Daily Dialogue — July 31, 2015
Annie Wilkes: Paul…
Paul Sheldon: [waking up] Hmm?
Annie Wilkes: I know you’ve been out.
Paul Sheldon: What?
Annie Wilkes: You’ve been out of your room.
Paul Sheldon: No I haven’t.
Annie Wilkes: Paul… My little ceramic penguin in the study always faces due South.
Paul Sheldon: I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ceramic penguins…
Annie Wilkes: [shows him a knife] Is this what you’re looking for? I know you’ve been out twice Paul. First I couldn’t figure out how you did it, but last night [holds up bobby pin] I found your key. I know I left my scrapbook out, I can imagine what you might be thinking of me. But you see Paul, it’s all OK. Last night it came so clear, I realized you just need more time. Eventually you’ll come to accept the idea of being here. Paul do you know about the early days of the Kimberly Diamond Mines? Do you know what they did to the native workers who stole diamonds? Don’t worry, they didn’t kill them, that would be like junking a Mercedes just because it has a broken spring. No, if they caught them they had to make sure they could go on working but they also had to make sure they could never run away. The operation was called hobbling.
Paul Sheldon: Annie, whatever you’re thinking about doing, please don’t do it. Annie for God’s sake…
Annie Wilkes: Shhh darling. Trust me…
Paul Sheldon: For God’s sake
Annie Wilkes: It’s for the best.
Paul Sheldon: Annie, please…
She smashes his foot with a sledgehammer, Paul SCREAMS in pain.
Annie Wilkes: Almost done, just one more.
She smashes the other foot with the sledgehammer, Paul continues SCREAMING.
Annie Wilkes: God, I love you.
— Misery (1990), screenplay by William Goldman, novel by Stephen King
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Madness. Today’s suggestion by James Schramm.
Trivia: After refusing to speak about his motivations for writing Misery for two decades, Stephen King finally came out and stated that it is indeed about his battle with substance abuse. Kathy Bates’ character is a representation of his dependency on drugs and what it did to his body — making him feel alone, separated from everything, while hobbling any attempts he made at escape. In his statement he said he didn’t come out with it at the time because he wasn’t ready and because he was afraid it would detract from the story.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by James: “Annie is madness personified (a well-deserved Oscar for Kathy Bates). You know she is sincere when she tells Paul she loves him even as she is crushing his ankles.”