Running head: MISERY ANALYSIS 1

STEPHEN KING MISERY FILM ANALYSIS

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Stephen King's ability for suspense and horror has made him quite possibly the most

famous writer ever, and his books consistently top the most-seller record. Most of his work is

touched with the supernatural components, though his books never fall inside the domain of sci-

fi. His most whimsical stories instead bear every sign of that period-respected practice, the

apparition story.

However, with Misery, Stephen King takes the human aspect further, making a story that

is an all-encompassing, two-character show. The undertaking which King sets himself with this

organization is not a simple one, depending on the interchange between the characters to make

an atmosphere of tautness; indeed, for most of its story, the novel is less scary than a significant

one number of King's prior endeavors. Just in its last quarter, during the books’ rigidly paced

peak, does Misery create the constant terror, which has described his work. In its initial 3/4,

which rotate totally around Paul Sheldon's long detainment on Annie Wilkes' ranch, the book

may be better portrayed as horrifying or troubling as Paul is consecutively nursed and tortured by

his imprisoner.

Misery is principally a psychological thriller. Although the books' developing horror

originates from explicit mutilating and its cozy relationship to the real world, a significant theme

of this book or film is the "sensibleness" of insanity.

A borderline personality disorder is referred to as an unsettling influence of an

individuals’ mood or state of mind characterized by irregular times of craziness and depression,

and in the case of Annie Wilkes, this might be an underestimation. She is first presented in the

book/film as Pauls' mindful, sustaining nurse, a little bit odd, but soon she distinguishes herself

only to be Nurse Annie, but additionally a number one fan Annie.

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The primary individual in Misery is a successful author by the name of Paul Sheldon. He

has been writing a series of novels that deal with a young lady named Misery Chastain. Sheldon

feels that he is being confined and perceived as "the Misery author." Therefore, he chooses to

end all that relates to Misery. In the last novel of the Misery series, the young lady Misery dies,

and so Paul feels free and now needs to create something new and surprisingly better. But, who

might realize that his choice would change his purpose?

In the beginning, we get a presentation of the scene and character. It begins with a close-

up of a match and a cigarette. The camera travels now to the next item, which is a jug and a

champagne glass. This gives us the impression and the thought of the character's nature. It

discloses to us that the character likes to give himself/herself some adoring and caring. He/she is

likewise an exceptionally extravagant individual.

The first two minutes of the film are about creating the thought of the character's persona.

A woman who lives alone in the vast and old well-decorated home, isolating herself from

everybody else. The woman is a middle-aged past nurse known as Annie Wilkes. She has had a

tragic life. For example, Annie has murdered babies while still a nurse at the hospital, she has

served many years in prison due to her actions, and her husband left divorced her.

fixation with misery-books displays to us that she recognizes herself with the figure of

Misery, which is controlling her daily living in a certain way. She has read all the Misery novel

series many times, and she is continuously the first person to book and buy the current books of

Misery at the resident grocery store. This strange obsession with not only the fiction character

Misery but also Paul displays an unstable mental state.

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Annie and Paul meet when Paul gets into an accident, and Annie takes him back to the

house and treats him. She acts as a proud and happy mother of two, the first child being Paul and

the other being the fictional character Misery. Annie considers Paul in an extremely maternal

manner. Initially, in her custody of Sheldon, she gives him pills to help ease his pain, but he is

forced to suck them off Annie's fingers in a ridiculous caricature of a nursing child. When Paul is

not attended to for too long, he urinates on his bed, and Annie must change his clothes and

sheets. When Paul is frustrated or tired, he cries like a small child since he feels completely

helpless. Annie has made Paul immobile. This results in Paul being utterly dependent on Annie

for everything. Annie ensures that Paul's dependency on her and her maternal love expressions

continue by making Sheldon addicted to painkillers. Annie's disciplinary actions add to her

motherly personality. In addition, when Sheldon has been indisciplined, she disciplines him in a

motherly manner, often uplifting him while in the act. She punishes Paul after attempting to free

himself by amputating his thumb and leg with an ax, practicing editorial rule over Paul's body.

Further, Annie acts as a protective and virginal mother of Misery. She denies Paul from

allowing Misery to die in child-birth in Paul's new book. She insists Misery must live, and a new

adaptation of the novel must be produced. She natures the return of Misery also. Nothing will

mess up with the safety of Misery of the birth of the novel she is fostering. Annie’s maternal

image is significant in the film.

Paul lives at the continuous compassion of Annie. He manages to make it through the

days but while living in complete fear of being killed by her. This demonstrates the powerful

grip Annie has over him, and if he tries to escape, she will hunt him and kill him. In addition,

Annie is a shielding deity of Misery. Through saving Paul's life, Annie eventually saves Misery's

life. She knows that upon completing the return of Misery, she and Paul must die. Thus, bringing
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about the return of Misery is her primary objective. Annie prefers an alone world within the

limits of her home to avoid distractions. She is like a mental vampire; she can suck out creativity

and inspiration from Paul to style a self-enclosed environment. Being the idol of this imaginary

world, she must minimize Paul's mental and Physical healing so that her dominance is not

challenged. Thus, Angie destroys Paul's self-governing life and drops him back into prehistoric

darkness.

Annie is a constant reader of fictional books. Her mania with Paul's novels imitates the

demands of an enthusiastic audience. Paul's writing is Annie's reading addiction; this connects to

the pain killers Annie can interchangeably offer and withhold from Sheldon. Therefore, Annie is

the mediate result of Sheldon's achievement in enticing and addicting audiences. She symbolizes

all the protagonist Misery proposes. Annie should also be known as the critical comments of the

academic critic. Annie conspicuously commands the course of Paul's latest novel. Anything less

than perfection gets harsh comments, at the least. Paul gets direct responses from his audience

and thus can create his best Misery book. Annie's force takes productive criticism to an entirely

new meaning. In the end, Paul needs the crazy Annie more than he ever knew possible. Further,

it is strange to imagine that King created Annie's character a copy of his spiritual followers. Is

this how King sees his audience? I do not think they can all be as psychotic as Annie was.

Misery depicts the strong grasp fiction can attain over the audience, as embodied in

Annie Wilkes. She comes to personify a goddess, mother, and the audience image in the film. At

whatever cost, her creative power will live on. Annie’s death will never become a reality, just

like Misery's passing is a reality. Annie would never comprehend that her mind does not operate

like ours. Annie is incapable of deciphering the similarities and differences between real-life and
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imaginary tales. Annie has a Borderline Personality Disorder with minor characters of

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Annie is, without a doubt, one I would avoid.

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References

Findley, Mary. "The Prisoner, the Pen, and the Number One Fan." The Films of Stephen King.

Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2008. 91-100.

King, Stephen. "Why we crave horror movies." Short Essays for Composition (1981): 524.

Magistrale, Tony. Hollywood's Stephen King. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.