Deep Cover
Executive Summary
Poster
Overview
Genres: Drama, Crime, Thriller, Family, Legal Drama, Romance
Setting: The 1970s, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and East L.A.
Overview: Deep Cover follows the journey of John Hull, a conflicted undercover agent who immerses himself in the dangerous world of drug dealing in Los Angeles. As he navigates the treacherous criminal underworld, Hull grapples with moral dilemmas, inner turmoil, and the pursuit of power. The screenplay delves into themes of drugs, addiction, identity, belonging, violence, and their consequences.
Themes: Drugs and Addiction, Identity and Belonging, Violence and its Consequences
Conflict and Stakes: Hull's struggle to avenge his father's death and escape the criminal underworld, Elias's ambition to expand his drug empire, and Betty's battle with addiction and her desire to escape her past.
Overall Mood: Dark, gritty, and suspenseful
Mood/Tone at Key Scenes:
- Scene 1: The opening scene, which establishes the bleak and violent world of Cleveland in the 1970s.
Standout Features:
- Unique Hook: The exploration of the drug trade from multiple perspectives, including those of law enforcement, criminals, and addicts.
- Plot Twist: The revelation that Hull is an undercover detective working to bring down Elias.
- Distinctive Setting: The portrayal of the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles and East L.A. in the 1970s.
- Innovative Idea: The use of a nonlinear narrative structure to weave together the different storylines.
- Unique Character: The character of Elias, a complex and morally ambiguous drug dealer.
- Genre Blend: The combination of crime drama, thriller, and character study.
Comparable Scripts:
- Serpico
- The Departed
- Donnie Brasco
- Training Day
- American Gangster
- Scarface
- The Godfather
- The Wire
- Breaking Bad
- Better Call Saul
Writing Style:
The overall writing style of the screenplay exhibits a strong focus on realism, grit, and morally complex characters. The dialogue is often sharp and tense, driving the narrative forward and revealing the inner workings of the characters' minds. The scenes are crafted with an attention to detail that creates immersive and suspenseful atmospheres.
Style Similarities:
- David Simon
- Quentin Tarantino
- David Mamet
- David Ayer
Pass/Consider/Recommend
Recommend
Explanation: Deep Cover is a gritty, character-driven thriller that follows the journey of a police officer who goes undercover to infiltrate a major drug trafficking operation. The screenplay is anchored by a strong central protagonist whose personal history and moral dilemma drive the narrative, creating a compelling exploration of the corrosive effects of the drug trade on individuals and communities. While the pacing could be tightened in certain sequences, the screenplay boasts several standout scenes that showcase the protagonist's complex inner struggle and the high-stakes world he navigates. Overall, Deep Cover is a well-crafted and thought-provoking piece that would appeal to audiences seeking a nuanced and suspenseful crime drama.
USP: Unveiling a gripping and unflinching narrative, this screenplay boldly delves into the treacherous depths of the criminal underworld, exploring the moral dilemmas, inner conflicts, and flawed characters that inhabit its gritty streets. With raw and authentic dialogue, it deftly portrays the complexities of survival, redemption, and the pursuit of power. Each scene unfolds as a tantalizing blend of suspense, action, and introspective drama, drawing viewers into a world where morality is tested, and the boundaries between right and wrong blur with every step. This screenplay is a testament to the writer's unique voice, capturing the essence of the crime genre while injecting it with a fresh and captivating perspective.
Market Analysis
Budget Estimate:$20-30 million
Target Audience Demographics: Adults aged 25-54, fans of crime dramas and thrillers
Marketability: The screenplay's gripping plot, complex characters, and timely themes have the potential to attract a wide audience and generate buzz.
While the screenplay's unique blend of genres and exploration of compelling themes with a diverse cast may appeal to a niche audience, its dark and violent subject matter could limit its broader appeal.
The screenplay's compelling characters and gripping storyline, combined with its relevance to social issues, could generate interest among a discerning audience.
Profit Potential: Moderate to high, due to the screenplay's potential to attract a loyal fan base and generate critical acclaim.
Analysis Criteria Percentiles
Writer's Voice
Summary:The writer's voice is characterized by gritty realism, intense dialogue, and a focus on moral ambiguity and internal struggles of the characters.
Best representation: Scene 5 - John Hull Returns to Lewazz. This scene is the best representation because it effectively conveys the intense and realistic portrayal of violence, moral conflict, and internal struggles that are consistent with the writer's voice throughout the screenplay.
Memorable Lines:
- Hull: You sold me Mannitol, motherfucker. (Scene 12)
- HULL: My father died when I was ten. Right in front of me. Heart attack. He just fell down. He said, 'I love you,' then died in my arms. (Scene 34)
- HULL: I'm through...? Then, I might as well have a drink after all. (Scene 32)
- Elias: We did it. Twenty million. Twenty fucking million. We're going to have synthetics. We're gonna be rich. (Scene 41)
- Hull: My father didn't have a heart attack. He was shot robbing a liquor store. Trying to rob it. I lied about that. (Scene 42)
Characters
John Hull:A former LAPD undercover detective who becomes entangled in the drug trade to avenge his father's death.
Elias:A ruthless and ambitious drug dealer who becomes Hull's partner.
Betty:A former addict and jewelry store owner who becomes involved with Hull and Elias.
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 - Deadly Confrontation in the Rain | Tense, Tragic, Gritty, Heartbreaking | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
2 - Undercover Offer | Intense, Confrontational, Tense, Serious | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
3 - Prejudice and Tension | Tense, Emotional, Confrontational | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
4 - A Tranquil Arrival | Gritty, Realistic, Dark | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
5 - Witness to Murder | Tense, Gritty, Tragic | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
6 - John Hull Returns to Lewazz | Intense, Mysterious, Tense | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |
7 - Hull Reports to Carver | Intense, Suspenseful, Serious | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
8 - Dealings in the Dark | Dark, Gritty, Cynical | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
9 - Eddie's Interrogation and Elias's Dilemma | Tense, Suspenseful, Dramatic, Intense | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
10 - The Confrontation | Tense, Suspenseful, Desperate, Dark | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
11 - Drug Bust Interrupted | Tense, Suspenseful, Confrontational, Intense, Dramatic | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
12 - Surprising Arraignment | Suspenseful, Dramatic, Dark | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
13 - Confrontation at Lewazz | Tense, Dark, Intense, Suspenseful, Gritty | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
14 - Breakfast with Elias and Hull | Tense, Suspenseful, Intense, Reflective | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
15 - Hull's Moral Dilemma | Dark, Intense, Confrontational, Suspenseful | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
16 - Confrontation at Betty's Store | Tense, Confrontational, Intense, Drug-fueled, Emotional | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
17 - A Violent Decision | Tense, Dark, Suspenseful, Intense | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
18 - Confrontation at the Nightclub | Tense, Dark, Suspenseful, Violent | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
19 - Lost and Desperate | Intense, Emotional, Suspenseful | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
20 - A Dangerous Proposition: The Renegade Chemist and the Businessman | Intense, Suspenseful, Dark, Violent, Dramatic | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
21 - Carver and Hull's Meeting | Intense, Dark, Suspenseful, Confrontational | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
22 - The Lavish Condo | Tense, Suspenseful, Intense, Serious | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
23 - Late Night Tension | Tense, Intense, Emotional, Confrontational, Sensual | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
24 - The Slap Game | Intense, Tense, Confrontational, Violent, Dark | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
25 - Confrontation and Redemption | Tense, Intense, Dark, Suspenseful, Dramatic | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
26 - The Setup | Tense, Suspenseful, Dramatic | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
27 - Power Shift at the Airport | Tense, Suspenseful, Dramatic, Intense | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
28 - Carnage in the Night | Intense, Suspenseful, Dramatic, Violent | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
29 - Dangerous Game of Chicken | Intense, Dark, Suspenseful, Dramatic | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
30 - A Night of Violence and Suspense | Intense, Tense, Emotional, Suspenseful | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
31 - The Debt | Intense, Tense, Dark, Mysterious | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
32 - Confrontation in Gopher's Room | Intense, Tense, Confrontational, Suspenseful, Violent | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
33 - A Corrupt Bargain | Intense, Confrontational, Revealing, Emotional | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
34 - Troubled Confessions | Tense, Intimate, Emotional, Conflicted | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
35 - Confrontations in the Night | Intense, Suspenseful, Emotional | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |
36 - Takeover at the Movie Theater | Tense, Violent, Shocking, Intense, Dramatic | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
37 - Interrogation and Revelation | Tense, Intense, Emotional, Suspenseful | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
38 - Unveiling Shadows | Intense, Emotional, Tense, Dramatic | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
39 - Airport Farewell and Business Negotiations | Tense, Emotional, Suspenseful | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
40 - Tense Exchange Interrupted | Tense, Suspenseful, Action-packed, Dramatic | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
41 - Shootout and Betrayal | Intense, Dramatic, Suspenseful, Emotional | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | |
42 - A Crossroads of Darkness | Dark, Intense, Emotional, Cynical | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Scene 1 - Deadly Confrontation in the Rain
Rain. Christmas lights. A rusted out '56 Lincoln
rattles
down the bleak boulevard. In it: JOE STEVENS, an angry,
black
man in his late 20's, beside him his 10-year-old son,
JOE
JR.
Joe Jr. stares out the window at passing: boarded
buildings,
whores with raincoats over their heads trying to flag
down a
john, a black Santa, a knot of drinkers. Breaking the
silence:
JOE STEVENS
Your mother okay?
JOE JR.
Yes, sir.
They stop at a light. Joe Stevens tries to furtively
snort a
little something. He spots Joe Jr. watching.
JOE STEVENS
(firm, without irony)
Don't you do this shit, boy. Don't
you ever fuckin' touch it, you hear
me?
Joe Jr. stares, silent; Joe Jr.'s about to hit him.
JOE STEVENS
(continuing)
You hear me, goddam it?
The boy nods. Satisfied, Joe Sr. draws in the stuff. It
makes
him feel good, strong, worried and determined all at
once.
JOE STEVENS
(continuing; charged
up)
What do you want for Christmas?
JOE JR.
I don't know.
JOE STEVENS
(light changes; he
accelerates)
You don't know?? You gotta know what
you want, boy, if you ever expect to
get it.
A sudden charm to his bravado. Joe Jr. smiles
uncertainly.
Joe Sr. grins back, pulls up in front of a liquor
store.
JOE STEVENS
(continuing)
Wait here. This won't take a minute.
Joe Jr. doesn't notice or doesn't remark that his
father,
just before entering the store, draws a handgun from
beneath
his coat.
The boy gazes dreamily at the street. The lunatic Black
Santa
marches by, ranting to himself ("Then the white man
say...").
The RAIN HAMMERS on the roof and windshield. Joe Jr.
breathes
on the glass, fogging the scene.
From the store: MUFFLED GUNFIRE.
Joe Jr. looks that way. Another GUNSHOT, then:
His father comes out the door clutching money in one
hand.
He strides toward the car with a reckless pride. He
doesn't
notice:
The liquor store door opens behind him.
A SHOTGUN BLAST. Joe Stevens' guts splatter onto the
car
windshield. A look of terrible amazement; he sinks to
his
knees.
JOE JR.
Daddy!!
He jumps from the car, kneels by his father.
The STORE OWNER (47, Slavic) drags the gun toward them,
bleeding profusely.
STORE OWNER
(enraged, almost to
tears)
Fuckin' niggers... fuckin' niggers...
JOE STEVENS
looks at the money in his hand: two 20's, two 5's.
JOE STEVENS
Fifty bucks... fifty goddam bucks.
(looks up at his son)
I'm sorry...
He stuffs the blood-soaked bills in the boy's shirt
and dies. Joe Jr. looks up at...
THE STORE OWNER
Bloody, nearly unconscious, he aims the shotgun at the
boy
who is too frightened to move.
JOE JR.
Please, Mister...
The man dies on his feet. As he falls backward, he
pulls the
trigger, the BLAST shattering the car windows.
Cop cars SQUEAL up. Uniformed cops leap out, guns
drawn,
survey the scene. Then one notices Joe Jr., staring
motionless
at his father and the store owner, dead together. ON
HIS
EYES:
DISSOLVE TO:
THOSE SAME EYES
-- but older, harder, colder. They're concentrating on
a
paper before him.
TITLE: 17 YEARS LATER
CLOSEUP - THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY
INVENTORY
Hundreds of TRUE/FALSE questions...
1.) I have never indulged in any unusual sexual
practices.
(T/F)
2.) I have often felt that strangers were looking at me
critically. (T/F)
3.) When I was young I occasionally stole things. (T/F)
Joe Stevens marks these TRUE, FALSE, FALSE then comes
to:
4.) A person's station in life is at least partially
determined by his race. (T/F) We are:
Ratings
Scene 2 - Undercover Offer
Thirty-seven Black Cleveland police officers (many in
uniform,
including Joe) are taking the MMPI. Some roll their
eyes at
the questions. Some try to copy answers. Others, like
Joe,
work with rapid concentration.
But he gets stuck on #4. Marks it false. Erases it.
Marks it
true. Erases that. Ponders. Goes on to: #5. At times I
hear
so well it bothers me. (T/F) He marks that true.
INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY
GERALD CARVER, 36, an ambitious government lawyer with
a
relaxed, vaguely hip manner, looks over the file of the
ingratiating BLACK OFFICER sitting across the desk from
him.
CARVER
Officer Leland? You know the
difference between a black man and
nigger?
Leland is startled, insulted, but doesn't want to blow
the
interview. He smiles weakly, shakes his head no.
CARVER
(continuing; pleasant
smile)
Yeah, most niggers don't.
Stung, Leland tries to laugh. Carver puts his file
aside,
picks up another.
CARVER
(continuing)
Nice to meet you.
INT. SAME - ANOTHER INTERVIEW
A SECOND BLACK OFFICER is powerfully built, politically
conscious, takes no shit. Carver's leafing through his
file.
CARVER
So, Winston, what's the difference
between a black man and a nigger?
Winston is out of his chair before the question is
finished,
drags Carver by the shirt front halfway across the desk
and
hisses into his face:
WINSTON
Who the fuck do you think you're
talking to?
Carver smiles cheerfully past Winston's cocked fist.
CARVER
Thanks for coming in.
Nonplussed by this cool dismissal, Winston stalks out.
Carver
picks up the next file, unfazed.
INT. SAME - ANOTHER INTERVIEW
Joe Stevens watches Carver reading his file and waiting
for
an answer. When none is forthcoming, Carver glances up,
finds
Stevens looking right back at him.
STEVENS
The nigger's the one who falls for
your bullshit.
He says it pleasantly, without belligerence. Carver
smiles:
he's found his man. He offers his hand.
CARVER
Gerald Carver, United States District
Attorney. Call me Gerry.
INT. A DARKENED ROOM - DAY/NIGHT
ON A TV SCREEN: a grainy black-and-white tape, date and
time
stamped at the bottom. A grungy street, palm trees. The
light
from the monitor dimly illuminates Carver and Stevens.
On SCREEN the CAMERA finds: A MAN in jeans, sneakers
and
sweatshirt on a street corner.
STEVENS
He ought to be wearing a sign.
CARVER
You can tell he's a cop?
Stevens laughs: it's obvious.
A real DRUG DEALER joins the cop. UNDERCOVER COP: "You
got
it?" DEALER: "In the motel, right over here..." The
Cop's
uneasy, keeps glancing back toward the CAMERA as they
go.
STEVENS
He keeps looking for his back-up.
Now, the other guy knows it, too.
CARVER
Then why's he taking him to the room?
STEVENS
(why else?)
To rip him off.
Carver studies Stevens in the darkness, impressed.
ON SCREEN: The figures disappear into the motel. We
hear
their voices. DEALER: "Here, try some of it."
UNDERCOVER
COP: "Uhh... No, I don't..." DEALER: "Why not, you
sonofabitch?" Two bursts of SOUND DISTORTION.
A plainclothes cop, TAFT, (black, stocky, powerful)
bolts
from behind the CAMERA, sprints toward the motel. The
CAMERA
wobbles after him.
STEVENS
(continuing)
Too late.
ON SCREEN: The CAMERA (jerky, hand-held) nears the open
motel
door. Taft is bent over the Undercover Cop's body.
TAFT
Oh, Bobby... Jesus, Jesus...
(to the CAMERA)
Get an ambulance -- and back up.
Now!
He slams the wall, starts past the CAMERA. Carver
pushes the
pause button; the tape freezes on a jerky image of
Taft's
face.
STEVENS
(focussed on Taft)
Who is he?
CARVER
Charles Taft. LAPD Narcotics.
STEVENS
He's a good cop.
CARVER
He's a great cop. Two [names citation]
and a [another citation]. As tough
as they come and twice as honest.
Carver watches Stevens watch Taft, smiles at something.
STEVENS
But the cops aren't getting it done
here, are they? Gotta try something
new...
He opens a manila envelope, dumps the contents on the
desk:
driver's license, social security card, high school
transcript, prison records... all in the name of
William G.
Hull. No photos.
STEVENS
(continuing)
Who's John Hull?
CARVER
You are. If you want to be.
(off Stevens)
Most undercover guys don't know what
they're doing because it's a day
gig.
(indicates dead cop
on TV)
I need somebody who goes under and
stays there; six months, a year,
five years...
STEVENS
What does he have to do?
CARVER
Buy drugs. Sell drugs. Feed me
information.
STEVENS
He's a snitch.
CARVER
He's a drug dealer. A criminal. A
scumbag. But for the right side.
(beat)
I want you to come to Los Angeles on
loan to the Justice Department as a
federal agent. Your experience there
will be credited toward your seniority
here. And you'll come back to
Cleveland a P3 or higher.
STEVENS
(uncomfortable)
I can't do that. I've got a wife and
kids.
CARVER
You're separated from your wife,
she's filled for divorce. You see
your kids every other weekend.
Stevens takes a breath: this is awkward to explain.
STEVENS
(almost a confession)
All my life I've stayed away from
that stuff. I've never touched drugs.
CARVER
(tolerant)
Come on, a little grass...?
STEVENS
Not grass. Not nothing. I never even
had a drink.
(his motto)
Never have, never will. You don't
understand. I made a choice in my
life.
CARVER
What's to understand? You saw your
father killed when you were ten, and
you decided you wouldn't be like
that.
(off Stevens' surprise,
Carver grins)
I'm God, I know everything. You wanted
to be a good boy, so you became a
cop. Hiding out in uniform... That's
why you got the hard-on for Taft.
STEVENS
It's not that simple.
CARVER
(opening Joe's file;
as if reluctantly)
I'll tell the truth, Joe. You're
never going to be a Taft.
STEVENS
I don't believe that.
But he does.
CARVER
(looks at MMPI results)
You ever take a look at your
psychological profile? You score
almost like a criminal.
(reading)
"Resents authority..."
STEVENS
I do not.
CARVER
"...Exaggerated moral standards, but
with no underlying value system."
Look at the anger, the repressed
violence, it's almost off the scale...
STEVENS
Let me see that...
Carver hands him the scores which are, of course, just
clusters of numbers. Stevens is upset, though oddly
unsurprised, as if this only confirmed his secret
fears.
CARVER
Why'd you join the force?
STEVENS
(awkward, but felt)
I wanted to be of use.
CARVER
Well, now you can be. You won't be
Taft, but maybe you'll be something
more... interesting.
(sits back)
There's a man named Ramon Gallegos
who supplies 60% of the cocaine to
the West Coast. He's smart, smooth,
and sufficiently elusive that we
don't even have an adult photograph
of him. However, his uncle is Hector
Guzman, an important Latin American
political figure. Gallegos uses
Uncle's connections to get product
into the country, and everyone we've
sent after him has ended up like
that...
Indicates dead body on TV.
STEVENS
Why would I be different?
CARVER
You already are, that's the point...
(indicates file, test
scores)
You've got the ability and the
personality to go underground and
blend in completely. That's what the
others couldn't. Some part of them
showed. That's why they're dead.
See, there's only one rule in this
game.
Stevens raises his eyebrows: what?
CARVER
(continuing)
Don't blow your cover.
