It's amazing that someone so self-destructive and backstabbing has had so many movies and shows based on their fairly unremarkable life, but then that seems to be what warrants longevity. I'm not sure if Ryan Murphy is a Capote fan or is taking the daring step to show a dark underside of the gay community, because it's certainly not all rainbows. I'm a gay man and have never clicked with the community, for nearly 40 years since I came out at age 16. The prominent hypocrisy is the demand for equality, yet many have proven to be the most judgmental of anything that doesn't fall into the stereotype. You must support any publicly gay entertainer or politician without question, listen to certain music and act certain ways. Theater and Musicals are a requirement if you want to hold onto your membership card. The worst is pitying the extremely few of us out there who choose monogamy. If your self-worth is determined by how many partners you have, I find that tragic. I was always my own person and have been persecuted by the community for 'not fitting in'. I'm fine with who I am, are you?
Negative stereotypes exist for a reason, they're not just fabricated. Capote fits so many of these stereotypes that I can attest are in fact true, back in the 80's and today. Whether it's the fun side with snarky humor that can easily cross the line, or the self-loathing/self-destructive nature that results in destroyed relationships and any variety of chemical dependencies. There's a big lack of self-awareness. Not to mention the overt sexuality that seems to work for Capote, such as making advances to his 'straight' plumber who then becomes one of his part-time tricks. He's a tortured soul who goes out of his way to sabotage anything of benefit to him, and apparently has zero control over it. I can only assume publishing private details of his closest friends were an attempt at the ultimate self-sabotage, and it worked. It's hard to feel sympathetic towards someone who was given such a wealth of positives and achievements only to systematically ruin each one. On one hand, it's clear he is a very unhappy person who seeks the occasional distraction with friends and flirtations, but to go on TV incoherent and doing things that are in nobody's best interest seem to be the real person inside.
This season is meticulously produced with obvious attention to detail. While I've seen remarks about the acting being over the top, I expect that was the goal. They're presenting rich people with an obvious superiority complex because, once again, stereotypes often exist for a reason. The story would meander from time to time but it wouldn't be long until Capote was drunk again or there was another social lunch with lots and lots of smoking. I'm basing my rating on the overall storytelling and production, not necessarily the story itself.
