PAUL SHELDON USED TO WRITE FOR A LIVING. NOW, HE'S WRITING TO STAY ALIVE. From director Rob Reiner (Stand By Me, A Few Good Men) and screenwriter William Goldman (Marathon Man, All the President's Men) comes Misery, a terrifying thriller based on the bestseller by Stephen King. Caught in a snowstorm, bestselling romantic novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) suffers a horrific car accident but is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). With the phone lines down and the roads out of use for the winter, Annie - who happens to be Paul's "number one fan" - takes him home, sets his broken legs and tends him back to health. But fandom turns shockingly violent when Annie learns that Paul is moving on from the romance novels that made his name. Now trapped and at Annie's mercy, Paul must write like his life depends on it. because it really does. Bates (in an Academy Award-winning performance) and Caan are outstanding and are matched by a pitch-perfect supporting cast that includes Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen. Reiner takes an unexpected turn to the darker side and proves himself an adept disciple of Alfred Hitchcock as he delivers shocks and suspense worthy of the master.
Special Features
Booklet, Commentary: Rob Reiner; William Goldman (screenwriter); Teri Gamble and Julia Marchese (film critics/co-hosts of the Horror Movie Survival Guide podcast), Documentaries: 'Misery Loves Company'; 'Marc Shaiman's Musical Misery Tour'; 'Diagnosing Annie Wilkes'; 'Profile of a Stalker'; 'Advice for the Stalked'; 'Celebrity Stalkers'; 'Anti-Stalking Laws', Image Gallery, Interviews: Marc Shaiman (composer); Rob Reiner (director); Greg Nicotero (effects artist), Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options, Trailers
I'm having an impossible time to see anyone other than James Caan in the Sheldon role. The film gets so much mileage out of casting this wild boy in a role that requires him to be passive and very vulnerable for much of the film and he's fortunately up to the task. The fear in his eyes. The scene where he hears her car pull up and you know he has to get back into the wheelchair and then back into the bedroom fast doesn't just make him break out into sweat.
I could also watch an entire movie with Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen solving crimes.
Pity that the only new extras are the composer interview and a commentary from a horror podcast team that could be good or really terrible.
I'll wait for the standard edition though. Those booklets aren't a selling point for me anymore.
