Loss - Ideas

I am currently writing a short film entitled Loss.

The short but simple story I have written owes a lot to Silent Hill 2 - a survival/psychological -horror videogame released for the Playstation 2 in 2001. Not only is this one of my favourite videogames, but one of my favourite stories within a videogame. The story which inspired me to write Loss is outlined in the clip below.

Silent Hill 2 - Intro Sequence

(2:03 - 3:21)

My story is not too dissimilar. It follows a dilusional man named Robert. He is suffering the passing of his wife, who died of an illness some 2 years earlier. Chris has lived as a depressant alcoholic ever since her death, wallowing in the guilt that he didn't support her while she was ill - instead he chose to blank it out of his mind as he didn't want to face the reality of the situation.

One morning Chris finds a letter on his doormat. It is in his wife's handwriting. The letter states that his wife is alive and that she is waiting for him - "in the place you took me last." Although Robert is unclear as to weather or not this is a drunken illusion - he ponders the meaning of the letter and then drives out to the place he last recalls seeing her.

He drives out to the lake and sits on the shore. After a few minutes he notices his wife sat beside him, she is in her dressing gown. He tells her he is sorry and misses her madly. His wife looks away, then sternly tells him to look out onto the water.

After staring at the lake for a minute, Robert begins to see himself, up to his waist in the water. He is drowning a figure wearing a dressing gown. He looks to his side only to find she has disappeared. He glances back over the water, the vision has gone. Robert breaks down realising what he had done during the time he "blacked out".


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As I am strongly influenced by the works of others - I am going to compare the stylistic elements I am going to incorporate with films I am particularly fond of.

Black & White:

La Haine (1995)

Firstly the film is going to be shot in black and white. As I mentioned in a previous post I am a particular fan of b/w films - stemming from my first viewing of Mathieu Kassowitz' La Haine. When used correctly, b/w can give a film a cold visual feel - perfect for the film I am going to make.

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Use of Voice-overs:

Scene from Fight Club (1999)


The first half of the films narrative is going to be told in first-person. The voice overs will feature mostly cynical, neo-poetic accounts of events both past and present. Much like David Fincher's Fight Club (1999) the voice over will not only place the characters emotions at the heart of the story, but propel the narrative in a stylistic fashion. 90% of my narriative will depend on voice overs, at first I plan on building empathy between the audience and Robert right up until he discovers the truth at the films climax.


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Mirror Sequence:

Silent Hill 2 - Playstation 2 (2001)

My film is going to include a mirror sequence in the first half, in which Robert takes his medication and tells the audience of his drinking habits. It would be hard to draw influence from my favourite mirror scenes (La Haine, Taxi Driver) as they both include a degree of hostility and the characters talking to themselves. Instead, I will aim for the more subtle actions found in the intro sequence to Silent Hill 2.

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Drowning Scene:

Don't Look Now (1973)

Favourite isn't a word that should be applied to any scene involving the concept of drowning. However, the scene from Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now is the one I aspire to most in terms of realism, controvercy, and of course shock value. Although the action is different, I aim to transpose  these elements into my films climax for full effect.

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Photography:

Sonatine (1993)

Dolls (2002)

Kids Return (1996)

For shooting this film I am going to look towards the works of Takeshi Kitano, as you can see from the stills above his style is very simplistic, minimalist yet effective. I am going to incorporate this into my film to give it a very simplistic style. Similar to Kitano, shots will be overly long with characters walking in and out of frame.