The Danish Girl Page #12

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HANS:

I boxed for a while.

EINAR:

Shame you weren’t with me earlier.

Einar smiles at his own humour, but it hurts too much.

EINAR (cont’d)

Sorry I’ve never been to see you before.

HANS:

That’s alright. You’re here now.

EINAR:

I couldn’t let Gerda see me this way. She

has enough to put up with.

Hans acknowledges the truth of this, carries on.

HANS:

Let me know if you feel light-headed.

EINAR:

I’m permanently light-headed.

HANS:

God, Einar, what’s happened to you? I

don’t understand...

EINAR:

Ha - nor do I. But I don’t think it’s

anything new... Even in Vejle...

HANS:

What?

EINAR:

Well I was different.

HANS:

It didn’t take much to be different in

Vejle! Surely, that’s why we became

friends?

Einar nods, accepts Hans’ generosity. They take each other

in, the absurdity of their situation settling between them.

EINAR:

I wanted to thank you for looking after

Gerda.

(CONTINUED)

26/11/15

64.

CONTINUED:

Hans is slightly uneasy.

HANS:

It’s no great hardship.

EINAR:

I’ve let her down.

HANS:

She doesn’t think that.

Einar struggles a moment, then:

EINAR:

Every morning I promise myself I’ll spend

the whole day as Einar. But there’s so

little Einar left.

HANS:

You need building up...

EINAR:

No. I think Lili’s thoughts. All the time.

Even here, now, I’m having to work so hard

just to... to be me. To be this.

He gestures, hopeless. But Hans won’t be defeated.

HANS:

You think these things because you’re

exhausted...

Einar confesses.

EINAR:

I think sometimes about killing Einar.

It’s only the thought that I’d be killing

Lili too that stops me.

Hans is appalled, struggles for words.

HANS:

You need to see someone. A doctor.

EINAR:

No doctors.

Hans lays his big hand heavily on his friend’s shoulder.

HANS:

130 Yes, Einar. You have to try. 130

INT. DR BUSON’S CLINIC, ONE WEEK LATER, DAY

Einar in a reclining chair, beside a pull-down chart of the

human brain. He’s focused, engaged. BUSON seems excited.

(CONTINUED)

26/11/15

65.

CONTINUED:

BUSON:

A confused state of identity.

He snaps down a diagram of the frontal lobe.

BUSON (cont’d)

I drill small holes - here, here and

here...

He touches Einar’s forehead... Einar blanches, surprised.

INT. DR MCBRIDE’S ROOMS, ONE WEEK LATER

A CLOCK TICKS in the self-conscious reconstruction of Freud’s

consulting room. MCBRIDE adjusts his pince-nez.

MCBRIDE:

I’ve listened carefully and I’m afraid it’s

not good news.

From the couch, Einar waits for the diagnosis.

MCBRIDE (cont’d)

You’re a homosexual.

Einar fails to stifle a bitter laugh.

INT. ETABLISSEMENT HYDROTHERAPIQUE, ONE WEEK LATER, DAY

Dr Mai observes Einar, fascinated, over tented fingers.

EINAR:

Well, I don’t really know what kind of help

I need, but I can’t go on living without

knowing who I am.

DR MAI:

Mm... very good...

Dr Mai nods vigorously, scribbles definitively onto a pad.

MAI:

Please excuse me a moment...

He nods politely goes out, leaving Einar alone. Curiosity

gets the better of Einar and he works his way to the desk,

looks at the pad. As the sun falls across it, he can clearly

see the imprint of a word: schizophrenic... Einar panics,

grabs his coat...

INT. ETABLISSEMENT HYDROTHERAPIQUE, CORRIDOR, DAY

Dr Mai hurries down the corridor flanked by male nurses.

26/11/15

66.

INT. ETABLISSEMENT HYDROTHERAPIQUE, DR MAI’S ROOM, DAY

Dr Mai and the men look on, impotent, as the lace curtain

floats at the window onto the courtyard. Einar has gone.

