Dunkirk Page #5

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COLLINS:

(over radio)

Understood. Angels two, over.

25.

Farrier pulls back on the stick

EXT. SKY OVER ENGLISH CHANNEL -CONTINUOUS

The Spitfires rise gloriously into higher air...

CUT TO:

EXT. THE MOLE -EVENING

Commander Bolton looks over at the wet soldiers clinging to

the understructure of the mole.

COMMANDER BOLTON (O.S.)

Right, Highlanders. Let’s find you

another ship.

The wet soldiers pull themselves to their feet...

Tommy, watched by Alex, slips into the water, then pulls

himself out, dripping. Gibson follows suit. Alex laugh at

them... then helps them push into the group.

They follow the wet soldiers up onto the mole, where Bolton’s

men shepherd them onto a launch.

EXT. LAUNCH -CONTINUOUS

Tommy and Gibson make themselves inconspicuous among the

Highlanders, eyes down.

As the launch pulls away from the mole, Tommy glances back at

the men lining the breakwater.

The launch motors out of the harbour.

It approaches a destroyer, its sheer iron side towering above

the launch, as it bobs up and down alongside.

Cargo nets are dropped over the side, and the men start to

step up onto the rail of the bobbing ship, waiting for the

rhythmic movement towards the iron wall, grabbing at the rope

mesh, struggling to pull themselves up.

Tommy steps up to the railing, next to an exhausted soldier

who can barely lift himself up. Tommy grabs his shoulder to

steady on the rail as the launch bounces off the iron wall of

the destroyer.

They both grab at the net, Tommy climbing up

26.

The exhausted soldier has not got his feet into the netting,

he slips over...

The gap between the launch and the destroyer shrinks to

nothing

The soldier’s legs are crushed between the two oblivious

crafts. He screams -hands pull him up as the craft

separate...

EXT. DESTROYER -CONTINUOUS

The men collapse onto the deck in exhausted piles. Sailors

and Nurses urge them to move below decks.

SAILOR:

Down below. Come on, mate

Tommy follows Alex and his mates to a doorway at the head of

the stairs down below. A Nurse is standing there.

NURSE:

Come on, boys. There’s a nice cup

of tea for you down there. This

way, come on.

INT. DESTROYER -CONTINUOUS

Tommy starts down the stairs. Gibson has stopped at the top,

looking down into the stairwell.

NURSE:

Come on, down you go

Gibson, shaking his head, steps back.

Alex sees this -turns to follow Tommy into the crowd in the

hold. They are handed a cup of tea and a hunk of bread.

EXT. DESTROYER -CONTINUOUS

Out on deck, Gibson sits by the companionway in the gathering

dark as the ship gets under way...

INT. HOLD, DESTROYER -CONTINUOUS

Down below, Tommy and Alex eat and drink hungrily and

gratefully. Between bites, Alex gestures to the stairs.

27.

ALEX:

What’s wrong with your friend?

Tommy watches the door to the hold close. Takes another bite.

Uneasy.

Looks around the hold, packed like the tube at rush hour.

TOMMY:

Looking for a quick way out. In

case we go down.

Tommy and Alex edge through the crowd towards the stairs...

CUT TO:

EXT. MOONSTONE, ENGLISH CHANNEL -DAY

George hands the Shivering Soldier a steaming mug of tea.

The BOOMS start reverberating again.

The Shivering Soldier glances up. Realizes something...

SHIVERING SOLDIER

Where are we going?

MR. DAWSON

Dunkirk.

SHIVERING SOLDIER

No, we’re going to England!

MR. DAWSON

We have to go to Dunkirk first.

SHIVERING SOLDIER

I’M NOT GOING BACK!

Peter watches from the companionway. The Shivering Soldier

throws his arm out of the dark cloud on the horizon

SHIVERING SOLDIER (CONT’D)

Look at it! We go there we’ll die!

Mr. Dawson looks at the Shivering Soldier. Calm.

MR. DAWSON

I see your point, son. Take your

tea below and warm up while we plot

a course.

28.

The Shivering Soldier considers this. Then takes his blanket

and heads down the companionway. Peter helps him down below.

INT. CABIN, MOONSTONE -CONTINUOUS

Peter opens the door to the forepeak and sits the Shivering

Soldier down on a narrow bunk.

PETER:

I’ll get you some more tea.

Peter shuts the door. Looks at the bolt. Considering.

EXT. MOONSTONE -CONTINUOUS

George looks up at the Commander. Addresses him with the tone

of a child trying to speak like a grown-up...

GEORGE:

Is he a coward?

Mr. Dawson looks sharply at George.

MR. DAWSON

He’s shell-shocked, George. He’s

not himself. He may never be

himself again.

INT. CABIN, MOONSTONE -MOMENTS LATER

Peter hands the Shivering Soldier a cup of tea. The Shivering

Soldier accepts it wordlessly. Staring in front of him. Peter

closes the forepeak door. Pauses.

Peter gently slides the bolt.

CUT TO:

INT. COCKPIT, SPITFIRE 1 -DAY

Farrier looks down at the mass of ships and boats passing

each other. There is the minesweeper, Castor, every inch of

her deck covered with troops

COLLINS:

(over radio)

Heinkel, eleven o’clock, lining up

to drop her load on that

minesweeper

29.

Farrier’s head snaps around -spots the German bomber

FARRIER:

Fighters?

INT. COCKPIT, SPITFIRE 2 -CONTINUOUS

Collins peers down, scanning around the Heinkel bomber for

its fighter escort... Spots

COLLINS:

109s -off her starboard

FARRIER:

(over radio)

I’m on the bomber.

Collins pushes forward into a dive...

EXT. SKY OVER ENGLISH CHANNEL -CONTINUOUS

Spitfire 2 dives at the German fighters, cannons blasting...

Spitfire 1 dives at the German bomber, cannons blasting...

INT. COCKPIT, SPITFIRE 1 -CONTINUOUS

Farrier has the Heinkel in his sights, bucking and weaving as

his Spitfire slices down through turbulent air... He pushes

the button on the stick which controls his guns...

He rolls away from the Heinkel as he dives beneath it, taking

his finger off the trigger, fighting the g’s with his neck as

he pulls out of the dive...

INT. COCKPIT, SPITFIRE 2 -CONTINUOUS

Collins fires at one of the 109s until he sees smoke

trailing. He dives between the German planes...

INT. COCKPIT, SPITFIRE 1 -CONTINUOUS

Farrier scans his surroundings as he tries to orient himself

relative to the Heinkel...

Finding it, he pulls the stick, lining up for another run at

it, this time from below...

The bomber is in his sights -he fires his guns...

30.

He flashes past, dangerously close to its top turret which

hurls tracer bullets at him. He sees sparking on the hull of

the bomber

INT. COCKPIT, SPITFIRE 2 -CONTINUOUS

Coming around, starting to climb, Collins sees the Heinkel

veer off course, heading from the minesweeper

COLLINS:

She’s turning -you must’ve damaged

her.

FARRIER:

(over radio)

Where’s the escort?

COLLINS:

I got one of

BLAM BLAM BLAM!! Cannon fire rips into Spitfire 2. Collins

yanks the stick but it’s too late. Flames leap from the

fuselage...

COLLINS (CONT’D)

I’m going down.

FARRIER:

(over radio)

I’m on him -bail out.

Collins checks his parachute, opens the canopy. The wind

howls inside the cockpit. He survey’s the water below slides

his canopy shut again.

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