AprilA Screenplay by Griffin Holmes A young man struggles for meaning as he attends the funeral of a relative. INT. VIEWING ROOM NO. 1 - FUNERAL HOME - LATE AFTERNOON.
MARK stares blankly downward, facing us. His breathing is
long and deep, looking for an emotion that is not there.
CUT TO:
An open coffin, with a female body lying within it. The body
is only visible on screen from the shoulders down. She
appears to be old from the condition of her pale, wrinkled
skin, or maybe it is just the way her body has been
decomposing. It is not clear.
MARK
(thinking)
Martha Windom... my father’s older
sister.
A ring is still placed on the body’s left hand.
MARK
(thinking)
A lover to a man I never knew.
CUT TO:
The body’s hands, lying on each side of the waist. The
inside of each wrist facing the hips. The wrists are slit
across from end to end.
MARK
(thinking)
A stranger... who wanted out.
MARK’S FATHER sits on a bench several feet to the
side, against a wall. He is leaned forward, with his hands
covering most of his face - his guilt and sorrow. MARK looks
over to him.
A beat.
MARK takes one last look at the body, then walks away.
MARK maneuvers through various family members toward the
entrance door.
MARK’S MOTHER
(whispering)
Mark, where are you going?
Mark stops to respond.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
MARK
(whispering)
I just need a breath of fresh air
from this room... all of this...
just for a few minutes.
MARK’S MOTHER puts an arm on MARK’s shoulder.
MARK’S MOTHER
(whispering)
Okay, I understand. Just try to
hurry back as soon as possible, the
service begins soon... I may need
help with your father.
She nods toward his father.
CUT TO:
MARK’S FATHER has not moved. A family member walks over to
him and pats his shoulder. He nudges it away.
INT. HALLWAY - LATE AFTERNOON.
MARK walks by a red couch, and pauses. He steps backwards,
and stops in front of it. He looks at the painting placed
above it.
He studies the painting. He does not blink; he is very calm.
CUT TO:
The painting of a stone bridge that crosses over a river. A
lush forest fills the remainder of the canvas. No one is
standing on the bridge, but in the reflection, there appears
to be someone looking out from the bridge. The sky and
landscape in the reflection are noticeably darker and
twisted.
MARK continues to walk down the hall.
INT. MAIN OFFICE. MOMENTS LATER.
MARK awkwardly walks slowly around the room, observing his
surroundings. He eyes catch a small pile of brochures laying
out at the front desk.
The pile of brochures, front and center on screen. It reads:
COBBLE SPRINGS. Under that, there is a slogan that does a
poor job of comforting: WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER, ONE STEP AT
A TIME. MARK’s hand comes in to shot, picking up the top
brochure.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
MARK brings the brochure chest level, looking over the front
page.
MARK
(thinking)
It doesn’t matter how beautiful
they make it seem...
MARK puts the brochure back down.
MARK
(thinking)
...It will always be tragic, cold,
and lonely.
CUT TO:
One of the slit wrists on the body in the coffin.
CUT BACK TO:
A similarly angled shot on MARK’s arm. He flips his wrist up
to his view, and pulls back his sleeve. Several cuts appear
along his arm.
MARK painfully looks at the cuts, and closes his eyes. He
slowly pulls his sleeve back up, heads for the entrance out
to the front of the funeral home.
EXT. COBBLE SPRINGS FUNERAL HOME - FRONT ENTRANCE - MOMENTS
LATER.
WEATHER SHOT:
The sky is gray.
MARK sits on the stone steps of the entrance. He observes a
leaf and picks it up. He holds it between his thumb and
pointing finger. The leaf is green and lush. It has freshly
fallen from a tree.
MARK crumples the leaf in his hand.
ZOEY
(O.S.)
Why’d you do that?
MARK turns around.
A young blonde girl stands half-way out the entrance door.
She has a curious look on her face.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
MARK
Do what?
ZOEY
Crush the leaf.
MARK
The leaf?
ZOEY completely exits the funeral home and walks down to the
steps that MARK is sitting on.
ZOEY
Yeah.
MARK responds with a confused look.
MARK
I don’t know, I’m just passing
time-
ZOEY
Just because it fell off the branch
doesn’t mean it’s dead. It’s still
green.
