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Script The Girl Who Loved A Statue
Script The Girl Who Loved A Statue
EUGENIA, 9, sits on the steps. Over her mousy brown hair she
wears a headband that perfectly matches her blue school
uniform. She and her friend watch Boy 1 standing in a small
group of other boys.
She gives the note to her friend, who passes it to Boy 1, who
keeps it close to his face so his friends can't see. He
checks one of the boxes and returns it, blushing and refusing
to make eye contact.
Eugenia jumps for the note. Boy 1 has checked "yes." For a
brief moment, Eugenia's face lights up. Then she glances at
Boy 1, who has mustered enough courage to look at her. Her
smile breaks suddenly. She runs back into the school
building.
FRIEND
He said no! That little shit!
EUGENIA
He said yes!
FRIEND
Then what's wrong? Isn't that what you
wanted?
EUGENIA
(crying)
You don't get it! I don't like him
anymore! I don't like him anymore!
FADE TO:
CUT TO:
BOY 2
Eugenia! I love you!
CUT TO:
Luca sets the protein shake on the coffee table and sits down
beside her. He wraps a hairy, muscular arm around her. She
feigns a smile. He begins making out with her.
EUGENIA
I need to use the bathroom.
LUCA
(smirking)
Do you want to shower together?
EUGENIA
No.
She goes to the bathroom and shuts the door quickly. Leaning
against the rusty sink, she pulls out her pink-polka-dot-
encased phone and goes to her "Frequently contacted" section.
She clicks on the first result: "Francesco," with a cheese
emoji beside it.
FRANCESCO (O.S.)
Eugenia! How's the smokingly hot
wonderfully fit broodingly artistic--
EUGENIA
(in a hushed tone)
Can you pick me up?
FRANCESCO (O.S.)
Pick you up? Why, I thought you were
totally into Luca!
EUGENIA
That's how it usually goes, now, isn't
it?
FRANCESCO (O.S.)
Bad in bed?
EUGENIA
No, he's not.
FRANCESCO (O.S.)
Then what could it possibly be this
time?
EUGENIA
Can you just pick me up? Please. I'll
tell you in the car. And I'll buy you
Noni's.
FRANCESCO (O.S.)
Who can say no to Noni's? Fine, I'll
save you from your misery. Twenty
minutes.
CUT TO:
LUCA
Eugenia!
EUGENIA
I'm sorry.
LUCA
Who is this? Are you seeing someone
else?
Eugenia gets in the passenger seat and shuts the door. The
car rolls away.
LUCA
(calling out)
I'll beat him up!
CUT TO:
FRANCESCO
(overly cheery)
Good morning, Eugenia!
FRANCESCO (CONT.)
I am very much ready for this episode
of "Eugenia Tells All."
EUGENIA
I don't know. I don't know what's
FRANCESCO
This has happened--how many times now?
With Nico, with that American kid
James--I think he was gay, by the way--
EUGENIA
He was not!
FRANCESCO
--and that one time I hooked you up
with my friend Alessandro...
EUGENIA
It's happened ever since I was little.
Where are we going? I thought Noni's
was that way.
FRANCESCO
We're not going to Noni's.
FRANCESCO (CONT.)
I was at home thinking, "this little
town is so boring! What would a
tourist do?" So I went on Yelp--
FRANCESCO (CONT.)
Don't laugh! I went on Yelp, and I
found this weird monument not too far
from here. I had no idea it exists but
there's a nice garden in front, so I
thought, "I'll bring some wine and
some cheese and Eugenia can tell me
all about her latest disaster!"
EUGENIA
Oh--screw you! I'm just here for the
wine!
FRANCESCO (O.S.)
So did his breath smell?
EUGENIA (O.S.)
No! Not as bad as yours! Shut up!
CUT TO:
EUGENIA
Where are you going?
FRANCESCO
I need to pee.
EUGENIA
You need to pee? Where are you going
to pee?
FRANCESCO
I don't know. Stop following me.
EUGENIA
(still laughing)
You can't hold it until we leave?
FRANCESCO
Are you still following me? (He
glances behind his shoulder.) Knock
off, Eugenia! You always try to do
this!
Eugenia giggles. She gives him his space and trails toward
FRANCESCO
(looking at her, confused)
Eugenia--
SECURITY GUARD
Not so close!
FRANCESCO
(chuckling)
You really like art don't you,
Eugenia?
EUGENIA
(under her breath)
He's beautiful.
EUGENIA (CONT.)
Who-- Excuse me, who was this man?
There's no placard.
SECURITY GUARD
(gruffly)
I don't know.
FRANCESCO
No one knows. On Yelp it just said
that it was recently discovered.
EUGENIA
(staring at the statue)
That's it?
FRANCESCO
I think so. Maybe it said it was from
the 17th century.(Incredulously he
glances at Eugenia, who's still
looking at it in awe.) It just looks
like any other statue to me.
Eugenia is silent.
FRANCESCO
(hushed)
Do you think he's sexy? He looks like
he's packing.
FRANCESCO (CONT.)
Are you okay?
EUGENIA
(breathlessly)
I'm just so--
Her legs wobble, and she falls butt-first onto the ground.
Her expression does not even flinch; she continues gazing up
at the statue. Francesco swoops in and grabs her from under
the armpit.
FRANCESCO
Eugenia--do you need me to get you
home?
EUGENIA
(loudly)
No!
FRANCESCO
You know, I've read about this before.
(He glances at the security guard.)
Florence Syndrome--it's very rare, you
see, but you can faint upon seeing a
beautiful artwork. Although, we're not
in Florence, and I wouldn't say this
FRANCESCO
So, drunk girl, would you hit that?
EUGENIA
I'm not drunk.
FRANCESCO
But you'd hit it.
EUGENIA
Don't be silly. He's a statue.
CUT TO:
FRANCESCO
(sleepily)
I don't even know how many hours we've
been here.
EUGENIA
What was that?
FRANCESCO
Eugenia. Let's go. We're leaving.
FRANCESCO (CONT.)
If you want to stay any longer you'll
have to take an Uber back. I'm tired
of looking at this damn statue.
WE WATCH FROM THE STATUE'S EYE LEVEL AS THEY WALK TO THE CAR.
CUT TO:
FRANCESCO
Feeling better?
EUGENIA
I literally can't find anything about
the statue anywhere other than Yelp.
FRANCESCO
You're still--Are you kidding me?
You're obsessed, Eugenia!
EUGENIA
(defensively)
You know how I like art!
FRANCESCO
Not like this! If I didn't know any
better, I'd say you're in love with
this fucking statue.
Eugenia is silent.
FRANCESCO
You are, aren't you! This is sick.
EUGENIA
I'm not--
FRANCESCO
And you know why you're in love with
it? It's inanimate. It will never
talk, or love you back, and so you'll
never get tired of it. God help an
actual human who tries to love you!
EUGENIA
Francesco--
Her eyes move back to the photo on her screen. She gazes at
it for a few seconds, transfixed. Her hand starts to travel
to her pants.
EUGENIA
(irritated)
What?
EUGENIA
Fine.
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
Where have you been all day? I hope
EUGENIA
Mom--
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
He's a no good troublemaker! You
remember what he did that one time
when he was in school with you--
EUGENIA
Mom. Not now. It--it wasn't Francesco--
it was Sara.
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
(her voice fading away)
Sara? Who's Sara? You hardly have any
girfriends, Eugenia--the only one I
know about is Anna Maria...
CUT TO:
CUT TO:
AMERICAN MAN
(in English)
Excuse me, my wife here's a botanist
and she and I were wondering about a
certain kind of flower--those reddish,
kind of yellowy ones right below the
fountain--here, we can show you--
SECURITY GUARD
(from a distance)
HEY!
SECURITY GUARD
You there! Stop right now! You're
crazy!
FRANCESCO
Get in! Your bike's in my trunk .
Hurry. Hurry!
CUT TO:
EUGENIA
(breathlessly)
How did you know?
FRANCESCO
(putting the car into drive)
I had a bad feeling.
EUGENIA
What are you doing?
EUGENIA
Francesco, what the FUCK are you
doing?
The car is twenty meters away from the monument. Through the
rearview mirror he glances at the guard, his eyes gleaming
with excitement and nervousness.
FRANCESCO
We're stealing the statue.
EUGENIA
Francesco!
SECURITY GUARD
(shouting from a distance)
Stop! What do you think you're doing?
SECURITY GUARD
STOP! Stop right now.
FRANCESCO
And you thought Luca was the only one
EUGENIA
Are you crazy?
EUGENIA
I didn't know your car could go that
fast.
FRANCESCO
Neither did I.
EUGENIA
Why the fuck did you do that?
FRANCESCO
For you--why else?
EUGENIA
I didn't want it.
FRANCESCO
It's an olive branch.
EUGENIA
The last thing I want is for you to
get in trouble-
FRANCESCO
Take it.
He shoots her a glance. She stares into her lap. A few beats
pass.
EUGENIA
What if it had been fixed to the
ground?
Francesco shrugs.
FRANCESCO
We need to take some chances, don't
we?
SHOT OF THE CAR FROM OVERHEAD, DRIVING THROUGH THE LANE LINED
WITH CYPRESS TREES.
FADE TO:
She leans in to kiss him. Right as she does so, her foot
stretches out forcefully and she accidentally kicks the
statue, knocking it over. A second before their lips meet,
there's a crash.
FADE TO:
FADE TO:
The dining room is lit with a warm, yellow glow. Eugenia, her
mother, and one of her little brothers sit at a wooden table
with mismatched cutlery and colorful cloth napkins. Eugenia
stares into her pasta wistfully.
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
Eugenia, where have you been all day?
Eugenia does not hear her; she rolls one of her meatballs
around the plate with a fork.
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
Eugenia? What are you thinking about?
Oh-did you hear that boy Francesco
went to jail?
EUGENIA
(shooting up from her chair)
WHAT?
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
(scooping some more spaghetti onto
Eugenia's brother's plate)
For stealing and destroying an old
statue, of all things! It's about time--
remember he never got in trouble for
the graffiti on the cathe--
BRUNO
Mama! Look what I found in the yard.
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
Bruno, I told you to come inside
already! Your food's going to get
cold!
EUGENIA
What is that?
Eugenia's mother has come up from behind. She gasps and puts
her hand to her heart when she sees what it is.
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
Oh-now we're ALL going to jail!
EUGENIA'S MOTHER
(sternly)
Where are YOU going, young woman?
EUGENIA
(calling out over her shoulder)
I have something I need to fix.
CUT TO:
FRANCESCO
Eugenia!
GUARD
You have five minutes.
EUGENIA
Francesco--I'm so sorry. (Tears well
in her eyes.)
FRANCESCO
(quietly)
Don't cry.
He reaches out through the bars and wipes away her tears.
Eugenia grabs his hand.
EUGENIA
How long will you be in here?
FRANCESCO
(shrugging)
A few years at most.
EUGENIA
(in a whisper)
What can I do?
FRANCESCO
Don't worry about it. (He attempts a
grin.) It was bound to happen at some
point.
EUGENIA
How--how did they find you?
FRANCESCO
(shrugs)
That fucking security guard probably
memorized my license number or
something.
EUGENIA
I can't help but feel like this is all
my fault. I broke the statue-
FRANCESCO
Shhh. (He gazes at her tenderly.)
Don't say that. I was the one who
stole it in the first place. At least
now you know there's someone even
crazier than you.
EUGENIA
Francesco--
EUGENIA (CONT.)
I love you.
FRANCESCO
(chuckling)
No wonder you love me now--I'm like a
statue here.
EUGENIA
No, not just now. I loved you the
moment we were running away from that
bitch of a security guard. You were
laughing and--you were brilliant, and
scared to death. How could I love a
statue now that I've seen something
so... alive?
FRANCESCO
Write to me.
She nods. They lock eyes as the guard pulls her away.
FADE TO:
EUGENA (V.O.)
Dear Francesco, I'm going to the
Università degli Studi di Torino to
study art history like I've always
wanted. Maybe now I can learn more
about the statue we broke. Too soon?
(A beat passes.) One day soon when you
get out we're going to make love in
that garden we drank in, right in
front of that security guard. I
promise it'll happen. Maybe this time,
we'll both go to jail. Who knows. I'd
go anywhere with you. Just no more
Yelp recommendations, please. Love,
Eugenia.
Eugenia bikes down the same road as before. When she reaches
the monument, she lays down her bike and takes the fragment
of the statue's face out of the basket. The security guard
(the same woman as before) watches her with extreme sternness
as she approaches. Eugenia gives the guard the marble
fragment, with a smile and a shrug. The guard is astonished.
She stares at Eugenia for a few beats, then her face softens
slightly. She nods once, then stares straight ahead. Eugenia,
looking satisfied, gets back on her bike and travels down the
road again.
FADE TO BLACK.