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| A small lodge deep in the forest by the snowy mountains is pictured on this evocative poster for Rob Reiner's Misery |
Paul Sheldon is the author behind a series of romance novels. Driving through a blizzard, he has an accident and wakes up in the house of Annie Wilkes, who is his #1 fan.
Misery is written by William Goldman (Chaplin (1992)), adapting the same-titled 1987 novel by Stephen King (Pet Sematary (1983)), and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally... (1989)) as his 6th theatrical feature.
It is a masterful adaptation based on a brilliant novel and screenplay and with terrific photography by Barry Sonnenfeld (Raising Arizona (1987)), who turned to directing directly after it, thus ending his career as a cinematographer.
James Caan's (The Throwaways (2015)) face is fantastic, when he tricks Wilkes in Misery, whom Kathy Bates (American Outlaws (2001)) portrays with eerie command. In supporting roles the ping-ponging between veterans Frances Sternhagen (Play of the Week (1959-61)) and Richard Farnsworth (Comes a Horseman (1978)) as husband and wife is delightful.
Misery has scenes of shock and fright, as it drags us with it, and in effect pacifies us along with Sheldon. SPOILER It has standout scenes that people remember, as when Wilkes burns Sheldon's new novel, and of course the scene in which she hobbles him with a sledgehammer.
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Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 61.2 mil. $ (North America only)
= Box office success (returned at least 3.06 times the cost)
[Misery premiered 29 November (Los Angeles) and runs 107 minutes. King was persuaded into selling Reiner the rights to his novel due to the quality of his previous King adaptation masterpiece Stand by Me (1986). Goldman wanted more of the gore and brutality of King's novel to stay in the script but later stated that Reiner was right in his dosage. At least 11 major stars were pursued unsuccessfully to portray Sheldon before Caan was contracted. Shooting took place in New York, California, including Los Angeles, and in Nevada from February - May 1990. The film opened #2, behind Home Alone, to a 10 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#5). The international numbers are not publicized, but Misery is likely to have crossed 80 mil. $, which would change its status to a 'big hit'. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. It was nominated for 1 Oscar for Best Actress, which Bates won, making Misery the first and to date only King adaptation to win an Oscar. It also won a Golden Globe and other honors. Reiner returned with A Few Good Men (1992). Bates returned in The Road to Mecca (1991), Caan in The Dark Backward (1991). Misery is certified fresh at 89 % with a 7.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Misery?
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