Meet MARE OF EASTTOWN

 Article first published as MARE OF EASTTOWN Review on Seat42F.

HBO premiered the new seven-part miniseries MARE OF EASTTOWN this week. Set in a fictional small Pennsylvanian town, the show follows a young grandmother who is the local detective. Unfortunately, she’s made no progress on a missing girl’s case for a year, and the residents are losing faith in her abilities to keep them safe. When a body is found, the protagonist faces angry neighbors, an unappreciative family, and a thankless job with her usual cynicism and rugged determination.

Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce, Revolutionary Road) stars in MARE OF EASTTOWN as Mare Sheehan, the aforementioned detective. Mare is no-nonsense and no-fluff, barely taking time to eat something, forget healthy, and with questionable hygiene. She has a difficult life, housing four generations under her roof, including her mother, Helen (Jean Smart, Watchmen, Legion), who seems to prefer Mare’s ex-husband, Frank (David Denman, The Office), to her daughter. Mare’s teen offspring, Siobhan (Angourie Rice, Spider-Man: Far From Home), is typically moody, and Mare also has her dead son’s baby. So even without the failed investigation hanging over her head, Mare has plenty on her plate.

Winslet is excellent in MARE OF EASTTOWN, of course, and one would expect no less. She also makes strong acting choices, so it isn’t a surprise that the series is very well-made and specific. It’s extremely grounded, one of the more realistic cop shows I’ve seen, and the cast is all-around great. Even Winslet’s strange “Delco” accent works in context, only coming out here and there.

One wonders why Mare has such a challenging life. In high school, she was “Miss Lady Hawk Herself,” the title of episode one, a popular athlete. But she seems to have peaked then, and having stayed local, she wears the old title around her as heavily as any of her other burdens. Being reminded of the event in episode one doesn’t help her mood, which appears to be sour at the best of times, even though her chosen profession and full house indicates she cares more than she lets on.

Besides the amazing Smart, there are some other supporting players to note. It’s bittersweet to see Phyllis Somerville (The Big C, Stoker) pop up among the neighbors after her passing last year. She plays a bit different of a role than most I’m familiar with from her, and her presence is certainly a draw. Guy Pearce, Winslet’s love interest in Mildred Pierce, is also present as Mare’s sexual hookup in MARE OF EASTTOWN. Theirs is an odd chemistry, but it works. Evan Peters (WandaVision) doesn’t make an appearance in the premiere, but is set to star in the series, as well, playing a detective brought in from the outside to help Mare, which I’m sure she won’t appreciate at all.

The girl whose body is found is a focus of a lot of the first hour. We see her situation before she ends up dead, painting a picture of who she is and shining light on a few suspects. This is a good way to round out the crime, making Mare’s investigation mean something to the viewers, who already care about the deceased.

MARE OF EASTTOWN is super grounded, gritty, and slow. It is the definition of prestige drama with none of the prestige in the setting or characters’ lives, as the town and people are pretty run-down. It’s definitely awards bait, so if you want to be ready for the Emmys and Golden Globes, you’ll want to make sure you tune in. But it’s also pretty entertaining, too, if for no other reason than to watch some actors at the height of their game doing what they do best.

MARE OF EASTTOWN airs Sundays on HBO.

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT Blu-ray Review

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'The Divergent Series: Insurgent' on Blogcritics.

This week, the second film in the Divergent Series, Insurgent, is released on 3-D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD.  Divergent is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago, where the remaining humans have been sorted into castes based on their abilities. One girl defies the framework and challenges those who wish to manipulate it for their own gain. Picking up just a few days after where the last Divergent movie ends, Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) must bring the fight to Jeanine (Kate Winslet) before she destroys their society, pinning death and chaos on the pair. Jeanine’s tool to do so happens to require Tris, and the trippy adventure to get there is action-packed and visually impressive.

The story behind Insurgent is interesting, if a little underdeveloped. The plot rockets through four different groups of people in two hours, while still trying to grant some character development to the leads. This means little insight into the various factions and their leadership structures, even as each new corner of the world begs to be explored. And it’s a fascinating world.

