FINAL ANALYSIS Screenplay By Wesley Strick Story by Robert Berger and Wesley Strick September 11, 1990 Director: John BoormanTHE SCREEN IS BLACK. FADE UP ON: SEA OF FACES. ‘Twisted. Contorted. Mouths open wide -~ black holes, screaming. But silently: these SHOTS are Mos. cur 7 ANOTHER TWISTED FACE. A young CRAZY MAN. He slowly brings a gun INTO FRAME. Slides the barrel into his mouth. cur To: INT, GIANT STADIUM - NIGHT The sea of faces again. Black, brown, white -- football fans. Without sound it’s a strange, almost savage spectacle. Munch’s "Scream" times ten-thousand. Slowly FADE UP SOUND +++ a dull ambient ROAR. cur To: INT. WELFARE HOTEL - SAME TIME A filthy little room somewhere in the South Bronx. The Crazy Man stands on a mattress, the gun still in his mouth. At his feet a Girl is curled, her wrists slashed. Two COPS stand in the doorway, crouched, guns drawn. A standoff in some circle of metropolitan hell. CoP 1 Put it down. Slow. The Crazy Man slides the gun out of his mouth. Lets it fall onto the mattress. He is grinning. CRAZY MAN Welcome to the Bantarian Embassy. cur To: EXT. GIANT STADIUM - NIGHT Taylor sacks Montana for a big loss. THREE FANS leap up, in their seats. All in their late 30's. MIKE 0/BRIEN, an ursine Public Defender with fiery eyes; ALAN LOWENTHAL, a meticulous, conservative psychiatrist; and in between them: ISAAC BARR, another psychiatrist, somewhat less meticulous and conservative. Through the din, Isaac realizes that his beeper is BEEPING.BENEATH THE STANDS As Isaac moves past the hot dog vendors toward the nearest exit. Beneath the cantilevered rows of stands, he passes a strange, skinny MAN who spasmodically jerks --'a marionette going cold turkey -- to the rise and fall of the fans’ ROAR. INT. TAXI - NIGHT (MOVING) Isaac has pulled an electric shaver from his briefcase. He runs it over his cheeks as the cab hurtles downtown. It’s hard to get an even shave, as the cab drops into deep potholes and bounces out again. Now he stuffs the shaver back into his case as the cab pulls up in front of Bellevue Hospital. CABBIE I used to be in there. They threw me out. That was wrong. I shouldn’t be driving this cab, I’m a crazy person. As Isaac hands over the fare: ISAAC Yfhave to be crazy to drive a cab ... cur To: INT. HOLDING AREA - SAME TIME Teeming with loud, angry lunatics. Every seat is taken, even a couple of stretchers. Guarded by a bored and hulking C.0., a NURSE takes the pulse of the handcuffed crazy Man. CRAZY MAN There’s no need for that. My pulse rate is twenty. c.0. Sounds more like your IQ. Provoked, the Crazy Man springs at the big C.0. The C.0. steps back and whallops the Crazy man with a han-fist. INT. PRISON WARD ENTRANCE - NIGHT Isaac reaches the first of three heavy steel gates with the emblen "N.Y.C. Department of Corrections" bolted to it. ISAAC crack the gate!INT. HOLDING AREA - A MINUTE LATER crazy Man is being guarded now by TWO C.0.‘s. A fresh bruise on his cheek. Isaac, entering, immediately notices the bruise. He and the ¢.0.’s trade tense looks. Now, soft but emphatic: ISAAC We'll be okay. c.0. 2 Your call. Reluctantly, the two C.0.‘s exit. Isaac sits on the bench opposite Crazy Man, who regards him with cold, slitted eyes. ISAAC Do you understand that you’re in a hospital, and that it’s a special kind of hospital? The Crazy Man just glares. ISAAC It’s a prison. Do you understand that you're going to be charged? CRAZY MAN I’m already charged, with ions from Bantar. ISAAC “Bpantar"? CRAZY MAN The planet. ISAAC What I mean is, do you understand why you're here? CRAZY MAN To prepare for the landing. This facility will make a suitable headquarters. Isaac considers this. It doesn’t make sense. ISAAC you’a think they’d want something closer to midtown.crazy Man stares at Isaac. Now, the hint of a smile. CRAZY MAN Youve been to Bantar, haven’t you? ISAAC (shrugs) only on business. INT. NURSING STATION - NIGHT - LATER Isaac raids the med closet as a pretty duty nurse (FRANKLIN, makes notations in her charts. NURSE FRANKLIN Guy psycho or whacked out on dope? ISAAC I/1l hedge my bets. Both. He finds what he’s looking for: Maalox. As he swigs: NURSE FRANKLIN We've stashed some Chardonnay in the fridge, behind the urine samples and tetanus toxoid. Isaac doesn’t pick up on the offer. Franklin tries again. NURSE FRANKLIN Robert's out of town till Wednesday ... A beat, then Isaac snaps shut Crazy Man‘s chart. ISAAC Really? Maybe tomorrow night ... But I don’t know -- I’ve got this thing ... Franklin nods: this thing. Great. And Isaac hurries out. cur To: EXT. ISAAC’S BUILDING - LATE NIGHT A brownstone on 19th off Broadway. Isaac has the lower two floors, and the basement office. He steps out of a cab, in front of a huge hairy HOMELESS MAN warming himself by a garbage can -- its contents are afire. HOMELESS MAN Hey Doc. Would you consider loaning me five-thousand dollars? Isaac hands him a pile of change, then hurries to his door.INT. ISAAC/S LIVING ROOM - LATE NIGHT Isaac turns on a light, on a dimmer, very low. Our first impression is of books, everywhere.’ And second, of the sorts of fixtures and furnishings a bachelor would have, unaccountably mixed with older, worn items from another era. A dark, older WOMAN steps into the room. She’s been knitting a sweater. They speak softly. WOMAN Everything’s fine. She’s fast asleep. ISAAC Thanks, Maria. Let me call you a cab. WOMAN (MARIA) T/1l do it. She goes to the phone. Isaac crosses, into: INT. BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT A LADY, not that old, but frail, her body slightly bowed, is tucked in bed. Her features are relaxed, blank ... but there is an intelligence, somehow, in her eyes. Her eyes are open. Isaac sits on the couch opposite the bed. Quietly: ISAAC Got beeped at the game. Missed the end ... Just gets worse at the hospital ... The city’s at war. A war in the head, in people’s heads, and we’re losing. Isaac’s mother doesn’t respond. It doesn’t seem as though she can hear him. Nevertheless he continues to "converse". ISAAC I/11 be home all morning ... He nods down at the floor, signifying the floor below. ISAAC Private patients. I know, I know, but it just piles up (remembers) -+. then court, tomorrow afternoon. We HEAR the night nurse letting herself out. Isaac stands, crosses to his mother’s bedside. Strokes her forehead.ISAAC okay, okay, I promise I/11 slow down. cur To: INT. ISAAC’S OFFICE - EARLY AFTERNOON Quiet and austere. Black blinds block the view. The desk is made of two filing cabinets and a marble top. There’s an Eames chair opposite the desk chair and a black leather couch opposite the Eames chair. Isaac sits in the Eames chair. OFF-SCREEN, we hear the VOICE of a young WOMAN. WOMAN (OS) +++ I’ve had the dream again. Lying on the couch is DIANA BAYLOR, mid-20’s. Very pretty, but pale and thin. In drab clothes and schoolgirl bangs. Clearly much of the session has already passed: her eyes are closed, her body limp. DIANA I’m arranging flowers on a table a centerpiece ... Isaac watches as she twists on the couch, causing her skirt to hike up ever higher on her thighs. DIANA I decorate the flowerpot with fancy paper ... Suddenly her eyelids roll wide open, like a doll’s. DIANA By the way, my sister -- ISAAC Wait. Let’s go back to your dream. Tell me more about the flowers. DIANA There’s nothing more to tell. She swings her feet over the side of the couch and sits up. DIANA My sister still wants to talk to you. She thinks she knows some things about Mom and Dad that