Mare of Easttown

Locations
Call Number: Blu-ray TV Mare
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Originally broadcast as single episodes of a television program in 2021.
Wide screen.
Special features: Invitation to the set; welcome to Easttown; Mare of Easttown: A closer look; Making Mare of Easttown.
Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, Sosie Bacon, David Denman, Guy Pearce, Evan Peters.
Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet plays Mare Sheehan, a small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder as life crumbles around her. From creator and writer Brad Ingelsby, with all episodes directed by Craig Zobel, the seven-part limited series is an exploration into the dark side of a close community and an authentic examination of how family and past tragedies can define our present.
Blu-ray, wide screen; DTS-HD MA 5.1 (English), Dolby digital 5.1 (French); 1080p high definition; requires Blu-ray player.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

good crime drama, sense of place submitted by lisa on July 27, 2022, 2:56pm characters and plot both memorable

Deserves the Hype submitted by Meginator on August 27, 2022, 6:12pm Content Note: This series deals with sexual assault, sex trafficking, pedophilia (related to teenage girls), incest, drug abuse, and suicide.

The best genre stories are usually about something else entirely, and thus Mare of Easttown is an extended police procedural that is as much about grief, forgiveness/redemption, and parenting as it is about the crimes that drive its plot forward. Kate Winslet puts in an extraordinary performance as the title character, whose slow-burning emotional arcs give the show its moral core; even though she is cut from a familiar mold, the nuances in the character’s backstory and in Winslet’s portrayal make Mare a riveting woman to follow, even (and perhaps especially) when she is messing up. The mystery itself proceeds at a nice pace, although the suspect-of-the-week format feels predictable after a while and the final twist is unnecessary, although just barely credible. But in a series with such a dominant sense of place, and an intense focus on the characters’ emotional entanglements, some missteps in the crime writing are more than forgivable. This series is heavy but ultimately hopeful, effectively grappling with difficult topics and anchored by an outstanding cast whose performances create a believable portrait of a struggling community facing thoroughly modern problems.