Movie review of Misery

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Horrorphile - April 2007

Misery

April 18th 2007 02:11

No doubt one of the most successful movie adaptations of a Stephen King novel, Misery (1990) garnered a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Kathy Bates’ performance as crazed Annie Wilkes, while behind the camera were many talented creatives; director Rob Reiner, screenwriter William Goldman, cinematographer Barry Sonnenfield and special makeup effects team KNB.

Stephen King was very close to this particular novel, as it captures some of his most personal feelings and experiences with the frustrations of being a successful novelist. Because he considered Misery to be one of the most autobiographical of his books at the time he didn’t clear it for optioning. However Rob Reiner approached him and after discussions King relented (no doubt making a tidy profit).

tap! tap! tap! ... gotta keep them words flowing!

One of Hollywood’s most respected screenwriters (and a novelist in his own right) William Goldman was brought on to adapt the novel, and he did a sterling job. Curiously, King very rarely ends up adapting his own novels (or his drafts are rejected by producers). Toning down some of the more graphic violence and the lengthy plot-within-plot devices of the novel Goldman created a superb melding of character dramatics, psychological thriller suspense, and a handful of classic horror moments.

Novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) has finally decided to kill off his most successful character Misery Chastaine. The last installment in the period romance series, Misery’s Child, is about to hit the stores. He’s also just finished the manuscript to a new unrelated novel he hopes will break the literary mold he’s found himself trapped in.

On his way driving to New York City to deliver the manuscript to his agent (Lauren Bacall), he crashes his car down a steep snowy slope. He’s rescued by Annie Wilkes and wakes to find himself bedridden with two badly broken legs. Annie announces she’s his number one fan and she’ll nurse him back to health while they wait until they can get him to a hospital (there’s a nasty blizzard outside). But we all know Murphy’s Law is lurking. If anything can go wrong, it will.

Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) and Paul share a celebratory dinner

Sheldon soon realizes he’s trapped in the home of an obsessed nutcase, and when Annie soon discovers what Sheldon has done to her favourite character in his latest Misery novel she loses the plot.

Misery operates like a kind of stage play, apart from a subplot involving the local Sheriff (the late great Richard Farnsworth) and his deputy wife closing in on the abduction crime, most of the action is confined to Annie’s large mountain home and is ultimately a two-hander between Sheldon and Annie. But between Goldman and Reiner, they keep the pace up, and with the visual expertise of Sonnenfield (whose last film it was as cinematographer), the mise-en-scene is trim and tasty. The movie’s last 15 minutes are brilliantly built up for maximum tension, Hitchcock would be proud.

The casting of Kathy Bates was right on the money. Very few actors have won major awards for playing evil people. The role of Sheldon was initially offered to most of the Hollywood heavyweights including Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, Al Pacino, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty. They all declined. Perhaps a blessing in disguise as James Caan does a great job.

WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS!

There are many superbly tense moments as Sheldon tries to escape, despite his appalling leg injuries (as an audience we grimace frequently), as Annie almost discovers him. There’s one of modern horrors great scenes of inflicted pain: when Annie prevents Sheldon from trying any further escapes with the use of a block of 4x2 and a sledgehammer (boy, that’s gotta hurt!!). In the novel it’s far more gruesome, and was apparently written into Goldman’s adaptation, but changed on set. It may be less gory, but it’s no less dramatic!

Here’s that scene for all you “hobbling” horrorphiles! Wince and relish!

As a writer myself I feel the anguish, the pain, the despair, the utter horror and contempt I would feel if I was forced to torch the only copy of a novel I had so painstakingly written (keep in mind Sheldon is old school in his approach to writing, he uses a typewriter, makes only one copy, carries it in an old leather satchel which carried his first novel. He’s superstitious and egocentric in a way I’m sure many, many writers are).

King would write another novel not long after dealing again with the trappings and excesses of being a successful novelist; The Dark Half. Like nearly all of King’s books it was adapted into a movie, but was far less successful in capturing the novel’s essence. You can read my comparative review of it here. But if you've never seen a Stephen King movie, Misery is a sensational place place to start the exquisite suffering.

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Comments

16 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by yoda76

April 18th 2007 05:07

The Tube Blog

Right on the money, Bryn. I think Misery, Carrie and Shawshank Redemption were the only King stories that made it to films worth watching. The rest are more than a little dodgy!

Comment by Bryn

April 18th 2007 05:22

Horrorphile

Ahhh, yes The Shawshank Redemption! (Which is in the imdb's top five movies of all time as voted by members) ... Carrie the novel is possibly my fave King novel, the movie is quite different, but still highly entertaining. Cronenberg's The Dead Zone captures some of the melancholic essence of the superb novel. And although Kubrick's The Shining bears significant changes from the novel it works in its own way (just as the movie of Brett Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero is by no stretch the novel, but captures a Hollywood state of mind and place that works, or maybe that was just cos I had a crush on Jami Gertz and still enjoy the work of Robert Downey Jr, and James Spader)

Comment by KylieW

April 18th 2007 05:43

Celebrity Obsession

God, I still can't watch that hobbling scene. I tried not to look away when she bought out that sledgehammer....but coudn't. I feel a little sick just thinking about it.

God Kathy Bates was wonderful in that film! She gives me the creeps as Annie.

Misery, Shawshank Redemption and Carrie are the only movie adaptations of Stephen King books that I really liked. The Shining is my favourite Stephen King book. That's the only book I've ever had to stop reading at night.....it was freaking me out. Didn't love the movie so much. The last half hour of it was great when Jack really cracked up. But the first hour and a half dragged a bit.

Great review!

Comment by David

April 18th 2007 06:54

Bryn ...

