Violet , N Y
Genre: Drama.
Location: New York City, New York.
Time period: 2009.
Characters:
Violet Buehler - Blonde with blue-black eyes. Wears too much eye makeup. Delicate and hyper-sensitive, highly vulnerable to circumstances and people which tend to influence her life. Aches to be loved.
Lavender Schultz - Like a Modigliani painting. Thin neck and dark hair. Slightly jaded and cynical, but also sweet and lovely. Street-smart and eager to please her friends. Addictive personality manifests itself in her addictions to cocaine and cigarettes. An artist who sells painted matchbooks to survive.
Bradshaw - Tall, painfully thin, dark eyes, dark hair, beautiful lips. Just as sensitive as Violet, but with a masculine sensibility. Could be described as a dying flower. Does way too much coke and smokes far too many cigarettes.
Nila - A lost fairy who collects feathers and makes crowns out of daisies. Her name means “dark blue” in Sanskrit. She accompanies Lavender in many of her adventures, and of course is quick to befriend Violet.
Mary Magdalene - A gritty glam girl in a cello rock band, with a penchant for glitter and black platforms. One of the regulars at the Dead Fleurette. Her music is a mix of Rasputina and The Strokes, with a heavenly, raspy, Carla Bruni-esque quality to the vocals.
What is this movie about?: This movie is about pain, loss, and love.
Detailed synopsis:
Violet Buehler, 18 years old, decides to travel. Blindly choosing a train, she ends up in the crazy, beautiful land of New York. Upon arrival, Violet is greeted by a thin, dark-haired girl with sad eyes and a wan smile. This girl is selling paintings on matchbooks to make a living. The money she makes from her art goes largely toward her cocaine and cigarette addictions.
Lavender invites Violet to come with her to the hip, smoky, underground lounge known by the regulars as the Dead Fleurette. The play list is largely Bollywood and neo-jazz. The two girls spend the night and much of the morning dancing and drinking champagne cocktails, doing lines off of copies of French Vogue sitting atop the bar.
Two days later Violet and Lavender sit on a floral quilt in the middle of a patch of grass in Central Park, smoking and glittering in the dappled sunlight. Violet’s eye is caught by the most beautiful boy she has ever seen. And he is standing no more than twenty feet away, cigarette in hand. Violet is stunned by his beauty. He is pale, and thin, and very, very tall. His eyes are like those of a fawn, the most lovely shade of chestnut. He appears to be dying.
Violet approaches the boy, under the pretense of asking if he knows whether the moon will be waxing or waning that night. He smiles and his eyes glow. He introduces himself as Bradshaw. After a brief discussion, the two decide to meet again soon. Violet invites him to come with her and Lavender to the Dead Fleurette that very night.
Upon arrival, decked out in a sheer taffeta gown and black pearls matching her signature black eyes, Violet scans the room for Bradshaw. He’s leaned up against the bar, scanning right back to her gaze. Violet is somewhat tired of the scene at the Dead Fleurette, as she feels there is too much glitter and far too many feathers for her new love interest. Bradshaw proposes that they escape, and go out for dinner. But not before taking a few lines off of Kate Moss’ slick and shiny, glossy printed face.
Violet and Bradshaw go for dinner in China Town. After dinner, they stroll, window-shopping in all of the little stalls. Violet puts on a cat mask, Bradshaw buys some noise makers that strike the ground and crack, giving off tiny sparks. It begins to rain, and the two are caught without an umbrella. They take relative cover under an awning with the words, China Fields printed on it in a vibrant shade of blue. Bradshaw and Violet take a second to stare at one another, before clutching in a lovely embrace. Violet’s pale blue overcoat is stained with water drops, and Bradshaw’s chestnut locks glisten slightly under the tacky neon lights. The scene is reminiscent of the film “Deception,” with Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams.
Bradshaw invites Violet back to his apartment for the night.
Violet, Lavender, Nila, Mary Magdalene, and Bradshaw score some acid several nights later at the Dead Fleurette. The four of them decide that it would be much more romantic to wait to drop in Central Park the following afternoon. The scene is over-exposed, with washed out colors, and a slow, dreamy scanning of events. Violet lies in a bed of flowers, with leaves in her hair, and dreams in her eyes. Lavender climbs up a statue of Simon Bolivar, laughing all the way to the top. Bradshaw laughs when he realizes that Nila and Mary Magdalene are wading through a pond, splashing water at the ducks, otherwise ruining their couture-bedecked tiny bodies.
Violet proceeds to spend the night, and every night thereafter, with Bradshaw.
