Five Easy Pieces Page #5

Bobby, dazed, raises his head from the dirt,

looking toward Elton.

BOBBY:

Christ Almighty, what's happening

here?

SECOND MAN:

Okay, let him go.

As he starts pushing a resistant Elton toward the

car, Bobby sits up.

BOBBY:

Tell me what in the hell's going

on, Elton!

ELTON:

I got accused a robbin' a

fillin'station down in the Indian

Nation, didn' I tell you...

SECOND MAN:

Come on.

ELTON:

I got wild an' jumped my bail...

SECOND MAN:

Move it!

He takes him roughly by the arm and moves off with

the first man following.

ELTON:

(over his shoulder, to

Bobby)

An' here they come runnin' after me

a year later... Ain't that

somethin'?

ON BOBBY:

looking toward:

The two men forcing Elton into the rear seat of the

car, as he calls back to Bobby:

ELTON:

Tell Stoney for me, will you?! Tell

her to come get me...

They close the door on him and get into the car. As

it drives off...

Bobby sits watching until it disappears from sight,

then he sits back against a pump casing and drops

his head onto his chest.

INT. TWINKY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

CLOSE ON TWINKY'S FACE

She opens her mouth and rends the air with a

keening wail. Her face beads with moisture and

journeys through expressions indistinguishable from

grief and anguish. Presently, an ecstatic and very

professional screech issues from her, after which

she reaches up and pulls Bobby down onto her,

breathing into his ear...

TWINKY:

Donnie, oh Donnie...

INT. RECORDING STUDIO - DAY

(BACH PARTITA FAINTLY UNDER:)

Bobby, dressed in a suit and tie, moves through a

network of hallways, checking the door numbers.

He arrives at a door designated as Studio A, and,

after hesitating for a moment, opens it and steps

inside.

INT. STUDIO A RECORDING BOOTH - DAY

(BACH PARTITA UNDER:)

TWO RECORDING ENGINEERS glance at him without

interest and return to their dials and needles.

Bobby looks from them through the glass partition

to the recording studio in view beyond.

POV:

ELIZABETH "TITA" DUPEA is at the piano, intensely

into the Bach. She wears a monastic-looking dress,

her unruly hair is pinned back from her face, and

her glasses lie on the bench beside her.

ON BOBBY:

watching her with both affection and appreciation.

ON TITA:

She is "sounding" as she plays, in tones out-of-key

and discordant with the Bach.

FIRST ENGINEER:

There she goes again.

Bobby glances over at him, then looks back to Tita.

POV:

She hunches over the keyboard and plays an

arpeggio, humming a long monochromatic note.

SECOND ENGINEER:

My 1-year-old can carry a tune

better than that.

Bobby is about to defend her, when the engineer

flips a toggle switch and addresses the mike

feeding into the studio:

SECOND ENGINEER (CONT'D)

Miss Dupea.

There is no response and she continues playing.

SECOND ENGINEER (CONT'D)

(more emphatic)

Miss Dupea.

TITA:

(annoyed)

Yes.

Bobby can be seen in the b.g., having difficulty

restraining his irritation under the following:

SECOND ENGINEER:

I'd like to remind you again, this

isn't an opera or a musical comedy.

TITA:

Oh... I'm sorry. Was I singing

again?

SECOND ENGINEER:

If you want to call it that.

TITA:

Well, you have to simply tell me,

that's all.

SECOND ENGINEER:

That's exactly what I am doing,

again.

TITA:

Do you have to let me get halfway

through the movement first? This is

tiring me.

SECOND ENGINEER:

I have a suggestion. Why don't we

take a break.

TITA:

Oh, for pity's sake...

She puts her elbows on top of the piano and drops

her head into her bands.

FIRST ENGINEER:

Is she going to cry again?

TITA:

I don't want to take a break.

SECOND ENGINEER:

What would you like in your coffee?

