![[Final Draft Big Break Contest]](/images/ads/finalDraftBigBreak2026a.png)
Thérèse
Raised in silence and submission, Thérèse awakens to desire in the arms of her husband’s friend—only to be driven from timid housewife to calculating accomplice in murder, and finally to a woman destroyed by guilt, ghosts, and forbidden passion.
Synopsis: In the artsy fictional town of Sutton, NY, Thérèse Raquin lives a suffocating existence. Trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin Camille and controlled by her domineering mother-in-law, Madame Raquin, Thérèse works endless hours in the family bakery, finding escape only in romance novels by her favorite author, Chloe Esclair.
When Camille invites his co-worker Laurent Martin to weekly domino nights, the charismatic artist awakens something dangerous in Thérèse. Laurent begins painting Camille's portrait, visiting nightly for dinner and sessions. During these visits, he secretly sketches Thérèse in sensual poses and leaves drawings for her to find. Their mutual attraction ignites into a passionate affair, with Laurent sneaking into Thérèse's bedroom during her afternoon breaks while Madame runs the café below.
As their desire intensifies, so does their desperation. Laurent convinces Thérèse that they can only be together if Camille dies—and they want Madame's considerable fortune. They orchestrate a "boating accident" drowning Camille during a Sunday canoe trip. The plan succeeds, but guilt immediately haunts them both.
Camille's death triggers a stroke in Madame Raquin, leaving her paralyzed and wheelchair-bound. The town rallies around Thérèse and Laurent, admiring their devotion to caring for Madame. Detectives Red O'Malley and Brianna Tate find nothing suspicious. At the encouragement of their domino-playing friends, Thérèse and Laurent marry six months later.
But their union brings no peace. Instead of passion, they find only torment. Laurent suffers nightmares where Camille's corpse haunts him, and the bite scar on his neck—from Camille's final struggle—throbs with constant pain. Thérèse sees Camille's bloated face everywhere. They can barely consummate their marriage, their guilt manifesting as psychological horror.
When Madame overhears Laurent drunkenly confess to murdering Camille, she suffers another stroke, rendering her completely immobile but fully aware—able to see and hear but unable to communicate. During a domino night, Detective Brianna Tate tries using an alphabet board for Madame to spell messages by blinking. Just as Madame begins spelling out an accusation against Thérèse and Laurent, her eyes spasm uncontrollably, and Laurent claims it's a nervous tic.
Realizing they can never escape each other or Camille's ghost, Thérèse and Laurent make a final decision. In front of the helpless Madame, they share poisoned wine in a murder-suicide pact, dying in each other's arms on the café floor—forever bound by the crime that destroyed them all.
Jacob Elordi
Allison Janney
Gone Girl
The Others
After a fulfilling career in teaching, counseling, and football coaching, I now devote my time to screenwriting. The discipline and patience I honed as an educator serve me well in this new creative chapter.
ScriptLinks
Post Your Script Here!Thérèse
Raised in silence and submission, Thérèse awakens to desire in the arms of her husband’s friend—only to be driven from timid housewife to calculating accomplice in murder, and finally to a woman destroyed by guilt, ghosts, and forbidden passion.
Little Blind Mouse
An abused wife and her lover audition actresses for a fake film to frame one for murder, but when genuine feelings emerge, the women turn their con on their male accomplice instead.
Riley's Roundabout
An agoraphobic woman forms an intense digital bond with a charming stranger—but when his deception comes to light, the quiet roundabout where she runs at night becomes the arena for her reckoning and rebirth.
The Wolf Cut
After killing her abusive brother-in-law in self-defense, a brilliant corporate lawyer disguises herself as the dead man, her sister’s husband and company heir, to dismantle her father’s empire from within.
I Am Both
When the people of 1629 Jamestown put Thomas-ine Hall on trial for being both man and woman, they never expected Thomas-ine to put all of them on trial in return.
AT THE MERCY OF FAITH
A former preacher, haunted by the tragic rape/murder of his twin sister, spirals into darkness as supernatural forces, both angelic and demonic, wage war for his soul.
THE MONGREL, pilot for THE COMING MORROW series
A virus is decimating the male population making most impotent.
PIRANDELLO'S WIFE
Quiet, passive, obedient, a wonderful mother to her children and perfect wife to her Nobel Prize winning husband.
Many Happy Returns
Two simple-minded brothers work part time at a science lab and find machinery in an unauthorized area that unknowingly transports them to Spain years before their time.
THE TORTOISE AND THE HEIR
It is a mismatched battle between the high-tech resources available to Charlene, the power behind the throne of a large corporation, and Stram, a lone wolf San Francisco private investigator using tried and true low-tech methods as they race to find the final heir, and chase across California, with Stram straining to keep the last heir safe.
