“Misery” Review
In every celebrities worst nightmare, author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is held hostage by his biggest fan Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) in “Misery,” a film commonly cited as one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.
Along with being one of my favorite authors, the work of Stephen King has translated into many incredible films whether it’s inspiring dramas like “The Shawshank Redemption” or “Stand by Me,” terrifying classics like “Pet Sematary” or “Carrie” or even ridiculous “so bad they’re good” films like “Sleepwalkers” or “Maximum Overdrive.” However, when it comes to my absolute favorite film based on King’s work, you can’t go wrong with the film adaptation of his classic novel: “Misery.”
Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is an author whose novels, centered on the character Misery Chastain, are massive best-sellers. Fed up with the lack of creative freedom that’s come from writing those novels, Sheldon has closed the door on Misery by killing her off and ending the series. After completing his latest book (his first to not involve Misery Chastain), Sheldon gets caught up in a snowstorm and gets in a nasty car wreck which leaves him with broken legs. Fortunately, Sheldon is saved from freezing to death by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a local nurse who just happens to be the biggest fan of the Misery novels. After taking Sheldon back to her home, setting his bones and keeping him in good health, all seems well until she reads the last Misery novel. Realizing that her beloved author has killed her favorite character, Annie is revealed to be a psychotic monster who has Sheldon at her mercy. With no other option, Sheldon is forced to write a new Misery novel to satisfy his “number one fan” while trying to find a way to get out of her remote Colorado farmhouse alive.
What makes “Misery,” both the novel and the film, so interesting is how realistic it is. Unlike his more supernatural work, like “The Shining” or “Salem’s Lot,” the monster of this story is an ordinary person who has allowed a work of fiction to take priority over reality. It doesn’t take much intellect to realize just how personal this story is to King. After all, this scenario is essentially the nightmare of every successful author and certainly the most terrifying thought of any celebrity: to be held hostage by a psychotic fan who is forcing you to use your craft to make something you don’t want to make.
When King wrote “Misery,” he created the story to reflect the negative response people had to “The Eyes of the Dragon,” a fantasy novel that sharply deviated from horror. In the midst of his addiction to substances throughout the 70s and 80s, King also used Annie Wilkes as a metaphor for cocaine. However, when watching the film with modern sensibilities, I think that King was ahead of his time with this story because of how well he predicted the toxicity of fan-bases on the internet. With authors, actors, filmmakers and even franchises like “Star Wars” and The Marvel Cinematic Universe being subjected to mindless hatred from people online, it’s clear that there’s more people like Annie Wilkes than we’d like to think. Admit it, when “The Last Jedi” came out, couldn’t you just picture some whiny “Star Wars” fanboy keeping Rian Johnson hostage until he rewrote the movie?
It’s no secret that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has an unnecessary prejudice towards horror. Come Oscar season, it’s unlikely that you’ll see any of your favorite horror films, no matter how well crafted, being nominated for any kind of recognition. This makes the Oscar “Misery” earned all the more impressive with Kathy Bates winning the award for Best Actress. Her performance is incredible not only because of how terrifying she is but also how seamless she can go from being so sweet to psychotic at a moment’s notice. Bates was perfect for this role because, even after you know what Annie truly is, she can still sell being wholesome and kind. However, you know that if Paul says or does the wrong thing, then she will become this raging storm of anger.
I think this shot of Annie shaving Paul with a straight-razor perfectly sums up the relationship with an innocent scenario having such deadly potential. All it takes is just one wrong thing to set Annie off.
Despite looking like Kathy Bates, who I’m sure is just the biggest sweetheart in real life, Annie is such an imposing threat to Paul Sheldon. Not only because he’s infirmed and his life is in her hands, but she’s so obsessed with him that she knows a lot of personal information, making it difficult for Paul to outsmart her. After reading the copy of his latest novel, a story about slum kids, Annie is so taken aback by the swearing that, before she makes Paul write a new Misery novel, she has him burn his book. When Paul tries to avoid it by telling her that there are other copies, Annie reminds Paul that she saw a television interview where he said that he never makes a spare copy of his latest manuscript out of superstition. Ultimately, having Annie be in love with Paul might be the most disturbing element of the story. After all, having someone torture you because they hate you is much more understandable and logical than having someone do it out of love.
