Silver Bright Silver
Logline: In the age of reason, a brilliant man of science believes he can unlock nature's mysteries. If only he were able to understand himself so well...
Synopsis: It's the end of the Eighteenth century and the glory days of the Dew family are long gone; the current paterfamilias – Sir Edward – survives in genteel poverty. He is a scholar, much fascinated by the scientific discoveries washing across Europe. Since the death of his wife, he has thrown himself into his researches and all but ignoring the rest of his household.
He has entrusted the care of his daughter Charlotte to a governess, Miss Anderson. But Charlotte is growing up, and keen to escape her stultifying house and overbearing governess. Charlotte is more interested by the tales spun by the elderly housekeeper, Mrs. Gathercole: wild yarns of passion and gypsy magic. She's especially drawn to the more erotic stories...
Sir Edward's experiments do not proceed as he might like; he contacts an old friend, now a distinguished professor, to seek his advice. Expecting only a correspondence, he is delighted when his friend – Gilgate – announces he plans to offer more practical assistance with a visit.
But Gilgate finds more than he expected. There's no doubt Sir Edward is a uniquely intelligent man – he has constructed a contraption capable of freezing water – but his work has taken a darker turn. For he is working on revivification, bringing the dead back to life. Encased in a block of ice is the body of his late wife...
Gilgate overcomes strong doubts and agrees to help.
The Professor has brought with him a brilliant young student, David. While his master helps Sir Edward, David is left to work on his own projects. He is distracted by Charlotte, who is most taken with the young man. To her considerable dismay, however, he doesn't even attempt a seduction.
With Gilgate's help, Sir Edward makes progress. Although uneasy at the nature of his friend's work, Gilgate is impressed by his dazzling achievements. Yet Sir Edward does not seek the honour and glory Gilgate thinks he deserves: he is doing this work to reunite his family.
Their success is short lived: the experiments start failing. Moreover, Sir Edward starts to notice manifestations of the ghosts he thought his science had exorcised. Could Mrs. Gathercole's supernatural stories be true..?
Things deteriorate further. After reviewing their findings, Gilgate concludes that they have failed: what they are attempting is impossible. Sir Edward, however, refuses to accept this pessimistic diagnosis. If Gilgate wants to leave, then Sir Edward will proceed without him. There is something else they can try...
But Sir Edward is deluding himself. He cannot accept that he has failed – that death has won. Unable to convince his friend that he must abandon his desperate venture, Gilgate resolves to at least rescue Charlotte from the decaying mausoleum and invites her to the university.
Her father refuses to let her go, of course: not when he's so close to completing his work and she can finally learn what he's been labouring on...
With no hope of changing Sir Edward's mind, Gilgate reluctantly accepts he must leave. Of course, this means David will be leaving too, something that distresses Charlotte. Always more sympathetic to Mrs. Gathercole's stories, the desperate Charlotte decides to see if there's any truth in what the old woman claimed about Gypsy magic. Especially their love potions...
Desperate measures are called for. Charlotte slips into the forest and begs a Gypsy to help her. She is eventually rewarded with what she seeks but warned that used in excess, it can bring death. She tries the magic on David but to no avail. Rebuffed, the girl drinks the rest of the potion in a bid for suicide.
She is discovered in time and it might be possible to save her; yet her father is too frantic to think clearly. While Gilgate uses science to battle the effects of the magic, Sir Edward reaches for more desperate measures to save his daughter...
There is no magic however. Gilgate proves that she has been bewitched only by her own thoughts. Alas, his information comes too late for her father. He destroyed the equipment that preserved his wife – he sacrificed her so that their daughter might be allowed to live.
Both Charlotte and her father are battered by what's happened but they are both alive. They still have each other.
Plot keywords: Science , magic , , love , , obsession , , historical