Mildred Pierce

I was already a Kate Winslet fan, but this performance has put her on a very short list of those who I have ever been so moved, so filled with respect and admiration.

From the moment we first meet her skillfully making pies (old school like grandma) we see a woman who inspires respect. Her troubled marriage becomes apparent right off, but it's not the unreasonable, irrational type of modern day failed marriage relationship. They come to a mutual understanding that they are not happy married to each other, recognizing their own faults and personality differences that are not making for a happy marriage. He leaves her for another woman and while shocking to her, Mildred's inner strength gives you the feeling she'll find a way to manage, although at the most challenging time imaginable - depression era California! We watch as Mildred works hard to keep her 2 daughters cared for while trying to keep herself from falling into understandable depression.

I'll leave the rest for when the series finishes, but I have never seen better acting than in this series, and a large part of that is KW. I believe her performance brings this series to a level it would not have achieved without her. Of course I must credit the directing, writing, and the story itself, for all are wonderful. I could not imagine any fan of dramatic film not liking this series.

Although "Mildred Pierce" was originally a novel, the story is familiar to most people as a glossy 1945 film noir in which Joan Crawford suffers in furs as her ungrateful daughter (Ann Blyth) steals her boyfriend (Zachary Scott). Strangely enough, the most engaging and gripping sections of this nearly 6-hour extravaganza of middle-class yearnings are not just the more heated of the mother-daughter battles but the painful struggle of the title character to find a job in a Depression-ravaged economy and a micro-examination of the frantic and messy business of running a restaurant, including the heartening camaraderie of the kitchen and wait staff.

There is much attention to the details of craftsmanship – pianistic, vocal, culinary, architectural, managerial and sartorial. When the movie concentrates on these matters it zips by, so sure is the treatment. The musical underscoring, always a key element in the evocation of the antique past, is too shrill at first but improves as the episodes unfold. For some reason Todd Haynes and his composer Carter Burwell have chosen to hammer us over the head at the start with a very loud jazzy piece, which is a bad idea because it obstructs the establishment of our acquaintance with the Pierce family. As the series progresses the musical elements are toned down. Mildred's theme song throughout is, appropriately enough, "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows."

The accomplished Kate Winslet flattens out her melodious native Britspeak yet again to impersonate a drab American housewife. How many such roles has she played by now? I've lost count. It's a consciously colorless rendering of an intelligent, strong and very feminine woman, but not the type of woman who would stop traffic or even try to. The supporting actors are the ones with personality texture: Melissa Leo as a good-natured neighbor and business partner, Mare Winningham as a tough but sweet co-worker (speaking with a "New Yawk"-style twang like one of those sassy blondes from 30's movies), Guy Pearce as the corrupt hedonistic boyfriend, Morgan Turner and Evan Rachel Wood as child and adult versions of Mildred's warped and snobby daughter Veda. Brian F. O'Byrne as Mildred's estranged husband is just warm and tender enough to evoke some sympathy.

The production is so meticulously produced and masterfully photographed that you can get lost in the visual details but the scale is too large for the smallness of the story.

Lots of us are fans of the 1945 Crawford version, which was heavily condensed and changed from the novel. But Todd Haynes' miniseries IS the whole story as James M Cain described it, so those who felt the TV production is too long probably didn't like the book either. I was glad to see everything included----it made for a long watch, but an immensely satisfying one. Haynes has a real gift for recreating period feel; for realistic tones and colors, costumes, cars and sets, music, everything down to the dust on the furniture of the decaying Beragon mansion. You feel that you're actually watching people in the 1930's and '40's. The performances of the entire cast are wonderful---but, a caveat: a couple of scenes employ some brief and unnecessary nudity, so it's not for family hour. Other than that, this is one of the best book-to-film adaptations I've ever seen.

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

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.