The
sound of someone sniffing, crying... a male voice...
We superimpose the title:SPLIT!
The sound
of someone being slapped... the whimpering voice abruptly stops after
a sharp intake of breath. One can make out another voice grumbling in
anger.
ANGRY
VOICE
How
many times should I tell you not to be weak, not to cry!
WHIMPERING
VOICE
Lucas,
don’t hurt me... please... please...
Suddenly, a
single match ignites and brightens the blackness on screen. It quivers
for a moment. A dimly lit hand brings the fire to touch the cigarette,
illuminating the stern face of Lucas, age thirty.
WHIMPERING
VOICE
Lucas, please
don’t smoke... don’t drink... It’s not good for
your / our body... please don’t...
LUCAS
Georgey Boy,
you’ll never learn. Don’t you know it’s manly
to hold a cigarette between your lips? Sip liquor? Learn! Learn
from me!
INT. DARK ROOM – NIGHT
A torch light comes on. A hand puts
a glass down on the table. Smoke is seen coming out of Lucas’s
nostrils. In the half-light, we see two feet straddling a toilet bowl.
Sound of vomiting. Sound of flushing.
C.U. of George, who is none other than Lucas. George
is still whimpering.
GEORGE
I -
I don’t want to drink... I-I-I...
INT. DIMLY LIT ROOM – NIGHT
George is lying on a cot; appears to be sleeping.
Extreme C.U. of George’s left eye – it’s closed. The
camera moves over to the right eye – it’s wide open.
( Fade to black )
GEORGE (voice-over)
Is it
possible for two people — totally different in all aspects
— to live in one body? One sleeps, while the other is awake?
One drinks and smokes, while the other hates every moment of the
experience? One dominates, while the other is submissive? One dares
wickedly, while the other cries sensitively?
INT. BATHROOM – MORNING
Lucas brushes his teeth vigorously,
humming a Ricky Martin fast number. His movements are over-confident,
bold and energetic. He puts the tooth brush into a holder, grins into
the mirror and turns to push open the door.
Flash to shot of door opening from outside.
George comes out, slightly bent as if he hadn’t
enough sleep, yawns, wipes his face with a towel. As he crosses the
camera, he shakes his head tiredly.
INT. HALL – LATE MORNING
The clock shows 11.33 a.m.
George sits in a cane chair, forcing himself not
to doze off. His eyes are heavy with tiredness. His eye-lids close for
a second. The next instant his right hand jumps up into the air —
as if it’s an independent entity — and slaps George’s
face.
LUCAS
George,
you lazy lout! Wake up! Wake up!
Lucas’s hand once again comes
at George’s face. George ducks, cringing, avoiding his own flying
hand.
GEORGE
Lucas,
please... leave me alone... don’t torture me... please...
please...
GEORGE (voice-over)
Relief.
Sweet relief. When am I going to taste it? How can I live like this,
with another person sharing my body, my thoughts, my feelings...
dictating what I should do, what I shouldn’t...?
Lucas’s hand is seen pulling, slapping George.
George tries to defend himself from his own hand, but to no avail. The
scene becomes a slow-motion one, sound cutting off to silence... scene
fades...
GEORGE (voice-over contd.)
You
tell me... how can I live like this? I hate my life... just hate
it!
EXT. OUTSIDE A CEMETRY – AFTERNOON
George is walking on the pavement. He almost crosses
the cemetry gate when his body jerks back as if some invisible force
has pulled him to a stop. He turns around and heads into the cemetry.
GEORGE (voice-over)
Why is
he doing this to me? I don’t like this place... I don’t
want to go inside...
EXT. CEMETRY
George is seated on one of the tombstones. He sweats
profusely.
GEORGE
Tell
me, why do you want me to sit here? Tell me...
LUCAS (grins)
To visit
a loved one. Also to make you feel uncomfortable.
GEORGE
Loved
one?
LUCAS
My wife.
You’re sitting on her grave.
GEORGE
You’re
not married! I mean... I’m not married...
Lucas’s hand hits George’s head with
a smack.
LUCAS
Ha!
Ha! Ha! Georgey Boy, you don’t know anything. You’re
such an idiot!
GEORGE (voice-over)
What’s
he saying?! What’s he saying?!
LUCAS
You married
Rosaline two years ago.
And you killed her one year ago —
GEORGE
No!
Nooo! You are a liar!
George jumps up and runs blindly. His shoulder
crashes into a nearby tree; he grips the trunk and sobs.
GEORGE
It was
you! It was you who married Rosaline and it was you who killed her!
Not me!
LUCAS
Don’t
tell me you don’t remember Rosy. You too liked her. You too
enjoyed her body...
GEORGE (voice-over contd.)
I’m
really scared now. There must be some truth in what Lucas is saying.
How else can I explain the mornings when I got up feeling totally
relaxed and in love with the world. Come to think of it, those feelings
had stopped... Yes, one year back!
LUCAS
You
were falling in love with Rosy. I didn’t like that. I wanted
her for myself. I staged her death. Everyone thinks it was an accident...
C.U. of Lucas. He grins evily — an eyelid
twitches.
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
George sits on his bed hugging his knees, looking
out of the window, gazing at the stars. Lucas’s hand taps George’s
shoulder. George shakes up from his reverie.
LUCAS
Come
on, Georgey Boy. Let’s have dinner. There’s no use in
starving yourself. I’m hungry.
GEORGE
I’m
going to starve you to death! I don’t care if I die in the
bargain. I have to stop you! You’re evil!
