Why Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons Were Drawn to Candy Montgomery's Story

HBO Max’s newest true crime series, Love & Death, tells the story of a North Texas scandal. In 1980, a Wylie woman named Candy Montgomery was accused of murdering Betty Gore, the wife of her lover, Allan Gore. For over four decades, the case has proven polarizing. Some believe that Betty, who is played by Lily Rabe in the series, had planned to kill Montgomery, and Montgomery was acting in self-defense. Others believe this was Montgomery's way of getting Allan all to herself.

While this case has been depicted several times in film and television, Love & Death homes in on the Texas element of it all. Four of the limited series’ seven episodes were directed by Dallas native Lesli Linka Glatter; Dallas-born actor Jesse Plemons plays Allan Gore; and the episodes were shot in various Texas locations, including La Grange, Georgetown, Hutto and San Marcos.

“This is the first time I have filmed a Texas story, and the first time I filmed in Texas,” Glatter says. “I felt it was actually very important to film this story in Texas. And we talked about filming in Dallas. But all of those towns now have gotten so big, that they really don't look anything like what they looked like in 1978. We ended up in Austin because it was easy to get to a small town; you didn't have to drive an hour and a half.”

Though Glatter doesn’t remember hearing about the Candy Montgomery case during her time in Texas, she remembers feeling “blown away” by reading a couple of Texas Monthly articles on which the show is heavily based.

“It's really a prime example of how real life is stranger than fiction,” says Glatter. “If this story wasn't actually true, I don't think you could tell it.”

Over the years, Glatter has built an impressive resume directing stories primarily featuring nuanced characters. Some of her work includes episodes of Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, Pretty Little Liars and The Morning Show. As the television landscape has changed — with more women behind cameras and in writers' rooms — Glatter is elated to see the improvements after three decades in the game.

When signing onto Love & Death, Glatter was committed to depicting Montgomery in a complex manner. Equally intrigued by the story was Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Montgomery in the series.

“There's a playfulness in the tone,” says Olsen, “a cheekiness that I found surprising, actually, to tell the story. There’s this idea of playing a woman holding onto an illusion of some kind. And even when there's a breaking point, she's still holding onto an illusion. And I liked the opportunity to play with that dynamic.”

Jesse Plemons, who plays Allan Gore, is a native Texan, and although he wasn’t familiar with the Candy Montgomery story until he was approached about the project, he was delighted to be back to replicate the aesthetic of Texas in the late '70s and early '80s.

“Shooting in Texas, for many reasons, was important to the story,” says Plemons, “But I feel like aside from the locations and the spirit, the local actors were all so incredible, and just fit so easily into this world. And selfishly, I really enjoy being in Austin, and having a reason other to get back to Austin for a while.”

In the first three episodes that have already been made available for streaming, we see the events that lead up to the killing of Betty Gore. Candy becomes infatuated with Allan, and the two begin having a steamy, torrid, affair.

Betty’s death took place while Allan was away on business, but the most challenging moments to shoot weren’t the gory scenes, but the moments during which Allan departs and says goodbye to his wife and his daughters, Alissa and Bethany, the latter of whom was a baby at the time.

“I did some of the most ridiculous things I've ever done on a set trying to get this baby's attention,” says Plemons, “and just trying to get this baby to look at me, and smile, and cry.”

“It was like a revolving door of babies,” adds Olsen of the casting. “And none of them looked alike. It’s amazing how they made that work.”

Like Glatter, Olsen thrives when she portrays nuanced, misunderstood women characters — such as Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as an influencer named Taylor Sloane in Ingrid Goes West.

With each character she plays, Olsen commits to the part and works to nail the wardrobe, mannerisms and accents. Fans are enjoying hearing Olsen with a Texas accent, which she perfected by working with dialect coach Sarah Shepherd, with whom she worked to define Wanda's voice.

Though Candy and Wanda are two totally different characters, Olsen says both of them walk through the world with their own versions of reality.

“I think what I enjoy the most, and not because it's a catharsis, but it's just trying to figure out someone, what their version of reality is, and how they navigate the world,” says Olsen, “and trying to figure out how to use that tool. And how it could press up against the actual story itself, or the world of a script.”

New episodes of Love & Death stream every Thursday on HBO Max.