Review of Misery (1990) by Ayrton C — 07 Dec 2017

I just finished watching the movie and it was spectacular! It's one of those films that gets under your skin which is what a good psychological thriller should do. The pacing is perfect from beginning to end and nothing feels out of place, you get just the right amount of suspense and action.

The acting from the two leads is fantastic and they both help to get us sucked into every celebrity's worst nightmare. As a writer myself I especially sympathize with James Caan's character and how he is deprived of his freedom of expression and mobility just to please a psychotic and prudish fan of his (played brilliantly by Kathy Bates).

Kathy's character seems to serve as a bit of a personification of fan bases in general, praising and adoring an artist's work when it meets their arbitrary, often contradictory expectations, while going crazy when that artist decides to change things up and create something that challenges his intended audience.

The terror Paul Sheldon is forced to endure becomes all the more nail-biting as Annie Wilkes seemingly loses more of her sanity as the film progresses (or at least does away with the facade of sanity), and it builds up to a satisfying climax.

I can't believe I hadn't seen this movie before but I'm very glad that I did! Will definitely rewatch it in the future.