This series is based on actual events that occurred in a small town in northern Texas on June 13, 1980. The plot involves several church going families in a rural town that are caught up in a devastating murder, which is eventually revealed during a murder investigation, that two married members in their church organization had a wild, impulsive affair, and where the wife of the husband [the one involved in the affair] was murdered with an axe, being hit 41 times in the utility room of her home. Olson leads the series as the open-minded Candy Montgomery, in a mesmerizing performance that is sure to win her some nominations in some future Emmy Award show. Kudos also go out to Krysten Rotter in her performance as the frumpy, mentally deranged Betty Gore. who is in a constant mental struggle to fit in with other wives of the small town.
THE GOOD - This is a witty and smart series, produced carefully to present a northern Texas town in the mid-1980s; the clothes, the cars, the city landscapes, and even the lingo of time are perfectly presented. Olson plays off an impulsive wife who feels like she's "missing out" on life, probably reaching a delayed seven-ear-itch or mid-life crisis, and "logically"reaches out to another man outside of her marriage to help fill her emptiness. She goes brilliantly from church mom, to a sultry deviant that does her best to remain emotionless during her affair, and then afterwards, maintains a proper Christian personae. The cinematography is pristine, the sound is perfect and the music selection was not only noteworthy, but also comically used during the shows run.
THE BAD - After studying up on the actual events of the true events behind the series, the production did very little to maintain integrity with several details on how the people [portrayed by the actors] actually looked, perhaps intentionally distancing itself from those little actual events of the time[?]. There is honestly very little to complain about this series, with the exception of a few little nit-pickings about 80's methodology in terminology that I won't post here.
POST MORTEM - This is a well developed series that only uses the "based on" prescription of the actual events, but I feel that it’s an honest and best telling of the actual events. There is another mini-series produced by HULU in 2022 called CANDY, starring Jessica Biel as Candy Montgomery, that overs some detail with supporting and backing characters that were not presented in Love & Death, which would have explained and developed supporting characters in an all new light and established that a special psychosis was happening in the town. However, I was not impressed with Hulu's production of the true story and the final production seemed rushed and lacked pivotal details in the overall presentation of the mini-series. I suggest that viewers watch HBO Max's version of the true events to get more of a psychological treatment to the development of the real Candy Montgomery.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️[4 of 5 Stars]
