Season 2 - Feud: Capote vs The Swans

[DanaK]

Season 2: Truman Capote vs The Swans. 8 episodes. Premieres Wednesday Jan 31 at 10pm ET on FX with 2 episodes. I believe it streams on Hulu the next day

[Cheezwiz]

Originally posted this in the wrong thread, so re-posting here:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm looking at the cast and comparing to photos of the real-life socialites they are supposed to be portraying, and I can't help but feel like they really screwed up the casting (even though I like all of the actors). In my mind, the actresses should have all been swapped around:

Chloe Sevigny apparently was cast as C.Z. Guest, but in my opinion, she looks waaaay more like Slim Keith.

Teeny petite blonde blue-eyed Naomi Watts has been cast as lanky dark-eyed Babe Paley, but I think she would have been much better as blonde blue-eyed socialite C.Z. Guest.

And brunette dark-eyed Diane Lane, who, in my opinion, would have made a MUCH better Babe Paley, wound up getting cast as Slim Keith.

I guess Calista Flockhart works okay as Lee Radziwill.

I really like Molly Ringwald, but she looks nothing like Joanna Carson. Molly Ringwald just always looks like Molly Ringwald to me, and I'm not sure if I'll buy her in a historical biopic.

I know the majority of viewers probably aren't going to have a clue who any of these women were or what they really looked like. I'm probably quibbling, but it always bugs me when shows don't even try for a remote semblance of the real-life counterparts.

I'm currently reading "Capote's Women" which was the inspiration for this incarnation. of Feud, and it's a page-turner! Ryan Murphy productions always seem to start out with a bang and then sort of peter out, so I'm curious to see what happens with this one.

 

 

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[Spartan Girl]

Watched the first two episodes. My God, Capote was such a snake. I’m on Team Swan, you do NOT air your friends’ dirty laundry like that. Also, and I have to say it, he sounds like Droopy Dog.

[GHScorpiosRule]

8 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Watched the first two episodes. My God, Capote was such a snake. I’m on Team Swan, you do NOT air your friends’ dirty laundry like that. Also, and I have to say it, he sounds like Droopy Dog.

That's INSULTING Droopy! The affect and whiny nasally way he speaks is like nails on a chalkboard for me.

And no words for Babe, who continued to smoke while undergoing chemo for lung cancer!

I found season one's with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis more interesting. I could have sworn there was a thread for that, but I can't find it.

[Snazzy Daisy]

S02•E01 - Pilot

Treat Williams’ final project… 😢

No Calista Flockhart in the premiere! 😩

Tom Hollander’s portrayal of Truman Capote is spot on - his mannerisms, his distinct voice, his annoying chuckles and the subtle sadness in his eyes. And Tom’s petite figure makes everything believable. He manages to make Truman captivating even when he’s in a hot mess, broken and empty, wanting to be “molested into oblivion”. 

Period sex is still gross despite Hollywood’s best efforts to weaponize and normalize it. Ewww. Happy Rockefeller, you fat-ankled harridan!

During the 1955 vacation with the Paleys, Truman has revealed his true self when he nonchalantly gossiping about Ann bang-bang. If he can gossip WITH you, he can certainly gossip ABOUT you. They choose to ignore the first major red flag.

A simple Google search would have shown when 60 Minutes first aired. Lazy writing.

Babe’s accident and her facial reconstruction have inspired the nickname “swan”. This “homosexual court jester singing for his supper” has provided Babe Paley with what she needs - love and comfort.

Quote

BABE: “The only person who could ever really hurt me is you.”

TRUMAN: “And that would never happen in a million years.”

🙄🙄🙄

Truman has a very thick skin. He seems unbothered by Ann Bang Bang whispering slurs to his face.

Edited February 5 by Snazzy Daisy

[Spartan Girl]

40 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I found season one's with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis more interesting. I could have sworn there was a thread for that, but I can't find it.

It was vaulted.

[Cheezwiz]

Tom Hollander is totally hitting out of the park as Truman. I recall seeing Capote on talk shows all the time when I was a kid in the 70's, and Hollander has nailed his voice and mannerisms.

Interestingly there have now been 3 motion pictures with Truman Capote as the main subject:

2005 Infamous with British actor Toby Jones

2006 Capote with Phillip Seymour Hoffman (RIP)

2024 and now Feud with Tom Hollander

Each actor, although they looked somewhat different from the real Capote, gave stellar performances - not a misstep anywhere. If you haven't seen the two films from the 2000's I highly recommend both.

