Love & Death

Name: Love & Death
Genre: Drama, Movie/Mini-Series
Released: April 27, 2023
Rating: 62

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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Series Details & Credits

HBO Max | Release Date: April 27, 2023

Summary: David E. Kelley's limited series inspired by the 1980 true story of how Candy Montgomery's (Elizabeth Olsen) affair with Allan Gore (Jesse Plemons) led to her killing his wife (Lily Rabe) with an axe.

Genre(s): Drama, Movie/Mini-Series

Recent Episodes

tbd
S1:E7. Ssssshh
Air Date: May 25, 2023
tbd
S1:E6. The Big Top
Air Date: May 18, 2023
tbd
S1:E5. The Arrest
Air Date: May 11, 2023

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

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Mixed:

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Critic Reviews

Collider Carly Lane

Apr 20, 2023

Season 1 Review: Love & Death is a standout in part because it's willing to wade into the emotional disarray, but it also rests chiefly on the shoulders of a leading actor capable of capturing all the complexities of David E. Kelley's scripts and Lesli Linka Glatter's direction. Put another way: Love & Death wouldn't be half as riveting without Elizabeth Olsen to bind it all together. Read full review

The Telegraph Jasper Rees

Sep 7, 2023

Season 1 Review: It’s so far the fine acting that elevates this above shlock. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Apr 27, 2023

Season 1 Review: Olsen becomes increasingly riveting as “Love & Death” unfolds, forcing us to question how much we should like, forgive, or understand her. I’m not sure we ever will. But we’ll clearly continue to be fascinated by her. Read full review

Alison Herman

Apr 25, 2023

Season 1 Review: Ultimately, “Love & Death” has the credentials, performances and production values to elevate the story above the leering exploitation that marks the worst of the field. ... But at the end of the day, “Love & Death” does turn real people into exaggerated, if empathetically rendered, versions of themselves. Read full review

Empire Sophie Butcher

Sep 8, 2023

Season 1 Review: Incredibly compelling in its most shocking moments, but a little slow otherwise, Love & Death lives and dies by Elizabeth Olsen’s excellent, charismatic central performance. Read full review

Manuel Betancourt

Apr 24, 2023

Season 1 Review: If Love & Death cannot quite meet Olsen at her level (this is the kind of series that could’ve done with fewer montages no matter how many great needle drops it gifts us in the process), that may well be due to its generic constraints. Read full review

Meghan O'Keefe

Apr 20, 2023

Season 1 Review: There are many shows that sympathize with killers and vilify their victims, but Love & Death never earns privilege. That’s because outside of Elizabeth Olsen’s devastatingly layered performance, Love & Death is a disaster. Read full review

SEE ALL 22 REVIEWS

User Score

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7.6

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User Reviews

Exceladeogun

May 30, 2023

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 roleLove 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… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

joeyj

Jun 5, 2023

Not surprised to see a higher user score than critic score for Love & Death. It's a well-made period drama, if not quite outstanding, and it manages to pull off a few different modes (romance, marriage drama, crime thriller, courtroom drama) without bogging down or coming unstuck.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Soulrytu

Jul 21, 2023

The show is good, the cast, especially Olsen and her acting, but i can't help but think about the bigger picture, whereas it leans too much on Candy's side and the show almost feels like a "IN CANDY'S DEFENSE..."
It's weird to watch something that dramatizes a real life case. Maybe not for me.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

May 27, 2023

Aside from Elizabeth Olsen's exceptional performance, I think Love & Death fell far short of what it seemed to promise in a first instance.

Honestly the results were very much on par with Hulu's miniseries about the same case, however being from HBO, I must say I was expecting more andAside from Elizabeth Olsen's exceptional performance, I think Love & Death fell far short of what it seemed to promise in a first instance.

Honestly the results were very much on par with Hulu's miniseries about the same case, however being from HBO, I must say I was expecting more and better.

It's clear that the concept of this miniseries is to develop a sort of complete deconstruction of Candy Montgomery's persona, and Olsen does her job in terms of what can be seen about it.

However, how much of anything that happens outside of what was seen publicly can be corroborated as a truthful testimony than the mere imagination of the screenwriters based merely on whatever research they've done on their subject?
There's a lack of depth there because it's open to several different interpretations.

It's a competent and entertaining show, but only that.
It will be very forgettable in a couple of months.
It has the budget of HBO, but not the decisive quality that name implies.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Seasons & Episodes

62

Series Overview
Season 1

62
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: April 27, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E7. Ssssshh
  Air Date: May 25, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E6. The Big Top
  Air Date: May 18, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E5. The Arrest
  Air Date: May 11, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E4. Do No Evil
  Air Date: May 4, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E3. Stepping Stone
  Air Date: April 27, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E2. Encounters
  Air Date: April 27, 2023
- tbd
  S1:E1. The Huntress
  Air Date: April 27, 2023