The film 'Misery' was produced in 1990 about a famous novelist (Paul Sheldon) who is rescued by an obsessed fan who keeps him to cure her overwhelming loneliness.
Paul Sheldon
Is a famous novelist of a book about Misery Chastain, however he decides that he wants to branch out more so creates a new manuscript of an unrelated novel. The opening scene shows him finishing this novel in a snowy cabin where he doing an almost ritual with a glass of champagne and a cigarette alone. He places his manuscript into a tattered manuscript and when he leaves here for Colorado he is caught in a blizzard and his car comes of the road and crashes. Paul is rescued by Annie Wilkes who takes him home where he is bedridden as he has broken his legs and has a dislocated shoulder.
As the film goes on we begin to find out what Annie is really like and Paul is shown in a very desperate and helpless state as he is completely incapacitated. The more he learns about Annie the more he wants to escape and get away but his injuries are holding him back so instead he realizes he must manipulate her instead. He does this by showing how grateful he is for saving him and giving her respect that she adores. He knows that Annie is helplessly in love with him and will not do anything to hurt him, until she realized he tried to escape. She breaks his legs so they have to re heal yet again meaning Annie is able to keep him bedridden and 'her's' for longer. He is normally however very good at keeping control of her anger and knowing the right things to say to her to keep her content.
Attributes-
Very patient
Kind, warm hearted man
Respectful
Normal, middle aged novelist
Famous
Wears formal clothing (before the crash)
very committed into his work
Morals and Ethics-
Pauls work should be rewarded how he commits his time and dedicates it to him novels shows what sort of man he is. He is very respectful and usually a cheerful man and would never hurt anyone unless he was in danger of them himself. He also enjoys his own company and being alone. He can also tell what makes people happy and therefore can manipulate them.
Annie Wilkes
Annie is shown as a women in her 40's who lives in a small town in Colorado. She lives in a very isolated part which is often snowed in leaving her stranded and alone. She appears very sweet and genuine, she rescues the protagonist (paul) from a car wreck when he swerves of the road. She is shown 'nursing' him to health and seems determined to make him better. The two of them begin to connect and have a friendly relationship, paul is obviously very grateful for her hospitality and care. From the beginning she makes it known to paul and the audience that she is a huge fan of pauls novels which he has written over the years. She says at one point 'i'm your number one fan!'. As a person Annie dresses neatly and wears a cross round her neck which symbolizes her religious morals. Annie at first seems to have a desire to help people but as Paul begins to get suspicious when she declares that she was following him the day he crashed in the blizzard he begins to get desperate to get out.
Annie ties him to the bed to keep him in her immaculate house. However he escapes from his room that he has been kept in for months and realize's her worrying history. Her husband had died and this explained her desperate loneliness and need to be with someone. But even more worryingly, Paul found an article in a scrap book saying that she used to be a nurse and has killed many newborn babies. She had spent time in prison but with no real evidence was let free.
Annie's desire to keep Paul with her to cure her loneliness becomes incredibly desperate and begins to spiral out of control. From the beginning of simply helping him to the end where she very nearly murders him all so she can keep him to herself. When she read's Paul's novel that he has written she doesn't like the ending, showing how obsessed she is with the main character misery she burns the whole novel and demands he write another one. This shows a completely different, much darker side to her that is scary and very unnerving.
Attributes-
Hopelessly romantic
Incredibly lonely
a very diverse personality
Religious shown by the cross she wears
Large, 40 year old
Sometimes seen as joyful and smiley
Other times is seen as menacing and frowning deeply
Loses her temper quickly with a very short fuse
Morals and ethics-
At the beginning of the film her morals are shown by how much she cares and gives her hospitality and time to Paul when he is injured and in need of help. This was obvious for her intention, however one thing that becomes very relevant is how lonely she is. This is shown by her isolated immaculate house and her neat yet dull clothes. With nothing left in her life due to her husband dying she wants to become someone else, to escape from her world. That's when she pick's Misery from pauls novels who is in a romantic relationship. This is were her desire for Paul comes in. I don't believe she wanted or expected it to get so out of control, however, she never truly thought it out due to her not having much in her life left to care about, which then leads to her caring for paul to get him back to health.
She also demands respect from paul, Paul plays on this to prolong his murder and keep her wanting him alive, so that he can plan an escape and get away from her.
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