Review

by Joanne P

excellent

Sandra Bullock gives a wonderfully controlled performance as Capote's lifelong friend Harper Lee, who after the success of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' never published another novel and left New York to return to her childhood home in Alabama, where fate provided a much more congenial retreat from the limelight. 'Who knows what the heart wants,' she remarks sadly at the end of the film, 'and who can defend themselves against it?' And while the film treats its subject with a certain playfulness, reflected in a mostly cheerful and larky soundtrack, it is finally the story of a broken heart. The DVD has a very cogent and informative commentary by writer-director Douglas McGrath. Definitely worth watching, even if you've seen 'Capote.' Side by side, they demonstrate nicely Capote's own vision of truth as it's found in creative nonfiction.