Brooklyn Page #10

MRS KEHOE:

And why should she, to you awful

gossip-mongers? Anyway, I met him

on Saturday night when he called

for Eilis, and he’s a gentleman.

PATTY:

Well, will you tell us what you

know about him, Mrs Kehoe? We’re

starving here. We know that he’s

quite nice-looking.

SHEILA:

I didn’t like his shoes much.

EILIS:

What on earth is wrong with his

shoes?

SHEILA:

They were a funny colour.

MRS KEHOE:

I’ll tell you this much: I am going

to ask Father Flood to preach a

sermon on the dangers of giddiness.

I now see that giddiness is the

eighth deadly sin. A giddy girl is

every bit as evil as a slothful

man, and the noise she makes is a

lot worse. Now, enough.

61 INT. BARTOCCI’S. DAY 61

The shop is quiet. Dorothy and Eilis are unpacking boxes and

putting garments out on shelves.

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 45.

61 CONTINUED:
61

DOROTHY:

You know what I hate about the end

of winter? Now it all starts again

with the swimsuits. We’re gonna

spend hours and hours talking about

one stupid item of clothing with a

woman who’s so afraid of what she

looks like. But in the winter

she’ll splash thirty-five dollars

on a coat in the blink...

Dorothy is staring into a box she has just opened.

DOROTHY:

I don’t believe it.

Eilis looks at her quizzically.

DOROTHY:

I’m gonna talk to Miss Fortini

about this.

She marches off. Eilis peers into the box. It contains Red

Fox stockings. She takes a packet out and examines it.

Later. Miss Fortini comes over to speak to Eilis. She’s

angry.

MISS FORTINI:

Eilis, I want you to know that

Dorothy has left our employment.

Eilis looks at her wonderingly.

MISS FORTINI:

As of today. She’s clearing her

locker. (Beat) Listen. Brooklyn is

changing, and we have to change

with it.

Eilis nods, even though she is mystified by the series of

apparent non-sequiturs - the stockings, Dorothy, the speech.

MISS FORTINI:

Our old customers are moving out to

Long Island and we can’t follow

them, so we need new customers

every week. Which means we welcome

every single person who comes into

this store. They all have money to

spend. Remember that.

EILIS:

I will.

Eilis shows Miss Fortini the Red Fox stockings.

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 46.

61 CONTINUED:
61

EILIS:

Should I put these out on the

shelves?

MISS FORTINI:

Yes. Of course. Do you understand

anything I’ve been saying?

Beat.

EILIS:

No, Miss Fortini.

MISS FORTINI:

(sighing)

Red Fox stockings are specially

designed for Negro customers.

Dorothy was unhappy about us

selling them. I asked her to leave.

Are you unhappy?

EILIS:

No, Miss Fortini.

MISS FORTINI:

Good. Quickly, now.

Miss Fortini walks off. Eilis immediately turns her attention

to the stockings.

62 INT. BROOKLYN COLLEGE. NIGHT 62

Eilis comes out of her classroom with a couple of other

students, books under her arm, and begins to walk down the

stairs. In the entrance hall she can see Tony, looking around

anxiously, clearly worried about missing her. She stops - she

clearly isn’t expecting to see him. She watches him for a

moment - he doesn’t see her - and she takes in his open face,

his vulnerability... He sees her and his face breaks out into

a radiant and relieved smile. She smiles back, and walks down

the remaining steps towards him.

TONY:

All I want to do is travel home

with you. No drink, no food, no

nothing. I know you have to study,

and get some sleep. I’ll take you

to your house and then say

goodnight. Otherwise it’s too long

to wait.

He says this with such unaffected simplicity that it’s

impossible not to love him. Eilis smiles her assent.

63 OMITTED 63

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 47.

64 INT. TROLLEY-CAR. NIGHT 64

Eilis and Tony sitting side-by-side on the half empty trolley-

car.

TONY:

I want to ask you something. And

you’re gonna say, oh, it’s too

soon, I don’t really know him well

enough, we’ve only been out a

couple times...

Eilis pantomimes alarm.

TONY:

Oh, it’s nothing so bad. But it is

something that most guys...

EILIS:

(laughing)

Please just ask. You’re beginning

to terrify me.

TONY:

Oh. Sure. Will you come for dinner

and meet my family sometime?

EILIS:

(laughing)

That’s it? I’d love to.

TONY:

You like Italian food?

EILIS:

I don’t know. I’ve never eaten it.

TONY:

Really? They don’t have it in

Ireland?

EILIS:

Maybe in Dublin. Not in my town.

TONY:

It’s the best food in the world.

EILIS:

Well, why would I not like it?

TONY:

You’re in a good mood, right?

She looks at him.

EILIS:

Yes. Why?

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 48.

64 CONTINUED:
64

TONY:

It’s just... I like how you’re

being, I don’t know the word. When

you go along with everything.

EILIS:

Amenable?

TONY:

(delighted with this

addition to his

vocabulary)

Yeah. Amenable. OK, so while you’re

being amenable..Can we go see a

movie this week? When you’re not at

night classes? And if the date goes

well, can we see a movie next week,

too?

EILIS:

I’ll sign up for two movies.

TONY:

Really?

EILIS:

Yes. Even if the first date is a

disaster, I’ll give it another

chance.

Tony’s smile couldn’t be any broader.

65 INT. BARTOCCI’S. DAY 65

Eilis, in her uniform, serving a customer. Off to the side,

Miss Fortini is watching her at work. We’ve seen this before -

but this time, Eilis is unaware of Miss Fortini’s scrutiny.

She’s absorbed in her work, chatting to the customer, a young

woman in her thirties.

EILIS:

It certainly feels like it, but

this is my first year, so I don’t

know how to judge.

CUSTOMER:

Well, congratulations. You survived

your first New York winter.

EILIS:

Oh, it wasn’t so bad.

CUSTOMER:

Really? It’s colder in Ireland?

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 49.

65 CONTINUED:
65

EILIS:

Oh, no. It’s colder here.

CUSTOMER:

(laughs)

Over here, that’s how we judge the

winter. On how cold it is.

The cylindrical tube shoots back to Eilis’s counter, and she

takes out the receipt and the change and hands it to the

customer.

EILIS:

But you have heating. Heating

everywhere. You’re only cold

outside.

CUSTOMER:

I guess that’s true. Thanks for

your help.

The customer walks away, and Miss Fortini comes over.

MISS FORTINI:

Eilis! You’re like a different

person! Where did that miserable

little mouse go?

Eilis smiles and shrugs.

MISS FORTINI:

The homesickness has gone?

Eilis looks startled, as if she has only just realised.

EILIS:

Yes.

MISS FORTINI:

How did you do it? Maybe I can pass

some advice on to the next poor

girl who feels that way.

Eilis’s face lights up.

EILIS:

I...I met somebody. An Italian

fella.

MISS FORTINI:

(mock despondent)

Oh, no. Well, I’m not passing that

on. I’d rather have them homesick

than heartbroken. Does he talk

about baseball all the time? Or his

mother?

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