MARK
What are you, an environmentalist
or something?
MARK smirks slightly. ZOEY smiles.
ZOEY
Not exactly.
ZOEY sits down.
ZOEY
(continued)
You could say I’m somewhat of an
observer.
MARK
Of...random people?
ZOEY
Life.
MARK
That’s...pretty broad.
ZOEY lights up and points a finger at him.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.
ZOEY
Exactly!
Her hand opens up, revealing a hand awaiting a handshake.
ZOEY
By the way, I’m Zoey.
MARK greets her hand with his and shakes.
MARK
Mark.
ZOEY
Just "Mark"?
MARK
...Yeah.
A beat. Zoey’s serious look slowly turns in to a smile.
ZOEY
Oh, alright. I respect that, you
have style.
She throws her pointing finger up towards him, in a "hold on
a second" kind of way.
ZOEY
But...you can’t know my last name
either.
Mark picks up another leaf on the ground and twirls it in
his hand.
MARK
I think I can live with that.
He looks over at her.
MARK
So, you observe life?
ZOEY
Mhm.
MARK
Why?
ZOEY
You got me, I’m actually a
photographer.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.
MARK
Ah, okay.
ZOEY
Yeah man, I love seeing all the
moments of the world trapped
forever in time. Like, it will
never change. It just is, you know?
MARK
You know, I think I would like life
too if I could make things last
forever. That’s the issue with it.
It changes. You wish you could
always have these little content
moments, but they are soon gone,
leaving nothing but fear for what’s
next.
ZOEY
Yeah. Life isn’t perfect. I mean,
look where we are. I’m up here for
my uncle’s funeral and-
ZOEY has a look of realization on her face.
ZOEY
Oh no.
Her eyes grow wide, and worried. MARK looks at her, confused
but intrigued.
ZOEY
You’re here for a funeral.
She slowly stands up, keeping eye contact with MARK.
MARK
Yeah, but-
ZOEY
(upset)
I’m out here just chatting it up
about life and s**t, and you’re
probably out here trying to cope
with your loss-
MARK
No, really-
ZOEY
(continued)
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.
ZOEY (cont’d)
And I’m just making no big deal
over mine! I’m sorry I bothered
you, really!
She begins walking back up the steps. MARK gets up and
follows her.
MARK
Zoey, stop!
MARK reaches her at the top step, grabbing her left arm.
Their eyes meet.
MARK
It’s okay, I promise.
Thunder is heard from above as rain begins to fall. MARK
looks up at the sky, then back down at her.
MARK
Keep talking to me inside?
ZOEY has a look of uncertainty on her face, but she
responds.
ZOEY
(calming down)
Okay.
INT. MAIN OFFICE. MOMENTS LATER.
Window pane. Rain is pouring outside. Nothing else can be
heard.
ZOEY and MARK stand nearby, watching the rain in silent.
MARK
(thinking)
Who is this girl?
ZOEY
So, who’s funeral are you here for?
You don’t have to tell me a thing,
but I was just curious.
MARK
No, it’s fine. It’s for my aunt.
ZOEY
I’m sorry.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 8.
MARK
It’s okay, I never really knew her.
She was kind of a recluse. I have
small recollections of her from
when I was young, but besides that,
we weren’t very personal.
MARK turns to ZOEY.
MARK
She was my dad’s sister. He’s not
taking it very well. I think he
feels responsible, they were on bad
terms.
ZOEY
How did she die?
MARK
They wouldn’t say. I’m not stupid,
though. They don’t need to hide the
truth from anyone. Sometimes people
fall in to holes they aren’t sure
they can get themselves out of.
ZOEY
I think the same thing happened to
my uncle.
MARK
Really?
ZOEY
Well, in a way. He had a heart
attack, but supposedly he was in
good shape. At least, he was
physically. I heard my parents
talking about some of the debts we
may have to take on from him.
MARK
That sounds pretty bad.
ZOEY
Well, hopefully he’s in a place now
where he feels like he doesn’t have
to hide anything from others. I
mean, I hear things now I never
even knew about him. I feel like I
should be upset, but I just haven’t
been able to pull out a tear. I’m
horrible!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 9.
