Updated Screenplay

Screenplay

Inside the living room, Patrick Maloney waits for his wife to return from work

PM Doing general chores. Religious imagery- crosses in the background etc
Patrick hums to himself as he irons one of his wife's blouses.

CUT TO BLACK

PM in the kitchen. He cuts vegetables for their dinner.
CUT TO PM removing lamb from the freezer. He hears the front door shut.

Enter Mary Maloney
Patrick rushes from the kitchen to greet his wife

PM: Hello, Darling

MM: Hello.

PM takes her coat from her. He gets them each a drink.

PM: Tired, darling?

MM: (sigh) Exhausted. 

MM downs her drink. She rises slowly. PM jumps up.

PM: I'll get it!

MM: (Irritated) Sit.

MM leaves to get another drink.

MM returns.

PM: I'm making lamb tonight, your favourite

MM doesn't respond

PM: Or I could fetch you something smaller-

MM: (snappy) I don't want anything.

PM: I can make some soup, or we can order in, or-

MM: Forget about it.

Patrick stands up

MM: Sit down- for one minute. Just sit.

PM sits- He looks worried.

PM: What's the matter?

(From outside) The conversation plays out- muffled
Brief cut to inside

MM: She's 25, I didn't know how to tell you-

Cut to outside, the conversation further plays out
INSIDE

MM: You'll be taken care of.

PM: (Whispering) I'll fix some tea.

PM walks to the kitchen and starts to prepare the tea.

MM: (from the living room) I told you I don't want anything, I'm going out.

PM lifts the leg of lamb, walks to the living room behind MM. He hits her over the head with the leg of lamb.
She falls.

Cut to PM entering the greengrocers. He picks up a bag of potatoes.
Cut to PM re entering his house. He drops the bag of potatoes in shock at the sight of his dead wife. 

PM picks up the phone.

PM: (on the phone) Quick! Come quickly! Mary's dead!

Cut to black. 
Cut to inside the detectives' car

AM: They're an odd pair, Patrick and Mary
AS: Completely mismatched, I don't know what she ever saw in him.
AM: (Suggesting that she is gay) I don't know what she ever saw in any man if you ask me
AS: Aye she's a butch one alright

Cut to black
Sound bridge to a knock at the door.

Enter detectives

PM: (Quietly) Mary's dead- she's dead!

Time lapse
Cut To black
Cut to living room- the detectives are having a discussion

AS: She must have been hit by a blunt object
AM: It's a brutal attack- Patrick, did you see anything?
PM: (Stuttering) No, I was just out at the grocers buying vegetables for the dinner, and when I came back she was- (Can't continue, too upset to speak)
AS: Our Mary's a strong woman, I don't know how anyone could manage to take her out

Time lapse of detectives laying police tape, taking samples, speaking to each other.
Cut to black
Cut to living room
Patrick enters the living room

PM: You must be starving, please, have some supper while you're here.
AM: We mustn't Patrick, we're busy men.
PM: The dinner is made, it'll go to waste if you don't have some.
AS: (To AM) It smells fab [AM], we could just have a plate.
PM: I'll fetch you both some dinner. 

PM walks into the kitchen
PM enters the room with two plates
AS and AM begin eating 
PM goes back to the kitchen

AS: (Eating) Whoever did it couldn't carry a weapon that big around
AM: (Messily Eating)I'd say it's right under our noses

Cut to PM in the kitchen 
PM begins to smile faintly
CUT TO BLACK

Updated Treatment

Updated Treatment

The film begins with an establishing shot of a row of terraced houses. We cut to a closer shot of one of the houses, looking in the front window through a gap in the closed curtains, where we see a man (Patrick Maloney) waiting for his wife to get home. We hear a clock ticking, and then there is a sound bridge as we cut to the inside of the living room. There is a wide shot of the full living room where we see Patrick Maloney standing by the ironing board, ironing one of his wife's shirts. He hums to himself as he irons. There is a cut to black, and we hear the sound of vegetables being chopped which sound bridges into the scene. There is a close up of the clock- the ticking continues.

Suddenly, we hear the door open and shut abruptly. A woman (Mary Maloney) walks into the room, and Patrick rushes from the kitchen to take her coat from her. She is stiff at this point. A tracking shot follows Mary to her seat as Patrick walks out of the scene into the kitchen to get them each a drink. He asks her if she is tired from the other room. Mary answers dryly- "Exhausted"- as Patrick hands her her drink. Immediately, Mary downs her drink in one gulp and rises to get another, much to the surprise of her husband, who also jumps up. He tells her he'll get her another drink, but before he can take her glass she tells him to sit. Patrick slowly sits down, confused.

