A Long Way Down
1
Anyway, to cut a long story short,
I decided to kill myself.
That's the trouble with
suicides, I've learnt.
You can't cut the long story short,
because it's the long story
that people are interested in.
Especially if you're me,
which, regrettably, I was
and still am to this day.
So, forgive me if you already
knew this, but I'm Martin Sharp,
the man who had everything.
One wife, two children, three dogs,
at least four People's Choice awards,
and five mornings a week on the most
successful breakfast show in Britain.
Huh, they were even
offering me Mondays off.
So far, so good.
unscathed, with money in the bank.
Until I met Susie Jenkins at a
launch for a new men's moisturiser.
- Happy New Year, mate.
- All I can say in my defence, Your Honour,
is that she looked 25 to me.
But she wasn't.
Cue, in chronological order,
tabloid frenzy, a short
prison sentence, divorce,
disgrace, demolition.
Doors closing.
New Year's Eve is supposed
to be a pause for breath,
a punctuation mark.
Well, I had come to a full stop.
Really.
Why wouldn't I want to throw myself
off the top of a tall building?
Oh! Oh!
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Hi.
Um, I'm not entirely sure
how to phrase this, but...
Are you going to be long?
- What?
- I wasn't sure whether to wait my turn, or...
I hadn't considered the wire. I'd
really like to borrow your ladder.
Maybe I should
just wait. I'll wait.
Are you just going to
stand there and watch?
No. No, of course. You'll be wanting
to do it on your own, I'd imagine.
You imagine right.
I'll go there.
All right.
I'll give you a shout
on the way down.
Right.
Oh, jeez!
I can't.
Maybe you should go first.
I would want to be on my own.
- Completely.
- Understood.
Twenty minutes, then
I want my spot back.
- Right.
- OK.
- Ooh!
- Oh!
Maureen.
Martin.
Are you from...
- Oh, I... I recognise your face.
- Oh, do you?
Were you married to
someone in a pop group?
No.
- Were you on TV?
- Maureen, perhaps this is not
the best time to talk about this.
- Out of my way, f***ers!
- No, stop, stop!
No! No!
- Maureen, a bit of help?
- Who the f*** are you?
- What do you want me to do?
- Sit on her legs.
You're getting a thrill out of
this, aren't you, you pervert?
- Oh, my God.
- What?
You're Martin Sharp. You
are a pervert, officially!
That's it! Rise and Shine
with Martin and Penny!
Just let me go...
- No, just...
- Wait!
Hi.
Erm...
Any of you guys order a pizza?
Well, shall we do introductions?
I'm Jess.
Everyone calls me Jess.
I... I'm Maureen.
- I'm, uh... I'm JJ.
- I'm...
- Martin Sharp.
- Yes.
It's very exciting to have a
celebrity in our suicidal midst.
- This feels wrong.
- Mmm.
All right, well, we could just
do a "one, two, three, jump!"
Whoa!
I wouldn't have minded if it had
been the proverbial cry for help,
but, believe me, you don't cart
a ladder up 15 flights of stairs
on a freezing cold New Year's
Eve unless you're serious.
Nice to meet you.
It was just another debacle.
Another cock-up.
I'd have believed you if you'd
told me half an hour before
that I'd end up on my car,
but not in it.
And I absolutely knew, with
every fibre of my being,
that I wouldn't be seeing any of
those freaks and misfits again.
I didn't know what they
were doing up there.
And I didn't want to find
out, thank you very much.
I had no interest whatsoever.
Oh, f***.
Do I regret stopping
to pick her up?
Well, that really is along story.
- Want a lift?
- No, no.
The bus will be along
in 15 minutes.
Get in the car, Maureen.
Oh!
I did like your television show.
- What are you doing?
- Aw, it's a bit early for a reunion, isn't it?
Get in the car.
We're taking you home.
So this is...
Jolly.
OK.
One word answers.
Everyone has one word to explain
why they were up on the
roof in the first place.
- notoriety.
- Mmm-hmm.
- Maureen might say loneliness.
- I'm not lonely.
- Tell that to your cats.
- I don't have cats.
I was up there because I felt...
- Helpless.
- Helpless?
That's a very good adjective.
Are we not fitting into your
pre-ordained boxes, Jess?
Actually, you fill your
one marvellously, Martin.
Was prison fun?
You really believe you have an
answer for everything, don't you?
are a miserable bastard.
Actually, right now, a miserable
bastard is exactly what I am.
Have I not been hiding it well?
- Pizza boy.
- JJ.
Why might pizza boy want to die?
What would be your reason, Jess?
Chas. Chas the d*ckhead.
He spurned me.
I'm a spurned woman.
Cancer.
I was up there because
I have cancer.
I have inoperable cancer.
We have a winner.
That's f***ing brilliant.
Very impressed. Is it
an embarrassing cancer?
Brain.
CCR.
- I'm sorry, JJ.
- Yeah.
have been better.
Ooh, we're here.
What, here? You live here?
No, but Chas is likely to be here
and I've got a couple of
things I want to say to him.
Good luck with your next attempt.
See you in the afterlife.
Yep, good night.
Unhappy little thing, isn't she?
I should have known.
The most popular place
in London for suicides
on the most popular
night for suicides.
I should have known.
- I wouldn't be alone.
- I don't know why she thought I have cats.
And she certainly
swears too much, but...
Go on, Maureen, just say it.
I just, um...
Should she be alone?
Right.
Uh, Martin, you, uh,
you go that way.
- I'll go... I'll go this way.
- No, no, no. I can't do this...
What else are we gonna do?
Hey, what else are we gonna do?
And, Maureen, uh...
You take... You take the bathrooms.
The bathrooms. Bathrooms? OK, go.
I'm looking for a girl
called Jess. Jess?
I'm looking... I'm looking for
a girl called Jess. Jess?
- Hi. I'm looking for a...
- Hi.
- I'm looking for a...
- Hi.
I'm looking for a girl... Jess.
Good.
Great. Perfect.
17, 16,
15,14.
13,12.
11,10.
Nine, eight,
seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one!
Happy New Year!
- Hi.
- Uh...
- You hiding, too, are you?
- Yeah.
I've... I've taken some pills.
It's all good.
- What are you hiding from?
- Oh, you know...
Humans. Humanity, life. You?
The nutter who's trying to kill me.
Your reason's better
than mine, then.
And where is this nutter?
- She's everywhere.
- Oh.
- Godlike, is she?
- I was just hoping I was having a bad pill.
Um, but she... She's not supposed to be
here and I'm pretty sure I've just seen her.
I'm pretty sure I've seen
you on breakfast TV.
So... Maybe I'm actually
having a good pill and...
You're Chas, aren't you?
- How do you know that?
- I'm here with the... nutter.
Chas! Chas, Chas, Chas!
Wait. Listen to me. Listen.
Let's just go and
find her together, eh?
I mean, what's the
worst that can happen?
Eh, she tried to kill me twice,
got me... Got me arrested once.
Mmm, I'm banned from three pubs,
two clubs and... And a cinema.
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"A Long Way Down" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Oct. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/a_long_way_down_1956>.
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