Love And Other Nightmares, The Screenplay - Part One
Apr 19 '03
The Bottom Line Copyright 2003 David Macdonald
Love And Other Nightmares
A Screenplay by David Macdonald
Credit sequence:
(The film begins with a montage of numerous images; images that carry numerous connotations involving the body, body image, specifically that of women’s bodies and body image. Women’s magazine covers, fashion magazine covers, wrappers from fast food restaurants, wrappers from candy bars and other junk food, clothes and undergarments, etc. Each shot is a close-up of one of these items, which are to be found in the apartment resided by Anna and April. The credits, and the score - if any - will be used during this montage.)
*
Scene One:
(Apartment. Kitchen/dining room. Early evening. The two women who live in the apartment, Anna and April, are speaking to each other after supper.)
(April is a full-figured woman. Her face is soft, pleasant. Her eyes try to sparkle with joy, with positivity - but there is a sense of doubt, not quite reaching sadness or desperation in her look. She has a warm, wholesome look and manner)
(Anna is a tall, skinny girl with a more sardonic tone of voice. She seems to cover up any sorrow with anger, or sarcasm. She has the sort of face that would transfer itself into a lopsided smirk, as opposed to a warm smile.)
(April sits on the chair at the dinner table, reading a national newspaper. Anna is in the kitchen, furiously washing a frying pan in the sink.)
APRIL (laughing)
Hey, Anna, did you happen to read this today?
ANNA (not pausing with the washing)
I don’t know, what is it?
APRIL (her glance not leaving the paper)
Yea, a bunch of people are suing the fast food restaurants. Apparently, they’re suing the restaurants for making them fat. What a people those Americans are......(trailing off, theatrically)
ANNA
Oh my God! (hopeless tone) I wouldn’t blame them whatsoever. It is so clear that the Macdonald’s Republican Guard invaded the streets of New York, took those poor innocents hostage, and administered torture by cholestral-embedded hamburger patties. That’s what the rest of the article says, doesn’t it?
APRIL (a fake matter-of-fact tone)
Must be... certainly wasn’t anything of their doing.
ANNA (placing the pan on the dishrack)
You do realize that there are about, at least, ten crap food joints in University Avenue alone. Who’s to say that a bunch of underemployed sad sacks wouldn’t take Danny Murphy’s entire life’s work to court, because of that extra layer of fat they’ve acquired over the weekend?
APRIL (looks away from her paper, lost in thought perhaps, making Anna worried about her last statement)
But we’re Canadians... we aren’t born with that blood thirst for justice. As long as the government bribes us with enough unemployment insurance to keep us from working, we don’t care if our habits make us fat.
(Anna is impressed by April’s sarcasm)
APRIL
Besides...
(returning her glance to the paper)
.... I enjoy that sort of thing sometimes. I had the Triple Cheeseburger Combo at Wendy’s. It was delightful. Why would I sue anyone for that? (she takes her glance away from the paper, and stares straight at Anna, with an expression that evoked a number of contradictory emotions)
ANNA (grinning slowly, in her lopsided way)
So you didn’t cook anything last night.... then who used this frying pan then? (gesturing to the dishrack)
APRIL (folding the newspaper)
Don’t you remember? That was a few days ago when we cooked the fish.
ANNA
Yuck! So that pan was carrying germs and other horrid creatures for two days? Don’t we take care of ourselves....?
APRIL (passing her friend, and going to the fridge)
Yea, sure we do. (slightly unconvinced) All women can take care of ourselves .... except for a few of us. Triple Cheeseburgers, anyone? God, wasn’t I so stupid?
ANNA
Oh, come on, April. (trying to be reassuring) One little slip-up never hurt anyone. I take back my last question -- of course we take care of ourselves. We’re women, not slobs -- we don’t leave our socks and dirty underwear lying on the bathroom floor. We don’t have... junk... littering the living room floors. Single men, however, leave everything everywhere except in where it belongs.
(The two women laughed)
(April stood near the point between the living room and the kitchen. Anna went over to the table to clear it of the salt, ketchup, etc.)
ANNA (twisting her neck around slightly toward April)
I seem to be doing all the kitchen work tonight.
APRIL
I cook, you clean, and tomorrow, vice versa. You agreed.
ANNA (attempting levity)
There’s two days worth of dishes here. It’s not fair for me to get all the work.
APRIL
But you do such a good job with the plates. The clarity of my reflection; DVD’s will be obsolete within the year! (looking at a plate on the dish rack) Although I’m surprised that this plate doesn’t just shatter to bits trying to withstand my ugly face.
ANNA (her back is turned to April, as she wipes the table. Her face is a shuddering pool of frustration, but she hides it well)
Well, sweetie, in the spirit of fair play, I’m going to let you at least equal my housekeeping capabilities.
APRIL (smiles, not sensing that Anna is irked)
Doing anything tonight?
ANNA (again turning to face her)
Not sure, probably.... probably not, unless Adam finishes work early. Can’t see it though? How about you?
APRIL
Fred’s free this evening. Haven’t figured out what we’re up to yet.
ANNA (approaching April, holding the dishcloth)
As long as you don’t take him to a fast food joint. I wouldn’t want to see you suddenly decide that two trips in two days is too much, and file charges against the fry guy. Don’t come crying to me for money to pay the lawyer.
APRIL (close-up) (wonders if this isn’t an accusation, but attempts to brush it aside)
Ah, that’s okay. Fred will help me. Isn’t that what boyfriends are for?
(They both smile to each other --Anna with the sardonic smile, April with the shy one)
Anyway.... I.... I better get ready if I’m going to see Fred........
*
(Cut to Scene 2)
Scene Two:
(April is in the bathroom, she places her change of clothes near the sink. She stands by the mirror, to undress, until she stands in only her undergarments.)
(Cut to: Her face, as she becomes aware of her self in the mirror, in a way that suggests that she has had this self-reflection before, and is now back for an update. She slowly places her hands on her cheeks, feeling the curve around the corners of her mouth as she presents a fake, brittle baring of teeth that couldn’t pass for a smile.)
(Cut to: medium shot. She keeps her arms raised, aware of their soft, thick nature. She lowers them to her sides. Her hands become aware of her stomach. She looks forlornly at either the hands, or the stomach that they touch. She doesn’t know if her weight has changed, and she probably doesn’t want to know.)
(Cut to: Close up of her hands running along her hips.)
(She is constantly aware that her body isn’t skinny. Her body is ample, not like the skinny girls of the magazines, and not like Anna.)
(Her eyes can not hide her disappointment)
*
(Cut to Scene 3)
Scene Three:
(After midnight)
(April’s bedroom. April and Fred are in bed, after having made love. They are now merely embracing closely, languishing in the moments they had experienced, fuzzily staring into each other’s faces.)
(April finally gets enough breath to talk)
APRIL (smiling)
Was I loud?
FRED
You sounded just right to me?
APRIL
Perhaps when it’s just you and me, alone in this bed, it’s the perfect melody.... but if we had an audience, they might be somewhat embarrassed.
FRED
What do they know? Prince Edward Island is so uncultured......
(they kiss each other tenderly again)
(Fred gently, but awkwardly, adjusts himself until he lays on his back.)
(April’s grasp loosened. The broken embrace is like a snap back into reality.)
(Cut to: close-up; Her face, formerly flushed with passion, has now returned to it’s inward glaze)
(Cut to: medium shot. April hugs herself, feeling the chill air, now that she is no longer close to a warm body.)
APRIL
I didn’t realize it was so cold until now.......
FRED
Neither did I.....
APRIL
I really shouldn’t feel so vulnerable, you know.... I’m not exactly thin as a rail here. I have enough body fat to keep me warm. (she tries quickly to even her self-loathing with humor)
FRED (instinctually returns to April’s body, in hopes to embrace it again)
What are you saying? (consolation)
APRIL (apologetic smile)
Well, Fred, I’m no Julia Roberts. I’m only stating a fact.
FRED
All she is, is an Oscar-winner. Better you, then accidentally crushing you in the throes of passion, wouldn’t you say?
APRIL
More like the other way around......
