For years, Mildred Pierce was a classic film noir that got less attention than did many of the other noirs that came out in its time. Because of its diva star, Joan Crawford, and its at times over-the-top and campy portrayal of a mother and daughter relationship gone awry, it became a gay camp classic. In 2011, director Todd Haynes brought the story of Mildred Pierce, originally written as a novel by James M. Cain, to a broader modern audience, in a miniseries adaptation for HBO starring Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood.
Todd Haynes is known for his serious treatment of camp material, a leading figure in the New Queer Cinema movement, with a filmography that includes Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Poison, Velvet Goldmine, Far from Heaven, I'm Not There, and Carol. Because of his interest in nostalgic American 20th century period pieces, camp classics, and powerful female performances, he was considered a perfect fit to adapt and reboot the classic story of Mildred Pierce, and his adaptation received critical acclaim for both its faithfulness to the original and its markedly unique take on the classic.
In the New York Times review of the film, critic Alessandra Stanley called the original Mildred Pierce "soapy" and wrote that it "wasn't by any means the best work of the director Michael Curtiz...yet the movie has had a lasting cult appeal..." She thought the miniseries remake was very different and shone brilliantly in many ways, but was also a "soap opera," writing that it "doesn't make the most of the mythic clash of mother, lover and ungrateful child."
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave a far more favorable review when he wrote, "What can you say in a few words about a five-hour HBO miniseries adapted from James M. Cain’s landmark 1941 novel that follows the rise and fall of an independent Los Angeles woman during the Great Depression? Let’s try 'perfection, which is what director Todd Haynes achieves in his loyal, lyrical adaptation."
