Lacanian Theory and Rpb Reiner's 'Misery' (1990)
How are Elements of Lacan's Psychoanalytical Theories Conveyed in the film 'Misery' (1990)
Many horror films employ microcosms of psychoanalytical theory in order to instill feelings of anxiety, suspense and fear in their audience at certain points; using psychoanalytical theory on an audience might seek to make the viewer think about the situation within it's likelihood to reality, which is what gives a truly great horror its lasting psychological affect. I find that a film that uses psychoanalytical theory in this way is Rob Reiner's 'Misery' (1990) due to it's realistic narrative- rather than employing the use of ghouls or monsters, Misery takes Stephen King's best-selling novel and depicts the believable story of a man who is rescued by his number one fan come worst nightmare.
'Misery' as a production presents the audience to an entirely realistic scenario from the outset, following writer Paul Sheldon, played by James Caan through the horrifying ordeal of a car crash in the secluded mountains of Maine, where he is rescued by Annie Wilkes, his number one fan and nurse, who holds him hostage in her house when she realises the release of his latest book brought the death of it's point character and entire franchise, "Misery", also the name of her favourite pig.
Throughout the film, Reiner makes use of Lacanian theory to highlight the senses of sheer terror and suspense that Paul Sheldon feels throughout his entrapment in Annie Wilkes's house.
Particularly, the mirror stage is one which I found was used frequently throughout the film in oder to allow the audience to experience the scene directly through Paul's helpless perspective, almost offering an interactive experience of the crazed and disgraced nurse that is Annie Wilkes.
A good example of this is when Paul first wakes up after the car crash in Annie's house, Reiner begins this scene with a point of view shot from the eyes of Paul waking up, pulling the shot in and out of focus to create the affect of the human eye adjusting to focus on light first thing in the morning. The first thing he is greeted by is a strange woman, Annie, which instantly gives an uneast feeling as a viewer, and we feel equally as helpless to the situation as Paul as he discovers that he cannot move as both of his legs and multiple other bones were broken in the accident, leaving him bed bound and totally at the disposal of his rescuer. At first, he is grateful for his rescue, however his gratitude is short lived as Annie's short temper and bipolar behaviour soon comes into play when sh gets a copy of Sheldon's latest book, unveiling the death of Misery and her only love and passion in life.
Lacan proposes that human infants pass through aa stage through which an external image of the human body (reflected in a mirror or represented through the mother or primary care-giver) produces a psychic response that gives the rise to the mental representation of an 'i'" (Hawaii.edu, 2015). When translated to film, the mirror stage allows the director to directly represent a situation in a characters point of view which stimulates the viewer's mental representation of the 'I', therefore, displaying the scene through Sheldon's eyes proves to place him in the place of the infant and Annie Wilkes in the role of the care-giver in the situation.
This in itself is not enough to create an inherent feeling of terror and anxiety within the film and which is required to meet the needs of the narrative, therefore continuing this mirror stage throughout the film therefore allows Reiner to create those feelings by allowing the audience to directly experience Annie's behaviour through the lens, as if they were watching her themselves.
When Annie flies off the handle, we are again subjected to Sheldon's helpless point view as she flips, jump cutting between his point of view and birds eye view, close up shots of Sheldon lying in the bed as he is subjected to her rage and forced to burn his masterpiece. This is an important scene to highlight, and particularly with the usage of the mirror stage as it is the turning point for the entire film, outlining the true gravity of the situation that Paul finds himself subjected to, and Kathy Bate's manic rendition of the character conveys this well through the intimidating point of view shots where we see a the care-giver become a danger and a liability.
Bibliography:
Reiner, R., (1990), 'Misery', Colombia Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment
'Misery' as a production presents the audience to an entirely realistic scenario from the outset, following writer Paul Sheldon, played by James Caan through the horrifying ordeal of a car crash in the secluded mountains of Maine, where he is rescued by Annie Wilkes, his number one fan and nurse, who holds him hostage in her house when she realises the release of his latest book brought the death of it's point character and entire franchise, "Misery", also the name of her favourite pig.
Particularly, the mirror stage is one which I found was used frequently throughout the film in oder to allow the audience to experience the scene directly through Paul's helpless perspective, almost offering an interactive experience of the crazed and disgraced nurse that is Annie Wilkes.
A good example of this is when Paul first wakes up after the car crash in Annie's house, Reiner begins this scene with a point of view shot from the eyes of Paul waking up, pulling the shot in and out of focus to create the affect of the human eye adjusting to focus on light first thing in the morning. The first thing he is greeted by is a strange woman, Annie, which instantly gives an uneast feeling as a viewer, and we feel equally as helpless to the situation as Paul as he discovers that he cannot move as both of his legs and multiple other bones were broken in the accident, leaving him bed bound and totally at the disposal of his rescuer. At first, he is grateful for his rescue, however his gratitude is short lived as Annie's short temper and bipolar behaviour soon comes into play when sh gets a copy of Sheldon's latest book, unveiling the death of Misery and her only love and passion in life.
Lacan proposes that human infants pass through aa stage through which an external image of the human body (reflected in a mirror or represented through the mother or primary care-giver) produces a psychic response that gives the rise to the mental representation of an 'i'" (Hawaii.edu, 2015). When translated to film, the mirror stage allows the director to directly represent a situation in a characters point of view which stimulates the viewer's mental representation of the 'I', therefore, displaying the scene through Sheldon's eyes proves to place him in the place of the infant and Annie Wilkes in the role of the care-giver in the situation.
This in itself is not enough to create an inherent feeling of terror and anxiety within the film and which is required to meet the needs of the narrative, therefore continuing this mirror stage throughout the film therefore allows Reiner to create those feelings by allowing the audience to directly experience Annie's behaviour through the lens, as if they were watching her themselves.
When Annie flies off the handle, we are again subjected to Sheldon's helpless point view as she flips, jump cutting between his point of view and birds eye view, close up shots of Sheldon lying in the bed as he is subjected to her rage and forced to burn his masterpiece. This is an important scene to highlight, and particularly with the usage of the mirror stage as it is the turning point for the entire film, outlining the true gravity of the situation that Paul finds himself subjected to, and Kathy Bate's manic rendition of the character conveys this well through the intimidating point of view shots where we see a the care-giver become a danger and a liability.
Bibliography:
- Hawaii Education, (2015), 'Lacan: The Mirror Stage', Hawaii Education, available from:http://www.english.hawaii.edu/criticalink/lacan/
- King, S,. (1987) 'Misery', pgs 6-48, Viking Press, New York City, United States of America
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