Mildred Pierce (1945)

 Michael Curtiz's "Mildred Pierce"


In adapting the 1941 James Cain novel "Mildred Pierce" to the big screen, Michael Curtiz also created an enduring Hollywood classic. When the script was first being shopped by Warner Brothers, no Hollywood actress wanted to play the titular role due to the implication of her age by having a teenage daughter. However, after leaving MGM for Warner Brothers, Joan Crawford campaigned herself for the role and eventually got it. Her performance in 1945's "Mildred Pierce" wound up being the greatest performance of her career and garnished her a "Best Actress" Academy Award.

The story centers on Mildred, a woman who, after separating from her husband, must become a waitress in order to provide for her spoiled 16-year-old daughter Veda. After honing her skills as a waitress, she eventually gains her own restaurant business, along with a new business partner and a new husband in Monte. However, both Veda and Monte, who are both desirous of a wealthy lifestyle, only ever see her as a restaurateur, a 'lower' class of person. All of this while she is providing money to both of them. The daughter and husband both eventually leave, only to come back into her life later. However, Mildred discovers they are having an affair with each other and attempting to leverage her to gain in their wealth. A tragic consequence ensues in the death of Monte and the arrest of Veda.

At the onset of noirs, Hollywood was starting to create darker, more cynical pieces of entertainment. "Mildred Pierce" is as cynical as any noir is and fits directly into the thematic synthesis of this type of genre. Mildred, who works her way up through the ranks of class and privilege, will always be associated with a lower class lifestyle by everyone around her, despite her continued success and her ability to gain significantly in wealth through her restaurant chain. Even so, her hustle and work ethic used to achieve this success is taken advantage of by all the people in her life, including her own daughter. Everyone continuously takes advantage, despite her selfless actions to try and improve everyone's life around her. On top of this, they resent her and belittle her. It's a very oppressive film with a very cynical attitude towards the human soul, as well as a woman's place and a lower-class' place in society. 

I very much enjoyed "Mildred Piece" and feel as though, although not a labelled noir itself, fits really well into the noir attitude of Hollywood at the time. This was also an incredible performance by Joan Crawford. The only lackluster element about the film is the direction by Michael Curtiz. I feel as though Curtiz made a classic with "Casablanca" 3 years prior and its direction superb. However, I felt as though "Mildred Pierce" lacks any engaging elements, despite the occasional flourish of expressionistic visuals. All in all, still a good film regardless.





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