INT. PARIS APARTMENT, STUDIO, NIGHT

Gerda comes home. The place is in darkness. She startles.

Einar’s been waiting for her. Gerda sits.

EINAR:

Do you think I’m insane?

GERDA:

Did a doctor say that?

EINAR:

I’m sorry, I know we agreed no more... but

look at me.

She does - carefully, seeing Lili, just below the surface.

GERDA:

You’re not insane.

Einar’s grateful. Gerda fights emotion...

GERDA (cont’d)

Did I do this to you?

Einar doesn’t understand...

EINAR:

What...?

GERDA:

Sometimes I think if it hadn’t been for the

paintings...

EINAR:

Oh no... no, no. You helped bring Lili to

life, but she was always... she was

waiting...

GERDA:

But now she’s making you ill.

EINAR:

I don’t know what to do. The doctors can’t

help me.

Einar’s at the end of the road. Gerda broaches the subject

she most fears:

GERDA:

Do you want to try one more...?

(CONTINUED)

26/11/15

67.

CONTINUED:

Einar is surprised. What does Gerda have in mind?

INT. RESTAURANT, DAY

Gerda and Einar sit, both nervous. Opposite, Warnekros

observes Einar closely. A nervous tension in the air.

WARNEKROS:

So what do you think would explain what

you’ve been experiencing Mr Wegener?

EINAR:

Professor Warnekros... the fact is... I *

believe I am a woman inside.

GERDA:

And I believe it too.

Einar looks to Gerda, grateful to hear her say this out loud.

EINAR:

You probably think I’m insane. That we

both are...

Warnekros smiles. He lights a cigarette, taking his time.

WARNEKROS:

Well, there are people who think that I’m

insane. But I think you’re probably right.

Einar’s amazed. Warnekros breathes, begins:

WARNEKROS (cont’d)

I’ve met another man like you.

Einar grasps Gerda’s hand, filled with hope...

WARNEKROS (cont’d)

I pursued his case - against the

wishes of my colleagues, of course.

Warnekros considers a moment, then:

WARNEKROS (cont’d)

I told him I could operate. To make *

him fully a woman.

EINAR:

Is that really possible?

Einar and Gerda struggle to take in the idea.

GERDA:

What happened to the man? Was the

operation successful?

(CONTINUED)

26/11/15

68.

CONTINUED:

WARNEKROS:

It never took place. On the morning of the

first operation, he ran away. He was too

frightened.

EINAR:

I wouldn’t do that.

Warnekros manages a grim laugh. Sounds a warning

WARNEKROS:

Perhaps he was the smart one. The surgery

has never been attempted before.

Gerda tries to get a grip on things:

GERDA *

Professor Warnekros, what is this *

surgery...? *

WARNEKROS *

Two operations... The first to *

remove the male parts entirely. *

The second - once you were strong *

again - to construct a vagina. *

Gerda looks to Einar - Einar’s rapt. *

WARNEKROS (cont’d) *

An irreversible change, and a high *

risk of failure, of infection, *

complications. *

Warnekros’s hand waves through the air, suggesting the *

worst... *

GERDA *

It’s too dangerous... *

EINAR:

It’s my only hope. *

Gerda and Einar exchange a look. Warnekros observes.

WARNEKROS:

I leave for Dresden at lunchtime tomorrow.

He warns them, an unmistakably serious tone:

WARNEKROS (cont’d)

Mrs Wegener, I do believe I can *

help your husband. But he won’t be

your husband when I’ve finished. *

26/11/15

69.

EXT. TRAIN STATION, MORNING

A NOISY bustling platform. People rushing in all directions.

Einar checks his ticket, about to board the train. Hans and

Gerda are with him, almost swept away by the tide of people.

Hans carries his case. They find a space in the crowd.

Einar strains at his starched collar - his suit is

emphatically masculine.

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