Elizabeth Olsen fans go wild for totally unhinged Love and Death trailer: ‘Mother is coming’
Elizabeth Olsen as Candy Montgomery in the trailer for HBO Max series Love & Death. (HBO)
Fans have been given their first look at Elizabeth Olsen’s portrayal of unhinged housewife Candy Montgomery in the first trailer for HBO Max’s new series Love and Death.
Based on a twisted true story, Love and Death follows small-town, religious housewife Candy as she embarks on an affair with neighbour Allan Gore (Jesse Plemons).
Allan’s wife Betty, played by American Horror Story staple Lily Rabe, soon becomes suspicious, and the extramarital relationship takes a deadly turn.
In the creepy 90-second trailer, WandaVision star Olsen exasperatedly demands “payback” for keeping her family home going, and finds it by suggesting that she and Allan begin an affair.
“I’m very attracted to you,” Olsen’s character begins, appearing ever-so-slightly deranged. “Would you be interested in having an affair?”
Towards the end of the clip, there’s a glimpse of Olsen looking dazed and blood-soaked, and it’s immediately given off Emmy energy.
“Emmy Award nominee, Elizabeth Olsen! She’s ready to take the next awards season by storm,” wrote one fan.
Olsen was nominated for the outstanding lead actress award at the 2021 Emmys for her role as Wanda in the Disney+ series WandaVision, but ultimately lost out to Kate Winslet.
“She missed the Emmy one time but she’s not gonna miss this time. Believe the Emmy is hers,” said another fan.
A third simply claimed they could “smell the Emmy” already.
Candy fan cams have started doing the round on the internet, despite the series not starting until 27 April.
The limited series is based on crime novel Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, but it’s rooted in the true events that shocked a small Texan town in 1980.
In real life, Montgomery was put on trial and under a nationwide spotlight for the murder of her lover’s wife, Betty, who was struck 41 times with an axe.
Candy was eventually acquitted, citing self-defence. She alleged that Betty had discovered the affair with her husband, and, in a rage, swung the axe at Candy. In retaliation, Candy struck back.
While fans will undoubtedly be looking forward to Love and Death’s gorier scenes, Olsen told Entertainment Weekly that she’s most excited about grappling with Candy’s emotional complexity.
“There’s this idea when you receive just a logline of a woman who kills another woman with an axe, who’s a friend, and doesn’t come clean about it… there’s a part of people that want to label them with a personality disorder or a mental illness,” she said.
“It’s actually more about the emotional conflict of this woman and the time she is living and less about playing something demonic.”
Alongside Olsen, Plemons and Rabe, other big name stars in the cast list include Patrick Fugit and Elizabeth Marvel.
David E. Kelley, best known for creating hit series Big Little Lies, Doogie Howser MD and Ally McBeal, serves as writer and executive producer, while Homeland director Lesli Linka Glatter takes the helm again.
True crime is truly the genre of the moment; so much so that Love and Death is the second series based on the Candy Montgomery trial in less than a year. In 2022, Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey starred in Hulu’s limited series Candy.
Biel has wished Olsen all the best, but urged fans to watch Candy while they wait.
