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Amos Lassen wrote on 11/25/2011:

There is always a danger with remakes and sometimes they can be quite risky but Todd Haynes shows us that he can do whatever he wants and make it so good that we will love it. The story of Mildred Pierce is about divorced mother who decides to open a restaurant but her daughter, Veda, is against the idea. Set in 1931 in Glendale, California, Mildred (Kate Winslet) is a wonderful baker who needs a job to support herself and her two daughters, eleven year old Veda (Morgan Turner/ Evan Morgan Wood) and seven year old Ray. She feels that she is above the jobs that are available. Her social life is also important to her and she begins dating an ex-business partner of her ex-husband. She finally takes a job at a diner and becomes with fellow waitress Ida, who will be important to her later.

Those of us who remember Joan Crawford’s Academy Award performance as Mildred probably were not ready to see someone else play the part. Crawford was an actress that dominated every scene she ever was in and she played Mildred as a heroine. Winslet plays her as a victim but that does not make one better than the other. However, we know that there will be comparisons. I have seen many Crawford movies and I was never really impressed with her acting ability. On the other hand, Winslet attracts and she seems to own every film she is in. As Mildred, she gives a moving and memorable performance. From the moment we first see her as Mildred, making pies, she sends out an aura of respect. Her marriage has fallen apart and she and her ex decided to dissolve the marriage out of respect for each other. Even when he hooks up with another woman, Mildred shows that she will find a way to survive without him. She captures emotion beautifully and this is difficult as she is in every frame of the film.

Veda strives to be famous and is a snob to her mother and everyone else that she feels is below her but she is also in awe of her mother’s friendship with Monty Beragon (Guy Pearce). The story is one of survival at a time that women who worked did so in offices or as maids and waitresses. When Mildred was married she had a good life but when that marriage ended she realized that it was up to her to provide for her daughters. Veda and Mildred are always at odds and this wears on Mildred’s self-esteem and Veda is not a very nice person (to put it mildly).

Haynes directs beautifully the story of the rise and fall of a woman who is both hard working and hardheaded. While Winslet carries the film, she does not do so alone and when looking at the movie as a whole, we also remember its very adept parts.