Juliano (A script treatment/plot synopsis)

The Volt

Hi folks, first timer with this kind of thing but I've been working on a short drama and I've just finished the screenplay treatment. Would love any constuctive criticism going!

It might be a little tricky to understand the jist but basically he's convinced himself that he's living in a state of purgatory and instead of waiting around, he performs a cult ceremony in order to try get into heaven quicker.
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A small bedroom, Reading, United Kingdom.

It is present day Britain. A teenager, Julian is woken by his mother in order to prepare for school. His bedroom is plain, the lights are off and the blinds appear to have been glued to the sides of the window sill. He deliberates but rises after a second imperative. He is already dressed. Black slacks and a plain black t-shirt are his chosen items of clothing. He sits on the side of the bed and begins speaking to himself. He bares scars all over his wrists.


Julian is at the breakfast table with his mother. He leaves his porridge untouched. She criticizes him for his lack of appetite. He responds by insisting that his name is ‘Juliano’ and not Julian, cursing the idea of sticking with one name for life. His mother leaves for work without any parting words between the two.



He enters the bathroom where he applies pale foundation. The narrator is now the voice inside Julliano’s head. He reveals a theory on mirrors, stating that each morning he looks inside himself to see what face to apply, believing that normal faces are too dishonest. He portrays his ‘inner mood’ by means of applying makeup. He finishes by applying black eye-liner. He cracks a crooked smile in the mirror when he is finished. He stares into his reflection and states that this is the best day ever.

Juliano walks to the window in the front room. His uniform is ironed and hung up on his door handle, he knocks it down on his way. A delivery man approaches the front door with a package too big for the letterbox. He barely opens the door and takes from him. They nod at each other.

The basement is candle-lit but dust-covered and dilapidated. Juliano removes the contents of the package; a small sachet of powder and a piece of paper with a strange symbol on it. He changes into a black robe, recites an excerpt from the ‘Dies Irae’ and sprays himself with Holy water.

Suddenly he hears a loud motorbike pass him by. He drops the container on the ground and a flashback begins. Juliano is crossing a road when a motorbike fails to see the red light. It stops incredibly close to him but he is unharmed. Juliano falls to the ground shivering and whimpering. Further flashes show him surfing the internet for ‘I should have died and coming across a webpage titled ‘An Alternative Route out of Purgatory’.

The event has scarred him and the lack of interference from his mother or anyone else sees his mind completely destroyed and led astray.

He shakes his head violently and then mixes the contents of the sachet with water. There is a large cult symbol painted on the ground, Juliano stands in the middle and recites the hymn again. His thoughts reveal that he believes that he dies that day and that he has been in a state of purgatory ever since. Finally he consumes the contents of the cup and collapses on the ground.

It is dark as Juliano awakens. He eagerly jumps up and announces his arrival. There is an eerie breeze circulating. Suddenly there is light. Sweat pours from Julliano’s forehead as an enormous, clenched fist ploughs into his stomach. He coughs blood and struggles to breathe before fainting. When he awakens for a second time there is nothing but darkness and a quiet breeze again. He shivers and barely manages to stand up. The breeze gets stronger and stronger until it is a gale force wind. Juliano chants the Dies Irae repeatedly until he is screaming it at the top of his voice. He covers his ears with his hands, shuts his eyes firmly and curls up in a ball. The wind stops randomly only to be replaced by a white noise that forces the same reaction out of him. His eyes are prized as knives fall from nowhere, piercing his skin in dozens of places. The needles are followed by a rush of black water that sweeps him up. He tries in vain to stay above the surface, salvaging whatever oxygen he can. Eventually he gives up and loses consciousness again.

The white noise is replaced by the beep of a heart monitor. Juliano opens his eyes, he is in a small hospital room. He turns his head to see birds flying by the window. He tries to move but he is paralyzed from the neck down. A doctor explains that he diluted the powder too much to cause death. He asks to die but the doctor refuses. Juliano cries out that he did everything accordingly.

© 2009
Glenn Fitzpatrick