MOVIE REVIEW: "Misery" (1990)
Synopsis: Famous writer Paul Sheldon suffers a car accident and is rescued by nurse Annie, who claims to be his number one fan. She takes him to her isolated home and takes care of her health, but one day ends up having access to the originals of the writer's next book and discovers that her favorite character will be dead.
How far is the love of a fan for his idol? For some people this is the kind of love that recognizes no limits and sees no obstacle in front of you... And it is better that no one tries to intervene in this, in case you do not want to hurt yourself. In this adaptation of one of Stephen King's classic books, this is the theme addressed and he - like the movie adaptation - offers the public an interesting dip into the pitfalls the mind can preach to us.
Mainly set in a house located in a secluded setting, the film takes place in an inland city that has a icy climate allied to a blizzard. This ends up being something that favors the claustrophobic atmosphere that the same to transmit to the viewers precisely because it passes that sensation of being trapped and without right to escape.
When Annie meets Paul, he is injured and debilitated by the accident he had just suffered, and everything that seemed to be nothing more than a help from a solicitous resident of the place to an injured stranger (and who obviously had to be rescued) in an uncontrolled obsession that is fueled by a potentially dangerous mental disorder that does no discernment between right and wrong.
Starring the great duo Kathy Bates and James Cann (who together deliver great and explosive performances), the film brings with it several important layers that are part of the nuances of humans (focusing mainly on the dilemmas that are present in our minds and when underestimated, can turn into real monsters), thus instigating important debates that have psychosocial points of reflection as a starting point.
The respective characters of Bates and Cann are very well built. They have the ability to hold the audience's attention in a mesmerizing way. By means of a meticulous projection of them, their development throughout the plot goes far beyond the separation between "villain" and "good boy", reflecting a careful work on the vital force that feeds the film, which reaches increasingly sickening as it approaches its climax.
This is because 99% of the screen time is taken by the interaction of the duo (something even more intense after Annie's revelation that makes their sick mind clear) and contrary to what many may think, the more time together on screen... The deeper and more intense the story becomes and this is reflected directly in the apprehension and expectation that is injected into whoever is watching the movie.
The editing of the scenes privileges the psychological clash between the protagonists, something that appears both in the form of intelligent dialogues and through scenes of explicit violence. Without many cuts, the sequential plans are stretched and this was an assertive decision by director Rob Reiner, who in addition to doing a very consistent and detail-oriented work, benefits from using this technique to create a dense smoke screen and that hides several surprises along the projection.
Misery is an obligatory recommendation for those who like psychological suspense (in my list of best movies including psychopaths this is in TOP 05), not only by the theme in question - which in itself is already naturally interesting* - but mainly by the whole impact which he is able to cause in the audience as soon as the final credits begin to appear.
@gooddream, have you seen this one?