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George Gillies
The Surgeon

LOG LINE

A mans reality blurs on edge of insanity while undergoing surgery, haunted by an all too

familiar face.

SYNOPSIS

An injured man undergoes surgery following a serious accident. Once placed under

anaesthetic, the mans anxiety permeates his existence. Haunted by his surgeons face,

the man becomes enveloped in a cyclical nightmare. His journey takes him on a fast

paced ride both on and off the rails, where hes forced to confront the horrific event in

which his mother gets taken from him at an early age, never to be seen again.

EXEGESIS

My goal with The Surgeon is ultimately to play with the audiences mind, and make them

empathise with the protagonist, Stephen. Inspired by films in which psychological, slightly

absurd things happen in a realistic environment, I wanted to create real melodrama with all

the factors that make melodrama great: real emotion, real empathy, but in a slightly

unrealistic, dream-like environment. How does one generate a melodramatic atmosphere

in a surreal setting? The terrors of Stephens real life are enhanced, exaggerated, and

emphasised in his subconscious, just like in nightmares. The synopsis reads, An injured

man undergoes surgery following a serious accident. Once placed under anaesthetic, the

mans anxiety permeates his existence. Haunted by his surgeons face, the man becomes

enveloped in a cyclical nightmare. His journey takes him on a fast paced ride both on and

off the rails, where hes forced to confront the horrific event in which his mother gets taken

from him at an early age, never to be seen again.

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I didnt want the ending to be so crystal clear for the audience. I didnt want a standard

and they lived happily ever after ending, but nor did I want a miserable ending. I wanted

to answer more questions than not, but still intentionally leave some unanswered. In my

own personal experience I find these films to be more engaging, more gripping, and

ultimately I find myself immersed in the world even more. I want to find out what happens,

so I think through the characters experiences in the world thats just been presented. Its a

thin line to walk though, as doing this can make audiences over think the simplest of

things. The doctor doesnt necessarily want to hurt Stephen; its merely just his face with

the unsettling grin and wink that has set off the anxiety ridden Stephen.

After a brainstorming session, I decided I wanted to involve trains. Cinematically, I think

theyre beautiful. They run on timetables, and travel great distances. People with all

individual motives get on and off, all sitting or standing in whats essentially a room full of

strangers. They seem so chaotic yet so controlled at the same time. I wanted to start on a

high note, gripping the audience straight away, so surgery came to mind. With the

melodramatic flashback, I wanted to convey something that cant be understood in any

other way than intended. A mother being dragged out against her will, leaving her son

standing in the doorway is universally sad, so I included that.

The strength of the script is the tension and engagement. The story starts with Stephen

laying on a surgery table, covered in cuts and bruises. This immediately grabs the

audiences attention, wondering how he got there. Next, the doctor gives an unsettling grin

and winks with his left eye before pulling on his surgical mask. Stephen replies Wait

wait as he drifts off under anaesthetic. Before the first page of the script ends, we

already know Stephen has some sort of protest to going under, as a direct response to the

Doctors unsettling grin and wink. Doctors are generally considered to be people of highly
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George Gillies
intelligent authority. We trust them, their opinions, and their actions unconditionally. Thats

why I personally love the idea of a doctor that has done something wrong, or is someone

that has a dark side. Theyre always held in such high regard, so the contrast of the secret

hidden side is so gripping. Another strength would be the descriptions throughout of the

environment. I wanted to really paint a mental image in the readers minds, emphasising

what Stephen sees, what he hears, and how he looks.

As written by my partner in her feedback notes on my draft script, the ending wasnt totally

clear. I think the idea of it coming back to where it started, with one thing having changed

(the tray of surgical tools), perhaps could confuse the audience. I never intended the whole

script to be so straight forward, and realistic. As mentioned in my goals, I wanted to create

a melodrama with real emotions, real empathy, and real terror, but in a psychological,

slightly twisted environment. Perhaps this was too ambitious, as it may not come off that

way. Another thing I struggled with was to make Stephen relatable. Its easy to create a

two dimensional character, but I wanted the audience to really see him as a victim.

Everything up until the flashback scene was intended to show the mental damage that has

been done, and then with the flashback scene I wanted to show how horrific the event was

that has pushed Stephen over the edge.

I think a threat in producing the script into a short film may be the use of public space.

Generally commuters on trains dont want to be filmed on their way to work. The scene in

which Stephen runs off a train into a huge crowd of commuters, and pushes his way up an

escalator would especially be difficult to film. In regards to ideas for further development, it

would have been interesting to have some inner dialogue to convey Stephens thoughts.

Apart from that Im happy with how its turned out.