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Parallel Lives: Tandem Narratives in Film
Tandem narratives are a form of parallel narrative in film which groups together
several stories with a common theme—that is a philosophical commentary and
message expressed through the film. The emergence of these films also marks a
revision of the way screenwriters write about people, society and thematic messages in their works. Tandem narrative form can lend screenwriting is the possibility of a polyphonic film—which film theorist John Bruns defines ‘a visualisation
or arrangement of multiple voices of equal importance’ (Bruns,2008).
The project component of this research will be the creative application of a tandem narrative in a short film script, A Nasty Piece of Work. This short film will aim
to practically apply the theories and construction elements found in the research
to the construction of a tandem narrative film with a strong emphasis on theme.
The exegesis research will in part be a study of several theories on tandem narratives and an analysis a few case study films, their construction, origin examine
and interrogate how thematic message has been used in tandem narrative films,
and well as any underlying theories and approached to multiple protagonists
which may have informed the emergence of this form. The second chapter of this
exegesis will be examining how various theories and structure elements can be
applied by screenwriters engaging with this narrative to write thematically strong
films. The final chapter will be reflections of the research and theory in their
application to writing my own tandem narrative screenplay.
Miranda Camboni
RMIT University
2012
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Declaration
I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that
of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part,
to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the exegesis is the result of
the work which has been carried out since the official research program; and any
editorial work, paid or unpaid carried out by a third party is acknowledged.
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Acknowledgements
I’d like to acknowledge several people whose impact on this project and my research
through this year has been significant. Firstly, my supervisor Craig Batty, whose
knowledge, guidance and encouragement were invaluable to me. I’d also like to
thank Neal Haslam, the leader of the Slow Media lab, who gave me the change to
present my project at the Slow Media Symposium, and for offering me insight and
encouragement through the year. I would also like to thank my Honours program
coordinator Adrian Miles for asking me hard questions, and my friend and fellow
writer Simon Langford for his encouragement and ideas. Most importantly I
would like to thank my family, especially my mother who gave me food, space and
encouragement while studying this year, and importantly, for believing in me.
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Contents
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Introduction
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Chapter 1: History & Context of Tandem Narratives
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Chapter 2: Construction & Considerations
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Chapter 3: Deconstruction & Analysis
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Conclusion
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Bibliography & Filmography
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Introduction
Tandem narratives are a fairly new form of film narrative. They are a form of parallel narratives which have emerged in the late 20th century. While these films certainly
have their origins in other parallel and multiple protagonist films, films with what can be
defined as a tandem narrative film (that is ‘running all at once’) are a recent occurrence.
Although preceded by Robert Altman’s films, especially screenwriter Joan Tewskesbury’s
Nashville (1974) tandem narrative films can be found to have began trending around the
early 2000s and are usually produced in the US. Although more modest, ‘independent’
films like Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know (2004) display a tandem
narrative structure, can be found in high budget and widely distributed films—director-screenwriters Stephen Gaghan and Paul Higgis have brought tandem narrative films
to a larger audience.
While defined as ‘alternative’ narratives, and certainly experimental (testing boundaries of story cohesion, audience connection and representing subject matter in fiction)
tandem narrative films have never been described as ‘arthouse’. They do not aspire to
challenge audiences through disjointed sequences, incoherency or surrealism. There
are clear conclusions in tandem narratives, strong character arcs and some consistency
between the interchanging stories.
Part of their structure is that they tell several equally important stories which all
occur within the same time, so that watching one of these films gives the audience a
sense that there are many things happening in the story world at once. What makes
this narrative form interesting is that it subverts some of the traditional expectations
of narrative form and story which places one character in the centre of action. Instead
the film’s story will be divided between several characters, conflicts and narratives arcs
which will all be connected within the same location. Linda Aronson has described these
as ‘several stories happening at once, with the same theme…the film’s action jumping
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between stories.’ (Aronson, 2010, p. 174).
Most examples of tandem narrative films revolve around a tragedy or disaster,
which involves the experiences and stories of several people to grasp some of its magnitude and influence. However, as Aronson has mentioned, these separate narratives will
be grouped together by sharing a theme—a repeated philosophical context. It is my argument in this research that tandem narratives shift emphasis from a single protagonist’s
struggle, to the larger thematic subtext of a film. By drawing connections between different stories within the one film, tandem narratives may deal with thematic substance in a
more deeper and engaged way that a single narative structure might.
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CHAPTER 1
History & Context of Tandem
Narratives in Film
Tandem narratives can be placed within the trend of alternative film narratives that
screenwriter and critic J.J. Murphy has written emerged in the late 1990s. In Me and You
& Memento and Fargo: How Independent Screenplays Work, Murphy posits these new
‘alternative’ narratives in screenwriting as somewhere between arthouse cinema and
the typical plot structure. While these films avoid the linear, single protagonist driven
plot often referred to as the typical Hollywood formula, they cannot be defined as abstract or experimental like examples of nonlinear films found in arthouse cinema. Rather
they seem informed and take more influence from more conventional screenwriting:
The academic backgrounds of these screenwriters/directors as well
as remarks they have made in interviews suggests that they are quite familiar with such concepts as the three act paradigm and character arcs...
Nevertheless they choose a more innovative approach (Murphy, 2007, p.
15).
While some of the restrictions of the Classic Hollywood formula have been avoided,
such as single protagonists and single central plot, many of these ‘alternative narrative’
films still meet the expectations established by more mainstream cinema; they are still
coherent stories driven by their characters’ actions and change. Murphy’s examples in
independent screenplays (mostly US offerings) which include Elephant (2003), Me and
You and Everyone We Know (2005) and Memento (2000) all exhibit different and more
complex forms of story narrative, while still valuing characters’ actions and struggles
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to make up a central plot. These narrative forms show a shift in emphasis, distinguishing themselves with variations in ‘story concept, structure, character, dialogue, visual
storytelling’ (Murphy, 2007, p. 17) while still holding these elements as valuable to their
screenplays and their audiences’ comprehension.
Such experimental forms of cinema include what Buckland has termed ‘puzzle
films’—films, like Nolan’s Memento (2000), which are based on a kind of mystery of
ambiguity, constructed in such a way that the audience’s experience will be that of solving the film’s problem and they will ‘embrace non-linearity, time-loops, and fragmented
spatio-temporal reality.’ (Buckland, 2009, p. 7). Buckland indentifies this emergence as a
thematic as well as structural shift in modern cinema, the more complex and ambiguous
narratives suited the darker, more ambiguous tone of these films’ stories. Memento is
a film which engages with two parallel narratives, represented by two linear time-lines.
One time-line, the ‘present’, appears in colour film, while the past’ time-line, based on
the protagonist Leonard’s limited memory, appears in black and white footage. The film
alternates between both narratives, until the past meets up with the beginning of the
present’ time line, joining both narratives chronologically. While not strictly a tandem
narrative, Memento demonstrates how multiple narratives and more complex storytelling have made their way into mainstream cinema storytelling.
Within this emergence of complex film narratives, tandem narrative films can be
described and involving more than one plotline, protagonist or story within one film.
Evan Smith referred to this type of form as thread narratives (Smith, 2000, p. 88) which
described films that contain several different narratives, or ‘multiple threads’ which
run through this film. These narratives have been identified in films as diverse as Pulp
Fiction (1995), Lone Star (1996) and The English Patient (1996). ‘Each thread is a separate main story and all threads have roughly the same dramatic weight’ (Smith, 2000
pg. 88). Thread narratives follow multiple characters, but unlike ensemble films which
.
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involve a cast of characters involved in the same plot, ‘…thread structure features several
bona fide protagonists, each the hero of his or her story.’ (Smith, 2000, p. 90). However,
there are distinctions; and it is possible for a film to explore multiple ‘threads’ without a
large number of protagonists—Smith’s example of The English Patient explores multiple
threads from different points in time, for example, much like Memento had demonstrated.
While multiple narratives share screen time, the characters and plotlines lack the
time to be developed. Smith maintains that thread narratives often abandon character
development and emotional depth of those characters: ‘These protagonists still grow,
learn, fail and triumph, but their individual character arcs are likely to be truncated’.
(Smith, 2000, p. 89) It is important to note here that not all stories require this kind of
character development, neither do they all have to be constructed to elicit an audience
identification or empathy—films can be successful or interesting without this. However, using an example of Pulp Fiction, Smith points out some of the rapid scene changes
between stories begin to ring false, ‘it omits the necessary processes of absorption,
consideration and decision-making that people (and well drawn characters) typically experience’ (Smith, 2000, p. 90). Smith outlines a dichotomy between character absorption
and consideration and multiplicity, the characters of multiple protagonist films, including
tandem narratives, are expected to be less complex, one dimensional or unexplored to
the lengths a more typical film would allow them to be.
However, this is not the case in regards to tandem narrative films, which are often
written with an emphasis on individual characters’ conflicts in relation to a larger theme,
or ‘macro story’. Magnolia (1999), Crash (2004) and The Hours (2002) especially, are
examples of tandem narrative films which are driven by several strong, empathetically
written protagonists and their emotional and personal conflicts.
As Mittell, Aronson, Smith and Mar Azcona all acknowledge, the role of television
drama in influencing screenwriting engaging multiple plots and protagonists. Mittell
implies, like Murphy, this is fairly recent; ‘narrative complexity is sufficiently widespread
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and popular we may consider the 1990s to the present as the era of television complexity’ (Mittell, 2006, p. 31) Smith points out the use of thread narratives as prevalent in
television drama before film, while both Aronson and Azcona acknowledge the influence
of television writing on modern film is significant (Azcona, 2010, p. 27).While television
writing has been engaging this balancing act of multiplicity in screenwriting for decades,
audiences are familiar with this form as it emerges on film.
