Synopsis
On her first night shift, probationary police officer Zoe Harrison is partnered with hardened veteran, Sergeant Amanda Gates - role-model and the hero responsible for recently arresting the city’s most dangerous crime lord, Keith Simpson.
But Sergeant Gates harbours a desperate secret. Having stolen pivotal evidence in the Simpson case, she is intent on blackmail and must rid herself of the principled Zoe to complete the deal tonight.
Picking up what at first appears to be a drunken reveller, Johnny Haynes, Zoe’s night descends into a nightmare as she discovers their new passenger is part of a conspiracy - and Sergeant Gates is at its centre.
Cut-off from support, Zoe must draw on her inner strength and use every ounce of her judgment, training and ingenuity to survive the night and return the evidence.
Zoe Harrison
Probationary Police Officer - early 20s
Probation Officer at the start of her career. Full of light, honesty and positivity, Zoe can appear over-zealous to some, but this is a security blanket for her self-doubt.
From a hard-up family, Zoe has endured three notorious pet- ty-criminal brothers whose exploits drove her to sign up to the police, looking for a productive rather than destructive existence. She tries her best to keep her tough start in life secret from her colleagues in case it casts doubt on her integrity.
Zoe believes there is a clear line between right and wrong and respects those more experienced Officers with more ‘years on the clock’. However, her beliefs have the conviction of youth and inexperience, lacking the nuance and cynicism of years on the front line.
Emotionally intelligent, she can read people well, allowing her to ingratiate herself with almost anyone - given enough time.
Story Arc
This is Zoe’s story.
Throughout the night shift, Zoe’s beliefs about the world, policing and who she is will be fundamentally challenged forcing her to dig deep to discover what is at her core - and to act on it.
From a place of insecurity and self-doubt, this powerful belief will guide her through the temptations of money and wilful ignorance to deliver her confident and morally vindicated in her choice to pursue what is right.
Amanda Gates
Police Sergeant - 50s
Aggrieved by being overworked and under-valued, Amanda has transformed her frustration and pain into resentment and entitlement. Passed-over for promotion numerous times, she has nothing left in her career path other than a disappointing retirement as a Sergeant.
Her opinion of the public, her job and the ‘difference’ she makes is at an all time low and her serendipitous arrest of Keith Simpson has provided a dangerous path out of her misery.
Asked to ‘name a price’ by her desperate prisoner just before back-up arrived, it’s taken a week for Amanda to conjure up a plan (and the courage) to try and capitalise on this chance. Amanda’s plan is shaky, greedy and pathetic and she is way out of her depth.
When confronted with the fly-in-the-ointment that is Zoe, she has to rapidly patch the cracks of her disintegrating plan before finding events spiralling out of her control.
Story Arc
Amanda is desperate and barely keeping it concealed.
She has passed the point of no return by stealing the evidence from the Police Station and now is clinging on to her absurd plan.
She will become more desperate, pathetic and morally-hollowed as she twists and turns in an attempt to escape the situation.
Finally, realising all is lost, she will regain her moral strength and enable Zoe to be the person that Amanda wasn’t strong enough to be.
Johnny Haynes
Petty Criminal - 30s
Charming, handsome and well-dressed (in fakes) Johnny is a survivor - and utterly self-serving.
A petty crook who has spent his life on the streets, his loyal- ties lie with whomever has the upper hand and changes with the roll of a dice.
He makes no bones about his lack of conviction and sees it as a positive attribute to have in modern life - often disarming people who think they can ‘manage’ him, only to find he turns on them at the next opportunity.
Johnny relies on wit, charm and his uncanny ability to exploit a person's weakness and extract himself from even the most potentially violent situation.
Seeing a chance to get in Keith Simpson’s good-books, Johnny has agreed to help find a certain police officer, only to be tempted to capitalise on the situation when he realises he has the opportunity of a lifetime.
Story Arc
Johnny doesn’t change; he adapts.
He fluctuates between bullying, cajoling, bargaining, pleading and charming to get what he wants; what will benefit him the most. Whenever he seems to ‘change’, it is in fact a ploy for the next stage of his plan.
Only in his last gasp does he glimpse the alternative path not taken.
Suspect is a contemporary cop thriller - through and through.
Dark, ominous and foreboding, the tone matches the city outside the patrol car in feel; a hostile envi- ronment. Whenever the bright lights of buildings or advertising hoardings penetrate the glass, the col- our-wash is sickly, the intention rotten.
The perception of the car’s interior space will be constantly in flux as Zoe’s situation transitions. It will turn from a haven of excitement, to a prison she will need to escape and back again.
Events unravel through Zoe’s eyes and every twist and tortuous turn will be heightened to elicit real panic, fear, determination and strength; she is in real, raw, ugly danger.
