It won Kathy Bates an Oscar for her role as Annie Wilkes.
We take a look back at the adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery… On his way to deliver the manuscript, he crashes his car and is severely injured.
As a result, he had been refusing to sell the rights to his trapped author horror.
Hes a great director of actors and draws out two career-highlight performances from his stars, Bates and Caan.
The scene straddles that fine line between horror and comedy.
The low-angled shots of her face make her tower over both Paul and the audience.
Couple with the force of Bates performance, it feels so intimidating.
When Reiner looms in for a close-up, its claustrophobic and confrontational.
Annie is never more terrifying than when youre about three inches away from her face.
Bates, however, adds in nuance at the edge of the insanity.
Shes warped by a hardline Christian ideology.
That tragedy disappears and Wilkes completes her transformation into an out-and-out villain.
Credit too must go to James Caan, whose low-key performance perfectly balances with Bates towering Wilkes.
Famously, the role of Paul Sheldon was offered to just about everyone before it landed at Caans feet.
Finally, one cant talk aboutMiserywithout talking about that hobbling scene.
As violent moments go, its one of the best.
Its the God, I love you that makes the whole scene.
The macabre romanticism of the piece adds to the sheer nightmare that is that sequence.
A King thing:Human monsters.
Sometimes, amidst all of his supernatural goings-on, his solely human bad guys tend to get lost.
Join me next time, Constant Reader, for an encounter withThe Lawnmower Man.
