Pleasantville Page #15

DICK VAN DYKE:

BUD.

DAVID:

Terrific. I'll talk to you then.

He swttches off the TV sending Dick Van Dyke to electronic

limbo. David stands in the middle of the living room,

breathing hard ...

INT. JENNIFER'S (MARY SUE'S) ROOM.

She sits on the bed staring down at the front cover of a

book. (It's an alien experience.) Jennifer is just about to

open it when she senses something and glances toward the

door.

REVERSE ANGLE.

Bud is standing in the doorway just staring at her. He seems

to be out of breath.

JENNIFER:

What's wrong?

DAVID:

Nothing.

JENNIFER:

Nothing?

He keeps breathing hard in the doorway. David holds the

remote in his hand.

DAVID:

Listen ...

He takes a couple of steps into the room and then suddenly

stops.

DAVID (CONT)

You're reading?

JENNIFER:

(glancing at the book)

Yeah. Can't believe you started such

a dorky fad.

She holds up the cover.

JENNIFER (CONT)

D.H. Lawrence. You ever heard of him?

DAVID:

(amazed)

... Yeah.

JENNIFER:

Seemed kinda sexy. Look. I read 35

pages.

DAVID:

(still stunned)

That's great.

He just stares at her for a second as his mind seems to

drift ...

JENNIFER:

So what is it?

DAVID:

Well ... I just ...

(out of the blue)

Can I ask you a question?

JENNIFER:

Sure.

DAVID:

Remember when you told me that Lisa

Rosenberg liked me?

JENNIFER:

Yeah ...

DAVID:

Well--did she really like me or were

you just making that up.

JENNIFER:

No. She really liked you.

DAVID:

You weren't playing a joke? She

woulda gone out with me?

JENNIFER:

Gone out with you. She woulda like

rearranged your tonsils.

DAVID:

Wow.

He looks at her amazed--reliving the missed opportunity.

JENNIFER:

Can I ask you a question?

DAVID:

Yes.

JENNIFER:

How come I'm still in black and white?

DAVID:

(back to earth)

What?

JENNIFER:

Well I've had like ten times as

much sex as these girls and I'm

still like this. They have one hour

in the back of a car and suddenly

they're in technicolor.

DAVID:

Oh, I don't know. Maybe ...

(thinks)

... it's not just the sex ...

JENNIFER:

(looking up quickly)

What?

She stares at him wide-eyed like someone who has just heard

their name called. Jennifer's eyes dart around like she's

calculating a math problem. After a moment or two, her

expression changes: a vague look of recognition.

JENNIFER (CONT)

No, it's not just the sex, is it?

She glances down at her book. It's a big book. Jennifer takes

a deep breath and stares at the gray skin of her hand. After

a second or two, she looks back. David looks at her for a

beat ...

CUT TO:

EXT. MARGARET HENDERSON'S HOUSE. (MAPLE STREET) DAY.

David gets out of his "dad's" convertible, carrying a dozen

"gray" roses. He takes a deep breath and heads up her front

walk ...

INT. CAR. NIGHT. LATER ...

David sits behind the wheel of the borrowed car with Margaret

Henderson by his side. He concentrates hard on the road,

holding the wheel at "10 and 2" as he steals a glance to his

right.

HIS POV. MARGARET.

It's not quite evening yet, and late afternoon light makes

her glow. Margaret smiles as she turns her face into the warm

wind that swirls inside the convertible ...

SHOT. DAVID.

He studies her for a moment or two, then suddenly swerves to

avoid a parked car on his right ...

WIDER.

They pass a sign with a happy family on it that reads:

"NOW LEAVING PLEASANTVILLE"

Main Street turns into a winding country road as they leave

the town behind and head off into the woods. They wind

through the dense woodland for a moment or two before a

second sign appears, much like the first:

"NOW ENTERING PLEASANTVILLE"

DIFFERENT ANGLE. THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD.

Sure enough, the town emerges in front of them again,

completing the 4 dimensional circle. David looks confused.

MARGARET:

Um ... You gotta turn off Main Street.

DAVID:

Oh ... Right.

He looks over at her and smiles. Margaret turns on the radio.

EXT. CAR. DUSK.

SAM COOKE sings for them as David turns from Main Street onto

a smaller unmarked lane. The car starts to rise up a small

hill, with Dogwood trees blooming on either side of the road.

It continues to climb up the narrow gravel lane toward the

crest in the hill. David looks over at Margaret who takes a

deep breath shutting her eyes. He glances down at the seat

between them ...

HIS POV. CAR SEAT.

THE ROSES THAT WERE GRAY HAVE SUDDENLY TURNED TO COLOR. They

sit next to him on the seat: a deep, rich RED ...

INT. CAR.

David looks up and out the windshield. The same thing seems

to be happening around them ... Many of the Dogwoods have

started to turn PINK. Not all of them, but at least fifty

percent of the petals have "bloomed" in some weird false

spring. The road twists and turns on its way to the top, as

they finally reach a crest in the hill.

DAVID:

Wow.

THEIR POV. LOVERS LANE.

There, sitting in front of them, is a whole world gone

Technicolor:
THE LAKE IS BLUER THAN BLUE. THE WEEPING WILLOW

IS GREENER THAN GREEN. THE DOGWOOD PETALS (all "turned" now)

SWIRL IN THE WIND LIKE SOME STRANGE PINK SNOWSTORM. A LONG

LINE OF PASTEL CARS STRETCHES OUT ALONG THE SHORE.

SAM COOKE (VO)

(over the car radios)

"Cupid, draw back your bow ..."

SHOT. CAR.

Slowly, David rolls the convertible forward. Many of the kids

have left their cars and sit down along the grassy bank by

the edge of the water. A few of them have books open. It

almost looks "Athenian."

INT. CAR.

David looks at the whole scene for a moment then suddenly

c*cks his head to the side.

DAVID:

What's that smell?

Margaret looks at him and smiles. She leans well out of the

convertible, and plucks a Gardenia from a bush that is

blooming beside the car.

MARGARET:

Aren't these great?

David takes the flower, then puts it up to his nose. He takes

a long deep breath then all at once, his posture seems to

relax. As the fragrance enters his body his eyes drift like

some strange narcotic is washing over him. David lowers the

flower ...

EXT. MAIN STREET. DUSK.

Betty is walking down Main Street with a shopping bag on

either hand. From a block away, she looks like any other

homemaker in Pleasantville. You don't even notice the gray

make-up.

CLOSER. FOLLOWING BETTY.

She nods to Mrs. Filmore in the bakery and smiles at Don in

the Post Office. Betty is just about to turn on Elm Street

when she glances up, and suddenly stops.

HER POV. ACROSS THE STREET.

There, in the middle of the block, sits Mr. Johnson's soda

shop. The whole scene is still black and white, except for

the large CUBIST PAINTING THAT FILLS MR. JOHNSON'S WINDOW. It

is rendered in bright PINKS, YELLOWS AND ORANGES, and looks

like a Braque or a Picasso except for the unusual subject

matter. Upon closer examination you see that all the spheres

and cones add up to an avante garde snow scene, with a Cubist

Santa hovering over the roof tops.

SHOT. BETTY.

She stares at it, mesmerized for a moment, then starts to

wander across the street. It's late afternoon and the

business district is empty. Betty crosses in the middle of

the block, staring straight ahead.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes