Script this is life

Script this is life

• 1.
  Script Narration- voiceover (All ofSam’s speech is narration except for when stated) Opening scene- the scene opens with a dark and shadowed bedroom. Sam is lying in the middle of the bed not sleeping. His alarm clock goes off he ignores it. It continues to keep going off throughout Sam’s short speech. Sam is staring intently at the ceiling an aerial shot of him is filmed. Sam: My mum once told me life would get complicated when I grew up. I’m guessing this isn’t precisely what she meant. My dad, on the other hand, agreed with her, and I’m guessing this kind of thing is exactly what he f**king meant. Sam’s hand shoots out from underneath the duvet and shuts off the alarm clock harshly slamming the stop button. He then pulls the duvet over his head and sits up with the duvet covering him Sam: My mother's’ watchful, paranoid eye guarded me but was never able to fully shield the path that laid ahead. I wish I could have the kind of complicated life that my mum prayed for me to have. Sam then pokes his head out from underneath the duvet Sam: But as usual (pause) my dad was always right even when no one wanted him to be. Sam throws the duvet off and swings his legs round to a sitting position --The Outside starts playing-- Sam gets out of bed and leaves the room. He then walks down the stairs. Sam leaves the house and walks a little way down the road as he turns the corner the camera transitions to the bus stop. Sam is sitting statically at the bus stop he still has his headphones in. Ben: Alright? Sam breaks out of his daze and removes one of his ear phones, as he does this The Outside stops playing. Sam seems to be shocked that she is there but then quickly slips back into his dissociative state Sam: I seem to search desperately for anything that will help me reconnect with the world, I’m not even sure Ben is real anymore. The only thing you have for measuring what's real, is your mind. But what happens when your mind becomes a pathological liar? Ben: You going to talk to me? (Pause) No? Okay fine, do you want a lift then?
• 2.
  Sam nods hishead towards the bus schedule and then shakes his head looking briefly towards Ben Ben: Sam... (Sighs) Ben is not shown in shot, only her hand placed on Sam’s arm is shown. Sam continues staring forward, but at hearing Ben, Sam looks down to where ben’s hand rests. Ben removes her hand, and Sam finally looks up staring at the places where Ben was. But Ben is gone. Sam looks forward again and then scene transitions to Sam sitting on the bus. The sound around Sam is muted, people murmur around him, scene shows Sam off the bus walking through the town centre, camera is placed in a wide shot and shows Sam walking towards the camera. As Ben is walking down the street, a random woman makes eye contact and stops in front of Sam suddenly. Random woman 1: You’re losing it Sam. Sam is panicked and starts hyperventilating, the woman breaks eye contact and continues walking past Sam. Sam: The truth is schizophrenia has as many faces as there are people. Sam shakily takes a few steps forward only to catch eye contact with another random woman who stops in front of Sam. Random Woman 2: We’re never going away Sam. Sam falls back a step and becomes more panicked, the woman breaks eye contact and continues walking. Sam takes a step towards the woman, she looks at him with confusion and steps around him. Sam swings around looking in the direction the woman had walked and swiftly bumps into another random woman. Random Woman 3: We control you Sam, you’re helpless. The woman steps around Sam and murmurs a quiet Random Woman 3:Sorry! Sam by this point is fully hyperventilating and places his hands on his head, covering up his ears, finally placing them in front of his eyes. The camera moves around him at speed and the scene changes to the beach replacing the location of the town centre. Sam’s hands remain over his face, suddenly he lifts his head and looks around him in bewilderment, and he proceeds to wander around at the landscape around him. Sam: I want to regress back to my childhood, back to where it all began, so that I might be able to start over and see where things went wrong.
• 3.
  Sam: even asa child the glimpse of what a normal life would have been was always beyond my vision and my grasp. Sam: no matter what I glimpsed- whether hope or warning, happiness or sadness- it all led to the same present, to me being numb. Sam throughout his narrative has started running down the beach he stops midway down the beach and screams. The scene immediately changes to Sam being back at home, at the dinner table with his mum and his step-father, they are all sitting in an awkward silence, and Sam is staring down at his plate shifting his food around his plate. Liz: Sam. Me and your dad need to talk to you about something. Liz is stumbling over her words, fidgeting with her cutlery and speaking with a broken tone of voice. Liz then looks directly at Mich, prompting him to speak. Mich: yeah, Sam me and your mum are worried about you. Camera returns to focus on Liz, as she continues to talk she becomes more stressed Liz: we’re worried because you’re (pause) you’re being more distant than usual and (long sigh) we’re worried, I’m worried (pause) that you’re going to turn out like your dad. Liz: Sam! Just (stumbling over her words) please talk to me Sam! Sam finally snaps and shoves his chair backwards, dropping his cutlery and storming out of the room Mich: Sam! Sam leaves the room and walks up the stairs Sam: We children of schizophrenics are the great secret keepers, the ones who don’t want you to think that anything is wrong. But I am of course shit at hiding. As Sam shuts the door the scene transitions to Sam at the beach again. --Cycling Trivialities begins to play-- Sam this time is not panicked but calm. Sam: I’ve always wondered how (pause) how much do you have to hate yourself to want to wipe yourself out?
• 4.
  Sam starts walkingdown the length of the beach, reaching the gathered rocks that show in the background of the shot. Sam: knowing that you’re crazy doesn’t stop the crazy things from happening. As Sam reaches the rocks he begins to unbutton his coat for the first time. He holds a reserved expression. As Sam finishes unbuttoning his coat he opens it slightly and pauses for a moment, he then turns towards the camera, looking directly into the lens, breaking the fourth wall. Sam: Enough now. --Credits roll-- As the credits fade out the scene opens to a shot of a missing poster, Sam is the boy on the missing poster.