FRED
No way, babe. You’re a beauty.
APRIL (flushed)
Whatever......
FRED
I’m serious. If I didn’t think you were sexy, would I be in bed with you right now?
APRIL
Your mattress is hard as a rock; no wonder you sleep here.....
FRED (gently removes April’s arms from their protective position) (April merely watches him as he does this, she does not visibly object) (her upper body is revealed to his sight)
Only a fool wouldn’t go for what you’ve got. You have such a fabulous figure. Your face is so sweet to look at. Your hips are like an hourglass. Your breasts......
APRIL (laughs, in sweet embarrassment)
You must have received your diploma in BS this week, didn’t you?
FRED
Why don’t you like my compliments? I’m... I’m only being truthful.
APRIL (she props herself up by her elbow on the bed, as she continues speaking. Medium shot of April’s frame, from the front.)
You’re only being nice. And I do like that. But I don’t expect you to understand the way that I feel. Some of us women have a vicious tendency to fall in this trap, and nice polite words won’t help us escape. Look at the supermodels. Not one ounce of fat on them. They’re famous. They are rich. They show off their bodies as if they have something to be proud of. It’s all about the body, baby!
FRED (staring at her body, feeling as if he has to continue persuading her with nice talk)
You’re not going to be like the women in that movie, are you?
APRIL
The movie we saw tonight? Lovely and Amazing?
FRED
Yea! That woman -- who’s character was the actress.... she was so obsessed. She thought she had flabby arms. I don’t know what she was complaining about -- she was too skinny, actually.
APRIL
Actresses have to worry about stuff like that.
FRED
There’s a huge difference between someone who’s fat, and someone like you. I mean... you don’t need to be Kate Moss or any of those women. They’re all just anorexic crack addicts anyhow.. why would you want to be like them?
(April looks at him, while she scrutinizes his words)
(She slowly falls back down, into an embrace. Fred believes this to be a prelude to more romance)
APRIL (murmuring)
Fred?
FRED (humorously)
Yes?
APRIL
Fred..... I’ve been looking at you, all the times that we have been together. I’ve been looking at your body...... there’s nothing there.
(Fred frowns curiously)
FRED
What do you mean?
APRIL (touching his chest)
I can feel your ribs, it feels so.... gross. Do you even eat, or are you starving yourself? You’re just so scrawny. I can’t imagine you ever being able to play hockey; even the players on your own team would be afraid of accidentally breaking you. And I doubt that you could ever match up to any good Hollywood A-list hunk. Those are the only kinds of hunks that the public likes.
I mean, look! No bulky abs -- no rippling chest muscles. And your arms. They’re like twigs! Probably only worked out twice in your life, huh? But then I suppose I can understand why. A gym is a public place. You’d probably feel pretty embarrassed walking into a room with your weaknesses exposed. And your body not up to snuff. With all eyes on you -- judging you.
FRED (hoping to cease this conversation)
What’s with you, babe... just relax....
APRIL
You ought to feel privileged to be dating me. I mean, most people just go out with the person with the best a*s, the best chest, the most handsome face. And let’s not forget all the unmentionable body parts. It’s all about the body, Fred, no matter what anybody tells you. If anybody says even one word that has nothing to do with that pile of skin you’re walking in, they’re lying. Even if you were the most wonderful creation in God’s repertoire, all the gals would just look over your shoulder. That’s only if they even notice that you exist. And... and I’ll bet that you’re not the most confident person around, either. And, whoosh! All those eyes would veer away from you at an even faster rate, if that’s possible.
FRED
April, you’re talking crazy! What the hell’s wrong with you?
APRIL (slight pause, her face grows subtly more sadder; she feels hurt, as if she had done something wrong.)
Please, Fred, why don’t we just go to sleep. I don’t want to talk about this nonsense anymore, okay?
FRED (relieved, playing with April’s hair)
Okay... good night.
APRIL
‘Night.
(April rests upon his body.)
FRED
It will be all better in the morning......
(Fred doesn’t realize that April’s eyes are watery. --- close up of April’s face -- She wishes she could cry. She believes that she has ruined this evening with her self-loathing.)
