Mare of Easttown - One of the Year's Best Shows
I don't watch many shows, and I rarely see the popular ones. I had heard nothing but praises about 'Mare of Easttown', and the only thing that caught my interest was that Kate 'the Great' Winslet was in it. So, when I got the time, I watched this 7 episode series, and it's already one of my favourite shows.
As for the plot synopsis, it's not that simple. Our protagonist is 'Mare', played by Kate Winslet, and she's a detective. She lives in Easttown with her family, and one day, she has to solve the case of the murder of a young mother. But as fancy as a detective story sounds, the show isn't all about that. Instead of showing Mare always investigating about the case, most of the show is about her family life, and her struggling to cope with her past trauma.
Since Mare is in Easttown, which is a character in an of itself, she knows all the people residing in it, and so this makes her connected to the place. She has a big family, and it took me a while to piece together who is who, and how they're related to Mare. It isn't only her interactions with her family that make the characters work, but it is the problems they're facing.
Mare isn't just a detective. She's a grandmother, a mother, a daughter, an ex-wife, a friend and a partner. And all of these roles provide different conflicts that progress the show. She's fighting for custody of her grandson, has a thin relationship with a writer (played perfectly by Guy Pearce), attempting to solve a case, struggling with her divorce, and still coping with the death of a loved one.
And not just Mare. Nearly every character is fleshed out. You see their relationship with Mare. Do they know her? Are they her friend? Are they her foe? But the series also takes the time to show the internal struggles of the supporting characters. There's a mother who's searching for her daughter. There's a wife who knows her husband is cheating on her. There's a daughter whose struggling with new love. There's a sister who's concerned about her brother. There's a girl who's trying to maintain the integrity of her friend.
It also works as a detective story. You see 'Mare' and her co-detective 'Colin Zabel' played by the wonderful 'Evan Peters.' He's a quirky and young detective whose personality contrasts with the comparatively slightly bleak Mare. But in one scene, a drunk Zabel opens up to Mare about how his possible wife called the wedding off 2 weeks before, and how it broke him. But there's also the usual twists and turns that push the investigation in a new direction.
As for the city of Easttown, it really feels like a character. And that's achieved through not only showing the place itself, but the people residing within it. Amongst the fleshed out characters with their own interpersonal problems, you see Mare in her surroundings, solving a case or chasing a mysterious person. When chasing, you see how Mare has to stop her car at a certain spot so that she can run in a narrow lane. She has to jump and get pass a netted fence, and she stumbles and falls because she isn't very young. Visually speaking its great as well. There's nothing too flashy or showy in here. Each shot feels natural, and there's this gorgeous yellow glow that makes the shot beautiful to look at.
Even character deaths have real weight. Because you see how their death either progresses the plot, the characters, or both. Many deaths show us the capabilities of some of the characters, and how far they're willing to go. But many deaths play an important role to fuel the internal conflicts, and you see how a certain someone's death affects our protagonist. It really shows that death is permanent, and there are many feelings of regret and pain. And all this makes you care about the characters. They start to feel like 'people.' And these are flawed people that make mistakes, and have to face real consequences.
The show isn't perfect however. Sometimes, to me, the pacing felt off. Since there are many characters, the series has to focus on many plot lines. And many times, I found myself invested in one character's story. So whenever it cuts to another storyline, I'm caught off guard for a moment, and am reminded that this character also has something going on. And many times, there's a conflict introduced, but then the series forgets about them for a long while, until they show up later.
But despite these flaws, Mare of Easttown is a fantastic series that focuses on flawed people and their struggles, and how they're tied to the town itself. There is this quiet desperation that you can sense within the show that adds to it's nuance. Truly a series that should be talked about more. It has 7, only 1 hour episodes and it's all worthwhile.
Thank Your for Reading
I hope you liked this blog review, please make sure to comment about your thoughts on the film, or on how I could possibly improve. Also follow my YouTube Channel "Detox with P-Talks Official" where I analyse movies and do other movie related content along with short films, etc.
Comments
Post a Comment