Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans divides critics as reviewers say show is both ... trends now

This week saw the airing of final episode for the second season of anthology series Feud, Capote vs the Swans, and the first reviews have flooded in, with critics very divided over its success.

The latest project from Ryan Murphy, tells the real life story of iconic writer Truman Capote, who surrounded himself with a group of New York City socialites he dubbed, 'The Swans.'

However, after Truman goes on to write, 'a thinly veiled fictionalization of their lives, exposing their most intimate secrets,' the women, including Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill, Anne Woodward and Joanne Carson, ruthlessly jettison him out of their high-flying circles.

The story lends itself to much drama and cattiness, with several critics praising the show as 'super stylish, intelligent and luxuriously made'.

However, others blasted the series as a 'dud', criticising its garbled non-linear timeline and lack of momentum over the stretched out eight episodes, saying it 'notably lacking in fun.' 

However, the performances of the star-studded cast, that includes names like Naomi Watts, Jessica Lange, Calista Flockhart and Demi Moore, were universally praised, with Tom Hollander being singled out for his 'hypnotic' portrayal of Truman.

The Evening Standard's Anna Van Praagh says the actor, 56, turns in 'yet another performance of a lifetime' in the role.

She wrote: 'Hollander, fresh from a star turn in the second series of White Lotus, embodies Capote with total mastery in a performance that will surely win him many, many awards. 

'His intonation, his high-pitched voice and eccentric mannerisms are all performed with such skill that at times as the viewer you don’t know if you’re watching Hollander or library footage.'

Writing in The New Statesman, Rachel Cooke gushed that Tom was 'delicious to watch' and added: 'Everyone is excellent, but it’s Hollander who steals every scene: all-seeing, all-knowing, whining and merciless.'

In The Times' review, Carol Midgley pointed out that the star had big shoes to fill, with Philip Seymour Hoffman famously winning the Oscar for Best Actor for playing Truman in 2005's Capote.

But she called him the 'main draw' for the series, saying he is 'so grimly hypnotic it is hard to take your eyes off him.'

She penned: 'It is surely a daunting task for any actor to follow in the footsteps of Philip Seymour Hoffman, but Hollander’s is mesmeric. He plays Capote with his entire physical being.

'Though playing an attention-seeking drunk bent on self-destruction at full volume, he manages to avoid caricature and delivers a performance full of nuance and, eventually, pathos.' 

While Jaspar Reese writing in The Telegraph went one step further, declaring that Tom's portrayal is a 'genuine marvel' and 'may be the truest Truman yet'.

He wrote: 'The British actor scowls and squeals his way through a mesmerising performance that manages to put Philip Seymour Hoffman in the shade.'

Yet despite the dazzling performances, many critics felt that the show still missed the mark, with The Irish Times' Ed Power: 'But while everyone involved has clearly put in the work, the results feel less than the sum of the assembled talents.

'For all the fizz Hollander brings, this tale is ultimately a tragedy rather than the capricious romp Murphy may have originally had in mind.'

The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg added: 'Capote vs. The Swans is eight hours of exceptional performances and interesting formal ideas, a few of which work fairly well.

'Unfortunately, a jumbled approach to time and a limited understanding of character make it a story without momentum.'

In The New York Times, Mike Hale declared that the show 'is peculiarly lacking in dramatic tension' and wrote: 'For every moment that works, though, there are many more that don’t, or that the weary actors are able only to battle to a draw.'

In Lucy Mangan's three star review for The Guardian, she called the show a 'dud' as 'ideas are floated but never developed.'

She wrote: 'Nothing is followed through, no conclusions drawn, no coherence provided. Above all, it simply isn’t fun. 

'Lange aside, it isn’t even camp. It’s cautious, dry, almost worthy in parts with a handful of good lines scattered about. Just enough to spike your flagging interest and keep hope alive that the Murphy magic will arrive. But it never does.'

The New Yorker's Inkoo Kang said the series 'sanitizes its larger-than-life subject—and is notably lacking in fun.

'The season’s fatal flaw, though, isn’t its mawkishness or its self-seriousness but its lack of sufficient plot to sustain eight episodes. “

'Capote vs. the Swans” is about a book that refuses to be written, a sobriety that won’t stick, a pardon that won’t come. It’s a story about a squandering of talent that wastes its own potential.'

Writing for The Daily Mail, Christopher Stevens was the series' biggest critics, giving the season just two stars and saying it 'could put anyone to sleep'.

He wrote: 'This should be electrifying. Instead, it's soulless, frequently crass, repetitive, confused and (by far the worst sin for a drama about gossip) downright dull. 

'The narrative staggers between decades like a drunk weaving through a party. The women, too, look unreal — they're meant to be shallow, but this eight-part series (written and directed by men) fails to convince us that they're more than imitation human beings.'

But it was not panned across the board, with The Times giving the show four stars and labelling it 'grippingly vicious.'

The Independent's Nick Hilton wrote: 'Murphy manages to capture the appeal, both of Capote and the world that he so vividly depicted. 

'There’s hardly a better collection of stars than the ones Murphy has arranged, in deliberate fashion, for this beguiling season of television.'

While the Standard and the Telegraph both gave it top marks of five stars out of five, saying it was a 'must watch' and 'a catty, scandalous delight'.

Anna wrote: 'Bold. Super stylish. Intelligent. Luxuriously made and unhurried, it’s hard to watch Feud: Capote vs the Swans

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