The 1990 film Misery (based on
the Stephen King novel of the same name), has 2 main characters. Our main
protagonist- Paul Sheldon (James Caan) - is a successful writer who is
kidnapped by his number one fan: Our antagonist, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Throughout
the film, various micro film aspects help to establish these characters. One of
these aspects is mise-en-scene.
The majority of the film is set in a small picturesque town
of Silver Creek, Colorado. It is tranquil and beautiful, and has a sense of
detachment from the rest of the world. This contrasts the dark, ugly themes of
the film, but also highlights how detached and vulnerable Paul becomes from his
usual life. The other side of this is the other main setting, Annie’s house,
which has a feeling of unease in it. The walls are dull, and look old and the
room that Paul is locked in has a sense of emptiness; this highlights Paul’s
isolation.
Most of the scenes in the house have low-key lighting
putting emphasis on the dark nature of Annie’s character and the situation she
has put Paul in. It is constantly lurky, with shadows always intruding onto the
scene. Early on in the film, sunlight always streams into the bedroom (whilst
Annie still seems kind and normal). Later in the film, Annie’s anger is shown
through the dark light being broken by pathetic fallacy, and the lightning
shown through the window.
On the other hand, in the scenes set back in L.A (Paul’s
hometown), there tends to be lighting which is warmer and more high-key. This
represents the safety of his normal life, and the comfort he felt then, compared
to his current predicament.
The next element that tells us a lot about the characters is
their costume and make-up. The first thing we see Paul wearing is a fancy suit
and dressing robe- showing him to be rich and successful. Once he is taken into
Annie’s ‘care’ he only ever wears pyjamas, or clothes that one would associate
with hospital patients. Make-up is used to show scars on his body; highlighting
his broken state and making the viewer feel empathy towards him.
Annie’s clothes are quite modest, and portray innocence (the
flowery patterns) and an almost maternal nature. She even wears a crucifix to
emphasise the idea of her feeling safe and loving- it also suggests that she
has basic religious morals. Her hair is done in a simple half-up do most of the
time, one that is stereotypically seen being worn by young girls. This represents
her character’s nature well at first, but after her first outbreak- it is clear
to see that she is the binary opposition of her outward appearance. One scene
in which her appearance matches her inner mood is when she comes to Paul
feeling depressed, and her hair is messy and face void of any make-up. At the end,
during the climatic fight scene- we also see make-up used to show her bloody,
bruised and battered face.
The props that the characters associate themselves with can
help us to unveil who they are. An example of this with Paul is his briefcase
containing his new manuscript. The briefcase itself already indicates wealth
and a business-like demeanour, but the manuscript inside it, and the fact he is
so protective over it, tells us more. We can deduce that his work is very
important to him, and that he gets some sort of joy from writing them-
otherwise he wouldn’t have such an emotional attachment to it. The other
writing tool in the film however, tells us a different story. The typewriter
reflects his prisoner like situation, the clicking representing the slow
clicking by of his days stuck at Annie’s.
Annie’s character also has a lot of props. She has an
abundance of medical equipment, which gives us the impression that she is a
good nurse, but also is slightly disturbing. What is more disturbing though is
the shrine she has in her living room dedicated to her favourite author: Paul
Sheldon. The shrine consists of all the ‘Misery’ novels (her obsessive
attachment to these books is what led her to kidnapping Paul) and a signed
picture of him. Her living room also holds a memory lane book; the key to her
past. The fact that she keeps all the clipping about her arrest shows her to be
psychologically unstable, and hints that she is somewhat proud of her ‘accomplishments’
The final element of mise-en-scene which shapes our two lead
characters is their figure expression. Annie is constantly smiling, apart from
when she freaks out- at these moments she scowls and her eyes get wide. Then in
the next scene, she’ll go back to playing the doting fan. She always puts
herself in close proximity of Paul, showing her want for some form of intimacy
with him.
Paul is a closed character, which is clearly shown through
his often solemn or blank expression. There are moments when he shows emotion,
and he breaks down crying when left on his own. His eyes show sadness and
desperation. The other times he clearly shows emotion is when he tries to
manipulate Annie. He does this with kind smiles so as to give the impression
that he cares for her. During the climatic fight scene, he shows anger in his
whole body.
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