The Face of an Angel Page #5

---

It's sad that Elizabeth

just disappeared.

Look at that, he's got Jessica's diaries

there. Some flawless journalism there.

Joe's very proud of his scoop.

You know the police played a dirty trick

on her when she was in jail?

They told her that she had

tested positive for HIV,

so she had to write a list

of everyone she had ever slept with.

- It's in there.

- How much did you pay for it?

These diaries,

they're not even that big a deal.

Okay, it's one of the things that I used

to articulate a story about her.

So, for example, she says

that she wants to visit a sex shop.

- Please!

- She writes a letter to her boyfriend

saying she wants to watch a porn film

and then practice with him.

She emailed her friends.

She had sex with this random guy

that she met on a train in Italy...

She had a vibrator in the bathroom

she shared with Elizabeth.

- It became part of the trial.

- Exactly. It was only this big.

I remember the famous kiss outside

the house. That kiss put them in prison.

She went underwear shopping

the night after the murder.

- None of that makes her a killer.

- Well, people love it.

- I mean, sex and murder sells.

- Is that everything you're interested in?

Yeah, because it's how I make a living.

And you know what, guess what,

it's how you make a living now too.

She wrote a fantasy story about rape.

I'm writing a script about a murder.

Does that make me a murderer?

No, her character was part of the trial.

That's what the jury was asked to judge.

So if she would have been a better actor,

if she had behaved well and cried,

- she would have been found innocent?

- Probably.

Now she's dressing all prim and proper,

and is likely to get off.

Of course. Yeah.

So if that's all true,

don't you worry a little bit

that all the stuff you make up

could make a fair trial harder?

All right, so listen, mate,

we don't actually make stuff up, okay?

You write what sells. Sex sells.

You steal her diaries

- and make her look like a nymphomaniac.

- Yeah, because that's what she wrote.

Come on. You can make anyone

look bad if you want to.

I daresay even you would look like a sh*t if

people would go through your private life.

All right, listen, I'm a tabloid journalist.

Everyone thinks I'm a sh*t anyway.

You f***ing said it.

Excuse me.

- Well, he still has my diary then.

- Bravo, Joe.

- He didn't want my paper.

- Well, he's got taste.

I don't want to die.

I want to get married and have children.

I want to create something good.

I want to get old.

I want my time. I want my life.

I don't know where

I could have got HIV from.

- Hey.

- Hi, stranger, long time, no see.

- I was back in London.

- Nice. What can I get you?

- Whiskey and coke.

- Cool.

I was wondering,

could you do me a favor?

Of course.

Do you know where

I could buy some stuff?

- What, weed?

- Yeah, but... But some other stuff too.

Remember what happened last time.

- Thanks, I do.

- Is that what you want?

- I'm not a dealer.

- I know.

I just thought you might

be able to help a friend.

That's better.

Give me your phone.

That's the number. Be careful.

Promise.

Hi, it's me, Thomas. Are you here?

- I'm here, where are you?

- I'm here. Okay, I see you.

- So, you're a friend of Melanie?

- Yeah.

- Hey.

- Hey.

- You wanna come in?

- Sure.

- Want a drink?

- No, I'm good.

- I have something for you.

- What is it?

It's the scene of crime video. The appeal's

gonna be all about the forensics,

so you really need to see that

if you wanna know what's going on.

- Joe was upset about earlier.

- Good.

You know, he's good at what he does.

He gets ahold of stuff no one else does

and finds a way to tell a story.

He's not as bad as he likes

to pretend to be.

Are you sleeping with him?

- Not tonight.

- Do you still sleep with him?

Are you jealous?

- Hey.

- Hey.

Sorry, New York wants me

to change the article.

- They need it in two hours.

- Another fashion report?

Jesus, lighten up.

Does it never bother you?

All this sh*t you have to write?

I'm not writing a fashion report.

I'm writing about a murder.

Somebody was killed.

- You trivialize it.

- People want to hear about this story.

It's not up to us to decide what people

should and shouldn't know.

We just write what happened

and then they decide

- whether they want to read it or not.

- That's not true.

Would it be better if we didn't

cover trials at all?

People had no idea

what went on in court?

People had no idea what went on

during a police investigation?

That's what happens in a police state.

- Then tell the truth, don't make up...

- I do tell the truth, you a**hole.

God, come back, Joe.

At least he doesn't lecture me

after we've f***ed.

You know what, you should watch this,

before you get high

and mighty with everybody.

That's the sad and bitter truth.

- There is a hair here.

- Where?

Here, by the vagina.

- This is your hand here, yes?

- Yes.

And is that your charming bracelet?

Just outside the fold of the glove?

- Yes.

- Now... look here.

You can see the same fold of the glove

around the bracelet.

You accept this is the same glove?

Yes.

So you didn't change gloves

at all, did you?

The bra clasp was found in this position

in the first investigation.

46 days later,

we see its position has moved

by one metre.

DNA is not like hair or pollen.

It stays within a cell

and remains in place.

DNA cannot fly.

You are nurturing,

playful and easy-going.

You often put others' needs

before your own,

or your decisions are guided

by your feelings.

At heart, you're pragmatic

and self-possessed.

- Enjoy your meal.

- Thank you so much. Thank you.

- Thomas, how's the appeal going?

- Yeah, quite right.

No, no, no. It's the right thing to do.

I'll shut up. Give him a minute.

- Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.

- Slow.

- Do you think they're gonna win?

- No idea.

- Must be difficult not knowing the ending.

- I don't think it matters for our film.

I imagine that the courts or the police

will find the truth.

My idea is that it's impossible to know.

The trial is like an episode of X Factor.

If they like your face, you win.

The system in Italy's different,

which makes it easier to see it's arbitrary.

But in this case the evidence

is so contradictory,

we'll never know what happened.

If they killed her, it doesn't make sense.

If they didn't kill her, it doesn't make

sense either. So it boils down to...

do we want to see these people

going to prison for 20 years?

But in the film, we're gonna have to decide,

did they do it, how did they do it,

- or how else are we gonna tell the story?

- I don't think that's the story.

The story is that there is no such thing

as real truth or justice.

It's just a popularity contest.

- Well, that's not a film.

- I think it can be.

You're gonna have to show the two girls,

who they are, their relationship.

- What happened that night, why did it happen?

- All of that would be fake.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes