CLOSE on the clattering hooves of a pair of horses. They are backing steps, over icy paving stones.
The DRIVER of this hearse cranes his neck to see behind while alternately pulling the reigns and tapping the rumps of the horses. Like them, he's exhaling frost. A wall of weathered red brick passes slowly behind them.
He brings them to a halt.
INT. PRISON LOADING DOCK
Guards in surgical masks heave open a pair of massive oak doors. The hinges GRIND. A ribbon of sunlight cuts in above the van. Numbing cold pours in along the stone floor.
Two women in tattered street clothes begin to load a stretcher. Mismatched in both size and intent, they struggle. A corpse wound in its final bed sheet starts to roll.
GUARD (pulling down her mask) Drop it, you'll pick it up!
PENNY has landed hard on her knees. She is a teenager with long chestnut hair tied back in a tail. Her eyes are luminous with pain, her white kerchief mask flutters with her breath.
The other woman is a towering SLAV. Her chopped hair is the color of slag, her wide set eyes black and vacant. She wears no mask. Her teeth are sharklike.
Penny painfully gains her feet. She will slow down.
Three more stretchers are lined up on the floor of this hall outside the infirmary. A legend appears on the screen: HOLLOWAY PRISON FOR WOMEN, 1918.
Inside a door is a fetid ward of two dozen closely spaced cots. Each patient is engaged in a desperate struggle. Fever and delirium have turned even young heads of hair to gray.
Through another door is the examination room. A white smocked doctor is perched precariously on a tall stool. He sleeps fitfully, his head down on the marble counter.
The two stretcher bearers complete their task. The guard pulls open a door.
GUARD Right now. In with you.
PENNY Down here? With the cold and sickness?
2
GUARD A fortnight you'll stay. Contact with the influenza ward means quarantine.
INT. CELL
Below a small window set high on the wall is a steam radiator. GONERIL, an older, slightly stout woman, is there trying to keep warm. Penny rushes in to join her.
GONERIL Come along then. Warm up now.
They huddle for a moment in front of the radiator.
The Slav looms behind them. She cocks her thick forearms and delivers a quick, violent thrust into their backs.
PENNY Oh! She's a beast!
They've been shoved in the direction of a wooden bench. They huddle upon it. Penny considers a fight.
GONERIL Shh… Now, let's not. She cares little what she does.
A narrow beam of sunlight penetrates the thawed center of the window. It falls upon the floor by the opposite wall. There is a ragged blanket nearby.
GONERIL Look dear, some sun.
They drag the bench into this meager light. They settle down upon it. Goneril spreads the blanket over their knees.
PENNY It's cold still- (then acidly, to the Slav) How do people live with themselves, hoarding the fire like that?
GONERIL (whispering) Steady on now, she is nothing to us.
PENNY
That face of hers. Those teeth. She reminds me of one of those guard dogs. A pinscher. A pinscher'll eat its own pups you know.
GONERIL A pleasant thought, that. (quiet, aside) Apropos of our friend's condition.
3
PENNY
Apro-pos?
GONERIL Your pinscher analogy, dear. (reluctantly) It was a few years back now. She was picked up in an East End absinthe shop. Her two babies had been found dead of exposure. PENNY Lord Almighty. To forsake her own!
GONERIL Shh.... (self-consciously) It's in her face.... Or absent, rather. Empathy. Hope.
They huddle in silence for a moment.
PENNY I wonder now. Is her's to be my lot as well? I'm inside now. What will keep me own mum from turning her back on me? GONERIL Now dear, you're young. The real victim of your crime was yourself, now wasn't it? Keep that thought close. I'll wager you'll be remembered yet when you get out.
PENNY (re: Slav) We've always been poor, like her. I'd not done it otherwise.
The huge woman stares. Steam rises off her back.
GONERIL (re: Slav) Fortune will not save you from that. (beat) It will just as likely swallow you.
A tear is building in her eye. Penny looks sideways at her.
PENNY (with curious respect) You're a rich lady.
GONERIL I was. Once. My father's plantation was as big as all of Scotland.
She looks at the girl, who is stunned.
4
GONERIL It wasn't enough. Not enough to spare me that. (nod to Slav)
PENNY You, ma'am? You murdered your rich family?
GONERIL No, dear. (beat) Not in so many words.
She looks up into the shaft of light.
GONERIL Perhaps you should hear the story. You could take steps then, see that you don't end your days alone. PENNY Please, then ma'am. We've a long night in front of us.
From Goneril's POV the borders of the window begin to blur and slowly fade to black, leaving only the shaft of light.
PENNY (O.C.) It must've been cold there too ma'am? In Scotland?
In the darkness the light takes on a halo. It becomes apparent that it is filtering through a dense and misty forest. Sounds of flowing water, tropical birds and chattering gibbons fade in.
GONERIL (V.O.) Oh dear, no. We were not in Scotland. This was a wild, primeval place, very far away. And warm it was. Warm as the laundry hall on an August afternoon....
EXT. JUNGLE - DAYBREAK, FOUR YEARS EARLIER
The light glows ghostlike a moment longer, then blinks out. Beneath a shroud of mist a small stream becomes visible. It's running clear and fast through a bed of white limestone.
CLOSE on the water as it winds past coiling plumes of fern and massive black tree trunks.
A legend appears on the screen: BURMA 1914.
A new sound fades in. A growing white noise.
CUT TO
5
OPEN AIR. Black, burgeoning clouds are stunningly close. With a dull roar the water sails through space, then plunges, dropping into a ninety foot plume.
MOUNTAIN PAVILION BELOW
The falls have worn a basin into the limestone. Beneath a layer of vapor the water pools cool and clear. A footbridge has been hewn from the same ubiquitous white stone. It spans the pool in a graceful arch, reaching up to a slightly higher mantle. Here, luminous white against a backdrop glistening wet jungle, four intricately carved pillars support a slender spire of gold.
The theme fades in: Ralph Vaughan-Williams' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis.
A shaft of light breaks from the rolling clouds. It illuminates the spire and crosses the falls, turning droplets of mist into dancing sprites of color. A rainbow appears.
A legend appears on the screen: A Little Gleam Of Time.
At ground level we look up a LUMINOUS PATH to the falls. It is paved with sea shells. The shell glows opalescent, then wanes under intermittent breaks in the clouds. Verdant, glistening wet foliage rises steeply to one side.
