Dolores Claiborne -
I watched this first because I haven't seen it yet, I love Stephen King and I've been meaning to read the book for a while. A-list thriller movies for adults sure seem like an endangered species, don't they? It's as if almost all material like this has been relegated to streaming services and is broken up into miniseries these days. Granted, there are some good ones like
Mare of Easttown, but I believe this is one thing the '90s has over this young decade and the last one. I wouldn't say this movie is the best of its kind, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.
What did I get out of it? Well, it's right there in the repeated line, "sometimes, being a bitch is all a woman has to hang onto." I like how the movie shows what drives Dolores to adopt this philosophy from the very direct abuse she receives from her husband to her more subtle but no less disheartening mistreatment from the bank manager as well as how they’re all seamlessly interwoven into the story. Speaking of seamless, the flashbacks and their transitions are never jarring and the use of different color schemes for each timeline is a nice touch. As for the performances, they’re as strong as you'd expect from this all-star cast, my favorite besides Bates (I can't believe I haven't seen
Misery yet) being Strathairn's, mostly because it’s a welcome change of pace to see him play a bastard after years of seeing him play nice guys. The movie has its fair share of cheese, especially in how it spells out its themes. While I do love the "bitch" line, others like "it's because I'm a woman" seem a little too on the nose. Also, I may not be one to judge since I've only been to Maine once, but some of the New England accents are a bit cartoonish. I still think this is a very strong non-horror Stephen King adaptation and '90s adult thriller. One has to wonder, though - and I hope this isn't too much of a spoiler - but is the eclipse the same one in
Gerald's Game?
Oh, and while proofreading this writeup, Word warned me that “bastard” may be offensive to the reader, but I didn’t get the same warning for “bitch.” It may have thought I was referring to a female dog, but doesn’t that just say it all?