Jonathan Demme and the Making of 'The Manchurian Candidate' Page #4

his grandmother is standing

in her kitchen.

She's got her medicine bottle

in one hand,

she's opening the refrigerator

with the other and she's thinking:

"I can pay for my medicine...

... or I can pay for my dinner.

I can't do both. "

I don't believe that our mothers

and grandmothers

should have to face that kind of

decision, not in this country.

I don't believe that the brave men

and women of our armed forces,

risking their lives overseas,

should have to worry

about their families back here

in America.

You see, there are some gaps

in this country...

... deep chasms

that we need to bridge.

The gap between rich and poor,

between government

and the people,

between true security

and the notion of feeling safe.

Second floor, room three,

end of hall.

RAYMOND [ON TV]:

Between what is real...

Don't you just love this guy?

And what is not.

Tough choices are an unavoidable

element of leadership,

I would just urge the governor

to remember that

the primary responsibility

of government...

[WOMAN MOANING NEARBY]

[KNOCKS ON DOOR]

Al Melvin.

Al, it's Ben Marco.

Are you in there?

RAYMOND:

Fox is in the henhouse.

Weasel.

Weasel is...

The weasel is a weasel.

Sir, I'll be right outside.

What?

I'll be right outside, sir.

I know.

- Good night.

- Good night, sir.

[PHONE RINGING]

- Shall I get that for you, sir?

- No.

- Good night, sir.

- Good night.

You have 30 seconds, Mother.

Am I that predictable?

You have no idea.

I'm calling to compliment you,

Mr. Grumpy.

I thought you were

magnificent tonight.

And so did all the network

campaign experts.

And that compassionate

vigilance thing

[PHONE RINGING]

Is working quite well for you.

- I might have to convert.

- I happen to believe in it.

Oh, yes, of course you do.

- Now, Raymond...

- Good night, Mother.

Raymond? What? No, wait, wait.

- Hang on a second.

- What? Raymond?

Are you there?

Yes?

NOYLE:

Sergeant Shaw?

Who is this?

- Sergeant Raymond Shaw?

- Yes.

Raymond Prentiss Shaw?

Yes.

Listen.

Go to the bedroom of your suite.

Enter the hallway there.

Go to the end and open the closet.

Yes, thank you.

- Hello, Raymond.

RAYMOND:
Hello.

Do you remember me?

No, sir, I don't.

Brilliant. We've got 20 minutes

for our little checkup

from the neck up, gentlemen,

so if we could take his jacket.

Please sit down.

No, Mr. Villalobos, I'm just...

The Army's got me gathering

information on stress disorders,

so I'm just...

...you know, just running statistics,

trying to find out about my old team...

[PHONE HANGS UP]

MARCO:

Well, listen. Mr. Wilson,

when Nathan came home,

was he preoccupied with Kuwait?

I mean, did he have nightmares

or bad dreams

about the firefight over there?

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

NOYLE:
You'll feel a little cold

as this anesthetic gel goes on.

Probe sheath...

...and probe.

Please relax.

Are you relaxed, Raymond?

Yes, sir.

NOYLE:
Now, Raymond,

I am going to drill a tiny hole in the skull,

which will allow delivery

of the new implant.

So, what you'll feel is a little

discomfort in the form of pressure

and also a loud vibrating noise

in your head,

all of which, of course,

is completely normal.

[MAN SPEAKING

ON TELEVISION NEARBY]

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING NEARBY]

NOYLE:

Thank you.

Of course, as soon as this

or any task is completed,

you will already have forgotten

that it ever actually took place.

Probe going in now.

[MONITOR BEEPING]

Good.

Excellent.

Releasing implant.

There. That wasn't so bad,

was it, Raymond?

No, sir.

NOYLE:

That's good. No decay, no slippage.

Everything seems to be

in flawless working condition.

NOYLE:

Now, Raymond.

Can you remember the deaths

of Private Baker and Private Ingram?

RAYMOND:

Yes, sir.

NOYLE:
Good. Can you describe them

for me, please?

RAYMOND:
We're on a routine recon

inside Iraqi-controlled terrain,

assessing troop strength.

"We're on a routine recon

inside Iraqi-controlled terrain,

assessing troop strength."

The mission ends without incident.

We're heading back...

"Toward the command.

The night is clear. Stars..."

The night is clear.

Stars, but no moon.

The patrol is ambushed.

We're engaged unexpectedly by

ground forces with helicopter support.

RPG incoming, mortar fire.

"Captain..."

Captain Marco

is knocked unconscious.

In the ensuing firefight, Eddie Ingram

gets himself separated to the left.

Baker goes after him.

An incoming mortar shell

kills them both instantly

before I am able to locate and

eliminate the source of the ordnance.

MELVIN [WHISPERING]:

Captain. Captain Marco.

Help me.

TOKAR:

Pardon me. Is this seat taken?

I see the captain enjoys

the road less traveled.

ROSIE:

Paper or plastic?

Oh, come on.

From the grocery store.

You know, at the checkout stand.

Paper or plastic girl, that's me.

"Paper or plastic, sir?"

I see you there all the time.

Bennett Marco.

Checks from First National Bank.

Romance novels, instant noodles,

NoDoz and tomatoes.

So anyway, I'm on vacation.

Holiday in the Big Apple

and all of that.

And I saw you sitting here

and I said, "Hey,

why not reach out

and touch someone?"

Ha.

So, what, I suppose

you're heading to New York City.

Yeah, yeah, I'm... Yeah.

Business? Pleasure? Both?

Well, I'm just... I got an old friend

up there, an old Army friend that...

Well, he's in politics now

and I'm just gonna

catch up on old times with him.

I'm sorry, you said your name was?

Eugenie.

What do your friends call you?

My friends, they call me Rosie.

- Rosie?

- Yeah, see, my full name is

Eugenie Rose.

I like the Rosie part better.

Eugenie is, well...

...fragile.

Yeah, but still, when I asked you

your name, you didn't say...

What did you say?

You said Eugenie.

Yeah, well...

...maybe I was feeling fragile

at the time.

Are you okay?

Excuse me.

[SIGHS]

Hello, captain.

Do you remember me?

[SIREN WAILING]

[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY

ON PA S YSTEM]

Ben.

Hey. I'm gonna get a cab.

You want me to drop you somewhere?

No, I'm okay.

Okay. So your friend's

gonna meet you here, then?

No.

All right.

El Dorado 59970.

It's my cell phone number,

in case you ever... You know.

I like to say it the old-fashioned way.

Can you remember or should I write it

on your chest with a Sharpie?

- I'll remember.

- Okay.

Hey, you're kind of...

You need somewhere to go

to freshen up?

RADIO NEWSCASTER:

Pentagon watchdogs today accused

the private equity fund

Manchurian Global

of grossly overpricing plasma

and other critical medical supplies

during the recent

Indonesian incursion,

even as the company secured

a half-billion-dollar no-bid contract

[SIRENS WAILING]

To provide combat support services

to American soldiers

preparing to mobilize in Sri Lanka.

[WOMAN SPEAKING

INDISTINCTLY]

ROSIE:

There you go.

Come on in.

This is my cousin's apartment.

MARCO:
Is she here?

- No.

Be it ever so humble.

No place like home, right?

Believe it or not, there's a view.

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