A pair of boots CRUNCH into the shell, filling the frame. They pause, then step forward, followed by a set of horse's hooves.
We pull back to reveal an old man, from behind. His steps are labored; the wide brim of his bush hat tilted down. His white linen suit hangs damply, a folded newspaper in the coat pocket.
CUT TO
A LONG SHOT
This path is cut into the sheer side of a mountain. The old man is in miniature, trudging toward the falls and the pavilion, which stands on a promontory. The bridge is revealed to be crossing a ledge where the water takes another precipitous drop. This is a truly great fall, again down onto limestone. Here the stream begins another journey, first through a narrow belt of tea planted foothills, then out into a misty expanse of rice paddy.
A legend appears on the screen: Adapted By S. Barrow Wilson From William Shakespeare's The Tragedy Of King Lear.
CLOSE on a stone carving. It is a squatting deity, an animist guardian of the trail. In the foreground lies the trunk of a fallen tree.
A six hundred pound TIGRESS drops onto the tree trunk. The frame is lit with the colors of it's massive face. It steps into the camera and out of the frame. ANOTHER huge cat drops. It follows the first. They are hunting, stalking through the mist.
6
EXT/INT. PAVILION
The old man has tethered the horse before the bridge. Still from behind, he steps up into the pavilion. He drops his hat and the newspaper onto a stone bench. The headline screams: TOTAL WAR.
Sounds of falling water, birds and monkeys fade in.
THE OLD MAN'S FACE
It's LEAR. His expression is of pained resolve. He is looking out over his kingdom through a clearing sky.
An unnatural buzzing sound fades in. Lear hears it. He scowls. Suddenly close and level with his line of sight, a brightly colored, fragile looking biplane bursts through a cloud. The roar is deafening as the prop cracks the air. It tips its wings in a turn to avoid the mountain.
We see Lear through the pavilion with the dark jungle immediately behind. He has ducked in alarm. He straightens, slowly, painfully.
LEAR The world has gone mad.
JUNGLE
The tigers are visible through the trees above the path Lear has just taken. They are at a crouch due to the plane. A moment, then they are up.
PAVILION
Lear is weary but resolute.
LEAR I will have no part of it.
He sits. There is quiet except for the water.
A LONG SHOT with the horse, bridge and pavilion. The sound of water.
CLOSE ON LEAR'S HORSE
It whinnies nervously.
CLOSE ON LEAR
He looks impassively in the direction of his horse.
ANOTHER LONG SHOT. The rising sound of water.
CLOSE ON LEAR'S FACE. He's perplexed. We pull back.
THE TIGER'S FACE has appeared huge, burning bright in the dark behind him. Lear does not turn. He feels the presence. His expression levels out.
7
The tiger's POV: Lear turns slowly to face the cat. His expression gathers. It says: Go ahead. Make my day.
A terrific EXPLOSION.
FLASH PAN
JUNGLE
Birds bolting from trees. Tigers leaping.
MIN
Lear's valet. A small, lively man of Shan descent. He wears a white linen suit and is leaping wildly, waving a huge Wembley revolver over his head.
MIN HA! HA! YAH!
The revolver explodes again.
A tiger is seen in full flight.
A lusty grin comes to Lear's face.
LEAR That's my boy.
Min is pissed. He shouts in Burmese to two others in native dress. They arrive with a rickshaw topped with a parasol. Min hustles Lear to his seat.
MIN Come. Come now.
JUNGLE PATH - MOMENTS LATER
They start down the way Lear has come, Min walking with the horse alongside the rickshaw. He reaches down and picks up a piece of vine. He shows it's inch long spikes to Lear.
MIN Uncle, you tell me. If man's brains were in his heels, and not his head, could not these brains be in danger from thorns in his path?
LEAR (earnestly, looking at the thorns) Aye, boy.
MIN Uncle, then you could go out anytime. (he tosses the thorns) And leave your shoes at home.
8
LEAR (puzzled, then grinning) HA!
The shot lengthens and goes aerial into the clearing sky. Point of view is from the biplane as the credits roll. We pass over the vast, magnificent plantation as the sun rises over mountains, hills, and river plain. There are thatched roofed long houses on stilts, and metal roofed western structures built on defendable high ground. Here and there golden, bell shaped pagodas rise out of the lush green surface. Credits close over Lear's citadel on a hill. It is a large square compound walled in teak and topped with the Union Jack. On a foothill below lies a newly cut airstrip.
EXT. AIRSTRIP - MORNING
From the ground we see the plane pass low and loud overhead. The frame settles down on GLOUCESTER and his son EDMUND. Gloucester is a robust old graybeard and he is excited, gesticulating. Edmund is dark, sullen and handsome.
GLOUCESTER Look! Look at it will you? They're sailing on air!
Edmund raises an eyebrow. His arms are crossed.
GLOUCESTER Just imagine it. The thrill. Edgar must be loving it!
THE DOUBLE COCKPIT
CORNWALL is the pilot. He's charged up and devious.
EDGAR is a slender, vulnerable boy. He's shocked and pale.
THE AIRSTRIP
GLOUCESTER Now then. Yes, yes, watch. This time as they come around, in low over the rice paddy. Here Cornwall will release his vapor. It'll kill the mosquitoes he says. Prevent them from hatching in the water. Can you imagine, Edmund my boy? No more mosquitoes?
Women in woven conical hats and wrap skirts called longyi are stooped over, working the paddy. They stand at the approach of the plane.
Cornwall opens his tanks, releasing vaporized DDT.
The women look about the cloud suddenly enveloping them. They cover their mouths and start to run.
GLOUCESTER HA! That'll show them!
9
GLOUCESTER (He slaps Edmund on the back.) Here, here! They're coming in now.
THE COCKPIT
Coming in to land. Cornwall is grinning. Edgar is ill.
THE AIRSTRIP
The scene is a new airstrip. An outbuilding is under construction. There is a new flatbed truck, scattered shipping crates, fuel tanks on stilts.
The two flyers disembark. Edgar heads to the shade next to the truck. It's obvious he's vomited on himself. Cornwall smirks as he removes his gloves.
GLOUCESTER Edgar? Edgar my boy?
EDGAR I'm fine father, really. I'll need just a minute.
Edgar sits against a wheel of the truck. Gloucester looks to Cornwall.
CORNWALL He'll soon gain his feet. Whether we'll make a flyer of him is another matter, I'm afraid.
Gloucester regards his prostrate child. He's disappointed.
Cornwall casts a calculating eye on Edmund.
CORNWALL Is this not your son as well, sir?
GLOUCESTER (disappointed) His breeding sir, has been at my charge. I've so often blushed to acknowledge him, I'm blind to it now. CORNWALL Surely, I cannot conceive your meaning.
This opening brings a smile to Gloucester's face.
GLOUCESTER (conspiring) Sir. I can assure you this young fellow's mother could. It was at that point that her belly grew big and round, and she had indeed sir, a son for her cradle before a husband for her bed!
Edmund looks away. He's burning.
10
GLOUCESTER (amused) Do you smell a fault?
CORNWALL Sir. Could I wish such a fault undone? The result! GLOUCESTER Yes, handsome he is. It is Edgar though, one year older, who is my son by order of law.
Gloucester puts his arm around Edmund.
GLOUCESTER Yet he is no dearer to my heart than this fellow, who came so saucily into the world. Indeed. His mother was a rare beauty of the East, and his making memorable sport. (beat) And at the end of the day, even the son of a tart must be acknowledged. Have you met this noble gentleman Edmund?
EDMUND No, my Lord. GLOUCESTER This is our Lord Cornwall. Just in from England with Regan, his new bride. And you know that fine lady to be a dear daughter to our own Lord Lear. It is they who have brought all this wondrous machinery.
Pull back to include machines and Edgar seated. Edgar has a canteen, from which he gargles and spits.
GLOUCESTER As with your dear wife sir, Edmund has been away from Burma quite sometime. He is just returned from University in Madras- (regarding him) -complete with the outward signs of a new found piety. EDMUND (gravely, with a bow) My services to your Lordship.
CORNWALL Young man, I am drawn to you instantly. I shall seek to know you better.
11
EDMUND Sir, I shall study deserving.
CUT TO
INT. COURTYARD PAVILION - AFTERNOON
Within a large open sided structure. A lively dance hall tune is being played on a recorder. A small monkey is high on a perch, dancing. In one hand he holds a slice of melon.
REGAN is seated at tea. She's wearing an elaborate outfit better suited to the city than the plantation. She wears expensive jewelry. We see her make up melting as she wrinkles her nose at the monkey.
Goneril is seated next to her sister. She's not quite dowdy but certainly more provincial in appearance than her sister. Her khaki dress is functional. Her outlook is dour. She looks at Regan, then up at the monkey. She's exasperated.
The tune ends. The monkey sits, then pitches the fruit at Goneril. She ducks.
LONG SHOT
Down from a parapet to the pavilion in the center of the compound.
GONERIL (O.C.) Os-WALD!
INSIDE PAVILION
OSWALD appears by the table. He is a house servant from India; overweight and ill tempered. He's bolted a scone, and his black eyes dart quickly back and forth as he struggles to swallow it. His puffy neck threatens to pop the collar of his white uniform.
GONERIL Oswald. Shoo that animal. At tea yet.
Oswald moves with clumsy malevolence. He's going to come at the monkey from behind.
Apart from her sisters is the player of the recorder, CORDELIA. A girl of twenty, she's wearing a white blouse that gathers in lace at her throat. There's a blush to her cheeks that could only be natural, and her long, neatly plaited hair is silken blond in the sunlight. She is looking up at the monkey. In her luminous blue eyes we see no guile, but recognize an intelligent, compassionate soul. She smiles. We are in love with her.
CORDELIA (low, in confidence) Run Disraeli, run.
12
Disraeli looks at Cordelia. He leaps easily out of Oswald's grasp, leaving him to crash down with the perch.
Cordelia's smile widens with embarrassment.
GONERIL Oh, we do try don't we?
OSWALD Memsahib. Many apologies. He gathers his mess.
REGAN (smiling) Dear Cordelia. What was it you called that scheming little beast?
CORDELIA His name is Disraeli. Father named him. REGAN (amused) Imagine that. The most progressive Prime Minister in the history of Great Britain, the object of such ridicule.
CORDELIA I'm sure father just-
GONERIL Dear sister. You shall note the change come over father these two years you've been away. His penchant for irascibility only grows with age. (beat) But you've been home. You've a husband! A most noble and enterprising fellow. Do you think he could take a liking to Burma?
REGAN (beat, then low) Well. You simply must know. I've not mentioned it in our correspondence for fear of father's reaction. -The able bodied men of my husband's family all have commissions in the Royal Navy. He cannot stay. Not with a war on.
Goneril and Cordelia are stunned.
REGAN I wanted to wait until my Lord Cornwall was here to speak of it. But you need know. We are here for a short time only. To plant rubber.
13
REGAN A ship is in route from Guiana to Rangoon as we speak, bringing one thousand of the plants. The aeroplane, the lorry, all is dedicated to the husbandry of this crop. It's the war. It changes everything. Rubber is where the profit will be.
GONERIL -You'll not stay.
REGAN The time has come for us all to consider the future. With the assistance of Gloucester and his sons we could run this company from London. Where we belong. Where we've always belonged. Father is an elderly gentleman now. (to Cordelia) Dear Cordelia. There is a war of unprecedented scale on the horizon. It is no time to be caught off at the end of the earth. (delicately) Do you know that France will not end his exile and return to his own country?
CORDELIA (embarassed) I surely would not know. We are merely friends-
GONERIL We shall find out. He will dine with us tonight. Father has made it clear everyone is to attend. And know dear sister, as attractive as your plan sounds, father is not likely to leave here. He could never be the potentate at home that he is here.
REGAN We are at a crossroads. I think you both recognize that. It is not unreasonable for us to start making some of the crucial decisions that so affect our lives.
With downcast eyes and a withdrawn jaw ALBANY is a picture of reluctance as he steps into the pavilion. He bows to the ladies.
GONERIL (with a snap) And where are you going?
ALBANY Ladies. I have been dispatched to Pawut for a show of our lord's militia. I should expect to return before dark.
14
GONERIL There is trouble?
