60 INT/EXT. MILES' HOME. DAY
MRS. MILES lies in bed
looking quite distressed; her pale face streaked with tears. Through the window MR. MILES car can be seen
pulling up on the gravel driveway. As
BEA and her father get out, CONNIE rushes up to tell her father that MRS. MILES
is not well. MR. MILES rushes into the
house immediately, leaving CONNIE to berate Bea in no uncertain terms. BEA does
not respond at all. As MR. MILES comes
into the bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed next to his wife, she begins
to cry again. He takes her hand. In the background CONNIE can be seen (and
heard) shouting at BEA as they make their way into the house.
MR. MILES Come
on...come on...it’s not that bad.
MRS. MILES Yes it
is. Look.
MRS. MILES indicates the
newspaper on the bedside table. MR. MILES picks it up, his attention caught
first of all, by the photo of BEA in her clinging white and quite revealing
bathing costume, hands on hips, smiling provocatively. As he begins to read the article BEA comes
into the room and starts to move towards her mother.
BEA (upset) Mum...
MRS MILES Please...no
more apologies.
BEA stops; distressed.
MR MILES (angry) Jesus
Christ Bea, I would have thought you’d have had more sense than to talk to a
journalist...
MRS MILES (near hysteria)
More sense! MORE SENSE!!! She’s ruining her life and all you can say...
MR. MILES cuts across his
wife; becoming increasingly angry.
MR MILES Mother!...
MOTHER!!! Keep out of it...
MRS. MILES She makes a
laughing stock of the whole family...I've kept out of it too long.
MR.MILES Be quiet.
MRS. MILES None of this
would have happened if you hadn't encouraged....
MR.MILES loses his temper
MR.MILES You will not talk to me this way!
Quite out of control for a
moment, MR. MILES tears the newspaper up. MRS.MILES starts to cry again. MR.MILES regains his composure quickly, looks
at BEA, realizes that he has revealed an aspect of his character he would have
preferred to keep secret. Indicating his hysterical wife:
MR MILES (to Bea) I
hope you’re satisfied now...
With that he storms out of
the room. BEA, trembling and in tears,
stands for a moment before moving forward and sitting on the edge of her
mother’s bed. MRS.MILES turns her head
and looks at BEA.
MRS. MILES Why,
Bea? Why?
BEA (distressed) I
don’t know.
61 INT. NEWSPAPER OFFICE. NIGHT
SEVERAL JOURNALISTS are at
work at tables in the foreground. At the
far end of the office, through a glass partition, BEA and JOHNNO can be seen
talking. BEA, dressed scantily and
eccentrically, is obviously distressed.
62 EXT. COASTAL ROAD. NIGHT
BEA rides on the back of
Johnno's motor-bike, her hair blowing in the wind, her spirits picking up as
they drive fast around a corner of a coastal road overlooking the silver
moonlit ocean.
BEA (shouts) Faster! Faster!
JOHNNO smiles and opens up
the throttle.
63 EXT. BEACH COTTAGE. NIGHT
BEA and JOHNNO pull into the
Beach Cottage driveway. BEA dismounts;
in better spirits now. In the
background, MR. MILES can be seen looking through the living room window.
BEA Thanks
Johnno.
JOHNNO places his arm around
BEA’s waist and gently pulls her towards him, kissing her briefly on the
lips. BEA looks at him for a moment.
BEA See you
later.
JOHNNO If you’re
lucky.
BEA smiles, kisses JOHNNO
quickly on the cheek, turns and walks towards the house.
64 INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
MR. MILES, his face set hard,
paces up and down the room nursing a glass of whisky as Bea’s footsteps can be
heard coming through the back door. MRS. MILES and GRANDMA ELLIE are clearly
fearful of what MR. MILES might do in his anger. BEA enters the room.
BEA (cheerful) Hello everyone...
MR MILES (exploding) Where
have you been?
MRS. MILES William...
BEA is taken aback by her
father’s anger.
BEA Riding on the
back of...
MR MILES (loudly) Where
have you been?
BEA (annoyed) None
of your business.
MR. MILES, in a rage, throws
his glass of whisky at the wall. As the argument intensifies, Bea’s brothers
and sister, in their pyjamas, appear in the doorway.
MR. MILES For as long
as you live in this house it is my business.
BEA, hands on her hips, looks
defiantly at her father.
BEA Alright, I’ll
go and live somewhere else.
MR. MILES You will not.
You will learn to fit in with the routines that have been established for the
benefit of all the members of this family.
BEA Routines
established by you...
