33
INT. JASPER’S BEDROOM. NIGHT
JASPER
lies in bed. DANIEL stands by the door, his hand on the light switch. JASPER
holds her arms out, beckoning.
JASPER
Kiss!
DANIEL moves to Jasper’s bed, leans in to kiss
her on the cheek. JASPER smiles, wraps her arms around DANIEL’S neck, tries to
pull him close. DANIEL resists, tickles JASPER till she releases him in a gale
of laughter. DANIEL pouts his lips, kisses JASPER on the lips.
JASPER
Not a fish kiss.
DANIEL pouts his lips even more – pretends to
be a fish – kisses her again. JASPER laughs.
34 INT. DANIEL AND HELEN’S BEDROOM.NIGHT
HELEN sits on the edge of the double bed. She
is sad. In her hands a leaflet: IN
REQUIEM written above a photo of a woman in her 60s. Underneath, the date of her birth and death.
DANIEL stands in the doorway looking at her.
HELEN does not notice him. After a long moment he walks forward, puts his hand
affectionately on her shoulder. She does not want to be touched. DANIEL understands.
35
INT. JASPER’S ROOM.NIGHT
JASPER
holds her hands in prayer under her chin.
JASPER
Please take good
care of grandma in heaven and tell her I miss her heaps and…well, if it’s not
too much to ask, a baby brother would be…awesome…
36 INT. DANIEL AND HELEN’S BEDROOM.NIGHT
DANIEL lie apart in the dark. HELEN stares at
the ceiling. DANIEL, lying on his side, reaches out, strokes her hair. She does
not respond to his touch but, after a long moment, turns to look at DANIEL –
her eyes glistening with tears.
DANIEL
Hey…!
HELEN brushes the tears from her eyes
dismissively, gestures with her hands: “I don’t want to talk about it.” DANIEL
nods, rolls onto his back, stares at the ceiling. HELEN turns her head and
looks at the framed photo beside the bed:
Helen, aged around 12, laughing
happily along with her mother.
37
INT. JASPER’S BEDROOM. NIGHT
JASPER
reads an illustrated bible book – the double page spread in front of her: SODOM
AND GOMORRAGH.
38 INT. DANIEL AND HELEN’S BEDROOM.NIGHT
DANIEL stares at the ceiling, caught up in
some inner turmoil. HELEN lies beside him, eyes closed. DANIEL slips out of
bed, careful not to wake HELEN.
HELEN opens her eyes, watches:
DANIEL dressing. When he finishes he turns,
sees HELEN looking at him. She shakes her head, smiles, holds her arms out to
him beckoning him to come back to bed.
DANIEL
I won’t be long.
HELEN nods, withdraws her arms.
39
INT. JASPER’S BEDROOM. NIGHT
JASPER,
asleep, wakes as she hears a door close. She gets out of bed, walks to the
window, stands in the dark, watching:
DANIEL
push his Harley down the street, kick start it.
40
DANIEL AND HELEN’S BEDROOM. NIGHT
HELEN
lies under a sheet, staring at the ceiling; caught up in her own inner turmoil.
The sound of Daniel’s Harley receding into the distance can be heard.
JASPER (voice off)
Mum?
HELEN
smiles, nods, flips back the sheet. JASPER walks up, crawls into bed, rests her
head on HELEN’S breast.
JASPER
I can hear your heart going boom boom,
boom…really fast.
HELEN
strokes JASPER’S hair affectionately.
41 EXT. KING’S CROSS. NIGHT
DANIEL
drives past night clubs, strip joints and hookers in Sydney’s ‘red light’
district.
42 EXT. KING’S CROSS BACK STREET. NIGHT
DANIEL drives past a mobile ‘soup kitchen’
from which food is being dispensed to HOMELESS PEOPLE. He waves. Some wave
back.
43
DANIEL AND HELEN’S BEDROOM. NIGHT
JASPER
lies with her head on HELEN’S breast.
JASPER
Mum?
HELEN
Mmmm?
JASPER
Did I do something
to hurt dad’s feelings?
HELEN
What makes you think that?
JASPER
shrugs, hugs HELEN tight. HELEN strokes JASPER’S hair.
