Probably best known via the 1945 film adaptation with Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce gets another cinematic telling via a 2011 HBO mini-series. This Blu-ray set includes all five episodes, which I’ll discuss in order. The synopses come straight from the set’s packaging.

Part One: “After throwing her husband Bert (Brian F. O’Byrne) out of the house, a young mother named Mildred Pierce (Kate Winslet) tries to find suitable work in Depression-era California.”

If you expect a slam-bang experience here, you won’t find it. The biggest excitement comes when Mildred gets a job at a diner; maybe it’s just the former waiter in me, but the sight of Mildred’s stressful first day set me on edge!

Despite a lack of dynamic events, “Part One” provides an interesting launch to the mini-series. Mildred provides an unusual character, one toward whom we want to feel sympathy but whose stubborn pride makes it somewhat tough to embrace. Winslet doesn’t attempt to endear herself to us, and that’s a good choice; despite her dodgy American accent, Winslet develops an intriguing character with obvious strengths and flaws.

One other intriguing decision: while Winslet plays Mildred in a fairly naturalistic manner, many of the other actors read their roles in a stereotypical 1930s manner. This creates a contrast that sets Mildred apart from the others and makes her feel more modern. I’ll be curious to see where this style goes in future episodes.

Part Two: “With her pie side-business thriving, Mildred sets in motion a plan to start a business for herself and falls for a handsome stranger named Monty Beragon (Guy Pearce).”

Has there ever been a more awful cinematic child than daughter Veda (Morgan Turner)? Probably, but the kid’s still really annoying, as she comes across with an aggravating sense of entitlement and pretension. When Mildred bows to the kid’s attitudes – which is pretty much always - I wanted to slap her around, too.

At least Part Two plays other elements for a greater sense of heart, especially when we see the formal split between Mildred and Bert. I like that the series doesn’t portray Bert as a cartoon cad; sure, his infidelity prompted the couple’s split, but we can tell that was a symptom, not a cause, and I’m happy the episode allows him a sense of kindness and dignity.

Part Two advances the overall narrative well, though the movements sometimes feel a bit forced. The manner in which Mildred goes from lowly waitress to burgeoning restauranteer seem rather convenient, as she leaps through the steps with a moderately unrealistic sense of ease. Still, we don’t really don’t want to be stuck with a plodding collection of nuts and bolts scenes, so I can live with this.

Part Three: “In the wake of a tragedy, Mildred opens her new restaurant and reconnects with Monty, whose lethargy tests the bonds between Mildred and Veda.

The best part of the episode? When Veda cries after the piano teacher berates her. The worst part? When it turns out these are tears of joy because she knows he sees true talent in her.

No, I still don’t like Veda, and nothing here makes her more sympathetic. Indeed, she becomes more and more horrible as the episode progresses. If tragedy had to strike the Pierce family, why couldn’t awful Veda have been the one to go?

Probably the most enjoyable segment comes from the opening of Mildred’s restaurant. Again, this might be the former waiter in me, but it’s borderline thrilling to see the place get off to such a great start, and the urgency reminds me of the good and bad that comes with the job.

Otherwise, the most significant element comes from Mildred’s deepening romance with Monty, but that’s only a minor diversion. It’s so obvious that Monty’s just a superficial cad that it seems unlikely the situation will go anywhere positive.

Part Four: “Mildred opens a profitable new restaurant, but her good fortune is tempered by Veda’s (Evan Rachel Wood) manipulation of a smitten society bachelor and his wealthy family.”

The synopsis doesn’t make it clear, but “Part Four” takes place a few years after the events in the first three episodes; that’s why you see a new actress listed for Veda. Is this one more likable? No – she’s still the same self-centered, obnoxious brat she was as a kid.

The more I watch of the series, though, the more I blame Mildred for her daughter’s horrible qualities. The show depicts Mildred’s enabling nature in a subtle way but it’s there, and it’s an interesting depiction of the mother/daughter dynamic. Normally when we see a mother with unwavering support of/belief in a child, there’s a happy ending, as we view the joy between the pair when all the hard work pays off.

While we still have an episode to go, I can’t imagine a true happy ending here – and I sure hope we don’t get one, as a big, smiley finale would be inappropriate for this tale of dysfunctional family relationships. As much as I loathe Veda – and am starting to dislike Mildred for her misguided sense of support for her awful child – I don’t want the proverbial bright, shiny bow at the end, for this just isn’t that kind of story.

Part Four makes Mildred’s inability to see Veda clearly more overt – especially when friends warn her – but it still doesn’t beat us over the head. It grows the relationship in a natural manner that allows things to progress well.

Kinda hoping Veda gets hit by a bus in Part Five, though!

Part Five: “As Veda’s singing career takes off, Mildred’s attempts to reconcile with her estranged daughter finally pay off, though at a painful price.”

