Review of Capote

CAPOTE - STORY: A writer seeking a story in a condemned man finds and is touched by the unexpected humanity in the killer.

CAPOTE - MESSAGE: Don't judge a book by its cover.

CAPOTE - WIN: It was refreshing to see a film that showed that criminals are human beings at the core and their criminal actions are unwanted behavior donned like a coat. I have graded tests for inmates of prisons in a correspondence course that enables them to shed their misbehavior coat -- and have found them to be likeable people, people willing and able to change. Another thing I found positive was the way Capote spotted and worked within what was real to the other person to increase love and understanding and communication between them. It was also a positive reflection of life that writers who support each other can realize success. Another positive point was that Capote stuck to his guns until he got the story he wanted.

CAPOTE - LOSE: It seems to me that the subject of life after death should have come up, one way or the other. There was only a vague hint of it in the scene that talked about the eyes of the condemned man being donated to another who would walk down the street seeing what he used to see. There was a sense of hopelessness and helplessness about the fate of Capote's condemned "friend" with drugs (in this case alcohol) as the escape. While true to his life, the filmmaker could have brought at least some hope that viewers could walk away with. Otherwise audience could think that nothing can really be done about the trauma he suffered, which isn't true.

CAPOTE - EFFECT ON ME: Besides crying during the scene when Capote cries, I felt validated as a writer. The film was able to show the degree that a writer must get under the skin of their characters. Capote's mannerisms grated on me in the sense that they were calculated to put others ill at ease, but I was assured that was how Capote was, so it was true to form. All in all, I felt I had seen a movie that dared to go in a new direction and dared to find man's humanity.