Webblog

The movie Capote is based on the true life and events of a famous mid-1900s writer named Truman Capote. The movie starts out with Capote learning about a murder of four in Holcomb, Kansas. Thinking it an interesting topic for his next book, Capote and his friend, Nelle Harper Lee, travel to the town to interview the imprisoned killers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Capote befriends the two men, especially Perry Smith, and over time develops a very caring friendship with them. He even goes to such lengths as to provide them with new council so they have better representation in court. As Capote learns about these men’s backgrounds, and mixes it with his own feelings towards the men, the book takes on such a characteristic of forming sympathy for these killers; something that caused much controversy. The main struggle Capote has is the need to finish the book, an ending that can only come through his new friend’s execution, and thus ultimately ending his friendship with the men. Capote gets his ending with their execution in 1965, and finishes his crowning achievement, In Cold Blood, shortly afterwards.
After evaluating the film, I think that it portrays an accurate depiction of the Great Plains with both obvious and underlying features. The portions of the film that take place in Kansas show a landscape that is flat, dry, and has few trees. I also think perspective has a lot to do with this movie. Capote tries to see the murderers from a different perspective when writing about them. I think the Great Plains has been misconceived by a lack of people trying to see this region from a different perspective than just its physical features. It is in this way that the movie serves as a metaphor for the region itself.