1 EXT. HOTEL/SWIMMING POOL. NIGHT
A montage
of still photographs taken by Angela during Wing Chou’s launch of his island
casino/condominium project.
Amongst
the photos are shots of:
Terry
Swinton reaching for a flute of champagne from a silver tray held by a a
uniformed waiter.
Wing
Chou microphone in hand alongside the scale architect’s model of his tropical
island casino/condominium complex.
Terry
Swinton with two drinking companions glaring at Nick, closeby, talking with
Balin Meas.
Nick and
Campbell talking.
Wing
Chou smiling talking with two Chinese men as four security guards hover nearby.
Nick
talking with Brad.
Gerard
charming a small group of women.
Terry
Swinton holding up his flute of champagne - index finger extended in an
unambiguous ‘fuck you’ gesture – to Nick, who is smiling.
Gerard
and Wing Chou, their arms around each others shoulders, smiling for the camera
in the foyer of the hotel – crowded with departing guests.
2 EXT. HOTEL. NIGHT
Wing
Chou’s launch is over. GUESTS leave the hotel, get into their shiny upmarket
cars and drive off.
At the
top of the steps to the hotel entrance GERARD, all charm and smiles, talks
animatedly with WING CHOU and TWO CHINESE BUSINESSMEN. His eyes are on:
ANGELA
standing at the bottom of the steps, talking with a DIPLOMAT, smiling politely;
her attention focused on:
NICK,
talking with CAMPBELL closeby.
NICK
I am not
a party animal.
CAMPBELL
But you
are an animal, Nicholas, and I know how to party...I will teach you.
ANGELA
farewells the DIPLOMAT in the background as NICK shakes his head, holds up his
hands (”No”).
CAMPBELL
Party
pooper.
(To
Angela as she walks up)
You’ll
come and dance with me, won’t you darling? Mr Morecombe here is...
ANGELA
All work
and no play...
CAMPBELL
That’s
not what the ladies tell me.
ANGELA
Oh what
have the ladies told you?
CAMPBELL
Not for
your delicate ears my darling.
He leans
forward, kisses ANGELA on the cheek.
CAMPBELL
Chou.
CAMPBELL,
playacting, moves as if to kiss NICK on the cheek, but stops at the last
moment; laughs.
CAMPBELL
Don’t worry,
darling, I’m not going to kiss you in public.
NICK
leans forward, kisses CAMPBELL on the cheek. CAMPBELL flutters his eyelashes
playfully at NICK.
CAMPBELL
Oooo! I
need a cold shower now.
CAMPBELL
saunters off; turns:
CAMPBELL
Tease!
ANGELA (laughs)
What was
that all about.
NICK
Campbell’s
been trying to get into my knickers for years.
ANGELA
With any
success?
NICK
Not as
yet.
ANGELA
But its
on the cards?
NICK
I would
have to be very very drunk. (A BEAT) As for your knickers...
ANGELA
Don’t...Is
Gerard looking at us?
NICK
glances at GERARD; who quickly looks away.
NICK
Yes.
ANGELA
Shake my
hand and walk off.
NICK
nods, shakes ANGELA’S hand, walks to his yellow 4WD in the hotel parking lot;
turns back to see:
WING
CHOU and GERARD walking down the stairs to join ANGELA.
WING CHOU
My dear,
you must be careful of Mr Morecombe. He is not what he seems.
ANGELA
I’m
beginning to think no one here in Cambodia is who they seem to be.
WING CHOU
Wise, my
dear. Even I may not be who you think I am.
ANGELA
I don’t
think you are anybody.
WING CHOU (laughs)
Should I
take that is an insult or as a compliment?
ANGELA (laughs)
When I
know more about you I will let you know.
WING
CHOU laughs, turns to GERARD.
WING CHOU
A feisty
young woman, Gerard. Be Careful.
GERARD
puts his arm around ANGELA’S shoulder.
GERARD
I like
my women feisty.
WING CHOU
And
I...soft...gentle...
ANGELA
Compliant?
ANGELA
extricates herself from GERARD’S embrace.
WING CHOU
Yes, a
woman’s yin to my yang. It is much...smoother this way.
ANGELA (laughs)
Smoother!
WING CHOU
Too much
yang, and...chaos reigns...it is not the right way.
(He
gestures to Gerard.)
Gerard
has more than enough yang for any one...partnership...
GERARD
Lover.
WING CHOU
Lover...you
are a lucky man, Gerard.
(To
Angela)
But you,
my dear, must be the yin to his yang.
ANGELA
smiles politely.
WING CHOU
Now, if
you will excuse me.
He
reaches out, takes ANGELA’S hand, lifts it to his lips; kisses the back of it;
shakes GERARD’S hand; walks off.
ANGELA
turns to GERARD.
ANGELA
Too much
yang!
