IMPRUDENCE: not showing care for the consequences of an action; rash.
The element of risk is greater than the chance of success.
Our Father, which art in Heaven, lead us not into temptation!
EXAMPLE:
Fatal Attraction (Adrian Lyne, 1987)
A married businessman gives in to temptation and has a sexual encounter with an attractive woman. Things go badly wrong when it becomes clear that she takes the affair more seriously than he does.
We often portray life as a journey along a road. Back in the 1950s and ’60s there was a huge poster in the London Underground for Start-rite children’s shoes. It depicted a boy and a girl setting off on the path of life. Continuing the metaphor, a road has many turnings and branches, and FATAL IMPRUDENCE is one of those dramatic branches: gambling with life, doing something risky, being aware of the consequences but still proceeding. The protagonist is entirely responsible for what may follow and cannot lay the blame elsewhere.
Possible Scenarios
(1) A dilemma exists which cannot be solved by conventional or existing means. The pressure on the protagonist is considerable and their judgement is affected by desperation. But the consequences of failure are visible to the protagonist. An opportunity presents itself and a quick decision is made. There is no premeditation involved. Despite the odds on the possibility of success being so poor, the protagonist takes the plunge. Whether disaster or success follows is the writer’s choice, but the scenario has undeniably created dramatic tension and the audience will usually be made to wait for the results to make themselves known.
Example:
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
A young woman steals money from her office in order to run away with her lover. She regrets it and decides to return the money, but it’s too late and things go badly wrong for her.
(2) A happily married man with kids has an affair, not out of unhappiness with his situation but almost out of boredom. The affair triggers a series of situations that threaten to destroy his life (e.g. Fatal Attraction et al.).
(3) A politician begins his life with integrity, proud to represent the people. He works hard for little reward, observes others take bribes and resolves to eradicate corruption. Meanwhile, he struggles to look after a growing family and has many bills to pay. One day an opportunity presents itself: unaccounted money is available, so without letting on to anybody he takes the money, telling himself it is a loan that he will pay back. In fact, no one notices, and he is in such a position of power that he is above suspicion. From this moment on he is compromised. He begins to take the money regularly, now telling himself that he deserves it because he is doing so much good fighting corruption, etc. But now he has to struggle with his own conscience and has become a divided personality. No one ever finds out about the money, but he has corrupted himself.
(4) The act of imprudence can take place within a group. The protagonist is drinking with friends and is encouraged to do something imprudent. Alternatively, they may be trying to discourage the foolish decisions. In the Dutch film The Loft (Erik Van Looy, 2008) five friends conspire to conceal the murder of a young woman, who has been found in the loft they share as a place to take their mistresses.
The beauty of this situation is that it introduces the element of CHANCE as a major component. An unexpected situation presents itself, and we observe the reaction and wonder how we ourselves would have dealt with the situation.
Note: it is important that the audience is entirely up to speed with what is at stake in this scenario. They need to know what the risk is and invariably take a position on the side of common sense. There will always be the certainty that this will, sooner or later, end badly.