MICKEY
Short Film
Email: jezza7777777@hotmail.com
Mickey – Teddy - a man struggling to cope with his own inner demons and personal guilt after a horrific car crash - literally projects himself onto the outside world, seeing himself everywhere. The questions are: who is Mickey, and will the truth about him help Teddy confront his own delusions?
Written by JEREMY PATERSON, September 2007
93 Sea Acres Drive, Long Beach, NSW, 2536, Australia
Ph: 0417 622 937
Em: jezza7777777@hotmail.com
1 EXT. DESERTED STREET - DAWN
A heavily dented car.
LOOKING inside, we see a man - TEDDY [30s] - asleep in
the driver’s seat, hunched against the steering wheel.
He is wearing a tattered business suit, blood stained.
2 INT. DENTED CAR - CONTINUOUS
There is a cask of wine in the back seat, dripping from
a broken seal. Dripping...dripping...
A photo album. Newspaper articles falling out the side.
Sunlight dips into the car, and Teddy’s eyes.
RING...RING...RING...RING
Teddy stirs awake. He jerks in horror to the passenger
seat - to find no one there. He looks quite relieved.
He brushes his face with his hand, breathing in deeply.
RING...RING...RING...RING...
Teddy reaches across the back seat to find his phone.
TEDDY
(on phone)
...hello?...
MAN (V.O.)
Teddy?
TEDDY
...yes...
MAN (V.O.)
Where are you?
No response.
MAN (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Teddy where are you? Don’t ignore me.
The MAN hangs up. Teddy looks like he just heard a ghost.
TEDDY
...Teddy...Teddy...Mickey...
Teddy’s voice is the same as the man on the phone.
3 INT. DENTED CAR - LATER THAT MORNING
Teddy still lies in the front seat, paralysed.
Footsteps.
Turning awkwardly, Teddy sees a JOGGER approaching.
The jogger slides slowly past, turning to Teddy.
His face is Teddy’s
Teddy lunges out of the car towards the jogger.
TEDDY
You!
He grabs the jogger’s shoulder, pulling him back.
The jogger’s face has changed - he is a stranger.
The jogger sprints away.
Teddy falls to his knees, tripping into the gutter.
A man’s hand plants heavily onto Teddy’s chest.
MAN (O.S.)
(Teddy’s voice)
What are you doing here, Teddy? I’ve
been looking for you all night...
Teddy turns upwards in horror. It is his wife, KRYSTAL.
She is wearing a dressing gown. Her car is parked ten
metres up the road - the door is wide open.
4 INT. DOCTOR’S WAITING ROOM - DAY
Krystal and the DOCTOR convene privately, whispering.
The doctor steps towards Teddy, smiling sympathetically.
DOCTOR
Come in. Please.
Teddy nervously turns to his wife.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
Krystal will wait outside.
Krystal smiles at Teddy.
5 INT. DOCTOR’S OFFICE - DAY
The doctor leans in over his chair, opposite Teddy’s.
2.
DOCTOR
Tell me. Tell me it all.
TEDDY
I see myself in others everywhere that
I go. Man, woman, or child, I see
myself in them. I can’t help it. It’s
uncontrollable. And I’m...I’m afraid
for myself, I suppose. Because I don’t
know how to stop it. So I need to know:
how do I stop it? Make it go away...
The doctor clears his throat.
Teddy is so desperate for answers. His eyes plead urgency.
DOCTOR (O.S.)
You can’t...you can’t stop it.
TEDDY
Sorry?
Teddy turns to the doctor. The doctor is now Teddy.
DOCTOR/TEDDY
What you’ve gotta understand, is that
it’s all a reflection. A mirror. You see
yourself in others not because you’re...
crazy, for the lack of a better word...
but because you’re searching for a
connection. Within yourself.
TEDDY (O.S.)
But --
DOCTOR
Do not question your idiosyncracies, Teddy.
6 EXT. STREET - DAY
Teddy and Krystal stroll through the street clenching
each other’s hand. It is an unnaturally sunny day.
KRYSTAL
The Jacobson's are having a dinner party
on Saturday night. I said we might go.
(Teddy cringes)
Only if you’re in the mood, that is
...the plumber came on Wednesday - the
toilet was acting up again. He leaves -
says “good as new” - and two hours
later it’s back on the fritz. We’re
gonna have to call the landlord today.
3.
TEDDY
...yes...
Krystal stops Teddy and tenderly kisses his forehead.
KRYSTAL
(whisper)
It’s Ok.
They continue walking.
KRYSTAL (CONT’D)
And if you wanna stay in bed, relax,
that’s also fine. Let me take care of
you. We can go through this together.
We’re a team, yeah?
Teddy blinks three times. He grins.
TEDDY
Yes, yes we are. We are!
Krystal’s hand unclenches, falling back.
The sun lowers. Shadows cover over them like blankets.
Krystal stares back at Teddy - utterly terrified.
KRYSTAL
What did you do?
TEDDY
I didn’t mean any of this.
