“God, I love you.”
Two Cents is a Cinapse original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team curates the series and contributes their “two cents” using a maximum of 200-400 words. Guest contributors and comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future picks. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion. Would you like to be a guest contributor or programmer for an upcoming Two Cents entry? Simply watch along with us and/or send your pitches or 200-400 word reviews to cinapse.twocents@gmail.com.
In most of the United States, we’ve been experiencing a record cold streak. Frigid temperatures and vast snowy landscapes are fuel for some truly delightful terrors. This month, we are embracing the cold and watching 4 thrilling films set in the not-so-wondrous Winter. From an underdiscussed found footage gem to a seemingly forgotten vampire gorefest to a thoughtful study on cold weather chills to one of the best King adaptations ever put to celluloid. Beat the cold by warming up with a nice cup of cocoa and a horrifying film that’ll get your blood pumping!
The Pick: Misery (1990)
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For me, Misery stands as the quintessential winter thriller in ways that go beyond its seasonal setting and endlessly effective moments of suspense. This tale of a famous author named Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who proclaims to be his number one fan before proceeding to hold him hostage in her isolated cottage, remains a classic. It’s a film that stands the test of time in terms of its plotting, dialogue, and richly drawn characters.
Misery accomplished so much as a film. Its reception had real-life effects in furthering the development of anti-stalking laws, and showed director Rob Reiner’s versatility as a filmmaker. The movie ushered lead actress Kathy Bates into the moviegoing public’s consciousness, resulting in an Oscar win that remains one of the Academy’s best moments. Misery also set the stage for a collection of Stephen King adaptations that alternated between the sublime (The Shawshank Redemption) and the best left forgotten (Thinner).
There’s no better way to celebrate the beginning of the end of winter than with one of 1990’s best films.
The Team
Ed Travis
We, of course, programmed Misery as part of a winter horror/thrillers lineup; but I’ve also been revisiting some Rob Reiner classics in honor of his life and this revisit was a powerful one. With limited word count I’m going to try to share a few varied reflections I have on the film in a hopefully coherent piece.
1) Misery became a phenomenon long before the internet was dominant, but it is also a movie that seemingly prophesied the depths of internet fandom and entitlement. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) is a proto toxic fan in a way that almost feels more relevant today than it did back then. We’ll dig further into her murderous psychoses next, but her ability to flip from Paul Sheldon’s (James Caan) most ardent fan to his captor and torturer, speaks profoundly to the dehumanizing nature of the internet and fans’ willingness to forget the humanity of creators over the sanctity of their beloved IP.
2) Perhaps contradicting what I just said, I was fascinated to recognize on this revisit something which I had forgotten about this story: Annie Wilkes is actually a full-on serial killer! She’s a deeply layered character masterfully portrayed by Bates with a “gee whiz” downhome exterior, but when Paul finds her journal, the depths of her secret misdeeds become clear. So while her (perhaps less accidental than initially obvious) “rescue” of an injured Paul creates a situation where she can have her favorite author all to herself, it isn’t her first foray into dominance and murder when she takes control of the situation to force Paul to write the novel she wanted.
3) While wholly their own stories, I found it somewhat shocking how many similarities there are between this and The Shining. Here it’s Buster (Richard Farnsworth) who almost preternaturally finds his way to the trouble, only to be murdered like Scatman Crothers is. They’re set in snowy, places focused on writers who prefer to write in isolation. Sure, Steven King often puts a lot of “himself” into his stories, but I noticed (and enjoyed, frankly) the many similarities here and I’m sure readers could identify many more than I’ve mentioned.
Rob Reiner took a stab at horror, and knocked it out of the park. A top tier Steven King adapter before it was cool, this beloved filmmaker could seemingly crush any genre he put his mind to, and Misery stands the test of time and still speaks to the brokenness of today.
Elizabeth Stoddard
James Caan may be the lead in Misery, but the film belongs to Kathy Bates (who rightly won many awards for her performance here). As Annie, a former nurse and current captor, her performance emphasizes the humor of the script by The Princess Bride scribe William Goldman, based on Stephen King’s book. DP Barry Sonnenfeld (who also worked with Reiner on When Harry Met Sally) tends to shoot Annie from below, offering the viewer Paul’s point-of-view as he’s bedridden. It’s an unflattering angle that adds a further sense of unease, playing into the general unsettling creepiness of the film.
