stephen king works best when he's working with a simple, terrifying premise. On paper misery is just that.. a writer in a car accident is cared for by his number 1 fan, who just happens to be psychotic. he can't leave and she goes more and more insane when she learns he has killed off her favorite character. horrifying? absolutely. in the film adaption, rob reiner stays true to the movie and manages to bring the horror of the book to life in an undiluted way. but it is really kathy bates who plays annie wilkes to complete madness personified. her performance earned her an academy award and scared everyone who saw the movie. Well done.
Here's something someone pointed out to me recently which I'm fascinated by. Rob Reiner's first five films as a director:
ReplyDeleteThis Is Spinal Tap
The Sure Thing
Stand By Me
The Princess Bride
When Harry Met Sally...
Misery
All of those films are classics. All six are in totally different genres. Yes, Sure Thing and Harry Met Sally are both romantic comedies, but one's of the John Hughes school, and one pretty much creates the modern-day rom-com. And two are King adaptations, but very different ones. Can you think of another director who started so strong and has no discernable style that carries over across his films?
i agree totally, he's very underrated as a director.. this is spinal tap is still one of the funniest movies i have ever seen.
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