Misery (1990) User Reviews

One of the best thrillers of the 90's.

[notoriousCASK · 9/10 · 8 September 2017]

Misery is without a doubt one of the finest movies of the 90's and one of the best movies in the thriller genre. It is an ingeniously crafted horror masterpiece that seamlessly intertwines its incredibly tense and cleverly paced story with inventive cinematography, tight editing and exquisite performances. In my opinion Misery is one of the better adaptations of Stephen King's works and truly a movie that cannot be missed, especially for the genre fans.

Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is the author of a successful series of romance novels about a character called Misery, who decides to take a more serious approach regarding his future novels. On his way to publish his new manuscript, Paul drives from his hotel in Silver Creek to New York. Due to the extreme weather conditions, he has an accident that leaves him severely injured and hopeless. A local nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) finds Paul and brings him to her remote home in order to help him recover. Claiming to be his number one fan, Annie discovers that in his last Misery novel her favorite character dies and then her obsession about him takes a dark and twisted turn as a long story of captivity and abuse begins.

The direction by Rob Reiner is phenomenal and on a Hitchcockian level as the film has a plethora of perfectly crafted suspenseful moments that have the audience on the edge of their seats from the beginning till the amazing climax. The editing of the movie is also flawless, as the shots are specifically designed to induce tension in any moment they can. The cinematographer and Reiner both ace the perilous atmosphere of the picture, using close up shots of the moonfaced Wilkes both in her fits of rage and kindness which magnifies the polar extremes that Wilkes is prone to unexpectedly visit. What is also triumphed is the slow convergence of the audience and Paul Sheldon. The movie received a lot of critical acclaim, especially due to Kathy Bates' chilling and memorable performance as Anny Wilkes that earned her the 1990's leading actress Oscar award, which remains the only Oscar ever given to a Stephen King film adaptation. No matter how great Kathy Bates' Oscar-winning performance is, James Caan's cannot go unnoticed as it definitely qualifies as one of the best performances in his extensive career, despite how demanding and challenging his role as Paul Sheldon was.

In conclusion, Misery is a dark and tense masterpiece that is an amalgamation of excellent direction, skillful writing, taut editing, amazing cinematography and stellar performances, which succeeds into creating the feeling of captivity and helplessness that the thriller genre was purposefully built for, and that makes it one of the best movies of the 90's and one absolute classic in its genre.

Fans.... Who needs 'em!

[lesallen-68268 · 8/10 · 21 April 2020]

A real classic. This film has all the ingredients - a great story, fine casting, and pace. Still shocks after three decades. This intelligently crafted piece shows exactly what sharp directing and crisp cinematography can do - even more so in an age before the onset of over the top CGI. A must have in the horror section.....

Perfect performances by Bates and Caan

[rbverhoef · 9/10 · 7 May 2003]

Based on the novel by him, 'Misery' is a real Stephen King film. It is a drama film, but also a thriller and sometimes even a horror. In one scene the horror is very clear, you will know what scene I mean.

Writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) gets in a car accident. He is helped by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) who claims she is his number one fan. In his latest novel Sheldon has killed the favorite character of Annie making her a little mad. She keeps Sheldon in her home; he has to bring the character back to life in his next novel.

Bates, who won an Oscar, is terrific as Annie, one of her finest performances. James Caan who is in bed or a wheelchair most of the film is very convincing. The room he is living in is one of those spaces in the movies you will not forget very soon. Directed by Rob Reiner this is a great film, although it could be a bit slow for some from time to time.

Gripping...

[goodfellamf · 5 July 2002]

Misery is a dark, but witty venture into Stephen King territory. It's about a popular novelist who crashes his car on a snowy mountain road and is rescued by a nurse who claims she is his number one fan. As the time goes by, he realizes she has no intention of letting him leave.

The film moves with a brisk, taut pace thanks to director Rob Reiner, who helmed another excellent Stephen King film, Stand By Me. Tension is kept mostly throughout (there are some predictable moments...but who cares?) And the performances are also a major plus. James Caan is very easy to empathize with, and he manages to keep his cynical sense of humor. Richard Farnsworth, as a grizzled sheriff was a nice addition to the film since his character didn't exist in the book. He also has a nice sense of humor, and he's the kind of guy who you want to root for. But the most amazing performance is from Kathy Bates, who treads a fine line alternating between sweet and lovable to amazingly evil. She won an Oscar for this movie, and whole-heartedly deserved it.

