Brooklyn Page #5

DOROTHY:

Hi.

EILIS:

Good morning.

They change in silence for a couple of moments.

DOROTHY:

Did you go out last night?

Eilis looks at her blankly. Dorothy laughs.

DOROTHY:

Out. The opposite of in.

EILIS:

No.

DOROTHY:

I went to see a movie with my

boyfriend.

Eilis carries on changing. Dorothy becomes exasperated by

Eilis’s lack of engagement, and embarks on both sides of the

conversation.

DOROTHY:

“What did you see, Dorothy?” “I saw

‘The Quiet Man’, Eilis. They filmed

it in Ireland.” “Oh, I’m from

Ireland.” “I know you are. That’s

why I thought you might be

interested.”

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 20.

30 CONTINUED:
30

EILIS:

(sincerely)

Thank you.

Eilis finishes changing and walks out of the room. Dorothy

watches her go.

31 OMITTED 31

32 INT. BARTOCCI’S. DAY 32

Close on a small metal case with a hinged door on one end. We

see Eilis’s hand putting cash and a docket into the holder,

and closing the door. Eilis pushes the holder firmly into a

tube, and it whizzes up to the ceiling.

The camera follows the tube system a little way and then

pulls back, to reveal the women’s department of a beautiful

1950s department store in all its quiet, dignified splendour -

lots of dark wood, lots of lovingly-arranged items of

clothing. Very few of us have ever seen, or can remember

properly, a store like this, but we ache for its loss anyway.

Eilis is standing behind the counter, smiling pleasantly at a

customer, a middle-aged white woman.

EILIS:

Shouldn’t be a moment.

They wait in silence. A few yards away, and unnoticed by

Eilis initially, stands Eilis’s supervisor MISS FORTINI -

thirtysomething, utterly devoted to the store. She’s watching

Eilis carefully.

Finally Eilis spots her. Miss Fortini clearly makes her

uncomfortable. Eilis tries to maker herself look busy. She

puts the stocking that the woman has bought into a bag, and

then starts to write something down on a docket. Unseen by

the customer, Miss Fortini tells Eilis in mime to speak and

to smile. Eilis freezes even more. Miss Fortini steps towards

her.

EILIS:

(in a rush)

Is it still hot out there? I

haven’t been outside since this

morning but I can tell that it

might be. Very. It just..looks it.

She ends this awkward little speech with a forced smile, but

it’s enough to ward off Miss Fortini, who switches her

attention elsewhere for a moment, to Eilis’s visible relief.

CUSTOMER:

It’s warm, yes.

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 21.

32 CONTINUED:
32

The metal tube returns with a whoosh and a clank. Eilis

extracts the change and the docket, and hands both to the

customer. The moment she has gone, Miss Fortini returns.

MISS FORTINI:

Remember:
if people like it here,

they’ll come back.

Eilis nods, as if Miss Fortini has said something deep, or

interesting.

MISS FORTINI:

So you treat every customer as if

she’s a new friend. Is that a deal?

EILIS:

I’ll try.

MISS FORTINI:

(gently)

It’s not a matter of trying. It’s

what you have to do. (Beat) Do you

try to wear panties every day?

The analogy is slightly off, inappropriate, and Eilis is

thrown for a moment.

EILIS:

No. I mean, I don’t try. I..I just

put them on.

MISS FORTINI:

You see what I’m saying?

EILIS:

Yes.

MISS FORTINI:

Good.

33 INT. DINER. DAY 33

Lunch time. While Eilis eats her grilled cheese sandwich at

the counter, she watches her fellow diners - male colleagues

smoking and joking, girlfriends talking animatedly, people on

their own reading the newspaper. Everyone seems to know what

they’re doing there except Eilis - everyone seems comfortable

in their own skin, absorbed in their environment. Eilis looks

anxious and uncomfortable and lost. She finishes her

sandwich, swallows as quickly as she can, catches the eye of

the young, handsome waiter.

EILIS:

Could I have the bill please?

(CONTINUED)

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 22.

33 CONTINUED:
33

WAITER:

I hope that when I go through the

pearly gates, the first sound I

hear is you asking me for the bill

in that lovely Irish brogue.

Eilis smiles nervously. She leaves some money on the counter

and stands up to leave.

WAITER:

See you tomorrow, sweetheart.

Eilis gives a quick, thin smile and walks out.

34 EXT. STREET. DAY 34

Eilis comes out of the lunch joint and exhales.

35 INT. DINING ROOM, MRS. KEHOE’S HOUSE. EVENING. 35

The girls and Mrs Kehoe are eating dinner, in exactly the

same formation as the first time we saw them.

MRS KEHOE:

Have they told you a date for the

nylon sale yet, Eilis? We’ve never

had a Bartocci’s girl living here.

(She taps her nose) We may get some

inside information.

EILIS:

I haven’t been told anything.

PATTY:

I’ll bet you wouldn’t let on if you

had.

DIANA:

She’s that sort. More loyal to her

bosses than to her friends.

PATTY:

Like a Red spy.

Eilis is flustered.

SHEILA:

(wearily)

Oh, dear God.

MRS KEHOE:

I’ll thank you to keep His name out

of a conversation about nylons,

thank you very much.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

36A

36B

'Brooklyn' YELLOW Script Dated 24th April 2014 23.

CONTINUED:
35

MRS KEHOE (CONT'D)

He might be everywhere, but He’s

not in Bartocci’s on sale day.

SHEILA:

I’m sorry, Mrs Kehoe.

They all settle back down.

MRS KEHOE:

I was glad to see you finally gotsome letters from home today,

Eilis.

Eilis looks up from her plate as if electrocuted.

EILIS:

Did I? I..I forgot to check.

She half-stands - she can’t wait.

MRS KEHOE:

They’ll still be there after

dinner.

EILIS:

Oh. Yes. I’m sorry.

INT. BEDROOM. EVENING 36

The door bursts open and Eilis comes rushing in, clutching

her letters. She sits down on the bed, and tears the first

one open. As soon as she starts reading she begins to weep

uncontrollably. We hear ROSE’s voice.

ROSE (V.O)

The big news here is that since you

left, Mummy has stopped shopping at

Nettles Kelly’s.

INT. OFFICE. DAY. 36A

Rose is at her desk, writing to Eilis.

ROSE (V.O.)

As you know, her bread wasn’t

always fresh, and she overcharged

for everything. And she’s awful.

INT. BEDROOM. EVENING. 36B

Rose’s voice fades out. Eilis’s crying reaches a new level -

she has to stop reading because she can no longer see. The

banal domestic details of her old life intensify her

homesickness to an agonising pitch.

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

37 INT. DINING ROOM, MRS. KEHOE’S HOUSE, DAY 37

The girls are eating their breakfast and ignoring Eilis, who

is still reading and re-reading her letters. She’s not

crying, but she’s pale and unhappy-looking.

MARY (V.O.)

I haven’t told her to her face.

There’s no need. She knows that she

overcharges and her bread’s not

fresh.

38 INT. DINER. DAY 38

Eilis at what is obviously her usual position in the diner.

Her sandwich and glass of milk are untouched in front of her.

She’s reading the letters again.

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