Upon Waking
I am not quite sure whether I am dreaming or remembering, whether I have lived my life or dreamed it. Just as dreams do, memory makes me profoundly aware of the unreality, the evanescence of the world, a fleeting image in the moving water. —Eugène Ionesco
1. Engulfed 12/13/2008
Cast
Mylinh Trieu Nguyen
Emmet Byrne
Midwestern Teenage Girl
Midwestern Teenage Boy
Gabriel Dunne
Andrew Blauvelt
INTERIOR – CAFE – DAY
Emmet and Mylinh are sitting together at a table in a small cafe. The cafe is loud and very busy. Mylinh finishes her coffee and goes outside. Emmet stays to finish his sandwich.
EXTERIOR – OUTSIDE CAFE – DAY
Mylinh is standing on the sidewalk. It is extremely bright and sunny. The streets are filled with cars and people. From the density and smell it appears she is somewhere in Asia. She sees two Midwestern teenagers walking towards her. One is a boy and the other a girl; their faces covered in dirt. They stop ten feet short of her. They lean against a cement wall and start talking to each other. Mylinh is squatting down, looking through her bags and examining some clothes she had bought earlier. Midwestern Teenage Girl walks towards her. Mylinh feeling her presence, looks up.
MIDWESTERN TEENAGE GIRL: Smoke?
MYLINH: What? (beat) No. (confused and shaking her head)
MIDWESTERN TEENAGE GIRL: (threateningly) Smoke?!
MYLINH: (firmly) No!
MIDWESTERN TEENAGE GIRL: (moves closer) You know you're on our turf right?
Cut to five seconds of a scene from The Sandlot. Cut back to confrontation on the sidewalk. Midwestern Teenage Boy moves closer toward Midwestern Teenage Girl. He stands behind her as if to back her up.
MYLINH: (confused) What are you talking about??
MIDWESTERN TEENAGE GIRL: (growing impatient) You're on our turf so you better give us what we want.
Mylinh looks around and takes note of all the Asian people surrounding them; Camera does three close up shots: one of old couple walking by; one of young man driving in car; one of children playing on playground across the street.
MYLINH: (irritated) What are you talking about? We're in China.
As the Midwestern teenagers are about to come closer to Mylinh, camera moves to the entrance of the cafe. Emmet is leaving the cafe. Mylinh waves at him but he does not see her. Emmet pushes a rickshaw with an elderly woman and child inside it into on-coming traffic. He is unfazed and crosses the street. The elderly woman is screaming. A crowd gathers. Mylinh jumps on her bike and attempts to catch up with Emmet. He disappears. She rides across the street. A giant pink bean bag appears to her right. It is rolling towards her. It is three stories tall and wide. It rolls over her, enveloping her and her bike.
INTERIOR – INSIDE BEAN BAG – DAY
Mylinh is engulfed in pink, but appears to be sitting on the floor of her apartment. She is staring at a wall with a ticking clock. Below it is a poster of the ocean and it's horizon. Her hands are pinned behind her back. She can still hear noise from the street. Cars are driving by and there is frequent honking. She is in constant motion as the bean bag rolls through the city. She appears calm. The clock ticks for 23 seconds.
INTERIOR – ANDREW BLAUVELT'S HOME – DAY
Mylinh enters Andrew Blauvelt's penthouse loft somewhere in Manhattan. It is ultra chic and modern. There are large windows in which the late afternoon sun pours into. The scene is orange. Gabriel Dunne is sitting on a LC2 Petit Modele three seat sofa in the living room staring down into his lap. He is visibly hurt.
MYLINH: (startled and concerned) What are you doing here?
GABRIEL: (looks up at her, revealing the damage to his face) I've been waiting for you.
MYLINH: (shocked) Oh my god! Are you okay?
GABRIEL: Yes I'm fine, come over here. (calmly motions her over)
Mylinh is hesitant, but walks over toward Gabriel. She sits down next to him on the sofa. The leather is cold so she gets up and repositions herself closer to him. She studies his face.
MYLINH: (worried) What happened to you?
GABRIEL: (ignoring her question he pulls out a magazine he has been working on) What do you think of this?
