Dolores Claiborne is a 1995 film based on the eponymous novel by Stephen King, starring Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by Taylor Hackford. As the story begins, Dolores Claiborne (Bates), a middle-aged domestic servant in a coastal town in Maine, is heard having an argument with her elderly, paralyzed employer Vera Donovan (Judy Parfitt), after which Vera falls down the stairs. Dolores ransacks the kitchen and is then caught by a mailman as she stands over Vera with a rolling pin, apparently intending to kill Vera. Vera dies and Dolores is charged with her murder.  Dolores' daughter, Selena St. George (Leigh), a journalist, arrives in town to support her mother. Dolores insists that she did not kill her wealthy employer, but she finds little sympathy, as the entire town believes she murdered her husband, Joe St. George (David Straithairn) almost 20 years earlier. Detective John Mackey (Christopher Plummer), the chief detective in her husband’s murder case, is determined to put Dolores away for life. Cast Actor Role Kathy Bates Dolores Claiborne Jennifer Jason Leigh Selena St. George Judy Parfitt Vera Donovan Christopher Plummer Detective John Mackey