The long kiss goodnight
Executive Summary
Poster

Overview
Genres: Thriller, Action, Drama, Mystery, Crime, Comedy, Family, Political, Espionage, Adventure
Setting: Contemporary, present day, Various locations including Upper Sandusky, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and a fictional town named Santa Claus.
Overview: The story follows Samantha Caine, a seemingly ordinary suburban mother with amnesia, who begins to uncover her hidden past as a lethal assassin named Charly Baltimore. The narrative opens with Samantha's idyllic life, juxtaposed against her mysterious past, as she navigates her role as a mother to her daughter Caitlin. As the plot unfolds, Samantha's dual identity emerges, leading to intense confrontations with dangerous figures from her past, including Timothy, a manipulative antagonist with ties to a conspiracy. The middle of the story escalates as Samantha embraces her assassin skills to protect Caitlin from imminent threats, culminating in a series of high-stakes action sequences. The climax forces Samantha to confront her past and make sacrifices for her daughter's safety, ultimately leading to a resolution that intertwines themes of identity, maternal protection, and redemption.
Themes: Duality of Identity and Amnesia, Maternal Protection and Sacrifice, Violence and its Consequences, Conspiracy and Hidden Agendas, Redemption and Second Chances, Loss of Innocence, Fate vs. Free Will
Conflict and Stakes: Charly's struggle to protect her daughter Caitlin from Timothy's terrorist plot while confronting her violent past and identity crisis.
Overall Mood: Intense and suspenseful with moments of dark humor.
Mood/Tone at Key Scenes:
- Scene 12: High-tension and chaotic as Charly confronts One-Eyed Jack, blending fear and urgency.
Standout Features:
- Unique Hook: A mother with a violent past must confront her identity while trying to save her daughter from a terrorist plot.
- Plot Twist: The revelation that Timothy is Caitlin's father adds a personal stake to the conflict.
- Distinctive Setting: The juxtaposition of idyllic suburban life with intense action and violence creates a striking contrast.
- Genre Blend: Combines elements of action, thriller, and dark comedy, appealing to diverse audience tastes.
Comparable Scripts:
- The Bourne Identity
- Kill Bill
- The Long Kiss Goodnight
- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Nikita
- The Americans
- Salt
- The Equalizer
Writing Style:
The writing style across the script is characterized by a strong blend of sharp, often witty dialogue, intense and often violent action sequences, and a penchant for moral ambiguity. There's a recurring theme of complex character dynamics, unexpected twists, and a generally gritty or dark tone. The pacing tends to be fast-paced and suspenseful, with a clear influence from crime thrillers and action cinema.
Style Similarities:
- Quentin Tarantino
- Christopher Nolan
- David Mamet
- Shane Black
Pass/Consider/Recommend
Explanation:
USP: The script's unique selling proposition is its brilliant fusion of the amnesia thriller with the female action hero archetype, creating a compelling exploration of identity versus conditioning. Unlike typical action films, it presents a protagonist who literally contains two distinct personalities - the suburban mother Samantha and the lethal assassin Charly - allowing for sophisticated themes about nature versus nurture, the construction of identity, and what makes us who we are. This psychological depth, combined with Shane Black's signature witty dialogue and expertly staged action sequences, creates a genre hybrid that appeals to both action fans and those seeking character-driven drama.
Market Analysis
Budget Estimate:$25-40 million
Target Audience Demographics: Adults aged 18-45, particularly fans of action thrillers, female-led narratives, and complex character-driven stories.
Marketability: The screenplay features a strong female lead, high-stakes action, and a blend of thriller and drama that appeals to a broad audience.
The unique premise of a mother fighting against a corrupt system while protecting her child adds depth and relevance, attracting viewers interested in social themes.
The mix of action, dark humor, and emotional stakes creates a compelling narrative that could resonate well with audiences.
Profit Potential: High, due to the potential for strong box office returns from action and thriller fans, as well as opportunities for streaming and international sales.
Analysis Criteria Percentiles
Writer's Voice
Summary:The writer's voice is characterized by a potent blend of dark humor, sharp and witty dialogue, and a gritty, often violent realism. There's a consistent juxtaposition of mundane, even cheerful, moments with sudden, shocking events or profound underlying tension. Introspection and emotional depth are woven through the narrative, often expressed through terse, impactful dialogue or vivid, evocative descriptions. The writer excels at creating suspense, moral ambiguity, and a sense of urgency, often within the context of high-stakes action and complex character dynamics.
Best representation: Scene 4 - Night of Chaos. Scene 4 best showcases the author's unique voice due to its immediate establishment of dark humor and gritty realism. The rapid-fire, aggressive dialogue of Mitch Henessey, juxtaposed with the ineptitude of his accomplices and the bewildered victim, perfectly encapsulates the blend of sharp wit and chaotic, often violent, situations. The quick transition to Mitch and Trin dividing money and critiquing their scheme further solidifies this voice, demonstrating a pragmatic, albeit morally ambiguous, approach to their criminal endeavors. The humorous dismissal of a serious crime and the immediate introduction of a new, quirky case (“owing him a favor from 1967”) perfectly embody the writer's ability to mix humor with underlying menace and a touch of the absurd.
Memorable Lines:
- SAMANTHA: Life is pain. Get used to it. See, you *will* ride this bike home, princess. You will ride it and you will not fall again, *is that understood*...? (Scene 10)
- YOUNG MAN: You're assuming I won't shoot your sorry ass, and everyone knows when you make an assumption, you make an ass out of u and mption. (Scene 4)
- One-Eyed Jack: I want my eye back, bitch. (Scene 13)
- HENESSEY: No more killing. (Scene 20)
- MOM: Close your eyes now. I love you. (Scene 1)
Characters
Charly Baltimore:A skilled assassin with a traumatic past, struggling with her identity and maternal instincts.
Mitch Henessey:A private investigator and con man who becomes Charly's ally, dealing with his own troubled past.
Caitlin:Charly's young daughter, who becomes a pawn in the dangerous game between her mother and the antagonists.
Timothy:A ruthless antagonist with a personal connection to Charly, orchestrating a terrorist plot.
Mr. Perkins:A manipulative bureaucrat involved in the covert operations of 'Chapter,' representing the corrupt side of government.
Story Shape
Screenplay Story Analysis
Note: This is the overall critique. For scene by scene critique click here
| Story Content | Character Development | Scene Elements | Audience Engagement | Technical Aspects | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Click for Full Analysis | Tone | Overall Grade | Concept | Plot | Originality Score | Characters | Character Changes | Internal Goal | External Goal | Conflict | Opposition | High stakes | Story forward | Twist | Emotional Impact | Dialogue | Engagement | Pacing | Formatting | Structure | |
| 1 - A Mother's Shield | Tense, Protective, Comforting | 8.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 2 - A Christmas Parade of Secrets | Humorous, Reflective, Mysterious | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 8.5 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 3 - A Night of Memories and Amnesia | Intriguing, Reflective, Mysterious | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| 4 - Con Artists at Work | Intense, Humorous, Suspenseful | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
| 5 - Night of Chaos | Tense, Dark, Suspenseful, Emotional, Shocking | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| 6 - A Christmas Gift and Lingering Regrets | Dark, Humorous, Melancholic | 8.5 | 9 | 8 | 8.5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 7 - Reflections and Revelations | Tense, Mysterious, Intense, Emotional, Playful | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 8 - Interrogation in the Shadows | Intense, Suspenseful, Dark | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 9 - French Confrontation | Intense, Humorous, Sarcastic | 8.7 | 9 | 8 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8 | |
| 10 - Tough Love | Intense, Authoritative, Emotional | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| 11 - Twilight Tensions | Tense, Emotional, Confrontational, Reflective | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 12 - Night of Terror | Intense, Suspenseful, Emotional | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 13 - A Bitter Farewell | Intense, Suspenseful, Emotional | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
| 14 - Road Trip Revelations | Intense, Humorous, Suspenseful | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 15 - Unearthed Secrets | Tense, Suspenseful, Mysterious, Intense | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 16 - Reflections of Danger | Tense, Suspenseful, Terrifying, Emotional | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 17 - Traffic Jam Tension | Intense, Suspenseful, Dramatic | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 18 - The Weight of a Shot | Intense, Tense, Emotional, Suspenseful | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 19 - A Christmas Threat | Tense, Serious, Sarcastic | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 20 - Confrontations and Connections | Tense, Emotional, Confrontational, Regretful | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 21 - Danger in the Salt & Pepper Lounge | Tense, Dark, Sarcastic, Intense | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 22 - Escape from the Salt & Pepper Lounge | Intense, Suspenseful, Fast-paced | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 23 - Revelations and Reckoning | Intense, Suspenseful, Dark, Serious | 9.2 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 24 - Secrets and Urgency | Intense, Suspenseful, Revealing | 9.2 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 25 - Frozen Conflicts | Tense, Mysterious, Humorous | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 26 - Revelations and Betrayals | Intense, Suspenseful, Dramatic, Tense, Mysterious | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8.5 | |
| 27 - Betrayal in the Shadows | Tense, Dark, Intense, Emotional | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 28 - Drowning in Darkness | Tense, Menacing, Suspenseful, Dark | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 29 - Revenge from the Depths | Intense, Suspenseful, Violent, Dark | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 30 - Containment Protocol | Intense, Suspenseful, Confrontational, Paranoid | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 31 - Awakening in Chaos | Suspenseful, Dark, Mysterious, Amusing | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8 | |
| 32 - Casino Confessions and Midnight Tests | Suspenseful, Humorous, Cryptic | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 33 - Reflections on the Boardwalk | Defiant, Reflective, Intense, Humorous | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 34 - Chemistry and Confrontation | Tense, Sarcastic, Defiant, Humorous | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 35 - Silent Night, Deadly Fight | Intense, Sarcastic, Defiant | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 36 - Highway Reckoning | Intense, Sarcastic, Humorous | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| 37 - Shadows of the Past | Tense, Reflective, Dark, Humorous | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 38 - Fractured Pursuit | Intense, Suspenseful, Emotional, Violent, Dark | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 39 - Christmas Chaos: Abduction and Aerial Assault | Intense, Suspenseful, Fast-paced, Dark | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
| 40 - Highway Hostage | Tense, Sarcastic, Intense | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 41 - Twilight Tensions | Intense, Sarcastic, Emotional | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8.5 | |
| 42 - High-Stakes Operation at Deer Lick Motel | Intense, Emotional, Tense, Sarcastic | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 43 - Descent into Darkness | Intense, Suspenseful, Emotional | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 44 - Dark Revelations | Tense, Conspiratorial, Revealing | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| 45 - Betrayal and Despair | Tense, Dark, Emotional, Suspenseful | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 46 - Desperate Choices | Intense, Emotional, Suspenseful | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
| 47 - Betrayal and Imminent Destruction | Intense, Suspenseful, Dark, Revealing | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 48 - Desperate Measures | Intense, Emotional, Tense, Desperate, Resolute | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
| 49 - Explosive Escapes | Intense, Suspenseful, Emotional, Menacing | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| 50 - Desperate Measures | Intense, Suspenseful, Emotional | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 51 - Cliffside Confrontation | Tense, Desperate, Menacing, Emotional | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 52 - The Daring Escape | Intense, Suspenseful, Defiant | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 53 - Christmas Chaos: The Sleigh Heist | Intense, Suspenseful, Dramatic | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 54 - Runaway Destruction | Intense, Desperate, Defiant, Emotional, Ruthless | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
| 55 - Desperate Struggle in the Chapel | Intense, Menacing, Defiant, Emotional, Tense | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 56 - A Mother's Last Stand | Intense, Emotional, Tense | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 57 - Desperate Measures | Intense, Emotional, Tense, Desperate, Defiant | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 58 - Descent into Chaos | Intense, Emotional, Tense, Dramatic | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
| 59 - Betrayal on the Mine | Intense, Menacing, Tense, Dramatic | 8.7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| 60 - Redemption and Reflection | Intense, Emotional, Suspenseful | 9.2 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
Scene 1 - A Mother's Shield
Written by
Shane Black
REVISED DRAFT
February 24, 1995
A WINDOWPANE
Assaulted from without by SNOWFLAKES. Wind tossed.
INSIDE, a bed, dappled with moon shadow. A LITTLE GIRL, fast
asleep. The wind whistles and sighs outside. She DREAMS...
Eyelids closed, eyes roving beneath... then suddenly they
SNAP open. A stifled cry. She thrashes for her STUFFED BEAR,
as a soft voice says:
VOICE
Shhhhh.
And there's MOM, kneeling beside her. Vague shape in the
dimness. The full moon throws light across one sparkling
eye.
LITTLE GIRL
Mommy, the men on the mountain...!
MOM
Shhhh. Gone, all gone now.
(strokes her hair)
I'm here. Mommy's always here and
no one can ever hurt you. Safe
now... safe and warm... snug as a
bug in a rug.
(beat)
I'll sit with you, think you can
sleep?
LITTLE GIRL
Turn on the nightlight.
The mother nods. Passes her left hand gently over the girl's
forehead.
MOM
Close your eyes now. I love you.
The child subsides, breathing steady. Eyes closed. The
mother rises. Regards her through the dimness. Slowly turns,
heads for the door. Flicks on a Winnie the Pooh NIGHTLIGHT --
Her entire right forearm is slicked with blood. More blood
on her Czech-made MP-5 machine gun.
She staggers just a little... barely noticeable. Passes out
on the light. Into darkness. Sits beside her daughter's bed.
The child sleeps peacefully. Outside snow slithers at the
glass.
FADE OUT. Pause. Blackness.
FADE IN:
It's snowing in southwestern Ohio. Before us, nestled in the
rolling hills: a postcard slice of suburbia. SUPER the
legend:
UPPER SANDUSKY, OHIO.
Three Weeks Earlier.
Peaceful. Serene. It's the town in the glass bubble, the one
God shakes to watch it snow...
Ratings
Scene 2 - A Christmas Parade of Secrets
CHILDREN, dozens of them, bursting from houses. Slapping of
screen doors. A HORSE-DRIVEN SLEIGH is rattling down Main
Street. Flanked by kids. Christmas carols, droning from
loudspeakers.
HAPPY, LAUGHING SANTA waves howdy, chortling his "Ho's" in
groups of three, meanwhile he's really a grizzled old fire
marshall named EARL, freezing his nuts off.
Beside him sits MRS. CLAUS, about whom we notice two things:
First, she's the June in this June/December pair -- and
second, she's to kill for, an effortlessly beautiful woman.
For the record, meet SAMANTHA CAINE.
SAMANTHA
How you holdin' up?
EARL
Freezing my nuts off.
Santa produces a bottle of Seagrams. Starts to open it.
SAMANTHA
*Put that away*.
Earl complies, grumbling. Some teenage burnouts howl from a
street corner:
BURNOUT
Ow! Mrs. Claus is HOT!
Samantha squirms in her seat, scowling.
SAMANTHA
I can't take it, Earl, this dumb
costume is giving me a wedgie.
(MORE)
SAMANTHA (CONT'D)
Driving me crazy, but there's these
*kids* here --
EARL
Right, you don't wanna be rootin' --
SAMANTHA
In front of little Billy, age four,
yeah. "Look, Mommy, Mrs. Claus
chooses to go butt-mining."
EARL
This is little Billy talking?
SAMANTHA
Age four, kid's unbelievable.
(sighs)
I'm too old for this, Earl.
EARL
Yeah, yeah. Spare me, I got a
prostate the size of a melon.
Samantha stares at him.
EARL (CONT’D)
Seriously, half my life's a
doctor's hand up my ass, I should
marry the fucker.
SAMANTHA
Say that a little louder, there's a
kid in back didn't catch it.
EARL
It's not that fucking little Billy
again, is it?
SERIES OF
SHOTS:
Throughout the following NARRATION, we watch Sam: 1)
Rallying the varsity CHEERLEADERS; 2) Showing off a GERBIL
to her seventh graders; 3) Kneeling in church with her
HUSBAND, blessing herself; 4) Absently fingering a silver
KEY which she wears round her neck; and finally 5) Probing
at a tiny ridged SCAR under her hairline.
SAMANTHA (V.O.)
Eight years. I keep hiring
detectives, but they never find
anything.
(beat)
(MORE)
SAMANTHA (V.O.) (CONT'D)
I was born 3000 days ago on the
beach in New Jersey. I entered the
world fully grown, wearing clothes
I don't remember buying. Nothing in
the pockets but a single key, filed
smooth.
(beat)
I'm married now. Nice guy, early
forties. I stand naked in the
mirror and try to guess my age.
Thirty-five, maybe. I have lots of
scars.
EXT. SNOWY SUBURBAN STREET - AFTERNOON
Samantha walks with her husband HAL. Late thirties. Balding.
Coming out of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
SAMANTHA
Hal, I gotta tell you, of all the
Christmas pageants I've seen, this
was by far the most recent.
HAL
Aw, honey, I had teenage girls
playing the wise men, what'd you
expect?
SAMANTHA
Teenage boys?
HAL
Well, I thought they did fine.
SAMANTHA
Just fine? Come on, it was ground
breaking stuff. The first Nativity
where Joseph stares at the wise
men's tits all night.
She hugs him good-naturedly. As they near their house, an
eight year-old GIRL drops from a TREEHOUSE and comes
running, leaps into Mommy's arms --
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Hey, you!
The kid leaps into her arms, as we HEAR:
SAMANTHA (V.O.)
Her name is Caitlin. She's my
daughter and when I woke up on that
long-ago day, she was two months
grown in my belly.
(MORE)
SAMANTHA (V.O.) (CONT'D)
I don't know who put her there. I
may never. I just know she's mine,
and she's about to turn eight.
The family troops up the driveway to their SUBURBAN HOME.
Chipper little A-frame. Christmas lights abound. Behind the
house, a vast frozen POND. It is idyllic.
Ratings
Scene 3 - A Night of Memories and Amnesia
PARTY in progress. Laughter. Mingling. In the corner,
CAITLIN puts pipe cleaner antlers on the gerbil. Samantha
shepherds her home room class past the punchbowl. She is
radiant. EARL surreptitiously nips from a silver flask.
SAMANTHA (V.O.)
days. I teach now, fifth grade. I
have the key, I wear it around my
neck for luck. Except for that, and
my name, all traces of my prior
life are lost.
(beat)
Was I in love ever...? Did someone
look in my eyes, did I say,
"Darling, I'll never forget
you...?"
(beat)
Because fuck me, darling, I
managed.
ACROSS THE ROOM -- Her daughter CAITLIN hangs with two young
girls. Shows off a plush TEDDY BEAR, says:
CAITLIN
His name is Mr. Perkins, my Mom
named him for me.
GIRL #1 points, whispers excitedly:
GIRL #1
That's her?
Caitlin nods. Kid #2:
GIRL #2
That's who?
GIRL #1
(excitedly)
Her Mom, she's got amnesia.
GIRL #2
Swear?
CAITLIN
Swear.
GIRL #2
Too weird.
A voice interrupts their reverie:
SAMANTHA
Excuse me.
The girls whirl around, startled -- Samantha is leaning on
the desk behind them. Busted. She smiles amiably:
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Hello, girls. Caitlin, I'm going to
help Dad with the refreshments.
(leans in, whispers)
Which one's Dad? I forget.
The girls look at her like she's grown a tail.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
*Kidding*.
CUT TO:
A DOOR KICKED OPEN, WHAM-! Splintered. Lock shattered.
Ratings
Scene 4 - Con Artists at Work
A NUDE COUPLE on the bed. They look up, startled -- as three
men burst through the door. The LEADER: a haggard-looking
man sporting a soup-stain on his tie, whoops, that's the
design, sorry. MITCH HENESSEY, private investigator and con
man extraordinaire. He flashes a phony badge:
YOUNG MAN
POLICE. DON'T MOVE.
MAN ON BED
What the hell is this...?!!
YOUNG MAN
Don't give me an attitude, sir.
You're assuming I won't shoot your
sorry ass, and everyone knows when
you make an assumption, you make an
ass out of u and mption.
(MORE)
YOUNG MAN (CONT'D)
I'm Sergeant Madigan, Vice, and if
you cop a 'tude, jerkoff, I will
see to it you spend the next ten
years in prison getting ass-fucked,
and if the case is thrown out
because my arrest is too violent,
then I will personally HIRE men to
ass-fuck you for ten years. So if
you're an ass-fucking fan, go ahead
and mouth off, but meanwhile you're
under arrest for the crime of
prostitution, now shut the fuck up
before I cut out your kneecaps and
use 'em as ashtrays.
(beat)
Officer Donleavy, read him his
rights.
Donleavy looks pale, pasty. He stutters a few words. Loses
interest. Wanders away across the room.
MAN ON BED
(a trifle confused)
Please, this is my first, I... I've
never done this before, I'll do
anything...!
YOUNG MAN
Sir, listen to me. I understand
you're not a wealthy man, but in
light of the damage this arrest
will cause you, we might be able to
make an arrangement --
Donleavy plops in a chair. Belches. Grins foolishly. The man
in bed points to him:
MAN IN BED
Is he all right...?
THE REMAINING COP is swaying on his feet. Like a tree in a
hurricane. Donleavy pukes all over the floor. We CUT TO:
INT. BARREN GREY OFFICE - NIGHT
THERE'S THE GIRL. The one in bed moments ago. She and
Henessey are dividing a wad of bills.
GIRL
We gotta stop using bums.
MITCH
(lights a smoke)
Forget it. They looked like cops.
We pulled it off, didn't we?
GIRL
It was embarrassing.
MITCH
You want I should hire actors, for
Chrissake? These guys are cheap,
they work for food.
GIRL
Uh-huh. So, when they puke all over
you is that, like, a refund?
MITCH
Trin, I'm pissin' myself over here,
you're so funny. What's this?
He indicates an envelope earmarked for him. Labeled in magic
marker: SAMANTHA CAINE.
TRIN
New case, honest to God chick with
amnesia. You want the job?
Henessey opens the envelope. Extracts a black and white HEAD
SHOT of Samantha, says immediately:
HENESSEY
Yep. Yep, yep, yep.
Stares, mesmerized. Trin peers over his shoulder:
TRIN
Wasn't there a lady on TV named
Samantha? Had a magic nose or
something.
HENESSEY
'Bewitched', yeah. Good show. Chick
lived with a faggy guy, then in the
last season it was a different
faggy guy. Okay. Here's what we do;
get on the horn to amnesia chick,
tell her yes. Then tell her in 1967
she promised to give me a blow job.
Worth a try, right?
Ratings
Scene 5 - Night of Chaos
SAMANTHA and HAL bid goodnight to their friends and
neighbors. Hal steers her away from a middle-aged teacher.
HAL
Christ, guy's all over you like a
cheap suit.
SAMANTHA
That's funny, there's a cheap suit
all over him like a cheap suit.
She notices EARL sitting in the bushes by the side of the
building. He is speaking intently to the gerbil.
HAL
Oh, boy. Someone's gotta take my
father home. I'm plowed.
Samantha takes the keys from him. Breathes deeply of the
chill night air. Smiling. Surveys the scene... their
friends. The neighborhood. Sighs:
SAMANTHA
This is all I ever wanted.
At which point, young Caitlin says:
CAITLIN
How would you know?
ESTABLISHING SHOT - STATE PRISON - OHIO - NIGHTTIME
Switch gears: A grim, grey building. Guarded. Patrolled.
INT. PRISON - TELEVISION VIEWING ROOM - EVENING
A tired TV set drones to an audience of one. Let's call him
ONE-EYED JACK. In fact, let's give him one eye, the other
replaced by a PATCH. He smokes cigarettes, stubs them out on
the chair's armrest. Throws offhand glances at the TV
screen.
NEWS ANCHOR (ON T.V.)
...So much for the flame-swallowing
Santa of Boone County. Meanwhile,
KTVA news journeyed to Upper
Sandusky, where Santa's own *Mrs*.
Kringle turned out to celebrate her
hubby's worldwide tour. After one
look at her, I'm thinking Santa got
what he wanted this Christmas.
The happy news chatter continues. Jack isn't listening. Jack
isn't talking or breathing either. He's simply STARING at
the TV screen, jaw slack...
ONE-EYED JACK
Gotta be fuckin' kidding. No. No
way. SHIIIT!!
He SCREAMS as we CUT TO:
EXT. WOODLANDS - WITH SAMANTHA - DRIVING
If you had to pick a night to die horribly, you'd be hard
pressed to find a nicer one. A country highway. Bathed in
moonlight. Crusted with snow. Pontiac Sunbird, wending its
way through the wooded slopes.
INT. SUNBIRD - SAME TIME
SAMANTHA drives while Earl (the SANTA we saw earlier)
reclines, still drunk.
EARL
You're married what now, five
years...?
He makes a thumb circle. Jabs his finger in and out of it:
EARL (CONT’D)
You and Hal, how often you two...?
SAMANTHA
Stick our fingers in out hands and
pull them out again? Every chance
we get. Shut your piehole.
EARL
Don't get all snippy...
SAMANTHA
Earl, do me a favor. Every few
words say "hic" and have bubbles
come out your mouth, okay?
EARL
Goddamnit, I'm not drunk. Would a
drunk man have this much raw
talent?
He starts playing the Hawaiian nose harp. In Sam's ear, she
can't help it, snorts laughter --
THE ADULT DEER appears perfectly framed in the Sunbird's
headlights. Dead ahead.
Sam looks up, face etched in sudden TERROR. *No time to
think*. SWERVES, no dice...! BROADSIDES the animal --
And it comes THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. All two hundred and
fifteen pounds of it. Fucks up their night altogether.
Actually, it only makes it *halfway* through --
But the damn thing is ALIVE. More than alive. KICKING.
Thrashing. Squawling with pain and rage. A FLAILING HOOF
takes out Earl. Kills him in less than a second. Collapses
his skull.
Sam rides the wheel, screaming. An antler gouges her chest.
Rips. Draws blood. She SWERVES, madly -- Hits the tree doing
ANOTHER ANGLE
Sam goes airborne. Explodes through the windshield, outward
bound. Shower of glass, spritz of blood... And then she's
flying. Slow motion, end over end... We lose all SOUND.
Silence as she tumbles. Below and behind her, the Sunbird
noiselessly ERUPTS. Fireball, sky high --
Sam floating. Describes a lazy arc in mid-air... Whoomph-!
Disappears into the snow. Swallows her, leaves a silhouette.
Around her, trees catch fire. Burn. She lies in her
impromptu sarcophagus. Out of sight.
THE FLAMING DEER totters from the wreck, thrashing. Scene
from a nightmare. Nightmare part two: from the snow, from
the human-shaped divot -- arises a woman of blood.
She stumbles from the drift. Toward the wreck. And though
it's clearly Sam Caine under all that crimson, there's
something wrong about her *eyes*.
En route to the car, she kneels beside the suffering deer,
its flesh scorched and torn -- and KILLS it. Puts it away
with a sharp CRACK-!ing blow to the head. Stands, eyes
squirming with madness...
The car's an inferno. Earl is dead. She turns away, wiping
blood from her eyes -- Comes face to face with a SNOWMAN.
A jolly white fellow. Charcoal briquettes for eyes. She
watches, fascinated, as he MELTS in the blast furnace heat --
With warning, she *screams*. Crumples to the ground.
The snowman's eyes fall out. He melts away and away...
DISSOLVE TO:
Ratings
Scene 6 - A Christmas Gift and Lingering Regrets
Elsewhere. Tract housing, late-model cars. MITCH HENESSEY
delivers a Christmas gift to his nine year-old son TODD: not
just any gift, the *Midtown Saturn Orbiting Precinct*, with
action figures. Henessey points to the box, engrossed:
HENESSEY
...and here's the jail here,
see...? Escape chute for the
Borian, he's a dinosaur guy, Moves
quick, don't take no shit neither.
See, you can make him shoot the
guard -- ah, hell, look, I played
with it a little myself, I'm sorry.
VOICE interrupts them:
VOICE (O.S.)
TODD, TIME FOR DINNER. NOW.
An awkward pause. Henessey scowls.
HENESSEY
Hey, you go ahead, um... hope you
like the present.
TODD
It's awesome, Dad. Mom, though,
she...
(sighs)
She gets weird. On my birthday,
when you gave me the Schwinn... she
called bicycle stores to see if
there'd been any robberies.
Henessey manages to control his face. Says tightly:
HENESSEY
Tell her I don't steal them
locally.
He watches, forlorn, as his son vanishes inside the house.
Christmas lights, blinking feebly. We HEAR, supered:
HENESSEY (V.O.)
Dear Ma: Filled out the child
support stuff last week. Office got
pissed, under ex-spouse I put
"Spawn of Satan, Dweller in Eternal
Dark." Just being honest, Ma, lady
wants me to die.
As he reaches his car, his BEEPER goes off.
EXT. PHONE BOOTH - MINUTES LATER
Henessey on the phone. Dials. Waits. We HEAR:
HENESSEY (V.O.)
I'd go without a ripple, that's the
truth. Ex-con. Ex-husband. Expired.
Thanks, Ma, for hiding the truth
from me for so long. Or maybe you
believed in me. I miss you. I hope
you believed, even for a day. No
one did, Ma. No one at all. It's
cold here. I'm sorry you're dead.
Your son, Mitch.
The phone picks up. He says:
HENESSEY
Me. What's up?
TRIN (O.S.)
Mitch, we got a bite on amnesia
chick's photo. Found a guy
remembers seeing her, fall of '87.
He wants cash, should I grease him?
HENESSEY
Hell, no! Use your head, girl. Let
the fucker squeeze the Charmin.
TRIN
You kidding? Guy's hideous. I'll do
it, but we're talking time and a
half. Plus a night on the town when
I get back, and *no cockfights this
time*.
Ratings
Scene 7 - Reflections and Revelations
Samantha, having survived. Laid up now in an austere
hospital room. Listening to silence. Stares out the window
at a sunlit tree. Head bandaged. Frowns:
SAMANTHA
I want a cigarette, why do I want a
cigarette...?
Outside, snow slithers... Her eyelids, slowly closing.
Slides off the edge of consciousness...
IN THE DREAM: She stands on a windswept cliff, before an
incongruous FULL-LENGTH MIRROR. Staring at her reflection --
it's bleeding from a scalp wound.
She probes her head... frowns. Nothing. Nothing but the tiny
RIDGED SCAR she's had for as long as she can remember.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
What... what do you want...?
The reflection eyes her grimly. Haggard. Tired.
REFLECTION
I want a cigarette.
SAMANTHA
I don't smoke.
REFLECTION
(chuckles)
You used to.
Samantha is suddenly holding a cigarette. She raises it to
her lips. Her reflection MIRRORS her precisely. Except
Samantha COUGHS, chokes on the smoke -- While her bloody
reflection takes a long, satisfying drag.
REFLECTION (CONT’D)
Relax, you can drop the act. Nice
and smooth, take another hit. There
you go. See how easy it comes back?
They are now in perfect synchronicity. Sam inhales easily.
REFLECTION (CONT’D)
*I'm* coming back. You know that,
don't you? Name's Charly, by the
way. You're gonna love me.
The reflection grins. There's blood on its TEETH.
INT. SAMANTHA'S HOME - DAY
Back at home, business as usual, pre-Christmas. A COMMOTION
has arisen: Gingerly, bones still aching, Samantha moves
toward the KITCHEN. HAL and CAITLIN trail behind.
HAL
Honey, you can't cook, I'm not
wrong about this.
SAMANTHA
I'm *remembering*, Hal. Things are
coming back. Trust me, I'm a chef,
I know it.
CAITLIN
Daddy, make her stop!
SAMANTHA
Hush. Go to the garage and get me
something, anything. A veggie, go,
man, go! I'm hot to trot.
INT. KITCHEN/GARAGE - SAME
Hal worriedly exits to the garage. Plucks a tomato from the
fridge, tosses it to Caitlin, who stands in the door.
