Comparing Movie and Book Versions of Cain's Mildred Pierce

Comparing Movie and Book Versions of Cain's Mildred Pierce

I pity the screenwriter who had to adapt the novel, Mildred Pierce, from 289 pages down to an hour and 57 minute movie. The main character, Mildred Pierce, repeatedly steps out of the traditional role for women of that era, and challenges society’s norms about class. Significant changes were made to the plot while converting it from book to movie. These changes add up to a significant difference in the meaning.

In both the book and the movie, the story is about a housewife who dramatically changes her life. She kicks out her unfaithful husband and starts making a living on her own. Her life’s desire is to win the love of her snobby daughter Veda who “steals her money, her clothes, her man, and acts like a spoiled brat throughout [the story].” (Easterbrook) Mildred’s sick, driving love for Veda has a hint of masochism. She spends years providing love and money, and trying to please Veda. Mildred uses people to try to get Veda back into her life and ends up with nothing. As LaValley says, “Veda is ungrateful and vicious” (LaValley 11) Mildred’s obsession with Veda is “less like a mother [but more] like a lover who has unexpectedly discovered an act of faithlessness and avenged it.” (Cain 240) An example of this is in the passage: “At Veda’s [. . .] sticky kisses that started at her eyes and ended below her throat, Mildred relaxed [. . .]”(201), or “she [Mildred] took the lovely creature [Veda] in her arms and kissed her, hard, on the mouth.” (268)

Although Mildred and Veda’s relationship stays basically the same, changes were made to adapt the story. The background of several of the main characters is not detailed, but rather sketchy. Many of the characters ha...

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...e book for screen changed the mood of the story. The book is timeless and in many ways it feels like it was written yesterday. It has a very modern feel to it, which is not reflected in the movie because of the manner in which it was produced. In the movie the focus was on the scandalous murder mystery. The focus of the story in the book was about a woman and her struggles to survive the hardships of the Depression, while coping with the dysfunction of her family and relationships. The book is also an in-depth study of human behavior and corruptness, dealing with the shortcomings of men and women. David Madden said it best when he wrote; “he [Cain] created an objective, disinterested, often pessimistic view of life that is simultaneously terrifying and starkly beautiful.” I think it’s sad that the movie almost completely loses Cain’s judgment and analysis of life.