MovieChat Forums > Misery (1990) Discussion > I had 2 issues with the end.

I had 2 issues with the end.

posted 9 years ago by IMDB_Vits
12 replies | jump to latest

1) I thought the transition from ANNIE's house to that restaurant was lazy. How was PAUL saved? I don't remember BUSTER telling his wife that he was going there. And even if he did, she would've waited a long time before getting worried. How would PAUL have survived during that time?

2) PAUL sees ANNIE's face on the waitress. It could've been a nice final scare, but it's ruined because of what PAUL says: "Even though i know she's dead, I still think about her once and a while". And he says it without being scared.

[–] jacc1515 9 years ago

1. Perhaps Paul crawled out to Buster's truck and used the CB to call for help, or found the keys and simply drove into town. We don't know if Buster told anyone he was going to Anne Wilkes and even if he didn't, his wife definitely wouldn't have waited long before she got worried about him being gone. If he wasn't back in a few hours she would've freaked out. You could tell how much she was still in love with him. All someone would have to do is talk to the General Store guy to find out Buster was asking about Anne Wilkes before someone would head out there.

2.I think he is downplaying how messed up he is now b/c of that whole ordeal. He obviously wants to put it behind him though as he denies his publisher's request to do a non-fiction book on what went on in the Wilkes' home.

Mother is the name for God on the lips & hearts of all children -Eric D. Raven

[–] IMDB_Vits 9 years ago

He's definitely downplaying it. The problem is that he does it while the waitress with ANNIE's face is shown. It ruins the final scare.

[–] Ashaod43 9 years ago

Why would he be scared. He killed her. It was a living hell for him. Shes dead. What is left to be scared of.

[–] Remus-Lupus 8 years ago

1) The local shop guy knew about where the cop could have gone.

2)Nah, that's cheap. I like the fact that now he will be tortured any time someone say's to him about being his "number 1 fan"

[–] TheDarkKnightMatter 8 years ago

1. The store owner. If Buster went missing, they would of talked to everyone in that small town and find out he was asking about Annie.

2. I guess you never encountered anything bad in life to understand what PTSD is, doesn't make you scared. Many Marines and soldiers come back with PTSD and I can assure you they're not scared.

I have a friend who's a Marine SGT amd now a fire fighter, he have seen so much that it completely changed him, but I wouldn't say he's scared at all.

[–] beedoobee 8 years ago

I often wondered that himself. Annie took the guts out of the phone. Paul's legs were still screwed up, so he couldn't walk or drive. And the sheriff didn't tell anyone where he was going (or at least the movie didn't show it). Even though he had talked to the shopkeeper, who would have thought to ask him about any conversation with the sheriff. His wife did have an idea that the sheriff thought Paul's disappearance was suspicious and knew he was reading the books, but it sounds like Annie was pretty much unknown to anyone in the town except maybe when she bought his books. Someone investigating the sheriff being missing might eventually go to the store owner but it probably would have been quite a while.

[–] Strannger (2007) 8 years ago

I picture paul crawling around and building up his strength until help came or he left. Remember his agent wouldn't let his disappearance die

[–] Seperatrix (1240) a year ago

I'm fairly certain that a missing sheriff would launch a massive search in that area and with it's (relatively) small population it wouldn't take long for the authorities to find the sheriff and by de facto, Paul.

[–] Kawada_Kira (7282) 7 years ago

About how Paul got out of there, I have a theory. Wouldn't the sherriff's vehicle have had a radio in it? Paul could have crawled out there and used the radio to call for help.

I don't know what the OP means by saying Paul wasn't scared when he saw Annie's face on the waitress at the end. I got the impression of suppressed fear. I'm not sure what the OP would prefer; for Paul to start screaming and thrashing around in the middle of the restaurant? That would be overdoing it. Obviously he knows she's dead and logically the waitress isn't going to do anything to him, but part of him is definitely still unsettled and always will be. I think this ending was good enough; it shows that Paul's ordeal will always haunt him but that he can go on with his life.

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 4 years ago

Agree w/ previous posters - Annie's dead, Paul's in no rush, so he has all the time he needs to crawl out to Buster's truck and use the CB

As for the final fake-out, I think it's a reference to the novel's ending:

Annie dies "offscreen," and for nearly an entire chapter the book deliberately suggests that she got away. Paul keeps seeing her coming at him from various places in New York, but each time it's revealed to be his imagination at work. Finally, the novel reveals that Annie did die at the farm, but she'd been going after her chainsaw. Paul keeps imagining her coming at hime because he's not psychologically over her yet.

In short, the movie's pulling the same dramatic trick as the novel, but in a much shorter time-frame (a few seconds vs. over several pages).

[–] avortac4 (3746) a year ago

If you watch this movie and look at Paul's determination and resourcefulness - after all, he does what most of us probably couldn't in his painful and scary situation, exploring the house, hatching multiple plans of getting rid of his 'jailer' and so on, the hidden knife, the pill powder, the 'celebration with poisoned wine' and so on and so forth..

...it's really NOT hard to imagine him getting away from that cabin all the way to safety.

I mean, his biggest obstacle was his 'biggest fan' - once Annie is gone, he has no pressing urgency, he has no humongous obstacle to overcome, no longer someone trying to poison/drug him and so on.

Someone will come to look for the Sheriff, the helicopter pilot would see Sheriff's car, anyone talking to people in the village would soon realize where the Sheriff went AND SO ON.

Multiple people have already mentioned Buster's car that probably has all kinds of police equipment in it, including a CB radio, etc.

There are also GUNS in the house, and guns are ridiculously - I mean, AMAZINGLY ridiculously - loud. All he'd have to do is shoot a gun outside, and people would come to see what is going on, and see Sheriff's car and so on.

The number one should definitely not be an issue whatsoever - once Annie is gone, with Paul's resourcefulness and determination alone, even if he can't use his legs, he would've found multiple ways to get to safety, even if it takes him a couple of days.

You CAN drive a car without using your legs, by the way, you can use a broom taped to your leg or whatnot, you can at least use the horn of that car to honk for help if nothing else, then there are things like 'cruise control' and 'Automatic Transmission' and so on. He wouldn't have to drive far anyway, it would be enough for someone to see the Sheriff's car and realize all is not well.

As far as the second point, I don't even understand why that would be an issue, and what you mean by 'final scare' - Paul WAS obviously scared or unnerved anyway

[–] Megan254 (314) a year ago

I read the script on line, and I think two cops show up and Paul tells them that Annie killed Buster, so maybe it wasn't filmed or is a deleted scene.