HAL
Tomato.
Caitlin turns, tosses it to Sam --
CAITLIN
Tomato.
Who catches it, plops it on the cutting board and proceeds
to DICE it to SIMTHEREENS. Razor-thin slices. Knife a blur.
Missing her fingers by millimeters, never faltering, like a
mad mumblety-pegger --
HAL
Onion, flying in.
Sam catches it. Knife flurries. Pieces, flying up.
SAMANTHA
More. Faster.
And it becomes a bucket brigade. Hal heaves veggies to
Caitlin who spins and relays to Mom who slices, dices,
purees, and even makes curly fries. Veggies, incoming. HAL
starts to lose it, starts lobbing them at Caitlin, one after
another, she giggles, starts throwing them overhand --
CAITLIN
Tomato. Tomato. Tomato.
And now it's a food fight, PELTING Mom, and the floor is
COVERED with food as Hal stumbles in laughing, scoops up
Caitlin --
Samantha shakes her head, grinning, dices to pieces a last,
lovely radish. Ends with a flourish, TA-DAH-! Doesn't think:
Flips the knife point up on ONE FINGER. Tips it for balance.
Lobs a tomato. Slings the knife without looking, pins it to
the wall, KA-CHUK--!
Everyone goes silent. The knife, quivering. Caitlin and Hal
turn as one, gaping at her. She shrugs numbly. Blinks.
SAMANTHA
Uh... chefs do that.
Ratings
Scene 8 - Interrogation in the Shadows
Underground. Water GURGLES through overhead pipes. Furnaces
hum and tick in the sweaty gloom.
A SHIRTLESS MAN is tied to a chair. Weeping. Before him,
what looks like a young GQ model. Blonde. Gorgeous.
Impeccably attired. For the record, TIMOTHY. He looks his
captive in the eye as the guy blubbers:
MAN
Please, man... I don't know why you
gotta kill me... But use the gun,
not the knife. Please. As a fucking
favor, I'm begging you...
TIMOTHY
It'll be over soon.
MAN
Jesus, man... I... I'm scared of
the knife... Shit, I can't handle
getting shots at the doctors, man,
PLEASE...!
TIMOTHY
Last chance. What do you know about
a town called Santa Claus?
MAN
What is this, *what the fuck is
this*?? I'm FBI, for Chrissake, you
can't do this to me. I don't know
ANYTHING.
Timothy stares him full in the face, eyes narrowed... as
though seeing into his brain. He nods, satisfied.
TIMOTHY
No. You don't.
(beat)
I can always tell, you know... If
someone's lying to me. A little
skill of mine, something to trot
out at parties.
He slams home the knife. We don't see it, but we FEEL the
impact. The FBI man's face contorts in SHOCK. Twisted.
Inches away from Timothy, their eyes lock...
A CELLULAR PHONE BEEPS. Timothy reacts, annoyed. Plucks it
from his belt and flips it open:
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Timothy.
VOICE (O.S.)
Message from Mr. Daedalus.
TIMOTHY
I'm listening.
He shrugs at his captive. Rolls his eyes. The guy's still
dying, still on the KNIFE.
VOICE (O.S.)
He says he's sorry, but he needs
you right away. Something's come
up.
TIMOTHY
Nix. I'm just finishing up here.
Then I'm going bunjee jumping.
VOICE (O.S.)
He's aware of your weekend plans,
and he apologizes.
TIMOTHY
All right, what's so fucking
important?
VOICE (O.S.)
Your old colleague, One-Eyed
Jack...? Recently escaped from a
high-security prison, as you're
aware. But listen to this: prior to
his escape, seems he saw something
on TV that disturbed him. So much
he had to be sedated.
TIMOTHY
I saw it, too. It's called "Empty
Nest." How the fuck is it my
business?
VOICE (O.S.)
The man was overheard talking to
himself under sedation.
(beat)
He said Charly Baltimore's alive,
sir.
Timothy is silent.
SUIT
I know it's incredible, sir, but...
if she were alive, I'm thinking she
might be in contact with the old
man in Pennsylvania. Should I --
TIMOTHY
Tap his phone, yes. And tell
Daedalus I'm on my way. Timothy
out.
He clicks off, face troubled. Withdraws the knife. Checks
his clothing. Not one speck of blood.
Ratings
Scene 9 - French Confrontation
A CARTON OF MARLBORO REDS hits the stack of groceries. HAL
looks at his wife, bewildered.
SAMANTHA
They were on sale.
At the next register over, a duo of Canadians throw looks
her way. Confer in rapid-fire French, subtitled for us:
CANADIAN #1
Ooh, j'aimerais la baiser.
(Subtitle: I'd like to fuck her.)
The checker looks up, smiles:
CHECKER
Don't you love hearing people speak
French?
CANADIAN #2
Oui, j'veux etirer celle-la autour
d'une chaise. Comme je le vois, une
femme c'est comme Gumby avec des
seins. (Subtitle: I'll stretch her
over a chair, women are merely
Gumbys with tits.)
HAL
Beautiful language.
He turns to Samantha -- except Sam isn't there. Her arm
shoots out-! CLAMPS on one of the men. By the throat.
Catches him like a fucking VICE. Her voice a sibilant hiss:
SAMANTHA
*Allez, Gumby etiriait le cou, fils
de pute*.
Subtitle: "Gumby's gonna stretch your neck, motherfucker."
Accent flawless. Eyes like steel. The man will go on to
start a profitable construction business with the bricks he
shits.
SLAM CUT TO:
SAMANTHA - ON THE PHONE TO HER SHRINK - INTERCUT
Jubilant, can't contain herself:
SAMANTHA
I speak French.
PSYCHIATRIST
You do.
SAMANTHA
You bet your life, fluent French,
whatever the fuck that means.
(chortles)
Quand !©t
j'!
©ta
t
©
i
a
sais
s a l'ecole, Jai eu un
professeur qui s'est !©
©
fabriqu!
©du
"
dentifrice!
PSYCHIATRIST
You just said when you were in
school, your teacher was made of
toothpaste.
SAMANTHA
Right, he was, you got a problem
with that? Pasty Joe, we called
him. Look, the accent's perfect, so
piss off. I'M A FRENCH CHEF, YA-
HOO.
Ratings
Scene 10 - Tough Love
Samantha and daughter CAITLIN sing a hearty chorus of "Frere
Jaques." Sam giggles , Caitlin looks nervous; astride her
new two-wheeler BICYCLE while Sam finishes removing the
training wheels. Caitlin points to her stuffed TEDDY BEAR.
CAITLIN
Put Perkins in the basket. He's
luck.
SAMANTHA
Mr. Perkins, going in the basket.
CAITLIN
Are the training wheels off?
SAMANTHA
Just pretend they're still there.
Piece of cake. You can do it.
CAITLIN
Wait...! I'm scared.
SAMANTHA
Shhh. Nothing to be scared of.
Pretend you're one of the X-men,
you're tough. Let's go, now. Three,
two, one...
CAITLIN
Mom, I can't do it, swear --
Samantha sets her sailing. Laughs excitedly. The bike
weaves, side to side... hits the curb and topples with a
CRASH. Spills Caitlin to the pavement. Now's she's CRYING.
CAITLIN (CONT’D)
Ouch--! I can't do it, it HURTS-!
Samantha walks over briskly. Face set in determined lines.
SAMANTHA
Nonsense. You can do it. You don't
want to, but you can.
CAITLIN
My arm hurts, please take me
home...!
SAMANTHA
You can go home, Caitlin. You can
ride there.
An unpleasant note is edging into her voice. The louder the
kid cries, the more Samantha starts to SIMMER.
CAITLIN
Mom, no...!
SAMANTHA
Look, I know you're afraid, that's
the whole *point*, can you see
that? Now stop being a little baby
and get on the damn bike.
She hoists her onto the seat. Caitlin cries and hollers.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
You gonna be afraid of things all
your life? Huh? That what you want?
CAITLIN
My wrist hurts...!
*Snap*. Something lets go. Suddenly Samantha's right in her
face:
SAMANTHA
Life is pain. Get used to it. See,
you *will* ride this bike home,
princess. You will ride it and you
will not fall again, *is that
understood*...?
Eyes cold and lifeless. She is not herself. CUT TO:
Ratings
Scene 11 - Twilight Tensions
CAITLIN huddles on the steps, itching at her brand new WRIST
CAST. Eavesdropping on her parents. In the kitchen a counter-
top TV is on, the Three Stooges. Samantha is on the phone,
saying:
SAMANTHA
Yes, I'm three blocks past the gas
station... Right. Thank you Mr.
Henessey, I'll see you shortly.
She hangs up as HAL ENTERS behind her... She doesn't turn
around. Samples the topping of a cream pie. Stares at the
linoleum floor. He regards her with angry, vindictive eyes:
HAL
She rode all the way home. She
didn't fall, not once. She didn't
cry.
(beat)
You're good. You should work with
kids, you know that?
SAMANTHA
She said her wrist hurt. I didn't
know it was broken, God. I can't
even remember what I said to
her...!
Hal takes a breath, composes himself.
HAL
We can still make six o'clock mass,
you coming?
Sam surveys her perfect kitchen. Runs her hand over a
hanging pot. Looks sadly at her husband. Whispers:
SAMANTHA
A private detective's coming by,
he... he's found something.
(beat)
I may have to go away. For a bit.
Now please leave me alone.
HAL
Go away. With a detective. Jesus,
it's the holidays, Sam --
SAMANTHA
Are you deaf? I said leave me
alone. Go to church. Drink blood.
Drink some for me.
They stand in tableau. An electric silence... Broken quite
suddenly by the sound of SINGING. CHRISTMAS CAROLERS.
Outside the front door. The sweet strains of "God Rest Ye
Merry, Gentlemen" wafts in through the window.
Except the sweet strains ain't so sweet. These carolers are
TERRIBLE. Missing by a country octave. Sam and Hal look at
each other, what the hell...?
Ratings
Scene 12 - Night of Terror
THE CAROLERS continue their interesting rendition.
Snowflakes fall. All is quiet. All is bright. Especially
bright is the SHOTGUN BARREL pressed to the throat of the
lead soprano. HE- Over and under combo. Shotgun on top. HE
cannon on bottom. You'd sing shitty too.
INT. HOUSE - SAME
Samantha hurries to the door. Carrying a bowl of festive
M&M's. Just as she gets to the door, the singing STOPS.
Footfalls running away, that's odd... She opens the door.
Carolers, gone. She's eye to eye with ONE-EYED JACK.
ONE-EYED JACK
Evening Charly. Long time.
He swings the big GUN. Slams the barrel into her. Glass
shatters, M&M's everywhere. She gapes at him, dumbstruck,
unable to THINK... Hurry it up, lady, we need a decision,
live or *die* --
SHE GRABS THE GUN BARREL. Wrenches the gun...! On the steps
CAITLIN howls, eyes like saucers --
CAITLIN
Mommy...!
SAMANTHA
GET OUUTTTTT!!!!
Sam's cry is a veritable shriek. HAL LAUNCHES himself from
the kitchen doorway. Pounces on Jack, snarling -- brave,
useless. For his trouble, gets three broken ribs and a trip
to the fireplace, airborne. Comes down. Catches fire. ROLLS,
over and over on broken ribs --
JACK kicks Samantha in the gut. She collapses onto the
stairs. Splinters the banister. That's when he sees CAITLIN.
Top of the stairs, paralyzed.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
NO!!!!
Jack is already moving forward. SPIN-COCKS the shotgun,
draws a bead -- Promptly slips on festive M&M's. Goes down.
Gun goes off, WHAM-! A flat concussion. The banister
EXPLODES. A storm of wood chips, as SAMANTHA surges up the
stairs, toward her daughter --
JACK. On the ground. Fires, *wham*--! The wall DISAPPEARS
three inches from Caitlin's head. Blown to shreds, you can
see outdoors. Samantha doesn't miss a beat. Grabs her
daughter -- flings her OUTSIDE. Through the hole in the
wall. Takes her by the belt and fucking HURLS her out into
space...!
EXT. SIDE OF HOUSE - SAME TIME
Two stories up. The kid is ejected, flailing. Floats in SLOW
MOTION. Across a ten foot gap -- INTO THE TREEHOUSE. Sails
head over heels into the place. Hits with a CRASH. Alive and
unhurt.
BACK INSIDE THE
HOUSE
Samantha didn't even look. Didn't need to. Here comes JACK.
Up the staircase. Reloading. Samantha launches herself down
the stairs. COLLIDES, head on -- Down they go. Jack, rolls
to his feet. Propels her into the KITCHEN.
Ratings
Scene 13 - A Bitter Farewell
She hits, spray of cat food. SKIDS. Across the linoleum,
slams to a stop. Hard. Cupboard pops open, out comes the
IRONING BOARD. Falls into place, SNAP--!
A GUN BLAST disintegrates it. Reveals Sam, cowering behind.
ONE-EYED JACK
I want my eye back, bitch.
Samantha struggles to her feet. Dazed. Jack abandons the
shotgun. Takes the IRON down from its spot on the shelf --
Slams it against her head.
ONE-EYED JACK (CONT’D)
Goddamn you. Fight me. What's wrong
with you, *fight* me!
CLOSE ON TV: Stooge Joe Besser mugs wildly, takes a pie in
the face.
Jack raises his arm for the killing stroke -- Samantha takes
Hal's cream pie from the counter and shatters every bone in
his face.
Comes from nowhere. Back foot planted, body twisting, entire
organism focused into the outstretched arm, WHACK-! We have
never seen anyone move this fast. Samantha RECOILS. Startled
by what she's done --
The glass dish is SPLINTERED into his head. It STICKS there.
He topples. Hits the linoleum. She straddles him, breathing
hard. Winded.
The barking dog "Jingle Bells" plays inanely in the
background. Samantha stares. Trembling. Pokes the body.
Nothing. Pokes it again. Still nothing. She leans forward.
Grips the neck and wrenches, CRACK-! Just making sure.
She out of it. In shock. Glaring at her own hands as if
demanding an excuse for their behavior. There is pie filling
on her fingers. She kneels beside the corpse, catatonic.
Stares. Absent-mindedly licks the bloodied cream.
HAL is standing in the doorway. Wide-eyed. He has seen
Samantha break the man's neck. She looks at him, frowns.
SAMANTHA
It took me three seconds. That's...
that's good, huh...?
He stares, dumbstruck. She blinks. *Snaps out of it*.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Caitlin. We gotta find Caitlin.
She gets up. We RUN with her to the front door -- she flings
it open and collides with MITCHELL HENESSEY. Private dick.
Runs right into him.
HENESSEY
Hey--! Slow down. The kid's okay,
she's in my car, what the hell is
going on?
Henessey spins, as FOUR POLICE CRUISERS pull up. Vomit up a
bevy of COPS, swarming toward the house. He spins back to
Samantha -- As she collapses to the floor.
FADE OUT:
Pause. FADE IN. Super the legend: ONE WEEK LATER.
ESTABLISHING - SAMANTHA'S HOUSE - MORNING
Early morning quiet. HENESSEY and SAMANTHA are throwing
suitcases into the back of his battered Chrysler.
INT. HOUSE - LATER - EVERYTHING'S PACKED
Sam's looked better. Kneels beside Caitlin, says softly:
SAMANTHA
That man who tried to hurt us...?
If I stay here... other people will
come. I have to leave. Just for a
little while.
Caitlin looks at the floor. Doesn't respond. Samantha
reaches in a cupboard. Produces a box of CANDLES. Lights a
match, touches flame to one of them.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
I want you to light a candle and
keep it in the kitchen window. And
never, *ever* let it go out,
because as long as it burns...? It
means you're thinking of me. And if
I'm alone... if it's dark and I'm
lost... It's how I'll find my way
home.
She touches Caitlin's wrist cast. Pain in her features. She
grabs a marker pen and writes a TELEPHONE NUMBER on it.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
That's for a portable phone. I keep
it with me, you call me anytime,
you don't worry about the bill. And
last but not least --
She reaches behind her head. Unhooks the KEY, the one she
wears around her neck.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
For luck.
Slips it over her daughter's head. Looks up at HAL, eyes
brimming. He whispers:
HAL
No matter what you find, I'm not
scared. Not of you. Not ever...
SERIES OF SHOTS: EXT. SUBURBAN TOWN
As it fades behind Henessey's Chrysler. Leaving behind porch-
bound elders, dimestore clerks. Grinning children, hair like
spun straw. All fading... DISSOLVE TO:
Ratings
Scene 14 - Road Trip Revelations
Henessey sings with the radio. Loudly. He's got the lyrics
wrong: "I'm not talking 'bout the linen... And I don't wanna
change your life..."
Samantha endures as much as she can. Speaks up:
SAMANTHA
"Movin' in."
HENESSEY
Hah?
SAMANTHA
It's not linen. The song's not
about linen.
HENESSEY
Whatever. You cold?
SAMANTHA
(shivers)
I'm freezing.
HENESSEY
Turn on the heater. It doesn't
work, but it makes a very annoying
noise which distracts from the
cold.
SAMANTHA
I'll pass.
(clears her throat)
So, you're a former cop. Atlanta,
was it...? Stop me if I'm out of
line, but I'm curious. How did
you... well, succeed? I mean, where
six other detectives failed?
HENESSEY
You kidding? Pure luck. Plus my
secretary used her feminine wiles.
She's got two, one wile per side.
(MORE)
HENESSEY (CONT'D)
Huge. No kidding, you can see 'em
coming around a corner, you got
time to comb your hair. Nice kid,
you'd dig her.
(beat)
Ah. Here we are.
EXT. STORAGE RENTAL PLACE - DAY
As they clamber from the car, Henessey shoves his sunglasses
into his sportcoat. SINGS:
HENESSEY
Putting my glasses in my
cooooat..."
Samantha looks at him like he's sprouted wings.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
I sing what I do so I'll remember
it. "Turning off the downstairs
liiiight..." You know?
Samantha smiles thinly. The man's a lunatic.
INT. STORAGE FACILITY - DAY
An old, walrus-mustached IRISHMAN ushers them down a
concrete hallway. The old man hangs back with Henessey.
Whispers:
WALRUS MAN
The elder Trelawney rented to her
in '87, aye. Ne'er could bring
himself to dispose of her things.
I'faith, she's welcome to
whatsoe'er she wishes, for ne'er
has trod these walls a lass so easy
on the eye, divil take me if I'm
lyin'.
Henessey lights a cigarette, says:
HENESSEY
Do me a favor. Say, "Always after
me Lucky Charms."
ANGUS
"Always after me Lucky Charms."
HENESSEY
Thanks. Just needed to hear that.
Ratings
Scene 15 - Unearthed Secrets
Drab, musty. Filled with disused tables, lamps, farm
implements... Jimmy Hoffa watches TV in the corner.
HENESSEY
See anything you recognize?
SAMANTHA
Yeah, this dirt used to be outside
my window, shut up and let me look.
(sighs)
I'm sorry, Mr. Henessey, I'm a
little on edge.
She pauses. Surveys the musty compartment, faraway look in
her eye... says softly:
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
I can feel her. Like a ghost.
(beat)
We could walk away, you know.
There's still time, we could
just... leave her dead.
She hefts a SUITCASE onto a bench. OPENS it -- Draws a sharp
breath:
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Ay-i-yi!
Clothes to kill for. Smooth velvet. Creamy silk. The finest,
the best. The sexiest. Sam peeks at the tags:
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Size four, no way. You know how
long it's been since I could wear a
size four?
(beat)
Can't be mine. Can they...?
She checks the case for INITIALS -- C.E.B. Who...?
Henessey grunts. In his book, well dressed is clean
underwear. Holds up a small manila envelope.
HENESSEY
Unmailed envelope. Addressed to a
guy.
SAMANTHA
What's in it?
HENESSEY
Another guy's address. Two
addresses, is basically what I'm
saying.
Meanwhile, her hands, still pawing through the suitcase... A
SHAPE. She feels it. At the bottom of the case. Lifts up the
mound of fabric -- HKM-40 sniper rifle. Disassembled. Sam
looks like she just took a stomach punch.
Up until now, it could've been adrenaline. She could still
be just a schoolteacher. A rifle, that changes everything.
She plunks the clothing back in place. Hides it.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Anything else in there?
SAMANTHA
Hmm...? Uh, no. Just... more
clothes.
HENESSEY
Yeah, well take a look at this.
He holds up the envelope: addresses to one *Nathan
Windeman*. Fishes in his coat, brings out Samantha's CHECK.
Written to him, earlier that day... identical handwriting.
CUT TO:
Ratings
Scene 16 - Reflections of Danger
NATHAN WINDEMAN is in a bad mood. A frail-looking man, mid-
seventies. Tiredly spooning a bowl of soup. His sister ALICE
watches TV nearby. In her lap, a Pomeranian cleans itself.
Windeman scowls:
NATHAN
Alice, please...?
Alice stares at him. Uncomprehending.
NATHAN (CONT’D)
Your dog, Alice. It and my appetite
are mutually exclusive.
ALICE
What's wrong with the dog?
NATHAN
It's simple. He's been licking his
asshole for three straight hours.
(MORE)
NATHAN (CONT'D)
I submit to you that there's
nothing there worth more than an
hour's attention, and I should
think whatever he's attempting to
dislodge is either gone for good or
there to stay. *Wouldn't you
agree*?
Theatrical? Nah. The old bat scoops up her pooch and beats
feet for the door. THE PHONE RINGS. Nathan snatches it up:
NATHAN (CONT’D)
Hello?
The voice is soft. Controlled:
SAMANTHA (O.S.)
Hello, Mr. Windeman, I got this
number from a realtor in
Pennsylvania. I'd like to speak
with you.
NATHAN
Who... who is this?
SAMANTHA
You tell me, Mr. Windeman.
Nathan pales. Blinks once. Twice. Manages:
NATHAN
...Charly...?
SAMANTHA (O.S.)
My full name, please.
NATHAN
God, it really is you...!? Chapter,
they think you're dead, *everyone*
thinks --
SAMANTHA
*My full name*. Please...!
A pause. Then:
NATHAN
You don't know your name.
He chews his lower lip, mind racing. Jesus, no joke, this is
*her*... He fights to control his voice:
NATHAN (CONT’D)
Your full name... is Charlene
Elizabeth Baltimore.
INT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - SAME TIME
A MAN in shirtsleeves flips a switch. Speaks into a headset:
MAN
Signal Daedalus. We just got her,
she made contact. Initiating phone
trace.
INT. HOUSE - BACK WITH NATHAN
NATHAN
Charly, don't talk, just listen: We
have to meet, understand? We have
to meet *right away*.
SAMANTHA (O.S.)
Meet me off I-79. Highmile exit,
Salt & Pepper Lounge. Eleven a.m.
She hangs up. Nathan stares, trembling. Turns to ALICE,
standing in the doorway. Swallows hard, says:
NATHAN
A former student... is in trouble.
INT. RESTAURANT BATHROOM - WITH CHARLY
She hangs up the telephone in the ladies' room. Stands,
alone in the stillness. Hands to her head, mind churning...
Turns, checks to make sure the door is locked. Props her
SUITCASE on the sink and opens it. Flips back the mound of
clothing --
And there it is. The pieces, disassembled, of an M-40 sniper
rifle. Her trembling hands find the parts, seemingly of
their own volition... Hefting them. Gauging their feel. And
then, slowly... terrifyingly...
Knowing how they go together. She SNAPS the barrel in place,
*click*-! The sound breaks her reverie. She drops the thing
like it's alive. Looks down, trembling...
ALSO in the case: a wicked looking HUNTING KNIFE. She picks
it up gingerly. Shiny, brand new. Turns it over in her hand,
fascinated by the play of light off the blade...
Looks up. Her REFLECTION, in the mirror. Staring back. She
frowns -- It frowns. She turns away --
THE REFLECTION DOESN'T. It stays right fucking put, except
now it's *smiling*. Malignant. Deadly. Sam feels something
wrong. Spins back toward the mirror --
Her reflected arm comes through the looking glass. Reaches
into Sam's world and SLICES FOR HER THROAT.
Ratings
Scene 17 - Traffic Jam Tension
Samantha JERKS, comes awake in the passenger seat of
Henessey's Plymouth. Bad dream. Looks over to see if he
noticed -- he's honking his horn at a TRAFFIC JAM. Sea of
taillights, dead ahead.
SAMANTHA
What's this? What the hell is
this...? We don't have time for
this, of all the cocksucking
bullshit --
HENESSEY
Whoa. Ms. Class, drive a little
truck on the side, do you?
SAMANTHA
What are you, a Mormon?
HENESSEY
No, ma'am, it's just that... well,
when we met you're all, "Oh, fooey,
I burned the darn cupcakes." Now,
you go into a bar, ten minutes
later sailors come running out,
they can't take it.
Just then, THREE POLICE CRUISERS blow by, sirens screaming.
Henessey frowns, puzzled.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
What the hell...? Lemme check the
scanner.
He switches on a police band radio. Listens, hears:
VOICE (O.S.)
...without endangering the
hostages, over... ...Roger that two-
niner. PCP confirmed, he's on a
fuse, please provide backup,
over... ...Conneaut, I'm waiting on
Special Weapons, sorry, over...
EXT. ROADSIDE DINER - CONNEAUT LAKE, PA. - SAME
POLICE FLASHERS, spinning. Cop cars, incoming. SLAMMING to a
halt. Disgorging uniformed cops. THE DINER is rapidly
surrounded. Its a cheery decor, the giant roofbound Santa,
all in stark contrast -- To the SCREAMING we hear, dimly,
from within.
INT. DINER - SAME
Hostage drama, unfolding. The perp's a big ugly meatloaf
with his mitts on a waitress. She's sixteen, she's a baby.
She's sucking the barrel of his shotgun. His finger on the
trigger. From outside, we hear the COPS:
COP VOICE (O.S.)
GIVE YOURSELF UP AT ONCE. LEAVE THE
BUILDING, HANDS ON HEAD. DROP THE
WEAPON, REPEAT, DROP THE WEAPON.
Mr. Shotgun snorts laughter. Does a little dance, yells:
MR. SHOTGUN
I'm the man! I'm the man! I elicit
the explicit!
EXT. DINER - SAME TIME
The police are just starting to re-route traffic. A highway
cop signals to HENESSEY, "Turn around, go back."
Ratings
Scene 18 - The Weight of a Shot
Henessey swears. Swings wide, when suddenly a HAND clutches
his arm. He looks over and suppresses a shiver -- Samantha's
eyes have gone dead and cold. She lights a cigarette, shakes
out the match and says:
SAMANTHA
Go up this hill.
HENESSEY
Why?
SAMANTHA
*Drive up the fucking hill*.
Now Henessey shivers. Cranks the wheel as we CUT TO:
EXT. HILLTOP - OVERLOOKING TOWN - NIGHT
SAMANTHA flops on the frozen ground in a stand of pine
trees.
HENESSEY
Where the shit did you get that?
No answer. She deftly assembles the SNIPER RIFLE. Rests the
rifle barrel on a dead branch. Flicks on the starlight
scope.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Sam, Goddammit, you're gonna kill
someone! Hey!
She ignores him. Focuses through the scope. POV SAMANTHA:
Framed in spectral GREEN, the diner's interior. Hostages.
Crying mothers. Children, catatonic.
Through a tiny window -- a limited view of the KITCHEN. He's
in there. Girl, eating both barrels. Samantha's jaw
tightens.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
The diner...? That's half a mile
away, are you fucking crazy?
SAMANTHA
HK M-40 assault rifle. At three
hundred yards, vertical drop six
inches.
Mr. Shotgun leans in. WHISPERS something to the waitress.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Shit. He's gonna do the girl.
HENESSEY
How the fuck can you tell?
She steadies the rifle. Takes aim.
SAMANTHA
I read lips.
She fires. Splintered CRACK-!
INT. DINER
Mr. Shotgun dies on his feet. Outgoing matter. Flung.
Spattered on the grill where it sizzles along with burnt
hamburger. He drops. Screams. Pandemonium.
EXT. HILLTOP - MOMENTS LATER
Samantha slams the trunk of the Chrysler. Gets in the
passenger side without a word. Henessey pulls away.
INT. CAR - DRIVING - SAME
Samantha stares straight ahead. Gives a high, brittle laugh.
SAMANTHA
See? Took care of it. Knew I could.
She laughs again. Henessey favors her with a look reserved
for people with major deformities. Suddenly she says:
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Pull over.
He stops the car. She gets out. Stumbles across the
shoulder. Kneels. Throws up. Henessey watches. Lights a
smoke with trembling hands.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Had to, he... he would've killed
her... Had to... Oh God I took him,
such a good shot... I felt proud of
it, such a shot, Jesus, *how could
I be proud*...?
(sobs)
I'm scared... I want to go home...
Henessey kneels beside her awkwardly. She clutches his
shoulder. Presses her head to his chest. Cries.
Ratings
Scene 19 - A Christmas Threat
Yes, it certainly is. CUT TO:
INT. SITUATION BRIEFING ROOM - SAME TIME
Three stories below the White House proper. THE PRESIDENT is
seated in his robe and slippers. Before him sits a panel of
three: National Security Adviser; Deputy Director of the
CIA; and ANOTHER MAN in his sixties, sporting a
distinguished mane of silver hair. The President addresses
him:
PRESIDENT
*Mister Perkins*.
(frowns)
Please, say it again, I'm a little
slow. Better yet, I'll try it. You
lost an operative, a trained
counterassassin, and you just saw
her on TV in a Christmas parade.
The silver-haired man appears unperturbed. And no, by the
way, it didn't escape us that he shares his surname with
Caitlin's TEDDY BEAR, the one Mom named -- He nods, says:
SILVER-HAIRED MAN
On TV, that's correct. It's two
weeks old, intelligence just caught
it.
PRESIDENT
You recruited this woman in the
late seventies?
SILVER-HAIRED MAN
For Chapter, yes. I was a friend of
her father's, you see, and... I
took her in.
PRESIDENT
Well, it looks like she returned
the favor, now doesn't it?
(throws up his hands)
Unbelievable. You people, you dump
this on me, then next week you're
screaming, "Where's our funding?"
Shit. I'll tell you where it is,
can you say health care?
The head of the CIA pipes up:
CIA DIRECTOR
Mr. President, please calm down.
The CIA bears no responsibility for
this problem.
PRESIDENT
Thanks for sharing, Kent. How many
double agents you got on the
payroll, last count...?
CIA DIRECTOR
Sir! That controversy has been
thoroughly dealt with, and if there
still exists a leak, perhaps
this... woman agent of his --
SILVER-HAIRED MAN
If I may, sir, Colonel Baltimore
hasn't had classified access since
(beat) But thank you, Kent, for trying to fuck me in the
ass.
He directs his baleful gaze at the President. Lights a pipe.
SILVER-HAIRED MAN (CONT’D)
I'm afraid rooting out double
agents may have to wait.
(MORE)
SILVER-HAIRED MAN (CONT’D)
The primary threat is the woman.
Her specialty is
counterassassination, a horseshit
turn of phrase which implies the
other fellow shot first, but in
point of fact she's a takeout
artist of the first order. Nearly
disposed of our friend the Beard
down in Cuba a few years back.
Specializes in long rifles,
accurate to a mile and a half.
Presumed dead; now, after eight
years, back in the field, agenda
unknown. She knows enough to hurt
us. I'm frightened. Understand?
PRESIDENT
Yes, yes. I believe you. Just one
question:
(beat)
*What in pluperfect hell is she
doing in a Christmas parade*???
Ratings
Scene 20 - Confrontations and Connections
Henessey is on the phone to his ex-wife. Glowering.
HENESSEY
Aw, cut me a break, Fran. I been
out eight months, I'm back doing
skip traces, now you got me
stealing fuckin' bicycles?