While innovative film narration has emerged as a “boutique”
form over the past years in the guise of puzzle films like Memento and
Adaptation, the norms of Hollywood still favour spectacle and formulas
suitable for a peak opening weekend; comparatively, many narratively
complex programs are among the medium’s biggest hits, suggesting
the market for complexity may be more valued on television than film
(Mittell, 2006, p. 31).
While multiple narratives, plots and protagonists seem to be the hallmarks of skilful
and complex TV writing, Smith sees this confined to ‘boutique films’, quirky oddities with
limited appeal and distribution to a smaller audience. These are not arthouse or experimental films which are able to explore outside the conventions of storytelling, but exist
in the middle, as Murphy has described.
It is interesting that television writers have been able succeed with the use of
multiplicity, multiple protagonists and narratives, while maintain some of the character
and action emphasis which prevent this from being too ‘different’. Television dramas and
soap operas have demonstrated these multiple narratives and story arcs, multiplicity are
nothing new to most audiences. Critically acclaimed productions such as The Sopranos
(1999-2007), Mad Men (2007- ) and Boardwalk Empire (20010-) have interconnected
plotlines with an overarching plot (or macro story) which connects them all together.
These dramas also explore thematic unity, which compares or contrast the conflicts of individual characters and their separate plotlines. For example, Man Men, Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos all begin with a central protagonist (in all these cases a powerful,
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complex and morally ambiguous man) but widen the narrative scope through sub-plots
involving other characters exist within the same story-world as that central protagonist.
These separate narratives often operate independently and share equal screen
time. Although Mittell acknowledges these complex narrative films are often ‘boutique’
or limited in their appeal to audience, the increasingly emergence of tandem narrative
films, Traffic (2000), 21 Grams (2002), Crash (2004) and Syriana (2005) suggest that
multiple narrative films have become a more common option in storytelling, attracting
audiences as they become ‘tired of standard formulas.’ (Mittell, 2006, p. 34) Along with
narrative complexity, tandem narratives often involve multiple protagonists with individual storylines. In her study of multiple protagonist films, director and theorist Maria Mar
Azcona, places tandem narratives amongst other definitions: ‘polyphonic, parallel, and
dairy chain plots’ (Azcona, 2010, p. 9) as an emerging trend of multiple-protagonist films
which have their origins in early cinema. The multi-protagonist film is not a recent invention and cannot be solely explained as an attempt on the part of certain sectors of the
industry to tell stories in new, original ways.’ (Azcona, 2010, p. 9) Azcona points out that
multiple protagonists and storylines have their origin in early Hollywood ensembles such
as The Grand Hotel (1932) and Dinner at Eight (1933). While multiple protagonists within
a single story (ensemble or siege narrative) have their origin in early cinema Azcona
places tandem narratives as a more modern development. Azcona refers to tandem films
as ‘mosaic films’, meaning larger artworks made up of individual characters and their
experiences. Both Azcona and Linda Aronson cite director Robert Altman’s work, particularly Nashville (1975) written by Joan Tewskesbury, as the first significant example of this
kind of multiple storytelling: ‘the iconic tandem narrative film in the US’ (Aronson, 2010,
p. 184). To Azcona the emergence of the tandem narrative form as it is clearly defined,
that is involving more than one plotline, is an important indication of a significant shift in
how perspective is presented in screenwriting:
We should take into consideration the potential of mosaic multi-protagonist films to overcome the hierarchal organisation reflected in conventional movies’ privileging one character over the rest and the monolithic point of view that comes with it. (Azcona, 2010, p. 21)
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The pluralism within tandem narratives is a direct shift from more conventional
screenwriting, and indeed storytelling which favours a single story, viewpoint and protagonist, because it acknowledges a diversity of opinion and experience. To Azcona, tandem
narratives in storytelling reflect a growing global awareness and collective consciousness
and a response to ‘the complexity of human relationships and the impact of overarching
institutions and cultural phenomena’ (Azcona, 2010, p. 42) within the modern world.
Taking these philosophical influences further, John Bruns writes about the emergence
of the ‘polyphonic film’. This term is more precise than ‘mosaic film’, and explains how
certain narratives will work like a choir piece, ‘a visualisation or arrangement of multiple
voices of equal importance’ (Bruns, 2008, p. 189). While Bruns explains that there is a
history of early Soviet filmmakers addressing the use of montage and editing and looking
to musicology for ideas on structure, but the term ‘polyphonic storytelling’ that he uses
has its origins in late 19th century literature more so than film.
Bruns cites Mikhail Baktin’s description of Dostoyesky’s The Brothers Karamazov as
‘a genuine polyphony of fully valid voices’ (Baktin, 1984, cited by Bruns, 2008, p. 199).
The way in which a polyphonic film will work is a harmonisation of several different characters and their narratives occurring simultaneously. Bruns writes that, unlike other ensemble or tandem narratives films such as Babel (2006), Traffic (2000), Syriana or Crash
all of which engage with multiple protagonists, Magnolia is the ultimate polyphonic film,
one which draws its form and strength from multiple sources of emotional struggle.
Imagine, then, a Classical Hollywood film in which there is no single hero, but many; more than this, imagine that in this film the vents
of the heroes’ lives unfold simultaneously, but independently (Bruns,
2008, p. 190).
Magnolia connects several plot lines through at least ten different protagonists—a
multitude of voices. There is some narrative connection between these characters
through their relation to a quiz show ‘What Do Kids Know?’ The film takes place over
the course of one day, and contains nine narratives which run alongside each other in
tandem, mostly independent from each other. Some of the characters do meet and
interact with each other. Jim, the policeman, seems disconnected from most of the other
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storylines, until he meets Claudia, and later Donny. Magnolia manages to represent a
surprising and open-ended nature of everyday events, and the genuinely dialogic interaction of incompatible but equal points of view that make up everyday life.’ (Bruns,
2008, p. 200). Many of the conflicts are strained parent/child relationships, but the film
strengthens their connection through them experiencing the same kind of emotional
strife. Bruns emphasises the importance of a collective climax in the polyphonic film
which joins narratives together thematically. Magnolia’s climax groups several scenes of
individual narratives together to create a sense of high tension, although disconnected
there is a sense of a collective experience of pain which underlines the film’s thematic
core—disconnection and loss.
The joining of several narratives to strengthen a core theme or collective experience
can be found in many tandem narratives. The Hours links the stories of three women
from different time periods through Virginia Woolf’s writing. The first is about Virginia
Woolf herself writing, the second a housewife in the 1950s, Laura, reading the book, and
another of a present day woman Clarissa preparing a party for her poet friend, who is
also experiencing depression. While Woolf’s writing acts as a tangible connection, each
storyline shares the themes of mental illness, suicide and women’s fragile self-image.
The film’s structure may be divided between several plotlines, the need for an overall
thematic ‘message’ can be far more important, each part contributing to a whole macro
story and a progression of themes and emotions shared in each narrative. By actively
following one story with another, there is a need in audiences to uncover a connecting
clue (which will uncover a mystery) or some thematic substance. Of course, the audience’s experience can never be predicted, but an understanding of how the story will be
presented, to what ends and why, needs to considered. Tandem narrative films are not
new way to tell any story, but are instead require a multi-layered and complex story to
be told in this form.
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Works Cited
Aronson, L., 2000. Chapter 11: Tandem Narrative and Sequential Narrative. In: Scriptwriting Updated . Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin, pp. 185-220.
Aronson, L., 2010. 21th Century Screenwriting. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Azcona, M. d. M., 2010. The Multi-Protagonist Film. s.l.:Wiley-Blackburn, Hoboken.
Bruns, J., 2008. The Polyphonic Film Structure. New Review of Television & Film Studies,
6(2), pp. 189-212.
Buckland, W., 2009. Puzzle Films : Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema, 1st ed..
Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.
Crash. 2004. [Film] Directed by Paul Higgis, screenplay by Paul Higgis and Paul Moresco.
USA: Lions Gate Entertainment, Bulls Eye Entertainment.
Magnolia. 1999. [Film] Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, screenplay by Paul Thomas
Anderson. USA: New Line Cinema.
Mittell, J., 2006. Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television. The Velvet
Light Trap, Fall(Number 58).
Murphy, J., 2007. Me and You and Memento and Fargo: How Independent Screenplays
Work. London: Continuum.
Smith, E., 2000. Thread Structure:Rewriting the Hollywood Formula. Journal of Film &
Video, 51(No. 3/4), pp. 88-96.
The Hours. 2002. [Film] Directed by Stephen Daldry, screenplay by David Hare. USA: Paramount Pictures.
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CHAPTER TWO
The Construction of Tandem
Narratives
As the first chapter has detailed some of the history and context of tandem narratives,
this chapter will examine the more technical elements used in writing a tandem narrative script. The following will discuss several theories which are relative to the practice
of screenwriting and some case study films with a look at how tandem narratives are
constructed, as well as formal structure and patterns that can be utilised by screenwriters. Several of these structural and story elements have been identified in the previous
chapter, and here will be discussed with a focus on how they can be practically applied in
screenwriting, and their functions in a tandem narrative film.
The Macro Story & Theme
Tandem narratives involve several different stories which all occur at the same time.
