THE DEATH OF SOCIALISM an original screenplay by Tom Benson FADE IN. INT. A BUS. NIGHT ARTHUR sits alone towards the back. He is a young, scruffy-looking man; glasses held together by tape, holes in his shoes etc. He has a copy of The Socialist Worker on his lap. His fingers keep flicking through the pages. He looks at the people in front of him: a young woman smartly dressed, a young couple their arms resting on each others shoulders. Arthur begins to read his newspaper but shortly puts it down again. He lets it fall to the floor. A few moments later, he rings the bell and gets off the bus, taking his newspaper with him. EXT. OUTSIDE ARTHUR'S HOUSE. NIGHT The bus pulls away. Arthur walks a few yards before turning into the path to his front door. At this moment ALICE, Arthur's next-door neighbour, is closing her front door. They pass each other. Alice is in her twenties, around the same age as Arthur, but takes more care over her appearance. ALICE Hi. Arthur merely nods back in mute acknowledgement, then enters his house. EXT. THE CITY CENTRE. DAY It is a beautiful day. Arthur is briskly walking along through the city centre. Elsewhere in the city centre, Alice withdraws some money from a cash machine. Back to Arthur, he is walking along through what appears to be some kind of left-wing political protest; people handing out leaflets, giving speeches through megaphones etc. Arthur walks up to a makeshift table scattered with leaflets. A middle-aged man, LEN, stands behind the table. ARTHUR Hiya Len. LEN Arthur! Glad you could make it! You should have been here ten minutes ago, Wendy did this incredible speech on fascism in Europe. It was fucking brilliant! She was just venting spleen! ARTHUR Excellent, did many hear it? LEN (rather sheepishly) A few, yeah. Do you want to take some leaflets? ARTHUR Yeah, OK. LEN I'll just see what I've got. Len turns around and begins rooting around in some boxes. He turns around, carrying a bundle of leaflets. LEN OK, we've got stop medical sanctions on Iraq, Is socialism dead?: the crisis of socialism in Europe, or Direct Action: What next after Seattle? ARTHUR Oh. I'll take the Socialism one. Len hands Arthur a bundle of leaflets, and Arthur goes out into the crowd. EXT. THE CITY CENTRE. DAY Arthur is standing distributing leaflets. He speaks as various people approach him. None take a leaflet. ARTHUR Help stop the death of Socialism in Britain. A new voice for- Suddenly, three people, two men and a woman, pass Arthur carrying a miniature coffin. ARTHUR What's that for? MAN #1 For the protest later on. ARTHUR Who's is it? MAN #1 What do you mean who's is it? It's nobody's. It's a model. ARTHUR But what's it supposed to represent? MAN #1 Well...death. They're killing us, man. They carry on walking with the coffin. Arthur holds another leaflet out, without looking at the person approaching. ARTHUR A new voice for the old left. ALICE Hello. Arthur looks up and sees Alice. ARTHUR Oh, hello. ALICE Well? What are you selling? ARTHUR I'm not selling anything. It's a leaflet. ALICE Let's have a look. Alice takes one of the leaflets and reads from it. ALICE Socialism in the new millennium. Is Socialism dead? Well, is it? ARTHUR No. A slight pause. ALICE Right. ARTHUR (more passionate now) I mean, there's still socialists, but there's no socialist party any more. It's still there, at grass-roots level. And yet all over Europe fascists are regaining influence. What about you? ALICE Me? What about me? ARTHUR What are your politics? ALICE Oh, I'm not really interesting in politics. Arthur seems disappointed at Alice's indifferent tone. ALICE I have no faith in systems. There is an uncomfortable pause. Alice is looking straight at Arthur but he is refusing to look back. He looks around. ARTHUR I'd better get on with these. ALICE OK. By the way, what's your name? I live next-door to you, I should really know your name. ARTHUR Arthur. A pause. ALICE Do you know mine? ARTHUR No. ALICE Alice. Arthur just smiles weakly. ALICE Bye then. EXT. CITY CENTRE. EVENING. Darkness is falling. All the people have gone home leaving only a few organisers clearing away their tables, leaflets etc. Arthur sits on a bench, still with the leaflets in his hand. Len approaches him. LEN Are you alright Arthur? ARTHUR Yeah, I'm fine. LEN (gesturing at the leaflets) Didn't get through many then? ARTHUR Afraid not. LEN Who was that lass you were speaking to? ARTHUR Oh, she's just my next-door neighbour. LEN Right. Nice looking girl. He pauses, as if pondering whether to speak or not. LEN Listen, I've got to go Arthur. So thanks for coming. And, er, come and see us sometime, will you? It's easy to become disillusioned with all this. There's a meeting day after tomorrow, I'll see you then. ARTHUR OK. Bye Len. INT. A BUS. NIGHT. This time, Arthur is the only passenger on the top deck of a double-decker. The window is open at the top. Arthur lifts all his leaflets up to the window and lets them fall. EXT. A STREET. NIGHT. Hundreds of red leaflets come pouring from the window of the bus into the deserted streets. INT. ALICE'S BATHROOM. DAY It is morning. Alice turns the basin tap on and puts the plug in. INT. ARTHUR'S BATHROOM. DAY At the same time, Arthur flushes the toilet and goes to the bathroom cabinet. He looks at himself for a moment in the mirror, then slides it across, opening the cabinet. The reflection of his face disappears. INT. ALICE'S KITCHEN. DAY The kettle is boiling. Alice spreads some jam on her toast and walks towards the window. She draws the curtains and looks outside for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. INT. ARTHUR'S LIVING ROOM. DAY Carrying a cup of coffee, Arthur goes towards the window and draws the curtains. Light streams