In my humble opinion, “Dolores Claiborne” might be the most underrated Stephen King movie of all time. Seriously, when was the last time you heard anyone talk about this movie? And yet, despite it’s almost non-existent reputation, it’s fantastic! Directed by Taylor Hackford, “Dolores Claiborne” stars Kathy Bates as a New England woman accused of murdering her elderly employer. As we learn, this isn’t the first time Dolores was suspected of murder — in the 1970s, Dolores’ abusive husband (David Strathairn) died under mysterious circumstances, with all eyes on Dolores as the prime suspect.
“Dolores Claiborne” has plenty of real-world horrors, but it isn’t a straightforward horror movie; it’s a character drama, featuring a tight script (courtesy of “Michael Clayton” filmmaker Tony Gilroy) and host of fantastic performances — Bates and Strathairn are fantastic, as is Jennifer Jason Leigh, playing Dolores’ troubled daughter, Judy Parfitt, playing Dolores’ recently deceased boss, and Christopher Plummer, who portrays a local cop determined to put Dolores away. Throw in a haunting score from Danny Elfman and you have one of the very best King movies. As King himself told Rolling Stone, “‘Dolores Claiborne’ is a really, really good film.”
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