GERARD (laughs)
Just the
right amount, my darling. Come.
He takes
her hand, walks towards a limousine that has pulled up closeby; alongside the
rear open door of which stands a uniformed CHAUFFEUR.
3 INT. LIMOUSINE. PHNOM PENH
STREETS. NIGHT
The
CHAUFFEUR pays close attention to ANGELA and GERARD in the back seat as he
drives.
GERARD
Wing is
right. Nicholas is not what he seems to be.
ANGELA
In what
way?
GERARD
Take my
word for it.
ANGELA
Why?
Because you are Mr Yang?
GERARD (laughs)
Because
you are my lover and you should trust me.
ANGELA
Your
lover!?
GERARD
And I am
yours.
ANGELA
Do you
love me?
GERARD
Yes.
Very much.
ANGELA
looks at him; realizes that he means it.
GERARD
And you?
ANGELA
You are
a great lover.
GERARD
That was
not my question.
ANGELA
I don’t
know what love is, Gerard.
GERARD
I will
teach you.
He
reaches out, takes ANGELA’S hand. She allows him to do so, places her other
hand on his, but does not look at him. After a long moment GERARD withdraws his
hand.
GERARD
And
Nicholas!? You like him, no?
ANGELA
I don’t
know him well enough to know.
GERARD
Not your
type!
ANGELA
I really
don’t know.
GERARD
You are
a bad liar, my darling. (A BEAT) If I were a woman I would find him very
attractive.
ANGELA (smiles)
If you
were a woman you would be much too hairy for my liking.
GERARD
Would
you love me more if I waxed?
ANGELA
bursts out laughing.
ANGELA
A
Brazillian!?
GERARD
If it
would make you happy.
ANGELA
shakes her head.
ANGELA
You are
crazy.
(Gerard
acts ‘crazy’)
How do
you two know each other? You and Nick.
GERARD
We lived
together once. We were close friends. We shared...many things.
ANGELA
Like...?
GERARD
waves his hand dismissively; gestures to her with his most charming of smiles:
“Come here.”
ANGELA
smiles, shakes her head; looks out the window.
GERARD
looks at the rear-vision mirror; sees the CHAUFFEUR’S eyes glancing at him;
clenches his jaw tight.
4 INT. BATHROOM.
ANGELA
stands naked under a shower in a large white marble-tiled bathroom; tilts her
head upwards to allow the water to splash onto her face. She is in a state of
inner turmoil.
She
steps out of the shower; wraps a towel around her body; looks at her reflection
in the mirror; is not all that happy with what she sees. The door behind her
opens.
GERARD,
wearing underpants only, walks in - a bottle of Glenfiddich whisky in one hand
and two shot glasses in the other. He places the shot glasses on the sink in
front of ANGELA, fills both with whisky; hands one to ANGELA. She hesitates for
a moment; lifts it to her mouth.
GERARD
Skoll.
He
drinks the shot glass of whisky.
ANGELA
Skoll.
She
drinks her whisky.
GERARD
fills their glasses again. GERARD drinks his; looks at ANGELA: a challenge.
ANGELA drinks her shot.
A LITTLE
LATER
GERARD
and ANGELA, a little drunk, now, their arms intertwined, throw back their shots
in unison. GERARD moves to pour two more. ANGELA laughs, shakes her head:
“Enough.”
GERARD
throws his shot glass at the wall. It shatters. ANGELA does likewise. Her glass
shatters.
GERARD
grabs two handfuls of ANGELA’S hair; kisses her hard. She pulls away, slaps him
hard across the face. He smiles; slaps her back. ANGELA moves her mouth close
to his, as if to kiss him; bites his lip. Hard. Draws blood. GERARD laughs,
tears her towel off. ANGELA, naked now, slaps him again.
GERARD
Harder.
ANGELA
slaps him harder. He smiles; removes his underpants.
5 EXT. OUTDOOR BAR. NIGHT
ANGELA
and KATIE sit in an outdoor bar on a busy Phnom Penh street. ‘Girlie’ bars
abound.
ANGELA
And we
fucked. Like animals.
(She
gestures her confusion.)
Don’t
ask me why...It made no sense, but, hey, that’s the story of my life. (A BEAT)
It is very seductive...being loved. (A BEAT) I love to be loved. That’s the
problem. Even if I can’t love back. Does that make sense?
KATIE
Being
loved scares the shit out of me.
ANGELA (laughs)
Not
being loved scares the shit out of me.
KATIE
Would
you say...all this for....the camera?
ANGELA
No, this
is just between you and me. Girl stuff. I wouldn’t even say it in front of
Todd.
KATIE (nods)
OK. And
then...?
ANGELA
We
didn’t fuck for long. Whisky and erections don’t go well together. But,
luckily, whisky and sleep do.
KATIE
And...?
