Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Page #2

She nods, thinks.

CLEMENTINE:

Um, well, he's a f***ing tidy one --

EXT. COMMUTER TRAIN STATION

SUBTITLE:
TWO WEEKS LATER

The platform is crowded with business commuters. Joel is

among them. He is in his 30's, gaunt, and holding a

briefcase. The platform across the tracks from him is empty.

Suddenly he turns and makes his way through the crowd. He

climbs the stairs, crosses the overpass to the empty

platform. Soon an almost empty train pulls up to that

platform. Joel gets on and watches the business commuters

through the dirty window as his train pulls out of the

station.

EXT. MONTAUK TRAIN STATION - LATER

Joel talks on a phone. The wind howls around him. He tries

to shield the mouthpiece as he talks.

JOEL:

Hi, Cindy. Joel. Listen, I'm not

feeling well this morning. No. Food

poisoning, I think. Sorry it took me so

long to call in, but I've been vomiting.

EXT. BEACH - DAY

Joel wanders the windy, empty beach, with his briefcase. He

passes an old man with a metal detector. They nod at each

other.

Later:
Joel looks out at the ocean.

Later:
Joel sits on a rock and pulls out a notebook. He

opens it and writes with a gloved hand.

JOEL:

January 13th, 2006. Today I skipped work

and took the train out to Montauk.

(thinks)

It's cold.

(thinks some more)

The sky is gray.

(thinks some more)

I don't know what else to say. Nothing

happens. Nothing changes. I saw Naomi

last night. We had sex. It was weird to

fall into our old familiar sex life so

easily. Like no time has passed. After

two years apart suddenly we're talking

about getting together again. I guess

that's good.

He has no other thoughts. He glances up, spots a female

figure in the distance, walking in his direction. She stands

out against the gray in a fluorescent orange hooded

sweatshirt. It's Clementine. He watches her for a bit, then

as she nears, he goes back to his writing, or at least

pretends to. Once she passed, he watches her walk away. She

stops and stares out at the ocean. Joel writes.

JOEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)

If I'm constitutionally incapable of

making eye-contact with a woman I don't

know. I guess I'd better get back to

Naomi.

Later:
Joel walks up near the beach houses closed for the

season. He peeks cautiously in a dark window.

Later:
Joel digs into the sand with a stick.

INT. DINER - DAY

It's a local tourist place, but off-season empty. Joel sits

in a booth and eats a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of

tomato soup. An elderly couple drink coffee at the counter.

Clementine enters, looks around, takes off her hood. Joel

glances at her bright blue hair. She picks an empty booth

and sits. Joel studies her discreetly. The waitress

approaches her with a coffee pot.

WAITRESS:

Coffee?

CLEMENTINE:

God, yes. You've saved my life!

The waitress pours the coffee.

WAITRESS:

You know what you want yet?

CLEMENTINE:

(laughing)

Ain't that the question of the century.

The waitress is not amused.

CLEMENTINE (CONT'D)

You got grilled cheese and tomato soup?

WAITRESS:

Yeah. We're having a run on it.

The waitress heads to the grill. Clementine fishes in her

bag, brings the coffee cup under the table for a moment,

pours something in, then brings the cup back up.

CLEMENTINE:

(calling)

And some cream, please.

Clementine looks around the place. Her eyes meet Joel's

before he is able to look away. She smiles vaguely. He

looks embarrassed, then down at his journal. Clementine

pulls a book from her purse and starts to read. Joel glances

up, tries to see the cover. It's blue. He can't read the

title.

EXT. BEACH - DAY

Joel stares out at the ocean. Far down the beach Clementine

stares at it, too. Joel glances sideways at her then back at

the ocean.

EXT. MONTAUK TRAIN STATION PLATFORM - LATE AFTERNOON

Joel sits on the bench waiting for a train. Clementine

enters the platform, sees Joel, the only other person there.

She waves, sort of goofily enthusiastic, playing as if

they're old friends. He waves back, embarrassed. She takes

a seat on a bench far down the platform. Joel stares at his

hands, pulls out his journal and tries to write in order to

conceal his awkwardness.

INT. TRAIN - A BIT LATER

Joel sits at the far end of the empty car and watches the

slowly passing desolate terrain. After a moment the door

between cars opens and Clementine enters. Joel looks up.

Clementine is not looking at him; she busies herself deciding

where to sit. She settles on a seat at the opposite end of

the car. Joel looks out the window. He feels her watching

him. The train is picking up speed. Finally:

CLEMENTINE:

(calling over the rumble)

Hi!

Joel looks over.

JOEL:

I'm sorry.

CLEMENTINE:

Why?

JOEL:

Why what?

CLEMENTINE:

Why are you sorry? I just said hi.

JOEL:

No, I didn't know if you were talking to

me, so...

She looks around the empty car.

CLEMENTINE:

Really?

JOEL:

(embarrassed)

Well, I didn't want to assume.

CLEMENTINE:

Aw, c'mon, live dangerously. Take the

leap and assume someone is talking to you

in an otherwise empty car.

JOEL:

Anyway. Sorry. Hi.

Clementine makes her way down the aisle towards Joel.

CLEMENTINE:

It's okay if I sit closer? So I don't

have to scream. Not that I don't need to

scream sometimes, believe me.

(pause)

But I don't want to bug you if you're

trying to write or something.

JOEL:

No, I mean, I don't know. I can't really

think of much to say probably.

CLEMENTINE:

Oh. So...

She hesitates in the middle of the car, looks back where she

came from.

JOEL:

I mean, it's okay if you want to sit down

here. I didn't mean to --

CLEMENTINE:

No, I don't want to bug you if you're

trying to --

JOEL:

It's okay, really.

CLEMENTINE:

Just, you know, to chat a little, maybe.

I have a long trip ahead of me.

(sits across aisle from Joel)

How far are you going? On the train, I

mean, of course.

JOEL:

Rockville Center.

CLEMENTINE:

Get out! Me too! What are the odds?

JOEL:

The weirder part is I think actually I

recognize you. I thought that earlier in

the diner. That's why I was looking at

you. You work at Borders, right?

CLEMENTINE:

Ucch, really? You're kidding. God.

Bizarre small world, huh? Yeah, that's

me:
book slave there for, like, five

years now.

JOEL:

Really? Because --

CLEMENTINE:

Jesus, is it five years? I gotta quit

right now.

JOEL:

-- because I go there all the time. I

don't think I ever saw you before.

CLEMENTINE:

Well, I'm there. I hide in the back as

much as is humanly possible. You have a

cell phone? I need to quit right this

minute. I'll call in dead.

JOEL:

I don't have one.

CLEMENTINE:

I'll go on the dole. Like my daddy

before me.

JOEL:

I noticed your hair. I guess it made an

impression on me, that's why I was pretty

sure I recognized you.

CLEMENTINE:

Ah, the hair.

(pulls a strand in front of her

eyes, studies it)

Blue, right? It's called Blue Ruin. The

color. Snappy name, huh?

JOEL:

I like it.

CLEMENTINE:

Blue ruin is cheap gin in case you were

wondering.

JOEL:

Yeah. Tom Waits says it in --

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