Mildred Pierce 

Divorced single mom Mildred Pierce decides to open a restaurant business, which tears at the already-strained relationship with her ambitious elder daughter, Veda.

Stars:

Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 25 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Kate Winslet	...	Mildred Pierce 5 episodes, 2011
Brían F. O'Byrne	...	Bert Pierce 5 episodes, 2011
Melissa Leo	...	Lucy Gessler 5 episodes, 2011
James Le Gros	...	Wally Burgan 5 episodes, 2011
Mare Winningham	...	Ida Corwin 5 episodes, 2011
Marin Ireland	...	Letty 5 episodes, 2011
Murphy Guyer	...	Mr. Pierce 5 episodes, 2011
Guy Pearce	...	Monty Beragon 5 episodes, 2011
Diane Kagan	...	Mrs. Pierce 4 episodes, 2011
Christopher Koron	...	Archie 4 episodes, 2011
Morgan Turner	...	Veda Pierce 4 episodes, 2011
Halley Feiffer	...	Arline 3 episodes, 2011
Hope Davis	...	Mrs. Forrester 3 episodes, 2011
Miriam Shor	...	Anna 3 episodes, 2011
Robb Webb	...	Radio Announcer 3 episodes, 2011
Margaret Hall	...	Mrs. Floyd 3 episodes, 2011
Quinn McColgan	...	Ray Pierce 3 episodes, 2011
Erwin Falcon	...	Pancho 3 episodes, 2011
Elvy Yost	...	Sigrid 3 episodes, 2011
Laura Esterman	...	Mrs. Kramer 3 episodes, 2011
Till Schauder	...	Hans 3 episodes, 2011
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Veda Pierce 2 episodes, 2011
Evan Thompson	...	Man with a Cap 2 episodes, 2011
Brenda Wehle	...	Mrs. Turner 2 episodes, 2011
Ronald Guttman	...	Carlo Treviso 2 episodes, 2011
Kenneth Jennings	...	Small Man 2 episodes, 2011
Todd Aubrey Davis	...	Houseman 2 episodes, 2011
Tommy Nelson	...	Newsboy 2 episodes, 2011
MacKenzie Meehan	...	Cashier 2 episodes, 2011
Remy Auberjonois	...	Starched Collar Man 2 episodes, 2011
Matthew Foster	...	Starched Collar Man 2 episodes, 2011
Marceline Hugot	...	Table Two Woman 2 episodes, 2011
Rocco Sisto	...	Mr. Rossi 2 episodes, 2011
Kaili Vernoff	...	Table Two Woman 2 episodes, 2011
Annette Arnold	...	Waitress Annette 2 episodes, 2011
Laura Rosenthal	...	Waitress Doris 2 episodes, 2011
Mark Margolis	...	Mr. Chris 2 episodes, 2011
Darlene Violette	...	Waitress Darlene 2 episodes, 2011
Orlagh Cassidy	...	Woman 1 2 episodes, 2011
Emily Cass McDonnell	...	Woman 2 2 episodes, 2011
Scott Robertson	...	Mr. Rand 2 episodes, 2011
Bradley Mott	...	Mr. Rice 2 episodes, 2011
Mary Bacon	...	Young Mother 2 episodes, 2011
Bob McClure	...	Businessman 2 episodes, 2011
Sam Kitchin	...	Customer 2 episodes, 2011
Rachel Darden Bennett	...	Shirley 2 episodes, 2011
Lena Dunham	...	Nurse 1 2 episodes, 2011
Peter McRobbie	...	Dr. Gale 2 episodes, 2011
Susan Millard	...	Nurse 2 2 episodes, 2011
Max Brand	...	Orderly 2 episodes, 2011
Victor Slezak	...	Dr. Collins 2 episodes, 2011
Margaret Reed	...	Maggie Biederhof 2 episodes, 2011
Paul Pilcz	...	Tommy 2 episodes, 2011
Leslie Lyles	...	Mrs. Jaeckel 2 episodes, 2011
Maitely Weismann	...	Mrs. Levinson 2 episodes, 2011

Storyline

Glendale, California, 1931: Mildred Pierce, a young mother with a talent for baking, is left a "grass widow" after throwing her husband, Bert, out of the house. Forced to hunt for work to support herself and her two young daughters, 11-year-old Veda and seven-year-old Ray, Mildred visits an employment agency, only to encounter job opportunities she feels are beneath her. Amidst her job search, she receives dating advice from her friend and neighbor, Lucy Gessler, and begins an unexpected affair with an ex-business partner of her husband's, Wally Burgan. When Mildred receives a call from the agency regarding an opening as a housekeeper to a wealthy socialite, she reluctantly agrees to meet with her. After cutting the acerbic interview short, Mildred seeks refuge at a local diner, Cristofor's Café, where fate, and a waitress named Ida, will play a role in shaping her future.

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Plot Keywords:

mother daughter relationship | glendale california | california | restaurant | auteur tv | 

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Taglines:

Having It All Would Cost Her Everything.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mildred Pierce

Filming Locations:

Blauvelt, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO),Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Killer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

336 min (total run time)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lena Dunham was cast in a brief role as a nurse, but was fired and replaced on set.

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.18 (2011)

User Reviews

A slow yet captivating mini-series, but...

-> continuing from the title <- But it is not for everyone.

Mildred pierce is not like other movies/series "based" on novels. This one is more like it "picturization " of the novel. If you have read the James Cain novel by the same name, you will be stunned how this movie 'sticks' to the source faithfully. So this should be great right? Ironically we learn from this that sometimes being too faithful to the novel has its drawbacks.Read on:

This is a film about a middle class divorced , single mom raising her kids , trying to be successful and riding the waves of success but making the mistake of trying to woo her 'rotten' daughter that leads to her downfall.

Here is Kate winslet as the heroine, Mildred Pierce. She is in every frame of the film and this must have been an extremely tiring performance for her. But Ms.Winslet is nothing short of spectacular. She gets every emotion right and delivers every dialogue flawlessly. Morgan Turner as the young Veda Pierce is rightly cast and builds up a neat foundation for Evan Rachel Wood to play her adult counterpart. Wood plays the role just right. Mellisa Leo and MAre Winningham as Pierce's friends Lucy and Ida, are perfectly cast. Brían F. O'Byrne as Bert is surprising good and in the final scene, he truly shines.

Now we have a good story and perfect cast so what could go wrong? Its the faithfulness! The novel is a good read, but picturizing it frame by frame into a movie would not attract many audiences. Its a film noire and is very realistic. The scenes unravel slowly and in detail. for some this may seem like a 'drag'. So if you find yourself yawing at movies like 'Revolutionary Road' or 'The English Patient' then stay away. Also the devotion Mildred shows to her, clearly sick and evil daughter is something I found hard to understand. In today's sensibility a mother wouldn't go this far I assume but this is debatable.

Other than that the film is a joyful companion to the novel. It would actual be difficult to imagine Mildred Pierce as anyone other than Kate Winslet, if you both, read and watch the movie over the same course of time. In conclusion, If you like good acting, good music, Pre-World war II era-films with a touch of realism then do not miss this.