ALBANY I believe not. Ta Mok's men have returned with prisoners. Any remaining insurrectionists will be scattered surely. GONERIL Well. Do ride tall. Exteriors are everything with these people.
ALBANY Yes. Indeed. (bow) Ladies.
Exit Albany.
CORDELIA (agitated) Father's tea. -Excuse me, I must go prepare it!
Exit Cordelia.
EXT. COURTYARD - MOMENTS LATER
The gates of the compound swing open. Albany and his mounted soldiers ride out into a vivid tropical landscape and disappear. In gallops a black stallion ridden by Edmund. He dismounts to tie up the horse. Behind him is the pavilion with the two sisters still seated.
COURTYARD PAVILION
REGAN And who would this be?
GONERIL That is Edmund. You remember. His son by the native woman. Gloucester has kept him abroad mostly.
Regan eyes him. A twinkle of lust.
Goneril eyes her.
COURTYARD
Edmund's POV of the pavilion. He sees the women and from such a distance assumes they are belittling him. He turns out of their view and ascends a narrow run of steps to an outer parapet. Edmund pounds his fist.
EDMUND Bastard. Illegitimate. Where do they get the right?
15
He spreads his arms and looks at his hands.
EDMUND My shape is as true as my brother's. My mind as nimble, my heart as willing.... My mother. Not honest. Where do they get the right? To brand us with baseness. With lowliness.
He buries his head in his hands.
Cornwall approaches on foot, leading a horse. He sees Edmund on the parapet.
CORNWALL Young Edmund! Have you spotted the Hun? EDMUND (nervous) The Hun, sir?
CORNWALL Dear boy, I jest. I was hoping you could point me in the direction of a village called Pe. I've been told it's hard by here.
EDMUND It is about halfway to my father's house, yet not so easy to find. -He would tell you that it is not a proper place to find a gentleman.
CORNWALL Edmund, I would believe him. My interest would be business. Pure business.
He steps closer.
CORNWALL In all honesty, I had hoped I could press you into service as a guide. I could then sound you on a proposal that promises to enhance both our fortunes.
EDMUND (beat) We could return before dark if we set out straight away. I am at your service.
EXT. TERRACES - MINUTES LATER
The small mountain is terraced, cultivated in steep levels of green tea plants. Edmund and Cornwall guide their mounts in a steady ascent. At each level they pass a trough and a water wheel for irrigation. Reaching the summit, they burst onto a plateau of vibrant red blooms.
16
They pull to a stop.
EDMUND Opium. Do you smell it, sir?
CORNWALL Indeed I do.
They ride a short way inland, approaching a long house on stilts with a thatched roof. A irrigation trench fed by the water wheels culminates in a small pond. There are several small fires smoldering. Assorted Burmans are scattered about, seated in the dirt. They are red eyed and wasted.
EDMUND Lear? He permits this?
CORNWALL Our Lord Lear would know nothing of it. Am I to believe the same of you?
EDMUND (defensively) That is right. My father has been known to employ dacoits on occasion, to frighten his retainers. (off Cornwall's raised eyebrow) It keeps them dependent on his authority. He told me this is where he lodges them. CORNWALL Would it surprise you to know that though this mountain belongs to Lear, it is your father who has insisted on cultivating the tea here? On the pretense of fealty to him?
EDMUND My father's hand, in this?
CORNWALL That is right. But not so deep as you might think. He neither cultivates nor trades in it personally, but merely takes what I would consider a knavishly small tribute for his silence.
A Khmer in British military dress appears out of the jungle on a horse. His name is TA MOK. With him are native militia, loin clothed with feathered topknots. They carry Enfields with fixed bayonets. They are not drugged, but threatening.
CORNWALL My. Can you tell them we're friends?
EDMUND (in Khmer) All is well. My father knows we are here.
17
The Khmer nods skeptically. After a moment he turns and rides off with his men.
CORNWALL One of our petty bandits no doubt.
EDMUND Yes. Though this would be one of more substance. He's called Ta Mok. He is bound to my father and Lord Lear, yet he holds immediate sway in matters native. That would include this enterprise. CORNWALL Ta Mok. Well, that puts a face to the name. (beat) And brings us to our purpose. Edmund, I share this with you in trust, trust between two gentlemen of discretion. (a nod from Edmund) As you know our Lord Lear is a gentleman of advanced years. It follows that the only certainty for this plantation can be change. And I needn't tell you these are troubled times for the world. You must believe me when I tell you that in the immediate future, it shall be this trade that remains constant.
EDMUND A trade in death.
CORNWALL (a smile) A true gentleman will take a stand when confronted with a sight such as this. -Yet in this instance, could that same gentleman be blamed should he take his most natural aversion, and say, compartmentalize it? For the greater good?
Edmund raises an eyebrow.
CORNWALL Indeed, what choices does he face? Shall he drive the trade off this mountain? Such a step would serve merely to drive it underground, certainly no farther than your immediate border. Once there, it would still be underfoot, yet you've lost any stabilizing influence upon it. -We shall speak nothing of lost revenue.
18
EDMUND It is traded in Kowloon for tea, which is imported quite chastely to London, is it not?
CORNWALL That is correct. A profitable trade of long standing, in which a wise man need not come away sullied.
Edmund looks back across the field of blooms, considering.
CORNWALL On a personal level I find it offensive that provincials like Ta Mok should usurp revenue that rightly belongs to my wife's family. To you, and your family. (in confidence) My boy, this operation shall easily be taken a step further. Laboratory equipment for refinement to morphine has already been imported. Buyers await. It is a matter of simply employing savages such as Ta Mok to continue this cultivation. They will get their present rate, there need be no strife.
Edmund is sold.
CORNWALL What say you Edmund, to this profitable transition? What is a young and ambitious gentleman's hope for the future?
EDMUND I am for it.
CORNWALL That is a thoughtful decision my boy.
They shake hands.
CORNWALL Let us back then. The sun is setting.
EDMUND Sir, could you ride on? You need only mind the grade. I would like to have just a bit more of a look here.
CORNWALL Very well. Might you scout a location for the laboratory while your at it? (he produces a tube from his saddlebag) Here is the blueprint.
19
CORNWALL Your knowledge of the language shall be invaluable when we bring in Ta Mok. We shall see you at dinner.
