Film response - Misery

The film Misery is based on the psychological thriller written by Stephen King, starring Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes and James Caan as Paul Sheldon. The narrative in Misery has potential to be dull and drag but in this film both Bates and Caan keep good pace on screen without overloading the viewer. Bates plays an excellent Annie managing to bring great depth to the character, a quality I think could exploited more by that of Caan's character. Although the viewer feels empathetic towards the character of Paul the viewer doesn't see many levels or much depth to his character, we only see the persona he puts forward to the character of Annie as opposed to delving into the psychological trauma and battle he must be going through. The way Bates plays Annie however easily affects the viewer, making them feel ever more uncomfortable by the way the character effortlessly and realistically slips between the lovable motherly figure and the psychopathic and often detached persona she takes on. This unnerving role makes it often difficult to watch even before the violence and is incredibly effective, especially how she manages to do this almost child like language as opposed tot he rather affluent and often dirty language of Paul.