Clock factory. Bradshaw’s apartment is on the top level of an old, restored clock factory. His apartment is decorated in hundreds of old clocks, of course. Violet, Bradshaw, and Lavender spend many nights there. Violet blushes when she notices her stray silk negligee, tossed over the arm of a velvet loveseat, left there nights before. They discuss philosophy and literature. Bradshaw’s favorite author is Kerouac, while Violet’s is Nabokov. Lavender prefers Bukowski.
The next day, Violet waits all day for a call from Bradshaw. That morning he told her that he needed to meet with someone important. Later that evening, she receives a phone call from Lavender. Lavender tells Violet of Bradshaw’s death. He was found on the sidewalk, several blocks from his apartment, sitting against a decaying brick building. He died of heart failure, presumably from a severe overdose. In his hands were a bouquet of French violettes, jasmine blossoms, and a packet of forget-me-not seeds.
Violet is stricken with intense despair after the news of Bradshaw’s death. She visits his apartment, and leaves with his signature black pea coat and gold watch in her possession. His coat still smells of smoke and Ralph Lauren cologne, and the glass face of his watch is powdery and white.
She decides to join Lavender in the heroin shooting galleries on New York’s Lower East Side. She receives a massive overdose that leaves her limp and pale, lying on the wet sidewalk. Violet’s friends, Lavender and Nila, leave her after a scare with the police. She is discovered by a man in a black coat. He delivers her to the emergency room, where the doctors stick her with needles and thread her veins with IV’s. Upon her release from the hospital, Violet walks the lovely, lonely streets, all the while thinking of him, all through the evening.
After several days of wandering, Violet begins to develop delusions. A psychological identity disorder leads her to believe that she is Marie Antoinette. The delusions change by the day. Marie Antoinette gives way to the little match girl, then to the Green Fairy, and finally to Ophelia.
Three days of malnourishment and despair have transformed Violet’s once pleasant face and hopeful eyes into nothing but tragedy. Her eyes don’t gleam, her mouth moves only to mumble, never to smile. She is passed on the streets by thousands of people, and not once is she approached by any of them. Her friends are nowhere to be found. This scene epitomizes the heartlessness of people, and the feeling of no soul oftentimes felt in the city.
Violet finally wanders to the waterfront, down a winding path beneath the eaves of the Triborough Bridge. The cars speeding above her don’t make a sound. All she can hear is Bradshaw’s voice. Tears from her eyes find their place on her lips, darken her lashes, and slip into the ocean.
Tagline: O, what a day to die.
Location: New York City, New York.
Time period: 2009.
Characters:
Violet Buehler - Blonde with blue-black eyes. Wears too much eye makeup. Delicate and hyper-sensitive, highly vulnerable to circumstances and people which tend to influence her life. Aches to be loved.
Lavender Schultz - Like a Modigliani painting. Thin neck and dark hair. Slightly jaded and cynical, but also sweet and lovely. Street-smart and eager to please her friends. Addictive personality manifests itself in her addictions to cocaine and cigarettes. An artist who sells painted matchbooks to survive.
Bradshaw - Tall, painfully thin, dark eyes, dark hair, beautiful lips. Just as sensitive as Violet, but with a masculine sensibility. Could be described as a dying flower. Does way too much coke and smokes far too many cigarettes.
Nila - A lost fairy who collects feathers and makes crowns out of daisies. Her name means “dark blue” in Sanskrit. She accompanies Lavender in many of her adventures, and of course is quick to befriend Violet.
Mary Magdalene - A gritty glam girl in a cello rock band, with a penchant for glitter and black platforms. One of the regulars at the Dead Fleurette. Her music is a mix of Rasputina and The Strokes, with a heavenly, raspy, Carla Bruni-esque quality to the vocals.
What is this movie about?: This movie is about pain, loss, and love.
Detailed synopsis:
Violet Buehler, 18 years old, decides to travel. Blindly choosing a train, she ends up in the crazy, beautiful land of New York. Upon arrival, Violet is greeted by a thin, dark-haired girl with sad eyes and a wan smile. This girl is selling paintings on matchbooks to make a living. The money she makes from her art goes largely toward her cocaine and cigarette addictions.
Lavender invites Violet to come with her to the hip, smoky, underground lounge known by the regulars as the Dead Fleurette. The play list is largely Bollywood and neo-jazz. The two girls spend the night and much of the morning dancing and drinking champagne cocktails, doing lines off of copies of French Vogue sitting atop the bar.
Two days later Violet and Lavender sit on a floral quilt in the middle of a patch of grass in Central Park, smoking and glittering in the dappled sunlight. Violet’s eye is caught by the most beautiful boy she has ever seen. And he is standing no more than twenty feet away, cigarette in hand. Violet is stunned by his beauty. He is pale, and thin, and very, very tall. His eyes are like those of a fawn, the most lovely shade of chestnut. He appears to be dying.
