Mildred Pierce

This is a good mini-series but has some flaws. But first I have to praise Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood for their acting and chemistry (even if their characters nearly hate each other). But the thing is that the story gets sooooo stretched to fill the 5 episodes that from episode 3 on may feel a bit boring and kinda repetitive.

I get that we need to see Mildred's ups and downs but it just feels the same until the fifth episode. I haven't read the book yet but I think it wasn't structured to be adapted into a miniseries. Maybe a movie (I mean the one with Joan Crawford) but not a 5-hour series. Some dialogues are full of wit and deepness but, some feel very dull. Todd Haynes directed flawlessly but the scripts he co-wrote needed to be fixed or shortened.

Kate Winslet just nails every scene she's in and gives a powerful performance mostly in the scenes with young and adult Veda. The relationship between these feels so real even if it's a toxic one, a VERY toxic one. Kate gives us a character that has been beaten by life but, tries to go on and give her daughters a better life even if the world is falling down.

The sets and costumes are just brilliant. Anything you would expect coming from a period production.

It is a beautiful story and production, feminism at its best, but the writing needs some fixing.

It's 1930's L.A. Mildred Pierce (Kate Winslet) has been abandoned by her unemployed husband Bert leaving her with their young daughters Veda and Ray. She has been trying to make ends meet by selling her home-made pies. She is forced to take a lowly waitress job in Hollywood. Veda finds out and berates her for embarrassing the family. Mildred tells her that she's preparing to open her own restaurant. Mildred is sleeping with Bert's former real-estate partner Wally Burgan who comes up with a place to start the restaurant. Due to tax reasons, the scheme requires Mildred to divorce Bert. She begins dating polo-playing playboy Monty Beragon (Guy Pearce). He does no work but he gets an income from a fading fruit import business. While secretly away with him, Ray gets sick and later dies. With her waitress friend Ida Corwin's help, her chicken-and-waffles restaurants become highly successful. Mildred doles on Veda but she turns more and more rotten.

This is a five parts HBO mini-series based on the 1941 novel and most well-known for the 1945 film adaptation. For me, this is a tragic mother and daughter story. The drama only gets great when Evan Rachel Wood arrives in part four. The younger actresses who play Veda in the first three parts do their very best. It's not their fault but the drama is limited to a few interesting scenes. This is a failure of adaptation. The first three parts are too plodding and fails to grab the drama by its throat. The saving grace is Kate Winslet and her never-ending humanity. Despite the slow start, she keeps the story going and there is value to a more expansive exposition than the 1945 film. It would have helped to concentrate this five parter into a two or three parter.

If you're one of the many people who read James M. Cain's novel Mildred Pierce and were utterly baffled by the changed made to the 1945 film adaptation, have no fear: the 2011 remake is so faithful to the book, it's as if someone's reading it aloud. Spread out in a 5-part miniseries, every detail of the long-suffering mother's journey is shown, from the dissolution of her marriage to her baby steps of adapting to the business world, to the sadness each of her daughters bring, and to her second chance at love with a young playboy. Kate Winslet takes the helm, and after her predecessor won a long-awaited Oscar for the original, Kate took quite a risk.

Since the two versions are so different, because of the story changes, Kate Winslet and Joan Crawford play two different women. Even if you love Joan Crawford, I think you'll still be able to appreciate Kate's interpretation and admit that she gives a heartfelt, exhausting performance. Kate modernizes the role, bringing her own brand of acting to Mildred's struggles, rather than trying to imitate Joan's stoic performance from the silver screen. She was rewarded, too, earning a Golden Globe for her work.

While in the original, the characters of Mildred's husband, friend, and suitor are stereotypes and rather boring, in the remake, Brian O'Byrne, Melissa Leo, and James Le Gros each bring realism into their respective roles. Mare Winningham joins the cast as a fellow waitress, and she's so realistic it's as if she's been slinging hash her entire life. Evan Rachel Wood takes on the villainous role of Mildred's oldest daughter, and while I am partial to Ann Blyth's original breakthrough performance, there are no flaws in Evan's. She does everything she's supposed to do and makes the audience hate her just as much as they're supposed to. Guy Pearce plays the handsome, spoiled playboy, and while he's always excellent in every role he takes on, if you watch this miniseries you might be too distracted to focus on his acting talents.

Since I've read the book, I thoroughly appreciated Todd Haynes' adaptation. This version is faithful from start to finish, and with several seasoned actors bringing the characters to life, it's very enjoyable to watch.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to sex scenes and nudity, as well as upsetting scenes involving children, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

Although the performances of Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce and Evan Racel Wood were all top notch in this 2011 remake, I preferred the original 1945 film. I just found the updated version to be too long. And it really didn't explain things as well as the 1945 version, such as the real reason why Mr. Pierce left his family. I know they make it seem like it was because he had another woman. But in the 1945 movie, it explained why he sought companionship with another woman. He was getting into a lot of arguments with Mrs. Pierce spoiling their daughters--especially Veda. And that's another thing too. In the 2011 version, it really didn't explain why Veda was a spoiled brat. But in the 1945 version, Mrs. Pierce said that she wanted to give the best things for her daughters. Anyway, another reason I liked the 1945 version more was because it had more style. I liked the film-noirness of it. I found the 2011 version to be all so typical and common. Nothing special. I don't know why they even bothered remaking this movie since the original was so much better. 5/10

An excellent drama. 5 episodes. Period detail flawless and captivating in its accuracy. An absorbing tale very well acted by a great ensemble cast who were all flawlessly placed by casting. I was sold on the first 4 episodes and couldn't wait to see the conclusion. Wow! Our lass from "Readin for beddin" was utterly brilliant. Miss Wood showed how very gifted she is as an actress. The two girls had three major scenes together and they were incredibly good, nay quite brilliant. Huge talents, seriously gifted performers. Speechless. Congratulations to everyone, Mr.Haynes well done. I am a bloke so I must admit to being huge fans of both actresses. It easy to fancy some girl on the screen I suppose, but that's not the thing here. A wonderful cast all around. Well done everyone. Well done Mr.Haynes bringing this cast together and thank you for the magic.