Rom/com

Protagonist: Louis who gets into the car with old lady.

Normality: Louis is a smart, but unemployed man who robs regularly with his friend/partner, Lily.  He does this as a full-time gig while lying to his normal, well-mannered, and wealthy family that he has an office job for a big company.

Disturbance: Louis and Lily get stuck at the boom gates behind a clueless, old woman who is slow and does not know how to leave the car park. As the police approach them and no hope of escaping with his car and Lily, Louis asks to drive the car of the old woman, leaving Lily behind to be arrested for the crime while he escapes.

Plan: Louis introduces himself to the old lady who tells him her name is Andi and tells her that he will help her with whatever she needs. He plans to be on her good side for as long as possible if she does not turn him in/report him. She agrees to if he becomes her carer/friend who she will pay to run errands.

Surprise… which turns into the obstacle: Louis drives Andi home, a small, cute cottage with a beautiful garden, lovely interior, and she has 2 beautiful cats. Louis is walking around the house looking at her old furniture and photographs. He stops dead in his tracks when his eyes find a photograph of Andi AND Lily (his burglar partner who he just abandoned) next to each other in a recent photo. Although to Louis’s surprise, Lily is not in her usual attire or state. She has girly makeup, and is in a pretty yellow sundress, smiling brightly. Louis asks Andi who this girl is, and she responds that she is her granddaughter.

Obstacle: Louis realises that he will be tending to the grandmother of the girl who has just been put into prison. But when she is bailed out due to her wealthy parents… he must avoid and eventually face Lily who is determined to expose him… but fights with herself as she does not want to disappoint her loved grandmother… as well as both Louis and Lily slowly growing feelings for each other further along.

Reflection:  This activity was highly enjoyable, and I feel that I was able to put the 3 weeks of learning and experience into proper action for the first time. Aronson emphasised the importance of differentiating the action line from the relationship line as the “plot must deal with a developing relationship”. I kept this in mind which led me to the conclusion of having a romance between Lily and Louis be the stem for the character arc and development. I strongly feel that the practice over the weeks has made me understand a lot more about storytelling and generating not only that, but characters and their ability to change through cause and effect.

Reference:

Aronson, Linda. (2010). The 21st Century Screenplay: a comprehensive guide to writing tomorrow’s films. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin