Misery

Review by Jack Waghorn

Novel/Film: Misery

Author (novel): Stephan King

Director (film): Rob Reiner

Genre: Horror/thriller

Overview: Paul Sheldon survives a near death experience by being dragged from a horrible car accident in the middle of a severe snowstorm. Paul is a writer, and is rescued by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes, a former nurse. What at first seems like an act of compassion takes a turn for the worst, as it turns out that Annie is an unstable woman, and begins to hold Paul against his will, in her isolated house in the middle of nowhere.

The situation becomes worse. Paul cannot move because both his legs were broken in the accident, and are in constant need of medical care. When Annie discovers that Paul has killed off her favourite literary character, she forces him to write a sequel in which the character is brought back to life. Because if Paul doesn’t she will do things to him, terrible things.



Novel Review:

As a fan and follower of Stephan King, I have to say that Misery is one of, if not his best novels. After reading numerous Stephan King stories I’ve found that the best ones don’t include anything paranormal, as these have the best payoffs. Misery is no exception.

Misery is both original and creative. The story itself has been parodied many times in movies and TV series. I believe that the story is any writer’s worst nightmare, being held hostage by a crazed and unstable fan.

The premise of Misery is unique because the entire novel takes place in Annie Wilkes’ house, and the only interaction is between the two characters. In any other case this would seem like a boring and terrible idea, but not in Misery. The backgrounds, motives, and mindset of the characters are so well explored and explained it really feels like we know who these people are. We detest the actions of Annie and truly wish to see Paul escape at the end.

Misery makes excellent use of metaphors, particularly the ones which relate the pain in Paul’s legs to the risings of the tide. The whole novel comes off as more of a character study than a story driven by events.
I hardly ever say this, but I cannot find a single fault with Misery without being incredibly nitpicky. The pacing was spot on, the tension built up perfectly and it steers clear of too many corny Stephan King clichés. I still maintain that Misery is the best Stephan King novel I have yet read.



Film Review:

I’ll admit that I was a bit sceptical when first seeing the Film Misery. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received almost all positive reviews from critics. And so I gave it a chance to impress me. I can honestly say that it did.

I think everyone can agree that the thing that made this film so great was the performance of Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes. She was exactly how I pictured Annie; she looked the part, sounded the part, and acted the part. What’s so intriguing about the Annie Wilkes character is how she can go from calm to homicidal in mere seconds. Kathy Bates did this perfectly, bringing out the rage and psychosis in the character.

The film had a very claustrophobic feel to it, like the audience was trapped in the house with Paul. Everything that they changed or left out from the novel was perfectly acceptable. It didn’t feel like they strayed too far from the source material.

The reason I was so sceptical at the beginning was that the novel was so great because it worked like a giant interior monologue rather than a stream of events. We felt like we were in Sheldon’s head rather than in the room, which was a unique experience. Seeing the novel in film took away from that experience, but this really couldn’t be helped.

I was also a little disappointed with the casting choice of James Caan as Paul Sheldon. I’m not saying that James did a bad job at acting; in fact, he did an excellent job portraying the character. He just didn’t look like Paul Sheldon to me. From the novel I had always pictured Paul as a young brash man, who would constantly taunt and insult Annie for all her craziness. In the Film Paul just seemed too mature and composed, with no real outbursts of anger. This is probably due to the fact that we can’t see inside Paul’s mind in the film. In the novel he was composed around Annie, but in his head he was thinking of the horrible things he could do to her. I suspect it’s the same in the movie but we just can’t see it. Again, this is a factor that can’t be helped. It was an inevitable part of the transition from novel to film.



Comparison:

Although both the novel and the film were great, it’s a no-brainer that I enjoyed reading the novel more.

As I said before, the novel really gets inside the head of the main character, and explores his thought process in such a horrible situation. In the film we see all that going on, but we can’t see what Paul is thinking.

The film was also ruined for me for one reason. In the novel we are never shown any events that go on outside of the house, it is all told from Paul’s point of view. This is not the case in the film, as it has constant scenes which show the police finding his wrecked car and beginning a search for him. Although this isn’t a big factor it did ruin the experience for me. What I found so impressive about the novel was that it managed to keep my attention without the need of multiple setting and characters. That’s not an easy thing to do. With the added scenes and characters in the film all that impressiveness is gone.

The insight into Paul’s mind is what’s so fascinating. Seeing his thought process throughout the events gives more insight into his character than the film ever could.

While both the novel and the film are great in their own respects, it is no competition that the novel is superior. It was more intriguing, suspenseful, and it kept all the moments between Paul and Annie. It is by far my favourite book by Stephan King, showing how much of a powerhouse author he is.