Ratings
Scene 3 - Prejudice and Tension
Stevens parks outside a small, well-maintained house.
As he
gets out, he spots a GROUP OF KIDS (black and Hispanic)
playing down the street. He's not pleased about that.
STEVENS
(calls to them)
Joe-J, Carmen...
A BOY, 7, and a GIRL, 5, (both light-skinned) run to
him
shouting, "Daddy," jump into his arms, competing for
attention, as if they haven't seen him in ages.
STEVENS
What were you doing with those kids?
JOE-J & CARMEN
Playing...
STEVENS
(displeased)
Your mom lets you play with them?
JOE-J & CARMEN
Yes, sir... Yes, sir.
His strictness has already sobered their enthusiasm.
Sensing
this, he attempts to embrace them which he can do only
awkwardly.
Meanwhile, his wife, TERRY (Southern white) has come
out the
screen door. She and Stevens bristle at each other.
STEVENS
I thought we talked about this. The
older brother up there's got a sheet
with --
TERRY
Lay off it. They're just kids...
Both are ready to fight, but restrain themselves. A big
Polynesian, TITO comes out the door.
TITO
Hey, Joe.
STEVENS
Tito...
A moment of surprise, then he gets it. He looks to
Terry.
She gives a little shrug, refusing to be embarrassed.
INT. KITCHEN - FIVE MINUTES LATER
Stevens is trying to seem interested in Carmen's little
drawings.
STEVENS
They're real nice, honey. Is that a
horse?
CARMEN
(exasperated)
Daddy! It's a bunny...
She puts her arms around him.
CARMEN
(continuing)
I don't want you to go away, Daddy.
STEVENS
It's my work. I've got to.
Over her shoulder he sees Terry sitting with a subdued
Joe-
J. Her face seems to say, "See, I told you..." Avoiding
this
accusation, Stevens notices a bruise on Carmen's arm.
STEVENS
(continuing)
What happened to you there, baby?
CARMEN
Tito did it.
STEVENS
(instantly outraged)
He hit you?!
(up in a fury)
God damn it, what's he doing touching
her? I'm gonna...
Terry intercepts him on his way out of the room.
TERRY
She was running behind his chair
when he got up. It was an accident.
(he's uncertain)
A complete... total... accident.
Stevens looks at Carmen who giggles. He's humiliated by
his
own temper, attempts to calm himself. Terry puts a
sympathetic
hand on his shoulder.
DISSOLVE TO:
Ratings
Scene 4 - A Tranquil Arrival
The immense sprawl, the arterial flow of the freeways,
the
blinding light. We DESCEND...
INT. TRAIN STATION - UNDERGROUND - DAY OR NIGHT
People getting off, among them the former Joe Stevens,
now
known as JOHN HULL. He's carrying a suitcase.
INT. TRAIN STATION/EXT. STREET - DAY
Hull goes up the stairs onto a downtown street.
EXT. ANOTHER STREET - DAY
South L.A. neighborhood. A 13-year-old BLACK YOUTH
selling
drugs through a car window. Hull walks by. He's at
ease,
looking around, his manner subtly announcing that he
belongs
here, just as in the train station he seemed to belong
among
the commuters.
EXT. TRANSIENT MOTEL - COURTYARD - DAY
A fat BLONDE WOMAN (61, large white glasses, tiny
shoes)
leads Hull down a corridor.
BLONDE WOMAN
Television mostly. I was on "Sky
King" twice, "Ramar of the Jungle."
That was a silly show. The jungle
was mostly flats...
They pass an open door where a 6-year-old boy, JAMES, a
latchkey, sits on the stoop playing Gameboy; inside,
his
mother, BELINDA, a broken down whore, is doing her
nails and
drinking Pepsi. She looks up, bats her lashes at Hull.
BLONDE WOMAN
(continuing)
You want my advice, I'd stay away
from that bitch.
She opens the door to the room across the hall. A dump.
Hull
walks in, drops his duffle: he'll take it. The Blonde
lounges
in the doorway. He closes the door.
INT. ROOM - DAY
Hull empties his pockets on the dresser. Looks at his
money,
room key, identification. Looks at himself in the
mirror. He
touches his clothes, his face, tries on different
expressions.
(NOTE: Throughout the film, Hull continually checks
himself
out in mirrors, both to adjust his appearance to the
circumstances and as if in an attempt to recall who he
"really" is.)
EXT. 79TH AND FIGUEROA - TWILIGHT
On the seam between South-Central and USC. Lots of
people
out: children, students, dealers, whores. Hull with a
new
haircut.
EXT. ANOTHER, SIMILAR CORNER - DAY
Dealers (most in mid-teens) meeting cars, making
transactions.
All this casually observed. EDDIE comes up the street,
reciting his version of an old street toast.
EDDIE
On the day of the King's castration,
all the counts and no accounts were
down on the deck with Georgia Tech
taking turns in the back seat...
Those dealers not at car windows, gather around. He
never
speaks to them, goes on declaiming as he exchanges
drugs for
money.
Hull watches, talking to another street person. His
appearance
continues to change: clothes, posture, walk, gestures
subtly
conform to the environment, a bit like Zelig.
Throughout the
film his appearance shifts, depending on who he's with.
We
always recognize him, but each time he's different.
He walks up to a dealer, makes a quick buy and keeps
going.
But he sees them and is seen.
Ratings
Scene 5 - Witness to Murder
Hull drops eleven foil balls on a green blotter. Carver
counts
out money for him.
INT. HULL'S MOTEL ROOM - DAY
He sits at the window, eating a burrito, watching
little
James play in the courtyard.
EXT. STREET - EVENING
Hull approaches another Dealer, the 13-year-old seen
earlier
(angelic face). Like Hull, he's trying to act tough.
HULL
Whatta you got?
13-YEAR-OLD DEALER
(voice just changing)
Nickel rock, dime rock. Excellent
shit.
Hull exchanges a folded twenty for two foil balls. He
walks
off. He has gone twenty feet when...
RED RANGE ROVER
SQUEALS to a stop opposite the Dealer.
A huge young black man, IVY (23, all in red with a red
headband), leans out the passenger window, shouting at
the
13-year-old.
IVY
What the fuck I tell you about being
here?
Everyone turns to look, but Hull's view is blocked.
13-YEAR-OLD DEALER (O.S.)
No, wait...
IVY (O.S.)
Too fuckin' late.
POPPING noises. Ivy is waving an automatic weapon.
Everyone
on the street but Hull has hit the ground.
IVY
(enjoying it, shouting)
Get down, motherfuckers!
Ivy laughs and fondles a girlfriend as the car ROARS
off. He
sees Hull, pretends to fire, laughs as Hull, too,
ducks.
When Ivy's gone, he runs to where a CROWD has gathered
around...
THE 13-YEAR-OLD
lying in the street, a bullet hole in his head, eyes
open.
He twitches and kicks, blood pulsing from the neat
wound.
Then he's dead. The faces around him (young, old, many
races)
watch with a variety of emotions.
CROWD
Who is he?... Why'd they shoot him?...
Ivy did him, man... He's in the wrong
fuckin' place... That poor boy...
Get his beeper...
Cops push through to the body. As the crowd disperses,
Hull
can't take his eyes off the boy. When he finally does,
he
sees Eddie, drink in hand. Their eyes meet, and Eddie,
a
rapper, raises his eyebrows in brief acknowledgment of
sorrow.
EDDIE
(sadly)
He done done, ain't he?
Ratings
Scene 6 - John Hull Returns to Lewazz
TITLE: TWO WEEKS LATER
A bar with a neon bird for a sign. Hull enters.
INT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT
A racial mix. Hull takes a seat at the bar. Stuffed
birds
line the lintel above the bottles. A female BARTENDER
(long
red nails) greets him familiarly.
BARTENDER
How's it going, John?
HULL
I'm in there.
Without being asked, she sets him up a Dry Sack with a
long
red straw. (NOTE: He never touches the drink.) Hull's
appearance has continued to change. His clothes have
become
flashier, he has an earring, the start of a goatee.
Eddie approaches the bar compulsively reciting one of
his
toasts.
EDDIE
(to himself)
"Where's the Queen," said the King.
"She's in bed with laryngitis." "Is
that bastard still in town?... Fuck
the Queen," said the King, and ten
thousand knights straaaained at their
utmost...
(to the bartender)
Pina colada times two and a white
wine.
He goes on muttering under his breath, tapping his foot
like
any crankhead. He notices Hull, greets him as someone
he
can't place but knows he's seen around.
EDDIE
(continuing)
How you doin', Dudley...
Tries to remember name.
HULL
John.
EDDIE
John, man, right...
Clasp hands. Eddie takes his drinks, carries them to...
A TABLE
where he rejoins a white man, DAVID ELIAS (30s, slick,
powerful) and a well-dressed BLACK WOMAN (mid-20s,
good-
looking). She gets the wine.
Elias rises to let her out. As the woman passes Hull on
her
way to the restrooms, their eyes meet: an instant of
perfect
chemistry. He's struck. Her features open, grow sensual
for
a moment, but then, as if seeing something she doesn't
like,
her eyes flick away, and she walks by as if he weren't
there.
Ratings
Scene 7 - Hull Reports to Carver
(NOTE: Hull invariably meets Carver in this anonymous
room,
distinguished only by the green blotter and a view of
the
city. This simple regularity suggest visits to a
psychiatrist,
Carver probing, testing, teasing, trying to draw Hull
out.
And they feel like therapy, at once a respite and a
torment.)
More foil balls on the blotter beside boxes of 3x5
photographs. Photos of Eddie and David Elias are up on
a
corkboard, the beginning of a pyramid.
HULL
Eddie something... a motormouth...
he supplies the street dealers...
buys from him...
(reads name on back
of photo)
David Elias... who apparently buys
from a guy named Barbolla or
something. But I haven't seen him.
Carver produces a photo of a handsome Latin in his 50s,
pins
it on the board above Elias.
CARVER
Barbosa, Felix.
HULL
There was also a woman, but she's
not here.
(as Carver reaches in
a drawer)
I saw a kid killed. Twelve, thirteen
at the most. Turf war.
Carver shrugs: these things happen. He hands Hull a lot
of
cash, much more than expected. Hull does understand.
CARVER
Get to Elias. Then to Barbosa.
HULL
You can't rush this stuff.
CARVER
Rush it, please. I want art, John,
not reality. Budget hearings start
in April, and I need Gallegos by
then. They won't give us funding for
three ounce buys.
HULL
We're not just doing this for the
funding, are we?
CARVER
Without funding, we aren't doing it
at all.
TITLE: TWO WEEKS LATER
Ratings
Scene 8 - Dealings in the Dark
Virtual darkness save splinters of light between the
curtains.
Pipes burn here and there in the gloom. Ten or fifteen
crackheads huddle around a battery-operated TV on which
Tom
Brokaw is narrating an NBC documentary on drugs. A 12-
year-
old sits against a wall too stoned even for television.
Hull approaches Eddie, regally installed on an
automobile
bench seat-cum-sofa, a lit pipe in one hand. We barely
notice
the redhead kneeling between his legs, face buried in
his
crotch. He greets Hull from wrecked bliss. They know
each
other now.
EDDIE
My man, Dudley, he's so fud-ley...
Hull greets Eddie, some of the others, drops familiarly
onto
an adjacent auto seat. The patrons are making fun of
Brokaw,
laughing, exchanging fives.
HULL
Eddie, man, I need...
Eddie holds up a hand telling Hull to wait. His mind is
elsewhere. His features contract in brief
concentration.
CHORUS OF COMMENTS
Whatever happened to that Drug Czar
motherfucker?... He gave up 'cause
he finally realized he didn't know
nothing about any of that shit...
More laughter, etc. Eddie's concentration peaks, breaks
off
into a sigh and a smile.
Eddie sings a satisfied little song...
The redhead rises from Eddie's crotch, and we see it's
a
boy, seventeen going on death; he might have been
pretty a
year ago.
Eddie passes him the crack pipe, lets him suck greedily
for
a few seconds before ripping it out of his scabrous
mouth
and offering it to Hull, who, with a grimace that gets
laughs,
declines. The others continue to watch and comment on
the
speech.
EDDIE
So what is it you need so bad, blood?
Need, need, need??
HULL
A whole K, quick as you can get it.
EDDIE
(impressed, a trace
of envy)
Comin' in the world, Dudley.
HULL
(winning grin)
All because of my man...
Eddie likes that, holds out a hand. Hull hits it.
EDDIE
Give me a day.
Hull nods, rises.
EDDIE
(continuing)
Stick around, let the bitch Hoover
you, too.
Indicating redhead.
In all these scenes, Hull acts indifferent to the
horror,
but here the effort costs him. He masters his disgust
with a
joke.
HULL
Only if you Clorox him first.
Everyone laughs, even the boy.
Ratings
Scene 9 - Eddie's Interrogation and Elias's Dilemma
Eddie comes out the back door of a building, is
immediately
collared by Taft (the cop on the videotape). He's in
his mid-
40s, stocky, balding.
TAFT
(cheerful, gregarious)
Eddie Shitface! Where you been, boy?
Eddie breaks free, runs three feet before HERNANDEZ (a
muscular Mexican) knees him in the groin. Eddie
crumples.
TAFT
(continuing)
Eddie, I don't think I introduced
you to my new partner, Michael
Hernandez...
HERNANDEZ
Pleased to meet you, Mr. Shitface...
EXT. STREET - NIGHT
Eddie folded over his wounded nuts. Hernandez and Taft
sit
on crates to either side. The drugs they've taken from
him
are neatly arranged on a garbage can lid.
HERNANDEZ
You have the right to remain silent...
You have the right to an attorney...
You have the right to go back to
Ontario for eight-to-ten on a second
offense...
EDDIE
(in several kinds of
pain)
Oh, man, I can't go back in there, I
just can't.
TAFT
(soothing)
'Course you can't, child, 'course
you can't. That's why you're gonna
start giving us some help.
EXT. DAVID ELIAS'S HOUSE - NIGHT
A pleasant, Santa Monica neighborhood. Spanish style
house.
INT. ELIAS'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Pleasant, tasteful. Elias's wife, NANCY, (dressed like
the
attorney she is) sits in an alcove-study reading a real
estate
contract through half-glasses. Elias himself is helping
his
daughter, MIRANDA, 7, with her homework. He is 38, with
the
body and bearing of a powerful man.
ELIAS
Again. Three times four.
MIRANDA
Seven.
Elias is not a sweet Daddy. It should make us
uncomfortable
to watch him push his daughter.
ELIAS
No. You're adding again, you have to
multiply. Three and four is seven.
Three times four is...
MIRANDA
Twelve.
ELIAS
Three times five.
The DOORBELL.
NANCY
Can you get that?
MIRANDA
Eight.
ELIAS
(getting up; more
about the answer
than the door)
Damn it.
MIRANDA
Why can't I just use a calculator?
INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR - NIGHT
Three men: FELIX BARBOSA (whose photo we saw in
Carver's
office). Barbosa is a veteran of the coke business, but
he's
doing too much of the drug now; he's sweating,
paranoid,
unstable. With him is GOPHER, early 60s, a wizened
high-voiced
old con who Barbosa keeps the way Spanish kings kept
dwarfs,
for amusement and luck; like the court jester, Gopher
can
say anything he wants without fear. Behind them is an
Hispanic
kid, CHINO, 17, a thug.
Elias knows them all, but is not happy to see them at
his
door.
ELIAS
What are you doing here?
BARBOSA
We've got a problem, David.
ELIAS
Call me on the phone.
BARBOSA
Your friend Eddie just started bending
over for the cops.
This is very bad news. Elias murmurs a shaken,
"Shit..." and
steps outside, half-closing the door behind him.
BARBOSA
(continuing)
They busted him, and he's dealing to
save his ass.
GOPHER
Which is how he'll lose the skinny
little thing.
ELIAS
Did he give us up?
BARBOSA
Not yet, but he will if he has to,
and eventually he'll have to.
MIRANDA (O.S.)
Daddy! I thought we were doing my
homework.
ELIAS
I don't think he'd talk about us.
He'd try not to.
BARBOSA
If we whack him, he definitely won't.
MIRANDA (O.S.)
Daddy!!
ELIAS
(to Miranda)
Just a second.
(to Barbosa)
Not yet. Let me check on this, first.
BARBOSA
(taunting)
Nobody said you had to do the dirty
work, David. I'll take care of --
ELIAS
Felix, if he's a problem, we'll kill
him. I'll kill him myself.
He doesn't realize until it's too late that Nancy has
just
then opened the front door to see where he went. They
look
at each other, a terrible moment: she knows what he
does,
hates it, can't bring herself to leave him, hates
herself
for that.
ELIAS
(continuing)
Nancy, get out of here.
NANCY
For you; it's Eddie.
She hands him a cordless phone, goes inside closing the
door.
BARBOSA
You got a tasty wife, David. No wonder
you don't want us coming here.
ELIAS
(warning him)
Don't talk about her that way.
Barbosa laughs.
GOPHER
He can't help it, David, it's his
nature.
ELIAS
(into phone, chipper)
Eddie... Sure, man, what do you need?
Ratings
Scene 10 - The Confrontation
Elias joins Eddie and Hull to one side. In the b.g. two
guys
sparring.
EDDIE
David, this is John, John, David.
Eddie, this is Eddie. Everybody ready?
HULL
(to Elias)
So what's this, you want to meet me?
ELIAS
(charming, touch of
mockery)
I like to know the important
customers.
Hull makes a show of weary patience, gestures: here I
am.
ELIAS
(continuing)
You're taking a lot of weight for a
guy we hardly know. Where're you
moving this stuff, John? We haven't
seen you around. We like to have a
sense who your customers are.
HULL
Ah, come on, man, do Macy's tell the
Gimbel motherfuckers?
ELIAS
(beat; watches him)
Eddie, forget this guy, he's a cop.
He gets up, walks away.
ON HULL
He's blown it. He's been made. The crushing failure. He
rallies himself to indignation.
HULL
What is this shit, Eddie? I thought
you were the man.
Eddie's sickened, wants to get paid, owes Taft a bust.
EDDIE
Nobody's the fuckin' man. Go to your
place. I'll call you.
EXT. GYM/INT. A VAN - CONTINUOUS TIME
Taft and Hernandez, watching the gym. Hull comes out,
looks
up and down the street carefully. Taft sits up, pays
attention.
TAFT
This is our collar?
Hernandez grunts.
TAFT
(continuing)
Who is he?
HERNANDEZ
Some scumbag...
But Taft clearly thinks there's something different
about
Hull. He's not sure what, but it troubles him. (NOTE:
Hull
makes a little move that Taft will later realize was a
cop's
move. For now he can't quite place it.)
EXT. PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS TIME
Eddie pleading his case to Elias.
EDDIE
He's no cop, David. He's an animal.
You see his eyes? You never see a
cop with those eyes. I know this
shit, man, you don't.
ELIAS
(giving him an opening)
What's going on, Eddie?
EDDIE
Twenty-six thousand cash is what. We
need it, David. We're behind.
Elias studies Eddie: is he a rat? Elias hopes not, but
he's
going to find out. He hands a fat Federal Express
envelope
through the window.
ELIAS
(a warning)
I want him to get it all, Eddie.
Eddie bows in gratitude, hurries off.
EXT./INT. HULL'S MOTEL - NIGHT
Hull's unlocking his door when Belinda, the hooker
across
the hall, comes out to talk. Her 6-year-old, James,
watches,
silent.
BELINDA
(a crackhead)
Mr. Hull... Mr. Hull...
HULL
(wearily)
What's happening, Belinda?
BELINDA
Now you know, Mr. Hull, I was to the
welfare this afternoon, but the bus,
you know what I'm saying?... the one
bus, and then the other, and when I
got there they'd gone and changed
the time on me, without notification.
They's supposed to give notification,
ain't they? They said I got a thing
in the mail, but I don't remember, I
don't think they sent it, so now I'm
off the welfare, plus I forgot to
take James for his shot... for the
school? Which otherwise they let him
go. And he's gotta learn, he's gotta
learn, don't he, Mr. Hull, you tell
him, so's he can better hisself.
