Welcome to your weekend streaming recommendations, a.k.a. the Weekend Watch, a handy guide to the queerest film and TV content that’s just a click away!
FX’s starry, dishy new drama Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans premiered earlier this week to rave reviews and is full of campy performances by the likes of Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, and Tom Hollander as the one and only Truman Capote.
The show, which has been marketed as the “original Real Housewives”—and is a proud sponsor of this year’s Queerties Awards—chronicles Capote’s bombshell article about the “Swans,” ladies of high society who decided to get even with the infamous writer.
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So in honor of Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans, here are our five favorite insane Real Housewives moments—just kidding! We could never pick just five. Instead of Real Housewives, we’re taking a look back at the late, great, gay writer’s fascinating and varied portrayal and impact in popular culture.
Read on for Truman Capote-related streaming picks to watch this weekend while you wait for the next episode of Feud.
Capote
This 2005 biopic, directed by Bennett Miller, follows Capote’s journey writing the OG crime novel In Cold Blood, which told the story of the Clutter family murders. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Capote as a troubled soul, whose work on the story begins to consume his life. Capote won Seymour Hoffman the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Catherine Keener was nominated for Best Supporting Actress as fellow author Harper Lee. Capote has stellar performances, a terrific screenplay, and offers interesting insight into the author’s inner world.
Now streaming on Roku, Hoopla, Tuby, Kanopy and Pluto TV.
Infamous
Released in 2006 and covering much of the same ground as Capote, Douglas McGrath’s Infamous is often overshadowed by the more high-profile, Academy-recognized Seymour Hoffman vehicle. But Infamous is quite interesting in its own right, with Toby Jones starring as Capote and Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee. The supporting cast is also fascinating, including turns by Isabella Rossellini, queer fave Lee Pace, Sigourney Weaver, and a singing performance by Gwyneth Paltrow. Infamous is slightly less cerebral than Capote but definitely worth a watch.
Now streaming on Kanopy. Available to rent digitally on DirecTV, Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube and Vudu.
Murder By Death
Capote dabbled in acting to play a heightened version of himself in this 1976 Robert Moore mystery comedy. In this excellent, fun film, five detectives—inspired by iconic characters like Sam Spade, Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple—are invited to “dinner and a murder.” Capote’s funny performance even got him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Acting in a Motion Picture Debut. Murder By Death also stars Eileen Brennan (who starred in fan fave mystery comedy Clue), Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, Peter Falk and many others.
Available to rent digitally on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft Store and DirecTV.
Breakfast At Tiffany’s
Come on. You didn’t think we’d ignore the 1961 film adaptation of Capote’s romantic comedy novella, did you? Directed by Blake Edwards, Breakfast At Tiffany’s stars Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, a flighty woman who falls in love with a writer, Paul, played by George Peppard. Holly eventually has to decide whether or not to be with Paul, who doesn’t have a ton of money, or settle for Rusty Trawler (Stanley Adams). This effervescent and lovely film is a must-watch for any movie buff.
Now streaming on Paramount Plus and Hoopla. Available to rent digitally on Microsoft Store, Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu and DirecTV.
The Kicker…
In 1972, Capote appeared on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson to talk about In Cold Blood. This interesting clip shows Capote’s quirky, eccentric personality.
Speaking of feuds… don’t forget to vote for the “Best Feud,” one of 25 exciting categories in this year’s Queerties Awards—which you can vote for once a day between now and February 22!
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dbmcvey
Feud is really good so far. But then with Jon Robin Baitz and directors like Gus Van Sant it’s got good quality behind it.
ProfessorDave
It’s well put together, yes, but after watching the first episode I had the feeling that Feud was going to disintegrate into hating Truman and everything he stood for.
mildredspierce
So far so good, as Swans goes. Production values are excellent and the bouffants are glorious!
Kangol2
Their coiffures, especially Watts’/Paleys’ and Sevigny’s/Guests’, are for the gods!
Joshooeerr
The problem with any Ryan Murphy production based on real people and historical events is that Murphy has zero respect for facts. He’s very inclined to rewrite history while attempting to pass it all of as “a true story”. The previous Feud (about Davis and Crawford) was certainly entertaining. But while Murphy went to great lengths to accurately re-construct movie scenes and Oscar presentations (all to create the impression that the drama was the work of detailed research), most of it was based on Shaun Considine’s wildly fanciful book, which cobbled together screeds of unverifiable gossip and easily disproved rumours and presented them all as fact. I can only assume the Capote series will do much the same.
brian6767
Murder By Death….brilliant and funny! One of my top 5 favorite movies of all time.
Kangol2
Two episodes in, the strength of Feud: Capote vs. the Swans is the excellent acting, particularly by Tom Holland, Naomi Watts, Chloe Sevigny, and Diane Lane. All four are perfect in their roles. As far as the truthfulness or not of the accounts, Murphy may be taking some liberties, but he captures of gist of what did happen and Capote comes off as a complicated character who destroyed several vital relationships as he himself was being exploited and spiraling down toward his sad end.
Murder by Death is a very funny movie and Breakfast at Tiffany’s remains iconic, but both films are tragically marred by the grotesquely racist Yellowface portrayals of Asian Americans by White actors. There was no reason for Blake Edward to depict Mr. Kuniyoshi in the manner that he did, and Sellers, a great comedian, also was a fail in his fake Chan-esque character.