Misery (1990)
Misery is the second Stephen King adaptation to be delivered by director Rob Reiner – this time from a script by William Goldman – and it again deals with horrors that are most decidedly not ‘supernatural’ in nature. Here, the story concerns successful novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who has a terrifying car crash one night on a remote, blizzard-stricken road. He’s found by a former nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who manages to take the unconscious author back to her remote home with a view to helping him recover.
Initially, Sheldon is immobile due to broken legs and a dislocated shoulder, and Annie Wilkes dotes on him – assuring him that she’s his “number one fan.” Grateful for her help, Sheldon allows Annie to read a new manuscript he brought with him – but she disapproves of the level of profanity it includes, and spills his hot soup on him. Later, Sheldon allows Annie to read his latest manuscript for his series of novels centred on the character of ‘Misery Chastain,’ because Misery is Annie’s favourite character. When she discovers that Misery dies in the book, however, Annie is enraged, and locks Sheldon in his room, while announcing that nobody else knows where he is.
Annie begins a slow campaign of torture against Sheldon – forcing him to burn his manuscript and write a new one in which Misery lives. She breaks his ankles with a sledgehammer, and continues to terrorize him – making him believe that she would kill him. Eventually, as the local police begin to address their suspicions, and Sheldon regains more strength, he devises a plan to overcome Annie Wilkes and make his escape.
The most fascinating part of this story is the idea of creators – in this case, writers – being trapped by expectation. In the case of Paul Sheldon, he’s found success with a particular character, and is punished for wanting to try something new. He’s made to churn out more of the same to appease eager audience members, and must fight against that for the freedom to create previously unseen things. This is bolstered by a phenomenal performance on the part of James Caan, and an iconic, Oscar-winning turn by Kathy Bates.