Mary leaves the room and we see a wide shot of Patrick sitting. Mary returns with her drink and sits opposite her husband, not looking at him. Patrick tells his wife that he is making lamb- her favourite dinner. When she doesn't answer him, he suggests making something else, or ordering in. Mary snaps at him, telling him to forget about the idea. In response, Patrick stands up. His wife tells him to sit as he asks her what's wrong.

The scene cuts to outside the window looking in (the same as the beginning) where there is a time lapse of the conversation playing out. Cut back to inside where Mary is attempting to explain the situation to her husband. Cut back outside where the audience sees more of the conversation play out (muffled). Cut back to inside, where Patrick, looking distracted, gets up and walks into the kitchen, mumbling about making tea. Mary looks exasperated.

Cut to the kitchen where we see Patrick with his back to the camera opening the freezer and retrieving a frozen leg of lamb. We hear Mary shout from the living room that she doesn't want anything to eat. As Mary is putting her coat on, Patrick walks up behind her and hits her with the frozen meat. She stumbles, and falls.

Cut to black for a few seconds, then cut to a close up of Patrick Maloney's hand as he picks up a potato- he is at the market. Cut to Patrick exiting the market with a bag.

Cut back to the kitchen, to a close up on Patrick's hands as he drops the bag of potatoes in shock at the sight of his dead wife. He runs to the phone where we hear him exclaim that his wife is dead.

The scene changes and we now see two detectives in the back of a car. They have a short conversation about how oddly matched Patrick and Mary Maloney are as a couple. Following this there is a sound bridge of the detectives knocking at Patrick's front door.

There is a cut to black in which we hear a knock at the door. There is a sound bridge into the scene where Patrick is opening the front door to the detectives, to whom he explains that his wife is dead. From here there is a time lapse of the detectives coming in and out of the house, placing tape around Mary's body, and talking to Patrick.

The scene cuts from the time lapse back to normal time, where each detective is theorising about how Mary died. While they discuss this, Patrick asks them to stay for dinner. At first, they are reluctant, but then Patrick explains that Mary would want them to eat. They agree to stay. 

We hear the detectives continue to discuss the situation as Patrick walks into the kitchen. Cut to Patrick who is in the kitchen preparing the food for the detectives. He brings them a plate stacked with lamb, potatoes and gravy each. They eat messily, still discussing the murder weapon. A tracking shot follows Patrick as he walks back to the kitchen. The film ends with a close up shot of Patrick, faintly smirking.

Soundtrack Research

Soundtrack Research 

In our short movie i wanted to capture the same tense and thrilling soundtrack which Hitchcock created in his rendition of the short story. However i also wanted to capture the rather comical situation in which the characters find them selves in.

Velvet Underground - Femme Fatal

An idea which i had was to play on the idea of the "Femme Fatal" trope, which in this case is quite literal with the murder of the husband by the wife. I thought of no better song to foreshadow the events in the short than velvet undergrounds, "Femme Fatal". However, due to copyright, this song is unfortunately not royalty free, however the effect it had on the future ideas we had was undeniable.

Goldberg Variations Complete (JS BACH BWV 988)

Another inspiration was the escape scene from silence of the lambs in which Hannibal Lector escapes his prison cell. In this scene, Bach plays in the background creating a serene and harmonious atmosphere which is juxtaposed with the savagery which is conducted on the screen. I had the idea of using this while conducting research on "What makes a good soundtrack" (http://nofilmschool.com/2015/06/feeling-all-feels-how-choose-right-music-your-film )  in which the author noted this scene as a stroke of brilliance. I feel that we could also use this in order to punctuate the murder within the scene while also having background music which is not only memorable but not intrusive in this serene home.

This is aforementioned scene in which hannibal makes his escape.

Psycho Ending soundtrack - Finale

An extremely famous soundtrack, one of the most notable in film history to this date, the Psycho film hosts a number of extraordinary scores which would be perfect for our film. This particular score is played at the very end of the film once it reaches its crescendo with Norman Bates and the fly scene. This almost perfect symphony creates an eerie tranquility as we hear the deranged killer speak to himself. We would like to create a similar feeling to the ending of psycho with the now Patrick Maloney getting away with murder.

