Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Second viewing, first with the original audio; first seen on June 24, 2002, on a dubbed copy.

A housemaid is tried for the murder of her employer; in the past she had been acquitted of the murder of her husband. That was a cause of great frustration to the prosecutor; he hopes he can finally convict her now. Her daughter, a New York journalist, is notified of the incident and comes to help her mother, from whom she was estranged and with whom she had not been on the best terms.

This film excels in what regards its moral foundations. The main character embodies many real persons who have no doubt been through problems which are very similar to hers, and her behavior is at once convincing and morally uplifting. It is also an entertaining film, probably due to its source novel (I haven't read it, though) and certainly thanks to its carefully crafted script (you will find similarities in style in the writer's subsequent work, but the final result was never as good as here), which uses every resource at hand to excite the viewer's interest and emotions. It would certainly be possible to say more about this film, but at the moment I am not able to do it, for several reasons (to begin with, the heat where I live is scorching).

Rating: 71 (up from 68)