Lucas goes berserk. He punches, shoves, kicks and
manhandles George. George’s head is pressed by his own hand against
a wall mirror. He cries out in pain. Lucas pulls George’s hair
and presses his face hard into the mirror.
LUCAS (raging with anger)
Look at you! Look at your face! I’m helping you to be a man!
I’m making you face life and the world without fear of failure!
Don’t you understand that, you gutless fool? Now, I command
you to eat! If you don’t I’ll smash your head against
this mirror. Go on, eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!
INT. DINING ROOM
George stumbles, falls into the
frame as if pushed by an invisible force. He pulls himself up slowly
holding the back-rest of a chair and sits on it. His face is wet with
tears and he still sniffs.
He sits at the dinning table and lifts a spoon
to the bowl of food.
His hand holds the spoonful of vegetable and meat
to his mouth. His other hand grabs the hand holding the food and struggles
to push it away from his mouth. But the right hand is much stronger
— it feeds his mouth. George is forced to eat. He starts to cry;
he knows he’s beaten. Lucas is too strong for him. As he cries,
he reluctantly eats his food.
GEORGE (voice-over)
I’m
an educated man. I don’t believe in devil possession and in
the supernatural. I’ve checked out my condition by reading
about it. They call it ‘split personality’. I know I
need to see a psychiatrist... but I don’t know why, I always
reject the idea of visiting one... The most horrible thought I get
these days is that I like having Lucas around. I don’t want
him to leave. I don’t want to be cured. I’m beginning
to like all his macho ways... I’m beginning to depend on him...
But I hate to admit this to Lucas —
LUCAS (as he munches his food)
I know
that, you fool... I know all you thoughts, remember...? Heh! Heh!
EXT. PORTICO OF LARGE HOUSE – MORNING
A good-looking man, age forty-five,
carrying a brief-case, is about to get into a Car.
George comes in through the huge gate.
GEORGE
Good
morning, Mr. Edmonds!
MR. EDMONDS
Oh...
hello Ronald. Er... actually, I’m in a bit of a hurry to leave.
We’re shooting at Virtualreel. I didn’t expect to see
you today.
GEORGE
/ RONALD
Three
months ago you asked me to meet you today, Mr. Edmonds...
MR.
EDMONDS (quizzical expression on his face)
Er...
oh, yes. Yes, I’d asked you to prepare for the Lucas/George
character... Ah, yes. Since you’re here, let’s go in
for a while.
INT. OFFICE
Ronald looks at Mr. Edmonds. He picks up a glass
of water from the table and downs it quickly. The man’s fingers
drum silently on the table, as he looks back at Ronald. He then shrugs
indifferently.
MR.
EDMONDS
Ronny,
Ronny, come on. I know I should have informed you earlier that we’ve
scrapped the project. But you know the movie business. Things change
overnight. Promises are broken every day. It’s not my fault
entirely. At that time when I told you about the Lucas / George
character, I thought we had a workable idea. But the director was
dead against a ‘split personality’ storyline.
RONALD
Mr.
Edmonds, I’ve been rehearsing Lucas / George for the past
three months... in fact, I’ve been living their lives. I know
I’ll do justice to the role, Sir. With my acting, I’m
sure the movie —
Mr. Edmonds’ mobile phone rings.
MR.
EDMONDS
Hello?
Hello? Oh, yes, I’m on my way. What? But that’s going
to cost more. Of course, I want our production values to be right.
OK then, if you think so... Yes, yes, yes, she’ll look good
only when she’s wet, ha, ha, ha! Go ahead, have the rain scene.
The man switches off his mobile phone and gets
up, irritated.
MR.
EDMONDS (to himself)
Moron! “...she’ll look
good only when she’s wet...” (imitating an accent).
He thinks that’s funny. Using my money, he dictates to me!
He taps Ronald on his shoulder.
I have to run. Don’t worry,
Ronny. I promised your father that I’d give you a break in
one of my productions some day. I’ll keep up that promise.
Ah, by the way, I’m planning a feel-good movie, with a handicapped
lead character called Samuel. Are you interested? Hmm... come and
meet me after a couple of months from now... OK?
C.U. of Ronald. Cut to his hands.
One hand is restraining the other. His eye twitches.
INT. HOUSE – NIGHT
The camera follows a pair of feet
as they limp across the floor. The right foot is turned slightly inward
and falls with a hard limp.
Crane up to reveal : Samuel. From his twisted left
hand, we can see that he suffers from a slight palsy.
Samuel shuffles to the wall mirror. In the half-light,
he peers at his reflection in the mirror.
Who
said I’m Lucas? I’m George! I’m a man now! I humiliate
others,
I STALK, I murder!
The right hand swings to his throat, choking him.
Samuel coughs, splutters, gags, desperately trying to ward off the villainous
hand with his other good hand.
LUCAS (voice-over)
Yes,
George! Chase the intruder out! Three in one? No way! Chase Samuel
out! There’s no place for three of us to stay in one body!
Yes, yes! STRANGLE him! Murder him! Chase him out!
GEORGE (smiling
slyly)
Lucas, you’ve taught me well. Thanks a lot.
Ronald
backs up to a wall, and slowly slides down to a sitting position, his
legs wide apart, his hands still struggling at his throat.
RONALD (voice-over)
I’m Ronald! Or am I? I really don’t know now... Am I
Lucas or am I George or am I Samuel? It’s all very confusing...
All I know for sure is that I want... I want to be an... an —
RONALD (crying)
— ACTOR! I want to be an actor! Is someone listening? I want
to be an actor... Please, please, all of you, just leave me alone
... I don’t want to harm anyone... I only want to be an actor...
an actor.... an actor
