Alma em Suplício

An unusual noir film (going back to the past, a voice over, murder, chiaroscuro) that goes so far into the breakdown of a family that it pits a daughter (femme fatale) against her mother, who is guilty of trying to achieve the American Dream on her own. The message is clear and, like in other noir films, not very kind to persons of the gentler sex: women abandoned during the war should stop playing around and go back to their men. Unlike Cain’s book on which the film is based, the film does not emphasise the social dimension of Mildred’s situation – the plot was shifted from the time of the Great Depression to the 1940s and instead of a woman without hope, it presents an aggressive woman, a vamp in whose case we spend most of the film wondering whether or not she committed the murder that opens the film. The denouement doesn’t change anything with respect to who is guilty, but only to what they are guilty of. The traditional noir irreversibility of the initial situation is highlighted twice. The film does not ask for our compassion and the melodramatic idyll in it is always only ostensible and reinforced by ulterior interests. In spite of that, we can take Mildred Pierce, a feminine noir film, as an example of the incomprehensibility of this genre (genre?) of post-war American cinema. 80% (27/09/2011)

Mildred Pierce in this original version is absolutely crazy. The whole narrative is quite different from what Cain's book offers us. The crime framework shifts the whole anabasis around Mildred and her business into a different genre, it lacks the emphasis on the Great Depression, and the direction of the daughters is also different, and so is the finale. Joan Crawford is in her element, wearing outrageous costumes in that edgy 40s silhouette and sprinkling stardust around her even though she's only wearing a kitchen apron. I like all the changes, so typical of Hollywood at the time, and I'm equally glad that HBO mini brought an almost literal adaptation for a change years later. Here, no stone is left unturned and few aspire to win the audience's sympathy, while the novel offers characters of far greater color. However, one cannot be separated from the other; the novel, the film, and the series form a rare package of excellent experiences. (18/11/2019)

The film stars the captivating Joan Crawford, who may not have been the epitome of a Hollywood beauty, just like her formidable rival Bette Davis, but it doesn't change the fact that watching her as the main character is simply worth it. She’s an incredible actress. Yes, the story has its weaknesses, but the way it's portrayed by the actors compensates for some moments. (23/09/2014)