Side note: This is one of the few films which took an Oscar, that you can actually say the Academy had the guts to give out. Can anyone name another horror film which won such a notable prize?

ANyway...by the end, the novelist and the viewer or put through some torturous activity. We sometimes feel his pain, and it is so much fun to hate this woman................the book is excellent.....the movie is just as good in about 1/6th of the time it would take to read. Either way, enjoy!

The best horror film ever adapted from a Stephen King book

[kylopod · 10/10 · 11 February 2007]

"Misery" accomplishes something which Hitchcock achieved in "Psycho" but which very few modern horror films achieve: it entertains without seeming exploitative. Even the movie's most gruesome scene, which ranks up there as one of the more memorably horrifying moments in all of cinema, ends with a laugh that somehow doesn't cheapen the material--maybe because it arises so naturally from the basic situation which the movie takes very seriously. We're not being urged to find the violence itself entertaining, as is the case for so many horror films these days. Rather, the humor is a way of breaking the tension of a desperate, nightmarish scenario. It is, we suspect, what helps the protagonist survive the ordeal.

Like many of the greatest thrillers, "Misery" begins with a bizarre set of coincidences. A bestselling romance novelist named Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is on his way to the countryside to work on his next book when a blizzard causes his car to crash, leaving him severely injured and unable to walk. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a retired nurse and obsessive fan who was following him, takes care of him in her house without letting him leave or contact anyone. She is upset that he has recently killed off a central character in his series, and she forces him to write the new book more to her liking, though in total isolation from the outside world. His family and friends fear him dead, but the local sheriff (Richard Farnsworth) is investigating a little more closely.

"Misery" belongs to a unique genre in which a single character is trapped in a small area and spends the entire story attempting to escape. I've been fascinated by this type of story ever since I first read Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum." With his fine attention to detail, Stephen King has made two notable contributions to the genre: "Misery," and the unfilmable "Gerald's Game" (where a woman spends the entire novel handcuffed to a bed in the middle of nowhere). Everything is topsy-turvy in a story like this. The protagonist must adapt to a weird new set of rules that put a diabolical twist on normal routines. To most people, a house is a mundane setting where you wake up every day and leave without blinking an eye. For a house to become a prison seems almost unthinkable. Stories like "Misery" have the urgency of a nightmare, where the thing you fear most is always on the verge of happening.

In particular, this movie has much in common with the 1962 suspense drama "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" (which I recommend). The basic structure of the story is the same, involving a disabled person in the house of an insane woman, who subjects her captive to physical and psychological tortures while almost everyone on the outside doesn't even know the victim exists. But in the older film, the motives were simpler, rooted in sibling jealousy and old wounds. "Misery" brings the conceit to a new level by making the captive a famous writer and the kidnapper a crazed fan. The movie makes much of the irony that she's a pretty good editor. She's not really sadistic or vengeful, as was the case with the Bette Davis character in "Baby Jane." The tortures she inflicts on Paul are the natural result of her trying to fit him into her bizarre little world.

Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her performance, one of only three horror performances ever to receive that award. (The other two are Fredric March for "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and Anthony Hopkins for "Silence of the Lambs.") One of the best actresses working today, she's fortunate not to have been typecast in this sort of role. She later proved herself quite adept at playing vulnerable women, like the battered wife in "Dolores Claiborne." She brings to the role of Annie a certain earthiness that you don't expect in this kind of role. She plays the character as a woman who doesn't perceive herself as insane, who acts bubbly and cheerful most of the time and seems to view her sudden mood shifts as merely a personal weakness. At times, the movie almost comes off as a demented parody of a normal relationship between a man and woman living together.

The very best of the Stephen King horror movies, "Misery" is a film which I count among my favorites even though it is so intense I sometimes have trouble sitting through the whole thing. With a screenplay by William Goldman, who has a knack for developing bizarre torture scenes (the Nazi dentist torture in "Marathon Man," the Machine in "The Princess Bride"), the movie manages to be scary and classy at the same time--a rare feat for a modern horror picture. Kathy Bates is in my nightmares!

