Act 1. I’m Singin’ in the Rain.
Opening Shot. Static and lingering. An empty room in an apartment. On the opposite wall are two windows, evenly spaced within the camera’s frame. It’s morning and the sky is pale with brightness. It’s summer. There are no furnishings, curtains or carpets. The floorboards are not polished but neither are they raw wood. Sunlight fills the vacant room with potential. It doesn’t feel barren, only awaiting redecoration and renewal. At the top centre of the frame hangs a bare light bulb. It is not switched on. Out of view a door buzzer buzzes once. Next Shot. Static and lingering. At the sound of the buzzer, there is a hard cut to a tighter shot of the light bulb. It hangs down the central axis of the camera’s frame. The curve of the light bulb almost touches the lower edge of the frame. There is dust collected on the light bulb. Out of view somebody rises from a chair and moves across the floor. The sound of their gait tells us he’s a man. There is a momentary pause before a door is opened. Still out of view, a second person wheels a trolley into the apartment. They exchange a few words. Man1. No. Okay, through there. Trolley is wheeled into the vacant room, but still out of view. Man2. Anywhere? Man1. Yeah. In the middle. Man2. Okay. You’re the boss. Something heavy and solid is deposited on the floor. The man with the trolley now leaves the room and the apartment, followed by the sound of the door being closed. Next Shot. Static and lingering. Momentarily after the door closes, the film cuts to the centre of the floor in the vacant room. There is a large cuboid block of ice. It stands approximately 18” tall and about 12” square. Condensation runs down it’s cloudy surface. This shot compositionally mirrors the last. The ice is central to the frame, the camera is slightly elevated above it showing it’s topmost surface. Out of view, the man enters the room and puts down a box containing tools and opens a stepladder. The man climbs the ladder and there is the sounds of him using a hand drill. Dust falls and lightly coats the top surface of the ice block. Next Shot. Static. Hanging from the ceiling is a noose, it is tied from a rope of black hemp with a decorative white cord wound around it. The noose enlarges and mimics the form of the light bulb. The light bulb has vanished, replaced with this symbolic other. Out of view the man re-enters the room. The sounds of his footsteps are of metal on wood. He is wearing tap shoes. The sound of each step is doubled giving his cadence a comic timing and pace. Next Shot. Static and lingers for a long time. When we hear the man stop walking, the film cuts back to the block of ice beside which he stands. The shoes are of black patent leather. They have a reflective sheen, an inhuman perfection against the organic frozen fluidity of the ice. Around the base of the ice block has collected a small amount of melt water. With care he steps up onto the block of ice, and steadies himself. The shoes raise up onto tip toes, a slight pause and wobble, and then settle again. After a small amount of time the tap shoes shuffle slightly, then stand still. The film pauses for a while. Next Shot. Static. Hard cut to the shoes standing in a large puddle of water. The light in the room is now the gold tinged low angle light of a summer evening. It has been a long day. The shoes have lost none of their shine, and the puddle gives the floorboards a varnish, a twinkle that was absent earlier in the day. The toe of one of the shoes taps and shuffles slightly at the puddle. Inspecting it, as if unanticipated. Muffled, but audible, music starts from another apartment. ‘I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain. What a glorious feelin’, I’m happy again. I’m laughing at clouds, so dark up above...’ End of Act 1. Act 2. Bill Leaves the Agency. Act 2 is told in close up, with only two exceptions. It is exclusively silent save for one small noise. Opening Shot. Static and lingering. In the centre of the camera’s frame is a glass light shade hanging from the ceiling. It is round and approximately 12” in diameter. It is the colour of creme caramel and shares a similar edible opaque lustre. It is spotless. Around it is a large patch of damp. The camera lingers here to enjoy the relative fluid qualities of the light shade and the damp. If the light shade was less immaculate, it could appear to have sweated out the surrounding damp patch. Next Shot. Static and lingering. With this shot, it becomes apparent that the room is bathed with a golden evening light. It has an almost physical presence. Every surface touched by this light has a greater tactile appeal. The torso of a seated man fills the frame. He wears a single breasted, brown wool and silk suit, a white shirt and a black tie. At the top of the shot is his tie knot, the lowest edge is where his shirt and trousers meet. His suit sleeves flank the frame. The suit has a gentle, pricey sheen. It was tailored to this man’s body. Since that time, some of his substance has left him, slackening the suit’s sharpness. Next Shot. Static and lingering. One of the man’s hands reaches for a heavy bottomed tumbler of whiskey sat upon a glass table to his left. The glass is straight sided and is three quarters full of liquor and ice. It leaves a ring of condensation on the table. His hand and glass leave the frame. The camera lingers on the ring of moisture while the man drinks. The glass is replaced exactly upon the ring of moisture. A bead of condensation escapes from where he has held the glass, and joins the expanding ring on the table. The camera lingers here, before cutting to the next shot. Next Shot. Static. A matching glass with matching contents is raised to the red painted lips of a woman. The evening light reflects equally from her glass and lips. At the top of the frame is the bridge of her slender nose. The V describing the neck of a red grosgrain silk dress touches the centre of the lowest edge of the frame. She has dark curly hair which stops at her jaw level. Next Shot. Static. The camera returns to the man’s torso. He shifts slightly in his seat. Then sits motionless. After a moment his right hand reaches into the left hand side of his suit jacket. With practised fluidity, he pulls out a pistol, and points it at the camera. The camera quickly cuts to the next shot. Next Shot. Static. Hard close up of the man’s hand, gun and cuff. The pistol is a nickel plated automatic hand gun. The pistol is all aggressive reflections, it appears to have no interior, no substantial mechanism. The gun makes his hand look pink and raw. Like the suit, his skin belongs to a different man. Tailored to his once correct dimensions that no longer fit. Neither hand nor gun hold any warmth. The gun twitches the slightest of gestures, an upward nod. Next Shot. Static. For the first time in the film, the camera allows a full portrait, identifying the woman. Her hairstyle, make up and dress combine to form a 1950’s appearance. The woman raises her glass, and holds it on top of her head. Nestled in her hair, the glass bears no weight upon her head. If the couple have not performed this before, they must share an intimacy that borders on the telepathic. Next Shot. Static and lingering. The film cuts to a close up of the light shade and it’s surrounding patch of damp. A single bead of moisture is collecting. The room reflects in it, making it a tiny bump of pale gold. It is a miniature, and imperfect copy of the adjacent light shade. It gathers itself together, growing with an activity, an agency, so slight as to be molecular. Next Shot. Static and quick. The man turns and reaches for his drink with his left hand. His right hand is still pointing the pistol. Quick cut to the next shot. Next Shot. Static, very quick. The bead of moisture on the ceiling now quickly changes. It’s tiny mass grows, tips a critical level, and drops. Quick cut to the next shot. Next Shot. Static and quick. The man replaces his glass on to the table, it is now not centred on the ring of condensation, leaving a crescent of moisture. Quick cut to the next shot. Next Shot. Static, very quick. Close up of the pistol, still pointing to the camera. The droplet lands on the chamber of the pistol. Quick cut to the next shot. Next Shot. Static and quick. The camera cuts to an intense close up of the pistol’s muzzle. It performs a tensile quiver. CLICK. The only sound in the entire act is the gun misfiring. Last Shot. Static and extended. With leisurely grace and without fear, the woman brings her glass down to her lips. She drinks not for fortification, but for pleasure. THE END
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