OBIT: George Grella on the work of Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014)

The sudden death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, an
honored son of Rochester, provoked an outpouring of grief and praise from
friends, colleagues, critics, and of course his fans
and admirers. The world of cinema lost a major talent, a man who excelled in
his craft in large and small roles, in dozens of motion pictures.

He is probably, and deservedly, best remembered for
his brilliant performance as Truman Capote in “Capote,” in which this relatively
tall, somewhat corpulent man somehow impersonated the small, slight, elfin
writer; he won an Academy Award for that role.

A true character actor, he displayed his talents and
skills in supporting parts in a considerable body of work, often in independent,
low-budget, offbeat films. He played all sorts of parts with uncanny precision
and conviction — the smug preppie in “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” the
scandal-sheet reporter in “Red Dragon,” the cynical, wised-up political
operative in “The Ides of March,” the priest in “Doubt.”

Most of all, I remember him for his portrayal of
lonely, wounded, anxious, sometimes desperate men — the brother in “The
Savages,” the would-be robber in “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” the
cellar-dwelling limo driver in “Jack Goes Boating,” the sad, sweaty phone
caller in “Happiness,” the degenerate gambler in “Owning Mahowny.”

Anyone looking for his legacy should revisit those
pictures, where the characters may explain something of the man who played
them; perhaps their loneliness and desperation derived from his own, perhaps
they express to some degree his own problems and struggles, perhaps they
explain his sad, solitary end.

The Little Theatre has announced that it will be screening a tribute series of Hoffman’s films February 28-March 2. Check The Little’s website for more details as they become available.