The best TV show of 2021 so far has to be HBO’s “Mare of Easttown,” whose final episode aired last night. And although it had one too many twists for its own good, it completed director Craig Zobel’s shock-a-minute creation in more-than-satisfying fashion.
The material at hand, Winslet plays a Philadelphia detective investigating the murder of teenage mother Erin (Cailee Spaeny), while trying to keep her own life from falling apart, could have easily fallen into maudlin, but the fact that it doesn’t is a testament to both Winslet’s fierce talents as an actress and the film’s sure-handed confidence in unveiling its underlying mysteries throughout the seven episodes. There are multiple suspects who roam the streets of Easttown, I counted more than half a dozen, and that keeps things springing, but this show should be seen more as a powerful portrait of grief, trauma, and the skeletons we keep hidden in our closets at night than any unsolved mysteries.
It’s not just Erin’s case that has been detrimental to Mare’s mental health, she also has to juggle the year-old unsolved case of another missing young girl, not to mention the loss of her son to suicide just a year before that, which damn-near shattered her relationship with ex-husband Frank (David Denman), daughter Siobhan (Angourie Rice), and frolicking mother Helen (a scene-stealing Jean Smart). And, that’s just the Sheehan family. Zobel crams in many additional supporting characters connected to Mare, including Richard (Guy Pearce), an author and creative professor she hooks up with, best friend Lori (Julianne Nicholson), and Collin (Evan Peters) the county detective called in to assist Mare with Erin’s case .
However, the lure is Winslet’s tour-de-force tackling of Mare. Looking and acting like a worn out individual so pummelled by life (check out those eye bags) that she’s practically given up on everything except her obsessive police work, Mare is the kind of character so fully-sketched and so humanely realized that the two murder-mysteries out that the core of the story seems like an afterthought when compared to the fascination the viewer has for her grief-stricken dark soul.
That, in a nutshell, is “Mare of Easttown,” a show with such a pitch black viewpoint of human nature, one that evokes the cinema of Twin Peaks, Mystic River, The Silence of the Lambs, and Room — the blatant influence so overwhelming that there is no doubt writer Brad Ingelsby had those films in mind when he wrote ‘Easttown.’
It’s obvious to most eyes and ears that ‘Mare’ doesn't necesarilly go so far as to reinvent the detective story, but that doesn’t seem to be the goal here anyway. Atmosphere is the name of the game and the show has it in abundance. And with that in mind, Zobel and Ingelsby should feel blessed to have such consummate performers at their disposal, ready to take on the challenging dramatics at hand. The show is at its strongest when it’s acharacter study, elevated by superb performances, evoking an atmosphere of both dread and surreal behavior.
However, it’s Winslet, an actress that stands tall with the greatest ever, who triumphs in “Mare of Easttown.” With a filmography that includes such notable work as “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Titanic,” “Heavenly Creatures” and “Little Children,” her Mare may just be one of her most memorable creations yet.
SCORE: B+
The man doesn't stop. James Gunn has confirmed he's already hard at work writing his next film, even as ‘Man of Tomorrow’ makes its way toward theaters next summer.