Deep End Of The Ocean Script - Dialogue Transcript

Deep End Of The Ocean Script

 
 

INT. HOUSE 

Beth
Vincent! What are you doing? Vincent! 

Vincent
Hey, Ben! You won.  

EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE

Beth
Come on, admit it. You're looking forward 
to this. 

Patty
Are you kidding? I've got the weekend 
crowd I'm not even going to notice.  

INT. THE HOUSE 

Vincent
Give me a break, You're the one that 
wants to go. Ben! Ben! You little jerk! 
Did you get in and the lid shut on you? 

Ben
Yeah! You go now? 

Vincent
Yeah, right. We go now.  

EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE

Beth
You'll probably play pool with Joey after 
you close the restaurant. 

Patty
You're dumb enough to take three kids to 
your class reunion I'm smart enough to 
have a good time. 

Beth
Hey, party! 

Patty
Party hearty!  

INT.THE HOUSE

Ben
I'm underwater! 

Beth
That's great news. Where's your brother? 

Ben
I don't know. 

Beth
Honey, will you go find Vincent, please? 

Pat
Sweetie, did you remember the sandwiches? 

Beth
Of course not. 

Patty
Bethie, I swear, if your head wasn't 
screwed on 

Beth
You'll find it later, sitting by the 
microwave. 

Patty
Then I'd have to call you in Chicago. 

Beth
Who needs a head at a high school 
reunion? 

Vincent
I want to stay with Dad and go to the 
restaurant. I'm not going to Chicago. 

Beth & Pat
You're going!  

Patty
 Honey? Let me finish out the roll, okay? 

Beth
Pat, Now? 

Patty
Come on, just two shots! By the lilacs. 
It'll take just a second.  

Beth
All right, sweetheart, look at Daddy. 

Patty
I know, I know the photographer hates 
having her picture taken. Everybody say  
meatball!   

INT. INSIDE THE CAR TO CHICAGO 

Beth
Benbo,  bologna is for eating not washing 
windows. 

Vincent
Your seatbelt's loose. 

Ben
Mom, sing me that bunny song. 

Vincent
I wish I was still home with Dad. 

Ben
Sing me, " if a bunny catch a bunny.. 

Beth
If a bunny catch a bunny Coming through 
the rye... 

Vincent
I hate this song! 

Beth
If a bunny kiss a bunny and made a bunny 
cry.   

EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOTEL

Ellen
You're here! 

Beth
I'm here! 

Beth
Just a second, let me get Kerry. 

Ellen
No, no, no, no. Let me get her. 

Ellen
Oh, Look at her! 

Beth
Watch your head, Benbo. 

Ellen
 I'm your godmama, Kerry. Remember me? 
God love her! Look at her. Oh my God! Is 
that Ben? You're a grownup. 
(To Vincent)
 Vincent, can you swim? Martha's inside, 
waiting for you. Come on sweetie. I have 
a surprise! Where's your tooth? 

Vincent
I lost it. 

Ellen
 Oh, speak of the devil. Beth, you 
remember Martha, the babysitter from God. 

Beth
Great! Can you help with Kerry? 

Martha
Sure thing, Mrs. Cappadora.  

INT. THE HOTEL ROBBY

Beth
Is there some kind of registration table 
or something? 

Ellen
Oh, Yeah! You're all set. I stuck it all 
my card.

Beth
Ellen, you can't do that! 

Ellen
It's 70 bucks or something. Who cares? 

Beth
Donna Trump, I care. Beside 

Ellen
Besides, I can write it off. 

Beth
I've got a fashion shoot on Sunday. 
Boutique on Oak Street. You'll have to go 
up in that mess and rearrange it then. 

Ellen
O h, Jesus, Is that Michelle Pulliam? 

Beth
Did she eve marry that guy? 

Ellen
No, they broke up. Then she went out 
with. 

Jimmy
Elizabeth Kerry and her merry band! 

Kids
Jimmy! 

Jimmy
How're my big guys? Wow, Vincent! You 
have gotten so huge! 

Beth
They'd hug any man with a badge, Come to 
think of it and so would I. 

Jimmy
What would you do if you found detective? 

Beth
Hey! Congratulations! 

Jimmy
Guess who I just saw? 

Beth
Who? 

Jimmy
Cecil Lockhart. 

Ellen
You mean Cecil Maria Lockhart? 

Beth
Star of stage, screen and mouthwash 
commercials. Oh my God! There she is. 

Ellen
Remember when she first got laid? When 
she was 15, and she told us 

Beth
" I can't imagine going a mouth without 
it." 

Jimmy
She was talking about pizza, guys. 

Woman A
Hey, Beth! My God! How are you? 

Woman B
Look at you! How are you? 

Beth
Good, good. 

Woman A
Is she your new one? 

Beth
Aha. 

Woman A
Where's little Vincent? 

Vincent
I'm not little. 

Woman A
Oh, No, you're not. 

Vincent
Mom, I want to go. 

Ben
Mom, I want pizza. 

Beth
You stay with your brother. Martha, would 
you take care of the car? It's ... Well, 
you saw it. Right. 

Benbo
I'll pay the thing. 

Beth
Vincent! Listen! I want you to hold Ben's 
hand real tight. And you guys can play on 
this really cool cart, okay? 

Vincent
Mom, my neck's hot. My neck is killing 
me. 

