Away from Her Page #6

She leads him down a long bright hallway, blasting with

light.

MADELEINE:

As you can see, we get a lot of

light.

GRANT:

Yes. I see that.

54 INT MEADOWLAKE CORRIDOR - DECEMBER 2003-MORNING 54

Madeleine leads Grant past a conservatory where residents are

doing a puzzle.

MADELEINE:

And there, as you can see, they’re

in the middle of a puzzle over

there. They’ve always got a puzzle

on the go.

They pass MRS. ALBRIGHT and MICHAEL, two residents of

Meadowlake who are having a conversation.

MICHAEL:

Hello there sweet Madeleine.

MADELEINE:

Hello Michael.

They go past a TV area with a giant state of the art

television.

28A.

MADELEINE:

As you can see, our entertainment

system is state of the art, and

residents can gather here to watch

together.

She leads him into a dining area, with many windows. An

elderly man plays the same key over and over, creating an

unsettling soundtrack. The place is decorated for Christmas,

with a giant tree and lots of lights. Elderly people of

various capacities eat their lunch with varying degrees of

help from staff, many have family members visiting. There are

many stages of altzheimer’s here, but none as strong and

capable looking as Fiona. Grant looks nervous.

MADELEINE:

Now we can accommodate any dietary

preferences or restrictions. We’re

just serving up our Christmas

dinner early for the families.

Grant looks at the people eating. Who, among them, would

Fiona ever elect to spend time with?

She leads him to the elevators.

MADELEINE:

The old Meadowlake is next door.

It’s a day centre now. But this

one, for the permanent residents,

is brand spanking new.

(MORE)

29.

MADELEINE (cont'd)

They pause outside the elevators. Madeleine presses the

button.

A resident, ELIZA, walks by leaning on her walker. On her

walker is a cup of tea. She walks at such a slow pace, it

seems to take her forever. She looks up at Grant.

ELIZA:

Just taking my tea for a ride.

Grant smiles warmly at her. Another woman, Florence, walks

by. Eliza addresses her.

ELIZA:

Look at this one Flo. A real

charmer isn’t he? Would you say?

Are you a charmer?

Grant laughs.

GRANT:

Oh I think you could say I was a

bit of a charmer.

He gives her a lovely smile. Dashing.

ELIZA:

You’re a rascal. Are you moving in

with us?

MADELEINE:

Mr. Andersson is here about his

wife, Eliza. Behave yourself.

30.

ELIZA:

Oh I should have known it. At this

age it’s....what do the kids call

it Flo? A real cluster f***. The

charmers are all taken. Or dead.

Mostly dead.

Grant laughs. The elevator doors open and before he gets in

he give Eliza a little peck on the cheek. She’s thrilled.

GRANT:

You’re pretty charming yourself

sweetheart.

Eliza beams.

55 INT SECOND FLOOR - DECEMBER 2003-MORNING 55

The elevator doors open and Madeleine and Grant come onto the

second floor.The residents are being fed by young attendants.

Something Brittany Spearsish is playing on a cheap stereo

system. Almost everyone here is totally silent except for a

few that are moaning. These people are very far gone. Grant

looks alarmed.

MADELEINE:

Now this is the second floor - our

extended care wing. The elevators

here have a lock down system. This

is where residents can move to once

they get more progressed.

Grant smiles.

GRANT:

Interesting choice of words.

Madeleine looks at him. She doesn’t like him much. Smiles

anyway. That pasted on smile again.

MADELEINE:

I’ll show you some of the rooms

here while we’re at it. Then I’ll

show you our regular floors where

Mrs. Andersson will be living.

GRANT:

That won’t be necessary. My wife

won’t be “progressing” to this

floor.

He says it with determination. Looks right at her.

31.

MADELEINE:

Alright.

They press the elevator button again. Wait. An awkward pause

in the conversation between Grant and Madeleine. A Britney

Spearsish song is playing. Something occurs to Grant. He

turns around to glance at one of the young attendants. She

sings along to the music.

GRANT:

Who chooses the music?

MADELEINE:

I’m sorry?

GRANT:

I’m assuming it’s not the

“residents.” I don’t see any of

them singing along.

Madeleine glances back.

MADELEINE:

The rooms on our regular floors

have their own stereo systems. The

residents can play whatever they

want.

They enter the elevator. Grant stares at the 2nd floor and

its residents as the doors close.

GRANT:

How kind.

56 INT MADELEINE’S OFFICE-DECEMBER 2003- MORNING 56

Madeleine sits across from Grant and hands him some

documents.

MADELEINE:

Now we don’t accept anyone during

the month of December, so Mrs.

Andersson would have to wait until

January to make the big move. Then

we’d have one of our executive

rooms available just like the one I

showed you.

Grant looks at her questioningly.

MADELEINE:

December...Christmas just has so

many emotional pitfalls.

32.

GRANT:

Right.

Kristy, an attractive woman in her late thirties enters the

room.

KRISTY:

Sorry to interrupt Madeleine. I’m

just looking for the documents on

Aubrey Bark.

MADELEINE:

Go ahead. Mr. Andersson, this is

Kristy, our managing nurse.

Kristy reaches out her hand. Jovial, sweet.

KRISTY:

Against some people’s better

judgement.

MADELEINE:

Mr. Andersson is here about his

wife, Mrs. Andersson who will be a

resident here with us in January.

KRISTY:

Hi there.

GRANT:

Hi.

Madeleine gets back to business. Kristy is searching the

binders on the bookshelf.

MADELEINE:

We also have a policy that our new

residents can’t receive visitors or

take phone calls for the first

thirty days. To give the resident

time to adjust.

GRANT:

What kind of visitors?

MADELEINE:

Everyone. Even close family.

Grant looks taken aback.

GRANT:

I couldn’t just leave her here.

32A.

MADELEINE:

Well, we understand this is really

the hard part.

(MORE)

33.

MADELEINE (cont'd)

But most people need that time to

get settled in. Before we had the

rule in place, they’d often forget

over and over again why they were

being left here. Whereas we find,

if they have a month to adjust,

they end up happys as clams.

Meadowlake’s their home then. After

that, it’s perfectly fine for them

to take a little visit home every

now and then. Of course, that

doesn’t apply to the ones on the

second floor. It’s too difficult,

and they don’t know where they are

anyway.

GRANT:

My wife isn’t going to the second

floor.

MADELEINE:

No. I just like to make everything

clear at the outset.

Kristy is heading out the door with a binder. She gives Grant

a squeeze on the shoulder.

KRISTY:

We’ll take good care of her. I

promise.

She smiles warmly, genuinely. Grant looks up at her. Trusts

her. Gives her a smile.

57 INT MEADOWLAKE DINING AREA - DECEMBER 2003 - AFTERNOON 57

A female resident at meadowlake sits absolutely silently. Her

friend, about the same age, sits equally silently, her hand

on her friend’s face. They stare at each other lovingly,

tragically.Many residents eat with children and

grandchildren. Meadowlake is heavily decorated for the

holidays, and a turkey dinner is being served. The camera

moves among the tables catching snippets of conversation.

Michael sits with his familiy, talking, as do MRS. JENKINS

and MRS ALBRIGHT. Mrs. Albright’s daughter, REBECCA,

complains to her that she complains too much.Eliza sits with

her family. She speaks in sign language to her hearing

impaired daughter, STELLA. She is very affectionate with her.

The rest of the family talks among themselves, not paying

attention to either of them. We travel along the tables

catching snippets of conversation.

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