might shed some light. Isaac glances at his clock: As he suspected, end of session,ISAAC Maybe these are things we’d do better to uncover in our work here, Diana. DIANA She's paying for this, Dr. Barr. ISAAC Why don’t we discuss how that makes you feel in our next session? Diana hesitates, then stands. As she starts toward the door: ISAAC And try to be on time, please. Diana turns. Explains: DIANA It’s not me, it’s the stove. Isaac looks at her. DIANA Whenever I leave my apartment, I have to go back to be sure the stove’s off. Then after I check it, I have to go back to be sure the pilot light didn’t blow out when I closed the oven door. ISAAC That‘s why you were late today? DIANA I went back thirteen times. She stands there, awaiting a response from Isaac. Finally: ISAAC It could be ... that you perform this ritual in order to be late. Diana looks confused. ISAAC To put people off. Make them "give up" on you. AS a way of avoiding intimacy. DIANA You mean I’m “passive aggressive" .. Isaac stands. calmly, firmly, as he shows her to the door: ISAAC We’ll get into it on Thursday.He gently closes the door on her. Then bolts to his desk -- he’s late! -- Isaac madly grabs at a bunch of papers, and thrusts them into his briefcase - cur To: INT. GYPSY CAB - AFTERNOON Speeding up to 161st Street. Past half-demolished housing developments and bombed-out storefronts. Beirut, the Bronx. Isaac alternately reviews his papers and stares out at the devastation. His knee jiggles. As they stop at a red light: ISAAC (whispers) Don’t be mean, turn to green. A chant he’s used since he was young. The light stays red. ISAAC Don’t be mean, turn to gr-- ‘The CABBIE jumps the red light and goes SCREECHING through an intersection, just missing two others cars. ISAAC Take it easy! CABBIE you said you were inna hurry! ISAAC I was kidding. CUT To: INT. BRONX SUPREME COURT - AFTERNOON In the back, Legal Aid Lawyers try to convince various pimps, prostitutes, dope dealers, motorcycle punks, to cop pleas. Isaac, on the witness stand, is being cross~examined. ASSISTANT D.A. This is a schizophrenic patient who may suffer a relapse in the future. Isn’t that true? ISAAC I don’t agree that Pepe Carrero suffers from a schizophrenic illness. (more)ISAAC (Cont/d) Nonetheless the prognostic indicators of what you call a "relapse" are Previous hospitalization? Pepe was not previously hospitalized. Gradual onset of the illness? His onset was abrupt, acute. Lingering symptoms? Pepe has had a rapid reorganization Pepe, small and scared, sits at the defense table in borrowed clothes that are too big for him, beside his lawyer, O’Brien MS. KAUFMAN You don’t feel that this man, who murdered his male lover with’ scissors. should be held in a secure facility? For our safety, if not for his own? 0 BRIEN Objection! Your Honor, our safety isn’t the issue here -- ISAAC I’d like to answer the question. JUDGE Go ahead. ISAAC A maximum security state hospital what you call a "secure facility" -- is in fact a human warehouse. There’s no psychotherapy offered, only chemical restraints. And once a patient is committed, who knows how long he’1l be held theré? Five years? Ten? Will he be a human time bomb when he’s released? No, Pepe will be safer ina civil psychiatric treatment center. And if he’s safe, we'll be safe too cur To: INT. COURTHOUSE ROTUNDA - LATE AFTERNOON crowded with the accused, their lawyers and relatives. Isaac and O’Brien make their way through the mob, to the street. O/BRIEN Score another upset win! We’re a fucking demonic team, you and me. ISAAC True.10. o/ BRTEN So why are you so fucking ecstatic? ISAAC I dunno ... Suppose Pepe slips through the system. It’s been known to happen. 0’ BRIEN Pokes another boyfriend with pinking shears? Suddenly Isaac notices, across the entrance hall, a stunning WOMAN who seems to be peering through the crowd at him. She’s fair, early 30/s, and couldn’t look more out of place. O/BRIEN Hey, that’s Pepe’s problem. Wwe won, Ike my man. Now we gonna celebrate. Now the Woman is obscured by an oversized pair of Bikers ... ISAAC I’m gonna go home. Eat with my mother. 0’ BRIEN Hey, Gretschen could feed her tonight. Isaac nods at his beeper. TSAAC I’m on call. ovBrien grabs Isaac’s beeper off his belt. Waves it. O/BRIEN y’know who wears beepers these days? Crack dealers. ISAAC (grabs it back) And doctors. He clips it on his belt again. Then looks up, trying to find the stunning Woman. But she’s vanished, now. oO’ BRIEN (scolds) only people you hang out with are guys that rape their grandmothers. ISAAC After decapitating them.qe They exit the courthouse, and Isaac flags a gypsy cab. cur To: INT. ISAAC'S VESTIBULE ~ EVENING (LATER) Isaac unlocks his mailbox. Removes his mail, and scans it. He seems to be looking for one particular letter. He finds what he’s looking for, rips open the envelope. ISAAC Yes. Then pulls out his many keys, and starts to unlock the front door when he hears, behind him: WOMAN (0.S.) -- Dr. Barr? Isaac turns to find the Woman from the courthouse. Her rather sensational figure, he now sees, is wrapped in a tight-fitting Romeo Gigli’suit that seems made for her. WOMAN I’m Heather Evans -- Diana Baylor’s sister. I left a few messages on your machine. ISAAC I’ve been in court. Didn/t I -- see you there? HEATHER I wanted to speak with you alone. And the man you were with? I thought maybe =- I don’t know, that he might’ve been some kind of ... patient, or something. ISAAC (laughs) o'Brien? He’s crazy, but nobody’s had him committed yet. Her limpid eyes fixed on Isaac, Heather waits for him to say more. ISAAC Well ... come in for a second ... INT. ISAAC'S APARTMENT - NIGHT As they enter, Heather takes in the several walls of books.12. HEATHER You've read them all SAAC oh, those. My decorator buys them by the pound. He uncertainly glances at Heather, who’s taken Modern Man In Search Of A Soul off the shelf. ISAAC Would you excuse me a minute? INT. BACK BEDROOM - NIGHT Isaac's mother is propped up in bed. GRETSCHEN, the tough- ooking but attractive day nurse, is spoon-feeding her. ISAAC Gretsch. Could you stay another hour? She looks up at him. Smiles. GRETSCHEN I could stay all night. ISAAC Oh ... Okay. Yeah. Good. He takes the spoon from her hand, starts to feed his mother. ISAAC Mom, my paper ... It’s been accepted for presentation at the next Academy of Psychiatry and Law Conference. Isaac’s mother silently finishes her soup. ISAAC I know it’s not that big a deal ... But everything helps when you're not board certified ... He hands the spoon back to Gretschen. Tells his mother: ISAAC I’ve got somebody waiting. A patient/s sister. 1/1] talk to you later. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Heather slides the Jung volume back onto the shelf. HEATHER Who were you talking to?ae ISAAC (a little embarrassed) My mother. Heather laughs. HEATHER Are you into taxidermy too? Isaac looks quizzical -- he doesn’t get it HEATHER Norman Bates --? Now Isaac laughs. ISAAC No, my mother’s quite real. Though I guéss Norman would’ve said the same. Now Heather notices Gretschen, standing in the doorframe of the back bedroom. Appraising her. HEATHER Could we possibly go somewhere else? To talk? cur 1 INT. LOCAL COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT Isaac and Heather are in a booth, sipping coffee. In b.g., a trio of garish transvestite Hookers buys cigarettes, candy. ISAAC Diana mentioned to me that you know something about your parents. HEATHER Does anybody really know anything about their parents? Actually, 1/11 bet your parents are terribly proud of their son the doctor. ISAAC Actually my father’s dead, and -~ HEATHER I’m sorry. How? ISAAC car accident. And my mother’s had a stroke, so there’s no way of knowing if she’s proud, actually.14. He offers a slightly pained smile. HEATHER Were you driving the car? ISAAC As a matter of fact. HEATHER So you decided to become a doctor ..? ISAAC Obviously. HEATHER can psychiatrists really cure people? ISAAC (shrugs) Freud called it "the impossible profession". HEATHER (beat, then) I guess Jimmy agrees with Freud. ISAAC (beat, then) Jimmy is ... "your husband? Heather offers a pained smile of her own. HEATHER He thinks people in analysis just need a good spanking. ISAAC Some of them could benefit from that. Heather stubs out her cigarette. HEATHER I could use some air. cur To EXT. STREET ~ NIGHT The street is quite empty -- a sense that the rest of the city is barricaded behind heavy doors and barred windows. ISAAC So ... you hate your husband?1s. HEATHER ate"? That/s a strong word. ISAAC Why do you stay with him? HEATHER Maybe it’s a matter of chemistry "pheromones". Isn/t that the word? ISAAC Pheromones have only been demonstrated to work in animal mating. Humans are a lot more complicated. HEATHER I’m not so sure. (then) How are you planning to help Diana? ISAAC To paraphrase Freud, I’m trying to turn her neurotic misery into general unhappiness. HEATHER Are you generally unhappy? ISAAC Actually you caught me at a bad time ~~ I’m feeling pretty good. HEATHER I don’t think I believe you. ISAAC (laughing, protests) But my days are full, rich ... I’m ona first-name basis with several mass murderers. HEATHER (laughs, then) May I call you Isaac? ISAAC Please. HEATHER We really need your help. As she flags a cab. It screeches to a stop. Heather climbs in. Isaac leans into the window.16. ISAAC yen? HEATHER (amends) Diana. (then) Goodnight, Isaac. I’m glad we met. As her cab takes off, Isaac pulls out a cigarette and sticks it in his mouth. And forgets to light it, as he stands here and stares at the disappearing cab. cur To: INT. HEATHER’S APARTMENT - NIGHT - LATER Memphis intermixed with Victorian antiques. A Francis Bacon on one wall. HEATHER =- Jimny INT. BATHROOM which is the size of a normal bedroom -- mirrored walls, two sinks and w.c./s, shower, tub, and five-foot diameter sunken Jacuzzi in the middle, always filled with hot bubbling water. An alcove houses an exercise area with Lifecycle, dumbbells, treadmill, etc. Luxuriating in the Jacuzzi is JIMMY EVANS, swarthy, with thick, taunting features. For a man of 40, he’s in fine shape -- and with all this equipment, why not? He lazily eyes Heather. In a sleepy, deep, insinuating tone: gummy Heather. Honey. Man, T/ve missed you HEATHER I tried you, Jimmy. I let the phone ring forever. There is none of the teasing insouciance heard with Isaac. OTMMY I been soaking awhile ... all evening, actually, and I’m still unwinding. HEATHER can I bring you a scotch? Something?i. oIMMy I gotta haul my ass out of this tub. Were meeting Nick Pappas at Nell’s. Heather nods. Jimmy nods at Heather, nodding. Then -~ JINHY You knew that, right? That we had a social obligation? HEATHER Well I mean ... I’ve been running all day and -~ oIMMY Where, from Eve Arden to Bendel’s to where? HEATHER Elizabeth Arden. And I’m tired. JIMMY You’re tired. HEATHER You heard me. She places her hands on her hips, challenging him. He grins JIMMY I heard you. Now do it. HEATHER Not now. Please, Jimmy -- oIMMY Do it, Heather. HEATHER I told you, I’m tired. She's whining a bit, like a child oIMMY Do it Heather hopelessly stares at him. Then strips off her suit- coat. Tosses it. Undoes her blouse .. CLOSE JIMMY His eyes feast on her. A buzzard’s eyes TIMMY Slower.as. His voice is slightly choked, with lust. sIMMY Don’t ever tell anybody what we do. And then he suddenly stands, in the Jacuzzi, the water whooshing off him =~ this great dark hairy figure, emerging like a sea monster from the depths. He steps out of the tub. HIGH ANGLE - HEATHER lies naked on the white marble floor. Fetally curled. LOW ANGLE - JIMMY Looming. Omnipotent. He stares down at his wife. When he speaks, he sounds truly moved. oIMMY You are magnificent. cur To: INT. ISAAC'S OFFICE - AFTERNOON Diana has just arrived. Wearing a cute pinafore, white anklets, maryjanes. As she sits on the couch: DIANA Isn/t she beautiful, Dr. Barr? ISAAC who? DIANA Heather. She told me. You met her. ISAAC Yes. DIANA Compared to her I always felt like a caterpillar, y’know? Creepy and crawly. ISAAC Perhaps it’s unproductive to compare yourself with Heather. DIANA (trace of bile) -- because I can’t measure up? Diana catches herself; her voice softens.19. DIANA You guys talked about Mom and Dad ..? ISAAC Actually we didn’t. And I want you to know that we didn’t discuss what happens in this room. If we meet again, I/1l only be a listener. And T/1l let you know what she tells me. Diana lies back. DIANA I had the dream again. (beat) I’m arranging a centerpiece of flowers on a table. She speaks rotely, as though reciting someone else’s words DIANA I decorate the flowerpot with fancy paper. Silence. When he’s sure she’s not going to say more: ISAAC what kind of flowers? DIANA Three kinds. Lilies, carnations ... She trails off again. ISAAC +. And the third kind? Diana shrugs -- she can’t remember ISAAC What are your associations with the word "1ily"? DIANA Like lily-white, I guess Pure. ISAAC What about "carnation"? Diana draws a blank. ISAAC Do you know the word "carnal"?20. DIANA (beat, then) It has to do'with -- lust ... right? Isaac nods. ISAAC So far, in your centerpiece, you’ve placed’a symbol of purity ~~ of virginity -- and a symbol of lust. Diana turns to Isaac with a coy, embarrassed smile. DIANA I guess there’s a conflict here .. ISAAC Do you remember what we said about the stove ritual? DIANA You mean somehow that it’s this passive aggressive thing? ISAAC I think that "fear of intimacy" may be an issue here. As though to gain the upper hand: DIANA The stove ritual is over, Dr. Barr. I haven’t done it in a week. ISAAC Why do you think that is? As she considers, her body twitches on the couch, hiking up her pinafore, revealing a great deal of leg. DIANA I don’t know ... (then) I’m checking the gun now. ISAAC (tensing) -- the gun? DIANA I make sure the safety’s on, and that it’s loaded ... five to ten'times, in the morning.21. ISAAC Why do you feel you need a gun? DIANA I don’t feel I do. Heather made me take it. It belongs to, um -- ISAAC =~ Jimmy? The name has popped out of his mouth -- both Isaac and Diana look surprised. Quickly recovering: ISAAC why don’t we focus on the feelings and associations you get when you're "checking" the gun in the morning . DIANA Well, it’s my surrogate penis, and the safety being on is because I’m ambivalent about my phallic fantasies +. and the bullets are semen. Isaac takes a beat. ISAAC Have you thought about the dangers of keeping a loaded gun in your apartment? Diana thinks about it. So does Isaac. He doesn’t look happy at all. TIME CUT: We're still in Isaac’s office, but it’s evening. Heather is sitting on the couch now. As she swings up her legs: HEATHER so... is this where Diana lies? ISAAC And sometimes tells the truth. HEATHER When she’s deep in thought, does she vs. sort of twitch, and turn ... Which Heather does, for Isaac’s amusement. HEATHER -.. making her skirt sort of accidently ride up ... like this? Heather somehow