Mare of Easttown Blu-ray Review

THE SERIES — 4½/5

Plot Synopsis: The sole detective of a small Pennsylvania town, Mare Sheehan (KATE WINSLET), a worn-down, brutally honest, beer-swilling local basketball legend must cope with the loss of her son while dealing with her nosy mother (JEAN SMART), rebellious teenage daughter (ANGOURIE RICE) and grandson at home, and an ex-husband (DAVID DENMAN) who lives a stone’s throw away with his new fiancée. Mare is investigating the murder of a teen as well as a cold case of missing girl.

Quick Hit Review: Mare of Easttown is a somber crime drama that features some excellent performances all around, none more so than, to no real surprise, Kate Winslet. This limited series is right in my wheelhouse as I generally love crime-mysteries fiction and non-fiction (and am an avid watcher of Investigation Discovery). The story is slow-moving but still engrossing as we get intertwined with Mare’s personal life and the unfolding mystery and how the two cases connect. The series includes some solid performances from a nice supporting cast that includes Jean Smart and Guy Pearce.

Generally speaking, I don’t get invested in most on-going television series, however I do like these Limited Series that HBO has produced (like The Undoing) as they are short, this one being only 7 episodes so easy to binge if you want to.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2½/5

This two-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray case. Included are four featurettes: Invitation to the Set (2:21), Welcome to Easttown (3:20), Mare of Easttown: A Closer Look (2:52) and Making Mare of Easttown (8:39). Each one of these provide some behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with members of the cast and crew as they discuss the characters and storylines.

VIDEO – 4½/5, AUDIO – 4¼/5

Mare of Easttown comes to Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and presented in the original 2.00 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition. Presumably, and without having seen this when it aired on HBO, this looks pretty much on par. Detail is decent enough while colors are more on the drab side given the bleak story and setting.

Each episode comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This is primarily a dialogue driven series with the occasional suspense-filled scenes that fills out the front and rear channels. However for the most part the depth is with some ambient noises or the somber score from composer Lele Marchitelli (The Young Pope/The New Pope).

OVERALL – 4/5

Overall, Mare of Easttown is an amazing mini-series featuring incredible performances all the way around led by Kate Winslet who does such a wonderful job. Along with an engaging story, this is well worth checking out and a doable binge watch.