Most of the action is focused on Tris, the emotional entrance to the film’s heart, and I understand the desire to maintain the focus there, but it feels like there are wasted possibilities constantly plucked and then discarded.

As a result, those plot threads are neglected, minimizing the roles of terrific actors, new to the sequel, including Octavia Spencer (The Help), Naomi Watts (The Impossible), and Daniel Dae Kim (Lost). I find myself wishing for more story in each of their zones. The talented new cast members, join the already impressive cast from the first movie (which, alongside Winslet, includes Ashley Judd, Mekhi Phifer, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Miles Teller, Maggie Q, and more).

The overall story arcs feel a bit weak at times. For instance, Tris is able to resist the mind-controlling serum in the first movie because she is Divergent, but quickly succumbs to Candor’s truth juice? The powers of a Divergent aren’t quite clear. And why does Candor have its own guards? It also seems like Jeanine has a lot of power, but then has no idea what is going on in other parts of the city, though the soldiers that work for her always seem to show up when the movie requires another shot of adrenaline.

Insurgent is not a bad film. What it lacks in plot, it makes up for in some really neat shots. I wish I’d been sent the 3-D version of this film to review because I am sure it would be cool to see all of the visual effects with depth. As it stands, even the  Blu-ray version is pretty good looking. Some wide shots and crowd scenes are identifiable as computer-generated, but everything that happens to Tris, and there’s a lot of mind-confounding stuff for her to go through that isn’t set in reality, is very well done. As a blockbuster-type movie, Insurgent delivers on the expectation for big, flashy scenes.

The special features on this set are also much better than most recent releases I’ve seen. “The Ultimate Behind-the-Scenes Access” is the entire length of the movie, often showing the film in a small box while talking about different aspects. This is more than just fluff, giving real insight into a variety of pieces of the production. There’s also a separate audio commentary, and several featurettes about adapting the book, the cast in general, a break down on a scene, and a look at perhaps the most interesting character, Peter Hayes (Teller). Most of these are not on the straight DVD, so that means blu-ray is recommended, though I’d imagine 3D is the best way to go if you have a 3D television and player.

In short, while Insurgent has some flaws, the package has a lot of value to it. It may not be as good as some other recent entries in the genre, but there is a lot of clever, original material here, too, which will give the savvy viewer much to ponder long after the film is over. Combined with a great array of extras, I’m glad to add this to my collection.

The Divergent Series: Insurgent will is available August 4th.

Bates Motel dreams of death

Article first posted as BATES MOTEL Review on Seat42F.com

Grade: 96%

A&E is not particularly known for their dramas. They’ve had a few scripted series up to this point, like The Glades, Breakout Kings, and The Cleaner, but they are formulaic crime dramas, not a complex, serial show that deserves attention and praise. With the premiere of BATES MOTEL on March 18th, that changes.

BATES MOTEL, as one might expect, is set at the same location as the classic Hitchcock film Psycho, and looks perfectly in sync with the earlier work. This television series is a prequel to the movie, set many years earlier. As the first episode, “Fist You Dream, Then You Die” opens, Norman Bates’ (Freddie Highmore, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland) father dies, and his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air, The Departer), moves them to a small town where she has purchased a motel and the house behind it.

The elements one would expect from such a project are immediately present. Norman is eager to please and mostly obedient. Norma is controlling and manipulative. The motel itself is cursed from the beginning, it having been taken away from a family that has long owned the land by the bank, and a descendant of that family is not happy to let it go. The tone is creepy and disturbing, but not too obviously so.

The cast does a superb job. Highmore is the right mix of good son and budding psychopath. He is trying to be a normal kid, but that’s not the way his mother has raised him, nor does she let explore that option. Farmiga captures the portrait of the type of mother that would name her son after herself. The way she coldly receives the news of her husband’s death, then later handles Norman, is compelling to watch, and surely she is making a mark on the television landscape, owning the role.

Right away, death also comes to the Bates Motel. There are strong hints that Norma might have offed her own husband, and (very slight spoiler) there will be a second body by the end of the first hour. I don’t know if BATES MOTEL is a horror show, per se, and if there will continue to be serial killings throughout; after all, no one suspects Norman long after his mother passes on. But the stage is set for what must be.

