Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Page #12

MIERZWIAK:

Yeah, probably a good idea.

INT. CAR - NIGHT

Clementine and Joel laugh as they try to give voice to what

the characters on the screen are saying.

CLEMENTINE:

But can't you see... I love you, Antoine.

JOEL:

Don't call me Antoine. My name is Wally.

CLEMENTINE:

Yes, but I can't love a man named Wally.

She starts to fade. The scene starts to fade. Joel

remembers their previous plan.

JOEL:

They found us before. The plan didn't

work. I don't know what to do now.

CLEMENTINE:

(mouthing to woman on screen)

Hide me somewhere deeper? Somewhere

buried?

Joel grabs her. They run off just as the scene decays into a

husk behind them.

INT. JOEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Stan is back at the controls. Mierzwiak's at the door with

Mary.

STAN:

Howard, they've disappeared again.

MIERZWIAK:

Oh dear.

MARY:

I'm so sorry, Howard, you must be tired.

He nods, distractedly. She smiles to herself as he heads

back to the equipment.

EXT. SCHOOLYARD - AFTERNOON

Joel, now the size of a junior high school kid and dressed

accordingly, is peering around the corner of the school

building toward the bike rack. Clementine is with him,

dressed as she was in the parked car.

CLEMENTINE:

Look at you, cutey! What are we doing?

JOEL:

This kid, Joe Early, is going to beat the

sh*t out of me.

VOICE-OVER

I'm terrified. I thought if I hung

around the art room long enough, he'd go

home and I could get my bike.

They head toward the bike rack. Joel's is the only bike

remaining.

CLEMENTINE (CONT'D)

Poor Joel.

They're at the bike rack and a bunch of kids, including

giant, fat Joe Early come around the corner.

JOE EARLY:

Hi, Jill.

JOEL:

He calls me Jill. Everyone calls me Jill

after this.

The other kids laughs.

JOEL:

Just shut up, Joe. I'm going home.

JOE EARLY:

I don't think so. We're fighting.

JOEL:

I don't want to fight you.

The kids start chanting, "fight, fight, fight..." Joe Early

throws a wild punch that hits Joel in the side. joel falls

and stays down, covering himself.

JOE EARLY:

C'mon, Jill. Get up, f*ggot. C'mon.

Joel doesn't say anything. He peeks humiliated at

Clementine. She's watching him. She's got a tear in her

eye. She kneels down beside him, puts her arm around him.

JOEL:

I'm too scared to even throw a punch.

When I tell people this story I leave

that part out.

The scene flashes violently to white and is gone.

INT. JOEL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Mierzwiak is at the machine.

MIERZWIAK:

We got him back. Stan, I think I'm just

going to have to get through this

manually. We're running late.

EXT. BEACH - DAY

It's cold. Joel and Clementine walk, all bundled up. She

points at a house up the beach.

CLEMENTINE:

Our house! Our house!

She runs ahead, laughing. The scene is decaying. Joel

chases after her.

JOEL:

Clem, c'mon, we've got to hide you.

Remember?

He grabs her arm and yanks and they are in:

INT. BOY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

It's dark. Joel, junior high school size, is in bed

masturbating. Clementine is in there, too, in her winter

coat, still laughing from before. She realizes what's going

on.

CLEMENTINE:

(mock offended)

Joel!

JOEL:

(continuing to masturbate)

I don't like it either, but I'm just

trying to find horrible secret place to --

Joel's mother pops her head in the door.

MOTHER:

Joel, I was just --

(sees what's going on)

Oh. Um... I'll ask you in the morning,

honey. Have a good night.

The mother backs out, closes the door. Joel cringes.

Clementine laughs, still in the mode of the memory she was

swiped from. Flash! It's all gone.

INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

Joel and Clementine are laughing as she blows out the candle

on a slice of cheesecake in front of her. Joel hands her a

small wrapped box.

JOEL:

Happy Birthday.

CLEMENTINE:

(unwrapping the gift)

Thanks, Joely. A present! Oh boy!

She pulls out the bracelet. It's the same bracelet Patrick

gave her.

CLEMENTINE (CONT'D)

Oh, Joel. It's beautiful!

(slip it on)

I mean, you're the first guy who ever

bought me a piece of jewelry I could

honestly say that about.

He notices she's starting to fade.

JOEL:

I scoured the city for it.

CLEMENTINE:

I love it!

She leans across the table to kiss him. He grabs her and

runs through the decaying scene and into the vague night.

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - DAY

Joel is one of a group of five year olds. He holds a hammer

and is poised to hit a dead bird in a red wagon. The other

boys are goading him.

BOYS:

C'mon, Joel, you have to. Do it already.

Joel doesn't want to. Clementine watches.

JOEL:

I can't. I have to go home. I'll do it

later.

VOICE-OVER

I didn't want to do this. But I had to

or they would've called me a girl.

Joel miserably smashes the bird repeatedly with the hammer.

Red jelly guts cover the hammer and the wagon bottom. The

kids hoot.

VOICE-OVER

I can't believe I did that. I'm so

ashamed.

A live bird watches from a tree. Clementine, still dressed

for her birthday dinner (wearing her new bracelet), pulls

Joel away from the other boys. The two of them walk down

Joel's suburban street.

CLEMENTINE:

It's okay. You were a little kid.

(beat)

This is a great birthday present.

Getting to see you as a boy.

She kisses him and they walk holding hands.

JOEL:

(pointing)

That's where I live. Lived.

Joel looks down at her hand. It's fading. The bracelet is

gone. Clementine is gone. His childhood house is gone.

INT. JOEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Mierzwiak works the equipment. He has located a small area

of light in the brain imaging and eradicates them.

MIERZWIAK:

I'm getting the hang of it. I still

understand it. But I'm finding him

quickly enough. I'm hopeful there won't

be too much peripheral eradication.

Mary sits on the bed.

MARY:

(a little giggly)

I like watching you work.

Stan sighs, grabs his coat.

STAN:

I'll go out for a smoke. If no one

minds.

MIERZWIAK:

(not looking up)

That's fine, Stan.

Mary doesn't say anything. Stan huffs and is out the door.

Mierzwiak continues to find and erase points of light. Mary

gets up her courage to speak.

MARY:

Do you like quotes, Howard?

MIERZWIAK:

How do you mean?

MARY:

Oh, um, like famous quotes. I find

reading them inspirational to me. And in

my reading I've come across some I

thought you might like, too.

MIERZWIAK:

Oh. Well, I'd love to hear some.

Mary is thrilled, beside herself. She tries to calm down.

MARY:

Okay, um, there's one that goes "Blessed

are the forgetful, for they get the

better even of their blunders."

MIERZWIAK:

Is that Nietzsche?

MARY:

Yeah, yeah it is, Howard. And here I was

thinking I could tell you something you

didn't know.

MIERZWIAK:

It's a good quote, Mary. I'm glad we

both know it.

He smiles at her. She's flustered, flattered.

MARY:

(sputtering)

There's another one I like, I read. It's

by Pope Alexander.

MIERZWIAK:

Alexander Pope?

MARY:

Yes, sh*t. Oops, sorry!

(puts hand over mouth)

Sorry. It's just I told myself I wasn't

going to say Pope Alexander and sound

like a dope and then I go ahead and do

it. Like I psyched myself out.

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