Oh Paul… isn’t this wonderful.

Annie Wilkes is the type of lady that you would probably assume is a normal woman; mundane job, two kids , a husband that drinks a tad too much on the weekends. However, you might change your mind when you see how she treats her guests.

The 1990 film, Misery, revolves around a romance author named Paul Sheldon (Played by James Caan), who is most famous for his literary character, Misery Chastain. After retreating to a remote Colorado hotel to finish his latest novel, Paul becomes seriously injured in an auto accident that leaves him unable walk. Annie (Played by Kathy Bates), Paul’s self proclaimed number one fan “rescues” Paul, and takes him back to her secluded home within Silver Creek, Colorado. Paul soon realizes rehabilitation is the least of his worries as he has to fight for his life if he is to ever escape from Annie.

Misery was always a film that interested me when I was younger. Whether it be the fact that it is adapted from a Stephen King novel, or that Rob Reiner directed it, something about it drew me in. After seeing it previously when I was much younger, I decided to watch it last week with my girlfriend. I am happy to say that it is still a great watch, with the humor in particular being fantastic.

For example, the complete heel turn that Annie takes when discovering that Misery Chastain dies in Paul’s latest novel is very much an “Oh Shit” moment. Hypothetically speaking, if I were in Paul’s shoes I’d most likely think I am having a polite disagreement with a passionate fan. However, Kathy Bates switches from polite caretaker to maniacal tyrant with such ease that you almost share the same expression on Paul’s face, when coming to the realization that this psycho holds his life in her hands.

You know when a character or protagonist is in peril, whether it be violence or emotional situations that they encounter, and you ask yourself if this is really it for them? You continue to think about how they can’t die or this can’t happen to them, because what story ends with the hero on the losing end? This emotion occurred every time I witnessed Paul wheeling around the house looking for an escape, whilst Annie went to town for supplies. James Caan does a stellar job of reflecting pain within his facial expressions. You can feel every thud and snap that his injured legs make with just one look at Caan’s battered grimace. I know most praise goes to Bates in this film, which is very much deserved, but Caan is arguably just as good if not better in my opinion. Suspenseful scenes like this along with sharp editing make Misery feel far more modern than other thrillers of the time.

Another scene in particular that must be discussed, is when Annie figures out that Paul has been up and about the house while she runs her errands. Rather than lashing out by raising her voice and destroying things, Annie is calm and collected. This leads to the famous “hobbling” scene. Annie gives her own definition of the technique, but lets go with Wikipedia on this one. Hobbling: the act of damaging or injuring one’s legs so that fleeing is next to impossible. Can we get that in a sentence please? Sure, “They had to make sure he could go on working…..but they also had to make sure they could never run away. The operation was called hobbling”. On a personal note, I have seen my own bone stab out of my leg from a previous injury, it was not a fun experience, and nor did it feel great, but I’d go through all of that again before ever choosing to get hobbled. Seriously people, look up the scene on YouTube, gruesome is putting it lightly.

After this point, Paul is down bad, as we all would be. His only hope now is to play along with Annie’s sick game, something that he is admirably very good at. Rather than simply letting himself waste away waiting for help to arrive, Paul takes action. He convinces her that he has accepted her suicide pact, and that only when his new version of Misery is finished, will it be time to die. Paul turns the tables when Annie least expects it, and sets fire to the newly revised ending to Misery’s tale. Annie finally lets her inner psycho loose, and they both duke it out until Paul eventually gets the final killing blow on Annie. This ending struggle is a perfect send off for the film because you see Paul finally be able to vent his frustrations on Annie. Paul doesn’t let up, which is consistent with his will to survive. All in all, Misery is a satisfying suspense film that has it all, scares laughs, and a handful of brutal moments.

Alright, now onto something that is brand new to Gaber’s Two Cents, lets grade misery with what I like to call, The Cent Scale (Genius, I know). The Cent Scale is just a one to five scale, with each number being classified as a Cent, and with the rankings being, one as the worst, and five as the best. For example, Misery gets 4 Cents, which down below you can see regulates to a mini consensus of what that particular number of cents equates to critically.

One Cent:
It doesn’t deserve my attention so why should it deserve yours?

Two Cents:
If being just bearable is something you’re in to, go right ahead and check this out.

Three Cents:
The pros outweigh the cons, sit back, don’t think too much and you’ll be fine.

Four Cents:
Not a masterpiece, but as close as you can get.

Five Cents:

A creative triumph that has it all, perfection never looked so good.

Simple enough right? Thanks again for everybody that checks out our new posts, go ahead and tap that Thumbs Up button down below and subscribe if you want to be notified for new posts each week. I will see you all next week on Gaber’s Two Cents.