Misery (1990)

A famous novelist is "rescued" from a car crash by an obsessed fan.

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), William Goldman (screenplay)

Stars:

James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Caan	...	Paul Sheldon
Kathy Bates	...	Annie Wilkes
Richard Farnsworth	...	Buster
Frances Sternhagen	...	Virginia
Lauren Bacall	...	Marcia Sindell
Graham Jarvis	...	Libby
Jerry Potter	...	Pete
Thomas Brunelle	...	Anchorman (as Tom Brunelle)
June Christopher	...	Anchorwoman
Julie Payne	...	Reporter #1
Archie Hahn	...	Reporter #2 (as Archie Hahn III)
Gregory Snegoff	...	Reporter #3
Wendy Bowers	...	Waitress
Misery the Pig	...	Herself

Storyline

Best-selling novelist Paul Sheldon is on his way home from his Colorado hideaway after completing his latest book, when he crashes his car in a freak blizzard. Paul is critically injured, but is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes, Paul's "number one fan", who takes Paul back to her remote house in the mountains (without bothering to tell anybody). Unfortunately for Paul, Annie is also a headcase. When she discovers that Paul has killed off the heroine in her favorite novels, her reaction leaves Paul shattered (literally)...

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Plot Keywords:

fan | novel | car crash | nurse | blizzard | 

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Taglines:

This Christmas there will be... Misery.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miseria

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$61,276,872 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After refusing to speak about his motivations for writing Misery for two decades, Stephen King finally came out and stated that it is indeed about his battle with substance abuse. Kathy Bates' character is a representation of his dependency on drugs and what it did to his body - making him feel alone, separated from everything, while hobbling any attempts he made at escape. In his statement he said he didn't come out with it at the time because he wasn't ready and because he was afraid it would detract from the story.

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Goofs

When burning book gets out of control, a flaming bit of paper wafts up to the curtains and starts burning them, yet Annie never notices or puts it out. Later the curtains are just fine.

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Quotes

Annie Wilkes: God came to me last night and told me your purpose for being here. I am going to help you write a new book.
Paul Sheldon: You think I can just whip one out?
Annie Wilkes: Oh, but I don't think Paul, I know.

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Crazy Credits

Misery the Pig - Herself

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Connections

Referenced in The Incredibles (2004)

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Soundtracks

"MOONLIGHT SONATA"
Performed by Liberace
Courtesy of CBS Records, Music Licensing Department
Arranged by Liberace
Published by AVI Music Publishing Group

User Reviews

When a fan crosses the line between admiration into obsession

Misery is without a doubt one of the best films of the 90's, and in my opinion, Stephen King's best adaptation into a movie. This is TRUE horror, there's no monsters, no mega special effects, just Kathy Bates who is truly made the big time on one of the scariest villains in horror movie history.

It's about a man named Paul Sheldon, he's an author, made incredibly famous by his popular books, specially his series called "Misery", the books are apparently about a woman in the old days who goes through heavy times in her life and he shares her pain and strength with the readers. When he finishes his last Misery book, he decides to celebrate and is heading back for his daughter's birthday, but he gets caught in a horrible blizzard and gets into a nasty and fatal car accident, but is saved by Kathy Bates, or as we know her Annie.

He wakes up in a bedroom with his legs badly broken, bruised up, and cut up, but hears a light and charming voice saying "You're going to be just fine. I'm your number one fan!". Annie nurses Paul back to health and says she'll get an ambulance once the storm clears up. She's so lovely and charming, you would never have any clue that she'd even just harm a fly. But when she gets ahold of Paul's last Misery book, she gets infuriated when she finds out that he's killing off Misery and continuing onto more dramatic and dark stories. She makes him write a new Misery where she is resurrected, Paul used to write for a living, now he's writing to stay alive. Discovering slowly how crazy Annie is, he tries to escape more and more, but Annie is so convinced she's in love with him, she'll never let him go!

Kathy Bates truly is the amazing star of the film, she is so disturbing to watch. Especially during the "hobbing" scene, she breaks Paul's legs again, she makes it seem so innocent, but it's HORRIFYING to watch! Both her and James worked so well together and were just incredible. The movie is so awesome, I would highly recommend this movie for anyone! It's a movie not to be missed.

10/10