Mildred Pierce

Todd Haynes's faithful miniseries adaptation of James M. Cain's Mildred Pierce is a far cry from the noirish Michael Curtiz version, but it conveys the spirit of the novel's unique protagonist. Haynes takes a more realistic approach to the material, and Kate Winslet is an earthy and sympathetic Mildred. After throwing out her good-natured, but unfaithful, unemployed husband, Bert (Brian F. O'Byrne), Mildred, faced with raising two daughters on her own, reluctantly takes a job as a waitress. Eventually, spurred on by the snobbery of her beloved daughter Veda (Morgan Turner), she decides to open her own restaurant. Mildred meets a well-bred loafer, Monte (Guy Pearce), and has a spontaneous, passionate affair. Mildred can never do enough to please Veda, but she's determined to, no matter what the cost. The production is strongest early on, as Haynes depicts this smart, capable, determined woman building her fortune from nothing. In the later episodes, the scheming, manipulative adult Veda (Evan Rachel Wood) becomes an opera star, while wreaking havoc on Mildred's life. It's an unrequited love affair between mother and daughter. She can only achieve what she wants through Veda, whose talent and, ironically, breeding allows Mildred to elevate herself, or so she hopes. The mix of realism and melodrama, derived from the book, is odd, but beguiling, and Winslet keeps it emotionally grounded.