When a fan crosses the line between admiration into obsession

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 10/10 · 14 November 2003]

Misery is without a doubt one of the best films of the 90's, and in my opinion, Stephen King's best adaptation into a movie. This is TRUE horror, there's no monsters, no mega special effects, just Kathy Bates who is truly made the big time on one of the scariest villains in horror movie history.

It's about a man named Paul Sheldon, he's an author, made incredibly famous by his popular books, specially his series called "Misery", the books are apparently about a woman in the old days who goes through heavy times in her life and he shares her pain and strength with the readers. When he finishes his last Misery book, he decides to celebrate and is heading back for his daughter's birthday, but he gets caught in a horrible blizzard and gets into a nasty and fatal car accident, but is saved by Kathy Bates, or as we know her Annie.

He wakes up in a bedroom with his legs badly broken, bruised up, and cut up, but hears a light and charming voice saying "You're going to be just fine. I'm your number one fan!". Annie nurses Paul back to health and says she'll get an ambulance once the storm clears up. She's so lovely and charming, you would never have any clue that she'd even just harm a fly. But when she gets ahold of Paul's last Misery book, she gets infuriated when she finds out that he's killing off Misery and continuing onto more dramatic and dark stories. She makes him write a new Misery where she is resurrected, Paul used to write for a living, now he's writing to stay alive. Discovering slowly how crazy Annie is, he tries to escape more and more, but Annie is so convinced she's in love with him, she'll never let him go!

Kathy Bates truly is the amazing star of the film, she is so disturbing to watch. Especially during the "hobbing" scene, she breaks Paul's legs again, she makes it seem so innocent, but it's HORRIFYING to watch! Both her and James worked so well together and were just incredible. The movie is so awesome, I would highly recommend this movie for anyone! It's a movie not to be missed.

10/10

Perfect

[Misss25 · 9/10 · 26 February 2022]

I have watched the Indian version of this movie. In that time, I don't have any idea, it was remake of this splendid movie. But, thank God! I have came across this. This is mindblowing, it could be a perfect example of mystery thriller.

Don't EVER have a Number 1 fan...

[sngbrd39 · 8/10 · 7 January 2006]

Horror movies generally aren't my cup of tea, but people have always talked about how great Misery is. So I decided to give it a look when it came on TV today. All I can say is that I was definitely not disappointed; this was an amazing movie.

Misery is the story of writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who is driving through a snowstorm after just having finished his newest novel. The car crashes, and it seems that Paul will die, trapped in his car in the snow in a deserted forest, when he is rescued by a mysterious stranger. She turns out to be Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a former nurse who dresses his wounds and gives him a comfortable bed. In addition, it turns out that Annie is Paul's self-proclaimed Number 1 Fan. Specifically, she is obsessed with the Misery Chastain series, Paul's major claim to fame. Annie keeps Paul in an isolated room for days, then weeks, as the outside world searches for him. Eventually, when Annie objects to the content of Paul's latest manuscript, and when she has a hysterical reaction to the death of Misery in the latest novel, Paul (and the audience) come to see that there may be something wrong with Annie.

Caan and Bates were absolutely stunning in their performances. The vast majority of this movie focused on them, so it was crucial that they both be able to convey the sense that something horrific was going on. It was no surprise that Kathy Bates won the Best Actress Oscar for her role. Everything in this movie really worked to show just how trapped Paul was, and how hopeless his situation seemed. And of course, this movie left a few indelible images in the mind. (One in particular comes to mind, and I really wish that I hadn't seen that scene previously on some other TV show; that almost took away from the impact of seeing it in context.) So, if you are a fan of suspenseful fare, or you just want to see a horror movie (mostly) sans blood and guts, Misery is for you. You will never, ever want to hear anyone say that they're a fan of yours again.

I love the novel but i appreciate the movie too

[Movieguyccbbaa · 7/10 · 3 October 2019]

The movie was pretty good, it didn't go by very fast, it was patient with things, there are a lot of details missed in the movie which is understandable but the actors make the movie worth watching. Annie Wilkes and Paul Sheldon are portrayed greatly by both the actress/actor.

A good watch.

Simplest movies are the best!

