Since I won't have internet for a few more days due to the hurricane, I wanted to watch one of the Criterion blurays I've had sitting on my shelf. Mildred Pierce has been there for a while. Recently I had watched part of it without knowing what it was. I was really impressed, but by watching it I was spoiled and then reluctant to finish it. Now that I finally watched it I was very surprised by it. Seeing part of it on TV I had missed the opening scene which is crucial to the plot. This made me look at the rest of the film in a completely different way. There's much more to Mildred Pierce than I expected.

I felt so sorry for Mildred who was played by Joan Crawford. She gives a wonderful performance that really keeps you guessing how she ended up in her condition at the start of the film. Her performance stood out from the rest. She defied the Hollywood formula of what a dramatic female role must be. Ann Blyth is also great as Veda. She's despicable and I've never wanted to slap someone through the screen more. Bruce Bennett and Zachary Scott are both fantastic as Mildred's husbands. Jack Carson, while he was intentionally annoying, was also very impressive in his role. Another stand out for me was Eve Arden as Ida. She was hilarious and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she got nominated for her role.

Since this is a relatively simple film I don't want to discuss much of it as it might take away from a first time viewing. The performances are at the center, Joan Crawford especially. The dialogue definitely has that old Hollywood style, but it's very cleverly written. There are some surprisingly beautiful shots that I didn't expect, but that was a welcome addition.

As I said, this is a pretty simple film, but it's exceptionally well executed.

Since I won't have internet for a few more days due to the hurricane, I wanted to watch one of the Criterion blurays I've had sitting on my shelf. Mildred Pierce has been there for a while. Recently I had watched part of it without knowing what it was. I was really impressed, but by watching it I was spoiled and then reluctant to finish it. Now that I finally watched it I was very surprised by it. Seeing part of it on TV I had missed the opening scene which is crucial to the plot. This made me look at the rest of the film in a completely different way. There's much more to Mildred Pierce than I expected.

I felt so sorry for Mildred who was played by Joan Crawford. She gives a wonderful performance that really keeps you guessing how she ended up in her condition at the start of the film. Her performance stood out from the rest. She defied the Hollywood formula of what a dramatic female role must be. Ann Blyth is also great as Veda. She's despicable and I've never wanted to slap someone through the screen more. Bruce Bennett and Zachary Scott are both fantastic as Mildred's husbands. Jack Carson, while he was intentionally annoying, was also very impressive in his role. Another stand out for me was Eve Arden as Ida. She was hilarious and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she got nominated for her role.

Since this is a relatively simple film I don't want to discuss much of it as it might take away from a first time viewing. The performances are at the center, Joan Crawford especially. The dialogue definitely has that old Hollywood style, but it's very cleverly written. There are some surprisingly beautiful shots that I didn't expect, but that was a welcome addition.

As I said, this is a pretty simple film, but it's exceptionally well executed.

Pense que la única menor de edad a la que le desearía la muerte era la niña de the children's hour pero ahora creo que Veda Pierce merece ese titulo totalmente.

Pense que la única menor de edad a la que le desearía la muerte era la niña de the children's hour pero ahora creo que Veda Pierce merece ese titulo totalmente.

Pense que la única menor de edad a la que le desearía la muerte era la niña de the children's hour pero ahora creo que Veda Pierce merece ese titulo totalmente.

Pense que la única menor de edad a la que le desearía la muerte era la niña de the children's hour pero ahora creo que Veda Pierce merece ese titulo totalmente.

"I never thought it would end like this"
"Who knows how anything is going to end? "

You can't love someone into loving you back, that applies not only romantically. well made!

"I never thought it would end like this"
"Who knows how anything is going to end? "

You can't love someone into loving you back, that applies not only romantically. well made!

Those men in Mildred’s life were all boring, mean, and stupid. Marry Ida at once and you two will live happily together
Veda is clearly one of the most hated girls in movies. She’s mean without any reason. Some people will say that it’s all Mildred’s fault, but Kay was really different from her. And if I were Mildred’s daughter, the only “mean” thing I’d probably do would be to bankrupt the restaurant because I’d eat there every day, especially the desserts, especially those pies

Those men in Mildred’s life were all boring, mean, and stupid. Marry Ida at once and you two will live happily together
Veda is clearly one of the most hated girls in movies. She’s mean without any reason. Some people will say that it’s all Mildred’s fault, but Kay was really different from her. And if I were Mildred’s daughter, the only “mean” thing I’d probably do would be to bankrupt the restaurant because I’d eat there every day, especially the desserts, especially those pies