Line #21 Film/Capote


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/capote_2005.jpeg]]
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3	''Capote'' is a 2005 biographical film about author Creator/TrumanCapote, depicting the events surrounding the writing of his classic non-fiction novel ''Literature/InColdBlood''. Shot mostly in Manitoba during the autumn of 2004, the film was released on September 30, 2005, to coincide with what would have been Capote's 81st birthday. It was written by Creator/DanFutterman and directed by Bennett Miller, with Creator/PhilipSeymourHoffman starring in the title role.
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5	The plot of the film begins with the discovery of the dead bodies of the Clutter family on their Kansas farm in late 1959 by a family friend. While reading about the killings in ''The New York Times'', Capote is riveted by the story of the family and contacts William Shawn (Creator/BobBalaban), then-editor of ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'', to announce that he will personally document the tragedy. Along with his childhood friend and fellow writer Nelle Harper Lee (Creator/CatherineKeener), Capote then travels to Kansas to interview those involved with the case, including the accused killers Perry Smith (Creator/CliftonCollinsJr) and Richard Hickock (Creator/MarkPellegrino).
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8	!!Tropes associated with this work:
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10	* CampGay: Truman Capote.
11	%%* CrapsackWorld
12	* CausticCritic: Capote was a prime example of this.
13	* DeadpanSnarker: And this.
14	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Perry may be a bastard but even he is disgusted by his fellow murderer, Dick.
15	--> '''Smith:''' He's naturally mendacious. If he had a hundred dollars he'd steal a stick of chewing gum.
16	* ForTheEvulz: Dick's apparent motivation.
17	* GreenEyedMonster: Best exemplified by the party celebrating the successful launch of To Kill a Mockingbird. Everyone is congratulating Harper Lee on both a great book and a great movie adaptation...except Capote, who is alone and sulking at a bar because it isn't his accolades.
18	--> '''Capote:''' ''(to himself)'' Frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about.
19	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Like Capote's book, the film takes sides between the killers, depicting Smith as more sympathetic and Hickock as more monstrous. Hence some humanizing details on the latter, like his attempt to make restitution to his ex-wife and their children, are left out.
20	* ItsAllAboutMe: How Capote views the world.
21	%%* JumpCut
22	* KubrickStare: Perry Smith does one of these.
23	* MononymousBiopicTitle: ''Capote''. There's already a ''Truman'' for Harry S. Truman.
24	* NominalHero: Capote is our protagonist, but there's not a whole lot of heroic to him. He's a snob, convinced of his own genius, a jealous and envious man, and [[ArsonMurderAndLifesaving an impeccable writer.]]
25	* ProtagonistTitle: Obviously.
26	* ShoutOut: The first time he and Harper Lee have dinner with the Deweys for the first time, Capote talks about his experiences with Creator/HumphreyBogart and Creator/JohnHuston while they were all making ''Film/BeatTheDevil''.
27	* SociopathicHero: How Capote views Perry.
28	* TranquilFury: Maybe not fury, but certainly annoyance. When Perry foolishly condescends to define a word (something Perry often did in real life), Truman calls him on it, even though he doesn't raise his voice. He's so irritated he ends the visit right then and there.
29	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Perry, according to Truman, as well as his portrayal in the actual book.
30	* YoungerThanTheyLook: Capote was 35 years old at the time of the Clutter murders, yet he appears to look like he could reasonably be in his 50s or 60s (the voice Hoffman uses seems to support that).

Context Film / Capote