After killing his boss a concaine enraged drug dealer goes on a sleep deprived 48 hour murderous rampage attempting take control of the drug network.

I am aiming for an unlikeable protagonist. Means they have to be compelling, a good challenge.

Think "a clockwork orange" or "taxi driver" or "the social network" or even "night crawler" all unlikeable protagonists. I don't like my character, but I can't stop thinking about him.

I am not an expert in drug culture, so the drug and how it effects will come out in the research. The idea is a feeling of God-like superiority and a lack of sleep drives his mania that finally leads to his own death.

The original scenario he is fighting against happens anyway. So all the killing and what he loses is all for nothing. This, I hope, gives the audience a final smack of last minute empathy.

Thanks I like hearing other people take on a line, I hate writing loglines. The 48 hours was trying to make it feel frantic and claustrophobic. I like your take on it.

As the others stated, there's no reason for the audience to get emotionally involved with the MC. If he's not a likeable character, he has to at least be COMPELLING, and we should be able to relate to him (empathize).

Think of Tony Montana in 'Scarface' or Lou Bloom in 'Nightcrawler.' Neither were likeable characters, but both were absolutely compelling. And both were driven by the same universally relatable goal - a determination to overcome hardship and do whatever it takes to achieve success.

The logline for 'Scarface' describes Pacino's character as "a DETERMINED Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel..". Similarly, Gyllenhaal's character is described as "a DRIVEN man desperate for work...".

You might consider using the same approach for your character - maybe something like "Spurred on by a cocaine-induced euphoria, a determined drug dealer attempts to take over of a drug cartel by ..."

Hope this helps