Cornwall rides. Edmund trots his horse through the poppies to the edge of the mountain and watches his descent. The next mountain is close across a narrow gorge, and fully forested. A monkey BURSTS from the jungle, then another, in pursuit. There is a brief, screeching CLASH before they disappear into the foliage.
EDMUND (looking over the gorge) Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law my services are bound. -Why should I stand in the plague of custom, and permit them to deprive me of what is mine? Who takes more energy, more complete strength from the life they are given? (sadly) Be it a bastard's life… (beat) It shall be a bastard's law. Edgar, legitimate brother. Your inheritance shall be my own.
Edmund rides, then is seen galloping along a shell road, then turning into a gate and up a steep wagon track.
EXT. GLOUCESTER'S PLANTATION - DUSK
The tea plantation sits atop the highest of a group of green foothills. Dark mountains rise into the mist behind. There is a huge whitewashed barn with tin chimneys and windows two stories high. Nearby are a stable and shed. At the crown of the hill stands the house, laid out in a large square. There are wide galleries on each side. The hipped roof rises gently over the galleries, then climbs steeply to culminate in a glass pilothouse. This height commands the view north, south, east and west.
Edmund dismounts before the house. He steps onto the gallery and spies around a corner. Edgar is approaching on foot.
EDMUND And pat he comes, like the punch line of a joke. I grow now, I prosper.
He dons a prayer cap and kneels. Edgar rounds the corner.
EDMUND ASH-HADU ANLA ELAHA ILLA-ALLAH. WA ASH-HADU ANNA MOHAMMADAN RASUL-ALLAH.
EDGAR Edmund? My brother? What serious contemplation are you in?
20
EDMUND Edgar. (rising, feigning surprise) Brother, in times of peril I dare not fail to reaffirm my faith. EDGAR Times of peril?
EDMUND Unhappy times brother. Unnatural times, in which ancient relations are dissolved, friends and family banished, father turned against child.
EDGAR What? You were praying. Since when have you adopted Islam?
EDMUND (taking him by the elbow) Come, come now brother. When did you see our father last?
EDGAR Why, just last evening.
EDMUND You spoke with him?
EDGAR Indeed two hours.
EDMUND You parted on good terms? You noted no displeasure in him?
EDGAR None. None at all.
EDMUND Think then. Think when it was you might have offended him. And heed my advice when I warn you to avoid his sight. A least until time has cooled his rage. EDGAR His rage? Someone has done me wrong.
EDMUND That is what I fear brother. So I beg you, keep a prudent distance until his mood softens. In fact, retire to my rooms, here is the key. In due time I will arrange for you to attempt a reconciliation with him. But until then, if you must go out, go armed.
21
EDGAR Armed, brother?
EDMUND Edgar, I advise you to the best. Go armed. I've told you what I've seen and heard, but words cannot convey the depth of ill will toward you. Until I can get to the root of this, I beg you go. Hide yourself.
EDGAR I will hear from you then?
EDMUND Brother, I serve you in this matter.
Exit Edgar.
EDMUND A brother noble. A nature so far from doing harm he expects none. I see this business. If not by birth, I shall have power by wit.
CUT TO
EXT. LEAR'S LONG HALL - NIGHT
An exterior wall of Lear's compound frames the long hall, the interior side is closed off from the courtyard with tall louvered shutters. A torch glow is cast through the slats and out into the dark compound. Insects hum loudly. Down the gallery walk and two abreast come Regan and Goneril, Cordelia and FRANCE, then Cornwall and Albany. Gloucester and Edmund follow.
GONERIL What is our father up to I wonder?
REGAN It was never like him to miss the evening meal in the old days.
Albany steps ahead to get the door.
GONERIL In his late temper we've often found him to take his dinner from a bottle.
GLOUCESTER (to Edmund) Your brother knew quite well the importance of this meeting.
EDMUND He did sir.
GLOUCESTER You know nothing of his whereabouts?
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EDMUND Sir, I do not.
They enter.
INT. LONG HALL
Two oil torches mounted on tripods occupy one end of the room and two more flank a raised dais. Shadows thrown by the open flames dance about the rafters overhead. In a shadowed corner a native works a giant paddle fan, softly billowing mosquito cloth that hangs from the shutters. The assembly gathers around an array of wicker chairs, and is seated.
Lear's desk sits upon the dais. A door to the rear opens and Min enters. His suit is bright and crisp, an orchid in the lapel. He carries an easel and a furled chart. He does not sit, but from his elevated position regards the gathering with contempt. He sets the easel, then picks up a bottle of Pinch whiskey from the desk and returns through the door.
Enter Lear followed by Min. All rise. Murmured greetings are offered, but Lear does not respond. He is unsteady and his eyes are red. He drops into his seat, the others sit.
There is an awkward silence.
LEAR (truculently) Our Lord Cornwall. Your new wife has brought you far afield. I trust you've found her family not too uncivilized.
Cornwall stands.
CORNWALL Sir. We have traveled far. And most happily, we have found here a gracious slice of England. (a bow)
Lear nods. He softens his tone.
LEAR France. Our noble friend of long standing. Have we proved passable hosts this time out?
France stands. He is in his early forties. He recognizes Lear's condition.
FRANCE My Lord. In your home I receive welcome kindness. Always. (a bow)
LEAR Well then. Upon that foundation of good will I shall lay my darker purpose. Min. The map.
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Reluctantly Min unfurls the map and positions it on the easel.
LEAR You are all to know now, that I have divided in three this plantation, with firm intent to confer its cares and responsibilities to younger strengths.
REGAN raises an eyebrow.
LEAR So unburdened, I shall crawl gratefully toward my death.
CORDELIA is startled.
LEAR Lord Cornwall who I welcome as a son, and our always loving son Albany: The hour has come for the dowries of my daughters to be established. In so doing, future strife among you will be prevented now. Noble France: You have made honorable intentions plain in regard to my youngest daughter. Your efforts shall here and now be answered. (beat) This is a bountiful land. I have striven to be equitable in its division. No share exceeds another in its annual revenue, yet one portion is obviously prized above the others. The center share. (pointing with his riding crop) Prized for its entrancing natural beauty. Prized as the site of this citadel, center of all planting interest from Rangoon to Bangkok.
CORNWALL is intrigued.
