Now Crawford's Mildred Pierce isn't exactly like Davis' Margo Channing (Margo is a veteran of stage, Mildred a rookie in business), but they are both at an insecure stage of their lives. Enter the younger woman, here to make their lives more troublesome. Mildred knows that her life's becoming more complicated, but she's willing to turn a blind eye. Big mistake.
Oh, what to say about Ann Blyth's Veda? How about these three words: what a brat. Seriously, is she ever happy at what her mother does for her? If you think Anne Baxter's Eve Harrington is bad, you haven't seen Veda.
Mildred Pierce has to be one of the best movies I saw. It's a film noir and a women's picture mixed together. A good combo if you ask me. Crawford is excellent while Blyth is ruthless. A must-see in my book.
My Rating: *****
I never saw the original, but I recently watched the HBO Miniseries with Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood. I thought that was wonderful, I'll have to check out the original!
ReplyDeleteGreat review.
I also saw the miniseries, and then was inspired to check out the movie. They're both so different it's hard to compare, but I love the murder noir of this Mildred Pierce. Plus, Crawford is amazing. The blankness in her face, her subtle expressions...you can tell Winslet studied her to the T. Great review!
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