Songtext
Wähl bis zu sechs Zeilen für eine Karte aus.
INT. CLOTHING STORE - AFTERNOON
Women's casual wear department. J.C. Penny.
Legend "1961"
An African-American man carrying two J.C. Penny shopping bags is ushered past the department store managers and security guards on walkies that have gathered at
the entrance to the woman's dressing rooms.
CUT TO:
INT. DRESSING ROOM - AFTERNOON
A bed has been formed by a chair and three benches.
A STRIKING AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN in her twenties lays across it. Her face and clothes are covered in sweat. Her skirt is stained.
She holds something wrapped in a soft sweatshirt on her chest. We can't see it, but WE HEAR THE BABY CRYING.
She's just given birth.
There are three frazzled saleswomen in the dressing room with her. They watch her with quiet smiles.
A fourth SALESWOMAN arrives ushering in the man with the shopping bags.
SALESWOMAN
This is Mr. Mathison. He's a doctor.
DR. MATHISON looks over the scene and then directly at the striking woman.
DR. MATHISON
You okay?
The woman nods, "Yes." Sweat trickles down her face. THE BABY'S PIERCING CRIES ECHO IN THE SMALL ROOM.
SALESWOMAN
An ambulance is on the way.
Dr. Mathison puts down his shopping bags and moves to her. He kneels down and gestures for the bundle of sweatshirts in her arms.
DR. MATHISON
Is there a name yet?
Beat. The woman smiles for the first time.
WOMAN
Elijah.
She hands him the wrapped child. We can't see the baby, but THE PIERCING CRIES SEEM TO GET LOUDER.
WOMAN
Is he supposed to be crying like that?
The doctor lowers the baby to his lap and unwraps him.
The woman can't see her baby anymore. She watches Dr. Mathison as he looks down and examines her child. Beat. Dr. Mathison doesn't look up for the longest time.
WOMAN
Can I have him back?
THE BABY'S CRYING IS RELENTLESS. UNNERVING. Beat.
The doctor finally glances up. He looks shaken. He makes eye contact with the woman for only a second. It's enough. A chill goes through her body.
He looks to the three saleswomen who were in the room.
DR. MATHISON
What happened during the delivery?
His hard stare unsettles the women. The OLDER SALESWOMAN speaks up.
OLDER SALESWOMAN
Nothing. It was very quick.
The baby just wanted to come
right out. There was no
problems.
DR. MATHISON
Did you drop him?
Everyone becomes very still. The mother looks like she stopped breathing. THE BABY'S SCREAMING ENGULFS THE ROOM.
DR. MATHISON
Did you drop this baby?
Beat.
OLDER SALESWOMAN
Jesus Christ, no.
The BABY SCREAMS.
The doctor whispers something to himself, we can't hear. He looks up to the saleswoman who brought him in.
DR. MATHISON
Please inform the ambulance we have a situation...
Dr. Mathison turns back to the mother. Beat.
DR. MATHISON
I've never seen this... It appears your infant sustained some fractures while in your uterus.
(beat)His arms and legs are broken.
FADE TO BLACK:
EXT. TRAIN STATION NEW JERSEY - DAY
LEGEND "PRESENT DAY"
A fountain of humanity bubbles up from the escalators to the train platform.
Businessmen take their last desperate drags of their cigarettes... Women traveling with children herd their luggage and offspring into tight shapes as they move... College students with backpacks look around dazed at the various track numbers.
ANNOUNCER(o.s.)
Last call track three, Amtrak Clocker making it's
final stop at Philadelphia's thirtieth street station.
First two passenger cars only. First two cars only.
A face inside the train watches the stream of passengers emerging from the escalators. DAVID DUNNE, a man in his early forties, rest his temple against the glass and quietly observes the movement outside.
The train starts to pull out.
CUT TO:
INT. PASSENGER CAR - DAY
David sits with his coat on his lap. He's wearing a tie. He doesn't look very
comfortable in it.
He feels a stare. He looks up to find a girl, six or seven years old, peering at
him from over the seat in front of him. She just gazes at him blankly.
He gives her a small forced smile. She doesn't react. David returns his head to
the window.
His eyes begin to shut with the lulling movement of the train.
WOMAN(o.s.)
You alone?
David looks in the direction of THE VOICE. A WOMAN with dark hair and light blue
eyes stands in the aisle with two bags over her shoulder. She's wearing a tight
white t-shirt and jeans. She's beautiful.
David nods "yes."
The woman starts putting her bags on the shelf above the seats. She stretches to
get them up. Her toned stomach is exposed. She has a silver ring pierced through
her navel.
David has a gold ring on his hand. He fiddles with it. Beat. He gently slips off
his wedding band. It goes into his coat pocket.
The woman takes the seat next to him.
Beat. A LOUD VIOLENT BURST OF SOUND. The passenger car shakes as a passing
train barrels by two feet from David's window. It passes in a few seconds. The
car returns to a QUIET HUM.
David pulls a magazine out from the seat pocket in front of him.
He holds the woman's fashion magazine out.
DAVID
Someone left these. You want
one?
The woman looks over the one being offered and then points to the Sports
Illustrated peeking out of the seat pocket.
David pulls the magazine out and gives it to her.
DAVID
You like sports?
WOMAN
It's my field. I represent
athletes. I'm an agent.
DAVID
What a coincidence? I'm a
male synchronized swimmer
and I'm looking for
representation.
WOMAN(smiling)
Is that right?
DAVID
But I'm afraid of water, so
that's been holding my
career back a little bit.
The woman laughs.
DAVID
You represent someone in
Philadelphia?
WOMAN
I'm meeting a player from
Temple University. He's a
cornerback. You like
football?
Beat.
DAVID
Not really.
WOMAN
This kid is six foot two,
two hundred and forty
pounds. He runs the fifty in
under six seconds. He's
going to be a God.
Beat. David studies the excitement in her eyes.
ANOTHER LOUD VIOLENT BURST OF SOUND. David waits till the opposing train passes.
The woman goes back to her magazine. Beat.
DAVID
I'm David Dunne.
The woman looks up.
WOMAN
Kelly.
She goes back to the magazine.
Beat.
DAVID
How long are you staying in
Philly?
KELLY looks up from her Sports Illustrated. Her striking blue eyes gaze at David.
Beat.
She holds up her hand. Taps the diamond ring on her finger.
KELLY(soft)
I'm married.
DAVID(fake excitement)
Great.
Beat.
KELLY
Sorry.
DAVID(fake confusion)
What are you talking about?
An awkward silence.
DAVID
I think you got the wrong
idea.
The woman stares at David. She looks down. Beat. Closes the magazine.
KELLY
I'm going to find another
seat.
Kelly gets up. She balances herself against a headrest as the train rumbles. She
starts to the back of the car.
David sits alone. He looks like he's drowning, but there's no water.
He feels a stare. He glances up. The little girl spies on him from between the
seats.
David leans towards the window to avoid eye contact. His hand reaches into his
coat and slides out his wedding band. He puts it back on.
His temple touches the glass. The vibration of the train begins to lull his eyes
closed... Beat.
David's head bounces lightly against the window.
The shaking of the glass never allows David's eyes to completely close.
He sits up when he realizes the shaking is getting stronger.
He looks out the window. The scenery blurs as it flies by. Beat.
David turns. Some of the other passengers start to react as they realize the
train is picking up speed.
The normal bumps of the tracks become amplified.
The WORRIED VOICES OF THE TRAVELERS START FILL THE CABIN.
The train goes faster.
AND THEN THE HIGH PITCHED METAL ON METAL SCREECHING STARTS AS THE TRAIN BEGINS TO
TAKE A CURVE.
David's eyes move to the seat in front of him. The little girl is no longer
watching him.
DAVID LOOKS TO THE PASSENGERS ACROSS FROM HIM. He sees the ground slowly drop
away in the windows behind them as THEIR SIDE OF THE TRAIN STARTS TO RISE...
THE PASSENGERS SCREAM AS THE AMTRAK PASSENGER TRAIN BEGINS TO TILT OFF THE
TRACK...
CUT TO:
INT. FAMILY ROOM - AFTERNOON
A boy, age ten, sits on his head on the family couch and watches television
upside down. His floppy brown hair spreads out in a circle in front of his red
face. He changes channels with a remote control.
He moves past the upside down cartoons and the upside down talk shows. He stops
on an upside down picture of a crashed train. Beat.
His knees come forward as he flips over. He tumbles slowly off the couch and onto
the carpet. JEREMY DUNNE gazes at the television screen... A LIVE AERIAL VIEW OF
A TRAIN WRECK SMOULDERING BELOW IS SEEN. Two trains are tangled like snakes.
Jeremy gets up and moves to a small table with a phone. Next to the phone is a
notepad. On it is written...
"Dad - Amtrak 177 - 3:40pm."
Jeremy looks at the television. At the bottom of the screen in red block letters
that move from right to left are words and numbers..."The 3:40 Amtrak 177 has
derailed... Amtrak Emergency number is 1-800-777-4322... The 3:40 Amtrak 177 has
derailed...Amtrak"
Jeremy doesn't take his eyes off the screen. He makes a small desperate noise
that no one hears.
CUT TO:
INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER - LATE AFTERNOON
An elderly woman can't hold back any longer and SCREAMS. An embarrassed, tortured
helpless scream.
MEGAN DUNNE continues applying pressure to her arm which is being pushed back as
far as it will go.
She counts to three and eases off. She lays her arm back in her lap.
WE ARE IN A PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER. About a dozen people are on specialized
weight machines.
The elderly woman is seated on an exercise table and breathes slowly.
MEGAN
You okay, Virginia?
Beat. VIRGINIA shakes her head, "No."
MEGAN
I'll put something on the
t.v. Maybe we'll find some
almost naked guys to inspire
you.
Megan reaches up to the t.v. monitor mounted on the wall. She turns it on and
starts flipping channels. She stops on ESPN where a swimming meet is underway.
Men in bikini swimsuits line the edges of the pool.
Virginia starts watching with great interest.
Megan's eyes move to the tiny print moving across the bottom of the screen. Her
face goes still as she reads the train number... 177.
CUT TO:
INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - AFTERNOON
DAVID DUNNE'S EYES SLOWLY OPEN. THE DULL WHITE OF THE OVERHEAD TUBE LIGHTING
BLINDS HIM AT FIRST.
He blinks his vision back. He realizes he's in a bed.
WE HEAR AGITATED VOICES, MOVEMENT.
David looks around. He's in an emergency room. There are a half dozen prep areas
and beds next to him. They're all empty.
DAVID FOLLOWS THE URGENT SOUNDS OF ACTIVITY TO A PREP AREA DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM
HIM.
He can only see glimpses of activity through the drawn curtain. A group of
emergency room personnel are treating a man whose body is twitching violently on
a gurney.
One of the group is a man who glances through the opening in the curtain. He
notices David sitting up from across the room.
THE MAN IN SCRUBS leaves the group and walks over.
MAN IN SCRUBS
How are you feeling?
DAVID
Okay.
He FLASHES A LIGHT in David's eyes.
MAN IN SCRUBS
You are in the emergency
room of the University of
Pennsylvania Hospital. You
were in a serious accident.
(beat)
How's your vision?
DAVID
Fine.
David stares across as the scene with the other patients becomes more frantic and
disturbing.
MAN IN SCRUBS
Where were you sitting on
the train?
DAVID
Against a window.
MAN IN SCRUBS
In the passenger car?
