Remarkable British actresses pair up in ‘MaryLand’
Suranne Jones was outstanding on “Gentleman Jack,” and if that were the only series she’d done it would have been enough — but she has also been strikingly good in “Scott & Bailey,” “Doctor Foster,” and “Vigil.” And Eve Best, a big plus in “Nurse Jackie,” is currently a force to be reckoned with as Rhaenys Targaryen — “The Queen Who Never Was” — on “House of the Dragon.”
These two remarkable British actresses are at their best in the miniseries “MaryLand,” as semiestranged sisters whose mother dies and leaves a few surprises in her wake. The three-part installment of PBS “Masterpiece,” currently mid-run on Sunday nights at 9 on GBH 2, is a showcase for them, as they play fairly opposite siblings who’ve never dealt with their old wounds and grudges. Watching them face off, and reconcile, and face off again, all while grieving their mother, is a joy. Each of the sisters needs to look back in order to move forward.
They meet on the Isle of Man, where their mother, the Mary of the title, was supposedly on vacation when she died. Jones’s Becca is married with two children, but she’s feeling cramped. Best’s Rosaline is all about her career, and she prefers one-nighters to longterm relationships, but she’s getting frustrated by her aimlessness. As they reacquaint, it’s clear there is an abiding love behind all the conflict. It’s also clear that they will need to redefine themselves, particularly as they learn that their mother was living a double life, one with their shutdown father (George Costigan) and another with a sophisticated Isle man (Hugh Quarshie).
As more and more of Mary’s secrets emerge, including her friendship with an eccentric played by Stockard Channing, “MaryLand” takes on some of the qualities of a mystery series. The reveals keep on coming. But at its core, it’s a family drama that brings in questions of forgiveness, the tricky relationship between the past and the present, and the human hunger for being both bound and free. It’s also a great opportunity to admire two of the finest actors from across the pond.