First Treatment

A TREATMENT FOR A TWO MINUTE OPENING

By

Rebecca Wheeler

Dean Turner

Laura Gardiner

Jess Jones

January, 2012

Present.

United Kingdom.

Small village.

Late Afternoon.

A MIDDLE AGED MAN, wearing black trousers and a black hooded coat walks past a poorly lit secondary school. He walks into a garden opposite the school, mysteriously gazing at the entrance.

A group of mixed sex TEENAGERS walk out of the school gates, gripping their folders. Laughing and joking about detentions, they wave bye to one of the TEENAGE GIRLS as she is walking in the other direction over to her STEPDADS red car which is waiting to pick her up.

As the TEENAGE GIRL is walking up to the car she suddenly feels eerie as though somebody is watching her. She is correct; the MIDDLE AGED MAN is in fact peering at her through the bushes in the garden opposite the school. He is trying to be quiet, although unable to control his heavy breathing.

Seeing the GIRL draw closer to the car, the STEPDAD angrily gets out, clutching a letter from the school. He starts shouting at her “Another Detention” “I didn’t raise you like this”. The TEENAGE GIRL now forgets about the weird feeling she had just felt as she is more concerned about arguing back with her STEPDAD. Voices are raised and arms are flung about as the argument progresses.

The MIDDLE AGED MAN watches on, his breathing increasing, as he starts to have a flashback. His flashback consists of a YOUNGER VERSION OF HIMSELF being shown a painting done by a LITTLE GIRL at school, the LITTLE GIRL being a younger version of the TEENAGE GIRL. “Daddy Daddy, look what I did at school”. It is at this point we realise that the MIDDLE AGED MAN is actually the TEENAGE GIRLS real DAD.

Then the MOTHER of the GIRL walks down the stairs, struggling to carry two suitcases. She looks angry and has quite obviously been crying as she has mascara running down her young fresh face. “We’re leaving”. The GIRL cries as the mother drags her out of the house, she desperately stares at her dad confused and distraught. This is the moment that his daughter was taken away from him.

The DADS flashback ends and he once again witnesses the argument between the GIRL and her STEPDAD. The argument becomes ever more intense and the volume of their shrieking voices multiplies, until abruptly, the DAD hears the GIRL call the STEPDAD “Dad”. This is all too much to handle for the DAD, his heart begins to pound louder and louder. His breathing becomes heavier and he becomes enraged…