makes her skirt hitch up, to mid-thigh.22. Isaac watches, as impassively as he can manage. when Heather finally turns to him for a reaction: ISAAC Tell me about the gun. HEATHER What gun? ISAAC Simmy’s gun. The gun you gave Diana. Heather swings her legs over, sits up again HEATHER Isaac. I worry about my baby sister but I have not armed her. In case you've missed it, Diana invents neurotic compulsions. She thinks they make her interesting. I assume she told you she checks her stove fifty times every morning? ISAAC (nods) But a fabrication is a kind of fantasy, and a fantasy is a kind of wish. Do you see what I’m getting at? HEATHER Behind every lie, there’s an element of truth ..? Isaac nods again. ISAAC Still, I’m glad the gun is a lie. Heather looks disappointed HEATHER -- And that’s it? ISAAC Unless you want to tell me whatever you came to tell me the other night. Heather rises. Paces, like a cat. HEATHER Your downstairs office, this brownstone ++. It’s all very Dressed To Kill Isaac smiles but he doesn’t respond.23. HEATHER Are you dangerous, Dr. Barr? ISAAC What do you think? Suddenly she stops pacing and turns to him. HEATHER I think a psychiatrist can’t have a personal relationship with a patient TSAAC You’re right. HEATHER What about a patient’s sister? ISAAC Technically, there’s nothing that prohibits it. But -- to me -~ it doesn’t feel right. HEATHER okay. ISAAC In addition to which you’re married. HEATHER ‘Technically. Heather sinks back down onto the couch. Sighs. HEATHER You try divorcing a Greek Orthodox gangster. Isaac smiles at her melodramatic choice of words. ISAAC A "gangster"? What, he drives a stutz Bearcat and wears double-breasted pinstriped suits? HEATHER He drives a Mercedes 300 and wears single-breasted pinstriped suits. Jimmy builds public housing for the poor, which is what gangsters do today. We live together in the same apartment. Emphasis on "apart".24. ISAAC Look, our previous evening together already generated some inappropriate stuff in my session with Diana. HEATHER That sounds like psychobabble -~ but if it’s how you feel, let’s not beat this to death. She sits up. A last look at Isaac. Then she stands. HEATHER Goodnight. Goodbye. ISAAC okay. I’m sorry. Goodbye. He moves to the door, to let her: out -- they brush up against each other, in the door frame. ‘Then they’re kissing. Running their hands over one another’s bodies. Hungrily ... they’ve both been starving. In between moans of pleasure and anticipatio: ISAAC ‘There's a nurse upstairs. And my mother ... HEATHER (softly) We’ll be quiet. I won’t tell. hey’ve fallen back onto the stairs that lead up to Isaac’s apartment. Feverishly undressing each other here. And then, abruptly, Heather disentangles herself from Isaac. ISAAC -- what --? She holds up a palm: wait. Then begins a slow, languid, melancholy strip that instantly hypnotizes him. HEATHER (softly) Do you like this? ISAAC (hoarse) Yes. cur To:25. INT. PRISON WARD - MORNING Isaac and Alan Lowenthal -- the reserved psychiatrist we saw earlier, at the stadium -- have just entered the checkpoint. ISAAC on the gate! It's a sort of cage, surrounded by mirrors and closed-circuit cameras. Isaac nods at all the bars and security devices and chirps at his gloomy colleague: ISAAC Look at this! Shrinks in cages! But we can free ourselves, Alan ... Learn to hang-glide, maybe. Mentally, too. Alan doesn’t know what to make of Isaac’s lightheadedness. ALAN cut it out. You’re making me nervous. The Gatekeeper BUZZES them in. cur To INT. DAYROOM - MORNING ~ LATER Where some PATIENTS play cards, others aimlessly roam around the crowded room. Those most heavily medicated are slumped before the TV watching Wheel of Fortune. Isaac, making his rounds, is peppered with 0S questions, e.g.: "When’s my court date, Doc?" and "Hey, Doc, when do I'get sprung outta here?" Isaac is approached by INMATE 1. INMATE 1 Doc -- I’m charged with assault! Compared to the motherfucking fights I seen in here, what I had was a tiff. And I’m charged with assault. ISAAC Billy: Regardless of what other people call it or what other people do, you still have to work on controlling your anger. Okay? Inmate 1 looks a tad defensive. ISAAC Anyway "ist Degree Tiff" doesn’t have the right ring to it, does it?26. Inmate 1 backs off. Isaac approaches an almost sweet-looking INMATE 2, hunched in the corner. TSAAC What’s up, Kevin? INMATE 2 Doc, I figured out why I smoked all that angel dust and crack. It’s not ‘cause I feel bad about myself. It’s ‘cause I feel bad about the world. Isaac is surprised and touched by this. ISAAC Yeah? I think I know that feeling. Inmate 2 is surprised but comforted by Isaac’s response. INMATE 2 You do ..? Now, insistently tapping Isaac’s shoulder, is Bantar Man. BANTAR MAN Doc ... I made you something in art therapy class. He furtively pulls several sheets of sketchbook paper out from under his shirt and hands them to Isaac. CLOSE ~ ARTWORK crude paintings of the devil ... the names "Isaac" and “gatan" connected with arrows ... repetitions of the phrase "Dr. Barr must die." BACK TO SCENE Isaac puts on a broad smile. ISAAC May I keep these? BANTAR MAN They’re yours, Doc. suitable for framing. Now Isaac notices Pepe Carrero, across the dayroom, longingly staring out through the mesh window. Isaac crosses. TSAAC Hey, Pepe ..- Pepe turns. Sees Isaac, smiles.27. PEPE Hey, Doc. ISAAC Pepe. You been hearing any voices? PEPE Nada. Isaac You know you/re being transferred as an outpatient to Bronx Psychiatric, it’s a civil hospital ... PEPE Thanks to you, Dr. Barr. You ever need anything from’me, you just ask. ISAAC Thanks. (then) Look, I just want to know: After your boyfriend brutalized you the thing that happened, with the scissors ... Pepe steps back, immediately uncomfortable. Isaac holds his gaze, peers hard into his eyes. ISAAC Is there some part of you -- way deep inside you -- that feels maybe it was right, though you know it was wrong? Pepe pales. PEPE Oh man... No..! I was crazy! And for weeks after, all’s I could hear was Ramon screaming. No way, man. shit -~ Isaac lightly puts a hand on Pepe’s shoulder. ISAAC I’m sorry, Pepe. I had to ask. INT. NURSING STATION - LATE MORNING With Isaac and Nurse Franklin.28. ISAAC Let’s keep an eye on Larry Pomeranze ~~ he’s sure we’ve got a machine upstairs that’s scrambling his brain. (looks up’ at her) Do we? FRANKLIN I’ve never known Larry to be wrong on something like this. ISAAC Disassemble it immediately ... And also =- and I hate to do this -- raise his Thorazine to 1200 a day. Oh, and I think we can D/C Lamarr King from one- to-one suicide watch. (starts off, stops) Am I forgetting anything? FRANKLIN (sour) Robert‘s back. Absently, as he exits the nursing station: ISAAC Really? How was his trip? FRANKLIN Forget it. INT. ADMINISTRATIVE WING - AFTERNOON Isaac and Alan munch hero sandwiches as they move along the corridor, crowded with crying kids, shouting patients, cops drifting here and there ... ALAN This new referral is so dull Yesterday, during the session, I actually started to fall asleep. ISAAC Long as you don’t snore. ALAN But what do you say at the end of a droning monologue you haven't heard?29. ISAAC You repeat the last word or two, phrased as a question. (demonstrates) “your mother?" Alan laughs. ISAAC I’ve got a great new patient who uses the most elegant symbolism and verbal bridges in her dream content ... She represents her libido not by a tunnel or a forest, but by a carnation. ALAN Ah. Carnation. "Carnal". TI like it. ISAAC She has an older sister. About thirty. We met a couple of times to talk about the family ... Alan follows him into: INT. ISAAC’S OFFICE - AFTERNOON cramped, crowded with files, made (barely) habitable only by the window that faces onto a rooftop exercise area. Alan shuts the door tight. Sits opposite Isaac. ALAN You didn’t sleep with her ..? ISAAC Look, if you never want to have lunch with me again, I understand. ALAN No, don’t stop. I'd love to see you hanged by your civil libertarian pals. ISAAC Hey, I went through the A.M.A.’s Principles of Ethics, and even the special annotations for psychiatry don’t say anything about sleeping with a patient’s sister. Alan shakes his head, incredulous. ISAAC What can I say, Alan? I have a weakness for unhappy women.ALAN Don’t flatter yourself. All shrinks have a weakness for unhappy women. ISAAC Yes, but this is something special ... She's really unhappy. Alan is unamused. ALAN If your patient finds out -~ which seems likely -- then all the trust you’ve built goes down the dumper. If she doesn’t find out, it’s because you're lying to her, which means the analysis can’t continue. Anyway you know as well as I do that romantic love is a projection. You don’t see this woman ~~ you see your vision of her. You’re in a delusional state, Isaac ... No human being is so beautiful, so special that she, uh ... that she -- Alan is looking past Isaac. His mouth is slightly HEATHER has stepped into the office. She’s like a goddess the lower depths. ALAN c-can I help you? 30. agape. visiting Heather touches Isaac’s shoulder. Alan dies a little. HEATHER The receptionist said you’d be here. Isaac is surprised and delighted. He stands. ISAAC This is Alan Lowenthal. My colleague, my conscience. Alan, Heather Evans. A blushing Alan jumps to his feet as well. ALAN Pleased to meet you. (offers his Seat) Please ... Sit down. HEATHER Sorry for barging in on you guys.al. ALAN on’t be. ISAAC (to Alan) What were we just saying? Alan flashes Isaac a mortified grin. ALAN That I’m late for rounds. Nice to meet you, Ms. Evans. HEATHER Nice meeting you. Alan mops his brow and hurriedly EXITS. Heather smiles at Isaac. HEATHER So ... Cure any crazies today? ISAAC No, but I was given a lovely set of original watercolars. Created by a personal friend of the President of Bantar. HEATHER “Bantar"? ISAAC The planet. The theme of the work is that Satan and I have much in common and that I must die. HEATHER see God vee ISAAC So what/re you doing here? HEATHER Is it okay? I woke up and all I wanted was to see you. And I can’t tonight :+. dimmy made a reservation at Lutece. ISAAC There’re worse places to eat dinner ...32. HEATHER That’s just the beginning. Then it/s on to Nell’s. Three times a week ... (beat) He makes me dance. She looks down, as though in shame. Isaac reaches a hand to her chin, turns her face up to his. His mouth finds hers. She bites his lip. He pushes her against the wall, hand groping under her skirt ... She grabs and tears at him. They are almost making love when ... P.A (V.0.) Dr. Barr ... Dr. Barr to the Prison ward immediately ... Dr. Barr ... Neither seems to hear: they continue to consume one another. INT. PRISON WARD - FIVE MINUTES LATER Bantar Man is being restrained by Four ¢.0.'s as a fifth fits him for a straitjacket. Another C.0. kneels nearby, with a smashed, bloody nose. Alan has just injected Bantar Man with a heavy sedative as Isaac belatedly arrives, still straightening his clothing. He guiltily takes in the scene. ISAAC Sorry. I was across the building -~ ALAN -- Dr. Barr was giving an important injection. The two doctors trade looks. cur To: INT. CHINESE RESTAURANT - THAT NIGHT A crowded, storefront Pell Street noodle joint. Isaac and O’Brien are deep into their fried rice and Tsing Dao beers. ISAAC Mike, through the D.A.‘s office maybe +++ Could you check out a guy for me? O/BRIEN "A guy"?33. ISAAC Jimmy Evans. He builds projects, I think <2. Maybe a crook of Some kind. O/ BRTEN Who is this guy? ISAAC I don’t know, ‘s/why I’m asking you (then, concedes) Somebody's husband. o’Brien squints at his friend. ISAAC She’s trying to get out of it. And I’m trying to find out if that’s as tough as she’s making it sound O/ BRIEN Ike, this isn’t you. You're a rational guy. ISAAC Yeah. I know, But trust me, Mike ... this is a Good Thing. Life affirming. Positive energy. Everything we hate. o’Brien grudgingly smiles. Raises his beer O/BRIEN If we hate it, it’s gotta be alright. Isaac and O’Brien clink glasses, and drink. INT. LUTECE - NIGHT Jimmy and Heather, looking splendid but stiff, share a table in one of the formal uhpolstered dining rooms upstairs. He/s washing down sauteed sweetbreads with a wine that he refreshes from a carafe. She’s picking at pelerines a la Meridionale, and sipping ice water. A CLATTERING of silverware in lieu of conversation. Finally: oIMMY Know what I love about Lutece? Heather reluctantly raises her eyebrows: what?34. orMMy You take away the prices and all the polite bullshit and it’s peasant food. Mountain food, My kind of food. Heather manages a halfhearted murmur. ory Plus which we/re not gonna run into any of my, ah ... grease-a-ball business-a buddies, y’know what I/m saying? Another murmur from across the table. JIMMY They’re in pig heaven in their pasta palaces with the velvet walls and the wine steward fresh off the boat. what do those gorillas know from Alsation cuisine ..? (beat) Where is Alsatia, anyway? HEATHER (quietly corrects) Alsace. JIMMY Al’s ass? Who's Al? Some stud you’re seeing on the side? Mortified, Heather glances at the neighboring Diners. OTM What do you care if they heard? Do you think their shit don’t stink? HEATHER You can be very crude. oIMay And you need that. "Crude." "Rough". You pretend that you don’t but you do. Heather looks down. She is mum. oIMMY To get off. (cold, quiet) Don’t you? Heather looks up. HEATHER I’d like some wine with dinner.35. JIMMY You'd like some wine with dinner. He lifts his glass, as though to hand it to her. But he holds it tantalizingly out of reach. oIMMy or don’t you remember the last time? You got way out of hand. HEATHER "Way out of hand". oIMMy wild. HEATHER Z got wild! I have one good time ~~ once -~ and I’m wild. JIMMY It’s more than once. HEATHER oh you're right. ‘Twice. Thrice. (snaps her fingers) -- Hopa! oIMMy Two months I’m holding this reservation and you pick tonight to grow a wild hair up your ass. Again Heather flicks her eyes to the nearby tables. JIMMY They’re not gonna help you. You need help, you pray. You pray to me. HEATHER one sip. There is a note of pleading in her voice. SIMMY You pray. “Our father ..." HEATHER (weakly) “our father ..