SCREENPLAY
A hulking bare-knuckle boxer and psych ward runaway travels to Paris for one last bout.
Meeting newly initiated showgirl Anais he realises he is capable of being much more than a cold-hearted bastard.
CHARACTER PROFILES
THADDEUS
Age: 35 years
Gender: Male
Profession: Bare Knuckle Boxer
Cultural Background: Working-Class Irish.
Relationship to the Story: Recently escaping a Mental Health facility, Thaddeus travels to Paris for what he thinks is one last shot at glory.
He is a quiet and solitary figure - that’s clear - likely due to his sporadic childhood.
He was capable of so much more but had no intention of following that path.
Meeting his contact Laila on the train from London to Paris he decides that this woman is not to be trusted under any circumstances, but that doesn’t stop him accepting the fight.
The bout in question is brutal and lengthy and Thaddeus just about pulls through - which pisses him off as he is told that it would be a ‘given’.
But that is okay because he still has his night of passion with the recent acquisition Anais.
Drugged and laid down in a creepy Montmartre studio, Anais is there for the taking but Thaddeus has no intention of taking “what is rightfully his.”
He decides to be a hero for once and save her from this life.
Thinking this will be easy, they both disappear in the night to make their way to the Normandy coast with the plan to get to England to start a new life.
But Thaddeus is forgetting who he is up against.
ANAIS
Age: 24 years
Gender: Female
Profession: Newly initiated Showgirl
Cultural Background: French / Algerian - formerly deeply religious with a Muslim faith.
Relationship to the Story: An immature woman who is desperate to do something with her life, she makes the mistake of agreeing to becoming a Showgirl for ‘promoter’ Laila.
She is desperate for the opportunity, yet refuses to face up to the fact that she will be drugged and raped for money
Anais is hoping that the man who she has been assigned will respect her enough as to not treat her like an animal.
She wakes to find Thaddeus looming in the corner of a decrepit Montmartre Studio.
Has he done anything?
She doesn't think so, but she is way too dazed to know for sure.
Initially afraid of Thaddeus’s demeanour she offers herself to him, to know avail.
He has bigger plans.
He can offer Anais a future.
But, neither Anais or Thaddeus can come and go as they please.
Laila will make sure of that.
And if they dis-regard Laila?
They will suffer the consequences.
Just like the rest.
LAILA
Age: 55 years
Gender: Female
Profession: International Business Consultant
Cultural Background: Private School Girl - Upper Class Danish / Swiss with Middle Eastern heritage.
Relationship to the Story: A multi-cultural International ‘Consultant’ who has an easy charm and unique way of seducing those around her.
And Thaddeus is no different. Clearly.
He respects her because he is fearful and she knows how to use that to her advantage.
There should be no issues with this particular show, right?
Laila is proud of her new acquisition Anais and can see a girl who can be groomed in her own image. If only she would allow herself to dream that big.
But those hopes are soon shattered as Thaddeus takes Anais in the night - seemingly disappearing - meaning that Laila is now on an international hunt to retain her rightful ‘property’.
This will certainly not be without bloodshed.
This is how just how it is meant to be.