1990 Directed by Rob Reiner
Novelist Paul Sheldon crashes his car on a snowy Colorado road. He is found by Annie Wilkes, the "number one fan" of Paul's heroine Misery Chastaine. Annie is also somewhat unstable, and Paul finds himself crippled, drugged and at her mercy.
Misery is the best book-to-screen adaptation of any of Stephen King's works. More than any other director, Rob Reiner knows intuitively how to translate King to a motion-picture format. Misery and Stand By Me are note-perfect, glowing from the inside with a warmth and and ease, frequently surpassing their source material by avoiding clunk or ham, brightening the tonal palette, and fully exploring the smaller territories of these tales with an eye for detail and a sense of pacing and rhythm which is effortless to follow and wholly organic in unspooling. There is a feeling of lightness and immediacy to Reiner's direction which is truly a delight to witness. Of the two, Misery stands out as a clear masterpiece. Honestly…
Placing two phenomenal actors (Kathy Bates and James Caan) at the helm of this psychological thriller pretty much guarantee's the success of the film!
I went in with high expectations and I was absolutely blown out of the water by their jaw dropping, earth shattering performances! Don't ya just love it when a film exceeds all of your expectations! This is has become my all time Favorite Stephen King film!
Kathy Bates deserved her Oscar for her role as Annie Wilkes, a psychopath whom takes stalking to new heights! Her portrayal was just a little too real for comfort! There is one particular scene that made me clench my teeth, if I bit down any harder they'd shatter!
James Caan was equally impressive in his role! The dynamic duo had a wonderful sick and twisted chemistry between them!
I saw this in the wee hours of the morning and my sphincter still hasn't unclenched!
If there is one thing King does like no other it is finding horror in the mundane. These stories are often my favourite and Misery certainly ranks among the best of them.
Misery is also a story that is easily transported to film because it is a very simple one and those are often very suitable for an adaptation. While it is easy to criticise this story's and subsequently the film's straightforward nature, I actually feel it is its strength.
This is a no frills, no holds barred, claustrophobic thriller that is submerged in a growing sense of unease that just won't ease off. It is amazing when looking at Reiner's filmography before this that he managed to pull this…
Misery's 107 minutes can almost be compared to a strong hand progressively gripping and tightening its clench around the audience's throat; each minute that passes gradually builds on the dire atmosphere and firmness of location so vigorously it's as if the squeeze of the film aims to strangle. It's a taut and tense experience that captures the essence of desperation and claustrophobia like few films have before it, restricting its location and cast with great success. Along with these two attributes, The resonating notion that radiates from Rob Reiner's Misery is the struggle for air and salvation that we find ourselves sharing with Paul Sheldon, who has become a prisoner of the benevolent but equally psychotic Annie Wilkes. Stephen King's…
Part of Hoop-Tober 2016
“I don’t know if anyone could ever totally get over something like that.”
It was the fall of 1995, and I was going ever so slightly insane.
As I have written before, my childhood was unconventional. This is itself not unusual—no one’s upbringing conforms precisely to the day’s dictates. But the particular brand of peculiarity toward which my parents’ choices bent was one of isolation and fear. We had no friends to speak of outside of my father’s family, to the point that contact with those not related by blood or marriage or providing a service function became almost nonexistent. The world was a terrifying place in which no one was to be trusted—strangers lurked around…
It's really impressive when a film based on a book you've already read manages to scare the living daylights out of you. Excellent performances from both leads and a surprising about of comedy.
Solid thriller. I'm not really familiar with King's production but with my experience this felt like it was not written in cocaine buzz. Reiner's directing is workmanlike and it works. It's entertaining but it didn't leave any marks on me.
This film excels at what every thriller needs to do, maintain tension and susepense throughout. Kathy Bates finds just the right level of over the top, without being cartoonish. It is no wonder she won the Oscar, but James Caan also gives one of his best performances. The editing and directing are masterful, but, again, the best aspect of this film is its intensity. I highly recommend Misery.
A great, tension filled plot paired with an extremely well fitting soundtrack. fantastically written and acted characters (Kathy Bates was brilliant). Some cool camerawork too. I'm it's number one fan.
This film was really good. It is very impressive how they kept the film so interesting and gripping when it was basically just filmed in one room with just a handful of characters throughout the whole thing. On the subject of characters, all of the acting was great and Kathy Bates was 10/10.
This film made me the more tense than any film ever has. My one critique would be that in one instance the tension lead up to nothing which was disappointing.
I know Misery the pig was meant to make Annie seem crazy but it just made me jealous, I want a pet pig.
It had been a while since I had seen this. The directing is good, and there are some moments that are actually pretty funny, played almost like a pair of mismatched roommates. But this is all about Bates, who is absolutely great.
One of the best Stephen King adaptations out there. Watching "Misery" made me want to read not only the book but so much more of King's work. This is just such a well made movie with strong direction from rob Reiner and fantastic performances from the leads. Kathy Bates is absolutely phenomenal in a role that could've gone south so fast but she makes the character of Annie Wilkes a terrifying and extremely menacing presence. James Caan also deserves much more recognition than I feel he gets, he's nearly as good as Bates. The film is just one that slowly builds in tension that goes absolutely nuts in the third act. Overall I loved "Misery" it gets a little slow at points but damn is it ever good. Most likely in the top 5 King adaptations that I've seen.
Ivica_Pusticki 1,001 films
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A list of Edgar Wright's favorite 1000 Movies per his list on Mubi on July 27th, 2016.
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