American Beauty Page #16

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ANGELA:

Thank you.

(far away)

I don't think there's anything worse

than being ordinary...

And Lester kisses her on the lips.

INT. MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 - CONTINUOUS

Carolyn drives, her face resolute.

CAROLYN:

I refuse to be a victim. I refuse to

be a victim. I refuse to be a

victim...

(angry)

Lester, I have something I have to

say to you...

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Angela lays back on the couch as Lester moves in over her.

He pulls her jeans off and gently brushes his fingers over

her legs, then moves up and caresses her face...

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - JANE'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Ricky and Jane, fully clothed, lie curled up on Jane's bed.

JANE:

Are you scared?

RICKY:

I don't get scared.

JANE:

My parents will try to find me.

RICKY:

Mine won't.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Lester starts unbuttoning Angela's blouse. She seems

disconnected from what's happening. Lester pulls her blouse

open, exposing her breasts.

Lester looks down at her, grinning, unable to believe he's

actually about to do what he's dreamed of so many times, and

then...

ANGELA:

This is my first time.

Lester LAUGHS.

LESTER:

You're kidding.

ANGELA:

(a whisper)

I'm sorry.

A beat. Lester looks down at her, his grin fading.

His POV:
Angela lies beneath us, embarrassed and vulnerable.

This is not the mythically carnal creature of Lester's

fantasies; this is a nervous child.

ANGELA:

I still want to do it... I just

thought I should tell you... in case

you wondered why I wasn't... better.

Lester's face falls. There's no way he's going to go through

with this now.

ANGELA:

(confused)

What's wrong? I thought you said I

was beautiful.

LESTER:

(tenderly)

You are beautiful.

He grabs a blanket from the back of the couch and drapes it

around her shoulders, covering her nakedness.

LESTER:

You are so beautiful... and I would

be a very lucky man...

He smiles and shakes his head. Humiliated, Angela starts to

cry.

ANGELA:

I feel so stupid.

LESTER:

Don't.

He hugs her, letting her put her head on his shoulder,

stroking her hair and rocking her gently.

ANGELA:

I'm sorry.

Lester takes her by the shoulders and looks at her, serious.

LESTER:

You have nothing to be sorry about.

But she keeps crying. Lester hugs her again. We HEAR a loud

CLAP of THUNDER outside.

LESTER:

(smiles)

It's okay. Everything's okay.

EXT. ROBIN HOOD TRAIL - MOMENTS LATER

The Mercedes pulls onto Robin Hood Trail.

INT. MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 - CONTINUOUS

CLOSE on Carolyn's eyes, reflected in the REAR-VIEW MIRROR.

She turns her head to look out the window:

Her POV:
The RED DOOR of the Burnham house stands out, even

in the pouring rain.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER

Angela, once again fully clothed, sits at the kitchen counter.

She's eating a turkey sandwich.

ANGELA:

Wow. I was starving.

Lester puts a jar of mayonnaise back in the refrigerator.

LESTER:

Do you want me to make you another

one?

ANGELA:

No, no, no. I'm fine.

He turns to her and c*cks an eyebrow.

LESTER:

(concerned)

You sure?

ANGELA:

I mean, I'm still a little weirded

out, but...

(sincerely)

...I feel better. Thanks.

A long beat, as Lester studies her, then:

LESTER:

How's Jane?

ANGELA:

What do you mean?

LESTER:

I mean, how's her life? Is she happy?

Is she miserable? I'd really like to

know, and she'd die before she'd

ever tell me about it.

Angela shifts uncomfortably.

ANGELA:

She's... she's really happy. She

thinks she's in love.

Angela rolls her eyes at how silly this notion is.

LESTER:

(quietly)

Good for her.

An awkward beat.

ANGELA:

How are you?

LESTER:

(smiles, taken aback)

God, it's been a long time since

anybody asked me that.

(thinks about it)

I'm great.

They just sit there, smiling at each other, then:

ANGELA:

(suddenly)

I've gotta go to the bathroom.

She crosses off. Lester watches her go, then stands there

wondering why he should suddenly feel so content.

LESTER:

(laughs)

I'm great.

Something at the edge of the counter catches his eye, and he

reaches for...

CLOSE on a framed PHOTOGRAPH as he picks it up: It's the

photo we saw earlier of him, Carolyn and Jane, taken several

years ago at an amusement park. It's startling how happy

they look.

Lester crosses to the kitchen table, where he sits and studies

the photo.

He suddenly seems older, more mature... and then he smiles:

the deep, satisfied smile of a man who just now understands

the punch line of a joke he heard long ago...

LESTER:

Man oh man...

(softly)

Man oh man oh man...

After a beat, the barrel of a GUN rises up behind his head,

aimed at the base of his skull.

ANGLE ON an arrangement of fresh-cut ROSES in a vase on the

opposite counter, deep crimson against the WHITE TILE WALL.

Then a GUNSHOT suddenly rings out, ECHOING unnaturally.

Instantly, the tile is sprayed with BLOOD, the same deep

crimson as the roses.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - FOYER - MOMENTS LATER

Ricky comes down the stairs, followed by Jane.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER

Ricky opens the door from the dining room, then stops. Jane

appears behind him.

JANE:

Oh God.

Their POV:
A pool of blood is forming on the kitchen table.

Ricky comes into the kitchen and slowly approaches Lester's

lifeless body, wide-eyed but not afraid. Jane follows him,

in shock. Ricky kneels, gazing at Lester's unseen face...

then he smiles, ever so slightly.

His POV:
Lester looks back at us; his eyes are lifeless, but

he's smiling the same slight smile.

RICKY:

(an awed whisper)

Wow.

LESTER (V.O.)

I had always heard your entire life

flashes in front of your eyes the

second before you die.

EXT. SKY - DAY

We're FLYING across a white blanket of clouds.

LESTER (V.O.)

First of all, that one second isn't

a second at all, it stretches on

forever, like an ocean of time...

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

In BLACK & WHITE: Eleven-year-old Lester looks up, pointing

excitedly at:

His POV:
A DOT OF LIGHT falls across an unbelievably starry

sky.

LESTER (V.O.)

For me, it was lying on my back at

Boy Scout camp, watching falling

stars...

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - JANE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Ricky and Jane lie curled up on Jane's bed, fully clothed.

We HEAR a GUNSHOT from downstairs. They look at each other,

alarmed.

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - DUSK

In BLACK & WHITE: Maple trees in autumn. Ghostly LEAVES

FLUTTER slowly toward pavement.

LESTER (V.O.)

And yellow leaves, from the maple

trees, that lined my street...

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - POWDER ROOM - NIGHT

Angela stands in front of the mirror, fixing her make-up. We

HEAR the GUNSHOT again. Angela turns, frightened.

INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DAY

In BLACK & WHITE: CLOSE on an ancient woman's papery HANDS

as they button a cardigan sweater.

LESTER (V.O.)

Or my grandmother's hands, and the

way her skin seemed like paper...

EXT. BURNHAM HOUSE - NIGHT

Carolyn walks slowly toward the RED DOOR, drenched to the

bone, clutching her PURSE tightly. We HEAR the GUNSHOT again.

EXT. SUBURB - DAY

In BLACK & WHITE: A 1970 PONTIAC FIREBIRD in the driveway of

a suburban home. The SUN'S REFLECTION in the windshield

FLASHES BRILLIANTLY.

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