Things Have Got Worse” is the love story of two outsiders, Robert and Emily. Robert, a young man in his early 20's who’s lived and survived alone in Preston, a small city in the Northwest of England, for the better half of his life, is stuck in an endless cycle of scrapping stolen bikes with his idiot friends and a dead-end night club job. After a turbulent day of scrapping bikes from the streets of the city centre,
Robert and his two friends, Danny and Michael, head out to a grimy club to spend their hard-earned cash.
During their time at a club and after a heated argument with his friends, Robert meets the fiery Emily. They leave together and spend the night wondering around the city, bonding over their shared aimlessness and attitude to life, as well as their past struggles regarding their mental health. They hook up, which sends Robert head over heels. They meet again a few days later and begin a whirlwind romance that starts in Avenham Park, a place of peace and tranquillity for Emily that lasts around six months. This all comes to an end after Emily suddenly spirals, breaking up with Robert and avoiding any contact with him. Desperate for answers to her sudden
decision Robert tries to talk to her at her home, but Emily’s father doesn’t allow this at her request. A week later, Robert is phoned by Emily’s mother who tells him that she has taken
her own life. Robert himself is sent into a grief-stricken spiral, causing him to get into a physical fight with his friend Danny after her funeral. With the reluctant help of Michael, Robert plans to break into Emily’s family home and steal her ashes to gain closure. The heist goes terribly wrong leading to both Robert and Michael being shot by Emily’s father. Robert manages to flee to Avenham Park with Emily’s ashes in
tow. He takes his last steps to the top of the hill and spreads the ashes and then hallucinates Emily sitting beside him once again as she tells him, “it’s time to let go”. Desperate to reach his dying friend, Michael is arrested as he watches Robert take his final breathes at the top of the hill.
