Philomena Page #10

47 INT. BMW, ROSCREA - DAY 47

PHILOMENA sits staring ahead. MARTIN doesn’t start the car.

MARTIN:

What did she say to you?

PHILOMENA:

(Long beat)

She said you were a journalist and

you were trying to manipulate me

and I should be careful what I say

to you.

She opens her bag, takes out the manila envelope, hands it to

MARTIN.

PHILOMENA (cont’d)

And she gave me this.

MARTIN:

Do you want me to open it?

Again she doesn’t reply. He opens it, takes out a single

sheet of paper - obviously a photocopy. He scans it.

MARTIN (cont’d)

It’s a contract... signed by you,

in 1955.

(Reading from it)

They’ve highlighted part of it...

(Quotes)

‘I hereby relinquish full claim

forever to my said child-

PHILOMENA takes up the passage, quoting verbatim from memory.

PHILOMENA:

(Taking over)

-said child Anthony Lee, and I

further undertake never to attempt

to see, interfere with or make any

claim to the said child at any

future time...’

Silence.

PHILOMENA (cont’d)

I’ll never find him.

MARTIN:

If they coerced you in any way to

sign that piece of paper we can

challenge them legally.

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PHILOMENA - Final Shooting Script 42.

PHILOMENA:

(With a heavy heart)

No-one forced me Martin. I signed

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of my own free will.

CUT TO:

48 EXT. GARDEN, ST LOUIS - DAY [SUPER 8 FOOTAGE] 48

NO SOUND. A summer’s day, 1960. ANTHONY is growing up. Now

aged eight, he is no longer recognisable as Philomena’s

little boy. He has a family and OLDER BROTHERS. He is in the

back garden with them - two of them are spraying each other

with a hose. ANTHONY is holding a baseball bat; a ball is

tossed to him, he takes a huge swipe and misses.

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CUT TO:

49 EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DUSK 49

The BMW is parked by a dry stone wall; MARTIN and PHILOMENA

are walking back up a field towards the car. Gently rolling

countryside and green fields lead to some high hills.

MARTIN:

Funny isn’t it, how every piece of

paper that might be able to help

you has been destroyed. But guess

what? The one piece of paper

designed to stop you from finding

him has been lovingly preserved.

God in His infinite wisdom decided

to spare that from the flames.

PHILOMENA:

I signed it because I believed I’d

committed a terrible sin Martin,

and I had to be punished. And...

what made it so much worse, was

that I enjoyed it.

MARTIN:

What?

PHILOMENA:

The sex.

He turns to face her.

PHILOMENA (cont’d)

Oh, it was wonderful. I thought I

was floating on air. He was so

handsome and the way he held me in

his arms and - well I didn’t even

know I had a clitoris Martin.

MARTIN:

Really?

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PHILOMENA - Final Shooting Script 43.

PHILOMENA:

And after I had the sex, I thought

anything that feels so lovely must

be wrong.

MARTIN:

(Mutters)

F***ing Catholics.

(Realizes what he’s said)

Sorry.

She smiles.

PHILOMENA:

I spent thirty years as a nurse,

I’ve heard worse than that.

MARTIN:

It’s just that, why would God

bestow on us a sexual desire which

he then wants us to resist? Is it

some weird game that he’s invented

to alleviate the boredom of being

omnipotent? Baffles me... and I

thought I was pretty clever.

They fall quiet; she stares out at the view.

PHILOMENA:

Well maybe you’re not.

He looks at her; smiles to himself at how sharply she gave as

good as she got.

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CUT TO:

49A SCENE DELETED 49A

50 INT. BAR, GUEST HOUSE - NIGHT 50

JANE walks in to the bar to find MARTIN and PHILOMENA sitting

on stools at the bar, looking a little glum. She has a sherry

in front of her, he a pint of Guinness - both almost

finished.

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JANE:

How did it go?

MARTIN:

What, from the Sisters of Little

Mercy?

JANE:

(Laughs)

Just tea and cake then. That’s all

they’ve ever given mum.

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PHILOMENA - Final Shooting Script 44.

PHILOMENA:

It wasn’t their fault Jane, they

had a fire and all the records were

lost.

The BARMAN puts a new glass of sherry in front of PHILOMENA.

JANE:

No more please - it’s past your

bedtime.

MARTIN:

There’s got to be some other way of

approaching this-

PHILOMENA picks up the sherry.

JANE:

Mum!

PHILOMENA:

Well he’s poured it now.

JANE rolls her eyes; PHILOMENA knocks it back in two gulps.

PHILOMENA (cont’d)

Night Martin.

MARTIN:

Good night Philomena. Night Jane.

They exchange a smile, then they leave. MARTIN reflects on

things for a few moments. The BARMAN, early 40s, puts another

pint of Guinness down in front of him, MARTIN runs a finger

down the side of it.

BARMAN:

Been up to the Abbey?

MARTIN:

Yes. Yes, it’s obviously changed a

lot. Different nuns there now, not

the same ones they had when the

Magdalen girls were there.

From out the back:

MUM (OOV)

They’re all gone now!

MARTIN flicks a look in the direction the voice came from,

but the BARMAN ignores it.

BARMAN:

We’ve had a few staying here,

trying to find what happened to

their sons or daughters.

(MORE)

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PHILOMENA - Final Shooting Script 45.

BARMAN (cont'd)

There’s not many of them gets any

joy from there.

MARTIN:

I imagine that’s because of the

fire? The one that destroyed

everything?

BARMAN:

I’m sure it is.

MARTIN:

How did that start - do you know?

BARMAN:

I should think they put a match to

it.

MARTIN:

Who?

BARMAN:

The Sisters. Sure they had a great

fire out the back in the field.

MARTIN:

So... the building wasn’t damaged?

BARMAN:

They had a f***in’ big bonfire,

burnt all the records. Thousands of

‘em.

MARTIN:

Why?

BARMAN:

This was years ago. I suppose they

were embarrassed about selling all

them babies to America.

From out the back again:

MUM (OOV)

They don’t want people telling

tales.

BARMAN:

That’s me mother.

MARTIN:

You say they were sold to

Americans?

BARMAN:

A lot of the Yanks came over to

Ireland to look for babies.

(MORE)

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PHILOMENA - Final Shooting Script 46.

BARMAN (cont'd)

They were the only ones who could

afford them.

MUM (OOV)

A thousand pounds.

Now the MUM emerges from the back; she’s mid-60s, stout.

MUM (cont’d)

Jane Russell bought a baby. From

Derry, in 1952.

MARTIN:

That’s unbelievable... babies were

sold?

MUM:

They said she came in here and

asked for Bourbon but they had to

give her a glass of Paddy instead.

But I’m not one to repeat gossip.

MARTIN:

No, no... I can see that.

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