 |
| Kathy Bates |
MISERY (1990). Director: Rob Reiner. Based on the novel by Stephen King.
"
If you don't enjoy your own company, you're not fit company for anyone else." -- Annie Wilkes.
"
You'll never know the fear of losing someone like you when you're someone like me." -- Ditto.
Novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan of
Games), who made millions writing about a woman named Misery, has just finished a new book with which he hopes to get more respect as an author. After a car accident he winds up at the home of his "number one fan," Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates of
Cheri), who tells him that the roads are impassable due to a blizzard and the phone lines are down. In reality, Annie wants to keep the bedridden, crippled Paul all to herself. As the weeks go by Paul realizes that Annie is keeping him prisoner and cutting him off from the world and everyone who knows him. He also comes to realize that Annie is a truly dangerous sociopath ...
 |
| James Caan |
Misery is an enjoyable and absorbing picture that focuses on a frightening dilemma for the protagonist who finds his situation becoming more and more sinister with every day. However, the characterization in the film is lacking, with Paul being a one-dimensional "famous author" and not much else -- you really don't learn much about him except that after making lots of money he now wants the critics' respect. You learn a bit more about the psychotic Annie, who has probably had a long career of killing people, but the origins of her psychosis are never explored.
 |
| Desperate struggle: Bates vs. Caan |
Kathy Bates won a Best Actress Oscar for her work in this film. Although she's good in her own understated way, I didn't think her performance was Oscar-worthy back when the film was first released and I don't think so today. She often seems over-rehearsed. James Caan, who in general (despite some perfunctory moments) gives a more solid performance in a much, much more difficult role, wasn't even nominated. Reiner's direction is good even if it seems by the numbers at times, and the film could have been cut by a good twenty minutes, tightening up the tension and the pacing. Richard Farnsworth is fine as the cop "Buster," as is Frances Sternhagen [
Outland] in the tiny role of his wife. Lauren Bacall is similarly good in the small role of Sheldon's agent. And we mustn't forget Misery the pig, the cutest hog since Babe.
An amusing sequence has Annie railing about how the cliffhanger serials she saw as a girl often cheated, showing a car with the hero apparently trapped inside going off a cliff one week, and then inserting the hero jumping out of the car beforehand in the next episode. On this, the deluded Annie is mostly right, although there were some serials that played fair.
Verdict: Fun movie with some truly horrifying moments and one pretty good shock. ***.
I like this film a lot--though I don't own it, every time it's on, even if I catch it in the middle, I watch to the end. One of the best adaptations of King's many stories to film. I agree with you about Caan's character--I don't know who he is, and am only left to think of the movie star's tough guy persona to fill in the blanks. But I must disagree with you on Bates's performance as Annie Wilkes, though I would say that her portrayal of madness is restrained and "studied" - and this was her big chance to show what a fine actress she is. My very favorite Bates performance is in Mike Nichols's Primary Colors w John Travolta--that is a thing of beauty and need to write about that one!
ReplyDelete-Chris
You're right that this is one of the best Stephen King adaptations, and while I didn't like her as much as you did I agree that her performance was restrained when she could have easily chewed the scenery to pieces as another actress might have done. Anyway, she got lots of acclaim and it made her a "name" actress. And she is talented. As for Caan's character, the heroes in books of popular fiction are often kind of generic, especially if they're writers. Happens a lot.
ReplyDeleteI saw "Primary Colors" years ago but don't remember too much about it, although I think I liked it. Would love to read your write-up about it.