MYLINH: (confused) What do you mean? (beat) What happened to your face?
GABRIEL: (flipping through the magazine and continuing to ignore her) Do you think the layout looks okay? (beat) What do you think about the typeface? (beat) I love this insert. (pulling it out and unfolding it into a poster) It was my idea to put it in.
MYLINH: (still confused and apathetic towards the magazine) It looks good.
GABRIEL: (acknowledging her disinterest he pulls something from his pocket) Here, this is for you.
Mylinh holds out her hand. He places a blue wadded up napkin in her palm. It is stained with spots of blood.
MYLINH: (confused) What is this? (her arm still extended, wanting him to take it back)
GABRIEL: (fixated on the wad of paper in her palm) Its a present. (beat) Its for you. (beat) Open it.
Mylinh stares at the napkin for a few seconds. She examines the spots of blood. They look fresh, like the wounds on his face. She begins to open it up. She touches an unknown sticky residue and appears disgusted. She stops for a moment to sniff her fingers. She continues to unravel the wad. Gabriel anxiously watches her. She thinks its one of his teeth. Probably a molar that he might have lost in the incident ruining his face. She opens the napkin up and an object falls onto her lap. Gabriel looks disappointed. Mylinh is surprised. She picks up a white Lego piece that has been turned into a thumbtack. She looks at him.
MYLINH: (still confused) Um, is this a joke?
GABRIEL: (embarrassed) Shit, I picked up the wrong one.
MYLINH: (reading aloud the typed message on the napkin) "For Lisa my best bud..."
GABRIEL: (apologetically) Here (motions for it back) (beat) Sorry (beat) I'll get you your present tomorrow.
MYLINH: (apathetic) It's okay, don't worry about it.
As Mylinh begins to look away Gabriel grabs her hand.
GABRIEL: Here.
Without hesitation she moves closer to him. Their faces are inches apart from one another. Her eyes travel across his face, back and forth between the bruises and cuts. He stares intently at her moving eyes. He brushes her hair away from her face. She flinches at his touch. He moves in to kiss her. She does not move back or forward. She closes her eyes and allows his purple swollen lips to touch hers. They brush slightly. The kiss is brief. It physically hurts him to kiss her. He begins to cry.
INTERIOR – ANDREW BLAUVELT'S HOME – LATER
Andrew Blauvelt enters the living room. Gabriel is gone. All of the furniture in the loft is rearranged. He walks towards his Eames storage unit and tidies up some pens Mylinh had left there. She is temporarily living with him. He picks up the pens and moves them to another bookshelf. He then walks over to his Albert left facing chaise and lies down.
Mylinh enters the living room. She walks over to her desk with a dust pan. There are a pile of yellowed maple leaves on her desk. As she sweeps them into the pan she notices something in the pile. It is a piece of beef jerky.
INTERIOR – ANDREW BLAUVELT'S HOME – LATER
Two black cats play on a Joaquim Ruiz Millet manuscrit rug.
2. Fog 12/15/2008
Cast
Mylinh Trieu Nguyen
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Geoff McFetridge
Abby Chase
Moose Head
INTERIOR – HOUSE – NIGHT
Mylinh and Bonnie are lying face up on two twin beds. They are in a small house on the middle of a frozen lake. The room they are in is lit by a single candle that stands on a small night table between them. The house has no ceiling. They are staring up at a star filled sky. Mylinh raises her left hand toward the sky and examines it against the twinkling backdrop.
MYLINH: (ponderous) Does it always look like this?
BONNIE: The sky? (beat) Or the light from the stars?
MYLINH: (continuing to ponder) Does it always feel like this?
BONNIE: (understanding) Yes. (beat) Every night.
Mylinh turns onto her side and faces Bonnie. She extends her left hand. Her palm is facing him.
MYLINH: (scared) What is wrong with me?
BONNIE: Nothing (still staring at the stars)
MYLINH: Is it supposed to be this way?
Mylinh peers at Bonnie through a slit of skin between the middle and ring finger of her left hand. We see that her hand is partially webbed.
BONNIE: Yes. (turning onto his side towards her) (beat) But, it's okay.
