Misery

1990 "Paul Sheldon used to write for a living. Now, he’s writing to stay alive."
7.8| 1h47m| R| en| More Info
Released: 30 November 1990 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.

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Reviews

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype
Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!
Iseerphia All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
jessicamoyle Kathy Bates deserved that oscar, great film adaptation of Stephen King's book even if there were differences, I think they adjusted well.That bi-polar Annie Wilkes character was played realistically and amazingly by Kathy Bates, while James Caan's character is still more underplayed, he still managed to pull off a few of those most desperate moments.Supporting characters were good too, very chilling/disturbing moments mainly done by the psychological projection of those characters and scenes - hardly any physical visual scenes needed (apart from the one or two max of the infamous ones).
EBJ MISERY - 1990Directed by Rob ReinerStarring James Caan, Kathy Bates and Richard FarnsworthPlot Overview: After his car crashes on an icy day, renowned author, Paul Sheldon(James Caan) is picked up by sweet seeming Nurse, Annie Wilkes(Kathy Bates), whom all happens to be his number 1 fan. All is going well until Wilkes reads the end of the latest instalment of her favourite series and discovers her favourite character has met her end. In a psychotic twist, Wilkes turns against Sheldon and forces him to rewrite the story with a different ending.THIS is a good thriller. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire run time of this movie. I didn't even know I could bite that far down on my nails! It is a masterfully written, sensationally acted, expertly shot and edited masterpiece. It is truly exceptional. I cannot recommend this movie any more. Please see this wonderful movie.The plot of this movie is horrifying. King is known for his horror but what is more scary than being at the mercy of some psychotic nurse who is your only chance of survival and can end your life at any moment. You can't escape; you can't fight back; it's you and her and there is nothing you can do about it. THAT is a scary. That is a trademark of great horror. Sometimes a great horror/thriller doesn't need ghosts or an overabundance of gore. It just needs a terrifying idea and it is instantly effective.To say one minor issue I have in regards to the story, it is a little plot hole to do with the end. It makes, no logical sense and I would have liked some more explanation; just a throwaway line or two, explaining what happened. I understand the jist of it but I can't say what I would like explaining without spoiling the film and I will not do that because you need to see this film.Kathy Bates is equally hilarious and terrifying in this Oscar worthy portrayal of Annie Wilkes. She commands this movie and enjoys every, single second it it. It is truly a remarkable performance and 100% deserved the Oscar.A performance that goes under-looked in this film due to Bates' focus that I think is unjust is James Caan's excellent performance as Paul Sheldon. Obviously, Bates is the star of this film and gives the best performance but Caan gives an incredible performance as well. He has to act while acting and that will be a genuinely hard thing to make convincing.Richard Farnsworth is excellent as Buster(the sheriff). The back and fourth humour between him and his wife is perfect and really helps give you time to breathe amidst the intensity going on around you.Both the cinematography and editing in this movie are superb. They help give the film a tight focus and an eerie claustrophobic feel. It makes the film all the more terrifying. Both the costume and set design are excellent, also and give a sense of authenticity to the film.Overall, I absolutely adore this movie. It is a masterfully crafted thriller and I cannot recommend it any more. You have to see this movie without spoilers because it truly is terrifying. This movie is a masterpiece and thus I shall rate it 10 Sledgehammers out of 10.
Ross622 Rob Reiner once said after watching Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (1980) he was inspired to make a movie based on Stephen King's work, and four years after he directed "Stand by Me" (1986) he prepared himself for directing this movie by watching every single film by the legendary "Master of Suspense" himself Alfred Hitchcock. As the film opens we see a very famous novelist named Paul Sheldon (James Caan) drive his car in a snowstorm to his publishers' office to take a look at a novel in his "Misery" series that he had just finished but he never gets there because he's in a snowstorm and rolls down a hill covered in snow while still in his car, he then is bleeding with a bunch of cuts and broken bones on him. Sheldon is then dragged out of his car and rescued by his self-proclaimed #1 fan who is a licensed nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) who takes care of him and nurses him back to health. During the next few days Sheldon's agent Marcia Sindell (Lauren Bacall) is very suspicious as to where Paul Sheldon is and then tells the local sheriff (Richard Farnsworth) to help find Sheldon and get the book published. As the film progresses we see that Wilkes is getting crazier and more psychotic in every single scene she is in and holds Sheldon hostage while mistreating him because she didn't like the latest and unpublished addition to his series of "Misery" novels as well as going so far as to burn all of the pages and make him write another book just so she can like the revised edition that he is being forced to do, and Sheldon is doing anything he can possibly think of to stay alive. I won't spoil anything else beyond this point in the review because I feel that the scenes after the climax are way too important to spoil. Reiner and his screenwriter William Goldman are very effective with the suspenseful dialogue, and Reiner's frequent composer Marc Shaiman's score only heightens the suspense all they way to a Hitchcockian level. The performances from both Caan (who gives his best performance since "The Godfather" (1972)) and Bates (who won an Oscar for her performance, which was well-deserved, and the best performance of her career) are top notch, and Bates' portrayal of Wilkes is one of the best portrayals of a psychopath that I've ever seen, which is on par with Anthony Perkins in "Psycho" (1960), Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), Piper Laurie in "Carrie" (1976), Robin Williams in "Insomnia" (2002), Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (2008), Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" (1980), and Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds" (2009). It is movies like this that prove that Rob Reiner is a directorial chameleon because he can make a good movie out of anything that is given to him, for example a courtroom drama like "A Few Good Men" (1992), and a children's movie like "The Princess Bride" (1987). This isn't the best movie that I've seen based on Stephen King's work but it's pretty darn close to it.
Hitchcoc 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.