Variety reports that Todd Haynes will be writing and directing a miniseries adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel Mildred Pierce. Kate Winslet is attached to star. The novel is set in 1930s Los Angeles and revolves around Mildred Pierce, a single mother who leaves unemployed husband and strives to support herself and her children during the Great Depression. She finds success as a restaurant entrepreneur but encounters new problems with her higher socioeconomic status, notably as her elder daughter grows increasingly unloving and ungrateful.
As I’m reading about this story I was thinking of two other films featuring single mothers struggling to reconcile social status and their relationships with their daughter(s) and lo-and-behold, Wikipedia makes mention of exactly those two. I’m thinking of Imitation of Life (1934) and Stella Dallas (1937). Apparently this novel was also previously adapted in 1945 winning Joan Crawford an Academy Award. I guess this was a fairly familiar topic back then.
I’ll also point out that Todd Haynes should be a perfect match for this material. He previously directed I’m Not There, Far From Heaven and the amazing yet unfortunately copyright infringing Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. He’s got a definite knack for period stories of domestic unrest. It also goes without saying that Kate Winslet has proven adept in roles like this.
Variety says there isn’t yet a distributor signed for the miniseries, but that HBO is said to be the lead contender. For the time being, this is definitely on my list of television projects to anticipate.
