OUT OF SYNC: Treatment

 Great to see everybody getting into this. What a clever group! Here's my treatment. Slightly different style. We can discuss this at the meeting.

 

OUT OF SYNC

Theme

OUT OF SYNC is a ten-minute short film exploring the theme of how much our disjointed existence in the modern world is a constant challenge to our sense of self. A fantasy of sorts, it explores one man’s predicament when he finds that he is lost in a nightmare of disconnection. Or as Talking Heads front-man, David Byrne, put it. “You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile. And you may find yourself in a beautiful house. With a beautiful wife. And you may ask yourself. ‘Well ... how did I get here?’ "

The Action

Our story opens on a man driving while listening to the news on the car radio. He shakes his head at the endless barrage of disturbing news items. Every day it gets worse. Our man, let’s call him Jim, has been away for a couple of weeks on a business trip. When he arrives back at his home in the countryside driving his Volvo V70, he finds an exact model, down to the year and colour, sitting in and blocking his driveway. He pulls off to the side of the road and wonders what this could mean. Has his wife found and bought a similar car for herself or for parts for his car?

He is about to exit his vehicle and investigate when a car pulls up beside his and lowers its window. Jim does the same. The man in the other car smiles and calls out to him. Hey, Chris, how’s it going? It is Bob, an old friend. Jim, running with the name joke, says not bad, just tired from the trip, Bob.  The other man grins. Trip? He asks about the car in the driveway. Has Jim bought another Volvo? He asks whether Jim is going to play cards that week at the usual time. There is confusion about the time and location. The other man drives off somewhat mystified at Chris’ (Jim’s) odd behaviour.

Jim leaves his car and peers through the rear window of the other Volvo. He notes the items in the car and returns to his own Volvo. The items appear to be the same and in exactly the same position with the exception of a present he brought back from the conference for his wife. Very odd. He returns to the car.

The door of the house opens, and a man emerges. It is Jim! Jim gasps. He doesn’t understand what’s going on. The man sits down with a newspaper and coffee and begins to read. He doesn’t notice Jim in his Volvo as he is somewhat masked by the trees in the yard.

Jim reaches for his cell phone and dials his wife’s number. His wife answers. Where is he? Why isn’t he home yet? Jim is confused. I am home he says. What’s that car doing in the driveway and who’s that guy on the porch? More confusion.

The door to the house opens and Jim’s wife emerges with some snacks on a tray. Jim looks at his phone and hangs up. His wife on the porch gives the other Jim a kiss on the cheek and deposits the snacks on the table and sits down. Jim jumps out of the car and is about to run down the driveway when the other Jim’s cell phone rings and he goes into the house to answer it.  

Jim walks down the driveway and up to the porch. His wife notices him. Thinking he has come around from the back, she asks who was on the phone? And how did Jim get around the house so fast and why did he change his shirt? More confusion.

Jim backs off and walks around to the rear entrance to confront the other Jim. Meanwhile the other Jim comes back out the front door and asks his wife if she has noticed the Volvo on the road. She peers through the trees. So there is! Probably somebody who noticed the same car in the driveway and stopped to take a look. It is a rare car of sorts. The other Jim walks off down the driveway to speak to the driver of the other Volvo.

Jim walks to the back door and enters the house. Finding no other Jim inside, he peers out the window and sees the other Jim walking towards the cars. He takes out his phone and calls his wife again. His wife answers, but not the wife on the porch. Where is he? Where is she? he asks? She replies that she is upstairs. Now Jim is beginning to panic. He tells his wife that he suspects he is having a psychotic episode. It might have been caused by jet lag or his intense work at the conference. I thought you were playing poker, she says. Jim quickly hangs up.

He walks cautiously up the stairs and finds his wife cleaning the guest room. What’s going on Martha? What do you mean, Bob? And who’s Martha?

Notes

To clear up some possible confusion; as written there are three sets of Jim and his wife, all going by different names (although there could be thousands more). This would be made clearer in the dialogue of the script. Suffice to say that the confusion and apprehension of our main character is, in fact, the focus of the piece. The audience should also be disoriented. 

The Characters

There are only three characters in terms of actors. Jim, his wife and his friend. They could be anybody.

Style

Shot in relatively moody black and white, initial POV (Point Of View) shots give way to increasingly angular takes as Jim starts to break down.  The familiar atmosphere becomes more hesitant and anxious as the film progresses. This is achieved through the acting, camera angles and close-ups and music which intensifies as the film proceeds. Of course, since there are only three actors and we have no budget, there are no interactions between characters of the same name. I think.