Dolores Claiborne (1995)
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82% of critics liked it
(33 reviews) -
75% of users liked it
(29,542 ratings)
A daughter who has come to imagine the worst about her mother learns the facts are quite different -- and more shocking than she ever imagined -- in this adaptation of Stephen King's best-selling novel. Dolores Claiborne (Kathy Bates) has spent nearly a quarter of a century looking after a… More A daughter who has come to imagine the worst about her mother learns the facts are quite different -- and more shocking than she ever imagined -- in this adaptation of Stephen King's best-selling novel. Dolores Claiborne (Kathy Bates) has spent nearly a quarter of a century looking after a mean-spirited woman named Vera Donovan (Judy Parfitt) on a small island off the coast of Maine; when Vera is found dead after falling down a flight of stairs, Dolores is considered a prime suspect in her murder. Word of the affair reaches New York-based journalist Selena St. George (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Dolores's estranged daughter. Though she's about to leave on an important assignment, Selena instead flies to Maine to find out what's happened with her mother. Selena's father, Joe St. George (David Strathairn), died under mysterious circumstances 15 years before; more than a few people believe Dolores killed Joe, and many feel she did the same with Vera. Though the strong and tough-talking Dolores stands her ground, police detective John Mackey (Christopher Plummer) is convinced that there's more to her story than she's letting on, and in time Selena learns the ugly truth about her mother's connection to both deaths. This was Kathy Bates's second starring role in a film based on Stephen King's work; she earned an Academy Award for her breakthrough role in the movie version of King's Misery. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Taylor Hackford
- Written By
- Tony Gilroy
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
- In Theaters
- Mar 24, 1995 Wide
- On DVD
- Nov 6, 2001
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Chris Laverty, Clothes on Film
A patient and mature thriller featuring a protagonist fascinating in her agony.
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Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Denso e melancólico, o filme supera suas ocasionais falhas de roteiro graças às fortes atuações de seu elenco feminino (incluindo a jovem Ellen Muth).
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Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Dreadfully depressing, but Kathy Bates stuns
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Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Gothic and creepy.
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Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks
The film boldly refuses to satisfy the horror fans who are its expected audience, but it's massively unclear what kind of audience it does have in mind.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Kathy Bates
as Dolores Claiborne
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Jennifer Jason Leigh
as Selena St. George
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Judy Parfitt
as Vera Donovan
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Christopher Plummer
as Detective John Mackey
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David Strathairn
as Joe St. Goerge
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Eric Bogosian
as Peter
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John C. Reilly
as Constable Frank Stamshaw
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Wayne Robson
as Sammy Marchant
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Roy Cooper
as Magistrate
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Frank Adamson
as Detective Supervisor
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Vernon Steel
as Ferry Vendor
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Bob Gunton
as Mr Pease
- John Benjamin Hickey
- Ellen Muth
- Judy Parett


