At a department meeting four or five years ago we were discussing Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. During the conversation I remarked that the little boy in the book who came to visit every year was none other than Truman Capote. "Who?" was the response. "The writer of 'In Cold Blood', I replied. "Never heard of him." was the unanimous response.
It's an irony that at the time of the publication of 'To Kill a Mockinbird' Harper Lee's celebrity was eclipsed by that of her close friend Truman Capote and today outside of America at least he is little known, especially to a younger generation of readers and indeed filmgoers who have not heard of 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' let alone 'In Cold Blood.' Perhaps this new film will redress matters.
The new film deals with the period in Capote's life when he was setting down the controversial story of the shocking and brutal murder of the Clutter family in his non fiction novel, 'In Cold Blood'.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman portrays the manipulative, self absorbed Capote without descending to caricature. His performance has quite rightly won him Best Actor Award in this year's Oscars. His confrères give equally committed performances and they and the rest of the crew are expertly directed by Miller.
If there was any justice in Hollywood, this film or Brokeback Mountain should have won the Best Picture category instead of Trash, I mean Crash!
