Dolores Claiborne (1995)

If there is one thing I always fear, than it must be movies about bad marriages, an abusive husband, child abuse ... How often do you get a good movie with such subjects. Not very often, because most of the time these are awful TV-movies that seem to be written at a rate of at least one an hour. Always following the same concept, always trying to make the poor viewer cry his eyes out while saying that that poor woman / child didn't deserve to be treated that bad. Now don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not saying that it should be tolerated. Men who do such awful things can't be punished hard enough, but the movies that are made about this subjects are complete crap most of the time.

"Dolores Claiborne" tells the story of a woman who is accused of murdering the wealthy woman she worked for as a maid in Maine. When her daughter Selena finds out that her mother is accused of this crime, she immediately returns home from New York, leaving her job as an important reporter behind for a while. But she doesn't return to support her mother as you might expect. No, she's almost certain that she did it and she seems to try to get a good story out of it. But gradually she finds out what really happened and in the meantime some awful things about Selena's troubled childhood, the awful family life,... come floating at the surface again.

I know that I said in the beginning of this review that most movies with such a subject are plain crap, but there are always expectations to every rule and "Dolores Claiborne" certainly is one of those exceptions. It was written by Stephen King and it shows. The man knows how to build up suspense and certainly can give you an uneasy feeling while reading his books or watching one of 'his' movies. And "Dolores Claiborne" has a lot more depth than you might expect at first. The only thing is that they have managed to disguise it, not giving away too much information at a time. Only at the end of the movie you'll fully understand what has happened and what the reason was for both women to react the way they did.

What I also liked, next to the story, was the way everything is shot. All the scenes in the present are shot in those cool blue tones, but these blend seamlessly into the flashbacks that were shot in vivid colors. This gives an extra touch to the story that certainly works. You know exactly what is the present and what is the past, but those colors also add a lot to the drama.

But the way a movie was shot alone doesn't make it good of course. That's what good actors who do some excellent things are for. And that's also exactly what you'll get from Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer... Jennifer Jason Leigh is nice as the daughter, but it's Kathy Bates and Christopher Plummer who give away the best performances in my opinion. Bates is stunning as the tormented woman who's personality seems so strong, while in reality she is a broken soul who wishes for nothing much but to die as soon as possible, so all her misery can end. And I also loved Plummer as Detective John Mackey who's hate against Dolores is so big, because she is the only spot on an almost spotless career. He has solved all his cases except for one and he'll not rest until he can send Dolores to jail.

All in all this is a very good and suspenseful movie that never tries to become a tearjerker, despite the heavy subject. It offers some great acting, nice photography and a good story. That&

Fmovies: Stephen King+ Kathy Bates is a winning combination. Though unlike Misery, this movie is not focusing on the horror aspect.

There is some shocking violence in this movie, but it's not the main thing. If you're looking for action look somewhere else. If you're looking for a great drama with a wonderful cast then this is your movie.

I just loved it! Stephen King is a master of story-telling as the past and present unfold in front of our eyes and we get one piece of the puzzle at the time up to the great climax at the end.

Taylor Hackford also did a great job directing this movie. There are some really cool visual effects quite similar to what Hackford did later in "Devil's Advocate" two years later.

This film has it all: brilliant script, superb direction, great acting. It's a revenge melodrama, a dysfunctional family drama, a mystery/thriller, and a feminist take on the 'woman's picture', all rolled into one. Sixty years ago, Bette Davis would have had a field day with the title role, but back then Hollywood would never have had the nerve to make a picture with so radical a socio-political point of view. Hackford virtually re-invents the use of flashbacks, and the eclipse sequence is a classic. This film was pretty much ignored by critics when it was released, but it will be around long after most of 1995's films have passed into oblivion.

Dolores Claiborne fmovies. It was so many years ago that I read Dolores Claiborne that I don't remember how closely the movie follows the book, but I've found that Stephen King movies in general are pretty faithful to the original material, and I'm sure that this one is no exception. Released at a time when a drama, even a dramatic thriller, coming from Stephen King would be known more for being a drama from the master of horror than anything else, Dolores Claiborne is still a surprisingly capable legal thriller with a remarkably intricate story.

Dolores Claiborne is an unskilled housewife living in Maine with her abusive husband and abused daughter, and things get progressively worse until she finds herself with an sexually abused daughter and a dead husband on her hands. The indictment for the murder of her husband doesn't stand in court, and years later she is again faced with the capital charge as the woman that she has been working for as a maid for so many years falls or is thrown down the stairs of her house to her death, and it's up to the town's Detective, played brilliantly by Christopher Plummer, to prove that it was not an accident. Oh no, not an accident at all. Detective Mackey (Plummer), let Dolores get away once and damned if that nonsense was going to happen again.

Unfortunately, Jennifer Jason Leigh, a genuinely gifted actor, is saddled with a part that forces her to play within the confines of a tortured soul, making her performance come off as forced and unconvincing, meanwhile Kathy Bates once again fills the screen with her powerful presence, delivering what has to be one of her best performances.

The story takes place in cold Maine weather that is so effective that it almost makes you want to put a jacket on, and in a house that is so gray and lifeless and empty that after watching the movie I had to go to the supermarket and buy a steak. That may not make sense, but here's something that does, the characters in this movie are so well rounded that it almost seems like a documentary. Definitely worth checking out, even if you're living so far in the past that you still rent from Hollywood Video and pay their late fees. Don't miss this one!

When I picked up the DVD of Dolores Claiborne, I wasn't sure of what to expect. I remembered that a lot of people were complaining that this wasn't Misery, starring Kathy Bates, who stars here, and the pacing was a bit off. However, when I was watching it, I was fully gripped into it's very gripping storyline of "Did she or didn't she?" and Kathy Bates pulls off another stunning performance (she never dissapoints me). All the other actresses, from Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, to a then unknown John C. Reilly, also put out great performances. The direction of Taylor Hackford is top notch, and probably the biggest thing here is the cinematogrpahy, which is stunning with all the period photography (dull and grey at present, colorful in the past) and the eclipse photography is nothing short of stunning. A very surprising and entertaining watch,

I fell in love with this movie and that is a feeling I still have today. I especially love the blue tint that they put in the film....it encapsulates the cold and barren feeling of the house and the previous events. I give this movie a ten because the acting is amazing, the scenery is beautiful and the transition between the past and the present is seamless. My two favorite actresses in the movie are Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kathy Bates. They did an amazing job of portraying a estranged mother and daughter too haunted by past events to once again come together. The movie is a must see for everyone and it helps greatly to read the book before seeing the movie. I believe this movie should have received more than one award.