SYNOPSIS:
BASED ON A TRUE STORY
JACK MORGAN (35) awakes in his hotel room to the sounds of knocking. Answering the door, he finds two policemen. We then FLASHBACK: Jack is enjoying his idyllic family life with his wife LILAH and five children. He helps his son build a catapult and soon the entire family joins in on the fun. One night, there is a knock on the door. Jack answers only to find a Deputy who hands him lawsuit papers. He keeps this from Lilah, but as her suspicions grow she discovers the papers and soon leaves Jack in California while her and kids head to Montana. Jack tries desperately to get her back but only receives a restraining order for his efforts. This leads him to find a family attorney and he does in the quirky HUNTER LEVY. Hunter asks if Jack has ever hurt the kids, in which we flashback to a trampoline incident from a few years prior. Convinced of his innocence, Jack presses onward, taking a plane to Colorado for a supervised visit. His kids tell Jack they will talk to Lilah and, that night, Jack is jailed for attempting to communicate with his wife through the kids. Arriving home, Jack finds out the lawsuit has ended but Lilah is filing for divorce.
During arbitration, Jack loses custody of the kids thanks to Lilah’s corrupt coaching. Doing some digging, Jack discovers Lilah has been having an affair and this is why she has been pushing for separation and custody of the kids. Hunter wants to use this in court against her, which, at first, Jack agrees with. One night Jack gets lost in prayer and realizes it is Satan who has been driving a wedge between him and his family. At their final court appearance, Jack decides not to attack Lilah and instead takes a higher path. His son takes the stand and proves his father’s innocence. The Judge decides to let Jack have weekend custody of the kids. One night Jack gets another knock at the door from the fedex guy. The legal documents “Divorce Hurts LLC” have arrived that make Jack’s new ministry active and Jack the President. Through Jack’s pain and circumstances he is able to help others fight for their marriage using this prayer tool that was born from a situation very similar to Job.
This music video by Casting Crows is a good representation of a segment in the film that will be depicted in a very artful way.
THE METAPHOR
When Jesus spoke in the New Testament he would teach using stories that had profound parables and metaphors because he knew that for his audience to truly receive the message they would have to discover it for themselves.
In the movie The Petitioner, the metaphor used is a “Restraining Order Document” that the main character Jack discovers in his search to unlock the answers to being wrongfully accused.
INT. JACK’s HOUSE – BEDROOM – NIGHT
Jack prints out a blank RFO document and begins to fill it out. While going through the document Jack lists SATAN as the one he wants protection from and fills out the details as if SATAN had a planned attack on his family. Jack prints out the RFO and begins to pray over it at his desk with his bible laid open.
The PRFO Prayer Request for Restraining Order will be featured in the movie as a powerful tool that shows Jack praying over his wife and kids.
Similar to the movie War Room, Jack’s prayers are big and the stakes are huge.
The PRFO will be the document that viewers can interact with after the movie is over. Available as a download, app and explained in detail through bible study materials and a book.