After a maid is accused of murdering her rich employer, her estranged daughter comes to see her. This is an engaging mystery, but what keeps it from being more effective is silly melodramatics and some cartoony characters, especially Strathairn as Dolores's abusive, red-neck husband. Leigh's performance as the bitter daughter is also somewhat uneven. However, the film belongs to Bates and she is quite impressive in the title role. Also notable is Parfitt as her eccentric employer. Hackford does a good job of peeling back the layers of the mystery, although he goes a bit overboard with his visual style, settling for cheap thrills instead of using a more subtle approach.
Review of Dolores Claiborne
