Misery (5 Stars)

This is a film I've been unfairly ignoring for the last ten years, maybe longer. After watching it today I decided that it deserves a place in my top 100 films. I have a new list that differs from the list that I posted in September last year. I call it a rolling top 100, because I'll dynamically update it every time I change my mind about a film. My new list is in an Excel spreadsheet, but I still need to figure out a way to easily import it to my blog. 

James Caan plays Paul Sheldon, the author of a series of books about Misery Chastain, a woman who lived in the late 19th Century. It's not explicitly stated where she lives, but there are clues that it must be in Europe, probably England. Paul crashes his car in a snowstorm shortly after finishing his first novel that isn't about Misery. He's saved by a former nurse, Annie Wilkes, who lives on a remote farm. As the days go by he realises that he's Annie's prisoner. She loves him, but her love is mingled with obsession, and she wants to keep him close to her at all costs.

Kathy Bates' performance won an Oscar in 1991 as Best Actress. It was well deserved. She slips seamlessly from romance to mania and back as the film progresses. She's a wonderful actress. This is a film that deserves to be watched more often.

Success Rate:  + 1.1

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