Beth
Vincent, listen up! This will only take a 
second, okay? Stay here with Ben while 
I'm paying the lady. When Martha comes, 
she'll take you swimming, okay? 

Vincent
okay. 

Beth
Oh, thanks. 

Front desk clerk
Sorry it took so long. 

Beth
That's okay.  

Beth
Where's Ben? 

Vincent
He wouldn't let me hold him. Would you 
look at my neck? I've got a heat rash or 
something. Yeah, hold on sweetie. 

Beth
Yeah, hold on sweetie.  Ellen! Ben took 
off. Would you...? 

Ellen
I'll find him. See you later. 

Beth
You stay here! Don't move.  

Beth
Excuse me? Have you seen a little boy? 
He's got a red baseball cap, 3 years old. 

Waitress
No, sorry.  

Beth
Vincent
Think heard. Which way did Ben go? 

Vincent
I don't know. 

Beth
Didn't you watch? 

Vincent
I couldn't see him. 

Ellen
He wasn't over there. We should get the 
manager. 

Beth
I don't know. Maybe if we just wait 

Ellen
Stop! Everybody please just listen up for 
a second. We all need to look for Beth 
Kerry's little boy. His name is Ben. He's 
3, and he was wearing a red baseball cap. 
He was just here a second ago. So if you 
would all look around where you are. 

Jimmy
Wait a minute. Hold on, folks. 
(To Beth)
 We'll find him. It's going to be fine. 
I'm going to divide the room right down 
the middle, okay? I want each of you to 
stay in your half and look around you. If 
you see Ben, you pick him up and you call 
out to me, all right?  

Jimmy
Pat will be here soon, right? 

Beth
I didn't call him. I thought we'd find 
Ben right away. 

Jimmy
Let's make that call now, right? 
(Jimmy dials the number)
 Here you go. Go ahead, Beth.
(Beth can't answer)  

Cop A
Magill, you go talk to the female. 

Cop Magill
Mrs. Cappadora? I'm officer Magill. 

Beth
My God! You brought a lot of police 
officers. 

Cop Magill
We take the disappearance of a child this 
small very seriously this things Mrs. 
Cappadora. 

Beth
you worried, then? 

Cop Magill
lost kids, we always find them. And 
they're okay. They're not hurt. 

Beth
Good. 

Cop Magill
If only if it gets to 5 hours, we usually 
consider it. Anyway, we'll find him 
before then.  

Cop Magill
So, your friend Elaine was with you? 

Beth
Ellen. She met me out front. She was 
waiting for me. 

Cop Magill
okay, so besides Ellen, who was the first 
person you talked to? 

Beth
Oh, The cheerleaders.  

Cop B
Would another family member on your side 
have any reason to pick up the boy? 

Beth
My folks are dead. there's nobody.  

Cop C
Has he ever been fingerprinted? 

Beth
Ah, No. Yes, Actually, the school 
district a program.  

Beth
Jimmy, It's been 4 hours. 

Jimmy
Beth, we've got everybody on it, okay? 
This is my boss. Detective Supervisor 
Bliss. 

Beth
Bliss? 

Bliss
Candy Bliss. I know, it sounds like a 
stripper's name. The things parents do to 
kids! I can't believe I said that. Look, 
Mrs. Cappadora, We're gonna do everything 
we can to find your little boy. 
Description out? 

Cop Magill
Yes,, they're checking the database now. 

Bliss
Great. First thing I want to tell you is 
that this is nobody's fault. Kids 
disappear all the time and somebody 
always find them. 

Jimmy
That's right. We're set up over here.   

Patty
Where is he? 

Cop A
Excuse me ,sir? 

Patty
My son! Where is he? 

Jimmy
Patty! We haven't found him yet. I 
promise you. It won't take long. 

Patty
Where's Ben? Where's Bethie? 

Patty
How did this happen? 

Beth
No. 

Patty
Okay, all right, okay. It's going to be 
okay. Where is it nobody's searched? The 
basement? 

Jimmy
It's just food storage there, and all the 
doors are kept locked. 

Patty
But you have freezers, cabinets? Ben 
loves hiding places. Take me down there.  

Vincent
Daddy! 

Patty
You okay? You sure? I'm going downstairs 
a minute. You stay here with Mommy, okay?   
(To Jimmy)
 Let's go!  
(Patty's parents arrives) 

Grandma
Patty! Are you all right?  
(To Beth)
 My God in heaven! 

Grandpa
How long has he been missing? 

Patty
About 5 hours. 

Grandpa
They'll remember. They'll make one more 
call. 

Patty
Come on, I'll take you over to the 
command center. 

Grandma
Kerry and Vincent will come to the house. 
It's better, right? Where's Kerry? 

Beth
Upstairs. 

Grandma
You'll come with me, Grandma., honey, all 
right. 

Beth
You go with Grandmother, Vincent, okay? 

Vincent
Will you tell me when Ben gets back, Mom? 

Grandma
She'll tell us, honey. It won't be long. 

Patty
Sit down, sweetheart. 

Bliss
I'm sorry. Do you have any other pictures 
of Ben? 

Beth
I lost my purse. 

Patty
No, no ,no. I have it, Honey. 

Beth
Ben!! I want Ben!! 
(Beth cries out) 

Jimmy
Grab her wrist and hold her down. Medic! 

Patty
It's okay. It's all right. 

Patty
Give her something! Quick! It's all 
right, sweetheart. It's all right. 

Beth
You don't know. I don't even know.  

EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE

 (TV reporters asks a lot of questions)
 Pat, How long are you staying with your 
parents? Do the police have any leads? 
Have the kidnappers tried to contact you? 
How long were you gone before you noticed 
your son was missing. Who'd want to do 
this? How long will you be in Chicago?  

INT.THE HOUSE 

Beth's on TV(V.O.)
he's 3 years old but he's big for his 
age. And people always think that he's 
older. He's very verbal , he babbled to 
himself.. Sometimes you can barely hear 
him but he says his words very clearly. 
He has blond hair and blue eyes. And he 
was wearing a red baseball cap. And he 
loves pizza. He's very afraid of the 
water. He loves to sing songs. Sometimes 
he'll sing the same song over and over 
again. He was wearing red shoes. Little 
high-top sneakers with green parrots on 
the side. And white socks. And a red T- 
shirt with yellow sleeves and little blue 
shorts. Blue plaid shorts.   

EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE 

Patty
Call you when we get home.  

INT. THE POLICE OFFICE

Ellen
Unbelievable, right? Diane Lundgren's on 
her way over and Cecil Lockhart signed 
up. But her mother got sick. You know who 
else called? Lizzy DeNunzio. 

Beth
Where is she now, Switzerland? 

Ellen
I think she moved there. 

Beth
How'd she even fond out about it? 

Ellen
Who knows? 

Beth
But she just sounds sick about it. 
Everyone is, Bethie. 

Beth
I know. 

Beth
Laurie! I can't believe you're here. 

Laurie
What was I supposed to do? Stay in 
Madison, watch CNN?  

Beth
Have you seen Candy? 

Ricky
she's with McGuire. 

Beth
Thanks, Ricky.  

Bliss
Then go to Minneapolis. How far can it 
be? 

Cop
Candy, we've been getting bogus leads 
everyday for 6 weeks now. This kid is 
dead and you know it. 

Bliss
Don't tell me I know it! I don't know it. 
This is interstate, so I have to call 
FBI. 

Cop
Come on, Candy, the FBI? 

Bliss
Give me a break.  

Bliss
Hey, Bethie. So you heard that? 

Beth
I heard about the FBI. 

Bliss
Come into my office.  Have a seat! 
Listen, Beth. Just because some 
volunteers are going home doesn't mean 
the case is closed. Some of them got 
lives. I don't.  So I'm here. And I'm not 
giving  up. 

Beth
I'm sorry, I didn't... 

Bliss
I'm a jerk. There's something wrong with 
what you just did. I'm just an 
oversensitive jerk. 

Beth
You're too involved.  You can't 

Bliss
I'm black. I'm a woman. I'm a detective 
supervisor. And I'm gay. Did you know 
that? So I always feel like the eyes of 
Texas are on me. Every time I  go to hug 
Katie from Crimestoppers I think she 
thinks I'm coming on to her. 

Beth
I wasn't... 

Bliss
I know hat. I just wanted you to know I'm 
a little jerkish today.  So, that's calls 
for a Gummi Bear. Tough guys chew Gummi 
Bears. Beth, you laughed. You only 
laughed. It doesn't mean our side loses 
points. It doesn't mean you'll kill your 
son because you laughed. You have got to 
survive. 

Beth
That's just it. I don't want to survive 
Ben. I don't want to face it. 

Bliss
Then I guess you can just move into a 
corner in my office and I'll use you as a 
coat rack. You got to do whatever you got 
to do. But you got 2 great kids, which I 
would give. My right arm for. Even though 
you think you're a terrible mother you're 
the only mother Kerry and Vincent have. 

Beth
I should go home.  

INT. THE CAR 

Patty
Jill's been great with Kerry. Really 
great. But I think Vincent's going to 
need a little time. He'll be fine. He's 
been back, what, six weeks? 

Beth
I'm sure he'll be fine.  

INT.THE GARAGE 

Patty
Coming?  Jill, we're back! 

Beth
Baby, you scared me. How's my big guy? 
Are you good? 

Vincent
Mom, Guess what? On Thursday, I made 6 
baskets in a row! 

Beth
look how long your legs are.  

INT. THE BEDROOM 

Patty
How is she? Has she been in bed all day? 

Jill
Pretty much. 

Patty
How'd Vincent get home? Did you pick him 
up? 

Jill
Yeah, I didn7t have class today. 

Patty
Okay thanks. Jill, did she say she was 
coming down?  

INT KITCHEN 

Patty
So, some girl walks in, chewing gum and  
talking through her nose has legs up to 
her neck. Polo just says, Great, you're 
hired! The new kids we got don't know 
spaghetti from scampi. They think the 
cash register is their personal savings 
account. I'll tell you what When I open 
my own place this is exactly what you 
won't see.  

EXT. OUTSIDE SCHOOL 

Beth
Guess what happened? I thought today was 
Sunday. Isn't that funny? 

Vincent
Can we just please go?  

INT. THE BASEMENT

Patty
Beth, you downstairs? Honey, what are you 
doing?  

INT. THE KITCHEN 

Laurie
You ever been in a doctor's office 
without a People magazine? One day Ben 
will go to a doctor's office with whoever 
took him. And some other patient. 

Beth
Laurie, stop! Okay? I know you mean well, 
but just stop.  

INT. THE DOOR  X'MAS EVE

Joey
Could be more presents. 

Grandma
Merry Christmas! 

Grandpa
Joey, it's cold. Shut the door. 

Joey
Merry Christmas, Beth. 

Vincent
Mom, look, Uncle Joey gave me my stocking 
present early because it's too big to fit 
in the stocking. See? 

Beth
Yeah, that's great.  Merry Christmas, 
Theresa. 

Theresa
How you feeling, honey? I almost didn't 
make it. I started having Braxton-Hicks. 

Vincent
You should breathe in a bag. 

Grandma
I'll try that. Maybe a Christmas baby. 

Theresa
I hope not. 

Theresa
She's carrying like it's a boy. That's 
what everybody says. 

Patty
The gang's all here! My God, sis, look 
how big you are! 

Theresa
Don't rub it in.   

INT. THE LIVINGROOM 

Vincent
Look, mom, they're for Ben from Grandma 
and Grandpa. 

Beth
Rosie, What are these? 

Grandma
Present for Ben. 

Beth
Rosie, Why did you bring present for Ben? 

Grandma
I believe that Ben will be found. When he 
is found I want him to know his family 
didn't forget him. 

Beth
Do you have forgotten Ben? 

Grandma
Of course not. We didn't get Ben any 
gifts. 

Beth
I understand that. To tell the truth, I 
didn't even want to go through this 
whole, big holiday act. You know what I 
wanted to do? I anted to sleep through 
it. When you do this, and you act like 
he's just out of town on some business 
trip and he'll be back anytime. 

Theresa
Beth, take it easy. 

Beth
Take it easy? How can I take it easy when 
nobody except me seems to want to accept 
the fact that it's over? It's over. We're 
all going to go on eating and sleeping 

Theresa
You must snap out of this. No one can 
talk to you. I can't. Pat can't. 

Patty
Butt out, will you? 

Theresa
If you don't have any hope that Ben will 
come back. 

Beth
Come back? He's even fore yet. What's he 
going to do? Get an Amtrak schedule? 

Grandpa
We didn't mean anything by it. 

Theresa
Don't you think we're all grieving? 

Patty
I mean it! Theresa ! Shut up! 

Theresa
No, Pat!  You're all scared to say this, 
but I'm not. We try and call. She doesn't 
want to talk. We write, she doesn't 
answer.  

Vincent
Mom. Ben will be back tomorrow. 

Beth
What?  

Vincent
But it's Christmas. For my present, I 
asked Santa to bring Ben home I think 
he'll do.  

INT. THE HALL 

Laurie
Where is she? 

Patty
She's upstairs. 

Laurie
She still won't speak to me, will she? 

Patty
I think she will. Everybody's been 
calling. After you talk with People we 
reprinted the poster 5 times. 

Laurie
I think she hates my guts.   

INT. UPSTAIRS THE BEDROOM 

Laurie
What are you doing? 

Beth
Ending would hunger. I just got off the 
phone with the U.N. 

Laurie
Well, That's good. Look, will you just 
forgive me and get this over with? I'd 
never give them anything unless it was 
the right thing to do. I would never do a 
thing to hurt you. How long have we been 
friends? 

Beth
1000 years. I know. 

Laurie
Then good, okay? I have something I want 
to do for me. 

Beth
I don't believe you. 

Laurie
I want you to take a picture. 

Beth
I don't do that anymore. I took early 
retirement. 

Laurie
You could use the money. This is good 
money. 

Patty
Good for what? 

Laurie
I want her to take a portrait of a 
Chinese family. 

Patty
We are kind of tapped out, just keeping 
Vincent in sneakers. You could do this. 
You wouldn't even have to go out. 

Beth
I threw away all my paper and stuff. 

Patty
I'll go get you more paper and stuff. 

Laurie
Please. Just this once. Let me get rid of 
my guilt by doing you this one good turn. 

Beth
This is not a good turn. This is a set-
up.  

INT.THE KITCHEN 

Patty
These are really beautiful. 

Beth
I have to print. I have 4 phone calls to 
make. I have to get Vincent ready for 
Little League. 

Patty
Through any more about Chicago? 

Beth
What about it? 

Patty
Could be great. Kids'll love it there. 
I'll have my own restaurant. 

Beth
I have to get Kerry up. 

Patty
There's plenty of time for that. 

Beth
Okay, fine. You go upstairs, get my 
diaphragm, fill it up with gunk and we'll 
have 8 minutes before I have to feed 
Vincent. 

Patty
We can have a lot of fun in 8 minutes. 

Beth
Okay, fine. You want to do it right here? 
I can make toast at the same time. 

Patty
It's not like I'm on top of you all the 
time. We make love about as often as we 
pay the water bill. I don't see why you 
need a diaphragm every damn time. 

Beth
I don't want to get pregnant every damn 
time. We had 3 kids and we always wanted 
more. I miss that. I misses this house 
being full of noise. I used to want to 
run up the walk to lunch. 

Beth
It's not going to change anything. 
Another kid. It'd be like a replacement 
part like you get a new gravy boat so you 
don't spoil the set. 

Patty
That's a lousy fucking thing to say. 

Beth
I  agree. So, I'll stop saying fucking 
lousy things. I'm not having a baby, and 
I'm not moving to Chicago. So you can 
start a new restaurant with your dad. You 
want a new baby and restaurant? You need 
a new wife. 

Patty
I don't want a new wife. All I want is 
for us to be a family again. A normal 
life. Nothing's wrong with that. That's 
healthy. 