They will often make up a ‘macro story’ or share a unifying theme which will hold all of
these narratives together into one complete film. While they can still be interconnected,
each narrative thread in the film will work independently, and stand on its own. As Smith
explained using the term ‘narrative threads’ for this form, each thread can be followed
from start to finish within the film’s length (Smith, 2000, p. 90), so each narrative and
their protagonist should have their own arc and plot which can be followed from start to
finish.
Aronson emphasises theme and a larger ‘macro story’ as an important starting point
for writers engaging with tandem narratives. Rather than grouping individual stories
together weakly through coincidences, a macro story (which can be anything as vague
as ‘three women’s lives are altered by a single book’ or ‘racism and several car accidents
affect the lives of several citizens’) will provide some kind of strength to each of the film’s
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narratives and the film’s framework as a whole. The common theme will also be used
by screenwriters to demonstrate why these particular narratives or stories have been
grouped together as a single film. Otherwise the script will read more as a selection of
separate short films interspersed with each other, and this doesn’t make the most of
the parallel narrative form, which can group several incidents and stories within a larger
story. The theme can be anything particular to society as a whole. Aronson makes mention that tandem narratives will often be used by writers to engage with social criticism
(Aronson, 2010, p. 185); screenwriters often choose themes with a large social scope.
Higgis’ Crash is good example of a tandem narrative which uses both a common theme
and a larger macro story to connect its diverse narratives. The film both explores the
effects of crime on different social classes and racial groups in LA, but also the effects of
racism on different social groups in any society. The multiple protagonists from different
racial and social backgrounds allows for a variation of perspectives, experiences and incidents. There is always the implication that these variations of experience and perspective could not have been examined if there was a more linear plot, or a singular narrative. As Maria Mar Azcona has put it, ‘we should take into consideration the potential…
to overcome the hierarchical organization reflected in conventional movies’ privileging of
one character over the rest and monolithic point of view that usually goes with it.’(Azcona, 2010, p. 21). These narratives have lent themselves to films like the previously
mentioned Crash, Traffic 21 Grams, Babel and Syriana, all of which rely on the sue of
multiple perspectives to examine certain aspects of society or global politics. These films
also demonstrate Azcona’s definition of multiplicity, allowing films to take a wider scope
and examine a theme from several different social spheres. When writing several narratives which will be grounded around a single theme, the screenwriter is able to construct
a film that will be a reflection or examination of several viewpoints on a single subject.
Engaged with thoughtfully, the use of multiple narratives subverts the idea that there
can only be one imperial experience, and viewpoint in storytelling. But other multiple
protagonist narratives besides tandem engage with this as well. Arguable, tandem narratives go one step closer— there can be more than one experience and story happening
in one film—the combination of characters’ perspectives and stories make the film one
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of a collective experience.
Interlinking
As mentioned above, the largest part of what makes a tandem narratives in a film work is
how the separate narratives are connected. It is important for a screenwriter to consider
how these narratives will participate within the larger macro story, and how they will be
connected through similar experiences. The separate narratives can also be connected
through some writing features like shared motifs and symbolism, and similar story patterns included each narrative to link them all back to the common theme. Brun’s example of the ‘polyphonic film’ can be taken as a multiple narrative which takes its form from
collective experiences. Aronson stresses that a screenwriter should establish a connection early in the film—or else do it very cleverly towards the end— so that the audience
had some understanding of what the writer is doing. The connections between the characters do not have to always be direct, but there should be something shared between
all of them in the script.
In The Hours, screenwriter David Hare establishes connections between the three narratives in several different ways. While the narratives are separated by place and time,
the protagonists are tied together through the exploration of several themes, motifs and
symbolism which pairs them together. A very precise in-story connection between Laura
and Clarissa’s narratives occurs at the very end of the film (Laura is in fact the absent
mother of Clarissa’s friend Rich) but the stories of the three women have an established
connection which is made very early in the film. This is achieved in practical and literal
ways. The film begins with each woman, Virginia, Laura and Clarissa lying in bed in the
morning, and switches between the three of them as they dress, arrange their hair, and
decorate their homes with flowers.
Although separated in time, there is the impression all the women are beginning their
day simultaneously—each narrative taking the space of a single day in their lives. These
connections are not merely physical actions or motifs. The themes of Virginia’s novel Mrs
Dalloway echo through all three narratives. Virginia’s decision not to have her heroine
kill herself is followed by Laura’s decision to stop her own suicide attempt. Virginia later
decides to kill another character (“the dreamer, the poet”) which is followed by Claris-
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sa’s friend Rich committing suicide. These scenes demonstrate how the three narratives
interact and influence each other and it becomes impossible to see them as disconnected from the others. For example, if isolated Virginia’s narrative does not have the form
of a biographic film—her narrative is needed to see how her creative process and the
themes of her writing resonate through the other two stories of Laura (perhaps an embodiment of the fragile female archetype Virginia’s writing evokes) and Clarissa, whose
story reminds us that there are reoccurring themes of female fragility, mental illness and
creativity in the 20th century.
Characters
As illustrated in the previous chapter, a variation between these characters will allow
diversity in their perspectives and also the types of stories these characters will inhabit,
allowing the separate narratives to engage with different scenarios within the single film.
Films in which all the characters inhabit the same location and time can automatically
have variation if there is a diversity of age, class, gender etc. and these multiple protagonists can act as a sample of the population. Films engaging on a sociological (Crash) or
global scope (Syriana, Babel) will do this.
In reversal of this, variations can also draw parallels between these divides through common experiences. Aronson states that the characters will be of a similar ‘type’ (Aronson,
2001, p. 170), which will mean the characters may be written with a similar internal
characteristics or external conflicts which can be explored in different ways. For example,
separated by time, the protagonists of The Hours offer a reflection of women’s status in
different societies and how their actions are dictated by those circumstances. All three
narratives relate the experience of sensitive, often depressive or suicidal people.
Magnolia has nine protagonists within the same California area, of different age ranges
(including one child, Stanley) and positions within their society. There are also separate groupings within these characters relating to their similar story arcs and emotional
backgrounds. For example the threads between Frank, Claudia and Stanley all involve an
emotional distance and abandonment from a father. Stanley wants to repair his relationship with his father (“You have to be nicer to me”) while the adult children Frank and
Claudia have distanced themselves, shutting off their fathers , Earl Partridge and Jimmy
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Gator respectively, who both try to reconnect with them as they face death.
There is a grouping of male characters, Frank, Donnie, Jim and Phil who to some extent
all deal with romantic disappointment, or sexual frustration. These characters have been
developed to varying extremes: Frank’s predatory ‘Pick-Up Artist’ career, Donnie’s idealised, obsessive love for a bartender, Phil’s embarrassed phone order of pornographic
magazines. Then there is Jim’s gentle arc about his search for a partner—which he finds
in his unlikely courtship with Claudia.
Screenwriters can invite their audiences to notice the resemblance in character types
and invite comparisons—scenes between Stanley, a child genius on a quiz show, and
Donnie a former child star of the same program, inviting the audience to draw a connection, and even see Donnie’s damaged emotional state as an adult as the likely future of
Stanley.
As Aronson had identified, tandem narratives work by switching from one narrative to
another, and this is repeated for the duration of the film, either all the narratives are
joined together, or reach their own independent conclusions. This is a characteristic of
a tandem narrative (which sets it apart from another multiple narratives, like sequential
narratives) and it can allow the possibility for screenwriters to use this part of the form in
a creative and reflective way within the writing. The patterns and alternating and structure of these multiple narratives can be used as an important part of the film’s construction, tone and storytelling as the narratives themselves.
At the beginning of a tandem narrative film, screenwriters will introduce or ‘set up’ each
individual narrative in a series of short scenes. Magnolia’s opening introduces all the
narratives in simultaneous motion at once, placing each protagonist at the start of their
story one after another. The quick rotation from one scene to another gives way to longer scenes involving each narrative. The rapid cutting is returned to at the film’s climax,
transitioning from one short emotionally heightened scene to another and creates a
sense of mass panic and shared anguish even if many of these narratives are still unrelated. The rhythm or intercutting can be used to create a kind of shared emotional strife
(a ‘polyphonic film’ which uses its shared voices as a single piece). The way in which one
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separate narrative and its tone can change to a complete other can be jarring, distracting and can mean that the stories themselves are difficult to follow for audiences, or do
not progress with any tension. This can be used with some creativity, the switch from
one emotionally tense scene to another light one can be effective, however because a
tandem narrative needs to be a complete film made of simultaneous stories, this kind of
‘shattering’ can work against the grouping of these stories in the first place.
Balance or Truncation
With several narratives sharing the duration time of one film, there has be some kind of
balance or ratio for not only how long scenes in each narrative are, and also how much
time they receive altogether. As Evan Smith has suggested, ‘thread narratives’ can often
fail in story and character development because there is not enough time for them to
develop or establish themselves, they often appear ‘truncated’ (Smith, 2000, p. 90). The
lack of strong character arcs (that is there is not conflict, confrontation or real transformation of any protagonist) does not always have to be a problem if the stories are not
intending to be too in depth (Smith’s example of complex ‘thread narratives’ in Pulp
Fiction proves this). If the film has been constructed with each narrative sharing equal
importance and thematic depth, the time needed for each narrative to establish and
develop this can be a problem. Magnolia contains nine separate narratives, and is over
three hours in length, allowing for each of these the writing needed to develop gradually
and establish some emotional depth. The Hours is able to balance equal time between
the three protagonists. With the exception of Virginia’s suicide, which acts as a prologue
to rest of the film, Virginia, Laura and Clarissa have scenes which are roughly equal in
length.
