When Dostoyevski’s Prince Myshkin visits relatives in LA with a remake of Casablanca, a fight for love and glory ends in murder.
TREATMENT – The Idiot
By Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
Adapted By Whitey Shapiro
Prince Nicholas Vaktangov, a fair-haired young man in his late twenties and a descendant of Eastern European nobility, arrives in Los Angeles after spending the last six years in a Swiss clinic for treatment of his nervous condition. The Prince’s only connection in LA is a very distant cousin Lizaveta Danchenko, wife of Colonel Danchenko, president of Angel City Motion Pictures. Angel City is currently filming a picture featuring Natasha Pavlova, a popular movie star.
On his way to visit the Angel City Office, the Prince is mugged but rescued by a dark-haired twenty-seven-year-old entertainment attorney, Jeffery Roganstein. The innocent and naive Prince discusses his diagnosis and treatment received for his nervous condition. Roganstein in turn confesses a passionate obsession. He is stalking Natasha Pavlova, the extraordinarily beautiful “feme fatale” movie star mentioned above. Roganstein gets the Prince a meeting with Angel City based on a remake of “Casablanca” the Prince has written.
The Prince meets with Colonel Danchenko, president of Angel City who befriends him. Colonel Danchenko has an ambitious and rather vain assistant, Ganya Rathbone whom the Prince meets during his visit to the Colonel’s office. Ganya, though he is actually in love with The Colonel’s daughter, Aglaya, is in the midst of trying to marry Natasha Pavlova, once the mistress of the billionaire Trotsky. Trotsky has promised Ganya money and a Malibu beach house if he marries the “kept” Natasha Pavlova.
The Colonel introduces the Prince to his wife Lisaveta and beautiful daughter Aglaya. At the Colonel’s urging, the prince accepts an invitation to stay at Ganya’s family’s home, also occupied by Ganya’s sister, Varya, his mother, Nina and his father, Rudolph Rathbone, (a has-been alcoholic movie star). The Prince is so forthcoming to Ganya about his own life, Ganya confides in him about the announcement of his marriage to Natasha at her birthday party scheduled for that evening.
Natasha arrives unannounced at the Rathbone home and attempts to insult Ganya’s family, which has refused to accept her as a possible wife for Ganya. The Prince, however, stops her, putting her behavior to shame. Suddenly Jeffery Roganstein arrives, promises Natasha picture deals and millions of dollars if she will marry him.
Among the guests who arrive at Natasha’s birthday party are Trotsky, the Colonel and Ganya. With the help of Rudolf Rathbone (father of Ganya), the Prince and Rudolph arrive as well, though uninvited. Natasha has laced the champagne with hallucinogens and the party goers become poetic and verbose. Following the Prince’s advice, Natasha refuses Ganya’s proposal. Roganstein arrives with a backpack filled with money, threatens everyone and helplessly pleads for Natasha to accept him. Suddenly, the Prince himself offers to marry Natasha, announcing that he has recently received a large inheritance. Surprised by such a generous offer by an honest heart, Natasha leaves the party with the Prince.
Two years later we find the Colonel divorced and drummed out of Angel City, the Prince disillusioned with his marriage to Natasha and managing Angel City with Agayla to whom he is devoted. The Prince schedules a meeting with Natasha to ask that she free him so that he may marry Agayla. During this meeting Roganstein violently attacks Natasha who is rescued by the Prince and they spend time together rediscovering the passion they once had. Eventually, Natasha flees to Roganstein again and the Prince is left befuddled and depressed.
Agayla forgives the Prince and fences are mended. However, Natasha has been texting Agayla urging her to marry the Prince. Agayla finally seeks out Natasha to discuss the reasons for the texts and to ascertain whether Natasha still has a hold on the Prince. An argument ensues and Natasha exclaims she can have the Prince at the snap of her fingers and that Agayla only wanted to know if she was woman enough to possess the Prince.
While trying to re-establishing the relationship with Agayla, the Prince attempts to secretly visit Natasha and is confronted by a dark and troubled Roganstein who accompanies the Prince to Natasha’s livingroom where he has laid her out on a white piano wearing in a wedding dress after slitting her throat.
The two men keep vigil over her body, after which Roganstein is arrested. The Prince loses his mind and is again institutionalized. Aglaya visits the catatonic Prince and attempts to comfort him with soothing words.