Candy Parts 4 – 5 are the final two instalments of an American true crime drama streaming television miniseries created by Nick Antosca and Robin Veith. The series stars Jessica Biel as the real-life Candy Montgomery, who was accused of brutally murdering her best friend, Betty Gore (played by Melanie Lynskey) in 1980s Texas. In our previous analysis of Part 1, we indicated that this miniseries had been stripped of all tension and conflict due to the fact that it was a true crime drama and we the audience knew exactly what was coming.
S P O I L E R S
Candy Parts 4 – 5 gets into the meat of the story, detailing the events that took place after Betty’s death. The discovery of Betty’s hacked up body, the police investigation, Candy’s arrest, her trial and her subsequent acquittal of murder due to ‘self-defence’. All these facts can be found in the historical record but what the miniseries does well in these final two episodes is to give voice to the injustice done to Betty.
In Candy Parts 4 – 5, none of the key players come off looking any good. The prosecutors are inept, Candy’s defence lawyer is a showboating narcissist, Allen as his former mother-in-law accuses at the end, “never cared whether (Betty) lived or died, Pat is the clueless cuckold and of course, Candy gets away with a heinous murder.
In the final analysis, Candy is really about the American justice system, which allows a confessed murderer to be acquitted for the flimsiest of excuses. Betty’s ghost appears in the courtroom unable to fathom how and why Candy is not held to account for viciously murdering her. Where is the justice indeed?
The conclusion of the miniseries left us sickened – Candy Montgomery is thriving despite her crimes – and that is the real story behind this miniseries. What an awful country America is!
Now streaming on Hulu.
… still there’s more …