It works because it plunges me into a dilemma. Capote is singularly single-minded. Can anyone quote his line as he bribes the Prison Warden for access to visiting Perry? But is his work really his sole motivation? Yes, if you count his identification with Perry as providing the content for his literature. “It’s as if Perry and I grew up in the same house. And one day he went out the back door and I went out the front.” We don’t so much love him as get drawn into the question.
Capote doesn’t love Perry either. He’s just drawn into the question. The fact that, apparently, he isn’t horrified by him is all that distinguishes their relationship from ours with Truman.
Of course Philip Seymore Hoffman deserved the Oscar. I was a fan already. He commits from the outset. Effete, right? As the audience moves on to its next fascination, PSH is the only one who isn’t disposable.
Tags: capote
One reply on “Disposable fascinations”
Hi Dan,
Lost your feed in the transition for some reason, but good to ss you are actually blogging.
I did not like the movie at the time but it has grown on me, precicely because It has led me to reflect on the ethical dilemma. Is he exploiting his subject matter? I found it interesting how he needed a woman assistant & friend to lead the way on occasions, knowing that he would not have got through the door on his own.
Sometimes people are attractive for what they have to offer, be it their gender, their suitability as a subject for a novel.