Misery:

If you haven't already seen this film, you must. Stephen King is constantly classed as being a rather commercial novelist. A blockbuster author. This frustrates me when you just look at the successes he has created.

• Carrie
• Salem's Lott
• The Shining
• Misery
• It
• Christine
• Pet Cemetery
• The Green Mile

Misery is such a successful film as it delves into the unbalanced mind of Annie Wilkes, the psychopathic old maid. She is caught up in the world of Paul Sheldon's novels 'Misery', captivated by the character, deluded into thinking Paul is her one true love, as if they are telepathically connected.

The storyline is unpredictable, as Annie's character can change from all 'tickerty boo' to sadistic and sinister. It is such a simplistic film, with only a handful of characters and a naturalistic setting, yet this in itself unsettles the viewer, as it makes it realistic as there are people in the world who do believe they are someones 'Number One Fan.'

I love the claustrophobia of the film, the squareness of the house that Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is trapped in by this obsessive and skitzophrenic woman. Kathy Bates plays the part of Annie Wilkes incredibly, having you glued to your seat the whole way through. I love how Kathy Bates makes her character unpredictable, through her facial expressions, mannerisms, sometimes almost sweet, which unnerves me. I love the build up in tension throughout, and the smallest details which one notices, such as the hair pin for his escape and the china penguin which Annie notices is out of place, mirroring her OCD.

What is so clever about the film is the organic way in which all events or routines fuse together. All the facets link together, such as how Paul has a cigar and a champagne after finishing a novel, and how he uses the statue pig of misery in the end to kill Annie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-3MCYcc4Vg