Despite the film’s title, the tapes—newfound interviews with Truman Capote’s former friends—have surprisingly little to do with the documentary. They supplement the film, but it is just as reliant on known information and current interviews with even more friends and family. That’s not to say it’s a bad film; in fact, The Capote Tapes is a welcome invitation to rediscover who Truman Capote was in all his complicated genius. The film celebrates his journalistic genius while questioning his methods. It dives into his childhood past to explain his obsession with glamor. But perhaps more interesting than all that are the gaps in Truman’s history, which the film only brings up but never resolves. Where, for instance, are the missing chapters of his last manuscript Answered Prayers, the piece that effectively severed him from his High Society friends and tore his reputation to shreds? While the film doesn’t answer that crucial mystery, it’s entertaining and informative nonetheless.
Synopsis
Newly discovered interviews with friends of Truman Capote made by Paris Review co-founder George Plimpton invigorate this fascinating documentary on the author (and socialite) behind Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood, while situating Capote in the 20th-century American literary canon.
Storyline
Using never-before-seen interviews with friends and loved ones, The Capote Tapes reveals a new side to the renowned writer of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
TLDR
There’s little that’s new here, especially if you’re already familiar with the writer (or if you’ve seen FX’s FEUD), but it’s still a worthwhile watch if only to remind yourself of how great of a writer Capote truly was.
What stands out
The great thing about writers talking about other writers is getting to hear the colorful words they have for each other. Unforgettable descriptors of Capote in the film include “candied tarantula” and, from Norman Mailer, “beautiful f***** prince.”