ANGELA
Gerard
passed out. For the count. I cried and cried. Self pity: “You fucking idiot,
Angela”...bla bla bla...
(She
pauses, sips on her wine.)
...realized
that there was only one place I wanted to be...had a long shower to sober
up...and...
6 INT. LIVING ROOM. NICK’S
APARTMENT. NIGHT
NICK, in
a sarong, hair awry (he has just woken up) opens the door. ANGELA is standing
there - distressed; close to tears.
NICK
steps forward, takes her in his arms; holds her tight. She cries. They stand
like this for a long moment.
NICK
takes her hand, leads her inside; closes the door.
ANGELA
Can I
stay with you?
NICK
Of
course.
He leads
her by the hand towards his bedroom.
7 INT. NICK’S BEDROOM. NIGHT
ANGELA
walks to the bed, climbs into it, fully clothed, lies down. NICK gets into bed
beside her; lies facing her. She snuggles close; holds him tight.
NICK
holds her, gently stroking her neck with his hand. After a long moment, ANGELA
pulls her head away, her eyes tear-filled, looks at him; smiles sadly.
NICK
brushes away the tears that roll down her cheeks. Her smile moves from ‘sad’ to
’happier’.
NICK
smiles. They lie like this, looking at each other, for a long moment.
ANGELA (voice over)
We just
lay there, looking at each other for...I don't know how long it was...
8 EXT. OUTDOOR BAR. NIGHT
ANGELA
...A
long time. Then we fell asleep.
KATIE
You
didn't make love?
ANGELA
Oh, but
we did. We just didn't have sex.
9 INT. HOTEL ROOM. NIGHT
TODD and
KATIE look at a computer screen, on which can be seen, through a slightly
distorted wide angle lens:
ANGELA looking almost directly
into Katie’s hidden camera:
ANGELA
In the morning we made love with
our bodies. Beautiful love.
ANGELA smiles. It is a treasured
memory.
TODD
presses pause; gives KATIE a thumbs up: “Good work.” KATIE has mixed feelings
about her ‘good work’.
10 EXT. OUTDOOR BAR. NIGHT
ANGELA
and KATIE talk. In her shirt pocket, Katie has a pen - the source of the covert
footage we have just seen.
ANGELA
In the
morning we made love with our bodies. Beautiful love. From then on it became a
sort of joke: “Are we having sex, fucking or making love.”...Can you make love
without having sex? Nick was planning to write something about it...a
light-hearted piece...the differences. He was forever making notes, sending
messages to himself - on his phone, in his diary...
KATIE
His
diary?
ANGELA
Video
diary.
KATIE
Video
diary!
11 INT. TROPICAL GARDEN. NICK’S
APARTMENT. NIGHT
Seen
through a glass sliding door, NICK sits alone in the tropical garden in front
of a video camera on a tripod; talking animatedly to it. There is no sound.
ANGELA,
standing by the open door to the apartment, laden down with camera equipment
(she has just arrived home) smiles to herself as she watches:
NICK
gesticulating for the camera; engaged in a passionate monologue. He does not
notice her.
ANGELA
puts down all but one camera, takes a photo of NICK. And then another. Her
smile broadens as she moves closer and closer to the sliding door - ‘stalking’
NICK.
When he
finally notices her he smiles sheepishly; turns off the camera. ANGELA bursts
out laughing; slides the door open.
ANGELA
It’s
what mad people do, you know! Talk to themselves.
NICK
smiles, takes the memory card from the camera, slips it into a purple plastic
container.
NICK
It’s a
kind of...video diary.
ANGELA
Do you
tell your diary things you don’t tell me?
NICK
If a
girl is entitled to her secrets... what’s good for the goose...Actually, I was
just keeping track of some ideas for a piece I’d like to write about the
difference between having sex, fucking and making love...
ANGELA
bursts out laughing. NICK kisses her on
the cheek.
NICK
And your
day?
ANGELA
Very
productive. Lots of good shots in the street. Topped off by stalking a mad man
talking to himself...
NICK
Get
fucked.
ANGELA
Or made
love to.
(She
wraps her arms around him.)
Or...’sexed’.
Is that a word? Is the act of having sex, ‘sexing’. When we are not making love
or fucking, are we ‘sexing’?
12 INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT
ANGELA
steps out of the shower, wraps a sarong around her wet body, contemplates her
reflected face in a mirror; sips her glass of wine, inspects her reflection;
smiles at herself.
13 INT. NICK’S APARTMENT. EVENING
NICK
sits at his laptop, typing fast; occasionally stopping for a moment to refer to
his note-book. ANGELA walks into the room, glass of wine in hand; sarong
clinging to her wet body. She walks up behind him, rests her chin on his
shoulder, looks at the computer screen; reads from it.
