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Mildred Pierce, the five part mini-series from HBO,  is the story about a woman who kicks out her cheating husband and realizes that she is going to have to be the one to take care of her family during a depression era Glendale, CA.  After kicking out her husband she begins to realize that whatever little money she and her husband did have, does not compare to what she is getting without him.  In an act of desperation she decides to go back to the workforce; however, during the Great Depression there are no jobs for housewives.  She inevitably lands a job as a waitress in a diner, a definite decline in her social status.  Social status means everything to Mildred and her daughters.  One daughter in particular, Veda, blames her mother for her father's departure and grows to resent Mildred.  Veda begins to resent Mildred even further once she finds that she is a waitress.  In order not to disgrace her daughter, Mildred lies to her saying that she only took the job to learn how to run her very own restaurant.  After Mildred discusses this with Veda, Mildred inevitably opens her own restaurant called "Mildred's Place."  Without going too much more into detail about the story, Mildred does open her restaurant, but with much sadness and heartache.  Mildred's story spans that of 10 years and the latter portion of the story deals a lot with her relationship with Veda.  Veda, the selfish and spoiled brat, does not respect or show any compassion towards what her mother gave up so that Veda could have a better life.  The ending will leave you speechless and wondering how things could have spiraled out of control.   Mildred is played by the ever beguiling Academy Award Winning® actress Kate Winslet.  Kate portrays Mildred with compassion and pride, but it is Mildred's pride that gets in the way of her success.  Winslet's portrayal is flawless and inspiring for anyone with children or dealing with a difficult situation.  Winslet does what she does best, there are ample nudity scenes in this performance that move the story along.   Guy Pearce, most recently seen in The King's Speech as King Edward the VIII, plays the role of Monty, the aristocrat who has lost everything and becomes, as he puts it "Mildred's paid gigolo" perfectly.  The chemistry between the two of them works well on the screen.  Other notable actors in this mini-series include: Evan Rachel Wood, as the vile older version of Mildred's daughter Veda, Academy Award Winner® Melissa Leo, as the hysterical know it all next door neighbor, and Brían F. O'Bryne as the cheating husband.  This mini-series is one of the best that I have seen in awhile.  The passion and vulnerability that Winslet gives in her performance is the things that legends are made of, which is what she is quickly becoming.  Anyone who could give a performance showing compassion towards the "daughter from hell" and successfully do so is truly an accomplishment.  Mildred Pierce is truly an experience to be treasured for years to come.  Unfortunately if you do not have HBO, you will have to...(a) go searching online or (b) wait until it comes of DVD or Blu-Ray or (c) buy HBO.

Mildred Pierce receives 10 Mendys!