[bart-680 · 8/10 · 1 November 2019]

This movie is truly one of the greatest horror movies out there. Simply because its so streightforward and kathy bates performance in it was truly incredible. The story follows a writer who is driving home (james caan) in a blizard and his car is overturned in the snow and he is taken into care by his number one fan as she says (kathy bates) but she is abit more sinister than she first appears. I enjoyed this so much have seen it a few times. James caan was good but kathy bates really gets my vote fantastic horror

Stephen King's writer's tale is psychologically strong, theocratically mediocre.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 6/10 · 15 February 2024]

Misery (1990) : Brief Review -

Stephen King's writer's tale is psychologically strong, theocratically mediocre. Stephen King's popular novel got a cinematic adaptation, and the critics were raving about it. Maybe that's what made my experience below par. I was pumped up after reading so many good things about this film. Keeping over excitement and over expectations has hurt my viewing experience since I didn't really find it that great. It was good, though, but nothing really that nice. So, a writer has an accident and is taken home by his number one fan in a remote place. The female fan takes good care of the writer, but it turns out to be a trap. The writer is house jailed and is asked to rewrite Misery's novel with a new idea, most probably positive. During the stay, he tries to get out many times, but all his efforts are unsuccessful. Moreover, the woman's obsessive and psychotic behaviour worries the writer to death. What happens next shouldn't be spoiled, but I personally think that there was not much suspense. Misery disappoints with the suspense and thriller stuff, but is lifted by powerful performances. Kathy has done an outstanding job here, and I don't wonder why she brought the first and only Oscar to the film based on Stephen King material. I don't know how many people will agree, but to me, she looked gorgeous right from the starting scene. And she was so cute in between. Not so many movements, but James Caan has done a fine job too. It was a handicapped role, and yet he got those struggle scenes to show his acting skills once again. Rob Reiner has many great movies to his name, and according to general perception, this one is one of them. Sorry, but I am not sorry to defer. Misery has some good scenes to keep you hooked, but clearly lacks thrills in the conclusion portion. Overall, a good one-time flick, nothing beyond that.

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Shining, shocking dark comedy in the Hitchcock mold

[LoveCoates · 10/10 · 25 March 2003]

Writer William Goldman and director Rob Reiner do Hitchcock proud with this one. It has all the elements: a seemingly innocent place and situation invaded by a growing sense of sinister dread until a breathtaking climax. The intelligent script is peppered with moments that will either make you cringe or make you laugh, depending on how morbid your sense of humor is. It is a harrowing movie to watch the first time around. The crew has done a good job of making you feel Paul Sheldon's pain. Few films torture the audience like this one. In fact, I venture to say this is the best film of its kind since "Psycho" thirty years earlier.

The acting is good all-round. Farnsworth steals every scene he's in with his sardonic and relentless sheriff - he did not get enough accolades for what would have been a routine part in a lesser actor's hands. Caan is solid and underplays beautifully, and the inimitable Kathy Bates carries the film with her alternately hysterical or ridiculously-sappy Annie, the psychotic Sheldon fan. Her performance is a throwback to Hollywood's old days - it's not subtle, not quiet, and borders on over-acting. This is not method acting, this is showing off. But Bates makes it work, investing Annie with enough pitifulness to make the character complex and, thus, hold the role together. This movie is famous, of course, for making Kathy Bates an overnight sensation as everybody went into the movie wanting to see what Sonny Corleone looked like as an older man, but left with accolades for Kathy Bates on their lips. She is absolutely terrifying and unforgettable in this role and perfect for it.

Brilliant performance that elevated a 7-star thriller to 9-10 classic status.

Good but not like the book

[jacopierri · 6/10 · 15 February 2021]

Try to read "misery" the book of Stephen king and try to review this film. That movie can't express all the thought that Paul have. the end and the feelings connected to that are expressed in a bad way compared to the book, the scene where Paul kill Annie wilks in the film though less than 3 minutes, and can't express as well as 10/15 pages do

I don't get this movie's appeal.

[triple8 · 5/10 · 11 September 2003]

I'm probably the only person I know who didn't like Misery. (Thankfully I checked the reviews here and there were a rare few who agreed with me!). I know this is considered a thriller classic but for me, I just never got what the fuss was about. I can't fault the acting but the story never seemed THAT original(how many stalker movies are there) and while mildly scary the movie itself didn't hold my attention at all. Not only didn't I love it, I'd say I really didn't like it much at all. And I just don't get WHAT is so wonderful and different about this.

