Solstice

Greetings friends! I've been kicking around a movie-script idea for a while and I'd really dig to hear your opinion on it, so here it goes.

• Title: Solstice
• Running Time: Around 2 hours
• Genre (this one's a doozy): Murder-mystery, Neo-Noir, Psychological Thriller (at points), Drama and Postmodern.
• Plot Synopsis: Taking place in the modern day seedy and sinister town of Autumn Hills, Michigan, Solstice follows Police Detective Francis "Franz" Burton investigation into the brutal murder of Sebastian Morgenstern, the Director of the Morgenstern Memorial Hospital. Burton begins investigating Sebastian's infamous family, uncovering a web of conspiracy and dark intrigue that only deepens when Sebastian's siblings are subsequently murdered one by one. Burton, already mentally disturbed by the death of his former partner, is pushed to the limits of sanity as he races against time to uncover the family's darkest secrets.
• Narrative Form: Solstice can roughly be divided into a five-act structure, but that barely scratches the surface of how it really works. The events of the film take place over the time-span of roughly a month, from Thanksgiving Day on November 23rd, to the Winter Solstice on December 22nd. Here's the real twist; while Detective Burton's investigation is shown in chronological fashion, all the events surrounding the investigation (which make up a sizable part of the movie) are shown in a non-linear fashion. While this may sound like a whooping dose of Mind Fuck, all of the scenes are preceded with a specific date and time, presenting an interesting challenge to the audience to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. It all adds up to the fifth and final act, the only act that presents events in a completely chronological fashion, and only takes place over the course of a single day; the Winter Solstice on December 22nd.
• Thematic Motifs: Believe it or not, there's a reason besides the fact that I chose the title other than the fact that it sounds pretty damn awesome. As I said before, the events of the plot take place between Thanksgiving Day and the Winter Solstice. It Got Worse is pretty much in full effect in terms of how the plot progresses; the closer the events are to December 22nd, the darker the scene is visually, emotionally and thematically. This is an allusion to the fact that with every passing day leading up to December 22nd, the daylight hours get shorter and shorter; this all adds up to the events on December 22nd, the shortest day of the year... and the longest night of Detective Burton's life. In addition, there's also a hefty dose of Christian (primarily Catholic) symbolism present; Sebastian, his father and his siblings all represent one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins, which put them in opposition to the local St. Julian's Church, whose members all represent the Seven Heavenly Virtues.
• Themes: Family, tragedy, trauma (in particular psychological trauma), abuse, guilt, redemption, love, revenge and forgiveness.
• Characters
  • Detective Francis "Franz" Burton: The protagonist of the film, Burton is an intelligent, determined but deeply disturbed 32 year-old Homicide Detective who is assigned to investigate the death of Sebastian Morgenstern. Burton is extremely talented as a Detective; he is very adept at psychological profiling, allowing him to view the world through the eyes of the killer he is tracking, a talent that both aids and worries him incessantly. The recent Magician Case has also taken a noticeable toll on his mental well-being; the case's culprit sent Burton a blood soaked replica of his wife's wedding dress after the Detective interviewed him and then killed Burton's partner, Albert Hadwin. The case left Burton a broken man, emotionally distanced him from his wife, and unable to cope with the guilt of his partners death. This guilt is so debilitating that during the Morgenstern case, he talks to an imaginary ghost of Hadwin to sort through clues and speculation.
  • Jonas Morgenstern: Jonas could roughly be described as the film's Deuteragonist, since his background is so integral to the case. Jonas is probably the only member of the Morgenstern family who is considered by the community to not be a morally depraved degenerate. Jonas is the son of Sebastian Morgenstern's younger brother, Roger; Roger constantly and brutally abused Jonas and his mother throughout his childhood, and Jonas was further ostracized from his peers in school for being an albino and socially inept. When Jonas was 13, his mother died under mysterious circumstances (later declared by the police to have been suicide, though the ending leaves it ambiguous as to what actually happened), leaving behind a note that detailed Roger's abusive behavior. Roger disappeared after his wife's death, as did Jonas's juvenile older brother