HBO Max’s riveting miniseries Love & Death revisits the shocking true story of the axe slaying of Betty Gore by her neighbor Candy Montgomery. This Texas true-crime story carries all the sensational elements of a gripping drama – adultery, violent death, and psychological break. The small-town setting of Wylie, Texas, and the supposed safety of church congregations and tight communities only add to the unease. The true events are intriguing enough, and the adaptation leaves room for reality to breathe.
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Starring Elizabeth Olsen as Candy Montgomery, Jesse Plemons as Allan Gore (Candy’s lover and husband to the victim), and Lily Rabe as Betty Gore, Love & Death takes a very balanced approach to the tragic story that offers a meditation on sensationalism as opposed to feeding into it. The reason that the Wylie, TX, axe murder of the 80s remains so fixed in the public imagination is that it was a case grounded in the unexpected. To this day, locals and experts are not sure what to think. There are still questions. Love & Death takes those questions and weaves them into a multi-faceted and thoughtful adaptation of the events.
As a true-crime retelling, the series walks the fine line of creating compelling characters for audiences to get swept up in, while also not defining clear heroes and villains. It’s a remarkably human approach to an often-exploitive genre. The stellar performances of the full ensemble cast make this possible.
If there is any flaw to draw attention to in Love & Death it is the narrative’s pacing. In a seven-episode arch, viewers must enter the inner circles of a tight-knit community, witness the development and decline of an extramarital affair, take in the violence of the crime, and muddle through an incredibly complex trial. We are only scratching the surface of a very complicated story. Perhaps it’s a criticism rooted in bias – the biased desire for more and more.
As mentioned at the outset, Love & Death manages to (laudably) dig into a very juicy true-crime story without stumbling in the genre’s built-in pitfalls. Instead of choosing a side or concocting additional drama, Love & Death can rattle a viewer with this simple idea: There are chips in the façade and lord knows what you’ll find underneath that shiny veneer.
Love & Death acknowledges sensationalizing as a danger in and of itself. In each of the characters, the show deftly plays with perspective as a reminder that it is human nature to root around for the darkest and most scandalous thing, to seek out a break from the monotony without thinking of the risks. Every character believes they are safe and cloistered within a wholesome community. Every character is putting their best face forward. Every character is seeking that little thrill, to keep it interesting. It’s an approach that not only touches the heart of true-crime and how it grips us, but it provides an essential framework for viewing this story.
Love & Death will debut its first three episodes on April 27, 2023, with new episodes to drop weekly through May 25.
Love & Death
TL;DR
Love & Death acknowledges sensationalizing as a danger in and of itself. In each of the characters, the show deftly plays with perspective as a reminder that it is human nature to root around for the darkest and most scandalous thing, to seek out a break from the monotony without thinking of the risks.