+ Jimmy smiles. Then hands her his wine glass. oTMMY one sip.36. Heather takes a gulp. Then passes the glass back to him. Jimmy is happy now. As he polishes off his sweetbreads: oIMMY You believe I’m eating this? Me, who used to be a vegetarian. And here I am chewing on a pancreas. A pancreas is a gland, f’r godsakes ... During this speech, Heather has gone from listlessly forking her scallops to furiously attacking them. JIMMY (alarned) Heather -~? Seemingly oblivious, Heather stabs at her scallops with such force, the sauce splatters off the plate. Several Diners in the immediate vicinity trade concerned looks with Jimmy, who’s now leaning across the table. SIMMY Heather Apparently brought back to her senses, Heather abruptly sets down her Silverware. Then, softly: HEATHER It’s alright. I’m... a little woozy. I need the ladies room. She shakily stands, awkwardly pushes her chair aside. HEATHER I/ll be fine. She puts on a wan smile meant to reassure. Shuffles away from the table. Jimmy tears off a chunk of roll. As he starts to butter it we hear a startling SHRIEK OFF-SCREEN. HEATHER’S VOICE He’s controlling me! My brain! Horrified, Jimmy drops his butter knife. Turns. Gawk: WHAT HE SEES At the staircase just beyond the dining room stands Heather. Wild-eyed, mouth twisted, finger pointed at Jimmy. Her screeches sound not at all like her natural voice: it’s as though Heather were demonically possessed.37. HEATHER My brain! My body. They’re not mine! The hush is palpable. All eating and bustling have ceased; Diners and Waiters alike are frozen by the spectacle. Then Heather bolts back to the table. She hurls herself at a horrified Jimmy, who ducks out of harm/s way ... Heather crashes onto the table, which collapses onto the floor. She is rushed by three waiters and two captains. As they seize Heather, sprawled across the capsized table, her cries continue, muffled: HEATHER He controls my brain! My body ~~ cur To: CLOSE - SYRINGE As Heather is injected, we hear: JIMMY'S VOICE she had a drink a few times before and Kinda... snapped. But I never thought one big Sip could set her off ... INT. EXAMINATION ROOM - NIGHT - LATER Heather, sweaty and bruised, is laid out on an examining table. ‘Jimmy anxiously watches as the attending NURSE completes the injection, swabs Heather’s shoulder, then combs the damp hair out of her face. NURSE She's been in before? SIMMY Why? We only get one visit? INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - JIMMY is met here by the Attending PHYSICIAN. As they shake: PHYSICIAN Mr. Evans ... I/m Dr. Spector. They start down the corridor crowded with Patients, standing, sitting, sprawled on gurneys, etc. DR. SPECTOR You realize your wife suffers from Pathological Intoxication? (more)38. DR. SPECTOR (Cont’d) I see on her chart she came in here last year after a similar incident. TIMMY If I knew so little could make her go flippy ... In Lutece, talk about humiliating DR. SPECTOR People with this syndrome will have a dramatic, often violent, response to even the most minute amounts of alcohol. And never remember a thing. EXT. HOSPITAL - LATE NIGHT Two orderlies deposit the semiconscious Heather into the back seat of a waiting cab. DR. SPECTOR (tells Jimmy) We gave her five milligrams of Haldol. Get her home, let her sleep off the shot, and keep her away from alcohol. In any form. Understood? INT. CAB (MOVING) ~ NIGHT Heather is half-sprawled, head lolling. Jimmy studies her face ~~ relaxed, even beautiful, despite the bruise. oIMMy (soft, mournful) You’re damaged goods. He reaches out and gently arranges her hair just so, as one would do for a small child. JIMMY But you’re also my wife. He suddenly seizes Heather and desperately clutches her limp form to him. oIMMY But if you ever embarrass me like that again I/11 fucking kill you. cur To: INT. ISAAC’S LIVING ROOM - NEXT EVENING He’s at his word processor, revising his paper. In b.g. we faintly HEAR canned LAUGHS from a TV in his mother’s bedroom.39. CLOSE ~- SCREEN As Isaac types: "Yet since the Reagan Era, the insanity defense has been under fire fron" BACK TO SCENE Disgusted, he stops typing. Mutters, as he deletes: ISAAC Bullshit. Reaches into the ashtray, finds the longest cigarette butt. As he starts to light it, there is a loud BUZZ. Isaac jumps up, crosses to the intercom. ISAAC Yeah? WOMAN'S VOICE (through filter) National Institute of Mental Health. INT. VESTIBULE ~ NIGHT A restored Heather stands at the intercon. HEATHER Morals Division. Isaac BUZZES her in. INT. ISAAC’S KITCHEN - FIVE MINUTES LATER As he mixes two vodka tonics he hears, from the living room: HEATHER‘S VOICE Is your mother awake? ISAAC Watching the tube. He crosses, with the drinks, int INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Heather is peering at Isaac’s computer screen. ISAAC Don/t read that. Would you like to meet her? HEATHER Not yet.40. She looks up as Isaac hands her a glass. Lightly sniffs. HEATHER Vodka? ISAAC And tonic. HEATHER I'd prefer hot water with lemon. I’m fighting a cold. And T don’t drink. ISAAC But you smoke ... HEATHER Want one? Go in my pocketbook. She tilts her head in the direction of the couch, where she/d left it. Then crosses to the kitchen, to turn on the kettle. Isaac reaches into Heather’s pocketbook. And finds an item that’s more intriguing than cigarettes. He pulls out: A LEAD PIPE chrome-plated, about five inches long, with threaded ends. SCENE Isaac is studying it as Heather steps back into the room. HEATHER Oh. That's protection. There’s a lot of lunatics in this town. ISAAC Fortunately for some of us. He hefts the pipe. ISAAC Hmm, Why not a whistle? or mace? or a nice, traditional kick in the balls? Meantime Heather is reading off Isaac's computer screen: HEATHER “The insanity defense is as old as the conflict between free will and determinism. As far back as the Bible distinctions are drawn between those who are criminally responsible and those who are not ..."4a. ISAAC Painful, isn’t it? I’ve got to rework the whole thing. HEATHER Why? It looks interesting. ISAAC The words of a sage who acquired his hard-won wisdom in the law library. Heather turns from the screen to hin. HEATHER Whereas now that you're sleeping with a patient’s married sister, you've become worldly and profound? Isaac is about to retort, when he notices: ISAAC Your cheek. What happened -~-? Heather averts her face to make the bruise less obvious. HEATHER Nothing. ISAAC Jimmy? HEATHER I thought you wanted a cigarette. Go on -- have a cigarette. Still clutching the lead pipe, Isaac holds it in her face. ISAAC This is protection from Jimmy -- isn’t it? Talk to ne. Heather steps toward him. Reaches out for him. HEATHER I can stay late. He has a poker game, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sometimes he plays all night. Incongruous mindless LAUGHTER cascades from the back bedroom. ISAAC He leaves you all night to play poker.42. As he puts the pipe back in her pocketbook: ISAAC Every new detail helps me to hate him more. And I don’t even know the guy. HEATHER Let’s leave it that way. In the kitchen the kettle emits a SHRIEK that quickly becomes piercing. But neither Isaac nor Heather appears to notice. ISAAC I don’t want to leave it. And I don’t think you do either. Heather’s response is to abruptly -- almost violently -- kiss Isaac's lips. As abruptly, she breaks the kiss. HEATHER Isaac, don’t rewrite your paper. Don’t change because of me. This isn’t real. ISAAC No? What’s real? A husband who drops a bundle at five-card stud, then stumbles home and smacks his wife? Isaac shakes his head. ISAAC ghat/s bullshit. This is real. Heather shakes her head more adamant, even, than Isaac. HEATHER No. This isn’t real. It’s a movie. We're in a movie. Her tone is almost desperate. Isaac starts to speak, but: HEATHER Here's a scene. I/m in bed -~ INT. ISAAC’S BEDROOM - NIGHT A modest room upstairs. Crowded also with books and papers. Heather lies on Isaac’s bed, nearly naked, partially covered by a sheet. He stands in the far corner, shrouded in shadow. HEATHER In my bed. Asleep. But warm... it’s summer. I toss and turn.43. ISAAC (soft, rapt) And who am I? HEATHER You/re an intruder. You/ve come for my jewels. You thought I was out of town, with my husband. But I stayed behind. Isaac moves toward the bed. We see, now, that