One Week By Bennyman

BLACK SCREEN STELLA (V.O) Its unhealthy to have a patient with that kind of relationship to you. RICHARD (V.O) Shes not my patient. INT. KITCHEN - DAY STELLA HEINES (Kathy Bates), in her early sixties, eats breakfast with RICHARD HEINES (Ciaran Hinds), a similarly-aged breakfast. RICHARD (CONT) Anyway, did I do the eggs right? STELLA Theyre great. I like them runny. Richard smiles lovingly. STELLA (CONT) You still talk to her, though. RICHARD Shes Reubins girlfriend. Not as her therapist. Stella is un-impressed. STELLA That girl needs more than therapy. RICHARD I think shes doing just fine. STELLA You just dont understand. Reubins not your son. You would care if someone like her was with one of your kids. Richard is offended and stops eating. RICHARD Id like to think Reubin is one of my children. Im his step-dad. Stella frowns, upset.

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2.

STELLA Sorry. I didnt mean that. Break. STELLA (CONT) I just hope shes okay this week. RICHARD She will be, I assure you. EXT. BUILDING SITE - DAY REUBEN JAMIESON (Jesse Eisenberg), in his late twenties, stands in front of a house that is on the verge of being complete with LUCE POWERS (Aubrey Plaza), who is heavily pregnant. A toddler, about 2 or 3, ETHAN JAMISEON, plays with a toy in his hand beside them. Reuben grabs Luces hand. REUBEN Did you see the little room near the laundry? The nursery? LUCE Uh-huh. So cute. They smile at eachother. Luce looks at a huge shipping containter on the lawn of the lot, locked securely. LUCE (CONT) Do you think its safe? All our stuff locked up like that? REUBEN Its safe enough. Dont worry, its a great neighbourhood and its only a week. You know how close my Mom and Richard live? We can check evberyday if you like. Luce shakes her, chuckling. LUCE Im just being stupid. Lets get this over with. Luce picks Ethan up and holds him by the hip. Reuben grabs him off her.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: REUBEN Hes too heaby for that now. Luce shrugs and they all get in the car. EXT. HEINES HOUSE - DAY

3.

An older but well-kept house. Reuben and Luces car is pulled up on the curb. Reuben hugs Stella at the front door. STELLA Wheres Ethan? REUBEN Hes in the car, Luce is just getting him out. Luce is getting Ethan out of a child seat. Stella yells into the house. STELLA Richard! Theyre here! Come help with the bags! REUBEN Its like, three bags. Were only here for a week. STELLA Luce cant carry things in her state. Ethan runs up to the house. Luce lights a cigarette by the car. STELLA(CONT) (sarcastic) Of course, she can still smoke. REUBEN Dont say anything, Mom. Ethan runs up to Stella. Stella picks him up. ETHAN Nanna! STELLA My little man. They hug.

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4.

STELLA (CONT) Did you see your new room? ETHAN Yeah, it has blue walls. Reuben smiles. REUBEN Blues his favourite colour. STELLA (bluntly) I know, hes my grandson. Richard walks out. RICHARD Reuben. How are you? REUBEN Richard. Hows its going? Richard tussels Ethans hair, who is still being held by Stella. Richard waves to Luce, who, still by the car, smiles and waves back. RICHARD Did your Mom tell you I retired? REUBEN Yeah, thats awesome. Must have been doing very well. RICHARD Very well. Sold the practise to a company from New York, Im set until...well, death, I guess. STELLA Hes on a cooking spree at the moment. Hes been making dinner since three. Richard is kind of embaressed. RICHARD Its roast. You have to. Stella puts Ethan down. Luce, carrying two small bags, approaches the house timidly. Richard grabs the bags off her.

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5.

RICHARD (CONT) Ill put them in the spare room. LUCE Thanks Richard. How are you Stella? STELLA Im great, Luce. Great. How many weeks? Reuben doesnt know. Reuben is uncomfortable. REUBEN I dont go to the doctor with her. LUCE Five weeks. I told you, Reub. REUBEN Sorry. It changes every week, yknow? Luce and Reuben smile at each other. Richard and Stella dont, almost as if they dont get it. LUCE Thankyou for letting us stay here. I know youve still got a business to run from here. STELLA Dont be stupid. Richards retired and it only takes one room to cut peoeples hair. They both smile. STELLA (CONT) Anyway, lets go inside before Richard fucks up the meal hes been cooking. INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT Richard, Stella, Reuben, Ethan, Luce and VIVIANE JAMIESON, Ruebens sister, (Lara-Flynn Boyle), in her late thirties, sit around a dining table and eat what appears to be a gourmet, well-made meal. VIVIANE So, Luce.

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6.

LUCE Viviane. VIVIANE What are you up to these days? I mean, Im assuming youre not at the gallery anymore. LUCE Well, youre right. Im not. VIVIANE So what are you doing then? I know Reubens doing well but surely not enough to support you and Ethan alone? The mood is tense and silent. Ethan perks up, hearing his name, but obviously doesnt understand. LUCE Im a curator at the Heckscher, but I start maternity leave in two weeks so Ive been writing a lot too. VIVIANE Writing? So thats your long term plan? Luce smiles, as does Viviane. Neither of them are sincere. LUCE My long term plans involve raising my family. I dunno if youd understand, not having kids and all. Reuben interupts them. REUBEN Vivian and Dad are starting a business. LUCE Thats interesting. Selling encyclopedias? Or car phones? I presume, anyway. The clinking of cutlery.

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7.

VIVIANE Im going to the bathroom. Viviane gets up. VIVIANE (CONT) Dinner is great, Rich. Richard smiles. RICHARD Thank-you Vivianne. The silence continues for quite a while after Vivianne leaves. STELLA Im sure no one was, but if youre wondering where Simon is hes at his girlfriends. REUBEN Yeah, I figured. STELLA Hell be back tomorrow, though. He really wants to catch up, Luce. LUCE Yeah, me too. Simons great. EXT. PORCH - NIGHT Luce sits on the back porch, in pyjamas, smoking a cigarette. As she takes a drag, Richard walks onto the porch. He sits next to her. LUCE Oh. Hey Rich. RICHARD Luce. LUCE Does Stella know I can see her looking at me through the window? RICHARD She doesnt like you smoking.

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CONTINUED: LUCE I dont either, really. Luce puts the cigarette butt out. RICHARD Im not going to lecture you. LUCE Youre not my therapist anymore, right? RICHARD Exactly. Pause. LUCE I miss it, though. Therapy with you. RICHARD I miss it too. Couldnt keep it up though, even if I didnt sell the practise. LUCE I know. Reuben thought it was weird. I told him you couldnt tell his Mom anything anyway, but he still didnt like it. RICHARD Have you got a new therapist? LUCE Im contemplating ending therapy. Richard shakes his head. RICHARD You cant. It doesnt just go away. LUCE Im still on my meds. RICHARD The meds are just part of it. You need to talk to someone. Reubens a smart boy, but hes not very mature with things like this. Luce nods.

8.

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9.

LUCE Do you agree with Stella? RICHARD About what? LUCE About me and Reuben. That Reuben made a bad decision being with me. That Ethan was a mistake, and this (re: belly) is another one. RICHARD She doesnt think that. She just wants to understand. Stella doesnt truely understand whats going on. Luce laughs. LUCE What a load of bullshit. She probably thinks Im suicidal, or crazy. Post-partum shit, like Im going to chuck a hair-dryer in the bath with Ethan. And shes married to a psychiatrist! I told my so-called friends in Brooklyn I was borderline and they thought I was being self-indulgent. RICHARD Youre not self-indulgent, and I know Stella is trying. LUCE Well maybe she is. But I know Viviane hates me. RICHARD And you have to understand why, Luce. Youre not blameless. LUCE But I dont get it. Im marrying Reuben, not Viviane. Not Stella. If they think Im some unstable filty hipster girl than thats Reubens problem, not theirs. RICHARD Maybe if you opened up to them more they would understand?