Fredrick Chopin - Nocturne in E flat major, OP.9, No.2

Following the tranquility juxtaposed with the brutal violence which i mentioned above in my Bach suggestion, Fredrick Chopin's Nocturne follows the same principal in that it is an extremely tranquil piece which will be juxtaposed is an almost oxymoronic fashion to the brutal killing which is about to occur. This will turns this normally beautiful and hypnotic classical piece into an eerie reminder of the tragedy which had just occurred.

Inspiration

We are basing our short of off a a short story made by Roald Dahl, however we will introduce a few design a set changes as well as a modern twist.

Location Research

The film will be set purely within a casual family home with an authentic feel reminiscent of the 1970's, however this is open to change if such a house is not available, but ideally the house should be inconspicuous and unassuming, a normal, everyday home.

Their are a number of different locations which fit this criteria.

We have two possible locations in mind to film in which capture our ideal backdrop.

1. Our first possible shooting location is a semidetached red brick house with a garden.

PROS:

• This house fits with being unassuming and rather mundane, with no real defining features which fits with our theme of an unassuming murder.
• It is relatively close to all of our team members so its easily accessible for everyone in our group without large travel time or travel costs.
• The decor of the house fits with the theme with lots of religious imagery, a relatively retro decor and an innocent and stylised feel.
• The house fits well with our shooting ideas with many of our shots being made possible with the architecture of the house.

CONS:

• Whether or not the house is available 100% of the time is a massive issue as if we cannot get the time without interruption, shooting time could be prolonged a considerable amount of time.
• The house may not be large enough for the entire team plus actors to film in

2. The other possible shooting location is a detached white brick chalet

PROS:

• Due to its innocent looking nature and the juxtaposition of the white brick against the dubious murder makes it an ideal shooting location as no one would suspect this ideal home to be the setting place for martial murder.
• Like the above house, the shooting location is relatively close to all our team members so it is easily accessible with little time or money put in.
• The house has a 1970s type esk decor with many modern twists which aids us in creating a unique setting without changing the original setting to much and at the same time not copying it
• The house is spacious and fits with our shooting storyboard which will allow us to be more flexible with our shooting
• The house is more readily available then the above house which allows us to be more flexible with out shooting schedule and makes the shooting less rushed.

CONS: 

• The majority of the cons associated with this shooting location are relatively minute when compared to the other shooting option, the biggest issue is that the location isnt as suburban as the previous location so some possible landscape shots will have to be shot elsewhere.

Animatic

animatic - HD 720p from Caitlin McPoland on Vimeo.

Storyboard

Ideas

Ideas

For our short film, we have decided to use Roald Dahl's short story Lamb to the Slaughter. 

We decided that it was important to add our own twist to the story, and so we have decided to omit the scene set in the grocers. As well as this, Mary will not be pregnant in our production.

The idea of using lamb inspired us to add religious imagery- the idea of complete and utter devotion to her husband, and by extension God

In terms of setting, we are keeping to the original story, as our short will be set in a small house, preferably terraced.

We discussed the possibility of having our characters be chavs/slobs, drinking beer and eating either fast food or childish food- for example potato smiley faces. We came to the conclusion that this idea could make our product look overly comical and so difficult to take seriously- Our piece is a satire, it is supposed to be dark, not comical.

Genderbending- We have decided to review the idea of a role reversal- Patrick is a house husband who kills his wife- perhaps he is a minister/reverend.

ORIGINAL SCRIPT

Inside the living room, Mary Maloney waits for her husband to return from work

MM Doing general chores. Religious imagery- crosses in the background, religious jewellery.
Mary hums to herself as she irons one of her husband's shirts.

CUT TO BLACK

MM in the kitchen. She cuts vegetables for their dinner.
CUT TO MM removing lamb from the freezer. She hears the front door shut.

Enter Patrick Maloney

M.M (From the kitchen) : Hello, Darling

P.M: Hello.

MM walks into the living room where her husband is standing. She takes his coat from him. She gets them each a drink.

M.M: Tired, darling?

P.M: (sigh) Exhausted. 

PM downs his drink. He rises slowly. MM jumps up.

M.M: I'll get it!

P.M: (Irritated) Sit.

PM leaves to get another drink.

PM returns.

MM:I'm making your favourite tonight

PM doesn't respond

MM: I'll make some bread and cheese.

PM: (snappy) I don't want it.

MM: You have to eat.

PP: Forget about it.

