Mildred Pierce

This movie makes me wanna say "ah". It's awfully good. Where to begin. That opening scene was so good and clearly set the stage for a very gripping film. The opening scene would obviously be a major deal to draw the audience in. This has a very gripping plot and I was constantly interested in this and in awe of it. The constant twists and turns of this film. First of the cinematography is so good, probably the best shot film ever, Joan was picturised beautifully. She looked so stunning, that scene on the pier when she tries to attempt suicide was such a visually stunning scene. Joan Crawford in this film has a lot of guts. She's very assertive and very assured. Yet she is also vulnerable and somewhat weak when it comes to the relationship with Veda. Joan's acting is probably one of the best performances of her career, and most notably gave her a dramatic turn in her career (after stale roles at MGM). But I feel like a very successful and hardworking businesswoman like Mildred couidnbe dominated by her selfish daughter? Like doesn't make sense to me. This is a very interesting film when it comes to woman's roles. While yes it can be called a feminist classic, it does often seem to say too much work causes problems at home. Like when the younger sister dies because Joan is too focused on her work or love life. So while yes it is admirable that Joan is able to build a successful chain of restaurants, it's also very interesting to see that when she focuses on work too much, there are many domestic problems. Eve Arden ILYSM. That's it for you tho, I wish you were a lead actress in those days but ig "born to be a lead actress forced to be a supporting actress". We can't go without this review without mentioning Ann Blyth who portrayed the rotten and selfish Veda. This character is so disgusting and so selfish and so ugh annoying. Like I felt like Mildred should have shot her bc she pissed me off. Like the fact she was so snobbish. But Ann Blyth did a good job if I'm annoyed. And she's so awfully young. She seemed very innocent and naive early on and then very mature and wicked in the later scenes. Also loved the score by Max Steiner. This is a very odd film noir, it's led by women, it wasn't even supposed to be a film noir, most of it is more of a melodrama then film noir, but it is one of my favourite film noirs ever and generally one of the best films ever in my opinion. Joan you deserved this one 💃