After seven years, the second season of " nemesis " has finally started airing. The protagonists are not Charles and Diana from a few years ago, but the American literary weirdo Truman Capote and his once-loved "rival" gene. A group of ladies.
They drew their guns and faced each other, their love, anger and stupidity were superficial. The boning knife of love and hate wrapped in friendship, fame, wealth, class, and talent is even sharper.
Truman Capote, one of the most influential American writers of the last century, is famous for "In Cold Blood". "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is his most well-known work. In the movie, the clip of Holly, played by Hepburn, holding a guitar and singing "Moon River" on the balcony makes this story a heartbreaking reflection of the American dream. But he initially did not approve of Hepburn. For the role of Holly, he preferred Marilyn Monroe.
If Hemingway wrote with guns and whiskey, Capote wrote with X-rays and scalpels. His troubled childhood gave him a keen awareness of pain. He is very good at discerning the dark side of human nature and is deeply tempted by the flashy life, just like his life.
Before "In Cold Blood" came out, he went to interview a scholar, specially wore a Dior outfit, and asked the other person: "Have you ever seen a man wearing Dior?" After becoming famous, he couldn't wait to join the celebrity circle. . In 1966, he held the "Black and White Ball" and invited almost all the celebrities in New York. The party was so spectacular that it was recorded in the history of fashion.
Surrounded by celebrities and ladies, Capote was so intoxicated that he even forgot that he was a writer. He indulged in alcohol and parties, and promised the publisher that he would never finish his novel. But Capote, who seemed to have gotten what he wanted, had a very divided attitude towards the celebrity circle. He called the celebrities he interacted with frequently his swans. He would please, listen, and praise them, but he would also be mean to them at any time.
The story of "Enemy 2" begins here. He had just held the hand of a sad lady and vowed, "I will never hurt you." He then turned around and wrote her secret into a magazine, tearing off the persona she had worked so hard to create without mercy. Before that, he forced another noblewoman to commit suicide by taking poison because she leaked the story that she murdered her husband.
Why does he treat his swans like this, like a spy with ulterior motives and killer , this is the theme of "Enemy 2".
The lady whose secrets he exposed this time is named Babe Paley, the wife of CBS founder William Paley. The top figure in the New York social circle and the swan who had the closest relationship with Capote. Capote once commented on Babe: "Her only flaw is that she is too perfect. Other than that, she is really perfect."
Babe has been taught from a young age to maintain a perfect image at all times and to settle her life through marriage. . Capote was the only person she confided to, to whom she confided that her husband was cheating on her and that her life as a socialite was exhausting and hypocritical. When she wanted to give up this life, it was Capote who stopped her: "You have four children, at least he is providing for them."
So, such a trusting person will tear off your mask in public and mock your life. , of course the battle started. The ladies collectively broke up with Capote. Refusing gifts, refusing to answer phone calls, and excluding him from celebrity parties was a fatal move for Capote. In the play, he goes around asking people to be lobbyists in order to regain a seat at the Thanksgiving party. Losing his celebrity life would make him worse than death than taking away his talent.
You see, what a wonderful conflict this is. When you betray your friend's secret, you will lose him. Such a simple truth, but the clever Capote refused to accept it. In the play, he is almost as innocent as a child, thinking that he can obtain the forgiveness of the ladies by begging, cheating, and lying. He used a pen as sharp as a scalpel to make the ladies bleed, and he expected them to still embrace him.
His immature personality, unhealthy narcissism and flowery life gave him the illusion of wantonness: he thought he would be pardoned for anything he did; he thought his talent would never fade; he thought he only wanted to talk. When the book talks about love, others will not notice the hatred in his writing; he thinks that he can laugh at the spirit of celebrities and enjoy their lives at the same time; he thinks that he is looking for love, but in fact he is venting his hatred, venting the hatred of his unsatisfactory early years.
In addition to dissecting Capote, "Enemy 2" also reshaped the American socialites of the last century and clarified that in addition to their swan-like appearance, their emotions and thoughts as human beings were not just gossips in old newspapers. Inflexible labels, they carry with them the sadness of all women being labeled, restrained, intimidated, and domesticated, and they also contain the courage of all women who strive to find and try to wake up.
After Baby Paley was betrayed by Capote, she said to her husband: "I don't know if there was love between us, but I did love Capote." But she found him in his writing. The attentiveness and praise given to her are just like the others, they are all tributes to the aura of a perfect socialite, but Capote's acting is smarter. The understanding and acceptance she longed for didn't exist.
Baby Paley took off her fine clothes and sat blankly in front of her jewelry, looking at the debts of conscience sent by her husband when he cheated on her. These metals and stones could not bribe the god of death, save her from cancer, and deceive her. her whole life.
Actress Naomi Watts grasps this sense of pathos very well. When a person is heartbroken, they are unable to get angry and can only fall into deep sadness. Seeing her sitting alone on the hospital bed, facing the empty jewelry, the unspeakable pain broke my heart.
Capote only saw her perfection and deliberateness, but he had no consideration for the shackles she wore. He had no empathy for those women who were called swans, so he could coldly write ridicule and pursue lightly. understanding. He thought these women had been blinded by the dazzling light of diamonds and could not distinguish between true love and poisonous honey.
But they are not swans, they are people who are no different from him. They are all seeking love, understanding, acceptance and guidance, so they make mistakes again and again in trust and hit the wall in their attempts.
This is pain, and pain should not be mocked. "Enemy 2" gives this pain real compassion.
A friend once asked me whether writers would betray the privacy of people around them. Great stories often have prototypes. Yang Jiang once wrote a long article describing how Qian Zhongshu drew materials from the stories around him and wrote "The Besieged City". However, the traces of the brushstrokes are completely different whether they are love, compassion or coldness.
Capote fell in love with the vanity of the upper class and hated this luxury, which made his early humbleness even more painful. He felt that he was superior to others, so he found a group of beautiful women who could bring him practical benefits but also seemed weak and bullied to vent the pain of his twisted soul. But he underestimated the heart and power of swans, which can also kill people.
After only two episodes were broadcast, "Enemy 2" has shown the potential to be a hit. Like the first season, it externalizes the war in people's hearts very brilliantly. Although the jumping in editing techniques and the scattering of character lines make it difficult to understand the background. It will be a bit difficult for the audience to watch, but the light and shadow of the sword will arouse our nostalgia for true tenderness.
Capote once said that although he had many shortcomings, he could still become a saint. Who isn't? Everyone is a fusion of a swan and an ugly duckling, a complex intersection of saint and devil.
Chen Mo