44 EXT.BACK STREET. WOOLLOOMOOLOO. NIGHT
DANIEL drives slowly, looking for someone. Up
ahead he sees GRANT, shuffling along the
footpath pushing a supermarket trolley filled with his worldly
possessions.
DANIEL stops, gets off his motor bike, grabs
the camera slung around his neck, slinks across the road – stalking GRANT,
camera at the ready, looking for a good angle. As he prepares to take a photo a
police car drives by, siren blaring. GRANT turns to look at the police car.
Click. DANIEL has captured the moment.
GRANT sees DANIEL, recognizes him, waves. DANIEL smiles, raises his hand in
greeting.
45 EXT. GRANT’S ’HOME’. NIGHT
DANIEL sits with GRANT – his hair matted,
unwashed, his clothes dirty, on a section of pavement that is Grant’s ‘home’.
DANIEL hands GRANT a post card photo of:
Grant, eyes blazing in his ragged face, looking at the camera
animatedly in a moment of intense intimacy. Across the photo are the words
GRACE OF GOD and, in smaller print, INVITATION.
GRANT looks at the photo, hands it back to
DANIEL.
GRANT
I prefer my memories.
DANIEL nods.
46
ANZAC BRIDGE. LATE AFTERNOON
HONEY
looks excitedly through the windscreen as she drives over the Anzac Bridge,
approaching downtown Sydney. JOHN is asleep in the passenger seat, snoring.
HONEY nudges him.
HONEY
Wake up y’old codger!
JOHN
wakes, looks out the window.
JOHN (smiles)
Well here we be!
Good on ya, Katie. You’re a good girl.
HONEY
And you’re a bad man.
JOHN smiles.
47 EXT. OPERA HOUSE. SUNSET.
HONEY, backpack at her side, sits cross-legged
on the ground, her journal open in front of her. She has stuck a post-card of
the Opera House in it and is making a diary entry alongside it. She looks up at
JOHN, some distance away, talking animatedly and angrily on his mobile. He
hangs up; walks up.
JOHN
Been a bit of a setback…nothing to worry
about…
JOHN is not a convincing liar.
JOHN
…but it’s going
to be a few days before that job materializes. In the meantime…
HONEY shakes her head, holds up her hands: ‘No
way”
48
EXT. KINGS CROSS. NIGHT
HONEY,
her small backpack slung over her shoulder, stands at the side of the road in
Kings Cross, close to THREE PROSTITUTES. JOHN stands on the other side of the
road keeping an eye on her. HONEY looks miserable.
49 INT. DANIEL’S STUDIO ‘LOFT’. NIGHT
DANIEL, an unlit cigarette in his mouth, lies
on the futon in the ‘loft’ staring into space.
This ‘loft’, Daniel’s ‘cubby house’, has in it family
photos of his boy and teenage selves, objects collected during travels that
have sentimental value, childhood teddy bear etc.
DANIEL snaps out of his reverie, sits up,
looks down through the Indian curtains to the selection of framed photos
resting up against a wall.
50 INT. ‘GRANNY FLAT’. DANIEL AND HELEN’S
HOUSE. NIGHT
HELEN, her cheeks streaked with tears, sits on
the bed in a room in which the presence of her mother is all too evident.
Nothing in the room has changed since Helen’s mother died.
There are several vases filled with dead and
wilting flowers. HELEN stands, takes a bunch of dead flowers from a vase, holds
them for a moment as tears well. She wills herself not to cry, puts the dead
flowers back in the vase.
JASPER (voice off)
Mum.
HELEN turns. JASPER, in her nightdress, is
standing in the doorway. HELEN wipes the tears from her eyes.
HELEN
Can’t sleep?
JASPER shakes her head, walks up wraps her
arms around HELEN.
51
EXT. KINGS CROSS. NIGHT
HONEY
stands at the side of the road. A car pulls up. She walks up to the passenger
window, leans in, talks for a moment to the (unseen) driver. HONEY looks across
the road at JOHN watching her. She gets into the car. It drives off.
52 INT. DANIEL’S STUDIO. NIGHT
DANIEL
looks closely at one photo:
A
portrait of Grant.