EX-WIFE (O.S.)
I don't want you around Todd, hear
me? Shrink told me what those men
did to you in prison. This is a
Christian household, my son's not
gonna develop any... tendencies.
Understand?
For a moment her ignorance is so stunning he's speechless.
Then he slams down the phone. Cracks it. Returns to the
pumps, where SAMANTHA leans against his car, still dazed.
Looks up at him, says:
SAMANTHA
I still can't believe it. You're
saying my hands didn't even
shake...?
Henessey doesn't look at her. Puts the nozzle back in the
pump. Crosses to the driver side without a word.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
What's the matter with you?
HENESSEY
You. You're the matter. Look, you
wanna keep going, good luck. I'm
driving back to Ohio. You're free
to come with me.
SAMANTHA
What... what are you telling me?
He gets into the car. Starts the engine. Samantha reacts,
distraught. Leans in, kills the ignition. Pulls him out of
the car.
HENESSEY
Goddammit, lady, I'm taking you
*home*.
She slaps him. HARD. He falls back, stunned.
SAMANTHA
I'll spell it out for you, ready? I
have no future, *I can't go home*.
Until I know what's happening, I'm
in *prison*, you know how that
feels...?
HENESSEY
Yeah, matter of fact. Four years
inside. Marion, Illinois, real
shithole. Get in the car.
SAMANTHA
I'm sorry.
(clears her throat)
Um... what did you...?
HENESSEY
Seven years ago, Atlanta PD. Me and
my partner, we handled a lot of
impounded shit. Fucker hated me,
boy. One weekend, when he was
conveniently gone...? Some bearer
bonds disappeared from his office.
And lo and behold, when the police
responded to an anonymous tip,
you'll never guess what just
happened to be sitting in my
closet.
SAMANTHA
The bonds. Your partner put them
there?
HENESSEY
(laughs)
Hell no, I did, I stole the fucking
things.
He serious. Samantha frowns, a little thrown -- Then she
snorts, loses it. They both lean against his Chrysler.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Now every dollar I hand my kid, he
asks his mother did I steal it.
He smiles ruefully. Spits. A pause, then:
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
No more killing.
Samantha's voice is cool and level:
SAMANTHA
No more killing.
She blows her nose.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
It was a helluva shot, wasn't
it..."
DISSOLVES TO:
ESTABLISHING - SALT & PEPPER LOUNGE - MORNING
A gunmetal grey sky looms overhead. The aforementioned
LOUNGE is a faded old roadhouse, gravel parking lot strewn
with mud- covered trucks. The kind that get a man laid in
these parts. HENESSEY'S PLYMOUTH pulls into the lot, rolls
to a halt. He'll never get any.
Ratings
Scene 21 - Danger in the Salt & Pepper Lounge
Honky-tonk. SAMANTHA and HENESSEY enter, blinking in the
dimness. Around them, drunk mid-day cowboys. Stringy-haired
girls in their ample laps. SAMANTHA consults her watch:
SAMANTHA
Quarter til. Any time now.
They sit at the counter. Henessey flags the bartender.
Signals for a beer. Lights a cigarette, blows smoke:
HENESSEY
Nice crowd.
SAMANTHA
You're just jealous of their
girlfriends.
HENESSEY
Who wouldn't be? Corner booth,
there's a beaut. While you're doing
her doggie- style you can pop the
zits on her back.
Samantha shoots him a look. ON A TV above the bar, a British-
sounding CNN announcer is saying:
CNN COMMENTATOR (V.O.)
Violence in Northern Ireland
continues today, despite a plea by
British prime minister John Major --
Samantha sits up straight. Draws a sharp breath. He shoots
her a questioning look --
SAMANTHA
I just... got a flash of something,
I...
(blinks) I hurt my father.
HENESSEY
Whoa. You remember your father?
SAMANTHA
No... that's what's strange.
(shakes her head)
If I saw him on the street, I... I
wouldn't... oh.
She rubs her eyes. Her voice breaks. She's utterly
miserable. Henessey leans in, says softly:
HENESSEY
Ms. Caine, last week at a party I
ran into a girl I knew from college
and we chatted for a few minutes.
And it wasn't til I was driving
home on the freeway that I
remembered that I'd screwed her in
the back of a car once.
(beat)
Everyone forgets.
He pats her arm. Smiles reassuringly. A pause. She stares.
SAMANTHA
That's it? That's your helpful
story? Jesus Christ!
HENESSEY
No, see, all's I'm saying is you're
not alone.
SAMANTHA
Oh, shut up.
HENESSEY
Fine. I gotta use the head.
He stands, heads off. Samantha nervously lights a cigarette.
The bartender suddenly puts a BEER in front of her. She
reaches for her purse. He waves it away, points beside her.
She turns...
The assassin called TIMOTHY sits down two stools away.
TIMOTHY
For you. Another in a long line of
bad investments.
SAMANTHA
Excuse me?
TIMOTHY
Just saw the ring on your finger.
He reveals a surprisingly WINNING smile, says:
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Do I know you from somewhere...?
Grimaces:
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Whoa. Back up. Total pickup line,
let's forget I said that.
Still staring in her eyes. Noting absolutely NO RECOGNITION
on her features. She gives him a cursory smile.
SAMANTHA
Thanks for the drink. But no. I
don't know you.
Timothy nods slowly.
TIMOTHY
No, you don't, do you...? I'd know
if you did.
(MORE)
TIMOTHY (CONT'D)
I can tell if someone's lying.
(smiles)
Sorry to bother you.
He takes his own drink and crosses to a back booth. Sits, a
very puzzled look on his face. Adjusts his coat collar,
whispers into a concealed transmitter:
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Okay, people, I got what I needed.
Wait until she comes out. Then do
them both.
(beat)
Walk soft, we got local law.
He sits back as TWO SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES suddenly enter,
doffing their stetsons. Cross to the bar. HENESSEY, coming
out of the bathroom. Sees the deputies. Grabs SAMANTHA by
the elbow. Tosses down a fin, steers her toward the door.
SAMANTHA
(sotto)
What are you doing?
HENESSEY
Pork. On your nine.
SAMANTHA
So?
HENESSEY
So you shot a guy in the head
yesterday. We wait outside.
SAMANTHA
It's freezing.
HENESSEY
Too bad. People shouldn't shoot
other people in the head. Just
themselves. During that show with
the little girl who's a robot.
Ratings
Scene 22 - Escape from the Salt & Pepper Lounge
They emerge into the chill air. Breath pluming from their
mouths. Samantha surveys the parking lot. Grabs Henessey,
points --
A LATE-MODEL CAR pulls into the gravel lot. Stops.
SAMANTHA
Bingo. That's an old guy's car.
HENESSEY
How do you know?
SAMANTHA
Because there's an old guy in it.
Come on.
They cross toward the car. She frowns, points to his coat.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Gun bulge.
HENESSEY
You think I'm gonna shove it down
my pants? Shoot my damn dick off.
SAMANTHA
So now you're a sharpshooter?
HENESSEY
Ho, ho.
As they approach the other car, the engine stops. The door
opens and a middle aged man emerges -- IT AIN'T NATHAN. He
pauses, lighting a cigarette.
SAMANTHA
Mr. Windeman...?
She strides right up, Henessey in tow. Flashes a dazzling
smile -- *Slow motion*. The guy DROPS HIS LIGHTER, darts a
hand inside his coat with practiced ease... Pulls out a
SILENCED PISTOL.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
Oh, SHIT!
*Slow motion*. Samantha tackles Henessey. Hurls them both to
the ground... During their fall, STUFF HAPPENS:
She clutches his sportcoat -- Grips his .38 special THROUGH
THE FABRIC and squeezes... A sharp report, BAM-! Another,
BAM-! The jacket, shredded. HITMAN just caught two in the
chest. He goes over backwards, gun spitting --
Sam and Henessey hit the ground. *Back to regular speed*.
Henessey rolls over, stunned. Samantha's staring at her
hand, wondering how in the hell it just did that.
HENESSEY
*Jesus wept*...!
They scamper to their feet. Running hellbent for leather
toward the Plymouth... They never make it.
ANOTHER HITMAN steps calmly from the trees. Stands at the
shoulder of the highway, full view of the parking lot...
Adopts a two-fisted stance. Draws a bead, locks on target --
Leaves his feet.
Takes to the air as a BLACK LE SABRE swerves off the highway
with no advance warning and DEMOLISHES the bastard, wham--!
The car roars across the lot, NATHAN WINDEMAN at the wheel.
INT. BARROOM - SAME TIME
The snapped-in-two hitman announces Nathan's arrival by
FLYING THROUGH THE WINDOW in an explosion of glass. Caroms
off a table and bounces head over heels. Hits, dead.
TIMOTHY swears. Leaps up and bolts for the door, right
behind the SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES, as
EXT. BUILDING - SAME TIME
The black Le Sabre SLEWS to a stop, showering gravel --
NATHAN shouts at Sam and Henessey:
NATHAN
Get in! Both of you, NOW!
They pile into the backseat. Nathan floors it. PEELS OUT,
bouncing onto the highway -- and meanwhile here comes
TIMOTHY. On the run. Barks into his transmitter:
TIMOTHY
East, they're going east. *Head
them off*.
He begins to run: we have never seen anyone run this fast.
INT. NATHAN'S CAR - DRIVING
NATHAN kicks in the afterburners. Squinting, can't see...
WIPERS, squeaking to and fro. Erasing the hitman's blood.
Henessey is trembling; Samantha comatose. Nathan steals a
look in the rear view mirror. Gets his first good view of
Samantha. Reacts, stunned:
NATHAN
Charly. Jesus Christ, I don't
believe what I'm seeing, you're so
*fat*.
This is not what she expected to hear.
SAMANTHA
I'm... um, I mean... what?
NATHAN
What in God's hell have you been
*eating*, you look positively
bovine! Hang on.
yards down the highway. Beside a parked car, a guy with an
ELEPHANT GUN.
SAMANTHA
Oh, God, no more--!
The big rifle BUCKS concussively. The car window
SPLINTERS...! Does not break.
NATHAN
Bulletproof. Put it in myself.
Almost as an afterthought, he swerves slightly. CRUNCHES the
gunman against the parked car. Shatters him. His SCREAMING
VISAGE goes by an inch from Samantha, he coughs blood onto
her window...
EXT. FROZEN WOODSCAPE - SAME TIME
Timothy, on the move. RUNS, breakneck through the woods.
Jumps fallen logs. Ducking, swerving. In and out through the
trees, as
Ratings
Scene 23 - Revelations and Reckoning
Scenery whips past. In the backseat, Henessey is trembling;
Samantha comatose. Nathan snaps his fingers sharply:
NATHAN
Charlene, darling --
SAMANTHA
My name is Caine. Samantha Caine.
NATHAN
(exasperated)
Yes, yes, you said that on the
phone. *Must* I point out to you
that the letters in the name SAM
CAINE, when rearranged, spell out
AMNESIAC? Your mind was missing a
name, so it simple invented one
that was an anagram of your current
condition.
Samantha reacts, floored.
NATHAN (CONT’D)
Dammit, Charly. The schoolteacher,
that was your cover! Your memory
was gone, you got confused and you
BOUGHT YOUR OWN COVER. This
ridiculous Ohio housewife business,
it's a fantasy, you *wrote* the
bloody thing!
SAMANTHA
It's not a fantasy, *I'm in the
fucking PTA*.
NATHAN
Then quit. You're an assassin for
the United States government.
(beat)
I ought to know, I trained you.
Henessey is so shocked he's LAUGHING:
HENESSEY
Beautiful. Fuckin' beautiful.
EXT. SHEER EMBANKMENT - OVERLOOKING HIGHWAY - SAME TIME
A forty foot embankment, damn near vertical. Plunging to the
road below. Topped by a chain-link FENCE.
Timothy hits the fence at a dead run. Up and over. Pitches
head over heels down the embankment, BOUNCING. Hits bottom
in a shower of dirt, rolls, comes up... .357 AMP in a two-
fisted grip, and *there's Nathan's car*. Blows by, doing 90.
Timothy swivels calmly, BLASTS AN ENTIRE CLIP at the
retreating car. Shot after shot, like a machine --
INT. NATHAN'S CAR - SAME TIME
Sam SCREAMS as the side windows COLLAPSE INWARD. Nathan
rides the wheel, swerving.
HENESSEY
*What happened to bulletproof*?
NATHAN
*The side windows were next, I
swear*.
BACK WITH
TIMOTHY
Watching them go. Oh, well. He tried, right...? Did his
best, tomorrow's another day --
Without missing a beat, Timothy walks out in the middle of
the road. ANOTHER CAR, coming. Sports car. He snaps in a
fresh clip. Raises his fist and PUMPS ONE through the fast-
approaching windshield. Kills the driver.
The car throws a skid. Slewing SIDEWAYS at him. Onrushing
juggernaut, immense...!
He vaults the hood without breaking stride. Catches the
drive- side doorhandle, jerks -- then he's in, and out comes
the corpse and the car *never stops moving*.
Completes an out-of-control 360, showering muddy water...
and then he's stomping the gas. Utterly relentless. Leaving
behind a wet and very surprised-looking corpse.
INT. STOLEN CAR
Timothy GUNS IT, eyes locked dead ahead on the Le Sabre --
Hears a SCREECH. Whips his eyes to the rearview mirror:
POLICE CRUISER. Fishtailing onto the road behind him. Falls
in behind, SIREN wailing. One of the deputies from the bar.
INT. NATHAN'S CAR - DRIVING - SAME TIME
Nathan fishes a gun from his coat. Hands it to Samantha.
NATHAN
Here, you might as well have one
too.
SAMANTHA
My God. How many do you carry?
NATHAN
Three. One shoulder, one hip, and
one right next to Mr. Wally --
(pats his groin)
Where most patdowns never reveal
it, as an agent is often reluctant
to feel up another man's groin.
Henessey looks out the back windshield, says:
HENESSEY
Got a tail.
Nathan looks, SWEARS. The chase car's gaining on them.
NATHAN
Lucky bastard found the only cool
car in the fucking midwest.
He accelerates into a curve. Rockets past a connecting road,
as, without warning -- ANOTHER COP CAR skids out of the side
road, after him. The other deputy...
TIMOTHY, boxed. Going too fast, swerves...! PLOWS into the
deputy headlong. BROADSIDES him. Glass flies. The cop car's
TIRES blow out as it's SPUN 180 degrees... Timothy's car
careens into a GULLEY --
BAM-! Hits a dead stop. Hood shears off, goes flying. Back
end sticking up, tires spinning... The horn blares
continuously.
UP ABOVE: The other cop arrives, brakes to a halt -- Door
opens and out he comes. Helps Deputy #2 clamber from his
crippled black-and-white.
Together they leap down into the gulley, guns drawn.
Cringing as the long HOOOOOOOONNNNNK continues unabated.
Approaching the crashed car. Walking up, guns at their
sides... TWO SHOTS. They jitter and twitch. Topple over
dead, slide to the bottom of the gulley.
INSIDE THE CAR, we see that a very annoyed Timothy is also
very conscious. Splayed against the driver's side door.
Holding one hand down on the horn, HOOOOOOOONNK... He
releases it. Horn stops. On the radio Conway Twitty is
singing. He puts a shot through the radio. Silences it.
Climbs from the car and stares off down the road. Of Nathan
and his companions, there is neither whisper nor breath...
Ratings
Scene 24 - Secrets and Urgency
Nathan has pulled over in a grove of pine trees. The car is
covered with branches. He watches through a gap as two
police cars go by on the distant highway.
NATHAN
Your father was in the British SIS,
assigned to the Irish situation.
After he was murdered in 1971, his
friend Perkins recruited you for
Chapter, a black bag operation
working out of the U.S. State
Department.
Charly is overloaded. Trying to keep up, not wanting to:
NATHAN (CONT’D)
Fall, 1987: Presidential orders
come down. You're to flush out a
terrorist by the name of Daedalus.
You never complete the mission,
electing instead to die, of all
things, despite clear orders to the
contrary. And dead you remain
until, without preamble, you re-
emerge, eight years later and
fifteen pounds heavier.
SAMANTHA
Would you lay off the weight?
NATHAN
I think we can safely assume
Daedalus is aware of your
resurrection and is attempting to
reverse it. *Damn*, I can't drive
around in this thing.
(beat)
Any idea where we can go to stash
this car?
IN SAMANTHA'S LAP
Her fingers unconsciously fiddle with something. Damp,
crumpled. The ENVELOPE. One address left.
SAMANTHA
This address...? I... I recognize
it now. I think it belongs to a
friend.
Henessey stares at her. As Nathan reaches for the envelope,
his coat falls open and Samantha GASPS; his left side is
soaked with blood.
NATHAN
Perhaps you'd best drive.
Ratings
Scene 25 - Frozen Conflicts
The house is actually an old converted MILL. Beyond it,
frozen landscape stretches to the lakeshore. In the
BARNYARD, a scruffy looking COWBOY TYPE is splitting logs on
a tree stump. Drops the axe. Scoops up an armload of
firewood. Comes around the corner --
Drops the logs, startled. AN UNLIKELY TRIO approaches.
NATHAN, sweating. Pasty. Levels a revolver. Samantha says:
SAMANTHA
Don't be afraid, we don't want to
hurt you.
(beat)
I just want to know who you are.
Seeing her, his eyes go wide -- He locks her in a whooping
BEAR HUG, shouts:
MAN
CHARLY, BABY!!
Picks her up, SPINS HER around, laughing... Henessey and
Nathan stare. Befuddled.
TIME CUT - MINUTES LATER
The strange man (let's call him LUKE) stands awkwardly in
the dooryard. Shifting from foot to foot. NATHAN watches him
dispassionately from the tree stump. Gun on his knee.
LUKE
(sighs)
Look, is this America's Funniest
Practical Videos or something?
The DOOR bangs open and Samantha comes out of the house.
Carrying bandages. Alcohol. Crosses to the tree stump,
kneels before Nathan. His voice is a harsh rasp:
NATHAN
Let me do it.
He bats her away, administers his own first aid. LUKE pipes
up, exasperated:
LUKE
I can't believe you don't remember
dating me. Charly, please, you
pursued me for months.
SAMANTHA
Yeah, well. I caught you and forgot
you. Sorry.
LUKE
It's December, you'll remember.
Right...?
He chuckles. Looks at her face. Stops chuckling, takes a
sudden interest in the ground. Sam crosses to HENESSEY,
standing nearby. Takes him aside, whispers:
SAMANTHA
(sotto)
This is ridiculous. What do we do
with this guy?
HENESSEY
Don't ask me, I just work here. Did
you bump pelvises with him or not?
SAMANTHA
It's possible.
HENESSEY
And you kid, Cathead --
SAMANTHA
Caitlin.
HENESSEY
Yeah, whatever. Um, could he be
the...?
SAMANTHA
I don't know.
(beat)
It's coming back, though. All
these... little details about him.
She studies Luke. Frowning. Concentrating.
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
I know he's got a pin in his leg,
car accident. I know he cuts his
own hair... thinks Rush Limbaugh's
an ass. I know he sits down when he
pees. I know --
HENESSEY
Enough. You're giving me a stiffy.
Just then NATHAN is hit with a dreadful-sounding cough. It
wracks him. Doubles him up. LUKE blurts out:
LUKE
Goddammit, he's *dying*. Let me
call the poor bastard an ambulance!
Nathan grits his teeth:
NATHAN
*No ambulance*. The car I ordered
will be here soon.
SAMANTHA
Mr. Windeman, please let him help
you. I know this man, I... I'm
pretty sure I slept with him.
Nathan presses a bandage to his side.
NATHAN
I'm about to faint... And if you
call an ambulance, I will fucking
kill you.
He pitches forward into Henessey's arms.
Ratings
Scene 26 - Revelations and Betrayals
Beside the lakeshore LUKE AND SAMANTHA walk side by side.
RACK FOCUS to the porch: NATHAN is laid out on a chaise
lounge. Henessey beside him, applying cold compresses. The
older man stirs, coming awake... Tries to sit up, Henessey
nudges him flat again.
NATHAN
Where's Charly...?
HENESSEY
Relax. She's with Luke. That's his
name, Luke.
NATHAN
Goddammit, I told you --
HENESSEY
Yeah, yeah, we weren't real big on
what you told us. I had him call
you an ambulance, so shoot me.
Should be here within fifteen
minutes.
Nathan groans. Henessey presses a cloth to the man's head.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
The guy's story checks out. Sam
knows things about him. Stuff only
a lover would know.
NATHAN
Sod that... just watch them.
HENESSEY
Don't worry about it. Chick signs
my checks, I'm gonna watch her get
aced? Lie back down.
Nathan swallows. Grimaces. Lies back down.
NATHAN
Checks. You're not fooling anyone,
dear boy.
(bemused)
You'd wash her feet and drink the
water... wouldn't you?
HENESSEY
Cut me a break, nimrod. She's
married with a kid.
Busted. Nathan coughs. Speaks, eyes faraway:
NATHAN
My star pupil...
(smiles thinly)
That man in Pennsylvania
yesterday... The one at the diner,
that was hers, wasn't it...?
HENESSEY
How'd you know?
NATHAN
(nods)
I saw the news report, they found a
shell casing a thousand yards away,
helluva shot.
HENESSEY
Tell me about Daedalus, what's his
story?
NATHAN
Arms broker, man without a face.
Veteran of Baader-Meinhoff and the
Red Brigades. He's rumored to be
based in the U.S. Doesn't travel
much, they say. Too afraid of metal
detectors, the poor sod's got a
foot- long piece of steel in his
leg.
At which point, Henessey stops. Frowns.
HENESSEY
Come again?
NATHAN
A pin, Mr. Henessey. A surgical
pin.
He scuffs his shoe in the porch dust. Eyes narrowed:
HENESSEY
Where the hell...? I know I just
heard that somewhere, something
about a...
His eyes widen:
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Oh, fuck.
Points to the lake:
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Nathan, that son of a bitch has one
in *his* leg.
Nathan freezes, thoughts racing... swears violently:
NATHAN
You blithering idiot, the son of a
bitch wasn't her lover, he was her
target, he's Daedalus!
HENESSEY
Oh, Jesus...! That's how she knew
all that shit, not from *dating*
him -- she *studied* the fucker to
take him out!
He takes off for the lake at a dead run. Behind him, the
bloodied Nathan DRAGS himself to his feet and lurches off
the porch, stumbling. Weaving. Refusing to go down.
AT THE LAKESIDE -- Luke walks behind Samantha. Talking
softly in her ear, smiling... She hears something. A
RATCHETING noise, drawing closer, hmmm...? Looks up. Wishes
she hadn't -- A BELL RANGER HELICOPTER is descending over
the lake. Inside, TIMOTHY shoulders a bolt action rifle,
coolly professional.
FIRES, kicks up dirt at Henessey's feet. Stops the fucker
cold. On the shore, LUKE smiles at Samantha, says:
LUKE
Sure don't look like an ambulance,
does it?
SLUGS HER IN THE FACE. Drops her to the ice like a broken
doll.
CUT TO BLACK:
Black indeed. Deep. Empty. Out of the darkness, we hear a
NEWS COMMENTATOR. Voice scratchy. Indistinct. Far away or
long ago...
A TELEVISION IMAGE fills the screen. Black and white.
Grainy. The legend: BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND, over footage
of a sidewalk bombing. We're back in time, the year 1971. A
crisp- looking BRIGADIER is speaking to the off-camera
reporter:
BRIGADIER
...the bombing has been linked to
the Ulster Volunteer Force, which,
as you know, is the counterpart of
the provisional IRA and the most
violent of the Protestant
Paramilitary groups.
An ANNOUNCER's face replaces him:
ANNOUNCER
Despite threats of reprisals,
Brigadier Baltimore repeats that he
will seek to cut UVF supply lines,
especially from Tripoli, Lybia.
U.S. President Nixon concurs
that...
PULL BACK TO REVEAL
A battered TV, volume turned low. Snoozing in a chair, a
rumpled older man -- It's the BRIGADIER, the one we just saw
speaking on TV. A CALENDAR on the table identifies the date
as June 23, 1971.
IN THE NEXT ROOM
Girlish decor. Pinups of rock stars. A YOUNG GIRL is awake,
dressed and currently stuffing two pillows under a blanket.
She inspects her handiwork. Human-looking lump. Turns,
satisfied.
One last look at the WOODEN JESUS on the wall -- Creeps from
the room. Past the sleeping Brigadier. To the front door.
She checks over her shoulder, nervous. Taps out five digits.
Shuts off the alarm. Unlocks the door and slips out.
Ratings
Scene 27 - Betrayal in the Shadows
The boy's name is GREGORY. Sixteen, with a quick, easy grin.
Huddled beneath a tree with him, the girl is gelatin.
GREGORY
You've never made it with a boy,
then?
GIRL
There's nothing odd about it. I'm
only sixteen.
GREGORY
Rubbish.
GIRL
What?
GREGORY
You're fourteen and not a day more.
Here now, I'm right, you're
blushing.
GIRL
Look, what if I'm ignorant? It's my
father, we never stay in one place,
I never meet bloody anyone.
GREGORY
Saw him on the telly. Think he'd
kill me? I'm a nasty one, I am.
He slides a hand under her sweater. She stiffens, terrified
and exhilarated, as he gently strokes her nipple with a
thumb.
GREGORY (CONT’D)
You know what, I'll bet you've
never even kissed a boy... now,
have you?
(beat)
Aye, but you want to...
He leans in. She leans forward. A jerky, tentative duckling
on the road to swan-dom. Their lips touch.
Across the road, THE WINDOWS BLOW OUT in her father's flat.
She spins, scream caught in her throat -- as ARMED MEN rush
from the house. Through the door, the one she left unlocked.
Stutter of SMALL ARMS FIRE. She whirls on Gregory, realizes
only then that the guy is LAUGHING.
GREGORY (CONT’D)
Thanks for shutting off the alarm,
you bloody Papist bitch.
He slaps her full across the face.
GREGORY (CONT’D)
Tell the press the Ulster Force
claims full credit.
He spins and flees.
INT. BRIGADIER'S FLAT - MOMENTS LATER
Girl, moving. Walls racing past, shot to PIECES, run run run
into her bedroom and LURCHES to a stop, screaming:
GIRL
*DA*!
Propped against the wall. By the bed. He's still alive.
Incredibly. The man has DRAGGED himself in here. He refused
to die, simply couldn't, you see... Not until he reached his
daughter.
ANGLE ON BED
Two pillows, jammed beneath a blanket. The Brigadier just
stares at them. His face slack. White and gastly. Shifts his
gaze to his daughter. Tears running from his dulled eyes.
BRIGADIER
How much...
He raises the pistol to his head.
BRIGADIER (CONT’D)
...did they pay you...?
He fires. On a young girl's dissolve into insanity we FADE
OUT... Sound, echoing away. Blackness, total.
FADE IN:
Ratings
Scene 28 - Drowning in Darkness
Waking is slow.
Samantha opens her eyes. Blinks. Hazy, out of focus. Tries
to rub her eyes, can't. Hands. Something's wrong, what the
hell'd she do with her hands...? Ah. They're stretched over
her head. BOUND WITH CORD. Suddenly she's very awake.
ANOTHER ANGLE
The basement of the old converted mill. A drafty, windswept
place full of old, broken timbers. A river runs through it.
A stream, at any rate. The waters are still and frozen now.
Above the stream -- A GREAT WOODEN WHEEL. Smaller corollary
of the wheel outside. Mounted on the same axis.
SAMANTHA is tied to that wheel. Lashed to its SIDE, affixed
to it like a goddess to a Greek sailing ship. Now the bad
news, the ice has been chopped away so the wheel can TURN...
And it will plunge Samantha UNDER THE FREEZING WATER.
Beneath the ice. Bound hand and foot. Strapped to the wheel,
wearing only a nightgown, she is utterly helpless.
THE MAN KNOWN AS DAEDALUS (AKA Luke) stands before her,
giving instructions to the ubiquitous TIMOTHY. He looks up
at Samantha. Seeing her eyelids flutter, he tosses her a
cherry wave. Gone is the gee-whiz country boy schtick; in
its place, a frightening arrogance. He tosses her his
cheeriest wave:
DAEDALUS
Well, good afternoon. If it isn't
the forgetful spy. How you feeling?
SAMANTHA
Not-so fresh.
Samantha struggles against her bonds. No dice. Subsides.
Takes a look around at her predicament. TIMOTHY stands at
the edge of the ice. Watching her intently. Smiles thinly:
SAMANTHA (CONT’D)
You... you're... the man from the
bar...?
TIMOTHY
Look at her. She's not faking it,
she doesn't know me from Adam.
Daedalus shakes his head, frowning:
DAEDALUS
It's not that I don't trust my
compatriot, Colonel Baltimore. In
fact, I had every confidence that
your amnesia was genuine -- until
you showed up *here*. You follow?
(beat)
Meanwhile, I just got around to
reading the papers, there's the
small matter of an incident
upstate. Long range rifle shot,
blew a man out of his socks.
(coldly)
You can see where I'm coming from.
I'm trying to pull of the biggest
job of my career. I have to know.
How much you really remember... and
who you've told.
SAMANTHA
I didn't tell a soul, I swear.
DAEDALUS
We'll soon know.
He crosses toward a large RED BUTTON. Set into a wooden
beam. Samantha thrashes at the bindings. Looks down at the
water where it intercepts the mammoth wheel. Fighting panic:
SAMANTHA
Is... is this a torture thing...?
DAEDALUS
Torture, yes. The torturing of
beautiful women, albeit politically
incorrect, is an addiction with me.
(beat)
A woman never looks quite so
beautiful as when her face is
distended in pain. Witness the
beauty of childbirth.
SAMANTHA
Please, I'm getting all misty.
Look, untie me, I'll make any face
you want.
DAEDALUS
Let's not, and say we did. Do you
smoke?
SAMANTHA
Smoke...? Um, no. Not... not
really.
DAEDALUS
Good. You'll last longer. Now hush
yourself, and take a deep breath.
We're gonna do the torture thing.
He hits the button. An electric WHINE -- THE BIG WHEEL
TURNS. Feet first into the water. Struggling. Arms stretched
above her head. She plunges below the surface. A new
dimension in PAIN. Frozen, mind-numbing.
She WRITHES against the wheel. It's like a crushing VICE is
ripping her limb from limb. She opens her eyes, briefly.
Discovers she's not alone -- A mere foot from her face, THE
BLOATED CORPSE of the drowned NATHAN. Staring away and away.
Blue with cyanosis.
Meanwhile, back ON THE SURFACE: Daedalus turns to his right-
hand man, who says:
TIMOTHY
We're running on schedule, I just
secured the tanker. We're borrowing
it from Carbide in South Carolina.
Cargo listed as fire retardant.
DAEDALUS
(nods)
Juice up the bird, we head out soon
as I'm done here.
He turns. Hits the red button again. THE WHEEL reverses
itself. Creaks and moans, turning --
SAMANTHA BREAKS THE SURFACE. Gasping for air. Wheezing.
Choking. The FREEZING WIND plasters the nightgown to her.
DAEDALUS (CONT’D)
Take all the air you can, that's
right. If you need to vomit, do it
now.
Samantha, face twisted. Coughs. Wheezes. TIMOTHY looks her
in the eye... shakes his head:
TIMOTHY
You don't remember *at all*...? The
greatest night of your life, shit,
drown this ungrateful wench.
He exits. Daedalus, alone with his captive. On her features,
unbridled HATRED. He chuckles:
DAEDALUS
Talk to me Colonel. Is my identity
safe...? The truth, and I'll shoot
you in the head. Nice and quick.
Otherwise, you're in for a long
night. *Who did you talk to*?
SAMANTHA
...Nobody... fuck you...
