Mildred Pierce (1945)

Good movie but grossly overrated

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

this is a movie talks about family relationship. It pick up a boring topic to describe. It is the love from a mother to her daughter. I think the love from mother to daughter is unfair but grateful. Mother tries her best to give her daughter everything she wants in the world. But the daughter thinks she deserved all of those beautiful gifts and also she deserved this love from her mother. The daughter doesn't know to say thank you to her mother. She doesn't know to switch thinking. If she knows to thinking on her mother's position, she won't do those things to hurt her mother's heart. However, after the daughter done those things to break her mother's heart, mother still loves her and try to do everything to cover her daughter's crime.

Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest movies ever made, Curtiz's "Mildred Pierce" is more than a film about the life story of a hard working woman and the mysterious murder occurring in her house. It is a study of the human psychology.. the needs and desires.. and an approach to how people differentiate between illusion and reality and whether it is really valid!"Mildred pierce" is a film noir told through flashbacks with a voice-over narration from the protagonist, where she is telling her life story to the detective investigating in the murder of her second husband. An attractive housewife separates from her first husband due to disagreements related mainly to the raising of their two daughters. Mildred's Life then starts to take a different shape with all the struggles and sufferings, only to find that her hardest challenge is her older daughter Veda with her greedy, mean, and spoiled manners; all of which lead to destruction.The plot and its protagonist Mildred Pierce reminded me of "Gone with the Wind". The film though is more cynical and the characters are in a way or another two-faced.. The acting was great and that helped a lot in introducing the complicated characters and deep dialogue successfully (3 actresses were nominated for Oscars with a win for Joan Crawford in addition to Best Writing nomination). The incredible execution of the film intended to make it gloomy and succeeded.. it is dark, deeply shaded, mysterious, and "deceptive".. wonderful cinematography (also nominated). And the directing.. well it was masterful.What I love about this movie is the way Curtiz introduced its meanings and allegories. Starting with the opening scene, Curtiz shows us Monte (the second husband) being murdered without showing us the murderer. Going through Mildred's story the bits and bits of her life build up for us the image of the killer. The mystery (of life?) carries within it great illusions. In one scene, Mildred goes into a room to search for a bathing suit and Monte follows.. it is then revealed, as Mildred moves closer, that the initial shot was for a reflection of the mirror and for a moment there Mildred is facing herself in the mirror. A similar scene (of a mirror shot) is when Monte is embracing Mildred (do we perceive things in life as they are? are we even honest to ourselves? our feelings.. affections..). Remarkably in the same scene, Monte mentions the sound of his beating heart to Mildred.. after a while the "love scene" ends with Mildred telling Monte to stop the record "from beating" (the sound then - or his feelings I should say are artificial and his words deceptive).Note that in a scene on the beach, Curtiz plays with the light. It is the only "shiny" scene in the film without the contrasts where Mildred is seen happy with her lover Monte (before he becomes her husband).. Curtiz is being artistic and stylish.Curtiz then presents for us the human psyche at-most.. a devotion of a mother that in itself carries the seeds of destruction.. The strengths and motives that turn into weaknesses.. the desire to be wanted that makes someone try to buy the love of another (is "love" ever unconditional or does it always come from a need).. loyalty and betrayal.. the dark humor coming out through memorable words.. and the two faced characters. A beauty.. and a must-see classic.. Mildred Pierce.

Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) ponders suicide only to be stopped by a passing beat cop. Her husband Monte Beragon had been shot and she's the main suspect. During the police interrogation, she recounts her first marriage to Bert Pierce. Four years ago, Bert splits up with his real estate partner Wally Fay and leaves Mildred with their daughters Veda and Kay. Mildred struggles to make ends meet and lowers herself to get a waitress job which embarrasses Veda. Kay dies from pneumonia while with Bert. Mildred works hard to open her own restaurant. She buys a property from playboy Beragon who comes from an old upper-class faded family. Wally Fay advises her to divorce Bert to maintain her finances. She becomes successful with several restaurants. She dotes on Veda spoiling her as the mother daughter relationship spirals out of control. The story is soapy. Crawford is great holding the movie together. The drive comes from finding the end point. Ann Blyth does bratty bordering on evil. It is melodrama done at the highest level and it's all thanks to Crawford.

This film made history for many reasons. The major reason was the fact that the main character was a woman and that she was successful and making money. This was not uncommon for the time period because of the war just ending and the men that had been drafted were just re-entering the work force. I am proud to say that the production staff did a good job on this film because I did not see the ending coming. The cinematography of the film was outstanding and the lighting especially helped convey the mood that the characters were trying to form. I would recommend this film to anyone who is interested in a different kind of movie that will keep you guessing long after it is finished.