‘Feud’ Provides a Vital Reminder: Naomi Watts Is a Master of Her Craft

Finally, Naomi Watts is great again! I know that might sound weird: When did two-time Oscar-nominee Naomi Watts stop being great? Well, it’s not so much that Watts ever stopped being a great actor; it’s that her gifts have rarely been satisfyingly recognized in recent years, appearing consistently in tremendously underwhelming projects. But in Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, Watts is given a chance to reassert herself as a generational talent, with an exceptional character to sink her acting chops into. And the show’s most recent, seventh episode, “Beautiful Babe,” allows Watts to deliver the performance of a lifetime.

Watts plays Babe Paley, a New York City socialite, wife of CBS founder Bill Paley (Treat Williams), and best friend of Truman Capote (Tom Hollander). Babe has been struggling all season long with the breakdown of her friendship with Truman, but even more pressing is her devastating cancer diagnosis. Episode 7 shines the spotlight on her in her final hours as she comes to terms with the end of her life, allowing Watts to dive into Babe’s mortality—and she nails it.

Throughout Feud’s entire season, Babe had grown increasingly at peace with her own passing. It’s an extremely difficult thing for anyone to accept for anyone; death comes for us all, but sometimes the path to the end is clear and unavoidable. It's also challenging to perform. Watts is a gifted facial actor, able to draw out endless emotions from a glance. That’s a perfect match for a character like Babe, whose existence is all about appearances—what she’s wearing, who she’s seen with, and how she’s acting all invariably become the talk of the town; even a second where Babe seems off could have severe consequences for her societal standing.

Watts channels so much pain into Babe’s eyes, a deep sadness that no matter how much she wants to keep living, her life is ending sooner than she ever imagined. She’s dealt with the inevitable with an almost superhuman grace, never complaining.

WTF Happened to Naomi Watts?

Meanwhile, Bill is determined to try everything to help Babe, including experimental treatments abroad. After being told by her doctor she has mere months to live, Babe is at breaking point. Bill angrily shouts at Babe for continuing to smoke despite the doctor’s advice: “What can I do to make you stop smoking?” he asks. “How about you don’t do a fucking thing?” Babe snaps back. In the confines of her luxurious home, away from prying eyes, Watts can peel back Babe’s carefully considered persona and revel in raw honesty.

Watts is stunning in this moment, letting years of frustration over Bill’s constant cheating and a life that’s always been defined by others bubble up in a venomous monologue. Watts could have easily veered over the top and into a fit of rageful screaming—but even her anger has a restraint becoming of a socialite, delivering something searing while still maintaining the restrained nature of Babe’s character. In the most emotional moments of Feud, Watts never loses sight of who Babe is.

Babe also spends time with her beloved Swans, dining at their favorite La Côte Basque. Watts is wonderful at creating two vastly different worlds for Babe, one in which she can speak her mind in private, and another where she’s in the public eye, and “Beautiful Babe” allows her to be magnificent in both spheres. Those walls she’s built up throughout her entire life finally crumble as she shares her regret over how everything was handled with Truman over the Esquire story. Smiling wide, Babe shares her hopes for one final spectacular party, only to reveal that the party will happen after her death.

Fighting back tears, Babe seems genuinely at peace after letting her frustrations out to Bill. Watts is heartbreaking here; it’s hard to steal focus when you’re surrounded by the likes of Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, and Calista Flockhart, but Watts is so outstanding that you don’t even notice anyone else is in the room.

Later, Watts narrates a striking montage of Babe smiling, laughing, and celebrating with friends. Suddenly, time begins to slow as her face contorts into horror, eyes bursting with fear as the candlelights go out (an obvious-yet-effective metaphor for her life ending). Babe’s final moments come via gorgeous fantasy, in which she’s reunited with the true love of her life—not her husband Bill, but her best friend Truman. Wearing an elegant blue nightgown, she’s awoken by Truman reading her diary. After leaving bed she wears a gorgeous pink gown and the two talk the night away as if their friendship was never interrupted.

Babe realizes these are her final moments, flashing regret and devastation in her eyes, her warm smile fading into a crushing frown. “There’s so much left to do,” Babe says, knowing full well she’ll never be able to do those things. Working to expose the heartache beneath the glamor, Watts delivers a tour-de-force in “Beautiful Babe,” processing a wide range of emotions that one encounters at the end of their life.

The Late Treat Williams Gets a Bittersweet Swan Song in ‘Feud’

There’s an argument to be made that Naomi Watts hasn’t been in anything good since Birdman in 2014, leaving a whole decade of mediocrity in her wake. The only notable exception is 2017’s Twin Peaks: The Return, where she received acclaim for playing Janey-E Jones. But that was seven long years ago. Going through her IMDb page is like playing an obscure trivia game, where even the most intense film aficionados (myself included) will struggle to tell you anything about any of these projects. Have you ever heard of 3 Generations, Infinite Storm, The Loudest Voice, or The Wolf Hour? You wouldn’t even know that one of those is a mini-series! Some of them sound completely made-up—even Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock couldn’t conceive of titles like Penguin Bloom. And I’d be remiss to not mention the apocalyptically bad The Book of Henry, in which she plays a mom who’d rather play Gears of War than pay attention to her kids (and honestly that’s fair; that game rules). Dire.

After years and years of mediocrity (a generous way to describe most of the films she’s been in), Watts may have delivered her most remarkable performance to date in Feud. Hopefully, great filmmakers will take note and start giving Watts the great roles she’s deserving of. If we’re lucky, this is just the beginning of the Wattsassance.

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