Transcendence

[Working title]

Synopsis

Mark is a young adult who lives in his sister Sarah’s apartment. He has few prospects for the future and is struggling to come to terms with his estranged Mother’s recent hospitalisation due to a long-term illness. Meanwhile Sarah wants him to get back on his own two feet as well as make amends with their Mother. To escape himself he takes psychedelics and finds that he must first free his mind through a spiritual journey in order to find the answers he seeks.

Treatment

The film opens in Sarah’s apartment; the camera pans across

Mark make shift room and settles on Sarah as she leaves a room on the phone. Mark comes through the front door and an argument between the siblings ensues regarding their Mother’s critical condition and Mark’s reluctance to speak with her.

She tells him to get a job to which he replies he is making money, Sarah retorts with disgust as Mark is referring to selling drugs. In her anger Sarah provides mark with an ultimatum, Speak to Mom or get out of her house. She then storms out. Mark opens the small packet in his hand, he takes a piece of blotter paper by placing it on his tongue, and he smiles at himself in the mirror. Always check the merchandise. Mark sits on the bed and the camera shifts to POV, the book fills the screen and slowly the words begin to move and sway, this is when we transition to the trip sequence. The book is moved revealing a different version of the apartment, it is  filled with colour and patterns. Mark does nothing but laughas the camera tracks out through the window into the stars. He awakens in what looks like an run down building, Mark is lying on the floor and is surrounded by spiritual objects and writing, He hears a voice calling in, it is distant and ethereal. He moves through the house trying to find the source, we see a white figure dart across the screen until it ends up behind Mark. The figure is revealed to be a cosmonaut, a spirit guide, he asks him questions about his sister, Mark struggles to answer and the guide senses his dishonesty. In order to transcend the living he must first set himself free of it. The cosmonaut holds out his hand and Mark for the first time does as he is told and takes the hand. A white light surrounds him and he is taken away. In the white abyss the cosmonaut is gone again; Mark is alone except for his sister who stands utterly still, not even acknowledging him. He runs toward her but she isn’t there.

Again he hears voices this time of his mother and his sister. He hears memories of their arguments, and hears himself say some horrible things. Distraught he falls to his knees in tears, the spirit guide can be heard again telling him that now he knows truly what he is and that all there is left to do is act. The cam era pans toward Mark as the spirit guide’s voice becomes increasingly violent, a heart rate monitor can be heard as Mark tenses his face trying to block out the  noise, the heart rate flat lines and white engulfs Mark until he is no more. He flat line continues into the next shot which is of a Hospital corridor, Sarah is standing and looks terribly upset, the place is incredibly white which makes her stand out, the camera tracks toward her slowly as the ringing dies down, she  looks beyond the camera with an anguished look then looks to the ground. The shot fades out.