LEAR You have not been called here to witness a show of favoritism. (beat) Though, it is my hope that mine will be remembered as a significant life. A life lived in the approving presence of God. Perhaps a small beacon of civilization for the sullen, unbelieving, often ungrateful people of this land. No. The winner of this house and what it represents shall be the one who appreciates it most. And for the sake of future comity between you, that appreciation shall be expressed plainly, before all, now. Goneril, our eldest born. Speak first to our simple question.
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LEAR Has the life of your father been a significant one?
GONERIL (standing) Sir. Significant is a mere word. A word poor, indeed unable to weigh the measure of your contribution to this land. -To these people. Their health, their liberty, their very lives are yours. Certainly such a thing is beyond what can be valued, rich or rare. As much respect as child ever had, or father found, I have for you.
Cordelia is confounded.
France is watching her. He feels as always in her presence, helpless.
FRANCE (V.O.) Surely her love needs no such facade as this.
Lear is flattered.
LEAR Yes, Goneril. Well spoken. What says our second daughter? Our dear, new found Regan. Speak.
REGAN I am of the same blood, the same set of mind as my sister, so prize me at her worth. In my true heart I find she names my very deed of admiration.
Lear is pleased.
REGAN Only she comes short. I will profess to no other model in the shaping of my life. My own sense of worth, my very sense of dignity can only be measured against the pinnacle. The life of my father.
France is watching Cordelia.
FRANCE (V.O.) No. A liar she is not.
LEAR (pleased) Ah.... Now. Of my three daughters, we come to the last. Our most reserved. Yet our most considerate joy. Speak now child. What can you say for this house?
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CORDELIA (beat) Nothing, my Lord.
LEAR Nothing?
CORDELIA Nothing.
LEAR (disbelief) Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again. CORDELIA Sorry as I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth. I love my father as a daughter should. According to the covenant of family. No more and no less. LEAR How, now Cordelia? This is my life! Your future.
CORDELIA My Lord. You have raised me, loved me, intended the best for me. With respect I return these favors, gladly, as is fitting. My sisters have husbands. Yet upon hearing them now, how much of their hearts could be left for them? Hopefully when I wed, that gentleman whose hand takes mine shall carry half my love and admiration with him, half my duty and respect. Surely I shall never marry like my sisters, to love my father all.
LEAR (astonished) I, I think you speak from the heart.... Endeavor as I have, you've not let Christian charity into it. CORDELIA In truth my Lord. As with this country, perhaps the more we believe we affect change, the more things really stay the same. LEAR So young. So untender.
CORDELIA So young my Lord, and true!
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LEAR (shocked, then deflated) Then let it be so. (standing, teetering) And your truth shall be your dowry. For in the name of our Lord and the resurrection of His Son, by whose grace the stars move through the heavens and we do exist and cease to be, to you I disclaim all relation! Be it by blood or property. As a stranger to my heart I hold you, now and forever more!
The gathering is stunned.
LEAR (growing irrational) A bush dwelling savage, the sort to gorge his appetite on the slaughter of his own kind, shall be as well neighbored, pitied and relieved by me as you, my one time daughter. GLOUCESTER (standing) Good my Lord-
LEAR Peace, Gloucester! Do not step into the fire. Yes I'll say it: I loved her most. I thought to set my rest on her kind nursery.... (looks at Cordelia) Oh, avoid my sight! (dropping into his seat) My grave shall be my peace, now her father's heart is taken from her....
A moment, then he rallies.
LEAR Albany. Cornwall. Take heed. Goneril, by simple and ancient virtue of seniority has this house. Regan the northern third, with its more than ample compound. The southernmost third shall be put to a survey forthwith, and divided between you.
Cordelia is crushed.
LEAR Let pride, which she calls truth, sustain her.
Cornwall and Albany are stunned.
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LEAR Upon your two houses I hereby jointly invest my authority, responsibility and such large effects that accompany my position. Myself, with a troop of thirty rifles, shall be sustained by you in due turns, on a monthly course. I shall retain my title of Brigadier and the respect due to it. The authority, the revenue, the de facto execution of civil law is yours. Beloved sons. Titles immediately revised shall confirm it.
GLOUCESTER (approaching the desk) Noble Lear, whom I have ever honored and loved as a father, as my master followed, as my patron thought on in my prayers-
LEAR A bead is drawn the hammer cocked. Make from the blast.
GLOUCESTER (beat) Pull the trigger then. Let the bullet pierce my heart. So Gloucester's rude when Lear's gone mad. What would you have old man? Reason cowed, when once dignified authority bows to mere flattery? (gestures to Regan
and Goneril)
Honor is bound to plain language when nobility stoops to folly. Reserve your state, and in better consideration check this rashness. I stake my life on it, your youngest does not love you least. Her words though modest, do not ring hollow.
LEAR Gloucester, on our two long lives together, no more!
GLOUCESTER My life, I never held but as cannon fodder in the battles against your enemies. Nor do I fear to trade it now, your future being at stake.
Snide expressions from Regan and Goneril.
LEAR Out of my sight!
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GLOUCESTER See better Lord Lear, let me remain the apple of your eye.
LEAR (standing) Now by God- GLOUCESTER Now by God sir. You take the Lord's name in vain.
LEAR (raising his riding crop to strike) Miscreant!
ALBANY (stepping forward) Dear Sir, forbear!
GLOUCESTER Kill the physician, and his fee bestow upon the foul decease. Revoke this will, or while I can breathe I'll tell you you do evil!
LEAR Hear me recreant! In your perjury you will hear me.... You have sought to break a bond forged over many long years. And in your vanity, you have stepped between my judgment and my God given familial right. This I will not bear. The privilege you have heretofore enjoyed of sharing my table, my home, my camaraderie, now stand revoked. This is forevermore. Now out of my sight! GLOUCESTER (beat) So then.... (to Cordelia) To his dear shelter may the Lord guide you girl. Your thoughts are just, and most rightly spoken. (to Regan and Goneril) And your large speeches may your deeds confirm, as good effects should spring from words of love. (to Lear, gravely) I wish you well sir.
Exit Gloucester.
An awkward silence.
LEAR We have unfinished business yet.
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LEAR For you France, I am truly sorry. In so profound a matter as marriage I would not stray so far as to match you with one I loathe. Therefore I advise you to avert your eye a more worthy way. Away from a wretch God would no doubt be ashamed to acknowledge his.