(Fade to black)
*
(Scene 4)
(Black screen)
(A sob, as if someone was having a nightmare. The sob is muffled, weak, desperate, and it becomes accompanied by murmurs, a wordless cry for help. The sound grows slightly more audible, as if we were quietly approaching the unseen horror lurking close by.)
(Cut to POV shot from April’s bed. The dimness of the room, and the silence inside, replaces the invisible terror of the previous shot.)
(Cut to overhead shot of April, looking confused. Her arm rests above her head. Her eyes look around.)
(She notices that the room is quiet, except for Fred’s breathing, and the cars outside.)
(She sits up -- listening carefully to all of the sounds. A close-up of her face, revealing worry and confusion.)
(Fade to black)
*
Scene Five:
(April and Fred are still in bed. Fred’s hand rests upon April’s stomach. April’s head rests near Fred’s chest.)
(Cut to shot of the alarm clock -- time is 8 59 am. The camera holds onto this shot as we hear the two lovers breathing. The time switches to 9 00, and the music alarm turns on.)
(April’s eyes open first. She loudly exhales -- as if she wishes she didn’t have to wake up. She gently moves Fred’s hand away from her stomach, startling him to wake)
FRED
......uhhhh......
APRIL (mock sternness)
.... move over, man....
FRED
Do you have to move over??? Why can’t you stay.....
APRIL
Those animals at the pet shop can’t take care of themselves.
FRED
But.... I won’t be able to function properly without ..... a reminder of your beautiful self.... (nuzzling at the back of her neck)
APRIL
... oh, Fred. You make things so difficult..... (her voice expresses a conflict)
FRED
I’m not making anything difficult. What’s more easier than ditching a crappy job and spending all day in bed.....? (his caressing becomes more aggressive, yet tempting to April)
APRIL (pausing) (tempted)
You’ve got ten minutes!
(Fred quickly embraces her tightly; she squeals in delight.)
(Cut to next scene)
*
(Scene Five)
(April, now dressed in her daytime clothes, stands in front of her bedroom mirror, brushing her hair. We hear the toilet flushing from the bathroom.)
(Cut to: April brushing her hair, while we see Fred entering the room, holding a brassiere. The two cups dangle from either side of his hand.)
FRED (mocking)
You girls are pretty sloppy with your lingerie. And you women always claim that we are the pigs.
APRIL (turns; a beat before she bursts out laughing)
What are you doing rooting through Anna’s underwear?
FRED
This was hanging where the hand towel was supposed to be. I almost dried myself off with a C-cup!
APRIL (smiling, warmly)
And here she was telling me last night that women were so much neater than men!
FRED
You’re living with a bloody hypocrite, obviously.
APRIL
Man, you’re so mean! (mock sternness) Well, I’ll have a lot to tease her for this evening. I just hope she doesn’t belt me when I mention her tidy bathroom. She’s been acting a bit prickly lately. That job at the call center is killing her, I think. She’s the supervisor, you know, so that’s tough. I mean, we don’t get into fights or anything, not really... but sometimes, I’m afraid of getting her upset.....
FRED
She’ll probably whip you with her bra strap.
APRIL (smiling, but self-loathing)
Mine would hurt more than hers ever could.
FRED (comes closer, stands behind her seated figure; his arms embrace her body, his hands caress her breasts)
Well, that’s just the price one has to pay for having .... such a killer figure.
APRIL (rolling her eyes, laughing)
Ohhhhh, Fred... you’re just too good to me, you know that? I really don’t know how you’re able to say all those things to me... it must hurt both your brain to think and your mouth to speak.
FRED
No way, April.... (kissing her on the cheek) You’re the most wonderful woman I know.
(Cut to: Close up of April’s face as she turns to look at Fred; she’s in awe.)
APRIL
Fred, I never want you to stop lying to me........
(They kiss slowly, passionately)
(fade to black)
--------------------------
Part 2:
http://www.epinions.com/content_3244269700
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Member: David Macdonald
Location: Prince Edward Island
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About Me:
Alice, a story in nine parts, posted on Sept 24, 2008 - http://www.epinions.com/content_5241348228
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