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10.

LUCE I dont want to open up to people who wanted a fucking DNA test on Ethan to be sure he was Reubens. RICHARD This isnt a therapy session so I can say this stuff, Luce. You DID cheat on Reuben. LUCE Yeah, I cheated on REUBEN - once and I TOLD him. I was down. He forgave me. Richard puts his hand on Luces knee. RICHARD I know. And I bet you miss being friends Vivian, too? Luce thinks for a second. RICHARD (CONT) You hurt Viviane that night as well. Richard gets up. LUCE I dont want to feel this with Reubens family for the rest of my life. RICHARD You made yourself an outsider, Luce. You dont want to repair it. Luce grumbles. LUCE Go to bed, Richard. Stella will make you charge me if you stay out here too long. RICHARD Youre proving my point. Goodnight Luce. Richard walks inside.

11. INT. SPARE BEDROOM Reuben lays in bed, half-asleep, and Ethan lays on a spare matress asleep. Luce creeps in and climbs into bed. Reuben stirs. REUBEN (quietly) Hey. Luce kisses Rueben on the neck and he rolls over, kissing her back. He recoils. REUBEN (CONT) You smell like smoke. He rolls over again. EXT. HEINES HOUSE - DAY Luce exits the house, dressed nicely, and walks towards the car. She unlocks it. Stella kneels in the front garden, planting seeds. STELLA You got work? LUCE Yeah. Todays Reubens day off so Im taking our car. Him and Ethan are still asleep. Stella smiles. STELLA Lazy boys. Drive safe. LUCE Yeah. Thanks, Stella. INT. ART MUSEUM Luce leads a group of TOURISTS through a modern and diverse art museum. She is finishing the tour. The tourists disperse and Luce politely smiles at each one, leaving. Another curator, CINDEY, around Luces age approaches.

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12.

CIDNEY Reckon thatll be the last one for the day? LUCE No idea. Isnt there some convention at the Stratford? CIDNEY The NRA. Not interested in anything mounted on a wall unless its a deer head . Lunch? LUCE Yeah. Right. INT. CAFE Luce and Cidney sit at a table in a hip cafe. Its busy. CIDNEY We ordered fucking forty five minutes ago. Reggies gonna call me any minute now saying we need to be back. LUCE Has Reggie ever actually done that? Cidney thinks. CIDNEY I dont think Reggie has my number. They both laugh inwardly. CIDNEY (CONT) Arent you staying at your in-laws? Did you tell me that or was it someone else? LUCE Not my in-laws. Reuben and I arent married. CIDNEY Yeah, what do you call them then? LUCE Excuse me?

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13.

CIDNEY If they arent your in-laws, what do you call them? LUCE Stella and Richard? I dont know. I dont care. CIDNEY What are they like? LUCE Reubens step-dad used to be my therapist, so hes alright. CIDNEY Oh, right. Therapy. LUCE Yeah. That. Luce sips her coffee. A WAITER brings them over their food. WAITER So sorry about the wait. Were jam-packed. CIDNEY So sorry about the tip, then. Cidney brushes the waiter off. Luce is made uncomfortable. CIDNEY (CONT) You cant be intimidated by wait staff. They have the easiest job in the world. I was a waitress at the busiest cafe in Manhatten to put myself through college. Luce laughs. LUCE (sarcastic) A real rags-to-riches story. CIDNEY Fuck you. After they divorced my parents couldnt pay for college and and therapy and meds like yours did.

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14.

LUCE Yeah, Im really sorry my life wasnt as hard as yours. Didnt you live in SoHo? CIDNEY Didnt you live in Brooklyn Heights? Whats your point? LUCE Nothing. Sorry. Really. Cidney tries her food. CIDNEY Seriously, it tastes like shit here. My cousins an idiot, this place is awful. Luce is quiet, in disagreement. CIDNEY (CONT) I think I met the sister once. LUCE You would have, her and I used to be pretty close I guess. It started out as sympathy cause I just moved to Long Island and she was like "yeah, come out with me and my friends". She was kind of awesome back then. CIDNEY Isnt she really old? LUCE Like, late thirties? She was born 73 or something. CIDNEY Shes too old to worry about. LUCE Thats gross, dont say stuff like that. We sound like fifteen year olds. CIDNEY Whats wrong with that?

