Mare of Easttown HBO Series Non-Spoiler Review

The new HBO limited series Mare of Easttown has become quite the topic of conversations the last month or so to say the least. Until just a couple weeks ago, I honestly knew very little about this new miniseries other than that it starred the amazing Kate Winslet in the lead role and was on HBO. However, as the weeks went by, I saw more and more people raving and discussing this show almost religiously which obviously very much peaked my curiosity. I finally sat down a few weeks ago to see what all of this fuss was all about and binged the first five episodes. I'm not exaggerating when I say I was instantly glued to this show from the first opening ten minutes alone and never once did this show lose my attention. It's one of the most riveting seasons of TV that I've seen in quite some time, whether it to be a miniseries or not.

So much of Mare of Easttown just absolutely floored me. On its surface, it's very much a crime drama with a murder mystery at its center. And with that element, it is most certainly one of the most well executed and unpredictable murder mysteries I've seen in years. Throughout the entire series, whenever I was starting to just be a little worried that this element of the series would start to feel more formulaic, the show would just continue to completely subvert my expectations at literally every single turn. Each single episode would leave me with a brand new theory, and while I would usually find that to be a little frustrating, the way that is handled with this series is pretty brilliant. It's haunting, dark, intense, and consistently unnerving with each surprising new direction that it takes. But while the murder mystery is what is likely to first pull you in to the show, it's the character study and the gut wrenching family drama that will convince you to continue tuning in for the show. I imagine some viewers might find some of the reveals of the shows biggest mysteries to be a little lame or not even crazy enough, but certainly not this viewer, especially since this series was always more about Mare Sheehan and her pretty broken family life. The reveals all made sense and ultimately felt very grounded in reality, especially in how this show portrays small town life. 

Kate Winslet has always been one of my absolute favorite actresses of all-time. In a long established career consisting of so many incredible performances, Winslet's work as Mare Sheehan very much deserves to be hailed near the very top of her stellar resume. In the hands of a much less efficient actress, the character of Mare would be such a difficult one to want to root for, but with Winslet, she brings out every bit of the nuances to make her a fully realized and tragically flawed yet immensely sympathetic character. When we first meet Mare, she's pretty much at the lowest point of her life and it basically only goes down from there. But, as we start to learn more about her, we certainly start to see exactly why her life is such a mess, and thanks to Winslet's humanized performance, you can continue to sympathize with her even as much of her own problems are often her own doing. It's a devastating performance that further showcases why Winslet will always be one of the best actresses on this very planet. No doubt, she is an easy early front runner for an Emmy this upcoming season.

The supporting cast surrounding Winslet makes for one of the most outstanding ensemble cast I've seen in a very long time. Jean Smart plays Winslet's mother and is absolutely stellar. Smart brings out some occasional levity which provides a nice contrast to the show's many darker moments, but when her & Winslet are going head to head, those sequences pack quite the emotional punches. As a mother-daughter duo, the two share such a natural bond on screen with one another. Look for Smart to get some well earned Emmy love this season too. The great performances don't stop there though. From Evan Peters delivering some of the best work of his entire career as Mare's partner to Angourie Rice's heartbreaking turn as Mare's daughter to Cailee Spaeny to the great Guy Pearce to Joe Tippett to Sosie Bacon, there's just almost too many exceptional performances to list off. But I especially have to single out one performance from someone whom I believe deserves every bit as much praise as Winslet & Smart (especially following last night's finale), and that's Julianne Nicholson as Mare's closest friend Lori. Nicholson's role starts out as what very much feels like just the typical best friend role, but by the conclusion of this series she turns in arguably the most gut wrenching performance of the entire lot. Nicholson has always been one of the most criminally underrated actresses in Hollywood, and watching her here just further solidified that. If Hollywood execs aren't lining up immediately to cast her in more projects, shame on them honestly. She should also be an easy Emmy front runner this season. 

Without spoilers of course, I have to talk a little bit about last night's finale. Heading into it, I won't lie that I was just a little worried that director Craig Zobel and this incredible writing team would struggle to fully stick that landing because for many shows it's a tough task to do so. But WOW, they absolutely gave me everything I could have asked for and more. Just like every single previous episode, it went in completely different directions than I was expecting it to at every single turn and gave me so many different emotions. It's wholeheartedly satisfying, unpredictable, and absolutely emotionally devastating with Winslet, Smart, and especially Nicholson giving truly expectational performances that honestly had me struggling holding back some tears. I was watching it and thinking to myself, "Now THAT'S how you stick the landing with a truly rewarding finale." I sat watching the credits of that finale practically speechless. Beautiful stuff. 

As for flaws with Mare of Easttown? I'm really struggling to find much of any frankly, especially without going into spoiler territory. It's a slow burn mind you, but one with so many fantastic pay offs, that it makes that slow burn so worth it in the end. 

Overall, if you like yourself a good murder mystery or a character drama, I really can not recommend this powerful miniseries nearly enough and every episode is now available on HBO Max. The show gave me vibes of past films/tv series from Zodiac, Prisoners, The Silence of the Lambs, and the first True Detective season, but make no mistake, Craig Zobel and writer Brad Ingelsby still create their very own thing with this original series. I've enjoyed Zobel's feature films in the past, but this is without a doubt his greatest achievement yet. It ranks right up there with any TV show or hell even film I've seen in recent memory, few things have left me this riveted. It will certainly make my best of the year list for TV shows for the year by the end of this year. I suspect it will be up for many Emmys and deservedly so. 

Final Grade: A