ONE SUMMER'S DAY

by Patricia Keiller

Short Film
Email: [email protected]

FADE IN:

INT.CAR – RESIDENTIAL ROAD – LEAFY LONDON SUBURB - DAY

A youngish couple aged about thirty-five are seated in the driver’s seat and passenger seat of a fairly ordinary car.The car is stationary.The man,JACK,appears to be deep in thought,and the woman,LOUISE,is staring blankly out of the window.There is a strained atmosphere between them.JACK,(In the driver’s seat)is the first to speak.

                         JACK

              I want a divorce,Louise,

              (Pause)I know about your

              affair,(Pause)and anyway

              it hasn’t been working for

              us now for at least a year.

                         LOUISE

              (Sighs)Look,Jack,do we have

              to talk about this now?I

              told my sister,liz,that we’d

              arrive by about ten,and it’s

              quarter to twelve already.

              Half the day’s been wasted,

              and she’ll bw wondering

              where we got to.

                         JACK

              Okay,I’ll drop the subject for

              now.After all,we don’t want to

              go upsetting your little sister,

              do we?

JACK and LOUISE both get out of the car.they head towards a large Victorian house,which has been divided into flats,and ring the doorbell.After a second or two a young woman of about twenty-five appears at the door.She looks like LOUISE,but is younger,and much more scruffily dressed.

                         LOUISE

              Jack,this is my sister,Liz….

                      

                         LIZ

              I’ve been really looking

              forward to meeting you,Jack.

              Louise has told me so much

              about you.It’s strange how

              we haven’t met until today.I

              mean,you two have been

              married for four years now.

              I suppose the fact that

              I’ve been living abroad

              for the last three years

              hasn’t helped much.

              Mind you,if you hadn’t kept

              your wedding in the

              Seychelles a secret,we might

              have met back then.Anyway,

              let’s not chatter on the door-

              step.Come in and meet my

              flatmate,Emma.

JACK,LOUISE,and LIZ,go up a short flight of stairs,and into the living room of a typical student house.It is untidy with magazines and books strewn all over the floor.there are empty crisps packets,and coke tins on the coffee table.Sitting on one of the armchairs is a young woman of about twenty-five.She is pretty in a rather studious way.When the others enter the room,she gets up to greet them.

                         EMMA

              Hello,you must be Louise and

              Jack!I’m Emma,Liz’s flatmate.

                         LOUISE

              It’s nice to meet you,Emma.

              (Turning to LIZ)If you don’t

              mind,Liz,Jack and I will go

              and freshen up a bit.That

              drive down was very sticky.

                        

                         LIZ

              Okay,well,I’m off to prepare

              Some lunch.See you later.

All the characters exit from the living room.The next sene is later in the aftrenoon.JACK is sitting in kitchen,reading the newspaper.There is a huge pile of unwashed dishes in the sink.(Everything about this room is cheap and cheerful.It is just as untidy as the living room).Emma enters the kitchen.

                         EMMA

              Where are the others?

                         JACK

              They’ve gone shopping.I

              couldn’t face it myself.It’s

              far too hot.(Pause)You look a

              bit annoyed.What’s up?

                         EMMA

              Oh,nothing much.Somebody’s sent

              me a package,but it’s gone to

              my old address in Kingston.So

              now I’ll have to go and fetch

              it from the post office sorting

              depot down there.

                       

                         JACK

              You don’t have a car?

                         EMMA

              No,I don’t………

                         JACK

              I’ll give you a lift if you

              like.I don’t have anything

              better to do anyway.Perhaps

              we could have a drive through

              Richmond Park.That’s supposed

              to be quite nice,isn’t it?

                         EMMA

              Er,yes,all right,if you really

              don’t mind.

                         JACK

              Okay then,when you’re ready

              we’ll get going!

            

INT.– JACK’S CAR – VEHICLE IN MOTION – DAY

 

JACK and EMMA are seated in the car.JACK is in the driver’s seat,and EMMA is seating in the front passenger seat.The car is heading towards Richmond Park from Putney.

                         JACK

              So what do you normally do

              when you’re not chasing half

              way across town after lost

              packages?

                         EMMA

              I’m a librarian.Only I’m on

              leave at the moment.

                         JACK

              I hope you won’t mind me

              saying so,but you look as

              if you might be something

              like that.You look sort of

              brainy,smart.

                         EMMA

              I’m not sure it’s that much

              of a compliment to be told

              you look like a librarian!

                         JACK

              Actually,I do mean it as a

              compliment.You remind me of

              Louise when I first met her.

              I thought she was the

              smartest girl I’d ever

              encountered.And she looked

              meek and mild like you,but

              beneath the surface she was

              tough and determined.She had

              to be with someone like me

              around.

 

                         EMMA

              Why do you say that?

                         JACK

              When we first met I was

              drinking too much.My life

              was going nowhere.I was

              slowly going off the rails.

              Louise helped me turn my

                     JACK(Continued)

              life around.I owe her a lot.

