Misery

Released 1990
Stars James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Lauren Bacall
Directed by Rob Reiner

Films such as The Green Mile and Stand by Me have proven that the best book-to-movie adaptations of Stephen King books do fine without the benefit of demons, monsters, and all that good stuff cluttering up the script. Misery involves a malevolent force which manifests itself in the form of a human being, an obsessed woman who will stop at nothing to ensure her idol never leaves her grasp. The title not only refers to the main character's literary creation, it also describes the very emotion he experiences throughout his many days as the hostage of a clearly insane person who claims she does these horrifying things out of her love for the writer. Misery surprises you because of how much you not only care for James Caan's hostage, but also since Kathy Bates's captor is as equally compassionate and involving. It is Bates's unsettling performance which lights the story's fire, keeping it alive throughout a 105-minute running time with William Goldman's stirring interpretation of the best-seller by King.

Summary by Adam J. Hakari