Mary stands up

PM: Sit down- for one minute. Just sit.

MM sits- she looks worried.

MM: What's the matter?

(From outside) The conversation plays out

INSIDE

PM: You'll be taken care of.

MM: (Whispering) I'll fix some tea.

MM walks to the kitchen and starts to prepare the tea.

PM: (from the living room) I told you I don't want anything, I'm going out.

MM lifts the leg of lamb, walks to the living room behind PM. She hits him over the head with the leg of lamb. He is not dead yet.

PM: What are you-??

MM hits him again. He falls.

MM walks back into the kitchen, expressionless. She prepares the food and puts it in the oven.

MM picks up the phone.

MM: (on the phone) Quick! Come quickly! Patrick's dead!

Cut to black. There is a knock at the door.

Enter detectives

MM: (Quietly) Patricks dead- he's dead!

Time lapse
Cut To black

AS: He must have been hit by a blunt object
MM: Please, have some supper
AM: It's against police rules, we mustn't
MM: Patrick would've wanted it
AS: Well, since you're a friend

Mary walks into the kitchen
Mary enters the room with two plates
AS and AM begin eating 
Mary goes back to the kitchen

AS: (Eating) Whoever did it couldn't carry a weapon that big around
AM: (Messily Eating)I'd say it's right under our noses

Mary in the kitchen 

Mary begins to smile faintly
CUT TO BLACK

Screenplay

Screenplay

Inside the living room, Patrick Maloney waits for his wife to return from work

PM Doing general chores. Religious imagery- crosses in the background, religious jewellery.
Patrick hums to himself as he irons one of his wife's blouses.

CUT TO BLACK

PM in the kitchen. He cuts vegetables for their dinner.
CUT TO PM removing lamb from the freezer. He hears the front door shut.

Enter Mary Maloney

PM (From the kitchen) : Hello, Darling

MM: Hello.

PM walks into the living room where his wife is standing. He takes her coat from her. He gets them each a drink.

PM: Tired, darling?

MM: (sigh) Exhausted. 

MM downs her drink. She rises slowly. PM jumps up.

PM: I'll get it!

MM: (Irritated) Sit.

MM leaves to get another drink.

MM returns.

PM: I'm making lamb tonight, your favourite

MM doesn't respond

PM: Or I could fetch you something smaller-

MM: (snappy) I don't want anything.

PM: I can make some soup, or we can order in, or-

MM: Forget about it.

Patrick stands up

MM: Sit down- for one minute. Just sit.

PM sits- He looks worried.

PM: What's the matter?

(From outside) The conversation plays out- muffled
Brief cut to inside

MM: He's 25, I didn't know how to tell you-

Cut to outside, the conversation further plays out
INSIDE

MM: You'll be taken care of.

PM: (Whispering) I'll fix some tea.

PM walks to the kitchen and starts to prepare the tea.

MM: (from the living room) I told you I don't want anything, I'm going out.

PM lifts the leg of lamb, walks to the living room behind MM. He hits her over the head with the leg of lamb.
She falls.

PM walks back to the ironing board, expressionless. 
(Casually) He then goes back to the kitchen to prepare the food and puts it in the oven.

PM picks up the phone.

PM: (on the phone) Quick! Come quickly! Mary's dead!

Cut to black. 
There is a knock at the door.

Enter detectives

PM: (Quietly) Mary's dead- she's dead!

Time lapse
Cut To black
Cut to living room- the detectives are having a discussion

AS: He must have been hit by a blunt object
AM: It's a brutal attack
AS: Our Mary's a strong woman, I don't know how anyone could manage to take her out

Patrick enters the living room

PM: You must be starving, please, have some supper while you're here.
AM: We mustn't Patrick, we're busy men.
PM: The dinner is made, it'll go to waste if you don't have some.
AS: (To AM) It smells fab [AM], we could just have a plate.
PM: I'll fetch you both some dinner. 

PM walks into the kitchen
PM enters the room with two plates
AS and AM begin eating 
PM goes back to the kitchen

AS: (Eating) Whoever did it couldn't carry a weapon that big around
AM: (Messily Eating)I'd say it's right under our noses

Cut to PM in the kitchen 
PM begins to smile faintly
CUT TO BLACK

Treatment

Treatment

The film begins with an establishing shot of a row of terraced houses. We cut to a closer shot of one of the houses, looking in the front window through a gap in the closed curtains, where we see a woman (Mary Maloney) waiting for her husband to get home. We hear a clock ticking, and then there is a sound bridge as we cut to the inside of the living room. There is a wide shot of the full living room where we see Mary Maloney sitting on the sofa. There is a close up of the clock- the ticking continues.

