Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Plot: In the suburban town of Easttown a detective investigates the brutal murder of a teenaged mother while struggling with the grief of her own personal tragedy.
Review: Mare of Easttown is a seven-episode HBO crime thriller series starring Kate Winslet as Detective Mare Sheehan. Winslet is personally one of my favourite actresses, so anything that she is a part of immediately grabs my attention. However, in this series she has outdone herself and this has by far been one of her best performances.
Her character, Mare, pulls you in because you immediately see her as a gruff, independent, no-nonsense type of detective. But then you meet her family and get a bit more insight into her private life. This is where the emotional cracks begin to show in Mare, and you see just how much pain and guilt is hidden beneath the tough exterior.
The family is dysfunctional in many ways but then again what family isn’t. The grief that is not addressed from the past plays a major part in their lives and explains why certain characters may behave in a way that may seem hurtful. But I promise you that as the series presses on you will not be disappointed with the family dynamic element.
The mystery has got excellent story development and pacing. And the history that all these characters share adds to the blue-collar town atmosphere. The series has a dark grittiness to it that really permeates that sense of foreboding as you don’t know who the killer is and just when you think that you’ve got it all figured out the writer changes the narrative. And the audience will be unbelievably thrilled that the plot wasn’t what it seemed all along.
The result is a thought-provoking, intelligently captivating series from beginning to end with a slew of interesting and complex characters. Mare of Easttown is guaranteed to have fans of the genre hooked.
Alice’s Score: 9 out of 10
So what’s your favourite Kate Winslet performance? You can check out more thrilling reviews below:
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump. I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. Read More
After seeing her this year in both Mare Of Easttown and Ammonite, I applaud Kate Winslet for how she has broadened her unique acting signature since Titanic. Thank you, Alice, for your review.