While John Bruns has emphasised that through this narrative perspective, each character
will have equal weight within the story, it may be possible to have several narratives more
dominant than others, especially if there is the chance these narratives will be interconnected and possibly join. This can happen in the conclusion where narrative threads will
be interconnected literally, for example, Laura and Claudia meeting in The Hours’ closing
scenes. In Magnolia, Jim and Claudia meeting, or Frank finally reconciling with his father,
or even Jim’s short encounter with Donnie towards the film’s conclusion, seem to under-
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line the themes of coincidence, random occurrence and elements of chance which have
emerged so far. But is it also possible that these narratives do not interconnect literally but
gain some kind of culmination of the interconnection. Aronson has stated that this kind of
interconnection needs to result in a complete thematic unity which joins all the narrative
threads for the film’s closing:
Most audiences complain that while the films are extremely good, they fizzle at the end
and it is hard to know what they were ‘about’ or what ‘the point’ was—in other words, to
what end those particular stories were chosen... (Aronson, 2001, p. 187).
It is certainly a necessity to consider the film’s conclusion of all the narratives and the film
which contains them as a whole, not only because of audience’s reactions. Tantamount to
all of this is what these narratives will do together and how the screenwriter will resolve
them—either ambiguously, neatly or completing a neat circle to their early scenes—in a
way which complements the film’s thematic intentions.
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Works Cited
Aronson, L., 2001. Chapter 11: Tandem Narrative and Sequential Narrative. In: Scriptwriting Updated. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin, pp. 185-220.
Aronson, L., 2010. The 21th Century Screenplay. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Azcona, M. d. M., 2010. The Multi-Protagonist Film. s.l.:Wiley-Blackburn, Hoboken.
Babel. 2006. [Film] Directed by scr. Guillermo Arriaga Alejandro González Iñárritu. USA,
Mexico, France: Media Rights Capital.
Bruns, J., 2008. The Polyphonic Film Structure. New Review of Television & Film Studies,
6(2), pp. 189-212.
Crash. 2004. [Film] Directed by scr. Paul Higgis, Paul Moresco Paul Higgis. USA: Lions Gate
Entertainment, Bulls Eye Entertainment.
Magnolia. 1999. [Film] Directed by scr. Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson.
USA: New Line Cinema.
Smith, E., 2000. Thread Structure:Rewriting the Hollywood Formula. Journal of Film &
Video, 51(No. 3/4), pp. 88-96.
Syriana. 2005. [Film] Directed by scr. Stephen Gaghan Stephen Gaghan. USA: Warner
Brothers, Participant Entertainment.
The Hours. 2002. [Film] Directed by scr. David Hare Stephen Daldry. USA: Paramount
Pictures.
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CHAPTER THREE
Deconstruction and Analysis
The research undertaken in has resulted in writing a short script for a tandem narrative film. The script A Nasty Piece of Work aimed to put into practice some of the theories and ideas about the construction of tandem narrative film into practice. The main
focus of this project was to use the tandem narrative form to make a thematically strong
film. In the previous chapter I identified and detailed some elements and components to
tandem narratives which may be important to consider in screenwriting when working
with a tandem narrative and using a common theme to interconnect each separate narrative and characters. This chapter will detail some of the considerations and reflections
on each of these elements, and how they applied to the construction of my screenplay
as a whole.
Importance of Theme
One of the objectives of this project was to see how multiple narratives and characters could be used to demonstrate and explore a common theme which each narrative
would be a reflection upon. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Bruns, Azcona and Aronson
have all argued that the structure of tandem narrative films will revolve around a single
theme each narrative or ‘story’. This theme will be explored in each of the independent
narratives—‘same theme, different adventures’ (Aronson, 2010, p. 201), where several
themes, motifs and conflicts will be explored in different ways.
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When developing my screenplay I chose to use social and personal isolation as a
common theme in each story. Although the themes used in tandem narratives have
often been larger reaching social and political topics (such as mental illness in The Hours,
or racism and violence in Crash) because I was working with a small amount of time and
characters, I decided the conflict and theme had to more personal and work closely with
the characters’ conflicts. I also wanted to see how more psychological, character-based
conflicts could be used to create a connection, rather than larger, more circumstantial
ones.
The theme of social and personal isolation also works well to set against the screenplay’s form: the simultaneous narratives which run in tandem without much interaction—that is have a structure and arc independent within the film. Each of the narratives
has the aim to be an exploration of a story and a protagonist independent and detached
from the dramas around them. The fact that each story runs tandem as part of a multiple narrative will add bitter irony to the fact each protagonist is very alone.
When writing several narratives using the same theme meant there had to be a close
focus on how these independent stories runs from start to finish. I found it helpful to
write out each storyline and compare them, in order to balance the dramatic weight of
each narrative as if followed another, and also how the narrative would run as an isolated story. Reflecting and analysing the work on my screenplay. It was important for me
as a screenwriter to examine how effectively this theme was engaged with by all three
narratives, because there was a need for this to be apparent and connect them together
within the larger film script. Several of the narratives and characters lend themselves
more easily to displaying and meditating on the theme. While all three of my narratives
were written as variations and interpretations of the same theme, I feel that two of
these narratives—those of Leigh and Nora seemed to work with the theme more deeply, perhaps because I found it easier to write and empathise with female characters, or
place them in emotional vulnerable positions.
Although it was not a deliberate or conscious decision, the three narratives worked
with isolation and a sense of abandonment with varying levels of intensity. Each narrative was written to reveal a kind of personal isolation experienced by each protagonist.
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I worked to establish these both as a distinguishing feature of each story, and how this
related back to the film’s ‘macro story—an exploration of very isolated people sharing
the same neighbourhood.
Although initially I had intended for each narrative to possess the same thematic
weight, much of the film’s reflection on the theme of isolation seemed to weigh heavily
on Nora’s interaction both in her own narrative and how she affected and interconnected with the other two narratives. This posed a problem because a bias unchecked could
make this narrative seem more important and significant than the others. Writing three
narratives sharing a common theme allowed me to think of several variations, rather
than mining a single narrative for elements of thematic weight. In a way, the construction of these narratives seemed backwards, beginning with a single core theme and
message and building three individual stories around that same framework.
Character & Story
Aronson and Evans have pointed out how characters sharing a film will be less detailed, yet characters need to be interesting or at least have something which makes
each of the narratives engaging. This is especially important if, like me, character
psychology and internal conflict are of particular interest and value in screenwriting.
Each character needs to have their own story, which is a variation or exploration of
a single theme. My characters had to be isolated, or socially defunct in some way.
But they couldn’t be too similar; part of the process of writing this tandem narrative
was using diversity and contrast between characters within the same story, on order
to not only make the story seem wider but engage with the possibilities of alternative viewpoints a form with multiple protagonists would allow. My story connected
three narratives by their location within the same neighbourhood. The protagonist
were a group of three neighbourhood people of diverse ages and gender; Leigh, a
young woman in her twenties who works in a call centre, Adam, a man in his thirties
of some independent income, and Nora, a woman in her later 40s who has been recently widowed. I wanted them to be on different ends of the same scale, somehow
detached or not part of any kind of social tribe.
In several of the tandem narrative films I had studied, the diversity and selection
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of characters worked almost as case studies for the themes experienced. As an example, Crash had a large group of characters from different races, economical means
and personal outlook, so the film had a character both representing and offering
perspective for LA’s society. Magnolia had three women from a similar social class,
but from different time periods offering diversity through changing attitudes and
circumstances of those women.
When considering the character types for my screenplay than, I tried to represent
as much of a diversity between people living in the same street as possible, without
working too heavily with extreme opposites—upper class women and criminal men
for example—which could feel too cartoonish and make the connections and similarities between all the protagonists seem too contrived. While writing it was necessary
to consider how these characters carried each individual narrative and how they all
connected back to the same theme.
Both Nora and Adam’s narratives involve their experience of abandonment and
loss, but each had to illustrate this differently, both in circumstance and reaction, not
only distinguish their individual personality and how this drove their separate narrative arcs. However, there needed to be enough parallels between their two stories
for this connection to be strong enough to justify why both these stories shared the
same screenplay. Writing a tandem narrative for a screenplay allowed me to reflect
and focus on a singular social and emotional theme,and interpreting it through
several characters and their narratives allowed this to be a central consideration in
my writing. However, because my focus was on creating several characters and their
stories, the narratives had a small amount of time to establish themselves and their
challenges.
Balance and Plotting
In Chapter 2, I outlined the importance of keeping a balance between the
multiple narratives, so they would all appear even ended. Smith suggests that
the juggling of several threads would leave one or more of the narratives ‘truncated’ (2000, p. 89). This was a point of consideration because I believe that
the strength of a tandem narrative screenplay would rely on how well all of
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the separate narartives were represented—otherwise others would appear as
side-stories, tangents or distractions from a clearer, more dominant plot. Part
of my tactic to avoid this was to plan out my screenplay’s narratives separately
from start to finish, and how they would appear in the screenplay in order check
that equal time was afforded to each and that they all unfolded and developed
in a balanced, considered way.
Bruns has stressed that each narrative will be independent and have equal
weight (2008, p. 189) in his example of a ‘polyphonic film’. This project was an
attempt to keep all the experiences or ‘voices’ of my protagonists valid as the
most important part of the film’s narrative. While reviewing and redrafting my
screenplay, there were many scenes, actions and developments which may have
seemed like natural and logical progressions for each of my protagonist’s narratives that did not fit with the larger collective experience I wanted this screenplay to have. For example, it would not have worked to follow the breakdown of
Adam’s relationship with Morgan—however normal this would seem in logical
story arc to pursue—so the values I placed in telling each story would be how
they reflected back onto the other narratives. The writing of this tandem narrative screenplay focused on different variations of the experience of abandonment, withdrawal, with each narrative and protagonist as a separate ‘voice’.
