Misery [M]

To the disappointment of dozens of fans, Misery Chastain has died. In his final book in the Misery series, Paul Sheldon has killed her. To Paul, Misery’s death is an opportunity for him to do some real writing, but for Annie Wilkes, Paul’s Number One Fan, it’s a travesty: murder. And then there’s a car accident. Annie pulls the unconscious Paul out of the wreck, splints his mangled legs, and nurses him back to health. When Annie discovers what Paul has done to Misery, she doesn’t like it… not one bit. Paul used to write for a living, now, in the remote mountain home of Annie Wilkes, he’s writing to stay alive. 

Having literally just finished reading the book this morning, I simply could not wait to grab a copy of the film and see how Rob Reiner would put it on screen. Straight off, I have to admit that, in comparison to the book, Misery is actually rather tame: thrilling and sinfully gory to be sure, but still tame. I suppose they really had to do some serious tweaking in order to make the film M rated. I still really liked it though. 

To the disappointment of dozens of fans, Misery Chastain has died. In his final book in the Misery series, writer Paul Sheldon has killed her. To Paul, Misery’s death is an opportunity for him to do some real writing, but to Annie Wilkes, Paul’s violently psychotic Number One Fan, it’s a travesty: murder. And then there’s a car accident. Annie pulls the unconscious Paul out of the wreck, splints his broken and mangled legs, and nurses him back to health. And when Annie discovers what Paul has done to Misery, she doesn’t like it… not one bit. Paul used to write for a living, now, in the remote mountain home of Annie Wilkes, he’s writing to stay alive. 

I have always said that it’s a better idea to read the book before watching the film, mainly for the reason that the written word can be interpreted how you the reader want. When seeing a book made into a film, the audience sees the interpretation of the director and screenwriters and sometimes (we have to keep in mind that directors also have limitations that usually come in the form of ratings) the interpretation depicted on the screen does not match the one that the reader has imagined. I think Reiner did a very good job, considering the film had to be brought to an M rating. 

The violence and gore that enriched the book was tamed and toned down, which was good because the book gave me nightmares so you can imagine what the film would have done. 

The darkness and thrilling part of the story is still kept alive through the stunning performance of Kathy Bates, who plays Annie. Sugary sweet and maternal for some of the film, despairingly gloomy and macabre for another part of the film, and then finally blindingly aggressive and violent and murderous for the remainder of the film, Kathy delivered a stunning performance that blew me away. I have to admit that, reading the book, it felt that Stephen King had Kathy in mind when her created the character of Annie. 

Starring James Caan, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, and Lauren Bacall, Misery is a great thriller that was filled with novels, violence, comedy, drama, suspense, murder, and madness. Not as thrilling generally genius as the book, but it’s still a film that I could not look away from.