Breakdown Page #2
- R
- Year:
- 1997
- 93 min
- 1,365 Views
He stops, lifts his eyes.
JEFF:
It was different this time.
He breaks off and pushes through the curtain. She
watches him go.
CUT TO:
INT. LIVING ROOM -KITCHEN AREA -NIGHT
Jeff pours himself a glass of milk. Amy enters, stands
on the other side of the counter. Jeff doesn’t meet her
eyes. After a beat:
JEFF:
I talked to Reynolds.
(a beat)
He thinks I could still get the
job at the San Diego station.
AMY:
Oh, Jeff, you didn’t...
(CONTINUED)
8.
CONTINUED:
JEFF:
Think of it. Low pressure, a
steady paycheck. So I shoot city
council meetings --how bad could
it be?
She looks at him, concerned.
AMY:
Is that what you really want --or
are you just running away?
JEFF:
Who’s running? It’s good money,
full benefits. I’m tired of
freelance. We could finally put
some money in the bank.
AMY:
You know I’ll never stand in your
way. But you’ve worked so hard.
Are you sure you want to throw it
away?
JEFF:
Throw what away? Don’t you get
it? I don’tdo anything. I sit,
I watch, I film --I let it
happen.
AMY:
You’re supposed to let it happen.
It’s your job.
JEFF:
No, Amy. It’s my excuse.
She looks at him, not understanding. He hesitates.
JEFF:
That girl... it’s like I was
paralyzed. I wanted to do
something, but I didn’t. I just
stood there and watched her get
killed.
He looks at her, emotional.
JEFF:
Please, babe, I need this. Say
yes and we’ll take as long as you
want --drive cross-country and
make a vacation out of it. What
do you say?
(CONTINUED)
9.
CONTINUED:
Amy looks at him, considering. We hear a faint RUSH OF
WIND. Then it gets LOUDER... LOUDER... and -
CUT TO:
EXT. CREDIT MONTAGE -VARIOUS LOCATIONS -LOW ANGLE DAY
AND NIGHT:
The metallic grill of the Cherokee explodes INTO FRAME as
the car whooshes over us, hurtling down the Massachusetts
Turnpike.
In a SERIES OF SHOTS, with CREDITS OVER, we see landmarks
form the cross-country trip: a Pennsylvania Dutch
farmhouse, a smoke-spewing factory in Ohio, the
Mississippi River, Kansas wheat fields, Loveland Pass and
the Continental Divide.
DISSOLVE TO:
The middle of nowhere. Sand, weeds and sagebrush. A
two-lane highway stretches to the horizon like a ribbon
of asphalt.
The Cherokee cruises along the road. Its Massachusetts
plates seem out of place in this stark landscape.
There are no other vehicles.
MOVING CLOSER, we see that Jeff is driving. Amy is sound
asleep in the reclined passenger seat.
In back, luggage, moving boxes, camera cases.
The AIR CONDITIONING WHISPERS. On the console are two
empty Styrofoam McDonald’s coffee cups and a state-ofthe-
art Nikon Camera.
Jeff stretches in the driver’s seat. He forces his eyes
open, fighting sleep. He reaches for the coffee cup...
it’s empty. He glances into the back of the Jeep. There
is a thermos of coffee on the back seat.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, he reaches for the thermos
and fumbles it to the floor. He strains to reach it. He
doesn’t notice...
10.
A slow-moving Dodge Ram pickup truck is approaching the
highway along a small road that cuts across the desert
floor.
The pickup, equipped with oversized tires, roll bar, and
a CB whip antenna, bounces over the uneven terrain and
turns onto the highway, stopping just before entering
Jeff’s lane.
INT. CHEROKEE -DAY
Jeff glances up just in time to see the Ram lurch into
the road in front of him. Jeff drops the thermos and
spins the wheel!
Amy’s eyes fly open -
EXT. HIGHWAY -DAY
The Cherokee goes into a wild looping skid. The Ram
jerks to a halt as the Cherokee whips past, averting a
collision by inches.
INT. CHEROKEE -DAY
Jeff expels a breath. Amy turns to see the pickup
stopped in the road. She looks at him, concerned.
AMY:
Jesus, Jeff...
JEFF:
Sorry. I took my eyes off the
road.
AMY:
(seeing thermos
on floor)
Maybe it’s time we took a break,
you know?
Jeff nods, looks in the rearview mirror.
HIS POV -PICKUP
halted in the middle of the road. Inside, dimly-visible
through tinted windows, are two figures in cowboy hats.
The driver leans out the window and gives Jeff the
finger.
11.
BACK TO JEFF:
angry at himself. He looks over at Amy.
JEFF:
I’ll pull over next chance we get.
(a beat)
Sorry...
He glances in the rearview again, still a bit shaken.
CUT TO:
A small desert gas station/mini-mart just off the
highway. A sign over the building: "Last Gas For 30
Miles." The Cherokee is parked at the pumps, hood
raised.
Jeff comes out of the mini-mart, carrying a plastic quart
of oil. He unscrews the cap and starts to fill the
crankcase, careful not to spill on the new engine. In
the b.g., Amy is visible inside the store, browsing a
magazine rack.
INT. CONVENIENCE MART -SAME TIME
Amy thumbs through a cheap tourist guide, The Desert
Southwest. A TRUCK DRIVER stands nearby, perusing the
magazines. He glances in Amy’s direction, notices what
she’s reading.
TRUCKER:
On vacation?
Amy looks up at him. He’s 50ish, plain-looking,
friendly, wearing a "U.S.A." logo baseball cap.
AMY:
Sort of. We’re moving, actually.
TRUCKER:
Whereabouts?
Amy hesitates. She’s not used to talking with strangers,
but the guy seems harmless enough.
AMY:
California. We thought we’d take
the scenic route.
(CONTINUED)
12.
CONTINUED:
TRUCKER:
Huh. In that case, you oughta try
the Pass Road, ’bout thirty miles
west. Real pretty, makes a loop
through the hills, then hooks back
up with the highway.
Amy smiles politely, moves toward the cash register.
AMY:
Thanks. I’ll mention it to my
husband.
The Trucker tips his cap.
TRUCKER:
Okay, then. Good luck. Enjoy the
rest of your trip.
As Jeff continues pouring the oil, he doesn’t notice the
mud-streaked Dodge Ram pickup pulling up to the pumps
behind him. The driver, EARL, climbs out. The other man
remains in the cab with the smoked windows rolled up.
Earl is a beefy man about Jeff’s age. He wears a sweat-
stained Western hat, cowboy boots and a T-shirt with the
sleeves cut out to display his tattooed biceps. He
saunters over to the Cherokee, stands there a beat,
looking over Jeff’s shoulder.
Jeff senses something behind him, turns. His eyes widen
as he sees Earl, recognizes the pickup as the one he
nearly hit a few minutes before. Earl stares at him,
unsmiling.
EARL:
(flatly)
Nice car.
Jeff is in an awkward position. He’s got a half-full
upside-down bottle of oil in his hands. If he lifts it
now, he’ll spill on the engine. He turns his gaze back
to the engine, decides to keep pouring.
JEFF:
Thanks.
Earl steps around to the open passenger window, peers in.
Jeff watches him, wary.
(CONTINUED)
13.
CONTINUED:
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"Breakdown" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/breakdown_333>.
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