A couple of notes about this particular draft; The bulk of interaction is between Franklin and the Delivery Driver, although I've introduced the possibility of both Mother and Father characters. This is to help drive home the feeling of neglect and disfunction from the perspective of Franklin, although this would involve a lot more work for a very, very brief amount of screen time, so I may end up relying on set dressing and other methods of visual storytelling.
FADE IN:
ACT ONE, SCENE ONE
EXT.
STREET
ESTABLISHING SHOT: A row of terraced
houses. On
the horizon, smog rises from the smokestacks of local industry.
A delivery van pulls into frame. Emblazoned on the side is
the logo
for an animal delivery company.
The van comes to a stop.
A DELIVERY MAN steps out, a box labelled ‘LIVE ANIMAL
INSIDE’ under his arm.
He begins to walk along the path, turning through the gate
of one house in particular.
The Delivery Man rings the doorbell, turning to look
around in disinterested anticipation, gently whistling to himself.
The hefty thud of
approaching footsteps can be heard through the door, catching the Delivery Man’s
attention.
CUT TO POV of the Delivery Man, looking through
the glass window of the front door.
An imposing silhouette gradually fills the space with each
accommodating thud.
The door begins to unlock.
Gradually, the door swings open. The Delivery
Man is greeted by nothing but a view of the hallway.
PAN DOWN to reveal a young CHILD, about nine-ten years old, peering
out hesitantly from behind the front door.
Somewhat confused, the Delivery Man looks
past the Child into the house, in search of a more responsible and likely
recipient.
After finding nothing, the Delivery Man reluctantly
passes a clipboard to the Child. The Child steps out into the doorway.
The Child’s signature reveals his name to be FRANKLIN.
Franklin passes the clipboard back to the Delivery
Man.
Cautiously, the Delivery Man passes the box
to Franklin, who accepts it with an unsettling expression of vague joy upon his
face.
Franklin peers through the holes in the
box.
The Delivery Man slowly backs out down the
path, Franklin watching him with an expressionless face.
The Delivery Man’s pace increases until he
reaches the van.
The van leaves urgently, and Franklin
slinks back inside, slowly closing the door behind himself.
ACT
ONE, SCENE TWO
INT.
HALLWAY
The walls and floor are coated in a gaudy
floral pattern. A single, yellow light bulb just about manages to illuminate
the hall.
Scattered across the floor are the
miscellaneous scraps of a typical family. Footwear, broken toys and unopened
post.
Family photographs adorn the walls,
Franklin curiously absent in most of them.
Franklin begins to make his way down the
hallway, stepping over and around all manner of mess scattered across the
carpet, occasionally stumbling along the way.
He reaches the stairs, and begins to
ascend.
Halfway up, Franklin pauses, looking into
the living room through the wooden bannisters.
In the living room is his FATHER,
mindlessly watching television.
His MOTHER is stood at the opposite end of
the room, gazing out of the window with a cigarette in hand.
Franklin continues to quietly creep up the
stairs.
END
of ACT ONE
