Love & Death

I have seen both series on this incident and they each have their merits and flaws. The Hulu series entitled Candy, starring Jessica Biel, is the story told as if the protagonist is Betty, and she is an innocent victim of another woman's rage. Whereas Love and Death, on HBO Max, starring Elizabeth Olsen, is told as if the protagonist is Candy, who suffered an attack at the hands of an troubled and mentally unstable woman.

Both resent the same facts, bent to fit the needs of the protagonist.

In my opinion, the HBO series is much better. I found the characters much more likeable and the way the story is told, to be much more engaging.

Not to mention the beautiful sets and wardrobe that brought me right back to the 70's in tone and look.

Jesse Plemons once again puts in a stunning performance, as does Lily Rabe, herself a veteran of difficult, and well done performances.

Not to mention the beautiful framing with the axe, Betty's legs in the foreground and Candy in the background. Easily could have been the background for the title card.

I don't know why two versions of the same story came out of Hollywood one year apart. And in my opinion, Love & Death isn't as good because Candy exists. Candy was more atmospheric and better stylized, had much better casting choices, and depicted the characters much more closely to the real people they were based on. Olsen, while very talented, looks too young and Rabe looks nothing like the real Betty Gore. Candy also did a much better job of capturing the essence of the late 70s/early 80s. As I said, Elizabeth Olsen is very talented but Jessica Biel just did an overall better job at giving us the Candy Montgomery of 1980.

Love and Death

A miniseries about the axe murderer, Candy Montgomery.

Elizabeth Olsen is commanding, intense and breathtaking (the Scarlet woman). Delivering a well nuanced portrayal, she's surely secured herself an Emmy nom. After seeing Jesse Plemmons in The Power Of The Dog, his role and acting approach here is very familiar, but done well. Lilly Rabe as neurotic and dislikable Betty is impressive.

The set, visuals and cinematography are stunning, and the 70s & 80s tunes that make up the soundtrack are fitting. The plot was also unraveled slowly and deliciously.

Fans of true crime will definitely love this adaptation.

8/10.

First off, I am a bit impressed and encouraged by television offerings lately. ...Well okay, two or three series come immediately to mind.

Love & Death is one of them.

At first, my husband and I weren't too interested in watching this perhaps because neither of us knew much about the case it is based on. After seeing it pop up as a choice a few times, however, we figured 'what the heck', and began watching. While parts of Episode 1 actually felt a bit "icky" (for lack of a better term), I am so glad we stuck with it, and by the next day, I couldn't wait to get home in order to to pick up where we had left off at episode three.

To begin, the soundtrack at least for the first half or more of the series, is a MASTERFUL collection of tunes from the 70's and 80's, and which work perfectly to add to the feeling that you are watching this dark series unfold firsthand. In fact, IMO, the only thing within Love & Death that rivals how excellent the music is for most of the first few episodes, is how exceptional Elizabeth Olsen is in her riveting portrayal of Candy Montgomery. That is not to say that rest of the cast's acting was not top-notch or that the rest of the series is not good, it is just difficult not to notice how much Elizabeth Olsen stands far and above here. This Elizabeth Olsen is tiers from the one you may have seen in anything else. To say her range is incredible, would be an understatement. Not too far behind in accolades, should be Lily Rabe who it was nice to see again, and who also wonderfully, convincingly, and definingly portrays the role of Betty Gore. Jesse Plemons as a love interest is the only casting choice I found a bit problematic.

In as far as the story, it unfolds ... engagingly. What's funny (strange), not funny (haha), is that while the episodes are an hour long, each felt much longer. This normally happens when something isn't paced well or isn't interesting enough to keep one's full attention, but neither was the case here. The series, which revolves around what occured before and after a certain true-life incident, is both compelling and flows well.

A recommended watch.

7.4 / 10, but a 7 just seemed too low.

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Encouraged by reviews here which mentioned the Hulu version, we thought: "GREAT! Something BETTER than Love & Death?!? Let's see it!" Well ... don't fall for the hype. It was very nonlinear, and quite dull, both in color and story progression.

It's not Law and Order but it is taken from actual events which you might not believe until you see the credits. It is one of those series that sucks you in from the very start a n d does not disappoint. For reference if you have seen it ,Under the Banner of Heaven would be a good comparison and that series was just as good as this one. Elizabeth Olsen will just blow you away with the way she just becomes the character. The writing, acting and direction and performances are absolute top notch. Ask yourself how much time and effort do you put into finding 'content' worth watching ?

HBO, now MAX ,doesn't drop a complete series all at once which I didn't realize when I first started watching this one and when I had to wait for the next episode, I couldn't wait.