Misery is a 1990 American psychological thriller film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel and starring James Caan, Kathy Bates, Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth, and Frances Sternhagen. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes, and Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role. The film was ranked #12 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

 

Plot

Famed novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is the author of a successful series of novels involving a character called Misery Chastain. But Paul wants to branch out and has just finished the manuscript of a new unrelated novel. He departs from Silver Creek, Colorado to head to Los Angeles but is caught in a blizzard and his car goes off the road. He is rescued by a nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) and brought to her remote home. Both of Paul's legs are broken and he has a dislocated shoulder, so he is bedridden and incapacitated. Annie claims she is his "number one fan" and talks a lot about him and his novels. She's happy when Paul lets her read his new novel, but later admits she disliked the use of excessive swearing within it. While feeding him, she is angered and spills soup on him but regains control and apologizes. She buys a copy of Paul's latest book, Misery's Child, but after learning that he has "killed off" Misery, Annie flies into a rage, almost smashing a table on Paul's head. She reveals that nobody knows where he is (contradicting what she had earlier told him). Annie leaves and Paul tries to escape from his room, but she has locked the door.

 

The next morning, Annie makes Paul burn his latest manuscript. When he is well enough to get out of bed, she insists he write a new novel entitled Misery's Return in which he brings the character back to life. Paul reluctantly does, believing Annie might kill him otherwise. However, having found a means of escaping his room, he sneaks out whenever Annie is away and begins to stockpile his painkillers. He tries to kill Annie during a candlelit dinner, but is foiled when she accidentally spills her drugged wine. During another venture out of his room, Paul finds a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about his disappearance and Annie's past. He discovers that she was suspected and tried for several infants' deaths. Later, Annie drugs Paul and straps him to the bed. When he wakes, she tells him that she knows he's been out of his room and breaks his ankles with a sledgehammer in an act of "hobbling".
 

Meanwhile, the local sheriff, Buster (Richard Farnsworth), is investigating Paul's disappearance and visits Annie, prompted by his discovery of a quote she used from a Misery book during her trial years earlier. While there, Buster finds that Paul has been drugged and hidden in the basement. Annie fatally shoots Buster, and tells Paul that they must die together. He agrees, but says he wants to finish the novel and "give Misery back to the world". While she gets his chair, Paul hides a can of lighter fluid in his pants. When the book is done, he reminds Annie it is his practice to have a single cigarette and a glass of Dom Pérignon champagne after finishing a novel. When Annie presents these things to Paul, he tells her that this time, he will need a second glass, for her. As Annie goes to get a second glass, Paul douses the manuscript in the lighter fluid and as Annie returns with the glass, he sets it on fire, much as she made him do to his earlier, post-Misery novel. Paul and Annie engage in a fierce struggle that ends with Paul bludgeoning Annie to death.

 

Eighteen months later, Paul (now walking with a cane) meets his publishing agent Marcia (Lauren Bacall) in a restaurant. The two discuss his first non-Misery novel, titled The Higher Education of J. Philip Stone, which is earning critical acclaim prior to release, a first for him. However, Paul is indifferent to this because he wrote that novel for himself, something that, in a way, Annie inspired him to do. Marcia asks if he wants to write a non-fiction book about his captivity, but Paul is non-committal. While at the restaurant, he sees a waitress whom he briefly imagines as Annie. The waitress claims she is his "number one fan", to which Paul uncomfortably responds "That's very sweet of you."

 

Cast

• James Caan as Paul Sheldon

• Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes

• Richard Farnsworth as Buster

• Frances Sternhagen as Virginia

• Lauren Bacall as Marcia Sindell

• Graham Jarvis as Libby

• Jerry Potter as Pete

• Rob Reiner as Helicopter pilot

• J. T. Walsh (uncredited) as State Trooper Sherman Douglas

 

Accolades

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills—(Nominated)

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains—Annie Wilkes—#17 Villain

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes—"I am your number one fan." - (Nominated)

 

Reception

Misery received almost universally positive reviews; on the critic website Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 90% "fresh" rating; the consensus states, "Elevated by standout performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates, this taut and frightening film is one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date."

 

Roger Ebert liked the film, stating, "It is a good story, a natural, and it grabs us."

 

The genre magazine Bloody Disgusting ranked Misery fourth place in its list of "10 Claustrophobic Horror Films".

 

King himself has stated that Misery is one of his top ten favourite film adaptations, in his collection "Stephen King Goes to the Movies".

 

The film was remade in India as a Tamil film titled Julie Ganapathi.