It's The Same All Over London
2012, 15 minutes
It's The Same All Over London
SYNOPSIS for It’s the same all over London By Sarah Lewis HOLLY, 36, a flame haired, trendy pharmacist, moves into a new flat after breaking up with her boyfriend. The flat, which is spacious and large, is underneath a flat where the flooring is so un soundproofed, both flats can hear each other talk, and walk about. HOLLY still smarting from the break up of her relationship finds it hard to cope with the noise coming from the flat above. Whenever she does anything at all, they bang on her ceiling; even making a cake, watching the television, or the slightest squeak of her floorboards, will have the couple in the flat above bouncing on her ceiling like kangaroos on acid. She develops headaches, and complains to her friend, Diana, on the phone, who suggests she uses her skills to overcome her neighbour’s uncivilised habits. Holly thinks this unethical. However, as the film progresses we see that Holly changes her point of view. She can no longer sleep at night because of the noise of banging from the flat above, she can’t even have a phone call without the man above banging over her head. Throughout the film, we will cut to the couple in the flat above, who discuss HOLLY like she is some sort of animal in a zoo. They find it funny that she has lost her job because they keep her awake at night. The couple RUSS and RULA, are a pair of self-centred charity workers, who think any noise from the flat below must be dealt with by over the top banging. Russ knows that the real reason they hear so much is because he has crap flooring, and on top of that he has drilled a hole through the ceiling so he can watch HOLLY getting undressed, and also hear and learn more about her. RULA and RUSS don’t have a life; they are literally getting off on trying to control their neighbour. After a day of headaches, Holly has had enough; she makes a cake and fills it with narcotic herbs. She gives it to her neighbours and it paralyses them, while RUSS lies unable to move on the sofa, she takes out a pocket watch and hypnotises him. She tells him he will never again hear noise from the flat below. He will go out of his way to help his neighbour, Holly. And he will sound proof his flooring. The film ends with the couple sat with their arms round each other, with so much music pumping through their flat from the floor below that the tea things rattle. The couple however, don’t notice or hear a thing from the flat below. The film ends with Holly having a massive and very loud party, and looking radiantly happy. CHARACTERS HOLLY, thirty-sex, trendy, flame haired, good looking. Well spoken, and a good actress. She is trained in both hypnosis skills and herbalism. She is a steam punk and wears Victoriana clothing. She is very right on, and will always stand up for women who are being bullied. However she is a bit broken. The break up of her relationship has taken the oomph out of her, and she isn’t coping well at all. RUSS, 28, a control freak charity worker, and a busy body who doesn’t bother to sound proof his flat because being able to over hear his neighbours, gives him plenty to gossip about. In other words, he doesn’t have a life. He gets off on controlling HOLLY by using sound as a weapon; as she is the sort of woman who would under normal circumstances never even notice him. It also pissed him off that she has more money than him. He has a very jealous nature and quickly turns against people. He has a massive chip on his shoulder. RULA, 26, a demure but equally narrow minded charity worker - who also enjoys sticking the knife into her neighbours back – mainly because Holly is prettier than her, wealthier and actually does have a life. She is totally under her husband’s thumb. Her relationship with her husband isn’t good, they’ve stopped having sex, and the only time she and her hubby get excited is when they hear their neighbour crying, and on some occasions imagine they can hear her masturbating.