SYNOPSIS:

Wally Baker, a city police officer, is on probation for an officer involved shooting in which he is required to see a psychologist, Dr. Guinevere Thandie, who must assess him and determine his fitness for the force. He wants more than anything to go back to work, but must deal with demons from his past and his son Tommy, who is struggling with issues of his own. Tommy wants the part of Hamlet in the school play, opposite his love interest, Heather, who plays Ophelia, but is relegated to the position of understudy. He is not a bad student, but is harassed by Mr. Lin, his science teacher who humiliates him at every turn. Wally and Tommy’s relationship is stressed by a lack of communication and frustration with being held back from what they want, and they’re thrust into living with Wally’s sister after their apartment building burns down. When their relationship gets to the breaking point, Wally and Tommy will be forced to face off in an event neither of them saw coming. Mr. Lin has a history of torturing students, but sees himself as preparing undisciplined, disrespectful students for the real world. He is forced to see Dr. Thandie for his inappropriate behavior toward students and reveals that his childhood in China was less than desirable. He has been estranged from his mother for years and must come to terms with her recent death. Simone Henderson learns she has cancer and not much time left to live. She is walked on at work, but the one shining light in her life is her boyfriend D’Andre who wants to marry her. Simone sees no benefit in marriage and feels it would be unfair to D’Andre and sees Dr. Thandie on a regular basis, but when she asks Dr. Thandie to help her to die, she finds that she might just have more to live for than she thought. Patrick Taylor, an avid runner and self-help writer, is at a breaking point in his marriage. When his brother, Jonathan, is scheduled to die, he must do something drastic to help him save his dignity, but everything is further complicated when he learns that his child is really his brother’s. His saving grace is that his book has inadvertently touched some of the lives around him. Dr. Guinevere Thandie, a depth psychologist with a broken past, must overcome troubles in her own life to not only help others to rise from the ashes, but find love and a sense of belonging. The Last Breath takes a look at the choices we make and the consequences of those choices. Unfortunately, in real life not all endings are happy ones. This screenplay was a semifinalist at the Tulsa International Film Festival. It is registered with Writer's Guild of America.

THE LAST BREATH