10. Feud: Capote vs the Swans
Following Feud: Bette and Joan, about Davis and Crawford’s Old Hollywood rivalry, Ryan Murphy’s next instalment of the Feud anthology is a gossipy delight, with a supertalented cast. Tom Hollander plays Truman Capote in his later years, when he was part of an intimate circles of ladies-who-lunch-while-extravagantly-rich, socialites he called his swans. Then in 1975 he published a barely veiled story, La Cote Basque, betraying them by spilling their darkest secrets. Naomi Watts’s Babe Paley is, only on the surface, a picture of serene perfection. Diane Lane is the sardonic, cynical Slim Keith, and Chloe Sevigny is CZ Guest. Calista Flockhart appears as Lee Radziwill, and the late Treat Williams is Babe’s husband, CBS television founder William Paley. But Hollander is the revelation. At the height of his fame, this Capote is sad, needy, egotistical and alcoholic. Playwright Jon Robin Baitz wrote the series and Gus van Sant (Milk) directed most episodes.
Feud: Capote vs. the Swans premieres on 31 January on FX in the US.
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