Highgate

Synopsis

When Umayma Yaghshi accepts an arranged marriage to Kamal Yasin, a wealthy Syrian widower exiled in London and living in the affluent suburb of Highgate, her dreams of escaping Syria’s civil war aren’t exactly what she had hoped for – Kamal treats Umayma with contempt and only gets off sexually when he rapes her. In London, Umayma only connects emotionally with Layal, her five-year-old stepdaughter, and Dalia, a bubbly younger woman of Egyptian heritage who Umayma believes is a checkout girl at a nearby local supermarket but is in fact an undercover Mi5 operative grooming Umayma.

A chance encounter after a horrific experience at a nearby public park introduces Umayma to Felix Susmann, her kind middle-aged neighbor. A tender romance sprouts between them until Umayma realizes Felix is Jewish, a revelation that triggers a knee jerk reaction that forces her to storm out on him. Dalia counsels Umayma to evolve beyond her hard-coded intolerance and to love Felix for who he is. As time progresses, Umayma’s hopes to be with Felix are ultimately dashed when he disappears.

Meanwhile at home, Kamal begins hosting secretive meetings with a tight group of his business associates, including an Iraqi man Umayma recognizes as a firebrand imam who preaches hateful, terrorist rhetoric. Back at Mi5, Harry Rosier, Dalia’s supervisor, takes an executive decision to come clean with Umayma and recruit her to help them thwart a heretofore undisclosed but imminent crime Kamal and his confederates are plotting. Reluctantly, Umayma agrees to come on board.

Before the Mi5 can act, Kamal blindsides them by ordering Umayma one morning to deliver a briefcase to a busy riverside office district in London. She tries but fails to alert Dalia that Kamal is likely planning to use her as the terrorist bomber of the planned attack. Concerned that Umayma has gone offline, Dalia and her team scramble to catch up. They finally track the vehicle transporting Umayma but cannot discount the possibility she was in on it all along. Mi5 dispatches a sniper team to take her out if needs be. Released on the streets of London, Umayma makes a snap decision to sprint to the river’s edge with the suitcase to minimize potential casualties, a move that seems to confirm Umayma’s complicity. But before the snipers take the kill shot, Dalia fires first, bringing Umayma to the ground. The briefcase opens, revealing its contents to be large amounts of Euro 500 banknote rather than a bomb.

Umayma wakes up in a hospital to find Dalia by her side, who explains to her that she shot her in the chest preemptively to save her life, knowing Umayma would be wearing a bullet-proof vest, which we learn in flashback Dalia had given to her as an insurance policy. Dalia reveals to Umayma that Kamal’s group wasn’t planning on unleashing a terrorist attack in London but were instead running a criminal operation that laundered dirty money into cryptocurrency to be invested in the terrorist machinery of the Islamic State in Syria, in return for oil money windfalls.

Back at home, rather than face the humiliation of being taken into police custody, Kamal puts a bullet in his mouth. Months later, now having taken over Kamal’s life and assets, including being appointed as Layal’s legal guardian, a second serendipitous event reunites Umayma with Felix, whose disappearance is explained in coda. In the final scene, rattling sounds wake Umayma up from a nightmare. Standing outside the kitchen, Umayma finds Felix and Layal making pancakes for breakfast, like father and daughter. She breaks down in tears of joy.

INT. UMAYMA’S BEDROOM, YASIN RESIDENCE, HIGHGATE, LONDON - NIGHT

UMAYMA YAGHSHI, early-thirties, is woken up in her bedroom by the door creaking. Eyes closed; she whimpers a protective verse from the Quran. The door opens wider. Umayma opens her eyes to find her five-year old stepdaughter LAYAL, ashen faced like she’d seen a ghost.

UMAYMA
Layal, habibty. Are you okay?

Layal shakes her head.

UMAYMA
Bad dreams?

Layal nods.

UMAYMA (CONT'D)
Do you want to sleep next to me?

Layal jumps into bed. Umayma pulls up the duvet and begins to hum a mesmerizing Arabic lullaby as she twiddles Layal’s hair.

LAYAL
Tell me the story of Princess Jawaher again, ‘amto.

It’s late and they need to get up early for school. Umayma shakes her head.

LAYAL (CONT'D)
Please, ‘amto?

Umayma resists but finally gives in to Layal.

UMAYMA
Once upon a time in a land far away lived a beautiful princess called Jawaher...

INT. UMAYMA’S BEDROOM, YAGHSHI RESIDENCE, DAMASCUS - DAY SUPERIMPOSE: DAMASCUS, 2014

An alarm clock wakes up Umayma.

INT. BATHROOM, YAGHSHI RESIDENCE, DAMASCUS - DAY

While showering, the hot water turns off. She jumps out and curses under her breath.

INT. YAGHSHI RESIDENCE, DAMASCUS - DAY

At the breakfast table Umayma wraps a head scarf around her head, kisses her MOTHER on the forehead then bolts out.