She makes a mumbled response, her head still in her

bands:

TITA:

Tea.

BOBBY:

Would you tell her Bobby's here?

SECOND ENGINEER:

(to the mike)

Miss Dupea, Bobby's here.

She raises her head, squints toward the booth, then

grabs her glasses from the bench and puts them on.

INT. RECORDING STUDIO - DAY

Bobby enters the studio and comes toward her,

opening his arms. She rushes into his embrace,

burying her face in his shoulder.

TITA:

(very emotional)

Oh my goodness... Bobby...

BOBBY:

Hi, Tita.

She raises her head to look at him, and verging on

tears:

TITA:

Robert Eroica...

BOBBY:

Now don't...

TITA:

No, I'm not...

(taking a deep breath,

then:
)

I'm not.

BOBBY:

That's good.

A NEW ANGLE:

Tita sits on the piano bench, crying and searching

through her purse for a tissue. Bobby hovers behind

her, gently patting her on the back and glancing

with some embarrassment toward the recording booth.

TITA:

I just can't look at you.

BOBBY:

Don't, then.

As she blows her nose into the tissue, a young man

comes into view, hands Bobby a paper cup and

leaves. Tita takes another tissue from her purse

and dabs at her eyes.

TITA:

You always do this to me.

BOBBY:

Well, I don't mean to.

(setting the cup down on

the piano)

Here's your tea, Tita.

TITA:

Thank you...

(then:
)

Oh no, don't put it on there...

She quickly picks up the cup and places it on the

floor.

BOBBY:

Sorry.

TITA:

(caressing the piano)

This is a very special, very old CB

275...

BOBBY:

Oh.

TITA:

You know who it once belonged to?

BOBBY:

No.

TITA:

Waldnit von Schnechter. Prewar.

BOBBY:

(politely)

No kidding.

He sits down on the bench beside her...

TITA:

It has absolutely no objectionable

idiosyncrasies...

... and tests it out with a brief flourish on the

keys. She watches him, then:

TITA (CONT'D)

Robert...

BOBBY:

(stops playing)

Very nice.

TITA:

I have to talk seriously with

you...

BOBBY:

Everybody still up on the Island?

TITA:

Well, Herbert's mostly on the

mainland because of the orchestra,

so at the moment, there's just

Daddy, Carl and myself... and Van

Oost.

BOBBY:

Who's Van Oost?

TITA:

(not fond of the subject)

Catherine -- she's a pianist. She's

working with Carl.

BOBBY:

Carl's a fiddler. What's he doing

coaching piano?

TITA:

Well, 11 months ago he was on his

bicycle, on his way to the post

office in La Roche... and he ran

into a Jeep and sprained his

neck...

Bobby laughs.

BOBBY:

Sprained his neck?

Tita laughs, then:

TITA:

It's not funny. He permanently

sprained his neck, and since then

it's been extremely difficult for

him to tuck the violin.

BOBBY:

Crashes into a Jeep and totals his

neck.

(shaking his head)

That's Carl...

TITA:

Robert, I have to tell you

something...

BOBBY:

What?

TITA:

Daddy's very ill.

BOBBY:

Oh, well, what, what's he...

TITA:

He's had two strokes.

He looks away from her, not wanting to hear any

more.

TITA (CONT'D)

He's not... They feel he... maybe

he might not recover, and that

he'll either...

BOBBY:

(standing up)

Don't tell me about this...

He moves away from the piano and Tita turns to look

at him.

TITA:

But don't you think it's right,

though, that you should see him, at

least once...

SECOND ENGINEER'S VOICE

(miked)

We're ready Miss Dupea.

TITA:

(to the booth)

Just a minute, please!

(to Bobby)

Robert, don't you think it's right

that you should see him?

He moves aimlessly about trying to subdue his

anguish.

BOBBY:

Yeah... I guess so...

TITA:

I'm going back up tonight. Will you

go with me?

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