Capote is a fascinating character, because although his actions in this miniseries are indeed villainous, (people are still aghast at what he could have been thinking back then), there were many sides to his personality. There were reasons he enchanted so many - high intelligence, quick wit and mesmerizing storytelling ability. Unfortunately the darker aspects of his character completely overtook him in the latter part of his life, and he paid dearly.

I was also amused to see a sequence detailing the filming of Neil Simon's "Murder by Death" a delightfully dumb send-up of detective stories that I absolutely loved as a kid - it may have been my first (ignoble) intro to Truman.

 

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Truman has a very thick skin. He seems unbothered by Ann Bang Bang whispering slurs to his face.

Demi Moore was on fire that scene. I don’t condone slurs, mind you, but I’m not going to be indignant on Truman’s behalf. I hope Ann is in some flashback scenes.

Molly Ringwald as Johnny Carson’s ex wife was…something.

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And no words for Babe, who continued to smoke while undergoing chemo for lung cancer!

Stupid, but unfortunately it probably wasn’t an uncommon attitude back then. I was more pissed by the friend trying to guilt Babe into making up with Truman while she’s undergoing chemo. Peak audacity.

Let this be a lesson to everyone that grew up on the “gay best friend” trope: the LGBTQ community are neither your props nor your pets whose purpose in life to make you feel better. The Swans learned that the hard way.

Edited February 5 by Spartan Girl

[Snazzy Daisy]

S02•E02 - Ice Water in Their Veins

Truman has been cancelled by his swans for being a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Jack needs to move on with his life. Let abusive John deals with Truman. It doesn’t make sense for Jack to keep reaching out to Babe, asking her to forgive him etc. Babe is not responsible for Truman’s self-destructive ways. He needs to learn the hard way that actions have consequences.

They bring in Murphyverse regular, Jessica Lange as a ghost of Truman’s cruel mother. She calls him fat and urges him to commit suicide. 🤦🏻‍♀️

The lunch scene at La Côte Basque after Ann’s funeral - it’s like watching a coven of witches planning to cast a no-contact spell on Truman.

We can clearly see why Babe is Truman’s favorite swan. She’s a sheer perfection. C.Z. Guest is kind of boring. Slim Keith and Lee Radziwill’s unfiltered, snarky remarks are delicious.

Quote

“Because he will drink and he will call and he will weep and he will plead and he will beg and he will simper.”

The V word and hell gates don’t belong in the same sentence! 🤣   
 

 

Edited February 5 by Snazzy Daisy

[voiceover]

Welllll…enjoying the performances (honestly I’d watch Diane Lane read the phone book! she’s just terrific, the way she bites off those bitchy lines like they were celery in her cocktails).  And the set decoration is visual porn.

But I am reallyreallyREALLY over this obsession with nonlinear storytelling.  Flashbacks are okay.  But this story, done this way, lessens the shock & devastation that was the aftermath of the Esquire article.  I get why they’re upset.  Just feels like it would’ve hit harder after seeing those relationships develop — to the point of where you’re yelling “Don’t do it, Truman!!” at the tv, even though you know what’s coming.

[Pi237]

23 minutes ago, voiceover said:

Welllll…enjoying the performances (honestly I’d watch Diane Lane read the phone book! she’s just terrific, the way she bites off those bitchy lines like they were celery in her cocktails).  

I love Diane Lane! I’m so glad to see her and many of the other actresses closer to my age🤣 for a change , getting big chunks of scenery to gnaw on. It’s so fun. I didn’t watch season 1, but checked this out because of Diane. And she’s the most believable in her role. A few of them, you can really see the Acting, but I’m still loving this cast. 

[chitowngirl]

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

 

I found season one's with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis more interesting. I could have sworn there was a thread for that, but I can't find it.

Here you go!

https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/2685-feud-v/

 

[babyrambo]

 

On 1/28/2024 at 3:38 AM, Cheezwiz said:

And brunette dark-eyed Diane Lane, who, in my opinion, would have made a MUCH better Babe Paley, wound up getting cast as Slim Keith.

