Feud season 2 has all the hallmarks of a great Ryan Murphy production. Based on Capote’s Women by Laurence Leamer, Capote vs the Swans follows the iconic American author Truman Capote as he destroys and attempts to repair his relationships with a coterie of fabulous women (whom he referred to as his Swans). Those Swans include Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C. Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill, and Joanne Carson, socialites that dominated the New York City scene during the 60s. That all came crashing down when he published La Côte Basque, 1965, an excerpt from his unpublished novel Answered Prayers.
Enchanted and captivated by the Swans, Capote ingratiated himself into their lives, becoming their confidante, only to betray them by writing a thinly veiled fictionalization of their lives. With an excerpt from his book published, it effectively destroyed his relationship with his swans, and sent him into a spiral of self-destruction from which he would ultimately never recover.
- The cast is terrific, really bringing us into the Swans’ world
- The glamour is delicious and adds to the story’s engagement
- The exciting story makes for a great watch
- The series could have offered a more nuanced portrayal of Capote
- Capote vs the Swans doesn’t always go beyond the surface
Watching this downfall and eventual attempt at redemption is as entertaining as one might think. Capote vs the Swans has all the venom and glamour one desires, but in Feud‘s second season, a few missteps leave a hollow feeling that the real truth of the events lies somewhere in between its dramatized depiction and the events as they actually happened. In a way, it’s perfect for Capote’s sensibilities then, even if Feud season 2 ends up being less than the sum of its parts.
The Actresses Are Actress-ing In Feud Season 2
Tom Hollander stars as the titular author, emulating his mannerisms and high-pitched tone effortlessly. In an inverse of reality, though, it is the Swans who outshine Capote this time around. Naomi Watts delivers a career-best performance as Babe Paley, the embattled socialite who is most affected by Capote’s La Côte Basque after her husband Bill’s affair is written about. A philanderer isn’t the only thing Babe has to worry about — a cancer diagnosis forces her to consider forgiveness as she faces mortality head on and Watts plays Babe’s complex feelings about Capote with sorrowful eyes and a steely face.
Diane Lane as Slim Keith leads the charge against Capote after the publication of his scandalous excerpt, and it’s a role she absolutely tears through. There are hints of matriarchal care, but an underlying venom is revealed as the reality of her connections to the other women, Babe in particular, is uncovered. Calista Flockhart and Chloë Sevigny are Lee Radziwill and C. Z. Guest, respectively, each an integral piece to the puzzle. Molly Ringwald and Demi Moore round out the cast and the only complaints to be leveled against them is that they should have been in it more.
Feud: Capote Vs The Swans Is Missing Something
For all its excess, Feud season 2 fails to go as deep as it could. As great as Hollander is, his Capote feels vacant, a sketch more than a fully formed character. Even as his mother, played by Murphy stalwart Jessica Lange, visits him in hallucinations, something is missing — he’s all tragedy and cruelty, traits that eventually wear thin.
The structure of the eight-episode series starts the show on shaky footing. Capote vs the Swans begins with the publication of La Côte Basque, jumping around in time to flesh out Capote’s relationships with the women, the impact the excerpt had on their lives, and how he felt being iced out by the crowd he so desperately wanted to be a part of.
Early on, one character inquires about the relationship between gay men and glamorous women, hinting at the internecine co-dependence that forms between them. That’s certainly hinted at, especially with Babe and Truman, but as the conflict peters out due to a muddied timeline, so too do these ideas that are flirted with early on. Still, Capote vs the Swans is one of Murphy’s stronger efforts in recent years, even if it fails to fully mine its potential. Sometimes, glamour for glamour’s sake is all that we need.
