Spiritual Warfare

Script for a short film using actual fighting as a metaphor for the struggle against sin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPIRITUAL WAREFARE

 

 

by

Mitch Resler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Black screen.  Fade in]

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

-Ephesians 6:12

[Fade back to black.]

Scene 1

[ALEXIS’S bedroom.  An alarm goes off.  ALEXIS grumbles as she feels around for the OFF button on the alarm.  She eventually finds it and shuts if off.  It takes some effort for ALEXIS to get up and out of bed.  She slowly gets up and starts moving.  ]

[ALEXIS, now dressed for the day, stops in front of the mirror and dresser in her room.  She looks tired.  We see her in jeans and a tank top.  She has bruises, scrapes, and a scar or two that we can see on her shoulders and arms.  It’s meant to give a look like she finds herself in fights often.]

ALEXIS

(Leaning forward with her hands on the dresser, looking at her reflection) 

…You’re going to win today.  (sigh with a determined look)…you’re going to win today.

 

ALEXIS’S MOM

(Knocks on ALEXIS’S door)

Hey, Alex, are you up yet? 

(ALEXIS’S MOM opens the door)

Come on, Sweetie, you still have to get breakfast before you go.

 

[We now see ALEXIS dressed in something a little more colorful and upbeat.  She also shows no signs of injury.  This is how she looks in “reality”.  She’s in the same position with her hands on the dresser looking in the mirror and is standing over an open book.  She looks at her mom and stands up with a slight smile]

 

ALEXIS

 

Thanks, Mom.  I’m on my way down.

 

[ALEXIS’S MOM leaves and shuts the door.  ALEXIS looks back at the mirror and sees herself as the “fighter” version of her reflection.]

You’re going to win.

 

Scene 2

[ALEXIS is walking along the sidewalk on her way to high school.  She is currently seen in her “reality” look.  She finds herself walking a little distance behind two other students, SARA and RYAN.  They are talking with each other.  One of them, SARA, takes her hands out of her jacket pocket and accidentally drops some cash on the side walk; she is not aware of doing this.  ALEXIS walks up, picks up the money, and then looks forward to SARA and RYAN as they keep walking.]

[ALEXIS is now on the same street, but in her “fighter” look.  At first, she seems alone, but then she slowly looks behind her and sees an ASSAILANT.  The ASSAILANT is in dark clothing, reminiscent of a ninja; we cannot see their face.  The ASSAILANT takes a fighting stance.  ALEXIS turns around and draws out escrima sticks.  They quickly move forward towards each other and begin to fight.  After an exchange of a few moves between them, ALEXIS defeats the ASSAILANT, leaving them unconscious on the ground]

[Now we see ALEXIS back in “regular” look.  She jogs up to SARA and RYAN]

ALEXIS

Hey, you dropped this out of your jacket pocket. 

SARA

(Stops and turns around checking her jacket pockets)

Huh?  Oh hey, thanks.  I can’t believe I just dropped it like that.  I’m always loosing stuff.  Thanks.

 

ALEXIS

No problem.  You would have done it for me, right?

[ALEXIS goes on her way to school.  RYAN comes back to retrieve SARA.]

RYAN

What’s the hold up?

SARA

I dropped my lunch money and this girl picked it up and gave it to me.

RYAN

Lucky you.  She could have easily just kept it and not said a thing.  Come on, we’re running late.

[RYAN goes on his way to school, but SARA looks off at ALEXIS in a little disbelief.  SARA sees ALEXIS in her “fighter” look.  Shot cuts to SARA who now also has a “fighter” look, but she looks more worn down, more bruised.  She obviously loses more than she wins.  She might even be in a sling.]

Scene 3

[ALEXIS comes up to the school entrance and sees three of her friends, JANE, STEPHANIE, and BRITTANY.  They are talking and laughing.  ALEXIS joins them in mid conversation.  ]

STEPHANIE

…I mean, what did she expect me to say?  She has been asking me about this all week and won’t stop.  Can’t she take a hint?

JANE

What did you finally say?

STEPHANIE

I just told her it’s not even her business so she needs to back off.  God, she is just so clueless!

BRITTANY

You were nicer to her than I would have been.  I just have no patience for her.  Why she even tries to talk to me is beyond me.  I’m like…

ALEXIS

What are we talking about?

STEPHANIE

Alice keeps asking me about English homework and how did I do.  Like I even care about English class!

[SARA catches up and watches ALEXIS with her friends]

ALEXIS

Steph, I think she’s trying to help you.  Everyone knows you’re barely passing.

STEPHANIE

Whatever.  I just want to get through the semester and be done.  I don’t need her in my face talking about how easy it is for her.

