William Blackmon

Le Cheval (A Screenplay) William Blackmon

Deidre Lawrence is a veterinarian and horse breeder who is separated from her husband and in denial that the separation will lead to her divorce. She is a kind-hearted, charitable person, loyal to her friends and who loves her stallion, Midnight, like a child. But, her life starts to spin out of control when she receives notice that the deadline for divorce based on irreconcilable differences is drawing nigh. Soon after, she and her lawyer negotiate with her husband's lawyer (Ian Browne) and learn that he (Browne) is the motivation for the urgent settlement and a pending IPO of her husband's company, of which Deidre owns one-third. And- after a contentious and spiteful meeting, she hires a Private Investigator to dig into the situation and her estranged husband's activities. The P. I. discovers that her house and office have been bugged and that she is being spied on by Browne, who has become her husband's lover and is the reason for her troubles. As a result, Deidre undergoes a transformation of character and she acts out against her previous boring life; socially and sexually. Confident and fulfilled by her new persona, Deidre and her lawyer meet with Browne to negotiate better terms in the divorce settlement. During the negotiations, Deidre's confidence is smashed when she threatens to sue the lawyer for invasion of her privacy and he counters with a threat to sell her horses to the dog food factory. Lost to depression and helpless to keep her business afloat and to save her marriage and her horses, Deidre attempts suicide. Saved by the timely action of her Private Investigators, Deidre returns from the hospital to find the men she befriended from the local homeless shelter are now her full-time bodyguards. Realizing that people depend on her and that she is no good to her animals dead, Deidre crawls out of her depression with a new, more balanced outlook for her future. Levelheaded and in control once more, Deidre and her lawyer arrange a final settlement negotiation with Browne by inviting him to dinner as a show of good will. But- not fully trusting her husband or Browne, Deidre has her Private Investigators kidnap her horses away from their estate. However, as they negotiate the final settlement, Deidre learns from the horse breeder who received her horses, that Midnight has been gelded. With just minutes to go before she must sign the final settlement, Deidre plots to avenge the abuse of her stallion.