15.

EXT. HEINES HOUSE - DAY Luce arrives back at the house, pulling up at the curb. All other cars are gone from the driveway except one, beat-up second-hand car. Luce walks in the house. INT. FOYER Luce inhales. She screws her face up. She smells something. She drops her handbag at the door of the spare room. She walks into the kitchen. INT. KITCHEN - DAY On the fridge door, a post-it note is read by Luce. It says: "Luce: me, mom and Rich took Ethan to see Aunt Becca. Be back for dinner. Love, Reubin." Luce inhales again. She follows the smell to the porch. EXT. BACK PORCH - DAY SIMON HEINEN, (17) sits on the back porch smoking a joint. Luce walks to the porch door silently and sees him. She is unsure whether to let her prescense be known. LUCE Simon. Simon almost leaps out of his seat. SIMON Fuck! Its just you. LUCE I can smell that from the front door. SIMON Mom and Dad dont know what it smells like. They think its the neighbours burning compost. LUCE Theres something wrong with them. Simon shrugs. Luce sits down. She lights a cigarette.

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16.

SIMON Thats bad for the baby. LUCE Pots bad for you. You want kids? SIMON No. LUCE Well. Good then. Luce takes a drag from her cigarette. SIMON Are you still crazy? LUCE Is that what your parents say? SIMON Mom implies it. Dad says he feels sorry for you? LUCE I was never crazy. SIMON It must suck being the black sheep. LUCE It must suck being Stellas kid. SIMON Ask your boyfriend? But yeah, it does. Luce thinks for a moment. LUCE No, I didnt mean that. Im sure shes fine. SIMON She is. First-world relativity I guess. I really want to be able to complain though. LUCE Complain about your sister, then.

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CONTINUED: SIMON Half-sister. LUCE No, seriously. Complain about her. SIMON She told everyone you cheated on Reuben but Dad made her keep it a secret from Mom. Luce is shocked. LUCE Stella doesnt know? SIMON We keep a lot of secrets from Mom. LUCE Oh. Now I kind of feel sorry for her. SIMON She overreacts. Remember how Vivian dated a woman for a while? I was like 13, so thats four years ago I guess. LUCE Ah yes, the failed lesbian phase. SIMON Mom cried for two days straight and tried to get us to go to church again. Dad set her straight and it turned out Vivian was just experimenting. LUCE Personally, early 30s is too late to be experimenting. If you want to experiment, do it now. SIMON Did you ever do it? LUCE Experiment? SIMON Yeah. Luce laughs.

17.

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18.

LUCE What a creepy question to ask, Simon. Im your future sister-in-law. SIMON You and Reuben are getting married? LUCE Another secret were keeping from Stella. SIMON Well, good luck. Simon puts the joint out. He walks to the garden bed, digs a tiny hole and covers it with soil. LUCE Thats stupid, I saw your Mom planting seeds this morning. Shes going to dig up the garden and see that. SIMON I could always blame you. LUCE Good idea. Do that. They both smile. The front door opens audibly. Simon runs up the porch and, quite hilariously, tries to "wade" the smell out of the air. STELLA (OS) You home Simon? SIMON Yeah, on the porch. STELLA (OS) What about Luce? SIMON Shes here too. A long silence from Stella.