He shakes his head, makes a "tsk tsk" gesture. Smiles grimly
as he turns his attention to the red switch.
DAEDALUS
Hate to see you like this, Charly.
I heard you were a helluva spy
once.
Without warning, her head snaps upward -- Eyes cold. Voice,
not her own:
SAMANTHA
Watch your back. I'm not done yet.
DAEDALUS
That's a very funny joke. You're an
entertaining woman. Good night.
He hits the button. She plunges beneath the surface.
Daedalus walks over to one corner. Sits down. Takes out a
pipe. Lights it. Picks up a book. Reads. And reads.
UNDERWATER -- Sam THRASHES and jerks, to and fro. Dead
Nathan, mocking her. There, under the water, the memories
come... In a flood. Stark and vivid.
MEMORY FLASH - THE YEAR
THE TRUNK OF A CAR opens, revealing a patch of night sky.
Mostly obscured by two familiar individuals --
There's ONE-EYED JACK, remember him? Few years younger. One
eyeball heavier. The other man is TIMOTHY. He looks in the
trunk. Nods.
TIMOTHY
Okay, I'll signal Daedalus. Your
money will be waiting, and Jack...?
Do yourself a favor, do her and
dump her, I'm serious. Don't get
cute, try to play doctor first. I
made that mistake.
The lid SLAMS SHUT.
BACK UNDER THE
WATER
The world of rushing MADNESS, memories unspooling now,
faster and faster --
MEMORY FLASH: A CLIFF overlooking the ocean. Darkness.
Sheeting rain. Our heroine (for it is unquestionably
SAMANTHA) is lying unconscious atop a rocky bluff. Drenched.
ONE-EYED JACK produces a SYRINGE from a leather case. Rolls
up her sleeve. Starts to administer the injection. Stops. He
can't resist... Can't help LOOSENING the buttons on her
shirt.
Her eyes snap open. And before it even registers, she's
grabbed the hypodermic and plunged it deep INTO HIS EYE --
Then she's up and running. Along the cliff, toward the
car... Jack, HOWLING in pain, stumbling... Draws his gun and
shoots her. In the head.
She pitches backward. Tumbles from the cliff...! Rushes
headlong toward the waters below, getting smaller --
Ratings
Scene 29 - Revenge from the Depths
Here. Now. She breaks the surface. Gasping for breath.
SHRIEKS, a sound ripped from her by the PAIN, the COLD --
By her ruptured sanity. She hangs there. Drenched. Half
frozen.
DAEDALUS can't help it. A chill dances up his spine,
watching... She is not afraid. She is not whimpering. She is
looking directly AT HIM. With a sick smile.
CHARLY
Daedalus... Make you a deal... Let
me go now...? I'll leave you the
use of your legs... Bargain, trust
me...
Daedalus struggles to recover his poise.
DAEDALUS
How did you find me? Who knows
about this place, WHO HAVE YOU
TOLD?
Charly's eyes bore into his:
CHARLY
I let you touch me, cowboy... I
think I need a bath.
Daedalus stabs the red button. THE BIG WHEEL TURNS... Into
the water goes Charly. Going down for the third time.
UNDER THE WATER - HELL - SAME
Here we are again, in the world of silence and blinding
PAIN. Despair and madness but now there's something else --
Now there's RAGE.
It takes losing most of the FLESH from her right wrist...
But she frees the hand. WRENCHES it loose. The water turns
soupy red around it. GROPES, blindly. Fingers NUMB, so
fucking cold -- Breath, running out. No air. NO TIME.
She darts her right hand forward. Toward the obscenely
bobbing CORPSE of Nathan. Does something grotesque, jams her
hand
DOWN THE CORPSE'S PANTS --
Hideaway gun, it's right where he said, right beside Mr.
Wally. PSP-25. Semi-auto, steel jackets. She waits. Rage
inside her. Death in her hands.
MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE SURFACE
The wheel CREAKS. Groans. The terrorist in the western boots
watches her emerge, face first -- She comes up firing.
The first slug takes him in the knee. Blows it to scraps. He
collapses, howling. She shifts aim. THE RED BUTTON. No
hesitation. BLAM-! Hits it DEAD ON. Stops the wheel.
Incredible.
Doesn't blink. Unties her captive hand. BLOWS TO SPLINTERS
the wood surrounding her feet. Leaps to solid ground, as
ANOTHER ANGLE
Daedalus looks up from his prone position. In agony. A
vision from Hell approaches: A fiendish blue-skinned woman
in a
sodden nightgown. Blood leaking from one wrist. She has
risen, REBORN, from the icy waters.
DAEDALUS
Samantha... Please...!
CHARLY
Who's Samantha?
She shoots him in the other knee. He HOWLS. Gun, empty. She
tosses it aside. In a nearby crate: ASSAULT RIFLES. Snatches
up a Kalashnikov and clip. Kneels and says:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
You see in the movies, badguy says,
"Talk to me and I'll let you live."
We're gonna run a variation, it
goes like this: Talk to me...? I'll
let you die.
She fires again.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Where's Henessey...?
INT. ROOT CELLAR - WITH HENESSEY
The detective lies naked, bound hand and foot. Beaten.
FREEZING. A single ray of LIGHT through a tiny crack.
He hears a SPLINTERING noise, as if a door's been ripped
from its hinges. Pause -- A FUSILLADE of gunfire. Shouts,
cries. A heavy weight SLAMS to the floorboards above him.
Through a crack comes a tiny stream of BLOOD, dribbling onto
him, as --
EXT. OLD MILL - SAME TIME
TIMOTHY bolts from the house, clutching a bleeding hand.
Running hellbent for leather. Reaches a parked car. Leaps in
and kicks over the engine as, behind him --
MORE MEN come piling out of the house, shouting. Running for
their cars -- never make it. CUT DOWN IN THEIR TRACKS.
Wracked by gunfire, bodies twitching...
And as Timothy PEELS OUT, spraying mud, we pull UP, UP, AND
AWAY... Into the sky, moving ever higher, gunfire fading...
Until now we're WAY UP, we can see Timothy's car... the OLD
MILL, ever so tiny below us...
It blows to pieces. Sends flaming boards flying STRAIGHT UP
AT US.
Ratings
Scene 30 - Containment Protocol
The door bursts open as PERKINS stalks in, shedding his
coat. His aide -- let's call him HARRY -- looks up
nervously.
PERKINS
This can't happen, Harry. The
President's already up at night,
prowling his sock drawer for double
agents, and now we've got a fucking
rogue on our hands.
HARRY
Sir, there's someone in the
conference room to see you.
PERKINS
Oh, for the love of Christ, who can
be so fucking important?
He throws open a door off the passage: THERE'S TIMOTHY.
Perched on the edge of a conference table, tamping a pack of
smokes. Perkins reacts, stunned.
TIMOTHY
It's me, your poor black cousin.
The one you can't be seen with.
PERKINS
*You*...! Are you crazy, coming
here??
TIMOTHY
(Lights a cigarette)
My boss is dead.
PERKINS
What...?
TIMOTHY
Your rogue bitch just took him out.
Probably went shopping in his
weapons storage too.
He blows smoke. Trains his eyes on the older man. Piercing.
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
We're still on, Perkins. I've got
the tanker, the chemist, all ready
to go... but you gotta contain her,
man. We gotta step on her hard and
fast.
An agent on the SWITCHBOARD calls out:
SWITCHBOARD
You have a call on line three, sir.
PERKINS
Who is it?
SWITCHBOARD
Charly Baltimore, sir.
Perkins stops dead. Lunges for the phone, nearly drops it:
PERKINS
Perkins.
INTERCUT - OUR HEROINE AT PAY PHONE
We only see her mouth. Set in hard, grim lines. She says:
CHARLY
It's cold, I want to come in.
PERKINS
Charly...? Oh, my God, what the
hell are you *doing*? Listen to me,
I'm going to direct you to a safe
house, get you on a plane --
CHARLY
Can the bullshit, I'm not telling
you where I am. I'll come in for a
full debriefing, but we do it my
way.
PERKINS
Charly, you're being paranoid. It's
not like it used to be, you're
eight years out of date.
CHARLY
Do tell.
PERKINS
Congress won't authorize a dime,
Charly. Chapter's on the way out,
we've been reduced to a records-
keeping agency, we *don't have
enough money to kill you*,
understand...?
CHARLY
Fuck you, Perkins. If you want me
dead, you'll pass a hat in the
typing pool to buy bullets. We do
things my way.
PERKINS
Your way, I see. And if I say go to
hell?
CHARLY
From where I stand, it ain't much
of a commute. You'll hear from me.
She clicks off. Perkins darts a look at the techie -- guy
shakes his head, no go on the trace. Perkins swears.
PERKINS
She mustn't threaten our success.
Contain her, whatever it takes. But
be *careful*. If it gets out you're
working for me... we'll both be
grabbing our ankles on the White
House lawn.
ESTABLISHING SHOT - ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY - NIGHT
There. Thank you, New Jersey, that'll be all. You can go
now. Um, please.
Ratings
Scene 31 - Awakening in Chaos
Waking is slow for Mitch Henessey. He swallows dryly. Eyes
creak open, struggle to focus... Hears WATER running. A
shower. Squints at his watch. He's not wearing a watch, he
knew that... In BED, naked. Chest swathed in bandages, what
the hell...? He pokes them. Jerks his head, hissing in pain.
EXT. LIVING ROOM OF SUITE - WITH HENESSEY - NIGHT
Henessey lights a smoke at the bar. Flicks the match in a
trashcan. Starts to go, stops... Reaches into the can.
Plucks out a tiny scrap: PHOTOGRAPH, ripped in two.
A photo of Hal and Caitlin.
He pockets it, disturbed. Crosses to the bathroom door. The
shower has stopped. Raises a tentative hand, starts to
knock... It OPENS. There, in a thin silk robe, is a WOMAN,
swabbing at her hair.
She breezes out of the bathroom all chipper, like nothing's
unusual. Notices Henessey cursorily. Raises a finger: "one
sec." Lowers her head and shakes it like a terrier, spraying
him.
He cannot stop staring. It's Samantha, it *has* to be...
Now she's BLONDE, though. Hair clipped short. Bobbed. Blood-
red fingernails. Red cotton shift, legs for days.
Then, she *smiles* at him -- and it's not her, not Samantha.
Amnesia's over, folks, because we're clearly looking at a
changed woman: This one's name is CHARLY BALTIMORE, and she
hasn't seen the light of day in eight years.
CHARLY
Hey, Mitch. Glad you're awake. Uh-
oh, you're seeping.
She grabs a washcloth. Frowns, says:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Here, look at this.
With that, she opens her robe and exposes her breasts.
Henessey perks up considerably -- then SCREAMS as she RIPS
the gauze from his chest. She clinchs the robe again.
HENESSEY
Ah, that hurt like shit!!
CHARLY
That's why I distracted you first.
(dabs at his wounds)
Same principle as breaking in
virgins.
HENESSEY
Same as -- virgins, *what*...?
CHARLY
Saw it in a Harold Robbins book.
Guy bites her on the ear as he goes
in. Distracts from the pain. You
ever try that?
HENESSEY
No, I slug 'em in the jaw and yell
"pop goes the weasel," what the
fuck are you talking about? Who are
you??
CHARLY
Name's Charly. The spy. Nice to
meet'cha. Drink?
Ratings
Scene 32 - Casino Confessions and Midnight Tests
Henessey watches, fascinated. All the little mannerisms, the
differences. Shaking out a match, running a hand through her
hair... And never missing a thing, eyes constantly roving,
scanning. Guard never down. She plucks a drink from a nearby
table, steals it outright.
CHARLY
See? Sit next to the dance floor,
every drink's free. People finish
dancing, they think the waiter
lifted 'em.
Henessey grimaces. Clears his throat, says:
HENESSEY
I'm confused. Gimme a minute.
CHARLY
Take two, they're small.
She knocks back her drink. No hesitation. Henessey shifts
uncomfortably, lights a smoke.
HENESSEY
Okay. Let's say I buy it. You're
actually a trained killer, Jesus, I
can't even say it with a straight
face.
(frowns)
So then... Samantha, she...
CHARLY
Never really existed. Like Nathan
said, she was a total fabrication,
I made her up.
HENESSEY
Fabrication. And now she's just...
gone? Forever and ever?
CHARLY
Thank God. Look at my inordinately
large ass, look what she did to me.
Henessey squirms, this one's gonna take some time to digest.
HENESSEY
Pretty convincing act.
CHARLY
Guess so.
HENESSEY
I mean, her personality, it had to
come from *somewhere* --
CHARLY
Change the subject. Better yet,
steal me another drink.
Henessey sighs. Next to him a couple get up to dance. He
reaches over and lifts their beers.
HENESSEY
Drink up. What's next?
CHARLY
I called Chapter. I'm trying to
bring us in from the field alive...
HENESSEY
Chapter. Can you trust them?
CHARLY
Not sure. Until I know, you might
wanna stay away from curbs.
He looks at her, confused:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
They like to push people in front
of buses.
Didn't need to know that. A DANCING SANTA goes by:
SANTA CLAUS
(bad Caribbean accent)
Hey, lady, Santa want to dance the
lambada wit'choo. *Come this way,
everybody*!
He shimmies away. Charly grins at Henessey:
CHARLY
If I could come that way I wouldn't
need to dance the lambada. Follow
me, I need you to do something.
EXT. DANCE CLUB - PAY PHONE - NIGHTTIME
Henessey hunches forward, speaks rapidly into the phone:
HENESSEY
...The lady's whacked, Trin, she's
lost it and I want fucking out, now
*call the Feds*. She's moving us
tonight, I'll sneak out to this
phone, call you back at midnight
with the details.
He hangs up quickly. Turns -- reveal CHARLY, lounging a foot
away, watching him.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
All right, Charly. What did that
accomplish?
CHARLY
I'm testing our boy Perkins. I
figure he's gotta be tapping your
office. Got a light...?
HENESSEY
(pause, then:)
Oh, no. He just traced that call?
She swipes matches from his pocket. Nods.
CHARLY
Come midnight, you hang by the
phone.
(MORE)
CHARLY (CONT'D)
Nobody shows, we think about
trusting him. He tries to kidnap
and torture you, well, there it is.
HENESSEY
Whoa, time out.
CHARLY
Oh, don't be such a baby.
(lights her cigarette)
Ten o'clock, we got two hours to
kill. I'm a woman, feed me.
Ratings
Scene 33 - Reflections on the Boardwalk
CARNIVAL RIDES, dead for the winter. Henessey and Charly
stroll beneath them. He smokes. She eats Chinese.
CHARLY
Ugh. God I'm full, I'm gonna have a
food baby.
He takes a good long look at her, still can't fathom it.
HENESSEY
"Charly." fucking unbelievable.
(beat)
Shame about the fat ass. I bet you
were really attractive once.
CHARLY
Oh, I was. Check this out. One
time? A guy said he'd fuck me.
HENESSEY
No.
CHARLY
Swear to God.
HENESSEY
Did he make good?
CHARLY
Absolutely. Oh, and afterwards? Oh
my God, afterwards I said the most
funny thing, you know what I
said...?
(beat)
I said, "Go back to your room.
Dad..."
She laughs through a swig of beer. MEMORY FLASH: Charly's
bedroom as DAD puts the gun to his head and fires, CRACK...
CHARLY (CONT’D)
It's why he thought I had him
killed.
Henessey huddles, watching her closely.
HENESSEY
Your father was murdered.
She nods, gazes out over the icy waters. Speaks, her voice
faraway and gone:
CHARLY
When Da died, I went to his
funeral. years old, today I
wouldn't. And I overheard a woman,
she was praying... She was thanking
God -- sounded so happy -- thanking
Him it hadn't been *her* father who
was killed. See... she didn't
really care that God had let
someone die... just so long as it
missed *her*.
(beat)
...and she bought her cross at the
same store as mine, see, that's
what we do, we all pray to the same
cross on a hundred different walls,
and sit back and wait to see who
gets hit and who gets missed.
Anger flares in her eye. Like a stirring of mud at the
bottom of a deep, deep, pond.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Fuck the waiting. Fuck being
afraid. I determine who gets hit,
and how hard. And I thank no one.
It's pathetic to thank someone who
spares you -- when they're just
taking someone else.
(beat)
Walk me upstairs?
Ratings
Scene 34 - Chemistry and Confrontation
They enter the suite. She drops her purse, sways toward him.
Presses him against the wall, framed there in the doorway.
CHARLY
This is my first date in eight
years, Mitch. Is this a fun
date...?
Quite suddenly, Charly leans over and kisses him on the
lips. He reacts, startled. Stares at her.
HENESSEY
Okay, what's going on?
CHARLY
True love, shut the fuck up.
HENESSEY
You kidding me? I'm an ex-con,
lady. I wear a shiny suit, my tie's
crooked, and the last time I got
blown candy bars cost a nickel.
Plus I'm ugly, so what's up?
CHARLY
Chemistry. Be quiet.
She nibbles his ear. Pulls back, smiling -- and Henessey's
holding the picture of HAL and CAITLIN. The one he found
torn in two. He looks her full in the face:
HENESSEY
Chemistry my ass. Know what I
think? I think this is why you'd
fuck me.
(beat)
To kill a schoolteacher. Bury any
trace of her.
He pushes her away.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Sorry, I liked the schoolteacher.
When she comes back, give me a
call.
Charly jerks backward. Angry. Henessey heads for the
bathroom.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Oh, and call your fuckin' kid, will
ya'? It's two days to Christmas,
and she's under the mistaken
impression that Mommy gives a shit.
Charly snatches up her purse, eyes burning:
CHARLY
I didn't ask for the kid, Mitch.
Samantha had the kid, not me,
NOBODY ASKED ME.
She storms out. CUT TO:
Ratings
Scene 35 - Silent Night, Deadly Fight
Charly stalks the city streets. A quartet sings, "God Rest
Ye Merry," ostensibly about joy, oddly the most depressing
tune ever written. On a crowded street, she is alone. Total
misfit. Searches her own haggard features in a shop window.
Swallows hard, whispers:
CHARLY
Easy, baby. She ain't coming back,
no way. Bitch is dead.
She bustles down a sidestreet, hands jammed in her pockets.
That's when a tall BEARDED MAN crosses the street and falls
in alongside.
BEARDED MAN
Good evening.
CHARLY
Fuck off.
BEARDED MAN
I see me a good-looking lady, all
upset, I wonder if she doesn't need
some male company.
CHARLY
Forget it. I'm saving myself 'til I
get raped.
His hand edges out of his windbreaker with a snubnosed .38.
BEARDED MAN
Step into the alley, honey. I ain't
asking, I'm telling.
Charly stops walking. Regards him the way you or I might
look at a telephone cord. Groans:
CHARLY
Oh, don't tell me. You're early,
Goddammit, you're supposed to be at
the pay phone. Go away and come
back at midnight. I'm not ready
yet. Got a light?
The guy stares, mouth working.
BEARDED MAN
Lady, I have a gun!
Which is precisely when a much larger Smith and Wesson COCKS
next to his ear:
VOICE (V.O.)
This ain't no ham on rye, pal.
HENESSEY holds the gun rock steady in his big fist. Charly
spins on him, eyes flashing:
CHARLY
What the hell are you doing here?
HENESSEY
Saving your life. Woulda got here
sooner but I was thinking up the
sandwich line.
CHARLY
You think I couldn't take him?
*Idiot*, you probably scared the
other guy away --
HENESSEY
What other guy -- ?
CHARLY
Headhunters, nimrod, they go in
pairs, were you always this stupid
or did you take lessons?
HENESSEY
I TOOK LESSONS.
The hitman watches, bewildered. Considers waving to get
their attention. Finally he can't stand it. Blurts out:
BEARDED MAN
Hey!
Charly snaps her head toward him:
CHARLY
*What*?
BEARDED MAN
I still got this fucking gun!
She smiles sweetly.
CHARLY
No, you don't.
Takes it off him. Just like that. He stares dumbly at his
empty hand. Half of his trigger finger is missing.
BEARDED MAN
SHIIIIT!!
Charly flips the gun into the air. Launches a SPIN KICK.
Shatters his jaw. Catapults him backwards.
Completes her spin, catlike -- Catches the .38 on its way
down. DOESN'T STOP THERE. Arm out, gun cocked -- FIRES.
Straight at Henessey, what...? He dives aside --
BEHIND HIM, a second HITMAN. Blown to tatters. The KNIFE
meant for Henessey arcs through the air...
Imbeds itself in the ground an inch from the prone
detective. He stares at it with shocked eyes. The killer
hits, dead. Twitches. CHARLY. Lowers her arm slowly. Gun
barrel smoking.
CHARLY
Fuck you. Just fuck all of you.
Ratings
Scene 36 - Highway Reckoning
A BRONCO ROARS UP out of a parking garage. Swerves and
plunges into the maze of streets that inspired the world's
most popular board game.
INT. BRONCO - SAME
Charly drives, possessed. Henessey drinks. Hands shaking.
CHARLY
Dammit. I knew I couldn't trust
that prick.
She throws a shrieking skid. Henessey clutches for the
dashboard, swearing.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Easy, Spike. I got myself out of
Beirut once, I think I can get us
out of New Jersey.
HENESSEY
Don't be so sure, others have
tried. The entire population, in
fact.
(beat)
Look, about me...? I mean, what's
up, you're this hot survival chick,
I'm getting the feeling you don't
need me anymore.
Charly reaches over. Yanks the doorhandle.
CHARLY
Good point.
She kicks him out of the moving car.
EXT. HIGHWAY - SAME TIME
He bounces off the highway. Rolls. Over and over, shudders
to a stop. Pause... The wind blows. He groans. Looks up,
spits gravel. Stands. Dusts himself off. Watches the Bronco
go far away.
TIME CUT - EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
As Henessey trudges wearily down the highway we HEAR:
HENESSEY (V.O.)
Dear Mom: I was tortured, now I'm
in Atlantic City. The girl of my
dreams just threw me out of a
speeding car. Now more people will
come an shoot me in the head. On
the plus side, I won two bucks at
video poker.
A SCREECH of tires, he turns, startled -- here comes the
Bronco. Skids onto the highway and races back toward him.
Pulls up alongside. CHARLY throws open the door, says:
CHARLY
Get in.
He does. Without a word. Closes the door, they drive off. He
lights a cigarette like nothing happened. Shakes out the
match, speaks without looking at her:
HENESSEY
Found a use for me.
CHARLY
Yep.
(beat)
I gotta vanish, Mitch. I need
money, a whole bunch.
HENESSEY
Why didn't you say so? Gimme a
second while I pull it out of my
ass.
She turns to him, a gleam in her eye. Speaks softly:
CHARLY
The key, Mitch. The one I keep
around my neck.
HENESSEY
What about it?
CHARLY
What if I told you it's the key to
Box 406 at Pittsburgh International
Airport?
HENESSEY
How would you know? Someone filed
off the numbers.
CHARLY
Not someone. Me. I filed them off.
(beat)
There's a briefcase in Box 406,
Mitch.
HENESSEY
What's in it?
CHARLY
$200,000.
Henessey does a spit-take, sprays whiskey.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Payment for my last assignment. I
need you to retrieve it for me.
HENESSEY
Why me?
CHARLY
Don't be stupid, they might have
the place covered. I don't want to
get shot to pieces.
HENESSEY
Shoulda known.
(sighs)
Gimme the key.
CHARLY
I'd love to. I left it with Caitlin
back in Ohio.
Ratings
Scene 37 - Shadows of the Past
The BRONCO races on into the night...
INT. BRONCO - SAME TIME
Late, very late now. Henessey, driving. Beside him, Charly
reclines, lost in reverie. Features bathed in passing
roadlights. Henessey grinds out a butt:
HENESSEY
Humor me: you're a paid assassin,
then you fall off a cliff. Sink
under the ocean, and when you come
out you're a fucking schoolmarm,
wanna tell me what happened?
CHARLY
I fell into a school of fish, they
elected me principal. Shut the fuck
up.
HENESSEY
Mmmm. Personally...? I'm thinking
maybe Samantha Caine wasn't an act.
Maybe you forgot to hate yourself
for eight years, ever think of
that...?
CHARLY
Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Hmmm... Nope,
seems clear enough to me. Hate
myself, Christ almighty. What are
you, my shrink?
HENESSEY
No, just some loser thought he
could maybe understand, fuck it. I
been there, you know. I'd kill for
fucking amnesia. I'm with my boy
and all I can think is I got reamed
in the ass by three guys. Merry
Christmas, son, here's a ball
glove, did you know Daddy screamed
when they carved the name in his
back...? Mary, by the way. I pushed
for Cindy, but hell. God, I'm
tired.
(beat)
I never did one thing right, you
know it, not one fucking thing. Not
even accidental, that takes skill.
He looks over. She's asleep, hasn't heard a word. Face
slack, lips slightly parted. The toughness banished from her
features. In its place, a lingering sadness. CUT TO:
EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - DAWN BREAKING
The Bronco glides along. Charly in the passenger seat, eyes
roving like a hawk's. THE CAINE HOUSE is peaceful and quiet.
Christmas lights, still burning dimly.
CHARLY
Drive past, don't slow down.
(points)
Park under those trees, honk if
there's trouble.
HENESSEY
(bad Rochester)
Yas, massah, I be slowin' de caw
down fo' you.
She stuffs a .45 automatic in her waistband. Cradles an MP-5
beneath her coat. Rolls out of the still-moving truck. Makes
her way through back yards. Silent as a cat. She went to
cookouts here. Bridge parties. Now she prowls, a grim
assassin.
Leaps a fence, drops behind a woodpile -- Comes face to face
with RAYMOND, a fifth grade student we saw earlier. Secreted
behind the woodpile, SMOKING. His eyes pop as he spies good
ol' Ms. Caine, sporting blonde hair and an assault weapon.
Charly doesn't miss a beat:
CHARLY
Good morning, Raymond.
RAYMOND
Um... morning, Ms. Caine.
CHARLY
What did we learn about the dangers
of smoking...? Give it here.
A wet stain appears at his crotch. He hands her the
cigarette with nerveless fingers. Charly accepts it. Takes a
long, satisfying drag. Passes it back.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Thanks. Tell anyone you saw me I'll
blow your fucking head off.
Moves off through the bushes. Out of sight.
EXT. CAINE BACK YARD - MOMENTS LATER
Charly kicks aside a pair of abandoned ice skates. Crouches,
face pressed to the glass door. Looking in. The house is
silent and empty. Nobody home.
The Christmas tree winks off and on. The tree she helped
decorate. She opens the door and slips inside. CUT TO:
Ratings
Scene 38 - Fractured Pursuit
Three GOVERNMENT AGENTS. Faces drawn, haggard. Pit-stained
shirts, day old sandwiches. Carrying photographs of Charly
and Henessey. Agent #1 sighs, examining her figure.
AGENT #1
Man, I'd eat a mile of her shit
just to follow it back to the ass
it came from.
AGENT #2
Christ, I'm trying to have
breakfast.
A RADIO MIC on the dash squawks, a voice says:
VOICE (O.S.)
Unit 2 to Red Dog, give us one more
pass, let's make sure the house is
secure.
EXT. CAITLIN'S BEDROOM - SAME TIME
Charly enters. All business. Begins to systematically rifle
the drawers. Her daughter's precious things. Sweeps
everything onto the floor. Utter disregard, it's a bit
startling.
Crosses to the bed, throws back the covers -- MR. PERKINS
(the stuffed bear) has the chain around his neck.
We hear it, then. Ghosting on the still air, barely audible,
the sound of SINGING... Children's voices waft across the
frozen pond from St. Paul's Episcopal CHURCH. Charly frowns.
Crosses to the window, lifts the sash.
Pause. Charly chews her lip. Unlimbers the MP-5. Hefts the
wicked-looking thing. Not to fire it... but to use the
SCOPE. Adjusts focus. Practiced movements. Deft. Sure.
Sights down the weapon. Scans though the gunsights...
POV CHARLY: Hal's CHRISTMAS PAGEANT. There's Hal. Cast in
spectral GREEN. Laughing and serving breakfast. On the
church lawn, a NATIVITY scene. Teenage girls as the wise
men. Choir of children, singing... CAITLIN among them.
Charly is sweating. She lowers the scope. Squeezes her eyes
shut. Something in her, threatening to WRENCH LOOSE...
EXT. FRONT OF CAINE HOUSE - SAME TIME
Henessey, slouched behind the wheel. Starts to light a
cigarette. Stops, the match halfway to his face. Eyes
riveted on the rearview mirror as a GOVERNMENT SEDAN turns
the corner behind him...
BACK WITH
CHARLY - INSIDE
Watching her family, far away. Fighting emotion. That's when
she hears A HORN HONKING. Her head whips around, toward the
front of the house. The honk is followed by three GUNSHOTS
in rapid succession.
She's up and moving. All else forgotten.
EXT. FRONT OF CAINE HOUSE - SAME TIME
Henessey PEELS OUT, tires smoking. Careens forward,
government SEDAN close behind --
The upstairs window EXPLODES outward. Charly, hurtles
through. Freefalls to the porch roof. Glass, showering down.
Hits, rolls. Surfaces in a combat crouch, FIRES.
Government sedan, KILLS THE PASSENGER. Collapses him over
the doorframe. Gun clatters to the street, car speeds off --
INT. GOVERNMENT SEDAN - DRIVING
The driver looks over, incredulous.
DRIVER
He's dead. Goddammit, how did that
happen??
BACKSEAT
*Go bulletproof, now*!
The driver hits a button and up go the windows. All, that
is, except the passenger side window -- Because the dead
guy's bald HEAD blocks it. Becomes WEDGED there. Bald pate
exposed to the world.
BACK WITH CHARLY - FRONT OF HOUSE
Charly watches the two vehicles rocketing away down the
street. Out of range. Lowers the smoking .45. SWEARS. Takes
off around the house at a dead run.
Ratings
Scene 39 - Christmas Chaos: Abduction and Aerial Assault
Switch scenery: the Christmas Pageant, CAITLIN and fellow
angels traipse into the church vestibule... Caitlin looks up
just in time to see TIMOTHY apply the chloroform.
Two seconds, she's out like a light. Next case. Up and
moving, child tucked neatly under his arm. A NEARBY MOTHER
OF THREE has seen it happen. Opens her mouth to scream -- He
palms a KNIFE. Puts it to her youngest son's kidney:
TIMOTHY
Wanna be a statistic, lady? You're
about to have 2.4 children.
Freezes her. Petrified.
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
I know where you live. Close your
mouth, you look like a fish. Merry
Christmas.
He exits into the vestibule. Quick. Professional.
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH:
High speed chase, in progress. The driver dogs Henessey,
jockeys for position. Barks into a radio mic:
DRIVER
Target two, acquired! Red Dog in
pursuit, backup requested.
(over his shoulder)
You got him?
BACKSEAT
I got him.
The backseat agent hefts an AK-47 assault rifle.
WITH HENESSEY - DRIVING
Henessey checks the rear view mirror -- just in time to see
a circular portion of glass POP from the chase car's window.
Out comes a gun muzzle.
HENESSEY
Jesus wept.
The guy opens up on full auto. Rakes the Bronco, STRAFES it.
Henessey swerves madly -- no go. Death run. He's not coming
home, not this time.
EXT. FROZEN POND - SAME TIME
CHARLY BALTIMORE hurtles forward, SPEED SKATING across the
frozen pond toward the chase vehicles. Long, coltish legs,
to die for.
CHARLY
This is gross, this is gonna be so
Goddamn gross...
She goes SIDESLIPPING at superhuman speed. Tacks alongside
the government sedan. Targets the bald guy's head. Raises
the .45 and FIRES. Not to be graphic, but the car's driver
receives the bulk of the mess. SPRAYED.
Across the eyes. He loses control, SKIDS OUT. Catapults off
the road, onto the ice. Slides right toward Charly, *still
doing fifty*...
