PEAKY BLINDERS II Page #9

JOHN:

I’m coming!

They both react with amused irritation. As they wait Arthur

takes a small bottle of medicine from his inside pocket and

takes a swig.

He screws the top back on and sees a question in Tommy’s

eyes.

ARTHUR:

Seven o’clock, twelve o’clock and

ten if I’m still sober. It’s to

calm me down.

Tommy takes the bottle and studies the label.

ARTHUR (CONT’D)

Polly took me to the doctor.

Tommy unscrews the top and sniffs.

(CONT'D)

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.37

33 CONT'D:
33

TOMMY:

Same stuff they used to give us in

the trenches to stop us wanking.

ARTHUR:

Polly said I need it for my temper.

It slows me down.

Tommy nods gently, then very deliberately pours the contents

into the gutter. The liquid is thick and syrupy and takes

time. As Arthur reacts..

TOMMY:

Some things Polly doesn’t

understand. I need you fast not

slow.

Arthur accepts and looks a little ashamed of himself. At that

moment the door flies open and John joins, buttoning his

shirt.

JOHN:

She wouldn’t let go of my f***ing

leg.

ARTHUR:

You’re sure it was your leg.

JOHN:

She’s against this Tom. She’s got

opinions.

The medicine has now all gone.

TOMMY:

Nothing wrong with opinions.

Tommy tosses the medicine bottle away into a metal trash can

and it smashes. He gets into the car and slams the door. John

and Arthur follow...

34 EXT. WATERY LANE - EARLY MORNING 2 34

We see Tommy’s Fiat drive down the street with the top pulled

down. Tommy is driving and Arthur is in the passenger seat.

John is in the back...

As the car passes by, Arthur stands up in his seat and whoops

with joy and swigs from a bottle of beer.

ARTHUR:

The Peaky boys are going on f***ing

holiday!!!!

Tommy and John drag him down.

TOMMY (LAUGHING)

Sit down you mad bastard.

(CONT'D)

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.38

34 CONT'D:
34

The boys all hoot with laughter.

35 EXT. ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE, ROADSIDE - DAY 2 35

The Fiat is parked in a two lane road by a field of rustling

wheat. Tommy, Arthur and John are silhouettes. They have

their backs to us. They are pissing.

We hear Arthur take a deep breath of country air...

ARTHUR (WITH HIS BACK TO US)

You know what Tommy? Esme’s bloody

right. You can’t beat the country.

We come closer to them, with their backs still turned. The

wheat field stretches out beyond them...

ARTHUR (WITH HIS BACK TO US) (CONT’D)

I want to live in the country as

well.

They button up in unison and turn to walk back to the car.

ARTHUR (CONT’D)

And I want to keep chickens.

TOMMY (SOFTLY)

F***ing chickens...

John approaches the passenger door.

JOHN:

My turn in the front.

ARTHUR:

Bloody kid.

Tommy has walked to the boot. He twists the handle and it

creaks open.

TOMMY:

Arthur, John, come here.

Arthur and John hesitate. They hear business in Tommy’s

voice. Crows and seagulls call out. Tommy produces three

shovels and he offers one to Arthur. Arthur reacts and

approaches. He looks inside the boot and John joins him...

They see the body of the man Tommy shot, a single bullet hole

in his head.

His clothed upper torso is visible but his legs are tied in a

sack. Arthur staggers back. John reacts. Tommy leans the

shovels against the car and takes off his jacket.

ARTHUR:

Holy sh*t, Tommy.

(CONT'D)

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.39

35 CONT'D:
35

Arthur crosses himself...

TOMMY:

We need to bury him.

JOHN:

Who the f*** is that?

TOMMY (MATTER-OF-FACT)

I don’t know. I didn’t ask.

Tommy checks the road to see it is clear. Arthur and John are

still recovering.

TOMMY (CONT’D)

It’s Irish business. I thought it

best if I dealt with it on my own.

Tommy shoulders his shovel.

TOMMY (CONT’D)

Come on, we did a thousand of these

in France.

The boys hesitate...

TOMMY (CONT’D)

Grab his legs Arthur. John, grab

his arms. That’s an order.

Arthur immediately grabs the dead man’s legs and Tommy grabs

his arms. John grabs a stray arm and drops his cigarette.

JOHN:

So we’re not really going to

London.

TOMMY:

Once we’ve buried him....

The man’s head flops back....

TOMMY (CONT’D)

The holiday begins.

36 EXT. FITZROVIA BACK STREET, LONDON WEST END - NIGHT 2 36

In a foggy side street off Charlotte Street a line of

expensive cars are parked with the uniformed drivers smoking,

chatting, engaging with prostitutes who wait for customers

from the Eden to leave.

Then Tommy, Arthur and John appear, walking down the street

between gas lamps like trouble on six legs. They are

approaching the hidden Eden club doorway where there are two

doormen.

(CONT'D)

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.40

36 CONT'D:
36

TOMMY:

You left your guns in the car,

right?

John and Arthur nod. They present themselves at the door and

doormen begin to frisk them. We can hear the thud and pulse

of the music from inside. At one point the doorman squeezes

Arthur a little hard and he reacts with a snarl. Tommy looks

at Arthur to quieten him. The frisking stops.

DOORMAN:

Where you boys from?

TOMMY:

From out of town.

DOORMAN:

Say again?

The doormen want to catch their accents. Tommy smiles and

offers a rolled up pound note, making no attempt to hide his

accent...

TOMMY:

We’ve come from out of town. We

heard this is the place to get

‘Tokyo’ and pick up women.

The doormen are unsure but let them pass. As they go, we

hear John ask...

JOHN:

What the f*** is ‘Tokyo’?

After they have entered, one of the doormen ducks inside to

follow them...

37 INT. ‘THE EDEN’ NIGHT CLUB, LONDON WEST END - NIGHT 2 37

A whole new world.

We are inside a gigantic central London night club of the

type that blossomed in the early twenties. The girls are

dressed in shockingly short dresses and have their hair in

boyish styles. The men are sharp and dressed to kill.

Caption:
‘The Eden Club, Fitzrovia, London.’

The dance floor is alive with Lindy hoppers and the

Charleston. In the light of frilly lamps, skinny, pretty

girls are openly snorting cocaine which they pour from blue

glass bottles.

The jazz band is made up exclusively of black American

musicians, pumping out frantic dance jazz. The waiters are

rushed off their feet. The booze is flowing like a waterfall.

The air is thick with smoke.

(CONT'D)

PBII - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - SHOOTING SCRIPT - 20/02/14 p.41

37 CONT'D:
37

White girls and black men, white girls and Chinese men,

Chinese girls and black men, black girls and white men.

Everyone is dancing, kissing, sneaking into corners for sex.

38 INT. ‘THE EDEN’ NIGHT CLUB, LONDON WEST END - NIGHT 2 38

Tommy, John and Arthur enter this dazzling new world and

stand on the threshold for a moment. Tommy looks down with a

professional eye. Arthur is jumpy as a skittish horse. John

looks instantly smitten.

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