The American Page #3

...is his WALTHER semi-automatic handgun.

24 EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, OLD TOWN CENTRE-EARLY MORNING 24

A shot of Castel del Monte from afar.

JACK has his NIKON F6. He’s wandering round town, looking at

the sights:
the mediaeval architecture, the square, the

church.

25 EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, CHURCH- DAY 25

The CHURCH is at the top of town.

A PRIEST, dressed in black, surveys the world below him:

Locals are going about their business.

The PRIEST notices JACK.

26 EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, ALLEYWAY- DAY 26

JACK turns casually down one of the town’s many narrow

alleyways.

The alleyway bends left and right in a series of blind

corners and dark tunnels, the street enclosed by arches,

criss-crossed by flying stone buttresses and flanked by

outside stairwells. It’s a stalker’s heaven- or hell-

depending on how dangerous the prey.

JACK proceeds along the alleyway until he gets to a

crossroads where FOUR NARROW ALLEYWAYS converge. Each

alleyway leads uphill or downhill with varying degrees of

steepness.

From an upstairs window he can hear the soundtrack of a game

show on television. From another alleyway comes the sound of

a barking dog.

No dog is visible.

JACK knows this dog and knows it lives behind a hidden

archway which is on his right hand side. He lives nearby and

visits the dog every day to give it a biscuit.

"The American" June 21st, 2010

page 11.

The HIDDEN ARCHWAY resembles an archer’s slit but is big

enough for a grown man to slip through. Unlike a window, the

‘slit’ is actually just a crack in a triangular convergence

of two separate and slightly overlapping ancient stone walls.

The confluence of two stone surfaces makes the narrow gap

between them very, very difficult to spot.

JACK slips through the HIDDEN ARCHWAY, making sure no-one

sees him.

Inside are a few steps with 3 front doors connecting to it.

27

INT. BEHIND ARCHWAY- DAY 27

Rotting doors lead to abandoned cellars and storerooms.

The MONGREL tied to a post is barking savagely, his leash

keeping him inches from sinking his bared fangs into JACK.

JACK stares at the dog: a mysterious creature of fear and

fury, he throws him a biscuit, the dog calms down.

28

EXT. ALLEYWAY- DAY 28

JACK reappears through the HIDDEN ARCHWAY and slips back into

the alleyway. It’s like he’s materialised from thin air.

Just then a MAN on an old VESPA turns down the alleyway and

drives towards him.

Casually, JACK continues walking.

The VESPA gets nearer. The MAN ON THE VESPA is wearing

sunglasses.

JACK picks up his pace.

The VESPA is ten metres away.

Five metres.

JACK's face tenses up.

BANG!

JACK drops to his knees with his hand in his coat pocket, on

his weapon we assume. As he goes down, he realizes this is

not a gunshot; he turns around and the tension on his face

disappears.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 12. page 12.

BANG!

The VESPA backfires for a second time.

JACK takes his hand out of his pocket.

Still on his knees, JACK pretends to tie his right shoe lace.

The MAN ON THE VESPA stops outside an apartment a few meters

further up the alleyway and takes off his sunglasses. He’s a

corpulent, ruddy-faced Italian man in his late sixties.

He stares at JACK.

JACK stands.

MAN ON VESPA:

Buongiorno!

JACK:

Buongiorno.

MAN ON VESPA:

Da dove provenite?

For an instant, the directness of the question catches JACK

out.

JACK:

America.

MAN ON VESPA:

Ah! L’Americano!

JACK:

Si. Il Americano.

JACK’s pronunciation is good but his grammar is a bit rusty.

Perhaps he’s playing up on this. It suits the role of

‘American tourist’.

The MAN laughs enthusiastically emphasizing the correct

grammar:

MAN ON VESPA:

L’Americano ! L’Americano!

A WOMAN’S VOICE comes from within the house- loud and angry-

distracting the MAN ON THE VESPA, who screams back

passionately, enters his front door, and shuts it behind him

with a hearty slam.

JACK walks on.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 13. page 13.

29 EXT. CASTEL DEL MONTE, TOWN SQUARE- DAY 29

JACK puts some coins in a CANDY VENDING MACHINE outside a

Tabacchi.

The MACHINE takes his money but won’t dispense his chewing

gum.

He hits the refund button but nothing happens.

He thumps the machine.

Then sees the pattern of light alter in the shiny plastic of

the vending machine and spins round to see:

The PRIEST.

PRIEST:

Can I help you?

JACK:

I’m no good with machines.

The PRIEST smiles at JACK. He is dressed in an ill-fitting,

un-stylish black suit, a black silk stock and a deep Roman

collar fraying at the edge. His name is FATHER BENEDETTO. He

is older than JACK.

FATHER BENEDETTO

You are American.

This is stated matter-of-factly: like a man practising

English.

JACK:

Si.

FATHER BENEDETTO

You speak Italian?

JACK:

Poco.

FATHER BENEDETTO

Va bene! You stay at Loggia

Abruzzo.

Also a statement: this time with touch of triumph.

JACK is disconcerted but doesn’t show it.

JACK:

Not for much longer.

FATHER BENEDETTO

On vacation?

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 14. page 14.

JACK:

Working vacation.

This much is true- after a fashion.

They speak in English unless otherwise specified:

FATHER BENEDETTO

Lavoro? Che genere de lavoro?

JACK:

Photographer.

FATHER BENEDETTO

Va bene. Che genere de fotografia?

JACK:

Pictures of the region.

Architecture, landscapes...

FATHER BENEDETTO

People?

FATHER BENEDETTO stands straight and poses winningly.

JACK:

No people. Sights and landmarks.

For guidebooks, magazines...

FATHER BENEDETTO

Ah! Magazine! Which magazine?

JACK shows no discomfort.

JACK:

Actually it’s a syndicate. Lots of

different publications. Um... Casa

editrice.

Father Benedetto points to the camera, assuming it is

digital.

FATHER BENEDETTO

Va bene. So you must share a glass

of wine with me. Questa sera. This

evening.

A beat.

JACK is slightly thrown.

JACK:

You’re very kind, but I...

FATHER BENEDETTO

Certo. You want to know the truth

about Abruzzo? A priest sees

everything.

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 15. page 15.

30 EXT. PAY PHONE, CASTELVECCHIO DAY 30

Pronto?

PAVEL *

JACK:

It’s Jack.

PAVEL:

You don’t answer the cell I gave

you.

*

A beat.

JACK:

I’m calling you now.

*

*

PAVEL:

You don’t make this easy for me

Jack. I have a job for you, it’a a

custom fit... You don’t even have

to pull the trigger.

*

*

*

*

*

Beat. *

JACK:

I’ll think about it.

*

*

Beat. *

PAVEL *

That’s a good idea. *

"The American" June 21st, 2010 page 16. page 16.

INT. FATHER BENEDETTO’S HOUSE- MAGIC HOUR 31 *

The SUN is sinking behind the high mountains that overlook

the hilltop town.

JACK is wearing an immaculate white linen shirt.

He’s sitting in a small walled garden snuggled at the rear of

a crumbling fifteenth century edifice, overlooked yet

secluded and trapping the last rays of the sun.

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