# Misery (film)
**Misery** is a 1990 American psychological thriller directed by [Rob Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-reiner), adapted by [William Goldman](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-goldman) from [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s 1987 novel of the same name, in which a bestselling romance novelist is held captive by an obsessed fan after a car crash. It stars James Caan as writer Paul Sheldon and Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes, a former nurse who calls herself his "number one fan"; Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role.[1](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/misery.html) • [2](https://time.com/4134363/the-thrill-is-back-misery-breaks-both-legs-on-broadway/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | November 30, 1990 (United States)[1](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/misery.html) |
| Director / screenwriter | Rob Reiner; William Goldman, adapting King's 1987 novel[1](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/misery.html) |
| Principal cast | James Caan (Paul Sheldon), Kathy Bates (Annie Wilkes), Richard Farnsworth (Buster), Frances Sternhagen (Virginia), Lauren Bacall (Marcia Sindell)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY) |
| Runtime and rating | 104 minutes; rated R[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY) |
| Production | Castle Rock Entertainment and Nelson Entertainment; distributed by Columbia Pictures; budget announced at $14 million, later cited as $18–20 million[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY) • [4](https://movie.guru/misery-movie-review) |
| Key crew | Cinematography Barry Sonnenfeld; editing Robert Leighton; music Marc Shaiman[4](https://movie.guru/misery-movie-review) |
| Reception | Rotten Tomatoes 86% from 156 critics, 90% audience score; Metacritic 75 from 23 critics[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/misery?nopopup=true) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/misery/) |
| Awards | Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress[2](https://time.com/4134363/the-thrill-is-back-misery-breaks-both-legs-on-broadway/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
Paul Sheldon is a famous author known for a popular series of Victorian-era romance novels featuring the heroine Misery Chastain, and he wants to move on to serious literary fiction.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/misery/) After finishing a new manuscript at a Colorado lodge, he crashes his car in a blizzard on a mountain road and is rescued by [Annie Wilkes](https://www.edgepedia.org/annie-wilkes), a former nurse who claims to be his biggest fan.[1](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/misery.html) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/misery/)
Annie nurses him in her remote home, but when she reads his latest book and finds he has killed off [Misery](https://www.edgepedia.org/misery-novel), her obsession turns violent: she keeps Sheldon prisoner and forces him to write a new novel, *Misery's Return*, that brings the heroine back to life.[1](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/misery.html) • [7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=7&sid=9ff0862b-08e2-4c56-b7c3-06722190169e&sr=0.14450897) A local sheriff, Buster ([Richard Farnsworth](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-farnsworth)), follows clues toward the house, giving the story a route toward exposure while Sheldon plans escape.[8](https://allhorrormovies.com/movies/misery) The film's tension is built from concrete beats: the destruction of the only manuscript, the typewriter becoming an instrument of coercion, and the demand that a fictional heroine be resurrected.[8](https://allhorrormovies.com/movies/misery)
## Production
Stephen King based the novel partly on an encounter with [Mark David Chapman](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-david-chapman), who, before murdering [John Lennon](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-lennon), introduced himself to King as his "number one fan" and asked him to sign an autograph with a special pen.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY) King initially refused to sell the film rights, calling the novel highly personal after previous adaptations of his work had disappointed him; he changed his mind when Rob Reiner expressed interest, since Reiner had directed *Stand by Me* (1986), King's favorite adaptation of his own work to that time.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY)
The project was announced in March 1989 as a production of [Castle Rock Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/castle-rock-entertainment), the company Reiner had co-founded in 1987, with a budget of $14 million; the Los Angeles Times later cited production costs of $18–20 million.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY) Casting of Paul Sheldon went through several major names: the role was offered to [Michael Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-douglas), who declined, as did [Robert Redford](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-redford); Harrison Ford was mentioned as a contender before Warren Beatty entered serious conversations and contributed ideas during rewrites.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY) Beatty told Reiner he did not see the story as a horror movie or a thriller but as a prison movie, and Reiner later said even he was surprised at how many laughs the finished film contained.[9](https://apnews.com/article/c54d8d585105414cc6af2e2e25163b7b)
Production began on February 20, 1990, in Genoa, Nevada, and Los Angeles.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY) Reiner's regular editor Robert Leighton cut the film, and critics have described the result as fundamentally an editor's suspense piece, retreating indoors after economically establishing the snowbound isolation.[10](https://sightlines.media/film/1700/misery-1990)
## Reception
The film opened on November 30, 1990, and drew generally favorable reviews: its Metascore of 75 is based on 23 critic reviews, while its user score of 8.3 rests on 149 ratings.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/misery/) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds 86% from 156 critics and 90% from more than 100,000 audience ratings; the site's critics consensus calls it "elevated by standout performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates" and "one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date."[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/misery?nopopup=true) Reviewers singled out Reiner's direction for making a static setup, two people talking in a room, feel harrowing, and for supplying enough comic relief to keep the material bearable.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/misery/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/misery?nopopup=true)
Bates's performance had the largest consequence: she won the [Academy Award for Best Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-actress), and one survey of King adaptations notes that *Misery* is the only Stephen King movie to have won an Oscar.[2](https://time.com/4134363/the-thrill-is-back-misery-breaks-both-legs-on-broadway/) • [11](https://www.critic.co.nz/files/Critic-2014-4.pdf) King was so pleased with Bates's performance that he wrote two more roles for her, in *The Stand* (1994) and *Dolores Claiborne* (1995).[12](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/rob-reiner-classic-91-percent-rotten-tomatoes-streaming-this-month-misery)
## Legacy and other adaptations
The film is regularly ranked among the best Stephen King adaptations, and its single-location premise, an artist at the mercy of his audience, has kept it in circulation; commentators have described it as a treatise on toxic fandom that became more relevant after its release.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/misery?nopopup=true) • [13](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/hear-us-out-30-years-later-misery-is-still-the-most-terrifying-treatise-on-toxic-fandom/) The film's "hobbling" scene remains among the most cited moments of Reiner's career.[14](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025/12/rob-reiner-appreciation/685260/)
William Goldman later adapted the story for the stage. A Broadway production opened in 2015 at the Broadhurst Theatre with [Bruce Willis](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-willis) as Sheldon and [Laurie Metcalf](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurie-metcalf) as Annie; critics found Metcalf's Annie less overtly unhinged than Bates's but more down-to-earth and frightening, while Willis's largely immobile performance drew mixed notices.[2](https://time.com/4134363/the-thrill-is-back-misery-breaks-both-legs-on-broadway/) The film has remained in commercial circulation, streaming on [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max) and Peacock.[12](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/rob-reiner-classic-91-percent-rotten-tomatoes-streaming-this-month-misery)
## References
1. [Misery, Stephen King, official works page](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/misery.html)
2. [Review: Misery Breaks Both Legs on Broadway, Time](https://time.com/4134363/the-thrill-is-back-misery-breaks-both-legs-on-broadway/)
3. [Misery (1990), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY)
4. [Misery (1990), movie.guru](https://movie.guru/misery-movie-review)
5. [Misery, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/misery?nopopup=true)
6. [Misery Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/misery/)
7. [AFI|Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67797-MISERY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=7&sid=9ff0862b-08e2-4c56-b7c3-06722190169e&sr=0.14450897)
8. [Misery (1990) Review: Does It Still Hold Up?, All Horror Movies](https://allhorrormovies.com/movies/misery)
9. [Rob Reiner's best films and where to watch them, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/c54d8d585105414cc6af2e2e25163b7b)
10. [Misery (1990), dir. Rob Reiner, Sightlines](https://sightlines.media/film/1700/misery-1990)
11. [Film Editor: Rosie Howells, Critic (NZ)](https://www.critic.co.nz/files/Critic-2014-4.pdf)
12. [A Rob Reiner Classic With 91% On Rotten Tomatoes Hit Streaming This Month, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/rob-reiner-classic-91-percent-rotten-tomatoes-streaming-this-month-misery)
13. [30 Years Later, Misery Is Still the Most Terrifying Treatise on Toxic Fandom, Rotten Tomatoes editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/hear-us-out-30-years-later-misery-is-still-the-most-terrifying-treatise-on-toxic-fandom/)
14. [Rob Reiner Was a Quiet Titan of Storytelling, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025/12/rob-reiner-appreciation/685260/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Adaptations of literature, stage, and other media › Films based on novels, novellas, and short fiction › Films based on contemporary literary fiction › Thriller, horror, and crime adaptations*
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