Latest King flick strays from formula

By LARA HYDE
Collegian Arts Writer

Dolores Claiborne is the latest to join the ranks of Stephen King novels-turned-movies. Turning away from the traditional King fare of supernatural occurences, diabolical monsters and telekinetic teen-agers, this flick focuses on the plight of a New England housekeeper, Dolores, accused of killing her employer.

Yet as the movie unfolds, it becomes evident that there are more important matters that need to be settled, as Dolores has some pretty nasty skeletons (heh,heh,heh) in her closet.

Kathy Bates (Academy Award winner for Misery) turns in a tremendous performance, in true versatile Bates style, as the housekeeper, an elderly lady who has henpecked Dolores for years.

Bates conveys the tough exterior of Dolores while skillfully providing a little insight into the inner woman through a carefully controlled poker face that can not always stop the swelling emotions threatening to erupt.

Dolores is a tough woman who has been beaten down by a rough life. She has never left the New England area and has a sarcastic sense of humor that has no respect for the seriousness of her situation. Her motto perhaps states it best: "Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold on to."

Put Dolores up against her rebelling, chain-smoking, pill-popping, hard-drinking reporter daughter Selena, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, and a volatile brew is created. Tensions are high between these two women who have not seen each other for 15 years.

The relationship between them is one of the most compelling and driving forces of the movie. The death of the old lady is a moot point compared to the emotional baggage carried by these two women.

The plot boils down to events of years past -- including the "accidental" death of Dolores' husband -- Joe St. George. Detective Mackey (Christopher Plummer) is the man who investigated the murder. Plummer turns in a good performance as a detective who is 85 for 86, the Claiborne case being his only loss.

Mackey sees the latest murder as the way to settle the score and he tries to wear down Dolores and Selena. He goes a long way to settle a grudge.

The film is set on an isolated island in New England. It is filmed beautifully, using the ever-changing clouds to indicate the change of days. The house is as beaten down as Dolores, and in a state of disrepair that is synonymous with the relationship between mother and daughter.

While the acting is a highpoint of the film, the plot and the filming are also impressive. The story keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, focusing on the tumultuous relationship between mother and daughter rather than the ominous idea of murder.

Flashbacks are skillfully used to give insights to the past and create suspense about what is really behind this mother-daughter conflict.

Dolores may be one tough woman, but she would do anything for her daughter. Their lives have changed forever and Dolores has cleaned the skeletons out of her closet. While the ending is a little weak, audiences may find relief in the resolution.