Misery poster

1990·107 min·Released

Misery

“Paul Sheldon used to write for a living. Now, he’s writing to stay alive.”

Drama
Thriller

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.

7.8(5,286 votes)

Popularity6

Videos

Official Trailer #2

Cast & Crew

Kathy Bates

Kathy Bates

Annie Wilkes

James Caan

James Caan

Paul Sheldon

Richard Farnsworth

Richard Farnsworth

Buster

Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall

Marcia Sindell

Frances Sternhagen

Frances Sternhagen

Virginia

Graham Jarvis

Graham Jarvis

Libby

Jerry Potter

Jerry Potter

Pete

Thomas Brunelle

Thomas Brunelle

Anchorman

June Christopher

June Christopher

Anchorwoman

Julie Payne

Julie Payne

Reporter #1

Archie Hahn

Archie Hahn

Reporter #2

Gregory Snegoff

Gregory Snegoff

Reporter #3

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CinemaSerf

Written on 3/4/2025

In a wintery Colorado, acclaimed author “Sheldon” (James Caan) comes off the road only to be luckily (we think!) saved by the timely intervention of “Annie” (Kathy Bates) who just happens to be a nurse. More than that, she’s a superfan of his work and so makes it clear that his care is a labour of love she is well prepared to carry out. Gradually, though, he begins to realise that she isn’t quite the woman she’s claiming to be. He is locked in and isolated, and when she begins to suggest that he reactivate one of the lapsed characters from his novels - well let’s just say she has some fairly unique methods of persuasion at her disposal. With him her “guest”, his publisher “Marcia” (Lauren Bacall) is starting to worry and so a quick call to the local sheriff sees “Buster” (Richard Farnsworth) become the bear in the air as he tries to track him down. With “Sheldon” trapped and fed a diet of sedatives and torment, it’s becoming quite a race to see if anyone can ever find him, let alone rescue him from his increasingly obsessive host. Some of Caan’s facial expressions are super here, especially towards the end - but it’s the menacingly angelic effort from Bates that steals the show here and makes this quite possibly my favourite adaptation of a Stephen King novel. Those, I usually found, were rarely the most substantial of stories, but here he has provided some personas for both to sink their teeth into, and it also delivers one of those scenes that will live in cinema history for ever. The bleakness of their surroundings adds an extra degree of chill and Rob Reiner manages to build then sustain quite a degree of peril from pretty early on in the proceedings. It’s really not for the squeamish, nor probably for anyone who has ever written-out a popular literal character, either!

Media

“What the F*** Is Going On?" The Story of Composing 'Misery'!

“What the F*** Is Going On?" The Story of Composing 'Misery'!

Rob Reiner & Kathy Bates Discuss Misery (1990) with Dave Karger | TCMFF 2025

Rob Reiner & Kathy Bates Discuss Misery (1990) with Dave Karger | TCMFF 2025

The Cockadoodie Car

The Cockadoodie Car

I'm Your Number One Fan!

I'm Your Number One Fan!

Rob Reiner Reflects on MISERY ('90)

Rob Reiner Reflects on MISERY ('90)

"It's For The Best"

"It's For The Best"