Summer's Sinking Breath

### **SUMMER'S SINKING BREATH**
**A Film/TV Treatment**

**1. LOGLINE**

An estranged son returning to his decaying ancestral home for a tense family reunion discovers his late grandfather's locked journal, unearthing a dark secret that his manipulative matriarch will do anything to keep buried.

**2. SYNOPSIS**

JEFF ATHERTON (30s) arrives at Blackwood Grange, the family's skeletal, decaying estate, suffocating under the oppressive summer heat. He is met not with warmth, but with the chilling formality of his iron-willed mother, KAREN, and the bitter resentment of his siblings, CASSIA and GABRIEL. The family dynamic is a carefully rehearsed performance of civility, masking decades of unspoken animosity. Escaping the strained atmosphere, Jeff finds himself in his late grandfather Tobias's long-abandoned study. There, hidden in a dusty drawer, he discovers a locked leather-bound journal. The discovery feels momentous, a key to understanding the family's rot. His clandestine search is interrupted by Karen, whose silken threats and feigned ignorance about the journal confirm its importance. Back in his room, with the weight of the house and its history pressing in on him, Jeff resolves to force the lock, knowing that whatever secrets the journal holds will irrevocably shatter the family’s fragile peace and place him in direct opposition to his formidable mother.

**3. CHARACTER BREAKDOWN**

* **JEFF ATHERTON (30s):** The protagonist. Observant, weary, and detached from his family's suffocating world. He carries the weight of his past but possesses a quiet determination. His discovery of the journal reawakens a dangerous curiosity, positioning him as the unwilling investigator of his family’s forgotten sins.

* **KAREN ATHERTON (60s):** The matriarch and primary antagonist. A woman of severe angles and unshakeable control, her civility is a weapon. She presides over the decaying Grange like a queen over a crumbling kingdom, and she is the fiercely protective gatekeeper of its secrets.

* **CASSIA ATHERTON (30s):** Jeff's sister. Sharp, cynical, and hardened by a life trapped within the Grange. Her wit is a shield for her deep-seated resentment and pain. She is a volatile element, a potential obstacle or a surprising ally.

* **GABRIEL ATHERTON (30s):** Jeff's brother. A ghostly, melancholic artist who has retreated into himself. He obsessively sketches the decay of the house, a passive observer who may know more than his silence suggests. He is a casualty of the family's toxicity.

* **TOBIAS ATHERTON (Deceased):** The patriarch, whose presence haunts the house. A man of arcane interests and immense privacy, his secrets are the catalyst for the story. The journal is his ghost, waiting to speak.

**4. SCENE BEATS**

* **ARRIVAL - THE SKELETON:** Jeff arrives at Blackwood Grange. The oppressive humidity and the sight of the dilapidated house establish the suffocating tone. The house is a character in itself: a grand dame in irreversible decline.

* **THE MATRIARCH'S WELCOME:** Jeff enters the dark, cavernous hall. He is greeted by his mother, Karen. Their exchange is cold, formal, and devoid of affection, immediately establishing their strained dynamic and her quiet, unnerving authority.

* **THE UNRAVELING SIBLINGS:** Jeff finds his siblings, each trapped in their own version of the house's decay.
* **CASSIA:** In the derelict conservatory, she meets him with a cynical barb, her vibrant dress a stark contrast to the sepia-toned decay. Their conversation is a familiar dance of veiled insults.
* **GABRIEL:** In the dusty library, he is a ghost amidst the books, sketching the ruin. His presence is melancholic and withdrawn, highlighting the profound isolation within the family.

* **THE STUDY - A TOMB OF SECRETS:** Seeking refuge from the tense family dinner (unseen), Jeff explores his grandfather Tobias's sealed-off study. The room is a museum of the arcane and forgotten, coated in a thick layer of dust.

* **THE DISCOVERY - THE KEY:** Jeff's search leads him to a stuck drawer. Inside, he finds it: a locked leather journal with the initials 'T.A.' A jolt of adrenaline and dread courses through him. This is the inciting incident.

* **CONFRONTATION - THE VEILED THREAT:** As Jeff hides the journal in his bag, Karen appears silently in the doorway. She questions his "rummaging." Jeff lies, calling it an old "ledger." Karen's gaze lingers on his bag. With chilling sweetness, she demands he bring it to breakfast for "transparency." It is a command, not a request. The stakes are instantly raised.

* **THE DECISION - THE TRESPASS:** Alone in his room, the house groaning around him, Jeff examines the locked journal. He feels the oppressive weight of the house and the certainty of being watched. He knows he cannot show the journal to Karen. He eyes a small letter opener, his resolve hardening. He must break it open. He must know the truth, whatever the cost. This is an act of rebellion, and the story’s central conflict is now in motion.

**5. VISUAL STYLE**

* **TONE & GENRE:** Southern Gothic meets psychological thriller. The atmosphere is paramount, emphasizing decay, secrets, and the oppressive weight of the past. Think the suffocating tension of *Sharp Objects* combined with the haunted, elegant decay of a Guillermo del Toro film.

* **THE GRANGE:** The primary location is a character. It should be filmed to emphasize its scale and its state of ruin. We see peeling wallpaper, dust motes dancing in slivers of light, overgrown ivy choking the windows, and deep, impenetrable shadows in every corner. The house is beautiful but actively dying.

* **COLOR PALETTE:** A desaturated, almost sepia-toned palette dominates—dusty browns, faded greens, bone whites, and deep blacks. This is punctuated by sharp, almost violent splashes of color: Cassia's crimson dress, the lurid green of moss, a glint of polished brass on an old instrument.

* **LIGHTING:** Low-key, naturalistic lighting that struggles to penetrate the gloom of the house. We will utilize chiaroscuro, with characters often half-swallowed by shadow. Moonlight will be harsh and alien, distorting familiar shapes into menacing forms.

* **CAMERA & SOUND:** The camera work will be deliberate and slow, often creeping or holding on a shot to build tension, creating a voyeuristic sense that the house itself is watching. Extreme close-ups on textures—cracked leather, dusty surfaces, the sweat on Jeff’s brow—will heighten the sensory experience. The sound design will be crucial, built on the oppressive quiet: the hum of insects, the groan of old wood, the whisper of wind through a broken pane, the sharp, sudden scrape of a chair. Silence will be used as a weapon.