Part of the script is about a man who gets away with murder, and he's trying to escape a lynch mob who wants justice done. However it's just hard to swallow cause American society just doesn't believe in vigilantism. Whenever a killer gets off the hook, there is no mob that awaits him. They believe that the jury and judge have final say and that's that. I mean even in the most notorious cases, like say... O.J. Simpson for example. A lot of people were outraged and believed he did it, but no one wanted to take him out bad enough to go through with it. It would mean giving up your family and your life, which is why no one does it, and why it's hard to swallow. Or is it?
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Having trouble believing in my plot.
- Thread starter harmonica44
- Start date
I think when dealing with something like this, context is the most important thing. How big / small is the town? What crime did the person commit? Who was the victim?
As long as the story is told well and the characters are ones you can care about I think a plot like this would be just fine.
As long as the story is told well and the characters are ones you can care about I think a plot like this would be just fine.
Have you seen M? Deals with a sort of similar idea. In short a child murder is loose, and the cops are after him, as well as the criminal underground. The cops want to put him in jail, the criminals just want to kill him and get him off the streets.
You are right, in that the average person isn't going to want to hunt down a criminal. But mobs/riots happen, so if you have a good enough reason for one, you can make it believable.
You are right, in that the average person isn't going to want to hunt down a criminal. But mobs/riots happen, so if you have a good enough reason for one, you can make it believable.
I agree with Jazsekuh. I think almost everything is believable if your story leads you to it, and the context is crucial to make it work. The way I see it, your plot perhaps your plot would work better in a small town.
It all boils down to passion in your story.
You need to make us feel the killer is an evil man who deserves a lynch mob to kill him for a horrible crime.
Make it like a just desert horror flick. If the killer's victim has a family who loved the victim a lot and they believe the system failed to deliver justice, they can incite a mob and a riot. A small town is more believable than a large city for this.
You need to make us feel the killer is an evil man who deserves a lynch mob to kill him for a horrible crime.
Make it like a just desert horror flick. If the killer's victim has a family who loved the victim a lot and they believe the system failed to deliver justice, they can incite a mob and a riot. A small town is more believable than a large city for this.
If you don't believe in your plot, then neither will the audience. Garbage In, Garbage Out.
Make the killer a child killer. The public has no sympathy for child killers.
A Nightmare On Elmstreet would be perfect reference material on how the parents burned Freddy Krugger to death when the justice system failed.
Law And Order SVU has excellent episodes on child abusers and how the public may some times take the law ito their own hands.
You need to make the killer evil and deserving of a mob killing in a small town.
A Nightmare On Elmstreet would be perfect reference material on how the parents burned Freddy Krugger to death when the justice system failed.
Law And Order SVU has excellent episodes on child abusers and how the public may some times take the law ito their own hands.
You need to make the killer evil and deserving of a mob killing in a small town.
Can you set the story in the past? Lynch mobs were a more common thing 100 years ago...
That would require a higher budget though. I wanna set it in modern times for ultra low budget. I also have to set it in the big city though. If it's a small town where everyone knows each other, a lot of the plot turns that happen, would be even less plausible. I saw M, but in M, the criminals were loosing money and were desperate to find the killer. In mine, the citizens are just really pissed off, but have nothing to lose. I can make them potential targets on the killers list, but that's it, as far as motivation goes. The killer is just guilty of one murder so far, but with reason to suspect there will be more to come.
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Here's an idea set it in a country that has recent lynch mob activities that would be cheap to film. Off the top of my head Canada. The provance of saskatchewan. In the last 5 years I have read in the paper of at least 8 lynch mob attacks there. My question is how can you not belive they are posable.
Hmmm I must have not have heard of these lynch mobs. What stories?
I don't see how this couldn't work. Ofc as most will say, it's hard to give advice based off a few notes.
I would say what if one of the murdered's family members becomes so enraged, he/she's hellbent on not letting the murderer have it easy (i.e. doesn't want him taken by the cops) ? Maybe that person's goal is to find him before the police do, for a more personal punishment.
I think we've all seen those court cases on the news and thought "Wow, that killer's going to jail, but the family must be wanting to do much more to him." Maybe that person has some close friends who are willing to do the job with him/her. Maybe that person becomes so hellbent they don't care if they go to jail or can't see their family.
For example: Mike's sister was killed. Unfortunately for the killer, Mike's still connected with the mafia. Mike's lead a life of crime and dirty dealings. He's gotten away with everything thus far, but to avenge his sister he'll do anything even if it means being put away. He calls in the hit and with his boys, he goes off in pursuit of the killer, trying to find him before the police do.
Example: Ron's sister was murdered. Unfortunately for the killer, Ron still has ties with his gang. Raised in the brutal city streets, Ron has lead a life of crime and dirty dealings. He collects his gang and they go off in pursuit of finding the killer before the cops can get to him.
Obviously that's not how your originally story was going to go, but it still shows you can create a worthwhile motivation in almost any situation. People connect with the victim's loved ones and (although they know that in real life police tend to get there first) they want to see the victim's loved ones get a more satisfying vengeance.
You could run it from the perspective of the family/mob or from the killer's perspective (where the viewer really feels for the victim's family and wants to see the antagonist win.)
I would say what if one of the murdered's family members becomes so enraged, he/she's hellbent on not letting the murderer have it easy (i.e. doesn't want him taken by the cops) ? Maybe that person's goal is to find him before the police do, for a more personal punishment.
I think we've all seen those court cases on the news and thought "Wow, that killer's going to jail, but the family must be wanting to do much more to him." Maybe that person has some close friends who are willing to do the job with him/her. Maybe that person becomes so hellbent they don't care if they go to jail or can't see their family.