MR. MILES Yes. And for
as long as I am head of this household you will do as I say. You will not wear
clothes that make you look like a whore...
BEA Perhaps I am.
MR MILES (shouting) Beatrice! Be quiet. BE QUIET. I will not have you talk this way
in front of your mother in my house.
MRS. MILES is sobbing.
BEA (angry) YOUR
house! And this is YOUR family and I am YOUR daughter...
MR. MILES moves towards her
with clenched fists. BEA stands
defiantly still.
BEA And because I
am YOUR daughter…
MR MILES Don’t twist what I say...
BEA…you think you can tell me how to live my life.
Mr W.J. Miles advocate of free thought…
MR MILES You are
incapable.....
BEA…rational discussion on any and every topic
"Don’t believe a thing to be true
simply because
MR MILES I will not
have...
BEA…a person in authority says that it is true!" …
As long as the person in authority is
not you...
MR. MILES explodes, hitting
BEA around the head with his open palms; quite out of control. BEA’s teenage brothers and GRANDMA ELLIE
attempt to pull him off. MRS. MILES
cries hysterically and faints to the floor.
BEA, in a state of shock, stands still; doing nothing to prevent her
father from hitting her. Suddenly, MR.
MILES stops hitting BEA and sits at the table, his head in his hands, trembling
and breathing heavily. BEA walks slowly
out of the room, her face betraying no sign of emotion.
65 EXT. PALM BEACH, NIGHT
MR. MILES, in a state of
panic, Bea’s TWO BROTHERS and CONNIE, run along the beach, at water’s edge,
their figures dimly illuminated by the light emanating from the lantern MR.
MILES carries. They stop in their tracks when they see BEA, waist deep in the
surf, her hair wet and her flimsy dress clinging to her like a second
skin. She turns and looks, like a
frightened animal at the four figures enclosed in a dim circle of light. MR.
MILES moves slowly forward, wading into the surf, stopping knee deep in the
water.
MR. MILES Beatrice...come
home...
BEA stares at him. MR. MILES slowly removes his jacket.
MR. MILES Please...
As if mesmerized, BEA moves
slowly towards him. MR. MILES holds his
jacket open and drapes it over her shoulders as she nestles up to him like a
frightened child, resting her head on his shoulder. MR. MILES hugs her tightly to him; too
tightly. He is for a moment, quite 'out
of control' - his desperate embrace revealing the intensity, complexity and
forbidden nature of his feelings for her.
CONNIE and Bea’s TWO BROTHERS look on; shocked. MR. MILES 'comes to his senses', becoming for
the first time, consciously aware of and shocked by the sexual component in his
feelings for his daughter. He pulls away
slightly. Bea is immediately aware of
why he has done so and backs into the surf, staring at him with blazing mad
eyes. MR. MILES, looking more than a
little mad himself, moves towards her.
MR MILES (pleading) Beatrice...please...
From her teetering point of
view, MR. MILES, his coat held out as if to trap her, is a frightening vision.
BEA (hysterical) I
know what you want. I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT ...LEAVE ME ALONE.
MR. MILES, his body trembling
uncontrollably, stands frozen in the surf, staring wide-eyed at BEA, who turns and
screams at the roaring sea: a chilling howl of despair. CONNIE and Bea’s TWO BROTHERS look on;
horrified.
66 INT/EXT. HOSPITAL. DAY
Mr. and MRS. MILES are in Dr.
Carruthers’ office, signs admission forms as DR. CARRUTHERS (about 50 years
old), on the other side of the desk, reads a handwritten letter.
Between the two men, through
the window, MRS. MILES, BEA and the SUPERINTENDANT can be seen gathered around
the door of a small cottage. Bea’s
BROTHER is taking suitcases from the trunk of MR. MILES’ car.
67 INT/EXT. HOSPITAL COTTAGE. DAY
BEA, MRS. MILES and the
SUPERINTENDANT look into the sparsely furnished room in the cottage.
SUPERINTENDENT (cheerful) Spartan...but
comfortable...
He and MRS. MILES look at BEA
to see what her response is but her face betrays no emotion. She is in a
strange and distant frame of mind. Bea’s
BROTHER carries Bea’s suitcases into the room.
MRS MILES (cheerful) Can
I send Bea a few things … brighten the room up a little?
SUPERINTENDANT Of course.
In the background, on the
front porch of the stately old mansion that has been turned into a Mental
Hospital, MR. MILES shakes hands with DR. CARRUTHERS, says goodbye and starts
walking towards the car also. BEA
follows.
MRS MILES Everything’s
going to be alright, darling.
