1) The document provides a treatment for a film about a young criminal named Joseph who suffers from insomnia. 2) Joseph is promised a cure for his insomnia if he does one last job by a deceiving acquaintance, but the job leads him down a surreal and nightmarish path. 3) The line between reality and Joseph's dreams becomes blurred as the events unfold and his mental state deteriorates due to lack of sleep.

1. WORKING TITLE: 'INSOMNIAC'S THAT GO BANG IN THE NIGHT' - TREATMENT
SYNOPSIS:
Joseph, a young low-life criminal who suffers with severe insomnia is promised a cure to all
his worries by a deceiving acquaintance, if he does one last job. What follows is a moody,
surreal, thrilling nightmare as Jospeh retreats into his dreams. The line between reality and
fantasy becomes indistinguishable as the events unfold.
LOGLINE:
A low-life criminal is promised a cure from a deceiving acquaintance, if he does one last job
which becomes more than he bargained for.
Joseph - CHARACTER BREAKDOWN / BACKSTORY
Joseph is a stray, unsure of his future and his place in the world. This state of mind makes
him feel aimless, unwanted and hollow- a shortcut to depression. In the hopes to feel
something, and a few wrong turns, he ends up a criminal. It only started as a small favour
for a friend. Petty jobs, usually ending up with a bloody nose and five quid to show for it.
The bigger the jobs got, the more adrenaline and blood pumped and spilled from him. A
dangerous life, to feel something other than complete melancholic hell. He actually felt
good about the jobs he did, just to feel something. His life day-to-day was mundane at most,
he was happiest while on jobs or asleep. Sleep let him escape completely about all his
worries, he could live in his dreams and fantasies. His dreams promised him golden futures
of wealth and happiness. All of this ends when Joseph develops insomnia, before he could
only function with the false hope of a happier future but now he is unable to dream. He
forces the fantasies in the dark and in the light.
Three months before Joseph took his first step into a dark criminal world, he had a
girlfriend. For years he had dreamt of having a girlfriend. A shoulder to cry on, someone to
love him, to make him feel happy, someone he could be vulnerable with. It's all he ever
wanted. And he got that wish with Jolene. However, once his wish was granted, for a brief
moment things were working but soon after he felt hollow again. This adding to his sense of
meaninglessness. The one thing he has been craving- love, he thought once he got that all
his problems would go away and he would be wanted. They were together for six months.
The breakup was partly mutual. They both knew it wasn't working, Joseph would do
deliberate acts to make her want to breakup with him, and she did. The breakup wasn't
dramatic or shouty. It was quiet. But things are certainly awkward between the two.
At the point of the beginning of the film Joseph has already had insomnia for three months.
With his loss of sleep therefore, loss of dreams, he is forced to take a long hard look at
himself and what he does. When he does rarely dream, they are incredibly vivid. He is
loosing touch for the crimes he commits (mainly, robbery, sometimes physical abuse on
targets) he no longer feels the adrenaline, he's able to feel compassion, he looks past
himself and what he wants and now sees the human he is hurting. On one hand, insomnia
has helped him go past his dark and destructive side (a way he coped with his depression)
but it has sent him into a delusional state of surrealism.

2. The smell of coffee fumes oozes from him, just from his appearance. His eyes are dark with
shades of purple. The darkness from under his eyes can't go any further down his face. Yet
his actual eyes are highlighted. He smokes small stub cigarettes. His lighter is dirty, cheap
and broken. It's a zippo windproof lighter. It's rusty, chipped with stains of mud, dirt and
blood. It takes at least five spins of the flint wheel to light up. He is constantly lighting it.
Maybe to keep control of his world, that's one of the only elements of his world he can
control. He's trying to conceal his own tiredness. The lighter is the only memento he keeps
from his estranged father. He wears a long coat, symbolising a dressing gown to project a
constant feeling tiredness and bedtime.
Gender: Male Age: (looking) 19-22
Motivation: to lead a better life, to stop hurting people. Leaving his dark life of violence, will
hopefully restore him mentally, his insomnia might go away.
Goal: to leave his criminal life, asking for one last job.
Jolene - CHARACTER BREAKDOWN / BACKSTORY
Jolene is troubled by her poor decisions which have lead her to not having a particularly
enjoyable latter half of her teen years leading into her early twenties. Trouble with boys,
alcohol, parents. She regrets all of this.
She was a sweet girl. An only child. Close with her parents. She enjoyed dancing, even going
as far as taking extensive dancing lessons for a number of years. To her, dancing set her
free. She particularly likes Sam Cooke songs, to dance and listen to. Reminds her of her
childhood, the happy innocent days.
Her relationship with Joseph is a loving one, even after the breakup. When she discovered
he was doing jobs for a local gang, that was the lowest yet most truthful point of their
relationship.
They broke up three months before Joseph got insomnia. Currently, at the time of the
beginning of the film she is in a dark place, low on money, low on friends. Her and Joseph
haven't spoken since the breakup, a few awkward encounters with brief glances, nothing
more. She has become desperate.
She has a very free flowing personality, a head strong thinker. She has an attitude about her,
one that can get her what she wants and one that gets her into trouble. At her core she's a
sweet girl.
In her anger and desperation, she made a deal with The Deceiving Acquaintance. She asked
for a job. A job that would hurt Joseph. She knowingly betrays him.
Gender: Female Age: (looking) 19-22
Motivation: to get money to rebuild herself and reconnect with her parents.

3. The film begins at night. An empty cafe. A sleep deprived Joseph sits in the window, waiting.
He rests his eyes knowing it will do no difference to his current state. He has to stay awake,
and he will. You can hear the rain hypnotically patter against the window. Suddenly the
lights of a car illuminate the dark, empty cafe. The lights shine through the front window
where Joseph is sat. A woman steps out, Jolene. She takes out a RED umbrella with a large
hole in the side of it. She enters. They sit. The umbrella rests on the floor, propped up. The
two look at each other, knowing why they're both there. Hours before this moment they
were both involved in something very strange and dangerous. Jolene finally breaks the
silence "what happened?" Jospeh slowly replies with "I was going to ask you the same
thing". He had been set-up. Betrayed. Lied to. Left in a complete state of confusion and
disarray.
He pours himself a glass of water from a jug on the table. We transition to a very misty
morning in York centre, by the river. We hear the persuasive, booming voice of a man. For
now, he will be known as The Deceiving Acquaintance. Him and Joseph sit in a boat as it
drives down the river. He manages to persuade Joseph to do one last job for him, then
that's it. He's done. Swiftly after Joseph agrees to do the job, The Acquaintance tells him one
last piece of information, Jolene will be his partner.
The Acquaintance explained to Jospeh the plan, they are to take out a target. He can use
any means necessary, as long as the target is significantly injured or killed. Jospeh is to
execute the act while Jolene will assist.
As the film progresses, it goes from still reality to a dream-like frenzy, as Jospeh recounts
what happens while being under severe tiredness with insomnia.