Hull slouches in the doorway, fingers to his eyes.
HULL
(to James)
You had any food today, James?
JAMES
(disclaiming any need)
I had Ding-Dongs.
HULL
(sighs, gives him
money)
You go to the Mexican place over
there, and get the chicken tostada
or the beef and bean burrito or both.
And a milk.
JAMES
I don't like milk. I want a --
HULL
(an order)
You get the milk! And get something
for your mother, too.
(to Belinda)
What do you want?
BELINDA
Now, Mr. Hull, if you just --
HULL
(to James)
Two tostadas, two burritos, two milks.
Gives him another bill. The boy runs off.
BELINDA
You now, I look out for my James
best I can, Mr. Hull, but it's hard.
Now you like the boy, don't you?
Hull grunts.
BELINDA
(continuing)
I know you do. And I was thinkin' if
you wanted to take care of him, that
might be good for him. Give him a
male figure to look up to.
HULL
Look, Belinda, I can't...
BELINDA
If you could just give me something
for him. Say five thousand dollars...
(off Hull's shock)
Or maybe four thousand. I couldn't
give up my boy for less than four
thousand...
Hull is rescued from this horror by the ringing PAY
PHONE.
He runs down the hall, grabs it.
HULL
It's me. I'm here... Where?... five
minutes.
He dashes past Belinda into his room.
BELINDA
Or you could just give me a part
now...
He closes the door, takes the money Carver gave him out
from
behind the mirror, dashes back outside. As he rushes
by:
BELINDA
(continuing)
Let me do somethin' for you, Mr.
Hull. Let me do a little somethin'
for you.
He keeps going. The Blonde Woman addresses Belinda.
BLONDE WOMAN
No solicitin' in the halls. I told
you that before.
BELINDA
(spunkier than we've
seen)
I ain't doin' shit. Bitch...
Ratings
Scene 11 - Drug Bust Interrupted
A handful of customers under a mud sky. The THROB of a
distant
helicopter. Hull pulls into the lot beside Eddie's BMW.
He climbs into the BMW, tosses Eddie a brown envelope;
money
spills onto his lap. Eddie does a quick count, produces
the
Fed Ex envelope. The usual white stuff.
Hull's about to taste when the chopper swoops in with a
sudden
blinding overhead light. A BULLHORN booms down like the
voice
of God.
AMPLIFIED VOICE
This is the police. Remain inside
the vehicle. Place your open hands
against the windshield so that they
are clearly visible...
HULL
Christ...
EDDIE
(a strategy)
Spread the floor, Dudley.
(rap sound effects
with rhythmic head
spasms)
A-ga, a-ga, a-ga, a-ga...
Eddie starts the car, and Hull rolls out the passenger
door
as the BMW races across the lot.
Two black-and-whites and an unmarked converge on the
stand.
Hull can't reach his car. He vaults a metal rail and
runs
off between two buildings.
Hernandez jumps out of an unmarked and races after him.
Taft
speeds the car out onto the street.
HULL
running. Police and SIRENS pursuing. He hurls the Fed
Ex
envelope into a dumpster. HELICOPTER light sweeps over
him.
As he cuts around a building, Taft opens a car door
right
into his face. Hull goes down hard.
TAFT
(into car radio)
Thank you kindly...
He waves at the helicopter which goes away, kneels over
Hull
who is twitching spastically on the ground, gasping for
air.
Hernandez arrives carrying the Fed Ex envelope.
TAFT
(continuing)
How you doin', child?...
Hull is astonished to look up and see Taft looming over
him,
the man he remembers from the videotape. He tries to
speak:
HULL
(barely audible)
You...
TAFT
(briefly puzzled)
Me? Of course, it's me. You know me?
Hull shakes head, winces.
TAFT
(continuing)
Hurts, huh?
Hull tries to curse.
TAFT
(continuing)
Here, I want to show you something.
You have kids?
He takes out his wallet, opens it to pictures of his
two
children, a boy and a girl, seven and eight.
TAFT
(continuing)
These are mine. Aren't they the most
beautiful children you ever saw?
Hull groans, twists in pain. Taft sticks the pictures
in his
face. Hull is affected by the children despite
everything.
TAFT
(continuing)
Yeah, I know, they kind of leave you
speechless. So let me ask, if someone
put a gun to your baby's head,
wouldn't you kill him if you could?
Hull just looks up.
TAFT
(continuing)
Me, too. And you're the bastard with
the gun.
He takes the Fed Ex envelope from him.
HULL
(hoarse; his first
words)
You know the difference between a
nigger and a black man?
TAFT
Don't jive me, boy.
HULL
The nigger's the one covers Whitey's
ass by puttin' the brothers in jail.
Taft yanks him hard to his feet; Hull cries out in
pain.
TAFT
You ain't my brother.
Ratings
Scene 12 - Surprising Arraignment
Hull is led in with other handcuffed PRISONERS. Carver
is
here, catches Hull's eye. Hull shakes his head; doesn't
want
Carver to intercede. A woman PUBLIC DEFENDER (26,
attractive,
harried) addresses the prisoners.
PUBLIC DEFENDER
Hi, I'm Shelley Weissbrod. This is
only an arraignment, a preliminary
hearing, but if you don't have money
for an attorney, the Public Defender's
office can...
Hull is listening to this when a BAILIFF taps his
shoulder.
BAILIFF
You've got counsel. Over there.
Puzzled, Hull sees the back of a suit conferring with a
PROSECUTOR. The suit turns. It's DAVID ELIAS who
smiles,
offers his hand. Hull is stunned. Elias enjoys that.
HULL
You're a lawyer??
ELIAS
I'm your lawyer.
HULL
Who hired you?
ELIAS
(smiles)
It's pro bono. If you don't want me,
there's Shelley. She's good. She
just can't provide special services...
HULL
Like what?
VOICE (O.S.)
(calling the next
case)
John Hull...
ELIAS
Getting your case called first.
Elias addressing the court.
ELIAS
(continuing)
Your Honor, I believe the preliminary
police toxicology report will show
that the substance seized from my
client was Mannitol, a baby laxative.
We move for immediate dismissal.
Hull is surprised at this news. The Judge looks to the
Prosecutor who waives objection. Gavel.
ELIAS
(continuing; to Hull)
We're out of here, Dude.
As they walk toward the back, Taft approaches Hull.
There's
already a deep pull between these two, and in Taft's
presence,
Hull can't sustain the tough street act. We almost see
the
little boy inside him.
TAFT
(to Hull, amused)
Baby laxative, they sold you some
bad shit.
DRUNKEN PRISONER
(to Hull)
You have a constipated baby, and
you're in jail? What kind of a father
are you?
TAFT
A father who don't know his own
children, ain't that right?
A long look between them, broken when Elias takes
Hull's
arm, leads him away. Elias cheerfully greets a couple
of
hookers waiting arraignment. Hull furtively grabs his
sleeve.
HULL
(under his breath)
You sold me Mannitol, motherfucker.
ELIAS
(under his)
If it hadn't been, asshole, you'd be
in jail right now... Come on, I want
you to meet some people.
Ratings
Scene 13 - Confrontation at Lewazz
After hours. The place is closed. A couple of cars in
the
lot. Elias's BMW pulls in.
INT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT
Deserted except for one table where Eddie, Barbosa,
Gopher
and Chino are eating shrimp. They look up as Hull and
Elias
approach. Eddie's astonished to see Hull.
EDDIE
Dudley, Dudley, Fo-Fudley...
ELIAS
Surprised to see him, Eddie?
Eddie looks around, uneasy.
ELIAS
(continuing)
John got busted and kept his mouth
shut. Can't say that for everybody,
can we?
EDDIE
What are you saying? Are you saying
me? Are you saying something about
me?
GOPHER
Tell the truth, Eddie. Be honorable.
It's all you got left.
EDDIE
Shut up, you little faggot.
ELIAS
The cops made you give them somebody.
We know it.
Eddie looks around. Everybody's looking at him. He
considers
lying, but realizes it's pointless.
EDDIE
All right, so what? I mean, so what,
man? You got the money. Twenty-six
G. Twenty-six, David. Count it.
ELIAS
Next time you might trade us.
EDDIE
Never.
(turns to Barbosa)
Never, Felix, never. Come on, man,
you know I'd never...
Hull observes Barbosa become the power center.
BARBOSA
(softly)
I know you never will.
EDDIE
Felix, no. Don't be... I'm worth
money to you. Let me give you money.
BARBOSA
Why? You don't owe me anything.
EDDIE
Another twenty-six grand... Just to
show you... Fifty.
BARBOSA
Why not a hundred?
EDDIE
(that's so much)
A hundred??? Felix...
Barbosa's impassive.
EDDIE
(continuing)
Okay, a hundred.
BARBOSA
Give it.
EDDIE
Tomorrow. Twenty-four hours.
BARBOSA
Now. Ten seconds.
EDDIE
Felix, I need time. I --
BARBOSA
One... two...
EDDIE
I don't have it right now. But I can --
GOPHER
(sadly)
Then goodbye, Eddie. I forgive you
for what you said to me.
EDDIE
(pleading)
Twelve hours. Tomorrow morning.
BARBOSA
Six... seven...
(to Elias)
You want to do it, David?
Elias looks stricken. Barbosa laughs. Eddie jumps up.
Hull
turns away, can't bear to watch this.
BARBOSA
(continuing)
Nine...
EDDIE
grabs the first thing he lays eyes on, a tiny snail
fork and
plunges it into Barbosa's neck.
As if it were a fly bite, Barbosa flings the table
aside
and, with a long knife already in his hand, guts Eddie
from
groin to breast bone. Eddie falls like a suddenly
emptied
sack.
Elias can't help gasping.
Hull looks away, hiding his horror.
Barbosa rips the fork out of his neck and hurls it at
the
body.
BARBOSA
Piece of shit!
Elias stares at Eddie's body, transfixed. Horrified,
fascinated, afraid, in awe. Barbosa turns to Hull.
BARBOSA
(continuing)
What'd you think?
HULL
At least it was clean.
BARBOSA
(pleased, to Elias)
What about you, bar mitzvah body?
First time you saw somebody die?
ELIAS
(eyes fixed on the
body)
No.
(catching breath)
At camp... when I was fourteen... a
friend of mine was water skiing...
The motorboat ran him over... A junior
counsellor was driving.
BARBOSA
You should kill a man some day, David,
it's liberating...
(walking out)
Summer camp. I'm in business with
somebody who went to summer camp.
Everyone else is silent, grave.
Ratings
Scene 14 - Breakfast with Elias and Hull
Through sliders we see a small pool. Elias and Hull sit
over
uneaten omelets. Both still shaken by the previous
scene.
ELIAS
Eddie, man... He was always nice to
my daughter.
HULL
How'd a guy like you get into this?
ELIAS
The way most drug lawyers do: clients
paid me in product, and I had to
move it. Soon I was doing more dealing
than law. But this was '83, '84,
there was so much money we thought
it would never end.
HULL
Yeah. And now...?
ELIAS
The road gets rougher. Cocaine's a
dying business.
HULL
Then what are we doing here?
ELIAS
People are always going to want to
get high. Every society has ways to
alter consciousness.
HULL
Because they can't bear reality.
ELIAS
(smiles)
We all need our delusions, only the
means change: psychedelics, opiates,
prayer, orgies, human sacrifice...
HULL
What's next?
Elias puts a finger to his lips.
HULL
(continuing)
Why aren't you selling it?
ELIAS
I know how to make it and market it.
But I need capital. That's the only
reason I'm hanging out with an asshole
like Barbosa.
(feels his hatred of
Barbosa)
And because I can't get to the big
guys.
HULL
Who are the big guys?
ELIAS
Gallegos, et cetera.
HULL
(reacts to the name)
Why can't you get to them?
ELIAS
What do you care?
Hull shrugs: he doesn't.
ELIAS
(continuing)
Anyway, designer drugs have a bad
name: ice, ecstasy, tar -- there's a
limited market for Parkinson's
disease. But what about completely
safe, almost legal, terrific shit
you can go to work on and do your
job better than you ever did it
straight?
HULL
Sounds like a dream.
They hear someone coming.
ELIAS
(closing the subject)
In dreams begin responsibilities.
HULL
Tell me about this new shit.
ELIAS
Some other time, John, when we know
each other better.
(as Miranda enters
kitchen)
Hey, bunnela.
(she snuggles against
him; Elias enjoys it)
Five times two.
MIRANDA
It's too early. Don't bother me.
He hugs her, kisses her, much more openly affectionate
than
Hull was with his own children. Hull notices that.
MIRANDA
(continuing; head in
her father's chest)
Seven.
Elias whispers in her ear.
MIRANDA
(continuing)
Oh, yeah... Ten... Who's he?
ELIAS
That's my friend, John. This is
Miranda.
HULL
Hi, Miranda.
Miranda gives Hull a shy greeting. Nancy hurries into
the
kitchen, handsome, busy, ready for work.
NANCY
Come on, honey...
ELIAS
Nancy, this is John.
Nancy nods briefly in Hull's direction. Elias kisses
Miranda
who grabs the back-pack her mother proffers, and they
go
out. When they're gone:
ELIAS
(continuing; on Nancy's
chilliness)
That's not about you. It's, she's...
judgmental about what I do.
When they're gone, he opens louvered doors onto a
washer/dryer, takes a sports bag off a shelf, gives it
to
Hull. Hull looks inside. White powder. He tastes. Real.
He
hefts the bag.
HULL
That's more than I bought.
ELIAS
Half we owe you. The other half's on
consignment. A token of our esteem.
HULL
You're having trouble moving it.
Elias doesn't deny it.
HULL
(continuing)
Make me your partner. I'll help you
get your capital.
ELIAS
I don't need a partner. I need a
salesman.
Ratings
Scene 15 - Hull's Moral Dilemma
Now in daylight. Two separately wrapped kilograms of
crack
cocaine on the green blotter.
CARVER
I can't buy this much shit. I haven't
got it in the budget.
HULL
What am I supposed to do with it?
CARVER
You're a drug dealer, John. Deal
drugs.
Hull just looks at him. Carver doesn't blink.
HULL
You know how this goes, Gerry. It
won't stop here. You know what they're
going to ask me to do pretty soon,
to prove I'm down. What am I supposed
to do then?
CARVER
Don't blow your Carver.
Hull: a moment of horror as he realizes what Carver is
saying.
MUSIC -- A DRUG DEALING SEQUENCE
INT. HULL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
He's filling glass vials with crack. Hundreds of them.
It's
tedious work. He spills some, curses. He stops. He
can't
believe he's doing this. He goes on doing it.
CARVER (V.O.)
You're still thinking like a cop,
John. Forget that. Cross the line.
Be what you are. You're a criminal.
You don't give a shit about other
people. You're just trying to survive.
INT. CRACK HOUSE - DAY
Hull doling out vials to DEALERS seen earlier with
Eddie.
HULL (V.O.)
I can't do this shit. I just can't.
EXT. A STREET - DAY
DEALERS going up to cars as before, only now they're
Hull's
dealers. A well-dressed Black businessman buys from his
BMW.
CARVER (V.O.)
But you want to be of use. You want
to get drugs off the street, don't
you?
HULL (V.O.)
That's why I'm here.
EXT. SAME - ANOTHER TIME
Another sale: Teenagers on foot.
CARVER (V.O.)
Well, this is the cost. Pay it or go
grow flowers someplace.
EXT. HULL'S MOTEL - ANOTHER TIME
He comes out of the motel talking to a Dealer we've
seen
above.
HULL
You can't back down with them. You've
got to project strength, from inside,
you know?
The Dealer nods. Across the street Hull sees:
A blue sedan. Taft and Hernandez. Taft gives Hull a
little
nod and grin.
EXT. STREET - ANOTHER TIME
Hull sitting in an aging Trans Am, making entries in a
notebook. Across the street he watches:
A PREGNANT WOMAN (19), a squawling baby in arms, buying
from
one of his Dealers.
He kicks the dash in frustrated anger. Under the MUSIC:
HULL
Cocksucker...
As soon as the woman's gone. He goes over to the
Dealer,
slaps his head, slaps it again. Under the MUSIC:
DEALER
(hurt, confused)
What'd you do that for?
HULL
(walking off)
'Cause I can, motherfucker, 'cause I
can.
EXT. SAME - ANOTHER TIME
A white housewife making a buy from a new mini-van, a
baby
in the car seat.
EXT. STREET - TWILIGHT
Two USC football players (letter jackets, huge)
hassling
BIJOUX, a woman dealer, pushing her, she pushes back,
curses.
Suddenly Hull comes running up, shoves them apart. He's
yelling, pointing a finger in their faces. Elias comes
up
behind, calmer.
Hull is smaller than either USC kid, but they back down
as
he curses them. Under MUSIC:
HULL
...Touch her again, motherfuckers,
I'm gonna mess you up.
A brief scuffle. Hull decks one USC, and Elias pulls
him
off. The kids leave. Elias doubles over with laughter.
Hull
yells at Bijoux and walks off.
EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE - DAY
Hull (looking at written address) knocks on a door.
It's
opened by a beautiful, dark-skinned black woman in a
skimpy
robe. She looks at him with disarming frankness. He
thinks
he must be in the wrong place.
HULL
Is David Elias here?
ELIAS (O.S.)
Momentito...
Through the door we see him emerge from a bedroom
stepping
into his loafers, buttoning his shirt. He gives the
woman
along, dark kiss, caressing her body.
ELIAS
Jacqueline, ho-ney...
She laughs, closes the door. As he and Hull walk to the
street, Elias sings happily to himself:
ELIAS
(continuing)
"Who's making love to your old lady...
while you're out make love...?"
(cheerful)
How come I like balling black chicks
so much?
HULL
'Cause you're a racist asshole. You
feel like you're fucking a slave,
and it gets you off.
ELIAS
Oh, don't mau mau me with the Malcolm
X shit. Tell me you're not chasin'
white pussy every chance you get.
HULL
I don't dig white women.
(knowing that's a lie)
Even if I did, it wouldn't mean the
same thing.
ELIAS
Sure, it'd be the slave fucking the
master. Hegel talks about it. Just
like me, but the other way around.
HULL
Fuck Hegel. Who the fuck is Hegel?
Some smart-ass kike that talks
backwards?
Elias laughs, gets into Hull's car. Hull's angry, takes
a
beat before he gets in.
ELIAS
Everybody digs the other, John. They
dig their own, and they dig the other.
HULL
Does your wife dig black guys, David?
Did she fuck Eddie? Does she want to
fuck me?
ELIAS
(mock-terrified)
Ooo... you mean with that great big
purple dick of yours? I hope not.
She'd never be impressed with my
little thing again.
HULL
You think what impresses her now is
your dick?
ELIAS
(musing)
What does impress her?
Hull can't help laughing. He starts the car.
Ratings
Scene 16 - Confrontation at Betty's Store
Elias and Hull approach. Hull's carrying a satchel and
wearing
a new leather jacket.
INT. JEWELRY STORE - DAY
As they go in, Elias switches the OPEN sign to CLOSED
and
turns the latch. The store is filled with Latin
American
folk art, particularly masks which line the walls.
BETTY STONE, the woman Hull saw with Elias at the bar,
comes
out from the back. She is 27, a bad girl trying to
dress the
way she thinks a banker who went to Vassar dresses for
success. She's also a little strung out.
She and Hull recognize each other at once, (a brief
reprise
of that moment of perfect chemistry) but she avoids his
gaze.
ELIAS
Betty, this is John, my new associate.
MCCUTCHEON
Your new Eddie. I hear the old one
wore out.
ELIAS
Factory recall. John's going to be a
good customer. He does a lot of wash.
Hull puts the satchel on a display case. Betty still
won't
look at him, opens the satchel, begins a quick count.
She
does this with a speed and sureness that suggests high
test
scores.
HULL
So how's this place work?
Betty doesn't answer, so Elias covers the awkwardness.
ELIAS
Betty wires the money to a store in
Aruba in payment for things they
never sent her. They deposit the
money in a bank there that turns
around and loans her money she never
has to repay. That way it doesn't
turn up as income for the IRS. Welcome
to the laundromat.
