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.

Three episodes in, and I am hooked on the show. I will certainly keep watching.

Elizabeth Olsen is just delightful and within this particular role she plays a wide range of emotions. This is her best acting work of her career.

The supporting characters are also outstanding. Krysten Ritter steals every scene she's in and Lilly Rabe plays so well perhaps one of the most dislikable female characters ever written, Betty. Neurotic is an understatement, and her intense neuroses undermines her marriage.

Candy (Liz Olsen), is charismatic and socially confident, a true pillar of womanhood within her social circles. Incredibly friendly, even flirty, and nearly impossible not to like. She seemingly has everything, but she wants more. She seeks intimacy, a connection, something beyond marriage that will fill her heart. But there's trouble brewing in paradise because someone she loves "shushes" her and her emotional slide begins.

I think this program would have been good no matter who played the starring role. Based on a true story, great acting, directing, cinematography, and music. I loved the music.

But I agree with other reviewers here at IMDB, I can never take my eyes off the screen when Elizabeth Olsen is on. I've only seen her in Avenger movies, Wandavision, and now this. She even plays a bad person in this. But still, she is gorgeous and a great actress. She has star power.

I binge watched all the episodes from beginning to end. I was riveted. I don't see how it could have been done any better.

10 out of 10 for me.

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.

Based on the true story of '1980 Axe Murder Case' of Betty Gore, Love & Death is totally driven by Olsen's riveting performance.

A second adaptation of the incident (following Hulu's Candy starring Jessica Biel), Love & Death felt a bit overstretched with 7 episodes, instead 5 episodes seemed enough to cover the whole story of the incident that took place on that fateful Friday.

Refraining from the fact that whether the storytelling was apt or we can sympathize with the culprit for the heinous act she did, Love & Death is still an intriguing exposure of a human psyche and what it deals with, directed in a docu-series style with an amazing performance by Elizabeth Olsen.

My Rating : 7.5/10.