We're No Angels Read online

  311Exterior: Bridge—Day.

  Angle: NED looks back. Worried. Up ahead, the Canadian end of the bridge comes closer. NED and JIM smile. From the Canadian end of the bridge, a similar Procession of priests in regalia, starting toward the center of the bridge. NED looks back over his shoulder again.

  312Exterior: Town Hall—Jail—Day.

  Point of View: The jail. The van parked outside, still quiet.

  313Exterior: Bridge—Day.

  Angle: The two processions in the center of the bridge. The two groups exchange ceremonials. One priest reaches in the cabinet below the Shrine, takes out a vestment for the Madonna, while chanting in Latin. NED is still looking back at the jail. The Canadian priest adjusts the garment, a shawl, over the Madonna. And then FATHER LEVESQUE takes a scapular off himself and hangs it on the Madonna.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: For all those who labor and are heavy-laden . . .

  He makes the sign of the cross, is about to start toward the Canadian side. NED and JIM breathe a sigh of relief. They all start off, but the LITTLE GIRL does not move. FATHER LEVESQUE looks down at the LITTLE GIRL, who is drowsy. He reaches down and caresses her. He looks at his hand. It is covered in blood. He looks up at NED, and JIM, in wonder. He straightens up and looks at the Madonna. He parts her shawl. The CAMERA COMES IN on the Madonna. The area around the heart and that area on the shawl are covered in blood.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: My God . . .

  CANADIAN PRIEST: C'est quoi qui se passe?

  The CANADIAN PRIEST sees the blood; he looks at the Madonna.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: Oh, my God, what's going on HERE. . . ?

  NED: Let's just keep moving.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: Do you see what's happening . . . ?

  BOB, bleeding heavily, comes out of the compartment, brandishing his shotgun. NED turns back to look toward the jail.

  314Point of View: The jail. The SHERIFF, WARDEN, etc., all agitated, come running and shouting out of the jail.

  315Angle: On the float. BOBBY touches off the shotgun. SCREAMS, as the crowd runs for cover. BOBBY grabs the LITTLE GIRL by the waist, holds the gun to her head.

  316Angle: The WARDEN etc. running down the bridge toward him.

  BOB: Nobody follow me. . . .

  WARDEN (yelling): Give it up, Bob, this ain't the way. We got you; now you end it like a man.

  BOBBY cocks the trigger. The LITTLE GIRL tries to scream. NED pushes through a mass of monks, appealing.

  NED: Not the girl, Bob. . . .

  JIM, at the base of the float, grabs a large crucifix from FATHER LEVESQUE and swings it, whacking BOBBY on the head. BOBBY

  falls one way, the girl the other. The shotgun slides to the base of the statue. JIM leaps on the float, reaching for the shotgun. BOBBY‘S head comes out, catching him in the crotch. JIM falls back, dragging BOBBY with him.

  JIM: You nuts, Bob? You wanna kill the kid?

  317Angle: The monks staring in amazement as JIM, in his priest's clothes, slugs it out with BOBBY.

  318Angle: The WARDEN and his men, running along the parapet, trying to take aim.

  319Angle: JIM head-butts BOBBY, who falls again by the foot of the Madonna. He grabs for the shotgun, rises with it. He is about to fire when he is torn apart by bullets.

  320Angle: The WARDEN and his men, firing. People around them diving to the ground.

  321Angle: JIM, staring in horror at what has happened to BOBBY. The WARDEN comes up behind him.

  WARDEN: Well, that's one down and two to go. Good work, Father.

  He shakes JIM‘s hand. He sees something over JIM’s shoulder and takes a step backward, loses his footing.

  JIM: Yeah. God bless you, too. . . .

  JIM lets his hand go, and the WARDEN falls backward into the water. NED screams, off. JIM turns and sees:

  322Point of View: The Madonna, tottering, BOBBY’s body at its base, falling toward:

  323Angle: The LITTLE GIRL, looking upward, trying to scream.

  324Point of View: The face of the Madonna, falling, growing huge.

  325Angle: NED, leaping on the float, sweeping the LITTLE GIRL in his arms, his momentum throwing him over the parapet, into the water. The Madonna falls in behind. JIM runs to the edge of the float, looks down.

  326Point of View: NED, with the LITTLE GIRL in the water, trying to grab hold of the Madonna. He goes under.

  327Underwater: NED and the LITTLE GIRL being pulled through the sluice gates of the dam. The Madonna floats after them, eerie, serene. . . .