              (Pauses)I don’t understand

              how we could have gone from

              that to the brink of divorce.

                         EMMA

              You’re getting divorced?

                         JACK

              I asked Louise for a divorce

              today(Pauses)The last year or

              so we’ve just grown apart.Our

              jobs haven’t helped.My respon-

              sabilities have meant that I

              quite often work late,and at

              weekends.Louise’s job has

              become a lot more high

              powered lately,and it quite

              often takes her out of town.

              We’ve just not had a lot of

              time together this last year.

              (Pauses)Then about three

              months ago I found out she’d

              been having an affair,and I

              have’nt been able to feel

              the same way about her since.

              In fact I haven’t been able

              to bring myself to look her

              straight in the face since

              then.

                         EMMA

              It seems such a shame.After

              meaning so much to each other.

                                 

             

                         JACK

              We’re just coming up to

              Richmond Park.You know,I’ve

              been to London loads of times,

              but I’ve never visited this

              park.

EXT.– RICHMOND PARK – LONDON – DAY

The camera takes a wide view across the park.Taking in its trees,horse riders,deer etc.

INT.– CAR – DAY

JACK and EMMA are both admiring the view.JACK is the first to speak.

                         JACK

              It’s an absolutely glorious

              day.Let’s get out of the car

              and stretch our legs a bit.

                         EMMA

              Yeah,okay.I could do with a

              breath of fresh air.

EXT.– RICHMOND PARK – DAY

JACK and EMMA are walking down towards the lake.

         

                        

                         EMMA

              Look,I know it’s none of my

              business,but why don’t you

              try to patch things up with

              Louise?

                         JACK

              You’re right,it isn’t any

              of your business!(Pause)

              I’m sorry,I didn’t mean

              that.But I don’t think we

              can patch things up.It’s

              gone too far.

                         EMMA

              Do you know if Louise is

              still seeing the man she

              had an affair with?

                         JACK

              She says it’s over……

                         EMMA

              Well,maybe there’s hope

              then.(Pauses)My parents

              got divorced.My Mum has had

              a couple of failed

              relationships since then.

              most of the time she’s

              complaining about how

              shabbily her last boyfriend

              treated her.And my Dad’s

                   EMMA(Continued)

              last girlfriend was younger

              than I am.Needless to say,

              his relationships don’t last

              long either.The point

              I’m trying to make is,my                  

              parents split up after

              about twenty years of

              marriage,and they’ve

              never found anyone else.

              I mean,I don’t have that

              much experience with

              relationships myself,but I

              do know that real,true love,

              is a rare thing,and you

              shouldn’t give up on it that

              easily.

                         JACK

              You know,Emma,you’re very

              wise.I wish I’d had such

              a good head on my shoulders

              when I was your age.(Pause)

              You’re right,I’m not going

              to give up on Louise.I’m

              going to find out what’s

              wrong.(Pauses)Maybe we

              just need to spend more

              time together,and talk

              more,like we used to.

                         EMMA

              Just tell her what you’ve

              told me.Tell her how much

              she means to you,how much

              you owe her,and I’m sure

              she’ll listen.

                         JACK

              Emma,(Pauses)I just want to

              say that before I talked

              to you today,I was all set

              on getting a divorce,but

              you’ve made me realize,just

              what I might be losing.

              You’ve helped me save my

              marriage.(Pauses)And I have

              a confesssion to make.When

              I offered you a lift

              earlier on,I suppose I was

                  JACK(Continued)           

              half hoping something might

              happen between us,I mean,

              you’re a pretty girl,and I

              felt rejected by Louise.

              but now I’m glad nothing                 

              has,because,you given me

              something more precious,

              you’ve helped me get my

              life back.(Blushing)Hey,

              I’m getting all emotional

              here.Let’s get back to the

              car,and pick up that package

              of yours!

INT.– FLAT – LANDING - LATE EVENING

JACK and LOUISE are saying goodbye to LIZ.Both JACK and LOUISE look happier,and calmer than when they arrived.

                         LOUISE

              Well,we’ll be off now.Jack’s

              brother lives in London too,

              and his wife’s just had a new

              baby,so we promised we’d go

              over when we came down.

                    

                         LIZ

              It’s a shame it was such a

              short visit,I do understand

              about your work commitments,

              though.(Pauses)Anyway,it

              doesn’t matter,because I’ll

              be up to visit you in about

              a month.it’s about time,we

              tried to keep in touch more.

INT.– FLAT – BOTTOM OF STAIRCASE – LATE EVENING

                         LOUISE

             We’ll be off then!See you

             soon,Liz!Nice meeting you,

             Emma.(LOUISE then turns her

             back to LIZ and EMMA).

                          JACK

             (Still facing LIZ and EMMA,

              silently mouths)Thank you.

             (Only EMMA sees this).

                       

                         EMMA

              (Raises her hand slightly

               in acknowledgement).

FADE OUT:

Download Script

Script Submission Form

Sponsored Links