Testament of Youth Page #12
ROLAND:
Ted! Vic!
He goes over to them, they all shake hands. Vera hears
Edward introducing Geoffrey to him. She’s confused - this
is not what she expected.
92 OMMITTED. 92
93 EXT. BEACH - LATER 93
Roland is preparing to throw his army knife at an old wooden
post in the sand, as the others watch. He takes aim, and
throws - bulls eye. The men show their appreciation. Roland
goes and pulls the knife out, a swagger to him.
As he comes back -
ROLAND:
The worst is when you have to go
out and repair the wire. Boot
polish on the face, crawling on
your belly in the mud and rain.
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He sits on a dune, the others do the same.
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60
ROLAND (CONT’D)
I was out one night with an officer
called Harrison. We were so close
to the Germans we could hear them
whispering in their trench. Hast du
feuer?
The others chuckle, hanging off his every word.
VICTOR:
Were you scared?
ROLAND:
You don’t think about it. He’s a
good man, Harrison. I invited him
to stay, but he’s not interested in
home leave. Says it makes a man
soft.
VERA:
God forbid any of you should be
soft!
VICTOR:
If I could get out there I don’t
think I’d want to come back.
VERA:
(sharp)
You don’t know the first thing
about it!
Edward, sensing the mood, claps Victor on the back, indicates
to Geoffrey.
EDWARD:
Come on, let’s get some tea.
Vera is left there with Roland, a tense mood between them.
After a moment, Roland decides to head after the others.
VERA:
Roland!
He turns to her.
ROLAND:
That was unnecessary.
VERA:
Talk to me! Otherwise how can I
understand?!
ROLAND:
(hard)
Perhaps you can’t.
A pause.
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61
VERA:
I sent you some poems a while ago,
I don’t know if you got them.
ROLAND:
I don’t think so.
VERA:
Have you written any yourself?
Roland kind of snorts with derision at this idea.
ROLAND:
Poems?! Please...
He sees her stricken expression -
ROLAND:
For God’s sake!
He turns and strides away. Vera follows him, her skirts
catching round her ankles. He moves faster, as though
desperate to escape her.
VERA:
ROLAND!
She catches up with him, roughly GRABS his arm. He SHAKES her
off so hard, she stumbles and falls. He looks stricken, helps
her to her feet.
ROLAND:
She grabs his hands.
VERA:
This isn’t the real you! This -!
She puts his hand to her cheek, then kisses it, then puts it
to her waist, almost forcing him to hold her -
VERA:
This is real! Feel it! Remember,
Roland! You and me together - now -
here - this moment!
He looks at her, raw, his armour cracking
VERA (CONT’D)
The most precious part of you -
don’t let war destroy it!
ROLAND:
It might be gone already
VERA:
No! It’s not! I promise you!
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He PULLS her to him, in a sudden, desperate hug - buries his
face in her shoulder. Vera hugs him back, holding him tight.
94 EXT. ABOVE THE BEACH, GRASSY SLOPE - A LITTLE LATER 94
Roland and Vera are sitting next to each other. Gulls keen
overhead. The mood is quiet.
ROLAND:
Harrison’s brother came back from
leave engaged to his fiancee.
Within ten minutes he’d put his
head above the parapet and got
his brains blown out. I was next
to him when it happened. (Pause)
Home leave makes you soft.
She strokes his hair, his face.
VERA:
We don’t need to get married, or
engaged!
Roland looks at her for a beat -
ROLAND:
Perhaps we should.
VERA:
It’s not what either of us wanted -
ROLAND:
Imagine it, though. You, in a
beautiful dress. A sunny day, an
old church. All the people we love.
Champagne.
VERA:
(gentle smile)
Cake.
He smiles - haunted.
ROLAND (CONT’D)
Does it get any better than cake?
A beat -
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63
ROLAND:
Marry me Vera, next time I’m home!
VERA:
(emotional)
Alright. Yes!
ROLAND:
It’ll give me something to fix on.
He hugs her to him, tight, his eyes burning.
ROLAND:
I’m going to live.
A WIDE SHOT of Vera and Roland, two small beings clinging
to one another.
95 EXT. BEACH, LOWESTOFT - DAY 95
Vera and Roland are flying a kite along the beach together,
running with it, as it flutters up and down in the breeze,
laughing.
Vera stops and watches him for a moment - the look of
almost childlike concentration on his face. Carefree, just
for an instant.
VERA’S VOICE
Our generation will never be new
again, or truly young.
96 OMMITTED. 96
97 INT. DORMITORY, CAMBERWELL - NIGHT 97
Vera, back in her VAD uniform, places a photo of Roland on
her bedside, gazes at it.
VERA’S VOICE (CONT’D)
Our youth has been stolen from us.
As for peace of mind, who knows
when it will return...If it ever
does.
98 INT. CHARING CROSS RAILWAY STATION - DAY 98
Vera is hugging goodbye to a uniformed Edward, next to the
train he’s about to board for France. The platform is
swarming with men in khaki and family members. Geoffrey is
saying farewell to Mr. And Mrs. Brittain.
Edward pulls some sheafs of paper from his coat, and hands
them to her with a smile.
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EDWARD:
My music. Keep it for me.
Vera nods, takes it.
Edward steps over to his father, shakes his hand. Then Mr.
Brittain pulls him in for a stiff embrace.
Vera overhears two company commanders walking past -
COMMANDING OFFICER
I wish they wouldn’t come, it
makes it so much harder for the
men.
The train whistle blows. Geoffrey and Edward bound onto the
train with a final, cheerful wave. Vera and her parents
watch, stricken.
99 INT. PLATFORM, CHARING CROSS STATION - A LITTLE LATER 99
Vera and her mother are about to enter the station cafe
when Mrs. Brittain looks around for her husband. She sees
him further along the platform, his back to them, seemingly
studying a timetable.
MRS. BRITTAIN
Go and tell your father to hurry
up, dear, will you.
Vera walks over towards her father, who is oddly immobile.
VERA:
(approaching)
Daddy?
She reaches him, realises he’s battling to hold down his
emotions. She puts a hand on his shoulder.
VERA:
Oh Daddy.
His shoulders start to shake - small, silent judders. She
gets out a handkerchief, hands it to him, he puts it over
his face.
100 INT. CORRIDOR, 1ST LONDON GENERAL - EARLY MORNING 100
Ward Sister Jones is holding the door open as nurses push
trolleys piled high with laundered bed linen through. The
mood is urgent.
SISTER JONES:
Move it! Move it!
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Vera, Betty and a few other girls come rushing along the
corridor, making hasty adjustments to their uniforms -
they’ve obviously been hauled out of bed.
SISTER JONES:
Two hundred extra beds by
lunchtime! Hurry now!
101 INT. CORRIDOR, 1ST LONDON GENERAL - LATER 101
A white sheet flutters up - and down onto a military bed.
Vera and Betty tuck the sheet in, as around them, other
nurses make up beds, and orderlies busily erect new ones.
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