When it comes, violence will be swift, arresting and real - the impact and effects felt physically. A punch will make the audience wince. A stab will make the audience gasp.
Moments of charm, wit and humour will be a welcome respite - but delivered by characters who are ambiguous. Charming, engaging but always with a second or third plan in motion below the surface
No one says what they mean and no one means what they say.
The tone will match the plot as it tracks the grave- yard shift from dusk to dawn, accentuating Zoe’s de- scent into shadows and her emergence into light.
The World
Suspect is set right now. Tonight. In this city.
In a world that we vaguely know exists but is very real to those who inhabit it and those who have to police it. A midnight to dawn world, where moral codes are flexible, motivations dubious and violence crouches in the shadows. Cash is king and everyone has a price.
‘Urban jungle’ is overused, but on this graveyard shift, with all doors closed and businesses shuttered, it’s an apt moniker. Miles of industrial, residential and derelict landscape - all dark, all quiet, all deserted. The ideal environment for deeds that need to go unnoticed, unpunished.
Probing into this darkness, keeping it at bay, are the isolated lights of the Law, characterised by the patrol car.
In our case Yankee Victor.
These functional, much abused work-horses of any police force, are able to withstand the enormous stresses of high-speed response, carry detainees and enough equipment to handle anything they encounter. These cars are the first response to any crime, conveying their drivers to the worst of the worst - into which they must throw themselves.
But they are also mobile office, confessional, dining room and safe harbour from the night outside; a protective metal cocoon connected to ‘back-up’ by the radio and GPS.
Within this, two police officers must rely utterly on each other when they exit the safety of the car, go into the dark- ness and confront what awaits them.
But what if the darkness has penetrated their protection? What if you can’t rely on your partner? And what if it is your first night shift?
This night-world stretches the ‘thin blue line’ to breaking point - Suspect examines what it takes to keep it from shattering.
Themes
Apathy. Conviction. Sacrifice.
I want to explore what it takes to strip away all the conscious thought, fear, evaluation and ego to connect with a person's most deeply rooted values - what ‘just is’ for that individual. Discover what it would take to jolt someone out of apathy or self-preservation to knowingly act in a way that puts them in danger or injury or death. What would they sacrifice?
Authority. Crime.
I find darker, potentially illegal, behaviour fascinating. Living outside of the day-to-day, abiding by a different set of rules and carving your own path, to hell with everyone else, is undeniably attractive. Examining this lack of ‘acceptable morals’ in a character, comparing our own choices and detailing their consequences.
Policing.
The Police do an incredibly tough job under hard circumstances. I struggle to imagine arriving at work with the possibility of being assaulted, abused and even killed. Like any large organization there will always be bad apples, but overwhelmingly we are grateful and blissfully unaware of their constant work; counting on them being there when needed. Exploring the ethos, trials and successes of policing will be a fascinating insight into the people who take up this gauntlet.
Visual Style
This is Zoe’s story. Her descent into darkness and reemergence on the other side.
Zoe’s emotional state will be externalised by a bold and clearly defined colour palette, using any and all sources of light and texture; the energetic, colourful city flowing past outside the window when she is excited, a harsh brake light bathing the interior of the car in ‘blood’ red when she is in extreme danger.
Starting controlled and ‘motivated’, the camera movement and lighting will be what might be recognised as ‘real’. But as the night grows darker and Zoe’s world disintegrates, the frames will become more erratic, the editing style faster, more fractured and the lighting will drench the scenes in mood and emotion.
Unique angles and storytelling sequences will be achieved by physically breaking apart the patrol car ‘set’, allowing the camera to move around the interior, creating a cinematic language that hasn't been seen before on the big screen.
Throughout the film the ‘feeling’ of the patrol car should morph - sometimes prison, sometimes sanctuary, sometimes weapon. The camera will always accentuate this. When the characters need sanctuary, we are within, looking out: the structure of doors, windows and dashboard providing a modicum of safety. When they are outside the patrol car, we look out at the events taking place in the glare of the headlights or just beyond, in the darkness.
Suspect will be unique in its execution. Apart from brief ‘bookends’ the audience will not leave the confines of the patrol car.
To achieve a feature film full of character development, tension and action within a confined space, a new approach is required. One that allows us to leverage all the creative staging, angles, lenses and lighting choices available on a traditionally shot film but contained within a car.
This will be achieved by making the car ‘set’ modular allowing us to remove and replace any individual part of the vehicle providing unrestricted access to the actors performances.
It is now common practise to film ‘travelling’ car scenes in a studio using a static vehicle with special effects and lighting suggesting movement. This allows not only dialogue scenes to be captured safely, but also unlocks the potential for a surprising amount of stunts and other action to take place on and immediately around the car in complete safety.
