Synopsis/Details
LIVES OF THE SAINTS is written along the broad lines of films such as MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and GARDEN STATE and such television series as THIS IS US and A MILLION LITTLE THINGS. The story concerns Daniel McConnell, a Long Island contractor who becomes the guardian to his anxiety-ridden teenage niece Izzy after the suicide of her mother / his sister. When he accidentally and unadvisedly falls in love with Kate, a disabled woman in his neighborhood with whom he shares a catastrophic past secret only he knows about, Daniel must come to terms with his own problems with mental illness as well as his family’s. Daniel’s relentless efforts to ignore his past sins and step up to be an ideal guardian come under increasing pressure when he attempts to weigh his own warped sense of a greater good against his desires for his own and his family’s happiness.
All Accolades & Coverage
Top 150 Screenplays, 2022, The Black List
Quarter-Finalist, Emerging Screenwriters Drama Screenplay Competition, 2022
Quarter-Finalist, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, 2022
Recommended, International Screenwriters' Association Coverage
Story & Logistics
Story Type:
Hero's Journey
Story Situation:
Obstacles to love
Story Conclusion:
Ambiguous
Linear Structure:
Linear
Moral Affections:
Condemnation, Duty, Good Man, Guilt, Penitence, Wrong
Cast Size:
Few
Locations:
Few
Characters
Lead Role Ages:
Male Adult
Hero Type:
Ordinary, Unfortunate
Stock Character Types:
Everyman, Tragic hero
Advanced
Subgenre:
Addiction, Disease/Disability, Romantic
Life Topics:
Adolescence, Death
Country:
United States of America (USA)
Time of Year:
Spring, Summer
Illness Topics:
Physical, Psychological
Relationship Topics:
Dating, Intimacy, Romance
Writer Style:
Craig Mazin, Graham Greene, James L. Brooks
Coverfly All-time Overall Top 25%