[The scene changes again to see ALEXIS back in “fighter” mode.  She looks in front of her and sees three ASSAILANTS where her friends were standing.  SARA also now in “fighter” clothes will watch this encounter.  There is a short moment of tension between the three ASSAILANTS and ALEXIS before the actual fighting breaks out.  The fight is a three on one as the ASSAILANTS all attack ALEXIS.  The fight starts to go south for ALEXIS and she moves away from the three to reset her attack.  ALEXIS now draws out her escrima sticks and goes back to engage the ASSAILANTS.  With the use of her weapons, ALEXIS beats the ASSAILANTS and they lie on the ground unconscious.  SARA watches in disbelief.  SARA wasn’t expecting ALEXIS to win.]

[Scene changes again back to reality.  ALEXIS is standing with her friends just where she was before.]

ALEXIS

(sighs at the foolishness of her friends)

Alice isn’t like that; she’s just trying to be nice.  It wouldn’t hurt you to try it once in a while. 

[ALEXIS moves away from her friends and starts to go towards the front door of the school.]

Scene 4

[ALEXIS is almost to the door of the school when she brushes shoulders with TABITHA, the school bully.   ALEXIS tries to go on in to school but TABITHA turns around and starts to taunt ALEXIS]

TABITHA

Hey!  Watch where you’re going!  What?  Ms. Holier-than-thou is too good to watch for everyone else?

ALEXIS

Look, Tabitha, I just wasn’t paying attention, ok?  It was an accident.  I ‘m not looking to cause a problem.

TABITHA

Well you got a problem now!

[A crowd starts to gather around starts to form around the two girls.  SARA is amongst them.  The crowd starts to chant, “Fight, fight, fight!”]

[Scene changes again.  ALEXIS is again in her “fighter” look.  She stands strong and determined.  Around her she is surrounded by many ASSAILANTS.  In front of her where TABITHA stood is a unique assailant, BIG BAD.  BIG BAD is dressed like an assailant in the fact that they have a ninja look and you can’t see their face, but they are distinguishable from the other assailants.  Maybe a touch of color or something to show they are a better warrior than the others.  ALEXIS pulls out her escrima sticks and assumes a fighting stance.  BIG BAD gives a visual command to attack to the other ASSAILANTS.  ALEXIS engages the other assailants in a furious fight, but one by one, she eliminates them until all that remains is ALEXIS and BIG BAD.  ALEXIS looks tired and is breathing heavy from dealing with the other ASSAILANTS.  BIG BAD draws out a short staff (about the length of a sword) and moves in to fight ALEXIS.  The exhaustion on ALEXIS starts to show and she gets a shot to the gut that sends her to the ground.  ALEXIS also drops her escrima sticks and they end up at the feet of BIG BAD.  SARA, also in her “fighter” look, is watching the fight and looks concerned for ALEXIS.  ALEXIS looks defeated; may even be bleeding.  ALEXIS looks up as she sees BIG BAD pick up her escrima sticks.]

BIG BAD

Not so strong now without your weapon are you?  When will you realize it is pointless to fight?  In the end, you will always lose.

[ALEXIS closes her eyes and focuses intently.  She opens them again to look at her hands, where she finds she is holding her escrima sticks.]

BIG BAD

What?!  How can you…?

[ALEXIS stands up and looks defiantly at BIG BAD.]

ALEXIS

That’s what you don’t get.  Not you or anyone else can take this from me.  I’ll always be ready to fight.

[BIG BAD rushes forward to attack ALEXIS but is lost in fury.  ALEXIS disarms and defeats BIG BAD.  SARA sees the end of the fight and is inspired by ALEXIS’S win.]

[Scene changes back to reality where ALEXIS is squaring off against TABITHA.  ALEXIS drops her backpack and moves in to TABITHA where they can talk and only the two of them hear.]

ALEXIS

I’m not going to fight you.  I know life for you right now is hard with what’s going on at home and if you want someone to talk to you can find me.  I know what you’re going through.  Trying to lash out at me isn’t going to help you.

TABITHA

What do you know about it, little Ms. Perfect?

ALEXIS

Far from perfect, trust me.  Meet me after 6^th period and I’ll tell you about it, ok?

TABITHA

(With some reluctance and a little surprise)

…Uh…fine.  I can’t meet you though.  I got to stay over after class.

ALEXIS

Just message me online when you can and we can work something out.  You don’t have to do this alone.

[TABITHA goes on in school and the crowd starts to disperse.  ALEXIS grabs her bag and starts to go in when she is stopped by a hand on her shoulder.  It’s SARA.]

