Andie: A Visual Effects Artist

A visual effects artist with a history of cutting herself, struggles with overcoming her history of abuse and her self-destructive behaviors.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS
ANDIE RYAN (25) is a visual effects artist working in London. She’s estranged from her father, GARY, who has just told her that her mother died. Andie tells her father never to contact her again. Andie struggles with her past history of living with an emotionally abusive and drunk mother, who always told Andie that she was ugly and a loser. Suffering from low self-esteem, Andie engages in cutting herself.
At work, Andie relies on her friend, GABE, a gay artist. When she sleeps with her supervisor, NIGEL, a video of Nigel talking about Andie coming onto him surfaces. Andie is devastated
This is a story driven more by the inner struggle of the protagonist with her past psychological abuse and her self-destructive behaviors rather than by an external goal. The story explores the aftermath of child sexual abuse. The script examines themes regarding second chances, grief, healing, forgiveness, and learning to move on with your life.
At the center of the story is a very likable protagonist Andie. She’s clearly flawed and this is what makes her so intriguing as a character. She’s self-destructive, she has low self-esteem and she’s a cutter. The story does a nice job of revealing her emotional abuse by her mother and then later the story reveals the rape by her father. It’s distressing and sad to learn the truth. However, near the end, there’s a sense of hope as Andie resets her life and moves on.
However, with that said the script would benefit from more development. The areas to discuss are the structure, the pace, and the tension. In addition, further character development would benefit the script.
The first act sets up the ordinary world and life of Andie. The idea of her working in visual effects is very engaging and the first act does a nice job of show how self-destructive Andie is and what low self-esteem she
This would help build more suspense and anticipation about what really happened in her childhood. This will make the reveal feel even more powerful and emotional.
As mentioned, Andie is a complex and likable character. The audience cares about her and wants her to be happy and healthy. Her inner struggle is compelling. Give her a stronger external goal and make her proactive. Elevate her chemistry and conflict with Alex. Show how her past hinders her having a real relationship and why. Perhaps add more PTSD symptoms.
On the other hand, Andie shares nice buddy chemistry with Gabe. They feel like authentic friends. Gabe cares about her and they have a relationship arc when she lashes out at him.
Alex needs more development as the potential love interest. He’s a bit to generic right now and it’s challenging to describe his personality.
Explore Liz’s motivation not to like Andie. It may involve Alex.
The dialogue is consistent with each character and their personality. Andie’s voice reflects her lack of self-esteem and poor images. She does, however, tend to use the word “loser” a bit too