For example: Mike's sister was killed. Unfortunately for the killer, Mike's still connected with the mafia. Mike's lead a life of crime and dirty dealings. He's gotten away with everything thus far, but to avenge his sister he'll do anything even if it means being put away. He calls in the hit and with his boys, he goes off in pursuit of the killer, trying to find him before the police do.
Example: Ron's sister was murdered. Unfortunately for the killer, Ron still has ties with his gang. Raised in the brutal city streets, Ron has lead a life of crime and dirty dealings. He collects his gang and they go off in pursuit of finding the killer before the cops can get to him.
Obviously that's not how your originally story was going to go, but it still shows you can create a worthwhile motivation in almost any situation. People connect with the victim's loved ones and (although they know that in real life police tend to get there first) they want to see the victim's loved ones get a more satisfying vengeance.
You could run it from the perspective of the family/mob or from the killer's perspective (where the viewer really feels for the victim's family and wants to see the antagonist win.)
I know this is a bit raw still, but did you not see the recent case of Trayvon Martin in the news? He looked like he was going to get away with it and there were thousands of people rallied against him. I'm sure they would have happily beaten the life out George Zimmerman for what he did especially after he was cleared temporarily.
Something like that still gets people worked up. Your story will be fine.
Pick up old copies of the paper and look. Sask. is the leading provance in Canada for Mob justice.
If you want to keep it in modern times, I would forget the lynch mob and have your protagonist do something to piss off a local gang. Then your mob will be gang members that don't care about what the law says...
I think it all depends on the characters. If they are strong, and we can empathise with them we believe in their story. I know it can´t in a small town, but that would work if the killer is new in town. Take a look to the westerns, for example. In a big city, maybe if is a children's murder the habitants would join a mob to catch him; even better, the murder is a cop!
I told a DP I have been practicing with the premise, and he said that that story will not work at all. He said even though people rally up, nobody actually goes through with it, outside serial killers and psychos who have had a history before. He said that in order for my plot to work, the leader of the lynch mob would have to pay the others a lot of money to go through with the killing. He says that revenge works when it comes a single lone killer, but not when it comes to groups, and that if I do it with a group, it is completely implausible. The only reasons for a group to commit murder, are money, and religious reasons.
But revenge in groups just doesn't work. At least not for a carefully orchestrated plan. That's what he thinks anyway. He says if we shoot it people will just think it was a comedy. I used the Joker and his gang in The Dark Knight as an example, but he made the point that The Dark Knight is a comic book fantasy where as I am trying to set mine in a much more plausible, realistic world.
But revenge in groups just doesn't work. At least not for a carefully orchestrated plan. That's what he thinks anyway. He says if we shoot it people will just think it was a comedy. I used the Joker and his gang in The Dark Knight as an example, but he made the point that The Dark Knight is a comic book fantasy where as I am trying to set mine in a much more plausible, realistic world.
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When you see a big gaping hole, you should consider either a rewrite or putting it down until times change enough with your story.
While you could do it, the situation that leads up to a lynch mob in this day and age would have to be extreme. You'd have to establish a couple of things.
A). A personal reason for each and every person of the lynch mob (or at a dead minimum the leaders of said lynch mob) to do this. As in the antagonist has done horrible wrongs to everyone. For it to work, you have to get the audience to the point that they feel they'd join the mob. Do you think that is within your ability?
B). For a movie, you also have to present a situation where there will be further danger if this person isn't lynched and the law cannot protect the people from the situation.
For instance, as someone said before with Elm Street. A killer who kills off the children in the neighborhood. He gets off after its shown the atrocities he's done to the local community and it's clear that the killing of the communities children will continue. You'll probably get the audience to continue with you for the ride. It's hard to get an audience to have a positively emotion with an act as bad as murder, especially if there isn't an imminent thread.
Consider one more thing. There's a saying, Act 1 sells your current movie. Act 3 sells your next. With a movie like this, you need to consider what light you (as the director) are presented to the audience. Most people want to be entertained. End on a point where the good guys do the same as the bad guy, you risk your audience having mixed feelings towards your movie and towards you. The last thing you'd want is the audience coming along for the ride, that is so well made, believe that they'd do the same thing and then feel miserable afterwards due to the feelings your movie brought out in them. It's not a story I'd do. If you do it well, it could be a masterpiece too.
You have a tough decision to make. Good luck.
While you could do it, the situation that leads up to a lynch mob in this day and age would have to be extreme. You'd have to establish a couple of things.
A). A personal reason for each and every person of the lynch mob (or at a dead minimum the leaders of said lynch mob) to do this. As in the antagonist has done horrible wrongs to everyone. For it to work, you have to get the audience to the point that they feel they'd join the mob. Do you think that is within your ability?
B). For a movie, you also have to present a situation where there will be further danger if this person isn't lynched and the law cannot protect the people from the situation.
For instance, as someone said before with Elm Street. A killer who kills off the children in the neighborhood. He gets off after its shown the atrocities he's done to the local community and it's clear that the killing of the communities children will continue. You'll probably get the audience to continue with you for the ride. It's hard to get an audience to have a positively emotion with an act as bad as murder, especially if there isn't an imminent thread.
Consider one more thing. There's a saying, Act 1 sells your current movie. Act 3 sells your next. With a movie like this, you need to consider what light you (as the director) are presented to the audience. Most people want to be entertained. End on a point where the good guys do the same as the bad guy, you risk your audience having mixed feelings towards your movie and towards you. The last thing you'd want is the audience coming along for the ride, that is so well made, believe that they'd do the same thing and then feel miserable afterwards due to the feelings your movie brought out in them. It's not a story I'd do. If you do it well, it could be a masterpiece too.
You have a tough decision to make. Good luck.