“I’m Your Number One Fan.”
I’ve never been super interested in most of what Stephen King has written or the movies based on his stories. The exception to that has always been Misery. Probably because it isn’t the supernatural horror story that he is most famous for. I finally watched it recently, and I enjoyed it.
Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is a bestselling novelist known for his insanely popular novels about a character named Misery. However, he’s been working on something new. As is his tradition, he’s gone to a secluded hotel in Colorado to finish the book. On his way back to civilization with his completed manuscript, he gets caught in a blizzard and has a bad accident.
It could have been fatal if he hadn’t been rescued by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Fortunately, she’s a nurse, so she can help him recover from his injuries until the roads are opened enough to get him to the hospital. And, she is a huge fan of his Misery books. You might say obsessive. Is Annie a help or not?
Yes, there are other characters in the movie, but for the majority of the run time, these two are the only ones on the screen. And it’s a testament to both of them that we never feel the need for more characters. Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her work here, and it is easy to see why. James Caan is just as spellbinding. While Kathy has to slowly let the crazy show, James has scenes by himself where his attempts to escape are riveting. And you can see what he is thinking as his character plays along with Annie. As I said, both of them are fantastic.
Likewise, much of the movie takes place in Paul’s bedroom in Annie’s house. That becomes appropriately claustrophobic for Paul and us, and it makes the time we spend outside it that much more impactful.
Of course, the script and the novel it was based on, tell a compelling story. Without the foundation of a good narrative, everything else would fall apart. There are several tense scenes that will have you glued to the screen, and the tension ramps up as the movie goes along. It is the reason a movie with limited characters and limited locations can work so well.
Having said all of this, this is an R rated movie. There are several disturbing scenes. Even a couple I knew were coming were pretty bad. And I watched this on TV, too. Keep that in mind before you decide to watch it.
But if you are looking for a phycological thriller, you can do much worse than Misery. No, this hasn’t changed my mind on more of Stephen King’s work, but I’m glad I watched this one.
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