[When ALEXIS turns around both her and SARA are in their “fighter” looks.]

SARA

How did you do that?  I’ve seen you fight a couple of times today and we haven’t even started school yet?  I just always lose. 

ALEXIS

I just refuse to give up.  I don’t always win when I fight.  But the important thing is to get up and work to do better.  That and I have this.

 (ALEXIS shows SARA her escrima sticks.)

SARA

I don’t have anything like that either. 

ALEXIS

Tell you what:  you take it.  It’s not the only one I have. 

[ALEXIS gives SARA her escrima sticks, but when SARA looks down at them, she sees a Bible.]

SARA

You sure?  I didn’t come to you to ask you for your stuff.

ALEXIS

No, really.  I can’t tell you how much it’s helped me.  One more thing though:  can you meet me Sunday morning?  There’s something else I want to show you.

SARA

Only if you pick me up.

ALEXIS

Not a problem.  Hey, come on, we’re going to be late.

[ALEXIS and SARA turn and move to go to school.]

 

Scene 5

[Sunday morning.  ALEXIS and SARA are walking through the door of ALEXIS’S church.  They are both dressed for “regular” life.  They both have Bibles in hand.]

SARA

I’ve already got a good start on this (she motions her Bible), what was it you wanted to show me?

ALEXIS

Having something that you can use to protect yourself and fight off temptation to stuff is great, but it’s not going to do much good for you if you don’t know how to use it.

SARA

I don’t understand.

ALEXIS

I’m talking about doing some work and studying. 

[They turn the corner to open a door to a room and we see ALEXIS and SARA in their ‘fighter’ looks.  They both have some wear and tear, but look like they have had some time to heal.

ALEXIS

A fighter isn’t much of a fighter without some training.

[ALEXIS opens the door and they walk in to Sunday School Class.  Inside are people in workout clothes.  It would be easy to mistake the place for a gym, or MMA class.  Everyone has various forms of weapons they are training with.  There are a variety of ages inside, from teenagers to some more mature, everyone is stretching, warming up. There can be some workout equipment, floor mats, etc.]

SARA

Ok, not going to lie:  this is pretty cool.

ALEXIS

You can sit next to me.  Come on.

[They go in to take their spots in the class.  The SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER moves to the front of the class.  As he says his line, the screen fades to black.]

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER

Hey everyone, it’s time to get started.  If anyone hasn’t gotten to them yet there should still be some coffee and donuts in the back.  Today we are going to discuss Ephesians 6:10-18.  This is where Paul talks about the Armor of God...

[Fade to black.  End credits.]

Author's Note

The goal is to use the fighting as a metaphor for struggling against temptation. Its not there to glorify violence but to show that its hard and ugly. It shouldn't get graphic, but it will be edgy. Especially the last fight will be rough and some bruising and blood would show to give it some weight. My only real concern is having teenagers do the film. Its not that I feel they couldn't do it, but just to have them participate in the fighting. The fight against temptation is real and I don't want to shy away from that. I think its something everyone could relate to.

Reviews

[L.P.Greene]

Your dialogue needs evening out in places. The best wayou to address issues with speech is to actually say the lines aloud or rope someone else into doing a script reading for you. Often we can't see the errors on the page, but we can hear them. I suggest trying this.

Also, remove your action from the square brackets. This is not industry formatting and does not make it easy to read. If you write screenplays regularly I recommend using a scriptwriting software which will format your work for you. Amazon storywriter and trelby are both free to use and I recommend them both.

Also, remove almost every parentheses you have above speech (bracketed action such as this) this is action and needs to be placed separately from your dialogue. When reading it is clunky and inefficient.

Screenplays are all about white space. The four line rule is a guide most screenwriters will reference loosely. It suggests that no piece of action or dialogue should extend beyond four lines. This helps to keep dialogue concise and stops action from becoming novelistic.

Your action is quite novelistic and overly descriptive. It needs thinning out a little.

All that aside I very much enjoyed reading your piece and want to thank you for submitting it.

The concept was easy to grasp and I knew what you were implying, the quote at the beginning served that purpose.

Well done.

[Author Gus]

I like the concept but it lacks a few key elements of a screen play, and some of the dialog is kind of clunky. While your premise is the polar opposite, the same kind of idea was put to film in the movie "Sucker Punch." Which proves that this kind of idea just doesn't work on the big screen.

I'd like to see this as a short story told in side by sides. Cutting between the fighting and reality until the end when the two are revealed to be the same.

[Mitch]

I hadn't considered 'Sucker Punch', but yes, the concept was similar. This is an early story idea of mine and would probably benefit a revisit. Thanks for the read and review!