  328Angle: The bridge. JIM, staring down at the empty waters, fights his way through the mass of people to the other side. Sees:

  329Point of View: The other side of the dam, a gigantic mountain of water thundering down to the reservoir below.

  330Underwater: NED, struggling for his life, holding the LITTLE GIRL.

  331Close-up: JIM.

  JIM: God. Oh, God—Ned—

  332Point of View: The wall of water; The figures of NED and the LITTLE GIRL are dragged through the foam. They plunge into the fury below. The Madonna follows after, bobbing like a cork.

  333Angle: The foaming reservoir. NED, struggling in the current, going under. The Madonna floats by him. He grabs it, floats with it, pulling the LITTLE GIRL with him.

  334Angle: The WARDEN, falling downward, like a fat seal, crying out. He hits the reservoir, comes to the surface, and is borne away by the currents.

  335Angle: JIM, the sheriffs men, monks, etc., running downward from the bridge.

  336Angle: The reservoir. NED grabs on to a concrete piling. One arm around the LITTLE GIRL, one around the Madonna. The WARDEN floats past, in the background, flailing.

  337Angle: JIM, running down, strips off his coat, is stopped by the SHERIFF.

  SHERIFF: Get in line there, you men, get in here. . . . (To JIM.) It's okay, Father. . . .

  Around them, men reach for NED and the LITTLE GIRL.

  SHERIFF: Johnny! Duke—Get into the water now . . . you get ‘em out. . .

  338Angle: Farther down the reservoir, the WARDEN, bruised and bleeding from the head, is swept onto a small sandbank. He staggers to his feet, stares around him.

  339Point of View: The marshes. His guards and dogs, floundering through the water toward him.

  340Angle: The reservoir. The LITTLE GIRL and NED being helped out of the water, covered in blankets. The Madonna floating in the water beside them. NED grabs the Madonna in his arms, tries to rise, wet and groggy.

  NED: We're going back across. Back across with the Shrine. Nothing can stop us. Our duty calls.

  He staggers to his feet. MOLLY, kneeling over her child, puts her arms around his knees, breathless with relief

  MOLLY: Thank you, Father, thank you. You saved my little girl.

  NED tries to free himself

  NED: Don't thank me. Thank God. Now gotta get that Shrine over. . . .

  LITTLE GIRL: Ah . . . ah . . . ah . . .

  341Angle: The LITTLE GIRL points to NED.

  MONK: Oh, my God, she's talking. . . .

  She points to NED. NED and JIM come back to her.

  LITTLE GIRL: Ah . . . heee, ah . . .

  TRANSLATOR: Oh, my God, it's a miracle.

  MOLLY: My baby's talking.

  NED and JIM come closer to her. She points at NED.

  LITTLE GIRL: He, he, he . . .

  TRANSLATOR: . . . Yes? Yes. . . ?

  LITTLE GIRL: . . . He . . .

  The YOUNG MONK starts praying in Latin.

  Little Girl: He's A Convict.

  341AAngle: Beat. All look at the LITTLE GIRL. Beat. They all look at NED.

  TRANSLATOR (turning to the two priests): What. . . ?

  LITTLE GIRL: He . . . he . . .

  She suddenly becomes completely drowsy and falls asleep. Beat. Everyone looks at her, then at NED. Beat.

  NED (to the TRANSLATOR and YUGOSLAV PRIEST; sotto): Keep my secret.

  Through the following, NED speaks to the TRANSLATOR, who translates to the PRIEST, and the
n he translates the response to NED.

  TRANSLATOR (sotto): I cannot.

  NED (sotto): Please. Do good works count for nothing?

  TRANSLATOR (sotto): Some things cannot be hidden. The girl, the Virgin's spoken through the girl, and she revealed your shame.

  NED (sotto): Don't betray me. I pray to you.

  The TRANSLATOR whispers to FATHER LEVESQUE, who crosses himself.

  342Angle. JIM and NED hang their heads. JIM raises his head.

  343Point of View: The face of the Madonna.

  344Angle: JIM prays.

  345Angle: The group turns to address FATHER LEVESQUE. The SHERIFF comes up in the rear.

  Father Levesque: Is This True . . . ?

  NED: Yes.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: You're a convert?

  Beat.

  NED: We were both born Lutheran.

  Beat. FATHER LEVESQUE sighs. Hangs his head. Thinks.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: I forgive you.

  He makes the sign of the cross over them.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: We all have to live with the disappointment. Thank God. Thank God for the illuminating events of this day.

  346Exterior: Monastery—Day.

  A sunrise over the river. The wardens ferry chugging toward the town. On the monastery steps a monk pulls the bell rope.

  347Interior: Monastery—Day.

  NED and JIM drinking coffee in the monastery kitchen. The TRANSLATOR and FATHER NOGULICH stand in a line of monks waiting to fill their mugs. The TRANSLATOR turns toward NED and JIM.

  TRANSLATOR: Quite a show last night . . . true bread and circuses. . .

  JIM (cheerily): Uh-huh?

  TRANSLATOR: A true misapplication of the teachings of Christ.

  JIM: Well, we're all entitled to that now, aren't we . . . ? You keep smiling!

  348Close-up: NED staring out the window.

  349Point of View: The WARDEN and his men on the warden's boat, with ropes and hooks and dragging things.

  350Angle: NED rises. JIM rises with him.

  NED: No better time.

  JIM: Something funny, I would of been just as happy to stay in here.

  NED: Uh-huh . . .

  JIM: Isn't that funny?

  NED: Yeah, that's hysterical.

  They walk out of the door. CAMERA follows them.

  351Exterior: Monastery—Day.

  The YOUNG MONK, running after.

  YOUNG MONK: We missed you at matins.

  JIM: Yeah, I kinda missed it, too, but whaddaya gonna do. . . ?

  YOUNG MONK: Are you coming to lauds?

  JIM: Well, I think lauds have their place, but as it is, we've got to get over to Canada, you know how it is. . . .

  NED (offscreen): Father Brown?

  JIM: Like to stick around and enjoy your hospitality, so forth . . .

  NED (offscreen): Father Brown?

  YOUNG MONK: We all enjoyed your sermon last night.

  JIM: That's good. I'm glad you did.

  YOUNG MONK: You leaving with the others?

  JIM: Yes, I think we are. You know, we have to.

  YOUNG MONK: We wish you could stay. (Beat.) The others leave, it's fine they leave . . . due respect. . . (Beat.) But it's quite lovely here.

  JIM: Uh-huh. (Beat.) And what do you do?

  YOUNG MONK (smiles): What do we do? Pray. Rest. (Beat.) Pray. (Beat.) A man of your piety, a man of your eloquence . . . of course, not everyone's called to the monastic life . . . life in a cell. . .

  JIM: Hey, don't put it down, if that's what you do and if you choose to do it. . . .

  NED beckons JIM again.

  JIM: Well, we got to be going.

  JIM walks over to NED, and outside.

  352Exterior: Monastery/Blacksmith Shop—Day.

  JIM: It's funny, right? Could have stayed in there.

  NED: Yeah, I told you it was funny, now calm down, we get to the border, you make the sign of the cross and over we go. . . .

  They nod in agreement. They square up their shoulders, continue walking. They pass FATHER LEVESQUE, driving tractor.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: We'll see you at vespers.

  JIM: Bet your life!

  They pass one of the wanted posters. JIM merrily tears it down. NED looks to the side.

  353Exterior: Shantytown—Day.

  Point of View: Molly's room empty.

  354Exterior: Town Square—Day.

  Angle: NED sighs, faces front again. NED and JIM start walking up to the guard station. They pass the DEPUTY and the OLD WOMAN. The DEPUTY is carrying the OLD WOMAN‘s deer.

  OLD WOMAN: Well, I heard you worked a miracle last night.

  JIM: We didn't work it.

  OLD WOMAN: Oh, you didn't work it, then who did. . . ? “God,” I suppose?

  JIM (shrugs): Who has a better right?

  The DEPUTY beams at NED.

  DEPUTY: Father.

  NED: Officer.

  DEPUTY: I think last night was a sign.

  NED: Uh-huh.

  DEPUTY: ‘N‘ I'm going to make an effort to be true to my wife.

  NED: Uh-huh.

  DEPUTY: If at all possible.

  NED: GO with God. Going to take a little stroll across the border here.

  He waves to the DEPUTY. Moves on. Beat.

  NED (to JIM): Wonder how that kid is. . . .

  JIM: Long as she keeps sleeping s'il okay with me. . . .

  They continue walking toward the border. In front of the border the GUARD waves them on, raises the barrier. NED and JIM arrive at the border. They turn to look back at the town.

  355Exterior: Shantytown—Pier—Day.

