The HBO limited series “Mare of Easttown” concluded its seven-episode run on Sunday night, 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 actress 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. It’s a beautiful, disturbing, and emotionally searing film, and she is excellent in it. Check it out on Hulu.
Series creator and writer Brad Ingelsby has made his career in grounded human dramas. A few of the films he’s 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/MaxGo or rent on Google Play/YouTube for $3.99), or the intense 2013 Pennsylvania steel town-set crime drama “Out of the Furnace,” starring Christian Bale and Casey Affleck (on Showtime or rent for $1.99 on Amazon). But, the closest of his work to “Mare of Easttown” is the criminally underrated 2018 movie “American Woman,” starring Sienna Miller as a young mother who presses on with life despite the disappearance of her teen daughter. Watch it via Cinemax, Max Go or rent for $2.99 on Amazon.
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 it 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 it on Prime, 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 it via Cinemax/Max Go.
You probably already know the best of Oscar-winner Kate Winslet, but there are two recent and under-seen 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/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 it on Hulu).
The incredible 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 on HBO’s “Hacks,” please remedy that immediately. It’s a weird and wonderful comedy, and one of Smart’s best performances yet. Before she stunned audiences on HBO’s “Watchmen,” her heel turn as the matriarch of a crime family on season two of “Fargo” (streaming on Hulu) kicked off the Smartaissance.
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 it on Hulu.
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