Krystal slaps him across the cheek. Teddy turns to see
her desperately running away. But Krystal is not Krystal.
She is now Teddy.
7 EXT. SUBURBAN HOME - DAY
A fist beats down on the decaying three-month old
Christmas wreath that adorns the front glass door.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! --
TEDDY
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!
An elderly man named HARRY edges the door open.
TEDDY (CONT’D)
(begrudgingly)
I need your help...
4.
Harry is surprised to see Teddy, ushering him inside.
8 INT. SUBURBAN HOME - MOMENTS LATER
Harry sits Teddy down on his plush but worn couch,
reaching for the saucer of lemon tea, no sugar.
TEDDY
No thanks.
HARRY
Please, Teddy.
Teddy vehemently shakes his head.
HARRY (CONT’D)
Relax. Sit back. Get comfortable.
Harry leans into his own reclining armchair, turning
the back vibrations on - steadily humming as it moves.
Teddy remains sitting upwards, locked in a daze.
Harry switches the TV on. A Cops and Robbers show (O.S).
A car speeds along, then crashes. Harry switches it off.
HARRY (CONT’D)
Krystal called. You gotta stop it,
son. She’s your wife. She loves you.
Teddy gets up, twitching on the spot.
HARRY (CONT’D)
We gotta think about how we’re gonna
approach things from now on. I’m not
gonna try and pretend that things are
going to be same. But I feel that we can
work towards some kind of stability.
Teddy surveys Harry’s mantle piece, which is lined with
ten photo frames, their faces all turned to the wall.
TEDDY
(motioning to the photos)
Is this stability?
HARRY
It’s practical.
TEDDY
It’s disrespectful.
Harry jumps up from his seat.
5.
HARRY
WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE I DO, HUH?!
Teddy ignores him, grabbing a photo frame.
The photo is of Teddy and...Teddy? Two Teddy’s are in a
park, their arms around each other, smiling with glee.
HARRY (CONT’D)
It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
(tries to grin)
Especially not yours. He was on ten
grams of coke, I heard. That crook --
TEDDY
He would be saying that too: “wasn’t
anyone’s fault. Just bad luck.”
HARRY
(with great empathy)
...son...come here...son...
Teddy drops the photo on the floor. He turns to Harry.
TEDDY
Dad.
HARRY
It was never yours.
Teddy tries to cry, but nothing comes out.
HARRY (O.S.) (CONT’D)
Don’t ignore us, Teddy. Krystal and I
care about you so much. We sleep in
your nightmares too, you know?
Teddy turns to his father. And sees himself.
HARRY/TEDDY
Don’t ignore us...
9 INT. BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS
Teddy stares into the mirror. He caresses his own
reflection, stroking his face, his cheeks, his ears.
He hears the house front door being pulled open.
KRYSTAL (O.S.)
Where is he?
HARRY (O.S.)
In the bathroom. He’s cleaning
himself up. Saw me wrong again.
6.
Teddy glares at himself in desperation, which changes
to anger - frustration - torment - guilt...
TEDDY
(whisper to reflection)
Shut up...shut up...shut up...
Teddy’s hand pushes through the frame - smashing the
mirror into small fragments, clattering onto the floor.
Krystal and Harry stand outside the door not saying a word.
Teddy rummages through the thousands of shards of glass,
searching for something, as if he needs one specific piece.
He finds it. He looks at his reflection again, now warped.
FOCUS ON reflection -- Teddy smiles broadly.
The ceiling light is switched on, reflecting against the
glass and onto Teddy’s eye. He squints and sees blurs.
BLACK SCREEN
We hear POLICE sirens, and a crowd of people conversing.
-- THE COLOR SEEPING IN -- PULLING INTO FOCUS --
10 EXT. CROWDED STREET - NIGHT
The side of the highway.
The dented car.
A car crash.
The car has merged into the trunk of a towering oak tree.
MOVING INWARDS: Teddy’s face is down on the steering wheel.
MOVING CLOSER: Teddy’s face is smeared with wet blood.
Teddy convulses, but his head remains against the wheel.
WOMAN (O.S.)
Mickey! Mickey!
A body lays sprawled in the passenger seat. Dead.
It looks like Teddy.
CLOSE UP: Teddy’s face [driver’s seat].
A female hand reaches out to him, grabbing his cheek.
She holds his limp head up. She lets go and his head
collapses back onto the wheel like a broken yo-yo.
7.
The hand grabs Teddy again, lightly slapping his cheek.
KRYSTAL (O.S.)
Teddy. Wake up. I know you’re there.
She slaps his face again, this time a little harder.
Teddy’s eyes open briefly, then fall shut.
The person in the passenger seat is gone. The door is open.
KRYSTAL (O.S.) (CONT’D)
Please. Listen to me.
Teddy’s eyes open again. They are glazed, and vacant.
TEDDY’S POV: He is staring upwards at himself.
KRYSTAL/TEDDY
Don’t ignore me...
CUT TO BLACK
8.
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