Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Blistering performances.

Nice adaptation, but the script is based on an aweful one-sided writing, it starts off as promising drama when the lead character sends off her husband to his lover and is left to fend for herself and works hard to earn a living, then the writting takes a wrong turn after personal loss and business success instead of being happy she turns into an opposite of a kept woman and keeps a man instead and argues with her spoiled daughter and brat and tolerates this crap, mind you this is a third episode, hopefully she comes to her senses. it is watchable and enjoyable thanks to kate winslet performance but irritating at the same time. Ultimately if its supposed to be study of mother daughter relationship that tolerates a lot because of guilt and loss then ok, i get and would have saved five hrs having known...

I had high hopes for this mini series. After all it was an HBO production with a great cast. If only the writing was as such. The first 2 episodes were actually good enough (if not a little slow) to make me want to watch the rest. The last 3 episodes are a waste of time. The characters were never really developed. This young Veda was not the heinous spoiled brat that we had come to expect and understand in the Joan Crawford version. We never see Kate Winslet spoil young Veda or see how truly spoiled and ungrateful Veda was. Veda as a young adult went on some tirades and talked in circles & at times I was wondering what she was screaming about. She never really acted ashamed of her mother or her station in life as in the original version. Nor did she ever act like she hated her mother (no more than any other teenage girl), which was the driving force behind everything Mildred did. She did it for Veda's love and approval. This Veda has a career and fame. The ending just left me scratching my head.

It's 1930's L.A. Mildred Pierce (Kate Winslet) has been abandoned by her unemployed husband Bert leaving her with their young daughters Veda and Ray. She has been trying to make ends meet by selling her home-made pies. She is forced to take a lowly waitress job in Hollywood. Veda finds out and berates her for embarrassing the family. Mildred tells her that she's preparing to open her own restaurant. Mildred is sleeping with Bert's former real-estate partner Wally Burgan who comes up with a place to start the restaurant. Due to tax reasons, the scheme requires Mildred to divorce Bert. She begins dating polo-playing playboy Monty Beragon (Guy Pearce). He does no work but he gets an income from a fading fruit import business. While secretly away with him, Ray gets sick and later dies. With her waitress friend Ida Corwin's help, her chicken-and-waffles restaurants become highly successful. Mildred doles on Veda but she turns more and more rotten.This is a five parts HBO mini-series based on the 1941 novel and most well-known for the 1945 film adaptation. For me, this is a tragic mother and daughter story. The drama only gets great when Evan Rachel Wood arrives in part four. The younger actresses who play Veda in the first three parts do their very best. It's not their fault but the drama is limited to a few interesting scenes. This is a failure of adaptation. The first three parts are too plodding and fails to grab the drama by its throat. The saving grace is Kate Winslet and her never-ending humanity. Despite the slow start, she keeps the story going and there is value to a more expansive exposition than the 1945 film. It would have helped to concentrate this five parter into a two or three parter.

Kate Winslet does it again in this fine feat of cinematography that will resonate with me forever. This mini series did not disappoint. I could not stop watching or thinking about Mildred. Mildred's daughter was a little brat, but the intricate family drama was real and easy to relate to. What was up with the grandma, being so rude to Mildred at the hospital? This is the stuff dreams are made of people, an instant classic. Mildred goes through a lot of tough times, but her resolve, determination, and humbleness gets her through it all. Shame on those who give Mildred bad reviews. You must be made of stone. Just make sure you watch this on a Sunday because you will want to watch all three episodes one after another. Simply a wonderful series that took me back in time, and I only wish it lasted longer Thank you HBO! Definitely a 10 out of 10!