MICKEY MICHELLE death begets life, Susan & Robert J. Gilman

MICKEY MICHELLE death begets life

 

“A psychological and supernatural thriller that sojourns through the depths of insanity – arriving on time to its allegorical destination.”

TEASER

 

Synopsis

Passenger train 1684 snakes its way through the bright New England foliage.

Michelle “Mickey,” single, late forties, walks through nature’s duplicitous kaleidoscope of color and decay.

She stops to confront the statue of a revolutionary war hero – a man.

After six months of medical leave Mickey gets clearance to return to her job as a train conductor.

Before she even boards the train for her first run back Mickey envisions a little girl on the station platform.

On board Mickey takes tickets as usual but then notices a beautiful woman who asks her to take a picture of her. Mickey obliges, but when she looks at the photo sees an older and not as pretty version of her subject.

Disturbed, Mickey searches for respite in between the train cars.

This begins her battle with perception and reality.

Assistant Conductor, Walt, unsavory and unhappy, bemoans how Mickey’s “back to work” status screws up his life by getting him bumped down the seniority ladder. Mickey has a subdued altercation with the mysterious and self -serving Mr. Devlin, an author and motivational speaker. She goes into the deadhead; a car where no passengers are allowed in. There, Mickey begins to unknowingly hear her conscious in the form of a raspy female voice but as she fearfully searches for its source – finds no one.

Mickey meets up with Dr. Rachel, a therapist who rides the train and often gives Mickey advice. This gives her comfort from this male dominated world. Mickey explains to Dr. Rachel that though she is single, childless, and approaching fifty, she just wants to feel that she fits in to society.

Dr. Rachel affirms she belongs in this world.

Mickey’s perception continues to play tricks. She dismisses it and gets to the cafe car where she meets the charming one-handed bartender Charlie. When Walt tells Mickey about a supposed mass suicide committed in the dead head car by twelve members of a cult, suppressed memories begin to take a stronger hold on Mickey’s reality.

Mickey seeks out Dr. Rachel but can’t find her. The idea Dr. Rachel was imaginary begins to unravel her. Mickey’s grasp on sanity slowly erodes – the voices in her head, and her unexplained visions of the little girl reflect her debilitating condition.

She tries her best to hang on.

Conversations with Charlie give her momentary solace but Mickey’s hope begins to spiral into a tense allegory of psychosis, misconception, and denial.

When Mickey believes she sees the word “why” written in the condensation of the window by the little girl it further unearths her repressed memories. This forces a cathartic realization – she was the one that carried the little girl back onto the train to her parents – to the cult and the little girl’s horrifying death. Mickey’s realization allows her to reconstruct her resilience and find acceptance for herself.

Train 1684 reaches its final destination along with Mickey – has she reinvented a new life for herself or has she actually met her demise in this patriarchal world? She exits, ascends up the escalator and disappears into the brightness of the light – she is gone.

 

KICKSTARTER PROJECT

PROJECT 103% SUCCESSFUL
 

‘Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; The Carriage held but just Ourselves, And Immortality’. “Emily Dickinson”

 

 

Salient Pictures – STATUS – Completed script and currently funding.
sa·li·ent /ˈsālyənt/ (adj): Projecting beyond.
SALIENT PICTURES

Susan Gilman – VP of Marketing

Robert J. Gilman’s passion for the entertainment business has endured for over 20 years as a producer, writer, and actor. This love has culminated with Salient Pictures, a company founded on a simple premise – to go beyond the norm. Its aim is to produce independent film, television, and documentaries which are commercially successful, entertaining, and socially conscious.