urges.
by pamela.vitale
FADE IN: SUBWAY PLATFORM, TWO PEOPLE (ISABEL & JACK) SITTING ON BENCH TALKING.
ENTER ISABEL (30, female) tall, thin brunette, aloof like a cat but almost expressionless unless you engage her than her expression slowly changes and brightens just enough. Subtle sadness, concern or is it fear.
Subway station silence…all you hear is the water dripping, and the long-distance sounds in the tunnel. Close up on ISABEL you only hear her breathing inside her head and the sound of dripping louder until she speaks.
ISABEL
Ok, ok, what is it that you want?
PAUSE
PAN CAMERA RIGHT ENTER JACK (28–32 male) average height/weight, dark hair a little unkempt, wiry strong. A bit dark, intense, mysterious, weird or is it just a real concern for ISABEL.
JACK
Substance! An actual value of what is real. I didn’t see what you were looking at, AND I didn’t see who you were talking too.
ISABEL a little annoyed looks forward away from Jack.
ISABEL
Never mind!
Oddly calm looking around, breathe in & out heavy through nostrils thinking about what she just saw, pensively.
ISABEL
It’s just…do you ever think that perhaps we all live in an alternate reality…A kind of other life aside from this one?
JACK
Not sure what you mean…sounds kind of sci-fi to me or maybe…You know like you’ve had a stressful life lately?
Pause with a light laugh, smirk.
Or too many drugs in your past life.
ha ha ha, flashbacks.
ISABEL
Yeah, stress.
LONG PAUSE AND CLOSE UP OF ISABEL LOOKING away from JACK QUESTIONING, slightly confused.
ISABEL
Flashbacks.
ENTER DENNIS (28–30 male) middle height black man, shaved head, clean-cut, well dressed, well mannered…athletic build and confidence. Somehow unsure or pensive about ISABEL but keeps it to himself, shows gentle concern, compassion, always with a soft smile.
DENNIS ascends from the stairwell; the train starts coming very loudly and changes the mood of the environment. ISABEL gets up to meet DENNIS as he speaks.
DENNIS
Flashback? Having one my dear, sorry, I’m late but of course perfect timing as always.
Takes her by the arm with a big smile, laugh, they (DENNIS and ISABEL) enter the train and doors close to camera and train rides away as we watch it go into the tunnel.
END SCENE.
EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD
INT. COFFEE SHOP — DUSK
DENNIS and ISABEL interact like a couple while reading and having Tea. Notes: this will have visual distortion effects (processing) and JACK lurking in the background in some scenes.
END SCENE.
INT. ISABEL’s apartment
She’s hanging up a series of drawing on the wall all the way up to the ceiling.
DENNIS
Hey, what are you up to? Looks great!
ISABEL
Oh just hanging art on the wall makes it look nice in here.
We look in the direction of DENNIS, and it’s now JACK, he asks again a little confused, pensive.
JACK
What are you hanging on the walls?
We are now looking at ISABEL tacking old, worn T-shirts on all four walls up to the ceiling.
The lighting direction should be visual distortion effects (processing).
ISABEL
Oh JACK? Lightening up, they’re just My old boyfriend T-shirt collection. I wanted a special place for all of them.
ISABEL walks away into the other room. JACK slowly follows then he stops leans against the wall camera pulls back. He stand-alone, emotionally exhausted leaning on the wall, hand on far head pensively and sporadically looking back at the room.
END SCENE.
EXT. FORT Washington Park, NYC Bike Path
ISABEL and JACK bike riding on the bike path, JACK seems to be riding out of control stressing ISABEL out. He’s going to fast, taking stupid risks, expressionless and impatient.
ISABEL is trying to keep up, very stressed, confused, and feels neglected.
ISABEL makes the wrong turn, gets lost under the GWBridge underpass kind of empty, dangerous.
Suddenly DENNIS shows up worried, sweaty, looking for her wondering what happened.
ISABEL freaking out, confused but glad to see him, DENNIS calmly walks her in the right direction.
DENNIS (calmly/grounded)
No worries. So you got lost. Everything is ok.
END SCENE.
EXT. DUMBO STREETS
ISABEL walking around in Dumbo looking for a restaurant, nighttime: visual distortion effects (processing), post-production effects
She’s lost, seeing things, anxious, kind of going with it as if it’s the real world.
INT. BAR TOTO
ISABEL ends up in Bar Toto (park slope, Brooklyn), meets up with friends and starts freely talking about who and what she saw on her way to the Bar as if it was normal (a scene). Her friends look at her and each other wondering but think perhaps she’s on something and moves on amused.
Time passes, she moves towards the windows of the restaurant and realizes she’s in a different hood and says to friends.
ISABEL
Wait what streets are we on? What hood are we in?
FRIENDS
Park Slope silly!
ISABEL
Oh!? I could have sworn I was in Dumbo! Weird!
FRIEND
Eeesch girl, you need to keep off the drugs!
ISABEL
I haven’t touched that shit in years…whatever I must have just gotten lost.
ISABEL thinks she sees a reflection of JACK. As if watching her in the mirror of the Bar, almost seemingly stalking her. He never comes up to her to say hello, he stares into space intensely.
Suddenly DENNIS walks in, speaking to her off to the side while getting her to put on her coat as if looking to leave.
DENNIS
Oh cool, I was hoping to walk you home. Let’s sneak out of here before anyone notices me.
END SCENE.
INT. METRO NORTH TRAIN
ISABEL and DENNIS are on the train going north together, DENISE holding her hand remarks.
DENNIS
Don’t worry it will all be over soon. No more visions, no more confusion.
You see the window next to them and the reflection, it’s ISABEL looking in and JACK sitting in a seat across the aisle looking in her direction looking rather distant.
END SCENE.
FINAL SCENE.
INT. TRAIN STATION PLATFORM MT. PLEASANT CEMETERY, WESTCHESTER, NY
EXCITING TRAIN ONTO PLATFORM, the camera slowly follows someone thru the seats off the train onto the platform. It looks like Dennis because of his coat, the camera moves up his back and you come to realize perhaps not. The camera moves around to the face and we are facing Jack close–up, Jack speaks softly with some emotion.
JACK
“it’s all over baby, it’s all over now.”
The camera backs up with JACK in full view on a platform in the same clothes that DENNIS always wears. The camera tracks around to his back, the platform and cemetery in full view.
END.