Misery is about Paul Sheldon (James Caan) a well known writer who has gotten into a car accident. He is then rescued by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). But problems arise when she finds out he has killed off her favourite character (Misery) she becomes obsessed with Misery being brought back to life. And holds Paul hostage until he finishes the book 'Misery's return.'
In my opinion the movie isn't as good as it's hype lead me to believe. But strong performances , great direction by Rob Reiner and brilliant cinematography carry us over the lesser parts of the story. The close ups of faces reminded me of old films, almost reminiscent of Hitchcock's work in his 1940s suspense thrillers. The use of close ups amplified the feeling of isolation that Paul feels and they bring us up close to Annie Wilkes' off-putting cheeriness and then to her complete madness. The movie is even funny in parts which is one advantage it has over the book.
I noticed that the movie developed some secondary characters (namely the Sheriff -Buster played by the late Richard Farnsworth) more than the book. And yet sometimes it is hard to see the motivation of the characters, which is okay with Annie because she is crazy anyway but with Paul and Buster you have to wonder 'why?'
But i don't want to nitpick as i may spoil parts for you. I maybe wrong about it anyway. The ultimate downfall of the film is that there isn't as much detail as what was given in the book, we don't see as much development in Paul and Annie which is something that i didn't really like. But again, i could be wrong.
The movie would be nothing without Kathy Bates though. No-one could play Annie Wilkes except her. Bates brilliantly captured the unhinged mind of Annie, playing her unnervingly joyous moments as though Annie were a child who was just told she could have as much ice cream as she liked. That's almost what Annie Wilkes was- a child. She had the imagination of a child, she threw tempers like a child and when she didn't get her way she wrecked things. A childish personality trapped in the body of a grown woman with a psychotic mind.
But, perhaps more unsettling about Annie is the simple scene where she watches TV in her bed while eating Cheetos like any normal person.
Misery succeeded in believability, both in performances and in writing. But the occasionally under explained plot points annoyed me because i have a good memory of the book. However these points may have been left vague intentionally which, when i think about it, added some extra thrill to it. Strangely enough, any of the flaws this movie had enhanced the unease it gave, which makes me think that if it had been (excuse the pun) by the book it may not have been as great. However the sub plot with Buster and his investigation took us out of the confinement of the house, lessening the tension. (SPOILER) Busters death (i don't think he was called Buster i the book but that doesn't matter) was better handled though, much more realistic and shocking. It's a less is more sort of thing.
The hobbling scene was more gruesome in the book but in the movie it is dealt with well (albeit it was altered slightly) and what is perhaps more interesting is we don't get to see his feet, it is all left to our imagination, and why? Because imagination is a deadly weapon. If Paul Sheldon had had no imagination he wouldn't be in this nightmare in the first place. If we had no imagination, Misery wouldn't be half as scary.
"Did i do good?" Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) Misery
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