Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Réalisateur:

Taylor Hackford

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (book)
Tony Gilroy (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 mars 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drame | Thriller

Accroche:

Sometimes, an accident can be an unhappy woman's best friend

Plot:

A big-city reporter travels to the small town where her mother has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman that she works for as a maid.

Plot Keywords:

Sexual Abuse | Abusive Father | Stephen King | Psycho Thriller | Mother Daughter Estrangement

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

Kathy Bates Shines

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Sept. 15

1:45 AM

MAX

Ensemble

Kathy Bates	...	Dolores Claiborne
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Selena St. George
Judy Parfitt	...	Vera Donovan
Christopher Plummer	...	Det. John Mackey
David Strathairn	...	Joe St. George
Eric Bogosian	...	Peter
John C. Reilly	...	Const. Frank Stamshaw
Ellen Muth	...	Young Selena
Bob Gunton	...	Mr. Pease
Roy Cooper	...	Magistrate
Wayne Robson	...	Sammy Marchant
Ruth Marshall	...	Secretary
Weldon Allen	...	Bartender
Tom Gallant	...	Searcher
Kelly Burnett	...	Jack Donovan

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Dolores Claiborne (France) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and domestic abuse.

Durée:

132 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Son:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Classification:

Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R (certificate #33558) | Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Anecdotes:

While filming the scene on the ferry between Dolores and Selena, Jennifer Jason Leigh became seasick. A student from the local high school was pulled out of class to act as a stand-in.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As Delores and Selena are leaving the police department, they walk across the street and get in the car. As Selena opens the door, the telescoping crane can be seen reflected in the car window.

Guillemet:

Vera Donovan: Husbands die every day, Dolores. Why... one is probably dying right now while you're sitting here weeping. They die... and leave their wives their money. I should know, shouldn't I? Sometimes they're driving home from their mistress' aparment and their brakes suddenly fail.

Movie Connections:

References The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Soundtrack:

Happy Days Are Here Again

Kathy Bates Shines

It isn't quite fair to say that 'Dolores Claiborne' is a one-woman show, but let's face it; it's pretty much a virtuoso performance from Kathy Bates. She dominates virtually every scene she's in, shows tremendous range, from tender to sour and bitter, to borderline maniacal, and leaves you wondering who else on Earth could possibly have pulled it off.

That's not to belittle the rest of the cast. The other actors are adequate at very least, and Judy Parfitt puts in a performance as the bedridden Vera Donovan, which is the one time that Bates is slightly overshadowed.

Briefly, a middle-aged, working-class widow (Bates) in a small Maine town (where else, for SK?) is suspected of murdering her rich, elderly employer (Parfitt) in an apparently open and shut case. Christopher Plummer is the nasty lawman who is convinced she also killed her husband years before. Meanwhile, her estranged daughter from New York comes up to cover the story for a newspaper, and... well, you don't really need to know any more details before seeing the movie.

It's adapted from a Stephen King novel, and being a drama rather than a supernatural story, it has a flying headstart, being in the company of 'Green Mile', 'Stand By Me', and 'Shawshank Redemption' rather than 'Christine' or 'Salem's Lot'. Whereas it isn't in the exalted league of those movies, it's miles ahead of most of the horror adaptation of King stories. Take Bates out and it might be rather ordinary, but as it it, Dolores gets a very solid 7.0 from me.