Logline An abused wife and her guyfriend become con artists to catfish a naive female and frame her in the murder of the wife's vicious husband, but it's the guy who ends up framed for it.
ChicKanery is a thrilling, low-budget drama with dark comedy that uses only two simple locations and four characters. The suspense and twists continue from the beginning to the climactic ending. The characters perpetrate a con on each other; simultaneously, the con is on the audience. The screenplay is in the vein of Matchstick Men when one of the con artists is the dupe and has the awkwardness of the sting in American Hustle. The title ChicKanery reflects the females' deception and schemes, which outmaneuver the unaware men where the stakes are life and death. ChicKanery's story fits in any major city, and I can adjust the ethnic backgrounds of the characters to fit any actors that you envision for this project.
Synopsis
When ChicKanery starts, we first believe that Cindy Wheeler, an Asian-American female in her late 20s, is a screenwriter. She is with Zac Dawson, a Caucasian male in his 30s, as her producer. They're struggling with the critical murder scene in their script and finding the lead female actor for their film.
The story then reveals that Cindy is in a sexually and psychologically abusive 10-year marriage with a 50-year-old Caucasian male CEO, Noah Wheeler, who is also Zac's brutish boss. Cindy was a 17-year-old sex worker when Noah married her. Zac and Cindy commiserate with each other about their abuse from Noah. This turns into an adulterous affair and leads to them creating a plan to rid themselves of Noah. For both of them, their clandestine relationship is an opportunity to achieve a goal instead of love. Cindy had signed a prenup with Noah, a powerful man who would not allow her to leave, and Noah is in the way of Zac's plans to take over the company.
The story then discloses that the script is not for a movie but a plan to murder Noah, which explains why they struggle with the murder scene. The lead actress is the person they will frame for the homicide. Throughout the story, we see that Cindy speaks down to the clowning Zac, which lends to some of the comedy in this dark movie. Cindy goes to great lengths to catfish naive female actors desperate for a film they will never make. She narrows the list to three, and Zac chooses Nathalie Walker, a Blasian female, half Black Thai and half British, in her late 20s. These troubled young aspiring actresses are the perfect prey for their plans.
The script then focuses on the audition and rehearsals with Nathalie as Cindy and Zac collect DNA, rehearsal videos, and fingerprints on the murder weapon to frame her. The three rehearse the "Murder of Noah" scene over and over.
Cindy gets desperate as the increased abuse from Noah has her on edge, and she shares this with Nathalie as they become intimate. Meanwhile, Zac's relationship with Noah improves, and Noah asks Zac to keep an eye on Cindy while he is away on business. Since Zac no longer needs to get rid of Noah, he tells the girls he has to postpone the movie. Nathalie and Cindy are emotionally distraught but accept this decision.
Nathalie then convinces Cindy to forget the money and run away with her. Cindy agrees that this is her only option. Zac tries to convince Cindy to stay as she will lose that money to run off with a loser like Nathalie. In reality, he is protecting his future as Noah is counting on his assistance in keeping Cindy in check.
Zac becomes desperate as he is the outsider of the girls' scheme and will lose his leverage with Noah if the girls run away. Zac double-crosses the girls when his persuasion attempts fail, alerting Noah of Cindy's plans.
The next day, when Nathalie says goodbye to Zac and tells him she is on her way to pick up Cindy, Zac tells her not to bother. Zac told Noah and is with Cindy as they speak. Nathalie punches Zac in the nose and runs to Cindy's apartment.
Noah rushes home on Zac's tip and surprises Cindy, but he doesn't realize Cindy expects him. Cindy drugged his decanter of cognac because having a drink is the first thing he does when he gets home. The drug incapacitates Noah, allowing Cindy to carry out the "Murder of Noah" scene.
Nathalie gets there after the homicide, and we understand that Cindy did not catfish Nathalie, but she is an old, trusted friend from Thailand. The two women then place the evidence at the murder scene they have collected to frame Zac, not Nathalie. Ultimately, Zac is the one framed as the two girls run away, leaving Zac holding the bag for Noah's murder. Cindy and Nathalie leave with freedom and Noah's fortune as well.