The Speaker

Short Film – Screenplay

NOTE: (Everything said by the character ‘man’ is said in Ukrainian, no subtitles are provided as it is intended that the audience does not know what he is saying. Any English spoken by the character will be indicated in the script)


Scene 1
INT/EXT. SHOP/STREET. DAY.

Low angle shot of shop (INT).
The shop is fairly colourless, with brown and beige covering the walls and carpet. It seems completely empty and very still, some dulled sound can be heard from outside on the busy high street. A clink is heard somewhere off shot.

Second low angle shot of shop showing a different area of the shop.

The shop is similarly still, after a short moment the clinking noise is heard again.

Tracking shot of shot moving along the floor.

The clinking noise can still be heard as the camera slowly moves across the floor. Eventually the camera stops at a man’s feet stood in front of a stand. There are glasses scattered around his feet, with a small pile of them directly in front of him. He drops another pair.

Mid shot of the man’s face and shoulders.

The man has a lit cigarette in his mouth. He takes another pair of glasses from the stand, and, facing the shop window, holds them up to his eyes, squints through them moving them closer and further to himself trying to get a clear image.

POV hand-held shot looking through the glasses.

The sun shines brightly into the camera as he looks through the glasses. The entire image is out of focus.

Back to Mid shot of the man’s face and shoulders.

He sighs, looking annoyed, drops the glasses on the floor, and starts looking through the stand once again.

SHOP ASSISSTANT
Oi!

Exterior shot of shop window.

The man can be seen through the window, but only behind the reflections of the street which can be seen on the window. The man looks behind him, and, startled, hastily walks out of the shop, trying not to look at the assistant as he leaves, in leaving he walks of camera but can be seen in the street through the reflection in the shop window. The shop assistant walks up to the window shouting at the man but the shouts are muffled through the glass, and under the sounds of the street. The shop assistant looks to the back of the shop and gestures to another assistant to come to the window, pointing at the man as he can be seen wandering in the street. As the man crosses the road a sudden screech of tyres can is heard and he is hit by a bus. As he is hit, the sound of the street is quietened, overpowered by a loud ringing. Both the shop assistants cover their mouths in shock, and run out of the shop and into the street. The camera remains perfectly still, focussing on the empty shop window, while the accident scene can still be seen in the reflection as people rush in to help. The ringing noise builds in volume until only it can be heard.

Cut to black.


Scene 2
INT. HOSPITAL. DAY/NIGHT.

Fade into overhead shot of the man lying in a bed.

The man has bandages around his head, with a cut and a large bruise on the side of his face. He wakes, blinking his eyes and looking around, but not moving his head.

Wide shot of hospital room.

The entire room is white, with two rows of beds stretching across it, the camera is looking directly down the gap in between the beds. There is one large tall window at the end of the room in between the two rows of beds, it is frosted though, and no clear image can be seen through it, only vague shapes. The room is completely silent. Opposite the man’s bed (on the left side of the screen) is a patient, who is sat up watching the man.
The man sits up quickly in his bed, immediately letting out a sharp moan and grasping his back. He looks up, and, realising that the patient is watching him, squints slightly, looking confused as to why he is being observed.

PATIENT
Hi.

Close-up over-the-shoulder shot of the patient.

Only a small section of the side of his face is visible, and with the man visible in the background, just on the edge off the screen. The patient’s face is completely in focus but the man in, in the background, is completely out of focus, to the extent that only a vague shape of him is visible. The patient is nervously playing with his mouth and fidgeting with lips and biting his nails as he waits for a reply.
There is a pause as the man hesitates to respond.

MAN
Hi. (English)

The man sounds awkward as he says this.

PATIENT
Are you OK? Do you feel OK?… I mean you were out for a while…

Pauses for an answer.

…are you still woozy? You were in a car accident, do you remember?… Your probably still a bit dazed, you’ll probably be a bit more yourself in a bit, I mean it’ll hurt, but… well… do want me to call the nurse?

Close-up shot of the man’s face fixated on the patient.

His mouth is slightly open and he mimics the facial movements of the patient, biting his lips very slightly.
Close-up shot of the patient fidgeting with his mouth. The shot momentarily goes out of focus, then back to a clear image.

Cut back to wide shot of hospital.

