Candy: Death in Texas, review: a bite-free miniseries
Candy
Candy: Death in Texas, available on Disney Plus, is a miniseries consisting of five episodes lasting forty-five minutes each of a true crime drama genre starring Jessica Biel and directed by Micheal Uppendhal. It is a chilling, brutal and question-mark-ridden tale that lacks bite.
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The true story behind to Candy: Death in Texas
Based on an event that occurred in the 1980s in Collin County, a peaceful town in Texas, the miniseries chronicles the murder of middle school teacher Betty Gore at the hands of Candy Montgomery, a housewife whole house and church that was respected by everyone in the community. Indicted but considered innocent in self-defense by the jury, Candy then moved in, changing her name and divorcing her husband for her betrayals, some of which with the late Betty Gore's husband, who in all this left an eight-year-old girl orphaned. .Although many years have passed since then, the real motivations behind the murder are unknown, as the evidence, which disappeared from the crime scene, did not provide the details necessary to force the jury to order the arrest by Candy Montgomery. Despite being his neighbor as well as his old friend, the housewife was envious of Betty Gore for her perfect life, although the latter, once she discovered that Candy and her husband were secretly seeing each other having sexual intercourse, decided to punish her in her own way. , doing justice by itself. According to newspaper articles from the time after Candy Montgomery's statements, Betty Gore tried to kill her neighbor with an ax, and Candy defended her to prevent her from harming her.| ); }
* Net of this, the forty-one infernal stabs to the already tortured body of poor Betty Gore did not convince the jury to condemn the Texan housewife, who came out clean from this affair, starting a new life elsewhere. For the uninitiated, Candy Wheeler (this is her maiden name) is still alive and living in Georgia, and for the past forty-five years she has worked as a mental health therapist. If it weren't ironic, it would be disturbing.
The Story of Candy: Death in Texas
She is a wealthy family, who participate in community activities, always giving valuable advice and support to those in difficulty. Candy, being religious, sings in the church choir with Betty Gore, her neighbor and friend of hers, whom she often frequents because their children play together in the courtyard adjacent to their homes. Furthermore, they have the same passions and even the same political opinion in common, and they wish for a more cohesive, far-sighted and united society. Their relationship, which is initially linked by a deep friendship, however deteriorates over time due to Betty Gore, who spontaneously turns away from gossip and finds intimacy with her husband Alan (Pablo Schreiber), who works as an engineer, passing more time in the office than at home. Feeling lonely, Betty discovers that the community continues to see her positively, and that her friend Candy is waiting for her to spend more unforgettable moments together.
During the time Betty moved away, however, Candy rediscovered her his intimacy, bringing out sides of himself that he didn't remember at all. She is a 27-year-old mother of four, and has been married for eight years now: she has grown up too fast, denying herself the frivolities of youth and lightheartedness, consequently putting aside all her wishes to spend the rest of her life with the man whose she's in love. This, however, how much has she changed her? And can she still accept it? By taking more liberty and transgressing, she begins to see her world negatively. She detaches herself, while remaining close to her children, and begins to participate in various kinds of events, forming a special friendship with Alan which then leads to an intimate relationship. She does not fall in love with him, of course, but she spends entire afternoons with him, desiring him but still keeping a certain distance, so as not to get attached more than necessary. However, it is simple to say and to do, because their clandestine relationship, discovered later by Betty, could even undermine the very foundations of the community.
* As interesting as the story and premises are, the narrative stumbles precisely where it should surprise, presenting an extremely flat proposal. The events follow one another quickly, yet everything runs out in a few seconds because of too much meat on the fire placed on the embers of her. The story, inspired by a true story, should have been treated with greater care and attention. It is precisely the writing that is skimpy, uninspired and inconsistent, as well as boring and uninvolving, leaving the viewer very little to think about. Accomplice of the exaggeratedly long and not very incisive dialogues, the most important moment of the series is immature and not very exciting.
Net of the very good interpretations of Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey, we think that dedicating only five episodes to describe events like this delicate are really too short, as well as devoid of soul. Going straight to the point, therefore, was a wrong choice, because it lent its side to countless critical issues of the story, which, in addition to proving weak, is also rather uninvolving. In fact, on more than one occasion, it has been complex to follow each vicissitude step by step, because the production has done everything to commit to making the narrative devoid of the typical elements of the genre to which it belongs. The tension appears only at the end, but this is not enough to revive a miniseries which, in addition to being not very incisive, is extremely devoid of the right ideas.
In conclusion
Candy: Morte in Texa s is an interesting but poorly developed operation, treated with superficiality and proposed with just as little care by the director. Five episodes, in this sense, are too few to describe two personalities like those of Candy and Betty, who find themselves in conflict, but never give the feeling of really being so unless only at the end of the story.In a time of big releases on all platforms, such a miniseries comes without offering anything that hasn't already been seen. Another classic missed opportunity.
