I remember reading Stephen King’s novel for Misery, and getting caught up in the tension. The same happened the first time I watched Rob Reiner’s film version featuring an adapted script by William Goldman and featured James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Lauren Bacall, and Frances Sternhagen.

I hadn’t watched it since it first came out, so I felt it was time to take a look at it again, knowing what I know now about film and cinema. Watching it today, Reiner’s film is positively Hitchcockian in its framing and storytelling, and it still works like gangbusters, and works perhaps better today with its commentary on fandom than it did when it was released.

Paul Sheldon (Caan) has made a career off his character Misery, and the fans love her. He’s ready to leave her behind and do something else so he kills her off in the the final novel in the series. He’s just finished his new work, and is ready to deliver it.

He has a routine to follow, a celebratory cigarette and glass of Dom Perignon, he has a hard copy of his work and he’s going to drive home to New York and deliver it to his agent (Bacall).

Unfortunately, he’s picked the exact wrong moment to leave and is caught up in a snow storm. He crashes his car and ends up in the care of his Number One Fan, Annie Wilkes (Bates).

She’s a nurse, and loves Sheldon’s Misery character, but she also has a dark past and is more than a little psychotic.

With two broken legs, Paul is bed-ridden, trapped and at Annie’s mercy. And thus begins a game of survival.

Sharply paced and fantastically acted, Misery won Bates a Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar, and she is truly terrifying in this. In fact, she garnered a number of awards for her turn as Annie, and all of them are well-earned.

For many of us, this was when she first came to film-goer’s attention, and she entered with a bang!

There’s almost something stage-like about the story, set as it is predominantly in one room. The use of tight close-ups and inserts help elevate the tension. Framing of these images convey everything they have to in terms of what the stakes are, and what Paul is up against as he races to a final confrontation with Wilkes.

Misery remains a fantastic watch, and the hobbling scene is just as powerful today as it was when it was filmed – even when you know how it was done. Reiner is a masterful director, and knows how to get the most out of his cast and crew.

I absolutely loved this adaptation of an iconic King novel, and shows with the right ingredients, King films work. This one is fantastic!