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| Mildred Pierce (The Collector's Edition) from HBO Entertainment |
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| Mini-Review December 22, 2013 |
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Controversial Adaption
I suppose there will always be dedicated word-for-word fans of a novel who will want to see a faithful interpretation of their favorite book. I can't really disagree, as I've had my own share of movies being "adapted" from famous authors, and would have hoped there was a more extensive representation (i.e., Lord Of The Rings). Mildred Pierce has received a lot of negative comments ever since it first aired in Spring 2011. It seems either you like or you absolutely detest it. This isn't a bad thing. And maybe it's more of a good thing there is such a divide in opinion, which implies there is something about Mildred Pierce which is worth the viewing.
Comments about Kate Winslet's performance being underwhelming should be taken with a slab of salt, as I thought her performance was rather impressive. Make no mistake about this adaption. It's slow-going, and takes it time to develop the characters. Monty Beragon (Guy Pearce) and Veda Pierce (Evan Rachel Wood) are also different from the novel, but once again, we're talking about an adaption...verses a word-by-word representation of the novel.
So, at this point, my advice to readers of this review is if you are a stickler to the novel, then you'll have a lot of frustration during the 5-hour mini-series. However, if you're not too particular, and are curious...
The Plot
Mildred Pierce (Kate Winslet) and Bert Pierce (Brian F. O'Byrne) are a fortunate couple who are surviving The Great Depression. Bert has a home manufacturing business in Glendale, CA which does rather well (except for a few leaking roofs but that's another story). As we learn a little bit more in the first episode, Mildred Pierce has been tolerating Bert's indescretions with a neighborhood woman Maggie Biederhof (Margaret Reed). Eventually, Mildred Pierce has had enough of the behavior, and kicks Bert out of the house. This sets in motion a whole new set of expectations and necessities Mildred will have to face — and rather soon.
Coming from a time period of the early 1930's, Mildred Pierce faces something few women were expected to accomplish on their own in that era: self-sufficiency. Now that Bert was out of the house, somebody needed to be the money-maker of the family, and Mildred realized she needed to look for a job. Her two daughters, 7-year old Ray (Quinn McColgan) and 11-year old Veda (Morgan Turner and Evan Rachel Wood in the latter episodes) are confused about the separation, but Veda takes it more personally, and begins to blame her mother. This behavior becomes a gradual wedge between mother and daughter, and creates a several problems along the way.
Wally Burgan (James Le Gros) shows up at the Pierce's residence, asking where Bert could be found. Mildred relunctantly tells him about the situation and that she has no idea where her separated husband could be. Wally takes no time to make a move and asks Mildred out for dinner. Initially, she's caught off guard, but agrees. Lucy Gessler (Melissa Leo) is Mildred's confidant and best friend who advises her to instead, invite Wally over to her house so she has the upper hand when it came to the potential relationship. Lucy becomes a priceless advisor to Mildred in the coming episodes.
In the near future, we see Monty Beragon (Guy Pearce) taking a fancy to Mildred and giving her more suave and charm than Wally could give her. Of course, with all suave comes qualities which Mildred has yet to discover.
Packaging
Packaging for Mildred Pierce comes in a nice book-type appearance and looks rather stellar amongst other Blu-ray collections. It's too bad HBO (or any studio for that matter) couldn't have a packaging consistency as this is a sturdy and hearty packaging material. Containing 4 discs (two are Blu-ray discs, and two are DVDs), I was sort of hoping there would be somekind of booklet inside, because there is ample room for one.
Screencaps
Video
Mildred Pierce comes out on Blu-ray and DVD. Believe it or not, I accidentally put the DVD version in my Oppo BDP-93 Blu-rayer first. Honestly, I couldn't tell I didn't have a Blu-ray in my player until I noticed the darker-colored discs were DVD — not the Blu-ray discs. So, not to get into a Blu-ray vs. DVD debate, but the DVD has been mastered rather well. I dare you to loan it to your friends (keeping it to yourself the disc not a Blu-ray).
Image quality, for the most part, was great. The biggest issue I personally had, was with solid and gradient colors of a particular color spectrum, revealing some grain that I wish would have not been there. However, this a minor gripe overall, and I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Extras
HBO has offered a small amount of extras, but are still worth viewing, as it brings together the reason for the 5-part series, and why certain things were kept out and other things created (i.e., adaption):
BD Disc 1
Specifications
Main Audio Track: DTS-HD Master 5.1 (English) @ 2749 Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
Conclusion
Mildred Pierce is a mini-series unto itself, as it does not entirely emulate the novel nor the Joan Crawford film. However, you can't fault the series or its actors as it is a unique drama, with an amazing amount of visuals and stellar acting.
Having such a great cast of actors and a wonderful representation of the 1930's that is truly rare to be seen of such productions, Mildred Pierce (The Collector's Edition) (Blu-ray) gets a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
For those who want to know more about Mildred Pierce's character, you might want to read the James M. Cain novel, and even see the 1945 Mildred Pierce version, which stars Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce and Ann Blyth as Veda.
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