Cutlery

Thijs Rozeboom www.autumnleaffilms.com.au

INT. DINING ROOM. MORNING
NORMA is standing at the tallboy polishing cutlery and
putting it away, neatly into the drawer. Footsteps with high
heels in the hallway. NORMA pulls in her head a bit and
listenes intently to what is happening outside the dinning
room while slowing down a bit with the polishing as her
concentration focuses on what is happening in the hallway.
MUM
Norma! Where is my handbag?
NORMA hastily polishes the last spoon and closes the drawer
a bit too hard so that the content of it shifts a bit. She
turns to go but then turns back and looks at the drawer.
MUM
Norma! My handbag!
NORMA runs out of the dining room. After a moment footsteps
with high heels leave the house. A door is shut, a bit too
forcefully.
NORMA quickly walks back into the room. She opens the drawer
again and realigns the cutlery carefully. She leaves the
dinning room again. Outside in the hallway a cupboard door
is opened with a slight screech, rummaging, then the door is
carefully closed again. NORMA returns to the dinning room
with a broom and starts to sweep the floor, first under the
table, then around the table.
Footsteps upstairs, long paces. NORMA stops sweeping for a
moment and looks up with an uncomfortable face. Somebody
turns on the shower. NORMA continues sweeping. She walks out
of the dinning room with the broom. Outside in the hallway a
cupboard door is opened with a slight screech, rummaging,
then the door is carefully closed again. NORMA returns to
the dinning room with a small hand broom and a dustpan to
scoop up the dirt.
INT. SHOWER. MORNING
BRUCE is standing in the shower sharpening his butchers
knives. He tests the sharpness with his thumb. suddenly with
a pain filled face he pulls his thumb away, looks at it,
puts it in his mouth for a moment, pulls it out and looks at
it again and presses it several times against his index
finger of the same hand.
Bruce seems to be talking to someone standing next to him in
the shower. Most of his mutterings are mumbled and
incomprehensible. Only at times when he puts emphasis on
what he is saying his speech is comprehensible.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
BRUCE
If he kicks like that, hell never
get the ball trough the posts.
Then he skewers up the bar of soap with his long knife and
asks his knife - without actually saying the words - if it
would be so kind as to scrub his back. He then proceeds to
soap up his back with the knife and soap attached to it.
Only with difficulty can he reach all the places on his back
and has to make several attempts from different angles.
After soaping up his back he flicks the soap bar off his
knife with a violent thud into the shower tub.
INT. DINING ROOM. MORNING
NORMA hears a banging noise from upstairs and ducks away.
She looks up to the ceiling, her eyes wander from one end to
the other and back. She is listening carefuly to what is
happening upstairs. A dog barks outside.
NORMA continues checking the the correct alignment of the
dinner plates on the sideboard.
INT. SHOWER. MORNING
BRUCE lifts his knife back up from flicking off the soap bar
and starts scraping the dirt and soap off his back with the
cutting edge of it. Scars are visible on his back where he
has scraped the soap away. Some are newer and red in colour,
some are older and have faded.
EXT. STREET. MORNING
NORMA comes out of the door and closes it carefully behind
her. Quick paced she walks down the steps and down the
garden path and through the gate. She turns right. NORMA is
wearing her high school uniform and has a bundle of books
under her left arm.
EXT. STREET. AFTERNOON
NORMA walks into a catholic church. A few long beats a MAN
walks into the church as well.
FADE TO BLACK
FADE FROM BLACK
3.
EXT. STREET. AFTERNOON
NORMA and the MAN walk out of the church. They are holding
hands and look a bit sheepish. They kiss and walk off in two
separate directions.
EXT. STREET. AFTERNOON
NORMA walks down the street in her high school uniform. She
walks up the garden path and up the stairs. NORMA hesitates
before opening the door. She glides into the house and
closes the door very quietly.
INT. KITCHEN. EVENING
NORMA is sitting at the kitchen table working on her home
work. BRUCE walks into the kitchen and throws something
wrapped up in paper onto the kitchen table. It lands halfway
on top of NORMAS school books. The wrapping paper is blood
stained. NORMA gets up, takes the package to the kitchen
bench. She opens the wrapping and places the meat in a dish.
Out of a cupboard under the bench she gets potatoes. Peeling
and washing potatoes. BRUCE is still standing in the doorway
looking at NORMA. Every now and then NORMA has a secret peek
over her shoulder to see if BRUCE is still standing there.
Footsteps walk away. Long strides. NORMAS body tension
relaxes a bit.
INT. DINING ROOM. EVENING
NORMA, BRUCE and MUM are sitting at the dinner table and
eat. NORMA looks down at her plate and does not look up. No
one speaks.
MUM gets up halfway through her dinner and walks out of the
dinning room. She walks a bit unsteady. From the kitchen the
chinking sound of glass hitting glass and the pouring of
liquid is heard. MUM returns to the dinning room with a
water glass filled with scotch. She sits down, pushes her
plate away from her and takes a good look at the bottom of
her glass. Then she puts it down and looks at NORMA. Her
eyes squint for a second.
MUM
How was school?
NORMA puts her cutlery down and looks up.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
NORMA
Good.
MUM
(sarcastically)
Thats nice!
NORMA
I married John today.
NORMAS face has changed. It shows a spark of defiance. She
gets up and leaves.