I am neither a major fan of King's or a non fan. I've read a few of his books(my favorites were Carrie and Thinner.) And I've seen a few movies that were adapted from his books, MOST not being very good. I never read Misery so I can't judge what was better the book or novel, all I know is the movie itself just seemed like yet another thriller with a better then average cast. The actually story was very dark, at times very brutal, moved very slowly and just didn't inspire one bit of interest in me. And I generally love Psychological thrillers!

I didn't hate this and admit the acting and the general atmosphere were right on target but It's not something I would care to see again. My score is 5 out of 10.

Suspenseful!

[bat-5 · 4 February 1999]

Misery has to be the best adaptation of a Stephen King novel. A close runner up is Stand By Me, but for suspense and tension that just gets tighter and tighter, watch Misery. Kathy Bates can go from nice and cheerful to downright crazy like someone turning on a light switch. While watching James Caan suffer through the torture that Bates puts him through, you can't help but sympathize with the guy. Rob Reiner presents us with the problem, and he slowly escalates the tension and the dread that creeps over the movie. Even though the book was different in the "hobbling" process, Annie Wilkes' method of hobbling still gives me the chills whenever I watch it.

This movie is brilliant and brutal.

[lukehiggs · 8/10 · 12 April 2015]

So after a lot of years of watching horror movies and loving horror movie adaptations of Stephen king books, i realised i had never watched Misery, after watching it i realised i should have took the time to watch it many years ago.

The story is about a writer who having finished a book decides to return home, but on his return he has a accident and is rescued by his number one fan after that things take a dark twist while he is trying to recover from the accident, the story in this film is brilliant and gripping, you are always on edge of your seat wanting the main character to succeed its very believable which makes you fully emerged in the film.

The acting in this is brilliant and makes this film stand out, James Caan and Kathy bates are so believable, you genuinely hate but want to understand Kathy Bates's character and you are constantly behind James Caans character wanting him to succeed.

A great movies for horror and Thriller fans, Worth a watch to anyone who's interested in either genre.

Great obsession thriller!

[OllieSuave-007 · 10/10 · 22 August 2015]

Misery has a straight-forward, no-nonsense plot - about a fan obsessed woman (Annie Wilkes) who rescues her favorite author (Paul Sheldon) from a car wreck without telling anyone and nurses him back to health, but house-arrests him until he rewrites his latest novel to her liking. While there were really no subplots or few twists, the story really grabs your attention with the tension, suspense and well-pacing of the course of events. Kathy Bates' outstanding portrayal in the role of Annie Wilkes is something to reckon with; she grows on the audiences from her seemingly sweet personality at first after rescuing Paul Sheldon, then, creeps everybody out as you see her mental instability progress from obsession to threatening.

The suspense of Annie's unpredictability to Paul's no-escape predicament is a good edge-if-your-seat experiment. You will be left very eager to find out how everything unfolds at the end - it's a great thriller to sit down and spend the day/night with.

Grade A

Trapped, Tortured & Terrorised

[seymourblack-1 · 8/10 · 19 August 2015]

With most of the action set in one room and involving only two people, this tense psychological thriller is more like a stage-play than a movie. Fortunately, this style of presentation works well in establishing the claustrophobic atmosphere and sense of unease that prevails throughout this tale of an unfortunate man who, through no fault of his own, is held captive by a psychotic woman. The physical pain and mental torment that he suffers is dreadful and the journey that he makes through his personal nightmare is both harrowing and compelling to watch.

Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is a highly successful writer whose numerous romantic novels featuring his heroine, Misery Chastain, have all been best-sellers. Having grown tired of writing this type of material, he'd recently been working on his first serious novel and on completing his manuscript, sets out from Silver Creek Lodge in Colorado and drives down a mountain road in a snowstorm to deliver his work to his agent. As the conditions worsen and the road becomes more slippery, he loses control of his car which rolls down a bank and into a snowdrift where he ends up unconscious with two broken legs, a dislocated shoulder and numerous other injuries.

Local Woman Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) discovers the wreckage and pulls Paul out of the vehicle before taking him to her isolated home where she starts to nurse him back to health. When he regains consciousness, Paul is grateful for what Annie's done and soon learns that she's a trained nurse and a devoted fan who feels privileged to have him staying at her home. She tells him that because of the storm, the roads are closed and the telephones are out of action, so she's unable to inform anyone immediately of his whereabouts. Annie's obviously a lonely person and acts rather coyly and politely at this stage.