Completely agree about the casting. To me, Diane Lane is holding this series up by a large margin. While I like the performances, the other swans don’t have quite the same gravitas. I do love their faint disdain for the world around them though. And their outfits.

But there’s something hammy about the overall production and presentation of the series. At times it works but mostly it feels a bit hokey. As does some of the dialogue. I’m all for a monologue moment but more than a few scenes seem to grind to a halt so people can lecture and that takes me out of the moment. The content is grandiose enough, a touch of subtlety wouldn’t hurt. 

[surfgirl]

19 minutes ago, babyrambo said:

But there’s something hammy about the overall production and presentation of the series. At times it works but mostly it feels a bit hokey. As does some of the dialogue.

This. I'm all about the costuming, the jewelry, the set decoration, it all looks like Slim Aarons photographs but in living color. However the dialogue and the acting are awkward much of the time. With such a stellar cast I expected better acting. Then again, if the script is mediocre no actor can make chicken salad out of it.

[MsMalin]

5 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Tom Hollander’s portrayal of Truman Capote is spot on - his mannerisms, his distinct voice, his annoying chuckles and the subtle sadness in his eyes. 

I agree totally. I remember one of my parents friends was reading "In Cold Blood" and couldn't finish it after seeing Truman on Dick Cavett.

I loved TC's writing and found him very interesting but boy, when I learned in later years of all his shenanigans I was disappointed.

[Bumblebee84047]

3 hours ago, voiceover said:

But I am reallyreallyREALLY over this obsession with nonlinear storytelling. 

 

 

Thank you!  When I read the reviews and they mentioned the storytelling style I thought "Holy crap, can no one tell a linear story anymore?"

[Spartan Girl]

5 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

 

Jack needs to move on with his life. Let abusive John deals with Truman. It doesn’t make sense for Jack to keep reaching out to Babe, asking her to forgive him etc. Babe is not responsible for Truman’s self-destructive ways. He needs to learn the hard way that actions have consequences.

Not to mention that he hadn’t even made anything resembling an apology for what he did. At all. It’s just “never my fault” and “I’m an artist” self-serving bullshit.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Another thing that makes this difficult to watch or rather, makes me sad, is this is Treat Williams’s last performance since we lost him recently.

[Starchild]

I'm a big Roddy McDowall fan, so when I saw his name in the credits I couldn't think which scene he could have been in.

Crawling through IMDB I realized that he was the guy who pulled O'Shea off of Truman at Joanne's Thanksgiving dinner (though not before the poor little guy lost a tooth).

I never would have clocked that, I don't think Roddy was that tall, and I certainly never thought of him as someone who would intervene in a physical altercation.

[MerBearHou]

4 hours ago, voiceover said:

Welllll…enjoying the performances (honestly I’d watch Diane Lane read the phone book! she’s just terrific, the way she bites off those bitchy lines like they were celery in her cocktails).  And the set decoration is visual porn.

But I am reallyreallyREALLY over this obsession with nonlinear storytelling.  Flashbacks are okay.  But this story, done this way, lessens the shock & devastation that was the aftermath of the Esquire article.  I get why they’re upset.  Just feels like it would’ve hit harder after seeing those relationships develop — to the point of where you’re yelling “Don’t do it, Truman!!” at the tv, even though you know what’s coming.

I have been thinking this same thing — they are showing us the story backwards and therefore, lessening the impact of what Truman did after cultivating and enjoying very close friendships for years.  

The performances are quite good, but wow, it is hard to be around these people for an hour at a time.  I need a major break after each episode.  

And nitpick, but Babe mispronounced Porthault.  I would have thought they would have caught that and fixed it.  

Edited February 6 by MerBearHou

[Snazzy Daisy]

59 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Not to mention that he hadn’t even made anything resembling an apology for what he did. At all. It’s just “never my fault” and “I’m an artist” self-serving bullshit.

It irritates me when Truman does this just to avoid difficult conversations. So childish. And his signature wave…gosh, it’s so pretentious. 😂
 

[voiceover]

47 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

but wow, it is hard to be around these people for an hour at a time.  I need a major break after each episode.

This, exactly.  I’ve been forced to cleanse afterwards by watching Hallmark Christmas movies*
 

*actually quite fond of a few of those 🤣

[MerBearHou]

22 minutes ago, voiceover said:

This, exactly.  I’ve been forced to cleanse afterwards by watching Hallmark Christmas movies*
 

*actually quite fond of a few of those 🤣

Ditto here!!

