Mildred Pierce (miniseries) admired the show's attention to detail and structure, but complained that the five-hour adaptation was "too damn long". He finishes with, "Winslet’s Mildred is a genuine star turn. How Joan Crawford would have loathed her." The series was shown out of competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in 2011. Mildred Pierce (miniseries) Mildred Pierce is a five-part miniseries that first aired on HBO on March 27, 2011. Adapted from James M. Cain's 1941 novel of the same name, it was directed by Todd Haynes, and starred Kate Winslet in the title role, alongside Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood,
Mildred Pierce (film) Wally cannot be the killer because he has no motive. After Mildred ends her flashback, the detectives admit they knew all along that Veda committed the murder. Mildred tries to apologize as her daughter is led away to jail, but Veda rebuffs her. Mildred leaves the police station to find Bert waiting for her outside. Although James M. Cain was often labeled a "hard-boiled crime writer", his novel "Mildred Pierce" (1941) was mostly a psychological work, with little violence. The adaptation, released four years later, was designed as a thriller, and a murder was introduced into the plot. The novel