With most of the action set in one room and involving only two people, this tense psychological thriller is more like a stage-play than a movie. Fortunately, this style of presentation works well in establishing the claustrophobic atmosphere and sense of unease that prevails throughout this tale of an unfortunate man who, through no fault of his own, is held captive by a psychotic woman. The physical pain and mental torment that he suffers is dreadful and the journey that he makes through his personal nightmare is both harrowing and compelling to watch.
Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is a highly successful writer whose numerous romantic novels featuring his heroine, Misery Chastain, have all been best-sellers. Having grown tired of writing this type of material, he'd recently been working on his first serious novel and on completing his manuscript, sets out from Silver Creek Lodge in Colorado and drives down a mountain road in a snowstorm to deliver his work to his agent. As the conditions worsen and the road becomes more slippery, he loses control of his car which rolls down a bank and into a snowdrift where he ends up unconscious with two broken legs, a dislocated shoulder and numerous other injuries.
Local Woman Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) discovers the wreckage and pulls Paul out of the vehicle before taking him to her isolated home where she starts to nurse him back to health. When he regains consciousness, Paul is grateful for what Annie's done and soon learns that she's a trained nurse and a devoted fan who feels privileged to have him staying at her home. She tells him that because of the storm, the roads are closed and the telephones are out of action, so she's unable to inform anyone immediately of his whereabouts. Annie's obviously a lonely person and acts rather coyly and politely at this stage.
After reading Paul's just-completed manuscript, she changes radically, becomes very angry and expresses her strong disgust at the amount of swearing it contains. A little later, when she also reads his newly-released Misery Chastain novel, she becomes outraged when she discovers that he's killed off her favourite character (Misery) and feels betrayed by him. She uses her dominance over him to make him burn his new manuscript and write a new novel in which Misery is brought back to life. As her behaviour continues to become increasingly violent and unhinged, Paul tries to go along with what she wants as far as possible whilst also trying to devise a way of escaping his hellish ordeal.
Annie Wilkes is a highly eccentric character who's initially very ingratiating but later becomes completely deranged and horribly violent. With her pet pig (called Misery), her love of Liberace's recordings and an obsessive need to control Paul, the scope for any actress who portrays her is obviously enormous. Kathy Bates, in her Oscar-winning performance, does an amazing job of bringing this complex woman to life and James Caan, whose character is so helpless and physically constrained throughout, skilfully overcomes these limitations to make Paul a very sympathetic victim. Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen add some light relief as the local sheriff and his wife and Lauren Bacall is also excellent in her cameo role as Paul's agent.
The way in which the action unfolds on-screen is vital to the success of this movie and director Rob Reiner's brilliant pacing plays a big part in building up the mood and tension so effectively. There are some shocking moments such as the shooting of one of the story's minor characters and the infamous "sledgehammer scene" but more surprisingly, maybe, there's also a certain amount of humour to enjoy.
Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is a highly successful writer whose numerous romantic novels featuring his heroine, Misery Chastain, have all been best-sellers. Having grown tired of writing this type of material, he'd recently been working on his first serious novel and on completing his manuscript, sets out from Silver Creek Lodge in Colorado and drives down a mountain road in a snowstorm to deliver his work to his agent. As the conditions worsen and the road becomes more slippery, he loses control of his car which rolls down a bank and into a snowdrift where he ends up unconscious with two broken legs, a dislocated shoulder and numerous other injuries.
Local Woman Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) discovers the wreckage and pulls Paul out of the vehicle before taking him to her isolated home where she starts to nurse him back to health. When he regains consciousness, Paul is grateful for what Annie's done and soon learns that she's a trained nurse and a devoted fan who feels privileged to have him staying at her home. She tells him that because of the storm, the roads are closed and the telephones are out of action, so she's unable to inform anyone immediately of his whereabouts. Annie's obviously a lonely person and acts rather coyly and politely at this stage.
After reading Paul's just-completed manuscript, she changes radically, becomes very angry and expresses her strong disgust at the amount of swearing it contains. A little later, when she also reads his newly-released Misery Chastain novel, she becomes outraged when she discovers that he's killed off her favourite character (Misery) and feels betrayed by him. She uses her dominance over him to make him burn his new manuscript and write a new novel in which Misery is brought back to life. As her behaviour continues to become increasingly violent and unhinged, Paul tries to go along with what she wants as far as possible whilst also trying to devise a way of escaping his hellish ordeal.
Annie Wilkes is a highly eccentric character who's initially very ingratiating but later becomes completely deranged and horribly violent. With her pet pig (called Misery), her love of Liberace's recordings and an obsessive need to control Paul, the scope for any actress who portrays her is obviously enormous. Kathy Bates, in her Oscar-winning performance, does an amazing job of bringing this complex woman to life and James Caan, whose character is so helpless and physically constrained throughout, skilfully overcomes these limitations to make Paul a very sympathetic victim. Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen add some light relief as the local sheriff and his wife and Lauren Bacall is also excellent in her cameo role as Paul's agent.
The way in which the action unfolds on-screen is vital to the success of this movie and director Rob Reiner's brilliant pacing plays a big part in building up the mood and tension so effectively. There are some shocking moments such as the shooting of one of the story's minor characters and the infamous "sledgehammer scene" but more surprisingly, maybe, there's also a certain amount of humour to enjoy.