Connections and Interlinking
The importance of subtle connections and interlinking had emerged through
my research as a quality of a strong tandem narrative script. Working on this
tandem narrative, therefor it was important to make both logical and meaningful connects between all three narratives to strongly connect them as part of
one film. Placing all three narratives within the same street worked well in how
often the script would recall certain places and objects. For example the gray cat,
Batman, appears momentarily in Nora’s narrative to point out how closely they
have been living nearby. Leigh meets Adam’s ex-girlfriend, Morgan, to suggest
that both narratives feature the same conflict from different viewpoints. Several
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actions—Adam blocking Leigh’s parking space, Leigh hitting Nora’s garbage bin—
were intended to place all of them in each others’ environment and show how
their actions have affects on the others. Most of these were coincidental and
troublesome, which was a decision I made to keep it believable that these three
were neighbours, but also to help strengthen the theme I was working with.
All of my protagonists were limited in their interactions with other people, but
often made selfish and careless decisions which affected the people around them,
helping them to emerge as both persecuted victims and spiteful misanthropes in
turn—both sides of the theme of social isolation and rejection. The structure of
this tandem narrative was not based around a ‘coming together’ which concluded the film, or common event which all the three narratives shared. This was a
considerable risk, but I felt the slight interactions between narratives worked well
with the theme and helped examine the protagonists from different perspectives.
For example, Leigh is both a careless neighbour (the “little bitch”) who smashes
Nora’s bin, but she also works to try and resolve a phone account issue for her
through her work. Throughout the screenplay I tried to maintain a balance between in-story and thematic connections.
Reflection
Some of the social and philosophical background of tandem narratives has
been detailed by Azcona and Bruns in previous chapters. By using a tandem narrative for my script I feel that I have been able to write more closely and engagingly
with society and social attitudes than I could have with a single narrative. Because
of the diversity of characters revolving around a theme, it has forced me to consider story writing with a larger scope than before. Much of my earlier work and
studying of screenwriting had revolved around acknowledging the single perspective of a protagonist. However, much of my research has assisted the viewpoint
that screenwriting encourages the creation and observation of a society.
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Works Cited
Aronson, L., 2001. Chapter 11: Tandem Narrative and Sequential Narrative. In: Scriptwriting Updated. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin, pp. 185-220.
Aronson, L., 2010. The 21th Century Screenplay. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Azcona, M. d. M., 2010. The Multi-Protagonist Film. s.l.:Wiley-Blackburn, Hoboken.
Bruns, J., 2008. The Polyphonic Film Structure. New Review of Television & Film Studies,
6(2), pp. 189-212.
Smith, E., 2000. Thread Structure:Rewriting the Hollywood Formula. Journal of Film &
Video, 51(No. 3/4), pp. 88-96.
Miranda N Camboni
33
Parallel Lines: Tandem Narratives in Film
34
Conclusion
In attempting to create a small, suburban neighbourhood in A Nasty Piece of
Work I was able to examine how social and emotional problems affected different people within that small society, from the affluent Nora’s loss of friends to
lunch with to Leigh’s social awkwardness putting her at odds in her work place.
However, I feel that because I chose to write from a personal, interior conflict
than an external one, my screenplay did not reflect a society as well as could be
experimented with using tandem narratives. Through the research undertaken,
I find that the diversity of experience and perspective which tandem narratives
support changes the way screenwriters may think about story telling. The theoretical writing of Azcona and Bruns regarding the importance and use of multiple
protagonists and the need to revise singular protagonist perspectives in film has
been particularly helpful in informing my own creative practice, and helped be
define what I aimed to do through my own writing.
Bruns has described a disparity and collection of voices within ‘polyphonic
film’— by both subverting and readdressing the hierarchy of a single protagonist
and plot line, films with tandem narratives can draw a strong message through
the collective experience of the society they write about.
There were several aspects of my screenplay’s society, class, age and gender inequalities which I could have drawn more boldly through the contrasts between
each characters’ narrative. I believe that these differences, as well as similarities should have been explored more deeply, in such a way the use of multiple
characters could have been much stronger. The diversity of characters within the
screenplay’s micro-society allows the message to be induced that depression
and loneliness can be experienced by anyone, but the theme could have been
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explored with more deeply if the contrast between those who experienced it
could be explored as well.
The use of a tandem narrative became important to show how each of the
characters experienced a crisis alongside each other, within the same day. If
these separate narratives were presented in short linear stories, in a sequential narrative some of a candidacy would be lost, and the screenplay had been
constructed to work around and enhance the sense of disconnection and also
interconnection that a tandem narrative can emphasis.
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Bibliography
Aronson, L., 2001. In: Scriptwriting Updated. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Aronson, L., 2010. The 21th Century Screenplay. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Azcona, M. d. M., 2010. The Multi-Protagonist Film. s.l.:Wiley-Blackburn, Hoboken.
Bruns, J., 2008. The Polyphonic Film Structure. New Review of Television & Film Studies,
6(2), pp. 189-212.
Buckland, W., 2009. Puzzle Films : Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema, 1st ed..
Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.
Ghislotti, S., 2009. “Narrative Comprehension Made Difficult: Film Form and Mnemonic
Devices in Memento”. In: Puzzle Films. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.
Mittell, J., 2006. Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television. The Velvet
Light Trap, Fall(Number 58).
Murphy, J., 2007. Chapter 9: Memento as Puzzle Film. In: Me and You and Memento and
Fargo; How Independent Screenplays Work. London: Continuum, p. 179.
Murphy, J., 2007. Me and You and Memento and Fargo: How Independent Screenplays
Work. London: Continuum.
Seger, L., 2011. Subtext: What Lies Beneath. Kindle Edition ed. s.l.:Michael Wiese Productions.
Smith, E., 2000. Thread Structure:Rewriting the Hollywood Formula. Journal of Film &
Video, 51(No. 3/4), pp. 88-96.
William Indick, P., 2004. Psychology for Screenwriters: Building Conflict in your Script.
Studio City : McNaughton & Gunn, Inc.
Miranda N Camboni
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Filmography
21 Grams. 2003. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga. United States: This is That.
Babel. 2006. Directed by Alejandro González, screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga and Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu. United States, Mexico, France: Summit Entertainment,
Central Films.
Crash. 2004. Directed by Paul Higgis, screenplay by Paul Higgis and Paul Moresco. USA:
Lions Gate Entertainment, Bulls Eye Entertainment.
Magnolia. 1999. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson. USA: New Line Cinema.
Memento. 2000. Directed by Christopher Nolan, screenplay by Christopher Nolan. United
States: Summit Entertainment.
Nashville. 1975. Directed by Robert Altman, screenplay by Joan Tewkesbury. USA: ABC
Entertainment, Paramount Pictures.
Pulp Fiction. 1994. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, screenplay by Quentin Tarantino. USA:
Miramax Films.
Syriana. 2005. Directed by Stephen Gaghan , screenplay by Stephen Gaghan. USA: Warner Brothers, Participant Entertainment.
The Hours. 2002. Directed by Stephen Daldry, scr.eenplay by David Hare. USA: Paramount Pictures.
Traffic. 2001. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, screenplay by Stephen Gaghan. United
States: Bedford Falls Productions, Compulsion Inc.
Parallel Lines: Tandem Narratives in Film
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Miranda N Camboni
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Parallel Lines: Tandem Narratives in Film
A Nasty Piece of Work
By
Miranda N Camboni
SCENE 1. INTERIOR. LEIGH’S FLAT, EVENING.
Leigh is sitting in a single armchair, her shoes off, facing
a small TV. She is a small young woman in her early
twenties,although she has pretty features has an awkward,
uncanny look about her, her hair is pulled into a tight
French twist so taught that it pulls at her eyes.
Her unit is small, modern and stark.Leigh holds a mobile
phone to her ear, but watches the screen. A man’s voice is
on the other end of the phone, hoarse and wheedling.
MAN ON PHONE
Crap... this... I have been
feeling so fucked up thinking about
this...
Leigh watches TV distractedly, while the man on the phone
talks onward.On the screen, a "Bachelorette" type reality
program is playing: a man puts his face in his hands. Leigh
laughs.
MAN ON PHONE
I can not (enunciates) I can not
be made responsible for this.
Leigh shifts in her chair, then puts the phone down, and
unpins her hair. Faint whining is heard from the abandoned
phone.
MAN ON PHONE
I don’t think I’ve done anything
wrong.
BEAT.
You’re there? Are you listening?
Leigh picks the phone back up, glances at the caller ID,
then puts it back to her ear.
MAN ON PHONE
(Continuing) This is all your
fault.
Leigh holds the phone carefully, and places it face up on
her coffee table and gets up slowly.
2.
SCENE
2. NORA’S DINING ROOM. NIGHT
Nora, a woman in her forties,stands in the dark dining room
of a large, modern house. She is dressed in a kimono and is
barefoot.
There are bloody footprints across the carpet, and a strong
wind pushes through an open pane in one of the glass doors.
SCENE 3. INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT
Another interior of a suburban house, this time older and
more messy. ADAM; a gaunt man in his thirties, lies awake on
a futon, an unzipped sleeping bag wrapped around him.
perched atop his body is a fat gray cat, who begins to purr
loudly. Adam closes his eyes, at peace.