Violet approaches the boy, under the pretense of asking if he knows whether the moon will be waxing or waning that night. He smiles and his eyes glow. He introduces himself as Bradshaw. After a brief discussion, the two decide to meet again soon. Violet invites him to come with her and Lavender to the Dead Fleurette that very night.
Upon arrival, decked out in a sheer taffeta gown and black pearls matching her signature black eyes, Violet scans the room for Bradshaw. He’s leaned up against the bar, scanning right back to her gaze. Violet is somewhat tired of the scene at the Dead Fleurette, as she feels there is too much glitter and far too many feathers for her new love interest. Bradshaw proposes that they escape, and go out for dinner. But not before taking a few lines off of Kate Moss’ slick and shiny, glossy printed face.
Violet and Bradshaw go for dinner in China Town. After dinner, they stroll, window-shopping in all of the little stalls. Violet puts on a cat mask, Bradshaw buys some noise makers that strike the ground and crack, giving off tiny sparks. It begins to rain, and the two are caught without an umbrella. They take relative cover under an awning with the words, China Fields printed on it in a vibrant shade of blue. Bradshaw and Violet take a second to stare at one another, before clutching in a lovely embrace. Violet’s pale blue overcoat is stained with water drops, and Bradshaw’s chestnut locks glisten slightly under the tacky neon lights. The scene is reminiscent of the film “Deception,” with Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams.
Bradshaw invites Violet back to his apartment for the night.
Violet, Lavender, Nila, Mary Magdalene, and Bradshaw score some acid several nights later at the Dead Fleurette. The four of them decide that it would be much more romantic to wait to drop in Central Park the following afternoon. The scene is over-exposed, with washed out colors, and a slow, dreamy scanning of events. Violet lies in a bed of flowers, with leaves in her hair, and dreams in her eyes. Lavender climbs up a statue of Simon Bolivar, laughing all the way to the top. Bradshaw laughs when he realizes that Nila and Mary Magdalene are wading through a pond, splashing water at the ducks, otherwise ruining their couture-bedecked tiny bodies.
Violet proceeds to spend the night, and every night thereafter, with Bradshaw.
Clock factory. Bradshaw’s apartment is on the top level of an old, restored clock factory. His apartment is decorated in hundreds of old clocks, of course. Violet, Bradshaw, and Lavender spend many nights there. Violet blushes when she notices her stray silk negligee, tossed over the arm of a velvet loveseat, left there nights before. They discuss philosophy and literature. Bradshaw’s favorite author is Kerouac, while Violet’s is Nabokov. Lavender prefers Bukowski.
The next day, Violet waits all day for a call from Bradshaw. That morning he told her that he needed to meet with someone important. Later that evening, she receives a phone call from Lavender. Lavender tells Violet of Bradshaw’s death. He was found on the sidewalk, several blocks from his apartment, sitting against a decaying brick building. He died of heart failure, presumably from a severe overdose. In his hands were a bouquet of French violettes, jasmine blossoms, and a packet of forget-me-not seeds.
Violet is stricken with intense despair after the news of Bradshaw’s death. She visits his apartment, and leaves with his signature black pea coat and gold watch in her possession. His coat still smells of smoke and Ralph Lauren cologne, and the glass face of his watch is powdery and white.
She decides to join Lavender in the heroin shooting galleries on New York’s Lower East Side. She receives a massive overdose that leaves her limp and pale, lying on the wet sidewalk. Violet’s friends, Lavender and Nila, leave her after a scare with the police. She is discovered by a man in a black coat. He delivers her to the emergency room, where the doctors stick her with needles and thread her veins with IV’s. Upon her release from the hospital, Violet walks the lovely, lonely streets, all the while thinking of him, all through the evening.
After several days of wandering, Violet begins to develop delusions. A psychological identity disorder leads her to believe that she is Marie Antoinette. The delusions change by the day. Marie Antoinette gives way to the little match girl, then to the Green Fairy, and finally to Ophelia.
Three days of malnourishment and despair have transformed Violet’s once pleasant face and hopeful eyes into nothing but tragedy. Her eyes don’t gleam, her mouth moves only to mumble, never to smile. She is passed on the streets by thousands of people, and not once is she approached by any of them. Her friends are nowhere to be found. This scene epitomizes the heartlessness of people, and the feeling of no soul oftentimes felt in the city.
Violet finally wanders to the waterfront, down a winding path beneath the eaves of the Triborough Bridge. The cars speeding above her don’t make a sound. All she can hear is Bradshaw’s voice. Tears from her eyes find their place on her lips, darken her lashes, and slip into the ocean.
Tagline: O, what a day to die.