Fill ‘Mare of Easttown’ void
The HBO limited series “Mare of Easttown” recently concluded its seven-episode run, drawing the family murder mystery to a close in a twisty finale that remained focused on the human element at the center of the drama.
If you’ve now got a “Mare”sized hole in your viewing schedule, fear not, there’s plenty more to stream from the makers and stars of the series.
The finale episode gave actor Julianne Nicholson a chance to shine as Mare’s best friend, Lori Ross. Nicholson also gave a similarly stripped-bare performance in Alejandro Landes’ 2019 film “Monos,” in which she co-stars as an American doctor kidnapped and held hostage by teenage guerrillas in the wilds of Colombia (stream via Hulu). It’s a beautiful, disturbing and emotionally searing film.
Series creator and writer Brad Ingelsby has made his career in grounded human dramas. A few of the films he has written in the past few years will scratch the itch for more like “Easttown,” such as the Ben Affleck-starring 2020 basketball film “The Way Back” (stream via Cinemax and its MaxGo or rent on Google
Play or YouTube for $3.99), or the intense 2013 Pennsylvania steel town-set crime drama “Out of the Furnace,” starring Christian Bale and Casey Affleck (Showtime or rent for $1.99 on Amazon Prime). But, the closest of his work to “Mare of Easttown” is the 2018 movie “American Woman,” starring Sienna Miller as a young mother who presses on with life despite the disappearance of her teen daughter (Cinemax and Max Go or rent for $2.99 on Amazon Prime).
Series director Craig Zobel has had an incredibly varied film career. He made a splash with the 2012 indie darling “Compliance,” about a group of fast food workers manipulated by a mysterious caller (stream for free on Tubi, Kanopy, Vudu and the Roku Channel). His 2015 post-apocalyptic drama “Z for Zachariah” starring Chris Pine, Margot Robbie and Chiwetel Ejiofor is a fascinating and grounded entry in the genre, featuring a trio of worthy performances (watch on Amazon Prime or Tubi, or rent on iTunes for $3.99). His controversial 2020 political satire “The Hunt” made headlines for all the wrong reasons, but the gory dark comedy features a killer performance from Betty Gilpin that is worth the watch (stream via Cinemax and Max Go).
You probably already know the best of Oscar winner Kate Winslet, but there are two recent films of hers that are worth watching. The 2019 “Blackbird” features Winslet as a woman grappling with the reality of her mother’s impending death (rent it for 99 cents on iTunes or $3.99 on YouTube and Google Play). The 2020 drama “Ammonite” stars Winslet as 19th-century naturalist Mary Anning, who embarks on a torrid affair with a young woman, played by Saorise Ronan (stream on Hulu).
Jean Smart has had quite a remarkable past few years on TV. If you’re not already watching her play a legendary Vegas stand-up comedian on HBO’s “Hacks,” it’s a weird and wonderful comedy, and one of Smart’s best performances yet (watch on HBO or stream on HBO Max). Before she stunned audiences on HBO’s “Watchmen” (also on streaming on
HBO Max), she played the matriarch of a crime family on season two of “Fargo” (stream on Hulu).
Finally, if you were wondering where you may have previously seen Angourie Rice, who played Mare’s musically inclined daughter Siobahn, she was the plucky young daughter of Ryan Gosling’s detective Holland March in Shane Black’s 2016
Los Angeles neo-noir “The Nice Guys” (stream on Hulu).