After reading Paul's just-completed manuscript, she changes radically, becomes very angry and expresses her strong disgust at the amount of swearing it contains. A little later, when she also reads his newly-released Misery Chastain novel, she becomes outraged when she discovers that he's killed off her favourite character (Misery) and feels betrayed by him. She uses her dominance over him to make him burn his new manuscript and write a new novel in which Misery is brought back to life. As her behaviour continues to become increasingly violent and unhinged, Paul tries to go along with what she wants as far as possible whilst also trying to devise a way of escaping his hellish ordeal.

Annie Wilkes is a highly eccentric character who's initially very ingratiating but later becomes completely deranged and horribly violent. With her pet pig (called Misery), her love of Liberace's recordings and an obsessive need to control Paul, the scope for any actress who portrays her is obviously enormous. Kathy Bates, in her Oscar-winning performance, does an amazing job of bringing this complex woman to life and James Caan, whose character is so helpless and physically constrained throughout, skilfully overcomes these limitations to make Paul a very sympathetic victim. Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen add some light relief as the local sheriff and his wife and Lauren Bacall is also excellent in her cameo role as Paul's agent.

The way in which the action unfolds on-screen is vital to the success of this movie and director Rob Reiner's brilliant pacing plays a big part in building up the mood and tension so effectively. There are some shocking moments such as the shooting of one of the story's minor characters and the infamous "sledgehammer scene" but more surprisingly, maybe, there's also a certain amount of humour to enjoy.

A little masterpiece of drama and thriller

[zutterjp48 · 8/10 · 22 October 2019]

Misery is really a little masterpiece of drama and thriller.This story is simple: writer Pul Sheldon has a car accident and is helped by Annie Wilkes.This stay turns slowly into a kidnapping. The performances of Kathy Bates and James Caan are excellent. But we must also thank Rob Reiner for this very good dark story.

So Suspenseful if You Can Watch It

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 30 December 2016]

I had a landlady in college who would sit down each day and write letters to the characters who appeared in her soap operas. Seriously, she would give them advice on their romantic encounters and their faux pas. So when I saw Kathy Bates going crazy with her captive, James Caan, it wasn't hard for me to make the leap to the actions of a psychotic, not seeing an actor for an actor. Bates is amazing in this movie in the sickest way possible. She just can't understand what is going on. The problem is that she is utterly dangerous, murderous. Of course, this is Stephen King, so we know there are Bates types around every corner. I felt, as I watched this play out, that I was punishing myself. What else could she do to him without killing him. The only other movie I felt this way about was the top horror movie of its year, "The Passion of the Christ," where Mel Gibson used every torture device and weapon to beat on Jesus's body before he was crucified. Anyway, I would warn anyone that has not seen this film to be ready for their own misery.

Stephen King was the author, Paul Sheldon was the hostage, Anne Wilkes was the psycho

[Tyler_R_Weston · 10/10 · 19 June 2003]

Misery is my favorite Stephen King thriller. Misery displays a writer held hostage by his #1 fan. Misery is a spectacular movie because it keeps you wondering what will happen next. Kathy Bates' performance was the best and I'm glad she won an Oscar. Misery is one of King's real-life situation novels. I think that's what he's nest at, writing about real things. Yet, his horror books are still pretty scary and wild. Reiner impressed me with his direction in this film. Highly recommended, if you have any comments for me, please e-mail me at [e-mail].

Richard Farnsworth is my highlight

[lets_play_two · 6/10 · 18 March 2023]

It's not terrible. But I am here to tell you why it doesn't meet my expectations.

The story is straightforward. This is often fine, but puts pressure on other aspects of the presentation to offer more.

The acting is perfectly fine for Caan, but not special. There is actually not that much range to the character, and most of the performance is in one of two emotional states. Bates hits some high notes but also ping pongs between two straightforward approaches. I'll admit I flinched when she appeared in the flash of lightning.

The cinematography is uninspired and forgettable.

The first 30 minutes are dull.

There is a scene where Annie tells a lively story to Paul sitting at his typewriter. Between the acting, but more importantly the blocking and the editing, it presents as though an exaggerated wind up and delivery that is quite unnatural even for a psychopathic character like Annie.

