Review of Dolores Claiborne (1995) by Bruce R — 19 Jul 2010

This movie could have been a bad LIFETIME movie of the week, but what we get is a gothic, often time depressing, film about womans liberation. From the book by STEPHEN KING this movie is a great study on a woman who is pushed to far.

Dollores Claiborne was onced accused of murdering her husband and now 25 years later she is accused of murding an elderly woman she was taking care of. We slowly learn about her past and what we end up with is a story of redemption and a mother and daughter finding each other again.

This is where we get into the realm of bad LIFETIME movies, the story is a pretty basic one of spousel abuse, but the director as turned this movie into a visually stunning and gripping movie. It can be a little slow at times, but as the story unfolds you become more and more engrossed in what is going on.

I won't give to much away, because there is a lot of did she, diddnt she moments, but towords the end there is a scene with a lunar eclipse that's not only very emotional, and in very a STEPHEN KING moment, but also horrific, and it's one of the most beautiful shots I have ever seen.

This ranks up there with the other KING adaptations like STAND BY ME, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE that breaks your heart and lifts you up. The look and feel of this movie almost made me think of a STANLEY KUBRICK film, I highly reccomend you see this film at least once.