Character foils in Misery

This was definitely one of the more memorable movies I’ve watched. The acting was spot on, the plot was suspenseful, the cinematography was tight and made even the gruesome parts of the movie palatable, and the script seemed very well written.

Basically, I want to read the book now.

I found the two main characters extremely interesting, especially when looked at side-by-side. If you look at them side-by-side, they appear to be each other’s foils in many ways.

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  Paul was actually quite emotive in the opening scene

  Paul: is emotive during mundane, ordinary events. During the opening scene, we see many emotions expressed in his face and body language while he finishes a manuscript and begins his journey back to NYC. In contrast, he is quick to close down any expressions when he’s hurt, upset, or vulnerable, like when he basically swallows his screams two seconds after having his SECOND ankle broken!

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  Annie is an angry person

  Annie: is actually fairly expressionless during normal activities, she seems neutral during various conversations, like when she explains the car crash to Paul. When she’s upset, hurt, or vulnerable though, she becomes extremely emotive, to the point of violence.

• Paul: is a take-it-as-it-is realist from the slums who’s rooting for the underdog. Paul’s interactions with Annie at the beginning and the few other characters he interacts with (or who report their interactions with him) paint him as someone who won’t bother or judge you unless you do the same to him so much that you’re getting in his way. He tells Annie that many women in a specific year (1891? I think?) died in childbirth (true when compared to today) and has the kids from a bad neighborhood in his new novel using language that they would hear.

  

  Paul is the never-gives up underdog throughout most of the story

  It can also be inferred from watching the film that he’s from a poor family in a poor neighborhood and empathizes with outcasts and underdogs. He says he’s from the slums, the first novel that he really wants to write has a bunch of slum kids as protagonists (the people his readers are supposed to root for), and apparently the main character of his Misery serious was at least not of high birth (I would not be surprised if she was of low birth).

• Annie: in comparison, is a “my way or the highway” deluded, sheltered elitist. Throughout the film there are various stories told about how Annie will get angry if people or events are not going her way, such as the story about the “cliffhangers” or her getting angry at Paul multiple times when he points out an objective mistake. Not taking corrections well also shows her as a deluded person.

  

  Annie dresses conservatively, always wears a cross necklace

  Annie doesn’t always acknowledge reality, shown both with getting angry if anyone points out mistakes and with her belief that she has a healthy relationship with Paul (she gets angry when he doesn’t respond correctly in the “relationship” as well). In comparison to Paul, who is hinted to be wise to just how awful the world can be, it can be inferred that Annie has lived her whole life in backwoods Oregon, and has subscribed to a rigid, conservative lifestyle. She also shows very elitist tendencies. She gets angry when people are less virtuous than she thinks they should be (Paul’s new characters swear *gasp*), believes that she has a special relationship with Paul and God, and doesn’t think she’s wrong in killing people who get in her way

I think that these two characters are in many ways foils of each other. Due to this, I am not surprised that they ended up trying to destroy each other (also not surprised since this was a film adaptation of a Stephen King novel, but regardless).

This movie, all in all, seemed to be about which of these two types of characters could dominate the other. If one were to extrapolate a large, worldly moral or theme from this story, it might be something along the lines of “People don’t hand things to you, don’t expect them to because it’s up to you to adapt enough to survive and get enough to keep on living.”