Confidence Page #12

LETTY:

I'll put it out if it bothers you.

MRS. MAYER

The puckering, dear. It doesn't

seem so now, but in time, it will

cause wrinkles around the mouth.

Letty grinds the cigarette beneath her heel. She bends over

the fabrics.

MRS. MAYER

You know, your life isn't about

being in a mental hospital.

LETTY:

What?

MRS. MAYER

I hear this Michael fellow is

schizophrenic.

LETTY:

Mom, please.

MRS. MAYER

Don't forget that Paul's a

promising young attorney who loves

you very much...

74.

LETTY:

Mom, look, if I want to dump Paul,

I'll dump him. If I want to screw

Michael or live with him or marry

him, then I'll do that.

Thomas, who sits across the room, looks up from his book.

MRS. MAYER

(whispering)

I'm only looking out for you.

LETTY:

(yelling)

And if I want to smoke, I'll

f***ing smoke.

Letty races out the door and into the garden. In the

distance, Michael spots her and jogs over. Letty's mother

watches them. Thomas approaches Mrs. Mayer.

THOMAS:

Mrs. Mayer, I'm sorry but I

couldn't help overhearing. I just

wanted to say, not that it's any of

my business...

MRS. MAYER

Yes?

THOMAS:

I think, really, I think I'd go

with the cream damask.

INT. REC ROOM - LATER

Letty and Michael walk through the rec room toward the dining

hall. Nurse Gates bends down in front of Mrs. Hallstrom, who

sits where we last saw her.

NURSE GATES:

It's OK to be upset.

MRS. HALLSTROM

(gaily)

Upset? Why of course not. My

goodness, no. I'm sure she just

got hung up.

Letty and Michael stop.

75.

MICHAEL:

Mrs. Hallstrom, why don't you join

my family for dinner. You'll love

my Grandma Rosa.

MRS. HALLSTROM

That's so sweet, Michael. But,

really, I've so many things to do.

LETTY:

If you change your mind, we'll be

in the dining hall.

Michael and Letty walk on, exchanging a sad look.

INT. DINING HALL - LATER

Mr. Santucci and Mrs. Santucci sit at the heads of the table.

Letty sits between Rosa and Michael.

ROSA:

(to Letty)

What do you need now?

(to Mr. Santucci)

Send down the lamb. This girl's as

thin as a stick.

LETTY:

Oh, no. I'm stuffed.

ROSA:

Tell her to eat, Frank.

MR. SANTUCCI

Mangia. Mangia.

MICHAEL:

(whispering to Letty)

You can't turn down Grandma Rosa's

lamb.

ROSA:

Or my eggplant. I make the best

eggplant in L.A. The mozzarella I

use, it's so fresh it sweats.

Letty heaps more food on her plate.

MRS. SANTUCCI

Michael says you're a teacher.

76.

LETTY:

I was. I'm hoping I'll still have

a job when I get out.

Mrs. Hallstrom walks into the room, wearing her Christmas

stocking cap. She starts to dispense erasers.

LETTY:

What's she doing?

Mrs. Hallstrom, practically skipping, zeros in on Grandma

Rosa. She hands Rosa the gift meant for her daughter.

MRS. HALLSTROM

Rosa, Rosa, you must have this,

Rosa.

ROSA:

Grazie.

MICHAEL:

Mrs. Hallstrom, join us. Please.

But, by this point, Mrs. Hallstrom's already bounded away,

divesting herself of more and more erasers to bewildered

parents and delighted children.

She clambers onto a table in the middle of the room. Marie

gets up from another table and leaves the room to get help.

MRS. HALLSTROM

Merry Christmas to all. Ho, ho,

ho, ho.

LETTY:

Michael, we've got to stop her.

Michael pushes back his chair. He's trapped between the

table and the wall.

MRS. HALLSTROM

My goodness, it's so very warm in

here. So warm.

She takes off her cap and tosses it to a surprised looking

man. But she doesn't stop there. With haphazard abandon, she

begins to disrobe, first her blouse, then her skirt.

MRS. HALLSTROM

Way, way, way too warm for

December. Now, let's sing Jingle

Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the

way...

77.

The group looks on in horror, mesmerized by her behavior.

Then, almost as one, the patients spring into action.

Michael bolts over his dining table and runs to Mrs.

Hallstrom. He jumps onto her table, trying to restrain the

dancing woman so he can wrap his sweater around her.

By this time, John, Thomas and Letty have surrounded her in a

protective enclave. Michael sets Mrs. Hallstrom on the

ground. She looks up at the group, and continues belting out

"Jingle Bells."

.

INT. LINEN CLOSET - HILLVIEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - NIGHT

Letty and Michael lie on the floor next to each other,

trading puffs on a cigarette. The glowing ember is the only

light in the room.

MICHAEL:

You must have thought about it.

Everyone does.

LETTY:

I just want to see Beast.

(beat)

Where would you go?

MICHAEL:

The mission up in Santa Barbara.

LETTY:

No way.

MICHAEL:

That's where I always go when I get

out.

LETTY:

Why?

MICHAEL:

My dad used to take me there when I

was little. It's totally quiet.

And you can see the ocean for

miles.

They smoke for a while.

LETTY:

What else would you do?

78.

MICHAEL:

I'd like to drink a bottle of red

wine with you and then make love to

you and spend the whole night

together. And we'd get up in the

morning and spend hours lounging

around and reading the paper.

LETTY:

And we'd eat Spaghetti-O's in bed

from the can.

MICHAEL:

How can you even mention SpaghettiO's

after eating Grandma Rosa's

dinner tonight?

LETTY:

I have a terrible confession.

MICHAEL:

Tell the doctor.

LETTY:

I don't like lamb.

Michael sits up.

MICHAEL:

Then it's over.

LETTY:

Lie down.

Michael lies down.

MICHAEL:

It's a good thing my family loves

you.

LETTY:

Your family just met me.

MICHAEL:

You're right. I guess I was

projecting. What I should have

said is, "It's a good thing I love

you."

LETTY:

Do you?

79.

MICHAEL:

I do.

LETTY:

Michael, I...

MICHAEL:

It's OK. You don't have to say

anything.

LETTY:

But I do. I love you, too.

Michael and Letty lie still, looking into each others eyes.

INT. MICHAEL'S ROOM - HILLVIEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - DAY

.

Posters of Harry Houdini and Doug Henning. Handcuffs and

card decks all over.

MICHAEL:

Your Honor, I feel I should be

released. I'm sufficiently able to

look after...

Michael stops. His eyes glaze over. His head darts toward

the corner of the room.

MICHAEL:

(to the corner)

What? What?

Nothing's there. Nothing at all. But Michael keeps staring.

A KNOCK on the door. Michael's eyes refocus. He opens the

door to find Letty.

LETTY:

John and Nurse Gates are waiting

for you.

MICHAEL:

Oh, right. I'm ready. How do I

look?

LETTY:

(straightening his tie)

Great. I came to tell you to break

a leg, and to give you this for

good luck.

Letty hands him the Cracker Jack ring.

80.

INT. COMMITMENT COURT - DAY

Michael sits near the front of the courtroom with half a

dozen other patients from various institutions.

Nurse Gates sits a few rows back near JOHN'S MOTHER and

Michael's family--Mr. and Mrs. Santucci and Grandma Rosa.

JUDGE MILTON, 60s, questions John, who's on the stand.

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