SCENE 5. EXT, STREET. EARLY MORNING.
Early morning on a suburban street, Leigh is leaving for
work.
She is dressed in a knee length black skirt, dark stockings,
heavy coat and large sunglasses against the sharp morning
light.
She balances a coffee cup in one hand, and hauls a heavy
handbag over her shoulder. She checks through her bag,
pulling out a phone, then purse, then keys before she walks
to where her car is parked.
Leigh struggles to adjust her car seat, closes herself in
and turns the ignition. She reverses into street. There is a
loud thud and Leigh slams the breaks.
LEIGH
Fuck!
Leigh cranes her head to see what the car had hit, then
opens the door and steps out to investigate. There is a
wheelie bin turned over onto it’s side, possibly dropped on
its side by garbage collectors, and it is now cracked from
the impact. Leigh crouches down to see the number on the
side of the bin--it’s not hers. Satisfied, Leigh steps away
from the bin and gets back into her car.
3.
SCENE 4. INT. ADAM’S KITCHEN. DAY
ADAM crouches down on the floor and watches the fat gray cat
greedily eating a plate of mince meat. Adam has an overgrown
boy look to his face, which he tries to disguise with a
patchy beard and a half-shaved hairstyle. He wears old jeans
and "Who is Watching the Watchmen?" t-shirt.
ADAM
Hey, Batman.
Adam reaches out and pats the cat, putting his hand under
its collar. There is a small tag and a bell hanging from it.
Adam looks at the tag.
SCENE 5. INT. NORA’S KITCHEN, DAY
Nora sits in her spacious modern kitchen. Her hair is in a
short stylish cut which looks decidedly, rather than
incidentally, streaked with gray. She is dressed in pajamas
and an authentic kimono. The table in front of her is
arranged like a still life study;fruit, toast, coffee
carafe, and a small dish with several vitamin pills in it.
Out of frame, a phone rings. Nora pointedly ignores it and
swallows a handful of various vitamins and capsules.
Nora’s voice is played on the answering machine.
PRERECORDED NORA
Hello, you’ve reached the home of
Nora and James. We’re probably
pretending to be out, so please
leave a message and we’ll get-Nora chokes on the vitamin pills and takes a gulp of her
coffee. She gets up and walks briskly toward the phone and
answering machine, which is playing the dial tone as the
caller has hung up.
Nora presses at a few buttons with confusion, and finally
deletes the answering machine message. She notices an
envelope and stops.
The answering machine blinks EMPTY. Nora gathers the mail
stacked beside the phone, and shuffles through the
envelopes. She pauses, reading the address of one.
4.
SCENE 6. EXT. FRONT DOOR OF SUBURBAN HOUSE. DAY
Adam stands in the doorway, holding the struggling "Batman"
in one arm and rings the doorbell. A teenage girl with long
messy hair opens the door and looks at Adam coldly.
TEENAGE GIRL
Why do you have our cat?
Adam holds out the cat.
ADAM
He was in my yard again.
TEENAGE GIRL
Yeah. ’Cause you keep feeding
him.
Adam holds the cat forward to her again, and the girl takes
the cat, and slumps under his weight.
ADAM
I am not feeding him. He’s crawling
through the fence every day. He
must be hungry.
The Teenage Girl laughs harshly.
TEENAGE GIRL
Yeah, he’s been doing that with at
least five other people. Why do
think he’s so fat?
Adam glances at the struggling, heavy cat and looks away,
embarrassed. The teenage girl drops the cat and it runs past
her into the house.
ADAM
Look you don’t want me to call
animal control, just tell to your
parents, get him fixedThe teenage girl starts closing the door gradually as Adam
speaks.
TEENAGE GIRL
He is fixed.
ADAM
Huh?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
5.
TEENAGE GIRL
Milo is fixed. He keeps going
psycho because you leave meat out
for him.
ADAM
Milo?
TEENAGE GIRL
Yeah, like Batman’s better.
The girl closes the door.
SCENE 8. NORA’S DINING ROOM, DAY.
Nora stands with a cordless phone pressed against her head.
NORA
Hi, who could I speak with
regarding the name this account is
held in?
She listens to the reply, her face sour and annoyed.
No, I need it to be in just my
name.
BEAT.
Just me.
BEAT.
No, I want the same address... Yes,
I’ll hold.
Nora paces from the kitchen to the dining room,one glass
planes is smashed, with plastic sheeting taped over them,
which sags and flaps with the wind. Nora stops, wincing with
pain.
NORA
Owww. Fuck.
Nora looks at her bare foot,which has a tiny shard of glass
in it. Nora balances awkwardly, the phone in one hand, her
left foot up and tries to pick out the glass. Her foot is
now bleeding. She manages to pick it out, and walks to the
open glass doors and throws the glass shard into the yard.
Nora sees the fat gray cat (Milo-Batman) climb the fence
into Nora’s garden, extremely limber despite his bulk.
6.
SCENE 9. INT. ADAM’S LIVING ROOM. DAY
Adam’s living room is shabby, with peeling paint and
blotchy carpeting, the walls decorated with framed film
posters.
Adam is sorting through a large book shelf, dropping items
in cardboard boxes around him. He throws some of the books
with rancor, unsettling clouds of dust. The Kills "Baby
Says" plays loudly from the stereo.
Adam turns over a slim paperback. He opens the book to its
title page, "Miss Morgan Georgianou" is written in proud but
uneven child’s handwriting. Adam chucks the book behind him
with particular force, where it misses the box.
SCENE 10. INT. OFFICE BUILDING. DAY
Leigh sits neatly in her small cubicle in front of a
computer, a phone headset sits awkwardly on her face.
LEIGH
(to the phone)This particular
account is made out to a James
Prentice.
BEAT.
Your husband, and there have been
changes to your address?
Leigh listens with some discomfort, clicking at her
keyboard.
LEIGH
And you can’t have him authorise
the account over to your name?
(Pause).I see.
The mobile on her desk begins to vibrate. Leigh eyes it
coldly.
LEIGH
One of the options you have is
cancel the account and reopen one
with your own name. It may take a
few days.
Leigh rolls her eyes as the woman on the other end raises
her voice
One moment, I’ll transfer you.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
7.
Leigh pulls off her headset and pushes it away from her, the
call-waiting piano music can be heard faintly. Leigh’s
mobile buzzes and vibrates across the desk. Another woman,
seated behind Leigh, swings her chair around. She is older
than Leigh,with streaked hair and dressed in more casual and
bright clothes than Leigh.
CO-WORKER
You gonna get that?
LEIGH
No.I’m not.
CO-WORKER
Treat ’em mean, keep ’em keen.
Leigh looks at her blankly. Her co-worker sighs.
CO-WORKER
It’s an expression.
LEIGH
This woman wants her bills changed,
I completely forgot-I’m sure they
told us this in training.
CO-WORKER
That’s an address change.
LEIGH
No the address hadn’t changed. She
just wants to change everything
with her husband’s name on it.
CO-WORKER
Didn’t you ask her to get him to
authorise it for her? Surely you
know that’s what you’re meant to
do.
LEIGH
I did. She can’t. He’s dead.So the
account gets canceled.
Leigh’s co-worker sucks her cheeks in.
LEIGH
Well, what am I meant to say that
doesn’t sound rude?
Leigh’s Co-Worker shrugs and swivels her chair back.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
8.
CO-WORKER
It’s not really our problem. Not
like they can see us.
Leigh turns back to her desk,switches her mobile off and
swipes it off her desk into her bag.
SCENE 11. EXT. STREET OUTSIDE CAFE. DAY
NORA, now dressed sharply and wearing sunglasses is sitting
at a table outside. JOCELYN , around the same age as NORA,
hurries towards her, her arms threaded with shopping bags.
NORA notices her and stands up, and JOCELYN tries to engage
her in an awkward hug.
JOCELYN
How are you holding up?
NORA
Fine.
Jocelyn takes the seat opposite her.
NORA
You might want to watch it, the
table is kind of-She smacks her hand down on the tabletop and it wobbles.
NORA
I just ordered an omlette, have you
had breakfast?
JOCELYN
Look I’m not sure if I can stomach
anything decent, I’m on this horrid
detox--wait, what am I talking
about, how ARE you?
NORA looks through her handbag and takes out a Glomesh
cigarette case and a lighter)
NORA
You know, I’m fine I really am.
NORA puts a cigarette in her mouth, and talks around it.
NORA
So, where’s the party?
JOCELYN stares at her.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
9.
JOCELYN
Didn’t I tell you about--?
NORA
I think you did.
JOCELYN
It’s just a stupid opening for a
gallery that will probably shut
down in two weeks. I was meant to
tell Monica, but, she’s kind of
crass at that kind of level.
BEAT.
You know how those things are, they
were always much more fun when it
was the four of u--oh. Oh crap.
NORA
What is it?
JOCELYN
Here I go again.
Nora leans forward, but Jocelyn avoids looking at her
directly.
JOCELYN
Listen, what happened to James was
sudden, and horrible and my heart
goes out to you really, me and
Neil. But, I can’t deal with you.
NORA
What? I’m still the same person.
JOCELYN
It’s too difficult.
JOCELYN covers her face with a ringed hand and chokes back a
sob. NORA reaches a hand out and touches Jocelyn’s
arm,JOCELYN sobs louder,theatrically. NORA pulls her hand
back quickly, as if she’s touched a hot coal.
JOCELYN
I just don’t think I can be friends
with someone like you...with...with
James passing.
