Misery

Novel vs. Film

Misery the novel was written by Stephen King, and published in 1987. Stephen King is a very well-known author and is greatly known for writing horror literature. Misery the film (released on November 30th, 1990) is based on the 1987 nove. It was directed by Rob Reiner and produced by Ron Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Jeffrey Stott and Steve Nicolaides.

 

The portrayal of the characters in the movie from the book seems very accurate in my opinion. One thing the novel did create more of is the depth to the characters. The readers learn much more and are able to connect more with the characters in the novel rather than from the movie. In the novel, we see more of Paul’s history and backstory through flashbacks of memories of his childhood which we do not see in the movie. Annie’s character in the movie lacked depth as well. Annie has many personal issues involving her history which we do not get details on in the movie. The main difference between the movie and the novel is the lack of depth in the background and characterization in the movie.

 

. This was not as accurately displayed in the film. In regards to Annie, from reading the novel, we learn that she was on the stand in Denver, we know that she is severely depressed and that she won’t bathe for days sometimes because of that. The film doesn’t touch as deeply on those issues as the novel. Annie has to upkeep her façade and she goes through stages of self-loathing that would be hard for any ‘normal’ person to understand. The novel gives you a more detailed look into who Annie is and was, and although it seems heinous, connect with her on a more personal level.

Secondly, the plot is quite similar in the novel and film. For example, Annie rescuing Paul, her anger towards his novel and her torture techniques were all portrayed exactly the same in the novel and movie. The hobbling scene is one of the scenes that is not portrayed the same in the movie. The difference is seen as Annie punishes Paul by cutting one of his feet off in the novel but instead, the movie shows her breaking Paul’s ankles instead. Another difference between the novel and book is when Paul pretend to burn Misery’s Return by burning a different stack of papers in front of Annie and once he finally kills Annie, he publishes Misery’s Return. Another difference is the final battle between Paul and Annie. In the novel, the final battle carries on for longer as Paul finally kills Annie by smashing a pig statue on her head causing her death.

 

Although the novel and movie were based on the same storyline, the novel creates a more connected, detailed, in-depth storyline and character development. The movie lacked some background on the characters and their pasts which I believe there should have been more of. Overall, the movie represents the novel fairly well.