As for James Caan, his performance deserves just as much praise and, in my opinion, should have gotten him an Oscar nomination as well. In “Misery,” Caan has a lot to deal with because, while he’s confined to a bed and wheelchair for most of the film, he still captivates with brilliant facial expressions and a layered performance as a man trying to cling to sanity. Throughout the film, Paul has to keep up this grateful persona to his “guardian angel” even though it’s clear he wants to bash in her head with the nearest blunt object he can find. His intelligence is only hindered by his physical condition which means that, throughout the film, he and Annie are on level footing. Although, I can’t believe that, when he saw that Annie had bought the most recent Misery novel, it never occurred to him that she might be pissed that he killed her off.
While the majority of the film takes place in Annie’s home, “Misery” also features a subplot of the local sheriff Buster (Richard Farnsworth) and his wife/deputy Virigina (Frances Sternhagen) looking for Paul with Buster convinced the author is alive, even after Sheldon’s wrecked Mustang is found. This limited supporting cast is excellent with Farnsworth and Sternhagen bringing this humorous levity to the film. When “Misery” cuts away from Paul’s predicament to Buster’s investigation, it never feels like a detour. Even the great Lauren Bacall makes an appearance as Paul’s agent Marcia and she’s phenomenal with her limited screen time, with the conversations between Marcia and Paul driving the theme of an author choosing between pleasing an audience and pleasing themselves.
In the 80s and 90s, one of the biggest American directors was Rob Reiner whose successful string of films is unbelievable. With numerous classics like “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride” and “When Harry Met Sally…” already under his belt, Reiner continued to impress with his incredible take on horror. Like Brian De Palma did with many of his films, including another adaptation of a Stephen King novel in “Carrie,” Reiner takes a Hitchcockian approach to directing with such tight shots and a real knack for suspense. This is especially evident when Paul manages to pick the lock to his room and is able to move about the house in his wheelchair. However, he has to make it into his room before Annie comes home with the suspense rivaling films like “Strangers on a Train” or “North by Northwest.”
Along with Buster and Virginia’s (Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen) investigation into Paul’s disappearance, “Misery” makes good use out of its small cast by crafting such an intimately suspenseful thriller.
Before he became an acclaimed director of films like the “Men in Black” trilogy, “Get Shorty” and the 90s “Addams Family” films, Barry Sonnenfeld was an incredible cinematographer with credits including “Blood Simple,” “Raising Arizona” and “Big.” In “Misery,” his final film as a director of photography, Sonnenfeld captures the winter atmosphere of Colorado so well. You feel the cold of this environment and it can make scenes either comforting or full of icy terror. Combine such impressive footage with brilliant acting, Reiner’s direction and tight editing by Robert Leighton, “Misery” should be looked at as a masterclass in how to use film to elicit suspense.
While King’s novel is a classic and gave the film such a strong foundation, its adaption by screenwriter William Goldman is one of the strongest scripts he ever wrote which is saying something considering his other credits include “All The President’s Men,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Princess Bride.” Of course, there’s biting dialogue, like when Annie rants about the film serials she watched as a girl to show Paul why he has to write this new Misery novel without “cheating,” but Goldman also includes such marvelous images to visually tell the story. This is especially apparent when Paul finds a twisted memory book of Annie’s which reveals her chilling past which included her standing trial for allegedly being responsible for several deaths of babies when she was the head of a maternity ward. I love how Goldman doesn’t give away too much concerning Annie’s backstory but he does imply that she’s not only committed infanticide but she also might be responsible for the death of her father, a top nursing student and her comatose boss.