Giovanni; Jonas was then subsequently adopted by John Shepherd, a Priest and trained Therapist from the Local St. Julian's Church. Shepherd helped Jonas to overcome the trauma of his horrific childhood and eventually regain some semblance of a normal life. Now 23 years old at the start of the film, Jonas is at the prime of his life; he is studying in college to become a Professor, is engaged to marry Hailey Neff (the daughter of the Church's Deacon) and has earned a great deal of respect from his peers (though many still associate him with the Morgenstern's depraved nature). But the Morgenstern killings are discovered by Burton to have some connection with St. Julian's Church, and in particular to Jonas; ghosts from the young orphan's past have come back to haunt him. In terms of personality; Jonas is shy and timid, but very compassionate, smart and pacifistic. Jonas represents the virtue of patience.
  • Alrich Morgenstern: Sebastian's father and the Patriarch of the Morgenstern family, Alrich is essentially the Big Bad of the film. An elderly and affable but nevertheless dangerously sinister man who remains in the shadows for most the film (his actual physical appearances in the film are rare). Recently before the events of the film, he handed over control of the Morgenstern Memorial Hospital to Sebastian, though the two were never quite close. In fact, Alrich was emotionally abusive to all of his five children, constantly criticizing them for their faults and completely intolerant of weakness. Alrich is also a close personal friend of Father Julian Chandler, the head priest of St. Julian's Cathedral, and is in all ways possible his opposing foil. Alrich represents the sin of Pride, since years of running a place housing and treating the desperate, sick and beaten have left him with something of a God-Complex.
  • Father Julian Chandler: The elderly Head Priest of St. Julian's Cathedral and a close personal friend of Alrich Morgenstern, Chandler is the Community Leader of Autumn Hills, bringing them all together with his powerful but personal sermons and charismatic personality. In truth, however, Chandler knows a lot more about the nature of the Morgenstern case than he lets on, a trait he shares with Alrich. Chandler represents Humility, making him the foil to Alrich.
  • Giovanni Everson/Ian Morgenstern: The groundskeeper of St. Julian's Church, Giovanni is an unpleasant, jerkass man in his mid-twenties who constantly insults the clergymen of the Church, but has a soft spot in his heart for Jonas and Father Chandler. It is revealed about halfway through the film, however, that Giovanni is actually Ian Morgenstern, Jonas's estranged older brother, who is seeking revenge on his father, Roger Morgenstern. Ian originally worked with Sebastian prior to the film, with Sebastian promising to help Ian locate his father; Ian later began to distrust Sebastian, eventually coming to suspect that Sebastian knew where Roger was and was playing both sides. Ian kidnapped Sebastian, tortured him for information, and accidentally killed him. During the events of the film, he struggles to stay ahead of the police hunting for him and continue searching for his father. Ian represents the sin of Wrath, being consumed by his need for revenge against his father and is a foil to his younger brother Jonas, who represents the opposing virtue of Patience.
  • Talbot Shaw/Roger Morgenstern: This guy is seriously the most evil villain I've ever created. Talbot Shaw is a 38 year-old technician at the Morgenstern Memorial Hospital; approaching Jonas genially and offering him advice on the young man's upcoming wedding, he quickly becomes a close friend to Jonas. It's revealed in the fifth and final act, however, that Shaw is actually Jonas's abusive father, Roger Morgenstern, and is the one who has been murdering Sebastian's siblings in a Jack the Ripoff Xanatos Gambit to keep the police on Ian's trail while he plots his revenge on both his son and his father. Roger is a remorseless, sadistic, psychopathic MONSTER who abused and tortured his wife and Jonas into a near vegetable state, but was forced to go into hiding when his wife mysteriously died and left a suicide note implicating him in his domestic abuse. Roger, like Ian, represents the sin of wrath.

Hope you guys enjoyed it (or at least understood it), so please comment and review! Thanks

edited 16th Feb '12 3:21:15 PM by CegeRoles

First thing's first before I review if I do, please break up that Wall of Text.

Also, do you actually have material to show us or is this just an idea?

Sorry about the wall of text; I thought I fixed it but this screen came up and said the discussions been nuked. Also, I have not begun working on it; I'm starting to think i should've just posted the general concept rather than just bombard people with details, so sorry about that as well.