Mare of Easttown

This pulled me in, and the suspenseful scene at the end of the fifth episode was super effective. Overall, the show belongs to Winslet who gives a performance that's simply incredible. It might even be her best one yet.

Starts quite strongly, and the gritty tone pulls you in for the first few episodes, before everything descends into yet another glorified soap opera, with far too much time dedicated to the boring, convoluted relationships in the town rather than the murder mystery storyline at its heart. Good performances but they're meaningless when you couldn't care less what's happening with the characters. A bit like a yank Broadchurch, but even with its faults that series was better than this.

I feel like this same show gets made every 3-4 years.

The star studded cast is just the tip of the iceberg on how good this mini-series is. It features a large complex story with many interesting players and subplots. Smart writing and convincing acting. Kate Winslet elevates everything she's in and she is as real as it comes. Julianne Nickolson and Guy Pearce were also notable. Cailee Spaeny was too cute in this. Brutally sad at times. Worthwhile, immersive, entertaining, and engaging.

They did the 'cop investigating murder while their life is falling apart' formula pretty well. I like Zobel as a filmmaker (ever since Compliance), the cast was great and the writing subtle. And y'know, Kate is always a powerhouse so no surprise there. It's a story about peaking early in life, then getting stuck and fucking up and then moving forward. Like life!

meh of easttown

It's a rare thing, because it's so delicate, to have a piece full of reprehensible characters that you somehow still feel invested in. Each person has (at least one, if not many) a moment where they clearly and soberly decide to violate their principles and yet - yet - each is provided an opportunity of grace. If you sit and think about the plot long enough you'll want to punch a wall, but, what is life but not a cumulative series of errors with an audience willing to see through them?

Maybe too written in the last episodes and it even has one filler to spare, showcasing how its twist-inducing nature is far from the hard-boiling procedural, family drama established in the first three chapters. Still, good cast and Winslet is just hauntingly precise.

It's full of cliches and it's just so unrealistic how basically half the town has 100 clues pointing to them as the killer. Actually reminds me a bit of Twin Peaks, but played totally earnestly. And somehow it mostly works. I think Kate Winslet is most to thank for that.

While the show started off strong showing great potential, it pretty quickly dwindles into a sea of cliches before finally jumping the shark during the second to last episode. Winslet is great, as always, but her presence alone is not quite enough to make a mediocre show great, or really even something worth watching. The large cast of characters and their relation to one another was a bit convoluted at time, at least for me. I think I may have enjoyed this more had I viewed it in one sitting.