I learned there was far more "Sex & Nudity" than the Parents Guide claimed. And that's about it.The ending left me with absolutely no lesson learned, nothing to think about, nothing more than a blank stare and blatant frustration.Mildred Pierce. Hardly a main character. Hardly a character at all. You'll find that being in every scene doesn't make you a character, simply a prop. She does not grow. She does not learn. She actively follows what she knows is bad for her. Willingly walks into the most stupid things, I can't even begin to tell you.. You begin to believe she enjoys being hurt. She pretends to be angry one scene, and then acts as if nothing happened the next, even apologizing or doing favors for the other person who is clearly garbage and has admitted to ruining an important part of her life. Clearly never picked up a book on parenting, but then again those books don't lecture you on sociopaths.. However, you would think after years of dealing with that monster, she would have some kind of idea that said monster was.. as I said.. a monster, right? Not keep trying to "make it up to her" as if her daugher were an angel? I acknowledge some mothers can be naive when it comes to their children, but not like this. This does not make for an interesting character. Only a flat, detestable, and insufferable doormat tripping you into a most unsatisfting ending. Only until the very last scene does Mildred LOOK like maybe finally she's got the hang of it. Maybe she SHOULD let her daughter go. Want to see this phoenix rise at last? Too bad, the series is over.

Classic film fans know well the 1945 "Mildred Pierce" that won an Oscar for its star, Joan Crawford, providing her the comeback vehicle after being fired by MGM.Due to censorship restrictions, the film's story deviated somewhat from the book and, because Crawford was the star, the focus was kept on her, rather than enlarging the story to include Veda's career. Also, several of the characters were combined or omitted.This version, starring Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Melissa Leo, Mare Winningham, Brian O'Byrne, and Evan Rachel Ward sticks to the James Cain novel, with dialogue actually lifted from it.The five-part drama still tells the story of Mildred and her obsession with her class-conscious, cold, spoiled, brat daughter Veda and the destruction this obsession costs the hard-working Mildred.As is usual with HBO, the production values are fantastic, perfect in setting the atmosphere of the '40s and the mood of the story. The top-notch acting adds to it, and while there may not have been enough story for the time allotted, it's still excellent, particularly if you have read the novel and/or seen the film.I can't imagine two actresses more different from one another than Kate Winslet and Joan Crawford, and the differences are highlighted here to interesting effect. Crawford played Mildred as strong yet vulnerable; it's an overt performance, as were all of her performances. Her Mildred lets Veda and Monty get away with taking advantage of her. Winslet's Mildred is more insecure, and her strength is inner in that she's a survivor. Her Mildred doesn't seem to realize that Veda and Monty are taking her for a ride, and she comes off like a sap. A sympathetic sap, but a sap nonetheless. In a way, it makes her reaction (taken from the book) when she does realize it all the more powerful.Guy Pearce sounds like Zachary Scott in the film, and he's marvelous with just the right touch of sleaze. As Bert, Mildred's ex-husband, Brian O'Byrne, who was the star of Doubt on Broadway, is excellent. Both Evan Rachel Wood and Morgan Turner (Veda as a child) were wonderful showing Veda's detached, frosty personality. It was episode 3 before I realized that Ida was played the remarkable Mare Winningham, who brightens every film she does. Melissa Leo was wasted as Lucy, but good nonetheless. And a special nod to Leslie Lyles, who played the woman in the employment office - she was a perfect '40s character.The rest of this review is for people interested in the singing in the film.Since James Cain was an aspiring opera singer at one time and the son of an opera singer, opera sometimes enters into his stories, as it does here. Some of the operatic selections for Veda here fit the story, particularly Der Holle Rache (mother-daughter), the Bell Song (luring men with one's voice), and the Casta Diva from Norma. As in the book, she's a coloratura soprano, which her teacher tells Mildred is rare. Not really. The rarest voices in opera are the bass, the heldentenor, and true dramatic sopranos and true dramatic mezzos. I say "true" because often their roles are sung by spintos or even big lyrics.In the HBO film, Veda has an odd repertoire which includes La Mamma Morta, a lyric spinto or dramatic soprano aria -- chosen because it fits Veda's feelings and personality. For instance, the aria contains the line "Porto sventura a chi bene mi vuole! (Evil to those who love me well!) Truer words were never sung. In her concert at the Hollywood Bowl, she sings from Barber of Seville, today sung by a mezzo, but probably back then, a coloratura, and her radio aria is Je Suis Titania, also a coloratura aria.The vocal experts for the 2011 version did not want Veda singing Casta Diva since it is an incorrect choice for a) a young singer and b) her voice, but due to the fact that it's about a love triangle, it was chosen. Sumi Jo, whose recordings dubbed Turner, obviously had never sung Casta Diva, so a recording by Edita Guberova was used instead.Evan Rachel Wood was criticized for lacking correct expression and being too concerned with the lip-synching. I'd like to see the person who made that comment lip synch in Italian and German.

My god, what's happening to HBO? First Hemingway and Gelhorn and now this! Okay, so it's the depression. But in the opening scene everything in Mildred's house is so clean and new it sparkles! Endless, endless shots of luscious cake batter and fresh eggs being lovingly stirred.Then enter the husband. Never, ever has there been such stilted dialogue. Kate Winslet's American accent is dry, arid, and lifeless. She doesn't have any bounce, any wit, any energy, any anything. And her bland husband is a cad for playing around? Oh, and listen to them argue. They sound like flight attendants reading the exit manual! So then the daughters enter. They're almost cute, for a minute or two. But no, the older one is evil. I mean, eeeevil! Oh, and Mildred has to learn how to be a skank with careful coaching from her neighbor.I tuned out. Don't waste your time!

I remember Todd Haynes when he was making terrible "one-reelers" and so I'm not surprised he hasn't gotten further than this mess. OK. I'm a guy and so the Lifetime Television for Women stuff doesn't really grab me anyway. And that's what this was. Six hours dragged out when the whole thing could have been over in two. I didn't care for one single character. But the odd thing is, and maybe this is where Mr. Haynes exemplifies the "new" thinking, the bad guys come out as good and the good guys as just plain stupid. That young Veda for example was allowed to behave the way she did was to me unbelievable and all because she had somehow been spoiled. The father was a complete milquetoast who supposedly ran off to be with some other woman (and who could blame him)but can't seem to make up his mind if he'd rather be at home with Mildred or not. Mildred, for all her pride, still sleeps with every man she meets on the first date and seems to fall into the whole restaurateur business way too easily. And the opera singing. Really? And in the end it seems as if Veda triumphed. Unbelievable. Don't bother to watch this one. Even if you are sick in bed on a rainy day.