The following script is for a short film that was made in 2010. The film is available to watch on YouTube.
Regime Change
Screenplay
By John Lane
ONE
Screen is black. The words ‘New Citizen Productions Present’ appear.
TWO
Screen is black again.
WOMAN IN OFF
I’m trapped in someone else’s clockwork.
To the increasing sound of the ticking of a clock, a faint red dot appears in the black, getting closer until it reveals itself to be the red 5:59 of a digital clock. Close up the numbers change to 6:00 and we hear the sound of an alarm beeping.
THREE
TITLES: REGIME CHANGE (lettering to be decided)
FOUR: DAY ONE
INTERIOR BEDROOM EARLY MORNING
We see an alarm clock beeping by the side of the bed. An arm reaches out to turn it off.
WOMAN IN OFF
Up at six.
FIVE
INTERIOR BEDROOM EARLY MORNING
The woman is sitting on the edge of her bed, bending over to do her laces up on her trainers, while the man – by the side of the bed and behind the woman – is stretching before they go out to jog.
WOMAN IN OFF
Get ready for the morning run.
SIX
EXTERIOR STREET EARLY MORNING
The man and the woman are jogging, with the woman a few paces behind the man. She is staring at the back of his head while he looks at his watch.
WOMAN IN OFF
Four miles…
SEVEN
INTERIOR KITCHEN MORNING
The man and woman are sitting opposite each other at a table in the kitchen.
WOMAN IN OFF
Then breakfast…
EIGHT
INTERIOR CAR MORNING
Man and woman are inside a car (viewed as if from the back seats), driving along a road.
WOMAN IN OFF
And off to work.
NINE
INTERIOR OFFICE MORNING
Woman is sitting at a desk in front of a computer with the man standing behind and over her with his hands on his hips.
TEN
EXTERIOR STREET BENCH DAY
Man and woman are eating salad from plastic lunch boxes.
ELEVEN
INTERIOR OFFICE AFTERNOON
Man is handing papers to the woman. The woman is looking at the man’s hands but not his face.
TWELVE
INTERIOR CAR EARLY EVENING
Man and woman are inside a car (viewed as if from the back seats), driving along a road.
WOMAN IN OFF
And home…
THIRTEEN
EXTERIOR STREET EARLY EVENING
The man and the woman are jogging, with the woman a few paces behind the man. She is staring at the back of his head while he looks at his watch.
WOMAN IN OFF
Another four miles…
FOURTEEN
INTERIOR DINING ROOM EVENING
Man and woman are sitting opposite each other but we don’t see the table yet, only their faces, with the woman looking down miserably and the man smiling as he looks towards the same place.
WOMAN IN OFF
The evening meal… the same thing every night…
FIFTEEN
MONTAGE OF KITCHEN SURFACE PREPARATIONS
(At all times here only seeing hands)
Man throws lettuce into a big wooden bowl.
WOMAN IN OFF
Lettuce…
Man slides chopped tomatoes from a chopping board into bowl.
WOMAN IN OFF
Tomatoes…
Man chops carrots.
WOMAN IN OFF
Carrots…
Diced cubes of cheese dropping into the bowl (no hands visible)
WOMAN IN OFF
No-fat cheese… “for texture”…
Stylised shot of a bottle of olive oil and some salt… lit from behind as if somehow they were sacred and holy.
WOMAN IN OFF
No oil… no salt…
SIXTEEN
INTERIOR DINING ROOM EVENING
We now see the man and woman sitting opposite each other, with the table (the evening meal laid upon it) also fully in sight. The woman is holding out her dish to be served. Eyes cast down, she does not look enthusiastic.
WOMAN IN OFF
My life is not my own.
With lots of profile and close-up shots, the following conversation – or rather monologue – takes place:
MAN
No more and no less than the body needs…
He pauses to chew his food properly.
MAN
You don’t chew enough… Optimum digestion is only achieved by thorough mastication. Or do you want bowel disease?
The woman looks tiredly oppressed.
MAN
These carrots are excellent.
SEVENTEEN: DAY TWO
INTERIOR BEDROOM EARLY MORNING
We see an alarm clock beeping by the side of the bed. An arm reaches out to turn it off.
WOMAN IN OFF
Up at six.
EIGHTEEN
INTERIOR BEDROOM EARLY MORNING
From a different angle…
The woman is sitting on the edge of her bed again, bending over to do her laces up on her trainers, while the man – by the side of the bed and behind the woman – is stretching before they go out to jog.
WOMAN IN OFF
Get ready.
NINETEEN
EXTERIOR STREET EARLY MORNING
The man and the woman are jogging, with the woman a few paces behind the man. She is staring at the back of his head while he looks at his watch.
WOMAN IN OFF
Four miles…
TWENTY
INTERIOR KITCHEN MORNING
The man and woman are sitting opposite each other at a table in the kitchen.
WOMAN IN OFF
Breakfast…
TWENTY-ONE
INTERIOR CAR MORNING
Man and woman are inside a car (viewed as if from the back seats), driving along a road.
WOMAN IN OFF
Work.
TWENTY-TWO
INTERIOR OFFICE MORNING
Woman is sitting at a desk typing at a keyboard, looking down. The man, whose face we cannot see, is leaning on the table beside her.
TWENTY-THREE
EXTERIOR STREET BENCH DAY
Man and woman are eating salad from plastic lunch boxes.
TWENTY-FOUR
INTERIOR OFFICE AFTERNOON
The woman is in profile, from the shoulders up, still facing down. The man is directly behind her chair (again his face is unseen), with one hand on the back of the chair.
TWENTY-FIVE
INTERIOR CAR EARLY EVENING
Man and woman are inside a car (viewed as if from the back seats), driving along a road.
WOMAN IN OFF
Home…
TWENTY-SIX
EXTERIOR STREET EARLY EVENING
The man and the woman are jogging, with the woman a few paces behind the man. She is staring at the back of his head while he looks at his watch.
WOMAN IN OFF
Another four miles…
TWENTY-SEVEN
INTERIOR DINING ROOM EVENING
The man and woman are sitting opposite each other at the dining table again, from an angle behind the woman’s head looking at the man.
WOMAN IN OFF
The evening meal.
We see a close up of the wooden bowl of salad in the centre of the table.
WOMAN IN OFF
Salad again…
TWENTY-SEVEN
(FROM PREVIOUS KITCHEN SURFACE MONTAGE SEQUENCE)
The same holy/sacred image of oil and salt
WOMAN IN OFF
No oil, no salt…
TWENTY-EIGHT
INTERIOR DINING ROOM EVENING
The man and woman are sitting each other at the table in profile (he happy, she not).
WOMAN IN OFF
Quality time…
MAN
You see, the body is a machine.
We can see and hear a clock in the background.
MAN
It needs maintenance and routine. That’s why we have to be strict… no deviations… no slips… we must adhere to routine… rigidly.
As the man says the word ‘rigidly’, he stabs his fork in the air towards the woman three times, to emphasise each syllable of the word.
MAN
It’s all about structure. It’s the key to us living a good, long life together…
On hearing the words ‘long life together’ the woman visibly flinches.
MAN
By the way, did you remember to get those insurance policies renewed?
TWENTY-NINE: DAY THREE
INTERIOR BEDROOM EARLY MORNING
We see a close up of the alarm clock – just the ‘6’ and half of the first ‘0’ – and hear the alarm.
WOMAN IN OFF
Up at six.
THIRTY
INTERIOR BEDROOM EARLY MORNING
The woman is sitting on the edge of her bed. This time we see her from below looking up. Every now and then, she is obscured by the silhouette of the man doing sit-ups.
WOMAN IN OFF
Get ready to run…
THIRTY-ONE
EXTERIOR STREET EARLY MORNING
The man and the woman are jogging, but the woman is now level with the man. She is staring at his profile while he, oblivious to her, looks at his watch.
WOMAN IN OFF
Four miles…
THIRTY-TWO
INTERIOR KITCHEN MORNING
The man and woman are sitting opposite each other at a table in the kitchen.
WOMAN IN OFF
Breakfast…
THIRTY-THREE
INTERIOR CAR MORNING
Man and woman are inside a car (viewed as if from the back seats), driving along a road.
WOMAN IN OFF
Off to work…
THIRTY-FOUR
INTERIOR OFFICE MORNING
The man and woman are standing up. The man is telling her something but her eyes are no longer cast down. She looks at him directly, her face neutral.
THIRTY-FIVE
EXTERIOR STREET BENCH DAY
Man and woman are eating salad from plastic lunch boxes.
THIRTY-SIX
INTERIOR OFFICE AFTERNOON
Man is handing papers to the woman. The woman is looking at his face again, studying it.
THIRTY-SEVEN
INTERIOR CAR EARLY EVENING
Man and woman are inside a car (viewed as if from the back seats), driving along a road.
WOMAN IN OFF
Home…
THIRTY-EIGHT
EXTERIOR STREET EARLY EVENING
The man and the woman are jogging, again side-by-side with the woman looking side-on at the man without his acknowledgement.
WOMAN IN OFF
Another four miles…
THIRTY-NINE
INTERIOR DINING ROOM EVENING
Once again, we see the man and woman sitting opposite each other but again the woman’s eyes are no longer facing down but up and across at the man.
WOMAN IN OFF
The evening meal
We see a close-up of the salad on the table.
WOMAN IN OFF
Fucking salad again…
FORTY
FROM PREVIOUS KITCHEN SURFACE MONTAGE SEQUENCE
The holy shot of the oil and salt
WOMAN IN OFF
No fucking oil… no fucking salt…
FORTY-ONE
INTERIOR DINING ROOM EVENING
The shots and actions of the man and woman opposite each other (in profile, close-up, etc) are similar but the woman is changed. She looks directly ahead at all times now, watching and observing the man as he goes on about what he thinks…
MAN
You were slow today… remember, we can’t allow any slips or the system we have falls apart. I think an extra mile is in order tomorrow… to get you back on track.
He waggles his index finger in the air as if it were a metronome keeping time.
MAN
Don’t worry… we’ll soon have you finely and properly tuned.
FORTY-TWO: DAY FOUR: REBELLION DAY
INTERIOR BEDROOM EARLY MORNING
Close-up of the second half of the ‘6’ and, in full, the two ‘0’s.
WOMAN IN OFF (the voice is harder now)
Up at six.
FORTY-THREE
INTERIOR BEDROOM EARLY MORNING
The woman is sitting on the edge of her bed. This time we see her from below looking up. Every now and then, she is obscured by the silhouette of the man doing press-ups.
WOMAN IN OFF
Get ready to run.
FORTY-FOUR
EXTERIOR STREET EARLY MORNING
The man and the woman are jogging, with the woman now slightly ahead of the man, who still doesn’t seem to notice anything outside of his own world.
WOMAN IN OFF
FIVE miles…
FORTY-FIVE
INTERIOR KITCHEN MORNING
The man and woman are sitting opposite each other at a table in the kitchen.
WOMAN IN OFF
Breakfast…
FORTY-SIX
INTERIOR CAR MORNING
Man and woman are inside a car (viewed as if from the back seats), driving along a road. The woman is watching the man.
WOMAN IN OFF
Work…
FORTY-SEVEN
INTERIOR OFFICE MORNING
Now the man is sitting at a desk in front of a computer with the woman standing behind and over him with her hands on her hips.
FORTY-EIGHT
EXTERIOR STREET BENCH DAY
Man and woman are eating salad from plastic lunch boxes.
FORTY-NINE
INTERIOR OFFICE AFTERNOON
The woman is handing papers to the man, who is sitting down. The woman is looking down at him curiously.
FIFTY
INTERIOR CAR EARLY EVENING
Man and woman are inside a car (viewed as if from the back seats), driving along a road. The woman is still watching the man.
WOMAN IN OFF
Home…
FIFTY-ONE
EXTERIOR STREET EARLY EVENING
The man and the woman are jogging, with the woman still now slightly ahead of the man, who still doesn’t seem to notice anything outside of his own world.
WOMAN IN OFF
Another five miles…
FIFTY-TWO
INTERIOR DINING ROOM EVENING
The man and woman are sitting opposite each other at the table. The salad as always is there at the centre. The woman is now staring at the man.
WOMAN IN OFF
The evening meal…
Close-up of the salad
WOMAN IN OFF
The usual…
FIFTY-THREE
FROM PREVIOUS KITCHEN SURFACE MONTAGE SEQUENCE
The holy shot of the oil and salt
FIFTY-FOUR
INTERIOR DINING ROOM EVENING
The man points at the salad.
MAN
I’ve added something special tonight. Take a look.
The woman leans forward to look. A close-up of the salad reveals the addition of a few black olives.
WOMAN IN OFF
Oh shit… black olives… he wants sex.
The woman rises from her chair.
WOMAN
Excuse me for a moment.
The woman leaves the shot.
MAN
Where are you going?
We see the man’s eyes follow the movement of the woman as returns off-camera.
She places a bulging carrier bag onto the table.
MAN
What’s that?
The woman gives the man an almost tender smile as she sits back down but then becomes serious again. She removes a loaf of bread from the bag and takes out four slices of bread, placing them on top of her plate. She then takes a jar of mayonnaise from the bag and opens the lid with a loud ‘POP’. The man flinches at this.
She separates the top slice of bread from the pile and, while the man stares open-mouthed, spreads two great globs of mayo on the individual slice and the slice at the top of the remaining pile.
She takes a packet of crisps from the bag, opens it, and takes out a handful of crisps which she drops onto the single slice. Looking at the man for any reaction, she takes the top slice from the pile and crunches it down onto the crisps to form the first layer of the sandwich to beat all sandwiches.
Next out of the bag she removes a bottle of barbecue sauce, which she waves at the man before opening it. She then pours some sauce on top of the crisp sandwich layer and the top slice of the remaining pile.
She takes out a pack of frankfurters from the bag and rips it open with her teeth. She then slides four of the frankfurters out onto the top of the crisp sandwich. She takes the sauce covered slice from the other pile and squashes it down on top of the frankfurters to complete the second layer of the sandwich.
WOMAN
And for dessert…
She takes out a bottle of chocolate sauce. The man is looking faintly sick and pretty lost. The woman pours chocolate sauce on top of the layered sandwich and the remaining slice of bread from the pile.
She removes a sponge cake, a Swiss roll, from the bag. The man seems to have started sweating. She opens the package and breaks off a chunk of cake. She squashes it flat between her hands and then places it on top of the layered sandwich. She takes the final slice and presses it down.
The sandwich is complete. She looks down at it with satisfaction and then slowly back up at the man, who is looking aghast, his mouth fully open.
Slowly, deliberately, the woman brings the sandwich up to her mouth and takes an enormous bite from it, chewing it slowly, her cheeks bulging. As she continues to eat the sandwich, her face getting messier and messier as various sauces drip down her chin and spread over her cheeks, the man looks on as though paralysed with shock.
Finally the woman reaches the end of her sandwich. Taking the final chunk and holding it up to show the man, she stuffs it all into her mouth. The man’s bottom lip is trembling as though he is about to cry.
The woman finishes chewing and, with some effort, finally, in an exaggerated way, swallows the last of it. She then lifts up the plate and licks it clean.
She smiles.
She wipes her mouth with the back of her forearm and then does the same in the opposite direction with her other arm, leaving two great smears across her face.
The man lifts a finger and weakly points at his own face in a sad attempt to indicate the woman still has marks on her face.
Ignoring him, the woman reaches into the bag and pulls out the final nail in the coffin… a packet of cigarettes. Slowly she unwraps the plastic covering, opens the packet, removes the metallic paper, rolling it up and flicking it away, and removes a cigarette. She puts the packet on the table and brings the cigarette to her lips.
She lights the cigarette and inhales deeply, pausing before exhaling a long, steady stream of smoke, some of which reaches the man and makes him flinch and cough a little. She carries on smoking while the man, frozen, just watches.
Finally the woman gets up and walks across to where the man remains sitting. She inhales on the last of her cigarette and then blows out the smoke directly into the man’s face.
This is it for the man… he lowers his head dolefully, defeated and despondent. The woman flicks the cigarette butt into the salad. The man stares mournfully at it.
The woman walks away leaving the man staring sadly, pathetically at the now slightly smoking salad. We see a close-up of the smouldering butt nestled in the lettuce, between bits of cheese and olives.
We hear the sound of the front door closing as the image quickly shifts to black.
FIFTY-FIVE
END
The words ‘The End’ appear against the black.
FIFTY-SIX
CREDITS
As the credits go up, we hear the sound of the alarm clock once more, signifying interpretable new beginnings.
END