There’s no shortage of true crime dramas available to stream right now. And for some, true crime fatigue is starting to set in. Enter Hulu’s newest addition to this genre, Candy. With just five episodes being released daily, viewers have the opportunity to get through this series quicker than most. This works very well for Candy. Due to the story’s pacing, if audiences had to wait an entire week for the next episode, their interest may die out as the series progresses.
Jessica Biel shines as Candace “Candy” Montgomery, the typical 80s suburban housewife and mother. She’s got two kids, a nice house, is active in the community and church, and has a great circle of friends. To escape the doldrums of her everyday life, she escapes to her trashy romance novels. After a while, this isn’t enough. Still being the somewhat stuffy woman that she is, she plans an affair — literally. She’s meticulous about the details of her orchestrated transgression and sets firm boundaries. She’s thrilled by her newfound freedom. And then, one day, out of nowhere, she snaps, resulting in the vicious death of her neighbor, Betty Gore.
The series starts strong, beginning with the opening title sequence. It’s the day of Betty’s murder, Friday, June 13, 1980. From there, we begin to get a glimpse into what life might’ve been like for Betty prior to her death. Played by Melanie Lynskey, Betty is presented as a woman struggling to maintain the facade of a happy housewife. She’s struggling as a mother, and her husband (Pablo Schreiber) seems to be aloof to her challenges which are affecting their marriage. She also doesn’t seem to have many friends. In fact, the other moms refer to her as “Saint Betty of Perpetual Distress” due to her overtly unhappy disposition.
Right off the bat, the series does well to illustrate the juxtaposition of these two women. You can feel Betty’s somber mood radiate off the screen in Lynskey’s portrayal of the repressive housewife. In contrast, each time Biel appears, the tone lightens as she bubbles with Candy’s energetic and upbeat persona. But it’s Schreiber’s performance as Betty’s husband, Allan, that leaves a stain. The emotional evocation of him trying to reach his wife builds a slow churn in the pit of your stomach. Before calling, he knows something is wrong. And yet, he keeps calling. He can’t rest until he knows for sure. It’s heartbreaking.
The series is submerged in 1980s nostalgia. In the pilot episode, we see Candy’s husband Pat (Timothy Simons) talk about taking the kids to see Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Even the rollout of each episode over five nights resembles how mini-series would air back in the day. The wardrobe, hairstyles, vehicles, the tiny specks of dark humor — all work to anchor the series to the era
As the series unfolds, the tone changes at an unsteady pace. There’s a lot of open space and quiet scenes as the episodes hopscotch around in time, patching the backstory together. At first glance, some might find some of the middle episodes drawn out and maybe even boring. But this imagery invites the viewers into how they lived in the small town of Wylie, Texas. There wasn’t much happening in the town, which explains why this horrific murder rocked the community the way it did.
In the end, Biel achieves in cementing the character of Candy as an unsuspected sociopath. Unfortunately, we don’t really get a lot of Betty in this retelling. It feels like it’s told more from Candy’s perspective. There also isn’t a clear resolution. But perhaps that’s the point. Maybe this is how their families and friends felt and still do years later. This horrible unexplained thing happens, and there’s no justice or clear indication as to why. As viewers of the series, we’ll never truly understand who Candy is or why she did what she did.
It’s unclear why producers chose to spread the series over five episodes instead of condensing the story into one feature film, but if you’re familiar with this true crime story or just enjoy this subgenre, Candy will be an enjoyable watch with a violent murder scene that will linger on the palette.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Watch Candy on Hulu, premiering May 9 with a new episode each night until its conclusion on Friday, May 13.
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