Annie is obsessed with author Paul Sheldon and his series of romance novels centering around a woman named Misery. After tailing him through his car accident in a blizzard, she takes him to her home in rural Colorado and traps him there. She is not an endearing, supportive fan; Annie has a creepy fixation on this fictional character’s world and the man who created it. Nowadays she’d probably have an AO3 account and several fanfics to her name, but that wasn’t an option in the pre-internet time.Sheriff Buster (Richard Farnsworth, Anne of Green Gables, The Straight Story) and wife/deputy Virginia (Frances Sternhagen, Sex and the City) provide a fun, sparking dynamic as they search for Paul. I also got a kick out of Annie’s pig Misery – especially her quick appearance in a montage sequence, sitting next to Annie as she reads. The fact that there’s such humor to the film to balance out the horror of Paul’s traumatic situation is testament to the direction by Rob Reiner.
Misery conserves most of the gore for the last 10 minutes, which made it easier to revisit for this critic who can’t usually handle scary movies. But the casting of Kathy Bates makes the dark drama unforgettable. Here she exhibits the true depth of her talent, which we’ve luckily been able to witness in many of her films since.
Justin Harlan
Somehow, some way, I’ve never watched this film until now. I enjoy the actors, I love films based on King’s works, I’m definitely a fan of Rob Reiner’s films, and I’ve seen so many of the film’s scenes on the various horror docs and countdowns I rewatch as comfort viewing. But… somehow… this was my first time actually watching the movie start to finish.
With little to no surprise, I have to say… it’s really good. Reiner is a master of his craft and it’s hard to argue that this isn’t among the best King adaptations – mind you, I haven’t read the book so I can’t say it’s a faithful adaptation, but it’s surely a great one. My favorite King adaptation happens to also be a Reiner film… but we’re not here to discuss Stand By Me today, not exactly a Winter film, albeit it has its chilling moments.
A film with only two actors in most of the scenes requires both to act their asses off. And, honestly, this is a clinic. The bi-polar performance of Kathy Bates as Annie is as chilling as the snowy landscapes. In a mere matter of seconds she can go from balanced to screaming and back again. Yet, every single snap – every single change in mood – feels real and believable. She is the heartbeat of this film, with Caan a yin to her yang.
My first of inevitably many watches, this was a fantastic experience and I’m glad it was selected for our Thrills and Chills lineup. A fantastic cap – a snowcap, if you will – to a month of ice cold terror.
Frank Calvillo
Watching Misery, it’s hard to believe that Reiner is really gone. I almost refrained from selecting this title as part of the lineup because I didn’t want it to feel like a tribute to an artist whom I still have trouble accepting is no longer with us. But watching Misery this time around ended up being a celebration of Reiner more than anything else. The director always said he was not the person to make thrillers, as much as he loved them. With all due respect, he was so wrong. Every bit of Misery is so perfectly measured, from the terrifying shots of Annie to Paul endlessly trying to find a means of escape. The movie is one of the few adaptations of any King novel that managed to exceed all expectations, reportedly even scaring the author himself at an early screening.
Although the movie allows Reiner to shine, Misery is nothing without its brilliant actors and their spellbinding performances. Caan’s everyman persona allows him to convey fear and desperation in a way that’s incredibly riveting and visceral as he invites us to go on his horrifying journey with him. Bates, meanwhile, plays Annie as a flesh and blood human first and foremost, letting her unhinged, terrifying side come out in the most careful and shocking of ways. The trio of excellent supporting turns from the likes of Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, and Lauren Bacall manages to add some great flavor to what is already a real meal of a movie.
Ostensibly a chamber piece, Misery functions as both a heart pounding thriller and a character study. The dynamics between Paul and Annie drive the heart of the movie as does the dance both do in an effort to remain ahead of the other. From this comes some great sequences, including Paul’s exploration of Annie’s house (which leads to the discovery of her dangerously unstable side), and the scenes revealing Annie’s incredibly shocking relationship to the title character, who exists as nothing more than a creation from Paul’s imagination. It’s here how Misery is able to also speak to the celebrating of artists, and what happens when such a strong emotional connection to a mythologized public figure whose morphs into obsession.
From this sprouts a surprising and (needless to say) unconventional love story of sorts between the two, one that is definitely compromised, but can easily be called codependent. Beyond the cat and mouse relationship that exists between Annie and Paul lies a morbid fascination between them; she in awe of his talent, him in disbelief of the woman holding him hostage. All of this culminates in an incredibly ugly “breakup” fight scene and a final terrifying moment that shows Annie will never leave Paul’s memory.
Next month, we’re honoring some of the incredible Black female voices in film! Join in by sending your thoughts on any of the films above to cinapse.twocents@gmail.com or your favorite Cinapse staffer by early in the week listed above. Hope to see you all month long and try to stay warm!
