the audience applauded

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

One of the best adaptations of a Stephen King's novel, Misery is a tense, taut & thrilling example of its genre that puts up a terrifying portrait of fandom gone a tad too extreme. Persistently looming with a sense of dread and uplifted by terrific performances, it's a manifestation of every celeb's worst nightmare.The story of Misery concerns the author of a best-selling novel series who crashes his car during a blizzard and is rescued by a former nurse who considers herself to be his number one fan. But things soon take a turn for the worse when she reads his latest novel and discovers the ultimate fate of her favourite character.Directed by Rob Reiner (best known for Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally... & A Few Good Men), Misery is a filmmaking lesson in gradually escalating terror as Reiner slowly & steadily ratchets up the tension and unfolds the plot with such effectiveness that neither its disquieting chill nor the viewers' interest is ever lost.Reiner's direction exhibits both confidence & composure but William Goldman's screenplay is just as impressive, for every scene builds up on the one preceding it plus it's able to carve moments of pure horror without relying on jump scares or any other cheap tricks. Humour is sprinkled throughout but it doesn't lessen the film's foreboding tone.The minimal setting & isolated location provide just the right environment for its plot to unfurl. Camerawork is smooth throughout, capturing each & every event or expression in a clear-cut fashion while also making use of angles that deliver the maximum impact. Editing is expertly carried out and makes sure that every scene in the final print is relevant to the plot.Coming to the performances, both James Caan & Kathy Bates are outstanding in their given roles. Caan plays an author who, following his accident, finds himself at the mercy of his dangerously disturbed caretaker. It's a physically exhausting work but the veteran actor pulls it off with finesse. However, Bates is even better as the psychotic fan, and easily steals the show with her twisted & downright deranged showcase that's inarguably her career-best performance.On an overall scale, Misery turned out to be way better & far more involving than I initially expected it to be, and is undoubtedly one of Rob Reiner's best directorial efforts. What drives this movie is the protagonist's endless attempts to outwit his abuser, and it's riveting to watch how those events play out. Functioning on more than one level, Misery is an unnerving & unsettling delight that delivers the thrills in heavy doses and still hasn't aged a day. Highly recommended.

Kathy Bates deserved that oscar, great film adaptation of Stephen King's book even if there were differences, I think they adjusted well.That bi-polar Annie Wilkes character was played realistically and amazingly by Kathy Bates, while James Caan's character is still more underplayed, he still managed to pull off a few of those most desperate moments.Supporting characters were good too, very chilling/disturbing moments mainly done by the psychological projection of those characters and scenes - hardly any physical visual scenes needed (apart from the one or two max of the infamous ones).

A famous writer (played by James Caan) gets into an accident while driving through a blizzard and is rescued by his "number one fan" (chillingly played by Kathy Bates). With an injured shoulder and badly broken legs, Caan is bedridden and is cared for by Bates, who at first comes off as a guardian angel; but as time passes, she proves herself to be quite the opposite. Caan utilizes all the imagination of a brilliant writer to find an escape, but it may not be enough to counter Bates' devious mind.My most memorable, movie moment of "Misery" was the "hobbling" scene. No matter how many times I've seen it, it still makes me cringe.Rob Reiner does a good job of directing this Stephen King story. All the elements of a good suspense tale is here, and Bates' performance takes this movie to a higher level of quality.Mannysmemorablemoviemoments

Having director Rob Reiner bring the classic Stephen King novel to life on the screen was actually a good thing back in 1990, because "Misery" turned out to be a rather good movie and a movie that packed a punch - pardon the pun.Of course, I would recommend that you read the book, as there are so many more details and things to be experienced there, and you get to put your own faces on the characters. But I must say that this movie version of the novella is rather outstanding, and that is because of a combination of the story, the directors work and the acting performances of primarily Kathy Bates and James Caan.The story told in "Misery" is a story that should appeal to just about everyone, I think. It is a story of obsession, isolation and desperation. I enjoy the story and have watched the movie a bunch of times over the years, and the movie keeps being just as entertaining as the first time I watched it.I think that having chosen both Kathy Bates and James Caan as the lead roles of Annie Wilkes and Paul Sheldon respectively was quite good, because they are quite capable performers and they did great jobs in "Misery". And there is a great chemistry between the two on the screen, which worked well in favor of the movie and storyline. In all honesty, then "Misery" was truly Kathy Bates' movie, because she far outshone James Caan with her performance.The gradual revealing of the level of obsession and lengths that Annie Wilkes was willing to go to was so nicely constructed in this movie, and director Rob Reiner managed to put that on the screen quite well. And the scenes that involved violence were quite expertly choreographed and captured on the screen, and it felt like you were right there in the ordeal with Paul Sheldon.The ending of the movie, well it was a fairly generic way to end the story, but of course, it was as it usually is in such thrillers/horrors. Could it have ended differently? Certainly. The ending of the movie is the only weak point in the entire movie for me.