The man suddenly climbs out of bed letting out a grunt of pain as he does so, and begins to walk, limping, to the double doors in the far corner.

Cut to a mid-shot facing the patient.

The man walks past, half limping and grunting slightly. He is wearing a hospital gown.

PATIENT
Wha… where are you going?

The man ignores him.

Cut to a wide shot of the room, facing the patient.

The double doors are visible in the corner of the room on the wall which the patient has his back to. The man makes his way slowly across the room, his right foot is in bandages, he goes through the doors, having to lean on them to get them to move. The patient is watching him as he does this. After the man leaves the doors swing shut behind him, and only a few faint sounds of him making his way down the corridor can be heard. The room is left very still, with the patient still watching the doors but not moving other than craning his neck to try to get a better view. This shot lingers for a while as the patient eventually gives up on watching the doors, and leans back against the wall looking into the distance as he wonders what the man is doing.
A faint shout suddenly sounds outside the room. The patient looks up, startled by the noise. More shouting begins, and this sustained noise builds in volume as it approaches the door. The doors suddenly open as the man is brought into the room by two large men who are struggling to restrain him, as he kicks and screams, and attempting to drag him across the room to his bed. The patient watches startled as he is brought in.

MAN
Get off me, get off me you bastards. Give me back my stuff you fucking bastards, I want my fucking cigarettes.

Cut to a side shot of the man’s bed.

The man is forced into his bed and held down as he is still struggling. He begins to struggle less as they hold his arms. The man’s face is obscured by one of the men who holds him down, only his legs can still be seen, thrashing at the end of the bed.

MAN
Just give me my cigarettes please, that’s all I want.

He eventually calms and no longer struggles, but still repeats his plea.

MAN
Please, just a cigarette, that’s all, just one cigarette.

The two large men slowly release their grip on the man as he calms and start to step back from his bed, still cautious that he will start again. As they back away the man’s face is revealed, he is clearly distressed and almost brought to tears.

MAN
Please, I just…

The man puts his hand to his face, rubbing his eyes, overcome with emotion. The two large men are half way across the room, when the man starts up shouting again.

MAN
You bastards, give me a cigarette!

He sits up in his bed thrusting his head towards to the two men with seemingly violent intent as he shouts. The rage in his words is shown clearly on his face. The two large men, seeing that he is not getting back up out of bed, leave him, slowly and cautiously leaving the room (this is off camera, only the double doors can be heard as they leave). The man puts his head in his hands and lets out a scream. He then looks up at the patient who is watching from his bed (still looking angry) before throwing himself back into his bed, curling up his body, facing the far wall of the hospital (with the window)so as to face no one, and pulling his covers over him, wrapping himself up like a cocoon. All of this is done with one audible grunt. He is breathing heavily, still angry and worn out from the conflict.

Camera fades to black.

Camera fades back to an overhead shot of a tray on a table by the man’s bed.

On the tray is a small paper cup with a pill inside.

Cut to close-up of man’s face.

He is lying down, but with his head up, looking at the tray and the cup.
He looks across to the bed of the patient.

Cut to POV shot of the man looking at the bed.

The bed is empty.

Cut to side shot of the man in bed.

He begins to sit up quickly in bed, but stops and clasps his back, groaning slightly. He looks down at the tray.

Cut to POV shot of the tray.

Back to side shot of the man in bed.

He pauses for a moment, then takes the cup from the tray and tips its contents into his mouth. He takes a moment to swallow it as it sticks in his throat, then an uneasy look comes over his face as though he is about to bring them back up.

Cut to close-up of the man’s face.

He swallows again to force the pill down, then stares at the patient’s empty bed for a few moments, before looking around the room.

Cut to POV shot of the man’s view of the room.

The camera (hand held) scans across the room, then stops on the large frosted window.

Cut to close-up of the man’s face.

His eyes squint very slightly, then he gets up out of bed (off camera).

Cut to high shot of window.

One of the panels near the top of the window is clear glass. The man climbs into the frame as he gets onto the windowsill, only the top half of his head is visible. He lifts himself up on his tip-toes, and pulls himself up slightly, trying to hold his weight on the frame of the window, in order to see out of the clear glass. He cannot reach. He turns and looks back into the room for a few moments, he then climbs down from the windowsill. The camera stays with the shot of the window, the man’s feet can be heard going across the floor, then a quick clattering noise, then feet again. The man climbs back onto the windowsill, he has a small hand-held mirror with him, he holds it up to the clear glass in order to use it to see out of the window. He lets out a sigh of annoyance.

