Dolores Claiborne was accused of killing her abusive husband twenty years ago, but the court's findings were inconclusive and she was allowed to walk free. Now she has been accused of killing her employer, Vera Donovan, and this time there is a witness who can place her at the scene of the crime. Things look bad for Dolores when her daughter Selena, a successful Manhattan magazine writer, returns to cover the story.
Taylor Hackford directs this 1995 crime-drama-mystery in which Dolores Claiborne, long shadowed by an unresolved accusation from decades past, faces fresh suspicion after the death of her employer. As her estranged daughter, a big-city magazine writer, returns home, buried family history and long-held secrets resurface. Somber and tightly wound, the film blends suspense with a searching portrait of resilience, motherhood, and the truths people conceal. Its tone is brooding and emotionally raw. Holding a MagicMovieScore of 7.3, it rewards viewers who appreciate character-driven mysteries, layered female-led drama, and stories where the deepest revelations are personal rather than procedural.
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Kathy Bates
Dolores Claiborne

Jennifer Jason Leigh
Selena St. George

Judy Parfitt
Vera Donovan

Christopher Plummer
John Mackey

David Strathairn
Joe St. George

Eric Bogosian
Peter

John C. Reilly
Const. Frank Stamshaw

Ellen Muth
Young Selena
840 ratings. The score is reasonably stable but could shift up to 0.09 as more ratings come in.
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Release Date
March 24, 1995
Runtime
2h 12m
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Director