The Grifters Page #4

He looks away, right hand moving minimally on left hand.

ROY:

Heads.

He lifts the right hand, nods, then flips the coin again,

looks away, moves the right hand slightly.

ROY:

Heads.

Again he's right. Again he repeats.

ROY:

Tails.

He's about to repeat when a wave of weakness comes over him.

He sits back, gasping, but won't acknowledge the problem.

He forces himself to flip the coin, misses catching it, finds

it on the blanket, flips it again, slaps it onto the back of

the other hand, looks away.

ROY:

Tails.

Right again. He prepares to flip the coin, but then his hand

sags onto the covers, his chin drops, his eyes glaze.

ROY:

(whispered)

How much can I bet?

INT. PASSENGER TRAIN - DAY

The train runs through a forest, tree shadows making a light

and-dark pattern. Roy, four or five years younger, sits with

a three-core-monte gang, consisting of a DEALER, a spectacled

SHILL beside him, Roy facing the dealer, a ROPER next to Roy.

On a briefcase on the dealer's lap are three cards, face up:

An ace and two deuces. Across the aisle, alone in the seats,

sits MINTZ, a conman in his fifties, pretending not to watch,

but watching with amusement.

DEALER:

That's between you two. I got

nothing at stake here, I'm just

dealing.

SHILL:

What if we both guess wrong? You

aren't gonna take...

The dealer turns aside, allowing himself to be distracted. He

and the shill ARGUE nonsensically. The roper nudges Roy, then

reaches out and crimps the ace. Roy's doing a wide-eyed

bumpkin kid; he stares at the roper in delight and amazement.

AN ANGLE on the shill, arguing with the dealer but looking

toward Roy and the roper, then increasing the force of his

argument.

AN ANGLE across the amused Mintz at the roper whispering to

Roy.

TWO SHOT, Roy and the roper.

ROPER:

We got him now! Put down that big

bill you got.

ROY:

(whispered)

The fifty or the hundred?

ROPER:

The hundred! Hurry!

ROY:

(doubtful)

The ace is what I want?

The roper's having trouble keeping his patience.

ROPER:

Sure it is!

TWO SHOT, the dealer and the shill, fake-squabbling, Roy and

the roper seen in b.g. between their faces, Roy finally

bringing out his wallet, withdrawing a bill. Relieved, the

dealer and the shill cut the crap.

AN ANGLE on the group as Roy puts his hundred dollar bill on

the briefcase.

ROY:

Is that okay?

The shill pulls a messy wad of bills from his inner pocket,

uses most of it to cover the bet.

SHILL:

You're damn right that's okay.

DEALER:

(picks up the cards)

Whoever finds the ace, wins.

ECU, the dealer's hands, shuffling the cards at lightning

speed. He deals the cards out face down.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

CU, Roy's sweat-covered face, eyelids fluttering.

ROY:

(whispered)

Dark in here.

INT. PASSENGER TRAIN - DAY

AN ANGLE on the group. Roy squints at the cards, light and

dark playing on his face.

ROY:

Too dark. I just can't see.

Casually, but too quickly to be stopped, he reaches across

and plucks the shill's glasses off.

ROY:

Let me borrow these, will you?

AN ANGLE across Mintz, surprised and amused, at the group in

b.g., in consternation as Roy puts on the glasses and looks

down at the cards.

ROY:

Now, that's better.

ROY'S POV:
The glasses are 'readers.' Through them, a large

gray 'A' can be seen on the back of one of the non-crimped

cards. Roy's hand reaches out and flips it over. It's the ace

of spades.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

AN ANGLE across Roy toward the doorway. Roy, eyes closed,

smiles in triumph, then winces in pain. Mintz partially

appears, hovering beside the bed, grinning at Roy.

MINTZ:

I didn't teach you that.

ROY:

(whispered)

You taught me a lot. Then I

invented.

INT. AIRPORT DEPARTURE LOUNGE - DAY

Weary bored people sit around waiting. Roy, 17, lugging a big

suitcase, walks through, takes a seat near Mintz, who's doing

card tricks for his own pleasure. Roy watches, then moves

closer.

ROY:

Let me see how you did that one.

MINTZ:

Scram. Go home.

ROY:

I can't. I just left home.

MINTZ:

You're too young. You should be in

school.

ROY:

I am in school.

Mintz peers at him, taking an interest. Then he holds up the

five of spades, shows it to Roy, puts it back in the deck,

shuffles, shows Roy the deck.

MINTZ:

Where's the five?

ROY:

In your other hand.

Mintz grins slowly, turns his hand over with the palmed card

showing.

INT. BEDROOM NIGHT

Roy slumps, eyes closed, half-smiling, with the fever Mintz

hovering. Roy's smile fades, his fluttering eyelids grow

still, his face slack. The fever Mintz fades and disappears.

EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY

AN ANGLE on a large sign indicating "Los Angeles" straight

ahead. CAMERA PANS DOWN and around 180 degrees to face the

several lanes of heavy Los Angeles-bound traffic. LONG BEAT.

Hundreds of cars rush by. CAMERA PANS with Lilly's white

Chrysler as it comes along in the stream.

AN ANGLE through the Chrysler's left side window at Lilly,

driving, concentrating, biting her left thumbnail. She

becomes aware that's what she's doing, shakes her head in

irritation:
She's trying to break herself of this habit.

Ostentatiously she tucks the thumb into her fist, rests the

fist on top of the steering wheel, where she can keep an eye

on it.

HIGH ANGLE on the westbound lanes. The Chrysler passes. Soon

it's out of sight among all the other cars. LONG BEAT.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

AN ANGLE across the unmoving unconscious Roy toward the

doorway. The apartment door beyond the living room opens,

throwing light on Roy, who doesn't react. Lilly enters, in

silhouette, closes the door, crosses toward the bedroom.

(Until she speaks, we can't be quite sure who this is. With

the similarity between herself and Myra, this could be Myra.)

LILLY:

(hesitant)

Roy?

No reaction. Lilly, getting worried, moves closer, through

the bedroom doorway.

LILLY:

Roy? You asleep?

His head moves slightly. He barely has strength to speak.

ROY:

Myra?

She moves forward to the side of the bed, only her torso IN

FRAME. She touches a hand to his forehead.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes