I saw this for the first time after watching The Postman Always Rings Twice for the first time (both adapted from Cain novels). I was really underwhelmed by both films, found them over-plotted, frenetic, with no time spent on the necessary character development that would allow understanding or appreciation of, or empathy for, any main character. I'm just wondering if anyone else didn't care for "Mildred Pierce."
shareI dislike Joan Crawford, but I like this movie.
shareI enjoy Mildred Pierce but I get what you mean that it's a bit rushed. And the one issue I've always had with it was Veda's characterization. She doesn't seem to have any other motivation beyond "she's spoiled." It's just a bit too short hand in that regard, and feels like a relic from a "spare the rod, spoil the child" culture.
Have you ever seen My Son, My Son from 1940? It's kind of a male Mildred Pierce (in this case, a father spoils a son, and said son becomes a cad). The movie could have used some editing, but I thought the portrayal of the wayward child made more sense. The father is so ridiculously gifted, and virtuous, and loved by all, that the son, Oliver, can't help but feel like a loser by comparison. So he sabotages any achievement or friendship he might have in the cruelest ways possible, always with the intent to punish his father.
Veda just seems too cartoony evil, whereas I'd called Oliver more broken.
Oh, btw, did I see you on The Judge board?
"He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy! Now, piss off!" - Free speech forever! :)
Listen, I've seen quite a number of spoiled brats in my lifetime, and while I'm pretty sure they're not capable of cold-blooded murder, they were not much different than Veda.
shareI didn't think it was very good. Maybe it's emblematic of films from 1945, but it was just so damn campy! When they showed the younger daughter's dying face and she cries out, "Mother" I actually laughed out loud. And then the doctor sort of blurts out, "Oh...I...did everything I could but she didn't make it." It was like something out of the movie Airplane!
It's poorly written, poorly casted, poorly directed, fairly poorly acted, and very poorly executed.
5/10
HARUMPH!share
It's just a different acting style. You don't have to like it, but that doesn't make it poor.
"Whoever he is, this Torch is dangerous...He has a sense of humor!" (Son of Monte Cristo, 1940)
I have watched this film twice and although Ms. Crawford won an Oscars and this is supposed to be a classic, I don't really like it much. I mean, it's not unwatchable...but just barely. It feels like I'm watching a 1950'S era soap opera. The acting is so melodramatic. I honestly don't understand how Joan Crawford got the praise she did. Her emotional scenes, especially those in which she cries, are so forced and contrived. I have never been a big fan of hers and believe me I have tried. I am a classic film fanatic but I just don't care for her. That is just my opinion.
shareAgreed. Both Mildred Pierce and The Postman Always Rings Twice are melodramas dressed up as film noirs. The cinematogrophy is amazing, but the stories are just a mess. It's worth watching for the imagery but towards the end, it just becomes a tiresome act. Too bad.