Review: Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, “Hats, Gloves and Effete Homosexuals” | Season 2, Episode 6
In documenting a fairly dull stretch of Truman Capote’s life, Feud finally finds something interesting to say
As I was preparing to tackle this Feud season, I pulled books off my shelves and added ebooks to my iPad, reminding myself of the key parts of the Truman Capote story: The Stations of the Capote Cross, so to speak. Given that this season is primarily about the wreckage of the author’s social life in the 1970s, there hasn’t been much in the past five episodes about Other Voices, Other Rooms, The Grass Harp, Beat the Devil, “A Christmas Memory,” Breakfast at Tiffany’s or In Cold Blood—except in passing. But I figured that eventually this season’s writer Jon Robin Baitz would have to cover the devastating lawsuit that Gore Vidal filed against Capote in the late ‘70s. I just couldn’t imagine how he’d turn it into good television.
The answer? He doesn’t even try, really. Instead, he and director Gus Van Sant work around the edges of the story, finding extra layers to it. The result? They bring as much depth to “Hats, Gloves and Effete Homosexuals” as I’ve seen from this Feud seas…