Before Midnight Page #6

ANNA:

(in French)

Not bad.

Celine exits.

STEFANOS:

We used to have that system.

Anna laughs.

36.

EXT. BEACH - AFTERNOON

Jesse leads the kids down the rock steps to the little patch

of rocky beach under Patrick's house.

JESSE:

Not too far, you guys!

We catch a nice moment where Jesse is looking out at the

sea, and at the kids, soaking it all up. He checks a text

and the moment is gone.

EXT. DINNER TABLE - LATE AFTERNOON

Now in the middle of their dinner, Jesse taps his wine glass

and gets everyone's attention.

JESSE:

All right, I don't want to let this

meal go by without saying thank you

to everyone. And especially you,

Patrick. We had no idea what we

were getting into these last six

weeks. A letter arrives from the

university, inviting us to the

Southern Peloponnese of Greece, to

the guest house of a great writer?

'Sure, why not?' And then at the

airport earlier today, Hank turns to

me and he says this has been the

greatest summer of his life.

GROUP:

(Reacting)

JESSE:

And I have to say the same. So,

thank you Patrick, and not just for

what you have done for me and my

family but for all the ways you've

given back, all right. So, to

Patrick!

OTHERS:

To Patrick...

Glasses clink.

PATRICK:

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You know, when I first saw you at

the airport I thought, 'No way a man

dressed like that could be a man of

letters.'

37.

GROUP:

(Laughing)

PATRICK:

But now, now I think I've learned

your secret. We've had many great

writers here over the past decade

but never one who had a partner more

interesting than themselves.

GROUP:

(Reacting)

Ohh. Oh.

(Laughing)

CELINE:

I keep telling you.

PATRICK:

And Celine, it's been so great to

have you and your daughters' wonderful

vitality around here, and I'm so

happy you've been able to meet my

dear friend, Natalia, who's husband

Elias was like a brother to me.

CELINE:

(to Patrick)

I'm so sorry about the curtains.

PATRICK:

Don't worry. It's nothing.

JESSE:

I know. I shouldn't have thrown

those cherries-

CELINE:

No, I mean, really

JESSE:

It was my fault.

PATRICK/CELINE

No, no. That's sweet of you.

ACHILLES:

And Grandpa, thanks for including

Anna and me this summer... because

you know he usually puts me to work

but when I bring Anna he lets me sit

at the table of the grown-ups.

38.

JESSE:

Welcome to the grownups table! Hear

hear!

CELINE:

(to Anna)

How long have you two been together?

ANNA:

Since last summer.

ACHILLES:

We met one year ago in my last few

days here with grandpa before I had

to go back to Athens.

ANNA:

Yeah, we met at my closing night

cast party. I was doing Shakespeare

at Epidavros...

JESSE:

So, who did you play?

ANNA:

I was Perdita in "A Winter's Tale".

STEFANOS:

And she was fantastic! Remember,

Patrick, we went to that?

PATRICK:

Ahhh Perdita... "When you do dance,

I wish you a wave of the sea, that

you might ever do nothing but that."

GROUP:

(Reacting, Applauding)

Bravo!

STEFANOS:

The way he just performed that was

much better than the guy at the play!

ACHILLES:

Actually, people are still talking

about that production.

ANNA:

Yeah but... the after party was even

better. It's where we met.

ACHILLES:

I had an old BSA motorcycle.

39.

JESSE:

Nice.

ACHILLES:

Yeah. We drove around all night.

And then I had to drive her back to

the theater to get her stuff. And

it was dawn.

ANNA:

I'll never forget it. It's outdoors

and seats 12,000 people, but it was

now completely empty.

ACHILLES:

Yeah. And she was sitting way up in

the back row. So, I went up on stage

and whispered to her...

ANNA:

Yeah, the acoustics there are

incredible. I could see his mouth

move and then, three seconds later,

I could hear his voice in my ear.

JESSE:

(to Anna, quietly)

What'd he say?

Anna just smiles, not saying.

JESSE (CONT'D)

Woah! Okay!

ARIADNI:

(Laughing)

That's private.

ACHILLES:

And then she had to fly back to Paris

a couple of days later.

CELINE:

How did you keep in touch?

ACHILLES:

We Skyped. Pretty much everyday

since then.

ANNA:

Yeah, and when we're apart we have a

thing of putting our laptops by the

pillow and falling asleep together.

40.

CELINE:

Ah, that's the new romance!

ACHILLES:

And when I wake up the screen is

usually frozen... and Anna's face is

in some funny position like...

(Mimes)

STEFANOS:

Okay. Can I ask you a question?

Please?

ANNA:

Yes.

STEFANOS:

When you guys Skype, do you, you

know, do you go a little crazy?

ARIADNI:

God, you're being so vulgar!

STEFANOS:

No, I'm not being vulgar. I'm just

being an amateur anthropologist who

is interested in virtual words, on a

theoretical level.

ARIADNI:

So now you're an anthropologist?

STEFANOS:

Yeah. For instance, the sex of the

near future, okay, and I'm not making

this up but, it's gonna be just like

plugging in, attaching something to

your genitals - I'm sorry - and then

you'll be having virtual intercourse

with anyone of your choice. You

will be able to program in all your

preferences. You'll be able to type

in exactly what you want Marilyn

Monroe to whisper in your ear.

GROUP:

(Reacting)

Hm..

CELINE:

Oh, I might like that.

JESSE:

Come on.

41.

ACHILLES:

I mean, why not? I mean, more and

more of our experiences are going to

take place in the virtual world.

ANNA:

Yeah... And you are a writer, how

are you going to feel when a computer

can write a book better than "War

and Peace"?

PATRICK:

It'll never happen.

ACHILLES:

I think it's only a question about

WHEN it's going to happen, grandpa.

JESSE:

You know, I think I'm probably gonna

feel about the same way as Kasparov you

remember how all those chess

players felt when they could no longer

compete with that big-ass computer

STEFANOS:

The Big Blue.

JESSE:

Right, right, right! Remember at

first nobody thought a computer could

ever beat our best.

STEFANOS:

Right.

JESSE:

(Accent)

A machine lacks that ineffable human

instinct.

GROUP:

(Laughing)

JESSE:

And now we can't even compete.

CELINE:

I saw this documentary where they

were doing an experiment on a lab

rat and he was wired up and he could

push a switch and have an orgasm.

GROUP:

(Laughs)

42.

CELINE:

And so scientists were sort of

laughing at this pathetic little

creature while it ignored its food

and water and didn't do anything

else, and eventually it just died.

I mean, I think that's the future of

humanity. You know, just

(Demonstrates Rat

Dying)

... And die.

GROUP:

(Laughing)

PATRICK:

Well, maybe so but every generation

believes that they're witnessing the

end of the world but... I feel that

I'm actually living it.

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