Beth
You want to know what it's like?  It's 
like I'm standing under this giant 
snowbank. If I move one inch in any 
direction it's going to come crashing 
down and bury me. Do you know I don't 
dare to think of him for a full minute?  
One inch and the whole thing's going to 
comedown. You will have to raise these 
kids by yourself. 

Patty
I'm doing that now. 

Beth
That's right. Pat's always  been the 
rock. Isn't that what it said in People 
magazine? There was Pat holding together 
that poor, crazy woman and those sweet 
little kids. You're such a hero. 

Patty
All right, stop it. 

Beth
You would never have let Ben get lost. 

Patty
I mean it. Stop it. 

Beth
You would never have been such a bad, 
shitty parent. 

Patty
That's right, I wouldn't. 

Beth
You self-righteous son of a bitch! 

Pat
I'm not self-righteous, I'm RIGHT! Kids 
don't just vanish up in smoke, kids don't 
just get lost, PEOPLE LOSE THEM!  

INT. THE RESTAURANT 9YEARS LATER IN 
CHICAGO

Patty
So This is the bar and the waiting area. 
That's the wine rack. Dad's personal 
design. People sit here while they're 
waiting for tables.  That's that kitchen 
back there and this is it. 

Beth
The murals are done. 

Patty
Tables will be through here and they'll 
carry back over to there.  And this is 
the dance floor. there'll be a live band 
over here. Thursday through Sunday. 

Kerry
Hey, Theresa, is that Italian Italy? 

Patty
You like it, honey? It's La Boheme. 
You're Mini and I'm Rodolfo. Except she 
lives in the end. 

Beth
Well, good. Oh, honey, it's gorgeous, it 
really is. 

Patty
Can you believe this place? 

Beth
I can't wait.  

Bliss
(looks at Vincent)
 So, what's Mr. Tough Guy up to? 

Vincent
(on the phone)

Apart from needing a haircut.  

Beth
I don't know. He's making friends, I 
guess. He's been on the phone a lot 
lately.  

Patty
(To Vincent)
 Hey, Vincent, If you're using that phone 
for your bookie operation, it'll be a 
part of your anatomy. 

Vincent
I'm not, Dad. Jesus! 
(On the phone)
 I got to go. Yeah, Bye. 

Beth
It is, isn't it? 

Bliss
New house, new restaurant. You're doing a 
really good imitation of having a life.   

INT. THE BEDROOM MORNING 

Beth
You have the biggest snarl right here. 
No, wait, Kerry. Just one more.   

INT. THE HOUSE DOOR 

Kerry
Are you in sixth? 

Sam
Yeah, You're in third. You were the 
soybean, right? 

Kerry
Actually, I was the feed corn. 

Sam
So who do you have? 

Kerry
Cook. Yeah, I had Cook. She's pretty 
decent. 

Kerry
Mommy? 

Sam
Are you okay? 

Beth
Yeah, I'm fine. 

Sam
I was leaving my phone number in case you 
needed your lawn mowed. 

Beth
Wait. I really do need my lawn mowed. 
Could you do it today? 

Sam
Yeah. Sure. Great! I'll get my stuff. I 
live 2 blocks down there. 

Kerry
You don't need a mower! We have a mower. 
My brother's supposed to do it. He's in 
high school. He's lazy! 

Beth
Do you know that boy? 

Kerry
Mom, it's not talking to strangers if 
you're in your own house. 

Beth
I know. That's true. Do you know his 
name? 

Kerry
It's Jason. He's on patrol. No, wait, 
wait, I'm wrong. Jason wears the beanie 
hat. He got reported. 

Beth
You don't know his name? 

Kerry
It's Sam. It's Sam Kero. Kero something. 
Mom, where are you going?  

INT. THE BASEMENT 

Kerry
Are you going to work? 

Beth
Kerry, you know what? I have to take some 
leaf pictures. So, it's okay if you go 
across the street and play with Blythe, 
okay?  

INT. THE SECOND FLOOR  

Beth
(To Sam in the yard)
I'm taking pictures of leaves. That's my 
job. I take pictures.   

INT. THE BASEMENT 

Beth
Lord God, Lamb of God, son of the Father 
who takes away sin. Have mercy on us. 
Have mercy on us.  

EXT. THE FRONT DOOR 

 (Sam's note says)
 Ran out of gas. I will come back 
tomorrow. Sincerely, Sam.   

INT. THE BASEMENT 

Beth
it is . Isn't it? 

Patty
Is this possible? 

Beth
Here's the last aging projection they did 
of him around the time he was 8. 

Patty
Who is he? 

Beth
He came to the door to mow lawns. I let 
him mow the lawn. He's coming back 
tomorrow.. He ran out of gas. 

Patty
Where does he live? 

Beth
2 blocks. 

Patty
2 blocks from here? Did he just move 
here? 

Beth
I don't know how long Kerry knows him 
from school and she's been at Sandburg 
for what, 2 years? Good Christ! He's 
probably just some kid who looks like 
Ben. His hair is darker. 

Patty
No, you're right. Let's call Candy. Then 
we're going to that house. 

Beth
it's late at night. He's sleeping. We 
don't even know his last name. 

Patty
2 blocks from here. I mean When you saw 
you, did he... 

Beth
Nothing. He had no idea. But he was 3, 
and he doesn't know this house.  

