DISCLAIMERWritten by Renee Knight

Logline: When an unsuspecting woman comes across a mysterious novel that perfectly depicts a horrible event in her life from twenty years earlier, a seemingly innocuous old man begins dismantling her life by revealing her most closely guarded secret bit by bit.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Previous Title(s): N/APrevious Author(s): N/A

Format: BookPage Count: 235Draft Date: 7/20/2014

Submitted To: Pamela GoldsteinSubmitted By: Chris Goldberg

Submitted For: Open Writing Assignment Client(s) Considered: N/A

Source Material(s): N/APeriod(s): Present; 1993

Location(s): London; Spanish Seaside TownGenre(s): Drama; Thriller

Sub-Genre(s): Psychological; Mystery; Family DramaBudget: Low-MediumReader: Peter Johnson

Date: 7/27/2014

ELEMENTS

Director: N/ACast: N/A

Producer/Exec Prod: N/AStudio/Network/Financier: Fox Searchlight

Other: N/A

DISCLAIMER by Renee Knight

CASTING BREAKDOWN

Role Name Role Type Ethnicity/Nationality

Age Sex Description

Catherine Ravenscroft

Lead British 29; 49 F Catherine is the workaholic documentarian who mysteriously receives a novel that depicts a horrible event from her past, twenty years ago. Throughout, she perseverates over her inability to tell the truth about what happened to her and how she has been lying to her husband for so long. She slips into delirium when STEPHEN starts to take over her life and turn her loved ones against her. However, what she ultimately possesses is not secret, but a hidden pain.

Stephen Brigstocke

Lead British 50s – 70s

M Although portrayed as sadistic and cruel by the mothers of the students who Stephen insulted, he is a troubled elderly man who lost both his wife and son years ago. Filled with depression, he tries to sabotage CATHERINE’s life by telling her wife and son about her “affair” with his son, JONATHAN. He becomes so focused on ruining her life that he loses sight of why he started writing in the first place.

Robert Ravenscroft

Supporting British Late 40s

M Throughout CATHERINE’s depression, Robert has supported her and not questioned her decisions. However, when STEPHEN reveals the “affair”, he immediately shuts out his wife.

Nicholas Ravenscroft

Supporting British 5; 25 M Although deemed a disappointment by STEPHEN, CATHERINE and ROBERT adore Nicholas and will do anything for him. However, he has been unable to maintain a job and suffers from drug addiction.

Nancy Brigstocke Supporting British 50s – 60s

F She is the late wife of STEPHEN who refused to acknowledge the truth about her son. When he died, she became distant from her husband and lived in Jonathan’s old apartment.

Jonathan Brigstocke

Supporting British 19 M He is the young man who STEPHEN believes had an affair with CATHERINE twenty years ago. Although deemed as a saint by his parents, his true identity may more dark than they anticipated.

DISCLAIMER by Renee Knight

SYNOPSIS

2013 CATHERINE RAVENSCROFT has been unable to sleep since the mysterious manuscript, The Perfect Stranger, arrived at her doorstep; the novel eerily and accurately depicts a horrible secret from her past, twenty years earlier, and involves her son, NICHOLAS; she has not even told her husband, ROBERT, about this hidden suffering. She constantly worries about her son, who is struggling to live alone, and as a result she is distracted at work. In passing one day, Catherine is horrified to discover that Nicholas has also read, The Perfect Stranger. Although unaware this story is about his mother’s past, Nicholas says it ends with the woman committing suicide and comments that is "what she deserved". 2011 The recently fired and more recently widowed STEPHEN BRIGSTOCKE finally is able to clear out the clothes of his late wife, NANCY. While clearing out her things, he finds pictures of a young woman in revealing positions and a key to his late son JONATHAN's apartment. Stephen goes to Jonathan's long abandoned apartment and finds a manuscript written by Nancy; she used to stay at her deceased son’s apartment by herself because she missed him so much. The old man is overcome with emotion as he reads the vivacious words of his late wife that he begins to write a novel of his own. 2013 Finally finished with his book, Stephen enlists a sympathetic acquaintance, GEOFF, to help him publish a few copies of the book and start his own blog. Sometime later, Stephen secretly drops off the book at Catherine's house and tracks down Nicholas' place of work, leaving another copy there for him. The elderly man believes that Catherine had an affair with her son twenty years ago and she saw him die on a summer day in 1993. Catherine still is unable to figure out who wrote this book or how they knew what happened to her and a stranger in her trip to Spain in 1993. She pushes the memories out of her mind and they only come through in bits and pieces. She remembers the time when Jonathan's mother Nancy came to visit her when she was very sick, but Catherine gave her very little information. She tries to go to Nancy's address from years ago, but she finds the apartment empty; unknown to Catherine, this is actually Jonathan’s apartment. Suspicious that the author is Jonathan's father, she has one of her colleagues dig up information on Stephen Brigstocke, telling the woman that this man is a pedophile. Desperate, she leaves a note for Nancy with her name and number, even though the woman has been dead for years. One day, Stephen goes to Robert's office and drops off a copy of The Perfect Stranger with Jonathan's pictures of Catherine in scant clothing. Robert is disgusted as he looks at the photos and he knows exactly what they mean. 1993 At a hot summer day, a young Catherine and a five-year-old Nicholas are at the beach. However, as Jonathan takes photographs of Catherine, Nicholas starts to get pulled out to sea. When she notices, Jonathan rushes into the ocean after Catherine's son. The last thing Catherine remembers is Jonathan's dead body on shore, as she walks away with a safe Nicholas in hand. 2013 Robert confronts Catherine about the photographs, but she is unable to defend herself. Robert storms out, and the following day he reads the novel, which depicts a love affair between a young man and a woman with her son; Robert clearly knows this is about his wife. The book goes on to describe how the young man saved the woman's son. Meanwhile, Catherine tries to

