\u201cSo Kate Winslet is a mayor?\u201d <\/p>\n
That\u2019s one of the questions I occasionally get asked these days. It\u2019s my fault. I mumble sometimes, which means I really need to enunciate when raving about Kate Winslet in the seven-episode HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown<\/em> \u2014 one of my favorite new TV shows \u2014 <\/em>so as not to give the wrong impression. <\/p>\n Alas, Kate Winslet is not a mayor. <\/p>\n Winslet is Mare Sheehan, a former high school basketball star turned bristly detective grandma of Easttown, Pennsylvania. Winslet, who spouts off a Delaware County (suburban Philadelphia) accent that turns \u201cwater\u201d into wudur<\/em> and \u201chome\u201d into hewam<\/em>, is putting in a masterful performance as brittle and prickly Mare that\u2019s reason enough to tune in. <\/p>\n But Mare<\/em> isn\u2019t just<\/em> a Winslet acting exhibition, nor is it ever in danger of becoming a hollow A-list actor offensive like HBO\u2019s last buzzy drama, The Undoing, <\/em>was. It\u2019s a riveting and messy family drama \u2014 bolstered by great performances from Jean Smart and Angourie Rice \u2014 that\u2019s wrapped in a chewy and thrilling murder mystery. Setting it in blue collar, semi-rural Philadelphia heightens the mood, the fear, and even the show\u2019s rare comedic moments. And that\u2019s part of what makes it the most riveting show on television at the moment. <\/p>\n Mare of Easttown<\/em> is a murder mystery that unlocks a story about another woman\u2019s troubled history<\/p>\n What makes Mare of Easttown<\/em> work is how different it is from HBO\u2019s glamorous, prestige murder story offerings of late like The Undoing<\/em> and Big Little Lies<\/em>. Nicole Kidman starred in both. But the shows also had more in common that just Kidman. They were both about the glamorous lives of very beautiful, very rich women beleaguered by sociopaths, awful marriages, and homicide. Their privileged lives complete with plush homes, beautiful coats, and perfect handbags were part of the shows\u2019 appeal; the women\u2019s well-appointed kitchens, gorgeous fashion, and lives full of surreal opulence matched their degree of emotional terror and turmoil. <\/p>\n Mare<\/em> has plenty of terror and turmoil; not so much of the rest. <\/p>\n Mare herself peaked in high school and lives with her mother (Smart), daughter (Rice), and grandson. Her house isn\u2019t terribly handsome, and seems a little drafty \u2014 her mom usually has a blanket nearby. Her coat is more sack than clothing, barely enough to keep her warm in what seems to be an interminable, gloomy winter in Easttown. Her job as the town\u2019s detective is the best thing she has going for her because it\u2019s her one way to escape the more humdrum truths of her existence. Detective-ing is one of the few things she enjoys doing and one of the few things that lets her have some power and control in Easttown. <\/p>\n Everyone knows everyone in Easttown, which makes Mare captivating as its central protagonist. The people who ask her for help are friends of friends. The people doing crimes are also friends of friends. So Mare, by virtue of growing up in Easttown, already has an opinion about who seems suspicious. And even in spite of protecting her friends and the town she grew up in, she sometimes struggles to see people\u2019s humanity beyond the scope of the law. <\/p>\n She knows how to use small-town gossip and politics in her favor. At one point, she embarrasses one of the town\u2019s kids by arresting her at her waitressing job, knowing full well it\u2019ll cause reverberations and rumors throughout the town. <\/p>\n