[Cheezwiz]

5 hours ago, babyrambo said:

Completely agree about the casting. To me, Diane Lane is holding this series up by a large margin. While I like the performances, the other swans don’t have quite the same gravitas.

I think they're all doing pretty well - Diane Lane & Naomi Watts are the standouts for me. I'm not loving Calista Flockhart as Lee Radziwill - I'm finding her performance too OTT. I love Molly Ringwald, but she just always seems like Molly Ringwald to me. I enjoy her presence - but I'm just not buying her as Johnny Carson's ex - that was an oddball casting choice.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Naomi is an executive producer, so I would guess that she would want the juiciest role.

The cinematography, sets, props and wardrobe are stunning.

The actors are delivering. But I never liked Calista. It surprised me that they cast Molly Ringwald and her in this. 
 

Truman’s very charming, entertaining and charismatic. But it’s sad that he delights in shaming those he envies. Those who loved him or whom he targeted to befriend and benefit from. 
 

Truman’s mother emotionally abusing from the grave. It’s a cliche, but I do believe that the relationship with the mother shapes the child. She (gives the appearance that she) prioritizes her child’s safety, well-being, joy. The child relies on her for validation. But the mother’s demons usually surface and dominate. Very sad and tragic.

[sugarbaker design]

This show is a great companion piece to the Phillip Seymour Hoffman film Capote, where Capote essentially sold his soul to get his In Cold Blood written.  At the point where F:CvTS begins Capote is already swirling the drain, in a death spiral.

[monakane]

18 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Period sex is still gross despite Hollywood’s best efforts to weaponize and normalize it. Ewww. Happy Rockefeller, you fat-ankled harridan!

Thank you!  Also, it looked more like a murder scene in there than period blood.  Who bleeds that much.  Gross.

[tennisgurl]

The Swans might have their issues, but I am totally in their side in this feud. Truman Capote really was a great writer and I can see why people were so drawn to him, he was witty, charismatic, and clearly very intelligent, but he could also be a real petty asshole. He went and told all of his friends dirtiest secrets and expected them to all be cool with that because "he's an artist" which is a really shitty thing to do no matter what. It is sort of hilarious how he seems to be really have been blindsided by all of his classy lady friends ditched him after this, he really was living in his own world at this point. 

The Swans certainly learned the hard way that you shouldn't treat your friend like a "Sassy Gay Best Friend" as just your sounding broad, they're people too. 

I hope that we get a few more scenes of Demi Moore as Ann Woodward, she made a huge impression in her brief scene. Truman apparently didn't even know all of the tea about her, supposedly Ann was originally having an  affair with William Woodward Senior, her future father in law, who encouraged her to seduce his son so that they would have excuses to spend time together! 

I really liked seeing that brief glimpse of Murder By Death, a movie I loved as a kid!

This show is very Ryan Murphy, campy, great performances, great production value, his muse Jessica Lange doing her Jessica Lange thing, questionable dialogue, I know I'll be watching regardless of if and when it falls apart.

Edited February 6 by tennisgurl

[sugarbaker design]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

He went and told all of his friends dirtiest secrets and expected them to all be cool with that because "he's an artist" which is a really shitty thing to do no matter what.

And he did it for money.  What a piece of shit.

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

I hope that we get a few more scenes of Demi Moore as Ann Woodward, she made a huge impression in her brief scene.

I hope so too.  There's a good TV-movie/mini-series called The Two Mrs. Grenvilles from the 80s, it's a fictionalized account of Ann Woodward's story, based on the novel by Dominic Dunne.

[iMonrey]

20 hours ago, Cheezwiz said:

I was also amused to see a sequence detailing the filming of Neil Simon's "Murder by Death" a delightfully dumb send-up of detective stories that I absolutely loved as a kid - it may have been my first (ignoble) intro to Truman.

One of my all-time favorite comedies. But the monologue Truman gave as Lionel Twain was misplaced. It did not take place at the dinner table as portrayed here, but rather at the end of the film in his office. Not sure why they staged it wrong. Maybe just to allow him extra movement around the room. 

15 hours ago, babyrambo said:

The content is grandiose enough, a touch of subtlety wouldn’t hurt. 

Subtlety is not in Ryan Murphy's wheelhouse.