he is naked. HEATHER You/ve just come out of jail. Haven't been with a woman in five years. But you were a legendary lover... You’d Isaac silences her with a soft kiss. Then deftly removes her lingerie with one hand while tenderly stroking her with the other. His movements are gentle, deliberate. Healing. ‘Then Heather pulls her mouth apart from his, to speak. Her voice is oddly childlike. HEATHER can you ... fuck me without hurting me? Isaac is stunned by the question. But now is not the time to play shrink. ISAAC Of course. He continues to make love to her. She begins to respond. At first she is tentative, but it builds, steadily, and builds more ... When she comes, it is both ecstatic and a strange surprise. A tear slides down her cheek. ISAAC ses What? Heather pulls herself together. Kisses Isaac’s forehead. HEATHER That never happened to me before. ISAAC You mean, you don’t come when - HEATHER Don’t be silly. ISAAC Then ... why ..? A beat, then Heather swings her legs off the bed.44. HEATHER I have to go. Her tone is suddenly, oddly cordial. She finds her bra, her panties. Stands before the mirror and brushes her hair with quick strokes. ISAAC Stay awhile longer. I want to talk. HEATHER I can’t ... You know I can’t. she continues to brush her hair -- in an abstract way, like an autistic activity. Now, without turning from the mirror: HEATHER How is Diana? Will she be okay? ISAAC We'll see progress ... But there’s no magic. It takes a lot of time and hard work to break through the defenses -- HEATHER (matter of fact) our Mom died when we were small -~ Dad raised us alone. He raped Diana. More than once. She's blocked it ail out. Heather finally turns from the mirror, to face Isaac. HEATHER Will that speed things up a little? Isaac is startled, though not entirely surprised. He reaches out to touch her. ISAAC It'll help. HEATHER Good. ‘The sound of a SIREN, outside .., barreling into the night. ISAAC I know it was hard for you to tell me that. Heather presses herself hard against him, but doesn’t speak. ISAAC Stay the night. The hell with Jimmy.45. Heather's eyes shine. HEATHER He’d kill us both. She pushes away from him and quickly crosses to the door. As Isaac follows her out, we HEAR: DIANA’S VOICE Have you seen her again, Dr. Barr? cur To: INT. ISAAC‘S OFFICE - DAY Diana is lying on the couch. DIANA Did you talk about me? Isaac sits in the Eames chair. A beat, then: ISAAC No. We didn’t. DIANA Are you two lovers? ISAAC Why do you want to know? DIANA Because I keep imagining it. ISAAC How does that make you feel? When you imagine it ..? Diana considers. Then changes the subject. DIANA I had the dream again. In a somnolent monotone, as though instantly self-hypnotized: DIANA I’m arranging a centerpiece of flowers, on a table. I use fancy paper to decorate the flowerpot ... the paper feels like velvet ... and there are three kinds of flowers. ISAAC What kinds?46. DIANA Lillies, carnations ... She trails off. After Isaac Diana Diana Diana Diana ISAAC What’s the third kind, Diana? a long beat: DIANA violets. lights a cigarette. ISAAC "Violets". turns her head, to see him. just DIANA Does that mean something? ISAAC What do you think? stares. ISAAC Let's say the table is you, Diana ... Compared to your sister you see yourself as plain, flat ... uninteresting. doesn’t contradict this ISAAC The centerpiece of flowers ... perhaps is your sexuality. And the connection between purity and lust . the missing piece of the puzzle is "violets". makes a dismissive face. DIANA Violence are just flowers. ISAAC "Violence"? DIANA I didn’t say that.47. ISAAC What did you say? DIANA (flustered) I said "violates". She catches herself. DIANA Violets. Godammit -- violets. Abruptly she sits up and swings her feet over the side of the couch so she’s facing Isaac. She looks upset. DIANA why? ISAAC (gently) Perhaps it relates to something in your past, that you've ... put away. As though panicked by this suggestion: DIANA They/re just flowers, Dr. Barr. I used to do floral arrangements ... Why does everything always have to be about sex? Isaac remains impassive. ISAAC Tell me more about this fancy paper, that feels like velvet. DIANA (heatedly) You mean something gross, like it’s pubic hair. I knew you’d say that. ISAAC No, you said it. Diana glances at her watch. Then swings her legs off the couch. ISAAC where’re you going? DIANA Hour’s up. As she starts to rise:4g. ISAAC I did see your sister last night. We d@ talk about you. Diana sinks back onto the couch. DIANA What about me? ISAAC +++ About your father. DIANA (beat, then) It's true. ISAAC What/s true? DIANA I wanted him to be dead. And he did. ISAAC He "dia"? DIANA Had a heart attack. Dropped dead. and I was happy. ISAAC And why were you happy? DIANA Because he hated me. Once he was dead we were finally free! We could start fresh, come to New York ... ISAAC Whose idea was that? DIANA oh, Heather has all the ideas. I just +++ I just agree with her. cUr To: INT, ISAAC’S MOTHER’S BEDROOM - EARLY EVENING (LATER) Isaac alternately eats his dinner off a tray and feeds his mother, who’s propped up and staring at the local TV NEWS. In the midst of an OS report of someone being pushed off a subway platform, the phone RINGS. Isaac picks up.49. ISAAC Dr. Barr ... O/BRIEN'S VOICE Ike? Got some info on "Jimmy Evans". ISAAC Oh yeah? How bad is it? INTERCUT: INT. O/BRIEN’S LEGAL AID OFFICE - SAME TIME Chaotic and grungy. 0/Brien reads off a notepad. O'BRIEN Born Dmitri Evagalou ... Emigrated from Athens at eighteen, to avoid the draft. Jimmy builds buildings. Supplemented by the occasional pension fund scam, bid-rigging, maybe laundering the money for drug deals ... Fucking around with his wife, it’s like teasing King Kong. Isaac is silent. 0’ BRIEN There's a federal task force looking into this beauty. I/d stop seeing the girl, Isaac. ISAAC You haven’t seen the girl, Michael. But thanks -- I/1l catch you later. Isaac hangs up. As he spoons more soup for his mother, he explains: ISAAC She’s not a girl you stop seeing. cur To: EXT. CENTRAL PARK WEST ~ THAT NIGHT Isaac, hugging his sides, tries to stay warm by shuffling back and forth over a subway grate. He’s been out here awhile, on the park side of the avenue. Waiting. Watching. Now he stops moving. He sees: ACROSS THE STREET Heather, escorted by Jimmy, as they exit their building and are helped into an idling limousine.50. BACK TO ISAAC He retreats into the shadows, studying both his lover and his rival. Then as the limo moves off, he steps into the street. ISAAC -- Taxi. cur TO: EXT. NELL’S - NIGHT (LATER) The demimonde hangout. Limos double-parked. Trendoids desperate to get in. TRACK with Isaac as he alights from his cab and steers a determined path to the entrance. He appears to know just where he’s going. Nobody stops him. INT. NELL’S - NIGHT (LATER) Heather and Jimmy on the dance floor. He’s casual, loose ... surprisingly nimble. She dances with a distracted air ... a quality of not-being- there that is languid, and effortlessly sensual. Now as their bodies separate, we see between them to the bar. ISAAC Finishing what, to judge by body language, is not his first vodka tonic. Still studying his lover, and his rival. TIMMY. happens to turn, as he sways -- and catches Isaac’s glance. ISAAC is too far gone to care: He continues to baldly stare. SCENE Jimmy signals to Heather -- he’s had enough, He leads her off the dance floor, making a point of passing Isaac. Heather hasn’t noticed him until Jimmy is standing right