A Monster Calls Page #7

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Then he draws Kong falling. He gets lost in it, and the sound

of the NIGHTMARE rises again. This time, we even see flashes

of it:

33.

24A NIGHTMARE 24A

--FLASH OF TWO PAIRS OF HANDS locked in a ferocious grip,

as if one is trying to keep the other from falling.

Conor keeps drawing, almost furiously.

34.

24B NIGHTMARE 24B

--FLASH OF VIOLENT MOTION, dark and burning.

Conor keeps drawing, as the soundtrack intensifies. He

doesn’t notice a breeze tousling his hair or the pencils

rolling across the desk again.

35.

24C NIGHTMARE 24C

--FLASH OF A DISTANT FIGURE ON A CLIFF’S EDGE, calling

out, “CONOR!!”

Soundtrack ceases as he sits back and blinks at the

sketchpad. He’s drawn a GAPING HOLE OF BLACKNESS that looks

as if it might swallow the whole world. A face - possibly

HIMSELF - stands at the edge of it, looking back up to us.

He suddenly hears hurried footsteps in the hall. They rush

past his room to the toilet. We hear his mum being brutally

sick. Conor waits. She vomits again.

ConOR

(calling to her)

Do you need any help?

Mum (o.S.)

(beat, forced cheer)

No, sweetheart!

Beat, then water running. Footsteps. He covers the nightmare

with the Kong drawing and quickly moves back to his bed. She

opens his door.

CONOR:

You okay?

Mum

I’m kind of used to it by now.

Sorry I dozed off during the film.

You should be asleep, too.

ConoR

I was. I am.

She sees his desklamp still on. She goes over and picks up

the sketchpad, including the nightmare drawing. Conor is

alarmed. Mum sits down on the bed next to him and looks

through his Kong sketches.

MUM:

This is good, Conor. Such a sad

ending.

Conor

(troubled)

Why did they kill King Kong?

MUM:

People don't like what they don´t

understand. They get scared.

Conor

Her boyfriend was a jerk.

36.

MUM:

Yeah, he's pretty bad.

Conor

King Kong should have squashed him.

Broken him into a million pieces.

(makes squashing motion)

Boom!

She smiles and turns to the nightmare finally, a little

scared by the hole and the face he’s drawn, but she looks

closer. It has very realistic eyes. She’s very surprised and

impressed.

MUM:

What is this? Is that you?

Conor

No, Mum.

MUM:

Looks like you.

Conor shrugs.

MUM (CONT’D)

It's very good. Really, REALLY

good. The strokes of the pen... And

I love the reflection in the

eyes... Life is in the eyes, you

know.

(gentle beat)

What's it of? What's this scene?

Conor

(shrugs)

Nothing. Just... I made it up.

Rate this script:3.3 / 10 votes