New contributor to VB, Jonathan Dodd, will not only be sharing book reviews with VB readers, but also his thoughts on films and general musings. His review of Misery has made us want to watch it again. Ed
My wife couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen Misery. I’m a huge fan of Stephen King, for his writing and his extraordinary output.
We’ve had the DVD for ages, and we never got round to it until recently. Having seen it now, I can’t believe it took me so long either. It’s a fantastic film.
Character driven
One of King’s specialities lies in his ability to pare down a story so that it concentrates solely on the main characters and the situation they find themselves in.
He imagines his characters so fully, and gives each of them such a clear voice that we live the story with them and the outside world falls away while we read, spellbound. The best film versions of King’s books retain this quality, like the immortal Shawshank Redemption and the Shining, and Misery is one of these.
“I’m your number one fan!”
The story is simple in the extreme. Paul Sheldon, the writer of a series of extremely popular books whose heroine is called Misery Chastain, has finally killed her off. His car crashes in a snowstorm in Colorado and is rescued by Annie Wilkes, whose first words are – “I’m your number one fan!”
His legs are broken and she nurses him in her house, saying they are cut off from the world outside. She turns out to be much more than just a fan.
Director Rob Reiner made some very good choices from the start. William Goldman, the doyen of screenwriters, was engaged. Kathy Bates, who was previously only known as a stage actress, was perfect as Annie, and James Caan played Paul Sheldon, immobilised throughout with two broken legs.
Nail-biting tension
Practically the whole film takes place in the ground floor of Annie’s house, surrounded by snow, with Paul completely at Annie’s mercy as he progressively realises just how unhinged she is.
There is nail-biting tension and scenes where I had to cover my eyes. It’s reminiscent of Hitchcock at his best, particularly Rear Window.
Reiner had never made a thriller film before, and this one had me on the edge of my seat all through. It’s a classic. Don’t wait years like I did before seeing it.