FRANCE (sternly) Forever I shall regret having witnessed this scene. How could she, who but moments ago was the object of your affection, balm of your age, your dearest- How could she in a mere moment strip back so many folds of love? Is she such a monster? Or perhaps, it is your claim of previously sworn affection that is tainted. LEAR France, here and now there is but one point for you to consider. There she stands-
Cordelia, small and alone.
LEAR Her price fallen, my curse her dowry. Do you take her or leave her?
Cordelia steps forward.
CORDELIA (tears) I yet beg of you my Lord. Father- I implore you to at least make public note that it is no foul murder, no indecent action or dishonored step that has deprived me of your grace and favor. (to Goneril and Regan) It is the lack of a covetous eye and an unctuous tongue. Wants for which I am richer. LEAR Better you had not been born than not to have pleased me better.
FRANCE It is only this. A natural reticence will often leave virtuous intention unannounced. (stepping closer) She is herself a dowry. (down to his knee) Beautiful Lady.
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FRANCE You are most rich being poor, and most loved being despised. If you could be willing, I would take up what is so foolishly cast away. What here now is lost, together we can find again, no, find better, in Saigon.
Cordelia looks at her father in a moment of hopelessness. He won't meet her eye. She nods her assent.
FRANCE (a blissful press of the back of her hand to his cheek, then quietly) Though unkind, let us be gracious. Let us bid him farewell.
LEAR (standing) France she is yours. I have no such daughter, nor shall I see that face of hers again. Therefore be on your way, without my property, without my blessing, without my love. Min! Pack it up.
They exit behind the dais. The men begin to exit to the courtyard.
FRANCE Bid farewell to your sisters.
CORDELIA (wiping her eyes) Our father's jewels. With cleansed vision I see you, with faults no good sister would name. Comfort him well; without his grace I have no choice but to commit him to you.
REGAN You needn't instruct us on the meaning of duty. GONERIL Make it your study to please your future husband, who takes you on charity. You denied our father, and he has returned the favor.
FRANCE Come, let's away from here.
Exit France and Cordelia.
REGAN Our father's will can be considered in immediate effect.
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GONERIL Indeed it is. And he will expect you to accommodate him at the northern compound if not tomorrow, certainly within the month. REGAN You warned me of the change his age has brought. But to cast off our young sister, whom he loved most. A fragile state of mind.
GONERIL He'll not cease to press his will. We must contain him.
REGAN We must. We shall act. My husband and I shall set out for the northern compound tomorrow. From there we'll send word. And sister, due to the inconstant state of his mind, of the future we can tell him no more.
FADE OUT
FADE IN
EXT. GLOUCESTER'S PLANTATION - TWO MORNINGS LATER
The tea planted hills are shrouded in fog. The plants are tended from footpaths that spiral down from each summit. The footpaths are bisected by an up down wagon track. From Gloucester's pilothouse you can see straight down one of these tracks, to the main north south road below.
INT. PILOTHOUSE
Gloucester is standing in the center of a coffeehouse din. Three waiters in aprons and white paper hats clatter teacups, strainers and sample trays, preparing for a tasting. With a countertop that wraps all the way around, quarters are close. Boiling water is poured. The windowpanes start to fog.
Gloucester is oblivious. He's focusing his binoculars down the wagon track. He blinks, pauses to wipe the panes, then looks again. Through his lenses we see that there are young women with baskets on their hips working the tea plants. They float through the low lying mist, clad in longyi wraps and gossamer blouses. Their hair is like thick black sable reaching down below the conical hats on their backs. A solution of ground tree bark has been carefully painted on their faces, in fantastic, decorative patterns.
For once Gloucester doesn't linger with this view. He focuses all the way down to the road.
GLOUCESTER (under his breath) There is something down there.
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Still through his lenses we see a wall of mist. Then there is a bit of clearing, with the shell paving of the road becoming visible. A wild boar bursts through the mist. It is sprinting for its life.
EXT. ROAD
Next through the cloud comes Lear. He's mounted, an invigorated, fantastic figure galloping through the mist. He doesn't carry a rifle. For this pursuit he's chosen a long, glistening pike. The paving shells are flying everywhere, under the hooves of a dozen of Lear's militia. In an instant they vanish, into another cloud.
INT. PILOTHOUSE
GLOUCESTER (low) The hunt! (beat) Dear Cordelia. (putting down the glasses) Two days into this new world of ours… I care little for it.
EXT. GLOUCESTER'S HOUSE - MORNING
Edmund approaches the rear of the house on his horse. He sees Gloucester up in the pilothouse, gazing forlornly down the road. He halts.
EDMUND Our father's love is to his bastard, as much as it is to our legitimate Edgar. Fine word, "legitimate."
He pulls a letter from his shirt.
EDMUND Well my legitimate, if this letter speed, if my invention thrive, Edmund the base shall top the legitimate!
He gallops around to the front of the house and into Gloucester's view. He studies the letter intently for a long moment, then tucks it away. He dismounts, ties his horse and enters the house.
INT. PILOTHOUSE
Enter Edmund.
GLOUCESTER Edmund! What now? What news?
EDMUND So please your lordship, none.
GLOUCESTER You've not heard from your brother? Not seen him these three days?
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GLOUCESTER What have you tucked in your shirt? EDMUND I know no news my lord.
GLOUCESTER What paper were you reading just now? EDMUND Nothing my lord.
Gloucester steps forward, Edmund steps back.
GLOUCESTER No? Then why conceal it, there in your pocket? (snatches it)
EDMUND For my brother's sake. I pray he wrote this only as a test of my virtue.
GLOUCESTER (reading) "This policy of reverence for old age makes bitter the best days of our lives. Our fortunes are held from us until we are too old to relish them. Brother, I have begun to feel trapped under this aged tyranny. It is made all the more oppressive because it is due to our own allowance, rather than any real strength our father possesses. We should speak more of this. Indeed I would propose to you: if our father was to sleep till I waked him, you would enjoy half his revenue, forever. This, as well as the everlasting love of your brother, Edgar." (beat) What? Conspiracy? "Sleep till I waked him, you would enjoy half his revenue." My son Edgar! He had the hand to write this? The heart and mind to breed it in? Where did you get it?
