Idea 2 - Scott Marshall

A man heads into an office to have an interview for a mysteriously vague job. The interviewer takes him into a brilliantly white room, and begins the process. As he asks questions to the potential employee we see his answers and life pan in out in a series of flashbacks.

At the start of the piece, the unnamed protagonist finds a mysterious advert for a job in the local paper. We then see a note has been left for him in his flat confirming the interview. The next shot takes place inside the office, where he is shown to a smaller office by a rather bland and dour woman. There is nothing at all extraordinary about the office, with its Grey colour palette and symmetrically lined desks. The smaller office is a stark contrast, as it is blindingly white, only broken up by a small black desk and a man sitting behind it. The man is bald, but has a white beard, and is wearing the traditional black suit and white shirt combination.

After a quick formal greeting the man prepares to start the interview, but makes the potential employee swear to be as honest as he can. He starts by asking the question “Can you think of a time when you helped someone in need?” The film then proceeds to show us, via flashback, his answer to the question. The film continues the pattern of the question being asked in real time and the answer given back via a flashback several times, until it seems that the interviewer has made up his mind. The interview was not actually for a job, and this is no normal interviewer. It is actually St. Peter trying to work out whether or not this man should be allowed to enter heaven.

In terms of style, as noted before the main office will symmetrically aligned with a very subdued use of colour. St. Peter's office is blindingly white (he actually refers to the colour's proper name as 'Pearly') with a contrast between the black desk and the walls. The style of the dreams will change depending on the question and the response. For example, when the answer is positive, like a scene of him being helpful, the colours and mise-en-scene will be bright and bold to signify the positive. Conversely, if the answer is negative, it will be shot to look very grainy and grim, with drab colours.

The theme of the film is morality, and it deals with some quite complex and mature ideas, for example some of the answers would see the character put into a position where it can be hard to tell which is the right thing to do. Because of this, it would definitely be intended for a mature audience; it is not a family film. It would also probably not be considered a mainstream film, so it would be designed for a more arty audience, who understand and care about the themes explored within the film.