Mildred Pierce

There's a new miniseries on HBO, Mildred Pierce, directed by Todd Haynes (Safe, Far From Heaven, Velvet Goldmine, etc...) starring Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce. It is an adaptation of the novel by James M. Cain, that was made into a successful film in 1945 that won Joan Crawford an Academy Award for Best Actress. Cain is best know for two other adaptations that became film classics: The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity. There's a really great article from Hilton Als in The New Yorker discussing Cain and the current HBO production. It looks like I should start with the well-known classics since I am interesting in reading some books by Cain, who seems to have been an inspiration to Albert Camus's novel The Stranger. As for the HBO production, I have been enjoying it a lot so far. The first three parts of a five part series have aired and the production values are what you have come to expect from HBO-the depression era Los Angles has been painstakingly recreated and there are fine performances from the supporting cast including great work from Melissa Leo and Mare Winningham. I'm looking forward to the next installments.