A Monster Calls Page #9

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Sully reaches for the rising Conor to cause more mischief.

HarrY (CONT’D)

Don’t touch him.

SuLLY

Don’t touch him? But it’s such a

punchable face-

Sully steps towards Conor. Conor clinches A FIST

HARRY:

(firmly)

I said, don’t touch him.

Sully immediately steps back.

Harry (CONT’D)

O’Malley and I have an

understanding. I’m the only one who

touches him. Isn’t that right?

Conor says nothing, but this does seem to be the agreement.

AnTON

Harry, come on-

HARRY:

No, you see, there’s something I

want to find out.

Harry steps closer. Conor doesn’t back away.

Harry raises a fist as if to strike Conor. Again, Conor

doesn’t flinch, just waits for the punch.

Beat. Harry drops his fist.

107.

HARRY (CONT’D)

Yeah. That’s what I thought.

Then he swings a fast, vicious punch to Conor which we don’t

see connect-

Cut TO:

108.

63 InT. conor’s house front hallway - later 63

Conor enters, home from school, some bruising on his face,

but hasn’t even shut the door before Grandma is on him.

GRANDMA:

(brusque, businesslike)

Good, you’re home. Your mum’s

upstairs. She wants to talk to you.

CONOR:

What-

GRANDMA:

(putting a phone to her

ear)

Your father’s flying in on Sunday.

CONOR:

Dad’s coming? From America?

GRANDMA:

(unhappy)

Yes, and I get to arrange it. Lucky

me. Go. Your mum’s waiting.

Grandma exits to the sitting room.

CONOR:

Why is my dad coming?

GRANDMA:

(closing door behind her)

And pack a bag. You’re coming to

stay with me for a few days.

Then she’s gone. Conor stands for a moment, shellshocked.

109.

64 InT. conor’s hallway/MUM’S BEDROOM - momENTS LATER 64

Conor approaches the door to his mum’s bedroom. He’s badly

disconcerted. He puts his hand on the knob but waits for a

moment. He takes a deep breath, opens the door-

BOOM! Inside is entirely taken over by the NIGHTMARE:

blackness, roaring and screaming, a horrible deafening noise

churning the blackness, a voice calling “Conor!” in terror-

Conor calls out and slams the door.

Mum (o.S.)

(from Conor’s room)

Conor? I’m in here.

Conor breathes heavy for a moment. He opens his mum’s door a

crack. It’s normal. He closes it and goes to his own bedroom.

110.

65 InT. conor’S BEDROOM - DAY - conTINUOUS 65

His mum, in a TERRIBLE TINA TURNER-ESQUE WIG, lies on his

bed, looking out at the yew tree, SKETCHING ON CONOR’S

SKETCHPAD.

MuM

Hi, sweetheart. Come sit.

He sits down next to her on the bed. She’s sketching the yew

tree. The drawing is half-finished, but really excellent.

Mum (CONT’D)

(w/o turning)

Yew trees are amazing, you know.

Live for thousands of years. And

they’re always planted in

churchyards because the-

ConOR

(finishes, heard it a

thousand times)

-berries are poisonous so they have

to be kept away from cows and

stuff.

MUM:

No, that’s just the official

version. The real reason is that

yew trees dig their roots down into

the graves and take all the things

the dead wish they could have said

and spread them into the world

through their leaves.

CONOR:

(skeptical)

Uh-huh.

Mum turns and smiles at him, exhausted, setting down the half-

finished sketch. Conor gives a horrified look at the wig on

her head. She laughs.

MUM:

I know. Tina Turner. If she was

from Sheffield.

CONOR:

I don’t really know who that is.

111.

65A Ext. ChurCHYARD HILLTOP / conor’s house - day 65A

Mum tugs the wig off, laughing, tying a scarf on her head.

They both look at the tree.

Mum starts stroking his hair.

ConOR

Why am I going to stay with

Grandma? Are you going back to

hospital?

Mum

(sighs lovingly)

We’ve been here before, sweetheart.

I feel really bad and I go in and

they take care of it.

CONOR:

Then why is dad coming?

Mum pauses in the hair stroking, but picks right back up.

MUM:

Aren’t you excited?

CONOR:

Grandma doesn’t seem too happy.

MUM:

(snorts)

Well, you know how she feels about

your father. Don’t listen to her.

Beat, silence. Conor braces himself.

CONOR:

There’s something else, isn’t

there?

Mum quickly, forcefully, cuts off his worry.

MuM

Look at me, son.

He does.

Mum (CONT’D)

The latest treatment’s not doing

what it’s supposed to. So they’re

going to adjust it, try something

else. That’s all.

ConoR

That’s all?

112.

MUM:

(nodding)

That’s all. There’s lots more they

can do. It’s normal. Don’t worry.

CONOR:

You’re sure?

MUM:

I’m sure.

CONOR:

Because... You could tell me, you

know.

And here’s the moment, where she could tell him everything.

But she can’t, not yet.

MUM:

I remember when you were a little

baby, and it was just the two of

us. And you’d get, like, a fever or

something. I used to get so scared.

I was really, really young - only

six years older than you, if you

can believe it - and this was a

time when things weren´t going so

great. Your dad was gone and I

wasn´t speaking to your Grandma.

And I kept thinking, What if I get

this wrong? It´d be the middle of

the night and I wouldn´t know what

to do, I´d have no one to ask, no

one to lean on. And do you know

what I’d always do? I’d look into

your eyes, into your little baby

eyes, and I’d say, “We’re a team,

me and you. We’re in this

together.” And I’d still be scared,

but it didn’t matter so much

anymore. Because you were counting

on me, and that was the only thing

that mattered.

(rubs his head)

Still is.

She leans up, puts an arm around him, her head on his

shoulder. They both look out at the tree.

MUM (CONT’D)

I’ll bet that old tree will keep an

eye on the house for us while

you’re at your grandma’s.

Conor’s expression is priceless. His mum grabs him and turns

him to her, faux-serious.

113.

Mum (CONT’D)

But for God’s sake, whatever you

do, don’t touch your grandmother’s

clock.

Cut TO:

114.

66-66A EXT./InT. Grandma’s DRIVEWAY/sitting room - days later 66-66A

The face of Grandma’s prize grandfather clock. It’s against

the wall of a pristine sitting room, every surface clean and

museum-like, including glass display cases with figurines,

low bookcases, porcelain knickknacks. The polar opposite of

Conor’s warmly untidy house. Conor leans on the doorframe.

Grandma very carefully SETS HER WRISTWATCH by the clock (not

vice versa).

GranDMA

(looking at clock)

I’ve got a house to show. I’m

trusting you here alone until your

dad shows up.

Conor

I’m not five years old.

GRANDMA:

(ignores this, finishes

with watch)

This is the correct time. Not the

one on your computer, or even the

one on the news. Right here. I

almost got this on Antiques

Roadshow once. It belong to my

mother - your grear-grandmother.

Perfect time keeping for over a

hundred years.

Conor rolls his eyes. A VERY old story. She brushes past him:

115.

67 Int. grandma’s front hallway - conTINUOUS 67

She glides smoothly to a mirror, checking how she looks. On

the wall, we might notice some pictures of her and her

family, including one of her with CONOR’S GRANDFATHER, played

by the same actor as the Monster.

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