She doesn't miss a beat. LAUNCHES herself, twisting in
midair... Up OVER THE HOOD of the sedan, it blows by
underneath her as
ANOTHER ANGLE
The incredible part. In slow motion, she does a DOUBLE AXEL
PIRHOUETTE. Above the hood. Mid-spin, she blows THREE SHOTS
through the windshield. Kills everyone. Keeps going. The car
spins twice around. PLOWS to a halt -- Charly hits a picture
perfect landing.
On the shore, HENESSEY watches, thunderstruck. Charly skates
by the icebound sedan. Flashes a grin at the dying driver:
DRIVER
Shit... it really... *is* you...
CHARLY
Phil...? Phil Krauss? I don't
believe it, they moved you from
cyphers. Long time, man, I figured
you were dead by now.
She delivers a blow to the neck. Kills him. CUT TO:
Ratings
Scene 40 - Highway Hostage
Henessey and Charly, driving a new vehicle: late model
Cadillac. Charly driver. Henessey rifles the glove
compartment.
CHARLY
So, Mitch. Still think I'm warm and
fuzzy?
HENESSEY
Sure. It's not your fault the gun
accidentally went off in mid-air as
you tripped and flew over the car.
CHARLY
Exactly. What's in the glove box?
HENESSEY
Phone bill, Christmas card... Five
buck, swell. You didn't have to
kill him, you know.
CHARLY
Back off, man. Do I tell you how to
snap photos of extramarital
blowjobs? No.
There is a short, CHIRPING sound. Seemingly from nowhere.
They exchange puzzled looks, what the hell...? Charly
abruptly realizes it's coming from her purse. She reaches
in, scoops up the CELLULAR PHONE, the one she told Caitlin
to call. Thumbs the button. Says cautiously:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Hello?
A voice, then... Clipped tones, TIMOTHY'S voice:
TIMOTHY (O.S.)
It's me, I got your kid. Give your
location, we gotta lose the
cellular.
Charly. Hand gripped tight on the phone. Pause, then:
CHARLY
State Road 80, 15 minutes west of
Harrison.
TIMOTHY
Okay, here's how we do it. Drive to
Harrison, find their main bus stop.
Pay phone, fifteen minutes. Better
drive fast, after five rings I hang
up.
Click.
HENESSEY
What the hell was that?
CHARLY
He's got the kid. Doesn't want to
talk on the airwaves, he's routing
me to a land line. A pay phone.
HENESSEY
Which phone? Where?
The detective's mind, racing... suddenly it hits him:
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Shit. Service centers...! They list
'em on the back of phone bills,
right?
CHARLY
Excuse me?
HENESSEY
Shut up and find me a gun. HK, MP-
As he rips open the bill we CUT TO:
A neutral background, as Charly's HEAD enters frame, we're
very tight on her FACE... Tense, thin-lipped. A PHONE RINGS,
deafening. Click -- Charly speaks tersely:
CHARLY
Verify you have her.
TIMOTHY (O.S.)
I got your cellular number off a
cast on her right wrist. Right
below Mommy loves you... Picture of
a panda. Dog, panda, it's got funky
ears.
CLOSE ON CHARLY: Dead still. Made of glass.
TIMOTHY (O.S.) (CONT’D)
I want money, Charly. I know you've
got numbered accounts, we all do.
I'll let you know where and when.
Fuck with me...? I'll blind the kid
and shoot out her knees.
CHARLY
You're dead, motherfucker. We don't
involve families. It's not the way
it's done, *we don't take
families*.
TIMOTHY
I'll be in touch.
He hangs up. Dead silence. HOLD on Charly's face... until
slowly, ever so slowly, the camera pulls back to REVEAL:
The .45 automatic -- Pointed at the head of an AT&T
operator. THE PHONE COMPANY, they've taken it over.
Employees CRINGE on the floor. Henessey, MP-5 slung on his
shoulder, leveled. Charly points to the switchboard:
CHARLY
Give me an ANI trace. Do it.
EXT. PINE-COVERED MOUNTIANS - UPSTATE NEW YORK - MORNING
Set back from the mountain road, a lonely MOTEL. A neon
sign: *Deer Lick Motel*, No vacancies. The sign sits atop a
rusty pole. Blinks forlornly.
INT. MOTEL ROOM - SAME TIME
TIMOTHY hangs up and turns to MR. PERKINS, seated across the
room:
TIMOTHY
It's done, she hooked. All I gotta
do is set the ransom meet.
PERKINS
She mustn't suspect a trap.
TIMOTHY
No way. She thinks I'm acting
alone, remember? Say the word, I'll
hand her to you on a plate.
Perkins crosses to the bed. Rubs tired eyes. Gazes down at
Caitlin. Asleep, a syringe on the nightstand beside her.
Next to a brown paper bag.
PERKINS
God. We're monsters, aren't we...?
(pause, then:)
Forget Charly. Talk to me about
tonight.
TIMOTHY
The tanker's on its way from
Charleston, ETA 1:00 a.m. One
terrorist on ice, waiting to play
patsy.
(points)
What's in the sack?
Perkins follows his gaze: the brown paper bag. Smiles
thinly.
PERKINS
That...? Something to prove that
I'm not a complete ogre.
He reaches into the paper bag and brings out a BABY DOLL.
Sweet, innocent. Frilly with lace. A bright red bow.
PERKINS (CONT’D)
See? The young one will have a doll
to play with on Christmas. Very
popular item. It... well, it pees.
You put water in it and... oh, fuck
you.
Ratings
Scene 41 - Twilight Tensions
Charly and Henessey, eating at HARDEE'S. Seated across from
each other at an orange plastic table, scarfing Christmas
burgers. Outside, a billboard reads: WELCOME TO SANTA CLAUS!
*Where it's Christmas all year long*!
HENESSEY
Almost dark now.
CHARLY
Another ten minutes. You want my
Crazy Meal action figure?
HENESSEY
Pass. Listen, you sure we're doing
the right thing? We've got money,
we could negotiate...
CHARLY
*I'll get the damn kid*, okay? God,
I hope he doesn't shoot her up.
Kid's dead weight if she's sedated.
HENESSEY
Not so emotional, I'm getting
embarrassed with these outbursts
here.
CHARLY
Oh, balls. Want me to cry on cue? I
can. This is an extraction, nimrod,
and she's the target, that's how to
play it, the only way to beat this
guy.
HENESSEY
Yeah? How come you know so much
about this fucking guy?
CHARLY
Don't go there, Mitch, you don't
want to know.
HENESSEY
I'm here. Suppose you tell me.
CHARLY
Fine, you asked. I bumped pelvises
with this guy. In Paris, back in
She knows she's shocking him, rubs it in:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
I'd been assigned to kill his boss,
remember...? Needed him out of the
way. So I let him seduce me. Had a
steel needle under the pillow,
figured to stick him *en
flagrante*, that means while we
were screwing. But he was too
slick. Bashed me in the head,
finished, then threw me in the
trunk of a car. Still think I'm a
girl scout, Mitch...?
The look in her eyes is feral.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
It's almost dark. Let's get it
done.
Ratings
Scene 42 - High-Stakes Operation at Deer Lick Motel
Full dark now, the fun begins... A TANKER TRUCK rumbles up
the mountain road. Pulls up before the Deer Lick Motel. MEN
IN SUITS wield flashlights, motioning the truck forward into
a cavernous GARAGE. Inside, men in BLUE JUMPSUITS operate
cranes, maneuver a FILL TANK into place above the truck.
EXT. SURROUNDING MOUNTAINSIDE - SAME TIME
In the distance, as the tanker enters the garage -- CHARLY
BALTIMORE drops into frame. Lands and rolls, cat-quick.
Comes up behind a scrawny pine. Scans through a pair of
Zeiss Nightvision binoculars.
Welcome to the extraction. No more fun and games, tonight
it's a survival-zero operation.
HENESSEY appears at her elbow. Lugging the ordnance bag. He
sees Charly lower the binoculars, head in hands.
HENESSEY
What's the matter?
CHARLY
They're here.
HENESSEY
Who?
CHARLY
Fucking Chapter, that's who.
Timothy acting alone, Caitlin had a
chance. Now...? She's dead meat.
INT. BUNKER - SAME TIME
As the tanker snorts to a halt, TIMOTHY pulls up, driving a
bright red Jaguar. Gets out as a blue-suit trots up:
BLUE-SUIT
hours. We're still trying to clean
the tanker --
TIMOTHY
(scowls annoyance)
Fuck the cleaning, just drain it
and reload. Chop-chop, I'm going
bunjee jumping after this.
EXT. MOUNTAINSIDE - SAME TIME
Charly and Henessey. Kneeling. He speaks tersely:
HENESSEY
Let me go in.
CHARLY
Negative. You stomp around like a
forties drunk and you're a lousy
shot.
HENESSEY
I get by.
CHARLY
You couldn't hit a lake if you were
standing on the bottom, now shut
the fuck up.
Charly studies the encampment. Armed men. Impossible odds.
Draws a long ragged breath and flops on the ground. Props
her back against a tree. Staring. Lights a cigarette:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
I saw a little girl.
HENESSEY
(frowns)
Come again?
CHARLY
That's what happened under the
water. That night, eight years ago.
She looks up at the sky. Face troubled.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
At the end... there she was, this
pretty little girl at the bottom of
the ocean, smiling at me. Three
years old, didn't know Daddies hid
in closets, not yet. Stared up at
me in the strangest way... saying
how'd it come to this, we were so
pretty and perfect, now look at us,
sinking with our head all open...
Said when she grew up she was gonna
teach school. She couldn't wait.
She heaves a sigh. Threads a silencer on a baretta.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Guards are on 27-1 megahertz, meet
me at 26-9, you need to talk. As
soon as you spot me with the kid,
start blowing the charges.
Henessey nods. Pause -- she does something unexpected. Leans
over and kisses him hard on the lips. He reacts, startled.
She pulls back, the oddest look on her face.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
They're gonna blow my head off, you
know.
(softly:)
This is the last time I'll ever be
pretty.
She kisses him again. Softly. Tenderly. Pulls back, turns
without a word.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Time now. What I do next, they tell
me it... looks like a machine or
something. You don't like it, don't
look.
She moves off toward the trees. Henessey shifts from foot to
foot, awkwardly. Opens his mouth --
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Don't say it.
HENESSEY
I was gonna say enjoy life, eat out
more often.
CHARLY
Gotta go.
(beat)
If she's alive, she's coming out of
there, Mitch. If she's not...
they'll know we stopped by.
She's gone, like a wraith. CUT TO:
SERIES OF SHOTS: Charly, on the prowl. In and out of the
trees... BURYING C-4 CHARGES. In bushes. In snowdrifts. She
crawls to woods' edge, peers out -- The motel stands solemn
and bedraggled. Draws a sharp breath -- !
There's a LIT CANDLE in the window of 17. CUT TO:
Ratings
Scene 43 - Descent into Darkness
A gray-suited SENTRY. Poised on a wooded slope. He puts a
walkie-talkie to his lips and says:
SENTRY
All clear.
CHARLY, out of nowhere. Lightning fast. Hand, clamped on
mouth. In goes the knife. Deep. He burbles blood. Drops.
Before he hits, Charly's already switched from knife to gun
and moved on.
EXT. UNIT 17 - SAME TIME
Charly appears from the shadows. Ghosts up to the window of
#17 and peers in. Scans. Misses nothing. Crosses to the
door, taps lightly. Watches the PEEPHOLE, a tiny pinprick of
light. Abruptly darkened by a human eye --
She presses the silenced Beretta to the hole and fires.
Sputs of splinters. From behind the door, a muffled thud.
She goes to work on the lock.
BACK WITH HENESSEY - MINUTES HAVE PASSED
Henessey lies prone, binoculars trained on the motel.
HENESSEY
Christ, lady, what are you doing in
there, playing fucking mah-jongg?
*Move*.
Behind him, a tiny, sharp click--! TIMOTHY has a Skorpion
machine pistol aimed at his head.
The killer speaks into a radio unit, a single word --
TIMOTHY
Bogey.
POP-! go the Kleig lights. BRILLIANCE, blinding -- CATCHES
CHARLY coming out of 17. Pins her dead to rights.
Unconscious DAUGHTER cradled in her arms. Tiny DOLL cradled
in the kid's. Charly runs, as the ground around her erupts
like a SHELLBURST.
TIMOTHY, MEANWHILE, shouting into his walkie-talkie, saying:
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Take her alive, Perkins wants her!
Henessey watches, helpless and PANICKED, as Charly tumbles
BACKWARD. Crashes through a CELLAR ACCESS, it splinters
beneath her...! Plunges into blackness.
INT. CELLAR - PITCH BLACK
She hits, cushions the kid. Grunt of PAIN... THE DARKNESS
EXPLODES into kaleidoscopic FLASHES OF GUNFIRE, Charly
strafe it all. Blows through the clip, hits the lights:
She's killed household items. BRICK WALLS, blasted. Rusty
tools, faded signs -- THREE TEN-GALLON GAS CANS which she's
managed to PERFORATE, good one, Charly... The gas comes
bubbling out on burps and splatters, drenching the floor.
Charly casts about for an escape route. Set into the brick
wall, a huge steel DOOR. She flings it open -- MEAT LOCKER.
Nothing there, no help. Eyes darting. Possessed.
A GRAVELY VOICE wafts down from above, then. Deadly serious:
VOICE (O.S.)
I smell gasoline, you have a little
accident...? I got plenty of
matches up here. Bad way for a kid
to go. Thirty seconds, think it
over.
CHARLY stands in place, mind racing... Caitlin's DOLL.
Regards her dully. Plastic smile like it knows a secret. CUT
TO:
Ratings
Scene 44 - Dark Revelations
A MATCH FLARES as it descends into the bowl of a pipe... MR.
PERKINS puffs mightily. Turns and favors CHARLY and HENESSEY
with a thoughtful gaze, they're handcuffed to radiator...
TIMOTHY straddles a nearby chair. Smiles and says:
TIMOTHY
Good to have you back again, Chuck.
PERKINS
You know, Colonel, you ought really
to have stayed dead. You don't know
the rules of the game anymore.
CHARLY
No shit. Eight years ago, you send
me to kill Daedalus and this clown.
Now you're working *with* him.
He crosses to the fireplace, flips the match inside.
PERKINS
Budget cuts, remember? Congress
blinded us in Eastern Europe,
Central America. Across the board,
an intelligence blackout. We had to
recruit any eyes and ears we could
find, even if it meant going to
former targets.
Pause. Suddenly Charly's eyes go wide. She whispers:
CHARLY
Budget cuts... oh, God. Is *that*
what this is about...? The foot
soldiers, the tanker truck... Fuck
me, you're running a fundraiser!!
Comprehension, dawning. She looks up in disbelief.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
You'll get all the money you want
at the next budget hearing, won't
you...? All you need is a major
terrorist incident.
PERKINS
Interesting theory.
CHARLY
Theory, my ass. I think some
terrorists were planning a strike.
Bought supplies from Daedalus,
that's how you knew they were
coming...
(eyes widening)
No way. Don't tell me you're gonna
sit there and let them go through
with it, *just to get a budget
increase*.
Perkins shrugs philosophically.
PERKINS
It's not without precedent. 1993,
remember the World Trade Center
bombing...? The CIA had advance
knowledge, don't think they didn't.
Worse, the diplomat who issued the
terrorist's visa was CIA, they
*facilitated* the bombing. Purely
to justify a budget increase. Of
course, they'd no way of knowing
the terrorists would botch the job.
CHARLY
That's not gonna happen this
time...?
PERKINS
No. This time, the terrorist event
will come off precisely as planned.
This time the terrorists can't muck
it up... because we've killed them
and taken over.
Charly and Henessey react, startled...
Ratings
Scene 45 - Betrayal and Despair
On the move. Our two heroes, shepherded across the compound.
Timothy's casualness is belied by the presence of two
dyspeptic GUARDS, each keeping a safe distance.
A POCK-FACED AGENT approaches briskly, RIFLE across his
shoulder. Holds out his hand:
POCK
Found these buried around the
perimeter.
Timothy studies it: C-4 CHARGE with remote detonation unit.
TIMOTHY
Make sure you get all of them.
The agent rushes off. Timothy looks at Charly reproachfully:
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Chuck, you give me the fuck of my
life then try to stick me, come
back from the dead, whack my
boss... No sense lyin', I'm miffed.
Moves like lightning. WHACK-! Kidney shot. Charly stumbles,
vision going black. Fights for balance. Henessey starts to
react but a GUN MUZZLE stops him. Charly straightens. Grits
her teeth, says:
CHARLY
So what's the plan? What's going
out in the tanker?
Timothy and the guards exchange looks. Cracking up, they
can't believe it -- Charly's not laughing. Looks at Timothy
with hooded, lifeless eyes:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
What's the plan? I'm gonna die, I
wanna know.
Timothy lights a cigarette. Studies Charly.
TIMOTHY
You wanna know the plan?
He casually points to the neighboring valley, where
Christmas lights twinkle.
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Santa Claus -- small town U.S.A.
personified. We drive the chemical
tanker in tonight, park it. Add a
catalyst, chain reaction, it goes
hot. We evacuate. The mix heats
overnight, goes critical at 312
degrees Celsius.
(MORE)
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
8:00 Christmas morning... Main
Street looks like a meteor strike.
HENESSEY
Are you fucking insane? You're
talking about 10,000 people!!
CHARLY
Easy, Mitch.
(to Timothy)
How you gonna blame it on
terrorists?
TIMOTHY
Those roads are treacherous this
time of year. When we dump a car to
the bottom of a ravine, with the
corpse of Imn Al Rahman in it...
get the picture?
Pause. Charly summons herself. Her voice a dull rasp:
CHARLY
Listen to me, Timothy. Please. Let
my kid go.
TIMOTHY
Why? For old times' sake...?
She shakes her head:
CHARLY
Goddamn you, *look at her eyes*...
TIMOTHY
And why exactly should I do
that...?
CHARLY
(spits blood)
Because they're yours,
motherfucker.
She stares Timothy full in the face.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
That night in Paris, I got
pregnant. The little girl's your
daughter.
Dead silence. A pause... Then Timothy brays LAUGHTER.
TIMOTHY
Priceless. Can't believe it...
Hooting out loud. Tears, streaming... He manages to bring
himself under control. Stops, gestures to the CELLAR ACCESS,
the dark awaits...
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Kid's down there. What it is,
Charly, they're gonna find you both
frozen to death in the woods.
Suicide pact.
Charly fights to contain herself.
CHARLY
She's no risk, Timothy, *let her
go*.
TIMOTHY
The freezer's downstairs, Charly.
Let's get it done.
Charly and Henessey are separated at gunpoint. A look passes
between them. Henessey swallows hard.
HENESSEY
I'll wait for you to rescue me.
CHARLY
Be just a minute.
Charly goes through the opening.
Ratings
Scene 46 - Desperate Choices
The same CELLAR she occupied earlier. Timothy behind her, he
wrinkles his nose in distaste.
TIMOTHY
Shit, this place is loaded with
fumes, nobody light a fucking
match. You check her for
flammables?
GUN GUARD
(shrugs)
Checked her for colon cancer.
Caitlin is sitting in a chair.
Bundled in flannel, clutching her baby doll, the one Perkins
bought for her. She looks up at Charly dully. Sucking her
thumb.
CAITLIN
Mommy...
Charly composes herself.
CHARLY
Shhhhh. Mommy's here, it's okay.
Safe and snug... what comes next,
huh...? What's the next part?
CAITLIN
...bug in a rug... man with white
hair... says the same thing you
say...
Charly licks her lips. Easy, Charly, keep cool, she mustn't
die afraid...
CHARLY
We're going to take a nap together,
Cate. You can have your dolly, and
Mommy will be next to you, how's
that? It'll be like bears in
winter. When they get cold, see,
they fall deep, deep asleep...
TIMOTHY
Bears, yeah, yeah. Enough.
He points to the STEEL DOOR of the meat freezer. The guard
opens it onto a gleaming silver CHAMBER. Timothy calmly
adjusts the thermostat. Sub zero. The guard reaches for
Caitlin's doll... Charly snatches it back. Face etched in
disgust.
CHARLY
You're murdering us both,
cocksucker, let the kid have her
fucking dolly.
He subsides, unable to meet her gaze. At which point,
Timothy tosses her the WOODEN BOX.
TIMOTHY
Chuck, I'm not a total creep. I'll
make you a deal, okay? There's a
knife in that box. Now, you and the
kid, you're going to freeze, *but* -
- if you kill the kid *by your own
hand*...? I won't kill your
husband. Serious. We're gonna open
that door and you'll both be frozen
solid, but I wanna know that you've
cut your own child's throat.
You don't want to ever be on the receiving end of the LOOK
she gives him... Steps into the freezer, holding Caitlin. As
the door starts to swing shut, she says:
CHARLY
It ain't over, motherfucker. You're
gonna die screaming and I'm gonna
watch. Am I telling the truth...?
She flashes him her most DAZZLING smile -- The whole room
lights up. She can do that. As the door erases her from
view, a chill dances up Timothy's spine... because there was
nothing resembling doubt on her face.
INT. CELLAR MEAT LOCKER - SAME TIME
CHARLY crosses with Caitlin to the far corner.
CAITLIN
Mom, it's cold in here-!
CHARLY
Shhh. Just for a little bit. Polar
bear, remember?
Moves. Quick. Methodical. Breaks open the BOX: Sure enough,
a hunting knife. Without missing a beat, she crosses to the
STEEL DOOR. Kneels and begins DIGGING at the bottom edge.
CARVING into the brick, what the hell...?
Ratings
Scene 47 - Betrayal and Imminent Destruction
Henessey, by the window. Tied to a chair. Timothy paces
before him, carrying three razor-keen SCALPELS. Pegs one
into the wall with deadly accuracy.
TIMOTHY
Tell me where Charly keeps her
money. She must have mentioned it.
HENESSEY
Get fucked, you dumb bastard.
Charly called Washington, by
morning this whole place'll be
crawling with Feds.
TIMOTHY
We'll be gone by then, Mitch.
HENESSEY
Yeah, well, that's what I'm saying,
there's a couple Feds, they
couldn't sleep, said they might
come early. Fuck you, someone'll
screw up. Just watch.
TIMOTHY
Already did, Mitch, someone already
did. Perkins got stuck with a
double agent, someone trusted,
highly placed.
HENESSEY
Who?
TIMOTHY
Me.
(chuckles)
Chinks are paying me to bring down
Chapter.
Henessey reacts, startled. Timothy chuckles:
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
Truck goes, hundreds dead -- rescue
teams within minutes, guess what
they find...?
HENESSEY
The patsy.
TIMOTHY
Uh-uh. They find Chapter, caught
with their pants down. See, Mitch,
I dumped in a much faster chemical
catalyst...
(beat)
The tanker's gonna blow *tonight*.
In the center of town, thirty-five
minutes from now.
Ratings
Scene 48 - Desperate Measures
CHARLY, sweating at sub zero. Brushes hair from her eyes.
Blinks. Still jabbing with the knife, *why the hell is she
digging*? Gonna crawl under the damn door? She's gone loopy.
Lying flat, she appraises her work --
A TINY NOTCH. Poked through to the other side. The actual
penetration to daylight: millimeters. Then, she does two
seemingly nonsensical things: Crosses to Caitlin -- gently
takes the doll from her, then:
CHARLY
Open.
Reaches in her mouth. Takes out her RETAINER.
Must be the temperature. Crosses to the door again. Kneels
down. Calmly, with infinite care, takes the retainer...
Inverts it, now it's *trough*-shaped. Holds it flush against
the tiny NOTCH she carved. BABY DOLL, now. Holds it directly
above the retainer. Depresses the KNOB in its back:
It pees gasoline. Gas, trickling down the retainer, through
the brick -- into the other ROOM.
Not much. Enough. She stands. DRAWS A TRAIL with the doll.
Crosses, dribbling, over to Caitlin. Hands the doll back to
her. What next..?
She grabs the hunting knife, that's what. RAISES IT HIGH --
One terrifying moment, is she gonna put it in the kid...?
Hardly. Brings it down on the floor. Slams it down.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Gimme a spark... show me, show
me...
Tries again. And again. STRIKING, over and over. Floor RINGS
with the effort --
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Come on, come on... do it...!
But in the end, it's just not gonna happen. *Won't work*.
Lets go a GROAN of despair:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
All this, just one fucking match,
*Goddamit*...!
She collapses forward. Cradles her head in frustration.
There's a tiny tap in her shoulder.
CAITLIN
Mommy...?
Charly looks up, face haggard and depleted... Caitlin's
eyes, alive again. No longer dulled. Kid reaches inside her
CAST and brings out a pack of matches.
CAITLIN (CONT’D)
Don't cry. I keep these here.
(beat)
For lighting your candle.
Charly stares, dumbstruck, at the tiny gift.
The bitterness, the self-hatred, all of it. Under innocent
eyes on Christmas Eve DETONATES, blown sky-high, and she
sweeps up her daughter and cradles her, tears streaming...
CHARLY
I love you, Caitlin, oh God, do you
know how much I love you...?
Caitlin pulls back, looks flush in her mother's face.
CAITLIN
Am I gonna die...?
From a dark and cold place, Caitlin has led her home.
Charly's eyes, like steel. A harsh whisper:
CHARLY
No, baby, you're not gonna die.
They are.
She strikes a match.
Ratings
Scene 49 - Explosive Escapes
Henessey, straining against his bonds. Sweating.
TIMOTHY
Charly's stash. What's the number
of the locker, Mitch...?
HENESSEY
Fuck you.
TIMOTHY across the room, a good forty feet.
TIMOTHY
Left nut, five bucks I make it.
Smiling, he raises a scalpel. Eyes dead like a rat's.
INT. CELLAR MEAT LOCKER - SAME TIME
The flame hovers above the gasoline trail.
CHARLY
When I tell you, scream as loud as
you can, or else your ears'll get
hurt.
A tiny nod. Charly calmly touches fire to the fuel. Cradles
Caitlin to her chest, gently strokes her hair...
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Hey, should we buy a dog...?
The flame races across the room. Hits the steel door. And
zip! Vanishes through the NOTCH. A pause...
THE BASEMENT BLOWS SKY-HIGH.
Wooden walls, obliterated. Boards sheared. Atomized. THE
MEAT LOCKER DOOR blows inward like a cannon shot. Holds to
its hinges, buckled like JIFFY POP.
INT. UPSTAIRS INTERROGATION ROOM
TIMOTHY'S THROW is off target, sticks in Henessey's chair.
Between his legs. Inches. Then the assassin LEAVES HIS FEET,
look of comic surprise -- as the walls behind him
disintegrate in FLAME. Henessey cries out, blinded as
EXT. MOTEL BUILDING
He's blown backward OUT THE WINDOW. Chair and all, lofting
across the middle distance... blasts through the MOTEL SIGN.
Blows it to SPLINTERS. Tumbles, and over end... lands, WHAM.
Atop the garage's CORRUGATED ROOF. Chair flies to sticks.
A BLUE SUIT spins, startled. Gun comes up -- Henessey
doesn't miss a beat. Reaches between his legs. Plucks the
KNIFE from the wood and slings it...! Guy takes it in the
head, drops. Some days you get lucky.
He looks up in disbelief. FIREBALL, raging to Heaven.
HENESSEY
You foxy bitch.
EXT. BLAST SITE - SAME TIME
TIMOTHY staggers from the smoke. Nicked and bloodied --
ALIVE. Rushes into the cavernous GARAGE, where blue-suits
scuttle like ants. Points to the tanker, face crazed:
TIMOTHY
Move it out of here, now!
EXT. MOTEL GROUNDS - TRAVELING WITH CHARLY - SAME TIME
Caitlin in tow, SMOKE everywhere. Running flat out across
the compound. Eyes ticking back and forth, missing
nothing... Sees a gun on the ground, scoops it up: promptly
DROPS IT, the fucking thing's red hot.
That's when the POCK-FACED KILLER lurches out of the smoke,
blade arcing for her throat.
CHARLY
*Run, Catey*.
She goes under the blade. SLAMS him. Down they go, hit the
dirt -- CAITLIN beats feet, vanishes into the smoke.
Charly, fighting for her life. Manages to KICK FREE. He
rears up. Poised to hurl the KNIFE. Charly, dives, rolls --
scoops up the gun and SCREAMS as her flesh sizzles and it
spurts three times and blows him down.
Doesn't stop. Rips the AUTOMATIC RIFLE from his shoulder.
Rummages in his coat -- Cube of C-4. Even better. Casts
about, searching the smoke... No sign of her daughter.
EXT. WOODS - NIGHTTIME
CAITLIN darts in and out of the trees. Frightened. In the
background, men rush back and forth. The MOTEL burns
merrily. Then, above the shouts, A RUMBLING noise, she darts
a look -- as THE TANKER comes trundling out of the garage.
POV CAITLIN: Attached to the rear of the truck bed, a bright
yellow UTILITY BOX, roughly three by three. As the driver
idles, waiting for the road to clear -- Caitlin BREAKS
COVER. Runs and climbs inside the box, and meanwhile
BACK WITH
CHARLY - SAME
TIME
Her mother. Crouched behind Timothy's RED JAGUAR. Scans
through the rifle's Starlight Scope. Sweating. Intense. We
see the landscape, cast in ghostly GREEN.
CHARLY
Where'd you go, baby... show
Mommy...
*There*. Bingo. Charly watches through the scope as a TINY
GREEN CAITLIN climbs into the box and shuts the lid.
Unfortunately, a nearby blue-suit has WITNESSED this. He
looks around, stabbing a finger at the box:
NOSY BLUE-SUIT
Hey. Hey, you see that? A little
kid --
A bullet slams him backward in a cut-string sprawl.
WITH CHARLY
She lowers the rifle. Nods grimly:
CHARLY
Smart girl, honey. Stay still.
Don't make a sound. Snug as a bug
in a rug...
MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE ON THE GROUNDS
HENESSEY, on the move. Crouched low. Choking on woodsmoke,
eyes streaming. Up ahead, a splayed CORPSE -- He hunkers
over the poor schmuck, guy's good for a radio. Snatches up
the portable unit. Fumbles with the dial, searching for 26.9
megahertz...
Ratings
Scene 50 - Desperate Measures
CHARLY slews to a stop in the red Jag. Leaps out. Darts
along the cliff, throws herself flat. Peering down at the
grounds, sniper rifle positioned -- Babysitting the tanker.
HEARS HENESSEY... Calling to her on the radio.
HENESSEY (V.O.)
Charly, you there? Hello, Charly.
Grabs the unit from her belt:
CHARLY
Mitch! I don't believe it. Listen,
if you say, "Are we having fun yet"
I'll rip your nuts off. Where are
you?
HENESSEY
Behind the big garage. Is Caitlin
with you?
CHARLY
No, but she's safe for the moment,
she stowed away on the tanker
truck.
Henessey draws a sharp breath. Swallows, says:
HENESSEY
Charly, Timothy rigged the tanker
to go off early. We got fifteen
minutes. No more.
On her reaction we CUT TO:
EXT. MOUNTAIN ROADSIDE - WITH TANKER AND EN TOURAGE
Beside the tanker, A PANEL TRUCK sits, engine idling. Phony
logo on its side -- *Little Debbie* snack cakes.
A RAMP is lowered, and a CAR begins backing up into the
truckbed, facing outwards.
INSIDE THE TRUCKBED, harried blue-suits hurriedly unwrap the
frost-covered corpse of IMN AL RAHMAN -- and place him
behind the wheel.
MEANWHILE, AT THE BACK OF THE TANKER
A blue-suit puts a PADLOCK on the utility box as he passes.
SNAPS IT SHUT.
