Cast Away Page #21

DOCTOR:

What's so funny.

Chuck can't seem to help laughing at everything.

CHUCK:

Sorry...sorry... Why do my joints still

ache?

DOCTOR:

Dehydration. Vitamin deficiency.

Protein deficiency. Any or all of the

above.

CHUCK:

All I ate was fish. That's solid

protein.

DOCTOR:

Protein digestion is very costly in water

usage.

CHUCK:

Which I didn't have.

DOCTOR:

And fish are very low in fat, which is

energy inefficient. So you're going to

burn up your own cells no matter how much

you eat. Luckily you ate the eyes and

pancreas, which contain some Vitamin C,

so you didn't get scurvy.

Chuck laughs again.

CHUCK:

I am one lucky guy.

DOCTOR:

Your body chemistry and your exposure to

the elements would normally lead to

irritability, depression, anxiety,

periods of self-reproach. It's almost

like schizophrenia. Different sides of

your personality might come to life,

speak out, act out.

CHUCK:

But all that's behind me. I'm fine now.

He starts to laugh again.

DOCTOR:

If you say you are.

CHUCK:

I most definitely say I am.

DOCTOR:

Doctor Hegel tells me he discussed the

Vietnam POW syndrome with you.

Chuck stifles his laughter.

CHUCK:

Yes, yes he did.

DOCTOR:

You are aware of the potential

disruptiveness on your loved ones when

you return to your old life?

CHUCK:

Not to mention on me.

The laughter again. Unsettling.

DOCTOR:

You sure you don't want some counseling?

Chuck gives his biggest smile.

CHUCK:

Doc, I'm not on the island. I'm not on

the raft. I'm alive. I'm so glad to be

back, I can't tell you. I just want out

of here.

DOCTOR:

Well, when that IV runs out, you're

through with us. Just the dentist

tomorrow.

INT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT - LATER

Rolling his IV, Chuck walks very slowly out of the ward.

Every step is an effort.

INT. PHONE CUBICLE - NIGHT - MINUTES LATER

A small windowless room with only a desk and a phone, lit by

a fluorescent lamp. Chuck is listening to the phone ring.

Kelly answers.

KELLY (V.O.)

Hello.

Chuck is overcome for a moment, can't say a word.

KELLY (V.O.)

Hello? Hello?

For some reason he can't keep himself from laughing. He

covers the mouthpiece and laughs.

And then we hear a dial tone, harsh, mechanical, final.

EXT. PHONE CUBICLE - MINUTES LATER

We can see Chuck inside, staring at the phone.

INT. PHONE CUBICLE - MINUTES LATER

We hear a faint persistent hum. Chuck looks around, trying

to locate the sound. He looks up, focuses on the fluorescent

light, that background sound he can no longer tune out, then

picks up the phone again.

EXT. PHONE CUBICLE

Stan answers the phone.

STAN (V.O.)

Hello?

CHUCK:

Stan, it's Chuck...Chuck Noland...

The laughter again.

STAN (V.O.)

Whoever you are, you are one sick f***er.

And again we hear the dial tone.

INT. PHONE CUBICLE - MOMENTS LATER

Chuck's on the phone again.

CHUCK:

Two Valium and the Rolling Stones. That

ring a bell?

There's a long silence. Then we hear Stan's voice.

STAN (V.O.)

God damn! God damn! Chuck, it's you!

CHUCK:

It's me.

STAN (V.O.)

You're f***ing dead!

CHUCK:

I'm most definitely not dead. And as I

recall, you're the sick f***er.

Chuck begins to laugh, a little too loud, a little too

shrill. He's on a high.

EXT. HAWAII - BEACH RESTAURANT

A terrace by the ocean. Tables filled with diners. Food

being delivered by waiters. So simple, eating. So taken for

granted.

At one table sits Chuck, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and

shorts, with a half-dozen plates in front of him. He

gestures to the waiter. Bring me more. It all tastes so

damned good.

Behind him is the ocean. Chuck doesn't glance at it.

INT. DENTIST - NEXT DAY

An attractive DENTAL TECHNICIAN with an Australian accent

cleans Chuck's teeth with an ultrasound device. She's close,

very close. Chuck looks up at her. She looks really good.

She smiles at him, then touches the gap where he knocked out

his tooth.

TECHNICIAN:

You sure you don't want to have the

implant done here? We do quite good

work.

Chuck shakes his head: no. She scrapes behind his front

teeth.

TECHNICIAN:

Hmmm, you do have such a lot of tarter

behind these front incisors. A little

wider, please.

Chuck opens his mouth even further. The technician talks on

in the self-absorbed way dental technicians sometimes do,

that constant babble of human contact which Chuck has not

heard for four years.

TECHNICIAN:

Anyway, so the second prosthetic foot

worked better, but he still couldn't

drive his new Cortina, it being a

standard shift, if you follow me.

Chuck nods. I follow you.

TECHNICIAN:

But would he hear of me driving him

around? Not on your bloody life. Rinse

please.

Chuck does. Stan bursts into the room.

STAN:

Chuck! God damn!

Chuck struggles out of the chair.

STAN:

God damn. God damn. God damn.

They are both almost overcome. Stan holds Chuck by the

shoulders and looks at him.

STAN:

You're alive, you're f***ing alive!

Chuck laughs, thrilled to see Stan.

CHUCK:

I beat the odds!

STAN:

You beat 'em to sh*t, pal! Jesus!

TECHNICIAN:

I still need to floss you.

Stan notices the technician.

STAN:

Hello.

CHUCK:

This is Amber. Her boyfriend lost his

foot in a shark attack.

He says this with an absolute straight face, holding back the

laughter with great effort. Instantly there's this

connection again between him and Stan.

TECHNICIAN:

Ex-boyfriend.

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