Slow West Page #10

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building a fence

Two posts are up and JOHN ROSS is nailing up a cross spar

VICTOR places a bullet in the chamber of the rifle

JOHN ROSS lifts the long piece of wood up and hammers in a

nail, fixing the spar a post

The sun is beating down hard

VICTOR gages the distance between himself and JOHN ROSS while

adjusting the sights and aiming

JOHN ROSS, sweating, removes his hat and stares up at the sun

VICTOR is about to pull the trigger, until a sound of the

house door opening stops him

ROSE and KOTORI appear and run about fifty yards to the rightof the house (JOHN ROSS is to the left). There is a washing

line with sheets flapping in the breeze, and a pony tied to a

post

KOTORI helps ROSE up onto the pony

VICTOR looks at ROSE, looks at JOHN ROSS, looks at ROSE

CUT TO:

59.

65

EXT - SILVER BIRCH FOREST - DAY 65

SILAS and JAY wind through the silver birch

JAY’s hand is now wrapped in a dirty bloody rag

They ride out of the forest and onto a plain and stop

JAY jumps down from his pony and walks out onto the plain

In the distance a house, a washing line, a wheatfield, too

far to see people, but it is the Ross house, and ROSE isriding, and JOHN ROSS is mending the fence and VICTOR iscrouched at the back of the field, but from JAY’s view it

looks peaceful and beautiful

JAY:

I’ve made it

SILAS is behind JAY, still on his horse

SILAS:

Are you sure that’s them

JAY ignores SILAS and lets out a relieved sigh

JAY:

Exactly what I imagined

As JAY looks towards the house, SILAS dismounts, unhooks the

rope from the saddle and walks towards JAY

SILAS has made a small loop in the end of the rope and heloops it over JAYS hand, pulls the loop tight and grabs JAYby the scruff of his neck

JAY (CONT’D)

Hey

SILAS drags JAY backwards, JAY struggling, falls to theground, and is dragged along the ground on his back

JAY (CONT’D)

Silas! Silas, SILAS, what are youdoing.. Stop, no.. Silas!

SILAS hauls JAY up against the nearest silver birch tree onthe edge of the plain, moves behind JAY and passes the ropearound the trunk, and ties his hands together

JAY is sitting, his back up against the trunk, wriggling andspitting with rage

SILAS, behind JAY, pulls out his large hunting knife

JAY sees the knife, stops wriggling, places his head againstthe tree, shuts his eyes

60.

JAY thinks Silas is about to slit his throat

JAY (CONT’D)

Do it quick

SILAS looks at JAY incredulously

SILAS:

I ain't going to kill you

SILAS cuts the long end of the rope beyond the knot

SILAS (CONT’D)

I’m keeping you alive. We don’thave a gun between us

SILAS walks around and sits in front of JAY, rubs the tree

above JAY’S head and the white powder of the silver birchrubs off onto SILAS’S hand

SILAS grabs the back of JAY’S head

SILAS (CONT’D)

Hold still

SILAS rubs the white powder over JAY’s face

JAY:

What is this!

SILAS:

Stops the sun burning you up

JAY rages

JAY:

I’ll protect Rose or die trying

SILAS turns and walks to his horse

SILAS:

That’s what I’m afraid of

JAY (YELLS)

Lay a finger on her and I’ll kill

you

SILAS ignores JAY, grabs the reins of JAY’S horse, climbsonto his horse

JAY throws himself into a rage

JAY wriggles, dribbles

Begins to rub the rope up and down the back of the tree

61.

SILAS gallops off with both horses across the plain in thedirection of the Ross house

CUT TO:

66

EXT - BACK OF WHEATFIELD - DAY (VICTOR) 66

ROSE and KOTORI walk slowly back to the house

VICTOR keeps them in the sights of his rifle, his finger on

the trigger

..But first his view is blocked by the washing line, then by

the scarecrow, then ROSE and KOTORI enter the house and shut

the door

VICTOR lowers his rifle

VICTOR looks back towards JOHN ROSS and lifts his rifle and

has JOHN ROSS in his sights again

JOHN ROSS picks up a couple of nails from a little wooden

box, places one nail between his teeth and begins to hammerthe other one into the fence

VICTOR steadies himself, holds his breath and his rifle

stills

A nail is hammered into wood

Sweat drips from the rim of JOHN ROSS’s hat

As the hammer strikes the head of the nail, VICTOR pulls the

trigger, a loud bang echoes across the plain

JOHN ROSS’S hammer falls to the ground

67

INT - PIONEER HOUSE - DAY - (ROSE) 67

Inside the house ROSE hears the bang

She stops what she’s doing and listens, the echo of the

gunshot still audible

68

EXT - TREE ON EDGE OF PLAIN - DAY - (JAY) 68

JAY frantically rubbing, also hears the shot and freezes

69

EXT - EDGE OF WHEATFIELD - DAY - (VICTOR) 69

VICTOR lowers his gun, and in the distance, JOHN ROSS fallsto the ground

62.

70 EXT - MIDDLE OF PLAIN - DAY - (SILAS) 70

SILAS gallops fast towards the house, JAY’s horse gallopingby his side

71 EXT - FENCE OUTSIDE HOUSE - DAY - (JOHN ROSS) 71

JOHN ROSS lies dead - blood in the grass, ROSE can be heardshouting (from screen right) inside the house

ROSE (O.S.)

Dadda!! Da!!

CUT TO:

72 EXT - TREE EDGE OF PLAIN - DAY - (JAY) 72

JAY rubs rope against tree, faster than ever and it isbeginning to fray

CUT TO:

73 EXT - MIDDLE OF PLAIN - DAY - (SILAS) 73

SILAS gallops across the plain

CUT TO:

74 EXT - EDGE OF WHEAT FIELD - DAY - (VICTOR) 74

VICTOR, now standing, puts his jacket on, brushes himselfdown, looking towards the house

CUT TO:

75 EXT - TREE EDGE OF PLAIN - DAY - (JAY) 75

As JAY rubs the rope against the tree we hear voices frombehind him in the forest

A general mumble of stories being told, jokes exchanged,

horse trots, twig snaps

JAY freezes and shuts his eyes

He is well hidden, low down, his shirt the colour of the

silver birch, his face white with the dust from the bark

PAYNE’S posse slowly ride past JAY and out onto the plain, noone notices the boy tied to the tree

Chit-chatting away, the last to pass JAY is the MINSTREL - he

whistles and strums a sad lament on his banjo

63.

The posse are heading straight for the house

JAY’S breathing quickens, matters going from bad todevastating

Once out of earshot, JAY begins rubbing the rope with added

ferocity

CUT TO:

76

EXT - WHEATFIELD - DAY - (VICTOR) 76

VICTOR walks through the wheatfield, past the scarecrow,

towards the ROSS house

..Until he notices SILAS galloping into view from the right

of the house

VICTOR ducks down into the wheat

SILAS rides to the back of the house

CUT TO:

77

EXT - TREE EDGE OF PLAIN - DAY - (JAY) 77

JAY rubs, about half of the rope frayed

PAYNE and his posse are half way between JAY and the ROSS

house

CUT TO:

78

EXT - PORCH OF ROSS HOUSE - DAY - (SILAS) 78

SILAS runs around the building and onto the porch

SILAS:

John Ross!! Rose Ross!!

SILAS bangs on the wall and the door

SILAS (CONT’D)

You need to leave this house ..

There are men coming here to killyou!

To the left of the door, a paper window - oiled andtranslucent

Fingers rip a hole in the paper, and ROSE’s eye appearspeeping at SILAS

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