[carrps]

16 hours ago, babyrambo said:

But there’s something hammy about the overall production and presentation of the series. At times it works but mostly it feels a bit hokey. As does some of the dialogue. I’m all for a monologue moment but more than a few scenes seem to grind to a halt so people can lecture and that takes me out of the moment. The content is grandiose enough, a touch of subtlety wouldn’t hurt. 

Yeah, I know Ryan Murphy doesn't do subtlety, but couldn't he learn? I just get tired watching his shows and usually just give up on them.

[meep.meep]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

And he did it for money.  What a piece of shit.

I hope so too.  There's a good TV-movie/mini-series called The Two Mrs. Grenvilles from the 80s, it's a fictionalized account of Ann Woodward's story, based on the novel by Dominic Dunne.

I recently read a book by Roseanne Montillo about Ann Woodward's life called Deliberate Cruelty.  It covers Capote and the Swans as well.

This is awfully campy - I keep falling asleep.

[MsMalin]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The Swans certainly learned the hard way that you shouldn't treat your friend like a "Sassy Gay Best Friend" as just your sounding broad, they're people too. 

LOL was that intentional?

[sugarbaker design]

42 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

I recently read a book by Roseanne Montillo about Ann Woodward's life called Deliberate Cruelty.

"Deliberate cruelty is unforgivable." - Blanche DuBois

45 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

This is awfully campy - I keep falling asleep.

Camp keeps me awake!

[txhorns79]

I'm mixed on it so far.  I feel like we should have seen a lot more of Truman's relationship with these women before he betrayed them and they decided to cut him off.  Outside of Babe Paley, I really don't know much about any of these women or their background, or what Truman wrote about them.  Maybe it will be explained more as the show continues, but as it is, it's not particularly well done.   

And can anyone explain the point of Phyllis Diller being at Joanne Carson's Thanksgiving?  She did nothing, said nothing, but her presence was very much a distraction. 

 

 

[larapu2000]

5 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I'm mixed on it so far.  I feel like we should have seen a lot more of Truman's relationship with these women before he betrayed them and they decided to cut him off.  Outside of Babe Paley, I really don't know much about any of these women or their background, or what Truman wrote about them.  Maybe it will be explained more as the show continues, but as it is, it's not particularly well done.   

And can anyone explain the point of Phyllis Diller being at Joanne Carson's Thanksgiving?  She did nothing, said nothing, but her presence was very much a distraction. 

 

 

Okay, THANK YOU about Phyllis Diller.  Also, I knew instantly it was Phyllis Diller and only because of Scooby Doo!  Thanks, Scooby!

I get that the show is called "Feud," so we need to know there IS a feud, however, the timeline jumping is so stupid.  I don't even care that he hurt them, because I don't care about anyone, especially Truman.

So far, it feels like rich people being assholes to other rich people and while that can be campy fun, when it comes with no stakes, it just feels shallow and cold.  I have a lot of beef with The Gilded Age, but what I love about it is how seriously Mrs. Russell's social climbing scheming is taken seriously because that was her job in that era.  It's touched on a little with Babe, but not the others.  Truman is such a whiny little brat that you wonder why these women put up with him, but that also makes you wonder about their character that they like this person.

We need to like these people, or at least hate them ferociously equally.  I could not give a shit about any of them.  The only person I DID like was Treat Williams as Babe's husband who turned the page from a serial cheater to a man that doted and cared for her while she went through cancer hell.  

[sugarbaker design]

32 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

And can anyone explain the point of Phyllis Diller being at Joanne Carson's Thanksgiving?  She did nothing, said nothing, but her presence was very much a distraction. 

 

 

It illustrates, in a fun way, that Mrs. Carson is a C-list celebrity collector.

[12catcrazy]

Call me weird but this show, True Detective, and Funny Woman are the shows that I look forward to every week.    I was thrilled when I found out they were making this 2nd season of Feud (love the first one) and the subject matter.  As another person of a certain age, I remember seeing Truman Capote on all the talk shows in the late 60s into the 70s and most of the time he was in the bag.  And he was flaming and made no bones about it.  And the "swans" were in all of the NY Social pages of the time.  These women still dressed to the teeth and conducted themselves in public like Grande Dames.  Back in the day, Lee Radziwill was the most shocking with her running around with people like Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol, and she thought that she was going to marry Onassis... anyway, I digress.  

But hard to believe that Capote had landed exactly where he wanted to be, in the lap of the highest society but then turned around and bit the hands that fed him.  As one writer recently put it in his blog: there is an old Southern expression - if you make a snake a pet, don't be surprised when you're bitten.  That sums up Truman Capote and the Swans pretty well.   And you just have to cringe when he was ripping up Ann Woodward with the nasty gossip and that rather than being totally appalled, Paley and company wanted him around all of the time.  Ann Woodward was looked down upon so I guess they thought hearing Capote's shit was terribly fun but it wasn't fun when he turned the tables on them.  

[Spartan Girl]

7 hours ago, monakane said:

Thank you!  Also, it looked more like a murder scene in there than period blood.  Who bleeds that much.  Gross.

She must have timed it right, that’s all I’ll say.

[chitowngirl]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

It illustrates, in a fun way, that Mrs. Carson is a C-list celebrity collector.

And Phyllis Diller is a visually recognizable person. If it was just a California celebrity there for dinner, we wouldn’t know who it was. This way, sugarbaker’s point is made.

[iMonrey]

5 hours ago, carrps said:

Yeah, I know Ryan Murphy doesn't do subtlety, but couldn't he learn? I just get tired watching his shows and usually just give up on them.

I know what you mean. I was on the fence about this, but as usual, the casting drew me in. Tom Hollander is really nailing the Capote impression, I didn't even recognize him at first. But yeah, like everything else Murphy touches, it's campy as hell. I'm kind of amazed how many A-listers want to work with him.

That said, it's time for Jessica Lange to step away from Ryan Murphy projects. She seems to play the same character in every vehicle. Even her take on Joan Crawford was reminiscent of her American Horror Story characters. She has officially attained one-note status.

[voiceover]

6 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

There's a good TV-movie/mini-series called The Two Mrs. Grenvilles from the 80s, it's a fictionalized account of Ann Woodward's story, based on the novel by Dominic Dunne.

<smacks forehead>  I didn’t know that was her!!  Now I need to find that & rewatch it.

Funny that you brought Dunne into the convo.  I actually thought of him while watching this.  I used to read his stuff in Vanity Fair & I have his collected essays book.

He was…something like the light side of Truman.  Hung out with a lot of society women who confided in him, but I don’t recall him ever betraying confidences publicly, or in such a nasty fashion.  His interest in true crime came about as a way to deal with the murder of his daughter Dominique (whose ex-boyfriend killer received a light sentence).

[carrps]

36 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

but as usual, the casting drew me in. Tom Hollander is really nailing the Capote impression

Yeah, I'm really only in it for Tom Hollander. He's doing a fabulous job.

3 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

And can anyone explain the point of Phyllis Diller being at Joanne Carson's Thanksgiving?  She did nothing, said nothing, but her presence was very much a distraction. 

Oh, I meant to mention that! Phyllis Diller was dressed in her performance costume. That hair, and the dress with the maribou collar, were something she never wore when she was in her private life. It was jarring. I think it was a cheap way to indicate that the Carsons only had low level celebrity guests instead of the so-called creme de la creme of society in Palm Beach at the Paley's. It was cheesy.

[Cheezwiz]

8 hours ago, voiceover said:

Funny that you brought Dunne into the convo.  I actually thought of him while watching this.  I used to read his stuff in Vanity Fair & I have his collected essays book.

He was…something like the light side of Truman.  Hung out with a lot of society women who confided in him, but I don’t recall him ever betraying confidences publicly, or in such a nasty fashion.  His interest in true crime came about as a way to deal with the murder of his daughter Dominique (whose ex-boyfriend killer received a light sentence).

I really enjoyed Dunne's writing - I read Vanity fair avidly during the years he covered the society/rich people crime beat, and completely forgot about "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles". I read it when it came out, but completely forgot the details and had no idea it was inspired by Ann Woodward.

So much of this show is about people I recall being featured in Vanity Fair  exposes (the various Swans, Katherine Graham etc) but only recalling bits and pieces of their stories, so it's been fun to watch this and then disappear down research rabbit holes, to get a broader picture.

It's also been fun watching actresses roughly my age chew a bunch of scenery in their portrayals.