MCCUTCHEON
David, you talk too much.
ELIAS
She doesn't trust you.
Hull has taken down a mask, puts it over his face,
looks in
a mirror.
HULL
How much is this?
MCCUTCHEON
More than you can afford.
HULL
I'll take it.
She produces a vial of coke, looks questioningly at
Elias.
ELIAS
By all means.
She draws out six lines. Elias does two.
MCCUTCHEON
(offering him the
straw)
Come on, Eddie 2... you're up.
HULL
No, thanks.
NOTE: Betty is acutely attuned to Hull, and in his
refusal
she senses -- albeit unconsciously -- two things:
first,
that he doesn't trust himself on drugs, therefore, he's
a
dangerous guy and, therefore, exciting; and, second,
more
important, the refusal bespeaks a repudiation of the
violence
and danger and, thus, a longing for goodness. Despite
the
seeming contradiction, she finds this even more
attractive.
But because she feels herself to be bad, his goodness
seems
only a judgment against her, and so she thinks she
hates
him.
MCCUTCHEON
Who is he, my mother?
HULL
(smiles)
Never have, never will.
Betty ignores him, does her lines.
MCCUTCHEON
(taunting Hull)
Oooh... Cocaine, I love it and I
hate it and I love it. The disease
is the cure.
She can't help looking at Hull who's looking at her.
She and
Elias are stoned; he's not.
MCCUTCHEON
(continuing)
Don't look at me. Elias, tell him
not to look at me. I don't like the
fucker.
But Elias is too busy vacuuming up Hull's leftovers.
ELIAS
(sniffling)
John's an ascetic Negro; he wants to
make sure you know he's not a jungle
bunny.
HULL
Watch your mouth, David.
ELIAS
But he's got another side. You should
seen him on the street the other day
with these two USC kids. Do the spade
bit for her, John.
(black accent)
I'm gonna mess you up, muthafugga...
He sticks his finger in Hull's face just like Hull with
the
boys.
HULL
Don't call me a spade. And don't
tell me to play black.
He says it gently, but Betty hears the edge.
ELIAS
(hurt, disappointed)
Come on, John, you do it so well.
(falling into it)
Ah ain't playin', muthafucka. Ah
ain't playin'.
Hull glares; Elias refuses to be intimidated.
ELIAS
(continuing)
Don't fuckin' dis me, muthafucka.
Fucka... fucka... fucka a... fucka
b... fuck b-hive... fucka, fucka,
fucka...
Elias dances around repeating "fucka" until it's almost
musical.
Hull picks him up and slams into a wall.
HULL
Say it again, and I'll kill you.
Elias throws Hull back against a display case. He's
strong
and unafraid. They're ready to fight.
MCCUTCHEON
Grow up, assholes!
This half snaps them out of it. Still glowering, they
slowly
relax, release each other.
Ratings
Scene 17 - A Violent Decision
Hull sits in the Trans Am eating a sandwich and
watching the
street as a DEALER leans in the window telling his sob
story.
There's an authority to Hull's manner that tells us he
may
not like this job, but he knows how to do it.
DEALER
...The guy ripped me off, man, so I
don't got the money, I don't got the
stuff and --
HULL
(eyes on street)
You gotta pay anyway.
DEALER
Oh, but, man...
As he raps on, comical pathos, Hull spots in his side
mirror...
THE RED RANGE ROVER
coming slowly this way. Ivy in the passenger window,
the
barrel of an automatic weapon glinting in the
streetlight.
HULL
Shit...
Hull glances up: Bijoux is selling on the next corner.
The Range Rover passes the Trans Am. Ivy leans out.
Hull flings open the Trans Am door, throwing the Dealer
to
the ground. He jumps from the car:
HULL
(continuing)
Bijoux!!
She turns. Sees Ivy. She puts out her hands to block
the
shots. The SOUND of the gun is inaudible. The barrel
bounces
slightly. Bijoux sprawls backward.
Bijoux: dead on the sidewalk, limbs askew, bleeding
from
many wounds.
Hull, standing over her, covers her face.
EXT. SAME - MUCH LATER THAT NIGHT
The body has been taken away, the crowd has cleared.
Elias
sits on the hood of the Trans Am. Hull stands, staring
down.
ELIAS
It wasn't your fault.
(no response)
What could you have done?
HULL
She worked for me. I'm supposed to
protect her.
Elias knows that's true, and it leads to another truth.
ELIAS
We have to kill him.
Hull looks up.
ELIAS
(continuing)
Or we lose all authority with the
other dealers. And one of them'll
kill you.
Hull looks up, startled.
ELIAS
(continuing)
You've got to assert now, or you're
dead.
Hull sees the truth of that and slowly nods.
ELIAS
(continuing)
And if we kill Ivy, we control this
whole territory.
HULL
That guy who works for Barbosa can
do it, Chino.
ELIAS
No. If we use Chino, it's Barbosa
who's asserting. It'll be Barbosa's
territory.
(again: his hatred of
Barbosa)
It's gotta be us.
HULL
Right.
ELIAS
And if it's us, it's gotta be you.
Meaning he can't do it. Hull knows that. A long beat on
Hull's
face as he reaches the inevitable decision.
HULL
(to himself)
Don't blow your cover.
ELIAS
What?
HULL
If I do this, we're partners. Equal
partners on everything.
Elias offers his hand. Hull stands up, a sudden
resolve.
HULL
(continuing)
Let's go.
ELIAS
(afraid)
Now...?
But Hull is already moving.
Ratings
Scene 18 - Confrontation at the Nightclub
Hull and Elias driving, looking for Ivy. Elias double
parks
by two prostitutes.
We STAY in the car with Hull who's silent, frightened,
keeps
trying to warm his hands.
Outside, Elias is talking and laughing with the
prostitutes.
We see them point. He gives them money, kisses. They
laugh.
He gets back in the car.
EXT. A DANCE CLUB - NIGHT
The Range Rover parked in front. Elias's car stops.
MUSIC
pounds from inside. Then one CONTINUOUS SHOT:
They pass the club, other store fronts... Turn at the
corner... Turn into an alley... Down the alley past the
same
buildings... The rear door of the club... To the next
street... Turn... Turn... onto the original street,
back to
the front of the club. They stop again.
HULL
Go wait around back.
Elias nods. A beat. They look at each other.
ELIAS
I want to see you in that alley.
Hull's so terrified he seems calm. With an air of
submitting
himself to fate, he gets out and walks into the club.
INT. CLUB - NIGHT
Crowded and BOOMING and strobe lit. Hull pays the cover
and
climbs a staircase to a...
CIRCULAR BALCONY
that overlooks the dance floor. On stage: a RAP ACT
with its
throbbing beat and below Hull a sea of dancers.
Hull circles the balcony. It isn't hard to pick out Ivy
--
he's all in red, dancing with the woman we saw him with
in
the Range Rover the first time.
Hull reaches the steps again and starts down, keeping
his
eye on Ivy. The number ends. In the pause before the
next
one, Ivy can be seen excusing himself, heading toward
the
rear of the club.
The next number begins. People dance. Hull pushes his
way
through the dancers to...
INT. REAR OF CLUB - A SHORT HALLWAY - NIGHT
leading toward the rear door they saw from the alley.
MOVING DOWN THE HALL
A woman's room. A men's room. Hull goes into...
INT. MEN'S ROOM - NIGHT
Ivy is pissing into a urinal. He's so huge he seems to
take
up all the space in the tiny room. Hull stares at him,
unable
to look away.
He notices Hull. All dialogue is UNDER the POUNDING
MUSIC.
IVY
What're you looking at?
Hull stares at Ivy's face. Ivy considers this rude.
IVY
(continuing)
You want to suck it, bitch?
(offers his dick)
Or drink it?
Laughing, he turns, urinates on Hull's pants. Hull
doesn't
move.
IVY
(continuing;
recognizing him)
Oh, I know you. You're the bitch
whose whore I wasted tonight, ain't
you?
Somebody pushes on the outside of the door. Hull holds
it
closed with his back.
IVY
(continuing)
I gotta take care of you, too, huh?
He reaches into his pants for the butt of a gun.
Hull is frozen.
Ivy starts to draw it out.
Hull steps forward, grabs Ivy's gun arm. With his other
hand
he clumsily pulls a silenced .22 from inside his
jacket,
puts it in the underside of Ivy's jaw and SHOOTS twice.
Ivy's
brains spray upward onto the wall, and he slides
straight to
the floor. Hull steps out into...
Ratings
Scene 19 - Lost and Desperate
An Hispanic busboy coming out of the kitchen sees him
and
the gun in his hand, freezes.
Hull walks past him and out the back door. From inside
we
see Hull go down three steps, stumble in the drive and
fall
to his knees, the gun CLATTERING away from him.
A couple that had been making out, stops, looks.
It takes Hull a moment to gather himself. He picks up
the
gun, gets into Elias's car. It drives away.
INT. HULL'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT
Alone, he looks at his face in the mirror. As if he
doesn't
know the person there.
With a knife, he draws out something hidden inside the
wooden
backing of the mirror. A manila envelope. He empties it
onto
the dresser:
Mementos among which we see, carefully preserved, the
blood-
soaked bills his father gave him. Hull ignores them and
picks
up...
PHOTO OF HIS CHILDREN
He smooths out the folds, stares at it as if trying to
fix
this in his thoughts.
EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD - PAY PHONE - DAY
Hull on the phone. He's unusually excited, even moved.
HULL
...Carmen, it's me. It's Daddy...
INT. HULL'S HOUSE - CLEVELAND - DAY
Carmen on the phone, jumping up and down with
excitement.
CARMEN
Daddy!!
HULL (V.O.)
(through phone)
Hi, baby. How are you? I miss you!
CARMEN
What?
HULL (V.O.)
I miss you...
CARMEN
(thrilled)
I miss you, too, Daddy...
EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD - DAY
Hull pressing the phone to his face, trying to master
his
emotions.
GRAINY 16MM FILM - A LABORATORY MAZE
A lab rat with a metal electrode protruding from its
head,
is running a maze at high speed. A VOICE explaining
things.
VOICE
(young, nasal, too
smart)
The maze leads in two directions. At
one end the rat can obtain a food
pellet. At the other...
(pointer indicates
each end)
...it receives electrical stimulus
to a very specific area of the
cerebellum...
The rat reaches this second destination, pushes a bar,
is
stimulated. A lab worker (white coat, gloves) picks up
the
animal, replaces it at the start. It runs the same
route.
VOICE
(continuing)
This rat, like 86% of the others in
the experiment, chose the electrical
stimulus repeatedly and exclusively.
It continued to do so until it died
of malnutrition.
ANOTHER SHOT -- the rat dead.
Ratings
Scene 20 - A Dangerous Proposition: The Renegade Chemist and the Businessman
A 21-year-old RENEGADE from the Cal Tech chemistry
department
(red hair, freckles, glasses held together with
electrical
tape), a brilliant nerd. He picks up...
A MOLECULAR MODEL
Colored balls stuck together with wooden dowels.
CAL TECH
This is an addictive amphetamine
with time-space distortion, delusions
of grandeur -- or maybe they're real --
tending to be impulsive, sometimes
violent behavior. Psychotropic
adaptation for late monopoly
capitalism. It's illegal, and you
can buy it on any street corner.
He tears off some of the balls, sticks on new ones.
CAL TECH
(continuing)
This increases energy, attention,
cognitive powers, yet with a smooth,
almost opiate-like emotional surface.
Ideal for the post-political, post-
rationalist global marketplace and
24 hour lifestyles. It's completely
legal and can only get it here, in
my lab.
ELIAS
(to Hull, proudly)
Randy's a genius. His professor told
him he could win the Nobel prize.
CAL TECH
Nobel prizes are for wussies.
HULL
What does this shit do to you?
CAL TECH
I'm on it now. It's like cocaine
only better.
(offers him powder on
a slide)
Want some?
HULL
I don't take drugs.
CAL TECH
(unoffended)
Your mistake. This is designed for
the top end of the market. For people
who want to master reality, not avoid
it. Because it's synthetic, you don't
grow it, refine it, or -- best of
all -- import it.
ELIAS
What would it take to manufacture
this stuff in quantity?
CAL TECH
With a million dollars, I could
produce enough for a limited market
at about two bucks a pop.
(makes a face: fair)
But then with five million, or better
yet ten, the cost would drop to thirty
cents, and we'd have enough for the
whole world.
ELIAS
I'm going to put two hundred fifty
thousand into your corporate account.
You cheat me, Randy, I'll use your
bladder for a bagpipe.
(to Hull, with a
vengeance)
We're going to put Barbosa out of
business.
Elias is very happy. He leads Hull out.
Ratings
Scene 21 - Carver and Hull's Meeting
On the pyramid chart there's a black border around
Ivy's
photo, as around Eddie's. A photo of Hull is now on the
board
beside the one of Elias. Hull stares out the window,
lost in
thought.
CARVER
(dismissive)
Synthetic shit?? Sounds like a 20/20
segment...
Hull shrugs: it's not that important. Carver turns to
his
real interest.
CARVER
(continuing)
So, what was it like?
HULL
(still looking out)
What was what like?
CARVER
Popping Ivy...
HULL
You knew.
CARVER
I'm God, remember?
HULL
(looks back out)
Then you should know how it was.
Carver smiles, but he's non-plussed by Hull's new
detachment.
CARVER
You didn't clear it with me. You're
getting independent. That's good.
Hull smiles.
CARVER
(continuing)
How're we coming on Gallegos?
HULL
He supplies Barbosa. To get to him
we'll have to take quantity.
CARVER
Then you've got to --
HULL
That's what killing Ivy did. I'll
get to him soon.
Carver's impressed.
HULL
(continuing)
Is that it?
CARVER
(seeing him to the
door)
I want you to get a new apartment.
Something expensive.
HULL
I like where I am.
CARVER
That shithole? You're big time now.
Act it. And get some clothes. Spend
money. Have fun. That's an order.
Ratings
Scene 22 - The Lavish Condo
Hull in a new, expensive suit, gives the big Blonde
Woman
cash.
HULL
Whether I'm here or not, no one else
uses that room. And change the linen
twice a week, just like now.
(starts to go, stops,
more money)
And make sure James gets what he
needs. And something for you.
He adds another bill. She smiles.
INT. A RENTED CONDOMINIUM - DAY
Views, open space, expensive furnishings. Hull (in
another
fancy suit) is hanging a couple of Betty's masks. He's
meticulous about their placement.
Elias wanders out from the other rooms, looking around.
ELIAS
(impressed, envious)
Nice place. Nice suit.
Hull has a moment of self-consciousness about the suit,
checks
himself out in a mirror -- a private moment.
Elias flops on a couch, puts his feet on an antique
coffee
table.
HULL
Hey...!
He hurries over, lifts Elias feet to the floor. Hull
brushes
the wood, inspects it carefully, fusses, worries...
Elias is
amused.
ELIAS
You pick all this shit out yourself?
HULL
A Jewish lady in the store helped
me.
ELIAS
(mock touched by racial
harmony)
Aw... Very nice. Understated. I'm
impressed.
Hull starts to place stacks of cash in a briefcase.
He's
momentarily mesmerized by all the money.
HULL
(to himself)
Fifty bucks, fifty fucking bucks...
ELIAS
You sold it all?
Hull nods.
ELIAS
(continuing)
I'll order a couple more keys from
Barbosa.
HULL
Order ten.
ELIAS
Ten??
HULL
Better twenty.
ELIAS
(afraid of that)
I don't want to push it.
HULL
I do. We've got a bigger territory,
we need more product. I want to deal
directly with Gallegos. It would
save us money.
ELIAS
Barbosa'll never let us near him.
Hull closes the briefcase, ushers Elias toward the
door.
He's going out, too.
HULL
If we buy twenty, Gallegos'll come
to us himself.
ELIAS
How do you know?
HULL
When I bought a key from Eddie, you
came to me.
Elias laughs, surprised, afraid.
HULL
(continuing)
Who's above Gallegos?
ELIAS
Guzman, but he's... Don't ask so
many questions.
HULL
How else will I learn?
(hint of a threat)
Call Barbosa, David, put in our
order... Because we have to split
this, and there isn't enough here
for both of us.
Elias feels the threat.
Ratings
Scene 23 - Late Night Tension
Despite the CLOSED sign, a light's on inside. Hull
knocks.
No response. He keeps knocking without let-up until:
BETTY'S VOICE
(annoyed)
Nobody's home, go away.
He knocks harder. Finally she appears in the doorway,
stopping
short when she sees it's him. She's immediately aware
of
white streaks on her grey suit. she tries to brush them
off.
MCCUTCHEON
(doesn't want to let
him in)
Look, I'm tired, why don't you...
Hull holds up the briefcase. She sighs, unlocks the
door.
INT. BETTY'S OFFICE - NIGHT
A bill counter toting up the cash. She watches it
fixedly to
avoid looking at him, but she feels the chemistry.
MCCUTCHEON
Why do you look at me like that?
HULL
How do I look at you?
MCCUTCHEON
Like you know something I don't.
Like you're better than me.
That catches Hull off-guard, and he responds with a
candor
she didn't expect.
HULL
I don't think I'm better than you. I
don't think I'm better than anybody.
She's startled by this remark and instinctively drawn
to
him.
HULL
(continuing)
But I do know something... You can't
stop thinking about me.
Embarrassed, she looks away. He takes her hand, and at
his
touch something yields to her. She lets him draw her to
him.
His kiss is strangely tender, searching. It turns Betty
on
incredibly. She melts into him.
MCCUTCHEON
Let's go back here...
She leads him into...
THE SMALL OFFICE
She's sweet and loving, but her sweetness scares her.
He's
all over her, but she pulls back for a moment. There is
a
couch and before it a coffee table with coke scattered
on a
plate.
MCCUTCHEON
(indicates coke)
Do this... do it with me.
She offers him a straw. He doesn't take it.
MCCUTCHEON
(continuing)
This is where I'm at. You want to be
with me, it's gotta be there.
HULL
I don't do that.
MCCUTCHEON
Never have, never will.
HULL
It's for fuck-ups.
MCCUTCHEON
What do you think, you're not a
nigger? You're a nigger as much as
me.
HULL
More.
She's angry, hurt, confused, wants to love him, but
feels he
won't let her, or she won't let herself. It's torment.
Finally
she's released by a KNOCK on the door. She goes out
to...
THE FRONT OF THE STORE
Lets in Elias. He smells the tension.
ELIAS
(amused, jealous)
Having fun?
(neither answers; to
Hull)
I talked to Barbosa. He'll see us
now.
Hull turns to Betty. Both want to go that way instead
of
this, but events are leading somewhere else. He follows
Elias
out.
Ratings
Scene 24 - The Slap Game
MUSIC pouring into the darkness.
INT. CLUB - NIGHT
Kids dancing to a live STAGE ACT. High in a wall: a lit
window.
INT. THAT ROOM - NIGHT
Very different from the club. A comfortable room with a
bar,
tables, filled with men much older than the dancers
below.
Barbosa and Gopher at the bar with Elias and Hull.
Chino and
other SHADOWY FIGURES lurk in the room's depths.
BARBOSA
Ten kilos? You're always late on
two.
HULL
Not ten... twenty.
Barbosa's impressed.
HULL
(continuing)
The more we have, the more we can
move. There're markets we can't open
because we don't have the inventory.
Barbosa's coked to the eyeballs, mean and dangerous.
BARBOSA
Finally some balls on this team...
(taunting Elias)
Come work for me, John. I'll give
you your own franchise. You can supply
Elias, lean on him when he's late.
ELIAS
Go fuck yourself.
Barbosa laughs.
HULL
I'm with David.
BARBOSA
Why? He give you his "designer drugs"
pitch. He's never going to do it.
He's a shmuck.
ELIAS
Don't talk to me that way.
BARBOSA
I'm not talking to you at all. I'm
talking to John.
GOPHER
It's the cocaine. Don't listen to
him. Felix, you've had enough...
BARBOSA
Shmuck.