MRS. MILES kisses Bea, trying
hard to be cheerful.
MRS MILES You will
cooperate with Dr Carruthers?
BEA nods. MR. MILES stands by the car, looking very
uncomfortable. MRS. MILES kisses BEA
again and gets quickly into the car so that her daughter won’t see her crying.
MR MILES (awkward) If
there’s anything you need...clothes... books...just let the Superintendent know
and...
BEA nods. MR. MILES stands
for a moment, unsure how to say goodbye.
The moment is excruciatingly painful for him. In his awkwardness, he
nods and gets into the car. With a blank expression, BEA watches the car make its
way down the driveway to the large iron gates at the entrance to the
Hospital. The SUPERINTENDANT starts to
walk towards Dr. Carruthers office, holding his arms out to indicate that BEA
should come with him.
SUPERINTENDENT (cheerful) Do
you like gardening, Miss Miles?
BEA walks with him. She
shakes her head.
SUPERINTENDENT Pity! We’re
very proud of our gardens.
BEA looks at the well-tended,
highly ordered gardens. Under the supervision of a nurse, three patients are
removing weeds from between neatly arranged rows of flowers. They look up at
BEA as she passes. One smiles. Another stares vacantly. The third looks quite
demented.
68 INT. HOSPITAL. DAY
BEA, sits in Dr. Carruthers’s
office, looking blankly out the window.
She is unaware that DR. CARRUTHERS has been referring to the letter on
his desk when he looks up and speaks to her.
DR. CARRUTHERS Well, it
seems you’re a lucky young lady to be alive.
BEA does not respond.
DR. CARRUTHERS How have you
been feeling...since the illness?
BEA shrugs her shoulders.
DR. CARRUTHERS Distressed? Confused?
BEA (soft) Sometimes.
DR. CARRUTHERS About what?
BEA looks at him. She sees a man with a kind and caring smile.
BEA (shrugs) Life.
DR. CARRUTHERS Yes, it can
be confusing at times, can’t it?
BEA nods and looks away; out
the window.
DR. CARRUTHERS Anything in particular...that
you find confusing?
A thought occurs to BEA. She
looks at the letter in front of Dr. Carruthers and then up from the letter,
directly into his eyes. DR. CARRUTHERS
is quite unnerved by this. BEA looks at
the letter again. She smells a rat.
DR. CARRUTHERS Well, Miss
Miles, that will be all for now...
He moves around the table
towards to door. BEA's eyes are fixed on
the letter.
DR. CARRUTHERS I’m
sure...together...we’ll be able to get to the bottom of your 'confusion' … a
bit of a break from family, friends and so on’ll do you the world of
good...Time to sort things out...
BEA That’s my
father’s handwriting.
DR. CARRUTHERS (nervous) Yes.
BEA What has he
told you?
DR. CARRUTHERS It’s private
correspondence.
BEA looks at DR. CARRUTHERS
for a moment and then moves over to his desk and picks up the letter. Before
she has a chance to start reading it DR. CARRUTHERS, in a panic now, moves with
unseemly haste across the room and snatches it out of her hand.
BEA (icy calm) You’ve
already made your diagnosis, haven’t you?
DR CARRUTHERS (flustered) Not
at all.
BEA Liar.
BEA walks past DR. CARRUTHERS
and opens the door.
DR. CARRUTHERS Miss
Miles...
BEA (turning; angry)
I’m not a fool, doctor.
She strides out into the
adjoining office, past DR. CARRUTHERS' startled secretary and
MATRON O’NEILL.
69 EXT. HOSPITAL. DAY
BEA, walks fast, across the
porch and along the pathway leading to the main gate. DR. CARRUTHERS and MATRON O'NEILL - a large
woman of about 40 - follow her.
DR. CARRUTHERS Miss Miles!
Stop! I want to talk to you!
BEA ignores him. She quickens
her pace. A NURSE and THREE PATIENTS look on. MATRON O'NEILL runs to catch up
with BEA. She grabs BEA by the shoulder.
MATRON Alright young
lady...
BEA pulls way from her, stops
and turns to face MATRON O'NEILL; her eyes blazing.
BEA (screams) Don’t
you touch me.
The NURSE who was supervising
the gardening is running towards her now; as are TWO OTHER NURSES some distance
away. Terrified, BEA turns and runs
towards the large iron gates at the entrance to the hospital. She gets to them before her pursuers but the
gates are closed; she cannot escape. She
turns, finding herself quickly surrounded by Matron O'Neill and three
nurses. As MATRON O'NEILL attempts to
grab hold of her, BEA, in terror and panic, lashes out, striking Matron in the
face. She resists violently but soon
overcome. The nurses wrestle her to the
ground.