INT. CLASSROOM, PRVIATE SCHOOL, MEZZEH, DAMASCUS - DAY

Umayma is teaching English to a class of FIFTH GRADERS. UMAYMA (V.O.)

The one thing Princess Jawaher wanted most in life was a child of her own to love and cherish.

Umayma writes ‘Onomatopoeia’ on the blackboard.

UMAYMA
Onomatopoeia. Creating a word that imitates the sound it describes. Can anyone give me an example?

The students breakout in a rowdy explosion of onomatopoeia, which makes Umayma giggle.

INT. OVERCROWDED MICROBUS DRIVING THROUGH DAMASCUS - DAY

Umayma sits by the window, squashed by an OVERWEIGHT MAN.

UMAYMA (V.O.)
But to have a child, Princess Jawaher had to find her own Prince Charming, even if she had to meet a few frogs along the way.

The overweight guy gawks at her chest. Her body tenses, she looks away and leans her head on the window. He shifts closer as his hand casually lands on her thigh.

EXT. DAMASCUS - DAY

LAYAL (V.O.)
Tell me about where Princess Jawaher lives.

UMAYMA (V.O.)
Damascus...

Umayma is in a long queue with a shopping bag, surrounded by other miserable faces. A TEENAGE BOY in a track suit turns to speak to Umayma.

TEENAGE BOY (IN ARABIC)
They say the bread rations are finished for the day.

An ELDERLY WOMAN in a black tunic behind Umayma points to a MAN on a motorbike with a trailer stacked with bread.

ELDERLY WOMAN (IN ARABIC)
Look how much bread this shit head has hoarded!

An air raid siren goes off and mayhem breaks out in the street. Umayma ducks into the stairwell of a building with OTHER PEOPLE and waits until a massive explosion erupts in the distance. The sirens stop, but spine-tingling voices of children crying and women wailing ensue, followed by ambulance sirens.

INT. YAGHSHI RESIDENCE, DAMASCUS - DAY

Amar and Farah are glued to the television.

TELEVISION PRESENTER (IN ARABIC)
Earlier today terrorists fired rocket propelled grenades in the civilian neighborhood of Barzeh, murdering innocent women and children...

Amar glimpses a melancholic Umayma crouched in her room.

INT. UMAYMA’S BEDROOM, YAGHSHI RESIDENCE, DAMASCUS - DAY

AMAR
Habibty?

Umayma has been crying.

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
What sort of life is this mother? Pets in Europe and America lead a more dignified existence than we do.

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
Patience, mama. Sooner or later all wars end.

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
We’ll all be dead by then.

Umayma wipes her tears as she glances at a picture frame with a black stripe of her deceased father and two brothers.

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
May God have mercy on their souls.

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
Call them, mama.

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
Call who?

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
Kamal Yasin's sisters. I’m ready.

Amar smiles like she’d been waiting to hear this for a long time. She lets go of Umayma.

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
Are you sure?

Umayma sniffles and nods.

INT. YAGHSHI RESIDENCE, DAMASCUS - EVENING

UMAYMA (V.O.)
And one day, Princess Jawaher’s dream came true.

Umayma, her mother and sister are in their living room with three WELL-HEELED WOMEN in their 50s-60s.

UMAYMA (V.O.)
A gallant prince from a faraway land sent his emissaries to ask for Princess Jawaher’s hand in marriage.

KAMAL’S SISTER 1 (IN ARABIC)
How old are you, habibty?

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
Thirty-one, ‘amto.

KAMAL’S SISTER 2 (IN ARABIC)
You’ve never been married before?

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
She was engaged to an army officer who was murdered by the terrorists in Raqqa last fall.

Kamal’s sisters shake their heads in sympathy.

KAMAL’S SISTER 2 (IN ARABIC)
Peace be upon the souls of all our martyrs.

KAMAL’S SISTER 3 (IN ARABIC)
Let me be direct. Our brother Kamal in London is also a widower. His wife died last year.

KAMAL’S SISTER 2 (IN ARABIC)
Kamal has three delightful children, two boys in university in Scotland, and a small daughter, Layal--

KAMAL’S SISTER 1
That poor baby desperately needs a mother.

The eldest sister takes out a photograph of Kamal and his children and passes it around.

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
Masha’allah ‘amto, they’re so beautiful!

KAMAL’S SISTER 1 (IN ARABIC)
And so are you Umayma. You and Kamal would make a wonderful couple.

Umayma blushes and looks away coyly.

KAMAL’S SISTER 1 (IN ARABIC) (CONT'D)
What do you say Umayma?

Amar interjects.

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
We’d be honored. The Yasin family name is like a gold currency in Abu Rumana.

KAMAL’S SISTER 2 (IN ARABIC)
And what does Umayma say?

Umayma nods shyly.

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
Shall we read the Fatiha?

All six women put their hands up, palms open, and recite a verse from the Quran silently. When they are done, Farah breaks out in traditional ululation. They embrace.