Elias goes for him. He's fast and strong, and it takes
Chino
and Hull to pull him off.
GOPHER
Praise God they don't let guns in
here.
CALMING VOICES
"None of that in here..." "Take it
outside..."
Barbosa's laughing, but his cheek is flecked with his
own
blood, and his eyes are dead.
BARBOSA
David, you've been working out, you're
getting strong. Are you quick, too?
(shadow boxes)
Come on, I'll give you a shot at me.
ELIAS
Any time, any place.
BARBOSA
Right here, right now. Do this.
He puts his hands out, palms up.
ELIAS
This? What is this?
BARBOSA
You know, you slap me, I slap you.
(mimes that game)
Come on, it's fun. Like summer camp.
It doesn't look fun. Elias glances at Hull for
guidance.
HULL
Don't waste your time.
BARBOSA
Stay out of this.
(to Elias)
Come on, you can do it, David, you're
not a shmuck.
Elias puts his hands out, palms up. Barbosa covers them
with
his own. ON THE HANDS: Barbosa's broad, muscular with
thick
gold rings and a Rolex; Elias's paler, slighter, a
wedding
band and a slim watch.
BARBOSA
(continuing)
Slap my hands. Just slap them.
Elias looks Barbosa in the eye. He's trying to be a
snake,
but he's more the mouse. He looks away and as he does
tries
to...
Slap him with both hands but hits only...
Air. The room breathes. Barbosa turns his rings so the
big
surfaces point down.
BARBOSA
(continuing)
Now it's my turn.
GOPHER
It's Barbosa's turn. He's gonna kill
the white boy.
ELIAS
One more.
BARBOSA
No, you went, Davey, now it's my
turn. First to four wins, like the
World Series.
Elias covers Barbosa's palms with his own.
GOPHER
Oh, God, I can't look.
ON THE HANDS: Barbosa tenses his hands. Elias yanks
back.
Barbosa's hands haven't moved.
BARBOSA
You remember the rules? If you flinch,
I get to hit you.
He slaps Elias across the face. Hull starts forward. A
knife
appears. He stops.
BARBOSA
(continuing)
Again, shmuck.
Elias covers Barbosa's hands. Barbosa tenses. Elias
holds
firm, and Barbosa quickly slaps both hands, hard. Elias
doubles over, holding his hands in pain.
GOPHER
One.
ELIAS
That was two.
BARBOSA
No, this is two.
He slaps him again, a stinging crack. Elias looks to
Hull,
but they're across a canyon. Hull lowers his eyes.
GOPHER
Oh, and it hurts. Mercy, it hurts.
ON THE HANDS. Barbosa moves his hands a millimeter, and
Elias
flinches again. Barbosa smacks him across the face. The
sound
reverberates through the room. Now even Gopher is
silent.
Tears run from Elias's eyes, blood from his mouth, but
he
doesn't move.
GOPHER
(continuing)
Three.
A VOICE
Felix! No mas. Finito.
A MAN
steps forward out of the shadows. He is young, mid-
30's,
handsome, European features, beautifully dressed,
accompanied
by a guard we'll know as MOLTO. Someone murmurs to
someone
else:
SOMEONE
Gallegos...
Hull reacts. Their eyes meet.
GOPHER
The fight is over! The Ambassador
from the South has spoken!
ELIAS
(refusing any mercy)
One more.
Barbosa shakes his head, ashamed now in front of
Gallegos.
ELIAS
(continuing)
One more! We're not finished!
(people are silent)
Four was the match.
He holds out his hands. Barbosa resumes the stance,
then
waits, waits, waits, and finally brings both hands
down,
terribly hard, the sound of the slap is awful.
BARBOSA
Four.
HULL
Okay, that's it. Get away.
Hull leads Elias to the door right past Gallegos. Their
gazes
meet again. As they go out they hear Gallegos BERATING
Barbosa
in furious Spanish.
Ratings
Scene 25 - Confrontation and Redemption
Trembling, Elias holds his bloody hands against his
chest,
as Hull leads him in silence down the steps.
ELIAS
Look at me. Look at me, damn it!
He barely whispers, but it's like a shout. Hull, who'd
been
avoiding his gaze, forces himself to look. Elias's
humiliation
is so profound it almost ennobles him. Finally:
HULL
Why did you do it?
ELIAS
I needed it. They taught me what I
needed to know. That I'm not part of
them, and I never will be. That they
don't respect me. That I don't deserve
respect. Because I'm a shmuck, John.
I'm a shmuck...
He laughs a terrible laugh. The door behind them opens,
and
Barbosa appears with Gopher. Everyone is ready for
death,
but:
BARBOSA
David, I'm sorry. It's a crazy time,
and... you know... I'm doing a little
too much coca... I'll buy your kid a
pony... anything you want... Let's
forget about it.
He comes down the stairs, offers his hand. Elias will
never
forget about it, but he silently takes the hand, holds
them
in his own bloody paws, looking directly into Barbosa's
face.
Barbosa becomes uneasy, manages to extract his hand.
Elias
and Hull continue down and out the door. Gopher gushes
to
Barbosa.
GOPHER
I am so proud of you. You can be
cruel, and you can be kind. And just
now you were kind. Proud, proud, and
more proud. That's me.
BARBOSA
Shut up.
INT. BOXING GYM - NIGHT
Barbosa, Gopher with Hernandez, Taft's partner. Now we
know
Hernandez is corrupt: that's how they knew Eddie was
talking.
BARBOSA
I got nothing to give you, my man.
I'm an il-liquid son of a bitch.
HERNANDEZ
Felix, I keep telling them, "I have
informants down there, I'm working
guys, I can't say who..." If you
don't have money, give me busts, or
they're gonna start wondering about
me.
GOPHER
They're already wondering.
BARBOSA
(deadpan)
You can have Gopher.
GOPHER
Oh Gawd...
BARBOSA
How about a lawyer?
GOPHER
(knows who he means)
Felix, don't do this.
HERNANDEZ
(he knows, too)
Great, lawyers are great, Jewish is
best. But I need spades, too. The
politicians want dark facts to scare
the suburbs so they'll vote
Republican.
BARBOSA
Lawyers and spades; I got the
trifecta: two dealers and a girl who
does their wash. Two niggers and a
kike; all Democrats.
HERNANDEZ
You're my man. And afterwards...
Hernandez rubs thumb against fingers.
BARBOSA
When this is over, I'll send you to
Hawaii, Maui. It's very beautiful in
Maui, it's a very spiritual place.
HERNANDEZ
I just want money.
And he's gone.
GOPHER
I wouldn't trust that man when he's
out of rifle range.
Barbosa looks tired.
GOPHER
(continuing;
premonition of
disaster)
Don't do this, Felix. It'll go wrong.
Kill Elias if you have to, honey,
but don't set him up for this. It
damages your prestige.
Barbosa faces his cocaine. He tries to resist the pull,
then
yields. He does another line. It's his friend. He loves
it.
He picks up a cellular phone, dials.
BARBOSA
David, you're awake, I'm impressed...
I'm sorry about what happened...
Listen, I'll get you twenty boxes,
like you wanted. You were right, you
should have what you need... Tomorrow
night... Bring your partner and that
girl with the store, Betty... I need
her advice on something. I want us
to have fun, like we used to. We'll
go to that shrimp place, okay?...
Good... Me, too, David.
(hangs up; does another
line; drawing it
deep into him)
Yes!
Ratings
Scene 26 - The Setup
Hull jacked up, excited, pleased with himself. As he
paces,
Carver observes his beautiful suit, shoes, expensive
watch.
He looks much better than Carver.
HULL
We're getting twenty kilograms
tomorrow.
(notes the lightening
sky)
Tonight. I made it happen. I pushed
Elias, now he doesn't make a move
without me.
CARVER
You run Elias.
HULL
I control him. Barbosa's selling it
to us because he thinks I can move
it...
(now the big news)
And last night I met Ramon Gallegos.
Carver sits up fast. Hull likes that.
HULL
(continuing)
We're getting the dope from him;
it's still coming through Barbosa,
but Gallegos will approach me soon
on his own. We're going to get him,
Gerry. We're going to bring him and
the whole thing down.
Carver sits back, grimaces.
HULL
(continuing)
What's your problem?
CARVER
(looking out window)
My problem? My problem is that you
don't really know what's happening.
HULL
(sardonic)
Oh, so, tell me what's happening,
Gerry.
CARVER
Barbosa is setting you up tonight.
HULL
Bullshit.
CARVER
He's dealing you to Taft and
Hernandez. You're going to be taken
down as you receive the drugs. They're
putting together the arrest team
right now.
That rocks Hull. He is up, pacing.
HULL
What do we do?
CARVER
You stay away. We're going to take
them down.
HULL
Who? Elias and Betty? Don't be silly.
CARVER
My boss wants a bust right now. He
goes before the oversight committee
next week. He needs something to
justify the budget.
HULL
(imploring)
I'll get him something. Give me ten
days, and I'll get him Gallegos on a
plate.
CARVER
Too late. The whole thing's set up.
HULL
Gerry, what are you telling me? I
need Elias... and Betty. You arrest
them, and you're throwing away
everything I've set up.
CARVER
It's out of my hands.
Hull walks out.
CARVER
(continuing)
John, don't go near that bust.
Ratings
Scene 27 - Power Shift at the Airport
Elias (no sleep) driving. Betty in front. Hull in back.
HULL
We shouldn't go to them. Maybe them
come to us.
ELIAS
He wouldn't.
They pull into the lot of a boarded up restaurant where
Barbosa and Chino stand outside of a limousine.
EXT. BEHIND AN AIRPORT MOTEL - NIGHT
Taft and Hernandez in the same van that was outside the
gym
earlier. They're watching THROUGH BINOCULARS, night
scopes.
They spot Elias's car.
HERNANDEZ
(whispering into radio)
Here they are. Nobody move until we
see the green suitcase.
EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT
The two groups meeting. Barbosa gives Betty a courtly
kiss.
BARBOSA
(flirtatious)
I'm sorry for dragging you out so
late, but I have to be careful.
MCCUTCHEON
It gives me confidence.
HULL
watching planes descend into the airport, nervous. He
knows
what's coming, but how does he handle it?
HULL
Let's see what we've got.
Elias takes a satchel out of the rent-a-car trunk.
Chino
opens the limousine's trunk. Inside is an over-sized
day-glo
green plastic suitcase. He is about to pick it up.
HULL
(continuing; spotting
the police van in
the adjacent lot)
Don't touch it.
Everyone looks at him, then the direction he's looking.
BARBOSA
What is this?
HULL
Something's wrong. What's that van
doing there?
Everyone looks. They can barely see the van. Hull pulls
a
gun.
HULL
(continuing)
This is a bust. The minute we take
the stuff, they'll be over us.
BARBOSA
He's crazy, David. I thought you
were the crazy one, but it's him.
Hull puts the gun to Barbosa's head, addresses Chino:
HULL
Chino, pick up the suitcase and give
it to Elias. I'll only kill him if
something goes wrong.
Chino moves to pick up the suitcase.
BARBOSA
No!!
Everyone looks at Hull amazed, even Chino.
ELIAS
(softly)
Fucking A, John...
HULL
Okay, everybody in the car.
He throws the money in the limo truck, slams the lid.
He's
running the show now, and everyone knows it. He's
winging
it, but confident and strangely calm.
Elias, energized by Hull's command, grabs Barbosa and
throws
him toward the limo.
HERNANDEZ'S POV THROUGH NIGHT SCOPE
TAFT
We have a problem.
HERNANDEZ
Shit! Shit! Shit!
(aiming rifle; Hull
in sights)
Enough of this...
TAFT
No!
Ratings
Scene 28 - Carnage in the Night
Hull shepherding everyone into the limo. He glances
toward
the van. On instinct. He pulls Chino to him.
A RIFLE SHOT
Chino's head explodes. Betty screams.
BARBOSA
(screaming at van)
Don't shoot... Don't shoot...
INT. VAN - NIGHT
Taft hurling Hernandez against the wall.
TAFT
Goddam it, what the hell are you
doing?
EXT. TWO CARS - NIGHT
SIRENS. GUNFIRE. Elias drags Barbosa into the limo.
Hull
throws Betty into the front seat. The limo takes off.
EXT. STREET/INT. LIMO - DRIVING - NIGHT
Hull driving, Betty up front. Elias with a gun on
Barbosa in
back. Hull slaloms the limo through police GUNFIRE.
Windows
are blown out. Glass everywhere.
MCCUTCHEON
(weeping)
I asked for this... I asked for it...
It's my fault...
HULL
(calm, eyes on road)
Relax. We'll make it.
She looks at him, stunned yet soothed by his certainty.
BARBOSA
He's a cop. He has to be. How else
would he have known?
HULL
If I was cop, you'd be face down
back there.
MCCUTCHEON
How did you know?
HULL
The whole thing smelled. Changing
his mind about the stuff. Meeting us
way out here. And I'd seen cops in
that van before. Hernandez is dirty,
that's who he's using.
ELIAS
(to Barbosa)
Get out of the car.
He starts to open the door.
HULL
David, not now.
ELIAS
Yes, now!
INT. TAFT AND HERNANDEZ'S CAR - NIGHT
Racing. Taft at wheel, raging at Hernandez.
TAFT
Who are you, man? Who the fuck are
you?
HERNANDEZ
(stonewalling)
I'm me.
INT. LIMO - DRIVING - NIGHT
ELIAS
He traded us to the cops. Just like
Eddie. Eddie, who was nice to my
daughter, had to die because that's
the rule. And you were vulgar about
my wife, Felix, so at the very least
the same rule applies to you.
BARBOSA
I'll give you money. I'll give you a
million. Anything you want.
ELIAS
I want you to get out of the car.
Get out of the fucking car. Out of
the fucking --
MCCUTCHEON
(near tears)
No, no... we can't do this.
HULL
(turning around from
front seat)
Stop it, David, or we're...
Elias wheels on him, sticks the gun in his face:
ELIAS
(in a fury)
Look at my hands!
He holds them up: swollen, black and blue, cut up.
ELIAS
(continuing; to
Barbosa, softly)
Get out of the car.
Barbosa's frozen. Elias grabs his hand, SHOOTS a bullet
through. Barbosa screams...
MCCUTCHEON
No!
HULL
Goddammit!
Elias wheels on them, swinging the gun from one to the
other.
ELIAS
Stay out of this, or you'll die.
You'll both die. Everyone'll die.
His fury makes anything seem possible. He pushes open
the
door. Trembling, Barbosa starts to climb out.
The limo enters a tunnel, police still in pursuit.
Halfway out, Barbosa stops.
BARBOSA
I can't...
Elias SHOOTS him in the butt. He shrieks, jerks
forward. The
cops are getting close behind.
Other cops waiting at the far end of the tunnel.
Hull hits the brakes, spins a 180 into the opposite
lane.
Barbosa is flung out of the car and plastered by a
succession
of fishtailing vehicles.
Hull speeds back the other way. They're going straight
at:
Ratings
Scene 29 - Dangerous Game of Chicken
Taft and Hull, the two drivers, lock eyes. It's
chicken, but
more than that. Two men set against each other who, for
some
reason, want to be friends.
At the last instant, the van swerves away, but:
ELIAS AIMING AT TAFT
Taft sees the gun too late. He can do nothing.
Hull's gaze follows Taft's. He sees Elias, deliberately
swerves, sending the SHOT wild.
INT. LIMO - RACING - NIGHT
ELIAS
I had him!
HULL
You want to kill a cop?? Don't be
stupid.
The limo speeds away.
EXT. STREET/INT. LIMO - DRIVING - NIGHT
The windows shot out. Hull and Betty silent, shaken.
Elias
charged up, happy.
ELIAS
Everything is different. We're the
Colombians now.
(radiant)
This is the greatest night of my
life. Terrible but great. Felix was
right...
MCCUTCHEON
(appalled)
About what?
ELIAS
He said I should kill a man. He was
right.
MCCUTCHEON
My God.
ELIAS
Barbosa was a roach. Do you miss
him? Will anybody in the world miss
him?
MCCUTCHEON
Are you a roach, too?
ELIAS
(happily)
Yes. Thank God.
MCCUTCHEON
(to Hull)
What about you?
He's silent, keeps driving. She's had enough.
MCCUTCHEON
(continuing)
Stop the car.
Hull looks at her.
MCCUTCHEON
(continuing)
Stop it!
He brakes to a stop. She jumps out, leans back in.
MCCUTCHEON
(continuing)
No more laundering, no more anything.
I'm finished with this.
And she disappears into the night. Elias watches her
go.
Hull resumes driving.
ELIAS
She knows too much. We have to kill
her.
HULL
No! She's with me. She's not going
to talk.
(looks at Elias)
You touch her, I'll kill you.
ELIAS
She's your responsibility then.
Hull accepts it.
ELIAS
(continuing)
We're going to get the money now,
John. Enough for the new drug. We're
going to be rich. We're going to be
so rich that we're going to leave
the world of ordinary people and
going to a higher realm. I mean that.
HULL
They're going to come after us.
ELIAS
(matter-of-fact)
It's a hardball game. We're hardball
players.
Ratings
Scene 30 - A Night of Violence and Suspense
Hernandez comes out of a bodega with groceries, wine
and a
woman. He nuzzles her as he lets her into his car. As
he's
getting behind the wheel, Molto (Gallegos' guard) stops
the
door from closing. The conversation is entirely in
SPANISH.
HERNANDEZ
It wasn't my fault.
MOLTO
It never is.
He SHOOTS him in the head. Hernandez slumps against the
wheel.
The woman screams. Molto walks away.
EXT. AN APARTMENT COMPLEX/INT. BETTY'S APARTMENT - DAWN
Hull finds a door, pushes the buzzer. Betty looks
through
the glass. She's afraid of him.
MCCUTCHEON
Don't kill me. I'm not going to talk.
I swear. Please.
Then she looks closer and sees not murder in his face,
but
need. She opens the door. Without a word, he gathers
her to
him. She can't resist him now. Her mouth is everywhere
on
him.
INT. HER BEDROOM - DAWN
Betty gasping in the wake of pleasure, turning her face
away
from him, she feels so exposed.
MCCUTCHEON
Don't look...
She hides her face in his neck.
INT. SAME - LATER
They lie in each other's arms, relaxed together for the
first
time. A wonderful, unprotected openness.
HULL
(softly)
Tell me about you.
MCCUTCHEON
(half-kidding)
Everything worth knowing you just
found you.
He laughs. They begin to make love again. Suddenly: AN
EXTRA
HAND stroking Betty's hair. She gasps. A gun in Hull's
ear.
Another in her face. Guns all around.
HULL
Don't hurt her.
Hands pull him out of bed, leave her there alone. We
see
Molto, two or three others.
Ratings
Scene 31 - The Debt
RAMON GALLEGOS lays a bouquet of white lillies on a
grave.
He kneels, whispers a prayer, crosses himself.
He rises and walks to where Molto and the other guards
hold
Hull and Elias. Gallegos is in his thirties, more
European
than Barbosa. He has a distinctly mild manner.
ELIAS
Who's grave?
An impudent question, but Elias seems strangely bright-
eyed
despite the guns held on him.
GALLEGOS
My wife's. She died of leukemia three
years ago.
(looks around)
I like to be among the dead. They
never interrupt you.
(turning to them)
Felix Barbosa started out as a skinny
fourteen-year-old fucking Yankee
businessman in Bogata hotels. He
grew up. He made himself strong and
rich, but getting there made him
sick, and that killed him. So he
lost everything for the same reason
he'd gotten it in the first place.
Now we'll see if you can do as well.
A PRIEST going by greets Gallegos who responds warmly.
They
chat a minute in SPANISH. The Priest leaves.
GALLEGOS
(continuing)
Felix owed me one million eight
hundred thousand dollars.
He addresses this to Hull; Elias feels left out.
GALLEGOS
(continuing)
When you killed him, you bought the
debt; now you owe it to me; you get
to keep thirty percent, like he did.
You have three days.
Gallegos turns to leave.
HULL
Who did Barbosa collect from?
GALLEGOS
If you don't know, you shouldn't
have killed him.
