American Beauty Page #17

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LESTER (V.O.)

And the first time I saw my cousin

Tony's brand new Firebird...

INT. FITTS HOUSE - THE COLONEL'S STUDY - NIGHT

The Colonel enters, wet. He's wearing LATEX GLOVES. BLOOD

covers the front of his T-shirt. He paces in front of one of

his GUN CASES; the GLASS DOOR is open, and a gun is

conspicuously missing from inside.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - HALL - NIGHT

In BLACK & WHITE: Jane opens her bedroom door, staring at

us.

LESTER (V.O.)

And Janie...

EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DUSK

In BLACK & WHITE: A door opens to reveal 4-YEAR-OLD JANE,

dressed for Halloween in a Princess costume, holding a lit

SPARKLER aloft and smiling shyly at us.

LESTER (V.O.)

And Janie...

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

Carolyn enters, terrified, still clutching her PURSE. She

shuts the door and locks it, then takes the GLOCK 19 out of

her purse. She opens the closet door and shoves the gun into

a HAMPER.

Then, suddenly aware of Lester's scent, she grabs as many of

his clothes as she can and pulls them to her, burying her

face in them. She sinks to her knees, pulling several items

of clothing down with her, and she begins to cry.

EXT. AMUSEMENT PARK - NIGHT

IN BLACK & WHITE: A younger Carolyn sits across from us in

one of those SPINNING-TEACUP RIDES, LAUGHING uncontrollably

as she twists the wheel in front of her, making us SPIN even

faster.

LESTER (V.O.)

(with love)

And... Carolyn.

EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY

On VIDEO:
We're watching the video Ricky showed Jane earlier,

of the empty white PLASTIC BAG being blown about. 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...

LESTER (V.O.)

I guess I could be pretty pissed off

about what happened to me... but

it's hard to stay mad, when there's

so much beauty in the world. Sometimes

I feel like I'm seeing it all at

once, and it's too much, my heart

fills up like a balloon that's about

to burst...

EXT. - ROBIN HOOD TRAIL - DAY

We're FLYING once again over Robin Hood Trail, ASCENDING

SLOWLY.

LESTER (V.O.)

...and then I remember to relax, and

stop trying to hold on to it, and

then it flows through me like rain

and I can't feel anything but

gratitude for every single moment of

my stupid little life...

(amused)

You have no idea what I'm talking

about, I'm sure. But don't worry...

FADE TO BLACK:

LESTER (V.O.)

You will someday.

THE END:

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