DISCLAIMER by Renee Knight

break into Stephen's house to confront him about the book. Later, Catherine's coworkers confront her about her claims that Stephen is a pedophile and how she tried to break into the old man’s house. She then makes a scene, throws the book at one of her coworkers, and is forced to take a leave of absence. Desperate and alone, she goes to her mother's. Thereafter, Geoff helps Stephen set up a Facebook, which he then uses to contact Nicholas to tell him the truth about his mother. Upset and confused, Nicholas finds himself at a drug den, where he overdoses, landing him in the hospital in a coma. Even though Robert refuses to speak with her husband, they sit with Nicholas, as he remains unconscious in the hospital. One night, Catherine finds the feeble Stephen standing over Nicholas' bed. She then attacks him, tossing him to the ground. Everyone, including Catherine, suspects that she is losing herself. Finally, one evening, Stephen awakes to the sound of broken glass and finds Catherine sitting at his dining room table. She then tells him what really happened to her in 1993. 1993 A stranger admires Catherine from a distance, as she sits alone with her son. Later, she again sees the man admiring her when the mother and son return to their hotel. After getting a glass of wine, Catherine returns to their room and puts Nicholas to bed. However, a stranger standing over her – Jonathan – awakens her in the middle of the night. Threatening her and her son with a knife, Jonathan proceeds to rape Catherine and forces her to pose for pictures. 2013 Stephen sits in silence after Catherine has told him the truth about his son. The old man at first does not believe the whole story, but the pieces begin to come together for him; deep down, he knew that his son was capable of this. Depressed and more alone than ever, Stephen goes to Jonathan and Nancy's graves, and he aggressively berates his son’s, disgusted by the truth. The old man later tells Robert the truth about Catherine's rape, and her husband is horrified that he suspected her of infidelity. After some time, Nicholas wakes up and they too tell him the truth. After several weeks, Catherine and Robert arrive at Stephen's house. He committed suicide earlier that week by lighting himself on fire. However, he left his estate and two residences to Catherine and her family. As Catherine stares at the ashen bonfire where Stephen conceded his life, she receives a call from Nicholas, who asks her to join him at his rehab therapy.

DISCLAIMER by Renee Knight

COMMENTS

DISCLAIMER is a slow burn, psychological thriller with several emotional plot twists throughout and characters with strong, borderline sadistic motivations. The novel’s sealable hook is the notion of a fictional novel replicating life, a la STRANGER THAN FICTION; however, this story is much more dramatic thematically and ultimately more grounded in reality, as the viewer/reader comes to find out. The author builds tension and mystery outright, as the protagonist speaks about a great pain from her past; although, she never outright says what it is until the end of the novel. However, as a result of the manic emotional beats and heavy handed plot twists that fall into melodrama, this story may be suited for an older female audience and find a home as a TV movie.

Although the many plot twists and crescendo of mystery successfully create a story that ensnares the audience’s attention, by the end of the novel, there may be one too many dramatic beats. For example, the dénouement of DISCLAIMER focuses on the old man’s suicide and how he lit himself on fire after hearing the truth about his son. This action takes place after the conclusion of the storyline’s main conflict and comes off as out of place within the context of the rest of the story. Also, as a screenplay adaption of this novel will have to condense the action, the enticingly slow burn, yet entertaining drama of DISCLAIMER may get lost in the accelerated pace of a 100 page screenplay. Therefore, it may be advantageous for some of the extreme, dramatic twists to be softened or reduced as to maintain the story’s appeal as a slow burn mystery. In another respect, the “no one believes me” protagonist is an overly familiar situation in the thriller genre and detracts from the other original aspects of the narrative.

Some of the characters in this novel lend themselves to complex, in depth figures for a screenplay because their internal monologues create a realistic subtext to otherwise ordinary people. Even though Stephen’s motivations to do his son and wife justice are fascinating and unique, most of the characters in this novel are not particularly engaging on their own. As most novels turned films are, this narrative has the potential to be richer and more detailed because the characters have unique, extensive backgrounds that would serve as only subtext within a script. Furthermore, due to its escalation of mystery and the characters’ quasi-investigations into one another, an author with experience in both noir and family drama could effectively convert this novel into an engaging screenplay.

DISCLAIMER details the struggles of individuals who do not fully understand the painful events from their pasts and react inadequately as a result. Thematically, this novel addresses how individuals often remember and perceive certain loved ones as perfect or infallible, instead of accepting them for who they really are. Ultimately, this slow burn emotional and psychological thriller is a humanistic story about normal, realistic individuals who are thrust into serious situations. Even though the melodramatic storyline sometimes overwhelms its empathy and humanism, it is a subtle edge-of-your-seat mystery that may appeal to an older, mature audience.

DISCLAIMER by Renee Knight