Cut to POV shot of mirror.

The mirror is shattered. He tilts it back and forth trying to get a clear image within one of the larger shards, but all that can be made out is fragments of trees and buildings. While he is doing this the doors on the far wall can be heard opening, followed by footsteps.

Cut to wide shot of window.

There is a nurse stood by the window, looking up at the man. The man turns and looks at the nurse. There is a brief moment of silence as they stare at each other.

MAN
Hi. (English)

This is said with the same awkward manner as before.

NURSE
Could you get down from the window please sir.
The man squints his eyes slightly, not understanding what the nurse is saying.

MAN
I was trying to see where I am.

NURSE
If you could please just get down from the window sir.

The nurse says this with a raised voice.

MAN
OK, I was just trying to see out the window.

The man climbs down, surprised by the nurse’s forcefulness.

NURSE
Now if you could get back into bed sir.

The nurse’s voice is once again calm. The man, not understanding, has a confused expression of his face.

NURSE
Get back into bed sir.

The nurse once again says this with a raised voice, and points at the bed. The man, again taken aback by the nurse’s forcefulness, slowly begins to get into bed.

Cut to a mid shot of the nurse

MAN
You don’t have to shout at me, idiot… Idiot. You don’t know what I’m saying, idiot.

The man begins to smile at the nurse as he realises that he can’t be understood. He changes his truculent tone, putting on a false friendly manner of speech.

MAN
I can say whatever I want… bastard… cunt…

The man begins gently laughing as he speaks, still smiling at the nurse. The nurse starts to smile back, laughing and nodding slightly in order to humour him. This response from the nurse makes him laugh harder. He nods as well, mocking the nurse.

MAN
Why are you nodding? You don’t even know what your nodding for, you don’t know what you’re doing at all.
He says this while still nodding and laughing. The nurse starts to leave the room, still awkwardly nodding and smiling.

The camera follows the nurse across the room.

MAN
You’re an idiot.

The nurse nods.

MAN
Yes, that’s right you’re an idiot.

The nurse walks through the doors and as they are closing the man calls one last time.

MAN
I hate you.

The camera stays on the door, the man is still laughing, he lets out a sigh of joy, a brief but loud clatter is heard as he tosses the mirror onto the floor.

Camera fades to black.

Camera fades back to a shot from under the man’s bed.

The man’s feet are dangling from over the side, his right foot is still in bandages. He flexes his feet and touches the floor with them slightly. The man suddenly gets out of bed and runs limping across the floor to the doors.

Cut to a close up of the bottom of the door.

The man runs onto screen, with only his feet visible, and runs through the door. The camera slowly tracks upwards to the small windows in each door, with the man’s footsteps heard while the camera tracks. As the camera reaches the top of the door, the man can be seen through the small window. He is at the far end of a corridor which stretches out behind the door. The corridor is empty other than the man. Against the wall at the end of the corridor is a vending machine, the man is reaching his arm into the bottom of the vending machine.

Cut to shot of vending machine.

The man’s fingers can just be seen at the bottom of the screen, no where near any of the snacks. The man can be heard as he struggles to reach, even though he is clearly unable to.

Cut back to shot through door windows.

Noises can be heard of people approaching. The man suddenly looks up, and runs back down the corridor, through the door and off camera. He is followed by the nurse and a doctor. The nurse rushes after the man with a hastened walk, the doctor says something and gestures to the nurse then walks back in the direction they came from.

Cut to wide shot of the room facing the wall opposite the man with the door on.

While rushing into the room the nurse knocks a radio onto the floor which was on a bedside table near the end of the bed closest to the door.

Cut to shot of the room from low down on the floor showing the radio hit the floor.

As it hits the floor the batteries fall out of it.

Cut back to the wide shot of the room.

The nurse, seeing that the man is getting back into bed, stops briefly to pick up the radio and the batteries.

Cut to close up shot of nurse holding the radio and batteries.

