Mare of Easttown was one of the biggest television hits of 2021.
Created by Brad Ingelsby, this smart, female-led thriller captivated audiences. Now, Ingelsby brings us Echo Valley, which, like Easttown, is a female-led thriller.
The film benefits from smart casting. The incredibly talented Julianne Moore takes the lead alongside Sydney Sweeney, who has gained significant popularity with younger audiences. With this duo portraying mother and daughter, Echo Valley is destined to be a success, right? Not necessarily.
Moore plays Kate, who is struggling to cope following the death of her wife. She lives on a ranch where she offers riding lessons and provides stable services. As beautiful as it is, the ranch is also a money pit, and the ranch house is in dire need of renovation.
With her roof on the verge of collapsing, Kate approaches her ex-husband, Richard (Kyle MacLachlan), to ask for financial assistance for the necessary repairs. As a wealthy lawyer, the ten thousand dollars Kate needs is merely pocket change for him, but Richard points out that he never wanted Kate to purchase the ranch and feels he shouldn’t be responsible for its maintenance.
Nevertheless, he softens due to Kate’s recent loss and ultimately agrees to give her the money.
The couple talk about their daughter Claire (Sydney Sweeny), but that leads to an argument.
Claire is an abusive drug addict. Her parents have paid for her to go to rehab more than once and have tried many times to help her, but Claire doesn’t want to change. Her father has all but given up on her, but Kate will do anything for her, including giving her the last of her money.
When Claire turns up on the doorstep, Kate is so relieved to see her that she welcomes her with open arms, not realising she is opening her home to disaster. Within minutes of being home, Claire asks her mother to buy her a new phone. She admits that following an argument with her loser boyfriend, he threw her phone out, and to get revenge, she threw his clothes out the window, not realising that she was also throwing drugs out.
Soon, Claire’s boyfriend arrives at the door, insisting that she find the money to pay for the lost drugs which he was supposed to sell on behalf of a dealer. When Kate says she can’t help, Claire lashes out at her. This won’t be the last time her daughter is violent toward her, but it doesn’t deter Kate from wanting to help Claire.
When the sinister dealer Jackie (Domhnall Gleeson) arrives at the ranch looking for his money, the situation become increasingly complicated and violent.
We soon discover that there is very little Kate won’t do to protect Claire, but will she go so far as to break the law for her?
Moore, as always, delivers a great performance, and while Sweeney is also excellent, she is underused. The duo doesn’t have enough screen time to let us understand why Kate is so forgiving despite Claire’s awful behaviour.
Gleeson is suitably slimy, and he isn’t the film’s only Irish actor. Cork’s Fiona Shaw gives a brilliant turn as Kate’s rock-solid friend.
The film starts strong and ends on a high note, but it lags for a considerable amount of time in the middle and the plot flounders.
It’s worth watching for the performances, but there are better thrillers out there.
Echo Valley, Apple TV, Streaming now, Cert 15a. ***