EDMUND I found it thrown into the window of my room. GLOUCESTER You know the handwriting to be your brother's? EDMUND If the intent were good my lord, I'd swear it were his; yet in respect to this, I'd prefer to think it not.
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GLOUCESTER It is his. Has he never before sounded you out in this business? EDMUND Never, my lord. But I've often heard him maintain that if a son is of a mature age and the father declined, the father should be as ward to the son, and the son manage his business. GLOUCESTER What? The villain! His very opinion in the letter! Ungrateful, brutish villain. Oh, worse than brutish! Go my boy. Seek him. I'll apprehend him. Heartless, evildoer! Where is he? EDMUND I do not well know sir. But respectfully, I would suggest you reserve your indignation, at least until we can make certain of his intent. I would stake my life on the proposition that this is a test of my honor for you my lord, and no actual threat. GLOUCESTER You think so? EDMUND If you would consider it sir, I could place you where you might overhear my brother and I confer on this matter. You would gain the satisfaction of the truth according to your own ears, and wait no further for it than this very evening.
GLOUCESTER He cannot be such a monster. EDMUND God willing, we will find that he is not. GLOUCESTER (looking at the letter, his voice breaking) To his father, that so tenderly and entirely loves him.... Heaven and earth! Edmund, seek him out; gain his confidence; manage this business with the wisdom I know you possess. EDMUND I will find him father.
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EDMUND I shall discreetly arrange this meeting, and acquaint you with the time and the place. GLOUCESTER (beat) Unlike Lear, I've never really been a man of faith. But it must be the hand of God I see in this.
Edmund bows his head in agreement.
EDMUND It is God's will. We just cannot reason it now. GLOUCESTER (not hearing) The very bonds of family have taken flight. My son has set against his father. Lear's recent breakdown has set father against child. (exhausted) We have seen the best of our time. Machinations, lies, treachery. All of society's ills follow us disquietly to our graves. Find out this villain Edmund, it shall lose you nothing. (prepares to descend stairs) Banished. Myself and our dear Cordelia. The offence honesty. Strange days.
Exit Gloucester.
EDMUND Excellent foppery.
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EDMUND We suffer some reversal of fortune, often at our own hand, then declare divine intervention. Shite! This hand of God, which deals the liar, the thief, the adulterer his comeuppance. Fut! There is no God, my father. The hand that punishes you is my own.
EXT. COURTYARD, LEAR'S CITADEL - LATER
The hunting party gallops into the compound led by a much satisfied Lear. The gutted pig is on a rail. One militiaman clatters down a walkway on his horse, frightening a housemaid. Min emerges onto the walk in front of Lear's quarters. He helps him dismount.
LEAR See the spit fired and send for a bath. (relishing his leisure) I shall have a nap before supper.
INT. LEAR'S CHAMBER - LATER
Lear is seated upon a raised pallet after his bath, putting on a fresh shirt. A punkah fan is in motion above him. An earthenware pitcher, bowl and towel are on the nightstand. Min starts to transfer these items to a sideboard closer to the door.
LEAR Min, keep the peace. And don't wake me until dinner.
He lays down.
MIN You sleep Uncle. The sleep of the Just.
Lear picks up his riding crop from beside the bed and tips it at him.
LEAR The whip, boy. The whip.
He tucks it under his arm and closes his eyes. Min lights a cigarette and begins closing the window blinds. At the last one by the door he peers out. Oswald is coming down the walk, pushing a service cart. Min steps out onto the walk.
EXT. COVERED WALKWAY - AFTERNOON
OSWALD The laundry, dearest. MIN The old man sleeps. You come back.
OSWALD The wash kettle is hot and my lady will have her bath service back. Now, my love.
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He backs into Min, easily moving him with his buttocks.
OSWALD (in song) I shall not make a sound.
He pulls his cart into the room. Min flips his butt into the yard and follows, pissed.
INT. LEAR'S CHAMBER
MIN (whispering) Wake him bugger, you regret it.
Oswald starts gingerly loading the sideboard items onto his cart. Min steps between Lear and the intruder, checking to see that his master is still asleep. He appears to be. Min returns his attention to Oswald, glowering at him.
Oswald puckers and blows him a kiss. He spots the pitcher on the nightstand. He makes a show of tiptoeing over to it, then takes hold of the handle. Instead of picking it up, he turns to Min and delivers a lewd, half tongued gesture with his mouth.
Min is disgusted.
A loud CRACK. It's cane against flesh. The pitcher shatters on the floor. Oswald is shrieking and holding his ear, then bounding out the door.
LEAR Our daughter's man. Disclaimed by the Lord, surely.
He lays his riding crop on the nightstand, turns over and settles into sleep.
INT. DINING HALL - LATER
Oswald is seated at a table, holding a cold cloth to his head. Goneril stands behind him. Through the windows behind we see the open air kitchen, the pig on the spit. Lear's tribesmen are drinking and celebrating.
GONERIL My father struck my gentleman for chiding his fool?
OSWALD Yes, memsahib.
GONERIL Well then. Just two days it has taken to confirm my sister's warning. We suffer his temper day and night and now he has willfully set us all at odds.
Stepping to the window.
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GONERIL His militia revert to the wild. He himself reverts to childhood. Well, I will not speak with him. When he arrives for dinner say that I am sick. (beat) In fact, come short of your former service to him and you shall do well.
OSWALD I will, memsahib.
GONERIL See that the rest of the staff follows your lead. (quieter) My sister would agree. This is the time to press the matter. If he dislikes it he can go to her, and see how well he fares. (returns to table) Old fools have become babes again. And they must not only be soothed, but restrained. Remember what I have said.
OSWALD Well, memsahib.
INT. TELEGRAPH ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
The receiver is clicking as Oswald takes down the code. He translates, then hands the message to Goneril.
ON PRINTED MESSAGE
Dear sister well done. Dismiss lower ranks. Purchase their weapons and repatriate to tribes. Regan
INT. DINING HALL - LATE AFTERNOON
Kitchen maids are clearing up after the feast. Lear is seated at the head table, alone with a cup of ale. He looks perplexed. A maid enters with a visitor.
MAID (nervously) Kulbir Thapa.
KULBIR THAPA is a Nepalese man near Lear's age, dignified, in British khaki with a field cap. Lear lights up.