It isn’t long after the Connolly sisters lay their mother to rest that a tangled web of murder and prostitution starts getting woven in this Amazon Studios original. Family secrets commence bubbling over, with enough residual spatter to send sisters Pris (Sophie Lowe) and Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) wading waterproof mukluk-deep through the criminal underbelly of the non-existent but authentic-looking seaport village of Easter Cove, Maine. Don’t you love it when a film just starts, entering its character’s lives mid-flow, effectively catching the viewer off guard? Isn’t it refreshing when people who have known each other for years don’t speak in explanations or clumsily disseminated backstory? Perhaps it’s the fact that these characters know each other so well — and we don’t — that first draws our interest. Holding it is another story. No sooner does the Greek Chorus of ruddy anglers finish warbling the eponymous ditty than we hit the ground jogging, eager to be brought up to speed on the lives of the Connolly sisters. As it happens, a trio of otherwise fine upstanding fishmonger’s wives (Annette O’Toole, June Squibb, and Marceline Hugot) have it in for Enid (Margo Martindale), the wharf’s proud, pasty-faced procuress. Looking very much like Maleficent after she swallowed a character balloon from the Macy’s Christmas Parade, Enid logs hours at the town beauty salon — where she’s the subject of gossip, even when under the dryer. Being the embodiment of pure evil makes it tougher to get around: her walking cane frequently finds itself in direct competition with the cut of her billowing garment. How did the directorial team of Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy ultimately arrive at this remote location for their first feature? They hung a right at Fargo. Aye, there’s the rub. Too many great ideas get trammeled in this copycat crime gone awry. (2019) — Scott Marks
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