DAVID
Yes. Where are the rest of
the passengers?
MAN IN SCRUBS
Was your family traveling
with you?
DAVID
No.
MAN IN SCRUBS
Did you get up from your
seat?
DAVID
No.
David watches the other patient.
MAN IN SCRUBS
You're certain you were in
the passenger car?
David turns to the man.
DAVID
Yes... Why are you looking
at me like that?
Beat.
MAN IN SCRUBS
Your train derailed... Some
kind of malfunction... It
took a curve way to fast. A
second train collided with
yours after it derailed. The
debris is spread over one
mile. It's unbelievable they
said.
(beat)
They only found two people
alive so far... You and him.
David looks to the other passenger now laying unnaturally still in the desperate
whirlwind of activity around him.
MAN IN SCRUBS
The man's skull was cracked
open and most of his left
side was crushed.
Beat.
MAN IN SCRUBS
And to answer your question,
there are two reasons why
I'm looking at you like
this.
David turns and stares at the man.
MAN IN SCRUBS
One, because it seems, in a
few minutes, you will
officially be the only
survivor of this train
wreck.
(beat)
And two, because you don't
have a scratch on you. You
didn't break one bone.
CUT TO:
INT. EMERGENCY RECEPTION AREA - EVENING
David moves through the depressing milky corridors of the hospital. He opens a
set of double doors.
A room crammed with cameras and photographers explodes with movement.
A CHILD'S VOICE BREAKS THEIR NOISE.
JEREMY
I told you!
Jeremy Dunne pushes forward through the mob of people and cameras. He bursts out
and runs to David. He wraps his arms around David's waist. David just stands
there, aware that the cameras are catching it all. He's overwhelmed.
Hospital staff and a couple police officers push the media back.
Jeremy tugs David to lean down. He does.
JEREMY
They thought everybody on
the train died.
David looks at his son's face. Wipes the tears on his cheek.
JEREMY
I told them they were wrong.
A woman moves to them. David stands up and faces Megan Dunne.
JEREMY
Mom even cried.
David looks at Megan's eyes.
JEREMY
A lot.
Megan looks away.
MEGAN
Not a lot.
They stand there for a moment. David looks shaken. Jeremy takes hold of his hand.
JEREMY
Let's go home.
Megan nods. They move to the exit. The pack of cameras and reporters burst to
life as they leave the building. They jockey for position to get a last glimpse
of David Dunne.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
David eats a bowl of pasta alone in a modest kitchen. He stares at his hand.
Opens and closes it slowly. Beat.
He rises and puts the bowl away in the sink.
INT. FRONT HALL - NIGHT
David stops just before rising the stairs. He glances into a bedroom at the
bottom of the stairs. The doorway is half open. He makes eye contact with his
wife. Beat.
DAVID
I don't think I got the job
in New York.
MEGAN
What does that mean?
DAVID
I'm still going to New York.
Just not this second.
MEGAN
I don't want to drag this
out too long for Jeremy.
DAVID
I know.
Beat.
DAVID
How about in the meantime,
you don't sleep in the
guestroom anymore?
(beat)
You sleep in our room. I'll
sleep down here.
Beat.
MEGAN
It stopped being our room a
long time ago.
(beat)
You should go up and get
some rest.
Beat. Megan slowly closes the door to the guest bedroom.
CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
David looks at his son asleep in his bed.
DAVID
Jeremy, why don't you go
sleep with your mom?
JEREMY(eyes closed)
I want to sleep here
tonight.
DAVID
I think it's be better if I
was alone.
JEREMY(eyes closed)
I won't make any noise.
DAVID
How about your room then? If
you get scared like before,
you can come back in here?
Beat. Jeremy doesn't answer because he's asleep. David rubs his forehead and gets
up. He turns on the t.v., low volume, as he moves into the bathroom.
CUT TO:
INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT
Hot water rushes over David's face as he stands in the shower. His attention is
drawn to the t.v. which is seen through the slightly open bathroom door.
He turns off the water to HEAR.
NEWS ANCHOR(t.v.)
...Derailed approximately
seven and half miles outside
Philadelphia. It came to
rest on its side on the
northbound tracks. It is
train officials belief that
some if not most of the
passengers were still alive
at this time.
NEWS ANCHOR(t.v.)
The momentary peace lasted
only a few seconds. A Boston
bound freight train on the
northbound tracks was
seconds away from passing
train 177 when it derailed.
The impact happened at about
three-fifteen p.m. The first
of the two occupied
passenger cars was severed
in half and sent careening
in two directions. The
second of the passenger cars
was crushed and dragged for
four hundred feet. Six crew
members were on the freight.
One hundred and eighteen
passengers and seven crew
members were on the
passenger train... There is
one reported survivor.
(beat)
Rescue teams will be working
for the next forty-eight
hours removing bodies and
debris.
David steps out of the shower. He sees a glimpse of Jeremy asleep in bed. David
shuts the door. Locks it.
He gets back into the shower and turns the water back on.
He closes his eyes. His face tightens up. He slowly hunches down and takes a seat
on the tiled floor of the shower. Water pours over him. Beat.
His muscular body begins to shake. Then we realize he's crying.
FADE TO BLACK:
EXT. FAIR - DAY
LEGEND "1969"
A hazy afternoon. A fair has come into town. They have set up in the vast parking
lot of the local high school.
A line of women has formed in front of the portable bathrooms.
The striking African American woman we saw giving birth is now standing in line.
She is older and somehow more beautiful.
She stands with a skinny, almost ethereal looking African American boy. The boy
wears a metal brace on his leg. THE EIGHT YEAR OLD ELIJAH holds two oversized
stuffed animals in his arms. He looks back over his shoulder as THE SOUND OF
VOICES YELLING IN EXCITEMENT FILL THE AIR. His eyes dance over the many colorful
rides in the parking lot.
The door opens to one of the portable bathrooms. A woman steps out.
Elijah's mother touches his head and enters the three foot square plastic
bathroom. She turns back and gives him a look.
MOTHER
We'll play the water pistol
game next.
Elijah nods, "Yes" happily.
The mother closes the cubicle door. Elijah is left alone amongst the line of
women. They stare at him blankly. Their eyes moves over his leg brace. Elijah
doesn't like it. He moves away from the line.
A CRESCENDO OF CHEERS RISES IN THE AIR FROM SOMEWHERE IN THE FAIR. Elijah follows
the voices. He carries the stuffed animals through the crowds of people. CLICK.
CLICK. CLICK. His metal brace sounds as he walks.
For a moment, he sees nothing but bodies all around him.
He emerges amongst a huddle of teenagers who wait at a turnstile.
A man in a red and white striped coat takes their tickets and waves them in.
Elijah looks up and sees the sign above the turnstile... "The Hurricane."
He watches the teenagers giggle as they each into a grey cup-like seat. They pull
the metal bars down in front of them.
The man in the red and white stripes leaves the turnstile.
Elijah stares up at the multi-colored sign. Beat. He moves quickly. Ducks under
the turnstile and climbs onto the platform.
Elijah finds and empty circular seat. He slips inside the gray metal compartment
and sits. He pulls down the rusted metal bar in front of him.
He looks around at all the excited faces. His eyes fill with excitement too.
His small hands feel the cold metal of the interior of the compartment. His
expression changes.
Elijah looks to the stuffed animals in his arms. He presses them to check their
softness. He places the stuffed animals on either side of him on the seat. He's
wedged in between them. Feels good.
He reaches out and touches the hard rusted metal bar in front of him. Elijah
looks a little anxious. Beat.
He pulls off his sweater and wraps it around the bar. It goes around twice before
he ties the arms together. He checks its softness.
Elijah looks around the customized cup-like compartment he sits in. He smiles an
eight year old smile of pride.
