AUSTIN, Texas — The first episode of HBO Max's new series, "Love & Death" – which had its world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) on Saturday – paints the scene of an affair in a small town.
It introduces you to Candy Montgomery, played by Elizabeth Olsen. She's a dutiful housewife in 1978 Wylie, Texas, who sings in the church choir, takes her acquaintances' kids to the movies and laughs at her husband's corny jokes. In a Q&A following the episode's premiere, Olsen described her as "optimistic, resilient and hopeful."
Sure, she feels trapped by the mundanity of her life, but as far as she's concerned, that's nothing an affair with her fellow parishioner, Allan Gore (played by Texas native Jesse Plemons), can't cure.
The episode plays out "nostalgic" and "warm," in the words of writer David E. Kelley ("Big Little Lies"). It's a small town story about small town people with holes in their hearts, dug deep by loneliness and boredom. It takes place in a then-small Texas town and was shot right here in Central Texas, specifically in parts of Williamson County.
So much of what happens in the episode feels quaint. You'd be forgiven if you forgot this all ends in an ax murder – and a real one at that.
Some background: In 1980, the real Candy Montgomery was accused of murdering a friend by striking her 41 times with a wood-splitting axe. She was acquitted on the basis of self-defense. The sensational story inspired Texas Monthly articles, a book, a 2022 Hulu series and, now, "Love & Death."
Kelley and "Love & Death" director Lesli Linka Glatter – a Texas native herself – said the stranger-than-fiction story was "too juicy to pass up." But in a sea of true crime adaptations, they wanted to stand out.
"A horrible true crime is at the core of this, but we didn't want it to be a true crime story," Glatter said in the post-screening Q&A on Saturday, adding that the show doesn't "let Candy off the hook" but is "more about the how and why than the what."
That much is clear in the first episode, which makes just two brief references to the darkness to come and mostly spends its time building a world, tucking the audience into the community and introducing them to Montgomery, Gore and their respective spouses.
It's not quite clear whether Kelley and Glatter want you to like Montgomery. Olsen plays her brilliantly if the goal is for her to be sympathetic. But it feels a bit awkward as an audience member to watch this desperate housewife draw you in when you know what comes later – and you know it really happened.
The tone of the first episode is often strange. There's a touch of black comedy, but it's so light, it's not always clear if you should be laughing. If it's directly inspired by anything, it's likely Richard Linklater's "Bernie" – another Texas true crime story helmed by a Texan director – but it's not clear yet if it has the same confidence.
Kelly stated in the post-screening Q&A that the "goal of any first episode is to get people to tune into the second one." That much is true, and it's fair to say the first episode of "Love & Death" grabs attention. You do want to know how it all happens and, perhaps more importantly, how you'll feel about it.
But it remains to be seen if you will like the answer.
"Love & Death" hits HBO Max on April 27.