Brooklyn Page #14

FATHER FLOOD:

It was sudden. I think perhaps she

was ill, and she knew she was ill,

and she didn’t tell anybody.

EILIS:

What will happen?

FATHER FLOOD:

(softly)

What can happen?

EILIS:

When will they bury her?

FATHER FLOOD:

Tomorrow.

EILIS:

Without me.

FATHER FLOOD:

Without you. You’re too far away,

Eilis.

Eilis starts to cry, and becomes almost hysterical.

EILIS:

Why did I ever come here? Why did I

ever come here?

FATHER FLOOD:

Rose wanted a better life for you.

She loved how well you were doing.

(CONTINUED)

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94

EILIS:

And now I will never see her again.

Father Flood doesn’t say anything.

EILIS:

That’s right, isn’t it, Father? I

will never see her again.

FATHER FLOOD:

You know that I think you will. And

she will be watching over you,

every day, for the rest of your

life.

EILIS:

I wish I had never left. I wish I

had never come over here.

95 INT. DINER. NIGHT 95

Tony and Eilis are sitting in the diner that they use before

the Saturday night dances. They have coffee cups in front of

them, but they’re not drinking. Tony is quiet, grief-stricken

for a woman he’s never met.

TONY:

I keep thinking about what it would

be like if one of my brothers died.

I’m sorry if that sounds selfish.

But it means I can feel what you’re

feeling.

EILIS:

I think about it and think about

it, and then I forget about it for

a moment, and when I remember again

it’s as though I’ve just been told.

I can’t bear it, Tony.

TONY:

I wish I could stay with you

tonight.

EILIS:

But I’ll see you in the morning.

It’s very nice of your family, to

come to Mass with me.

TONY:

They wouldn’t miss it for anything.

I don’t mean that like it sounds. I

just mean...

EILIS:

I know. Thank you.

(CONTINUED)

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95 CONTINUED:
95

TONY:

You want to go home, I guess.

EILIS:

Yes. But I don’t know if I can.

TONY:

If it’s money, then we can all

help. I mean, the whole family.

Eilis blinks back more tears.

EILIS:

And how would it be for you if I

did go home?

Tony shrugs, and then says, simply and sincerely

TONY:

I’d be afraid, every single day.

EILIS:

Afraid that I wouldn’t come back?

TONY:

Yeah. Home is home.

EILIS:

I’m not sure I have a home any

more.

Tony thinks.

TONY:

You’re not going to work tomorrow,

are you?

EILIS:

No.

TONY:

After the mass, can I take you

somewhere?

96 EXT. LONG ISLAND. DAY 96

Tony and Eilis are standing on a piece of utterly featureless

and undeveloped land. The wind is blowing, and we can hear

seagulls, although there is no view of the sea.

TONY:

This is it.

He gestures around him.

(CONTINUED)

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96 CONTINUED:
96

TONY:

We’re going to build five houses

here, if we can. Mom and Dad will

have one, because Mom has always

wanted a house with a back yard.

And we’ll sell three. And the other

one...My brothers asked me if I

wanted it, and I said I did.

Tony studies her face intently.

TONY:

So I guess what I’m saying is,

would you like to live here on Long

Island? I know it doesn’t look like

much right now, but all the land

around here has been sold, so we

wouldn’t be on our own. And there’d

be, there’d be telephone cables and

electricity and everything.

Eilis laughs.

EILIS:

I would hope so.

TONY:

We’re going to set up a company, a

building company, the three of us,

and I’m gonna do the plumbing, and

Laurence will do the carpentry,

and..

Eilis looks around her, trying to imagine the future that

Tony sees. It’s not so hard to do.

TONY:

Don’t go quiet on me. At least tell

me you’ll think about it.

EILIS:

I don’t need to think about it.

She holds out her hands, and Tony takes them, and she pulls

him towards her. The camera pulls back and back until we see

two tiny figures, on their own, standing in the middle of

their own future, of a part of America that doesn’t even

exist yet.

97 INT. PARISH HOUSE. EVENING 97

Eilis is sitting in a chair in Father Flood’s office. She’s

nervous and pale. Father Flood is pacing around. They are

both watching the telephone.

(CONTINUED)

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97

FATHER FLOOD:

I’m sure she won’t be long.

EILIS:

I’m not sure she even knows where

the parish house is.

FATHER FLOOD:

Oh, Father Quaid has a car. He was

going to collect her and drive her

up.

EILIS:

Part of me doesn’t even want to

talk to her. My own mother!

FATHER FLOOD:

It’s a difficult conversation to be

having, Eilis. You wouldn’t be

human if you were looking forward

to it.

The telephone rings. Both of them stare at it for a second,

and then Father Flood gestures at Eilis to pick it up.

EILIS:

Hello? Mummy?

She sounds noticeably more Irish throughout the conversation.

EILIS:

I can’t really hear you.

98 INT. PARISH HOUSE, IRELAND. EVENING 98

Mary is in the same situation - in an unfamiliar

ecclesiastical office, with a priest watching her with

concern. Mary looks so much older than the last time we saw

her, and completely defeated. What comes out of her mouth

cannot reflect the depth of her pain.

MARY:

Well, the rain held off, anyway.

Intercut phone conversation.

EILIS:

That’s good.

MARY:

And the whole of her golf club

came. Every single one of them. We

had a real houseful afterwards.

Eilis doesn’t say anything.

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 71.

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98

MARY:

Are you still there?

EILIS:

Yes.

MARY:

People really loved her, Eilis. Her

friends from work, the neighbours,

everybody.

Eilis is weeping.

EILIS:

I know.

MARY:

Nobody knew what to say to me.

Finally, her words reflect how she is feeling.

MARY:

When your daddy died, I said to

myself that I shouldn’t grieve too

much because I had you two. And

when you went to America, I told

myself the same thing because she

was here with me. But everyone’s

gone, Eilis. I have nobody.

Eilis is weeping so hard that she can’t speak. Father Flood

comes up behind her and puts his hand on her shoulders.

FADE OUT:

99 INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT 99

Eilis lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She’s still

wearing her coat. She gets up and leaves the room.

100 INT. TONY’S HOUSE. NIGHT 100

Eilis knocks on Tony’s door. It’s late, and the house is

dark. Tony opens the door wearing a T-shirt and undershorts.

He’s clearly been asleep.

TONY:

Come in for a second. I’ll get

dressed.

101 EXT. STREET. NIGHT 101

Tony and Eilis walking through the quiet, late night streets.

Tony holds Eilis to him as close as he can.

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 72.

101 CONTINUED:
101

TONY:

(resigned, sad)

I knew it.

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