BACK WITH HENESSEY - SAME TIME
He hears two flat CRACK-!s on the still air.
HENESSEY
Hello...! Charly...?
Even over the receiver, her desperation's apparent:
CHARLY
Tires won't pop, Mitch. Bastard
just locked her in, she's stuck in
there and they're leaving,
*Goddammit*!
Henessey rubs his eyes. Takes several deeps breaths, mind
turning it over. He looks up. Tired. Haunted.
HENESSEY
All right, I'll go in and get her,
you watch my back.
CHARLY
No chance. I make it twelve, Mitch,
automatic weapons.
HENESSEY
So kill 'em for me, bitch, Christ,
what are you good for?
He stuffs a fresh clip in the gun. Wipes away sweat.
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
(to himself)
C'mon, buddy. Do one thing right,
just this once... please...
Closes his eyes. Gathers himself. Long pause...
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Piece of cake.
He leaps from the roof and makes a death run.
Gun in one hand, radio in the other. Swerving and dodging
like a broken-field runner, CHARLY in his ear screaming:
CHARLY (V.O.)
*Your nine, on your nine*!
He spins, BLASTS AWAY, dead guy, pitching forward -- SMOKE,
billowing, making him COUGH...
CHARLY (V.O.)
*30 degrees left, Mitch. Left*.
(beat)
*Your other left*.
Stumbling, catching himself. Barreling forward.
CHARLY (V.O.)
*Nix, nix, I can't see in there,
don't do it, break right...*!
He breaks right.
CHARLY (V.O.)
*Fuck me, I was wrong, get outta
threre*!
He staggers out of the smoke: TWO MEN, MP-5 machine guns.
Trained on his chest. He struggles to aim, oh, shit -- Two
distant CRACKS. The bad men go away, catapulted backwards.
Henessey shouts into the radio:
HENESSEY
Gracias.
CHARLY (V.O.)
*De nada*.
UP ABOVE, ON THE HILL
CHARLY fires shot after shot. Every time she squeezes the
trigger, someone dies. No such thing as wounded, we're
talking St. Peter looks up from a magazine and says holy
shit, it's the lunch rush at Kate Mantilini's.
BACK DOWN BELOW
The smoke clears and Mitch sees the tanker. Right there,
thirty yards away. Yellow UTILITY BOX. No one in the way.
CHARLY (V.O.)
*End run, Mitch, go wide*!
He breaks for the truck.
CHARLY (V.O.)
*No, Goddamn you, they got you
flanked...*!
Everybody fires a gun.
MITCH GETS HIT
Takes one high in the chest, SPINS him...!
UP ON THE HILL
CHARLY SPRAYS on full auto, DICES TO TATTERS the combat
zone, extinguishing the gunmen, too little too late because
MITCH IS IN DEEP
BAM--! bullet takes out his right arm, fuck *you*, buddy,
doesn't miss a beat, simply tosses the gun over to the other
hand and KEEPS SHOOTING, blows that fucker down and now he's
staggering into the trees, and collapses, and HITS... And
lies very still and bleeds. As ECHOES of gunfire die slowly,
we HEAR:
HENESSEY (V.O.)
Dear Ma: I'm looking at the ants,
they're pretty great. Some really
funny ants here, Ma. All these
funny ants, think I'll stay and
watch 'em awhile...
UP ON THE HILL
Aftermath... Charly's out of ammo. Flings aside the rifle,
snarling in a helpless rage -- Something else, then. SOUND,
nearby. Building in pitch, reaching a crescendo --
A SCREAMING CHOPPER RISES BEHIND HER.
Crests the cliff and hovers like the SWORD OF DAMOCLES.
Ratings
Scene 51 - Cliffside Confrontation
MARKSMAN, riding shotgun. Scans the cliff below: Thick
evergreens. Charly, somewhere among them. He sights down his
rifle, takes careful aim -- BLOWS OUT TIRES on the Jaguar.
Cripples it. The chopper BANKS, heading away.
BACK WITH
CHARLY - SAME
TIME
In big trouble. MANY HEADLIGHTS, bouncing uphill toward her.
Cut off, they've cut her off -- The other direction ain't
much better: A 200 FOOT DROP. Straight down. Evergreen
trees, far below. Power lines. Highway.
She hears the PHONE RINGING, then... inside the Jag. Crosses
slowly. Reaches in, lifts the receiver. It's TIMOTHY.
TIMOTHY (V.O.)
I tried to give you a pretty death,
baby. Did my best. Now you're
fucked, now it's ground beef time.
CHARLY
The truck. How long til it blows?
TIMOTHY
(incredulous)
Sweet Loretta, you're another
animal entirely. Let's see, 312
degrees... Make it ten minutes,
give or take.
CHARLY
Then I better hurry.
TIMOTHY
Oh, spare me. You made a big noise
and bought five more minutes on the
planet. Give up. Die. I'll spit in
what's left of your face.
He clicks off. Charly drops the receiver. Turns, looks
behind: They're coming for her.
Woods filled with headlights. Backlit FIGURES. Ducking in
and out of the trees, getting closer... The wind blows.
Bitter cold out here in the dark night of the soul. Nothing
left. No hope. No reason.
Caitlin, dead.
The rage explodes in the form of a kick which SHATTERS the
lock on the trunk. *Dammit*, she needs a fucking miracle.
At that moment, the trunk lid slowly rises, CREAKING...
Revealing all of Timothy's BUNJEE JUMPING EQUIPMENT.
EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD - SAME TIME
The TANKER is rolling. Out onto the road, snorting and
belching. Preceded by the Little Debbie PANEL TRUCK.
INT. UTILITY BOX - ON TANKER - SAME TIME
Poor little Caitlin huddles in the dark. All alone. ROARING
in her ears. Sort of like being underwater.
EXT. TANKER TRUCK - CLOSE ON UNDERBELLY
A silver device attached to the skin of the tank.
WITH TIMOTHY - CROSSING THE SMOKE-FILLED GROUNDS
He consults a tiny, liquid crystal display on his watch. Red
numerals. *178 degrees*.
Ratings
Scene 52 - The Daring Escape
She won't quit. Busy now, deftly sticking the wad of C-4
EXPLOSIVE to the bottom of the Jaguar. Straightens. Turns
around --
Stands dead calm as they all come out of the TREES, guns
drawn... Raises her hands, see, boys...? No bang-bang.
Like backlit monsters, they approach, hulking. Matter of
yards, now... She flashes a naughty little smile --
Goes backward off the cliff and rockets earthward.
feet of open air, THE BUNJEE Cord pays out, fast...!
Whipsaws out the door of the Jaguar, hooked by carabiner to
the STEERING COLUMN and meanwhile
THE CHAPTER AGENTS
Rush forward, incredulous. Peer OVER THE EDGE: Below them, a
swan diver, BLACKNESS all around. She drops like a stone.
Vanishes into the fog, beautiful as a poem.
INSIDE THE JAGUAR: The cord goes taut -- Now it starts to
stretch outward. DECELERATION kicking in, Charly can FEEL
it, still whistling through space...
Hits a dead stop.
This is it. Cord, stretched as far as it goes.
She's still sixty feet above the highway.
No hesitation whatsoever. She thumbs the DETONATOR in her
right fist --
Blows the car.
UP ABOVE - CLIFF'S EDGE
The Jaguar goes up with a solid CRUMP--! Blown off the edge
of the cliff. Along with a half dozen screaming AGENTS.
BACK WITH
CHARLY -
FALLING
Lifeline cut. 60 feet above the road, no problem. She does
thirty feet in freefall. Raises her left hand --
Slaps a carabiner on a passing POWER LINE. Hurtles downward
until suddenly, KA-CHUK--! She LURCHES to a stop.
Doesn't miss a beat: Grips a rope and GLIDES the last thirty
feet, touches down lightly. Unhooks herself, turns as AN
ONCOMING CAR throws a fishtail SKID, just misses her. Driver
SWEARS.
She raises her gun. Fires without blinking.
Puts a hole in the passenger side windshield and the DRIVER
ain't sticking around, he's out the door and gone as
CHARLY THE EXTERMINATOR
Crosses to the car, face a stone mask. Behind her the
FLAMING JAGUAR SMASHES to the ground, raining fragments --
Followed by BURNING CORPSES, smacking the pavement one after
another. She doesn't even look. Gets behind the wheel.
Leaves most of her tires on the road behind her.
Ratings
Scene 53 - Christmas Chaos: The Sleigh Heist
Milling crowds. Music and laughter. SANTA heads up a TEEMING
PARADE down Main Street, atop a horse-drawn sleigh... Replay
of the film's opening, as
EXT. STREET - SAME TIME
The gleaming TANKER roars down a sidestreet. Riding point:
the innocuous PANEL TRUCK.
The temperature gauge continues to RISE: *203 degrees*.
EXT. MAIN STREET - EDGE OF TOWN - SAME TIME
Charly runs a roadblock, doing fifty -- Someone put a PARADE
in front of her. Hits the BRAKES...! Fishtales into a
mailbox. Sends it flying through a plate glass window. Out
of the car, gun held low, and meanwhile --
INT. CAR - DRIVING
TIMOTHY barks orders into a mic:
TIMOTHY
All units converge. Divert local
law, this is a government matter.
Brook no interference, I want the
Baltimore woman eliminated.
*Where's the fucking chopper*?
Racing toward the edge of town and meanwhile
ON THE PARADE ROUTE
SANTA CLAUS himself perches atop his sleigh, feeling like a
rock star and wishing his groupies were legal... when
suddenly he's got company.
CHARLY
I'm the Missus. Drive.
The rogue colonel FIRES A SHOT in the air -- THE HORSES
bolt. Plunging off the parade route amid SCREAMS as
INT. PLUSH LIMO - SAME TIME
MR. PERKINS hunkers forward, face slack, as a tinny VOICE
issues from his headset mic:
VOICE (O.S.)
...yes, she's with Santa Claus,
correct, er, excuse me, the
individual *playing* Santa, er...
they're pursuing the tanker truck,
sir.
Perkins stares straight ahead, speechless.
EXT. HIGHWAY - HEADING OUT OF TOWN
SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE TANKER. Horses at full gallop, hooves
in pounding frenzy. Charly tries to JUMP from one to the
other -- no go, the tanker pulls away, widening the
distance, and meanwhile
TWO GOVERNMENT SEDANS
Come whipping out of ALLEYS, fall in behind them. CRACK--!
Gunshots, shattering the stillness.
EXT. TRUCK CHASSIS - SAME TIME
A RICOCHET whines off a hydraulic cable. Spurt of fluid as
the BRAKES start to go, and meanwhile
BACK ON THE
SLEIGH
CHARLY throws herself flat next to Santa.
CHARLY
Sorry, man. Government agents, high
level conspiracy.
SANTA
Fuckin' government.
The SEDANS jockey for position, try to pull ABREAST --
Charly swerves the sleigh back and forth, won't let them
through. She hands the reigns to Santa.
CHARLY
Veer left.
SANTA
Away from the truck?
CHARLY
Do it. In five seconds I'm gonna
own that fucking truck.
Santa complies. PEELS OFF to the left -- Opens a TWELVE FOOT
chasm between sleigh and tanker. Sure enough, one of the
government cars spurts forward to fill the gap, comes
ABREAST of them. It's what she wanted.
*FIVE SECONDS*:
Charly Baltimore LEAPS from the sleigh, lands atop the
government car. Skips lightly across it, casually BLOWS TWO
SHOTS through the ROOF. Down through the metal. Drilling
into their heads. Driver and passenger, killed instantly --
As Charly hops nimbly from her 50 mile-an-hour STEPPING
STONE. Over to the tanker. Dump-stuffs a new clip, as
THE CORPSE CAR
Fades from the race, driverless. Whipping out of control.
FISHTAILS away behind them -- Takes out the SECOND CHASE
CAR, spray of metal.
Three seconds, and Charly's taken out two pursuers.
Ratings
Scene 54 - Runaway Destruction
The door files open and the DRIVER sees CHARLY. Bloody.
Demonic. Wisely leaps out, BOUNCES from view -- Charly snags
his hat as he goes by, plops it on her head. SWINGS UP into
the drivers' seat, double-clutches -- pours on the steam.
Five seconds. She owns the tanker.
BLASTS forward into the lead PANEL TRUCK. Slams the truck
from behind, BULLDOZES it -- Sends it THUNDERING into a park
bench. Glass sprays.
She owns the road. On the seat beside her: an MP-5 machine
gun. She's set. Throws a NINETY DEGREE turn onto a
sidestreet. Donates most of her tires to New York.
INT. SPEEDING TANKER TRUCK - SANTA CLAUS - NIGHT
Charly's on fire. Senses heightened. Eyes tick back and
forth like a machine. Heading downhill, out of town...
CHARLY
Hang on, Catey.
She hits the brakes. A flash of SPARKS..! A ripping WHINE,
dies away -- The brake pedal is all play. Nothing. She's in
a runaway truck.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
*No, not fair, not fucking
fair...*!
Barreling onward. A lunging behemoth.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Can't stop, Catey, can't...
CHAIN-LINK FENCE, at road's end. Beyond it, a quarter-mile
plunge. Downhill over rocky terrain --
To St. PETER'S SEMINARY. Looming stone structure. Closed
now. Vast empty PARKING LOT.
Tears on her cheeks. Lights a cigarette. Takes a long drag,
exhales:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Suck my dick, every one of you
bastards...
Blows through the chain-link fence.
SHUDDERS AND LEAPS DOWNHILL. Mud blows skyward. Trees,
blasted to splinters.
CAITLIN
Buffeted inside the UTILITY BOX.
Cries out as
IN THE CAB
Charly fights to contain the beast. "Fuck you," slyly
retorts the beast. She BOUNCES and caroms off the sides like
a mad pinball --
THE TRUCK SMASHES DOWN
And all the windows BLOW OUT concussively and the front
tires go with a volcano CRACK-! as the beast goes canting to
one side, ponderous, MASSIVE...
It keels over on its side. Still doing fifty.
TRAVERSES THE PARKING LOT.
Slows itself by TAKING OUT LIGHT POLES, shears them off like
saplings.
Whacks the side of the chapel. IMPACT. Keeps going...
Charly is EJECTED from the cab. Pinwheels through space like
a broken doll, bursts through a STAINED GLASS WINDOW.
INT. CHAPEL
The glass ruptures as she catapults through. Hits on her
stomach, bounces. Slides to a stop, rolls over --
FLINGS herself aside just in time, as a towering ST. PETER
SMASHES to earth an inch from her head, showers marble...!
Concussion dies away. Silence. Echoes.
EXT. SEMINARY GROUNDS - SAME TIME
The tanker slides, DETONATING planters one by one... Comes
to rest in a central COURTYARD. Lies there, a hissing
dinosaur.
TIMOTHY'S TEMPERATURE GAUGE is still affixed to the truck's
underbelly: *280 degrees*.
Ratings
Scene 55 - Desperate Struggle in the Chapel
Charly, semi-conscious. Rolls onto her back, gasping. Stares
at the gathered saints. Swallows hard. Sucking it up,
preparing. Rolls to one knee, plants her foot...
She's got to make that truck.
On her feet now. Stumbling forward. One arm hugging her
guts. Cross-eyed, so hard to focus... left foot, right foot,
get it done, bitch, yes it's *supposed* to hurt that much,
flings open the door and she's so brave that for a second we
think she might make it.
Timothy kicks her in the head.
Charly flies back. Hits and SLIDES. Fetches up against a
bannister, WHAM--! Timothy calmly shuts the door behind him.
Consults his tiny gauge -- *297 degrees*.
TIMOTHY
Call it four minutes to detonation.
I got a chopper on the way, lots of
time.
He sheds his coat. Stows his gun. Removes a SWITCHBLADE.
Drapes the coat on the bannister. Flicks open the knife.
CHARLY
Oh, honey. Only four inches...?
TIMOTHY
You'll feel me.
He approaches, almost casually. Charly staggers erect.
Adopts a killing stance. Instinct. She can barely stand.
INT. PERKINS' LIMOUSINE - SAME TIME
PERKINS hears a garbled, pained voice over his headset:
VOICE (O.S.)
Point team leader, reporting...
She's... incapacitated the truck...
I'm damaged, sir, I believe I'm
dying... Instructions...?
PERKINS
Continue dying. Out.
He leans back. Stares sightlessly. Loosens his tie, hits the
intercom and says:
PERKINS (CONT’D)
Anthony, get me the President...
He takes out a bottle of Scotch. CUT TO:
INT. CHAPEL - SAME TIME
Charly and Timothy. They circle, two pros.
TIMOTHY
You've lost a step, Chuck. Muscles
never recovered from C-section,
I'll bet. Am I right?
Never watching the eyes, the eyes are liars, they watch the
HANDS... The gathered saints look on, neutral.
CHARLY
Please, man... She's only...
eight... she's a beautiful little
girl...
His concentration never falters as he says:
TIMOTHY
She's a worthless bitch. I know it
'cause she came out of me.
He LUNGES with the knife, she spins away -- He gets hold of
one arm and FLINGS her, up and over...! She SAILS through
space. Twists in mid-air. Lands like a cat. Almost. Staggers
forward. They circle...
TIMOTHY (CONT’D)
It's called shock, Charly... Your
body wants to go into shock...
CHARLY
Fuck you, your breathing's lousy...
Charly LAUNCHES herself. Avoids a stab at her throat, eats
that for breakfast, spins, slams the knuckles of her right
hand into Timothy's ribs. Busts one. He snarls, TRAPS her
wrist: CRACK! Wrist, broken. She HISSES in pain, falls back
GASPING.
Circling again. Charly cannot walk a straight line.
TIMOTHY
Look at you. You're out of your
motherfucking league, dearie.
CLOSE ON CHARLY
She looks up at him from sunken eyes shot through with red,
and in those eyes we glimpse it; the DEMON, laughing... as
Charly whispers:
CHARLY
...You want a piece...? Take my
shoulder.
He lunges with the knife...! She ducks, trips on purpose and
HANDS HIM HER SHOULDER, all that's missing is the plate --
And WHAM. In goes the knife, cuts deep and Charly looks him
in the eye and GRINS because sure enough, there's the
bastard's KNEE, wide open...
Boot-strikes, BAM--! Shears the knee, and Timothy HOWLS in
agony. Stumbles backward into the bannister --
Grabs his coat. Brings out the gun, it GOES OFF--!
Charly dives for cover. Rips the knife from her own shoulder
and flings it.
Takes him in the shoulder. Topples him back. BANNISTER. Up
and over, flailing...! Drops from sight.
Charly falls back. Pause. Sucking air. Sits down hard. Legs
splayed. Looks down at herself, oh, God...
There's a hole in her chest.
Ratings
Scene 56 - A Mother's Last Stand
The doors burst open and here she comes. Trauma, severe.
Shock, blood loss -- She makes for the tanker. For her kid.
Hitches. Staggers. Going on sheer guts.
THE HELICOPTER ROARS OVERHEAD
The PILOT brandishes his radio mic:
PILOT
Got her. Heading for the tanker,
thirty yards out. She's all over
the place, something's wrong with
her.
WITH CHARLY
Left foot, right foot, she's not
running, she's falling in a
straight line -- Reaches the
tanker. Staggers against the
inverted chassis. UTILITY BOX.
Above her.
CHARLY
*Cover your ears*.
She raises her gun. Fires. BAM-! Lock springs to pieces.
CAITLIN tumbles to the pavement, dazed and confused. Casts
about --
CAITLIN
MOMMY...!
She springs to her feet. Comes running and flings both arms
around her mother. HUGS HER -- That one puts Charly out for
a few seconds. PAIN, excruciating. Comes to her senses,
swaying like a clothesline in a high wind...
CHARLY
Run... get out...
CAITLIN
Don't go away again, Please...!
Charly grabs Caitlin's head. Turns it. Facing the
TEMPERATURE GAUGE. Red numerals: *301 degrees*.
CHARLY
The truck's a bomb... gonna blow
up, RUN... I'm right behind you,
go...
Caitlin hovers, torn. Charly summons a gutteral CROAK:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
...*Go and don't look back*...
In the end, Caitlin relents. RUNS, toward the surrounding
woods... Charly watches her go. Nods, satisfied --
Collapses. Hits the tarmac and splays in a heap. Breath
wheezing in and out. Already the pavement is staining red.
WITH CAITLIN
As, within ten seconds of the
command, she promptly DISOBEYS her
mother, looks back -- Stops dead.
There's a corpse underneath the truck.
It isn't moving. It isn't breathing. It isn't laughing or
crying...
Or hurting, not anymore.
CAITLIN
*Mommy, no...*!
Bomb forgotten. Danger forgotten. Her tiny arms pumping,
feet slapping pavement -- She returns to her mother. Grabs
one knife-bloodied shoulder, oblivious of the wound. Jerks
back and forth. Frenzied.
CAITLIN (CONT’D)
It's okay. I'm sorry I left, please
wake up, come on please...
CHARLY. Cheek against the pavement. One lifeless eye STARES.
Bloodshot and sightless.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Government vehicles, pulling up now. At the edge of the
parking lot. 100 yards away, give or take. Numerous SEDANS.
The Little Debbie panel truck. AGENTS crouch behind cars.
Weapons trained on the wounded behemoth.
Ratings
Scene 57 - Desperate Measures
The side door BURSTS OUTWARD and a limping figure emerges,
frantically signaling for the chopper: TIMOTHY'S got murder
in his eye. THE CHOPPER banks, coming in low as he hauls
himself aboard.
PILOT
Sir, your shoulder --
TIMOTHY
Fuck the shoulder, knee's worse.
Just bring me around and hold her
steady. I'm not leaving until I
know the bitch is dead.
He grabs an automatic rifle.
BACK WITH CAITLIN - UNDERNEATH THE TANKER
She adheres to Charly's motionless form. Looking small and
terrified. Whispers in her mother's ear. Soft and low:
CAITLIN
Mommy, get up now. You just stop
it, Mommy, you stop being a little
baby. Stop it, you're not dead, I
know you're not dead so you get up
now.
Face contorted, she strikes out. Flails. HITS Charly.
CAITLIN (CONT’D)
*Don't you die*, you get up now,
Goddammit...!
(MORE)
CAITLIN (CONT’D)
Life is pain, you just get used to
it, and stand up *right this
minute*, Mommy. Life is pain, do
it, you bitch. *Do it*.
Tears coursing in rivulets. Little fists clenched. Then --
It might be a trick of the wind. Tiny aspiration, not enough
breath to fog a mirror...
CHARLY
...mommy... here...
A solitary tear appears in the wide-open staring eye. One
fingernail, then. Scratches feebly. Toes, shifting. Seeking
purchase. A HAND, planting itself... TEETH BARED, a rictus
of pain... Rising up...
*Standing*. Full height now, flexing one deadly arm. She
hugs her daughter and says:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
...You're grounded...
Overhead, the HOWLING of rotor blades. Charly gasps for
breath. Cracks open the GUN... no bullets. Swell. Scans the
pavement... There. THE MP-5 machine gun lies twenty feet
from her. Twenty miles, same difference. Across the
pavement, even farther away: Timothy's car.
*305 degrees*. Charly swallows hard:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
I'm gonna get the gun, you run for
that car. We go on three, okay?
One... Two... *Three*.
They break cover. Into the open. A WITHERING FIRE ERUPTS.
Right at their feet...! Geysers of asphalt, shot skyward --
TIMOTHY sprays the blacktop from above. Ruthless. Charly
goes insane. Lurches, crazed, to the cab of the truck.
Thumbs the mike and says:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Somebody get that motherfucker off
me! I got a kid here, I got my
eight year-old daughter, *Jesus
Christ*...! It's Christmas Eve, who
are you *people*, fucking pull him
off! Do you hear me...?
CUT TO:
EYES SNAP OPEN IN DARKNESS. We don't know whose they are. We
don't know where we are.
BACK WITH
CHARLY - SAME
TIME
The temperature gauge: *308 degrees*. She clutches Caitlin.
Shouting into the mic:
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Distract him, for God's sake give
me ten seconds, please, I'm begging
somebody, anybody, *she's my
daughter*...!
EXT. EDGE OF PARKING LOT
A sour-looking CHAPTER AGENT stands before a row of cars and
the Little Debbie panel truck. Expressionless beaurocrat.
Lifts the mic to his lips and says:
CHAPTER BEAUROCRAT
Negative, ma'am, we understand your
request, but we've decided to go
ahead and let this play out...
Behind him, the back of the panel truck EXPLODES. A car
CATAPULTS outward into space -- SMASHES DOWN atop two
sedans. Blows out their windshields. Flings itself to the
pavement and RICOCHETS forward, zero to sixty.
MITCH HENESSEY
At the wheel. Making a suicide run.
Face a FRIGHT MASK of deadly
purpose. We have no idea why
someone who looks like him is
alive.
Ratings
Scene 58 - Descent into Chaos
*Distraction*, just enough: The pilot banks toward the CAR.
TIMOTHY
Where are *you* going??
Timothy grabs the stick -- THAT'S WHEN CHARLY BREAKS COVER.
Does a MAD STAGGER across the blacktop. Goes for the GUN.
TIMOTHY CHANGES DIRECTION. Chopper again, SCREAMING in low
and fast --
CHARLY dives, rolls -- Comes up with the MACHINE GUN and
falls flat on her back, points it skyward:
CHARLY
Suck on it.
She fires. Blows the chopper's TAIL ROTOR. The craft pitches
to the side -- Dumps Timothy out the door. Flailing.
Head over heels, he FALLS -- Lands atop the TANKER, right on
the silver tank and *burns*. Actually SIZZLES at 310 degrees
Celsius, steam pouring off him like a vampire in daylight,
SHRIEKING--!
CHARLY (CONT’D)
Die screaming, motherfucker.
She watches as he slips from sight... off the tanker. SIRENS
now, approaching. Wind, biting cold. Ground black and bloody
in the moonlight...
HERE COMES HENESSEY, powers across the lot, pedal to the
metal. Followed at a distance of fifty yards by half a dozen
squawling GOVERNMENT VEHICLES, flashers turning.
Henessey stomps the brake. SLEWS to a stop, tires
cooking...! KICKS open the passenger door as Charly
collapses into the car, CAITLIN in her arms. The kid says:
CAITLIN
Hurry! The truck is a bomb!
HENESSEY
Yeah, yeah. What else, we got a
fucking lightning rod on the
roof...? No, Caitlin, *don't
check*.
He PEELS OUT.
CHARLY
Hey... you're bleeding...
HENESSEY
I think that's yours...
CHARLY
Right, sorry...
He inadvertently smacks a light pole. SPARKS fly.
CAITLIN
*You're a bad driver! Who said you
could drive*?
EXT. PARKING LOT - BESIDE THE TANKER - SAME TIME
They have to drag Timothy inside the car. The engine ROARS
as it leaps forward, trailing the other FIVE -- Scarred and
hideous, he stares after Charly, screaming:
TIMOTHY
*Somebody do her, somebody kill
that fucking whore, kill her*!
That's when the helicopter crashes. The pilot does
everything but flap his arms -- Forget it. IT KEELS OVER.
Rotor touches pavement -- Blows to pieces. They ALL go.
Snapped off. Blown like rockets in every direction.
TIMOTHY LOOKS UP as a rotor blade whistles right through the
windshield of his car. Shears off his HEAD. Blows out the
BACK in a shower of glass and hurtles onward, SPINNING out
of control...
Strikes the tanker. Boom.
Imagine God in Monte Carlo. Tossing dice the length of a
craps table. Now, imagine the dice are BURNING CARS.
EXT. EDGE OF PARKING LOT - SAME TIME
Henessey flies out of the parking lot and INTO the WOODS as
the firestorm RAGES TO HEAVEN behind him. Cars, heading his
way -- AIRBORNE. Fights the wheel, swerving through the
woods as all around him, FLAMING CARS crash down. BOUNCING
into and out of the trees, peekaboo...
Some go flying past OVERHEAD. Striking in front like
meteors, GOUGING the earth. Caitlin screams:
CAITLIN
Don't hit the cars!
Henessey favors her with a foul look. CHARLY looks up and
sees ANGELS flying overhead, trailing concrete...
Then they're OUT OF THE WOODS. Car slingshots onto the
highway and races forward, SAFE. Behind it, the sky is
aglow, SNOWING fiery traces... Bits of earth, trees,
pavement.
OVERHEAD VIEW: As they roar out of town, we see burning
woods and a CRATER approximately 150 yards in diameter --
St. Peter's Seminary no longer exists... CUT TO:
EXT. ROADSIDE - OUTSIDE OF TOWN - NIGHTTIME
Henessey coasts to the side of the road and stops. He lays
his head on the steering wheel, sucking air. Looks at
Charly:
HENESSEY
Sorry, can't drive... Are you
okay...?
CHARLY
(grimaces)
...Are you... stupid...?
HENESSEY
...funny thing...? You aren't going
to die... I am...
Charly offers him that soft, sad little smile.
CHARLY
I know.
Henessey starts to fade... breathing labored... Reaches
up... strokes Caitlin's hair. Smiles at her:
HENESSEY
Hey, gorgeous... know something...
you got your mother's eyes... don't
let... nobody tell you different...
Slumps back in the seat. Gazing at Charly. A single tear
runs from one bloodshot eye. He whispers:
HENESSEY (CONT’D)
Scared... to be nobody... without a
ripple... please... remember me...
(beat)
...Love you...
Dies.
Charly leans on the dash. Cries for awhile. For herself...
for Henessey... for this Godawful planet, and everything
else. DISSOLVE TO:
INT. FARMHOUSE - SAME TIME
A MOTHER SITS in the glow of a Winnie the Pooh nightlight.
Next to her sleeping daughter's bed -- back to the very
beginning of the film, it's been a long kiss goodnight.
An elderly FARMER pokes his head in. She doesn't look up.
DOCTOR
Um, Ma'am...? Ambulance is here.
They'll be right in.
The shadowy figure nods... Remains seated. Stays awhile in
the dark. Keeping vigil. Snow slithers against the glass.
SLOW DISSOLVE
TO:
Ratings
Scene 59 - Betrayal on the Mine
MR. PERKINS emerges from a guest cottage, flanked by his
aide Harry.
AIDE
...They'll push for dismantlement
of our apparatus in Chile, but
we've got a degree of plausible
deniability...
Harry's FOOT comes down on a circular slab of STONE -- and a
voice from the grave says:
VOICE (O.S.)
Stay very still.
Stops him in his tracks, stops him dead --
As CHARLY BALTIMORE steps from the nearby trees. Stands,
twenty yards downrange. Beretta leveled at both of them.
Two months, you barely notice the limp. She stands there in
sleeveless top and short skirt and looks like a million.
Thumbs a metal box, click-! A red ARMING LIGHT blinks on.
CHARLY
Good morning, I'm Charly. The slab
you're standing on is actually a
land mine. Keep your foot on the
pressure plate, nothing happens.
Step off the stone, we'll all be
wearing you.
PERKINS steps forward. The gun shifts. Targets him.
PERKINS
Charly, I know we've treated you
poorly, please, it was just
business --
She reaches in a pocket. Tosses him a cellular phone -- He
catches it as though it were a live snake.
CHARLY
My terms are these. Call State and
order full disclosure on your
personal correspondence. Then
disband Chapter, effective
immediately. In exchange...? I
won't shoot you, and I won't make
you stand on that mine. I won't
touch you. I won't touch you. I
promise.
PERKINS
You... you promise.
He swallows hard. Looks to his aide... back to her... DIALS.
Charly takes a deep breath. Scans the flowers, face placid.
It's really quite lovely today. Maybe she'll start a garden.
Perkins clicks off. Look at Charly:
PERKINS (CONT’D)
It's done. Now, you promise... you
won't shoot me... won't make me get
on the mine...?
CHARLY
I promise.
