Mare of Easttown follows a blueprint set by a number of detective series which came before it, especially the so-called Scandinavian Noir. A female detective with a strong personality, normally partnered with a younger or less experienced male detective, investigating crimes in a small town where everyone knows everyone. Although from a story structure viewpoint Mare of Easttown is not breaking any new grounds, the quality of the acting and the writing have made it one of the must-sees of the current TV season. One of the main advantages of a TV series, compared to movies, is the much longer length which allows the writers to flesh out the characters and fill in their background details. So instead of a “Whodunnit?” it becomes a “Who are the people who could have done it?”
Kate Winslet plays Mare Sheehan, a detective in the small East Coast town of Easttown. She is divorced, living with her mum, her lesbian daughter and her grandchild from her deceased son. Mare is intent on having her grandchild living with her instead of her natural mother, whom Mare feels is a drug addict and unfit to raise a child. The discovery of the body of a murdered teenage girl starts a chain of events in which Mare plays a principal role. A young male detective (Evan Peters) is also brought in to assist her.
What distinguishes Mare of Easttown from other detective series is the moral complexities of Mare’s character. She has no qualms about breaking the law for her own personal gain but at the same time will not budge a bit from the law even if it means the disintegration of a family without providing any tangible benefits to the community or eliminating any clear and present danger from their midst. Mare is one of the least likable detectives that we are likely to meet. She is selfish, foulmouthed, tactless. Winslet and the show’s creators have also made her as unglamorous as possible by dispensing with makeup and any beautification (except on a few rare occasions where she goes on a date) and with Winslet putting on a few extra pounds. Yet, with all these negative values and shortcomings we still root for her as we know she is the one who is going to break the case.
We have the list of the usual suspects: the murdered girl’s hoodlum ex and his new malicious girlfriend, the new priest in town with a past criminal record, a novelist who starts a romantic relationship with Mare, Mare’s ex-husband and a host of other suspicious characters. As is the norm in such series, everyone in the small town has a dark secret. Interestingly, in this small American town Mare the local basketball star turned detective is played by English actress Kate Winslet, her novelist flame is played by Aussie Guy Pearce and the priest with a shady past is played by the Scottish actor, James McArdle. The US Screen Actors Guild must be up in arms!
Casting is actually one of the strong points of Mare of Easttown with no actor looking out of place. Apart from Kate Winslet, special mention must go to Jean Smart playing Mare’s mum and Julianne Nicholson, playing Mare’s best friend, Lori. Mare of Easttown is an impressive piece of original writing by Brad Ingelsby who has written or co-written notable films such as Out of the Furnace (2013), The Way Back (2020) and one of the better Liam Neeson actioners, Run All Night (2015). Here he has constructed a series of tight family dramas all joined together by the crime which is the centerpiece of the series. The drama is caused by crimes as well as by cheating husbands and wives, paternity suits, a missing daughter, addiction, relationships breaking up and start of new relationships. To match the somberness of the story, Easttown is a small East Coast blue collar town, shown in washed up colours. Though this helps to make the drama more intimate, if there are plans for more seasons of the series, then Mare may have to be transferred to New York City or another metropolitan city, as having too many crimes committed in a small town may exceed the realms of believability.
The filmmakers have had the luxury of almost seven hours of TV time to flesh out the characters, insert a couple of mini love stories, lead the viewers up the garden path on occasions and spring a few surprises along the way. Mare of Easttown is a binge worthy series, solidly directed by Craig Zobel, who cut his teeth directing episodes of a number of TV series, as well as the 2020 film, The Hunt which was both gratuitously violent and uproariously funny. If they can persuade Winslet to carry on, I expect that we will be seeing Mare Sheehan again in the not too distant future.
Mare of Easttown was shown on HBO.
Grade: B+
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