19. INT. KITCHEN - DAY The sun is setting as Luce and Stella stand at the kitchen counter. Stella chops up a chicken breast. LUCE I thought Richard was the cook these days? STELLA Believe me, if he cooked everynight wed have to start sucking lemons to avoid scurvy. Luce laughs and Stella smiles to herself. LUCE Do you want any help? Stella looks shocked. STELLA Oh...no. Thats alright, dear. I think Reuben, Ethan and Richard will be home soon anyway. They stayed for a little longer than me. Becca gets on my nerves a little. LUCE Are you sure you dont want any help? STELLA Of course I am. Go make yourself at home. I relish cooking now that Richard tries to do it so often. I think he figured out how zen it is. Luce smiles and walks off. INT. SIMONS BEDROOM A knock. Simon sits on his bed with a laptop. SIMON Come in. Luce comes in. LUCE Your moms not letting me help make dinner.

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20.

SIMON Power play? LUCE Maybe. Maybe she wants your Dad and Reuben to come home and see me lazing around while she slaves in the kitchen. SIMON Maybe shes being a good host? No ulterior motive? LUCE You really believe that? SIMON No, that sounded stupid even as I said it. Luce smiles. LUCE (re: laptop) What are you looking at? SIMON Strangely enough, I was looking up the disorder thing Dad says you have and figuring out what meds you are one. Luce is taken aback. LUCE Are you one of those people who dont care about social boundaries? SIMON Like aspergers or like an asshole? LUCE Asshole. SIMON I guess. It says you can get prescribed xanax. LUCE Yeah, I am. So?

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21.

SIMON Me and my friends want some. Luce sits on the bed. LUCE Im not giving you prescription drugs. SIMON We just want to try it. Zane, a guy I know, takes his dads sometimes and he says its glorious. LUCE If you actually need it, it doesnt feel like anything at all. SIMON Well, I wont know if I dont try it. Luce frowns. LUCE Alright. Ill give you two if you do something for me. SIMON Like what? LUCE Tell me anything your mom or sister says about. SIMON I pretty much do that anyway, but alright. LUCE Ill give you it before I go to bed tonight. Outside the room, Richard and Reuben audibly come home. Luce stands up. SIMON Deal.

22.

INT. FOYER Luce picks up Ethan and cuddles him. Richard and Reuben drops their stuff at the door. REUBEN Fuck that was tiring. I really dont like that woman. LUCE Yeah? RICHARD We should have followed your Moms lead. REUBEN (to Luce) She used the excuse that she has three extra people to cook for to leave early. ETHAN I got cupcakes! REUBEN Yeah, and she stuffed him her gluten-free bullshit baked goods so now Im betting he wont eat dinner. ETHAN (laughing) Im not going to eat dinner! REUBEN How was work? LUCE Heaps of traffic, had to have lunch with Cidney, tours filled with rednecks. Pretty crappy all round. REUBEN I still think out day was worse. They smile and kiss. STELLA (O.S) Dinner in about half an hour everyone!

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23.

REUBEN Im gonna take a shower, can you try to calm him down before dinner? LUCE Yeah. (to Ethan) We can watch Family Guy with the sound muted! ETHAN Yay! INT. LIVING ROOM Luce sits on the sofa with Ethan in her lap watching the TV. Luce has a blank look on her face. She swallows, upset. BLACK SCREEN A phone ringing. INT. APARTMENT A tiny, kind of messy apartment. A MUCH YOUNGER, obviously not pregnant, Luce stands in front of the bathroom mirror and wipes tears from her eyes, ignoring the phone. Finally, she scrambles through the mess and grabs the phone. LUCE Hello? VIVIANE (OS) Hey, is this Luce? LUCE Yeah. Reubens in Florida for work, did you not know that? VIVIANE (OS) No, I knew. Im calling for you. LUCE Oh. VIVIANE (OS) So, Mom said you just moved to Long Island.

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24.

LUCE Yeah. VIVIANE (OS) And, I dunno, if you like, me and some of my friends are going to a club in town tonight if youre not doing anything. Is that weird? Sorry. LUCE Oh, no. Its not weird. That sounds great. VIVIANE (OS) Awesome, well swing by about 8? LUCE Thats great. INT. TRENDY BAR - NIGHT A trendy but quiet bar. Most people stand crowded around tables or the bar. No one is dancing.