Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Having given her best, Oscar-winning performance in Misery (1990), actress Kathy Bates returns to the well (so to speak) of Stephen King adaptations with this dour but moving drama. Bates had a richer, more full-bodied character to play in the earlier film to be sure, but she does a remarkable job here of bringing to life a woman who is stronger than she seems at first glance. In fact, Dolores is ultimately revealed to be tougher than a hickory knot, and it's a testament to Bates's skill as an actress that she is convincing throughout most of the film as soft, yielding, and thoroughly weak, but renders believable the sudden revelation of Dolores's true nature. Jennifer Jason Leigh thankfully relinquishes the distracting affectations of some previous roles while Christopher Plummer sinks his teeth into the part of a detective clearly in the mold of Inspector Javert from Les Miserables. Although a timeworn device that filmmakers should be discouraged from employing, director Taylor Hackford utilizes the flashback sequence to great effect, understanding that King's dour tale is not really about a rural murder case but about how the past can so powerfully inform and control the present. Somber and depressing, Dolores Claiborne won't be to the taste of many horror-loving King fans, but the film's a well-acted emotional journey that ultimately proves worth taking. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide