Capote (2005)
85%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
59 wins & 89 nominations total
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s riveting central performance guides a well-constructed retelling of the most sensational and significant period in author Truman Capote’s life
Capote is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and want to drink your sorrows away. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance as Truman Capote is nothing short of amazing, and his ability to make you laugh at his own jokes is something to behold. The chemistry between Hoffman and Catherine Keener is electric, and Keener’s laugh is the loveliest thing you’ll hear in a movie. While the film may not answer all the pressing questions about American life and senseless violence, it does take you on a journey through the dark art of journalism and the exploitation of real-life inspiration. Overall, Capote is a must-watch for anyone who loves great acting and a good story.
Production Company(ies)
Large Lab
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Stony Mountain Penitentiary, Rockwood, Manitoba, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some violent images and brief strong language
Year of Release
2006
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 55m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 30, 2005 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 14, 2006
Genre(s)
Biography
Keyword(s)
starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr., Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood, Bob Balaban, Mark Pellegrino, directed by Bennett Miller, written by Dan Futterman, biography, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Tim Robey, Zadie Smith, Victoria Segal, Adam Nayman, J Hoberman, Kimberley Jones, David Walsh, Clifton Collins Jr., Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Chris Cooper, producer Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven, R MPAA rating, Truman Capote, In Cold Blood, murder, Kansas family, true crime, emotional bond, jailhouse interviews, childhood friend, aspiring novelist, Harper Lee, Alvin Dewey, William Shawn
Worldwide gross: $49,327,405
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $72,741,007
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,176
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 7,932,498
US/Canada gross: $28,750,530
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $42,397,172
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,142
US/Canada opening weekend: $324,857
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $479,053
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,422
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $10,322,600
Production budget ranking: 1,655
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,558,720
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $56,859,687
ROI to date (est.): 358%
ROI ranking: 387
Catherine Keener – Nelle Harper Lee
Clifton Collins Jr. – Perry Smith
Chris Cooper – Alvin Dewey
Bruce Greenwood – Greenwood
Bob Balaban – William Shawn
Director(s)
Bennett Miller
Writer(s)
Dan Futterman
Producer(s)
Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
59 wins & 89 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (195) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (174) | Rotten (21)
As Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman is in complete control of his effects… No other actor has the ability to laugh at his own jokes and be so appallingly funny.
August 1, 2018
Tim Robey
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
It’s the acting that sings, especially when Hoffman duets with luminous Catherine Keener, the lady with the loveliest laugh in film. Hoffman’s writer is a self-serving egoist; Keener’s a restrained, wise soul.
January 16, 2018
Zadie Smith
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Unfortunately, by the end of it, Capote isn’t the only one who wants to turn to drink.
September 26, 2017
Victoria Segal
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
Miller and Futterman underscore the idea that what Capote’s achievement does to the story of Hickock and Smith and the Clutter killings is to remove it from the actual world and place it in a literary one.
February 29, 2016
Adam Nayman
The Walrus
TOP CRITIC
Capote is a cool and polished hall of mirrors reflecting the ways in which Truman Capote came to write (and be written by) In Cold Blood.
January 5, 2006
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
[Hoffman’s] performance is undeniably great. Everything else — solid, satisfying though it may be — falls short of that greatness.
October 30, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5
Kimberley Jones
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Capote fails to treat the most pressing issues-above all, what is it about American life that produces this “senseless” homicidal violence?
February 15, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
As Perry Smith, Clifton Collins, Jr. is particularly strong in revealing a killer whose path may have been chosen for him.
September 4, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a mesmerizing take on a tortured soul who many still regard as one of America’s greatest writers.
May 7, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
Capote is about the snake. Perfecting his scenes play like therapy sessions, with a homoerotic undercurrent, and they go to the core of journalism’s dark art.
October 17, 2019
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
Hoffman doesn’t just act like Truman Capote; he is Truman Capote.
June 5, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
The film burdensomely lugs around its single, grand thematic idea (namely how a writer is in lure to, but ultimately exploits, their real-life inspiration or subject matter).
January 27, 2019 | Rating: 2/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro…
Plot
Novelist Truman Capote travels to a small town to cover the story of a Kansas family’s murder and forms an emotional bond with one of the young criminals during his jailhouse interviews, despite his apparent guilt.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance as Truman Capote is “undeniably great” according to critic Kimberley Jones.
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