There are of course areas that are due credit. The music is suspenseful and seamless with the action. Richard Farnsworth as Sheriff Buster and Frances Sternhagen as his wife and deputy Virginia are a delight.

This is the only critical review in this list, so hopefully it's helpful to the curious even if it rankles some fans.

She Just Craves His Company

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 7 November 2008]

I remember last year finally actually meeting my personal celebrity crush and it was great. But after autographs and pictures he went his way and I went mine. There's a line between being a fan and being a freak.

Which is a line that Kathy Bates erased with her Oscar winning performance in Misery. In her disturbed mind the chance of a lifetime came when author James Caan who writes Stephen King like novels comes to her town and she follows him out one winter night when he drove his car into a ditch.

I'm not sure that rescue is quite the word for what Bates does to Caan. She frees him from the wreck and brings him home and gives him needed medical aid as she is a trained nurse. But with two broken legs and a broken arm, Caan's pretty much at her mercy.

And then woe betide poor Caan when Bates discovers a draft of his latest work where he is killing off a favorite character. It's like Arthur Conan Doyle trying to kill off Sherlock Holmes and in fact he did try, but was forced by public outcry to bring him back.

But Caan's facing a most demanding public of one. He gets under her tutelage to rewrite his work. In the mean time the fact he's missing is of national news. It's like if John LeCarre or Nelson DeMille went missing. The car is found and sheriff Richard Farnsworth has his suspicions.

Which brings me to the only weakness of the story. I can't believe that he did not bring those suspicions with the evidence he had to the state police and eventually not have backup when he decides to act on his suspicions. He only confides in wife Frances Sternhagen and she's not much help.

Stephen King has written any number of novels with monsters and other worldly creatures, but this story is pretty horrific all by itself, especially when the only monster here is a human one.

Bates and Caan are great pair of antagonists. Misery is a great story about obsessed fans and what they can do.

Misery = 'Horror" + Comedy

[leland-tracy · 7/10 · 20 October 2007]

I am not a Steven King fan and have never particularly enjoyed his brand of "horror". And while I don't think this movie is as good as many of the other people who have commented, I do think it deserves some attention, especially for those like myself who appreciate the comic effect that some filmmakers bring the the horror genre. Even though Kathy Bates definitely portrays a very scary woman, this movie (unlike "The Shining" for example) is also supposed to be FUNNY. Cann's rolling eyes and his good-bad overacting when he is trying to appease Bates' deranged character is undeniably comic. Judging from how rare it is, it must be difficult to balance dramatic tension with doses of humor, and Rob Reiner has pulled it off with unusual grace. Unlike B grade horror movies which are so bad that some consider them funny, this movie makes people laugh on purpose, and in so doing, is a good specimen of a very particular genre - long live the 'Horror Comedy'!

Disappointing when compared to the book

[ogmonsterblood · 5/10 · 25 August 2021]

Well, I went into this movie after having read the book, and I can say that this movie doesn't even hold a candle to what the book is.... both objectively and subjectively.

This movie is a pretty straightforward, linear thriller. The book is so, so, SO much more than that with layers of depth to it and a much more coherent and gripping story.

However, I can appreciate this film for what it is. I think that if I had seen this movie prior to reading the book, or maybe even seen it when I was younger, I would have liked it much more than I do now. The acting in this movie is very solid, especially Kathy Bates' performance. James Caan did very well also, for what he had to work with.

Overall I don't think this is a bad movie at all... but I think most reviews on here giving this movie 8-10 star ratings are from people who haven't read the book... I will admit I didn't enjoy this movie that much for that reason alone. There are also many differences between the two, and I can't knock the movie too much for it considering I understand some of the challenges they faced in adapting it to the big screen.

One brief thing I wanted to mention, is I didn't like the soundtrack to this movie. I feel like a soundtrack can sometimes make or break a movie. While it doesn't go either way in this case, it closely leans towards the "break" side for me. The soundtrack is just too intrusive and hasn't aged well.

In summary this movie was okay and I can see why it's a cult classic. Had I watched this years ago before I ever read the book I probably would have liked it much, much more than I do now. As it is, I give this movie 5 / 10 stars. Not bad, but do yourself a favor and pick up the book. To simply say it's better is a wild understatement.