Brooklyn Page #13

Eilis puts fresh bowls and spoons down on the table. Mrs

Kehoe comes to the table with a large pie on a plate.

MRS KEHOE:

I think this is the first time that

any girl of mine has passed an exam

while living here, so I bought us a

treat.

There are murmurs of appreciation. Mrs Kehoe sits down at the

table and starts cutting the pie into slices and putting the

slices into bowls.

PATTY:

Have you told Tony, Eilis?

EILIS:

Of course.

SHEILA:

And is he taking you out to

celebrate?

EILIS:

We’re going to Coney Island at the

weekend.

DIANA:

(drily)

Oh, boy.

EILIS:

What does that mean?

DIANA:

You have a bathing costume?

EILIS:

No. I was going to get one at...

PATTY:

Do you have sunglasses?

EILIS:

(increasingly alarmed)

No.

SHEILA:

You need sunglasses. I read that if

you don’t have them on the beach

this year people will talk about

you.

MRS KEHOE:

(witheringly)

And what will they say, exactly,

Sheila?

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 62.

79 CONTINUED:
79

Sheila blushes.

DOLORES:

(seriously)

That’s the thing, Mrs Kehoe. You’d

never know, because they’d never

say it to your face.

Mrs Kehoe rolls her eyes.

MRS KEHOE:

Diana’s right, though, Eilis. You

need to think carefully about your

costume. It’s the most Tony will

ever have seen of you. You don’t

want to put him off.

80 INT. BARTOCCI’S. DAY 80

Eilis in her lunch hour, choosing a one-piece bathing suit

from the racks in front of her. She picks out a black one and

a pink one, and goes off towards the dressing-rooms. As if

from nowhere, Miss Fortini appears.

MISS FORTINI:

Are you going to the beach?

EILIS:

Yes, Miss Fortini. To Coney Island.

With Tony.

MISS FORTINI:

Well, I know he’s a saint, this

Tony, but every Italian man cares

about how his girlfriend looks in

her bathing suit. I’d better help

you.

EILIS:

Thank you.

81 INT. CHANGING ROOM. DAY 81

Eilis walks into one of the cubicles, but before she can pull

the curtain across, Miss Fortini is in the cubicle with her.

There’s hardly room for the two of them. Eilis starts to get

undressed, as modestly as she can in the peculiar

circumstances. Miss Fortini watches her, matter-of-factly.

Later. Eilis is wearing the black suit. Miss Fortini looks at

her thoughtfully, and then reaches forward to pull down the

fabric at the top of Eilis’s thigh.

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 63.

81 CONTINUED:
81

MISS FORTINI:

You’ll have to shave down here.

I’ll give you a razor that will do

the trick.

She then reaches round to cup Eilis’s bottom. Eilis is too

shocked to say anything.

MISS FORTINI:

You’re all right there for the

moment. And most Italian men

appreciate the fuller figure. But

watch yourself, over the summer.

She steps back as far as she can and looks at her.

MISS FORTINI:

The black’s too dark, for your pale

skin. Let’s see you in the green.

Eilis hesitates.

MISS FORTINI:

Quickly now.

82 OMITTED 82

83 OMITTED 83

84 EXT. CONEY ISLAND. DAY 84

Tony and Eilis on the boardwalk at Coney Island. It’s a

bright, beautiful day; Eilis is, after all, wearing

fashionable sunglasses and a headscarf. They’re both eating

cotton candy. They stop and look for a space on the packed

beach.

TONY:

I can see a spot down there that’s

probably big enough for one. If we

can wedge ourselves in, maybe we

can eventually create enough space

for two.

(CONTINUED)

84

85

86

87

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 64.

CONTINUED:
84

We watch as Tony and Eilis make their way down onto the beach

to become a small and anonymous part of the New York summer.

EXT. BEACH. DAY 85

Tony is holding a towel round Eilis as she struggles in to

her bathing costume. He’s looking away, presumably at her

request.

EILIS:

Why didn’t you tell me to put my

costume on underneath my clothes?

TONY:

I thought you’d know.

She’s finished struggling.

EILIS:

I’m ready.

He drops the towel. Eilis stands there in her costume, a

little embarrassed. Tony gives a loud and lascivious wolf-

whistle. Eilis giggles with embarrassment and pleasure.

EXT. SEA. DAY 86

Eilis and Tony in the sea. Eilis swims away from Tony - she’s

a good swimmer - but he swims after her, catches her and

draws him to her. He picks her up as she tries to wriggle

away, laughing. He pulls her to him and kisses her. She

freezes a little and pushes him away.

TONY:

(smiling)

I’m sorry. What’s a guy supposed to

do?

She looks at him, and then kisses him deeply.

FADE OUT.

INT. BARTOCCI’S. DAY 87

Eilis at her counter, serving a customer. Music, something

ominously melancholic that undercuts the banal pleasantries

of Eilis’s letter.

EILIS (V.O.)

Dear Rose. Thanks for your letter.

I was happy to hear about your golf

tournament. You must have been

really pleased.

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 65.

88 INT. EILIS’S HOME IN IRELAND. DAY 88

We see Mary knocking on the door of Rose’s bedroom anxiously.

EILIS (V.O.)

I still miss you and mother, and I

think about you every day.

89 INT. ROSE’S BEDROOM. DAY 89

Mary enters the bedroom. Rose is sprawled half out of the

bed, her head nearly touching the floor; Mary rushes over to

her, touches her cheek, starts to weep.

EILIS (V.O.)

But I think I can say that for the

first time since I’ve been in

America, I’m really happy.

90 EXT. EILIS’S HOME. STREET. DAY 90

Mary, consoled by a neighbour, watches as Rose’s body,

covered by a shroud, is taken to a waiting ambulance.

EILIS (V.O.)

This is a lot to do with Tony. He’s

kind and seems to care about me.

And we have fun, too.

91 INT. DINING ROOM, EILIS’S HOME. DAY 91

Mary sitting on an armchair in her parlour, gripping a

handkerchief tightly. The room is filling up with sombre,

concerned people who are queuing up to speak to her.

EILIS (V.O.)

At the weekend he took me to see

the Brooklyn Dodgers, the baseball

team he loves. They lost, so he was

annoyed.

92 INT. CHURCH. EVENING 92

Mary on her knees in church, while she prays at mass.

EILIS (V.O.)

But I’ve also started to look for

office work, too. I had an

interview this week at a textile

firm here in Brooklyn.

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 66.

93 INT. BARTOCCI’S. DAY 93

Eilis looks up, startled, as Miss Fortini and Father Flood

approach her counter.

EILIS (V.O.)

Who’d have thought that there would

be two book-keepers in the family?

I’ll soon be able to afford to...

Her voice trails off. We can’t hear what Father Flood is

saying to her, but she looks stricken. The music fades.

94 INT. STAFF ROOM. DAY 94

Father Flood and Eilis are sitting on two chairs in the

middle, knees almost touching. Eilis is staring at the floor,

in shock; Father Flood is watching her with enormous

tenderness and concern.

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