INT. VINCENT'S ROOM 

Beth
Vincent, I want you to go downstairs and 
order a pizza. Do that first, then go to 
Blythe's and get Kerry and put on a video 
for her. Take the pizza money out of my 
purse. Because, I want to do in the 
basement. Its very important and it can't 
wait. So, I want you to give Kerry pizza. 
Will you do that? 

Vincent
Don't I always? Jesus!   

EXT. THE PORCH NIGHT

Patty
I'm going to call Pop. 

Beth
No, don't tell him. Not until we know. 

Patty
No, I just I'm not going to work 
tomorrow.  

INT. THE KITCHEN 

Kerry
What were you doing on the porch mommy? 

Beth
I was watching the sun come up. 

Patty
You got a ride? 

Vincent
Kenny's dad is picking me up. 

Kerry
I'm riding my bike. 

Patty
No, you're not riding your bike. 

Kerry
Dad, I'm 9 now. I'm older than the other 
18 kids in my class. 

Patty
People who live in walking distance don't 
ride bikes. They walk. You don't have a 
bike lock. 

Kerry
Could you get me one? 

Patty
Yes, I'll get you a bike lock today. I 
promise. You van ride your bike to school 
tomorrow. Okay? Come on, let's go. 

Vincent
Bye, Mom. 

Beth
Vincent, wait. I love you. I want you to 
know I love you. 

Vincent
Thank you, Mom.    

INT. THE FRONTDOOR 

Beth
I know it sounds insane. I don't know if 
it's him for sure. I don't know what I 
know. It can't be Ben. But It's Ben. 
Isn't it? 
(Bliss looks at Sam's pictures)  

INT. THE LIVINGROOM

Bliss
I say we go in 

Chief Badtokovich
The boy's in prospective custody. We got 
an unmarked in front of the suspect's 
house. 

Bliss
We snatched the kid from school. The 
principal probably called the father. 

Patty
What are we waiting for? 

Chief Badtokovich
There's a process involved here. It's not 
like you're bringing your boy home today. 
He's gonna have to go to foster care. 
He's gonna need counseling. There'll be a 
period of transition. And anyway, we want 
to make sure we I.D the boy 100%. 

Bliss
Look at the picture! It's the same kid. 
It's Sam Karras! 

Chief Badtokovich
Candy, don't go off half-cooked on me. 
This is a big case. And it wouldn't be 
any harm to get a little thing like a 
warrant.‚  

Bliss
I got the warrant. I talked to the D.A. 
(on the phone)
  Bliss. Thank you. The fingerprints 
match. 

Chief Badtokovich
You folks ready for this? 

Beth
You don't get to be ready for this.   

EXT. STREET 

Vincent's friend
They're busting you for hot-wiring 
Jamie's car. 

Vincent
I don't know. I'm going to call you 
later, okay?  

INT.THE LIVINGROOM 

Patty
Vincent! Come in here, will you please? 
This is Chief Badtokovich. Listen, 
Vincent, Kerry's got girl Scouts, right? 

Beth
I think. 

Vincent
So, she won't be home till after 5. 

Beth
Right. Vincent. You saw that picture this 
morning. That's why the police are here. 

Vincent
I thought it was a fire drill. Can I just 
go upstairs? 

Beth
Listen to me. We think the boy in that 
picture is Ben. 

Vincent
Yeah, The kid in that house on Maple, 
right? 

Beth
You saw him? You saw Ben? 

Vincent
I didn't know it was Ben. I used to see 
this kid goofing around. I looked. I 
never really thought about him much. 

Beth
Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you 
tell me, or, for God's sake, your father! 

Vincent
Tell you what? I found my long-lost 
brother down the street? Would you have 
listened to me? Would you have ever heard 
me? 

Beth
When was the first time you saw him? 

Vincent
How long have we lived here? 

Beth
It doesn't matter now. I'll tell you 
when. I'll tell you. 

Vincent
Fine. Do that.   

INT. THE KARRAS'S HOUSE

Bliss
Do you have a 12-year-old boy named Sam 
living in this house? 

Karras
Yes, I do. My God, my son. Is he hurt? 

Bliss
No, he is fine. He's in the custody of 
protective services of Cook County. 

Karras
What are you talking about? He's at 
school. 

Bliss
Mr. Karras. You're under arrest for 
kidnapping in connection with the 
abduction June 3rd, 1988 of Benjamin 
Cappadora. You have the right to remain 
silent. What you say can and will be used 
against you... 

Karras
You've got the wrong house. The people 
that lost their boy live around the 
corner. Still over on Drummond. No, no, 
no. My neighbor knows the family. This is 
a big mistake.  

INT. THE DININGROOM 

Bliss
Cecil gave birth in 1985 which is the 
same year Ben was born. Apparently, the 
baby had complications and died. She had 
a nervous breakdown. They had to put her 
away. She got out about 3 years after 
that, just in time to make it to the 
reunion, where she saw Ben and snatched 
him. And she disappeared into Minneapolis 
where she met George and married him. He 
adopted Ben. And then they moved here. 
About 5 years ago, she committed suicide. 
I got to tell you, I feel totally 
responsible for a lot of what's happened. 
Because, we interviewed this woman. I sat 
in this woman's house. I had tea with 
her. And someone in there You know was 
Ben. And I missed him. 

Patty
George Karras wasn't at all suspicious 
and he adopted Ben. 

Bliss
So she lied to her husband. She lied to 
me. I'm supposed to know when people are 
lying. Because I 'm a supercop. I didn't 
find him. You guys did. 