He notices Hull's earring: two tiny dice, the spots
made of
minuscule jewels. Unembarrassed, he fingers it.
GALLEGOS
(continuing)
Cute... Can I have that?
Without waiting for an answer, he yanks it out of
Hull's ear
and walks away, leaving Hull bleeding through his
fingers
before a stone cross.
Ratings
Scene 32 - Confrontation in Gopher's Room
A club on the corner. THROUGH A WINDOW we see a RAP ACT
on
the stage, their MUSIC pumping out onto the street.
Hull
pulls up in a Jaguar. He and Elias go through a door
adjacent
to the club.
INT. BUILDING HALL/INT. GOPHER'S ROOM - NIGHT
The MUSIC is still audible here, though muffled. Elias
and
Hull are pushing at door Gopher is trying to hold
closed.
GOPHER
I don't want you in here. You killed
the man, and I loved him. I don't
want to have anything to do with
you.
Elias kicks it open, and they enter Gopher's tiny,
miserable
domain. He's wearing some sort of negligee and an
immense
naked woman fills his bed. We still hear the MUFFLED
MUSIC.
GOPHER
(continuing; apoplectic)
I'm a sixty-three-year-old man! I'm
a grandfather! Would you hit a sixty-
three-year-old white man? Would you
hit your own grandfather?
ELIAS
(slaps him against
wall)
Listen, you fucking monkey, you know
who owed him money, and we know you
know. Tell us or --
Hull pulls him off. Elias is angry. They struggle.
HULL
He'll tell us. Gopher, just...
Meaning: deal with me or deal with Elias.
GOPHER
You can't tell anyone it was me.
The MUSIC continues OVER the following sequence:
INT. CRACK HOUSE - DAY
Elias arguing with a dealer. He slaps him around.
TIGHT ON HANDS
Money is exchanged. The money is stuffed in a satchel.
INT. A LAW OFFICE - DAY
A well-dressed lawyer (30's) talking with clients, a
distinguished couple in their 60's.
The door BANGS open and a secretary is unable to
restrain
Hull and Elias as they charge into the room. The lawyer
is
up on his feet, but Hull shoves him around as Elias
politely
explains to the clients that this will only take a
moment.
TIGHT ON SATCHEL
Hull's hands thrust more money in. It's getting full.
INT. A MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOP - NIGHT
A biker in leathers on hands-and-knees spitting blood
onto
the cement floor. Hull stands over him, fists clenched.
INT. A CAR TRUNK
A satchel stuffed with money is latched, set next to
another
latched one. A third is opened, money and jewelry
dumped in.
EXT. STREET - NIGHT
Hull looking into the trunk. Elias is beat.
HULL
Where the hell is all the money?
We're still a million short.
ELIAS
I gotta get laid.
HULL
David, we've got thirty-six hours.
ELIAS
(slams trunk, moves
toward door)
Pick me up at Jacqueline's in the
morning.
HULL
Sooner than that.
Elias gets in the car and drives off. Hull turns and a
dark
American sedan pulls up alongside. Carver behind the
wheel.
CARVER
(an order)
Get in.
Ratings
Scene 33 - A Corrupt Bargain
HULL
(as he gets in)
What are you doing here? You're going
to get me killed.
Carver peels away fast. He's very angry, frightened,
too,
but that's hidden.
CARVER
Where the hell have you been?
HULL
Doing my job.
There's an indifference to Carver's authority we
haven't
heard before. Hull isn't even aware of it, but Carver
is.
CARVER
You violated a direct order to stay
away from that bust. As a result, a
police informant is dead, a state
senator was critically injured in
the tunnel pile up and a city
policeman was subsequently murdered.
HULL
I didn't blow my cover.
CARVER
Don't get smart with me, motherfucker.
HULL
Don't be a shmuck, Gerry. I'm talking
to Gallegos. I'm collecting his money.
We can set him up right now.
(NOTE: Carver arrives
somewhere and parks.
To be discussed, but
let's say, for now,
that we are:)
EXT. SANTA MONICA PARKING STRUCTURE - OVERLOOKING OCEAN
-
NIGHT
They get out of the car. Carver takes out a flask, has
a
drink, offers it to Hull who declines.
CARVER
Never have, never will.
(puts the flask away)
I want you to give me your gun. You're
coming in right now.
HULL
(doesn't understand)
Coming in where?
CARVER
Your assignment has been terminated.
You're not going out there again. If
I have to, I'll put you in custody.
HULL
(uncomprehending)
I'm going to have Gallegos in two
days.
Carver says nothing. Suddenly Hull understands.
HULL
(continuing)
You're protecting him. You're
protecting Gallegos.
Carver snorts: ridiculous.
HULL
(continuing)
No, of course. That's why you wanted
to bust Elias and Betty. I was getting
close, and you wanted to cut this
off then... What is he, the new
Noriega? Helps you fight commies, so
you let him sell drugs to the niggers.
Two birds with one stone.
CARVER
You violated orders, so you're
through. Don't make a conspiracy
theory out of it.
HULL
(laughs)
I'm through...? Then, I might as
well have a drink after all.
Surprised, Carver reaches for the flask. As he does,
Hull
grabs him, pushes him out over the edge of the
building,
holds him there.
HULL
(continuing)
Now tell me the truth or they're
going to decide your troubles got
the best of you.
Carver struggles. Hull pushes him out farther. Carver
dangles.
CARVER
You're insane.
HULL
All the more reason to do what I
say. Jesus, Ger, I'm having trouble
holding on...
CARVER
All right!
HULL
Say it!
CARVER
It's the State Department.
Hull pulls him back in. Carver slumps against the wall,
drinks
greedily. Hull lets him for a moment, then takes the
flask
away.
CARVER
(continuing)
I told you, Gallegos's uncle is a
big deal down there.
HULL
Guzman.
CARVER
Guzman, right. Our government supports
Guzman because he's a moderate. That's
a right-winger who's pro-U.S.
(he doesn't like it
either)
If Gallegos got busted here, it would
hurt Guzman's political career there.
It's politics, John, not drugs.
HULL
Drugs is politics. Politics is
drugs...
(sickened)
Christ, Gerry, I dealt drugs. I killed
a man. Others died. What did I do
all this for? For nothing.
CARVER
I'm going to Washington, John. I'll
bring you with me. We'll have clout,
money...
HULL
(outraged)
I didn't do this for clout or money.
You said we were gonna do some good.
CARVER
We tried.
HULL
Trying's for college boys.
(his head on fire)
If all there is is power and money...
If all there is... then what am I
doing here? 'Cause I can get more
power and money out on the street, I
got more there already, than I'd
ever get kissing your ass in
Washington...
CARVER
But you can't do that, John. It's
not you.
HULL
Me? There is no me. We took care of
that. First I was a cop pretending
to be a dealer. Now I'm just a dealer
pretending to be a cop. Why not stop
pretending...? Quit the force. Be a
dealer.
CARVER
It's not that simple.
HULL
My assignment's already terminated.
All I have to do is quit. I hereby
quit.
(lifts the flask)
My first one.
(drinks)
Not so bad.
He slips the flask in his pocket, gets in the car,
starts
engine.
CARVER
Don't blow your cover.
Hull drives off, leaving Carver alone on the roof.
Ratings
Scene 34 - Troubled Confessions
She lets him in, sees the distress in his face.
MCCUTCHEON
What's the matter?
He shakes his head, drops onto the couch. He takes out
the
flask, offers it to her. She shakes her head.
HULL
Who are you, my mother?
He laughs, takes a drink. She's surprised, says
nothing.
MCCUTCHEON
Tell me.
HULL
Tell you what?
MCCUTCHEON
What you came to say.
HULL
What did I come to say?
MCCUTCHEON
Then tell me anything. Something
about you. Something real.
HULL
(long beat; another
drink)
When I was young, I occasionally
stole things.
(laughs to himself)
My father died when I was ten. Right
in front of me.
The revelation is so sudden it surprises Hull as much
as
Betty.
HULL
(continuing)
Heart attack. He just fell down. He
said, "I love you," then died in my
arms.
MCCUTCHEON
Oh, baby...
She holds him, and he lets himself be held.
MCCUTCHEON
(continuing)
Tell me what's going on, John?
HULL
(doesn't want to talk
about that)
You're not doing the stuff anymore,
are you?
Pulls playfully at her nose.
MCCUTCHEON
No. Don't change the subject.
HULL
How is that?
MCCUTCHEON
It's hard. John...!
HULL
(trying to tell without
telling)
Things are getting, they're getting
a little... confusing. I had certain
plans, and people haven't come through
exactly as they promised.
MCCUTCHEON
What do you expect with those people?
HULL
(laughs)
It's not just those people. It's...
it's bigger than that. It's of
everybody. Present company excluded.
MCCUTCHEON
You've got to stop this, John, you
know that. You gotta get out.
HULL
I can't.
MCCUTCHEON
Of course, you can.
HULL
(almost angry)
No! This is what I'm supposed to do.
MCCUTCHEON
Supposed to? Who said you're supposed
to?
HULL
The whole fuckin' world. You think I
didn't try something else? But
everything funnels you right back
here. Like it's where you had to go
all along.
MCCUTCHEON
But you know what you're doing, don't
you, selling this stuff? Doing to
our own.
HULL
If I tried to get out now, they'd
kill me.
MCCUTCHEON
(tortured)
I can't be with somebody's who
involved in drugs.
He nods. He knows. He's even happy about it. But she
won't
yield. Finally he gets up and walks back out the door.
Ratings
Scene 35 - Confrontations in the Night
The neighborhood is reminiscent of the one where Joe
Stevens
Sr. was killed. The rap club still pumps MUSIC onto the
4
A.M. streets where whores, junkies, children, teenagers
with
beepers and Nikes, welfare mothers roam as if it were
daytime
anywhere else. Their eyes, yearning, sullen, vital,
hopeless
and hoping stare at...
HULL
Everyone knows what he is: the Black Man with the Big
Car.
They don't remember when he was just another hustler
making
street buys. Now they hate him, revere him, want to be
him,
not caring what it entails. Every eye follows as...
He and Elias cross the street toward Gopher's door.
Hull's
eyes don't go right or left. He's a driven man now.
INT. GOPHER'S ROOM - NIGHT
Gopher has just been roused from sleep. A light in his
face,
Hull and Elias looming over him.
HULL
There've got to be more. We have a
million two, we owe Gallegos one
eight.
GOPHER
I told you everyone. Everyone who
owed him, everyone he... One eight?
He's lying. Barbosa barely owed him
a million.
Hull and Elias look at each other.
INT. BETTY'S STORE - MORNING
Taft is showing her photocopies of phone bills, bank
transactions, invoices. She's obviously upset.
TAFT
I got every money transfer, every
phone call, all your laundry tickets.
MCCUTCHEON
(miserable)
What do you want?
TAFT
John Hull.
MCCUTCHEON
I can't!
TAFT
Or you'll go away 'til you're a dried
up old woman, and when you come out,
ain't nobody gonna want you.
She covers her face.
Ratings
Scene 36 - Takeover at the Movie Theater
Elias driving a car we haven't seen before and
snickering to
himself at some private joke.
HULL
What are you laughing at?
Elias shakes his head: nothing. He laughs. They pull
into
the lot beside a movie theater.
INT. THEATER - DAY
A Technicolor Spanish melodrama is winding to its lurid
end.
A door in back opens, and a burst of daylight reveals
Hull
and Elias being brought in by a guard and met by Molto.
Molto and the guard frisk them, take their guns and
money
satchels, make them wait a moment until...
The movie ends.
The house lights come on revealing Ramon Gallegos as
the
only spectator in the theater. He beckons. Molto and
the
guard bring Hull and Elias down the aisle to him.
Gallegos looking in the satchels. A tense moment.
HULL
It isn't one eight.
(off Gallegos)
It's a million one. That's all Barbosa
owed, it's all we're paying.
Gallegos is stern for a moment, then laughs.
GALLEGOS
Big brass balls. Collecting money
makes you strong.
Everybody relaxes. Gallegos scribbles something on a
piece
of paper, hands it to the guard who feeds it into a fax
machine.
ELIAS
What's that?
GALLEGOS
I'm telling our suppliers they got
paid. They'll be very happy. I'm
happy.
ELIAS
And we're happy. Everybody's happy.
It's a happy world.
Elias seems a bit mad, but no one minds. He and Hull
are
ready to go. He gestures to Molto, wants his gun back.
GALLEGOS
So, how can I express my gratitude
for a job well done?
ELIAS
We want Barbosa's business.
Gallegos gestures to Molto to give them the guns.
GALLEGOS
Done. Of course.
ELIAS
And, also, your business. All this.
Your money, your dope, everything.
Hull looks at Elias; what's going on?
GALLEGOS
(smiles)
You're tougher than I thought, but
not that tough.
ELIAS
How tough is enough?
He brings up the gun and SHOOTS Gallegos in the head.
Hull and the guards are frozen. Then everyone goes for
a
gun. Elias SHOOTS the guard. Hull has his gun to
Molto's
head and screams at Elias:
HULL
No!
Meaning don't shoot him. But Elias has no intention of
doing
so.
ELIAS
(breathless)
Thank you, John. I couldn't have
done that without you.
HULL
(barely able to speak)
Jesus Christ...
He can't believe it: the guy he's been after the whole
time
is dead on the floor.
ELIAS
You taught me to take my work
seriously.
HULL
What's going on here, David?
ELIAS
We're taking over.
HULL
You're doing too much stuff.
ELIAS
No, I'm very clear. I'm very, very
clear.
(to Molto)
Ahora, usted nos assistamos. Enteindo?
Molto nods.
Ratings
Scene 37 - Interrogation and Revelation
Hull, Elias and Molto getting into their car. Molto is
recalcitrant. Elias pistol whips him. Hull stops him.
EXT. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY/INT. CAR - DAY
The car passes through a development of suburban homes.
They
enter a driveway. Two boys play in the yard.
ELIAS
(to Molto)
Donde esta?
Molto is silent. Elias FIRES a bullet right between his
feet.
Molto jumps. The boys turn. Hull grabs the gun away. We
feel
the toll Elias's madness is taking on him.
HULL
What the fuck's the matter with you?
ELIAS
It works, John. It works.
And, indeed, Molto is pointing to a Winnebago parked at
the
rear of the property.
EXT. REAR OF PROPERTY - DAY
Winnebago. With a tire iron, Hull snaps off the padlock
that
holds the rear door closed. He opens the door. Money
gushes
out. He slams it closed.
HULL
Jesus...
He, Elias and Molto are on hands and knees scooping it
up.
SAME - LATER
Molto tied to a tree. Elias is giving him instructions
while,
strangely, removing Molto's shoes and socks.
ELIAS
(to Molto)
Disce a Senor Guzman que...
(his Spanish isn't
good enough)
...that we have his money, and we're
willing to talk as soon as he comes
to town. We'll know how to reach
him. Okay?
Molto just glares at him. Elias smiles, takes the shoes
and
socks and all the contents of Molto's into the
Winnebago,
and he and Hull drive away, leaving the car behind.
EXT./INT. A PARKING GARAGE/INT. WINNEBAGO - EVENING
The Winnebago enters the garage, Elias greeting the
attendant,
"Hey, Frank." Frank waves him in.
The garage is filled with various RVs. Hull pulls the
Winnebago into an empty spot beside Elias's car and
gets
out. Elias remains in the cabin making calculations.
ELIAS
Approximating the cubic capacity and
depending on the denominations of
the bills, it's somewhere between
fifty million and two hundred million
dollars. Right back there.
As he does, Hull checks his gun, walks around behind
the
vehicle and prepares to shoot Elias in the back of the
head
through the open window. Elias finishes his money
report,
and sits there as if unaware of Hull, but:
ELIAS
(continuing; not
turning around)
Think I'm crazy?
HULL
Yes.
(blowing up, gun still
on him)
I can't believe you got us into this.
All of fucking Latin America is going
to be after our asses, including
Renaldo Guzman who's friends with
fucking George Bush.
ELIAS
I know they're coming after us. I
want them to. We'll give them the
money, but we'll make a deal for
ourselves. We'll get what we need
for the synthetic drugs. I've thought
it all out. I've been thinking it
out for years.
Hull uncocks the gun, rubs it against his burning face.
Elias
turns around, embraces him.
ELIAS
(continuing)
We're going to have everything. Don't
you want everything, John?
HULL
They're going to get your family,
David. They'll kill your wife and
daughter.
ELIAS
(serene)
Nancy and Miranda left the country
two days ago.
HULL
You knew about this then?
Elias smiles.
HULL
(continuing)
What about Betty?
Ratings
Scene 38 - Unveiling Shadows
A car SQUEALS to a stop. Molto and three thugs smash
through
the glass door. They disappear into the store where
things
can be heard BREAKING. They emerge a moment later, jump
into
the car.
EXT. SYNAGOGUE - EVENING
Hull's car races up. He jumps out, dashes toward the
building.
INT. SYNAGOGUE SOCIAL HALL - EVENING
Forty PEOPLE on folding chairs. Hull enters on a dead
run.
He stops short when he sees:
BETTY
at the front. He signals to her, but she's already
saying:
MCCUTCHEON
Hi, my name is Betty.
EVERYONE IN THE ROOM
Hi, Betty!
MCCUTCHEON
My name is Betty, I'm a drug addict.
And I've been clean for nineteen
days.
The room bursts into APPLAUSE. She sees Hull at the
back; he
signals to her, but she goes on.
MCCUTCHEON
(continuing)
I've been using drugs and selling
them, and I've wanted to stop for a
long time, and the only way I did
was because I met a man I loved and
who loved me. I know that's not what
I'm supposed to say. I'm supposed to
say there was a higher power, and
maybe there was, behind it all, but
this man is strong and his love made
me strong enough that I could start,
or at least think about a life that
didn't have drugs in it...
She's looking right at Hull as she speaks. He's torn
between
the danger he knows she's in and his emotion at what
she's
saying.
EXT. SYNAGOGUE - EVENING
Hull hurrying Betty toward his car. She's protesting.
MCCUTCHEON
I've got to get clothes.
HULL
You can't go back.
INT. HULL'S CONDO - EVENING
Molto and men pouring through it. In frustration, Molto
smashes the table Hull had fussed over when Elias put
his
feet up.
EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD - NIGHT
Hull and Betty hurry toward his room carrying shopping
bags,
a newly bought suitcase. They see...
COPS
They freeze, turn, ready to bolt. But more cops behind
them.
A panic, yet no one's coming after them. They walk on.
The
cops are going into and coming out of Belinda's room.
INT. BELINDA'S ROOM - NIGHT
The fat Blonde Woman is talking to a policewoman. James
sits
on the bed staring at...
BELINDA
who lies dead on a floor littered with crack vials.
Hull
picks up a vial, holds it up to the Blonde Woman with a
question.
BLONDE WOMAN
(nodding)
She got a fever and just burned up.
She just burned up all of a sudden.
It must have been bad stuff.
MCCUTCHEON
(indicating James)
He shouldn't be here.
BLONDE WOMAN
(takes his hand)
Come on, James, we'll go get a
burrito.
The boy allows himself to be led out. Betty looks at
Hull
who's in a private hell.
EXT. COURTYARD - NIGHT
Hull and Betty are about to enter Hull's room. The door
is
ajar.
INT. HULL'S ROOM - NIGHT
Taft stands at the dresser. He's found Hull's
collection of
memorabilia and is looking at the photo of his
children.
TAFT
Cute kids...
HULL
(angry at the invasion)
Give me that.
He snatches away the photo, but not before Betty sees
it.
She reaches out her hand. He reluctantly turns it over
to
her.
TAFT
Tell me something, who the fuck are
you?
Hull doesn't answer, collects the rest of his things,
including the bloody money, stuffs it back in the
envelope.
TAFT
(continuing)
'Cause I don't think you're quite
the asshole you're trying to be.
HULL
Look, Mr. Taft, that's your name,
right? Leave me alone. I got things
on my mind.
TAFT
I'd think you would. You better have
your goddamn life on your mind, or
it's gonna get away from you. It's
gonna burn up like that poor woman
across the way. Like all of you's
gonna burn...