[Chaos Theory]

I was busy doing other things and missed that the show started and with this being a female heavy show I was looking forward to it.  Thank the online gods i have Hulu (at least for now).  Anyway….i am really enjoying this.   Ryan Murphy has always been my guy….i enjoy his stuff….so I am really liking this.   I am so much on The Swans side.  Yes they have their problems and alit of them are rich people problems (aside of the lung cancer thing) but that is still no excuse for Truman Capote to air their dirty laundry in a thinly veiled story.   I would be PISSED too.    I know my share of upperish class people (not to this level mind you) but one thing I have learned is true about them.  Yea they might treat you like a pet or a servant or a third wheel but they will (usually) be incredibly kind and giving until you offend them and then they will cut you off so fast.   Anyway unless there was something we don’t know that we will later find out that the Swans did to him that was horrible I am 100% on the swans side.  
 

plus I love all the actresses.  I think they are doing a great job.  Even if the casting isn’t perfect.  

[carrps]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

 Yes they have their problems and alit of them are rich people problems (aside of the lung cancer thing) but that is still no excuse for Truman Capote to air their dirty laundry in a thinly veiled story.   I would be PISSED too.  

Just because I'm not particularly fond of "high society," I certainly didn't mean to imply that these women deserved their betrayal. There's no excuse for that no matter what your level in the world is.

 

[sistermagpie]

On 2/6/2024 at 2:09 AM, Cheezwiz said:

I think they're all doing pretty well - Diane Lane & Naomi Watts are the standouts for me. I'm not loving Calista Flockhart as Lee Radziwill - I'm finding her performance too OTT. I love Molly Ringwald, but she just always seems like Molly Ringwald to me. I enjoy her presence - but I'm just not buying her as Johnny Carson's ex - that was an oddball casting choice.

I've liked a lot of the actors but nothing was better than seeing Allison Wright turn up as a British floozy. Loved watching her get to do something so goofy. Glad Ryan Murphy is still using her. I was happier to see her than Jessica Lange.

On 2/6/2024 at 12:21 PM, iMonrey said:

One of my all-time favorite comedies. But the monologue Truman gave as Lionel Twain was misplaced. It did not take place at the dinner table as portrayed here, but rather at the end of the film in his office. Not sure why they staged it wrong. Maybe just to allow him extra movement around the room. 

Subtlety is not in Ryan Murphy's wheelhouse.

So he could imagine the Swans at the table, I imagine. When I think of that movie I tend to first think of the dinner scene. 

[voiceover]

I do love me some Maysles Brothers’ work (I saw their Meet Marlon Brando in a documentary film class and my dears! he looked so very, very fine — I’m pretty sure my tongue rolled right out of my mouth & onto the floor), and this ep was a decent imitation of their film style.  Though it’s all a fiction (the brothers did a short film of Capote around the release of In Cold Blood, but no Swans were involved), it’s an interesting take on the actual party.

Haven’t changed my mind about Truman, and tonight made it worse.  But, just like with Murphy’s last series (AHS’s Delicate), I’ll probably hang on til the end.  At least in this one, the acting is better.

[buttersister]

Quote

Then again, if the script is mediocre no actor can make chicken salad out of it.

Chicken hash, my dears.

[EtheltoTillie]

7 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

I've liked a lot of the actors but nothing was better than seeing Allison Wright turn up as a British floozy. Loved watching her get to do something so goofy. Glad Ryan Murphy is still using her. I was happier to see her than Jessica Lange.

So he could imagine the Swans at the table, I imagine. When I think of that movie I tend to first think of the dinner scene. 

Where was Allison wright?  I missed her. 

6 hours ago, voiceover said:

I do love me some Maysles Brothers’ work (I saw their Meet Marlon Brando in a documentary film class and my dears! he looked so very, very fine — I’m pretty sure my tongue rolled right out of my mouth & onto the floor), and this ep was a decent imitation of their film style.  Though it’s all a fiction (the brothers did a short film of Capote around the release of In Cold Blood, but no Swans were involved), it’s an interesting take on the actual party.

Haven’t changed my mind about Truman, and tonight made it worse.  But, just like with Murphy’s last series (AHS’s Delicate), I’ll probably hang on til the end.  At least in this one, the acting is better.

Try watching the Maysles brothers’ Salesman. Fascinating and depressing. Then there’s Grey Gardens, of course, which I find exploitative. 
I tried finding the black and white ball documentary but no success.