Town Painters

by
Daniel Hentschel
DRAFT 2.2
FROM BLACK:
MALE VOICE (V.O.)
Shes such a bitch.
FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)
Hes so awful.
MALE VOICE (V.O.)
I have no idea how one person can
be so complicated.
FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)
Hes like a girl with a deep voice
and no heart.
MALE VOICE (V.O.)
Whatever, Im done her.
FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)
Im done with him, forget it.
EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT
Open on DAVE filling up his CAR with gas from the PUMP. Hes
gruff-looking, but theres a sensitivity in his eyes - a
desperate desire to please.
In the car behind him, we can see RITA, his girlfriend,
sitting in the passenger seat. A blond valley girl with her
head buried in her PHONE, shes apathetic and disengaged.
Shell probably roll her eyes as soon as we cut away from
her.
The DIGITS on the dashboard of the gas pump race upwards
with every decimal of fuel that floods through the nozzle.
Dave calls it quits at around 10 gallons.
INT. DAVES CAR - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
DAVE slams the door shut behind him as he shuffles into the
drivers seat.
DAVE
Okay, were good. Sorry about that,
I forgot to fill it up earlier.
RITA sits, channeling her passive frustration into the
vortex of her IPHONE.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
RITA
Its fine.
DAVE
Whats the matter?
Dave seems concerned and sincere, but talking to Rita is
like trying to a talk to a concrete wall.
RITA
Nothing.
DAVE
Whats wrong?
Rita looks at him with annoyance.
RITA
Nothing. Jesus.
DAVE (V.O.)
Of course she was lying, but she
wasnt gonna tell me. Who knows why
she gets upset with me anymore.
EXT. ROADSIDE - NIGHT
DAVE is sitting on the pavement against the side of his car
next to JAKE: a lanky kid wearing a Catcher in the Rye-esque
SNOW HAT. He listens while Dave tells his story.
DAVE (CONTD)
Maybe I shoved the gas pump into
the car too violently and she
thought it was offensive to rape
culture.
Jake works his way through a box of chewy CANDY while Dave
talks.
JAKE
I feel you, bro.
RITA (V.O.)
Its like he didnt care at all.
3.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT
RITA, eyes puffy and nose sniffily, sits in her room next to
another girl, JEN. Jen is everything Rita is not: brunette
and ready to listen. Their wardrobe of PJs and surrounding
landscape of used tissues suggest they are having a girls
night.
RITA (CONTD)
He made me feel like an errand.
Like something he just remembered
to pick up on his way back from
7-Eleven.
Jen offers her a box of tissues. Rita obliges and blows her
nose with the grace of a foghorn, as if there were a chance
her problems might eject amidst the mucus.
JEN
Dont be upset, Rita - youre a
great girl, and you dont belong at
a 7-Eleven.
RITA (CONTD)
Its just that I try so hard but
hes just-
INT. DAVES CAR - NIGHT
DAVE slams the door shut behind him as he shuffles into the
drivers seat. (This seems familiar.)
RITA
Everything good?
DAVE
Yeah.
RITA
Just forgot to fill it up earlier?
Dave seems cold and distant. Rita makes a good effort, but
talking to him is like talking to a brick wall.
DAVE
I guess. Didnt really think about
it much.
Rita shrugs.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
DAVE
Why, whats the matter?
RITA
Nothing, I was just wondering.
DAVE
No, what?
RITA
Nothing! Goodness gracious!
She giggles a little to assure him shes being genuine. Dave
rolls his eyes.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT
Right where we left off.
RITA
...hes just still just so awful.
JEN
Guys are just like that, Rita.
EXT. ROADSIDE - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
Back with DAVE and JAKE.
JAKE
Girls are just like that, Dave.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
JEN
They dont care about anything
unless it has to do with-
EXT. ROADSIDE - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
JAKE
-their own PMS.
5.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
JEN
-getting their noodles wet.
RITA
Damn straight, Jen.
EXT. ROADSIDE - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
DAVE
Thats damn right, Jake.
EXT. ROAD - NIGHT
DAVE and RITA drive down the small-town road.
INT. DAVES CAR - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
The mood hasnt changed, only festered in silence since they
last spoke. Dave make an attempt to pierce through the
tension.
DAVE
I dont suppose you have any
preference for where we go tonight?
RITA
Not really. Wherever you want is
fine.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT
RITA
Of course he hadnt planned
anything ahead of time.
EXT. ROADSIDE - NIGHT
DAVE
Of course she was just going to
make me decide again.
6.
INT. DAVES CAR - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
DAVE
Okay, well, do you want to just go
to Cheeseburger Factory?
Rita looks at him with disgust. Dave knows that face.
DAVE (CONTD)
(defensive)
Alright, well, you said you didnt
have a preference.
RITA
Im just not really in the mood for
Cheeseburgers.
DAVE
Thats a preference. Thats the
kind of thing youre supposed to
bring up when I ask whether or not
you have a preference.
RITA
Alright, Jesus, Im sorry, I just
didnt really think about it until
you mentioned it.
DAVE
Fine, just dont make me feel
stupid for suggesting something
when Im working off such little
information.
RITA
How did I make you feel stupid? I
didnt even respond.
DAVE
That face you made. That "youre an
idiot" face. As if you couldnt
possibly imagine how I could
suggest you stoop down to my level
of peasantry by indulging such a
terrible suggestion.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT
Back with RITA and JEN.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.
RITA
Jesus Christ.
EXT. ROADSIDE - NIGHT
Back with DAVE and JAKE.
DAVE
Look. Subtext is everything in a
relationship. Yes, you should be
honest, but honesty and lying
arent black and white. Its a
whole intricately woven spectrum.
JAKE
...are you sure?
DAVE
Yes. Its like... okay, picture an
iceberg.
A PICTURE OF AN ICEBERG APPEARS ONSCREEN
In an almost instructional visualization, Dave explains
subtext in a relationship using the iceberg, with each
portion being highlighted with an arrow and an affirmative
"ding" along with his voice-over.
DAVE (V.O.)
At the top of the iceberg, you have
the things you actually say. "We
can go wherever you want for
dinner," "Whatever makes you
happy," that kind of shit.
DAVE (V.O.) (CONTD)
The bottom half of the iceberg is
what the person actually means.
When the person says "Whatever
makes you happy," they probably
actually mean, "I want you to come
upon the thing that I want
yourself, because Ill feel less
abrasive."
DAVE (V.O.) (CONTD)
The line where the water separates
the bottom and the top of the
iceberg is how irritable the person
is that day.
8.
EXT. ROADSIDE - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
DAVE (CONTD)
Not that hard.
JAKE
Huh.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT
Back with RITA and JEN.
RITA
He does this thing called "The
Iceberg."
JEN
What, like... is that a sex move,
or something?
RITA
What?
INT. DAVES CAR - NIGHT
DAVE and RITA are still trying to decide where theyd like
to go for their date night.
RITA
Im not doing the iceberg thing,
Dave.
DAVE
Yes you are. If you werent, you
wouldve just said where you wanted
to go right off the bat, instead of
turning this into an ordeal.
RITA
Fine. God dammit. Lets just get
ice cream. I want ice cream, thats
what I want, just two scoops of
vanilla with hot fudge and
sprinkles. Thats it.
Dave is silent.
RITA (CONTD)
What?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 9.
DAVE
(sheepish)
Im just not... really in the mood
for ice cream.
INT. ICE CREAM PLACE - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
DAVE and RITA are ordering at the counter of an ice cream
place.
RITA
Can I have two scoops of vanilla
with hot fudge and sprinkles?
CLERK
Sure, what size?
RITA
The, uh... large one, I guess.
CLERK
And for you sir?
DAVE
Can I just have a cup of water?
INT. DAVES CAR - NIGHT
Back with DAVE and JAKE.
DAVE
I told her I didnt want any ice
cream.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT
RITA shakes her head angrily at Jen upon recalling the
incident.
EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT
RITA slaps DAVEs CUP out of his hand, spilling it onto the
ground.
RITA
Go to hell.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 10.
DAVE
I said I didnt want any ice cream,
I dont understand what the problem
is.
Rita begins to walk towards Daves car.
RITA
Youre taking me home now.
She gets into the car and slams the door behind her.
INT. DAVES CAR - NIGHT -- (CONTINUOUS)
DAVE drives RITA back to her house, racing against the
palpable tension. They are silent for a good while.
RITA
(hesitantly)
I just dont get why this keeps
happening.
Dave looks at her. She looks back. Through the silence, this
seems to be the first thing theyve been able to agree on
the entire night.
INT. RITAS ROOM - NIGHT
Back with RITA and JEN. Ritas eyes have glazed over.
RITA
Asshole.
Shes not even sure what she said, she just needed to say
something.
She glances back up from her momentary trance. She is alone,
other than a framed picture of her and DAVE sitting on her
nightstand.
EXT. 7-ELEVEN - NIGHT
A 7-ELEVEN in all of its convenience and glory.
11.
INT. 7-ELEVEN - NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS
DAVE and JAKE stand in front of REFRIGERATORS containing
canned beverages.
JAKE
What are you gonna get?
DAVE
Not really thirsty.
Dave reaches into his pocket and checks his PHONE. Nothing.
He stops for a second, considering resisting, then pulls it
up to his torso. Before he can even touch the screen, it
begins to vibrate.
A wider view. Dave is alone, but what does he care. We dont
see who is calling, but we dont need to.
CREDITS
FADE OUT