BEA (screaming) Leave me alone.
MATRON O'NEILL Camisole,
Metcalf...
NURSE METCALF runs off to get
a camisole (Straight-jacket). BEA
continues to scream, kick, bite and struggle in an attempt to free
herself. NURSE METCALF returns with a
straight-jacket. BEA is being held
securely on the ground by MATRON O'NEILL and the other two nurses, but when
NURSE METCALF holds out the straight-jacket and attempts to put it on her, BEA
struggles so violently that it is impossible.
MATRON O'NEILL, one arm around BEA’s neck in a headlock, tightens her
grip, eventually strangling her into unconsciousness.
FADE TO BLACK.
70 INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR. DAY
FADE UP FROM BLACK.
BEA regains consciousness to
find herself being carried down a corridor by MATRON O'NEILL and two other
nurses: the upper part of her body retrained by a straight-jacket. She lashes
out with her feet catching MATRON O'NEILL full in the stomach and knocking her
to the floor. A fierce struggle ensues. MATRON O'NEILL gets her arm around
BEA’s neck and strangles her into unconsciousness.
FADE TO BLACK.
71 INT. PADDED CELL
FADE UP FROM BLACK.
BEA, straight-jacketed, is
being tied into a seat in a small padded cell by TWO NURSES. She is in shock; terrified. MATRON O'NEILL, sporting a black eye, stands
in front of her.
MATRON When you
learn to control yourself...
BEA kicks MATRON O'NEILL hard
in the shins. MATRON O'NEILL loses her
temper and hits BEA across the face with a hand in which she is holding a bunch
of keys. BEA’s face is cut.
BEA Bloody
coward.
MATRON O'NEILL looks at BEA
guiltily: sorry to have lost her temper. BEA glares at her. MATRON O'NEILL walks out of the room.
72 INT. REFRACTORY WARD. EVENING
BEA, the cut on her face
partially healed now, stands by her bed in a crowded 18 bed Refractory Ward a
little after sunset, watching TWO NURSES bundle a seriously demented patient
into a straight-jacket as MATRON O'NEILL completes her cursory inspection of
the other patients. Folded, in a pile at the end of her bed, are grey blankets,
green sheets and an off-white bath towel. In one hand she holds a toothbrush
and comb; in the other a cake of soap. MATRON O'NEILL completes her inspection,
nods to the other nurses, glances briefly at BEA and walks out of the
ward. The NURSES punch cards into the
bundy-clock by the door and leave also; closing the doors behind them. The
sound of the door being bolted from outside can be heard. BEA, in shock still,
looks around the ward.
KITTY, a thin,
prematurely-aged woman with sad eyes, sits on her bed, the fist of one hand
resting on her breast as she strokes it with the other and talks softly and
affectionately to it as it if were a baby.
BERYL, a woman of about 40
with terror in her eyes, sits trembling and sweating in the wooden chair by her
bed.
ELLEN, a large and partially
bald woman lies on her bed staring hatefully at BEA.
BEA becomes aware of MRS.
LANDING - the middle-aged woman in the bed next to her - smiling at her.
MRS LANDING (full of admiration)
You’re the one gave Matron the black eye...
BEA nods and manages the
beginnings of a smile but her attention is caught by ELLEN who is striding
towards her with a hateful expression on her face. ELLEN pushes BEA forcefully onto the floor
and then walks calmly back to her bed.
BEA is dumbfounded. MRS. LANDING
helps BEA up.
MRS. LANDING She just
wants to let you know she’s boss cockie.
BEA looks over to ELLEN, who
is lying on her bed again looking triumphantly at BEA. In the background a patient can be seen
standing by the bundy clock, talking to it.
PATIENT I’m sorry my
mother is a bloody whore. I’m sorry my mother is a bloody whore.
LATER
BEA lies in her bed, on her
side, looking out into the darkened ward.
Most of the patients are asleep now, with the exception of BERYL who is
still sitting in her chair trembling, and another woman, at the other end of
the ward, who is tearing her waterproof sheet into strips and guffawing
moronically as blue sparks fly out. BERYL’s moaning increases in intensity and
then suddenly stops. BEA watches.
BERYL’s trembling ceases; a large puddle of urine forms on the floor
under the chair.
