Similar Products- Misery characters

Paul Sheldon: Summary - Paul is an author of best selling, victorian era, romance novels. With his latest project finished, he decides to drive to Los angeles through a snowstorm and expectedly, landing the car and himself upside down in to a snowbank. He is 'rescued' by Annie Wilkies; an obsessive, fanatic of his books. Little did he know he would be controlled, hurt and tortured by her, in her efforts to keep him to herself in a crazed undertaking.

Looks- Paul is typically a 'normal' looking man, this is purposeful as he finds himself in extreme and very abnormal situations. He is middle aged and clearly successful. The fact that he wears clothes that are ordinairy shows his down to earth character as we see right at the beginning, however his appearence deteriorates as his health, well being and sanity does. In the picture above he is bandaged demonstrating the physical and mental pain he has been through. His clothes become baggier and loose fitted and he is in a wheel chair, these are all signs of him loosing his control and becoming weak to Annie and her power.

Personality- As previously stated Paul comes across as a down to earth character with a creative outlook and friendly ways. We witness this when he is so greatful for Annie's heroic motion, as we would expect. However inclings of her possessive personality are shown but Paul responds calmly to these. For example when she asks to read his new novel which he usually wouldn't let anyone till the publisher had, ' just for you' he says. Although this may not seem like a huge deal, we are aware of how much his writing means to him, as when he crashes he clings to his prize posession- his book. However Paul, when in danger, does not act like the 'ordinary' person might, remaining calm and tactical, his intelligence eventually helps him to escape. For example, he does not simply try and smash windows, panic or wheel away. Paul tries to sedate Annie one evening over dinner, after sharing an almost romantic meal together. However his plan fails after the concoction is spilt, again he remains calm but frustrated as his efforts become more desperate. This shows he isn't a confrontational character, as he doesn't shout at her. He plans his escape out, whilst writing the novel the way she wants in order to manipulate her emotions through the use of narrative in the book. This demonstrates his cunning character and creative side, even in times of terror where his survival depends on staying rational.

Paul's ethics and morals: Paul cares deeply for his family, this is obvious when he wants to immediately call his daughter after being rescued. He insists on this for a while until he realises the phone line is disconnected. This also shows his concern for other people because he knows his daughter will be worried about him and he is desperate to let her know he is safe. Writing is his passion, this is shown in the car when he holds on to his book, however nearing the end of the film it seems he almost loathes it as he is being forced to write all day every day by Annie, to fulfill her dreams of what the book should be like. He does not harm Annie showing his graceful and gentle side. He only resorts to violence when absoloutely forced to.

Annie Wilkins
Annie is a women of about 35, who similar to Paul looks realtively normal, wearing ordinary clothes. However she claims to be Paul's number one fan and her obsession develops throughout the film. We first see her when she saves Paul from the accident, where we can't make any judgement as she is just a heroic figure in the snow storm. It is blatant that Annie lives alone and is a lost soul, she welcomes Paul in to her home and does everything she can to make him feel better. Annie's one passion in life is reading the misery books, so she develops an obsession with the creator of her. This obsession which starts out as almost endearing turns it to a petrifying fixation.
Looks: Annie looks like an innocent character at first glance, she wears denim shirts, dresses and skirts, just like any other woman. Unlike conventional thrillers she is not disguised or has a disfigurement, making the narrative all the more intersting. Her house also compliments her tidy looks, it is spotless, for example, when Paul turns an ornament the other way, she notices straight away and gets angry. This could show her tidy nature or her compulsive personality.

Personality: At the beginning Annie seems innocent, a laudable character who was just in the right place at the right time. However her mental health deteriorates throughout the film as she becomes agressive, violent and excessive. Being Paul's number one fan she feels she must contribute to the book, so she forces him in to writing what she wants to happen and is furious when Paul writes that Misery is dead. So she drugs Paul to sustain his illness, though he becomes aware of this, in an attempt to keep his talent and Misery alive. This all shows her intense personality and mental health issues. Although Annie becomes violent, she feels she has her own reasons for this and seems unaware of how wrong it is. In my opinion, Annie is lonely and doesn't know how to act towards someone she admires so much, this is no exuce for her acting violently towards him, however I feel she is lost and ill.
What do we learn about her? She used to be a nurse so from this we can gather she has a nurturing side, which is shown when she tends to Paul's needs. She is a lonely character who fills her time with reading, naming her pet pig after one of the characters from his novels, demonstrating her lack of companions and other hobbies. She has a dark past, this is shown when Paul finds cut outs of newspaper featuring articles about her killing children in hospitals. This is where we see her threatening side and the film turns extremely dark. We find that she is capable of murder after shooting a police officer and is driven by and devoted to the misery books.