Misery is a 1990 American psychological thriller film based on Stephen King’s 1987 novel and starring James Caan as writer Paul Sheldon and Kathy Bates as obsessed fan Annie Wilkes. After a car accident, Sheldon is trapped in his vehicle in the middle of a blizzard; on the brink of death, he is rescued by Annie, a former nurse who carries the writer to her home to recover. It turns out that Annie is a huge fan of Sheldon’s work, which consists of a series of romance novels about a character named Misery Chastain. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Bates’s performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes and she won the 1990 Academy Award for best actress for her role.