Studios also bring with them the huge benefits of creative control, flexibility in schedule, weather protection and working comfort for both cast and crew.
The Technology
Suspect will utilise the cutting edge in Virtual Production and LED technology to produce in-car scenes of unparalleled realism.
Studios equipped with high-resolution, high-brightness LED screens display pre-recorded 'plate' shots, minimising the need for green screen use and maximising the value of the interactive lighting projected onto actors and environment.
Fable Studios recently devised the LED workflow for the Netflix drama ‘The Last Bus’, from providing the ‘plate’ shoot rigs and expertise to on-set supervision.
In addition, Fable Features produced a test using a VP studio and existing car driving plates. Whilst rough, this quick-turnaround test proved that the technique is more than viable for the feature production.
Early studio-based LED wall test:
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/435755346/ef22a84207
Rob Holder - Director & Co-writer
(https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1481345/)
'Suspect’ is Rob’s second feature as Director and Writer following ‘ELIMINATE: Archie Cookson’, an off-beat espionage-comedy starring Paul Rhys (Da Vinci’s Demons, Discovery of Witches), Paul Ritter (Operation Mincemeat, Chernobyl) and Georgia King (Vice Principals, Devs).
Selected for over twenty international festivals including Palm Springs, Montreal World Film Festival and Brussels Festival of Fantasy Film, ELIMINATE: Archie Cookson won multiple awards and went on to sell internationally.
Rob has written and directed numerous short films and TV commercials and co-owns a successful independent production company working with national and international brands such as Samsung, Marriott and Virgin Airways.
Having worked in the camera department for a decade as well as acting as Executive Producer on the horror feature Sacrilege, Rob has a comprehensive understanding of how to get the best out of a crew and what it takes to make a visionary feature film.
Awards for ELIMINATE: Archie Cookson:
- Best Film - Golden Precolumbian Circle - Bogota International Film Festival
- Thriller Prize - Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
- Golden Zenith - Montreal World Film Festival
- Closing Gala Film - Anthony Minghella Film Festival
Ben Lacey - Co-Writer
'Suspect' is Ben’s second collaboration with Rob following the award-winning short EQUAL; a two-hander between two enemies set only moments before the end of the world. The script was selected from over three-thousand entries to be included in the IMPACT50 feature film project, which will premiere in 2021.
Ben has dedicated the last fifteen years to screenwriting, from achieving an M.A in Dramatic Writing at Sussex University to attending numerous specialist professional courses to fine-tune his craft. Ben wrote, produced and directed five short films to gain the invaluable first-hand experience of how the written word translates directly onto the screen.
Sarah Smither - Director of Photography
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4967838
Sarah has shot over forty scripted drama projects across a wide range of genres with her latest feature film securing a UK cinema release and widely distributed across the U.S. and the rest of the world. Her films have been supported by the BFI, Channel 4, the BBC amongst others.
Her work has been selected for numerous film festivals in the UK, Europe and beyond. Recent wins include Aesthetica Film Festival and the Toronto International Women Film Festival for 'Best Cinematography’.
With over 20 years experience in the camera department in broadcast, independent film, branded content and commercials, she is passionate about visual storytelling and genuine creative collaboration.
Sarah is a strong advocate for women in film and regularly appears on guest panels as well as lecturing to undergraduate film studies students across the UK
Colin McGinness - Composer
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4582868
Colin is carving out a worldwide audience for his own unique composing style.
His score for the horror feature Sacrilege received glowing reviews from critics. His next score for the U.S feature film, Girl Next promises to be even more adventurous and memorable with the same creative team having already got him onboard for their next feature, The Quantum Devil which is currently in production.
He is also signed on to score the UK horror, Ripper's Ghost also going into production in 2022.
The path to film scores began with an increasing amount of success as a production music composer. Represented by multiple labels, including Universal Music, Colin’s work has appeared on such projects as:
Westworld, This is Us, Netflix: Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Top Gear, The Grand Tour, CNN, FOX Sport, Eli Roth's History of Horror, Britains Got Talent, Mythical Beasts and numerous BBC documentaries.
Fable Studios
Production And Post-Production Services
Fable Studios specialises in harnessing new post-production technology, making what was once a laborious and technically intensive process more streamlined, cost-effective and creative.
Fable can leverage their use of cutting-edge technology to enable the completion of the best film at the most competitive budget level.
Well-established in the Bristol film scene as a successful TV Advert and Branded Content production company, Fable Studios is also perfectly positioned to provide the production framework for ‘Suspect’. With in-house production offices, edit and sound suites, Fable Studios guarantees support for the film from start to finish.
