THE PLOT THUS FAR
Divorced single mom Mildred Pierce decides to open a restaurant business, which tears at the already-strained relationship with her ambitious elder daughter, Veda.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
Based on the 1941 novel by James M. Cain, this HBO miniseries follows the turbulent life of Mildred Pierce, a fiercely independent single mom who works hard to win her daughter’s love while struggling to make ends meet in Depression-era Los Angeles.
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.
She is in every frame of the film and this must have been an extremely tiring performance for her. But Ms.Winslet is nothing short of spectacular. She gets every emotion right and delivers every dialogue flawlessly. Morgan Turner as the young Veda Pierce is rightly cast and builds up a neat foundation for Evan Rachel Wood to play her adult counterpart. Wood plays the role just right. Mellisa Leo and MAre Winningham as Pierce’s friends Lucy and Ida, are perfectly cast. Brían F. O’Byrne as Bert is surprising good and in the final scene, he truly shines.
The novel is a good read, but picturizing it frame by frame into a movie would not attract many audiences. Its a film moire and is very realistic. The scenes unravel slowly and in detail. for some this may seem like a ‘drag’. So if you find yourself yawing at movies like ‘Revolutionary Road’ or ‘The English Patient’ then stay away. Also the devotion Mildred shows to her, clearly sick and evil daughter is something I found hard to understand. In today’s sensibility a mother wouldn’t go this far I assume but this is debatable.
The Blu-Ray comes with commentaries and interviews. There’s also a bonus DVD copy of the mini-series bundled together with the Blu-Ray set. The 1080p transfer continues HBO’s streak of flawless presentations. However, the DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track seemed to overpower the presentation when dialogue and audio effects had to fight for space. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
