Elizabeth Olsen Portrays Real Life Murder in Love and Death

A small town is flipped upside down when an innocent mother winds up murdered in her own home. Candy Montgomery, a housewife from Texas, becomes a prime suspect in her friend's husband’s death. After a messy affair and brutal trial, will Candy be convicted of this small town murder?

Love & Death is based on the true story of Candy Montgomery who killed the wife of the man she had an affair with. After denying any involvement, she ended up pleading guilty in self defense and was acquitted of any crime. This verdict does not come as a surprise for those who followed the trail in real-time back in the ‘80s. 

Elizabeth Olsen stars as Candy and depicts the seemingly innocent character in a believable but calculated way. She shows how Candy was able to manipulate those around her into believing she was innocent until police evidence proved otherwise. This character is a far step from the Marvel superstar’s success but she made the transition look seamless.

The series seems tame at first following the mundane life of Christian housewives and their families. Even the depiction of the couple’s affair is relatively tame compared to some other shows. But, when it comes to Betty’s murder, in true HBO fashion, the gore and excess is a bit extreme. For the tone of the show, these extremely violent and bloody scenes came across as too much. The seriousness of violence can be portrayed in less graphic ways that still have the same impact.

Love & Death was an entertaining watch, but included unnecessary violence and gore that didn’t fit the tone of the rest of the show. The eight episodes also dragged on a bit and accomplished the same story telling that a one to two hour documentary could accomplish. Elizabeth Olsen shined in the role, but the series didn’t bring anything new to the genre or real life story.

Love & Death is streaming on Max.