Logline: A bluecoller working man collapses, frustrated and abused, at the "End of the Day" in a modern take on John Koch's mid-20th century painting.
Treatment: The scene opens with a black haired man in a wrinkled white shirt and bright red (stained) tie. He is in a cubicle without any windows--the time of day is yet unknown. The camera pans in on the man's hunched shoulders, finally turning to see his eyes darting from the computer screen down to a plain white analogue clock. One pile of documents six inches high tower from his "IN" box. The only other item on his white linoleum desk is a small pencil holder. The camera returns to an over the shoulder view, allowing not only the main character in the frame, but the large square shoulders of a man (his boss) standing behind him. The camera pans out as the boss begins to wave his arms around, face turning red. The man at the desk swings around, stands, grabs his jacket, and pushes past the angered boss. He fumbles for a lighter in his jacket pocket as he strides outside, blinking against the harsh over head street lamp--it is full dark out. The scene ends with the flare of the streetlight (from the man's POV).
The scene cuts to a woman with crossed arms. She is tall, blonde, and wearing red heels. She stands in the middle of a white kitchen with linoleum floors. The room is sparse--nothing hangs on the white walls, the cabinets hang slightly open, all looking empty. No light enters through the windows. Another female, shorter, looks to be yelling at the red heeled woman. She is in tears, and appears to be flinging clothes into a brown, aged suitcase. Finally, after storming in and out of the scene, the short woman points to the kitchen door which leads outside. The red heeled woman clicks the suitcase shut, and without a word, snatches up a black jacket and heads outside. She balances the suitcase against a streetlight as she tries repeatedly to spark a light from her zippo to ignite the tip of a cigarette. This scene exits with a close up of her cigarette flaring in the pitch dark that surrounds her as she moves on.
The scene moves back to the man in a white shirt, following him down the side walk. He brushes past people milling around the bar entrances, eyes a woman in a short skirt. He raises a hand in acknowledgment to the sound of his name, but moves on. He turns up the collar on his jacket against the apparent brisk wind. Pausing next to another street lamp, he pulls out a cigarette and tries--fruitlessly--to light it. A pale, trembling hand appears (camera close up on the cigarette and the hand) with a lighter, flames and smoke spilling from the white tip. Looking up, the man spies a woman wearing red heels, a suitcase in her other hand. Their eyes meet for a moment as he mutters "Thanks," before pressing on. The scene ends with the woman's arm out, hailing a cab.
The final scene will cut between the man and woman.
The man is seen climbing a steel stairway into darkness.
The camera cuts to a red heel emerging from a yellow taxi cab. She climbs out, her suitcase in tow, and drags her feet up a few steps to a brown door. The windows are dark.
Again the camera cuts to the man. The camera is inside the room, showing him fling the door open and shake his jacket off.
The woman shucks her heels and tosses the suitcase onto an empty table before walking into the next room.
The camera (wide angle) shows the man walk toward a large brown couch. Here, the scenes begin to blend. The woman is shown from behind. She spins and falls onto the couch--the cushions catching her just as the camera is taken back to the man, his body melts into the fabric. The scenes cut to a split screen--the woman's shoes are shown in a close up, one knocked on its side. On the other half of the screen is the man's red tie, dangling from his hand.
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