Much of the purpose of the series will be to take Norman from normal child to cold-hearted murderer. We see he has a possible support system, with girls who want to be his friends and a teacher offering mentorship. But we also see how the boys don’t take a shine to him, and how Norma cuts him off from social interaction. And then, witnessing what Norma involves him in, we see the seeds of things to come.

Not that Norma is totally obvious in her machinations. To a viewer at home, sure, we can tell she’s a horrible mother because we see it all. To a character in the show, outside of the family, she may seem a little strict, but not someone to worry about. At least, not yet.

The supporting cast is just as good as the two leads, which helps with the overall effect. After all, BATES MOTEL is set in a town, so there must be townspeople. These fellow residents pleasantly round out the world in a very authentic way without distracting or mandating plots of their own. They include Nestor Carbonell (Lost) as the Sheriff, Keegan Connor Tracy (Once Upon a Time) as Miss Watson, Norman’s teacher, and Olivia Cooke as an odd classmate. Upcoming guests (according to IMDB and Wikipedia) will include Jere Burns (Justified), Mike Vogel (Pan Am), Richard Harmon (The Killing), and even Kate Winslet (Titantic, Mildred Pierce).

“First You Dream, Then You Die” is a lot of setup, especially the beginning, but manages to not feel too much like it is. We enter at a critical moment in Norman’s life, one that will put him on a certain path, and he already begins going down that path in the premiere. The start of the action is not sudden or jarring, and yet, this pilot does a good job of actually getting into the meat of the story. Credit writing, directing, and production, as well as the performers, because this is an excellent pilot in just about every way imaginable, with a definite cinematic quality.

My only slight complaint is that there is a bit of heavy handedness present. “First You Dream, Then You Die” begins with Norman listening to dialogue on a television talking about a grown man living with his mother. Norma wears the same dress and hairstyle to dinner that the corpse at the end of the film is sporting. But while it may have been better to spread out such references through multiple episodes, instead of sticking a bunch in the premiere, it does effectively tie this project to its source material, so it’s not totally unwarranted.

BATES MOTEL deserves attention, and Highmore and Farmiga will hopefully get some Emmy credit. Which means you probably won’t want to miss a show this good. I certainly won’t.

JWTV Quickie: Mildred Pierce - "Part Three" through "Part Five"

    Sunday night brought the last two segments of the new HBO five hour miniseries, Mildred Pierce. Rather than writing out paragraphs of detailed review, here's a list of ten things, both good and bad, of note within the last three hours, in no particular order. There's a similar list for the first two parts, which you can see by clicking here. Please feel free to add to the list if you think something important was missed, or debate why something is included.

1. Same as the previous list. Kate Winslet, who plays the title character, will win the Emmy. She just will, sorry, no contest. She is doing a fantastic job in a miniseries that is attracting attention and praise. There will be other actresses as good this year, but you would be hard pressed to find one better, and she will win.

2. The whole miniseries is a palindrome. Mildred begins married to Bert (Brian F. O'Byrne), divorces, loses a daughter (Ray, who dies), takes a lover, starts a business, find success, loses the business, loses the lover, loses a daughter (Veda runs out on her), divorces, marries Bert again. Ah, symmetry!

3. I thought I would like Evan Rachel Wood better as Veda than Morgan Turner, the younger version. I was wrong. While Wood did fine, she had less to work with than Turner, who played Veda for a longer period of time. Wood got the juicy finale, but Turner deserves to get a supporting actress Emmy nomination.

4. Veda screws everything up. Veda ruins Mildred's relationships and her chain of restaurants. Veda distracts Mildred from what she should be focusing on. If Mildred had had an abortion, or given Veda up for adoption, none of the bad things in her life would have ever happened. The story would have a happy ending.

5. Almost none of the characters are likeable. In fact, they are downright creeps. Bert is the best part of the family, almost worth rooting for, and even he cheated on his wife and ran off with the girl. No wonder Veda grew up to be such a psycho!

6. Mildred is a terrible mother. You spoil a kid, she takes advantage and feels entitled. Again, no wonder Veda grew up to be a psycho!

