Runtime: 111 minutes
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth
From: Warner Bros.
Not the classic I was expecting to watch last night, but...
Hopefully everyone had a nice ending to their 2022; mine was fine. I won't be negative and discuss how many of the films that came out last year were either bad or not as good as everyone said they were-instead I'll save my negativity towards Prime Video! Then again perhaps I should blame the company that gave them the print of a classic movie in the wrong aspect ratio. The rental was made, the play button was pressed and due to my nerdom, immediately suspected the aspect ratio was wrong; Google confirmed my suspicions. I'll instead wait for that film to play on a channel like HDNet Movies or TCM. Speaking of TCM, via the DVR I accessed a recording I made a few months ago of something that plays on the channel relatively frequently.
This is a great film noir which begins by a random guy being gunned down in a home. We then spend some time with Joan Crawford, the action shifts to a police station then we get a long flashback to explain who everyone is and why that SOB was killed. Joan is the titular Mildred Pierce, a nice lady who is easy to root for as not only does she work her way up the ladder from a waitress job to successful restaurant owner... you feel awful she has such a rotten daughter like teenage Vera! Vera is a spoiled brat who causes so many problems for her poor mom; of course there's the bitter irony of Crawford in a movie where she has a troubled relationship with a daughter... as I said before, it's unfortunate that either she was an abusive parent to her kids or her daughter made up such scandalous rumors about the woman who raised her.
No matter the truth, this is quite the compelling film. Based on a novel by James M. Cain* that was also turned into a 2011 miniseries which apparently was more faithful to the book, it is a story which spans several years and what an incredible performance from Crawford which won an Academy Award. Also nominated but not winning was Ann Blyth, who managed to be great in portraying such a detestable character. The genre-appropriate cinematography, the Max Steiner score, the Michael Curtiz direction... shame on me for not taking advantage of all the times it played on Turner Classic Movies before and experiencing this years before. My bemoaning aside, starting 2023 off by posting a review of a great movie is not something to regret.
I've never read any of his work, yet he wrote this, The Postman Always Rings Twice AND Double Indemnity; if nothing else, all three film adaptations are worth watching if you're a newbie or relative newbie into the noir world. Whether or not you want to purchase Criterion's upcoming 4K release of Mildred Pierce in two month's time is up to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment