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Bottle Rocket Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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How many times the word 'who' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

anderson

How many times the word 'anderson' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

killer

How many times the word 'killer' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

twenty

How many times the word 'twenty' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

starsky

How many times the word 'starsky' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

woman

How many times the word 'woman' appears in the text?

Bottle Rocket Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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How many times the word 'counter' appears in the text?

Bottle Rocket Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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How many times the word 'finish' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

wilson

How many times the word 'wilson' appears in the text?

Bottle Rocket Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

awful

How many times the word 'awful' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

hair

How many times the word 'hair' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

comblant

How many times the word 'comblant' appears in the text?

Bottle Rocket Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

pernicious

How many times the word 'pernicious' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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How many times the word 'var' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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How many times the word 'wes' appears in the text?

Bottle Rocket Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

invitation

How many times the word 'invitation' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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How many times the word 'by' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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How many times the word 'v' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS if (window!= top) top.location.href=location.href // --> Bottle Rocket by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson BOTTLE ROCKET screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson EXT. ALLEY. DAY ANTHONY and DIGNAN walk down an alley behind a convenience store. Anthony's nineteen. He's got on a red jacket with an Enco patch. Dignan's twenty. He has a buzz-cut and wears a short-sleeved terrycloth shirt. He carries a vinyl tennis bag. It's got a pouch for a racquet but no racquet in it. DIGNAN What color hair does he have? ANTHONY Black hair. Paul Michael Glaser. DIGNAN Making Hutch David Soul? ANTHONY Right. The blond guy. DIGNAN OK. That's wrong. ANTHONY Dignan, it's -- DIGNAN Plus where's Huggie Bear? ANTHONY He's not there. Huggie Bear isn't in every single episode. DIGNAN I think you might of dreamed this one, Anthony. ANTHONY No. It's a real episode. The killer is leading him across the city by calling different pay phones. They climb over a high wooden fence. EXT. BACKYARD. DAY They walk through somebody's backyard. DIGNAN Why? ANTHONY As part of his plan. I don't know why. DIGNAN See, that's what I'm saying. It has the logic of a dream. ANTHONY The point is the killer always goes, May I speak to Starsky? He says his name. DIGNAN (pause) What does Starsky say? ANTHONY He says. This is he. DIGNAN This is he? ANTHONY No. This is he. They climb another fence. There's big house on the other side. INT. HOUSE. DAY Anthony and Dignan are inside walking through the foyer. Anthony goes up the stairway quickly and quietly. Dignan walks to the master bedroom. Goes in the closet and grabs a box. Looks inside. Dumps it into his bag. Anthony goes into a bedroom. Looks in a dresser and takes out two watches. Digs through some socks and finds some cash. Dignan goes in the study. Opens a drawer and closes it. Opens another and lifts out a set of thin leather coin books. Anthony's in a kid's room. Looking at posters of a football player and John McEnroe on the walls. He grabs a walkman and a calculator. Then suddenly stops moving. He crouches down. Looks at a shelf of dozens of little metal soldiers. They're in formations with different uniforms. Dignan is walking down the hallway as Anthony comes down the stairs. They walk to the door and go out. INT. DINER. DAY A twenty-four hour diner. Anthony and Dignan are eating at the counter. ANTHONY Did you see what I meant about the window? DIGNAN Kind of. Except we've already got the keys. ANTHONY That's true. But what if they change the locks? DIGNAN Would they do that? ANTHONY Who knows? That's why I filed it down. Dignan nods. ANTHONY Now that window can never be locked. It's impossible. DIGNAN See, your mind is very good with the more mechanical details. Whereas my strength would be -- A good-looking WOMAN about forty-five years old interrupts them. WOMAN Can I use your Tabasco? ANTHONY Sure. Anthony hands her a bottle of Tabasco off the counter. She walks away. Down the counter. ANTHONY You don't see many women who like Tabasco. They watch her for a minute. Dignan looks away. ANTHONY She's really kind of hot. DIGNAN (looks back at her, nods) She's an attractive older woman. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY A huge house with a wide lawn. BOB, who's about twenty-six, wearing black jeans and a V-neck T-shirt, is spraying down a battered 1972 Mercedes with a garden hose. He's got his shirt off and a towel around his neck. Dignan has an expression of intense concentration as he looks at the car. BOB Well, what do you think? DIGNAN I don't know, Bob. What about one of those? Dignan points to a new BMW and a Lexus in front of the garage. BOB I'm not allowed to drive those. DIGNAN Not even for emergencies? BOB (a little angry) No. DIGNAN I thought your parents were in Italy. BOB They are. DIGNAN So who's going to know? BOB My brother. ANTHONY Future Man. BOB Who? ANTHONY Futute Man. You know. Cause he looks like he's from the future. DIGNAN He looks like he was designed by scientists. For desert warfare. BOB That never would of -- DIGNAN Let's cut the bullshit. Silence. They all look at the car. Pause. ANTHONY It's got a V-8, Dignan. DIGNAN What do you think the cops have? INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY They're sitting at the coffee table in Bob's great big living room. It's got high ceilings and two Persian rugs. They're eating sandwiches and chips. BOB If you're that worried, maybe we should just steal one. DIGNAN What are you talking about, Bob? BOB Can you use a coaster. Bob slides a coaster under Dignan's glass. ANTHONY Did you ever steal a car bdfore? BOB Yeah. I've stolen two cars before. One Jaguar. And one Trans-Am. With T-Tops. That Trans-Am was fun to drive. DIGNAN You stole a Trans-Am. BOB Yes. I did. DIGNAN OK, Bob. BOB It's true, Dignan. DIGNAN Well. What do you want to do? You want to steal one or just drive your car? BOB (thinks for a minute) I'll just drive my car. INT. DELI. DAY Anthony's playing pinball at a machine in the back of a little grocery store. Dignan's watching. DIGNAN Anthony, we'll get two hundred for the coin collection alone. That's less than what it's appraised at. ANTHONY But Dignan, do you really know that much about rare coins? DIGNAN I know about money, Anthony. I know the value of money. Plus the earrings are worth three times that. Anthony looks at Dignan. Dignan points at the pinball machine. DIGNAN Your ball. Dignan tries to hit the flipper. ANTHONY I told you not to take the earrings. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan doesn't look up from the machine. Anthony turns and walks away. DIGNAN You got another ball. Dignan watches him go. DIGNAN I'm playing your game. EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY They're walking fast down the sidewalk. ANTHONY The list, Dignan. I know you remember the list because you signed it. "Things Dignan was not supposed to touch." DIGNAN Every valuable item in the house was on that list. ANTHONY That doesn't make any difference. I bought those earrings for my mother on her birthday. They have a very special value for her. DIGNAN Yeah, but I can't be sorting through that shit in the middle of a burglary. There's just not time for it. ANTHONY Then you shouldn't of gone in there, Dignan. Maybe we should of robbed your house. Did you ever think of that? Dignan stops walking. Anthony looks back at him. Pause. ANTHONY What? Dignan turns and starts walking the other way. ANTHONY Where are you going? DIGNAN I don't appreciate you ridiculing me. ANTHONY How was I ridiculing you? DIGNAN You're making fun of my family. You know there's nothing to steal from my mom and Craig. You know exactly what you're saying. ANTHONY That's not what I meant, Dignan. They both see something. They keep walking. Dignan looks back down the sidewalk. DIGNAN Did you see that? ANTHONY Yeah, I saw it. DIGNAN I'm lookout. ANTHONY Dignan, it's got an alarm. DIGNAN I don't think so. Just reach on in. ANTHONY That sets it off. DIGNAN No, just do it real quick. (starts down the sidewalk) I'll meet you down there. Dignan cuts into an alley. Anthony turns back. Looks at a parked car. Looks left and right. Walks to the car and reaches in the half-open window. An alarm goes off. Anthony unlocks the door and opens it. Leans inside. Grabs a wallet off the seat. A MAN standing on the sidewalk watches Anthony get out of the car. Anthony looks at him, then walks down the sidewalk not too fast. He turns down an alley and runs. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Anthony comes around the corner and meets Dignan beside a dumpster. The alarm is still ringing in the distance. Anthony starts looking through the wallet. ANTHONY It had an alarm. DIGNAN Yeah, I heard that. ANTHONY (counting the money) Five, seven, eight dollars. He looks at Dignan. DIGNAN (taking the wallet) Holy shit. What'd I tell you? ANTHONY Eight dollars. DIGNAN That's not bad. Anthony keeps looking at Dignan. Dignan smiles. He hands Anthony a five dollar bill. Anthony looks at it. He takes it. He puts it in his pocket. Dignan puts out his hand to shake. Anthony waits a second. He shakes Dignan's hand for just a second and walks down the alley. Dignan smiles and walks behind him. INT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan are sitting at a table with Bob. ANTHONY What do herbs have to do with it? I don't understand the -- BOB Pot is an herb. It's just like any type of gardening. DIGNAN How much could you grow? Realistically. BOB As much as I want. When these plants bud I'll probably have about six thousand dollars worth of weed. DIGNAN Six thousand dollars? Come on, Bob. BOB You should take a look. I have an entire crop in my backyard. ANTHONY In your backyard? How do you protect them? BOB It's private property. Plus I have Hector. ANTHONY Hector woudn't do anything. BOB But he's got a loud bark. That's the most important thing is a loud bark. DIGNAN If it's that easy why doesn't everybody grow them? BOB Good question. Bob looks at Anthony and Dignan. He suddenly gets worried. BOB Don't you guys tell anybody about my plants. DIGNAN You're paranoid, Bob. BOB Yeah, but don't tell anybody. ANTHONY Could you grow cinnamon? BOB I don't know. Sure, I guess. ANTHONY You could make your own cinnamon toast. Bob looks at Anthony for a second. He looks at Dignan. Back at Anthony. BOB Are you a fag? LITTLE RICHARD You're the faggot. Bob turns around to see LITTLE RICHARD, short but muscular, wearing a down vest and a baseball cap. BOB Little Richard. I don't believe it. They'll let anybody in this place. Sit down. Little Richard sits down. BOB Dignan and Anthony, this is Little Richard. He's crazy. Totally nuts. LITTLE RICHARD (smiling) I don't know about that. BOB Little Richard. Trust me. You're insane. Jesus, this guy used to carry a percussion bomb around in his trunk. You do not want a guy like that loose on the streets. LITTLE RICHARD It seemed like a good idea at the time. BOB The one and only Little Richard. DIGNAN Are you named after THE Little Richard? LITTLE RICHARD (stares at Dignan) Ha! Ha! Ha! Why don't you stick it up your ass. Great group of guys you're hanging out with. Little Richard goes out the door. DIGNAN What was that all about? BOB I can't believe you said that. DIGNAN What did I say? BOB I told you he's crazy. ANTHONY But he didn't say anything. DIGNAN Hang on a second. Dignan gets up and walks out of the restaurant. Anthony and Bob look at each other. They start to get up. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT Anthony and Bob go out the door. Dignan is walking over to a station wagon. Little Richard is getting in. DIGNAN Little Richard. Wait a second. Hang on. I didn't mean to -- Little Richard opens his door hard into Dignan's legs, then gets out fast and takes off his shirt. Dignan tries to hit him but doesn't connect. They grab onto each other and start knocking around. Another GUY gets out of the station wagon. Two more GUYS rush out the door of the burger place. Anthony and Bob stand back, nervous. ANTHONY Let them fight. BOB Let them fight. They all watch. Dignan keeps trying to punch Little Richard, but he's hanging onto him too tight. They keep spinning around together, moving down the sidewalk. DIGNAN (calling out) Anthony. Anthony looks at the other guys then moves toward Dignan. ANTHONY OK. Break it up. Break it up. Little Richard lets go of Dignan. They separate. DIGNAN I separated my shoulder. Dignan is holding onto his arm. He kind of moans. ANTHONY OK. Hang on. Anthony grabs hold of Dignan's arm. Everybody's watching. DIGNAN Just pull straight up. Anthony pulls up hard on Dignan's arm. Dignan tries not to yell, then suddenly he's OK and relieved. ANTHONY Is it back in? DIGNAN (moving arm slowly) Yeah. GUY #1 OK, man. Let's go. DIGNAN No. I'm not fighting anymore. ANTHONY His shoulder went out, man. It's over. GUY #2 You guys better get out of here. Guy #2 pushes Dignan. Anthony turns and pounds him in the face. Right on the nose. The guy goes crosseyed. He falls down with his legs all tangled-up in a strange position. Everyone stands there stunned. Anthony takes a step back. He looks up. He and Dignan take off. Bob stands there. Frozen. Everyone looks at him. Bob looks at Little Richard. LITTLE RICHARD Bob? Bob takes off. INT. CAR. DAY The next day. They're driving with Bob. Dignan's up front. He's banged-up from the fight. DIGNAN The guy is fucking insane. BOB I warned you, Dignan. DIGNAN You said it like it was a big joke, Bob. Like he's wild. BOB No, I was saying crazy like a lunatic. DIGNAN I know that now. He's a fucking psycho. BOB Well, don't blame me. I told you. DIGNAN I do blame you, Bob. And woah. Look at her. There's a beautiful GIRL on the sidewalk. They drive past her. DIGNAN Loop around real fast. ANTHONY Just turn right here. Bob immediately turns and they drive past the girl again. They don't say anything as they go past her. They all just look at her. They drive on. CUT TO: A minute later. They've looped back. They're looking for the girl. DIGNAN Where'd she go? BOB Maybe she turned. ANTHONY There she is. She's on a side street. Bob hits the brakes hard. The girl looks back at them. They back up a few feet and turn down the street. They drive slowly toward the girl. ANTHONY Bob, don't be so obvious. The girl keeps looking back at them. DIGNAN I think we might of scared her. BOB Let's just go. They come up, beside the girl. She looks right at them, still walking. Her expression is angry and also a little scared. They drive away. DIGNAN You blew it, Bob. INT. COFFEE SHOP. DAY Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are meeting with TEMPLE. Temple is in his mid-fifties, short, heavy, completely expressionless wide face. They listen intently as he briefs them on the intricacies of firearms. TEMPLE A gun is a firearm. A pistol is a firearm. But anything you hold in your hand is a weapon. A knife. A wrench. A ballpoint pen. ANTHONY A ballpoiht pen? TEMPLE Anyone who tells you a ballpoint pen is not a weapon needs intensive psychiatric treatment. You can stick them in the esophagus. You give them a ballpoint tracheotomy. They nod seriously. Temple laughs. EXT. FIELD. DAY They're standing behind Temple's car in the middle of an open pasture. The trunk is open. Temple's got some guns in metal cases. They draw targets on pieces of paper. Anthony draws a man running on his target. They fire a bunch of different pistols. The last one they shoot's a .44 Magnum. They buy it. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY The TV room. There are two big couches and a nice giant TV. The doors are open onto the balcony. The .44 is on the coffee table. Dignan is sitting there with a map and some diagrams laid out. Anthony and Bob are on either side of him. Dignan's pointing at a notebook page with the heading "Escape Route." DIGNAN OK. Escape route. The most important thing you can have is an escape route. Just in case somebody's tailing us. Or even chasing us, as the case may be -- ANTHONY You think we're going to be chased? DIGNAN That's a good question. No. I don't. I'm just being hypocritical here. However, I will say -- Bob reaches for the .44. BOB (quietly) I'm going to take a look at this. DIGNAN (puts hand on gun) Hang on This is important, Bob. Anthony and I are responsible for the internal situation. The money and the people. You're responsible for the external situation. The streets and the getaway. BOB (nods) That's my responsibility. DIGNAN That's your domain. BOB OK. Anthony is making a little man out of a scrap of paper. DIGNAN Now. One thing we need to discuss is timing. Timing is absolutely crucial. What are you doing? Anthony! ANTHONY (looks up) Nothing. Go ahead. Bob picks up the gun. BOB (to himself) How many bullets can that hold? Dignan grabs the gun away and sets it down out of Bob's reach. DIGNAN Bob. BOB I'm paying attention. I just want to look at it for a minute. DIGNAN (screaming) What's your fucking problem? You're a shithead! BOB I just want to see how much bullets it takes. Anthony picks up the gun off the table. He clicks the action. DIGNAN Anthony, give me the fucking gun! ANTHONY (pulling away) No, Dignan. It's not your gun. It's all of ours. BOB (quietly) I paid for it. DIGNAN God DAMMIT. Dignan stands up, grabbing his papers. DIGNAN You two just don't give a shit, do you? Dignan starts out of the room. Anthony stands up. ANTHONY Dignan, calm down. DIGNAN (turns back, screaming) You're out! I'm not working with either one of you! ANTHONY Dignan! Stop! Dignan stops. Looking at Anthony. ANTHONY Calm down. Take a deep breath. DIGNAN (pause) You're right. You're right. Dignan sits back down and starts spreading out his papers again. Freezes. Looks at Bob. Bob's looking at the gun. Bob looks at Dignan. Bob looks away. Nobody moves. EXT. DECK. EVENING Anthony and Dignan have moved outside to the hot tub. Anthony pets Bob's dog HECTOR. Bob's brother FUTURE MAN walks up the path from the driveway with his blonde cheerleader GIRLFRIEND. FUTURE MAN What are you guys doing? ANTHONY Nothing. We're just -- FUTURE MAN You seen my brother? DIGNAN He's inside. Future Man goes inside. His girlfriend stands there on the deck. GIRLFRIEND (smiles) Hi. ANTHONY & DIGNAN Hi. She stands there, looking across the yard. Anthony and Dignan sit there in the hot tub, looking around. We hear Future Man's loud voice inside: FUTURE MAN Goddammit, Bob! Get your shit together. Future Man comes back out. He stops by the hot tub. FUTURE MAN What are you guys up to tonight? ANTHONY Nothing much. DIGNAN Just hanging around. Future Man walks back out the gate. GIRLFRIEND Bye. She follows Future Man. Anthony and Dignan watch them walk away. Bob comes back out with some drinks. He looks shaken. DIGNAN What'd Future Man want? Bob shrugs and gets in the hot tub. They sip on their drinks. Bob's got a Heineken. BOB He doesn't get it. Held never understand what we're trying to accomplish here. It's too dangerous for him. DIGNAN Well, in reality it's not that dangerous, Bob. It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. BOB Yeah, but what if some nut pulled gun on you? ANTHONY The only nut with a gun is going to be Dignan. Anthony gets out of the hot tub and dives in the pool. DIGNAN (whispering, very serious) You know, Bob, Anthony did kill someone. He electrocuted our janitor senior year. BOB He electrocuted someone? DIGNAN It was an accidental. I don't want to go into the details. It was just one of those senior pranks that didn't really go right. I mean, obviously, since Swifty's dead. That's why Anthony never graduated. BOB His name was Swifty? DIGNAN Yeah. One of the nicest old guys you'd ever know. BOB That's too bad. DIGNAN (nods) You know, when somebody gets electrocuted, their skin starts smoking. At least Swifty's did. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob are sitting in Bob's car, parked in the dark. Bob's at the wheel. Anthony and Dignan are in the back. Anthony has on a dark blue ski cap. Dignan's wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled down low. He puts a piece of adhesive tape across his nose and hands the roll to Anthony. BOB What are you doing? DIGNAN I'm putting a piece of tape on my nose. Anthony tapes his nose. They stare out the windshield. The alarm on Dignan's digital watch goes off. DIGNAN (immediately, dead serious) Let's get lucky. EXT/INT. BOOKSTORE. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan walk through the shadows in front of a huge bookstore. The lights are on inside. They watch for a minute and then go to the front door. Dignan hides behind a post. Anthony knocks on the glass. An EMPLOYEE appears. ANTHONY I left my sweater inside. The employee shakes his head. He can't hear through the glass. ANTHONY Do you have a lost and found? The employee unlocks the door and opens it an inch. EMPLOYEE We're closed. ANTHONY I left my sweater in there. EMPLOYEE Oh. I see. Come on in. Anthony goes inside. Dignan comes out from behind the post. EMPLOYEE We're closed, sir. DIGNAN Where's that guy going? EMPLOYEE He left his sweater. DIGNAN Well, I left some money in there. EMPLOYEE Where? DIGNAN (pulls out the gun) In the cash relister. Step away from the door. Dignan goes in. They walk through the store. ANTHONY Where's the manager? DIGNAN Where's the other stocker? ANTHONY There's another stocker, right? DIGNAN We know there's another stocker. EMPLOYEE Rob? Dignan points the gun at the employee. DIGNAN Where is he? Where is Rob? EMPLOYEE I don't know. Maybe in literature. That's his section. DIGNAN You got that? ANTHONY Sure. Literature. The classics. The MANAGER is locking the door of his office. ANTHONY Is that the manager? DIGNAN (to manager) Unlock that door. (to Anthony) Check the aisles. Anthony starts walking through the store, checking down each aisle. He picks up a copy of The Air War on Hitler's Germany and takes it with him. He goes through literature and sees ROB in travel, kneeling in front of a low shelf with a carton of books beside him. ANTHONY Rob? ROB (looks up, a little puzzled) Uh-huh? ANTHONY Why aren't you in literature? ROB (hesitates) It's all full up. Dignan is in the office with the manager and the first employee. He's pointing at a drawer. DIGNAN Open it up. The manager opens it. It's full of office supplies. DIGNAN OK. Open the other. Let's go. The manager opens the other drawer. It's full of cash. Dignan looks at the manager. He looks back at the cash. DIGNAN Put it in one of those. Dignan points at some bookstore bags. The manager picks up a little one and starts to put the money in it. DIGNAN A bigger one, you idiot. MANAGER (glares at Dignan) Don't call me an idiot, you punk. DIGNAN I'm sorry. But that bag's too small. CUT TO: Anthony waiting outside the office door. Rob, the first employee, and the manager are sitting against the wall in the office. The manager's got an intense, angry look on his face, staring at Dignan. Dignan hands Anthony five little bags full of money and starts to close the office door. DIGNAN OK, guys. Just...Sit tight. Dignan closes the door. INT. CAR. NIGHT Anthony and Dignan jump into the car. DIGNAN Go. Go. Drive slow. Bob drives. Pretty slow. Anthony and Dignan keep looking back out the rear window. They're nervous. Nobody says anything for a block or two. BOB What happened? DIGNAN Shhh. Slow down, Bob. Drive natural. BOB This is natural. DIGNAN (looks at speedometer) That's good. Keep it at forty. BOB Did we get it? DIGNAN Be cool, Bob. Be cool. (quickly) Make that light. They keep driving. Breathing hard. ANTHONY Holy shit. DIGNAN We got it. We got it. BOB How much is there? DIGNAN Don't count it. EXT. HAMBURGER PLACE. NIGHT A picnic table in front of a hamburger place. Dignan is standing up with his drink in his hand. BOB Was Dignan screaming like, Get me a bag! DIGNAN No. I was calm. ANTHONY What about what that guy said? DIGNAN Oh, shit. That was scary. In the middle of the robbery. The manager looks at me. Right in the eye. And goes, I'm going to remember you. BOB Are you serious? ANTHONY Yeah. He said that. DIGNAN I swear to God. In a very quiet voice. ANTHONY Like he meant it. DIGNAN Yeah. ANTHONY Like he would find Dignan. One day. DIGNAN Like I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Dignan stands there a minute and lets this sink in. Then he finally sits down and they all eat their burgers. BOB You really think he'll remember you? DIGNAN (smiles) No. All he'll remember is a guy with a piece of tape on his nose. They laugh smugly. EXT. 7-11. NIGHT Anthony, Dignan, and Bob come out of a 7-11. Bob's got a slurpee. He's carrying the WWII book. BOB See you. ANTHONY See you, Bob. DIGNAN Hang on, Bob. Dignan goes up to Bob and hugs him. Bob's not smiling. DIGNAN That was really good driving. Seriously. I mean it. Bob nods and starts walking away, down the sidewalk. DIGNAN We'll see you later, Bob. Good driving. Anthony and Dignan sit on the curb. Anthony's drinking a milk. Dignan's still watching Bob walk alone down the sidewalk. DIGNAN What's wrong with him? ANTHONY What do you think? DIGNAN Anthony, he sat in the car and watched a 4-11 in progress. He got what he deserved. ANTHONY He was the driver, Dignan. He did what he's supposed to do. DIGNAN I didn't realize you were so sensitive to Bob's feelings. Considering I did the plans, you're actually lucky you got -- ANTHONY Don't even say it, man. INT. BOB'S HOUSE. DAY Dignan and Anthony are following Bob through his house. Bob is playing his electric guitar, not plugged in. DIGNAN Bob, will you please listen? BOB I don't want to talk about it. Bob strums more intensely. They're walking through the kitchen. DIGNAN Look, I admit I was wrong for not telling you before the robbery that your share wouldn't be as equal as ours. But the fact remains me and Anthony were much more exposed to danger. Bob has now come to the big glass patio doors where Hector sits outside, looking in. Bob keeps playing as he looks at Hector. DIGNAN I mean, Jesus Christ, Bob. You didn't have some vicious lunatic screaming, "I'm going to remember you!" BOB (smiles slightly, keeps playing) That's true. That would give me nightmares. DIGNAN Bob, I've got nightmares. Bob stops playing. He looks at Dignan. BOB You'll probably have them the rest of your life. ANTHONY What was that? Anthony opens the door to the patio. DIGNAN What? They hear breaking glass somewhere as they follow Anthony onto the patio. A voice yells out. VOICE Motherfucker! ANTHONY What's going on? Bob sets down his guitar as they go out of the yard to see what's happening. EXT. BOB'S HOUSE. EVENING Anthony, Dignan, and Bob go around to the front. Bob's neighbor PHIL runs down the driveway with a wrench in his hand. Phil is short and heavy, wearing a golf shirt. He's got a bloody nose. BOB Phil. What happened? PHIL (hysterical) Motherfucker. I'll kill him. BOB (looks around, suddenly concerned) Who? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND comes running out the front door. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I've called the police. Oh, my God, Phil. She reaches to hug him. PHIL Don't touch me! I swear to God I'll get that guy. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND I know you will, Phil. There was nothing you could do. All you had was a golf club. ANTHONY You're bleeding, man. Sit down. A couple of NEIGHBORS have come over from across the street. NEIGHBOR What happened? PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND Some black man beat Phil up. PHIL He didn't beat me up. He attacked me. PHIL'S GIRLFRIEND He took two hundred dollars. ANTHONY (to Phil) Tilt your head back. Later. It's dark out now. There's a police car parked across the street and another pulling over, lights rolling. One of the OFFICERS walks across the yard, shining a flashlight in the bushes. Dignan is talking with one of the other officers. DIGNAN He was probably on drugs. OFFICER They usually are. Two other cops are getting a statement from Phil. Anthony and Bob are listening. Some neighbors are milling around talking. PHIL As soon as I opened the door I saw him. A black guy. Looking through my dad's tool box. I wanted to trap this guy. So I closed the garage door. COP And that's when he hit you? PHIL (looking up to sky and concentrating) He struck me. I fell down. He took my wallet. Then he opened

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How many times the word 'internet' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

genre

How many times the word 'genre' appears in the text?

Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

foreshadowing

How many times the word 'foreshadowing' appears in the text?

Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

qu'elle

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

redress

How many times the word 'redress' appears in the text?

Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

stillness

How many times the word 'stillness' appears in the text?

Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

flashback

How many times the word 'flashback' appears in the text?

Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

d

How many times the word 'd' appears in the text?

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Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

kilos

How many times the word 'kilos' appears in the text?

Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

alcala

How many times the word 'alcala' appears in the text?

Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

comedy

How many times the word 'comedy' appears in the text?

Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

hospital

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Broken Embraces Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS BROKEN EMBRACES Written by Pedro Almodovar DUSK, OR NIGHT HAS ONLY BARELY FALLEN. A huge clock marks 7:55 p.m. (The clock belongs to some landmark building, to be determined). Immediately following, the building goes dark. Establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, lit. Suddenly, all the lights go out. The same thing happens with the Granada's Alhambra, Seville's Giralda Tower, the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the Gate of Alcala. All these well- known architectonic wonders turn dark, abruptly. (Beauty that disappears suddenly, beauty that's extinguished and envelops us in darkness.) 1. HARRY CAINE'S HOME. INT. NIGHT. Harry (fifty years old) sits, as if he were waiting, without hurry, immobile and patient in his study next to his desk, as if it were the thing keeping him company. He isn't doing anything. He lets time take its course. His silence is broken by the sound of footsteps that come and go. At first we can't see who the footsteps belong to, until they stop. In the living room, a few meters from Harry, Judit stops. She, too, is shrouded in darkness. She looks at her wristwatch, the second hand moves from left to right on the watch face. Judit (forty-eight, looks younger) breathes, impatient. (She is dressed soberly, in a dignified and practical manner). She approaches a window that looks out onto the street. Everything outside is also in darkness. The building in front is just a dark mass. She looks to the end of the street. Almost all the buildings visible from the window are dark, the Gate of Alcala in the background is also not lit. Without turning, she says to Harry: JUDIT The Door of Alcala has also darkened. Harry is still sitting, inert, absorbed by his thoughts. The whole house is in darkness, only the ambient clarity of the night comes through the windows, curtains drawn back. 3 Judit heads slowly toward the kitchen. On the wall there is a Vitra clock, to which she gives a cursory glance. She turns on the faucet and fills a glass of water. From her pocket, she removes a tiny heart made of black nacar shell and rimmed in silver. She opens it. She grabs a small pink pill. She takes it. She glances once more at the stylized design of the Vitra clock. The minute hand nears 8 p.m. On a windowsill (or on the kitchen table) there is an open newspaper. The exposed page displays an article about the dangers of global warming. An international date has been convened for a five minute blackout at 8 p.m. Standing in the kitchen, Judit, poised and tense, looks up at the spot where the clock is. The stillness of all the elements comprising the frame make it seem like a painting. She waits until the seconds hand completes its cycle and it's 8 o'clock sharp. Swiftly, Judit powers the central electrical switchboard, which is in the kitchen. The kitchen lights up, the refrigerator emits its characteristic sound. The lamps in the living room also light up. (Low-hanging lamps that make the light bounce. The house is awash in a special luminous atmosphere dense, translucent, with darkened zones). All the furniture is flush with the walls. There are some paintings hanging and a rug on the ground, everything is of the kind of quality that denotes good personal taste. Upon the light's return, Judit exhales a profound sigh of relief. She moves toward the window where she was standing earlier and contemplates how, in the building across the way, the windows begin to blink, in square patterns of light. 2. FLASHBACK. 1994. LANZAROTE HOSPITAL. INT. DAY. 4 The light's return is contagious, a true spectacle, which ends with a blinding light that floods the screen. It will probably be a close-up of the sun. That very sun enters through another window, which is not that of Harry's house, nor that of the building across the way. It is the window of a hospital room (perhaps a sign should specify that the following scene occurs "Fourteen years earlier") The hospital is on Lanzarote Island, in the Canary Islands. The scene occurs fourteen years earlier. The characters are the same. Harry and Judit. Harry lies in bed, his head completely bandaged. Sunlight enters through the window. Judit is seated on the bed. She holds his hand and pleads, worried and loving: JUDIT Mateo, say something! MATEO-HARRY Mateo is dead. JUDIT (Sweet and devastated) Don't say that! The character to whom Judit refers as Mateo, (the same one that in the previous scene we have called Harry), has a recent wound, either on his arm or on his hands, along with his head, which is completely covered by bandages. Mateo and Harry are the same person, the difference is the fourteen years that separate them. Harry, in the present (2008), is fifty 5 years old. In `94, the time period when the flashback takes place, he was thirty-six. Let's say that when he was thirty-six, Harry was called Mateo. The character has two names, which his own voice-off explains, while we observe what his day-to-day consists of in 2008. OFF HARRY I always wanted to be another person, to be someone beside myself. To dispose of a single identity didn't seem enough. Living a single life wasn't enough for me. And half-joking, I came up with a pseudonym for myself, Harry Caine, an adventurer who, as fate would have it, became a writer. At that time, I had him author all the scripts and stories that I wrote. I came up with a standard biography to fill the back flap of his books. He had been a sailor, an industrial spy, the doorman at a Parisian cabaret, a boxer, a waiter and an advertisement hand-double. A self-made man, active and attractive like an English spy, vital, skeptical and sarcastic. For many years, Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden, I couldn't be anyone other than Harry Caine. I became my pseudonym. (He applies lotion in front of the mirror, we first see him in front of it, and then, doubled, reflected in it. Then, suddenly, the mirror does not reflect him. Of his two identities he only has one left). Just as I had planned, a heterodox writer and, never better stated, a self-made man, one might even say, "self-written man". There was only one detail I had not foreseen, Harry would be a blind writer. 6 3. IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THE VOICE -OFF. HARRY CAINE'S DAILY RITUALS. Despite his fifty years and his blindness, Harry is a man that keeps himself in great physical shape. Harry's Home. Interior. Day. In the morning: he places a CD in a player. By himself, he selects and starts the program on a treadmill. He steps on and begins exercising. He takes a shower ("Mateo Blanco and Harry Caine shared the same person, me, but a time came when, all of a sudden..."), the camera pans over various parts of his body under the running water, dense waves of white foam slide down his skin, as if it was a landscape. The hangers have Braille-stickers that indicate the characteristic of the clothing they hold. (All the closets have sliding doors) In his bedroom, he opens the closet and looks for the clothes he will wear. Despite the fact that he cannot see himself, he stands in front of a mirror. He smiles, pleased with his appearance . Everything in the house is rigorously ordered. All that Harry needs to ascertain the identity of the things around him is his touch. He exits onto the street. 4. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. Harry traverses (aided by an umbrella?) the pedestrian crossing. When he reaches the opposite sidewalk, the credits appear on the black and white stripes that mark the crossing. The crossway is clear of pedestrians so that only cars pass through (not many) and as they do, 7 they run over the letters of the credits, making them disappear, in pieces. On a different stripe, a new title appears and as it does, it is run over and destroyed by another car. Like this, successively. 5. SIDEWALK ACROSS FROM HARRY'S BUILDING. EXT. DAY. Just on the sidewalk across from where Harry lives, there is a news- stand, and next to it, perhaps on the nearest corner, a bar. Harry buys the newspaper at the news-stand. This is part of his daily routine. He greets the attendant familiarly. He has the kind of face that provokes pity. He grabs the newspaper, folds it, and places it under his arm. Cut to. 6. BAR ACROSS THE WAY. INT. DAY. He enters the bar. He leans down somewhere on the bar table. Just as soon as he sees him, he is approached by his Waiter Friend, an approachable guy, somewhere in his forties, who is helped by a South American waitress, wearing her makeup since the early part of the morning, whom he is obviously screwing. He brings him a coffee. All of these actions are part of a daily ritual. WAITER FRIEND Do you want me to read you something from the newspaper? HARRY No, thanks. I am off on a stroll. 8 RETURN TO SEC. 5 Harry exits the bar and becomes immersed in the different noises of the street, the passersby, their different sounds and corporeal odors. Auditory life. The camera swirls around his head. At first he hears all the noises, indistinctly mixed, and then he begins to separate them. He selects one he likes, the rest of the sounds of the street disappear or their volume is lowered. Girls, cars, high heels, the smells of different ethnicities. A multi-racial street. Harry selects an odor (the body of a woman, whose aroma appears and disappears), Harry follows it, having also singled out the sound of her heels. He loses them. He finds them again. He walks self-assuredly, without tripping either on the urban furniture or the people. He leans, lightly, on his umbrella, which he uses as a cane. At first glance he doesn't appear blind ... He reaches a pedestrian crossing. Nearby, he recognizes the odor which had attracted him, he follows its trace until he reaches the sidewalk. The odor emanates from a young Girl, just next to him, waiting before the crosswalk. Harry searches with the tip of the umbrella, until he brushes her shoe. He excuses himself, as if the contact had been inadvertent. The girl regards him. Harry then takes one step forward, intent on crossing the street, the cars come very close to him, almost running him over. (A real sense of danger). The light is red for pedestrians. The Girl takes him by the arm, pulling him toward her, frightened. GIRL (Alarmed) Watch out! You can't cross! 9 HARRY Sorry . . . GIRL I'll tell you when! HARRY Thank you very much. 7. MATEO-HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. They make it through the crosswalk. She is not holding his arm (but almost), Harry doesn't need it. He knows the surroundings well. They reach the other sidewalk. Harry thanks her for her help, the Girl observes him the entire time, intrigued and curious. HARRY I live nearby, two blocks up, would you mind coming along with me? The Girl accepts, delighted. Tall, thin, attractive, modern, and inexpressive like a model, this is what the Girl is like. 8. CONTINUED. BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. Once at the entrance, Harry invites her to come up so that she can read aloud the newspaper to him. The Girl checks her watch, and ends up accepting. GIRL 10 But I warn you, I've never read out-loud, you may not like it! HARRY You will only have to browse. 9. LIVING ROOM, MATEO'S HOME. INT. DAY. The same living room we've seen in Sequence 1. There is very little light. GIRL Do you mind if I turn on the light? So that I can read... It's too dark in here. HARRY Oh, yes... Turn the light on... The Girl turns on a table lamp. Cut to. Harry is sitting on a sofa and she is in front of him, on an armchair. She opens the newspaper down the middle, before she reads anything she directs a brief but intense glance at Harry. She reads about the percentage of those in Madrid who abided by the blackout that was organized in the name of global change. She turns a few pages and stops. Reads as if for herself: GIRL Ernesto Martel is dead! HARRY Who? 11 GIRL Ernesto Martel. I know one of his granddaughters... HARRY So he's dead. GIRL You knew him? HARRY No... Turns more pages. GIRL What are you interested in, politics, economy... culture? HARRY I am interested in you. What are you like? Do you mind describing yourself? The girl begins to describe herself, at first a little tentative. (Her measurements? She smiles. She knows them by heart.) She describes herself. The color of her eyes. Her hair. Her skin. How she's dressed, while she traces over him with her glance (When she speaks of her eyes, we see his eyes; when she speaks of her mouth, we see his, etc). Her gaze stops at Harry's crotch. Harry can feel her watching him. The situation seems perfectly natural. Harry approaches her (he knows she's right in front of him). With his hands, he places a brief caress on each of the parts the Girl has just described. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. He lowers his hands until they fall, spread, on her breasts. It is as though the blind man could gaze at her with his fingers and palms. He rests his head on the Girl's breast, pulls down her bra straps and he begins to savor 12 her breasts, delicately. Harry's cell phone rings, but he ignores it, doesn't pick up. Cut to. 10. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. They make love on the sofa. Cut to. The Girl asks for the bathroom, Harry gestures with his hand in its direction. Half-naked, with some of her clothes in her hand, the Girl heads for the bathroom. Harry, still sitting on the same sofa, begins to dress and to smooth down his clothes, without hurry. 11. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. The doorbell rings. Twice in a row. Immediately following, the key is inserted into the keyhole, from the outside. Someone is opening it. Harry rises. Before he arrives to the foyer, the door is already open. In the middle of the doorway, a woman, Judit (the same one who had been with him during the blackout of the opening sequence). Harry finishes tucking his shirt, barefoot. Judit closes the door slowly and surveys him up and down with inquisitive eyes, which he cannot see but one could say that he can guess. He smiles. JUDIT What are you laughing at? 13 HARRY I am only smiling, because of the way you're looking at me. The sound of a running faucet emerging from the bathroom distracts Judit; first the sound, then the immediate appearance of the Girl. Both women look at each other and are surprised, despite their attempt to hide it. Judit appears more annoyed than surprised. After a very brief silence: GIRL (To Harry) I must go. HARRY Thanks for helping me cross. Judit (forty-eight years old, seems younger, is dressed in an informal and sober manner, little color, etc., her hair is pulled back, parted in the middle, her attitude is that of a guardian), she puts away the key to the door while she gazes sternly at the young woman. The Girl, very uncomfortable, quickly vanishes. 12. CONTINUED. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. Once alone: JUDIT (Annoyed and without apologizing, even if it seems she's trying) I'm sorry, I thought you were alone. HARRY She helped me cross the street and I invited her in to read me the newspaper . . . 14 JUDIT Harry, you can't bring into your house the first person who helps you across the street. One of these days something awful will happen to you! HARRY (Sullen and ironic) Everything awful that's had to happen to me has. Now, all that's left is for me to enjoy life . . . Judit changes the topic so that Harry may also change his tone. She turns off the table lamp and she opens the window drapes that lead to the terrace. JUDIT Diego told me yesterday that you finished the script. HARRY I would like to add a final epilogue. It may not be necessary, but I'd like to write it. JUDIT I agreed to deliver the definitive version to the producer and director today. HARRY You will have it by tomorrow, don't worry. As he speaks, Harry has made his way back to the sofa, without the use of a cane, he knows by heart the landscape of the house, which he walks through as if he could see. If anything, he touches any given piece of furniture with the tip of his fingers, as if to ascertain whether it's still there. He walks both with ease, and with the characteristic rigidity of blind people. 15 He picks up the socks from the floor and slips them on (the newspaper is open on the floor). He puts his shoes on. Judit watches him for a moment, and then turns toward the window. 13. JUDIT'S POINT OF VIEW. THE SIDEWALK ACROSS THE WAY. HARRY'S STREET. EXT. DAY. She observes how, on the sidewalk across the way, the Girl enters the main door of the building just next to the news-stand where Harry buys his newspaper. From the window she can make out that it's an important Modeling Agency. RETURN TO SEQ. 12 Judit is still looking out the window, her back to Harry, when she hears him say: HARRY Ernesto Martel has died. Judit turns to Harry, surprised but masking it with her voice. JUDIT I think he was very ill... HARRY It's been so long since we've spoken of him! Judit nods plainly with her head. Silence. Ernesto Martel's death doesn't bring good memories to either of them. 16 14. HARRY'S HOME. INT. DAY. CONTINUED. The doorbell rings. It's Diego, Judit's son, who doubles as Harry's typist and co-scriptwriter. He is a special kid, twenty-five years old. Baggy-eyed, a weary aspect, but he overflows with charm. Dresses as a modern kid, but not obnoxiously so. He speaks delicately, an attitude uncommon for someone his age. He greets his mother. JUDIT You look awful ...! DIEGO I ran here. HARRY And it's Monday! Diego, you don't have to run for me. We are not in a hurry. JUDIT I am, I've committed ... HARRY You'll have it by tonight, don't worry. JUDIT Start thinking of the next script. Some kind of horror or fantasy story for bratty teenagers. It's what sells best ... HARRY I don't know if I'll know how to. I was thinking of developing a story inspired by Arthur Miller's son... JUDIT (Perplexed) The writer who married Marilyn? HARRY 17 Yes... After Marilyn he married the photographer Inge Morat and they had a son. He was born mentally handicapped and Arthur Miller hid him; he doesn't even mention him in his memoirs. He never recognized him publicly. From the moment he was born, he had him placed in an institution and wanted to hear nothing of him. Despite his condition, the boy was able to learn and to make an almost normal life for himself. He lived in an apartment with other friends and he found a job as a clerk in a supermarket... Judit looks at him perplexed. For some reason, Harry has his back turned. This happens many times. JUDIT And Miller never saw him? ... HARRY (Continues, his back turned) One day, Miller was giving a conference in defense of a mentally retarded man, who had been condemned to death, after what was believed to be a forced confession. Among those present was his mentally handicapped son, who was integrally involved with organizations that aided all sorts of disabled people. The son was very proud to finally be sharing something with his father. At the end of the conference, he approached the stage and held him in an embrace that must have seemed endless to Arthur Miller, who did not know how to extract himself from this mentally handicapped man; imagine, it would not have been politically correct, least of all given the situation in which Miller found himself. Then the stranger let go of him and told him: "I am 18 your son, Daniel, and I am very proud of you, Father!" This was the only time father and son saw each other. Judith listens, affected and disoriented. She looks at her son as if she were looking for help. Diego stops thumbing through a magazine in order to listen to Harry and to witness his mother's reaction. She wasn't ready for Harry to counter with such a shocking narrative. JUDIT (Somewhat tense) It's very moving, but I don't think we can write a script about Arthur Miller without procuring rights from the family. HARRY We change the names, the story is not about the writer's miserliness, but about the strength of the son who survives without the least bit of rancor toward the father who has ignored him his entire life. It is a story of troubles overcome and of inherent goodness. There aren't those many good men that one can write about. Judit would like to say that when she spoke of a commercial script this is not what she had in mind, but she doesn't want to come off rude. Diego keeps watching them. Her mother appears oddly cornered, until she remembers a past comment of Harry's, that suits her just RIGHT: JUDIT It's a beautiful story. But years ago, when you began writing again and I began selling your scripts, you told me you'd never write remakes, sequels, nor biopics. Nor stories whose protagonists were film 19 directors, handicapped or blind. I remember clearly because the part of the biopics surprised me. (SMILES) HARRY I can't bear them... (As if he had at that very moment remembered) It's true, it's true I said all that, but this wouldn't exactly be a biopic... They hear the doorbell ring, two or three times. For Judit, it's the best way to escape the conversation. JUDIT I'll get it. Diego settles on the armchair, in front of his laptop. On the other side of the table sits the computer that is specially programmed for Harry. Diego powers his laptop. Harry heads for the work table. And he sits in front of Diego. HARRY Diego, go to the end of the document. Diego obeys while we hear Judit approaching the door and, before she opens it, someone opens it from the other side. We see the document's text (a script) scrolling, fleetingly, over Diego's computer screen. At the door, Judit finds Mariacruz, the Latin American maid, who also has her own key to the house. She is carrying two shopping bags. Judit gives her some directive (about the windows, the curtains, the kitchen furniture, the food, the floors, things to be dry cleaned , etc.) and she leaves, saying goodbye to Harry and Diego with a simple "Boys, I'm leaving. Goodbye!" 20 15. NIGHT. BAR WITH MUSIC. INT. BOOTH. Diego chooses a track that functions as background music to the three night sequences that follow, although it's not absolutely necessary. He works at a modern bar (not very large), as a D.J. He spends most of the time inside a small booth, which only a few friends access. Alex, his same age, enters. DIEGO Did you bring me the session? Alex takes three CDs out of his jacket. ALEX It's still warm. Just downloaded from the eMule. DIEGO Dude. I'll throw it in now. You want something to drink? ALEX Yes. And you, would you like a tip of "crystal"? DIEGO I pass. I do need to sleep once in a while. 16. HARRY-MATEO HOME. DEN. NIGHT At that moment, Harry is in front the computer (a special computer, sonorous, set up for Harry, with Braille signs jutting from the keyboard). He attempts to "read" some digital newspaper, its contents 21 can be heard spoken by a very unpleasant synthetic voice. His search produces annoying and strange sounds. Harry continously makes mistakes, but that's the way to do it. He manages to get into El Pais, the obituary section. He listens to a list. He finally finds the news of Ernesto Martel's death. He listens to the headline. The sound of a mobile phone ringing interrupts him. 17. JUDIT'S OFFICE. INT. NIGHT. It's Judit, from her office. In front of Judit, on the other side of the table, full of papers, is the head of production and someone from the American production. They are trying to decide on the budget. From the ashtrays full of cigarettes, the bottles of water and the cups of coffee, one assumes that they must have been at this task for many hours. (One should be able to see the layout of the shooting schedule, something visual). The American production can be heard in the background. (Seq. 16 and 17 run in parallel) She greets Harry. JUDIT You need anything? MATEO No, thanks. JUDIT What are you up to? 22 Harry touches the small MP3, much easier than to listen to the digital newspaper. He doesn't want to tell her that he is attempting to listen to Ernesto Martel's obituary, so he tells her what he will be doing next. HARRY I was going to read an Alice Munro story on the MP3. JUDIT Then I'll leave you. I'll stop by tomorrow, when I can. I have to finish the budget for the Americans as soon as possible, so that I can decide what to do ... (Hangs up) (To the Americans, in English). Ok, we can continue tommorow... Once he hangs up his mobile, Harry returns to his computer, this is when we actually hear the biographical sketch of the deceased financier. Fade to black. During the fade to black, we continue to hear the biography. In voice-off. OFF Ernesto Martel has passed away at his residence in the countryside, "La Berzosa." Financier, of Chilean origin, who achieved great success and notoriety due to his involvement in the financing of crucial public infrastructures in different Latin American countries. 18. THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE. EXT. DAY. 1990. 23 A modern building in the financial district. A sign displays the name of an important financial company (M. Capital) and the year when the action takes place, 1990. 19. 1990. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE. MODERN SKYSCRAPER. INT. DAY. The end of the voice-off is heard over the image of Ernesto Martel himself, alive, attending to a phone call, while we hear the last words of his obituary, in off. OFF Recently he had been involved in various financial scandals. He was implicated for fraud in the infamous "case of Bank Banelco". He was married three times, and had two children... The interior of Ernesto Martel's office: elegant, ostentatious, and decorated without concern for cost. Through the windows one can witness a cosmopolitan Madrid, from whose soil skyscrapers begin to bud. Ernesto Martel, almost sixty, impeccable suit, settles a conversation with the Transportation Minister. Framed photographs sit on a piece of accessory furniture, one of him with his two children, a boy and a girl, who do not resemble one another. They have different mothers. The walls are decorated by an abstract painting belonging to the avant-garde group El Paso. ERNESTO ... I just spoke to the Transportation Minister. Things are in full swing. Yes, we are doing the Caracas 24 metro ... there's a lot of money ... at least five years. I am looking for a qualified company and had you in mind ... of course, I will serve as intermediary, I have been told so by the President himself. Cut to. 20. ERNESTO MARTEL'S OFFICE BUILDING. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. INT. DAY. 1990. On the same floor. Fairly close to the boss' office, divided by modern and ample cubicles, we find some of the company's employees. His secretary, Magdalena (her diminutive is Lena), is speaking on the phone with a look of contained alarm. Personal problems. In her early thirties, Lena is dressed soberly, almost excessively so (as if she were attempting to project a maturity, effectiveness and responsibility that she not yet possesses). She is a very beautiful woman, on whose countenance the passing of time has begun to leave its mark. She has a small mole, slightly raised, next to the seam of the lips, and another one on the top edge of the nose. She could do more with her physique, modernize it, but this is not what she aims for. Her face reminds us of one of the heroines of the American film noir, brought up to

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

tales

How many times the word 'tales' appears in the text?

Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

foster

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

script

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

surviving

How many times the word 'surviving' appears in the text?

Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Brothers Bloom, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS THE BROTHERS BLOOM Written by Rian Johnson 1 EXT. DIRT ROAD - SUNRISE 1 Dawn with her rose-red fingers rises over a dusty country road. A car chugs over the horizon. NARRATOR As far as con man stories go, I think I've heard them all. Of grifters, ropers, faro fixers, tales drawn long and tall. But if one bears a bookmark in the confidence man's tome, twould be that of Penelope, and of the brothers Bloom. 2 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE - MORNING 2 The car deposits two shabby boys (10 & 13) in front of a country house. Both in black. Each with a suitcase. NARRATOR At ten and thirteen Bloom and Stephen (the younger and the old) 3 INT. KITCHEN (FLASHBACK) 3 The two brothers and an oafish FOSTER FATHER sit eating breakfast. NARRATOR had been through several foster families. The FOSTER FATHER slaps Bloom upside the head. Stephen LAUNCHES across the table, tackling the dad and beating the crap out of him. NARRATOR (cont'd) Thirty eight, all told. 4 INT. CHILD WELFARE OFFICE - DAY 4 CLOSE ON - A CHILD WELFARE FILE COVER "Bloom" stamped on it. It opens, and dozens of reports flip by. Under the "REASON FOR RETURN OF MINORS" field we catch different entries: "BEHAVIOR INAPPROPRIATE", "UNMANAGEABLE", "MOLESTED CAT", "SOLD OUR FURNITURE", "CAUSED FLOODING". 2 4 CONTINUED: 4 NARRATOR Mischief moved them on in life, and moving kept them close. 5 EXT. COUNTRY HOUSE PORCH 5 The brothers on the porch, suitcases in hand. NARRATOR For Bloom had Stephen, Stephen Bloom, and both had more than most. The front door opens, and a pair of FOSTER PARENTS eye the brothers suspiciously. 6 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - LATER THAT DAY 6 A wide dusty Main Street, which the two brothers survey. NARRATOR Another home, another main street. Stephen looked around, then summed the burgh up thusly: STEPHEN Bloom, we've hit a one hat town. NARRATOR One theater. One car wash. One cafe. One park. One cat. Which, through some mishap, had one leg. The cat sits on a roller skate, rowing itself down the street with its one leg. STEPHEN Sweet Jesus. Look at that. 7 EXT. SCHOOL - DAY 7 A group of children flee the school joyfully. NARRATOR One school, which meant one tight- knit group of local well-off kids. 3 8 EXT. CANDY SHOP 8 The children run out of the candy store, all slurping Rocket Pops. NARRATOR Their pocket-change bought rocket pops, 9 INT. CANDY SHOP 9 The brothers at the counter. Bloom watches the children go, while Stephen counts out pennies. NARRATOR The brothers, Stephen slaps the change down angrily and points with a scowl. STEPHEN Pixie Stix. 10 EXT. PARK 10 The children play, resplendent with their Rocket Pops. NARRATOR They were the `they'. All well loved, rooted, happy as you please. Bloom and Stephen sit off to the side of the park, none too happy nursing their Pixie Stix. NARRATOR (cont'd) Always there. In every town. Stephen glares, flicks the Stix away like a cigarette. STEPHEN The playground bourgeoisies. He storms off. Bloom lingers, staring silently at the children. 4 11 EXT. FOREST 11 The brothers amble down a wooded path. Bloom stops, staring into the trees. Through the dense thicket of foliage... the children playing. And one gleaming eye framed perfectly through a small open patch in the leaves. Bloom pushes the leaves aside. A girl. Golden curls. Summer dress. Standing in the distance on a wide lawn. Bloom gazes. Stephen places his hand on Bloom's back. 12 EXT. PARK - CONTINUOUS 12 Bloom stumbles from the trees (very much as if he's been shoved) and regains his footing and freezes, not shielded at all now from the playing kids and the girl. NARRATOR Could he simply STEPHEN (O.S.) Talk to her! NARRATOR Just drop his fears and go? Leave his brother in the woods, and join the children? The girl makes eye contact, twisting a daisy chain between her tiny fingers. Bloom's adam apple convulses. He turns tail and runs back into the woods. NARRATOR (cont'd) No. 13 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 13 Brothers in bed. Bloom gazes window-ward. Stephen gazes Bloom- wise, shuffling a pack of cards. BLOOM What's doing? STEPHEN What? 5 13 CONTINUED: 13 BLOOM You shuffle when you're thinking something through. So whatcha thinking? STEPHEN Not a thing. NARRATOR This wasn't really true. Cause in the root of Stephen's psyche, something now began. A seed of grand epiphany. A hook. A tale. 14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14 STEPHEN A plan. Stephen spreads out a hand-drawn flowchart on a stump, and talks Bloom through it. NARRATOR A fiction made for profit, in which both boys played a part. A simple con in fifteen steps. STEPHEN And this is where we start. Stephen runs his finger backwards down the connected boxes, each neatly numbered, stopping at #1.... "Bloom Talks To Girl" 15 EXT. PARK - DAY 15 Children and the gold haired Girl playing. The wall of foliage where the forest begins shimmers. NARRATOR And then, as if a curtain had been pulled back from the sky... Some barrier within the younger Bloom was broken. Bloom bursts through the trees and strides across the wide lawn, confident, glowing, stopping face to golden face with the girl. 6 15 CONTINUED: 15 BLOOM Hi. They talk. They run. They laugh. They play. NARRATOR So Bloom performed his role in Stephen's story to a T. BOX #2 on the flowchart - "Bloom wins the kids' trust" 16 EXT. TOWN SQUARE 16 Bloom does indeed, sitting and laughing with a circle of kids, suddenly a natural born charmer. NARRATOR And being who he wasn't, could be as he wished to be. The Golden Girl smiles at him. From the shadows of an adjacent alley, Stephen watches, pleased. He slinks away. SERIES OF SHOTS- 17 EXT. CAVE - DAY 17 BOX #3 - "Stephen finds a cave" dissolves to Stephen scouting out a cave deep in the woods. 18 EXT. PARK - DAY 18 In the park, Bloom runs with the kids, laughing. 19 INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY 19 BOX #5 - "Stephen buys supplies" dissolves to: Stephen in a hardware store, pointing. A flashlight, snow boots and several large coolers are purchased. 20 EXT. PARK - DAY 20 Back in the park, Bloom says goodnight to the kids and walks homeward in the warm twilight. 7 21 INT. CHURCH - DAY 21 BOX #8 - "Stephen scouts church" dissolves to: Stephen's eyes poke up from behind a pew in a church. He manages to look devious as he snags a SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE. 22 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 22 Bloom enters, hears running water from the bathroom. He glimpses down at the flowchart on the bed, scanning down to: Box #10 - "Bloom comes home to find Stephen filling the coolers" Stephen backs out of the bathroom trolling a heavy cooler. STEPHEN Oh - kay. How's it going on the playground front? BLOOM It's great. STEPHEN So, on to step eleven, then. The Tale. You tell them - BLOOM Wait... Bloom's lip quivers, obviously conflicted. NARRATOR Must the numbers rattle on? Must the fiction end? BLOOM I think I need more time to win their- STEPHEN Bloom. They're not your friends. They're part of this, and this aint real. Remember, it's a con. And when it's done, we've just got us. And we'll be moving on. (beat) So, the tale. You tell them there's a 8 23 EXT. PARK - DAY 23 Bloom holds court with the kids. BLOOM hermit in the woods. A one eyed, steel toothed vagabond... 24 INT. ATTIC 24 Back to Bloom and Stephen in the attic BLOOM ...with blood red eyes? STEPHEN (nods) That's good. He stopped you coming home from school... 25 EXT. PARK - DAY 25 BLOOM ...and told me of a cave. GIRL What kind of cave? BLOOM A cave of wonders. BOY Pffft ha. GIRL Shut up, Dave. BLOOM At noon on every Sunday, there appears a ball of light, which flutters like a butterfly... GIRL A will-o-whisp? BLOOM That's right. It guides you 9 26 INT. ATTIC 26 STEPHEN ...if you can keep up... 27 EXT. PARK 27 BLOOM ...to where the treasures lay. BOY So where's this cave? GIRL Yeah, where? 28 INT. ATTIC 28 STEPHEN Ah-hah. The hermit didn't say. He got this greedy glinting look, the filthy red-eyed leech... and said he'd tell for thirty bucks. Something in Bloom's face falls. 29 EXT. PARK 29 The girl's bright, trusting face looking at him. A moment of silence. Then, triumphant, an excited boy leaps to his feet. EXCITED BOY Well that's just two bucks each! The kids all rejoice, and fist-fulls of dollars are thrust at Bloom. He looks almost crestfallen as his eye catches the girl's joyful gaze. NARRATOR So Sunday came... 30 EXT. WOODS 30 Children in their bright Sunday clothes run through the dark woods, led by Bloom. 10 30 CONTINUED: 30 NARRATOR ...and straight from church, into the woods Bloom led. 31 INT. CAVE 31 In the dim light of a cave, Stephen overturns the coolers of water and retreats into shadow. A flood soaks into the dirt floor, as outside the mouth of the cave the group of panting children come into sight. NARRATOR They stopped. Their hearts leapt. There it was. 32 EXT. CAVE 32 The children look at the craggy mouth of a forboding cave. GIRL Just like the hermit said! Deep in the cave's dark maw, a spark of light. The children gasp collectively. The Girl grabs Bloom's arm. Bloom stares, transfixed as any of them. The spark becomes a glowing, fluttering point of light, which hangs in the mouth of the cave for a tantalizing moment, then recedes deeper into the gloom. With a cry the children, Bloom included, dash into the cave. 33 INT. CAVE 33 The light glows just around the next corner... the children run after it, slipping in the mud, laughing, turning the corner... And the light glows just around the next corner. They scramble, they slip and slide, they can't catch the light, but they're all having the time of their lives. Bloom included. Holding the girl's hand, laughing, eyes full of wonder. 11 33 CONTINUED: 33 NARRATOR For just one moment, Bloom forgot himself and ran too fast. He puts on a burst of speed, gets ahead of the crowd. NARRATOR (cont'd) He'd catch the light and find the treasure... Turning a corner, he (alone) sees the rather tawdry image of Stephen, flashlight in hand, shooing him back as he turns the next corner. Bloom stops running. NARRATOR (cont'd) But the moment passed. The other kids and the girl pass him, but Bloom stands dead still, a strange expression on his face. The girl turns back towards him, still running, and holds out her hand for him to follow. But he doesn't. He stays behind, and is soon left alone. 34 EXT. PLAYGROUND 34 NARRATOR They didn't catch the will-o-wisp, but didn't really care. The muddied children walk home, laughing, while Bloom leans against a lamppost. Stephen appears behind him, counting their money. STEPHEN It seems to me that in the end, the perfect con is where each one involved gets just the thing they wanted. BLOOM Yeah I guess so. NARRATOR Our fledgling thieves were satisfied. 12 35 EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - DAY 35 A front door opens, revealing a porch-full of 30 angry parents holding 15 muddied kids by their ears. NARRATOR The children's parents, less so. The Foster Parents exchange a glance. QUICK SHOTS - Stephen is smacked. The wad of money is snatched from a grubby small hand by an angry big one. A telephone slams down. On a form, the field "Reason for return:" is filled with "Larceny." 36 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 36 Two suitcases on a bed are snapped closed and pulled away. The bed sits solid and vacant in the dusty afternoon sunlight. NARRATOR A bitter ending? Maybe. But there's sweetness in the mix. Beneath the bed, forgotten, a piece of paper. On it, the con flow-chart. Numbered boxes. NARRATOR (cont'd) The brothers Bloom had found their calling. One of the boxes... number six... NARRATOR (cont'd) As shown in number six. BOX #6: "Cut % O'Henry's" NARRATOR (cont'd) `Cut' meant to negotiate, `percent' percentage deal. 13 37 EXT. SMALL TOWN SQUARE - DAY 37 Through a storefront window - rows of the children's muddy Sunday clothes hang, each tagged. NARRATOR `O'Henry's' was the town's one dry clean shop. And striding out of the store beneath the `O'Henry's Cleaners' sign is Stephen, fifty dollars in hand, sucking a Rocket Pop. The OWNER leans out of the door, looking a little nervous. Stephen throws him back a salute. 38 EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY 38 Bloom sits against a wall, suitcases beside him. Boxes of Rocket Pops, and one in each fist. Stephen plops down beside him. STEPHEN So how's it feel? Bloom's eye catches the children, and the girl, playing in the distance. NARRATOR In truth, young Bloom won't know for twenty years just how he felt. HONK! A `Child Welfare' car waiting out on the street. The brothers pick themselves up. NARRATOR (cont'd) And so, we'll skip ahead now in our story. Stephen tosses his Rocket Pop. STEPHEN Let `em melt. The con man team of the brothers Bloom, suitcases in hand, strides down the alleyway. Stephen in front. 14 38 CONTINUED: 38 Bloom a few steps behind, stealing one last glance back at the children playing in the sun. CUT TO: 39 OPENING CREDITS 39 CUT TO: 40 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 40 Flames spread over a wall of bookshelves. TITLE CARD: BERLIN, 25 YEARS LATER A YOUNG MAN in a nice suit and bowler hat steps in front of the flaming books. YOUNG MAN He gets the scarab, you get the money, I get the girl... so in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. Three gunshots, two bloody holes in the nice suit and the young man folds to the ground. A sweaty man named CHARLESTON (40s) lowers his gun, while behind him the rest of the library roars in flames. VOICE (O.S.) Wha - Charleston, what - oh my god are you... oh god he's dead, Victor's dead... you've killed us! We had it he was right it was all in the bag and now we're dead, why? Why, you stupid son of a bitch? The owner of the voice, a MAN a bit younger than Charleston in a derby cap, snatches the gun away and slaps Charleston hard. 15 40 CONTINUED: 40 CHARLESTON Cause the Turk was right. After seeing her, after that night on the airstrip, after Cairo everything changed, and he couldn't see the play through that one milky eye, but the Turk was right about one thing, that there's nothing beautiful about money. She's beautiful. MCGUIRE This isn't happening... CHARLESTON He'll never have her now. She's free. And I'll never see her in scarlet again, her chestnut hair, but it's worth the money and my job and his life and the rest of my life that she's free. MCGUIRE Charleston. I can't be here... CHARLESTON You're not here. Neither of us are. It's Mowcher's gun. MCGUIRE Mowcher is at the bottom of the Spree with a cowl in his neck! Charleston gets to his feet. CHARLESTON They won't find him for a week, and the Albino will chalk it up to Davey, he won't talk. We're clean. MCGUIRE Listen to you - four months ago you were an investment banker! Now you're nothing. The Scarab's lost. The money's gone. It'll rot in the Peruvian earth. It's gone. Charleston limps to the flaming doorway. 16 40 CONTINUED: (2) 40 CHARLESTON The man named Charleston you met nine months and a thousand years ago at the hotel bar in Jodhpur is dead. If we see each other again it'll be as strangers. As for the money... let it rot. He exits, leaving McGuire stooped beside the crumpled form of Victor. A long beat. The distant roar of an engine, tires squealing. Then through the smoky doorway steps a beautiful ASIAN WOMAN, early 20s. She gives a nearly imperceptible nod. MCGUIRE Wow. He pats Victor, who sits up, spitting blood. McGuire looks to Victor and the woman for a reaction. Gets none. MCGUIRE (cont'd) Wow is the word you're both looking for. Wow. The Asian woman nods slightly. VICTOR (un-wowishly) You're a genius, Stephen. For McGuire is, of course, Stephen. STEPHEN We're a genius, Bloom. Just as Victor is, indeed, Bloom. He spits. BLOOM Tastes like tin foil. STEPHEN So does real blood. Buy you a drink. Stephen escorts the Asian woman out, while Bloom wipes his lip. 17 41 EXT. HOUSE - PRE-DAWN 41 A stately house in the middle of nowhere, on fire. Stephen holds the door of a car open, while Bloom steps from the flaming house. STEPHEN "Four months and a thousand years ago." That's Kipling, isn't it? He stole that from Kipling. BLOOM No. 42 EXT. BERLIN - PRE-DAWN 42 Hazy light over the sprawling city. 43 INT. DEUTCH MARK 43 A low, cozy basement level bar. A dozen people crowd it, all expectant in a surprise-party type way. A TURKISH GENTLEMAN in a white linen suit and eye patch raises his drink when Bloom, Stephen and the woman enter. THE TURK Make way, make room for the brothers Bloom! The bar bursts into cheers. 44 INT. DEUTCH MARK - LATER 44 A DWARF dances on the bar. Stephen plays cards with the Turk, an ALBINO and a small crowd of character types. THE TURK Nine months, six countries, three faked deaths, for one mark. You're a beautiful antique, my friend. They clink glasses. ALL Proust. 18 44 CONTINUED: 44 THE TURK One thing baffles me. The entire con would have fallen apart if Charleston had walked away. How did you know he'd pull the trigger? Stephen riffle shuffles a pack of cards. STEPHEN Just think of any card. Got one? Stephen cuts the deck randomly - 2 of spades. THE TURK No. Stephen shrugs. STEPHEN But if I do it enough, eventually it'll work on someone. And then it'll be the best card trick in the world. Wink. The dwarf slips, plummets from the bar. Stephen kicks a chair across the room, into which he lands with a crunch. STEPHEN (cont'd) Ante up. THE TURK It's true you never work with the same crew twice? STEPHEN That's true. THE TURK Well shit. Except for the uh, for her? STEPHEN La Chinoise? THE TURK Yeah. Back at the bar - the Asian woman. The CHINK. Being hit on by a weasly ROMANIAN. ROMANIAN Yeah, I'm pretty big into anime. 19 44 CONTINUED: (2) 44 She almost imperceptibly rolls her eyes. STEPHEN Our fifth Beatle. She knows the ins and the outs, and so far as I can tell, speaks three words of English. She taps on the bar. THE CHINK Jameson. BARTENDER Ice? She says `no' with a look. THE ALBINO So she's with you and Bloom till the end. STEPHEN Just till the wind changes. Stephen makes a gun with his finger and shoots at the Chink. She flicks a champaign flute to make a `DING!' and mimes the bullet bouncing off her. THE TURK Where is Bloom? In the corner of the bar, in a private booth with drawn velvet curtains, Bloom sits alone playing solitaire. Stuck with a queen of hearts he can't play. A beautiful woman in scarlet with auburn hair pokes her face through the curtains. ROSE There you are. Hiding? BLOOM Yeah. ROSE I've been learning. Stephen likes to talk about you. BLOOM Did he tell you the cave story? 20 44 CONTINUED: (3) 44 ROSE Is it true? BLOOM What else did he tell you? ROSE I'm not going to tell it as good as Stephen. You two kicked around till your early teens, then stowed away on a merchant marine freighter and ended up in St. Petersburg, where you spent five years under the tutelage of a shadowy old swindler named the Diamond Dog. And he was your Fagin and Stephen was his Artful Dodger, but it ended suddenly and badly. BLOOM Stephen took his eye out with an antique rapier. ROSE Why did he do that? BLOOM And then the Brothers Bloom lit out on their own to make their fortune as gentleman thieves. Sounds romantic. ROSE It does. She pushes the cards aside and slides clumsily onto the table, her face inches from Bloom's, eyes closed, expecting a kiss. Bloom's eyes stay open. BLOOM You want to know how Stephen did it? With Charleston? ROSE It's not the first thing on my mind. 21 45 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) 45 A replay of Bloom in front of the flaming bookshelf. BLOOM (O.S.) He positioned me in the same spot where, seven years ago, Charleston's wife stood and told him she was leaving. The room transforms, becomes daylit, not on fire, seven years ago, a WIFE standing in Bloom's place. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He chose my outfit to mirror her suit. Sure enough, the colors and shape of Bloom's suit matches the Wife's outfit. BLOOM (O.S.) (cont'd) He even phonetically matched my final words to hers. WIFE This is the end. Charelston, you've always been a dunce. Everything snaps back to Bloom in the flaming room. BLOOM (IN FLASHBACK) So in the end, everyone gets everything he wants. BANG. 46 INT. DEUTCH MARK 46 BLOOM That's what he does, he writes his cons the way dead Russians write novels, with thematic arcs and imbedded symbolism and shit. And he wrote me as a vulnerable anti- hero. And that's why you think you want to kiss me. It's a con. He leaves Rose lying on the table and sweeps through the bar towards the exit, passing Stephen. 22 46 CONTINUED: 46 BLOOM (cont'd) I need air. STEPHEN Who doesn't? (plays a card) That's the big 2. 47 EXT. BERLIN STREET - EARLY MORNING 47 Bloom stumbles up stone steps to street level. A THOUSAND YEAR OLD MAN sweeps up across the square. Bloom sits wearily on the curb, bowler hat in hand, shirt bright red with fake blood, face long as hell. Putting the broom aside a moment, the old man walks painfully across the street to Bloom. Standing nearly toe to toe with him, the man pulls a huge joyful smile across his grizzled face. He then smears his hand over his mug, pulling the smile off his face and rubbing it on Bloom's mouth. When he takes his hand away, Bloom plays along and has the same big joyful smile. The old man winks at him and walks back to his broom. As soon as the old man is away, Bloom drops the smile. Stephen paces out into the street. STEPHEN We missed the sunrise. That would've been nice. They walk across the street to the Tiergarten. 48 EXT. TIERGARTEN - EARLY MORNING 48 Berlin's Central Park and zoo, dead and brown. The brothers stroll through the woods, Stephen a few steps ahead, Bloom trailing behind, lost in thought. Camel heads poke over a wall with `Kamelhaus' painted on it. Stephen throws open the wall's gate. STEPHEN (to camels) Back to the swamps! The camels are unimpressed. Bloom slouches into a bench. 23 48 CONTINUED: 48 Stephen shows the deck of cards to Bloom, who nods. Stephen cuts the deck, shows him a card. Bloom shakes his head, no. STEPHEN (cont'd) At least you're honest. Bloom stares into space. STEPHEN (cont'd) Alright, let's do this. Let's just get it done. So first you say `I'm quitting, Stephen. I'm out.' Then I say... BLOOM `Do we have to go through this again.' STEPHEN Then you make a show of putting on your jacket and say `no I mean it this time Stephen, this time I'm really out.' BLOOM Then you say `let's have a drink, and in the morning Bloom you'll have come to your senses' Stephen pulls a flask, unscrews it. STEPHEN (re: Bloom's bright red blood stain) That's a major design flaw in fake blood, by the way. BLOOM `and we'll be moving on.' STEPHEN Real blood turns brown after a half hour. BLOOM Listen to me, Stephen. STEPHEN This scotch costs more than your suit. 24 26/11/06. 48 CONTINUED: (2) 48 BLOOM Listen to me. STEPHEN And the flask stopped a bullet from a black powder rifle at Appomattox. BLOOM Listen. Bloom bats the flask away. A camel catches it, tips its camel neck back and gulps it down. STEPHEN That's my new favorite camel. BLOOM I hate you. I hate this life, I hate it, I hate that you won't fucking listen to me for one goddamn second. Just listen. Stephen listens. BLOOM (cont'd) I can't wake up next to another stranger, who thinks they know me, or even wants to know me, cause I don't know - who - I'm thirty five years old, and I, I'm useless, I'm crippled, I don't, I've only ever lived life through these roles that aren't me, that are written for me by you. STEPHEN Tell me what you want. BLOOM Why? So you can write me a role in a story where I get it? You're not listening to me. I want a real... thing, I wanna do things how I don't know are gonna work out, a, I, want, a... STEPHEN (sotto) You want an unwritten life. (MORE) 25 48 CONTINUED: (3) 48 BLOOM I want an unwritten life! (realizes Stephen just wrote that line for him) Aauuugghh god! The camel belches. Bloom makes a show of putting on his jacket. BLOOM (cont'd) I'm going away. Somewhere you or even the Chink won't be able to track me down, so don't try. No more stories. Bloom tosses Stephen the bowler, and storms off. He gets about ten feet, then hesitates. BLOOM (cont'd) I love you. Bye. Then goes. The camel nudges Stephen's jacket, looking for more scotch. Stephen puts the bowler on its camel head. STEPHEN Sorry bud. I'm dry. Stephen watches his brother walk off into the rising morning mist, lost in thought. His hands mechanically begin shuffling the pack of cards. FADE OUT FADE IN: 49 EXT. ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY 49 Beautiful green hills surround the walled medieval city of Ferentino. TITLE CARD: Ferentino, Italy - 3 months later. A tiny red car inches its way across the countryside. It winds its way up and deeper into the city on the hill. 26 50 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 50 The tiny stone porch outside a private apartment. The red car's bumper pulls up, parks. On a small wood table, empty booze bottles and a loose pack of cards. Fingertips spread the cards, then the fingertips' owner heads for the apartment door. 51 INT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - DAY 51 Stephen steps in cautiously, surveys the apartment. A goddamn mess. Empty bottles and glasses, very little light. Stephen opens the curtains, light streams in the window. A groan of displeasure comes from the gloom. Bloom stirs, passed out in a hammock. Unkept beard, a few extra pounds. Crushed cigar hanging on his lip. A rotund GRANDMOTHER waddles in, cleaning up bottles and berating Bloom in a constant stream of angry Italian. STEPHEN She's right, you know. BLOOM Why are you here, Stephen? STEPHEN Put on your face, let's eat. 52 EXT. FERENTINO APARTMENT - LATER 52 Stephen guides a dressed Bloom out the door. The grandmother follows them, still barking angry Italian at Bloom. At the last moment she says a few kind words, kisses him on the cheek and sends them off. 53 EXT. FERENTINO CAFE - DAY 53 A few tables on a stone walkway overlooking the countryside. The red car parked nearby. Stephen eats, Bloom stares. BLOOM How'd you find me? 27 53 CONTINUED: 53 STEPHEN The Chink. BLOOM How'd the Chink find me? Stephen's eyes: "Are you joking?" STEPHEN How've you been? BLOOM Great. STEPHEN I've done a lot of thinking the past three months. You don't want out. You think you do but you don't. Here, c'mere. I want to show you something. BLOOM I'm quits, Stephen. Stephen stands, strolls off. Bloom wearily follows. BLOOM (cont'd) Where are we going? STEPHEN New Jersey. BLOOM (sighs) Well lemme get my jacket. CUT TO: 54 EXT. AN AIRPLANE ROARS RIGHT TO LEFT 54 CUT TO: 55 EXT. LUDICROUS MANSION - AFTERNOON 55 A long private road through a tunnel of trees leads to a ludicrous mansion. Our trio watch it from the road. BLOOM Looks like an etching from a Bronte novel. 28 55 CONTINUED: 55 Stephen flips open a first edition Jane Eyre. The illustration inside is in fact an exact match, right down to a plaster deer in the front yard. BLOOM (cont'd) Huh. Look at that. Well thanks. I'm gonna head back to Italy. STEPHEN Big

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

recovery

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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Butterfly Effect, The Script at IMSDb. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-3785444-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Search IMSDb Alphabetical # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Genre Action Adventure Animation Comedy Crime Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Horror Musical Mystery Romance Sci-Fi Short Thriller War Western Sponsor TV Transcripts Futurama Seinfeld South Park Stargate SG-1 Lost The 4400 International French scripts Movie Software Rip from DVD Rip Blu-Ray Latest Comments Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith10/10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens10/10 Batman Begins9/10 Collateral10/10 Jackie Brown8/10 Movie Chat Message Yell ! ALL SCRIPTS "THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT" Screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress SHOOTING DRAFT INT. SUNNYVALE - DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT - 2002 EVAN, 20, good-looking but with dark haunted eyes, frantically hides himself in an unlit Doctor's office. His face and chest are covered in blood. He holds his forehead in pain. FLASHLIGHT BEAMS stab through the darkened corridor hunting for him. ALARMS SOUND. GUARDS are heard shouting to each other. Evan grabs a cardboard box and hides under a doctor's desk. He grabs some paper and begins writing in shorthand. EVAN (as he writes) If anyone finds this, then I guess my plan didn't work and I'm already dead... He takes a deep breath. EVAN But if I can just go back to the beginning of all this, I still might be able to save her. Fatigue overwhelms him, but he continues writing... INT. BUSY HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY - 1982 TITLE: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER ANDREA TREBORN, twenty-five, an attractive pregnant woman strapped to a gurney, is rolled down a busy hospital corridor. She is clearly ready to give birth, and as she flails her arms, she knocks another patient's IV bottle into the wall. INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - SUPER 8 FOOTAGE - 1982 A tearful Andrea holds newborn EVAN in her hands. TITLE SEQUENCE OVER SUPER-8 MONTAGE INCLUDING: INT. BUSY HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY - 1982 Smiling Andrea holds baby Evan up to the camera, then places him in a crib. EXT. PLAYGROUND - DAY - 1983 A playground. Evan's father, JASON (23), puts a 1-year old on a slide. EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY - 1987 A birthday party for LENNY, 5, a chubby kid with only a few friends. Evan, now 5, is gently prodded by Andrea toward KAYLEIGH, 5, a quiet sweet-looking girl with beautiful hair. Evan clumsily shakes her hand and she quickly leans over and kisses his cheek. He blushes and runs to hug his mother's leg. END MONTAGE & TITLES. EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING - 1989 In the driveway, 7-year old Evan plays with CRICKETT, a frisky cocker spaniel puppy. Andrea, wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, works impatiently on the carburetor of a Toyota Celica. Evan pets the dog as he watches his mother work. ANDREA Okay, okay... what now? Evan quickly eyes the situation and grabs the 5/16" wrench from the toolbox. EVAN We're gonna be late again. ANDREA When did you ever care about getting to school on time? EVAN We're putting up pictures for Parent's Night. Evan impatiently watches Andrea turn the bolt. EVAN Righty-tighty, lefty-lucy. ANDREA Thanks. Don't worry Evan, you'll have plenty of time. The carburetor will not set properly. She bangs on it with the wrench. ANDREA (re: carb) Darn it! EVAN Um... can dad come this time? ANDREA (getting impatient) You know the answer to that. EVAN Can't he come out for one day? ANDREA We've been over this a hundred times. It's too dangerous for him. EVAN But Lenny said that his dad's coming... and Tommy and Kayleigh's dad... Andrea hands the wrench to Evan. ANDREA Here, Ev... Finish this up for me. Evan beams as he climbs onto the bumper and screws the carb back together. Andrea, meanwhile, strips off her coveralls, revealing a spotless nurse's uniform underneath. EVAN All the dads are gonna be there. ANDREA I get the point, kiddo. But I'm not so bad, am I? EVAN No. ANDREA Good. Because I've been waiting to see your art projects all week and I'd feel terrible if all you thought about was your father not being there. Evan, disappointed, passes the wrench back to Andrea. EVAN (beat) Done. Try it. Andrea gets behind the wheel. She turns the ignition and the engine roars to life. Evan wears a proud smile. ANDREA You're amazing, kiddo. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - MORNING - 1989 Andrea races through the school zone and heads for the main doors. Evan's already got the car door open and his foot on the ground by the time the car skids to a halt. Andrea checks her watch. ANDREA Okay have a great day I love you I'll pick you up later gotta go... Evan blows Andrea a kiss goodbye and runs into the school. As Andrea pulls away, MRS. BOSWELL, 35, taps the car window. MRS. BOSWELL Mrs. Treborn! I need to speak with you! ANDREA I'm sorry, but can it wait til tonight? I'm already late for work -- Mrs. Boswell's morbid expression stops Andrea. MRS. BOSWELL I think you really need to see this. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER The classroom is filled with screaming, running children. Mrs. Boswell enters the classroom with Andrea and immediately calls out to TOMMY, a tough seven-year old kid who swings a whiffle bat at LENNY, now seven, a sniffling, chubby kid. MRS. BOSWELL TOMMY! LEAVE LENNY ALONE! DON'T MAKE ME SEND YOU TO MR. VOYTEK'S OFFICE! Evan is surprised to see his mother enter with Mrs. Boswell, but continues playing with Kayleigh, now seven, a quiet, sweet-looking girl. Mrs. Boswell leads Andrea over to the teacher's desk. MRS. BOSWELL I was going to show this to the principal, but I wanted to talk to you first. ANDREA What is it? MRS. BOSWELL Yesterday I had all the children draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of them made drawings of what their parents did, but this... Mrs. Boswell opens the bottom drawer of her desk and pulls out a drawing. Andrea turns to stone when she sees it. ANDREA I don't understand... Evan did this? The drawing shows a child holding a bloody knife while standing on a heap of dead bodies. It's extremely sophisticated for a seven-year old. Some of the corpses have been cut open and the insides are surprisingly anatomically correct. Andrea sees Evan playing with Lenny, harmless as a bunny, and struggles to control her concern. ANDREA Thank you for showing it to me first. I'll... I'll take care of it. Can I have the picture? MRS. BOSWELL Of course. There is one more thing, Mrs. Treborn. And I feel bad for mentioning it... ANDREA What? MRS. BOSWELL When I asked Evan about his drawing, well, he didn't remember doing it. Andrea is visibly shaken now. ANDREA I have to go. EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LATER Andrea seems so impacted by this revelation that she cannot even start the car. INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - LATER The children hang artwork on the walls in prep for Parent's Night. Each child has a picture of his or her family made from colored construction paper and macaroni. Evan's picture (no longer sophisticated) depicts his mother, Crockett and himself on a green hill. Tommy and Kayleigh's pictures each show two kids and a single father. And their 'mother' is stuck to the far end of page. Lenny beams as he pins-up his picture of an ideal nuclear family. He looks at Tommy's picture and is confused. LENNY You put the mommy too far away. Mrs. Boswell has macaroni and glue if you wanna fix it. TOMMY You're such a retard! KAYLEIGH Mommy lives far away but she comes and visits. LENNY (to Tommy) If I'm retarded, why didn't my mommy move away from me? Tommy gets upset. He swipes his hand down Lenny's picture and his macaroni "mother" crumbles to the floor. Lenny begins to cry. EVAN Hey, what'd you do that for? TOMMY Fat little baby, crying for mommy. Evan takes the ruined picture and leans down next to Lenny. EVAN Come on, Lenny. It's not that bad. You can still see your mom a little. Lenny, unable to stop crying, begins hyperventilating out of control. His desperate gasps for breath are frightening. Evan, scared, looks around for Mrs. Boswell, but cannot find her. He reaches up to his own picture and quickly tears his own macaroni "mother" apart and places it over Lenny's picture. It's a nuclear family again. Lenny slowly is able to catch his breath. LENNY (grateful) Can... can... Can I have this? EVAN Sure. I was gonna make a new one, anyway. Kayleigh helps Lenny glue a new "mother" in place and she smiles gratefully at Evan. As Evan smiles back at Kayleigh, Mrs. Boswell calmly enters the room in time to see Evan tacking up his butchered family portrait. She shivers. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY - 1989 Gothic. Imposing. Andrea runs up the stairs. INT. SUNNYVALE - DR. REDFIELD'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS DR. HARLON REDFIELD, 40, a handsome and extremely genial man, scrutinizes a disturbing drawing. DR. REDFIELD And you say he doesn't remember any of it? ANDREA (anxious) Not according to his teacher. It just got me thinking about Jason and what if Evan's inherited his father's condition? DR. REDFIELD Hold it, hold it, Andrea. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll run some preliminary tests, see what we can rule out. Andrea nods and forces a thankful smile. DR. REDFIELD Tell you what, bring Evan here tonight and we'll run a CAT-scan series. EXT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT The looming building looks even more frightening at night. Andrea and Evan head up the stairs. EVAN I don't like this place, Mom. It's creepy. Please can we go? I promise I won't make any more bad pictures! ANDREA (lighthearted) You'll be fine. Dr. Redfield just wants to give you some tests. You'll like him. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - NIGHT Andrea leads Evan into Dr. Redfield's office. Dr. Redfield warmly greets Evan at the door. DR. REDFIELD Hello, Evan. It's very nice to meet you. (to Andrea) He's as handsome as his father. EVAN (stunned) You know my father? Before Dr. Redfield can answer, Andrea cuts him off. ANDREA That's why I wanted you to come here, Evan. Dr. Redfield already has a background in memory loss. EVAN My father has a bad memory, too? DR. REDFIELD (off Andrea's look) Uh, tell you what, Evan. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like to run some tests. Nothing scary. Evan raises an eyebrow at the doctor. DR. REDFIELD Okay, it might be a little scary... INT. LABORATORY - MOMENTS LATER Evan looks terrified as he lies on a medical platform as a series of CAT-scan images are taken. In another part of the room, a distressed Andrea speaks quietly with Dr. Redfield. ANDREA Just tell me that Evan doesn't have Jason's illness... DR. REDFIELD Look, Andrea, I'm sure he'll test negative for brain disorders. But there's something else you can try to monitor his memory. ANDREA Anything. DR. REDFIELD A journal. Just have him write down everything he does. ANDREA Why? What for? DR. REDFIELD It could be extremely useful to jog his memory. See if he remembers anything new the next day. And I'll have the test results back in a few days. INT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING The next morning. Evan busily writes in his new black-marble mead comp book: EVAN'S DIARY "Today Mommy is taking me to play with Kayley and Tommy. I will mete there father and see what a real dad is like. Maybe one day I will mete my Dad." Andrea, meanwhile, speaks into the phone as she pours Lucky Charms into a cereal bowl for Evan. ANDREA Thanks, George. I really appreciate you watching him, he won't be any trouble at all. Evan puts down the journal and eats breakfast. He separates the green clovers from the cereal and drops them to the floor for Crockett to nibble. EVAN These'll bring you luck, Crockett. ANDREA (into phone) Great. I'll see you soon. Andrea hangs up the phone and walks into the next room. INT. HOUSE - DAY Andrea grabs the pocket book off the coffee table and heads back into the kitchen. She drops her purse in shock when she sees: Evan, in doorway, expressionless and holding a large BUTCHER KNIFE by his side. ANDREA Evan? Evan sees her but remains expressionless. ANDREA Evan? What are you doing with that knife? Life suddenly springs into Evan's face. He seems stunned to find himself holding the knife and drops it. EVAN (scared) What happened? ANDREA Honey. What were you doing with that? EVAN (tears welling) I... I don't remember. EXT. MILLER HOUSE - MORNING Andrea, still shaken, drops Evan off at the house of GEORGE MILLER, 35, a handsome athletic man with an infectious smile. He approaches the car and opens the door for Evan. MR. MILLER Hey, Andrea. (to Evan) Hello little man. Andrea writes nervously on a piece of paper as Evan gets out. ANDREA Thanks a lot George. Here's my work number in case there are any problems. MR. MILLER (lighthearted laughter) Whaddaya kidding? We're going to have a great time today, right Evan? Andrea nods thanks and nervously drives away. Evan walks up to Mr. Miller and momentarily reaches for his hand. Mr. Miller flinches his hand away and chuckles at Evan. MR. MILLER You waiting for an invitation? The kids are inside. Evan appears confused for a moment at Mr. Miller's unexpected rudeness, but walks inside. INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Evan enters the well-kept middle class home and sees his classmates Kayleigh and Tommy. Kayleigh is dressed in a make- shift Medieval gown and Tommy is also dressed in a period costume. KAYLEIGH (excited to see Evan) Evan, guess what? Dad got a new video camera and we're all gonna be in a movie. TOMMY I don't think Evan gets to be in it -- KAYLEIGH Quit it, Tommy. Evan gets to be Robin Hood. I'm gonna be Maid Marian, and you're the Sheriff of Nottingham! TOMMY I thought I was the bad guy! KAYLEIGH You are, silly. He's a bad sheriff. Mr. Miller, holding a full glass of scotch in one hand, sets the circa-80's bulky video camera on a tripod and plugs it into the porta-deck. EVAN We're really gonna be in a movie!? MR. MILLER That's right, Evan, and you get to be the star. TOMMY I thought I was the star. MR. MILLER Shut up, moron. Now get in your costume, Evan. And you have to promise, your bestest super-duper promise, that this will be our little secret. Think you can do that? Evan nods and sticks his arms straight up in the air. Mr. Miller downs his drink and helps Evan off with his clothes. Suddenly -- HARD CUT TO: INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. The rec-room/basement. Evan's eyes dart from the fireplace to Mr. Miller's camera lens and finally to Kayleigh, whose ashen face trembles slightly. Panic spreads across Evan's face. EVAN Where am I? What happened? Where did we all go? MR. MILLER Calm down, kid. Stand still. Evan backs up and awkwardly scurries around the basement, grabbing his clothes. Panicking. EVAN I was just somewhere else -- how did I get here? MR. MILLER Quit acting like some retard or I'll call your mother and tell her what a naughty little shit you've been. EVAN Kayleigh? What happened? Kayleigh's eyes are unable to leave the floor. She begins adjusting her disheveled clothing. Evan trembles. EVAN What's wrong with me? Tommy silently watches from the top of the basement stairs, absently wringing the head off one of his sister's dolls. INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Dr. Redfield places Evan's CAT-scan slides on the light box. Andrea squints, unable to interpret them. DR. REDFIELD Well, the good news is that the results are negative. I've found no evidence in the way of lesions, hemorrhaging, tumors... ANDREA And the bad news? DR. REDFIELD Unfortunately, we've got nothing to work with. It's harder playing detective now. ANDREA But you must have something to go on? DR. REDFIELD If I had to guess, I'd say the blackouts are stress related. ANDREA But he's seven. What kind of stress can he have? DR. REDFIELD Plenty. Who knows? Maybe he's got severe coping problems about not having a father. Did you say the last blackout occurred when he was with his friend's dad. ANDREA Come on, I doubt the answer's that simple. DR. REDFIELD You'd be surprised how often they are. ANDREA Well, he has been pushing me to meet his father, but I've been putting it off. DR. REDFIELD It's worth a shot. I can arrange a controlled meeting. A careful dose of sedatives for Jason, some security, you and I monitoring. Evan comes in for a quick visit and with any luck, no more missing father complex. ANDREA How soon?... INT. ANDREA'S CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Evan, dressed in his Sunday best, writes copiously in a journal marked "AGE 7." EVAN'S DIARY "April 15. Today I get to mete my father. His name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad." INT. SUNNYVALE INSTITUTION - DAY Andrea tightly grips Evan's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Evan's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter. EVAN Dad lives here? DR. REDFIELD Not in this wing, actually. No. ANDREA Now your father may seem sleepy to you, but that's just because of his medicine, okay? EVAN Okay. They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a "Visitor's Chamber". Dr.Redfield leads Evan inside. Andrea begins to follow, but the doctor gestures that she stay outside. INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS Evan takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally, a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass. JASON, thirty and haggard looking, enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time. But tranquilizers have dulled the effect. Evan's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement. Finally Jason sits. He smiles warmly and speaks in over-enunciated tones. JASON It's okay. I won't bite. You've seen pictures of me, right? EVAN Uh-huh. Mom says I have your eyes and your -- SMASH CUT TO: INT. SUNNYVALE - VISITOR'S CHAMBER - DAY Evan "comes to" in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table, he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Evan's throat, choking the life out of him. JASON (through clenched teeth) I... love... you. Suddenly, ORDERLIES tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Andrea frantically struggles to rescue Evan from Jason's clutches. JASON (panicking) He has to die! You don't understand! It's the only way to stop it! Jason wrestles the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Evan with the baton! Orderly #2 acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Evan, Orderly #2 is forced to bash him in the skull. Down for the count. Andrea hugs Evan, now in shock. ANDREA I'm sorry, Evan. I'm sorry. And ALARM sounds and Andrea tries to cover Evan's eyes, but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head. FADE TO BLACK: FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY - DAY - 1989 Dressed in black, Andrea and Evan watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Andrea's tears soak through her veil. A few feet back, Kayleigh stands behind Evan. PRIEST Ashes to ashes... dust to dust. Evan watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Kayleigh steps up to Evan and takes his hand. A moment. And she softly whispers in Evan's ear. KAYLEIGH You're better off anyway. A rumble of thunder. Evan looks up at the brooding dark clouds. EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK Gray skies. Andrea drives the children home. Evan stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic. SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY - 1995 Bright and sunny. The lawn freshly cut. A Toro lawnmower has been carelessly left in the grass-strewn driveway. TITLE: SIX YEARS LATER CRANE DOWN to the window of the -- INT. MILLER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT Evan, Kayleigh, Tommy and Lenny are now THIRTEEN. Evan exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash and finishes sketching a portrait of Kayleigh in his journal. Tommy wears a leather jacket and now has traces of peach fuzz on his upper lip. Kayleigh's hair is longer now, albeit stringy and unkempt. Evan closes his journal and coolly ignites a STRIKE-ANYWHERE MATCH with his thumb and lights Kayleigh's cigarette. Everyone but Lenny smokes in the basement. Tommy, now with longer hair, ransacks his father's army locker looking for something. EVAN Tommy, I'm bored shitless over here. What's up already? TOMMY Hold your horses, man. It's here somewhere. I saw it when I was a kid. Tommy absently chucks an old Playboy toward Lenny. Kayleigh seems uncomfortable by the sight of it. KAYLEIGH (to Tommy) We should go soon. If Dad catches us smoking down here, we're dead. EVAN So let's go. This place creeps me out. Evan claps his hands and stands up, Lenny and Kayleigh join him. Finally, Tommy shakes an old army thermos and hears something rattling inside. TOMMY I knew it had something to do with the army. Tommy opens the thermos, tips it over and a blockbuster (1/4 stick of dynamite) spills out. Tommy grins mischievously. TOMMY Let's blow the shit out of something! EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Tommy leads Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny on a mission through the woods. Everyone smokes except Lenny, yet he's the only one who's wheezing. He pulls out an inhaler and takes a puff. LENNY Guys, slow up, would you? KAYLEIGH Evan, did I tell you? My mother said I might be able to visit her this summer in Orlando with her new family. TOMMY What did I say about mentioning that bitch? KAYLEIGH (uncomfortable) Where the hell are you taking us anyway? Just blow something up already. TOMMY Just blow something up? Are you nuts? There's an art to mass destruction. Would you just paint the Mona Lisa? No. Besides, we're here already. Now at the edge of the woods, Tommy spots: EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS A MAILBOX sits at the end of the driveway. It's exquisite. An exact replica of a Colonial home it serves. Across the street, Tommy hands the blockbuster to Lenny. TOMMY Here you go, buddy. LENNY (recoiling) What? No frigging way, man. I'm not touching that thing. TOMMY The hell you aren't. Anyone of us does it, you'll puss out and narc for sure. LENNY Ain't gonna work this time, buddy. Look how small that fuse is! I'll get killed. EVAN Not necessarily. All eyes turn to Evan as he takes his lit cigarette, breaks off the filter and jams the fuse into the unlit end. EVAN That should buy you ten minutes at least. LENNY Gee, thanks friend. EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - CONTINUOUS Lenny paces back and forth next to the three-story mailbox, desperately trying to appear nonchalant. He pretends to notice his shoe's untied and bends down to tie it. From the woods, the other kids watch anxiously. TOMMY Oh, for Christ's sake, just do it, Lenny. Finally, Lenny throws the bomb in the mailbox. Then sprints like hell to the woods. Kayleigh shakes Lenny's inhaler and hands it to him when he gets back. LENNY (taking puff) Thanks. Evan pats Lenny on the back. EVAN You got balls, man. The four watch the mailbox in intense anticipation. Evan smiles with the cigarette pressed tightly between his lips and places his hands over Kayleigh's ears. She smiles back at him and presses his hands against her head. Tommy catches this and seems disturbed, and quickly turns back to -- The mailbox. Tick-tock... tick-tock... It's like a staring contest... SMASH CUT TO: EXT. HALPERNS' FOREST - DAY Evan, running full speed, comes to in an unfamiliar place. He instantly loses his footing and falls to the ground. Lenny, falling on top of him. TOMMY Hurry! Let's go! Get him up, Evan! Come on! EVAN (frantic) What happened?? Where are we?! Evan gets up and starts running, then realizes he's not being followed. Kayleigh and Tommy are helping Lenny up and carrying him. Evan realizes that Lenny's completely dazed. Evan doubles back, grabs Lenny's arm and he and Tommy drag Lenny through the woods as fast as they can. KAYLEIGH (crying) Oh God... what did we do? EVAN Shit, Lenny. What's happened to you! We've gotta get help! SMASH CUT TO: EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY Andrea's car screeches to the curb of Lenny's house. Lenny's mother, Mrs. Kagan, frantically loads Lenny into an ambulance. As Andrea rushes up to the ambulance, Mrs. Kagan gives her an icy glare and slams the ambulance door in Andrea's face. Andrea turns to Evan, now trembling on the front stoop. ANDREA What is it? What happened? TOMMY (staring menacingly at the others) We were just building a fort in the woods when Lenny freaked out. One minute he was fine, then he just froze up. Right guys? ANDREA What happened, Evan? The truth. EVAN I don't know... I don't remember. ANDREA Something must've happened! What set him off? EVAN I... I blacked out. ANDREA (building frustration) Don't try to use your blackouts to get out of this one! Evan looks helpless. ANDREA You're not making this up, are you? Evan shakes his head "no". Almost ashamed... DISSOLVE TO: INT. DR. REDFIELD'S OFFCIE - DAY Evan lies on a couch. DR. REDFIELD With every breath you exhale, you can feel all of the tension draining from your body like water through a faucet. Nine, ten, and you're completely asleep. Relaxed. Evan breathes slowly. Deeply. Andrea watches nervously from the far side of the room. DR. REDFIELD Now I want you to go back to the time you were in the woods with Lenny. Think of it like a movie. You can pause, rewind, or slow down any details you wish. Understand? EVAN Yes. DR. REDFIELD Where are you now? EVAN I'm standing next to Kayleigh, my hands are over her ears. DR. REDFIELD Are you hurting her? EVAN No, protecting her. Andrea suppresses the tiniest of proud smiles. DR. REDFIELD Okay. Then go a little forward in time. What do you see now? EVAN I see a car. Evan's eyes suddenly roll back in his head. DR. REDFIELD Yes, tell me about the car. Evan moans and begins shaking. DR. REDFIELD Go on. Nothing can hurt you. Remember, this is only a movie. You're completely safe. EVAN (moaning) I can't... the car vanishes and all of a sudden I'm on the ground in the woods. DR. REDFIELD The car doesn't vanish Evan. The movie in your head has broken, that's all. But now I've re-spliced it and I want you to tell me about the car. EVAN It's coming... argh! I can't! Evan moans and shakes on the couch. DR. REDFIELD Fight it Evan. Hurry. It's coming! Blood begins to trickle from Evan's nose as a guttural sound is uttered from deep within him. Dr. Redfield bolts upright in his chair and redirects the session. DR. REDFIELD Okay, Evan. Listen to my voice! On the count of ten, you're going to wake up. Feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. Evan moans in agony. Andrea darts into the room. ANDREA What's happening to him?? Make it stop! Dr. Redfield waves her away and concentrates on Evan. DR. REDFIELD One. You're feeling more awake now. Two, your eyes no longer feel heavy. Andrea moves to stop the blood flowing from Evan's nose. She lifts Evan's eyelids and sees only the whites of his eyes. DR. REDFIELD Five. Six. Refreshed and awake! Seven, eight. Come on, Evan, wake up, dammit! Evan is completely non-responsive. ANDREA Evan wake up, oh please wake up! DR. REDFIELD Nine, ten. And you're awake! Open your eyes, dammit! Nothing but moans and blood. Dr. Redfield frantically opens some desk drawers until he finds smelling salts. He breaks a small capsule under evan's mouth, pinches his bleeding nose closed and lets Evan inhale the vapor through his mouth. Evan lurches forward on the couch and falls off. Holding his bloody nose. EVAN What happened? Did it work? Evan deduces the answer from everyone's horrified faces. EXT. MULTIPLEX THEATER - PARKING LOT - DUSK Andrea drops off Evan, Kayleigh and Tommy outside the complex. Kayleigh, looking morose, shuts the car door and Andrea drives off. They walk through the parking lot. TOMMY (to Kayleigh) Wipe that sad-assed look off your face before you get us all busted. You see the way Evan's mom was looking at you? KAYLEIGH I'm sorry. EVAN Would someone just tell me already what the

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By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

forever

How many times the word 'forever' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

measure

How many times the word 'measure' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

bass

How many times the word 'bass' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

we

How many times the word 'we' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

coincidence

How many times the word 'coincidence' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

reach

How many times the word 'reach' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

returned

How many times the word 'returned' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

depressed

How many times the word 'depressed' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

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By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

beer

How many times the word 'beer' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

express

How many times the word 'express' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

course

How many times the word 'course' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

put

How many times the word 'put' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

blue

How many times the word 'blue' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

murmured

How many times the word 'murmured' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

virtuous

How many times the word 'virtuous' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

trust

How many times the word 'trust' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

notice

How many times the word 'notice' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

feet

How many times the word 'feet' appears in the text?

By a coincidence so extraordinary that his enemies might have suspected it of not being a coincidence at all, the morning on which Miss Gwilt lost her patience proved to be also the morning on which the doctor lost his confidence for the first time. "No news, of course," he said, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Well! well!" Miss Gwilt looked up at him irritably from her work. "You seem strangely depressed this morning," she said. "What are you afraid of now?" "The imputation of being afraid, madam," answered the doctor, solemnly, "is not an imputation to cast rashly on any man--even when he belongs to such an essentially peaceful profession as mine. I am not afraid. I am (as you more correctly put it in the first instance) strangely depressed. My nature is, as you know, naturally sanguine, and I only see to-day what but for my habitual hopefulness I might have seen, and ought to have seen, a week since." Miss Gwilt impatiently threw down her work. "If words cost money," she said, "the luxury of talking would be rather an expensive luxury in your case!" "Which I might have seen, and ought to have seen," reiterated the doctor, without taking the slightest notice of the interruption, "a week since. To put it plainly, I feel by no means so certain as I did that Mr. Armadale will consent, without a struggle, to the terms which it is my interest (and in a minor degree yours) to impose on him. Observe! I don't question our entrapping him successfully into the Sanitarium: I only doubt whether he will prove quite as manageable as I originally anticipated when we have got him there. Say," remarked the doctor, raising his eyes for the first time, and fixing them in steady inquiry on Miss Gwilt--"say that he is bold, obstinate, what you please; and that he holds out--holds out for weeks together, for months together, as men in similar situations to his have held out before him. What follows? The risk of keeping him forcibly in concealment--of suppressing him, if I may so express myself--increases at compound interest, and becomes Enormous! My house is at this moment virtually ready for patients. Patients may present themselves in a week's time. Patients may communicate with Mr. Armadale, or Mr. Armadale may communicate with patients. A note may be smuggled out of the house, and may reach the Commissioners in Lunacy. Even in the case of an unlicensed establishment like mine, those gentlemen--no! those chartered despots in a land of liberty--have only to apply to the Lord Chancellor for an order, and to enter (by heavens, to enter My Sanitarium!) and search the house from top to bottom at a moment's notice! I don't wish to despond; I don't wish to alarm you; I don't pretend to say that the means we are taking to secure your own safety are any other than the best means at our disposal. All I ask you to do is to imagine the Commissioners in the house--and then to conceive the consequences. The consequences!" repeated the doctor, getting sternly on his feet, and taking up his hat as if he meant to leave the room. "Have you anything more to say?" asked Miss Gwilt. "Have you any remarks," rejoined the doctor, "to offer on your side?" He stood, hat in hand, waiting. For a full minute the two looked at each other in silence. Miss Gwilt spoke first. "I think I understand you," she said, suddenly recovering her composure. "I beg your pardon," returned the doctor, with his hand to his ear. "What did you say?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "If you happened to catch another fly this morning," said Miss Gwilt, with a bitterly sarcastic emphasis on the words, "I might be capable of shocking you by another 'little joke.'" The doctor held up both hands, in polite deprecation, and looked as if he was beginning to recover his good humor again. "Hard," he murmured, gently, "not to have forgiven me that unlucky blunder of mine, even yet!" "What else have you to say? I am waiting for you," said Miss Gwilt. She turned her chair to the window scornfully, and took up her work again, as she spoke. The doctor came behind her, and put his hand on the back of her chair. "I have a question to ask, in the first place," he said; "and a measure of necessary precaution to suggest, in the second. If you will honor me with your attention, I will put the question first." "I am listening." "You know that Mr. Armadale is alive," pursued the doctor, "and you know that he is coming back to England. Why do you continue to wear your widow's dress?" She answered him without an instant's hesitation, steadily going on with her work. "Because I am of a sanguine disposition, like you. I mean to trust to the chapter of accidents to the very last. Mr. Armadale may die yet, on his way home." "And suppose he gets home alive--what then?" "Then there is another chance still left." "What is it, pray?" "He may die in your Sanitarium." "Madam!" remonstrated the doctor, in the deep bass which he reserved for his outbursts of virtuous indignation. "Wait! you spoke of the chapter of accidents," he resumed, gliding back into his softer conversational tones. "Yes! yes! of course. I understand you this time. Even the healing art is at the mercy of accidents; even such a Sanitarium as mine is liable to be surprised by Death. Just so! just so!" said the doctor, conceding the question with the utmost impartiality. "There _is_ the chapter of accidents, I admit--if you choose to trust to it. Mind! I say emphatically, _if_ you choose to trust to it." There was another moment of silence--silence so profound that nothing was audible in the room but the rapid _click_ of Miss Gwilt's needle through her work. "Go on," she said; "you haven't done yet." "True!" said the doctor. "Having put my question, I have my measure of precaution to impress on you next. You will see, my dear madam, that I am not disposed to trust to the chapter of accidents on my side. Reflection has convinced me that you and I are not (logically speaking) so conveniently situated as we might be in case of emergency. Cabs are, as yet, rare in this rapidly improving neighborhood. I am twenty minutes' walk from you; you are twenty minutes' walk from me. I know nothing of Mr. Armadale's character; you know it well. It might be necessary--vitally necessary--to appeal to your superior knowledge of him at a moment's notice. And how am I to do that unless we are within easy reach of each other, under the same roof? In both our interests, I beg to invite you, my dear madam, to become for a limited period an inmate of My Sanitarium." Miss Gwilt's rapid needle suddenly stopped. "I understand you," she said again, as quietly as before. "I beg your pardon," said the doctor, with another attack of deafness, and with his hand once more at his ear. She laughed to herself--a low, terrible laugh, which startled even the doctor into taking his hand off the back of her chair. "An inmate of your Sanitarium?" she repeated. "You consult appearances in everything else; do you propose to consult appearances in receiving me into your house?" "Most assuredly!" replied the doctor, with enthusiasm. "I am surprised at your asking me the question! Did you ever know a man of any eminence in my profession who set appearances at defiance? If you honor me by accepting my invitation, you enter My Sanitarium in the most unimpeachable of all possible characters--in the character of a Patient." "When do you want my answer?" "Can you decide to-day?" "To-morrow?" "Yes. Have you anything more to say?" "Nothing more." "Leave me, then. _I_ don't keep up appearances. I wish to be alone, and I say so. Good-morning." "Oh, the sex! the sex!" said the doctor, with his excellent temper in perfect working order again. "So delightfully impulsive! so charmingly reckless of what they say or how they say it! 'Oh, woman, in our hours of ease, uncertain, coy, and hard to please!' There! there! there! Good-morning!" Miss Gwilt rose and looked after him contemptuously from the window, when the street door had closed, and he had left the house. "Armadale himself drove me to it the first time," she said. "Manuel drove me to it the second time.--You cowardly scoundrel! shall I let _you_ drive me to it for the third time, and the last?" She turned from the window, and looked thoughtfully at her widow's dress in the glass. The hours of the day passed--and she decided nothing. The night came--and she hesitated still. The new morning dawned--and the terrible question was still unanswered. By the early post there came a letter for her. It was Mr. Bashwood's usual report. Again he had watched for Allan's arrival, and again in vain. "I'll have more time!" she determined, passionately. "No man alive shall hurry me faster than I like!" At breakfast that morning (the morning of the 9th) the doctor was surprised in his study by a visit from Miss Gwilt. "I want another day," she said, the moment the servant had closed the door on her. The doctor looked at her before he answered, and saw the danger of driving her to extremities plainly expressed in her face. "The time is getting on," he remonstrated, in his most persuasive manner. "For all we know to the contrary, Mr. Armadale may be here to-night." "I want another day!" she repeated, loudly and passionately. "Granted!" said the doctor, looking nervously toward the door. "Don't be too loud--the servants may hear you. Mind!" he added, "I depend on your honor not to press me for any further delay." "You had better depend on my despair," she said, and left him. The doctor chipped the shell of his egg, and laughed softly. "Quite right, my dear!" he thought. "I remember where your despair led you in past times; and I think I may trust it to lead you the same way now." At a quarter to eight o'clock that night Mr. Bashwood took up his post of observation, as usual, on the platform of the terminus at London Bridge. He was in the highest good spirits; he smiled and smirked in irrepressible exultation. The sense that he held in reserve a means of influence over Miss Gwilt, in virtue of his knowledge of her past career, had had no share in effecting the transformation that now appeared in him. It had upheld his courage in his forlorn life at Thorpe Ambrose, and it had given him that increased confidence of manner which Miss Gwilt herself had noticed; but, from the moment when he had regained his old place in her favor, it had vanished as a motive power in him, annihilated by the electric shock of her touch and her look. His vanity--the vanity which in men at his age is only despair in disguise--had now lifted him to the seventh heaven of fatuous happiness once more. He believed in her again as he believed in the smart new winter overcoat that he wore--as he believed in the dainty little cane (appropriate to the dawning dandyism of lads in their teens) that he flourished in his hand. He hummed! The worn-out old creature, who had not sung since his childhood, hummed, as he paced the platform, the few fragments he could remember of a worn-out old song. The train was due as early as eight o'clock that night. At five minutes past the hour the whistle sounded. In less than five minutes more the passengers were getting out on the platform. Following the instructions that had been given to him, Mr. Bashwood made his way, as well as the crowd would let him, along the line of carriages, and, discovering no familiar face on that first investigation, joined the passengers for a second search among them in the custom-house waiting-room next. He had looked round the room, and had satisfied himself that the persons occupying it were all strangers, when he heard a voice behind him, exclaiming: "Can that be Mr. Bashwood!" He turned in eager expectation, and found himself face to face with the last man under heaven whom he had expected to see. The man was MIDWINTER. II. IN THE HOUSE. Noticing Mr. Bashwood's confusion (after a moment's glance at the change in his personal appearance), Midwinter spoke first. "I see I have surprised you," he said. "You are looking, I suppose, for somebody else? Have you heard from Allan? Is he on his way home again already?" The inquiry about Allan, though it would naturally have suggested itself to any one in Midwinter's position at that moment, added to Mr. Bashwood's confusion. Not knowing how else to extricate himself from the critical position in which he was placed, he took refuge in simple denial. "I know nothing about Mr. Armadale--oh dear, no, sir, I know nothing about Mr. Armadale," he answered, with needless eagerness and hurry. "Welcome back to England, sir," he went on, changing the subject in his nervously talkative manner. "I didn't know you had been abroad. It's so long since we have had the pleasure--since I have had the pleasure. Have you enjoyed yourself, sir, in foreign parts? Such different manners from ours--yes, yes, yes--such different manners from ours! Do you make a long stay in England, now you have come back?" "I hardly know," said Midwinter. "I have been obliged to alter my plans, and to come to England unexpectedly." He hesitated a little; his manner changed, and he added, in lower tones: "A serious anxiety has brought me back. I can't say what my plans will be until that anxiety is set at rest." The light of a lamp fell on his face while he spoke, and Mr. Bashwood observed, for the first time, that he looked sadly worn and changed. "I'm sorry, sir--I'm sure I'm very sorry. If I could be of any use--" suggested Mr. Bashwood, speaking under the influence in some degree of his nervous politeness, and in some degree of his remembrance of what Midwinter had done for him at Thorpe Ambrose in the by-gone time. Midwinter thanked him and turned away sadly. "I am afraid you can be of no use, Mr. Bashwood--but I am obliged to you for your offer, all the same." He stopped, and considered a little, "Suppose she should _not_ be ill? Suppose some misfortune should have happened?" he resumed, speaking to himself, and turning again toward the steward. "If she has left her mother, some trace of her _might_ be found by inquiring at Thorpe Ambrose." Mr. Bashwood's curiosity was instantly aroused. The whole sex was interesting to him now, for the sake of Miss Gwilt. "A lady, sir?" he inquired. "Are you looking for a lady?" "I am looking," said Midwinter, simply, "for my wife." "Married, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Bashwood. "Married since I last had the pleasure of seeing you! Might I take the liberty of asking--?" Midwinter's eyes dropped uneasily to the ground. "You knew the lady in former times," he said. "I have married Miss Gwilt." The steward started back as he might have started back from a loaded pistol leveled at his head. His eyes glared as if he had suddenly lost his senses, and the nervous trembling to which he was subject shook him from head to foot. "What's the matter?" said Midwinter. There was no answer. "What is there so very startling," he went on, a little impatiently, "in Miss Gwilt's being my wife?" "_Your_ wife?" repeated Mr. Bashwood, helplessly. "Mrs. Armadale--!" He checked himself by a desperate effort, and said no more. The stupor of astonishment which possessed the steward was instantly reflected in Midwinter's face. The name in which he had secretly married his wife had passed the lips of the last man in the world whom he would have dreamed of admitting into his confidence! He took Mr. Bashwood by the arm, and led him away to a quieter part of the terminus than the part of it in which they had hitherto spoken to each other. "You referred to my wife just now," he said; "and you spoke of _Mrs. Armadale_ in the same breath. What do you mean by that?" Again there was no answer. Utterly incapable of understanding more than that he had involved himself in some serious complication which was a complete mystery to him, Mr. Bashwood struggled to extricate himself from the grasp that was laid on him, and struggled in vain. Midwinter sternly repeated the question. "I ask you again," he said, "what do you mean by it?" "Nothing, sir! I give you my word of honor, I meant nothing!" He felt the hand on his arm tightening its grasp; he saw, even in the obscurity of the remote corner in which they stood, that Midwinter's fiery temper was rising, and was not to be trifled with. The extremity of his danger inspired him with the one ready capacity that a timid man possesses when he is compelled by main force to face an emergency--the capacity to lie. "I only meant to say, sir," he burst out, with a desperate effort to look and speak confidently, "that Mr. Armadale would be surprised--" "You said _Mrs._ Armadale!" "No, sir--on my word of honor, on my sacred word of honor, you are mistaken--you are, indeed! I said _Mr._ Armadale--how could I say anything else? Please to let me go, sir--I'm pressed for time. I do assure you I'm dreadfully pressed for time!" For a moment longer Midwinter maintained his hold, and in that moment he decided what to do. He had accurately stated his motive for returning to England as proceeding from anxiety about his wife--anxiety naturally caused (after the regular receipt of a letter from her every other, or every third day) by the sudden cessation of the correspondence between them on her side for a whole week. The first vaguely terrible suspicion of some other reason for her silence than the reason of accident or of illness, to which he had hitherto attributed it, had struck through him like a sudden chill the instant he heard the steward associate the name of "Mrs. Armadale" with the idea of his wife. Little irregularities in her correspondence with him, which he had thus far only thought strange, now came back on his mind, and proclaimed themselves to be suspicions as well. He had hitherto believed the reasons she had given for referring him, when he answered her letters, to no more definite address than an address at a post-office. _Now_ he suspected her reasons of being excuses, for the first time. He had hitherto resolved, on reaching London, to inquire at the only place he knew of at which a clew to her could be found--the address she had given him as the address at which "her mother" lived. _Now_ (with a motive which he was afraid to define even to himself, but which was strong enough to overbear every other consideration in his mind) he determined, before all things, to solve the mystery of Mr. Bashwood's familiarity with a secret, which was a marriage secret between himself and his wife. Any direct appeal to a man of the steward's disposition, in the steward's present state of mind, would be evidently useless. The weapon of deception was, in this case, a weapon literally forced into Midwinter's hands. He let go of Mr. Bashwood's arm, and accepted Mr. Bashwood's explanation. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I have no doubt you are right. Pray attribute my rudeness to over-anxiety and over-fatigue. I wish you good-evening." The station was by this time almost a solitude, the passengers by the train being assembled at the examination of their luggage in the custom-house waiting-room. It was no easy matter, ostensibly to take leave of Mr. Bashwood, and really to keep him in view. But Midwinter's early life with the gypsy master had been of a nature to practice him in such stratagems as he was now compelled to adopt. He walked away toward the waiting-room by the line of empty carriages; opened the door of one of them, as if to look after something that he had left behind, and detected Mr. Bashwood making for the cab-rank on the opposite side of the platform. In an instant Midwinter had crossed, and had passed through the long row of vehicles, so as to skirt it on the side furthest from the platform. He entered the second cab by the left-hand door the moment after Mr. Bashwood had entered the first cab by the right-hand door. "Double your fare, whatever it is," he said to the driver, "if you keep the cab before you in view, and follow it wherever it goes." In a minute more both vehicles were on their way out of the station. The clerk sat in the sentry-box at the gate, taking down the destinations of the cabs as they passed. Midwinter heard the man who was driving him call out "Hampstead!" as he went by the clerk's window. "Why did you say 'Hampstead'?" he asked, when they had left the station. "Because the man before me said 'Hampstead,' sir," answered the driver. Over and over again, on the wearisome journey to the northwestern suburb, Midwinter asked if the cab was still in sight. Over and over again, the man answered, "Right in front of us." It was between nine and ten o'clock when the driver pulled up his horse at last. Midwinter got out, and saw the cab before them waiting at a house door. As soon as he had satisfied himself that the driver was the man whom Mr. Bashwood had hired, he paid the promised reward, and dismissed his own cab. He took a turn backward and forward before the door. The vaguely terrible suspicion which had risen in his mind at the terminus had forced itself by this time into a definite form which was abhorrent to him. Without the shadow of an assignable reason for it, he found himself blindly distrusting his wife's fidelity, and blindly suspecting Mr. Bashwood of serving her in the capacity of go-between. In sheer horror of his own morbid fancy, he determined to take down the number of the house, and the name of the street in which it stood; and then, in justice to his wife, to return at once to the address which she had given him as the address at which her mother lived. He had taken out his pocket-book, and was on his way to the corner of the street, when he observed the man who had driven Mr. Bashwood looking at him with an expression of inquisitive surprise. The idea of questioning the cab-driver, while he had the opportunity, instantly occurred to him. He took a half-crown from his pocket and put it into the man's ready hand. "Has the gentleman whom you drove from the station gone into that house?" he asked. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear him inquire for anybody when the door was opened?" "He asked for a lady, sir. Mrs.--" The man hesitated. "It wasn't a common name, sir; I should know it again if I heard it." "Was it 'Midwinter'?" "No, sir. "Armadale?" "That's it, sir. Mrs. Armadale." "Are you sure it was 'Mrs.' and not 'Mr.'?" "I'm as sure as a man can be who hasn't taken any particular notice, sir." The doubt implied in that last answer decided Midwinter to investigate the matter on the spot. He ascended the house steps. As he raised his hand to the bell at the side of the door, the violence of his agitation mastered him physically for the moment. A strange sensation, as of something leaping up from his heart to his brain, turned his head wildly giddy. He held by the house railings and kept his face to the air, and resolutely waited till he was steady again. Then he rang the bell. "Is?"--he tried to ask for "Mrs. Armadale," when the maid-servant had opened the door, but not even his resolution could force the name to pass his lips--"is your mistress at home?" he asked. "Yes, sir." The girl showed him into a back parlor, and presented him to a little old lady, with an obliging manner and a bright pair of eyes. "There is some mistake," said Midwinter. "I wished to see--" Once more he tried to utter the name, and once more he failed to force it to his lips. "Mrs. Armadale?" suggested the little old lady, with a smile. "Yes." "Show the gentleman upstairs, Jenny." The girl led the way to the drawing-room floor. "Any name, sir?" "No name." Mr. Bashwood had barely completed his report of what had happened at the terminus; Mr. Bashwood's imperious mistress was still sitting speechless under the shock of the discovery that had burst on her--when the door of the room opened; and, without a word of warning to proceed him, Midwinter appeared on the threshold. He took one step into the room, and mechanically pushed the door to behind him. He stood in dead silence, and confronted his wife, with a scrutiny that was terrible in its unnatural self-possession, and that enveloped her steadily in one comprehensive look from head to foot. In dead silence on her side, she rose from her chair. In dead silence she stood erect on the hearth-rug, and faced her husband in widow's weeds. He took one step nearer to her, and stopped again. He lifted his hand, and pointed with his lean brown finger at her dress. "What does that mean?" he asked, without losing his terrible self-possession, and without moving his outstretched hand. At the sound of his voice, the quick rise and fall of her bosom--which had been the one outward betrayal thus far of the inner agony that tortured her--suddenly stopped. She stood impenetrably silent, breathlessly still--as if his question had struck her dead, and his pointing hand had petrified her. He advanced one step nearer, and reiterated his words in a voice even lower and quieter than the voice in which he had spoken first. One moment more of silence, one moment more of inaction, might have been the salvation of her. But the fatal force of her character triumphed at the crisis of her destiny, and his. White and still, and haggard and old, she met the dreadful emergency with a dreadful courage, and spoke the irrevocable words which renounced him to his face. "Mr. Midwinter," she said, in tones unnaturally hard and unnaturally clear, "our acquaintance hardly entitles you to speak to me in that manner." Those were her words. She never lifted her eyes from the ground while she spoke them. When she had done, the last faint vestige of color in her cheeks faded out. There was a pause. Still steadily looking at her, he set himself to fix the language she had used to him in his mind. "She calls me 'Mr. Midwinter,'" he said, slowly, in a whisper. "She speaks of 'our acquaintance.'" He waited a little and looked round the room. His wandering eyes encountered Mr. Bashwood for the first time. He saw the steward standing near the fireplace, trembling, and watching him. "I once did you a service," he said; "and you once told me you were not an ungrateful man. Are you grateful enough to answer me if I ask you something?" He waited a little again. Mr. Bashwood still stood trembling at the fireplace, silently watching him. "I see you looking at me," he went on. "Is there some change in me that I am not conscious of myself? Am I seeing things that you don't see? Am I hearing words that you don't hear? Am I looking or speaking like a man out of his senses?" Again he waited, and again the silence was unbroken. His eyes began to glitter; and the savage blood that he had inherited from his mother rose dark and slow in his ashy cheeks. "Is that woman," he asked, "the woman whom you once knew, whose name was Miss Gwilt?" Once more his wife collected her fatal courage. Once more his wife spoke her fatal words. "You compel me to repeat," she said, "that you are presuming on our acquaintance, and that you are forgetting what is due to me." He turned upon her, with a savage suddenness which forced a cry of alarm from Mr. Bashwood's lips. "Are you, or are you not, My Wife?" he asked, through his set teeth. She raised her eyes to his for the first time. Her lost spirit looked at him, steadily defiant, out of the hell of its own despair. "I am _not_ your wife," she said. He staggered back, with his hands groping for something to hold by, like the hands of a man in the dark. He leaned heavily against the wall of the room, and looked at the woman who had slept on his bosom, and who had denied him to his face. Mr. Bashwood stole panic-stricken to her side. "Go in there!" he whispered, trying to draw her toward the folding-doors which led into the next room. "For God's sake, be quick! He'll kill you!" She put the old man back with her hand. She looked at him with a sudden irradiation of her blank face. She answered him with lips that struggled slowly into a frightful smile. "_Let_ him kill me," she said. As the words passed her lips, he sprang forward from the wall, with a cry that rang through the house. The frenzy of a maddened man flashed at her from

die

How many times the word 'die' appears in the text?