HULL
And what do you do, Mr. Taft, except
chase bad guys up and down the street
with your dirty partner, never
catching anybody important?
TAFT
I do what I can. Do you do what you
can?
(Hull says nothing)
Maybe my partner was dirty. Maybe
the chief's dirty. And the mayor.
And the President. Maybe God Himself's
taking something on the side. That's
their problem. But I'll bust 'em if
I can.
HULL
(without force)
Get out of my room.
TAFT
Don't deny who you are.
He leaves. Hull turns to Betty who is still holding the
photo
of his children. He gently takes it, looks at it, seems
to
draw both succor and pain from it.
He gets out Carver's flask and tries to drink, but it's
empty.
HULL
They're my children. They live in
Cleveland with their mother. I'm
divorced from her. I haven't seen
them in... some time. I want to, but
I haven't been able to arrange it.
MCCUTCHEON
How much else don't I know about
you?
HULL
(trying to make a
joke)
Everything else... Everything else
is... I don't know.
MCCUTCHEON
Taft has all the evidence about my
laundering.
Hull's upset.
MCCUTCHEON
He's going to put me in jail for a
long time unless I give you up.
HULL
Do it.
MCCUTCHEON
I can't. So, I've got to get away.
Far away. But I need money.
HULL
(laughs)
Money? I got money...
He empties his pockets of all that gushed out of the
Winnebago, empties a satchel as well until it fills the
room
like snow.
Ratings
Scene 39 - Airport Farewell and Business Negotiations
Hull putting Betty into an airport limousine.
HULL
(to the driver)
International terminal.
(to Betty)
I'll meet you there in a week.
She kisses him. He's about to close the door. She stops
it.
MCCUTCHEON
You know the first time, when I saw
you in the bar...?
HULL
(smiles at the memory)
You wouldn't even look at me.
MCCUTCHEON
'Cause I knew what you were thinking.
You were judging me.
HULL
No, I wasn't, I was...
MCCUTCHEON
You were. Your eyes were like an
angel in my heart telling me I should
be good, and I didn't want to hear
it.
This news startles Hull, yet, strangely, he senses its
truth,
and the sweetness is more than he can bear.
MCCUTCHEON
(continuing)
That's you, too. Maybe this is you,
I don't know, but I know that's you.
She closes the door. The car pulls away.
In an unmarked car up the street, Taft picks up the
radio.
EXT. A LATIN AMERICAN CONSULATE - DAY
A limousine pulls into the gate and disgorges RENALDO
GUZMAN,
55, and his wife, 25. They're shown into the consulate.
The limousine pulls out onto the street and parks.
Gopher
appears, knocks on the driver's window. It comes down.
They
chat briefly in Spanish. Gopher opens up a cellular
phone.
INT. A HOTEL ROOM - SANTA MONICA - DAY
Overlooking the ocean. Hull pacing nervously, Elias
relaxed,
reading the paper.
HULL
What if we forget all this? Take ten
million each and disappear. Leave
the country. New identities, new
lives...
ELIAS
What's the matter, John? Having
doubts?
HULL
Yeah.
A phone RINGS. Elias picks up his own cellular.
ELIAS
Yes... Where?... No! No way... We
pick the time and place... Otherwise
no meet...
(looks to Hull who
nods his agreement)
Got a pencil?
EXT. CONSULATE - LIMO - DAY
Gopher hands a piece of paper to the limo driver. He
walks
away...
AROUND THE CORNER
As he's about to get into a car, Taft grabs him. Gopher
is
surprised and not pleased.
EXT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT
Where Hull and Elias left the Winnebago. Guzman's limo
approaches. Frank, the attendant, waves it on.
INT. GARAGE - NIGHT
The limo climbs the ramps until it comes to Elias's
car,
parked where the Winnebago was; the Winnie is nowhere
in
sight. The limo pulls alongside.
Hull and Elias get out. Molto gets out of the limo.
Then
Renaldo Guzman.
ELIAS
We have a proposal to make. We regret
what happened to your nephew...
GUZMAN
Say what you have to say.
ELIAS
We all know that your cousin's
business is coming to an end. Costs
have climbed while profits and the
market --
Guzman waves: get to the point.
ELIAS
(continuing)
We have developed a new product:
simpler, cheaper to manufacture,
superior quality and completely
synthetic. Therefore, no growing, no
refining, no peasants, no importing,
no customs agents... Here's a detailed
prospectus with anticipated cash
flow and so forth.
He hands a copy to Guzman and the lawyer.
GUZMAN
(to Molto, teasing
Elias)
The racist Americans just want to
cut us poor Hispanics out of the
market.
ELIAS
There are no Americans anymore, Mr.
Guzman, you know that. No Hispanics,
no Japanese, no blacks, no whites,
no anything. There are only rich
people and poor people. We're rich,
so we're on the same side.
Ratings
Scene 40 - Tense Exchange Interrupted
Taft with Gopher in his car.
TAFT
Do they have money in there?
GOPHER
I don't know.
TAFT
They wouldn't meet here otherwise.
Gopher shrugs; a decision: Taft picks up his radio.
TAFT
(continuing)
Okay, everybody, here's the play...
INT. GARAGE - NIGHT
ELIAS
We're prepared to give you 80% of
the money. The remainder you invest
in our business with proceeds paid
out according to the figures there.
He indicates the prospectus that Guzman has been
looking
through.
GUZMAN
This looks interesting. I'd have to
confirm everything, of course. Do
you have a sample of the product?
Elias produces one. Guzman gestures to Molto. Molto
samples
it. Molto's eyes widen.
MOLTO
Buy it!
GUZMAN
Where is our money?
Elias hands him a key, points to a different Winnebago.
Molto
takes the key, unlocks the back: money. He signals okay
to
Guzman.
Suddenly: SIRENS. Police cars wail into the garage. The
THWACK-
THWACK and sweeping light of a helicopter descend
toward the
roof (though we never see the copter).
GUZMAN
(continuing; anger)
You set this up.
HULL
They're after us, not you.
Everybody scatters. The garage is a labyrinth of cement
stairwells, ramps, hundreds of RVs to hide between,
under
and so forth... Lots of NOISE, lights, but mostly we
see
Hull and Elias dodging here, avoiding the action.
Ratings
Scene 41 - Shootout and Betrayal
Molto caught between the lights. He draws his gun.
GUNFIRE.
He's cut down.
TAFT
(screaming)
Where are the rest of them?
EXT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT
Cars with rotating dome lights, but not many cops.
Hull and Elias emerge from a shadowy doorway and make
their
way at a casual pace beyond the perimeter of police
cars,
quickly mingling with other spectators. They continue
down...
EXT. A QUIET SIDE STREET - NIGHT
Strolling now. Elias elated, uncontained joy.
ELIAS
We did it. Twenty million. Twenty
fucking million. We're going to have
synthetics. We're gonna be rich.
We're gonna...
Hull stops walking and just stands there.
ELIAS
(continuing)
What's the matter, John? Be happy.
Your whole life has just been solved.
VOICE
(behind them)
Stop! Police!
In one motion, Elias draws his gun, turns and FIRES.
The figure goes down. Elias can't believe he hit him.
Hull starts toward the figure.
ELIAS
(heading the other
way)
John, where are you going?
Taft -- on the ground.
HULL
Oh, Jesus, no...
He drops to his knees. Blood oozes from Taft's chest.
ELIAS
John, what the hell are you doing?
Let's get out of here.
Hull tries to hold closed the wound. The posture
duplicates
Hull with his dying father. He feels for a pulse. For
breath.
HULL
(distraught)
He's dying.
ELIAS
Let him die. Let him die twice. Come
one.
He pulls at Hull who won't go. Hull does mouth-to-
mouth.
Taft opens his eyes, looks up at him.
HULL
[Says to Taft whatever a CPR-trained
policeman would say in this
situation.]
(to Elias)
Get help.
ELIAS
Are you kidding me?
TAFT
(to Hull, getting it)
Oh, man, you're a cop. You're a cop,
aren't you?
HULL
(with difficulty, as
if against his will)
Yeah, I'm a cop. I'm a fucking cop...
ELIAS
(laughs)
Oh, really? Where's you badge?
HULL
I don't have one. I'm undercover.
Get help, David.
ELIAS
John, that's a cop. He tried to kill
you.
HULL
He didn't know.
ELIAS
Oh, he didn't know. I don't know.
Maybe you don't know. Maybe you think
you're a cop because... because...
HULL
Drop the gun, put your hands against
the car. Spread your legs... Police!
Taft grunts once, stiffens.
HULL
(continuing)
My God! Please...
The pulse is gone. Hull begins to perform CPR.
ELIAS
Okay, let's say you're a cop. Be a
cop.
Hull keeps doing CPR.
ELIAS
(continuing)
We've still got the money. We put it
into Randy's chemistry set. In five
years we're worth five hundred million
each, minimum. You'll be one of the
richest black men in America. Richer
than Cosby. Who gives a shit how you
got it? You think the white ones
were honest?
Hull keeps working on Taft.
ELIAS
(continuing)
Is this asshole all that stands
between you and greatness? Let me do
you a favor.
He puts a gun to Taft's head and FIRES. In a reflex,
Hull
draws his own gun, SHOOTS Elias in the stomach.
Stunned, he
wobbles backward a few steps. Sits on the street.
ELIAS
(continuing)
Gee, John, that's kind of an extreme
reaction.
Hull is stunned he did it. And this finally attracts
the
police who see a black man with a gun who just shot a
white
man.
Hull goes to Elias who's dead. A POLICEMAN pulls him
off,
beating him with a gun.
POLICEMAN
Fucking nigger...
Ratings
Scene 42 - A Crossroads of Darkness
Hull, bandaged, wearing prison blues, walking with
Carver.
HULL
What about Guzman?
CARVER
He vanished, thank God, or we'd both
be in deep doo-doo. At least you got
Gallegos.
HULL
Elias did. And everything goes on as
before.
CARVER
That's the drug game. Plus a change...
I want you to come back to work for
me. You'll beat all charges on a
technicality and go back to who you
were.
HULL
Who was I, Ger?
CARVER
Does anyone really know?
HULL
I have other things to do.
CARVER
Like travel? Tangiers, maybe?
Hull looks at him; how did he know?
CARVER
(continuing)
I'm God, remember?
He beckons him. He walks him over to a cell. Through a
one-
way window they see:
BETTY
alone in the cell, unaware she's being watched.
CARVER
Go back to work, she walks out of
here. Otherwise, she's up on multiple
counts, and I'll see to it the judge
runs them consecutively.
Hull just looks at him. Carver shrugs apologetically.
INT. ANOTHER ROOM
Absolutely white. Not a window, not a stick of
furniture.
The only deviation is Hull in prison blues.
The door opens, Betty comes in wearing prison yellows.
She
sits on a nearly invisible chair. They know they're
being
watched.
MCCUTCHEON
They want me to testify against you.
I said I wouldn't.
HULL
You have to. It's all set up. That's
how you're getting off.
She shakes her head in cynical understanding. How
difficult
it is to get back to an honorable life.
He takes her hand.
HULL
(continuing; with
difficulty)
My father didn't have a heart attack.
She looks at him.
HULL
(continuing)
He was shot robbing a liquor store.
Trying to rob it. I lied about that.
MCCUTCHEON
Baby, why are you telling me this?
HULL
I had to start somewhere... There're
other things you don't know...
AN IRIS SHOT - HULL AND BETTY
Silent. Kissing. Beginning to make love. Hull extracts
himself, gives the finger to the POV and stuffs a bit
of
tissue in the iris, blocking our view.
EXT. ROOM - DAY
Carver takes his eye from the now obscured peephole.
EXT. A CEMETERY - DAY
A funeral. Taft's wife and children (from the wallet
photo)
leave the graveside with the rest of the funeral party.
When everyone is gone, Hull approaches the grave. From
his
pocket, he removes the four blood-soaked bills his
father
gave him, and wedges these among the stems of flowers
that
already cover the plot.
He's silent a moment, then he gets up. He joins Carver
who's
standing with Hull's children. The kids each take his
hand,
they walk together.
CARVER
Betty walked out of court free this
morning. That's my side of the deal.
HULL
(to the children)
You two run on ahead.
They do. Hull watches them go.
CARVER
Her probation gets revoked the minute
you fuck up. I want you to stay away
from her altogether.
HULL
You know the difference between a
black man and a nigger?
Carver smiles, shakes his head. He likes a good joke.
Hull
punches him so hard in the stomach that he goes to his
knees.
HULL
(continuing)
The nigger's the one who'd even think
about doing what you tell him.
He walks away. Still on his knees, doubled over, Carver
whispers after him:
CARVER
Don't blow your cover.
FADE OUT.
THE END
Ratings
Characters in the screenplay, and their arcs:
Character | Arc | Critique | Suggestions |
---|---|---|---|
joe stevens | Joe Stevens starts off as a troubled police officer grappling with addiction and moral dilemmas. Through the course of the screenplay, he goes undercover to confront his demons and ultimately learns to balance his personal struggles with his responsibilities as a father and provider. He undergoes a transformation, finding redemption and a renewed sense of purpose in his life. | The character arc for Joe Stevens is compelling and well-developed, but it could benefit from more nuanced exploration of his internal conflicts and emotional growth. The transitions between his different roles as a police officer, father, and addict could be smoother to enhance the audience's understanding of his journey. | To improve the character arc for Joe Stevens, consider delving deeper into his backstory to provide more context for his struggles. Show more internal monologues or moments of introspection to reveal his inner turmoil and growth. Additionally, focus on building stronger relationships with supporting characters to highlight the impact of his decisions and actions on those around him. |
john hull | John Hull starts off as a morally ambiguous character torn between his undercover assignment and survival. As he delves deeper into the dangerous world of drug dealing, he faces challenges that force him to confront his own identity and morality. Through a series of intense and risky situations, he ultimately undergoes a transformation, finding redemption and a sense of purpose in the end. | The character arc for John Hull is compelling and engaging, but it could benefit from more nuanced exploration of his inner turmoil and moral struggles. Additionally, the transformation he undergoes could be more clearly defined and supported by specific events in the screenplay. | To improve the character arc, consider adding more scenes that delve into John Hull's internal conflict and moral dilemmas. Show his transformation through specific actions and decisions that highlight his growth and redemption. Additionally, ensure that the resolution of his arc is satisfying and well-earned, with a clear sense of closure and character development. |
eddie | Eddie starts off as a streetwise and humorous character, but as the story progresses, his desperation and inner turmoil come to the forefront. He is faced with a moral dilemma that forces him to choose between loyalty and self-preservation. Ultimately, Eddie makes a decision that leads to tragic consequences, pushing him further into a downward spiral of guilt and regret. | The character arc for Eddie is compelling and well-developed, showcasing his internal conflict and moral ambiguity. However, there could be more clarity in his motivations and the events that lead to his ultimate decision. Additionally, the transition from his humorous and streetwise persona to his desperate and conflicted state could be smoother to enhance the emotional impact of his arc. | To improve the character arc for Eddie, consider adding more backstory or flashbacks to provide insight into his past experiences and the reasons behind his actions. Develop his relationships with other characters to further highlight his internal struggle and the stakes involved in his decision. Focus on building tension and suspense leading up to the pivotal moment in his arc to maximize the emotional impact on the audience. |
hull | John Hull starts as a reluctant observer in the criminal world, but as he is drawn deeper into the dangerous environment, he undergoes a transformation and becomes an active participant. He grapples with moral dilemmas, inner conflict, and the weight of his past actions, ultimately making a life-changing decision that leads him on a path towards redemption. Throughout the feature, Hull confronts his identity, makes difficult choices, and seeks a path towards redemption, culminating in a final act of courage and self-discovery. | The character arc for John Hull is well-developed and engaging, showcasing his internal struggles and growth throughout the feature. However, there could be more clarity in depicting the specific events or interactions that trigger his transformation and lead him towards redemption. Additionally, the arc could benefit from more nuanced exploration of Hull's relationships with other characters and how they influence his decisions and actions. | To improve the character arc for John Hull, consider incorporating key moments or conflicts that serve as catalysts for his transformation and redemption. Develop his relationships with other characters to add depth and complexity to his journey, showing how they impact his choices and growth. Additionally, provide more insight into Hull's internal struggles and emotional turmoil, allowing audiences to connect with his character on a deeper level. |
david elias | David Elias starts off as a powerful and calculating figure in the criminal underworld, torn between loyalty and self-preservation. As the story progresses, he faces increasing challenges that force him to confront his moral dilemmas and question his alliances. Ultimately, he must make a decision that will define his true character and determine his fate. | The character arc for David Elias is well-developed, but it could benefit from more internal conflict and emotional depth. While he is portrayed as manipulative and cunning, exploring his vulnerabilities and inner struggles could add complexity to his character and make his journey more compelling for the audience. | To improve the character arc for David Elias, consider delving deeper into his backstory and motivations. Show moments of vulnerability and internal conflict to humanize him and make his moral dilemmas more relatable. Additionally, consider adding more layers to his relationships with other characters to showcase different facets of his personality and create more dynamic interactions. |
elias | David Elias starts as a conflicted character torn between loyalty and ambition, navigating the criminal underworld with cunning and determination. As the story progresses, he undergoes significant emotional turmoil and moral dilemmas, leading to internal conflicts and changes in his motivations and relationships. Elias ultimately embraces his darker side, becoming a ruthless and ambitious figure willing to take extreme measures to achieve his goals, even at the cost of others. His character arc showcases a transformation from a conflicted individual to a powerful and manipulative antagonist. | The character arc of David Elias is well-developed, showcasing a compelling transformation from a conflicted individual to a ruthless antagonist. However, to enhance the depth of the character, more emphasis could be placed on his internal struggles and vulnerabilities throughout the story. Additionally, providing clearer motivations for his actions and exploring the consequences of his choices in more detail could add complexity to his character arc. | To improve the character arc of David Elias, consider incorporating more scenes that delve into his internal conflicts, vulnerabilities, and emotional turmoil. Showcasing the consequences of his actions and exploring the impact of his choices on his relationships with other characters could add depth to his development. Additionally, providing clearer motivations for his transformation and highlighting the moral dilemmas he faces could make his character arc more compelling and engaging for the audience. |
barbosa | Barbosa starts as a powerful and authoritative leader in the criminal underworld, but as the story progresses, his vulnerabilities and insecurities are revealed. He becomes desperate and cowardly, resorting to betrayal and deceit to save himself. Ultimately, he meets a tragic end as his actions catch up to him, leading to his downfall. | The character arc for Barbosa is well-developed, showing a descent from power to vulnerability and desperation. However, it could benefit from more moments of internal conflict and moral ambiguity to make his actions more nuanced and understandable to the audience. | To improve the character arc, consider adding scenes that delve deeper into Barbosa's motivations and internal struggles. Show more moments of moral ambiguity where he grapples with his choices, making his descent into desperation more gradual and believable. Additionally, consider giving him a redemption arc or a moment of self-realization before his tragic end to add complexity to his character. |
carver | Carver starts off as a manipulative and calculating figure who exerts control over others through intimidation and coercion. As the story progresses, he begins to face consequences for his actions and starts to question his own moral compass. Ultimately, he is forced to confront the consequences of his manipulative behavior and make a decision about the kind of person he wants to be. | The character arc for Carver is compelling and provides a good opportunity for growth and development. However, it could benefit from more specific moments of internal conflict and reflection to show his transformation more clearly. Additionally, adding more depth to his motivations and backstory could help make his arc more impactful and relatable to the audience. | To improve the character arc for Carver, consider adding scenes that delve deeper into his past experiences and motivations, showing the audience why he became the manipulative figure he is. Additionally, include more moments of internal conflict and reflection to highlight his transformation throughout the story. This will help make his arc more engaging and emotionally resonant for the audience. |
betty | Betty starts off as a vulnerable character struggling with addiction and fear, but as she becomes involved in criminal activities and develops a connection with Hull, she starts to embrace her desires and seek redemption. Through facing her past mistakes and emotional turmoil, she ultimately finds the strength to strive for a better future. | The character arc for Betty is well-developed and engaging, showcasing her inner struggles and growth throughout the feature. However, there could be more clarity in her motivations and actions, especially in the transition from fear to desire. Additionally, more depth could be added to her relationships with other characters to further enhance her development. | To improve the character arc for Betty, consider delving deeper into her backstory to provide more context for her struggles and desires. Develop her relationships with other characters to show how they influence her decisions and growth. Ensure that her actions and motivations are clear and consistent throughout the feature to create a more compelling and cohesive character arc. |
Top Correlations and patterns found in the scenes:
Pattern | Explanation |
---|---|
High Stakes and Emotional Impact Correlate Positively | Scenes with high stakes tend to have a higher emotional impact on the audience. This is likely because high-stakes situations create a sense of urgency and tension, which can lead to stronger emotional responses. |
Intense Scenes Often Feature Conflicting Characters | Scenes that are rated as intense often feature characters who are in conflict with each other. This conflict can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and it can help to create a sense of suspense and excitement. |
Scenes with Character Changes Often Have High Dialogue Scores | Scenes where characters undergo significant changes tend to have higher dialogue scores. This is likely because dialogue is an important way to convey character development and growth. |
Suspenseful Scenes Often Feature Mysterious Elements | Scenes that are rated as suspenseful often feature mysterious elements, such as unknown threats or unexplained events. This can help to create a sense of unease and uncertainty, which can keep the audience on the edge of their seats. |
Dark Scenes Often Feature Gritty or Tragic Elements | Scenes that are rated as dark often feature gritty or tragic elements, such as violence, death, or poverty. These elements can help to create a sense of realism and despair, which can be effective in conveying certain themes or messages. |
Writer's Craft Overall Analysis
The analyzed scenes showcase a consistent display of strong writing craft, with a focus on creating tension, suspense, and moral complexity. The writer effectively employs dialogue, action, and pacing to engage the audience and drive the narrative forward. A noticeable strength lies in the exploration of character dynamics and the ability to evoke strong emotions through the characters' struggles and conflicts.
