The Mean Season

Between everything competing for your attention, The Mean Season in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and fuboTV is worth clearing space for. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 117 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Kurt Russell leads a cast that never overplays its hand. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Amazon Prime Video.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, The Mean Season is worth clearing space for. Character-driven storytelling at its most effective — The Mean Season earns every emotional beat it goes for. A routine investigation of a shocking murder takes a bizarre twist when the killer contacts the reporter and appoints him his personal spokesman. As the killer's calls and clues increase, the reporter is lured into a deadly trap. Kurt Russell and Mariel Hemingway lead a cast doing genuinely serious work here. It hit screens in 1985. What elevates The Mean Season is a refusal to let any character off the hook too easily. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

The Mean Season is what you recommend to people who say they do not really watch much. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Kurt Russell carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.

The Mean Season was released in 1985, directed by Phillip Borsos. The full 103-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.