American Beauty Page #10

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INT. TOP HAT MOTEL - LATER THAT DAY

Carolyn and Buddy are in bed, post-sex.

CAROLYN:

That was exactly what I needed. The

royal treatment, so to speak.

They laugh.

CAROLYN:

I was so stressed out.

BUDDY:

Know what I do when I feel like that?

CAROLYN:

What?

BUDDY:

I fire a gun.

Carolyn sits up, eager to learn from the master.

CAROLYN:

(intrigued)

Really.

BUDDY:

Oh yeah, I go to this little firing

range downtown, and I just pop off a

few rounds.

CAROLYN:

(embarrassed)

I've never fired a gun before.

BUDDY:

Oh, you've gotta try it. Nothing

makes you feel more powerful.

(smiles seductively)

Well, almost nothing.

Carolyn is quick to pick up her cue and kisses him, ready

for another round.

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - LATER THAT DAY

Ricky and Jane walk along without speaking. He seems

comfortable with the silence; she doesn't. After a beat:

JANE:

So how do you like your new house?

RICKY:

I like it.

A beat.

JANE:

The people who used to live there

fed these stray cats, so they were

always around, and it drove my mother

nuts. And then she cut down their

tree.

An automobile FUNERAL PROCESSION appears and begins to pass

them slowly.

RICKY:

Have you ever known anybody who died?

JANE:

No.

(a beat)

Have you?

RICKY:

No, but I did see this homeless woman

who froze to death once. Just laying

there on the sidewalk. She looked

really sad.

They watch the FUNERAL CARS pass.

RICKY:

I got that homeless woman on video.

JANE:

Why would you film that?

RICKY:

Because it was amazing.

JANE:

What was amazing about it?

A beat.

RICKY:

When you see something like that,

it's like God is looking right at

you, just for a second. And if you're

careful, you can look right back.

JANE:

And what do you see?

RICKY:

Beauty.

INT. FITTS HOUSE - KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER

Barbara Fitts sits at the kitchen table, staring off into

space as if hypnotized. Behind her, Ricky enters, followed

by Jane.

RICKY:

Mom, I want you to meet somebody.

(no response)

Mom.

Barbara's eyes flutter and she turns to him slowly.

BARBARA:

(pleasant)

Yes?

RICKY:

I want you to meet somebody. This is

Jane.

JANE:

Hi.

BARBARA:

Oh, my. I apologize for the way things

look around here.

Jane glances around. The room is spotless.

INT. FITTS HOUSE - THE COLONEL'S STUDY - MOMENTS LATER

We HEAR KEYS TURNING in the lock, then the door opens and

Ricky enters, holding a RING OF KEYS, followed by Jane.

RICKY:

This is where my dad hides out.

GLASS CASES filled with GUNS line the walls.

JANE:

I take it he's got a thing for guns.

Ricky crosses to a built-in CABINET behind the desk.

RICKY:

You got to see this one thing...

He unlocks the cabinet and opens it, revealing shelves stacked

with WAR MEMORABILIA.

RICKY:

My dad would kill me if he knew I

was in here.

JANE:

Did you steal his keys?

RICKY:

No. One of my clients is a locksmith.

He was short on cash one night, so I

let him pay me in trade.

He reaches into the cabinet and carefully removes an oval

CHINA PLATTER, which he hands to Jane. She examines it.

RICKY:

Turn it over.

CLOSE on the bottom of the plate: A small SWASTIKA is

imprinted in the center.

JANE:

Oh my God.

RICKY:

It's like official state china of

the Third Reich. There's a whole

subculture of people who collect

this Nazi sh*t. But my dad just has

this one thing.

He puts the platter back into the cabinet and shuts the door,

then notices Jane looking at him oddly.

RICKY:

What's wrong?

JANE:

Nothing.

RICKY:

(concerned)

No, you're scared of me.

JANE:

No I'm not.

But she is. Ricky studies her.

RICKY:

You want to see the most beautiful

thing I've ever filmed?

INT. FITTS HOUSE - RICKY'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER

On VIDEO:
We're in an empty parking lot on a cold, gray day.

Something is floating across from us... it's an empty,

wrinkled, white PLASTIC BAG. We follow it as the wind carries

it in a circle around us, sometimes whipping it about

violently, or, without warning, sending it soaring skyward,

then letting it float gracefully down to the ground...

Jane and Ricky sit on the bed, watching his WIDE-SCREEN TV.

RICKY:

It was one of those days when it's a

minute away from snowing. And there's

this electricity in the air, you can

almost hear it, right? And this bag

was just... dancing with me. Like a

little kid begging me to play with

it. For fifteen minutes. That's the

day I realized that there was this

entire life behind things, and this

incredibly benevolent force that

wanted me to know there was no reason

to be afraid. Ever.

A beat.

RICKY:

Video's a poor excuse, I know. But

it helps me remember... I need to

remember...

Now Jane is watching him.

RICKY:

(distant)

Sometimes there's so much beauty in

the world I feel like I can't take

it... and my heart is going to cave

in.

After a moment, Jane takes his hand. Then she leans in and

kisses him softly on the lips. His eyes scan hers, curious

to see how she reacts to this...

JANE:

(suddenly)

Oh my God. What time is it?

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - DINING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Lester sits at the table in sloppy clothes, eating his dinner

voraciously and drinking beer from a bottle. Across from

him, Carolyn picks at her food, watching him with contempt.

EASY-LISTENING MUSIC plays on the STEREO.

We HEAR the back door SLAM, then Jane enters and quickly

takes her seat at the table.

JANE:

Sorry I'm late.

CAROLYN:

(overly cheerful)

No, no, that's quite all right, dear.

Your father and I were just discussing

his day at work.

(to Lester)

Why don't you tell our daughter about

it, honey?

Jane stares at both her parents, apprehensive. Lester looks

at Carolyn darkly, then flashes a "you-asked-for-it" grin.

LESTER:

Janie, today I quit my job. And then

I told my boss to f*** himself, and

then I blackmailed him for almost

sixty thousand dollars. Pass the

asparagus.

CAROLYN:

Your father seems to think this kind

of behavior is something to be proud

of.

LESTER:

And your mother seems to prefer I go

through life like a f***ing prisoner

while she keeps my dick in a mason

jar under the sink.

CAROLYN:

(ashen)

How dare you speak to me that way in

front of her? And I marvel that you

can be so contemptuous of me, on the

same day that you lose your job!

LESTER:

Lose it? I didn't lose it. It's not

like, "Oops, where'd my job go?" I

quit. Someone pass me the asparagus.

CAROLYN:

Oh! Oh! And I want to thank you for

putting me under the added pressure

of being the sole breadwinner now--

LESTER:

I already have a job.

CAROLYN:

(not stopping)

No, no, don't give a second thought

as to who's going to pay the mortgage.

We'll just leave it all up to Carolyn.

You mean, you're going to take care

of everything now, Carolyn? Yes. I

don't mind. I really don't. You mean,

everything? You don't mind having

the sole responsibility, your husband

feels he can just quit his job--

LESTER:

(overlapping)

Will someone pass me the f***ing

asparagus?

JANE:

(Rises)

Okay, I'm not going to be a part of

this--

LESTER:

(means it)

Sit down.

Jane does so, surprised and intimidated by the power in his

voice. Lester gets up, crosses to the other side of the table

to get a PLATE OF ASPARAGUS, then sits again as he serves

himself.

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