the next great British comedy film hit !
Brothers Des and Dave Gilroy are as mad as hell. They were looking forward to early retirement in Spain until a crooked property developer swindles them out of their life savings. Now they aim to take revenge on not just the property developer but also the bank and solicitor he was in cahoots with. The police think the urban terrorist known as the Belladonna Bomber is young and idealistic. Little do they realise he is in fact two regular blokes who won’t rest until they’re paid what’s owed to them; £559,923. The Gilroys are out to teach the Establishment a lesson and to remind themselves you’re never too old rock’n’roll.
Fleeced – Des makes a bomb in his living room
Artist’s impression (Joe Evans) of Des making his bombs.
Fleeced is inspired by the true story of Edgar Pearce, the 1995 West London Mardi Gra Bomber, who at the age of 60 launched a terrorist campaign aimed at Barclays Bank and Sainsbury Supermarkets.
GENRE – Drama/ Black Comedy with musical elements – early British rock ‘n’ roll.
SIMILAR FILMS – “The Intouchables” meets “Taxi Driver” meets Ealing Comedies.
TAG LINE – Too old to rock ‘n’ roll, too young to die.
STATUS – Packaging
Fleeced – Girls accidentally play with a bomb
Artist’s impression (Laura Richardson) of Dave intercepting two girls playing with a bomb.
This original script has been written by Patrick Whittaker who is an award-winning writer and director whose body of writing work spans novels, stage plays, screenplays and poetry. He has had a number of screenplays optioned or commissioned by other production companies. Patrick is the winner of the British Fantasy Society’s Short Story Competition 2009. Patrick has, in addition, directed a number of short films, several of which have garnered awards for him.
His directing work encompasses narrative as well as experimental formats, some of which he has also produced and edited. Patrick was born in East London. He has worked in a number of professions which he draws upon for his writing. He attained a 2.1 honours degree in Media studies at the University of Glamorgan. Currently Patrick resides in Blackpool where he maintains a busy schedule working as both a ghost writer and as a creative writer of original works.
DES and DAVE Gilroy are determined to grow old disgracefully. As unalike as any two brothers could be, they are united in their hatred of banks, insurance companies, lawyers, politicians and anyone else they believe to be preying on the poor and vulnerable. Each in their own way, the brothers frequent the margins of society. DES is physically disadvantaged and represents a severe case of arrested development. DAVE is emotionally crippled, an alcoholic engaged in an unceasing battle with his inner demons.
FLEECED encapsulates in its music and flashbacks the many phases Britain has gone through since Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany. Set in a climate where failing financial regularity and sour property transactions is the norm, the story-telling is light hearted, funny and sharp as DES & DAVE try to take back control of their lives.
The screenplay is loosely based on the true story of Edgar Pearce, the 1995 West London Mardi Gras Bomber, who, at the age of 60, launched a terrorist campaign aimed at Barclays Bank and Sainsbury Supermarkets. It sets out to answer the question, ‘What could drive two people in the autumn of their lives to blackmail and terrorism?’ Like Pearce and close to being in their sixties, DES and DAVE become urban terrorists. In effect, they start acting like rebellious teenagers; senile delinquents, if you will. Like many a teenager, they also feel unwanted by society, marginalised and ignored. Their descent into criminality to get what’s owed to them is their way of saying: ‘Look, we exist, we will take what’s ours and we aren’t going away no matter how much that would suit you’.
DES and DAVE are two sides of a coin. DES reacts to ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ by getting angry and lashing out. DAVE, on the other hand, has no such release; he internalises his pain, keeps it pretty much to himself. DAVE suffers from self-doubt; DES never allows himself that luxury. He believes the only way to stop the world from kicking you is to kick back and kick harder.
The writer says “I’ve known plenty of DAVEs and DESes. You can see them in almost any pub in London, nursing their pints of beer and their grudges. It bewilders them that they are old, that life has gone by so quickly and that the promises of their youth remain for the most part unfulfilled. They feel betrayed by politicians, by society, by fate and – worst of all – by their own bodies.”