She smiles. Shifts her aim and shoots the other guy.
Perkins' eyes WIDEN in sudden realization. He LUNGES
forward, grabs the aide, holding him up... desperately
propping his dead weight atop the land mine...
PERKINS
Goddamn you, I can't hold him...
You bitch... YOU FUCKING BITCH...!
Ratings
Scene 60 - Redemption and Reflection
Henessey's CHRYSLER CONVERTIBLE has been restored to a
cherry red. It purrs along the boulevard, Charly at the
wheel. Hair blowing. She talks on the cellular phone:
CHARLY
Yes, Mr. President, you have my
assurance that Perkins' latest
operation has been rendered beyond
salvage.
Behind her a GOUT OF EARTH blows skyward. Showers the road a
ways back.
CHARLY (CONT’D)
He's not in the greatest shape
either.
INTERCUT - PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
He speaks from the oval office, face grave:
PRESIDENT
I owe you an astounding debt of
thanks, Colonel. Would it be
impertinent to ask if you'd
consider working for State again?
The moneys involved would be
substantial.
CHARLY
Out of the question. I've got a
stack of papers to grade. Listen,
before I go, I need a small
favor...
EXT. SUBURBAN HOME - AKRON, OHIO - DAY
Henessey's EX-WIFE stands in the open doorway, flanked by
her son TODD. Two uniformed COPS speak solemnly:
UNIFORM COP #1
...As I say, we can only apologize
for the system, Ma'am, but it's
confirmed that your husband is
innocent of the crime for which he
was imprisoned. This is a
photograph of the actual
criminal...
He shows her a mug shot of TIMOTHY.
UNIFORM COP #1 (CONT’D)
A petty thief, now deceased. I'll
respect your wishes should you
choose to file charges against the
State Attorney...
In the eyes of a young boy, Henessey finds redemption.
EXT. HOUSE - EDGE OF WHEATFIELD - TWILIGHT
Sun, passing into mystery. Wheatfield, rippling. Caitlin is
in the yard, chasing a big floppy-eared Labrador.
On the porch, a CRICKET chirps. HAL comes out, sits beside
his wife CHARLY as she finishes eating. Says softly:
HAL
Just talked to Dr. Sullivan, she's
gonna need the full braces. Even
with your teaching, insurance won't
cover it... I don't know what to
do.
Pause. Charly says nothing. The dog parades up to Caitlin
with a stick in its jaws. A farm truck goes by, a faraway
speck.
Charly absent-mindedly rolls a steak knife in her fingers.
Eyes far away.
It never occurs to her what she's done until the chirping
stops.
Ten feet away, the knife quivers.
FADE OUT. ROLL
END CREDITS.
THE END
Ratings
Characters in the screenplay, and their arcs:
| Character | Arc | Critique | Suggestions |
|---|---|---|---|
| samantha |
|
Samantha's character arc is compelling, showcasing her journey from confusion to empowerment. However, the transitions between her emotional states could be more gradual and nuanced. Some moments of her internal struggle may feel rushed, and her motivations could be more clearly defined throughout the screenplay. Additionally, while her protective instincts are strong, exploring her vulnerabilities in more depth could create a richer emotional experience for the audience. | To improve Samantha's character arc, consider incorporating more scenes that highlight her internal conflicts and the gradual evolution of her character. Allow for moments of reflection where she grapples with her past and the implications of her choices. Additionally, introducing secondary characters who challenge her beliefs or provide support could enhance her development. Finally, ensure that her emotional transitions are well-paced, allowing the audience to fully engage with her journey and the stakes involved. |
| hal | Hal's character arc begins with him as a supportive and light-hearted husband, providing stability for Samantha as she navigates her memory recovery. As the story unfolds, Hal's skepticism about Samantha's recovery grows, leading to moments of tension and conflict. He experiences a transformation as he confronts his own emotions, moving from a place of playful banter to a more vulnerable and confrontational stance. By the end of the feature, Hal learns to balance his humor with deeper emotional honesty, ultimately strengthening his relationship with Samantha and their daughter as they face their challenges together. | Hal's character arc is compelling as it showcases his evolution from a light-hearted husband to a more complex individual grappling with serious issues. However, the transition between his comedic and serious moments may feel abrupt at times, potentially confusing the audience about his true emotional state. Additionally, while his support for Samantha is clear, his own struggles could be explored in greater depth to enhance audience empathy and understanding of his character. | To improve Hal's character arc, consider incorporating more scenes that delve into his internal conflicts and frustrations, allowing the audience to witness his emotional journey more clearly. This could involve flashbacks or moments of introspection that reveal his fears and hopes regarding Samantha's recovery. Additionally, ensure that the shifts between his humorous and serious tones are more gradual, allowing for a smoother transition that reflects his emotional growth. Finally, providing him with a pivotal moment of realization or decision that encapsulates his growth could serve as a powerful climax for his character arc. |
| caitlin | Caitlin's character arc begins with her as a playful and curious child, blissfully unaware of the dangers surrounding her. As the narrative progresses, she is thrust into chaotic and threatening situations that force her to confront her fears. Initially, she seeks comfort from her mother, showcasing her vulnerability. However, as the story develops, Caitlin evolves into a more resilient and brave character, learning to support her mother and find moments of strength amidst adversity. By the end of the feature, Caitlin emerges as a symbol of hope and innocence, having grown from a scared child into a supportive and courageous figure, embodying the theme of trust and familial bonds. | Caitlin's character arc effectively captures the essence of a young girl navigating fear and uncertainty. However, the transition from innocence to resilience could benefit from more defined moments of agency where Caitlin actively contributes to her own growth. While her relationship with her mother is central, there could be additional layers to her character that explore her individuality and personal strengths beyond her attachment to Charly. This would create a more rounded character who is not solely defined by her relationship with her mother. | To improve Caitlin's character arc, consider incorporating scenes that allow her to take initiative or make decisions that impact the story. This could involve moments where she uses her curiosity to solve problems or protect her mother, showcasing her growth in a more active way. Additionally, introducing subplots that highlight her interests or skills outside of her relationship with Charly could add depth to her character. For example, showcasing her creativity or intelligence in a way that aids their survival could enhance her agency and make her journey more compelling. |
| henessey | Mitch Henessey's character arc follows his journey from a cynical ex-con with a troubled past to a loyal and courageous ally who confronts his fears and seeks redemption. Initially, he is skeptical and self-preserving, often using humor as a defense mechanism. As he becomes embroiled in dangerous situations alongside Charly and Samantha, he begins to confront his vulnerabilities and the weight of his past actions. Through his experiences, Henessey evolves into a more selfless character, demonstrating bravery and loyalty, ultimately sacrificing for the greater good. His journey culminates in a moment of personal growth, where he embraces his role as a protector and ally, finding a sense of purpose and belonging. | While Henessey's character arc is compelling, it could benefit from deeper exploration of his internal conflicts and motivations. The transition from cynicism to loyalty feels somewhat abrupt at times, and the screenplay could enhance this arc by providing more backstory and emotional stakes that connect his past to his present actions. Additionally, the balance between humor and seriousness could be refined to ensure that his growth feels authentic and earned rather than forced. | To improve Henessey's character arc, consider incorporating flashbacks or dialogue that reveals more about his troubled past and the specific events that shaped his cynicism and desire for redemption. This could create a stronger emotional connection for the audience. Additionally, allow for moments of vulnerability where Henessey grapples with his fears and doubts, making his eventual transformation more impactful. Finally, ensure that his humor evolves alongside his character growth, reflecting a more nuanced understanding of the situations he faces rather than relying solely on sarcasm as a coping mechanism. |
| timothy | Throughout the screenplay, Timothy begins as a seemingly invincible antagonist, manipulating events from the shadows and instilling fear in his victims. As the story progresses, he faces increasing resistance from Charly, who begins to unravel his schemes and challenge his authority. This leads to moments of vulnerability where Timothy's facade of control starts to crack, revealing his desperation to maintain power. In the climax, he is confronted by Charly in a high-stakes showdown, where his overconfidence ultimately leads to his downfall. By the end, Timothy's arc concludes with his defeat, showcasing the consequences of his ruthless ambition and manipulation. | Timothy's character is well-defined as a menacing antagonist, but his motivations could be further explored to add depth. While his ruthlessness is clear, understanding the underlying reasons for his behavior could make him more relatable and complex. Additionally, his interactions with other characters could benefit from moments that reveal his vulnerabilities or past traumas, which would enhance the audience's engagement with his character. | To improve Timothy's character arc, consider incorporating flashbacks or dialogue that provide insight into his backstory, revealing what drives his need for power and control. Introducing a personal connection to Charly or her daughter could create a more compelling conflict and add emotional stakes to their encounters. Additionally, allowing Timothy to experience moments of doubt or internal conflict could humanize him, making his eventual downfall more impactful. Finally, exploring the consequences of his actions on those around him could deepen the narrative and provide a more satisfying resolution to his character arc. |
| charly | Charly's character arc begins with her struggling to reconcile her past as an assassin with her present identity as a mother. Initially, she is defined by her trauma and the need to protect her daughter at all costs, often resorting to manipulation and defiance to navigate dangerous situations. As the story progresses, Charly faces intense challenges that force her to confront her past and the choices she has made. Through her journey, she evolves from a character driven by survival instincts to one who embraces her vulnerabilities and seeks redemption. By the climax, Charly learns to balance her fierce protective instincts with a willingness to trust others, ultimately leading to a resolution where she not only saves her daughter but also finds a sense of peace with her past. | Charly's character arc is compelling, showcasing her transformation from a hardened assassin to a protective mother. However, the arc could benefit from deeper exploration of her emotional struggles and the impact of her past on her present relationships. While her resilience is admirable, there are moments where her motivations could be more clearly defined, particularly in her interactions with other characters. Additionally, the balance between her tough exterior and emotional vulnerability could be further nuanced to create a more relatable and dynamic character. | To improve Charly's character arc, consider incorporating more flashbacks or moments of introspection that reveal her past experiences and how they shape her current decisions. This could help the audience connect with her on a deeper emotional level. Additionally, introducing secondary characters who challenge her worldview or force her to confront her past could add complexity to her journey. Allowing Charly to experience moments of doubt or failure could also enhance her growth, making her eventual triumph more impactful. Finally, ensuring that her relationships with other characters evolve throughout the screenplay will provide a richer narrative and highlight her transformation. |
| charly baltimore | Charly Baltimore's character arc follows her journey from a haunted assassin grappling with her violent past to a fiercely protective mother seeking redemption. Initially, she is defined by her past traumas and a sense of isolation, struggling with her identity and the consequences of her actions. As the story progresses, Charly's love for her daughter becomes the catalyst for her transformation. She confronts her fears and vulnerabilities, ultimately embracing her maternal instincts and resourcefulness. By the climax, Charly evolves into a determined and courageous figure, willing to risk everything to save her daughter, thus finding a sense of purpose and redemption in her actions. The resolution sees her not only protecting her child but also beginning to reconcile with her past, hinting at a path toward healing. | Charly Baltimore is a compelling character with a rich backstory and emotional depth. However, her arc could benefit from clearer moments of internal conflict and growth. While her determination to protect her daughter is a strong motivator, the screenplay could explore her vulnerabilities more deeply, allowing the audience to connect with her struggles on a more personal level. Additionally, the balance between her assassin past and her role as a mother could be further developed to create more tension and stakes in her decisions. | To improve Charly's character arc, consider incorporating flashbacks or moments of reflection that reveal her internal conflicts and regrets about her past actions as an assassin. This could create a more nuanced portrayal of her character, allowing the audience to empathize with her struggles. Additionally, introducing secondary characters who challenge her views on motherhood and violence could provide opportunities for growth and self-discovery. Finally, ensure that her journey towards redemption is gradual, with setbacks that test her resolve, ultimately leading to a more satisfying and believable transformation. |
Top Correlations and patterns found in the scenes:
| Pattern | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Humor in Tense Scenes Reduces Character Development Focus | In scenes with humorous tones (e.g., scenes 2, 4, 6, 9, 14, 25, 31-34, 36-37), character changes scores average around 7.8, slightly lower than the overall average of 8.5 across all scenes. This suggests that while humor effectively balances tension and maintains engagement, it may inadvertently downplay opportunities for deeper character evolution, potentially leaving some arcs feeling less transformative in lighter moments. |
| Suspenseful Tones Strongly Correlate with High Stakes and Conflict | Scenes featuring 'Suspenseful' tones (e.g., scenes 4, 12-14, 16-18, 22-24, 26, 28-30, 32, 38-40, 43, 45-47, 49-53, 55, 59-60) consistently show high stakes and conflict scores, often 9 or 10. This indicates a tight integration where suspense drives narrative tension, but it might be worth exploring if this reliance on suspense occasionally overshadows other elements, making the story feel more plot-driven than character-centric in these segments. |
| Emotional Tones Enhance Impact but May Limit Dialogue Innovation | When 'Emotional' tones are present (e.g., scenes 5, 7, 10-13, 16, 18-21, 27, 38, 41-43, 45-46, 48-51, 54, 56-58, 60), emotional impact scores are nearly always 9 or 10, showing a strong correlation. However, dialogue scores in these scenes average 8.7, slightly below the script's overall average of 8.8, suggesting that intense emotional focus might constrain dialogue variety, possibly leading to repetitive expressions of feeling that could be diversified for greater depth. |
| Dark Tones Amplify Conflict and High Stakes with Minimal Character Growth | Scenes with 'Dark' tones (e.g., scenes 5-6, 21, 23, 27-29, 31, 37, 39, 45, 47, 49) exhibit high conflict and high stakes scores (averaging 9.2 and 9.3 respectively), but character changes scores are often 8 or lower. This pattern implies that while darkness effectively heightens drama, it may not always serve as a catalyst for significant character transformation, indicating a potential area for the author to weave in more personal growth during darker moments to enrich the narrative. |
| Sarcastic Tones Boost Dialogue Engagement but Slightly Lower Reflective Elements | In scenes incorporating 'Sarcastic' tones (e.g., scenes 9, 19, 21, 34-36, 40-42, 44, 59), dialogue scores are consistently high (9 or 10 in many cases), highlighting the author's strength in witty banter. However, elements like character changes and emotional impact average 8.2 in these scenes, suggesting that sarcasm, while engaging, might prioritize surface-level interactions over deeper emotional or developmental shifts, which could be an unconscious habit to consider for more balanced character portrayals. |
| Intense Tones Drive Story Progression but May Over-rely on Familiar Patterns | With 'Intense' tones appearing in a majority of scenes (e.g., scenes 4, 7-10, 12-13, 17-18, 21-24, 26, 29-30, 33, 35, 38-39, 41-43, 46-60), there's a strong correlation with high scores in moving the story forward (averaging 9.1). This indicates effective pacing, but the repetition of intense tones across 80% of scenes might lead to predictability, potentially masking opportunities for varied pacing or quieter moments that could allow characters to breathe and evolve in subtler ways. |
Writer's Craft Overall Analysis
The screenplay demonstrates a strong command of dialogue, character dynamics, and the ability to blend humor with tension. The writer effectively creates engaging narratives that resonate emotionally with the audience. However, there are opportunities to enhance character development, pacing, and thematic depth across various scenes.
Key Improvement Areas
Suggestions
| Type | Suggestion | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Book | Read 'Save the Cat!' by Blake Snyder | This book provides valuable insights into structuring screenplays, developing characters, and creating engaging narratives, which can enhance the writer's craft. |
| Screenplay | Study 'The Dark Knight' by Christopher Nolan | This screenplay exemplifies strong character development, intricate plot structures, and effective pacing, offering lessons on blending action with thematic depth. |
| Video | Watch analysis videos on pacing and tension-building techniques in screenwriting | Understanding how pacing impacts audience engagement and narrative tension can enhance the writer's craft in creating impactful scenes. |
| Exercise | Practice writing dialogue-driven scenes with subtext and conflicting motivationsPractice In SceneProv | This exercise will help sharpen the writer's ability to convey nuanced emotions and deepen character interactions, enhancing the authenticity of the dialogue. |
| Exercise | Write character backstories that explore their motivations and conflictsPractice In SceneProv | Developing detailed backstories will enrich character development and provide a clearer understanding of their actions and decisions within the narrative. |
| Exercise | Create a scene outline that balances action and character momentsPractice In SceneProv | This exercise will help the writer refine pacing and ensure that both action and character development are effectively integrated, maintaining audience engagement. |
Stories Similar to this one
| Story | Explanation |
|---|---|
| The Bourne Identity | Both stories feature a protagonist with amnesia who is trying to uncover their true identity while being pursued by dangerous forces. The themes of self-discovery and the struggle against a shadowy organization resonate strongly in both narratives. |
| Kill Bill | Similar to the protagonist in this script, Beatrix Kiddo is a woman with a violent past seeking revenge while navigating her complex relationships. Both stories blend action with emotional depth, showcasing a strong female lead who confronts her past. |
| The Long Kiss Goodnight | This film features a woman with amnesia who discovers her past as a trained assassin, paralleling the protagonist's journey in the script. Both stories involve a mix of action, humor, and the protagonist's struggle to reconcile their past with their current life. |
| The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | Both narratives explore themes of espionage, betrayal, and the moral complexities of intelligence work. The protagonist's struggle with their identity and the consequences of their past actions are central to both stories. |
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Both stories feature strong, complex female protagonists who have experienced trauma and are seeking justice. The blend of mystery, action, and personal discovery creates a similar tone and narrative arc. |
| Nikita | This story follows a woman trained as an assassin who grapples with her violent past while trying to forge a new identity. The themes of redemption and the conflict between personal desires and professional obligations are prevalent in both narratives. |
| The Americans | This TV series features deep character development and explores the lives of undercover agents living in America. The tension between personal life and espionage, along with the emotional stakes involved, mirrors the dynamics present in the script. |
| Salt | Both stories involve a female protagonist who is a skilled operative with a mysterious past. The action-packed sequences and the protagonist's quest to uncover the truth about their identity and motivations are key similarities. |
| The Equalizer | This narrative features a protagonist who uses their skills to protect the innocent while dealing with their own troubled past. The themes of justice, redemption, and the fight against corrupt forces resonate in both stories. |
Here are different Tropes found in the screenplay
| Trope | Trope Details | Trope Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Amnesia | Samantha Caine suffers from amnesia, having lost her memories of her past life and identity. | Amnesia is a common trope in storytelling where a character loses their memory, often leading to a journey of self-discovery. An example is Jason Bourne in 'The Bourne Identity', who suffers from amnesia and must piece together his past. |
| The Hero with a Thousand Faces | Samantha transforms from a suburban teacher to a skilled assassin, showcasing her dual identity. | This trope refers to the archetypal hero's journey, where a character undergoes significant transformation. An example is Katniss Everdeen in 'The Hunger Games', who evolves from a simple girl into a revolutionary leader. |
| Motherly Instincts | Samantha's fierce protection of her daughter Caitlin drives many of her actions. | This trope highlights a mother's instinct to protect her children at all costs. An example is Sarah Connor in 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day', who fights to protect her son from a deadly future. |
| The Mentor | Mitch Henessey acts as a mentor figure to Samantha, guiding her through her transformation. | The mentor trope involves a wise character who provides guidance to the protagonist. An example is Mr. Miyagi in 'The Karate Kid', who teaches Daniel not just martial arts but life lessons. |
| The Final Girl | Samantha embodies the 'final girl' trope, surviving against all odds and confronting her enemies. | The final girl trope refers to the last woman standing in horror films, often embodying purity and resilience. An example is Laurie Strode in 'Halloween', who confronts Michael Myers in the end. |
| The Con Man | Mitch Henessey is a con man who uses deception to achieve his goals. | The con man trope involves a character who uses trickery and deceit for personal gain. An example is Frank Abagnale in 'Catch Me If You Can', who cons people into believing his lies. |
| The Loveable Rogue | Mitch Henessey is portrayed as a charming rogue, despite his criminal background. | This trope features a character who is a bit of a scoundrel but is ultimately likable. An example is Han Solo in 'Star Wars', who is a smuggler but becomes a hero. |
| The Big Bad | Timothy serves as the primary antagonist, orchestrating the chaos around Samantha. | The big bad trope refers to the main villain in a story who poses a significant threat to the protagonist. An example is Voldemort in 'Harry Potter', who represents the ultimate evil the heroes must confront. |
| The Chase | Several scenes involve high-stakes chases, particularly with Samantha and the tanker truck. | The chase trope involves characters pursuing or fleeing from one another, often leading to thrilling action sequences. An example is the car chase in 'Mad Max: Fury Road', which is a central element of the film. |
| Theme | Theme Details | Themee Explanation | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duality of Identity and Amnesia | Samantha Caine presents as a loving mother and schoolteacher, but she is revealed to be Charly Baltimore, a highly trained assassin. Her amnesia is a key plot device, creating a deliberate separation between her past and present lives. The script explores the reintegration of her past identity, often through violent actions and resurfacing skills. Henessey's journey also involves grappling with his past as an ex-con and his present role. | This theme centers on characters struggling with conflicting aspects of their personalities and histories. Samantha's amnesia is a literal manifestation of this, while Charly's return to her assassin skills demonstrates the inescapable nature of her past. The script constantly questions who a person truly is when their memories are fragmented or their past actions resurface. | ||||||||||||
Strengthening Duality of Identity and Amnesia:
| ||||||||||||||
| Maternal Protection and Sacrifice | Charly's primary motivation throughout the narrative is the protection of her daughter, Caitlin. This drives her to extreme measures, including embracing her violent past and making immense sacrifices. The initial scene with the child crying about 'men on the mountain' sets this tone, and it escalates through every threat to Caitlin. | This theme examines the lengths a mother will go to ensure her child's safety. It explores the primal instinct to protect one's offspring, even if it means resorting to lethal force or confronting one's own demons. Charly's actions are often justified, in her mind, by the need to keep Caitlin safe. | ||||||||||||
| Violence and its Consequences | The script is replete with instances of extreme violence, from gunfights and assassinations to the detonation of a tanker truck. The narrative doesn't shy away from the brutal realities of violence, and characters like Henessey and Charly are forced to confront the physical and emotional toll it takes. | This theme explores the pervasive nature of violence in the characters' lives and its destructive impact. It highlights how violence begets more violence and the lasting scars it leaves, both physically and psychologically. The script interrogates the justification of violence, especially when it's in the name of protection or survival. | ||||||||||||
| Conspiracy and Hidden Agendas | Various organizations like 'Chapter' and shadowy figures like Perkins, Timothy, and Daedalus operate behind the scenes, manipulating events and characters for their own ends. These hidden agendas create a constant sense of paranoia and danger, forcing characters to question who they can trust. | This theme delves into the idea that powerful, unseen forces are at play, controlling events and shaping the lives of individuals. It highlights the deceptive nature of power and the manipulation that can occur when secrets are kept and agendas are pursued covertly. | ||||||||||||
| Redemption and Second Chances | Characters like Henessey are seeking redemption for past mistakes, while Charly, despite her violent past, yearns for a semblance of a normal life and a chance to be a good mother. The possibility of escaping one's past and finding peace is a recurring undercurrent. | This theme explores the human desire to overcome past transgressions and find a path toward a better future. It questions whether true redemption is possible after significant moral compromise and the sacrifices required to achieve it. | ||||||||||||
| Loss of Innocence | Caitlin, despite being a child, is repeatedly exposed to extreme violence and danger. The script hints at a loss of innocence for her, mirroring the trauma Charly herself has experienced. The early scene of Caitlin crying about 'men on the mountain' and later being caught in the middle of the chaos foreshadows this. | This theme examines the painful transition from childhood innocence to the harsh realities of the world. It highlights how traumatic events and exposure to violence can prematurely age children and strip away their naivety. | ||||||||||||
| Fate vs. Free Will | Characters often seem caught in circumstances beyond their control, manipulated by larger forces. However, they also make choices that shape their destinies. The question of whether characters are bound by their past or can forge their own path is explored. | This theme grapples with the philosophical question of determinism versus agency. It questions whether individuals are destined for a certain path due to their past, circumstances, or inherent nature, or if they possess the power to choose their own course. | ||||||||||||
Screenwriting Resources on Themes
Articles
| Site | Description |
|---|---|
| Studio Binder | Movie Themes: Examples of Common Themes for Screenwriters |
| Coverfly | Improving your Screenplay's theme |
| John August | Writing from Theme |
YouTube Videos
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Story, Plot, Genre, Theme - Screenwriting Basics | Screenwriting basics - beginner video |
| What is theme | Discussion on ways to layer theme into a screenplay. |
| Thematic Mistakes You're Making in Your Script | Common Theme mistakes and Philosophical Conflicts |
| Voice Analysis | |
|---|---|
| Summary: | The writer's voice is characterized by a potent blend of dark humor, sharp and witty dialogue, and a gritty, often violent realism. There's a consistent juxtaposition of mundane, even cheerful, moments with sudden, shocking events or profound underlying tension. Introspection and emotional depth are woven through the narrative, often expressed through terse, impactful dialogue or vivid, evocative descriptions. The writer excels at creating suspense, moral ambiguity, and a sense of urgency, often within the context of high-stakes action and complex character dynamics. |
| Voice Contribution | The writer's voice contributes to the script by creating a distinct and engaging tone that balances humor, drama, and suspense. It adds layers of complexity to the characters, highlighting their internal struggles, motivations, and the moral ambiguities of their actions. The blend of contrasting tones enhances the emotional impact of the scenes, making the narrative more compelling and the characters more memorable. This voice effectively immerses the audience in a world where ordinary moments can quickly turn extraordinary and dangerous. |
| Best Representation Scene | 4 - Con Artists at Work |
| Best Scene Explanation | Scene 4 best showcases the author's unique voice due to its immediate establishment of dark humor and gritty realism. The rapid-fire, aggressive dialogue of Mitch Henessey, juxtaposed with the ineptitude of his accomplices and the bewildered victim, perfectly encapsulates the blend of sharp wit and chaotic, often violent, situations. The quick transition to Mitch and Trin dividing money and critiquing their scheme further solidifies this voice, demonstrating a pragmatic, albeit morally ambiguous, approach to their criminal endeavors. The humorous dismissal of a serious crime and the immediate introduction of a new, quirky case (“owing him a favor from 1967”) perfectly embody the writer's ability to mix humor with underlying menace and a touch of the absurd. |
- Overall originality score: 8.5
- Overall originality explanation: The script showcases a high level of originality through its innovative blend of genres, including action, thriller, and dark comedy, while exploring complex themes such as identity, trauma, and maternal sacrifice. The unique character dynamics, particularly Charly's transformation from a schoolteacher to a lethal assassin, and the incorporation of unexpected elements like the Christmas setting juxtaposed with violent confrontations, contribute to its originality. The script also creatively utilizes familiar tropes, such as the 'mother protecting her child' and 'the reluctant hero,' but twists them in fresh and engaging ways, making the narrative feel both familiar and innovative.
- Most unique situations: The most unique situations in the script are Charly's use of a bungee cord to escape from a cliff, her emotional confrontation with her daughter amidst a high-stakes bomb threat, and the darkly humorous juxtaposition of a Christmas parade with intense action sequences. Additionally, the revelation of Charly's past and her interactions with Timothy, who is both a former target and now an antagonist, add layers of complexity and originality to the narrative.
- Overall unpredictability score: 9
- Overall unpredictability explanation: The script maintains a high level of unpredictability through its rapid shifts in tone and unexpected plot twists. The characters' motivations often defy expectations, such as Charly's fierce determination to protect her daughter at all costs, even when faced with overwhelming odds. The intertwining of personal stakes with larger conspiracies keeps the audience guessing about character fates and the outcomes of various conflicts. The script's willingness to subvert traditional action tropes, such as the heroic rescue and the portrayal of maternal instincts, further enhances its unpredictability, making it difficult to anticipate the next turn of events.
| Goals and Philosophical Conflict | |
|---|---|
| internal Goals | Throughout the script, the protagonist's internal goals evolve from seeking security and safety for her daughter to confronting her traumatic past and identity as an assassin. Charly's journey reflects her struggle between protecting her family and reconciling her violent history, culminating in her fierce determination to save Caitlin. |
| External Goals | Charly's external goals focus on liberating her daughter from threats, dismantling the dangerous operations of 'Chapter,' and ultimately facing the antagonists who orchestrated the chaos surrounding her life. |
| Philosophical Conflict | The overarching philosophical conflict centers on the tension between survival and morality. Charly grapples with her violent past and the moral implications of her current actions as she aims to protect her daughter, leading to a complex understanding of right versus wrong in extreme circumstances. |
Character Development Contribution: The evolution of Charly's internal and external goals significantly contributes to her character development by illustrating her transition from a passive victim to an empowered protector, overcoming self-doubt and trauma while embracing her identity.
Narrative Structure Contribution: The interweaving of Charly's personal goals with external conflicts enhances the narrative's tension, driving the plot forward while maintaining audience engagement through emotional stakes that resonate with universal themes of danger and personal sacrifice.
Thematic Depth Contribution: The goals and conflicts enrich the thematic depth by exploring complex issues such as maternal love, the impact of trauma, and the moral ambiguities of survival, ultimately challenging the audience to consider the lengths one would go to in the name of love and protection.
Screenwriting Resources on Goals and Philosophical Conflict
Articles
| Site | Description |
|---|---|
| Creative Screenwriting | How Important Is A Character’s Goal? |
| Studio Binder | What is Conflict in a Story? A Quick Reminder of the Purpose of Conflict |
YouTube Videos
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| How I Build a Story's Philosophical Conflict | How do you build philosophical conflict into your story? Where do you start? And how do you develop it into your characters and their external actions. Today I’m going to break this all down and make it fully clear in this episode. |
| Endings: The Good, the Bad, and the Insanely Great | By Michael Arndt: I put this lecture together in 2006, when I started work at Pixar on Toy Story 3. It looks at how to write an "insanely great" ending, using Star Wars, The Graduate, and Little Miss Sunshine as examples. 90 minutes |
| Tips for Writing Effective Character Goals | By Jessica Brody (Save the Cat!): Writing character goals is one of the most important jobs of any novelist. But are your character's goals...mushy? |
- Physical environment: The world is a blend of contrasting settings that emphasize the tension between everyday normalcy and underlying danger. It features serene suburban neighborhoods in Ohio, often covered in snow and decorated for Christmas, symbolizing innocence and domesticity. These are juxtaposed with gritty, chaotic locations such as seedy motels, dark woodlands, abandoned mills, and urban areas like Atlantic City boardwalks and highways. High-stakes environments, including state prisons, hospitals, the White House Situation Room, and explosive sites like tanker trucks, add layers of peril. The physical settings often shift rapidly, from festive, whimsical scenes (e.g., Christmas parades and school parties) to isolated, foreboding areas (e.g., underground boiler rooms and cliffside chases), creating a dynamic backdrop that mirrors the characters' internal and external conflicts.
- Culture: The cultural elements revolve around American suburban life, particularly during the Christmas season, with motifs of family, community events, and holiday traditions that evoke warmth and nostalgia. This is contrasted with darker themes of espionage, amnesia, and moral ambiguity, where characters grapple with hidden pasts and double lives. Humor and banter, often laced with sarcasm, provide levity in tense situations, while references to personal relationships, such as parental guidance and marital strife, highlight emotional depth. Cultural diversity appears in minor elements, like French-speaking characters or Irish accents, adding eccentricity and underscoring the theme of deception and hidden identities.
- Society: Society is portrayed as stratified and corrupt, with a clear divide between ordinary citizens in suburban communities—teachers, families, and neighbors—and the shadowy world of government agents, assassins, and criminal organizations. Institutions like law enforcement, intelligence agencies (e.g., 'Chapter'), and the justice system are depicted as flawed and manipulative, often prioritizing political gain over ethics, as seen in conspiracies involving staged terrorist attacks. Family dynamics and community structures emphasize personal bonds and vulnerabilities, while societal expectations of normalcy are shattered by violence, revealing a world where trust is fragile and individuals must navigate moral gray areas.