ANGELA
“The
Senator’s son is a criminal. He should be in jail.”
NICK
turns, kisses ANGELA on the cheek.
NICK
Almost
done. Five minutes...
NICK
returns to his writing.
ANGELA
Have you
ever noticed how much...
NICK
holds up his hand. He does not want to be disturbed. ANGELA laughs, puts her
tongue in NICK’S ear.
ANGELA
...better
you look in the mirror after a couple of glasses of wine?
NICK
swings his chair around, wraps his arms around ANGELA.
NICK
You
always look gorgeous to me, no matter how many glasses of wine I’ve had. Now
let me finish, OK!?
ANGELA
smiles. NICK turns back to his writing. ANGELA rests her chin on his shoulder;
reads what he is writing.
ANGELA
You sure
you want to publish this!?
NICK
It’s the
truth.
ANGELA
Mmmm...Not
sure Mr...how do you pronounce that...? will see it that way.
NICK
Fuck him.
ANGELA
Me first
though, OK.
NICK
OK, you
first.
ANGELA
Before
or after dinner?
NICK
Before
and after?
NICK
spins around. ANGELA sits astride him. They kiss.
She
stands, removes NICK’S sarong, hitches her own, stands over him, massages his
cock. NICK smiles.
ANGELA
Do I get
a mention? In your ‘video diary’?
NICK
You
certainly do.
ANGELA
Can I
see what you have to say about me?
NICK
No.
ANGELA
Why?
NICK
I said
something like, “We have the best sex I have ever had, fuck like there’s no
tomorrow but, best of all, is when we make love.”
ANGELA
You are
pleased to see me!
NICK
smiles. She guides his inside her; moves on him.
As they
make love, ANGELA’S eyes are on the small purple plastic memory card holder
resting on the desk.
ANGELA (laughs)
Which is
this? ‘Sexing’, fucking’ or ‘making love’?
NICK
If we
keep talking about it I think its ‘fucking’. But if we...
ANGELA
stops his mouth with a kiss. They kiss passionately.
14 INT LIVING ROOM. NICK’S
APARTMENT. DAY
STAIR,
his lip bleeding a little from her bite, sits astride ANGELA, whose sarong is
awry - revealing part of her naked body. FRANCOISE is sprawled on the floor
amidst strewn groceries. They are in shock; their eyes on:
BALIN
MEAS, in the doorway, the Glock pistol pointed at them; his eyes blazing madly.
He points at each of them individually for a few seconds each.
BALIN MEAS
You are
all under arrest.
STAIR,
ANGELA and FRANCOISE are terrified.
BALIN
MEAS smiles, lowers the Glock.
BALIN MEAS
Please
excuse me for interrupting... votre conférence!
In his
other hand BALIN MEAS holds a concertina manila file.
A LITTLE
LATER
ANGELA,
on her feet now, adjusts her sarong. STAIR rakes fingers through his disheveled
hair; wipes blood from his lip; ignores FRANCOISE’S hands-on-hips hateful
stare.
ANGELA’S
eyes are on the Glock.
BALIN MEAS
I find
it underneath the seat of the driver.
ANGELA
Nick
didn’t own a gun.
STAIR
Meas
didn’t say it was Nick’s gun, Angela.
(Angela
glares at him)
He said
he found it under the seat.
ANGELA
Don’t
fucking patronize me, Alistair.
STAIR
holds up his hand (”OK”), raises his eyebrows for BALIN MEAS’ benefit:
(”Women!). This infuriates ANGELA further.
ANGELA
Nick
didn’t own a fucking gun.
BALIN MEAS
I am
sorry, Miss Angela but..
ANGELA
is quite drunk.
ANGELA
At
least...that’s what he told me. And if he had one, and if...or if he got one
but didn’t tell me...
STAIR’S
mobile announces the arrival of a text message.
ANGELA
...because...
because he didn’t want me to worry about him...its because he needed some
protection from... whatever it was...whoever he was scared of?
STAIR
reads the message. It is not good news!
BALIN MEAS
Of what
was he scared?
ANGELA
You’re
the cop, Meas. You fucking figure it out. He had more enemies than you could
poke a stick at.
BALIN
MEAS is confused. STAIR is more preoccupied with the ramifications of his text
message than with the conversation.
ANGELA
A
shitload of enemies. (A BEAT) A lot of enemies.
BALIN MEAS
Yes, I
understand, Miss Angela, but he also had plastic containers full of petrol in
his car and...
ANGELA
And he
was a fucking moron but...
Angry,
frustrated, she gestures to BALIN MEAS: “You figure it out”. She looks to
FRANCOISE helplessly. FRANCOISE takes her hand; leads her out of the room.
BALIN
MEAS indicates to STAIR they should go outside, to the adjacent dimly lit
tropical garden. STAIR nods; follows him.
…to be
continued…
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