When a con man discovers he has a 14-year old daughter, he struggles to bond with her while shielding her from his criminal occupation.
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When a con man discovers he has a 14-year old daughter, he struggles to bond with her while shielding her from his criminal occupation.
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The way I see it, the primary plot entails the relationship of the con man, Roy, with his daughter. The long con job he pulls with his partner, Frank, is a subplot.
Why?
Because, for one thing, the long con is Frank’s idea — not Roy’s. Roy initially refuses to do it and agrees only because he’s in an agreeable mood after seeing his daughter.? His partner is the one who takes the initiative on the long con plot thread — not Roy. Frank is in the driver’s seat; Roy is going along for the ride.
Come to find out, his partner is in the driver’s seat of the con job in more ways than one. (Spoiler alert!)
The big reveal is that the real mark is Roy.? Frank is out to manipulate him out of his considerable stash of cash.? And that his daughter is not his daughter, but the hook used to reel Roy into his partner’s con.
(The movie is a con job on the audience as well. We don’t find out about it before the protagonist does. )
No matter. A logline is a description of what the protagonist knows or believes at the time he commits to an objective goal — not what he discovers in the 3rd Act.? At the end of Act 1, Roy believes his daughter is the real deal and everything he does is motivated by that belief.
One other point: there is a denouement, a scene of closure to the relationship between the protagonist and his “daughter” — they meet a year later. It’s not a joyous reunion, but it is a resolution of their relationship.? In contrast, there is no closure, no resolution with his partner, the mastermind of the con against Roy. He just disappears with his cut of the loot.
Good logline.
We watched this film at the Sydney screenwriters meetup and came to the same conclusion that the father-daughter relationship (fake but that’s only the case at the end) was the main plot. His inner journey of learning to be a good guy and stop conning people was the main plot and, in effect, the catalyst for that transformation was his daughter coming into his life.
The logline doesn’t suggest an ending. I see above that you’ve got some trickery going on (fun) but still, the logline should give me some idea about what the character is primarily DOING and here, what it boils down to is bonding and shielding, which could go on forever, which makes it sound boring.
>>>The logline doesn?t suggest an ending
A logline doesn’t have to suggest how a story will end.? A logline should never give away the ending.? It need only raise a question of whether the protagonist will achieve his objective goal.
>>>which makes it sound boring.
The movie didn’t make back its money at the box-office.
Revised versions:
When a lonely con man discovers he has a 14-year old daughter, he struggles to bond with her while shielding her from his criminal occupation.
(25 words)
That he’s lonely is the character flaw that draws him into the relationship with the daughter.? It’s what makes him emotionally vulnerable to becoming conned.? (That’s how a con works, it exploits the weakness of the mark.)
He’s also afflicted with an obsessive compulsive disorder which adds color to his character.? And explains why he’s so lonely.? ?So maybe:
When a lonely con man afflicted with OCD discovers he has a 14-year old daughter, he struggles to bond with her while shielding her from his criminal occupation.
(28? words)