On an
impulse DANIEL walks fast to the desk on which his computer rests, picks up the
keys to his motor bike, tossing the unlit cigarette into a waste paper bin as
he does so.
53
EXT. DANIEL’S STUDIO. PARKING LOT. NIGHT
Daniel
puts on his helmet, kick starts his Harley.
54
INT. BACK STREET. NIGHT
HONEY sits in the passenger seat, looking
nervously at a YOUNG MAN in the driver’s seat. He is as nervous as she is.
YOUNG MAN
You’ll think I’m totally weird.
HONEY
I don’t do…weird stuff…
YOUNG MAN
It’s not that…
Tears well in his eyes.
YOUNG MAN
I’m just…so lonely.
HONEY reaches out, takes his hand.
The YOUNG MAN starts to cry. So does HONEY.
They look at each other crying and can’t help but laugh.
YOUNG MAN
Told you I was weird.
HONEY
Hey, join the club.
YOUNG MAN
You wanna drink?
HONEY nods. The YOUNG MAN reaches into the
back seat and produces a cask of wine.
55
INT. GRANNY FLAT. NIGHT
HELEN
and JASPER are snuggled up together in bed.
JASPER
Why doesn’t dad want to cuddle me anymore.
HELEN
Because you’re a
young woman now.
JASPER
But I haven’t even
got any boobs yet.
HELEN (laughs)
You don’t need
boobs to be a woman.
JASPER
Why’s it OK to
cuddle you but not dad?
HELEN
When you’re older
you’ll understand.
JASPER
When I’m a woman?
HELEN laughs, holds JASPER tight.
56
INT. SUPERMARKET. NIGHT
DANIEL
fills a trolley with foodstuffs.
57 INT. CAR. KINGS CROSS. NIGHT
HONEY, quite drunk, the cask of wine resting
in her lap, indicates to the YOUNG MAN, driving, to drop her close to JOHN,
standing on the pavement ahead. The YOUNG MAN slows.
HONEY
No, keep driving…
HONEY, plastic cup in hand, slinks low in the
seat as they drive past JOHN, a look of panic in her eyes. The YOUNG MAN looks
at her with a mixture of tenderness and confusion.
58 EXT. GRANT’S ’HOME’. NIGHT
DANIEL walks from his motor bike to Grant’s
‘home’, his arms laden with supermarket plastic bags filled with groceries.
GRANT lifts his arm in greeting, smiles.
59 EXT. KINGS CROSS BACK STREET. NIGHT
HONEY sits in the gutter drinking wine from a
plastic cup, the wine cask on the pavement beside her. She wipes tears
dismissively from her eyes, opens her backpack, extracts John’s knife, stares
at it, takes another big slug of wine.
60 INT. GRANNY FLAT. NIGHT
JASPER is asleep on HELEN’S breast. The
fingers of one of JASPER’S hands are intertwined with HELEN’S.
61 EXT. GRANT’S ’HOME’. NIGHT
GRANT takes a packet of cigarettes from a new
carton, opens it. In front of him: the food and other groceries Daniel has
bought him. GRANT smiles, nods his head in thanks, pats DANIEL’S shoulder.
62 EXT. BUILDING SITE. NIGHT
HONEY carrying the wine cask, scales a wire
mesh fence, walks to stairs of the building under construction.
63 EXT. BUILDING SITE. 10th FLOOR.
NIGHT
HONEY arrives at the 10th floor, walks to
within a few feet of the edge. There is no wall. She moves closer to the edge.
64 EXT. GRANT’S ’HOME’. NIGHT
Seen through the lens of Daniel’s camera:
GRANT holds a freshly opened packed of
cigarettes out to DANIEL - who takes a photo. Click. A fire engine drives by,
siren wailing, lights flashing. DANIEL refuses a cigarette with a shake of his
head, lowers the camera.
DANIEL
Trying to resist temptation.
65 EXT. BUILDING SITE. 10TH FLOOR. NIGHT
HONEY stands at the edge of the building,
looking down. A police car pulls up. She upends the cask of wine, opens the
spigot, drinks from it, picks up the knife, runs the tip of its blade across
her heavily scarred arm.
Close to the edge, knife in hand, HONEY looks
down to where two police cars are parked, lights flashing.
