From Deseret News archives:

Dolores Claiborne

Published: Tuesday, March 28, 1995 12:00 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 

"Dolores Claiborne," the latest Stephen King horror-thriller to be adapted to film, is actually more of a semi-thrilling melodrama, the story of an extremely dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship. But then, what can you expect when your mother allegedly killed your father all those years ago?

That's getting ahead of the game a bit, however. The film begins in the present day with a horrifying sequence involving Dolores (Kathy Bates) and her employer Vera (Judy Parfitt), a cold, wealthy, wheelchair-bound older woman.

From the camera's point of view, it appears that Dolores pushes Vera down the stairs and then tries to bash in her skull with a marble rolling pin. But as Dolores' arms are raised, holding the rolling pin above her head, the postman arrives. Not that it matters, since Vera has been killed by the fall.

Things are not always as they appear, however. And that deception of perception is gradually revealed as the theme of "Dolores Claiborne."

When Dolores is arrested on suspicion of murder, her daughter, a prominent New York magazine journalist named Selena St. George, is summoned home — home being a dreary small town on an island near Bangor, Maine. (Jennifer Jason Leigh, who is also a magazine writer in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle," another film opening today, plays the adult Selena.)

Story continues below

The bulk of the picture takes Dolores' point of view, with frequent flashbacks to the summer of 1975, as the town prepares for a solar eclipse and Dolores recalls events leading up to the death of her abusive husband Joe (David Strathairn, as a spouse who is 180 degrees from the one he plays in "Losing Isaiah"). Dolores takes the abuse up to a certain point but also lets Joe know that she has her limits, and she'll go to any lengths to protect her young daughter (with Selena being played by Ellen Muth in the childhood scenes).

As the story unfolds, we begin to understand just how nasty Joe was, and Dolores' motives and actions become clear. Meanwhile, a determined police detective (Christopher Plummer), who is not happy that the death of Dolores' husband was never satisfactorily resolved, is determined to see her prosecuted for Vera's death — especially after he sees Vera's will.

The actors here are all in top form, with another splendid performance by Kathy Bates at the film's core. Continuing a quite remarkable film career, she plays Delores as a victim who refuses to be victimized, and her strength of character is fascinating to watch as it blooms over the course of the film's flashbacks.

Recent comments

I loved this movie. It is one of my all-time favorites after
seeing...

Davey | April 28, 1999 at 11:49 p.m.

Movie Info
Rated R for violence, profanity, vulgarity.

Cast: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer.
FIND LOCAL MOVIE SHOWTIMES
previousnext

Latest comments

Sounds like a good option if you can't or won't switch to AT&T for the...

I worked with and around Bill Sederburg for 5 years while he was at...

Price injured; Miles has cast removed

hand. He needs to work on his moves to the basket and rebounding. Lateral...

Jazz blow big lead, hang on

play Fez or Koufos tonight. He went with a smaller line up and Boozer, Okur...

I've met Bennett before and he is a nice man. He also knows the Constitution...

Thousands protest health bill

That's never been a secret. Everyone will pay for it except those that don't...

What exactly were Nephite interpreters?

I agree with NonMormon. I am active LDS, and I enjoy Ash's articles, and I...

I kept saying don't resign Milsap, especially after Portland offered that...

U. hopes to keep clicking

BYU is the slowest team that has ever been in the top 25. Utah will put up a...

NFL: Midseason grades

i think u have the cowboys ranked too low! at least an A- LOL nice work!

Advertisements
Advertisement