Feud: Capote vs. the Swans

[j swift]

I just finished the first two episodes.  Is anyone else watching and wish to discuss?

I found Tom Hollander to be an engaging Truman, although it is hard to watch and not be distracted by the superior portrayals from other films and theatrical productions.  Philip Seymour Hoffman being my favorite and Robert Morse being my least favorite.

Chloë Sevigny as CZ Guest and Naomi Watts as Babe Paley were the standouts for me.  The sets and costumes are grand.  I went to La Cote Basque the first time that I ever went to Manhattan with my mother, which should have been a sign to her; and it was.  They recreated it perfectly.  As well as The Paley's legendary apartment and its upholstered walls.  The hair is divine, and the costumes didn't seem dated or funny, but chic and enviable. 

Calista Flockhart doesn't get much to say in the first two episodes, and while she certainly looks the part of what Tom Wolfe called the 'social x-rays', her line delivery is completely unnatural.  Similarly, Diane Lane has to repeat over and over about the importance of female friendship, but it seems like exposition without any insight into the character or why she values these other women.

The idea that Capote betrayed his friends in order to get out of a financial hole dug by liquor and poor romantic choices feels like well trodden territory.  It might be that I've consumed too much information about this story before.  I've read the memoirs, magazine articles, and watched the movies.  So, I was hoping for a new take on the story.  It all feels a little homophobic to portray Truman as this sycophant who was longing to feel accepted by the types of women who rejected him in the past.  As if, his life was sad, and theirs was just the facade of happiness.  But, I wanted Jon Robin Baitz to find a unique perspective.  For example, I liked the version of Tru which suggested that it was all a con, he never liked them and was always planning to write an exposé.  I've come to think that Truman projected his self-hatred about his addiction onto Babe.  She burdened him with her secrets, but never tried to help him stop drinking.  It was no wonder that when the chips were down, he felt as if he couldn't depend on her.  Which is why all the commentary in the script about the closeness of the women rings false.

Also, I don't think that the exile from society was as much of a tragedy as it is portrayed.  Within years, he fell in the with the new society at Studio 54, and left those old gals in the dust.  There's little evidence that he was as hurt by his ousting as has been assumed.  And, I believe he was would have found the new scene much more appealing and liberating.

All in all, it made me want to wear and chunky scarf and smoke cigarettes.  But that would just make me sick to my stomach and be as disappointing as this series so far.

Edited February 3 by j swift

[Vee]

Might wanna check the title there.

[BrendaB]

So far, the first season of Feud remains superior.  This second season cast is amazing, but the writing isn't engaging at all.  Hopefully it gets better through the series...

I'd rather see Calista Flockhart in an Ally McBeal sequel series.  The Frasier sequel has been fantastic, so there's definitely hope for iconic characters to have second acts 20 years later.

[Vee]

There's actually a lot of evidence Capote was deeply hurt by what happened; it was well-researched in a number of in-depth articles over the last decade and a lot of his associates (including some of the Swans, IIRC) were either interviewed or quoted via archival stuff. He apparently spiraled into drug and alcohol abuse with considerable more intensity once he lost his preferred social scene.

I have no interest in this series because I don't tolerate Ryan Murphy product and his eager need to poach and associate himself with every possible pop culture totem by proxy, and even when his name isn't on the scripts the imprimatur, style and laziness of his factory style often show through. (Case in point: Promos showing Flockhart's character Lee Radziwill plotting Capote's downfall when by all accounts she was one of the women least impacted by his expose and didn't fully shun him.) Prefabricated viral camp moments and bitchery will always win the day in Murphy world, because he's a misanthropic nihilist. But I am glad the actresses are getting a showcase.

[DaytimeFan]

I concur with the Hollywood Reporter's review: the show's writing is mediocre but the performances are very good for the most part.

I struggle to find anything likeable about Capote so I struggle to care about what happens to him. He seemed like an awful person.

Diane Lane and Naomi Watts are given the most to do and both of them take great care with their performances. I really enjoy Chloe Sevigny as C.Z. Guest as well. 

Calista Flockhart and Demi Moore's roles were tiny in the first two episodes, which you wouldn't have known from the trailer. Dominick Dunne wrote the Ann Woodward story to great effect in his novel, and subsequent miniseries, the Two Mrs. Grenvilles, in case anyone wants to follow up on that case more.

[j swift]

I read today that subsequent episodes with jump back and forth through time.  For example, we'll get an episode on the Black and White Ball, which will showcase more of Demi Moore's Ann Woodward.  And it becomes more fictionalized by conjuring up past stories about CZ Guest (which I'll have to wait and see if I appreciate that angle).

It is fascinating how it became a PR war.  It wasn't enough to shun him, Slim Keith talks about wanting everyone to know that Truman was persona non grata.  Maybe the Swans won by having their revenge becoming the common narrative?  Capote was well into his addiction in the early 1970s, so to say that he drank more because he couldn't talk to Babe Paley, rather than because he was in an abusive relationship, seems a little trite and reductive. 

