’Feud’

A legendary feud between two legendary screen idols comes to a head with the making of the 1962 feature Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? – the first time Bette Davis and Joan Crawford had shared the limelight in the same film.

It’s a delicious premise as the once most beautiful woman in the world (Crawford – Jessica Lange) is pitched head to head with the once most talented woman in the world (Davis – Susan Sarandon). With their popularity on the wane with few roles for older women (extraordinarily they were both only in their mid-50s), both stars need the feature to be a success. As does director Robert Aldrich (Alfred Molina) – his last few films have all bombed at the box office.

The alcoholic Crawford is old school Hollywood – Los Angeles resident who continues to maintain the glamorous front in spite of a distinct shortage of cash. Confidant with the notorious gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (a splendid Judy Davis), Crawford is generally safe from the poison pen of Hopper. Which is more than can be said of the east coast resident, the intelligent, determined Bette Davis. Made party to the negotiations with the film by Crawford, Hopper has a field day in revealing any salacious gossip she can on the upstart, Davis.

Feud is a fun eight part ride as barbed comments fly eighteen to the dozen – with studio boss Jack Warner (Stanley Tucci) encouraging the feud. With leaks aplenty, the media is never far from the story and as long as the two women are at loggerheads, the more interest there is in the film. And of course, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? was a box-office success, leading to Oscar nominations and the hag horror genre. The film’s success led to further confrontations between the two women – their connection to the film did not end when the director announced ‘that’s a rap’ on the final day of shooting.

It’s an engrossing eight part miniseries that goes behind the scenes of old Hollywood. But old style glamour is in short supply – Crawford’s only friend (aside from the vodka bottle) appears to be her maid/general dogsbody Mamacita (Jackie Hoffman) whilst Davis is struggling with motherhood and 16 year-old daughter, B.D. Merrill (Kiernan Shipka). Not lost is the irony that the two were being played by the system and had they pulled together, they and others could have had so much more say in the industry. Both individually recognised it but personal enmity could not be overcome.

A Ryan Murphy production and based on the book by Laurence Leamer, Feud is calmer and more restrained than series such as Hollywood and American Horror Story. At eight episodes, pace palls as the energy is strained. But, thoughtful and considered, Joan with desperation and Bette with defiance, Feud looks to the impact the system and expectations placed on the two women and the resultant decades of bitterness that existed between them.

Rating: 70%