Nora drops her cigarette.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
10.
NORA
You think it’s difficult?
JOCELYN
You know, you’re not making this
any easier for me.
NORA
And it should be easy? Why exactly
is this so hard,for you? Because
you have to make odd number of
seating arrangements?
JOCELYN
You know, it took a lot of courage
to tell you this. You could at
least appreciate me being honest
with you.
NORA
Oh really, well thank you Jocelyn.
I’m so sorry James’ bloody brain
aneurysm made things inconvenient
for you.
Jocelyn sobs a bit harder. A WAITRESS approaches with
Jocelyn’s omlette. She leans over JOCELYN to set it down.
WAITRESS
Oh,oh. Are you alright?
NORA looks on, embarrassed. JOCELYN sobs harder.
NORA
Yes. She’s fine.
NORA pulls our a pack of tissues and smacks it in front of
JOCELYN. The WAITRESS backs off, still looking at JOCELYN.
NORA
Yep. Fine. Thank you.
Nora turns back to Jocelyn who is wiping her eyes.
NORA
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
11.
SCENE INT 12. ADAM’S LOUNGE ROOM/HALLWAY. DAY
Adam sits on the couch,eating instant noodles and watching a
DVD of a superhero film-it’s loud and there are constant
explosion and gunshot sounds from it, although another
person can still be heard shuffling and moving things in the
hall.
A young woman, MORGAN leans through the doorway to look at
Adam with some contempt. She has long glossy hair and wears
heavy dark eyeliner. She’s dressed in tight jeans, boots and
makes a sharp contrast to Adam, still dressed in a stained
stretched out t-shirt.
MORGAN
You know, if that sad sack act is
supposed to make me feel guilty,
it’s not working.
ADAM turns to her, his fork still in his mouth. MORGAN turns
away with a swish of her hair.
MORGAN
I mean, you pretty much fucked up
all my stuff out here.
Adam puts his bowl and follows her into the hallway. MORGAN
walks about, organising a collection of bags and boxes into
groups.
ADAM
I can carry these to your car.
MORGAN
No.
ADAM reaches out and tries to drag one of her bags towards
the door.
MORGAN
You’re not helping.
ADAM persists and starts dragging one of Morgan’s bags
towards the door.
MORGAN
Put it down.
Morgan rushes to Adam and grabs at her bag. Morgan tries to
push Adam out of her way, then slaps at his hands.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
12.
MORGAN
Let go of it. Let go of it. Let go.
BEAT.
You’re fucking sad!
MORGAN she stumbles backwards, then grabs at Adam’s arms and
holds him in a hug.ADAM lets go of the bag, and leans into
MORGAN. Both of them stand close like this for a few
seconds.
Then MORGAN pushes him away, snatches the bag and drags it
down the hall and sits on top of it, arms folded.
MORGAN
Are we going to talk about this?
Like adults?
ADAM looks at her, stunned.
ADAM
You... you fucking bitch!
MORGAN
First you tell me to get the fuck
out of here. Then you start
preemptively (she waves a hand at
the boxes) packing for me.
ADAM
I don’t want you to go.
MORGAN
I can’t do this for you.I don’t
like being used to make yourself
feel better. And, suddenly I’m the
big meanie who wants to leave you
all alone and you’re just helping
me.
MORGAN turns and looks through one of the open boxes, then
starts picking up items and putting them back; a CD case, a
hairspray can and a hair clip, now broke. Morgan drops it
back in the box with a sigh.
ADAM
I didn’t mean it.
MORGAN
Ah no. You’re just worried about
how long you’ll stay alive without
me to...
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
13.
ADAM
It’s not-Morgan stands up and takes her wallet and keyring from her
pocket, she starts pulling a house key from the ring and
places it carefully on a windowsill.
Then she takes a small card from her wallet and holds it out
to Adam.
MORGAN
Look. I found this for you, I want
you to call her.
ADAM holds the business card between two fingers. It reads
"Lillian Cole MD, Cognitive Therapist". Adam snorts.
MORGAN
She really helped one of my mum’s
friend’s sons.
ADAM
You asked around about this
crap?
Morgan stands,hauling the bag over her shoulder and opens
the front door. She takes a step outside before looking over
her shoulder at Adam again.
MORGAN
It’s not my job to help you. Here’s
someone who can. You can help me
carry this shit to my car.
Adam flicks the card away and stands up slowly, and follows
Morgan outside.
SCENE 13. INT. OFFICE TOILET CUBICLE. DAY.
Leigh sits up on the cistern of the toilet, handbag in her
lap. She presses the phone tightly to her face. There is a
ringing sound for a few seconds. Leigh closes her eyes.
MAN ON PHONE
Hello? Leigh? Hey, how have you
been?
LEIGH
Shhh. I’m not supposed to make
personal calls.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
14.
MAN ON PHONE
What’s up?
LEIGH
I’m at work.
MAN ON PHONE
(His tone altering) Really?
LEIGH
Yesss.
The sound of someone else moving around the toilets, turning
on the taps. Leigh continues in a hoarser whisper.
LEIGH
I really can’t talk to you right
now.
MAN ON PHONE
I really think we need to talk
right now. You have been such a
bitch to me lately.
LEIGH
’m sorry. Look I really have
to go, I’ll get fired.
MAN ON PHONE
What, from that shitty call centre?
Does it matter? What are we doing
tonight?
LEIGH
Look, I can’t. I’m busy.
Leigh holds the phone away as she hears the sound of the
hand dryer.
MAN ON PHONE
Are you, are you calling me from
the toilets?
LEIGH
(Firmly) No.
MAN ON PHONE
Fine, I’ll call you tonight.
LEIGH holds the phone away from herself.
15.
SCENE 14. INT. NORA’S CAR. DAY
Nora sits at the wheel of her new, immaculate car, returning
from her meeting with Jocelyn . One of her hands grips the
steering wheel tightly, while she smokes. A car, a bulky
mini van, cuts in.
NORA
Oh what!
She bangs her horn a few times.
NORA
Asshole!
Nora throws her cigarette end out the window and continues
driving, turning into her street.
Nora parks in her driveway and steps out of her car,
gathering her shopping bags from the passenger seat, still
shaking.
Her recycling bin lies sideways on the footpath. Nora
scuttles over to it and struggles to upturn it and roll it
up the driveway, and she struggles with her handbag and
several shopping bags hanging of both arms.
She notices her other bin, now broken in the street from
where Leigh’s car had hit it earlier.
NORA
That little bitch.
She casts a sharp glance across the street, where ADAM is
packing boxes into the boot of Morgan’s car and turns back
towards her house.
SCENE 15. NORA’S DINING ROOM , DAY.
Nora dumps her handbag and her shopping bags on the floor.
Her answering machine is flashing. NORA ignores it and
instead looks through the contacts on her phone. When she
finds ’Jocelyn and Peter’ she deletes it. The slapping and
rustling of plastic sheeting makes her turn.
Nora walks into the dining room, where she drags out a
vacuum cleaner and begins cleaning furiously. She aims the
it around the glass doors, and there’s a gritty sound of
glass sharps being sucked up into the tube. Nora switches
the machine off and looks down at the blood stains she’s
left on the carpet.
JUMP TO.
16.
Nora kneels, scrubbing at the stains on the carpet with a
cloth, around her are bleach and vinegar bottles and a box
of carpet powder. The stain is not budging, but spreading in
a large rust brown patch in the carpet. Nora rubs her eyes
with one hand and chokes back a heavy sob.
SCENE 17. INT. OFFICE BREAK ROOM. DAY
Leigh stands at the sink of a small office kitchen, stirring
her cup of tea, the room is empty except for her.
Leigh paces the short length of the room, cup in hand and
open the fridge.She looks through it, reaching and turning
over a plastic container with "Leigh" written on it.
Leigh opens it on the table and sees the lasagna inside has
fallen apart from being upturned. Leigh pokes at it with a
fork, then sighs. She stands up and throws the contents in
the bin.
Pausing for a moment, she then gets her cup of tea and
empties it down the sink. She returns to open the fridge and
notices the rest of the containers are right-side up. There
a several small yogurt tubs, each with "MIA’S!" written
across each.
LEIGH
What is wrong with people?
Leigh grabs one of Mia’s yogurts and closes the fridge
again. Taped to the fridge is a badly printed sheet of
paper--it has the looks of a motivational poster. Leigh
looks at it with interest. It reads: "Even the word
"Impossible" has "possible" within it."
Leigh looks at with incredulity, then tears the sign down
and scrunches it into a ball.She dumps it in the bin and
walks back across the office floor to her desk.
Several of her co-workers are clustered together around a
computer, watching a Youtube video, laughing. Leigh slows
down and stands a few steps away from them.
Nobody notices Leigh as she stands quietly, trying to look
past them see what they’re watching. The clip is a
compilation of funny animal clips. Leigh decides against
joining them and walks back to her desk.
Leigh clicks through several pages on her computer, then
pauses to dial her phone.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
17.
LEIGH
Hello?... Hi, this is Leigh from
customer inquiries. Just wanted to
ask, is our policy on deceased
clients? Oh...OK.
Leigh listens to the other line and she swivels back and
forth in her chair.
LEIGH
Should I call her back then?
(Pause)Well that’s the thing, does
she have to get her phone line cut
off for how many days before the
new one...
LEIGH sighs with frustration as she listens to the phone. A
laugh bursts from the group across the room, and LEIGH tries
to ignore it.