AND THEN HE HEARS HIS MOTHER'S VOICE.
He searches around and finds her walking in the waves of people. He hears her
calling.
MOTHER
Elijah...
She moves in his direction by chance. She finds herself at the entrance to The
Hurricane ride. She looks up at the sign above the turnstile. Her worried eyes
immediately start searching the young faces in the gray circular compartments.
Her eyes meet Elijah's. He waves. Her face goes very still.
A HUGE ROAR OF MACHINERY as the ride starts up.
Elijah yells to his mother as the platform starts running.
ELIJAH
I won't get hurt momma! I'm
safe!
HIS WORDS GET EATEN UP BY THE CHEERS OF THE TEENAGERS AND THE GRIND OF MACHINERY.
The platform spins. He sees a glimpse of his mother and the red and white striped
man. She's pointing at Elijah.
The platform turns... Elijah sees a flash of the red and white striped man's
angered face as he yells at the frantic woman next to him.
And then the ride speeds up.
The gray circular seats start to spin on their own. The teenagers CHEER.
Elijah's eyes fill with joy as the wind plays against his face.
Suddenly the ride changes directions. The cup-like seats get jerked. Everyone
grabs the metal bars to hold on.
Elijah laughs as he smashes into the stuffed animal on his right. It cushions him
and then falls to the floor of the compartment along with the other stuffed
animal.
Elijah's expression becomes tense as his compartment spins. His hands slide over
the rusted metal bar as the sweater unravels.
Elijah looks around... a sudden panic enters his eyes.
THE BLURRING IMAGE OF HIS MOTHER NOW IN A GROUP OF RED AND WHITE STRIPED MEN.
THE SOUND OF MACHINERY GRINDING IS HEARD as the ride changes directions
suddenly.
Elijah's hands rip away from the bar as he gets thrown to the side of the
compartment. His shoulder and arm takes the brunt of the impact. WE HEAR
SOMETHING CRACK.
TEENAGERS SCREAM IN EXCITEMENT. ELIJAH JOINS THEM WITH SCREAMS OF HIS OWN.
The ride spins its passengers. Elijah's small face looks up at the swirling
clouds in a mixture of agony and terror.
The ride changes directions.
Elijah is thrust forward. He hits the rusted metal bar square against his chest.
WE HEAR MORE CRACKS.
The world spins. Giggles and yells fill the air. Elijah slumps down onto the
floor of the compartment.
And then finally, the grind of the machinery slows and then comes to a gradual
stop.
THE TEENAGERS MOAN.
Elijah is facing directly up at the sky. The clouds now move slowly over him.
WE HEAR COMMOTION. AGITATED VOICES. HIS MOTHER'S DESPERATE VOICE.
MOTHER(o.s.)
His bones... He's not
well...
HER VOICE GETS LOUDER AS SHE MOVES CLOSER TO THE PLATFORM.
MOTHER(o.s.)
Elijah baby...
Then her face appears as she finds the cup-like seat Elijah is in. She begins to
scream.
Elijah lays on the bottom of the compartment. One arm is clutching his chest. The
other is curved horrifically like an "s". His mouth is open. His eyes are
bulging. The last thing we HERE ARE THE SHORT DESPERATE BREATHS of an eight year
old child about to black out from the pain.
FADE TO BLACK:
PRESENT: EXT. CHURCH - AFTERNOON
WE EMERGE FROM BLACK to find news vans and reporters lining the street across
from a church. They have been cordoned off by a handful of police. Mourners are
recorded as they emerge from their cars and enter the church.
David is among the arriving crowd.
MAN(o.s.)
David Dunne!
At hearing his name, David turns back as he walks. He can't tell which reporter
called his name because all of them seem to react. A storm of camera movement as
the group jockeys for the best angle of his troubled face.
David passes a magnetic board as he enters the church. It reads, "Services for
the families and friends of train 177."
CUT TO:
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