Key Improvement Areas
Suggestions
Type | Suggestion | Rationale |
---|---|---|
Book | Read 'Story Engineering' by Larry Brooks | This book provides a comprehensive framework for developing compelling characters, crafting engaging dialogue, and structuring a well-paced and emotionally resonant narrative. |
Screenplay | Study 'No Country for Old Men' screenplay by Cormac McCarthy | This screenplay exemplifies masterful character development, sharp dialogue, and a tightly woven plot structure, offering valuable insights for enhancing these aspects in your writing. |
Exercise | Practice writing character sketches that delve into the backstory, motivations, fears, and desires of your characters.Practice In SceneProv | This exercise will help you develop a deeper understanding of your characters and create more nuanced and authentic performances. |
Exercise | Record yourself reading your dialogue aloud and listen for any unnatural pauses, awkward phrasing, or missed opportunities for subtext.Practice In SceneProv | This exercise will enhance your ear for dialogue and help you identify areas for improvement in terms of flow, rhythm, and emotional impact. |
Video | Watch interviews with screenwriters and directors to gain insights into their approaches to narrative structure, pacing, and building towards a satisfying climax. | Learning from experienced professionals can provide valuable perspectives on how to craft a well-structured and emotionally engaging screenplay. |
Stories Similar to this one
Story | Explanation |
---|---|
Serpico | Both stories involve an undercover police officer who goes deep into the criminal underworld and becomes disillusioned with the corruption he sees. |
The Departed | Both stories involve a police officer who goes undercover in a criminal organization and must navigate the moral complexities of his role. |
Donnie Brasco | Both stories involve an undercover agent who infiltrates a criminal organization and befriends the leader of the organization. |
Training Day | Both stories involve a corrupt police officer who mentors a young, idealistic officer. |
American Gangster | Both stories involve a drug dealer who rises to the top of the criminal underworld. |
Scarface | Both stories involve a drug dealer who achieves great wealth and power, but ultimately self-destructs. |
The Godfather | Both stories involve a crime family and the power struggles that take place within it. |
The Wire | Both stories involve the drug trade and the corruption that it breeds. |
Breaking Bad | Both stories involve a man who turns to crime to make money and the consequences of his actions. |
Better Call Saul | Both stories involve a lawyer who represents criminals and the moral dilemmas he faces. |
Here are different Tropes found in the screenplay
Trope | Trope Details | Trope Explanation |
---|---|---|
Bait and Switch | The screenplay starts as a crime thriller but slowly transforms into a psychological drama. | A story that starts out as a horror movie but ends as a comedy. |
Heroic Sacrifice | Hull sacrifices himself to save the police officer. | A character dies to save the day. |
The Big Bad | Gallegos is the main antagonist of the screenplay. | A powerful and evil villain who threatens the protagonist and their loved ones. |
Dark and Gritty | The screenplay is set in a corrupt and violent world. | A story that is set in a dark and depressing world, often with a lot of violence and crime. |
Fish Out of Water | Hull is an undercover cop who must adapt to the criminal underworld. | A character who is unfamiliar with a particular environment or situation and must learn to survive. |
I Am Not My Father | Hull struggles to overcome his father's legacy of violence and corruption. | A character who must overcome the negative influence of their parent. |
Journey of Self-Discovery | Hull undergoes a journey of self-discovery as he learns about the darker side of himself. | A character who goes on a journey to learn more about themselves and their place in the world. |
Loss of Innocence | Hull's experiences in the criminal underworld lead him to lose his innocence. | A character who experiences a traumatic event that forces them to grow up quickly. |
Moral Dilemma | Hull must decide whether to stay undercover or expose the corruption he has uncovered. | A character who must make a difficult decision that has moral implications. |
The Power of Redemption | Hull ultimately redeems himself by sacrificing his life to save the police officer. | A character who makes a mistake and must find a way to make amends. |
Theme | Theme Details | Themee Explanation | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Drugs and Addiction | The screenplay heavily explores the themes of drug use, addiction, and its impact on individuals and society. It delves into the complexities of the drug trade, the motivations of addicts, and the consequences of drug abuse. | This theme is central to the screenplay's plot and character development, as it drives many of the characters' actions and reveals their inner struggles. | ||||||||||||
Strengthening Drugs and Addiction:
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Identity and Belonging | The screenplay examines themes of identity and belonging through the experiences of its characters. Joe Stevens wrestles with his racial identity and his place in a changing society, while John Hull struggles to find a sense of purpose and belonging as an undercover agent. | These themes are explored through the characters' interactions with each other and their surroundings, highlighting the complexities of human identity and the search for connection. | ||||||||||||
Violence and its Consequences | The screenplay depicts graphic scenes of violence, including shootings, stabbings, and physical altercations. It explores the devastating impact of violence on individuals and communities. | This theme serves as a cautionary tale about the destructive power of violence and its far-reaching consequences. |
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 | |
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Summary: | The writer's voice is characterized by gritty realism, intense dialogue, and a focus on moral ambiguity and internal struggles of the characters. |
Voice Contribution | The writer's voice enhances the script by creating a dark and intense atmosphere, highlighting the complexities of human nature, and delving into themes of morality, redemption, and survival. |
Best Representation Scene | 5 - Witness to Murder |
Best Scene Explanation | This scene is the best representation because it effectively conveys the intense and realistic portrayal of violence, moral conflict, and internal struggles that are consistent with the writer's voice throughout the screenplay. |
- Overall originality score: 8.5
- Overall originality explanation: This screenplay demonstrates high levels of originality through its fresh and authentic portrayal of urban crime and violence, with unique character interactions and situations that set it apart from traditional crime stories.
- Most unique situations: Some of the most unique situations in the screenplay include the stuffed birds in the bar, Eddie's eccentric behavior, and the confrontation between Hull and Elias in the men's room during a dance club shootout.
- Overall unpredictability score: 9
- Overall unpredictability explanation: The screenplay is unpredictable as it defies conventional storytelling tropes and keeps the audience guessing at every turn. The motivations and actions of the characters are often complex and surprising, leading to unexpected twists and turns in the plot.
Goals and Philosophical Conflict | |
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internal Goals | The protagonist's internal and external goals revolve around survival, morality, power, control, and redemption as he navigates the criminal underworld to protect his loved ones and secure his own future. |
External Goals | The protagonist's external goals focus on completing criminal operations, evading the police, establishing dominance in the criminal world, confronting enemies, and securing financial gains. |
Philosophical Conflict | The overarching philosophical conflict in the screenplay is the tension between morality and survival in a corrupt and dangerous world, where the protagonist must navigate ethical dilemmas, loyalty, and the consequences of his actions. |
Character Development Contribution: The protagonist's evolving internal and external goals, as well as the philosophical conflict he faces, contribute to his complex character development as he grapples with moral choices, personal growth, and the impact of his actions on himself and others.
Narrative Structure Contribution: The goals and conflicts drive the narrative structure of the screenplay, creating tension, suspense, and emotional depth as the protagonist navigates through a series of challenges, confrontations, and moral dilemmas that shape the plot and character arcs.
Thematic Depth Contribution: The goals and conflicts deepen the thematic exploration of morality, power, survival, redemption, and the human experience in the face of corruption and danger, adding layers of complexity and resonance to the story's themes and message.
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 depicted in the screenplay is a gritty, urban setting marked by crime, violence, and decay. The physical environment is characterized by rain, boarded buildings, dimly lit streets, and rundown neighborhoods. This setting creates a sense of danger, tension, and desperation, shaping the characters' actions and experiences.
- Culture: The screenplay explores various cultural elements, including racial tensions, drug use, and the influence of immigrant communities. The characters' experiences are influenced by their cultural backgrounds, leading to clashes and conflicts. The film also delves into the underground world of drug dealing and the criminal underworld, highlighting the violent and exploitative aspects of these cultures.
- Society: The screenplay presents a society marred by corruption, moral ambiguity, and a stark divide between the wealthy and the marginalized. The characters navigate a complex web of power dynamics and criminal activities, making difficult choices and facing the consequences of their actions. The societal structure depicted in the film reflects the harsh realities of life in a criminal underworld, where loyalty and betrayal are constant threats.
- Technology: The screenplay incorporates technological elements sparingly. The use of firearms, surveillance footage, and basic police equipment reflects the time period and the setting's technological limitations. The absence of advanced technology emphasizes the characters' reliance on interpersonal relationships, personal strength, and the unpredictable nature of their environment.
- Characters influence: The world elements play a pivotal role in shaping the characters' experiences and actions. The gritty and dangerous physical environment forces the characters to make difficult choices and adapt to the harsh realities of their surroundings. The cultural elements influence their identities, motivations, and interactions, leading to both conflict and connection. The societal structure drives the characters' aspirations and fears, as they navigate the complexities of crime and corruption.
- Narrative contribution: The world elements contribute significantly to the narrative by providing a backdrop for the characters' actions and motivations. The gritty urban setting intensifies the sense of danger and desperation, fueling the characters' decisions and driving the plot forward. The cultural elements add depth and authenticity to the characters, making their experiences relatable and emotionally impactful. The societal structure creates obstacles and opportunities for the characters, influencing their choices and shaping the narrative's direction.
- Thematic depth contribution: The world elements contribute to the thematic depth of the screenplay by exploring themes of morality, redemption, and the consequences of violence. The gritty environment symbolizes the flawed nature of society, while the characters' struggles represent the complexities of human nature. The themes are woven into the narrative through the characters' actions and the choices they make, prompting the audience to reflect on their own values and the moral dilemmas faced in a violent and unforgiving world.
central conflict
Joe Stevens, an undercover cop, struggles to balance his personal life and his mission to expose a drug operation, leading to moral dilemmas and a clash between his ethical obligations and the desire to protect those he cares about.
primary motivations
- Joe Stevens' dedication to his duty as an undercover cop to expose a drug operation and bring down the criminals involved.
- Joe Stevens' desire to protect his family and keep them out of harm's way.
catalysts
- The murder of Joe Stevens' father triggers his undercover mission.
- The constant pressure and danger faced by Joe Stevens as he delves deeper into the drug operation.
barriers
- The inherent risks and moral dilemmas associated with undercover work.
- The challenge of balancing personal life with the demands of the mission.
- The presence of corrupt individuals within the police force.
themes
- The conflict between personal ethics and professional responsibilities.
- The destructive nature of drugs and its impact on individuals and society.
- The importance of family and the struggle to protect loved ones.
stakes
- The safety of Joe Stevens' family and loved ones.
- The success of the undercover operation and the exposure of the drug ring.
- Joe Stevens' personal integrity and his ability to reconcile his duties with his moral compass.
uniqueness factor
The story's exploration of the moral complexities and personal sacrifices faced by an undercover cop, delving into the conflict between the desire to protect family and the unwavering commitment to justice.
audience hook
The gripping and intense narrative that immerses the audience in the dangerous world of undercover operations, compelling characters, and the struggle to balance personal and professional obligations.
paradoxical engine or bisociation
The paradoxical engine lies in the protagonist's struggle to reconcile his devotion to duty with his desire to shield his family from the perilous consequences of his undercover work.
paradoxical engine or bisociation 2
The narrative also presents a bisociation between the protagonist's role as a protector of both his family and the community, creating a tension between his personal responsibilities and his commitment to upholding justice.
Engine: Claude
Recommend
Executive Summary
Deep Cover is a gritty, character-driven thriller that follows the journey of a police officer who goes undercover to infiltrate a major drug trafficking operation. The screenplay is anchored by a strong central protagonist whose personal history and moral dilemma drive the narrative, creating a compelling exploration of the corrosive effects of the drug trade on individuals and communities. While the pacing could be tightened in certain sequences, the screenplay boasts several standout scenes that showcase the protagonist's complex inner struggle and the high-stakes world he navigates. Overall, Deep Cover is a well-crafted and thought-provoking piece that would appeal to audiences seeking a nuanced and suspenseful crime drama.
- The opening sequence powerfully establishes the central character's backstory and the defining trauma that shapes his worldview - witnessing his father's violent death as a young boy. This sets up the character's core conflict and motivations in a gripping, visceral manner. high ( Scene 1 (EXT. CLEVELAND STREET - NIGHT (1970)) )
- The interview scenes with the police officers showcase the protagonist's sharp observational skills and ability to quickly assess and manipulate people, foreshadowing his undercover work to come. medium ( Scene 2 (INT. A ROOM - DAY) )
- The sequence in the darkened room, with the protagonist and the government lawyer analyzing the surveillance footage, establishes the central mystery and the protagonist's unique qualifications for the undercover operation. high ( Scene 7 (INT. A DARKENED ROOM - DAY/NIGHT) )
- The conversation between the protagonist and Elias in the kitchen provides valuable insight into Elias's background and motivations, as well as the protagonist's growing moral ambiguity as he becomes more entangled in the drug trade. high ( Scene 14 (INT. ELIAS'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - EARLY MORNING) )
- The scene in the jewelry store showcases the complex and compelling relationship between the protagonist and Betty, highlighting the protagonist's internal struggle between his desire for goodness and the allure of the criminal underworld. high ( Scene 23 (INT. BETTY'S JEWELRY STORE - NIGHT) )
- The sequence of the protagonist adjusting his appearance and blending into the drug dealing environment feels a bit too episodic and could benefit from more integration with the overall narrative arc. medium ( Scene 11 (EXT. 79TH AND FIGUEROA - TWILIGHT) )
- The dialogue between the protagonist and Carver, while compelling, could be tightened to avoid any sense of repetition or exposition dumps. medium ( Scene 15 (INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - DAY) )
- The sequence in Carver's office could be streamlined to maintain the sense of urgency and avoid any potential pacing issues. medium ( Scene 26 (INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - BEFORE DAWN) )
- While the protagonist's inner turmoil and moral struggle are well-explored, the screenplay could benefit from more explicit exploration of his personal relationships, particularly with his estranged family in Cleveland. medium ( Scene 19 (INT. HULL'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT) )
- The climactic sequence at the airport could be developed further to provide a more satisfying and impactful resolution to the protagonist's arc. medium ( Scene 27 (EXT. 96TH STREET NEAR THE AIRPORT/INT. A CAR - NIGHT) )
- The scene in the boxing gym, where the protagonist is tested and nearly exposed by Elias, is a compelling and well-executed sequence that heightens the tension and stakes of the protagonist's undercover work. high ( Scene 10 (INT. A BOXING GYM - NIGHT) )
- The protagonist's encounter with Ivy in the club's bathroom is a standout moment that showcases the protagonist's moral struggle and the brutality of the world he has immersed himself in. high ( Scene 24 (INT. CLUB - NIGHT) )
- The sequence in the theater, where the protagonist and Elias confront Gallegos, is a well-crafted and suspenseful set piece that highlights the high stakes and complex power dynamics at play. high ( Scene 36 (INT. THEATER - DAY) )
Engine: GPT4
Consider
Executive Summary
The screenplay 'Deep Cover' is a gritty, intense exploration of crime, identity, and morality. It features strong character development, particularly of the protagonist, Hull, and maintains a consistent thematic focus. While it could benefit from tighter pacing and deeper exploration of secondary characters, its compelling narrative and unexpected plot twists make it a strong candidate for consideration.
- The opening sequence effectively sets a gritty, intense tone, establishing the main character's background and motivations. high ( Scene 1 )
- The screenplay skillfully uses dialogue to develop characters, particularly evident in the intense exchange between Hull and Carver, revealing depth and conflict. high ( Scene 17 )
- The plot twist where Elias kills Gallegos is unexpected and effectively shifts the narrative direction, maintaining viewer engagement. medium ( Scene 36 )
- The final scenes provide a strong resolution, tying back to the protagonist's personal journey and reflecting on the broader themes of identity and morality. high ( Scene 42 )
- The screenplay maintains a consistent thematic exploration of power, corruption, and redemption, which resonates throughout the narrative. high
- Some scenes, particularly in the middle sequences, could benefit from tighter pacing to maintain momentum and viewer interest. medium ( Scene 20 )
- The character development of secondary characters like Betty could be deepened to enhance their relationships and relevance to the main plot. medium ( Scene 15 )
- Dialogue in some scenes comes across as overly expository. More show, less tell in dialogue could improve natural character interactions. medium ( Scene 10 )
- The screenplay occasionally relies on clichés in both character archetypes and plot developments, which could be refreshed for originality. low
- The transitions between major plot points sometimes feel abrupt and could be smoothed to enhance narrative flow. medium
- There is a lack of clear, strong female characters who play pivotal roles in the narrative, which could limit audience engagement. medium ( Scene 28 )
- The screenplay could benefit from more visual descriptions that enhance the cinematic quality of scenes, particularly in action sequences. medium
- There is a missed opportunity to explore the psychological depth of the protagonist's transformation from cop to criminal more thoroughly. high
- The script lacks sufficient subplots that could enrich the main narrative and provide a more complex, engaging story structure. medium
- The cultural and social implications of the drug trade are only superficially addressed; deeper exploration could add relevance and depth. medium
- The strong opening scene sets a compelling tone and effectively hooks the audience with its dramatic intensity. high ( Scene 1 )
- The screenplay's conclusion effectively ties back to its beginning, creating a satisfying narrative arc that reflects on the protagonist's journey. high ( Scene 42 )
- The dynamic between Hull and Elias is a standout element, providing a complex relationship that drives much of the narrative tension. high ( Scene 17 )
- The screenplay's exploration of themes such as identity, power, and redemption is consistently engaging and thought-provoking. high
- The dialogue, while occasionally expository, often crackles with intensity and authenticity, capturing the characters' voices effectively. medium
Memorable lines in the script:
Scene Number | Line |
---|---|
12 | Hull: You sold me Mannitol, motherfucker. |
34 | HULL: My father died when I was ten. Right in front of me. Heart attack. He just fell down. He said, 'I love you,' then died in my arms. |
32 | HULL: I'm through...? Then, I might as well have a drink after all. |
41 | Elias: We did it. Twenty million. Twenty fucking million. We're going to have synthetics. We're gonna be rich. |
42 | Hull: My father didn't have a heart attack. He was shot robbing a liquor store. Trying to rob it. I lied about that. |