Beth
No one found him. He found us.  

EXT. IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE 

TV Reporters.
Are you heading to the foster home now? 
What are you going to say to him? How's 
it feel to get your son back? Did you 
contact him at all in the last 2 weeks? 
Are you going to call him Ben or Sam? Do 
you have any statement to make?  

EXT. IN FRONT OF THE KARRAS'S HOUSE 

Patty
How are you? 

Ben
I'm good.  

INT. KITCHEN 

Beth
Kerry, Stop fidgeting. You're not hungry? 

Vincent
I'm not in industrial vacuum mode like 
some people. 

Ben
Could I have some milk? 

Vincent
You do milk with pizza? 

Beth
I like milk with pizza.  

INT. THE FRONTDOOR 

Beth
Yes, Mr. Karras? 

Karras
I came to bring you Sam's records. 
Photos. This is his medical chart. This 
is his dental. One cavity in his 
permanent teeth when he was 10. Report 
cards.. You'll see. A little trouble in 
math. You know, this was my wife and my 
son. This wasn't some lunatic and the boy 
she kidnapped. Not to me. Good night.   

INT. RESTAURANT 

Vincent
Loosen up, man. 

Patty
 Come on. I want to show you something. 
This is called the tarantella. It's an 
old Italian dance. You want to learn it? 
Come on, you can learn it. 

Ben
I don't know this dance. I only know the 
Hasapiko. 

Patty
You'll have to say it again. 

Ben
Hasapiko. 

Patty
Hey, guys, can you hold it? My son 
doesn't know the trantella. But he knows 
the Hasapiko. You know it?

INT. KERRY'S BEDROOM 

Beth
Here, just wear these. 

Kerry
Mommy, I hate those. 

Beth
Kerry you loved those socks 3 days ago. 

Kerry
It's not for church. I want tights.  

INT. THE BEDROOM 

Beth
That's Vincent's. See, it's his 
christening gown. This is what we brought 
him home from the hospital in. Do you 
want to see yours? 

Ben
They're so little. They look like doll 
clothes. What's that smell? 

Beth
It's cedar. It's from the chest. It's 
supposed to keep moths away.  Haven't you 
ever smelled it before? 

Ben
No, maybe my grandmother had a chest like 
this. 

Beth
What? Sam, are you remembering something? 

Ben
Beth, can I see my dad today? I really 
want to see him. 

Beth
Sure.  

EXT. THE SEMETARY 

Beth
Basically it's the story of what 
happened. What we talked about in the 
car. Look at this ,Sam. He was only 14 
years old. That must've been so sad. But 
look, 1869. He died 2 years before the 
fire. 

Ben
Maybe he killed himself, like my mom. I 
mean, Cecilia. 

Beth
Why do you think that? Here, look through 
here. 

Ben
Like, for Cecilia, I think she was just 
too sad. So maybe this guy was too sad 
too, you know? 

Beth
What do you mean? 

Ben
There could be worse things than being 
dead. 

Beth
Like what? Sam, you know how much we love 
you. 

Ben
Yeah, I know you do. Pat, Kerry. 

Beth
And Vincent too. 

Ben
Yeah, right. 

Beth
Really, he's like that with all of us. 
He's had a hard time. 

Ben
What about me? I love my dad. And I loved 
my mom too. She  didn't mean to be sick. 
So why do I have to be punished when it 
wasn't my fault? 

Beth
Do you know how much I've missed holding 
you all these years? And how many years 
you didn't have me to hug you? 

Ben
They hugged me.  They hugged me all the 
time. 

Beth
Sam, what do you wish? You can say. 

Ben
That everything was like it was before. 
But that would hurt you and Pat and I 
couldn't stand that either. I don't know.    

EXT. THE BACKYARD 

Beth
You know, what happened last night, 
that's just the tip of it. 

Patty
I'm gonna say this just once. I love you. 
I've been in love with you your whole 
life. But you know what I've seen about 
you? you've made a career out of being 
unhappy. 

Beth
That is not fare. 

Patty
If I have a chance to be happy, I'm going 
to be happy. can't you just try and let 
us all be happy? 

Beth
What about Sam? 

Patty
Just keep being a mother to him. Help him 
to get through this. 

Beth
He doesn't know who we are. He doesn't 
remember us. We are holding him against 
his will. 

Patty
Where are you going with this? If you 
think I'm going to lose my kid again? 

Beth
I can't ignore that because you finally  
have your life the way you want. It's 
like we are the kidnappers now. 

Patty
No, We're not the kidnappers! Sam will be 
fine. He'll get through this. It's you. 
Losing your kid once wasn't enough, was 
it? 

Beth
You know something, Pat? You're right. I 
wasn't there. I let it happen. It only 
took a minute and we've paid for it. I 
have and you have and Vincent has, I'm 
sorry t think that means that Sam has to 
pay for it too. Does it? We are where we 
are. How we got here doesn't matter. What 
matters is . What are we going to do now? 

Patty
Don't push me on this, Beth. 

Beth
I want to give him back. 

Patty
I can't do that. 

Beth
Then I want you to let me do what I have 
to do.  

INT. THE CAR 

Beth
Can you get your bags okay?  

INT.THE JAIL 

Beth
He's so angry with me. Things are really 
bad. 

Bliss
I know. But I think he's right about 
Vincent. 

Beth
I can't win with Vincent. He hates me. 

