Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2005: Catherine Keener in Capote

Catherine Keener received her second Oscar nomination for her performance as Nelle Harper Lee in Capote.

Capote is a terrific film about writer Truman Capote's research for his novel In Cold Blood, based on the brutal murder of a Kansas family. I really liked the movie as I thought it was compelling and engaging from beginning to end with a surprisingly complex and nuanced script that makes the movie more of a character study than a biopic. Bennett Miller completely deserved his nomination for directing and I thought the cinematography was also great.

Catherine Keener plays the role of fellow writer Nelle Harper Lee, Capote's supportive, understanding friend who helps him throughout his research. Keener's nomination is not a particularly appreciated one as many people seem to think that her performance, while entirely adequate, never becomes anything substantial and she's often cited as an example for actors being nominated to an Oscar just because of their stature and/or their involvement in a high-quality movie. It's an understandable opinion: it's a very unshowy role that doesn't get much screen-time or even much depth either. It's indeed a very limited role as Keener's main task is to act as Capote's quiet listener, supporter and friend and she rarely gets the chance to step out of Philip Seymour Hoffman's shadow. This doesn't mean that this performance is unimpressive as within the heavy confines of the role, Keener manages to be an empathetic and intelligent presence that often serves as the movie's conscience, giving us glimpses of Harper Lee's life and personality outside of her relationship with Capote even if she's far from being the movie's focus. 

This is a performance that mostly relies on the actress' ability to share a believable and strong chemistry with the leading actor and thankfully Hoffman and Keener couldn't work better together: they have a great understanding of their character's friendship - both actors clearly show a tenderness and deep affection in their moments together and Keener's quiet, reserved approach works as a perfect counterpart to Hoffman's more flamboyant one. As I mentioned before, Keener never steps out of Hoffman's shadow but she still manages to leave an impression with the many silent, reactionary shots devoted to her: Keener conveys perfectly the history of this woman who has known Truman for a long time and who might be the only person who truly understands him. Lee is a very passive character but Keener makes a lasting impression as she silently conveys her character's feelings through her expressive face. I particularly like the scene in which she questions Truman about his feelings towards Perry Smith, one of the two murderers: when she asks "Do you hold him in esteem?" and he answers "Well, he's a gold mine", with her reaction Keener shows that Lee knows that Truman's statement has traces of truth but hides deeper, more genuine feelings. She is aware that Truman does care about Smith but never confronts him about it because she knows him, and knows that he would not discuss the matter. Over the course of the movie, I thought Keener was actually very moving as she portrayed Lee's growing sadness as she witnesses the callousness of some of Truman's actions: her performance is actually essential to the movie as she makes the viewer see more nuances and complexity of the titular character even if her own performance remains a bit limited by the screenplay. I loved her voice-over in the final scene when Truman calls Lee after the execution of the two men: her delivery of the final scene in which she admits that Truman probably couldn't have done anything to save the two men but that, in all honesty, he didn't want to as he wanted an ending for his book most of all; Keener delivers this line to perfection as she does not sound at all judgemental, she brings to it clarity and honesty completely fitting to her characterization of Lee. 

Keener makes the most out of each of the small moments she gets to add something to her character. I really like the scene in which she is having a conversation with a man about her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird: while Truman would have kept the conversation going correcting the man's many mistakes as he clearly knows very little about the movie, Lee just keeps nodding to end the conversation soon. In moments like this, Keener does a very good job at portraying Lee's personality which is entirely different from Capote's - about her work, she is just as quiet and reserved as she is in her life. My favorite moment of her whole performance is probably the scene at the premiere of the movie To Kill a Mockingbird: Keener is great as she shows her happiness over its success, and then she is excellent during Lee's conversation with Truman, who is too distraught from his own dilemma to even congratulate with his friend. Keener is very poignant as she shows Lee's sensitivity as she comforts Truman but also her heartbreak at seeing her friend's selfishness even in such an important moment for her. Her reaction when she asks him if he liked the movie and he doesn't answer perfectly sums up their friendship in just a second.

The movie doesn't really give enough time, focus and depth to allow Keener to give a great performance, but she adds a lot to the movie nonetheless. She is a warm, welcome presence whenever she appears and she shares a terrific chemistry with Philip Seymour Hoffman, and to her credit she even manages to amplify the impact of her co-star's performance as through her work here we see other layers of Capote's persona. It's a strong, subtle performance and while I don't think it's an outstanding achievement it's still one I admire. 

3.5/5