PEAKY BLINDERS II Page #5

She moves to the fire to throw on coal and takes a moment to

approach a bigger agenda.

AUNT POLLY (CONT’D)

Soon you’re going to have to start

being the man who gives the

answers.

She wipes her hand of coal on a spare black silk bag.

JOHN:

Why?

AUNT POLLY (INSTANTLY)

Seven.

Aunt Polly gives him a hard stare.

AUNT POLLY (CONT’D)

When London happens you’ll have to

hold up your end. Or we’ll find

somebody who can.

Aunt Polly walks.

22 INT. SPARKHILL, BLACK LION PUB - DAY 1 22

The Black Lion is an Irish pub with Irish tricolour flags and

rebel symbols adorning the walls. There is a photo of

Michael Collins above the bar (this will be important much

later).

(CONT'D)

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.19

22 CONT'D:
22

The street door opens and Tommy enters. The place instantly

falls silent. Tommy approaches the bar briskly...

TOMMY:

Irish whisky.

One of the older Irish men gets to his feet, ready to

confront Tommy, but a HEAD BARMAN shakes his head. He has

higher authority and better intelligence about the reason for

Tommy’s visit to what is apparently enemy territory. In

silhouette we see a BARMAN 2 heading into the back corridor

and picking up a phone.

Tommy gets his whisky and sips. The head barman refuses

Tommy’s money.

HEAD BARMAN:

I heard there was a bit of a bang

in your part of town.

Tommy sips his whisky.

TOMMY:

Gas and electric don’t mix. Who

thought they would?

The Barman 2 on the phone finishes his call and nods once to

the head barman to suggest a message has been sent. Tommy

sees it.

HEAD BARMAN:

And how’s business otherwise, Mr

Shelby?

Tommy peers at the faces in the mirror which are staring

murder at him. He turns back to the head barman.

TOMMY:

You know something? In these times

of hunger and hardship, business is

surprisingly good.

A boy of ten hurries into the pub. He is barefoot and ragged

and speaks with a broad Dublin accent.

BOY:

Which one of you is the Peaky

Blinder devil?

Tommy is at the bar and turns. All eyes are on him.

BOY (CONT’D)

Follow me if you can, but I’m

quick.

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.20

23 EXT. SPARKHILL ALLEY, BACK STREET - DAY 1 23

Tommy follows the boy down a back alley. The boy trots

quickly on his bare feet and Tommy has to walk smartly. The

boy disappears around a corner beside some outhouses. Dogs

bark. Tommy turns the corner and is grabbed by two men. Tommy

was half expecting this and doesn’t struggle.

The two men blindfold him roughly and pull off his expensive

overcoat. They dump it on the ground and search his jacket.

They take his Webley revolver. Then they lead him on.

24 INT. BARE ROOM - DAY 1 24

A woman in her thirties (IRENE) and a younger man (DONAL),

both Southern Irish, are sitting in hard-backed chairs in a

bare room. Irene is handsome and is in charge. Tommy is led

inside and pushed into a chair facing them. The blindfold is

taken off. The escorts walk.

Irene and Donal stare at Tommy for a while. Tommy stares only

at Irene. We might sense that Irene and Donal have planned to

toy with Tommy a little and intimidate him.

There is a loaded revolver on the desk in front of Donal

pointing in Tommy’s direction.

IRENE:

Thomas Shelby.

TOMMY (DEAD PAN)

You blew up my pub.

IRENE (TO DONAL)

Anger defeats fear. Good.

TOMMY (REPEATING FLATLY)

You blew up my pub.

Irene and Donal speak only to each other in order to belittle

Tommy...

IRENE:

Tommy has a reputation to uphold.

DONAL (AMUSED)

A reputation for not being scared

of anything.

IRENE:

In all the world, violent men are

the easiest to deal with.

TOMMY (INTERRUPTING, AMUSED)

So are you IRA or IRB? Army or

Brotherhood? Since you paddies

started fighting amongst yourselves

I get confused.

(CONT'D)

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.21

24 CONT'D:
24

Donal gets up fast, comes around the desk and puts the gun

tight to Tommy’s temple. Tommy is impassive.

IRENE:

You are one decision away from

death Mr Shelby.

Donal grins.

DONAL:

So stop f***ing smiling.

He clicks his fingers in Tommy’s face...

DONAL (CONT’D)

Better.

Donal goes back to his seat. Tommy stares at Irene. He

decides to end their game of intimidation.

TOMMY (TO IRENE)

Your name is Irene O’Donell. You

have a son at the Cherry Wood road

school in Harborne. He has irons on

his legs. His name is Sean...

Irene is shocked at Tommy’s knowledge. Donal is about to

react but Tommy ploughs on, even and deadly.

TOMMY (CONT’D)

He comes last in every race, poor

boy. Poor boy if the race was

important. Do you know what I mean

Irene O’Donell?

A silence. Donal and Irene are completely thrown by the

machine gun fast speech. Donal flickers with fury but speaks

to Irene softly, as if this were routine...

DONAL (SOFTLY)

There are other ways of carrying

out this mission. Please allow me

to put a bullet in his scum tinker

head.

IRENE (SOFTLY)

No. He researches his enemies.

That’s why he’s been chosen.

Tommy laughs and looks away.

TOMMY:

I am chosen? Ok. Can the chosen one

smoke?

Tommy reaches for his cigarettes in an inside pocket. Donal

puts his hand on the revolver. Tommy takes out a cigarette

and lights it. His hand doesn’t shake.

(CONT'D)

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.22

24 CONT'D:
24

IRENE:

A vacancy has appeared and you are

going to fill it.

TOMMY:

Chosen by who?

IRENE:

By an informed consensus.

Tommy looks at Irene and his look is deadly.

TOMMY:

Look, I have things to do. Perhaps

you would tell the chosen one what

he has been chosen for.

Donal glances at the gun. He wants to shoot Tommy here and

now for his defiance but Irene is in charge. Irene speaks

softly....

IRENE:

From now on Mr Shelby you shut your

f***ing gypsy mouth and listen to

your instructions.

25 EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY 1 25

We see Tommy walking back between rickety wooden fences to

the place where he was ambushed and stripped of his gun.

He finds his gun on a fencepost near to his coat. There is a

hand-written sign stuck to the post which reads ‘N. tadhaill‘

(Do Not Touch) in GAELIC. His coat hangs on a nail beside it.

He retrieves his coat and begins to pull it on.

The arm is inside out and it’s awkward. As he pulls the coat

on, he gets into a tangle then a fury. He hurls the coat at

the fence and kicks the fence hard. Dogs begin to bark.

Tommy is deeply angry at whatever just transpired. He looks

thwarted, thrown off balance, in spite of his coolness in the

confrontation.

He takes a moment to gather his breath. We wait with him

while he regains his composure. He finally pulls on his coat

and uses the tugging of the sleeves and the turning down of

the collar to get himself back together.

He sets off and disappears down an alley.

26 INT. DIGBETH, SHELBY LIMITED, TOMMY’S LEGAL OFFICE - DAY 1 26

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