Goldman also injects a lot of dark humor into his script, making “Misery” so entertaining. While most people go into “Misery” expecting a twisted thriller, a first time viewer might be surprised by just how many funny moments there are in this film. I always get a laugh when Paul, who is being forced to write a book he doesn’t want to write inside the home of a crazy woman while he has broken legs, doesn’t know what to write so he just types the word “fuck” over and over. I think what makes it so funny is just how you know that’s the only word that’s on his mind day in and day out but he can’t give into anger. So, all he can do is type “fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.” Honestly, if you’re suffering from writer’s block, you should try writing a string of obscenities. I can’t promise that you’ll know what to write but you’ll feel a bit better.
When the film does need to be scary, it delivers. This is most apparent in the famous “hobbling” scene with Goldman changing King’s original vision effectively. In the original book, King had Annie sever one of Paul’s feet with an ax when she discovers that he has been sneaking out of his room. In the film, Annie breaks both of Paul’s ankles using a sledgehammer. As terrifying as King’s original version would have been to see in the film, it also would have been pretty difficult to have James Caan wear a prosthetic to make us believe that one of his feet was missing. Nowadays, the filmmakers would use CGI to take away the foot just like the technology was used to remove Gary Sinise’s legs in “Forrest Gump.”
However, not only is Goldman’s change more practical but I think having Annie break his ankles with a sledgehammer is even more effective. There’s something more real about this method and the editing by Robert Leighton is brilliant with the hammer’s impact only being briefly shown before cutting to Caan screaming in agony. Those few frames of hammer hitting ankle are all you need to make the audience cringe in their seats.
With such torture being inflicted on Sheldon, you become as desperate as him to get the hell away from this crazy woman and give her her comeuppance. This all leads into one of the most satisfying endings I can possibly think of with the climax of “Misery” being proof that revenge is not always best served cold. Sometimes it’s best when it’s doused in lighter fluid and set ablaze. After Buster discovers Paul at Annie’s house, Annie blows him away with both barrels of a shotgun and is determined to kill herself and Paul in the ultimate romantic gesture.
However, in her heightened state and after being in that house for weeks, Paul has figured out how to manipulate Annie by telling her that he loves her and begging her to let him finish the book that will bring Misery back into the world. After completing the novel, Paul insists on his usual accoutrement (a single cigarette, a match and a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne) and uses this to light the book on fire with Annie never knowing the ultimate fate of her beloved Misery. While the fight between them is brutal with Paul being shot in the shoulder, Annie being hit over the head with typewriter and ultimately being killed by a metal doorstop (shaped like a pig in clear reference to her beloved sow that she named Misery), the film’s other elements of suspense and humor are in full swing. Despite being a tense finale, I do crack up when, after burning the Misery book in front of Annie and hitting her with the typewriter, he takes the ashes and shoves them in her face telling her to “eat it you sick, twisted fuck!”
While the ending of “Misery” seems pretty happy, with Paul surviving the whole affair, the film’s epilogue does show the evil of Annie didn’t die with her. Eighteen months later, Paul seems to be in good spirits, despite having to walk with a cane and a limp as a result of his kidnapping, with his upcoming novel a guaranteed bestweller with critics giving it rave reviews. While having lunch with Marcia, she suggests a possible memoir about being in that house with Annie and Paul dismisses it saying that he will probably never be completely over the whole experience and he doesn't want to dredge it up to make money. He also continues to see Annie sometimes which is brought up in an unsettling manner where Paul, at first, sees Annie coming towards him with a knife only for it to be a sweet waitress who is serving cake and tells Paul she’s his number one fan. While Paul doesn’t freak out and actually says “that’s very sweet of you,” it’s clear that those scars will always be a part of him.
Perhaps this is why “Misery” is not only one of my favorite Stephen King stories but also one of my favorite adaptations of his work. If you ascribe to King’s metaphor, with Annie being a stand-in for cocaine and alcohol, then you’ll see that even though Annie is dead, that pain is never going to go away. While King has been sober ever since the late 1980s and has continued to write great novels like “Doctor Sleep,” “Gerald’s Game” and “11/22/63,” he will never stop being an addict. It’s not something that goes away. Instead, King must move forward with sobriety one day at a time and find the joy in his craft just like his fictional counterpart. “Misery” may be a work of fiction but, for anyone who experiences fame for their creative gifts, it’s a story that is quite scary because it feels all too real.
