Paul Sheldon:
Paul Sheldon's character is a very calm and keeps himself to himself, his costume represents this well as his clothes are very casual and normal, its like he doesn't try to stand out and this gives off a stereotype of normality. His figure expression Is also the same, very quiet and doesn't show much emotion, all of these features show through mise-en-scene.
At the beginning of the film there is a snow storm which creates everything that will happen in the film, it also foreshadows the danger ahead for Paul. After being in the car crash Paul does not have much choice of movement as his legs are broken and he is unable to move and after a while this creates a sense of no freedom. The setting of the cabin reflects the boring and dull feeling Paul probably feels within the cabin. It creates isolation and the low key lighting in his room also enhances this as his only light is from the outside where freedom is.
Many props that Paul uses throughout the film are significant. One main prop his Paul's satchel which holds his newly written book. Paul is very protective of this however lets Annie read it after all the help she had given, after reading Annie changes character which then makes Paul realize what she is like.
When Annie goes out, Paul uses a hair grip to unlock his door so he can go around the house, whilst doing this he knocks a penguin statue but catches this and places it back the wrong way, the camera stays put on looking at the statue to create the effect that something bad will happen because of the penguin. When he awakens he is strapped to the bed and Annie reveals how she noticed the penguin was facing the wrong way as usual.
Once Annie had dealt with this, she brought Paul a type writer and paper to write another book and to bring Misery alive again. When finishing Paul finally seeks his revenge, when hitting Annie with the type writer there is a low key lighting and fast music to signify the fear within Paul when the two fight and this stays throughout the whole scene until it shows Paul back in the city. The one final prop that stands out to me is the pig stand that holds doors open, Paul grabs this and kills of Annie by hitting her in the face with it, this stands out because it resembles her own pet pig called misery(named her the book character) and after Paul kills off misery, he also kills of Annie.
Annie Wilkes:
Annie's character is very different compared to Paul, however her clothes are still similar giving off a dull and almost comfortable like feeling for other people. With her figure expression she tries to become very close to Paul and helps him giving a sense of trust for Paul, she also smiles a lot at first and try's to compliment him. When asking Paul to read the book there was high key lighting as Annie was happy and excited to do so, however when finishing the book and confronting Paul there is a massive change to low key lighting on Annie's face to enhance her anger and also the fear Paul has within.
The main prop to me for Annie is her gun that kills the sheriff which also kills off Paul's only hope of escaping. There are many other props like her cross necklace which is the opposite to what Annie is like and also her past. Annie's memory lane book is another key factor as it tells Paul what her past was like, what she has done and what she is capable of. He also uses works from what she had said in one of his books which helped the sheriff find him before being killed off. Annie's knowledge of nursing also links together to her past and this happens throughout the film.
However one use of low key lighting did not reflect anger or fear, in the scene where Annie and Paul have a dinner the low key lighting is to create a 'love' like mood for the two but it also can reflect Paul's try to over dose Annie.
Overall the lighting is key for both characters and reflects their moods very well throughout the film and the props for each character are similar and are made for them eg. the pig door step.
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