Elizabeth Olsen kills her lover’s wife with an ax in this new series on HBO Max that you should follow closely

If the true story of Candy Montgomery, “the ax murderer“, sounds familiar, it’s because ‘Love & Death’ is far from the first attempt to tackle the tangled tale of passion, infidelity and crime. which took place in the city of Fairview, Texas. It is not even the first adaptation in the form of a television series. Less than a year ago, Disney+ premiered ‘Candy’ starring Jessica Biel.

‘Love & Death’ (HBO): The new version of “the ax murderer”

The new HBO Max series ‘Love & Death’, with Marvel’s Scarlet Witch herself Elizabeth Olsen in the role of Candy Montgomery, plunges back into the emotional disorder of its protagonist with a much greater presence than its predecessor on screen. While ‘Candy’ relied on melodrama and the relationships between the different characters, ‘Love & Death’ is unquestionably the Elizabeth Olsen show.

Candy Montgomery is a stay-at-home mom of two, an active parishioner at her local church, a choir member, and basically a macho cliché of the traditional American woman.. Or at least in appearance. Inside her, however, she is unhappy with her current situation, feeling dissatisfied not only with her own marriage to Pat (Patrick Fugit) but with her life in general. All this causes him to start an affair with Allan (Jesse Plemons), fellow congregation member and husband of Betty (Lily Rabe)..

The affair, as you may have guessed, does not end well. In real life, Candy was accused of murdering her friend Betty Gore by hitting her with 41 ax blows. The new HBO series delves into the emotional motivations of the crime and leads to a judicial drama that deals with one of the most surprising resolutions of the North American justice system.

The sugary sweet facade that Candy projects to everyone around her begins to fade, layer by layer, but the bloody crime doesn’t make an appearance until halfway through the season. But the murder is nothing more than an excuse to delve further into Candy’s mind, who goes from her outburst of animal rage to sitting emotionally numb in a courtroom. There are moments in which it is impossible to know what Candy is thinking, and others in which the truth is written on her face. Olsen delivers a performance unlike anything we’ve seen from her before in Marvel movies, the descent from a once-exemplary pillar of her community to someone barely recognized by her family and friends.

‘Love & Death’ (HBO): From crime of passion to judicial drama

Candy herself recedes into the background of the narrative in this trial-focused second half and is Tom Pelphrey’s (‘Ozark’) moment to shine as lawyer Don Crowder, a friend of Candy’s that she personally hires to represent her during the hearing. Her nonchalant demeanor when she confronts the judge assigned to Candy’s case, as well as the decisive monologue she delivers at the end of the trial, is a powerful reminder of what the two-time Emmy Award-winning actor has always been capable of.

Unlike other versions of the story that resort to sensational theatrics, ‘Love & Death’ chooses to present a tragic and messy story without worrying about a satisfying ending that closes the story for the viewer, even knowing that the verdict is well known.