Misery Was it a case of star-novelist frustration or just happy coincidence that Stephen King penned this deliciously-paranoid 1987 tale of fan-worship gone to murderous extremes? It doesn't matter. Rob Reiner, who had previously turned King's short story "The Body" into the highly-acclaimed Stand By Me in 1986, proved that in 1990, Misery loves company, at least if it's box-office company. Or more importantly, Oscar company. Kathy Bates, who portrayed the malevolent Annie Wilkes, received a Best Actress trophy from the Academy Awards for this performance. For the uninitiated, Annie Wilkes is a deranged ex-nurse living in a lonely mountainside farmhouse. She is enamored of the romance novels written by Paul Sheldon, whose most popular works are a series revolving around a character named Misery Chastain. And little does Annie know that in the forthcoming novel, Misery will die and conclude the series. In the meantime, the real Paul Sheldon (James Caan) has just finished a new, unrelated work of fiction and packs up after a stay in a Colorado inn so that he can present his work to his editor (Lauren Bacall, in a very rare 90's screen role). During a violent snowstorm, he wrecks his car on a treacherous mountain road and becomes immobilized. And just guess who happens to show up at the scene and drag his injured body to safety? Annie Wilkes appears to be a sweet, well-meaning good Samaritan--at least for the first two minutes she's onscreen. After that, her psychotic tendencies become apparent. She's not only Paul's "number one fan," but also his captor, and later his dictator. She doesn't like his new non-Misery manuscript (the only existing draft of which is in his briefcase, and she requires him to burn it), but when the new Misery book hits the shelves and she reads that her favorite character has been killed off, she goes off the deep end. Rather than actually kill Paul, Annie purchases a cheap typewriter and several reams of disagreeable paper, then demands that Paul "un-do" his mistake. Rather, he will write his masterpiece, Misery's Return. And it had better be good, with no implausibilities, otherwise Annie might have to take drastic measures. Let it be known, she does a number on his feet with a sledgehammer after a failed escape attempt. A can't-go-wrong script by William Goldman made this project a winner from the start, but with the performances by Bates and Caan, as well as the late Richard Farnsworth as an inquisitive sheriff, this film was catapulted into Oscar recognition. Misery deserves company. >>Back<< >>Archive Index<<