KAMAL’S SISTER 1 (IN ARABIC)
We have a power of attorney from Kamal. We can issue the marriage certificate in Damascus, then start the paperwork for your spousal visa to the UK.

Farah laughs out loud.

FARAH (IN ARABIC)
You can get a wife remotely? I can’t even get a SIM card in Damascus without showing up in person.

Amar gives Farah a scornful look.

Sheepishly, Farah breaks out in another ululation to make up for her tone-deaf comment.

KAMAL’S SISTER 3 (IN ARABIC)
At one point Umayma will just need to do a few medical tests and an interview at the British consulate in Beirut.

INT. UMAYMA’S BEDROOM, YAGHSHI RESIDENCE, DAMASCUS - DAY
Umayma has been crying.

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
They said medical tests, not a fucking virginity check!

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
We’ve come so far now, habibty. You will have a better life there.

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
I said no. I am not a milking cow! Anyway, virginity tests are a myth.

AMAR (IN ARABIC)
See it from his perspective. Even though he lives in England, he’s still an Arab man.

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
I don’t know what’s worse, that his sisters think I am a liar, or that they think I am a slut.

INT. DOCTOR’S OFFICE, DAMASCUS - EVENING

A male OBGYN uses two fingers to check Umayma’s hymen. She squirms in agony but he continues to probe mechanically.

Finally, he addresses Umayma’s mother and Kamal’s eldest sister nonchalantly by simply nodding. The older women smile.

INT. HEATHROW TERMINAL 2, LONDON - DAY

UMAYMA (V.O.)
And so, after years of yearning, Princess Umayma’s dream came true.

Pushing a baggage trolley, Umayma exits to the arrivals hall. She sees ALI, a suited driver with gelled hair holding a board with her name on it. She walks up to him.

ALI
Miss Umayma Yaghshi?

Umayma nods.

ALI (CONT'D)
Welcome to London. I am Ali, Kamal bey’s chauffeur. I will be driving you home.

Umayma seems deflated as the driver takes her luggage cart.

MOVING INT. KAMAL’S CAR, HIGHGATE, LONDON - DAY

Kamal’s BMW SUV weaves in and out of traffic.

ALI
Almost there. This is Highgate. One of the nicest neighborhoods in London. Karl Marx used to live here-- they say.

EXT. YASSIN RESIDENCE, HIGHGATE - DAY
Aerial view of Kamal Yassin’s stunning home in Highgate.

Umayma exits the car, her jaw dropping. A twinkle flickers in her eyes.

INT. HALLWAY, YASIN RESIDENCE, HIGHGATE - DAY

Umayma stands alone with her luggage at the center of a palatial home. KAMAL YASIN exits his study. He’s early fifties, tall and classically handsome. She moves toward him about to embrace but he just extends his hand.

KAMAL
Welcome to London. Flight okay?

UMAYMA
Yes. My first time ever on a plane--

KAMAL
Good, good. Sorry to cut you off. I do need to rush out for work. Ali will show you up to your room.

UMAYMA
Sure-- Okay.

KAMAL
Layal is at the playground with Anastasia.

UMAYMA
Who is Anastasia?

KAMAL
Our babysitter and maid. Today’s her last day, so she will also show you around the house.

Umayma looks down.

INT. UMAYMA’S BEDROOM, YASIN RESIDENCE, HIGHGATE - DAY

Ali helps Umayma with her luggage. The room has a single bed and another suitcase by the door.

UMAYMA (IN ARABIC)
I am sleeping in the maid’s room?

Ali points to another door in the room.

ALI
It has a private bathroom. Water pressure’s excellent.

INT./EXT. YASIN RESIDENCE, HIGHGATE - DAY

Umayma explores the opulent house discovering numerous spaces and ample outdoor areas. On the ground floor, she tries to open one of the doors but a female voice from behind startles her.

ANASTASIA
This is Mr. Yasin’s study. We’re only allowed in to clean it.

ANASTASIA, a stern-faced Russian woman in her late fifties is standing next to Layal who is frozen, staring at Umayma.

Anastasia scurries to the second floor. Umayma smiles.

UMAYMA
Layal?

The girl nods.

UMAYMA (CONT'D)
Do you know my name?

Layal nods again.

UMAYMA (CONT'D)
I have a small problem. Maybe you can help.

Layal shrugs.

UMAYMA (CONT'D)
I am very hungry, but I am new here. I don’t even know where the fridge is.

Layal smiles tentatively.

UMAYMA (CONT'D)
Are you hungry?

She shrugs first then nods.

LAYAL
I can make a grilled cheese and marmite sandwich... but I am not allowed to use the toaster.

UMAYMA
How about you make the sandwiches and I operate the toaster. A team?

Umayma motions with her hand for Layal to come to her.

UMAYMA (CONT'D)
It’s okay.

Layal moves closer, hesitantly.

UMAYMA (CONT'D)
It’s okay, habibet albi.

Finally, Layal gives Umayma a tentative embrace, that eventually becomes tighter.