Projects in development

The Twisting of our Hearts

SYNOPSIS

A rough, working-class family in the early ‘90s, living cramped in a Housing Commission block of flats: the aggressive, chain-smoking Steven and his worn-out wife Kath, with their three children, Rob, 13, Dave, 11, and Kelly, 8. Rob dominates over his siblings and is Steven’s favourite. Dave, weak and awkward, is generally mistreated by Rob and Steven. Kelly is shy and quiet, and generally protected.

A move to a spacious house seems to signal a new beginning for the family, but the problems remain the same for our tragic hero Dave: sickly to the point of nausea (due to a bad, unsupervised diet), he is ridiculed at school (due to his dyslexia), and generally bullied by schoolmates and his family (though he himself gets to bully a slow friend, and his younger sister). Furthermore, at a beach holiday house, he is sexually abused by his Uncle Gary, an incident that is not a one-off, causing Dave’s perception of sexual relations between people to become twisted.

Flash-forward a dozen or so years, and Dave is now a wiry, punky young man in his early ‘20s, erratic in his behaviour, and generally unsettled. Craving love and connection with his girlfriend Mandy, he is sexually demanding of (and perverse with) her, causing her to leave him. But this does not bother him as he easily picks up girls, with his forward, charismatic behaviour. Meanwhile, his sister Kelly, now 20 and coming out of her shell, struggles with a TAFE course, whilst older brother Rob, now 25 and married, is slaying them in his job as a salesman. As for their father Steven, he is now on a disability pension, and genuinely ravaged by his decades of heavy smoking.

Having dropped out of school at 15, Dave, through sheer will, has overcome his dyslexia and finds an emotional release writing and performing honest, autobiographical poetry. He also sings his poetry with a punk band, but neither venture is able to settle him existentially: he lives wildly, job and bed-hopping, and drinking heavily.

Flash-forward another couple of years, and Steven dies due to his emphysema. The reuniting of the family at the funeral irritates Dave, though a feeling of empathy arises within him for his sister Kelly. She becomes conscious of Dave, and wishes to help him, but he is still angry at the world. The death of his father, however, releases a little weight from his shoulders. He also has a steady girlfriend now, Rose, and is more confident with his poetry, performing it regularly at clubs.

One day, Rose unexpectedly announces that she is pregnant. This development startles and confuses Dave. Individually, independently, Rose decides to have the baby, whilst Dave struggles with processing the situation. Continuing to live with Rose, he sleeps with other girls and tortures over whether to leave Rose or not. Slowly, he decides to participate in the childbirth, and he is there for Rose as she goes into labour. The child born, Dave is awe-struck, and he resolves to bring the child up like he never was.

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