The nurse replace the batteries, still keeping an eye on the man, cautiously glancing up at him to see what he does. The nurse then turns the radio on, making sure that it is still working. As the radio is turned on the song ‘Don’t you want me’ by ‘The Human League’ begins to play.

MAN
What, I can’t even fucking get some food?

The man is shouting.
As he begins to shout the nurse puts the radio back down on the table, leaving the song playing.

Brief close-up shot of the nurse placing the radio back on the table.

Cut back to a wide shot of the room, facing the wall with window.

Both the man and the nurse are now in shot with the nurse facing away from the camera.
The nurse attempts to quieten the man, interrupting his shouts with forceful tones.

NURSE
Sir, you need…

MAN
SHUT UP!

There is a brief pause between the two as the man’s intense scream takes the nurse off guard. The man is panting slightly as he tries to control his rage. The nurse begins to speak again, talking more slowly and quietly than before.

NURSE
Sir, you…

MAN
AAAARRGH!!!

The man screams as loud as he can to quieten the nurse. Once again there is a moment of silence, but this time it is shorter as the man starts up again, still with a raised voice.

MAN
I don’t know what you’re saying, you don’t know what I’m saying, shut your stupid mouth, I don’t want to listen to your stupid gibberish language.

There is a brief pause in his speech, the radio is still playing music in the background, and during this pause it catches the man’s attention.

MAN
And will you turn that stupid fucking radio off!

He screams the last few words of this sentence as he did before.

Cut to wide shot of the room facing the wall with the door.

The man is only partly visible on his bed.
The doctor enters through the doors, followed by a large man. He glances into the room then says something into the ear of the large man, then places a rolled up piece of cloth on the table with the radio on.
The man is still focussing on the radio, and begins to climb out of bed.

MAN
Turn it off!

He shouts this as he starts to make his way across the room towards the radio to turn it off himself.

Camera cuts to a closer shot of the doctor and the large man.

As he does this the nurse quickly backs away towards the doctor and the large man, mistaking the man’s intention for a violent attack.

Camera cuts to wide a shot of the room facing the window.

The doctor and the large man rush towards the man (who is now stood still, puzzled by the nurse’s reaction), grabbing him and throwing him back down onto the bed. As they grab him he begins to shout again.

MAN
No, no, please I was just… get off me!

The doctor looks back to the nurse and points towards the cloth on the table.

DOCTOR
There, on the table, quickly.

Camera cuts to a close-up shot of the table, with both the radio and the piece of cloth in frame.

The nurse walks into the shot, picking up the piece of cloth and unravelling it. Inside the cloth is syringe set, containing a syringes and a small vial containing clear liquid. The nurse extracts some of the liquid with on of the syringes and then rushes to help the doctor and the large man. All this is done with the man screaming in the background, and the radio still playing the song. This shot lingers, with the radio and the vial standing on the table. The song continues playing, but after a few moments the man’s screaming begins to quieten as he is sedated.

Cut to black.

Scene 3
EXT. HOSPITAL/STREET. DAY.

Fade into a mid shot of hospital entrance. (The whole scene is one take)
The camera stays outside the hospital, the man is at the reception inside, signing papers, after a few moments he turns around and leaves the hospital. He is dressed differently from the first scene in that he is wearing a large coat due to the cold weather. The harsh cold is apparent through the breath of the man being visible as he breathes. He makes his way down the street. The camera (hand-held) stays with his front, going backwards down the street. He comes to a bus stop, and the camera stops with the man on the right side of the screen and the road on the left, but still as a mid shot. The man takes out a cigarette and prepares to light it, but seeing that a bus is already approaching he leaves it and flags down the bus. The man gets on the bus and the camera now follows him from behind as be pays and makes his way down the bus. He takes a seat by the window, and the camera positions itself in the seat in front of him. The unlit cigarette is still in his mouth, he pays little attention to it as it hangs limply from his lips. This shot lingers as he stares out of the window. The camera suddenly jolts towards the front of the bus, as the bus skids to a halt. As the bus stops the same loud ringing noise from scene 1 starts, dulling the rest of the sound in the scene. The camera falls to the floor as well, and lays next to him on its side. The man is thrown from his seat and onto the floor, hitting his head as he does so. He lies on the floor of the bus with a look of dread and distress over his face, the ringing getting louder until no other sound can be heard. A single line of blood trickles down his forehead.

Cut to black.