The Night Manager

1 INT. MALLORCA. ROPER’S VILLA. OFFICE/LIVING SPACE. DAY. INT. MALLORCA. ROPER’S VILLA. OFFICE/LIVING SPACE. DAY. 1

DICKY ROPER’s face is staring right at camera.

ROPER:

Want to know how it works?

PINE’s face. Close-up. He smiles. Nods.

ROPER’s face, close up.

ROPER (CONT’D)

Fig leaf operation. You’re the fig

leaf. Straw man the Germans called

it. Andrew Birch. Director of

Tradepass Holdings. 34 years old.

Merchant venturer, decent record in

commerce, no skeletons, no murky

past. Maybe we’ve done deals

before, maybe we haven’t, let them

guess. I go to the clowns - George

and his friends, the brokers, the

venture boys, flexible banks and I

say “Got a very smart cookie here,

brilliant plan, needs backing,

something to do with agricultural

hardware, global roll-out, quick

profits, my gift to you. He’s

young, he’s handsome, he’s good

with the right people, didn’t want

you missing out. It’s called

Tradepass. Double your money in

four months max.” It’s trust Dicky

time. Very tight circle, few chaps

as possible. We register the

company in Cyprus, bank in Geneva,

no questions asked, no accounts to

be filed. You’re my lead actor,

you’re my main man, you’re my star.

We make the deal, no one knows what

we’re really buying, no one wants

to know, no one cares, they just

want money, they don’t want to know

what’s really at stake, they

wouldn’t sleep at night, they

wouldn’t wake up with their perfect

wives in their perfect beds and

make breakfast for their perfect

little children, little eggs in

china cups, they mustn’t know how

the money is made, no one must know

Andrew. Just you and me. We know.

Our eyes are OPEN.

Beat

The Night Manager ep 4 final

ROPER (CONT’D)

And then. When the deal’s done, and

the profits taken, the company

ceases trading, disappears off the

face of the earth. Something

happened. No one knows what. Except

us. We know.

PINE:

And what did happen?

ROPER smiles. A door opens. ROPER swivels fast.

It’s JED.

JED:

Listen it’s eleven o’clock.

Beat. She stares coolly at PINE and ROPER who are standing

side by side.

JED (CONT’D)

What’s going on?

ROPER:

It’s a business meeting that’s

what. I thought I told you.

A coldness between them is apparent.

JED:

A business meeting with Thomas?

ROPER:

Not Thomas. Andrew. Andrew is

coming aboard.

He stares at her defiantly.

JED:

Well in case you and Andrew forgot,

Danny’s leaving now. I thought you

might want to take him to the

airport.

ROPER:

No you take him. I don’t have the

time.

JED:

Why don’t you tell him that

yourself.

DANIEL appears carrying a picture of some flowers. Not just

any flowers. The flowers PINE put in the room.

ROPER:

What’s that?

The Night Manager ep 4 final

DANNY:

It’s a goodbye present.

DANIEL blushes. Hands it to ROPER. Beat.

ROPER:

My god I think the boy’s got

talent.

Beat.

ROPER (CONT’D)

Right. Time you were going.

DANIEL:

Aren’t you coming?

Beat. ROPER stares at him.

ROPER:

Can’t I’m afraid. Your mother will

be at the other end. Come on be a

man.

DANNY turns, upset, walks out of the room. JED stares at

ROPER. Then at PINE. As ROPER stares at this rather sad,

rather lovely painting.

TITLE:
THE NIGHT MANAGER

2 EXT. LONDON STREETS. DAY. 2

REX MAYHEW is cycling. Rush hour, busy traffic. But he has

taken this road many times before.

He turns into the two-lane road that takes him from Swiss

Cottage down to St John’s Wood.

A grey van comes up behind him. MAYHEW eases into the middle

to let it pass on his left.

But it does not.

MAYHEW looks back, he can’t see who is driving.

Then the van accelerates alongside on his left.

MAYHEW continues to cycle.

Then another van comes up on his right, both vans drive at

exactly the same speed on either side of MAYHEW.

He accelerates. They accelerate.

He brakes.

The Night Manager ep 4 final

Only to see another van right up behind him. Grubby

windscreen, impossible to look into.

Now he knows.

The vans start to move close together. Squeezing him.

MAYHEW sees a traffic light ahead. It’s green.

He prays. Please go red. Please go red.

The light goes red. MAYHEW starts to slow, the vans follow

suit.

Then suddenly MAYHEW accelerates! Breaks the red light, is

almost killed by a Mercedes that is coming from the right to

join the road, a furious blaring of horns, shouts of rage

from the Merc, but MAYHEW doesn’t care, he is cycling for his

life, full pelt towards the centre of London.

3

OMITTED 3

4

INT. MALLORCA. PENINSULAR. FISHERMAN’S COTTAGE. NIGHT. 4

PINE lies back, deep in the night. Apparently sleeping.

Then his eyes open.

He lifts a floorboard, grabs a knife from underneath.

Walks quietly out and into the living room.

He opens the front door.

Walks fast to confront the figure who is in the small alley

beside the house.

Grabs the figure.

Then pauses in shock.

It is JED.

She stares at the knife in his hand.

PINE looks around. No one in the darkness.

PINE:

Come in.

5

INT. MALLORCA. PENINSULAR. FISHERMAN’S COTTAGE. NIGHT. 5

JED sits on a small wooden stool. PINE is boiling a kettle.

Controlling his nerves.

The Night Manager ep 4 final

JED:

No one saw me.

PINE:

You saw no one see you. That’s not

the same thing.

He looks out the window into the darkness.

PINE (CONT’D)

Where’s Roper?

JED:

He left late last night for a

meeting in Geneva.

He hands her a drink.

PINE:

You want milk?

JED:

Just sugar.

PINE:

This wasn’t very sensible of you.

Beat.

JED:

I’m sorry if my recklessness upsets

you.

A challenge. PINE gives her sugar, flicks a look out the

window. Beat. She sips her coffee.

JED (CONT’D)

So. Andrew. You’re joining the

Roper ship are you?

PINE:

Maybe.

A challenge.

JED:

It’s funny. I thought you were

trying to sink it.

PINE:

What makes you think that?

JED:

Why else would you break into his

study?

The Night Manager ep 4 final

PINE:

Same reason you did. I’m just keen

to find out who the man is who’s

employing me.

JED:

I’m not employed by anyone.

PINE:

Aren’t you?

JED:

We’re in a relationship Andrew.

PINE:

Business or pleasure.

JED:

Love.

He smiles.

JED (CONT’D)

What’s so funny about that?

PINE:

If it’s love. Shouldn’t it be

honest?

JED:

What the hell are you talking

about?

PINE flicks the camera until it shows the small boy he took

the photo of from Jed’s drawer.

JED (CONT’D)

Where d’you get this?

PINE:

I found it in your room. In a

drawer.

She stares at it. Then slaps PINE hard.

JED:

It wasn’t in just any drawer was

it?

PINE:

Is he your son?

JED:

None of your business.

PINE:

Who were you talking to on the

phone that afternoon?

The Night Manager ep 4 final

JED:

Quite the detective aren’t you?

She stares at the photo.

JED (CONT’D)

I was talking to my sister in

Desmoines. She looks after him.

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