Capote vs. The Swans: A Compelling Story with a Powerful Cast: NPR

Naomi Watts plays Babe Paley and Tom Hollander plays Truman Capote Feud: Capote vs. Pelicans.

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Naomi Watts plays Babe Paley and Tom Hollander plays Truman Capote Feud: Capote vs. Pelicans.

Forex

In 2017, the FX network premiered Ryan Murphy's runner, an anthology series depicting notorious real-life conflicts. The inaugural edition was called Hostility: Pete and Joan, detailing the intense rivalry between Hollywood stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. And now, seven years later, part two of runner Finally he arrived.

FX is being promoted Feud: Capote vs. Pelicans As the “original Real Housewives,” it's much deeper than that — and infinitely more watchable. Based on the book Capote women, Written by Lawrence Limmer This eight-part series tells the story of Truman Capote's friendships with and infidelities of New York's most prominent society women—the ladies who lunch.

John Robin Baetz, creator of the ABC series Brothers sistersdeveloped and wrote this edition of runner For television – Gus Van Sant directed most of the episodes, while others were directed by Jennifer Lynch and Max Winkler. However, it's the names in front of the camera, not behind it, that require the most attention here. Tom Hollander, from the final season of White lotusplays the role of Capote – and captures it so that Capote becomes a character rather than a caricature.

And the women who play the swans get their turn to shine, in a cast that's almost as talented and laughably long. Naomi Watts plays Babe Pally, the wife of CBS president Bill Pally. Calista Flockhart plays Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy's sister. Other socialites are well represented by Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Demi Moore And Molly Ringwald. Treat Williams, who died last year, appears in his final role, as Bill Paley.

Even Jessica Lange, who played Joan Crawford in the previous film runner He helped launch Murphy's television empire by starring in the first few outings of his first anthology series, American horror story, here. She makes a few guest appearances playing Truman's late mother – and she haunts me in more ways than one.

Feud: Capote vs. Pelicans It jumps in time, showing characters before and after Respected Capote's magazine published a chapter from Capote's book-in-the-making in 1975. It was a thinly veiled exposition of the privileged women he called “swans”—and it deeply damaged them. But drama and pain were nothing new for most of these women.

the first runner The miniseries occasionally veered into camp, however Cabot vs. Swans He takes his story seriously. You've got the loving details of Downton Abbey or Upstairs, downstairs – Lots of lingering shots of food, fashion and jewelry – but this drama is almost exclusively upstairs. Baetz and Van Sant, in particular, set things up beautifully.

Capote's famous black-and-white masquerade ball, in 1966, is the subject of the entire third episode – and it was shot almost entirely in black-and-white. This is because the Maysles brothers were filming a documentary about Capote in the same year, allowing for this runner To adopt this perspective to interview some of the swans about their literary knowledge.

Cabot vs. Swans It deserves our attention. It's a good drama, a compelling story with a strong cast – and in this new installment of… runnerthey're all doing some pretty solid work.