LEIGH
So I should call her? (Pause) No
it’s just she called me. She was
pretty pissed.
Leigh puts the phone down, leans back and starts eating the
yogurt.
LEIGH
Fucking hate this place.
Her mobile makes a message sound. Leigh reaches and picks it
up.
SCENE 18. NORA’S LIVING ROOM. AFTERNOON
Nora sits at her dining room table, holding her phone to her
ear. In front of her is an open Yellow Pages and a notepad
which is scribbled over with a few numbers. Nora taps her
pen against her teeth as she listens to the other end.
NORA
Well, yeah. Then I had to sit
through eating a whole omlette. I
know... Listen, Lillian when can I
make an appointment?
BEAT.
No, I’m not alright. I think that’s
OK though, I have a right to not be
alright.
BEAT.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
18.
Sometime next week? (pause)No, I
haven’t got around to the window.
I...can’t.(Pause) Alright. I may
have to go, I have another call.
Nora hangs up quickly and the phone rings again. She quickly
collects it and answers with over the top brightness.
NORA
Monica!Thanks for getting back. Say
how about we catch up over
coffee...OK.(She listens, drumming
her hand on the table.) Well. Oh
wait.
We’ll see each other at the art
gallery next week-Nora waits for Monica’s reply with some bitter enjoyment.
NORA
oh what? I thought Jocelyn invited
you? She didn’t tell you? I can’t
imagine why.
(lowered voice)Well I didn’t want
to say but... I’m sure she didn’t
mean it but she said you were a
little crass about that kind of
thing.
Nora buts the phone down, ignoring the slight sound of
protestation on the other end. She picks the phone up again
after a few moments.
NORA
Oh really? Well I’m obviously just
a nasty bitch aren’t I?
Nora hangs the phone up and looks for a cigarette and lights
it.She smokes with some smug contentment, then looks around
at the empty dining room--it is silent and very large.
SCENE 19. EXT.ADAM’S HOUSE. EVENING.
The TEENAGE GIRL from next door rings Adam’s doorbell. She’s
barefoot and wearing shorts although it’s a cold night. ADAM
opens the door.
TEENAGE GIRL
Well congratulations, asshole.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
19.
ADAM
What do you mean?
TEENAGE GIRL
Milo’s gone. I saw a truck. You
called animal control didn’t you?
You said you would. Now they’re
going to gas him.
The Teenage Girl lets go of the screen door, but Adam holds
it open and calls after her.
ADAM
What, no. No I didn’t call them.
Wait, what did you see?
The girl pauses and grudgingly turns back to Adam.
TEENAGE GIRL
You said you’d call animal control
and now someone did. Mum said they
came and took him away.
ADAM
What? No. I didn’t do that. That’s
just... I say stupid stuff liekt
hat to sound in control.
The teenage girl grabs at the screen door and considers for
a moment.
TEENAGE GIRL
Well either it was you or that
witch across the road that keeps
staring at us.
The teenage girl still holds onto the screen door. As she
stands there she idling swings it back and forth between her
hands. The hinges creak painfully. Adam flinches a little
bit.
ADAM
What? There’s a witch across the
street?
TEENAGE GIRL
You know, that one that pushed her
husband out the window a few months
ago? Saw him on the stretcher, he
was covered in glass, but they put
a sheet over him so I didn’t get to
see much blood. They made her take
a police statement, my brother says
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
20.
TEENAGE GIRL (cont’d)
he saw when the cops came to pick
her up. Only, they didn’t charge
her on account of her being crazy.
ADAM
I don’t think it really happened
like that.Wait, what about Batman,
what happened to him? You’re going
to pick him up, aren’t you.
TEENAGE GIRL
They want some kind of registration
or whatever. Mum says we don’t have
any, ’cause Milo was a feral.
ADAM
So they’re going to kill him?
TEENAGE GIRL
(Sniffing back
tears)Yeah. Mum promised
we’re going to get a snake
instead. But you have to keep
them in a fish tank. Pretty
cool though.
The girl lets go of the screen door and it slams back, she
steps off the doorstep, then hesitates.
TEENAGE GIRL
I’m called Milly. By the way.
ADAM
Adam. Bye Milly.
The teenage girl slinks sadly away. Adam stands in his
doorway, still stunned.
SCENE 20. INT. A BAR. EVENING.
Leigh sits at a small table, watching several people in
groups around her, dressed in office clothing. In front of
Leigh is a beer glass, and she tips the dregs of foam,
trying to look purposeful.
A man steps in front of her, his voice is the same as on the
phone. Leigh looks up, then back to her coffee.
MAN
Kept you waiting long?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
21.
LEIGH
No, about twenty minutes. Think
they might have chucked me out
after I finished this one.
The man sits down, and we see he is young, around the same
age as Leigh, dressed as an office cubicle worker. He is not
particularly attractive, although his smug stance suggests
he certainly thinks he is.
MAN
Look I’ll shout you something.
LEIGH
No. No.
MAN
Come on. I can afford it.
LEIGH
I don’t want this to take anymore
than this has to.
MAN
(With forced cheeriness)
Well that sounds ominous.
LEIGH
You didn’t have to try and see me
again.
The man looks at Leigh and tilts his head, more perplexed
than offended, as if an animal had just started speaking.
MAN
I thought that’s you
wanted.
I thought that’s
what all of you wanted.
Leigh looks away from him and drags her bag up onto her lap
and pulls her coat from the back of the chair.
LEIGH
Look. I am not good with
communicating.I find it hard...
(Leigh speaks without much expression or pause,like a
memorised speech.
to say no to people. I don’t want
to meet you anymore. I do not want
a relationship or anything with
you.
The Man gets up, and makes an exaggerated snort of disgust.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
22.
MAN
Do you think you’re such a catch,
then?
LEIGH
Well, you’re not the only person
I’ve been in intimate with over the
last month so-MAN
Oh typical. Crazy slut.
The man walks away, this is also exaggerated, and he finds
his audience in several people nearby. A waitress, MORGAN
watches him leave and then at LEIGH. She walks up to LEIGH
wipes her table and collects her empty coffee glass.
MORGAN
(In a lowered voice) So what the
fuck was that about?
LEIGH
I don’t know. It just happens.
MORGAN
That it does.
LEIGH
I think I just act as a magnet for
people who can’t deal with
criticism.
MORGAN
Oh crap, none of them can. It’s
their egos.
SCENE 21. CITY COUNCIL POUND. AFTERNOON.
Adam walks through a darkened building which is lined with
cages, there’s a constant howling and barking of frightened
animals. He looks into some of larger cages. One dog lies,
defeat and still, while another strains against the mesh
barking furiously.
In front of Adam walks a COUNCIL WORKER, an
efficient-looking middle aged woman dressed in a work shirt.
COUNCIL WORKER
Yeah, gotta be careful for those
ones.They bite.
They continue walking towards rows of smaller cages, the
barking is overtaken by mewling cats.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
23.
Adam walks alongside looking into each of the cages. Many of
the caged cats look injured, or sick. Inside the last row
is Batman, who takes up most of the cage’s space. He stares
back at Adam reproachfully.
ADAM
This is him.
Council worker
[Not hearing] Give us a shout out
when you see him.
ADAM
Here, just over here.
The COUNCIL WORKER rejoins him.
COUNCIL WORKER
Now the important thing is never to
let them out at night. A cat that
large, could do serious damage to
native wildlife. You should get him
a collar with a bell.
ADAM
Wait, didn’t he have a collar?
COUNCIL WORKER
No. Do you have him registered.
Because there’s a few fines you
have to pay and a registration.
SCENE INT. LEIGH’S CAR.SUBURBAN STREET. NIGHT.
Leigh drives home from her encounter in the bar. The radio
is playing loudly on her radio, heavy with static. She slows
down as she approaches her unit.
Another car is parked in front of her house. Leigh pulls up
several feet away and watches a man exit the car.It is ADAM,
who reaches into the car and pulls out a cardboard box. He
then crosses the street towards his house.
LEIGH
Oh fuck you too.
Leigh unbuckles herself and grabs her bag. Her mobile begins
ringing. She slams the car door with her shoulder and
answers the phone while gathering her house keys.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
24.
LEIGH
Hello?
Another man’s voice is on the other end.
MAN ON PHONE
Hey. Leah? It’s me.
LEIGH
Who?
MAN ON PHONE
Andrew? Don’t pretend you don’t
know me...
Leigh walks towards her door, still balancing the phone and
cringing.
SCENE 22. INT. NORA’S DINING ROOM. NIGHT.
Nora stands in the dark dining room of a large, modern
house. She is dressed in a kimono and is barefoot. There are
bloody footprints across the carpet.
In her hand, Nora holds a box of cigarettes and a lighter.
She clicks the lighter and walks closer to the doors,and
tears the plastic sheeting away from the frame. Nora steps
through the door frame and into the yard outside.
NORA
James. I finally got around to
calling the glaziers to fix this
bloody door.
SCENE 23. INT. ADAM’S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT.
Adam sits on his couch watching Battlestar Galalctica on TV.
Beside him, Batman sits on a cushion, watching with regal
disinterest.
SCENE 24. INT. LEIGH’S UNIT. NIGHT
Leigh walks barefoot from her kitchen unit to the armchair
carrying a bowl of microwave popcorn. The phone lies on the
coffee table, still emitting faint noises of someone on the
other line.
LEIGH
Man, that must be one massive bill.
You’ve suffered enough.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
25.
Leigh turns the phone over and presses a button,
disconnecting the call, then settles back in the armchair
with the bowl in her lap.
THE END