Film Synopsis - First Draft

The viewer is made to understand the location of the film with some establishing shots of a council estate. After these shots a young child is seen to be playing connect 4 alone, his mother is overlooking him concerned. The scene cuts to a blurred over exposed series of fast paced shots that the viewer will not be able to understand, maybe about 6-8 seconds. After this, the boy is shown to be setting out 3 sets of cutlery for two people, and contemplating whether to get in a bath or not, after he decides not to, the second flashback begins. This flashback is slightly longer and you can now make a couple of images out of it, an older brother appears. The boy is now walking down by a river, he stops to sit down, and looks into the water. Third and final flashback begins and it is about 30 seconds long. It shows the younger brother falling in the river and the older jumping into save him and then struggling to resurface. After it is now clear that the older brother drowned to death, the boy can now be seen to be staring into the river. He walks home and goes to lay the dinner table. He goes to lay down the cutlery for his brother but halts. Close up on face and film ends.

 

 

Film Synopsis - Second Draft

Psychological Drama covering Social Realist influences on Grief. Mainly focusing on a young boys struggle to come to terms with the death of his older brother.

Set in an impoverished estate, a young boy is introduced whilst playing connect 4 alone. This evidently lonely boy is being overlooked by his sad mother and a series of blurred flashbacks begin to appear, quite difficult for the viewer to make out an image or even a meaning of these flashbacks yet. 

The young boy proceeds to have a bath his mother has ran for him and refuses to enter. After this he goes to lay the dinner table and lays out a third set of cutlery when only two people are eating. His mother again looks upset and concerned. Another flashback follows, again difficult to understand and comprehend for the viewer. 

The boy walks through a park and is playing football by himself, he kicks it into the river and the boy walks over as another flashback occurs. This flashback makes clear to the viewer that the young boy had an older brother who died trying to save him from drowning in a lake. The young boy is left distraught at ths trip down memory lane and contemplates his further actions. 

Once home, the young boy proceeds to lay the dinner table and stutters upon laying the third set of cutlery. He smiles and the credits roll.

 

 

Film Synopsis - Third Draft

Psychological Drama covering Social Realist influences on Grief, mainly focusing on a young boys struggle to come to terms with the death of his older brother.

In a highly impoverished estate, a young boy is seen playing connect 4 alone in his dull/bare bedroom. His barely clothed mother is seen to be overlooking the young boy, with a cigarette lit and a concerned expression on her face. The young boy and the viewer begin to experience flashbacks. What can be seen is greenery and trees mainly, the overexposure and bright colours make it difficult for the viewer to interpret a meaning from these shots yet. The boys mother runs a bath for him, but as the child is faced with the bath, he refuses to get in to his mothers distress. She locks him in his bedroom and lights another cigarrette. The boy proceeds to lay the dinner table for him and his mum but mysteriously lays a third set of cutlery. This again irritates his mother, she throws the cutlery in anger and the young boy dashes for the door. Another flashback similar to the first rolls.

The young boy goes to the park and sits by a small river, the final flashback begins and shows the younger brother playing with what was his older brother by the same river. The young boy falls in the river and his elder brother jumps in to save him, but cannot swim and subsequently drowns. The viewer is now clear of the events that caused this young boys behaviour throughout the film.

The older brother appears and sits next to the brother, he reassures him that things are going to get better, and to look after his mum. The young boy walks home and again goes to lay the table with the third set of cutlery, smiles to himself, and puts it back. The viewer realises the young boy is finally coming to terms with the death of his older brother.

 

FINAL SYNOPSIS-

Psychological Drama focusing on Social Realist influences on grief, mainly covering a young boy's struggle to come to terms with the death of his older brother.

 

In a highly impoverished estate, a young boy is seen to be playing 'Connect4'... Solo. Sitting in a dimly lit room, playing for both sides of the board, he suddenly becomes reminiscent of old memories and has fast, blurry flashbacks. No clear images can be made out of the flashbacks due to the overexposure and pace of the sequence.

 

The young boy is told to 'Get in the Bath!' by his mother but again this brings back old memories and the child struggles to face it. He begins to panic when his mother urges him to get in the bath. The young boy refuses and runs away to his mothers distress, this is followed by the mother having a slightly clearer flashback, briging back memories of a son...

 

The young boy walks into the kitchen to see his lunch waiting for him, 'Beans on Toast'. He sits down, but realises something is wrong, gets up and places a plate and bowl by the dinner table to his mothers discomfort. After she vents her anger on the dinner table and cutlery the young boy makes a dash for the door. His mother is clearly not in a stable state of mind.

 

The boy is seen to be running down a winding path beside a river. He gets to a point and sits beside the river contemplating his own life. The boy now experiences his biggest and most clear flashback yet, at the scene of the accident. The young boy is seen to be playing football with his older brother in the park when he suddenly kicks the ball in the river, and falls in trying to retrieve it. His brother jumps in to push him to the bank, but subsequently drowns.

 

After the flashback, the boy is joined by his older brother at the lake, they do not look at eachother. The older brother reassures the younger that him and his mother must move on, and things are going to get better. The young boy then walks home in darkness.

 

The young boy enters to his mother crying, and he comforts her, reitterating the points that his older brother made. They hug and the shot fades to black.

 

The film then jumps a few weeks later, happy music playing on the radio. The boy and his mother sit down for lunch and the boy retrieves the forks. He picks up 3 but smiles to himself, he puts the 3rd fork fown and walks to the dinner table and the relationship with his mother is now much different, they are happy together. Film blurs out and concludes.