66 INT. GRANNY FLAT. NIGHT
HELEN stares into space – sadness in her eyes.
67 EXT. GRANT’S ’HOME’. NIGHT
GRANT reaches for Daniel’s camera.
DANIEL
What?
GRANT
Want to get a
photo of you trying to resist temptation.
DANIEL laughs hands GRANT his camera.
GRANT
I’ve just got to press this button, right?
DANIEL nods, looks into the lens. He waits and
waits.
DANIEL
What are you waiting for?
GRANT
For you to look
like you’re resisting temptation.
DANIEL laughs. Click. A happy snap!
GRANT
You a happy man, Daniel?
DANIEL smiles, shrugs, looks at GRANT – whose
eyes are focused on his. DANIEL is unnerved by the intensity of his stare. The
fire engine heard earlier has pulled up out of sight but it’s flashing lights
reflect in the windows of a building at the end of the street. DANIEL grabs his
camera from GRANT, stands.
68 EXT. 10TH FLOOR/STREET. NIGHT
Standing
precariously close to the edge, more than a little drunk, HONEY’S attention is
focused on the flashing red light of the fire engine. DANIEL runs into the
frame.
The rest of
this sequence is split between what takes place on 10th floor and
what DANIEL sees through his lens and records in a succession of photos.
HONEY looks
from the fire engine lights to the Goblin (unseen) on her shoulder. She tries
to brush, flick it away. There is a ‘mad’ look in her eyes. She does not notice
young CONSTABLE DAVID (early 20s)who has joined her on the 10th
floor.
POLICEMAN (voice off)
Hey…
HONEY swings
around, stares at the POLICEMAN. Her balance at the edge is precarious.
POLICEMAN (kindly)
I’m David. And you?
HONEY
ignores the question.
DANIEL, in
the street looks up, takes photos as DAVID moves closer to HONEY. DAVID speaks
but we do not hear what he says.
CONSTABLE
DAVID takes a step forwards. HONEY edges back, perilously close to the edge,
moving the tip of the knife to a point midway between her breasts. CONSTABLE
DAVID stops, holds his arms up to indicate that he will move no closer.
HONEY looks
down, sees:
Crowd in the
street, including DANIEL, looking up. HONEY’S balance is precarious.
CONSTABLE
DAVID
You know if you
stab yourself right there you’ll hit your sternum and it’ll hurt like hell but
you won’t get your heart.
HONEY shifts
the tip of the knife.
CONSTABLE
DAVID
A bit more to the
left and make sure you find a gap between the ribs…
HONEY stares
at him. This is not the script she had in mind.
HONEY
Aren’t you…like…supposed
to…talk me out of killing myself.
CONSTABLE
DAVID
Nah, I just want
to make sure you do it properly and don’t make too much of a mess. Coz you know
who has to clean it up!?
HONEY drops
the hand with the knife in it to her side.
HONEY
But…
CONSTABLE
DAVID
Life sucks and then you die, ay?
HONEY thinks
for a moment, looks directly at CONSTABLE DAVID.
HONEY
I want more than that.
CONSTABLE
DAVID
Join the club.
HONEY
Is there a joining fee?
DAVID
smiles, steps forward, reaches out and takes the knife from her hand. HONEY falls into his arms, holds him
tight.
69 EXT. STREET OUTSIDE BUILDING SITE. NIGHT
As CONSTABLE
DAVID leads HONEY out into the street a SECOND POLICEMAN joins him – a pair of
handcuffs in his hands. HONEY sees the handcuffs.
HONEY (screams)
No
DAVID
gestures to the SECOND POLICEMAN to back off, put the hand-cuffs away, but it
is too late – HONEY bolts down the street, straight towards where DANIEL stands
taking photos. The SECOND POLICEMAN catches HONEY quickly and roughly. HONEY
puts up a fight, screams like a banchee.
HONEY
Let me go…fucking arsehole…
HONEY
screams as she kicks and scratches the SECOND POLICEMAN. CONSTABLE DAVID steps
between them, pushing the SECOND POLICEMAN away. DANIEL keeps taking photos.
HONEY holds
her arms out towards DANIEL: a plea for help. DANIEL takes a photo. Click.
...to be continued...
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