MARK
No, it’s okay. Sometimes things are
beyond tears.
ZOEY
Yeah, I think that’s true.
A beat passes by as they continue looking out at the rain.
ZOEY
April showers bring May flowers, I
know you’ve heard that.
She looks over at MARK smiling.
MARK
If April showers bring May flowers,
then what do May flowers bring?
ZOEY
What do you think they bring?
MARK shrugs.
MARK
Pilgrims?
ZOEY shoots MARK a confused look, then realizes he was
joking. They both laugh.
ZOEY
Seriously though, Have you ever
gone back to things in your past
that you saw one way, but now see
another?
MARK looks over at her.
MARK
Sometimes, but I don’t necessarily
like to go back to them.
ZOEY
You should, just don’t go back to
live and breathe it. Go back to
reflect and dissect it.
MARK
What about the pilgrims?
ZOEY
Right. What do the pilgrims bring?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 10.
MARK
Nothing, the riddle ends there.
ZOEY turns around, her body completely facing MARK. She puts
her hands together, fingers locking, and holds it up in
front of her.
ZOEY
Hope.
MARK looks at her hands, and then back up at her. ZOEY puts
her hands down, and grabs his.
ZOEY
It’s important that you look for
something in what you have.
She puts his hands in to a similar position as hers from a
moment earlier.
ZOEY
Just let the other things wash
away, they don’t matter.
She slowly moves her hands away from his.
ZOEY
You’ll find that nothing’s gone.
Other things may even reveal
themselves.
MARK looks down at his hands, and back at her. MARK’s phone
vibrates. He pulls it out and looks at it.
MARK
The funeral is about to start.
ZOEY
Mine’s probably not too far off
either.
ZOEY starts walking away backwards, still facing MARK.
ZOEY
It was nice to meet you!
MARK
Will you be around afterward?
ZOEY stops, pondering his question.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 11.
ZOEY
No promises, but you may see me
again at some point.
She smiles, turns around, and walks down the hall. MARK
watches in amazement. His phone vibrates again.
MARK
Crap.
MARK starts walking to the chapel.
INT. CHAPEL - LATER
An organ cover of "Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Radiohead
echoes throughout the chapel. The PASTOR walks down the
isle, toward the podium.
In the front pew sits MARK and his MOTHER and FATHER. MARK
glances over at his FATHER, who is bent over, face covered
by his hand.
MARK gets up and walks over to him and puts a hand on his
shoulder. MARK’S FATHER looks up. MARK bends down, becoming
eye level with him.
MARK
(whispering)
It’s okay. It’s no one’s fault.
MARK’S FATHER lightly smiles and pats him on the shoulder,
accepting his words of encouragement.
MARK’S FATHER locks his hands together in his lap, similar
to what MARK did earlier.
MARK returns to his seat. His MOTHER puts a hand on his
knee, non-verbally appreciating his encouragement. He
smiles.
MARK
(thinking)
I can’t think of the last time I
legitimately smiled.
The PASTOR reaches the podium, waiting for the music to
finish.
MARK
(thinking)
Sometimes we hope for the
impossible, which runs the chance
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 12.
MARK (cont’d)
of bringing destruction upon our
lives.
CUT TO:
MARK’S FATHER, moments later, is up at the podium giving a
eulogy about his sister. He is crying, but smiling as he
talks.
EXT. COBBLE SPRINGS FUNERAL HOME - FRONT ENTRANCE - AFTER
FUNERAL.
The music continues. MARK and various family members exit
the Funeral Home. MARK is talking with a few of them.
MARK
(thinking)
What we should hope for is what’s
next, whether that comes before or
after the storm.
MARK glances at something offscreen in the distance.
MARK
(thinking)
But if you have no other choice
than to take on troubled waters...
ZOEY, who is smiling, stands off in the distance.
MARK
(thinking)
Remember that even the flood
cleanses.
The music stops. MARK smiles at her.
© 2012 Griffin Holmes |
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Added on February 7, 2012 Last Updated on February 7, 2012 Author
Griffin HolmesAuburn, ALAboutI'm a young man who aspires to be a screenwriter and film director. Life has thrown me obstacles, so I do the only thing I know how to do, I write about them and their outcomes. Everyone has a story t.. more..Writing
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