73 INT. HOSPITAL BATHROM. DAY
BEA stands with a group of
twelve of so listless patients in the shower block, waiting for a free shower;
her towel over her arm, her toothbrush, comb and soap in one hand. THREE NURSES, working to a tight schedule,
undress, bathe, dry and dress patients who are unable to do so by themselves;
with little patience for uncooperative inmates. Tempers flare. KITTY, nursing her clenched fist
protectively, screams and resists violently when a nurse attempts to prise her
fingers apart so that she can wash her hand.
SARAH, waiting to be bathed
has removed her nightdress and stands in front of a mirror feeling her breast,
squeezing it until a drop of milk appears, then smiling to herself. A NURSE notices this and moves quickly across
the wet floor to slap SARAH’s hand.
ELLEN glares at BEA from
underneath her shower. When she gets out
BEA realizes that she is the last of the patients who is able to bathe herself
so she places her towel and toothbrush on a wooden bench, takes off her
nightdress and stands under the shower, letting the hot water stream over her hand,
closing her eyes as if to block out the nightmare images. When she opens them and looks out through the
steam, she sees ELLEN pick up her toothbrush and walk out of the shower block.
74 INT. HOSPITAL DINING ROOM. DAY
The Mental Hospital dining
room. BEA, in something of a daze, sits on a bench at a table with a dozen
patients, staring at an unappetizing bowl of grey porridge. MRS. LANDING sits beside her. ELLEN sits on the other side of the table, a
few patients up. At this and other
tables in the dining room, nurses help to feed those patients incapable of
doing so. Even if the food were edible
the images and sounds confronting BEA would make eating difficult.
MRS LANDING (sympathetic) It’s
not so bad if you cover it with sugar, close your eyes and pretend.
BEA looks at MRS. LANDING and
manages a weak smile. She looks at ELLEN, who is spooning porridge into her
mouth in a most disgusting manner and up to see MATRON enter the room. BEA gets
up and moves towards where MATRON is talking to the NURSE in charge. As she
sees BEA approach MATRON turns her back and pretends she is not there. BEA
stands for a moment, staring at MATRON’s back.
BEA The nurse
told me...
MATRON swings around angrily,
her eye black still.
MATRON I beg your pardon.
BEA The nurse in
the shower block...
MATRON (loudly) I
beg your pardon. If you wish to speak to me you will address me as Matron.
BEA breathes deeply, trying
to contain her anger.
BEA Matron, the
nurse told me to ask you about getting another toothbrush.
MATRON What happened
to the one you were issued with?
BEA Someone took
it.
MATRON Who?
BEA will not answer.
MATRON Who took your
toothbrush?
BEA I don’t know.
MATRON You’ll have
to be more careful with your possessions in future, won’t you?
BEA Yes, but...
MATRON Sit down, Miles.
BEA glares at her.
MATRON Sit down,
Miles.
BEA Someone took
it.
BEA walks back to her seat,
breathes deeply for a moment to calm herself.
BEA Ellen, please...
ELLEN Don’t talk to
me...
BEA Ellen, please
give my toothbrush back.
ELLEN Haven’t got
your toothbrush.
BEA Ellen...
ELLEN leans forward and spits
a mouthful of porridge in BEA’s face.
BEA lunges across the table, grabbing hold of Ellen and knocking her to
the floor. Pandemonium breaks
loose. A violent struggle ensues between
BEA and ELLEN.
MATRON, who was leaving the
room, rushes over to see what is going on.
Through the throng of demented onlookers, she sees BEA sitting astride
ELLEN, her hands around ELLEN’s throat, her face streaked with tears, crying
desperately:
BEA I want my
toothbrush.
THREE NURSES pull BEA off
ELLEN. BEA offers no resistance. One of the nurses helps ELLEN to her
feet. BEA, in tears, explains - to
no-one in particular.
BEA She took by
toothbrush.
ELLEN, also in tears,
whimpers like a four year old child.
ELLEN Someone took
my toothbrush.
BEA looks at ELLEN and then
at the MATRON, whose face betrays no emotion at all.
75 INT. PADDED CELL. DAY
BEA is in a straight-jacket,
tied to a seat in a small padded cell.
Looming over her, looking down, is DR. CARRUTHERS. MATRON is standing in the doorway.
BEA (desperate) She
stole my toothbrush.
DR. CARRUTHERS Your
toothbrush?
BEA looks at him, nods her
head and says 'yes' inaudibly.
DR. CARRUTHERS So you
attacked her!?
BEA begins to cry quietly;
making no attempt to explain herself.
Her tears make DR. CARRUTHERS uncomfortable. He looks at MATRON whose expression, as she looks
at BEA, betrays considerably more sympathy for her that we have seen hitherto.
...to be continued...
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