in front of Isaac’s stool. sray Were you just giving me a look? Heather is stunned. She quickly recovers, tugging his arm.51. HEATHER c’mon, Jimmy -~ Jimmy won’t let it go. ory Was that a look you were giving me? Heather's eyes flick to Isaac, pleading with him to back off. ISAAC It was a look of admiration. Heather inhales -- oh God, what next? ISAAC (continuing, to Jimny) I’m a fan of yours. Of all the great builders: Le Corbusier, Donald Trump, Adolf Hitler ... A tense beat as Jimmy measures his response. But Heather manages to pull him away, back to their table. INT. BATHROOM - 5 MINUTES LATER Isaac douses his face and tries to sober up. Now he raises his face, to dry it -- and there’s Jimny reflected in the mirror. Isaac whirls. ory You little pricks over at Justice either hand down an indictment or stay off my ass. Remember: Shit flies two ways. ISAAC Shit definitely flies two ways. Jimmy takes a step closer. oIMNY I’m memorizing your cute puss. ‘Cause if I catch you even glancing at me again, 1/11 pry out both your fucking eyeballs. Isaac stands his ground. ISAAC That/11 solve your legal problems. without warning Jimmy SMACKS Isaac’s cheek -~ with an open hand, but hard.52. Isaac swings at Jimmy’s face but Evans is quick, and the blow is glancing, at best. Jimny pushes Isaac against the sink. He’s about to punch him out when two elegant men emerge from the same toilet stall All parties trade stunned, embarrassed looks. In the moment Jimmy reconsiders -- he abruptly turns and walks out. OVER MAN’S VOICE Maybe I/11 never have sex again. INT. ISAAC’S OFFICE - APTERNOON A male PATIENT is in session, luxuriating in despair PATIENT It’s not just the AIDS. It’s the rest of it: papilloma, hepatitis B, genital warts ... and the AIDS, of course. Isaac is bruised, hung over and out of sorts. Trying to pay attention, but his eye keeps wandering to the window THROUGH THE WINDOW We see the feet and legs of passing pedestrians. OVER PATIENT'S VOICE Now they’re saying condoms may not work =- and I don’t even like condoms ... A bum hobbles by, one oversized shoe and one bare foot. Then @ Woman with a dog and a pooper-scooper. BACK TO ISAAC As he realizes it’s time to make a comment. ISAAC "condoms"? Consumer Reports says that an effective one is just a few years away. BACK TO THE WINDOW two Kids in Nikes adroitly kick a bottle back and forth. PATIENT’ S‘ VOICE So do I wait? or do you think this is all some kind of defense?53. Then a pair of shapely calves, the feet in expensive pumps. PATIENT’S! VOICE Do you think maybe I’m afraid of sex? SCENE Isaac has a feeling about those legs. It’s all he can do to turn back to his patient. ISAAC What do you think? The Patient carefully considers this for a beat. PATIENT ++. That’s an interesting question. BACK TO WINDOW Isaac was right -~ Heather has come down the stairs. she peers through the blinds to see whether Isaac is occupied. SCENE Isaac signals to her -- wait. Then, to the Patient: ISAAC I’m sorry ... our time is up. The Patient sits up. PATIENT No it’s not. ISAAC (firm) ves it is. AT THE DOOR - A MINUTE LATER Isaac shows the Patient out as Heather enters. The Patient nearly suffers whiplash trying to get a look. INT. ISAAC’S OFFICE - AFTERNOON Isaac quickly closes the door behind them. HEATHER Brilliant move. Her eyes are bloodshot.ISAAC It was dumb, I know. I’m sorry. You've been’ crying. HEATHER I’ve caught a goddamn cold. She notices the bruise. Lightly strokes it. HEATHER That looks terrible. ISAAC Now we both bear the Mark of Jimmy. By the way, he thought I was with the Justice Department. c/mon, Heather ... Do I dress that bad? Heather isn’t amused. HEATHER That’s why psychiatry is the W[mpossible profession". Psychiatrists are impossible ... More narcissistic than any of your patients. ISAAC I just felt a neurotic, masochistic ... stupid need to see him. See you dance with him ... Heather involuntarily shudders. HEATHER After the other night with you, I ... can’t bear him touching me. ISAAC Leave. Divorce him -- HEATHER It’s not that easy! He/’d still be ... around. And I/d I’d still be who I am. Divorce it’s just a legalism. ISAAC But a fairly definitive one. Heather grabs Isaac’s shirt, pulls him to her. HEATHER Let‘s not talk. Let’s just fuck -~ Isaac holds her off. 54.55. ISAAC Why do you think -- really think -- you can‘t walk out on Jimmy? Because he’s Greek Orthodox? A gangster? No, it’s because he’s what you understand’ in a man, what you expect froma man ... That, and "fucking". So far, I bet, you've been "fucked" by every man you've ever known. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You have a choice. Heather shuts her eyes. Tears roll down her cheek. Now she wearily rests her head on Isaac’s shoulder. Sniffles, a bit. Then sneezes. cUT To: INT. PHARMACY - EVENING - LATER Isaac and Heather stand at a cash register. The CASHIER rings up Kleenex, Nyquil ... Next to them, a CRONE pleads with the pharmacist: CRONE You don’t need a prescription to have pain, do you?! I need Demerol! I’m an M!D., godammit! A Doctor of Misery! Heather sneezes again. CASHIER Go ahead. Take the Nyquil. Heather gratefully opens the box, unscrews the cap. Sips. cur To: EXT. HEATHER’S BUILDING ~ EVENING Heather and Isaac approach her building. She tenses. Jokes: HEATHER I think I can make it the rest of the way. ISAAC I’m walking you to your door. HEATHER Isaac -- ISAAC He doesn’t own the sidewalk. Does he?56. HEATHER You sound like a child. The doorman opens the door for Heather. She turns to shoo Isaac away. And then, softly: HEATHER shit. Isaac starts to turn around, to see what Heather sees, over his shoulder. HEATHER Don’t turn. Just come in. BEHIND ISAAC A long, shiny black limo is gliding up to the curb. INT. LOBBY - EVENING Heather quickly leads Isaac past the doorman. Softly: ISAAC Is it him? HEATHER I don’t know. They move to the elevators, in a bank off to the side. She presses Up. Both anxiously look up, at the floor indicator above the car door. THE INDICATOR As 2 blinks off, and Lobby blinks on. Behind them, the CLACKING of a man’s SHOES, approaching. IN THE ELEVATOR As the door opens and Isaac and Heather quickly board. Isaac presses Door Close. A hand reaches in, jolting open the door. And -- a harmless old GENT in coke-bottle glasses boards. He brings his face close to Heather‘s. Squints. GENT Evening, Mrs. Evans. Heather manages a smile as Isaac presses Door Close again.57. GENT We haven’t seen you at the co-op meetings lately. Lots of changes. New chandelier in the lobby. The car stops on 4, and the Gent gets off. GENT Night, now. HEATHER ‘Night. ‘The car continues up. stops at 6. HEATHER -- cmon, Isaac exits with her, into: INT. VESTIBULE - EVENING There are only two apartments per floor. Heather leads Isaac to a third, plain door. HEATHER The service stairs down. She opens the door for him. He pauses to kiss her. ISAAC call me. EXT. ALLEY - EVENING - TWO MINUTES LATER Isaac exits the building into a shadowy alley where trash is collected. Then humiliatingly slips in some slick stuff ... Isaac gets to his feet. Collects himself -- and his dignity then darts out of the alley, and hurries down the block. cur To: INT. HEATHER’S LIVING ROOM ~ EVENING Heather stands here, sipping more Nyquil. Muffled, through the walls, she hears a strange, unearthly TRAMPING’ sound. INT, BATHROOM/SPA ~ EVENING It is Jimmy on the treadmill, in running shoes and shorts hirsute, pouring sweat, feet’ POUNDING. An almost fascistic picture of power in motion.