Shooting script - 'How to Grieve'
- 1. 1 HOW TO GRIEVE Screenplay By LUCY PROUTEN
- 2. 2 EXT. DAY - A CHURCHYARD ‘Softly as I leave you’ by Matt Monro plays. LONG SHOT of MARGOT and MAYA sitting together on a bench. They are both dressed in all black. Margot stares into the distance and Maya sits with her knees to her chest, her arms crossed, also staring into the distance. It is clear Maya has been crying. Cuts to MID SHOT of a gravestone Cuts back to a MID SHOT Margot and Maya sitting on a bench. Cuts to black. ‘HOW TO GRIEVE’ appears on screen. Music fades out. INT. DAY – MARGOT'S BEDROOM MID SHOT of Margot as she lays on her bed. MARGOT (singing quietly) Softly as I... no. She stops and changes pitch. She smiles. MARGOT (singing quietly) Softly as I... She stops again. This time as if she has remembered something. Her smile changes to a look of sorrow. MARGOT (quietly) As I leave you. She is silent. She closes her eyes and reaches for a pillow behind her. She screams into the pillow. (Continued)
- 3. 3 Margot removes the pillow from her face and takes a deep breath. She sits up and looks towards her bedside table. MARGOT Alexa, play Frank Sinatra. INT. NIGHT – MARGOT'S BEDROOM ‘It had to be you’ by Frank Sinatra plays. LONG SHOT of Margot as she slow dances around the bedroom with her teddy bear as if it was a real person. Cut to a LONG SHOT of Margot sitting on the floor surrounded by photos. ‘I’ll never smile again’ by Frank Sinatra plays. She picks up a photo and stares at it in despair. Cut to a CLOSE UP of the photo. It is a picture of a young girl and an older woman. Cut to a CLOSE UP of Margot’s face. She looks as if she is about to cry but she doesn’t. Cut to a MID SHOT of Margot in bed. ‘Put your dreams away’ by frank Sinatra plays. She tosses and turns in bed, struggling to get to sleep. CLOSE UP of Margot a face as she stops trying and lays still staring at the ceiling. INT. DAY – MARGOT'S BEDROOM MID SHOT of Margot staring into the camera as if it was her mirror. ‘That’s life’ by Frank Sinatra plays quietly in the background as she hums along. She looks tired and gloomy. EXTREME CLOSE UP of Margot’s lips as she pats red lipstick faintly on to her lips, as if to distract from her tired eyes and lifeless face. The music is interrupted by an aggressive knock on the door. MARGOT (she sighs) Alexa, pause. (continued)
- 4. 4 MARGOT (shouting) Yeah? LONG SHOT as Maya opens Margot’s bedroom door. OLIVER is standing next to her. MAYA Oliver’s here. Oliver walks into the bedroom and Maya shuts the door behind him. Cut to a MID SHOT of Margot. She seems unhappily surprised. She walks over to Oliver; they stand opposite each other in a LONG SHOT with some distance in between them. MARGOT (surprised) What are you doing here? OLIVER (angrily) What am I doing here? Margot, I haven't seen you in two weeks. You’ve been ignoring my calls and messages, and if you’ve been at college then you’ve been avoiding me there too. What's going on with you? Margot sits on her bed; she doesn’t say anything. It is painfully silent. OLIVER (emotionally) Right. So that’s it then. It's over. Fine I’ll... Oliver stops suddenly. Cut to a CLOSE UP of the order of service from Margot’s Grandmothers funeral on her bed side table. Cut to a MID SHOT as He immediately sits down next to her and puts his head in his hands. (Continued)
- 5. 5 OLIVER (shocked) Margot I... I'm so sorry... I Margot interrupts Oliver. She remains facing forward, but he turns and looks at her. MARGOT I didn’t cry. When my mum told me. I didn’t cry. She just... she held me in her arms. I hated it. I hated that moment. I knew it had happened before she told me, I could tell as soon as I walked downstairs that morning. Everything was... still. Cuts to a CLOSE UP of Margot. MARGOT I didn’t cry. I still haven't cried. It's been two weeks now! I hear Maya crying every night through the walls and I... I just lay awake and wonder what's wrong with me, why am I not crying. Cuts to an OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT as Margot turns to look at Oliver. MARGOT I don’t know what I'm supposed to be doing. I don’t get it. I don’t know how to grieve. Cuts to an OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT as Oliver looks at Margot. OLIVER Everyone grieves in different ways, there's no step by step guide. Do it your way and take as much time as you need. You are so strong and I'm always here... even if you don’t want to talk to me. (Continued)
- 6. 6 Cut to a MID SHOT as they smile at each other. Oliver puts his arm around Margot as she rests her head on his shoulder. INT. DAY – MARGOTS BEDROOM Text on screen ‘ONE YEAR LATER’ LONG SHOT of Margot. She is sitting on her bed and talking to Oliver on the phone. She is noticeably more cheerful than when we last saw her and she is wearing brighter clothing. MARGOT Yeah, I'm good but I miss you! How was the first night of freshers? There is a knock on the door. MARGOT Hold on, I'll call you back... Come in! MID SHOT of Maya as she opens the door and walks into Margot’s bedroom holding a radio. MAYA Mum just brought in the last box of stuff from grans house, she thought you’d want this. Maya hands Margot the radio. Cut to a MID SHOT Margot looks at the radio and her mood suddenly changes. She doesn’t know how to react but eventually she smiles. MARGOT Thank you. Maya leaves the room and shuts the door. Margot turns on the radio and ‘softly as I leave you’ by Matt Monro plays. A tear falls down Margot's cheek as she smiles softly. Cuts to black.
- 7. 7 END