7. Monty (Guy Pearce) should be locked up as a sexual predator. Yes, his intercourse with Veda is consensual, and she is an adult by that point. However, sleeping with your wife's daughter is more than taboo. It is wrong under any circumstances, and it is disappointing that Monty and Veda end up together. Surely, should there have ever been a sequel, they would be split within months. He is only with her for the same reasons he was with Mildred - money and sex.

8. Ida (Mare Winningham) is the sole sane character. She is kind and generous. She takes over the business, but only reluctantly, and remains friends with Mildred. It's easy to see why Ida is included in the restaurants, and giving her her own location is both a stroke of genius, from a fianancial standpoint, and also plants the seeds of Mildred's eventual removal.

9. Lucy (Melissa Leo) actually ends up saner than Mildred. She is first introduced as a flighty weirdo, but grows into quite a sensible person. She had heart and intelligence. I guess some people really do mature nicely.

10. This miniseries is wonderful for an artistic perspective, and because of the talent behind it. The story is horrible, in that the characters are not relatable and terrible people. Perhaps it isn't unrealistic, but it is hard to look past such repulsive behavior. It will get accolades, as it should, but it will never be something people gleefully watch on a Friday night,

Click here for an alphabetical list of all of Jerome's Current Season Reviews.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

JWTV Quickie: Mildred Pierce - "Part One and Part Two"

     Sunday night, we got to see the first two hours of the new HBO's five hour miniseries, Mildred Pierce. Rather than writing out paragraphs of detailed review, which I will reserve for after the entire run is complete in three weeks, I want to list ten things, both good and bad, of note within the first two hours, in no particular order. Please feel free to add to the list if you think I missed something important, or debate why something is included.

1. Kate Winslet, who plays the title character, will win the Emmy. She just will, sorry, no contest. She is doing a fantastic job in a miniseries that is attracting attention and praise. There will be other actresses as good this year, but you would be hard pressed to find one better, and she will win.

2. I thought Mildred was supposed to be unlikable. Why hasn't she been unlikable yet? Am I under a false impression? She has been shown with pluck and determinating, struggling to support her family, with only a trace of enabling her bratty daughter. Speaking of...

3. Young Veda (Morgan Turner) and the older Veda that will be showing up later (Evan Rachel Wood) are a perfectly cast pair. While Wood has not yet made an appearance, just thinking back to her run on True Blood last year will point to the fact that people are about to be blown away by just how similar the two are in looks and mannerisms. PERFECT!

4. Why is Melissa Leo talking in that annoying voice as Lucy? She just won an Oscar, and she already blew away HBO audiences with her fantastic turn in Treme. All she has been on MP is annoying.

5. Other than cheating on his wife, Bert (Brian F. O'Byrne) seems to be the perfect father, and he's become a fine friend to Mildred post-split. I am having trouble reconciling those two different aspects. Which is kind of neat, because life is complicated, and this way he's presented as a full man, rather than a charicature.

6. The scenes between Mildred and Monty (Guy Pearce) are hot. They'd be even hotter with better looking performers, but the chemistry between the two is very sexy. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with Pearce other than that terrible hair piece and moustache, which is in period, but Winslet has never been all that attractive, in my opinion. I'm sure others may disagree.

7. The new restaurant Mildred is opening is gorgeous! How can it not succeed? Plus, location, location, location. Why don't more businesses open randomly in the middle of neighborhoods instead of in strips with other businesses? It may be harder to find for the general populace, but the people living within walking distance will surely become loyal patrons.

8. Why doesn't Mildred move into the restaurant? It's a house, right? Persumably, she is only using the main living areas. There will still be bedrooms free. If she will be spending most of her time there anyway, it just makes sense.

9. Why doesn't Mildred hire Ida (Mare Winningham) as her waitress? Mildred will be doing all the cooking, so she's going to need at least one server. I can see why Ida may want to wait and see how the new restaurant goes before deciding, but Mildred should at least offer Ida the first and top spot.

10. Ray's (Quinn McColgan) death - heartbreaking. Simply heartbreaking. She was such a cute little kid! Add to that the unwarranted guilt Mildred will feel by not being there the one time her daughter needed her, and you have some real pathos going on.

Click here for an alphabetical list of all of Jerome's Current Season Reviews.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.