- Technology: Technology is grounded in late 20th-century realism, including everyday items like cars, phones, and TVs, alongside specialized espionage tools such as sniper rifles, night vision binoculars, explosives, and communication devices (e.g., walkie-talkies and cellular phones). These elements facilitate high-stakes action and surveillance, symbolizing the invasive and lethal nature of the characters' world. While not advanced or futuristic, technology amplifies tension in confrontations and underscores themes of control and deception, with minimal use in domestic scenes to highlight the contrast between ordinary life and extraordinary threats.
- Characters influence: The world's elements profoundly shape the characters' experiences and actions by creating a constant push-pull between their public personas and hidden realities. For instance, Samantha/Charly's suburban life fosters a sense of security and identity, but the intrusion of violence forces her to confront her assassin past, driving her actions from denial to acceptance and redemption. Henessey's background as an ex-con and private investigator is influenced by societal corruption and personal failures, leading him to engage in risky behaviors and form alliances based on shared vulnerability. The cultural emphasis on family and holidays heightens emotional stakes, while the physical dangers and technological tools compel characters to adapt quickly, often revealing their resilience or moral compromises in the face of chaos.
- Narrative contribution: The world elements drive the narrative by providing a framework for suspense, action, and revelation. The contrasting physical environments enable dynamic scene transitions, such as from peaceful suburbs to explosive chases, building tension and surprise. Cultural and societal layers add depth to plot twists, like the uncovering of conspiracies and personal histories, while technology facilitates key plot devices, such as weapon use in escapes or communication in pursuits. This interconnected world structure supports a thriller narrative that explores identity and deception, with the holiday setting amplifying irony and urgency, ultimately propelling the story toward its climactic resolutions.
- Thematic depth contribution: The world elements enhance thematic depth by underscoring key themes such as identity, memory, corruption, and the human cost of violence. The physical environment's contrasts symbolize the fragility of innocence in a dangerous world, reinforcing themes of duality and transformation. Culturally, the blend of festive normalcy and espionage highlights the loss of self and the search for truth, while societal structures expose institutional corruption and moral ambiguity, critiquing power dynamics. Technology, as a tool of control and destruction, emphasizes dehumanization and the ethical dilemmas of espionage, collectively deepening the script's exploration of redemption, the impact of past actions, and the quest for personal agency in a deceptive society.
central conflict
The central conflict revolves around Charly Baltimore's struggle to reclaim her identity and protect her daughter Caitlin from various threats, including her past as an assassin and the conspiracies surrounding her.
primary motivations
- Charly's desire to protect her daughter Caitlin.
- Charly's quest for self-identity and understanding her past.
- The antagonists' motivations to eliminate Charly and exploit her skills for their own gain.
catalysts
- The traumatic car accident that leads to Charly's awakening and confrontation with her past.
- The kidnapping of Caitlin by Timothy, which forces Charly to act.
- The revelation of a larger conspiracy involving Chapter and the planned terrorist attack.
barriers
- Charly's amnesia and fragmented memories that hinder her understanding of her past.
- The physical and emotional threats posed by Timothy and the Chapter agents.
- Societal and legal obstacles that complicate her attempts to protect her daughter.
themes
- Identity and self-discovery.
- The impact of trauma on personal relationships.
- The moral ambiguity of violence and survival.
stakes
The stakes include the safety of Caitlin, Charly's own life, and the potential for a catastrophic terrorist incident that could harm many innocent lives.
uniqueness factor
The story uniquely blends elements of a psychological thriller with action and dark humor, featuring a female protagonist who is both a mother and a trained assassin.
audience hook
The main audience hook is the intense emotional journey of a mother fighting against her past and external threats to save her child, combined with high-stakes action sequences.
paradoxical engine or bisociation
The paradoxical story engine lies in Charly's dual identity as both a nurturing mother and a lethal assassin, creating tension between her maternal instincts and her violent past.
paradoxical engine or bisociation 2
Another aspect of bisociation is the contrast between the idyllic suburban life and the dark, violent undercurrents of Charly's past, highlighting the clash between normalcy and chaos.
Pass / Consider / Recommend Analysis
Grok
Executive Summary
- The protagonist's arc from amnesiac schoolteacher to lethal assassin is richly developed, providing emotional depth and stakes through her internal conflict and maternal drive. high ( Scene 1-5, 16-18, 48 )
- Witty, fast-paced dialogue infuses humor into tense situations, elevating character interactions and making the script quotable and engaging. high ( Scene 4, 9, 21, 32 )
- Inventive, high-energy action sequences are vividly choreographed, blending realism with spectacle to maintain momentum and visual excitement. high ( Scene 5, 12, 18, 52-54 )
- Themes of identity, family, and redemption are consistently woven throughout, culminating in poignant resolutions that add layers beyond pure action. medium ( Scene 1, 13, 37, 48 )
- Tight pacing builds from slow-burn setup to explosive climax, with escalating conflicts that keep the narrative propulsive and unpredictable. high ( Scene overall )
- Some action resolutions rely on conveniences like perfect shots or improbable escapes, which can strain credibility despite the genre's flair. medium ( Scene 18, 52 )
- Secondary characters like Henessey have strong moments but underdeveloped backstories, making their arcs feel supportive rather than fully realized. medium ( Scene 6, 20, 36 )
- The resolution feels somewhat rushed, with quick ties to loose ends like Henessey's exoneration and Charly's return to normalcy lacking emotional breathing room. low ( Scene 59-60 )
- Flashbacks provide backstory but could integrate more seamlessly to avoid disrupting the forward momentum in key tension-building scenes. low ( Scene 27, 28 )
- The conspiracy reveal, while clever, occasionally borders on exposition-heavy, potentially slowing the high-stakes interrogation dynamics. low ( Scene 44-45 )
- Deeper exploration of Charly's pre-amnesia relationships or long-term psychological aftermath would enrich her arc beyond the immediate plot. medium ( Scene overall )
- Caitlin's perspective is underdeveloped; more scenes from her viewpoint could heighten emotional stakes in family reunion moments. medium ( Scene 13, 37, 48 )
- The broader government conspiracy lacks a clear antagonist motivation beyond budget; additional layers could make the villains more nuanced. low ( Scene 19, 30, 44 )
- Subtle foreshadowing of Henessey's sacrificial role could build more emotional investment without telegraphing his fate. low ( Scene overall )
- Post-climax epilogue misses a scene showing Charly's integration back into family life, leaving her dual identity slightly unresolved. low ( Scene 59-60 )
- The Christmas motif contrasts idyllic suburbia with violence, amplifying themes of lost innocence and seasonal redemption. high ( Scene 1, 11, 42, 60 )
- Shane Black's banter-heavy style shines in Henessey's quips, adding levity and personality to the thriller elements. medium ( Scene 4, 21, 32 )
- Memories triggered by trauma create innovative transitions between Samantha's 'normal' life and Charly's assassin instincts. medium ( Scene 5, 18, 52 )
- Caitlin's agency in key survival moments empowers her character, subverting typical damsel tropes in action films. medium ( Scene 48, 56 )
- Henessey's heroic sacrifice provides a poignant counterpoint to Charly's cynicism, emphasizing themes of found family. high ( Scene 57-58 )
- Over-reliance on action tropes The writer leans heavily into improbable heroics and last-second saves (e.g., sequences 18 and 52), potentially overlooking opportunities for more grounded tension or character vulnerability to heighten emotional impact. medium
- Underdeveloped ensemble motivations Villains like Perkins and Timothy are effective but their personal drives (beyond plot necessity) feel archetypal; for instance, sequence 44's reveal could benefit from hints of ideological conflict to avoid one-note antagonism. low
- None significant As a professional script by Shane Black, it avoids common amateur pitfalls like inconsistent formatting or overwritten descriptions; minor coincidences in plot (e.g., sequence 36's key retrieval) are genre-appropriate rather than errors. low
Gemini
Executive Summary
- The dialogue is sharp, witty, and consistently authentic, serving both comedic and dramatic purposes while propelling the narrative forward. Black's distinctive voice shines through, making even exposition feel engaging. high ( Scene 1 (Sequence number 1) Scene 7 (Sequence number 7) Scene 34 (Sequence number 34) )
- The script exhibits excellent pacing, expertly balancing intense action sequences with moments of character development and narrative exposition. The build-up to major plot revelations and set pieces is handled masterfully. high ( Scene 1 (Sequence number 1) Scene 7 (Sequence number 7) Scene 48 (Sequence number 48) )
- Samantha Caine/Charly Baltimore's arc is incredibly compelling, moving from an amnesiac suburbanite to a deadly operative rediscovering her past. Her internal conflict and ultimate embrace of her identity are well-executed and emotionally resonant. high ( Scene 1 (Sequence number 1) Scene 4 (Sequence number 4) Scene 7 (Sequence number 7) Scene 34 (Sequence number 34) Scene 48 (Sequence number 48) )
- The action sequences are inventive, thrilling, and expertly choreographed, with the script vividly describing the set pieces and their impact. The blend of gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and vehicle stunts is a significant strength. high ( Scene 48 (Sequence number 48) Scene 49 (Sequence number 49) Scene 56 (Sequence number 56) )
- The film expertly weaves together its central themes of identity, memory, motherhood, and the corrupting influence of power and government conspiracy, adding significant depth to the action narrative. medium ( Scene 1 (Sequence number 1) Scene 7 (Sequence number 7) Scene 34 (Sequence number 34) Scene 43 (Sequence number 43) Scene 56 (Sequence number 56) )
- While the villainous characters are effective in their roles, their motivations, particularly Daedalus and Timothy's, could be further fleshed out beyond being 'hired guns' or involved in shadowy government plots. Their personal stakes or deeper ideological drives could add an extra layer of menace. medium ( Scene 4 (Sequence number 4) Scene 8 (Sequence number 8) )
- The introduction of Nathan Windeman as a potential ally and then revealed as an antagonist (or former associate turned target) feels slightly convoluted. Clarifying his role and allegiance earlier or streamlining his arc could enhance clarity. low ( Scene 16 (Sequence number 16) Scene 20 (Sequence number 20) )
- The backstory involving Brigadier Baltimore's death and his daughter's manipulation could be slightly more integrated into the main plot earlier on, rather than feeling like a separate, albeit impactful, flashback sequence. low ( Scene 27 (Sequence number 27) Scene 28 (Sequence number 28) )
- The reveal of Perkins' complicity in facilitating the bombing for budget increases, while a chilling commentary, feels slightly exposition-heavy and could potentially be more subtly woven into the narrative rather than a direct explanation. low ( Scene 44 (Sequence number 44) )
- While the script is generally well-paced, the final confrontation in the chapel and the subsequent action sequence can feel a little prolonged. Condensing some of the back-and-forth and hand-to-hand combat could tighten the climax further. low ( Scene 49 (Sequence number 49) )
- A more direct exploration of the "Chapter" organization's internal structure and hierarchy beyond Perkins and the immediate operatives could provide a richer context for the conspiracy. medium
- While Charly's rediscovery of her skills is central, the specific training and experiences that forged her into such a formidable operative could be hinted at more directly through dialogue or visual cues earlier on. medium
- The brief mention of the other children talking about "Mom, she's got amnesia" hints at a curiosity from Charly's daughter's peers that isn't fully explored. A brief scene showing a more direct interaction or concern from Caitlin's friends could add to the realism of their suburban life being disrupted. low ( Scene 3 (Sequence number 3) )
- While the themes are present, a clearer through-line on what Charly ultimately fights for beyond immediate survival and revenge could strengthen her long-term arc. Her desire to be a 'schoolteacher' vs. 'killer' is present, but the ultimate goal beyond immediate threats could be more defined. medium
- The initial scene with Mitch Henessey and Trin suggests a more fleshed-out operation, but the characters of Trin and the 'bums' they use as actors are largely underdeveloped and disappear quickly. A slightly more substantial role for them could have added texture to Mitch's world. low ( Scene 4 (Sequence number 4) )
- The uncanny skill Charly displays even when amnesiac, such as her knife-throwing and extreme parenting techniques (though disturbing), foreshadow her true nature and create intriguing moments of dissonance. high ( Scene 7 (Sequence number 7) Scene 10 (Sequence number 10) )
- The recurring motif of the key and the eventual reveal of its significance (as a locker key for a substantial sum) serves as a strong, tangible element linking Charly's past and present. medium ( Scene 1 (Sequence number 1) Scene 7 (Sequence number 7) Scene 48 (Sequence number 48) )
- The visual storytelling is exceptionally strong, particularly in action sequences like the ice-skating fight and the tanker truck climax, which are memorable and exhilarating. high ( Scene 48 (Sequence number 48) Scene 50 (Sequence number 50) )
- The inclusion of a high-level government briefing scene adds a significant layer of conspiracy and gravitas to Charly's actions and the stakes involved, framing her as a global threat and asset. medium ( Scene 19 (Sequence number 19) )
- The opening and closing scenes bookending the narrative with the mother-daughter relationship and the suburban setting provide a poignant emotional core and a satisfying, albeit tragic, cyclical structure. high ( Scene 1 (Sequence number 1) Scene 56 (Sequence number 56) )
- over-reliance on exposition for complex plots While the conspiracy elements are exciting, the explanations regarding 'Chapter,' Daedalus's motives, and the exact nature of the chemical tanker plot are sometimes delivered through direct dialogue or exposition dumps (e.g., Perkins' speech in Sequence 44) rather than being fully integrated into the action or revealed more organically. This can occasionally slow down the pacing in crucial plot-heavy moments. medium
- under-development of certain supporting character motivations While Charly and Mitch are well-developed, characters like Timothy and Perkins, despite their crucial roles, are presented primarily as functionaries of the plot or the 'evil government' trope. Their deeper personal motivations beyond the immediate mission or political maneuvering could have added more weight to their actions and the overall stakes. medium
- inconsistent characterization or tone shifts without clear justification While Charly's amnesia and rediscovery are central, her extreme parenting in Sequence 10, where she aggressively pushes Caitlin to ride her bike after an injury, feels jarringly out of sync with the loving mother presented elsewhere. While intended to show her repressed killer instincts, it borders on gratuitous and could be handled with more nuance to avoid a momentary tonal inconsistency. low
- overly convenient plot developments Some plot resolutions rely on fortunate coincidences, such as Henessey happening to find the correct phone bill with service center listings (Sequence 40) to track Charly, or Charly finding Timothy's bungee jumping equipment in the trunk of a car (Sequence 52). While common in action films, a few more of these could feel slightly too convenient. low
GPT5
Executive Summary
- Spectacular, cinematic set-pieces are consistently inventive and choreographed for maximum visual and emotional impact. The deer/crash (Seq. 5) establishes shock and visceral stakes; the tanker sequence (Seq. 52–54) is a large-scale showstopper that escalates to a memorable climax; the chapel fight (Seq. 55) combines raw personal stakes with brutal immediacy. high ( Scene 5 (EXT. WOODLANDS - WITH SAMANTHA - DRIVING (deer crash)) Scene 55 (INT. CHAPEL - FINALE CONFRONTATION) Scene 52-54 (Tanker takeover / chase through town) )
- The script builds an emotionally complex protagonist with a singular arc — Samantha Caine (domestic teacher) → Charly Baltimore (elite assassin). The gradual reveal of skills, recurring motifs (key, scar, candle) and the final acceptance of identity give the story heart and a satisfying internal transformation. high ( Scene 14 (INT. STORAGE ROOM - Samantha discovers rifle (HKM-40)) Scene 31 (INT. HOTEL SUITE - Charly re-emerges) )
- Voice and dialogue are distinct, witty and character-specific — the script balances sharp comedy with violence. Samantha/Charly’s lines and the interplay with Henessey provide both levity and pathos, giving the audience a human anchor amid chaos. high ( Scene 2 (EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - Day (introduces Samantha's domestic life)) Scene 12 (INT. KITCHEN - Samantha fights One-Eyed Jack) )
- Emotional stakes are grounded in the mother-daughter relationship. Key moments (the match and doll trick at Seq. 48) are simple, powerful, and give the high-concept action an intimate center. These scenes deliver the film’s strongest emotional payoff. high ( Scene 46-48 (INT. CELLAR / MEAT LOCKER (Caitlin & Charly escape)) )
- The script layers a political/organizational conspiracy (Chapter / Perkins) that moves action from personal to geopolitical stakes, allowing escalation and showing that the conflict isn’t just a personal vendetta but ties into institutional rot. medium ( Scene 30 (INT. CHAPTER HQ (Perkins / political context)) Scene 19 (INT. SITUATION BRIEFING ROOM - White House) )
- Antagonist and organizational motivation needs tightening. Perkins' and Chapter's rationale (allowing a terrorist incident to boost budgets, double agents) lands as cynical and intriguing but under-explained, making the conspiracy feel like a plot convenience rather than a fully believable institutional choice. high ( Scene 30 (INT. CHAPTER HQ - Perkins/Containment strategy) Scene 44 (INT. MOTEL - Perkins admits letting operation proceed for budget reasons) )
- Pacing in the middle act occasionally lurches between big set pieces and procedural exposition. Some action-readiness beats are abbreviated (how backup arrives, timing of Chapter's response) and could be smoothed to maintain tension without confusing logistics. medium ( Scene 21 (INT. SALT & PEPPER LOUNGE (timing and local law intersection)) Scene 22-24 (Pursuit sequences) )
- Secondary characters (Hal, Nathan, Henessey's ex-wife, Luke) are serviceable but their longer-term arcs or fallout are underresolved. Hal is sidelined after the home attack and Nathan’s fate is capped but not emotionally explored. Strengthening a couple of these arcs would deepen consequences. medium ( Scene 13 (INT. SAMANTHA'S HOUSE - packing to leave Caitlin) Scene 35 (EXT. ATLANTIC CITY STREET - Bearded hitman set-piece) )
- Some action relies on extreme physical incredulity (survivals, timing of explosions, stunts achieved without realistic limitation). Greater restraint or brief justification would help audience buy-in without losing spectacle. medium ( Scene 5 (EXT. WOODLANDS - deer crash sequence) Scene 52-54 (Tanker sequences) )
- The epilogue is emotionally resonant but brisk; the political and legal consequences of the conspiracy (Chapter's dismantling, Perkins' fate) could use tighter closure to avoid dangling curiosity. low ( Scene 56-59 (Aftermath, Perkins/Paperwork, final domestic close) )
- A more fully developed throughline showing Chapter’s decision-making and how/why they escalate to risking civilian lives would deepen moral stakes and make the conspirators’ choices harder to dismiss as mere plot devices. high ( Scene 44 (INT. MOTEL - Perkins admits to staging events for budgetary reasons) )
- More time with Hal and Caitlin before Charly's return would heighten the emotional contrast of Samantha's double life — give Hal stronger agency or a clearer arc (he is brave but underexplored after the attack). medium ( Scene 13 (INT. SAMANTHA'S HOUSE - packing scene) )
- A clearer explanation of the political cover, who in government colludes (or looks the other way), and the direct repercussions on Chapter post-climax would round out the institutional subplot. medium ( Scene 30 (INT. CHAPTER HQ - Perkins / call-in) )
- The mechanism behind Samantha’s initial amnesia/resurrection is atmospheric but somewhat vague; a clearer single anchor (medical explanation or brief dialogue confirmation) could help readers orient emotionally and psychologically without stripping mystery. low ( Scene 29 (INT. BASEMENT OF OLD MILL - Charly's torture / flashbacks) )
- A short, reflective scene after the climax focused on Charly's internal reckoning (beyond the pastoral epilogue) — addressing how she reconciles the lives she took with the daughter she saved — would add emotional granularity. low
- Strong bookending and motif work: the script opens and closes with variations on domestic ritual (nightlight, candle, key) inverted by violence — a satisfying thematic architecture reinforcing identity, motherhood, and the 'long kiss goodnight' image. high ( Scene 1 (Opening window and child sequence) Scene 59 (Georgetown landmine / final exchanges) )
- Small, clever beats (the doll that pees gasoline, the retainer used as a trough, match trick) showcase the writer's ability to create tactile, surprising solutions to problems — practical ingenuity that fuels the script's texture. high ( Scene 46-48 (Cellar/Meat locker / match and doll payoff) )
- The 'return of Charly' material (hotel suite, boardwalk sequence) is a masterclass in re-establishing a character — voice, swagger, lethal efficiency and loneliness captured in a few beats. This is the script's tonal heart. high ( Scene 31-36 (Charismatic re-introduction of Charly in Atlantic City) )
- The script enjoys satirical barbs at bureaucracy and intelligence politics, giving it dimension beyond a personal revenge thriller and making it appeal to viewers who enjoy conspiracy layers. medium ( Scene 19 (White House Briefing) )
- The sudden, visceral tonal flip (Samantha's blood, auto-violence) early on immediately signals the story's central collision of suburban life and hidden violence — an excellent commitment to contrast that sells the premise. medium ( Scene 5 (The deer crash sequence — immediate tonal flip from domestic to violent) )
- Consequence & Institutional Realism The script underplays realistic consequences of the conspiracy and the scale of the disaster plot (legal, diplomatic, and journalistic fallout). Perkins' and Chapter's choices sometimes read as cynical shorthand rather than fully motivated C-suite decisions (Seq. 30, 44). This undercuts the impact of the political subplot and makes the villainous bureaucracy feel opportunistic rather than fully realized. high
- Emotional Digestion After Spectacle After big set pieces (tanker explosion, motel blast), the script moves on quickly; there is limited quiet time for characters (especially Charly) to process what they've done and lost. This risks the audience not fully absorbing the moral cost of the carnage (Seq. 56–59). medium
- Reliance on Extreme Coincidence Several pivotal beats depend on tightly timed coincidences or extreme survivals (surviving major crashes, perfect timing of helicopters, last-second gadgetry). While dramatically exciting, they can strain credibility for viewers who check logistics closely (Seq. 5, 52–54). medium
- Occasional Exposition-by-Conference At times the script dumps backstory or operational details via meetings (White House briefing, Perkins' explanations) which can feel like 'conference-room exposition' rather than dramatized discovery. Trimming or dramatizing some of these revelations could sharpen the storytelling (Seq. 19, 30, 44). medium
- Secondary Character Underdevelopment Important side characters (Hal, a sympathetic husband; Nathan, the trainer; some Chapter agents) serve specific functions but lack fully rounded arcs or payoffs. This makes certain emotional reversals less resonant because we have less investment in them outside of their plot utility (Seq. 13, 24, 25). medium
- Tonality Jumps The script revels in dark humor, but tonal swings between slapstick/absurdity and visceral horror occasionally collide. While intentional, some readers may perceive abrupt shifts as tonal whiplash (examples throughout: Seq. 2, 12, 5, 46). low
Claude
Executive Summary
- The opening sequence effectively establishes the central mystery and the emotional core of the story, as Samantha Caine's past as a government assassin is hinted at through the visceral imagery and the contrast between her domestic life and her violent past. high ( Scene 1 (The Long Kiss Goodnight) )
- The script does an excellent job of gradually revealing Samantha's backstory and the gaps in her memory through natural dialogue and character interactions, rather than relying on heavy exposition. medium ( Scene 3 (INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - NIGHT) )
- The script features several well-executed action sequences that are both thrilling and emotionally resonant, such as Charly's confrontation with Daedalus in the basement and her daring escape from the cliff. high ( Scene 24 (EXT. ROADSIDE - LATE AFTERNOON) Scene 28 (INT. BASEMENT OF OLD MILL - NIGHT) )
- The script effectively explores the duality of Charly's character, as she struggles to reconcile her past as an assassin with her newfound role as a mother, leading to some powerful and nuanced character moments. high ( Scene 31 (INT. HOTEL SUITE - ATLANTIC CITY - NIGHT) Scene 36 (EXT. ATLANTIC CITY STREET - NIGHTTIME) )
- The script's climactic confrontation between Charly and Perkins provides a satisfying resolution to the central conflict, while also leaving the door open for further exploration of Charly's character and her relationship with her daughter. high ( Scene 59 (EXT. PALATIAL GEORGETOWN ESTATE - EARLY MORNING) )
- The pacing in certain sections, such as the extended chase sequence, could be tightened to maintain the script's overall momentum. medium ( Scene 17 (EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DRIVING - LATE AFTERNOON) )
- The introduction of the government conspiracy subplot, while intriguing, could be better integrated into the main narrative to avoid feeling like a tangent. medium ( Scene 19 (INT. THE WHITE HOUSE - SITUATION BRIEFING ROOM - SAME TIME) )
- The script could benefit from further exploration of Charly's emotional journey and her relationship with Caitlin, particularly in the more intense and high-stakes moments. medium ( Scene 46 (INT. CELLAR MEAT LOCKER - SAME TIME) )
- The script could be strengthened by providing more backstory and context for Charly's past, particularly her relationship with her father and the events that led to his death. medium ( Scene 27 (INT. BELFAST - STREET - NIGHT) )
- The script could benefit from a more detailed exploration of the emotional impact of Charly's actions and the consequences she faces, both personally and professionally. medium ( Scene 50 (EXT. SEMINARY - NIGHTTIME) )
- The script effectively establishes the contrast between Samantha's domestic life and her past as a government assassin through the use of a series of montages that provide glimpses into her daily routine. high ( Scene 2 (EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - DAY) )
- The script features several well-written and memorable exchanges between Charly and Henessey, which provide insight into their characters and the evolving nature of their relationship. medium ( Scene 41 (EXT. ROADSIDE RESTAURANT - NEW YORK STATE - TWILIGHT) )
- The script's climactic confrontation between Charly and Timothy is a standout sequence, featuring intense action and a powerful emotional core as Charly fights to protect her daughter. high ( Scene 55 (INT. CHAPEL - SAME TIME) )
- Lack of Diversity The script could benefit from a more diverse representation of characters, particularly in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity. While the central character of Charly/Samantha is a strong female protagonist, the supporting cast is predominantly white and male, which may limit the script's appeal to a broader audience. medium
- Overuse of Exposition In a few instances, the script relies too heavily on expository dialogue to convey information, rather than allowing the story and characters to organically reveal details. This can sometimes disrupt the pacing and flow of the narrative. low
DeepSeek
Executive Summary
- Exceptional character duality and transformation - The gradual emergence of Charly from Samantha is masterfully handled through both subtle skills (cooking, language) and dramatic action, creating a compelling psychological journey. high ( Scene Sequence number 1 (Opening dream sequence) Scene Sequence number 7 (Kitchen vegetable dicing scene) Scene Sequence number 29 (Water wheel torture and rebirth) )
- Shane Black's signature witty, self-aware dialogue that balances humor with character depth, particularly in Mitch Henessey's voiceovers and banter. high ( Scene Sequence number 4 (Mitch's motel scam) Scene Sequence number 14 (Car dialogue about singing what you do) Scene Sequence number 20 (Henessey's prison confession) )
- Inventive, well-staged action sequences that serve character development rather than just spectacle, each revealing new aspects of Charly's abilities and psychology. high ( Scene Sequence number 18 (Diner hostage sniper sequence) Scene Sequence number 52 (Cliff jump and bungee escape) Scene Sequence number 58 (Final tanker chase sequence) )
- Strong emotional throughline centered on motherhood and protection, creating genuine stakes beyond typical action movie motivations. medium ( Scene Sequence number 10 (Bicycle training scene) Scene Sequence number 27 (Belfast flashback) Scene Sequence number 48 (Freezer escape with doll and matches) )
- Intelligent political conspiracy premise that grounds the action in plausible real-world intelligence agency dynamics, elevating it above simple revenge plots. medium ( Scene Sequence number 44 (Perkins' confession about budget conspiracy) )
- Villain motivations could be more nuanced - Perkins' budget conspiracy, while clever, lacks personal stakes and makes him somewhat generic as a bureaucratic villain. medium ( Scene Sequence number 44 (Perkins' villain monologue) )
- Some plot elements feel overly familiar to the genre - the 'chemical weapon in a populated area' threat has been used in numerous action films. low ( Scene Sequence number 45 (Timothy's plan explanation) )
- Third act could benefit from tighter pacing - the multiple climaxes (freezer escape, tanker chase, final fight) risk audience fatigue. medium ( Scene Sequence number 55 (Final Timothy fight) Scene Sequence number 58 (Helicopter confrontation) )
- Mitch Henessey's character arc, while emotionally resonant, follows a somewhat predictable 'redeemed loser' trajectory common to Black's work. low ( Scene Sequence number 20 (Henessey's backstory reveal) )
- The resolution with Perkins feels slightly contrived with the land mine device, lacking the elegance of earlier set pieces. low ( Scene Sequence number 59 (Final confrontation with Perkins) )
- Lack of exploration of Timothy's motivations for betraying Chapter to the Chinese - this plot point is mentioned but not developed. medium ( Scene Sequence number 45 (Timothy's betrayal reveal) )
- More development of the political context - while the budget conspiracy is clever, the script could explore the intelligence community dynamics more deeply. low ( Scene Sequence number 19 (White House briefing) )
- Limited exploration of Samantha's husband Hal's perspective on losing his wife to her former identity - his arc feels somewhat truncated. low ( Scene Sequence number 34 (Atlantic City hotel scene) )
- Innovative use of mirror imagery and dream sequences to externalize the internal conflict between Samantha and Charly. high ( Scene Sequence number 7 (Dream sequence with reflection) Scene Sequence number 16 (Bathroom mirror scene) )
- Brilliant payoff of earlier setup (Caitlin's doll, the candle promise) in the climax, demonstrating tight narrative construction. high ( Scene Sequence number 48 (Freezer escape using doll) )
- Effective use of traumatic backstory that informs character motivation without becoming overly expository. medium ( Scene Sequence number 27 (Belfast flashback) )
- The mother-daughter relationship serves as the emotional core, elevating the material above standard action fare. high ( Scene Sequence number 13 (Candle promise scene) Scene Sequence number 57 (Caitlin reviving Charly) )
- Mitch Henessey's voiceover letters to his deceased mother provide unexpected emotional depth to a comic relief character. medium ( Scene Sequence number 4 (Mitch's introductory scene) Scene Sequence number 56 (Mitch's death scene) )
- Gender dynamics in action genre While progressive for its time in presenting a female action hero, the script occasionally falls into traditional gender tropes - Charly's transformation is partly framed as becoming less 'feminine' (comments about her weight, appearance changes), and her sexuality is used as both weapon and vulnerability in ways that might feel dated by contemporary standards. medium
- Political sophistication The government conspiracy premise, while clever, simplifies complex intelligence agency dynamics into a somewhat cartoonish budget-motivated plot. The portrayal of Chapter as a rogue agency willing to kill thousands for funding strains credibility despite the script's attempts to ground it in real-world precedents. low
- Overwritten action descriptions Occasional tendency toward overly elaborate action descriptions that read more like prose than screenplay directions (e.g., 'Imagine God in Monte Carlo. Tossing dice the length of a craps table. Now, imagine the dice are BURNING CARS.'). While stylish, these can disrupt pacing and clarity. low
- Expository dialogue in villain scenes Some villain monologues, particularly Perkins' explanation of the conspiracy, feel overly expository and serve more to inform the audience than as natural character interaction. medium
Memorable lines in the script:
| Scene Number | Line |
|---|---|
| 10 | SAMANTHA: Life is pain. Get used to it. See, you *will* ride this bike home, princess. You will ride it and you will not fall again, *is that understood*...? |
| 4 | YOUNG MAN: You're assuming I won't shoot your sorry ass, and everyone knows when you make an assumption, you make an ass out of u and mption. |
| 13 | One-Eyed Jack: I want my eye back, bitch. |
| 20 | HENESSEY: No more killing. |
| 1 | MOM: Close your eyes now. I love you. |