Mylinh is still fixated on her hand. She is terrified at the sight of it and frantically extends her fingers. The webbing between them becomes taught. She continues violently to open and close her hand. Her fingers are moving wildly. Eventually the webbing begins to tear and her fingers become free of the skin that bound them together. She gasps.
BONNIE: (calmly) You're bleeding. (He gets out of bed ) (beat) I'll be right back.
Bonnie leaves the room. The candle light flickers on a close up of Mylinh's hand. She examines it carefully. The front side first, then the back. Her arm still extended. Blood slowly drips from the wounds. She breathes heavily but remains calm. Individually, her fingers move through the cold air to try and acquaint themselves with their new found freedom. Bonnie enters the room with a needle and thread. He sets them on the night table and sits down next to her. He takes her hand and cradles it in his.
BONNIE: (looking at her hand) It'll be okay.
Mylinh is still staring in disbelief. Bonnie threads the needle.
BONNIE: (reassuringly) I've done this before. (beat) It won't hurt. (beat) I promise.
He takes the needle and slowly pierces her skin. She doesn't flinch. He continues to sew up the wounds that have dried and turned a bluish-purple. She looks up at him. Her eyes are focused on the bridge of his nose, but she is looking beyond him. She is looking into the future.
EXTERIOR – FRONT YARD – DAY
Mylinh is standing on a sidewalk. There is a gate between her and the house she is facing. She stares up into a window on the second floor for a few minutes. She doesn't see anything. She looks behind her. There is a yellow balloon tied to a miniature english bulldog. She turns back and looks at the window. The curtains are drawn. Startled, she turns toward the dog and then the window. She hesitates, but opens the gate slowly and enters the yard. It is covered with dead leaves. She tries to find a walk way, but to no avail. Each step she takes is cushioned by the leaves. She feels like shes walking on clouds. She reaches the bottom of a stairway on the side of the house. Next to it is a tiny tree with different colored ornaments on it. She knocks one of them off before climbing the stairs. Her heart begins to race. She reaches the top and takes an aerial view of the yard. It reminds her of a poster she used to have on her bedroom wall. The kind that when you look and squint hard enough at it, a unicorn or submarine would appear. In the leaves she saw his smile. She turns toward the white door and takes a deep breath. She knocks twice. A minute passes. The door opens.
INTERIOR – HOUSE – NIGHT
Bonnie ties a knot at the end of the last wound and clasps her left hand in both of his.
BONNIE: (comfortingly) There.
Mylinh removes her hand from his. She studies each finger carefully.
MYLINH: (lighter) Is this what its like?
INTERIOR – CAR – DAY
The windows inside the 1985 Honda Civic hatchback were foggy. Mylinh tries to read a street sign from the back seat but fails. Geoff McFetridge is driving cautiously. Abby Chase is in the passenger seat directing him. The streets are icy. Traffic is bad.
GEOFF: (anxious) We're going to be so late!
ABBY: It's okay, we're always late. (beat) No one cares!
MYLINH: God, (beat) Geoff, (beat) learn how to fucking drive.
Abby laughs. Geoff turns up the volume on the radio. Bootylicious is on.
ABBY: (startled) Watch out!
Geoff swerves. There is a moose head in the middle of the road. Geoff rolls down his window.
MOOSE HEAD: Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
3. Appearing 12/28/2008
Cast
Mylinh Trieu Nguyen
Young Boy
Gabriel Correia
Vance Wellenstein
INTERIOR – SNOW LODGE – DAY
The snow lodge is bustling with people and commotion. The sound of sobbing is above all the conversations and shuffling. Mylinh is sitting by a window, looking out at the falling snow. Her back is turned toward the camera. She wipes her face with the sleeve of her sweater and looks down at a postcard. She looks back up into the white.
EXTERIOR – SCHOOL YARD – DAY
It is completely white. A boy is lying face down in the snow. He is wearing a leather cap and a pea coat that he hasn’t completely grown into yet. The sound of water is prevalent. He remains still.
INTERIOR – ALLEY WAY – DAY
Sitting behind a retail store in an alleyway, Gabriel looks up at a cloudless sky. His hair is long and unruly, his face covered in dirt. His clothes are tattered. He looks down at his hands and starts to mumble.
INTERIOR – SNOW LODGE – (EARLIER IN THE DAY)
Mylinh enters the snow lodge’s computer lab. The room is large with wood paneling. There are 5 rows of computers, each with private sectionals. A Christmas tree stands at the foot of the room between rows 2 and 3. Stuffed game are scattered around its perimeter. Mylinh stands by the tree and scans the room. She spots him. He appears to be jovial, smiling at his computer screen while intermittently talking to the person next to him. Mylinh turns flush red and walks quickly to the exit.
EXTERIOR – SNOW LODGE – (EARLIER IN THE DAY)
Outside of the snow lodge a large crowd of people are gathered. They are throwing confetti up into the air. There is a lot of laughter and cheering. What they are celebrating remains unknown. There is so much confetti that it is hard to distinguish the pieces of tiny paper from the falling snow.
INTERIOR – BEDROOM – NIGHT
A puppy climbs onto a bed full of plush toys. He positions himself between ET and a Cabbage Patch Kid. He glances over at the window, where a family of squirrels have built a nest. With a look of contemplation, he turns back to ET and begins to gnaw on his index finger. Sound from the toy says “Phone Home.”
INTERIOR – SNOW LODGE – (EARLIER IN THE DAY)
Vance walks into the lodge. He is wearing a large red flannel hat and a white turtleneck. He has just come back from a long day of snowboarding. We know this from the snowboard he is holding and the look of satisfaction on his face. With his goggles still around his head, he makes his way into the lodge lobby. The nylon of his pants makes a shifting sound each step he takes. He looks around the lobby and sees Mylinh’s profile. She is sitting by the fireplace reading a book. He walks towards her.
VANCE: (with a smile) Where have you been?
MYLINH: (looks up) Where have YOU been?
VANCE: I’ve been looking for you.
MYLINH: Oh really? (fixated on the goggles snug against his forehead)
VANCE: Yes, (beat) really. (beat) I’ve been meaning to talk to you.
MYLINH: (feeling warmer) What about?
VANCE: Nothing in particular. (beat) I just wanted to talk to you.
MYLINH: Oh. (beat) okay.
A little noise comes from Vance’s pocket. It is the baseline from Seinfeld. It is coming from his phone. He reaches to get it. Mylinh quietly watches him. He looks at the screen. A big smile comes across his face.
MYLINH: (curious) Good news?
VANCE: You could say that. (still smiling)
MYLINH: What’s it say?
VANCE: (still looking at his phone) Nothing. (looks at Mylinh and smiles)
MYLINH: (even more curious) Oh come on.
VANCE: Well, (beat) it’s this girl. (looking back down at his phone)
MYLINH: Oh yeah?
VANCE: Yeah (beat). We’ve been talking (beat) a lot. (beat) Everyday (beat) I look forward to hearing from her. (beat) She’s (beat) incredible.
MYLINH: Oh.
VANCE: Sometimes I feel like it’s too much. (beat) Like it’s not real. (beat) She says things to me (beat) that no one else has ever said to me.
MYLINH: Like what?
VANCE: I don’t know.
MYLINH: You don’t know?
VANCE: (beat) Just (beat) incredible (beat) things.
Mylinh looks down at her book. She stares beyond the words. An image of the sun appears.
EXTERIOR – ALLEYWAY – DAY
Mylinh is in an alleyway. She is with a few homeless men. There is some sort of exchange. It is presumed to be drug related, but it’s unclear whether or not she is supplying or receiving them. She walks toward the street and turns the corner. At that moment, Gabriel leaves work and walks toward the corner that Mylinh had come from. They are 20 feet from each other when they acknowledge the others presence. They are visibly shocked and surprised. After 5 seconds, Mylinh turns and walks the other direction. Gabriel doesn’t move. His eyes are still fixated on her as she walks away from him. The pain of seeing the other was only felt by one of them.
EXTERIOR – SCHOOL YARD – DAY
The boy is gone. All that remains is his imprint in the snow.