Bean Page #12

ALISON gives DAVID a tearful look, and shakes her head.

CUT TO:

EXT. THE LEARY HOUSE NIGHT.

A taxi drives away. Alison is in it.

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY- NIGHT.

JENNIFER and KEVIN are in their night clothes. They sit with David on

the stairs ~ still looking at the door-Alison left through.

KEVIN:

I wish I could use that at school. "Hey, Teach, no hard feelings ...

It's just things between us ain't what they used to be and I need a

little space, ya know? So I'11 see you around in a couple of years,

maybe".

JENNIFER:

It's a kind of an interesting swap. Mom for the Man from Ga Ga.

She gets up and walks away.

DAVID:

Jen - you don't wanna talk about it?

JENNIFER:

It's you and Mom that need to talk.

DAVID:

Sure. You're right.

KEVIN:

You know, Mr. Bean's okay. You're not gonna kick him out, are you,

Dad?

JENNIFER:

(FROM HER DOOR)

Of course he is.

KEVIN:

Are you?

DAVID:

Yes, I am. I must.

CUT TO:

INT. HALL/BEAN'S ROOM. DAY.

DAVID heads for Mr BEAN's room, and knocks cautiously on the door.

54

BEAN:

(o. o. v)

Enter.

DAVID enters - Camera follows as DAVID finds his way through BEAN's

washing hanging from strings across the room. BEAN is sticking things

in a picture album.

DAVID:

Hi, am I disturbing you?

BEAN gives him an affable smile. In a pause before he quite gathers

himself to broach the difficult subject, DAVID asks a polite question.

DAVID:

May I?

BEAN acquiesces. He starts from the beginning, with pictures of him as

a kid. Always standing on his own.

Picture of BEAN with mop of frizzy hair, at 16. DAVID smiles. BEAN

mimes stupid disco dancing.

DAVID turns another page. It is a sequence of pictures of BEAN at

famous UK locations - Big Ben, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace, 10

Downing Street. They are .idiosyncratic because all taken by him at

arms length with his Polaroid - so he never quite makes it squarely

into shot.

A whole page of Teddy. Then three pages of BEAN's mini with dates, on

labels, going way back.

Then a whole page of garden gnomes.

DAVID:

None of your folks here - Family?

BEAN starts to look for something in particular. DAVID uses the pause

to broach the awful subject.

DAVID:

Look... the reason I came in here was to ... well... since you've been

here twelve all...

BEAN has found what he was looking for. It is the picture of the

family that he took from the landing on his first night here. What's

left of the Polaroid of himself, from the mall, that he rescued from

BRUTUS, is stuck next to it. He's even written - 'Bean & Family' - he

doesn't realise there's anything sad about it. But DAVID is rather

moved. Pause.

55

DAVID:

Well, that's er...great. Look, I just came in ... (no, he cant do it)

... to say good night. Okay?

BEAN nods. DAVID smiles and goes to the door.

BE-AN waves good-bye a little rudely and gets back to the album. Even

when we feel sorry for him, he's a little rude. DAVID walks away,

shaking his head.

DAVID:

Spineless.

CUT TO:

INT. DAVID AND ALISON'S BEDROOM.

The first morning without ALISON. "She's Gone" by Hall & Oats begins

to play, a song full of yearning.

DAVID feels the other side of the bed. No-one there.

He walks into the bathroom and turns on the shower. Then walks back

into the bedroom - She's gone - I've got to learn how to face it " He

takes a towel from a cupboard and returns to the bathroom. He feels

very alone.

He removes his pyjamas and gets into the steam-filled shower. - she's

gone - she's gone" - but the camera moves to reveal that he is not

alone after all. BEAN has, simply entered the shower, and is now

happily soaping himself, wearing ALISON's shower cap. manly screams

from the both of them.

CUT TO:

INT. THE GRIERSON GALLERY. CANTEEN - DAY.

DAVID sitting down at table, with BEAN, who is tucking in happily ~

eating a burger & bun with knife and fork. DAVID speaks after a

longish pause.

DAVID:

Bean can I ask you something?

BEAN nods.

DAVID:

Do you think you can ever really know someone? Even if you've known

them, well, almost all your life? What do you think?

56

BEAN thinks hard, then looks at his watch, makes his excuses and simple

walks away.

CUT TO:

INT. GALLERY CORRIDOR. DAY.

BEAN at a pay phone. He dials carefully-

CUT TO:

INT. BEAN'S BED-SIT. DAY

10 am U.K. time. (The following takes place in a matter of seconds)

Close on the T.V. A morning kids show blares out. A huge wardrobe

stands four feet away from a wall. There is a string tied to one of

it's door handles, stretching out of shot. The wardrobe seems to be

leaning backwards at an angel. It rocks slightly and creaks. (Feature

its padlock).

There is a folded ironing board balanced over a roll of hall carpet,

see-saw fashion. One end of it is wedged under the wardrobe.

BEAN's G.P.O. phone rings on the table and it's vibrations cause the

bust of BEETHOVEN to fall over the edge of the table. It lands on the

end of the ironing board. The Wardrobe groans as it is set off balance

and falls against the wall with a heavy thump! and raising of dust.

The string tied to its handle becomes taut.

CUT TO:
the T.V. plug in its socket. This end of the string is tied to

it. The string tightens and the plug is yanked out of the socket.

The T.V. screen goes blank. Shot of TEDDY in the cardboard hotel'.

CUT TO:

INT. CANTEEN. DAY.

BEAN returns, sits down and starts to eat again. David is still deep in

thought.

DAVID:

Well, they say there's only one way to get over this sort of thing.

Take it day by day. Keep working. Keep to your normal patterns.

That's the only hope. So let's just ... take today shall we?

57

BEAN nods. He is not on David's emotional level here.

DAVID:

I think the time has come from you to meet the grand Madame. She's all

around you ... how do you fancy meeting her in the flesh?

Sure enough, all around are posters, and the silhouette of Whistler's

Mother. BEAN nods, though fairly distracted by the slice of gherkin

he's found in his bun and now picks out with his fingers.

CUT TO:

INT. THE GRIERSON GALLERY. CORRIDOR - DAY.

BEAN and David en route to the painting.

DAVID:

I usually only let her out for the big summer exhibition - but' let's

see whether what they say about the healing power of great works of art

is true, huh?

CUT TO:

INT. THE WHOLE GALLERY - DAY

BEAN and DAVID do the rest of the journey, in quick cuts - along

corridors - in an elevator. A sense of expectation and excitement. En

route, they are joined by ELMER, the huge Security Guard.

The three arrive outside a large oak door. ELMER ceremoniously unlocks

the door, all the time glaring at BEAN - who swallows hard. A light

turns green and a buzzer sounds.

Then there is the door to the inner sanctum. ELMER stares at BEAN as

he unlocks it. Another light turns green and another buzzer sounds.

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