This is undoubtedly one of the more successful Stephen King adaptations for the screen and goodness knows there have been some awful ones, but unlike most critics, I reckon there have been some other pretty good ones as well. In her first major screen role Kathy Bates won (and deserved) an oscar for her portrayal of the "number one fan" who swings between tender concern and icy obsession as the nurse who tends writer James Caan's injuries. And while most people have focused on her tour de force, he is also noticeably strong in his role.
Naturally I have seen this movie several times before (there are not many mainstream movies of this generation which have fallen between the cracks from my point of view), but the icing on the cake for me is the inclusion of Richard Farnsworth as the local sheriff. He spent most of his career as a stuntman and only took a few acting parts towards the end of his life -- most notably in "The Straight Story" where he was brilliant. He and his screen wife, played here by Frances Sternhagen, also up the quality of this very memorable thriller.
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The only Stephen King adaptation worth watching apart from Stand By Me. Didn't they have the same director though? It's a shame that all his other work is abused the way it is - it's made into watered down pulp fiction for the masses, and they lose the intense characterisation and sub-stories which fill his books. Needful Things, IT, Apt Pupil - they could have been so good.
Misery - from thew outset you get big feelings - the snow feeling, the isolation of her house, the pain she holds inside and inflicts. I guess it's character identification.
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