In the movie Capote, there's an intriguing narrative about how he played up his lack of masculinity to be perceived as less of a threat, and then got the murderers and townsfolk to spill all of their stories.  I identified with this because it is the same strategy that I use every time that I have to deal with a mechanic or a plumber.  But, there's a moment when one of the murderers underestimates Truman's intellect and he snaps.  I can't help but think that the same was true of the Swans.  He talked with them about all of their gowns and jewels, but once he got the story, he was ready to move on to the next big thing, which was the new jet set disco scene.  And the Swans felt as betrayed as the Clutters of In Cold Blood, but they just had more access to the media. 

Always a pleasure to read your willingness to critique a work of media that you've never consumed.

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There's also a Capote roman à clef, that runs through many of Dunne's books, and he gets a fun retribution in An Inconvenient Woman.

I thought Diane Lane was a little too stilted, but Naomi Watts was engaging.  I'm holding my final opinion until we get the Slim-focused episode.

Edited February 5 by j swift

[DRW50]

One of the articles claims that Murphy had no real involvement in the production, but it seems to have some of his usual themes, like

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I watched one of those cast game videos, and he shows up halfway through the video, which I don't see producers do that often in these. Jarring.  

[Vee]

They always say that to excuse his latest show, and then it generally turns out to be the same toxic mix of wannabe viral camp, historical inaccuracy and two-dimensional caricatures.

Capote's married lover did allegedly abuse him, but the stuff about the specific Swans is too reductive; some of their reactions to him and to "La Cote Basque 1965" were more nuanced than the show's approach indicates.

[John]

I saw the first two and it was ok 

Ill stick with it. The writing sucks but the actors are what is keeping me wanting to finish all 8 episodes. 

[DRW50]

 

[Paul Raven]

I'm holding off on watching. There's too much other good stuff around.

Especially when something that could be brilliant ends up missing the mark.

[DaytimeFan]

Tonight's episode was a bit dull, aside from the scene with Calista Flockhart when she's getting her hair done. That was deliciously written and performed. 

 

[j swift]

I thought Ep3 was the best one yet.  It was such a clever device to make it into a fictionalized Maysles documentary for an episode (even though Documentary Now already did it to humorous effect).  It left me feeling like that would've been a good movie, and I don't need six more episodes.  I also keep thinking about the intended audience.  For example, are there people watching this that don't know that Katherine Graham was the guest of honor for the Black and White Ball?  Because it would have been fun to have been surprised.

Calista Flockhart definitely got the best monologue. Even though it was as if the only two things that Jon Baitz knows about Lee Radziwell is that she had an affair with David, and she f'ed Onasis before Jackie.  Once again, my main issue is the lack of depth in the exploration of the Swans.

I cannot stop looking at Diane Lane and recalling her as a teenaged actress in A Little Romance.  She is gorgeous, but her age is shocking.  The Pamela Harriman stuff was such fun, and the actress playing her and Kay Graham looked exactly like them.  Also, the structure made Lane's performance seem much more organic than how she played Slim in the first two episodes.

Furthermore, I was distracted by if they're using tricks to make Tom Hollander look smaller than he is, like oversized costumes and having his co-stars stand on apple boxes.

But overall, it made me crave a cigarette.

Edited February 9 by j swift

[j swift]

Ep4 solidified my theory, The Swans and their access to the press controlled the narrative.  Yes, Truman was probably sad about the loss of his friendships.  But, his struggles with sobriety, loneliness, and companionship which much larger issues.  Past portrayals of this story were much more reductive in saying that the loss of Babe Paley and the difficulties finishing Answered Prayers were his undoing, so I appreciate the more nuanced approach.

Once again, Diane Lane is really the weakest link.  I don't know what kind of accent she is striving to achieve, but it comes off as overly mannered and stiff.  I think there were such interesting parallels derived from Slim's feeling of liberation by being single versus Truman's aching from the need to feel connection which kept him in an abusive relationship. 

The inclusion of the John O'Shea stuff has been a highlight for me.  I hope they explore the literal explosive ending of their relationship (spoiler alert) and the rumors that O'Shea stole Capote's final manuscript. 

The fictionalized meeting of Babe and Truman was silly and much less powerful than the true story.  As often told, in reality they never spoke again.  And one day, when Truman was finally able to get Bill Paley on the phone, he dismissed Capote by saying Mrs. Paley was “busy”.

Is anyone else watching, or am I screaming into the darkness? (not that it has ever stopped me before)

[DramatistDreamer]

I guess I am the only one who finds this series inescapably depressing. I know that there are some aspects that have been fictionalized, I read that not much was known about the relationship between Capote and O’Shea. I would imagine that black eyes and hospital stays would be common knowledge but why do several blogs and articles state that their relationship is shrouded in mystery? Anyhow, the relationship between Capote with O’Shea’s daughter was genuinely loving as real life accounts back up. 

With Murphy’s reputation, I would expect that before the series is through, there will be a lot of fictionalized embellishment and hyper-dramatic license being affected.