Bliss
He doesn't hate you. What are you talking 
about? He loves you. Have you never seen 
the way that he looks at you? All he 
wants you to do is to forgive him. For 
all the shit he's pulled and the shit you 
don't know he's pulled. He's so much like 
you. He takes everything onto himself. 
How do you think he's feeling that Sam is 
gone?  

Beth
You okay? 

Vincent
I'm fine. 

Beth
Do you need anything? I think you'll have 
to stay here another day or so. 

Vincent
 It's the weekend. I'm fine. Headache. 
It's no big deal. 

Beth
Do you know how lucky you were? Mr. 
Teeter's car was totaled. You could've 
been... 

Vincent
I don't need this right now. What are you 
doing here? I've been fine without you. 

Beth
I don't think you have been, Vincent. I'm 
sorry. I'll get you out. Dad's working on 
it.  

INT. THE GARAGE 

Beth
Can't we get past this? This isn't just 
about losing Sam. 

Patty
What is it about? 

Beth
The Sam that's in your head, he doesn't 
exist. The family that's in your head 
doesn't exist either. 

Patty
This family is not in my head. It's very 
real. After what he pulled, I pray I find 
a way to get him through high school in 
one piece. And get him to believe he can 
get through life without fouling up. 

Beth
Part of you liked it when I always fell 
apart and you were holding this family 
together Making all the decisions. But 
now I don't need you to pull me out of 
bed and slap my clothes and make me pay 
attention to the kids. 

Patty
I have to go to work. 

Beth
But I need you. 

Patty
Why?  Tell me what for. 

Beth
I need you to love me.  

INT.THE JAIL 

Officer
You got a visitor. 

Vincent
Everyone I've ever met in my life has 
already been here. 

Officer
Name's Sam Karras. Are you going to see 
him or not?  

Ben
So, you okay? 

Vincent
They gave me 5 to 10. But I'm reasonably 
okay. I'm kidding. 

Ben
Were you drunk? 

Vincent
I was over-served. Yeah, Sam, I was 
drunk. So what do you want?  

Ben
I just thought... I came because I 
thought we could be friend. 

Vincent
Friends? Tell me how you and I can be 
friends. You come back. You leave. You go 
in and out of our window. I don't even 
know who you are, Ben. Sam! Whatever the 
hell your name is. You're a concept. You 
follow me? 

Ben
That's not my fault. 

Vincent
"That's not my fault." You always worry 
about whose fault it is. Who cares? Look, 
I got my own life now. It's pretty unfun 
at the moment. Tell me what you want. 

Ben
You're my brother. I missed you. 
Sometimes, I even thought that maybe I 
shouldn't have. Whatever, you're my 
brother.  

Vincent
You should go now, Sam. I'm sorry, you're 
a real good kid. You're fine, but I'm 
Maybe I'll visit you when I'm out, but 
now. 

Ben
Wait! There's something I got to tell 
you. I remembered something. 

Vincent
What do you mean? 

Ben
Well, when I was at your house, Beth 
showed me this old trunk. It was full old 
baby clothes. I don't remember anything. 

Vincent
Yeah. So? 

Ben
But I remembered the smell. From being 
inside the trunk. Hide- and-seek. Did 
that really happened? 

Vincent
You let the lid shut and it caught. 

Ben
I knew it. Finally, you came and opened 
the top. 

Vincent
You were just there. Not scared or 
anything. 

Ben
See? That's what I remember. That I 
wasn't scared. Because I knew you'd come 
and find me.  

EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE 

Vincent
What the hell are you doing? 

Ben
Nothing. Want to play some? 

Vincent
It's nearly midnight and it's cold, in 
case you haven't noticed. Jesus, Sam! 
Does George know you're here? 

Ben
Yeah, come on down. 

Vincent
No, you just want to get me arrested 
again, don't you? You ever heard of 
disturbing the peace? 

Ben
We could play quiet. What's the matter? 
Come on! 

Vincent
All right.  

Ben
Come on! What are you waiting for? 

Vincent
Easy, Sam. 

Ben
All right. 

Vincent
Losers out to 11, win by 2? 

Ben
Watch out. Are you asleep or something? 

Ben
Quit fouling me! 

Ben
You got to say, "beat" You are beat, 
right? 

Vincent
I let you. Let's call it a night. Come 
back tomorrow for a rematch. 

Ben
Well, the thing is, I'm not going back. 

Vincent
What do you mean? What are you doing? 

Ben
George knows. I mean, we talked about it 
a lot last week. He even knows why I came 
here so late. 

Vincent
Why? 

Ben
I didn't want to have this whole big 
thing with you and Beth and Pat. 

Vincent
Sam? Is this permanent? 

Ben
I don't know. I mean, maybe. If I can. 

Vincent
Jesus, what is this, your cinder block 
collection? I was the one. I let go of 
your hand. 

Ben
This thing is heavy. My dad, George 
helped me carry it over. 

Vincent
Did you hear what I said? 

Ben
Yeah. So what? 

Vincent
I let go of your hand, Sam. I told you to 
get lost. That's what I said. I said " 
Get lost!" 

Ben
Big deal. Everybody says stuff like that. 
" Get lost!" Here's the deal. "Make it 
take it to eleven." Got to win by two. 
Loser carries it up alone. Come on, man! 
Or, are you too tired to play? Come on, 
let's go! 

Beth
They'll wake up the neighborhood. 

Patty
Let them play. 

Beth
Let's get some sleep.