Research into exsisting Storylines from Drama Films

The Clearing, 2004

A husband and father of two is kidnapped in broad daylight by a former employee of his highly successful business company. The kidnapper demands a ransom fee which the victims wife pays in exchange for her husband, however, it is revealed at the end of the film that her husband was killed on the day of the kidnapping. The kidnapper is caught at the end whilst he was tracked spending the ransom money.

Here is a screenshot of the forest which features in this film. The kidnapper takes the victim to this forest where you can clearly see is quite overgrown and desolate. This means that nobody is likely to find them there. In my film, I have decided to also set part of it in the forest, however, I have decided that the forest would be the place where the victim is kidnapped.

The Clearing - Trailer

The storyline for this film is similar to my film in the way that the kidnapper is someone who knows a lot about the victim. It is a planned kidnap like my film, rather than a random kidnap for a ransom fee. The kidnapper in this film wants a ransom fee whilst the kidnapper in my story wants revenge. Also, towards the end of my film, either the kidnapper or the victim is killed but it isn't revealed who. This is similar to this film at the end as the victim is killed as he is of no use to the kidnapper.

Unknown, 2006

A handful of men awake in an abandoned warehouse where they all have amnesia and no recollection of who they are or what they are doing there.



The disused warehouse setting is a similar place to where the victim of the kidnapping in my film is going to be taken. This is because it is like a hideout place where nobody will go and bother them. In this film, as the men in the room all have amnesia, it is unclear who the kidnappers are and who the victims are, however, it hints that the victims are the ones who are tied up to prevent them from escaping.

For the opening credits of my film, I am going to have flashes of parts of a newspaper coming up at certain points. I want this to suggest ideas about the plot to the audience to get them thinking about what may happen and also to show them what has happened already. It begins to reveal ideas about the plot. In this film, they use the newspaper to also reveal ideas about the plot as it is like another bit of evidence which the characters and the audience at the same time are trying to piece together to find out why they are locked in a disused warehouse.

Unknown - Trailer 

The Departed, 2006

In Boston, Irish mob boss, Francis "Frank" Costello plants Collin Sullivan as a mole in the within the Massachusetts State Police. The police assign undercover trooper William "Billy" Costigan  to infiltrate Costello's crew and discover who the mole is. However, when both sides realise the situation, each man attempts to discover the other's true identity before his own is blown.



This film  overall has a similar storyline to my film. This is because the characters trust and loyalty is put to the test when there is a mole planted into the police force by an Irish mob boss. The mole is an American citizen so therefore betrays his own country.

In my film, the two main characters Jay and Ashton's trust and loyalty is put to the test when they think that the other had a part in Lily's suicide. They both feel like they have been betrayed by one another.