Unspoken Words
Tyler was a college student in his last month before
graduation. He will graduate at the top of his class, and
already has a job at one of the top corporations in the
country. Very well liked by everyone, all of whom are amazed
at how easy school is for Tyler, he still keeps to himself,
spending most of his nights talking to his on-line friends
instead of his real friends.
Until he meets Caley, a girl
from a home where her father sexually abused her and her
mother ignored her. Caley was a messed up kid, but now after
four years away from home and with the help of her doctor,
she is finally beginning to live a regular life, one that
she begins to want to have with Tyler. But Tyler confuses
her. Tyler seems to know her better than anyone, always
knowing how she's feeling, always saying and doing the right
things. At the same time, he's always very removed, and
never opens up to her.
As graduation comes closer and decisions need to be made,
Tyler finally confesses something to Caley, something that
scares her in a way she never has before: Tyler can read
minds. She finds that Tyler abuses this ability. He used to
steal by using this gift, and blackmailed people he knew in
the past. He gets his perfect grades by reading the minds of
his teachers, he got his perfect job by cheating, a job that
could make him one of the most powerful men in the world.
And though Tyler swears that he doesn't do that anymore,
Caley doesn't know what to believe, doesn't know whether or
not she should be scared of him.
Tyler himself had lived a hard life because of this
ability. He was not able to sleep for years because he could
not stop hearing the thoughts of other people. He's always
been a loner, never with a close friend or someone he loves,
he keeps to himself because he can not stop hearing
everything, and is scared of how he might use it. And yet,
this gives him a power, one that, if it got out, could ruin
him and end his life. Yet one that could make him as rich
and powerful as anyone else. And all he has to do is listen
to these unspoken words.
Caley begins to try to help Tyler, try to help him as she
was once helped, but can a broken person help heal another?
Because there is one real question that frightens Caley:
What if Tyler breaks? What would he do? This story, while
having supernatural elements to it, would be done in a very
humanistic way, without much theatrics on it's supernatural
side. It's mainly an intimate story, and will be handled as
such. The soundtrack for the film would have mostly acoustic
music, also with artists such as Elliott Smith; Travis;
Frou-Frou; Joseph Arthur, etc.
-- Script Pitch III Host Commentary --
by Lee Tistaert and Stephen Lucas
Lee's Analysis:
This reminds me of The Butterfly Effect in some ways,
which is a movie that I didn’t expect to like, and was
pleasantly surprised. This supernatural component can be
unique, but I’m not sure I like the direction it eventually
goes. The details to this character’s supernatural history
make me fear a straight-to-video-like feel, but like
Butterfly Effect does, I would say there’s a chance that it
can rise above those fears. I didn’t think Butterfly Effect
looked quite on that level, but its appearance through the
ads was different from what the movie actually provides.
That scenario could very well play out here as well, with
the idea expanded being better than the general description.
There’s also a comparison to The Sixth Sense, which
you wouldn’t want to toy with too much considering the
amount of people who really liked that story, and the
uniqueness of it. The good thing about this concept is that
it’s not of the norm and has a chance of avoiding
conventionality in its structure, and "conventional" is what
too many stories end up being.
But on the other hand, I could see it being another
one of those ideas where the foundation could branch to
other neat, unusual things, and then the film isn’t as
original and awe-inspiring as it looked like it could be.
The title doesn’t catch me, but if the story is unique
enough and if it can even accomplish a Being John Malkovich
sense of unpredictability, then you might have a treasure.
Stephen's Analysis:
Cool title, workable characters, but mind-reading? Not
only does this abnormal skill usually come off lame
onscreen, but your plot isn’t mysterious enough to really
merit any seriousness. Perhaps eliminate the whole
graduation and those other usual "teenage" subplots if you
really want to pursue the mind-reading bit. Otherwise, you
probably can’t head for a studio door too soon.
Rating: C
