FINAL RADIO TREATMENT – Exciderunt

This thriller drama revolves around a man with anterograde amnesia and seeks revenge for being charged of killing a security officer during a bank heist. It is influenced to films like Memento and The Lookout and film noirs like LA Confidential for its setting and narrative. This story would interest the target audience, which is an age group of 18-25 along with a mixed gender audience, because of its neo-noir style and its heavy focus on the unstable emotional states of characters as the story progresses, especially Scott. Although its structure will be in chronological order, it will have flashbacks that will relate to the film and twists will be revealed as the film progresses. It covers the themes of revenge, perception and memory.

Characters

• Scott Vaughan – 28 years old, has a short term memory loss due to a car accident
• Dan Vaughan – 32 years old, Scott’s brother
• Detective John Smith – Officer investigating and finishing Scott’s murder case
• Brock, Dion and Jerome – The thugs involved with the bank heist
• Lucy Vaughan – Scott’s sister
• Jin Ling – Security Guard who was killed during a bank heist
• Detective Peter Buswell – Officer 2

Plot

Set in Hackney, Scott, who has anterograde amnesia due to a car accident, was jailed for 25 years for the murder of Jin Ling, a security guard that he didn’t know he committed, after a bank heist that he didn’t know went wrong. After parole decided to release him early due to his mental state and his good behaviour, he seeks revenge for the people who, he believes, framed him.

While Officer John Smith, who worked with the murder case 10 years ago and disagreed with the verdict of Scott being guilty, decided to find more evidence and “finish” the case. A flashback 10 years ago is shown when Smith asked Scott if he did it, and Scott replied, “I don’t know if I did it or not, but somehow I deserve it”.

Scott visits her sister, Lucy, and gives her his notepad containing his rough times in prison, including his interaction with a man who took care of him, who was then executed. He then asks Lucy what happened to him and his brother Dan. She said she only knows that Dan was killed by a group who was involved in a bank heist. She then gives his keys to his old place.

He goes to his old place and finds a notepad which contains every memory he had ever since his recovery till the time he went to prison. He finds out that the last half of the notepad is ripped off but he finds an address in the notepad that could lead to the group who was involved.

Meanwhile, Smith arrives at Lucy’s place and asks her where Scott is now and where Dan used to live, hopefully find some more evidence about Scott, and she gives Dan’s address which is the same address that Scott found in the notepad. As Smith leaves, Lucy phones someone (unknown to the audience) and tells them to be careful as she thinks Smith might be onto him.

Scott goes to the address written on the notepad, which is Dan’s place, and finds Brock, one of the men involved. He tortures Brock for information. Brock revealed him that the other two men involved, Dion and Jerome, ran off with the money they stole from the bank heist and told them where they are now. He then shoots Brock point blank.

Smith arrives at Dan’s place and finds the Brock’s dead body. He investigates the place and finds a sent text message to Dion to be aware. He then searches Dion’s profile and finds an address.

Scott arrives at Dion and Jerome’s place and realising that Scott’s out for revenge, starts a shootout and ends up killing Jerome and injure Dion. Scott prepares to kill Dion, but he reveals to Scott that Dan is still alive, and where he lives now.

Smith arrives at the crime scene, he investigates the place and finds Jerome’s phone. He finds a very recent missed call from an unknown number, which happens to be Dan’s. He tries calling the number, and while waiting, continues to investigate the place. Dan answers and asks where Jerome is now, and Smith replies, “Who is this?”, and Dan hangs up. He sees a picture of Dion, Jerome, Brock and Dan together and realises Dan and the group planned the whole thing. Smith goes back to Dan’s place and asks the police for backup.

Scott goes back to Dan’s place and reunites with Dan. Scott, starts assuming that Dan is involved, points a gun at him and asks what really happened. Dan reveals that he planned the whole bank heist and that after Scott’s recovery from the car accident, Dan used him as an advantage and asks him to help as he thinks there’d be no flaws to the plan and they need the money for Scott’s “treatment”.

A flashback then occur in which during the bank heist, Scott accidently shot Ling as an act of self defence, and they all flee from the scene. Feeling guilty, Scott wrote what he did to his notepad but Dan ripped it off, protecting them from the police. Soon as the evidence are turning against them, Dan betrayed him and “confessed” that he wasn’t involved and that Scott planned the whole thing and killed the guard.

Filled with rage, Scott shoots Dan in the shoulder multiple times. Horrified about what he had just done, Scott helps him stop the bleeding. Dan apologizes to him and admitted he wanted Scott to know he was dead so he wouldn’t be a suspect to the bank heist. Dan then dies from blood loss. Scott burns the notepad to avoid being a suspect and suddenly looks horrified as he finds Dan’s body on the floor after not remembering what just happened. He then calls the police and holds Dan’s body. The police and Smith arrive and take Scott to the station for questions.

At the station, Smith asks who killed Dan, and Scott doesn’t respond. Smith is then asked to go back to Brock’s place for evidence and just as he leaves, he asks if he did it and Scott responds, “I don’t know if I did it or not, but somehow I deserve it”.

Here is an example of the script:

SCENE 1 – POLICE STATION

SCENE BEGINS WITH NOISES BEING HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND, INCLUDING TELEPHONE RINGS, PEOPLE CHATTING AND KEYBOARD BEING TYPED. A DOOR IS HEARD BEING OPENED THEN CLOSED. EVERYTHING GOES SILENT, THEN FOOTSTEPS ARE HEARD, STOPS AND A PILE OF PAPERWORK IS SLAMMED TO THE TABLE. PAGES ARE BEING TURNED WHILE OFFICER SMITH’S DIALOGUE IS HEARD.

OFFICER SMITH:       So Scott Vaughan. 21 years old. It says here that you were charged for the murder of Jin Ling, on December 15^th 2002, at 40 Islington High Street, London. What’s your defence?

BRIEF SILENCE INDICATING NO RESPONSE.

OFFICER SMITH: Look, I need you to work with me here, Scott. I’m here to help you.