Suddenly, we hear the door open and shut abruptly. A man (Patrick Maloney) walks into the room while taking his coat off. Mary rises and takes her husband's coat to hang up as they greet each other. A tracking shot follows Patrick to his seat as Mary walks out of the scene into the kitchen to get them each a drink. She asks him if he is tired from the other room. Patrick answers dryly- "Exhausted"- as Mary hands him his drink. Immediately, Patrick downs his drink and rises to get another, much to the surprise of his wive, who also jumps up. She tells him she'll get him another drink, but before she can take his glass he tells her to sit. Mary slowly sits down, confused.

Patrick leaves the room and we see another wide shot of Mary sitting, similar to the beginning of the film. Patrick returns with his drink and sits opposite his wife, not looking at her. Mary asks her husband if he wants anything to eat, in response he sips his drink. She tells him she'll get him some bread and cheese, but he snaps back- "I don't want any". There is an awkward silence and a wide shot of the two sitting. Mary turns to her husband and tells him that he has to eat. As she rises to go to the kitchen, Patrick tells her to sit again. She sits down, looking worried, and asks him what's wrong.

The scene cuts to outside the window looking in (the same as the beginning) where there is a time lapse of the conversation playing out. Cut back to inside where Patrick is telling his wife that she'll be taken care of. Mary, looking distracted, gets up and walks into the kitchen, mumbling about making tea. Patrick looks exasperated.

Cut to the kitchen where we see Mary with her back to the camera opening the freezer and retrieving a frozen leg of lamb. We hear Patrick shout from the living room that he doesn't want anything to eat. As Patrick is putting his coat on, Mary walks up behind him and hits him with the frozen meat. He stumbles, and as he begins ask why she would do such a thing, she hits him again. He falls.

Mary walks back into the kitchen. Cut to inside the kitchen, where Mary looks expressionless. She prepares the leg of lamb as though nothing is wrong, and puts the food in the oven. When she is finished, she smooths her hair and walks to the house phone to phone the police. Cut to the empty living room where Patrick is lying on the floor, and from the kitchen we hear Mary exclaiming (on the phone) that Patrick is dead.

There is a cut to black in which we hear a knock at the door. There is a sound bridge into the scene where Mary is opening the front door to the detectives, to whom she explains that her husband is dead. From here there is a time lapse of the detectives coming in and out of the house, placing tape around Patrick's body, and talking to Mary.

The scene cuts from the time lapse back to normal time, where each detective is theorising about how Patrick died. While they discuss this, Mary asks them to stay for dinner. At first, they are reluctant, but then Mary explains that Patrick would want them to eat. They agree to stay. 

We hear the detectives continue to discuss the situation as Mary walks into the kitchen. Cut to Mary who is in the kitchen preparing the food for the detectives. She brings them a plate stacked with lamb, potatoes and gravy each. They eat messily, still discussing the murder weapon. A tracking shot follows Mary as she walks back to the kitchen. The film ends with a close up shot of Mary, faintly smirking.

Possible inspirations

Alfred Hitchcock - Lamb to the Slaughter

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Lamb to the Slaughter. (1958) - YouTube from Huito Stéven on Vimeo.
This is the original Alfred Hitchcock presents to which the short was written for, the short episode plays out exactly as it is described in the text and is extremely reminiscent of Hitchcock's other works, mainly psycho. The original is what we want to take the most inspiration from, the dark comedy routes as well as the interesting and minimalist camera techniques, editing and sounds create a unique and unsettling atmosphere for the audience which is something we would very much like to recreate.

Tales of the Unexpected - Lamb to the Slaughter 

This is a relatively modern recreation of the short story within the series "tales of the unexpected", however the scene is recreated nearly identical to the Hitchcock original.

Blotter "Lamb To The Slaughter"

Here, Hitchcock's classic episodic series in which lamb to the slaughter is featured and dissected in order to reveal what makes the episodic series so enticing to the audience. This is extremely useful to us in recreating this same enticing atmosphere in our own media project. Here they
 detail how Hitchcock made the Emmy nominated short so spectacular. Many ideas which are simple yet almost genius in creating a narrative enrich piece of media which engages the audience that we can replicate to the same effect in out short.