  Point of View: The warden's ferry pulling in to land by the shantytown, the WARDEN and his men leaping to land.

  356Angle: NED and JIM are waved on by the BORDER GUARD.

  BORDER GUARD: Morning, Father, Father . . .

  They start to pass over.

  WARDEN (offscreen): Stop those two priests . . . !

  NED and JIM turn back.

  357Point of View: The WARDEN shuffling toward them with difficulty, his head bandaged from the dam fracas, assisting himself with a walker.

  358Angle: NED and JIM at the border. They hang their heads. The SHERIFF runs ahead of the WARDEN toward them.

  SHERIFF: I'm afraid you two will have to come with me. . . .

  They nod. They start back toward the jail.

  JIM: Who would have thought that it would end this way. . . ?

  NED: Yeah? Well I guess I could have predicted it. . . .

  SHERIFF: Could you . . . ?

  They round a corner to the police van, where a newsreel camera is setting up. JIM is bereft; NED puts his arm around JIM. AS they come to the van, the van doors are opened. NED looks at JIM. JIM backs away, looks up at the sky. He fingers his rosary beads.

  359Point of View: The sky. Fingers of light coming through the clouds.

  360Angle: NED and JIM.

  NED: Let's just get it over with.

  They start to mount up the stairs to the van.

  SHERIFF: That won't be necessary.

  He restrains them, motions two men into the van. The two men lower two bodies on boards over the back of the van. The two dead bodies have priests’ clothes on and wear cowboy hats.

  SHERIFF: Found ‘em at the bottom of the gorge. Their car must of gone off the road, the big snowstorm.

  Beat. The dogs have come over and start HOWLING. NED and JIM stand silent.

  SHERIFF: Well. . . ?

  WARDEN: You don't even have to ask. My dogs know ‘em. . . .

  Beat. NED steps up.

  NED: Yep. Those are the guys who stole our clothes.

  The SHERIFF and the WARDEN nod.

  WARDEN: All I want to hear.

  The body of BOB is taken out of the jailhouse and loaded into the van. The newsreel cameraman starts filming.

  WARDEN: That's three for three. Never lost one yet!

  He turns toward the newsreel camera.

  WARDEN: There is
no escape from fate, gentlemen. As it is written, so shall it be done. Thus men pursue a life of crime. They sought death and shame, and they have received it. We have given it to them, haven't we? Haven't we, lads!

  He shakes hands with the SHERIFF, poses with him for the camera. The dogs are howling piteously. The WARDEN swipes at them with his riding crop.

  WARDEN (to the dogs): Shut up, there. . . .

  The WARDEN salutes the two priests, starts toward the front of the prison van.

  SHERIFF: Guess you'll be wanting your identification back.

  He hands the documents to them.

  361Insert: The two identity cards for FATHER BROWN and FATHER RILEY, dressed in their cowboy hats.

  362Angle: NED and JIM put the cards in their pockets.

  363Angle: The front of the van. The WARDEN looks back toward the two priests.

  WARDEN: Damn if those two men don't look familiar.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: Are you a Catholic?

  WARDEN: No.

  FATHER LEVESQUE: A Lutheran?

  WARDEN: Yes.

  FATHER LEVESQUE shrugs as if to say, “Well, that explains it. . . .” The prison van starts to drive off.

  364Angle: NED and JIM look after the van.

  365Point of View: The back of the van. The dogs strain toward them, still HOWLING.

  366Angle: NED and JIM look at each other, look at the border.

  367Point of View: The barricades are being dismantled.

  368Angle: NED and JIM look at each other, look at their identity cards.

  MOLLY (offscreen): I suppose I should thank you. . . .

  They turn. MOLLY, carrying her sleeping child, has come up to them. They all start to move across the bridge.

  NED: Happy to serve.

  MOLLY: I suppose it's a “miracle.”

  NED (shrugs): She still sleeping?

  MOLLY: Yes, Doc says she should sleep till noon.

  NED: Thank God. What was she shouting at us last night?

  MOLLY: Speaking in tongues. You worked a miracle, is that the truth?

  NED: Hey, believe what you wanna believe, what are you, picking a fight?

  MOLLY: No. No, I'm not “picking a fight," no. Matter of fact, "No.” I was “moved,” I was “moved,” I was “moved,” I was thankful what happened, is that so strange . . . ?

  NED: Not strange at all. . .

  JIM turns around.

  369Point of View: The YOUNG MONK looking after them. He reaches behind to his collar, shows the clothespin.