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How realistic should a super dark thriller be?

H

harmonica44

I'm writing a screenplay which I wanna make into my first film in time. It's an action film and it's about as dark as United 93. The thing is, since it's low budget and my first, I don't want to have a lot of characters. The main character is a cop trying to track down terrorists, who are committing attacks around the city. But during the action scenes I wanna have him work mostly alone, without any back up. Because of the low budget of course.

How do I write it so that it's believable without back up though? Especially since he's on the trail of the terrorists that are bringing the city to it's knees, you think any other cops would wanna lend a hand. But I have to write so that they are often unavailable. Accept for the climax where a big police showdown happens with some surprise twists. But for the other action scenes, I only want the main character. So when I have a story that's very dark and tragic, how realistic would I have to write this plot convenience? Thanks.
 
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The protagonist semi-looses. He doesn't necessarily have to loose but I am writing it as realistic as I can but at the same time have to falsify some technicalities, just to fit the micro-budget. Thanks for the help people.
 
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Terrorist interdiction is not in the wheelhouse of the average patrol cop (even detectives). Any terrorist threat that is considered even remotely plausible is immediately handed off to the feds. The only way that you have any realism at all is for there to be a much more realistic and imminent threat. If your protagonist develops the information from what is considered an unreliable source, he might not have back-up because everybody thinks that he's lost his mind. Why would a single cop chase people that he thinks are terrorists on his own? Simple, he has the belief that he's right and that he's saving everyone (especially his family). Believe it or not, the vast majority of cops take the job because they want to make the world a better place.
 
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DUDE, just have him fired from the police squad because he makes a mistake, or doesn't follow orders or something, that way he has no backup from the police, but he is determinant to get this terrorist, so he works alone :)
 
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Yeah but people who are not officers can call 911 and still get help. Plus the 911 operator will not know it's an officer who has been fired, that she heard about. She will just think it's some guy, and send cops to an emergency. Even crooks call the cops and they come, so I can't see them not coming for a cop who's been fired.
 
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In my personal opinion, it sounds like you're making a very ambitious project.

You could also switch things up a bit - maybe your cop character is outside of his jurisdiction (foreign country, on his own)
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The above could work, and you could have a plain clothes officer who flits in and out of the story.

You could have it so that he is the only one knowing what the terrorists are going to do. Perhaps he intercepted chatter of an attack on a website, but that website was proven to be a dud by previous cases. But he decides to chase it up anyway, therefore going out of his jurasdiction and unable to have backup.

Heck man you could film cops in whatever city you're in, and add them into the film. Just as long as you're filming in public I don't believe you'd have to get them to sign forms.

Maybe as someone has said before, whilst it's a good idea, it might be too ambitious for a first film. I've written several "big budget" style movies which I wouldn't have a hope in hell of filming because of my budget.
Start small, work your way up and you'll eventually be able to create the film you want and be able to do it justice!

In regards to the darkness, go for your life! Make the film as dark as you dare! Just look at Michael Mann's films, they're incredibly dark (I personally don't like his work, but it's an example)
 
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Well the idea is usually of the more big budget type movies, but I'm writing it in ways (or trying to), in which it can be filmed micro-budget style. Some of the stuff you would normally see in a big budget movie, is left of screen, and left to the imagination more so.

I have been told to write it like that before. He is the only one who knows where they are and his superiors will not go along with it. But once the terrorists got to where they are going to be, he could still call 911 and report the crime randomly. A 911 dispatcher sends out units to whoever calls and does not ask if that person is a disgraced cop that they should listen to or not. So because of that, it seems it won't work.

I know the whole superior not listening to the cop has been used countless times before, but it's a plot hole, since all the cop has to do is dial 911 and report it, then the problem is solved. I mean could a police superior call the 911 operator and tell her to ignore any calls that sound like they could be coming from a cop that cannot be listened to? Probably not.

Someone mentioned how in some cities, cops won't go into certain areas, but lets say a terrorist group that has been committing acts around the city for weeks, causing a nationwide media and public ruckus, was seen in the progress of possibly committing another act, in a rough area police don't go. Would they make an exemption in this case, or would they just let the act happen, and blame it on not being able to go into that part out town, when the public asks why they didn't come when called?
 
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