
The Sweet Hereafter
- R
- Year:
- 1997
- 112 min
- 365 Views
FADE IN:
A young family together in bed. It is a bright summer
morning. Father, mother, and a three year old girl are
still asleep. They are naked. A light breeze drifts into
the room. The scene is serene and softly suspended.
Head credits appear over this idyllic image. The little
girl turns in her sleep. A dog barks outside.
CUT TO:
INT./EXT. CAR WASH. -- NIGHT
From the peaceful tableau of the sleeping family, the scene
shifts to a vehicle entering a car wash. The image is shot
through the windshield, from the driver's point of view.
The car enters the lathered world of spinning felt wheels
and gushing water.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR WASH. -- NIGHT
Inside the car MITCHELL STEPHENS, a man in his mid-fifties,
listens to a stirring piece of music. The sound of the car
wash is filtered out by the strains of music.
CUT TO:
The phone booth is located in a rundown area of a large
city. A young woman, ZOE, enters the booth and lifts the
receiver.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR WASH. -- NIGHT
MITCHELL STEPHENS is going through the wash. The automatic
mops and buffers embrace his car with water and suds. The
cellular phone in the car rings. MITCHELL picks it up.
MITCHELL:
Yes? Yes, I'll accept the charges.
CUT TO:
ZOE is on the phone. There's a figure outside the booth
waiting for her.
ZOE:
Daddy, it's me...How are you doing?
That's great...Where are you?
What's that sound?
CUT TO:
INT. CAR WASH. -- NIGHT
MITCHELL in his car, playing with the volume on his radio.
MITCHELL:
I'm in a car wash.
CUT TO:
ZOE:
A car wash! Wow, I've never talked
to you when you've been in a car
wash. Make sure you've got the
windows closed.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR WASH. -- NIGHT
ZOE:
(over the phone)
Remember that time we were having
the car washed and I started playing
with the automatic window? How old
was I, Daddy? Five or six? I got
absolutely soaked, remember?
MITCHELL:
Why are you calling me, Zoe?
CUT TO:
ZOE:
Why am I calling you? You're my
father. I'm not supposed to call
you? What's the matter with wanting
to talk to you, Daddy?
CUT TO:
INT. CAR WASH. -- NIGHT
MITCHELL:
Nothing's wrong with trying to talk
to me, Zoe.
ZOE:
(over the phone)
So what's the problem?
MITCHELL:
The problem is I have no idea who
ZOE:
(over the phone)
'Cause you think I'm stoned, Daddy?
'Cause you think I've got a needle
stuck in my arm? Is that what
you're thinking, Daddy?
Pause. MITCHELL doesn't respond.
CUT TO:
ZOE:
Are you wondering if I scored,
Daddy, and I'm calling you for
money? That I'm begging? God, I
CUT TO:
INT. CAR WASH. -- NIGHT
MITCHELL is emotionally stunned by ZOE'S voice. She is
heard over the phone.
ZOE:
(over the phone)
Daddy! Are you listening to me,
Daddy?!
The music that MITCHELL has been listening to becomes louder
as he stares at the spinning felt wheels of the car wash.
ZOE (CONT'D)
DADDY!!!
MITCHELL:
Yes.
ZOE:
Why can't you talk to me?
MITCHELL:
I...I just need to know what state
you're in so I know...how to talk to
you...how to act...
MITCHELL is in pain. He closes his eyes.
CUT TO:
The phone booth is deserted. ZOE is nowhere to be seen.
Over this image, the sounds of a band playing a blues
number.
CUT TO:
EXT. FAIRGROUND -- DAY
(2.00 / 1 vote)
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"The Sweet Hereafter" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 3 Mar. 2021. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_sweet_hereafter_530>.