A common theme you’ll find in The Capote Tapes is that “every big party you went to, there was Truman.”
A man so ingrained in the New York social stage, he was near untouchable—until the nature of his final, unpublished work came to light. In a selection of tapes from George Plimpton’s collection, we gain unprecedented access to Capote, and how ‘biting the hand that feeds you’ came to be his downfall.
As the tapes begin rolling, it’s clear we are in for a treat. Ebs Burnough’s documentary wonderfully illustrates the large presence Truman Capote cast over the New York social scene for such a diminutive man. From the very beginning we are met with polarising opinions, with some referring to him as “the most lionised writer since Voltaire” and others “a candied tarantula.” What is immediately evident is that this was a man who was able to wheedle his way into the most exclusive environs, becoming privy to the most salacious gossip. Using tapes recorded by friend and foe alike, The Capote Tapes delves deeper into the writer’s life and career: from his relationship with his mother and her suicide, to his writing of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood. Moreover, it looks particularly at Answered Prayers—the unfinished Proustian masterpiece, which saw him sailing too close to the social sun and proved to be his undoing in his final years.
Alongside the likes of Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer, Capote was able to break away from the confines of the literary circle and make his way into the social realm. Arguably, he pioneered creative non-fiction and honed his own identity as the ‘celebrity’ writer. But, for a man so recognisable and widely written about, the tapes that form this documentary do a wonderful job at opening new realms of interest. There are anecdotes and caveats from friends, lovers and even his adopted daughter in a talking-heads format. But the more recognisable names come from the tapes themselves that are interspersed with the interviews and a selection of archive footage. The likes of actress Lauren Bacall, the socialite sister of Jackie Kennedy Onassis Lee Radziwill and Mailer himself often purr about Truman. Their encounters and tales of his notoriety are always entertaining, but they are nonetheless unflinching in their critique, questioning his motives and influence over the socialite swans he had swarming around him.
But where the film shines is when it allows us a peek behind the curtain of Answered Prayers. The Capote Tapes lays bare the underlying boiling tensions between Truman and his subjects—who were scarcely disguised by their fictionalised counter-parts—and their disdain for his barbarous words and the secrets they revealed. His boldness in this area cost him friendships and exclusivity, even impacting on his own physical health. Many may think of Capote’s life as one full of wealth and glamour, but as we learn more about Answered Prayers, the film itself changes pace, revealing the burdened balance between writer and celebrity. I learned a great deal about the darkness that lurked beneath the surface that Capote carried with him through his life. The aforementioned relationship with his mother and his complicated relationship with Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, the criminal subjects of In Cold Blood, are just a few examples.
The Verdict
What The Capote Tapes offers is less of a grandiose portrait, but more of an intimate appraisal. The documentary is at its most interesting when it details Truman’s gamble in writing Answered Prayers: the ultimate price he paid for the few excerpts that were published. The docu-film sheds light on the private machinations of a man who was so often the talk of the town, giving audiences the chance to peak behind Capote’s façade of bitchy, social-climbing wit. This offers a unique experience, not just for fans of the writer, but for anyone seeking an insight into the arts and literary scene of the period.
Rating: 7/10
The Capote Tapes will be released in the UK on Altitude Films and other digital platforms from 29 January.
Words by Jack Roberts
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