Remember how I mentioned the subtle way the series informed Mildred of her own daughter’s unpleasant nature? That theme becomes much more blunt when Veda’s voice teacher (Ronald Guttman) pulls no punches in his discussion of the girl as a “snake” and other unflattering terms.

Of course, the single-minded Mildred refuses to take this lesson to heart, and she becomes more and more frustrating. Earlier in the series, we rooted for her to succeed as a single mother in the Depression, but now we just want to bop her over the head with a brick.

As much as Mildred’s obsession with her daughter drives me nuts, I can’t claim it’s not believable. Blood is thicker than water, as they say, and Mildred wouldn’t be the first parent to overlook – and deny - her child’s terrible flaws.

Mildred’s lack of good character judgment actually helps make the series more interesting. She’s such a strong personality in so many ways – her achievements in business are remarkable – so the fact that she suffers from such a prominent fatal flaw keeps the story from becoming nothing more than a banal “underdog survival” tale.

This means the program delivers a great deal of viewer frustration, but it’s still a compelling character piece. After all, if we only got stories that focused on logical personalities, it’d get pretty dull. Mildred Pierce investigates a flawed family and occasionally turns into melodrama, but it’s usually an involving, compelling tale.

Mildred Pierce appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. Shot on 16mm film, the series showed a good but unexceptional image.

For the most part, sharpness looked fine. Some softness crept into wider shots, though, and the programs occasionally looked a little tentative. Despite those instances, the majority of the elements came across as well-defined and accurate. I noticed no issues with jaggies or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. Source defects also didn’t cause concerns; the series displayed heavier than normal grain due to the 16mm film stock but no unintentional flaws appeared.

Most period pieces opt for subdued colors, and that was true of Pierce. It delivered a light amber tint typical for this sort of affair; though some richer tones popped up, the shows remained fairly low-key in terms of their hues. The Blu-rays made these look fine within the visual range selected. Blacks were fairly dark and tight, but shadows seemed less impressive. Some low-light shots showed solid clarity, but others were a bit too dense. Overall, this was a good presentation; it just didn’t impress.

Similar thoughts greet the adequate DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio of Mildred Pierce. Not exactly an action extravaganza, the soundscape doesn’t offer a whole lot of note. A thunderstorm probably opened things up the most, but the majority of the mix stayed with general ambience and music. The score showed nice stereo presence, and the effects demonstrated a competent sense of place. Nothing memorable occurred, but the track stayed appropriate for this kind of character drama.

Audio quality always appeared positive. Music showed warm, full tones, and effects – as low-key as they were – sounded accurate and concise. Speech was an important factor that worked fine; the lines were consistently distinctive and natural. Nothing here impressed, but the audio remained more than acceptable.

A few extras fill out the package. We get audio commentaries for Parts Three and Five. Both provide notes from writer/director Todd Haynes, writer Jon Raymond, and production designer Mark Friedberg. All three sit together for running, screen-specific chats about the project’s origins and adaptation topics, story and characters, cast and performances, music, set decoration and period details, editing and a few other production areas.

Expect good information from these commentaries. We get nice notes about the original novel and its move to the screen as well as all the other requisite areas. All involved display a strong sense of insight and make the chats compelling and useful; it’s too bad the participants didn’t do commentary for all five segments.

All five parts come with featurettes under the banner of Inside the Episode. These run between four minutes, six seconds and four minutes, 58 seconds for a total of 23 minutes, 15 seconds and provide an extended chat between Haynes and author/critic Robert Polito. They look at story/character subjects and their current-day relevance, cinematic techniques, cast and performances, adaptation subjects, and other relevant topics. Despite the brevity of these clips, they’re consistently insightful and engaging; it’s too bad we couldn’t get a much longer look at these discussions.

The Making of Mildred Pierce goes for 29 minutes, one second and offers notes from Haynes, Friedberg, executive producers Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon, costume designer Ann Roth, cinematographer Edward Lachman, location assistant Eric Papa, line producer Harvey Waldman, co-executive producer Ilene S. Landress, singer Sumi Jo and actors Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood, James LeGros, Brian F. O’Byrne, Morgan Turner, Melissa Leo and Mare Winningham. “Making” examines story/character issues, cast and performances, visual design and period details, cinematography, sets, locations, and costumes, and musical choices.

Like the “Inside the Episode” clips, “Making” provides an involving take on its topics. Programs of this sort usually walk down the fluffy, promotional side of the street, and “Making” does engage in some of the standard happy talk. However, this doesn’t overwhelm, and the details it provides are more than enough to make it a solid program.

The package also includes a DVD Copy of the film. It spreads across two discs and includes the audio commentaries but no other bonus materials.

Consistently rich and involving, Mildred Pierce looks at a determined woman – and how dysfunctional relationships undermine all that she does. Buoyed by a good cast and excellent production values, it keeps us gripped for much of its nearly six-hour running time. The Blu-ray offers reasonably good picture and audio as well as a small but engaging complement of supplements. Pierce continues the HBO tradition of high-quality exclusive programming.