The Writer's Poke

As a "who done it," I'm not sure it comes as much of a surprise who done it, or even why. That said, I thought the movie told an unusual story in an unusual way.  The beginning is the end, really. The film opens with a man getting shot. Soon enough we will learn that the man is Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott). He's the person Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) buys the property from for what will become her first restaurant.  That's all getting ahead of the story, though. Mildred ends up at the police station because when he's shot, she's married to Monte. She sits in the station telling the detective her life story. That is the movie.  Mildred's whole deal is that she will do anything for her children. Unfortunately, her oldest daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth), turns out to be an amoral spoiled brat. Are we to blame Mildred for how she turned out? Veda's dad, Bert (Bruce Bennett) more or less implies that Mildred is to blame. His view is that Mildred doesn...