Mildred Pierce

...[a] superbly nasty noir that plays havoc with the era's American ideals of women, home, mom and her apple pie.

...a Hollywood photocopy of life's struggle where the solid directing, camerawork and acting call attention to themselves.

...perfection, which is what director Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven) achieves in his loyal, lyrical adaptation.

Despite Crawford's reputation for being a nightmarish mother off screen, she played the doting Mildred to a tremulous tee, bagging an Oscar.