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Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce

Crime · Drama · 1945

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

Movie details

Mildred Pierce

“Please don't tell anyone what Mildred Pierce did!”

1945 Crime · Drama 1h 51m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.6 / 10

Community rating

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Mildred Pierce?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Faces

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The Color Purple

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Curtiz

Written by

Ranald MacDougall

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford

Mildred Pierce

Jack Carson

Jack Carson

Wally Fay

Zachary Scott

Zachary Scott

Monte Beragon

Eve Arden

Eve Arden

Ida Corwin

Ann Blyth

Ann Blyth

Veda Pierce Forrester

Bruce Bennett

Bruce Bennett

Albert 'Bert' Pierce

Lee Patrick

Lee Patrick

Maggie Biederhof

Court is in session

Put Mildred Pierce on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.