a character as much as he was a writer, it’s perhaps fitting that the best thing about this eponymous film would be Philip Seymour Hoffman’s title performance. The rest plays straight out of the low-budget independent biopic playbook, with long shots of empty plains and a finale that seemingly can’t stop dragging on. Students of In Cold Blood will probably find much to like here, but it all too often feels like a fiber-rich film (ie; it’s good for you) than a piece of entertainment. As a character study, it’s not bad, unless you’re not particularly tempted by character studies. Long and not particularly energetic, Capote makes one wish for a film about Truman Capote in manic party-mode. While there’s nothing egregiously at fault here, there also a definite limit to how much one can tolerate.