Brilliant as usual. I loved this review.

Re this:

William Goldman was brought on to adapt the novel, and he did a sterling job. Curiously, King very rarely ends up adapting his own novels (or his drafts are rejected by producers).

William Goldman is as good as screenwriters get.

Writers of novels are, in the main, not that good at adapting their own novels into screenplays ... They get too bogged down in the novel itself ...

They can't see the film for the novel ...

(Misery and The Shawshank Redeption [as films] say to me that it's for the best they were written by professional screenwriters and not the great novelist himself ...

Random thoughts as usual ...

David ...

Comment by Andrea

April 18th 2007 07:33

Diet and Health
V8 Supercar Pitstop

My favourite movie of all time is the Shawshank Redemption. Partly because of the great acting and brilliant story but also because it is so true to the novel. I honestly don't like movie adaptations that are significantly different to the book they are supposed to be based on.

That aside I loved Misery when I first saw it (many years ago). And loved the book when I first read it (also many years ago). And I'm with Kylie with regards to the hobbling scene ... totally gross but exceptionally filmed.

Great review, Bryn. I almost want to go out and grab a copy of the movie and watch it again!!
A.

Comment by Bryn

April 18th 2007 08:54

Horrorphile

Superb comments everyone, thanks for the love!

Seems its a general consensus that Shawshank is considered the finest King adaptation, probably because, as mentioned, it follows the novella so faithfully in tone and mood. Obviously it's not at horror, despite the horrors of prison life, so I won't ever discuss it indepth on my blog.

It would've been impossible to capture the narrative in which Carrie the novel was written (excerpts from police transcripts, newspaper clippings and survivor's accounts, etc), but De Palma did a pretty good job on creating a palpable level of horror and suspense with classic high school shenanigans.

I just wish George Romero and Stephen King's collaboration on filming The Stand many years ago had actually come to fruition ...

Kubrick rejected King's own screenplay of The Shining, 'twould be curious to read what King had done with it ...

David, love your random thoughts, cheers mate! You're damn straight about novelists not seeing the film for the novel .... as much as we'd like them to script their own work sometimes ie Patrick Suskind ...

Comment by Damo

April 18th 2007 10:18

For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics

I must say that I have a love hate relationship with King.
I have watched some films and loved them, watched others and said seen it done better. After reading Cujo I was convinced that I should never read his books again.

However the film wasn't all bad.
Carrie was a lot of fun and Shawshank was terrific.
I have heard a lot about this film but haven't see it yet.
May give it a try when the kids are out.

Comment by yoda76

April 18th 2007 12:03

The Tube Blog

I just wish George Romero and Stephen King's collaboration on filming The Stand many years ago had actually come to fruition ...

Whoa! That would have been very interesting...

Surely better than the dodgy TV mini-series version... ugh!

Comment by Candice

April 18th 2007 12:39

Hi Bryn,

I thought Misery was one of the better made of Stephen King's books too. Kathy Bates was definitely a great pick for the movie. I still think though, as with a lot of film adaptations, that it missed a lot that the book had to offer in terms of character development. But the suspense was definitely up there and had me sitting with sweaty palms when I saw it - even though I'd already read the book. Great review and interesting to hear the background about the making of the film too!

Comment by Bryn

April 19th 2007 00:38

Horrorphile

yoda ... apparently The Stand screenplay was originally around four hours long, then three hours, then King and Romero tried condensing further still, but the financing fell through ...

Hi Candice, yeah, all novels lose character development when adapted to the big screen, it's the nature of the beast. One of my favourite two King books for character development is Christine and The Dead Zone.

Comment by Cibbuano

April 19th 2007 01:53

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Misery was one of the big movies from my middle-school days, I seem to remember. The hobbling scene made it a 'must-see' for all the kids. We couldn't understand violence like that.

Kathy Bates- superb. Wasn't she in another Stephen King adaptation... about Satan moving into a small town and buying the souls of everyone in town?

Comment by Bryn

April 19th 2007 03:21

Horrorphile

Hey Cibby, yeah, how brilliant is the sfx of a fake foot filled with jelly being snapped back like that from a hammer hit (go KNB!), and edited for maximum impact! You don't need to see the second one, the image of the first one combined with the sound of the second is perfect!
The other King movie Kathy Bates was actually Dolores Claiborne. She also acted in the mini-series of The Stand, but uncredited.

Comment by Candice

April 19th 2007 23:40

Definitely agree, and Dead Zone is one of my King favs. I loved the whole concept. I also liked Firestarter for character development - and I didn't think the film version of it was too bad either!

Comment by Bryn

April 20th 2007 01:19

Horrorphile

Yes, Firestarter with The Shop. A sad story that one. Like The Dead Zone, which I found to be the saddest King story.

Comment by JohnDoe

April 20th 2007 01:28

Film & TV on DVD

Hi Bryn, I must be the only one....
I loved the book, but found the film Misery a little disappointing...its not that its a bad movie, just didnt feel like it followed through , even the hobbling scene didnt have the impact it should have for me.
(Bearing in mind I seem to be the only one who though Shawshank Redemption was a generic fluff piece)

Still love watching Jimmie Caan in anything and Kathy Bates is brilliant in her part too.

Give me Carrie, The Shining, The Dead Zone, Needful Things, Thinner, Christine and Stand By Me as top King Adapatationsadaptations

Comment by Bryn

April 20th 2007 05:16

Horrorphile

JD, Needful Things good huh? Haven't seen it ... I loved Thinner the novel ... Robert Burke in the movie right? I like him. I need to see Christine again, one of my fave King novels, and Carpenter did the movie, I remember it being only so-so ...

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