in. The sunlight is too strong for Arthur to see outside, he tries to block out the sun with his hand. He eventually sees Alice in her kitchen, looking out over the garden. He watches her. She eventually turns to see him, she smiles and waves. EXT. THE STREET. DAY Alice is walking along the street. It is a very windy day. A piece of red paper is blowing around in the wind, it gets caught on Alice's shoe and she can't get it off. She bends down and picks it up. She begins to read it. It reads: IS SOCIALISM DEAD, SOCIALISM IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM. She smiles in recognition and puts it in her pocket. INT. ARTHUR'S LIVING ROOM. DAY Arthur is looking out of the window. He suddenly has an idea and exits the shot. A moment later, he reappears, seen through the window, in the garden carrying a deckchair. EXT. ARTHUR'S GARDEN. DAY Arthur is lounging in the sun, but still wearing a long-sleeved shirt. He is reading a novel: `The Outsider` by Albert Camus. He hears a noise from over the fence next-door. Alice peers over the garden fence. ALICE Hello Arthur! ARTHUR (putting down his book) Hello. ALICE I found one of your leaflets blowing around in the street today. ARTHUR Yeah, I threw them away. ALICE What for? ARTHUR No-one wanted them. ALICE Oh, well. I've kept it, I'll have a look later on. What are you reading now? He shows her the front cover. ALICE Oh god! Existentialism. Still, it's a lovely day for sitting outside. ARTHUR Yes. There is a pause. ALICE Hang on a minute. She vanishes back into her house. EXT. ARTHUR'S GARDEN. DAY Arthur sits as before, but next to him now, also in a deckchair, is Alice. She is more aptly dressed for sunbathing. She is reading a newspaper. Arthur appears more relaxed with her company now. ALICE I'm not a complete airhead. I do take an interest in politics. I voted in the last election. ARTHUR Who for? ALICE Your lot. ARTHUR Not any more they're not. ALICE I know. Can I have some more of that wine. She holds her glass out and Arthur pours it. He accidentally spills some on her. ARTHUR Oh, shit! I'm sorry. ALICE (laughing) It's OK. It's only on my leg. She doubles over and licks the wine off her leg. Arthur is quite surprised, and also a little impressed by this. Alice thinks nothing of it. ALICE Mmm. It's nice wine. EXT. ARTHUR'S GARDEN. DAY Time has passed, the shadows are now much longer. Arthur and Alice, adjacent to each other in their deckchairs, are both sleeping. A wasp is buzzing around Alice's face; it awakens her. She looks over to Arthur, he also awakens and looks over to her. They look for a few moments before exchanging a tentative kiss. EXT. ARTHUR'S GARDEN. NIGHT It is nearly dark. Arthur and Alice fold up their deckchairs and go inside. Just before she goes, Alice gets hold of Arthur's arm. ALICE I'm glad I kissed you. I wanted to, before I went. ARTHUR Went where? ALICE I'm moving out. Not far, a few streets away. I wanted to get to ALICE (cont.) know you before I left. I still don't yet. Come around tomorrow night, it's my last night here. She doesn’t wait for Arthur to reply, just smiles and exits. INT. ARTHUR'S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT Arthur is sitting in an armchair. He glances up at the clock. It is half past seven. With sudden conviction, he gets up. We hear the door slam as he leaves the house. INT. A BUS. NIGHT As in the first shot, Arthur sits alone on a bus, holding a copy of The Socialist Worker. He is clearly not going to see Alice. INT. MEETING HOUSE. NIGHT A political meeting is taking place. Rows of plastic chairs are arranged in an arc in front of a panel of tables. The meeting has become quite heated. Arthur sits, seemingly unaware of what is going on. He is alone with his own thoughts, ignoring the shouting around him. Sitting at the tables up front, Len has noticed Arthur is not listening. INT. ALICE'S BEDROOM. DAY Alice's alarm clock is the only thing not in a box in her room. It sits on top of a large cardboard box. It is nine o'clock. The radio alarm comes on, it is a political news broadcast. She slowly wakes up. She scans her bare room and the boxes in it. EXT. OUTSIDE ALICE'S HOUSE. DAY A hired van is parked by the kerb. It is pretty full. A man emerges from the back of it. At the same time, Alice emerges onto the street carrying a large plant in a pot. REMOVAL MAN Is that the lot? ALICE (putting the plant in the van) Yes, this is it. REMOVAL MAN Have you locked up? ALICE Yes. REMOVAL MAN Shall we get going then? ALICE (seemingly distracted) Yes, hold on a minute. Er, have you got a pen? He hands her a black pen. Alice goes back into her house, walks through it into the garden. EXT. ALICE'S GARDEN. DAY She feels in her pocket and pulls out the red leaflet from before. She leans on the windowsill and begins writing on the back of the leaflet. She writes: "Dear Arthur". INT. ARTHUR'S LIVING ROOM. DAY The light is off, Arthur is looking through the window at Alice. She has finished the note. She takes a peg from the washing line and hangs the leaflet up. She leaves. Arthur continues watching as the leaflet blows slightly in the wind. INT. ARTHUR'S LIVING ROOM. DAY The light is on, but the curtains are drawn. Arthur sits watching the television. He is drinking a glass of wine, and looks like he's drank a few. Every now and then he glances towards the window. He finishes his glass and goes to refill. He finds the bottle empty. He tosses it up in the air and catches it, holds it upside down. A drip of wine falls to the floor. He throws the bottle down. With a little effort, he gets to his feet and walks towards the curtain. With a theatrical gesture he quickly pulls the curtains open. He sees it is pouring with rain. He looks at the leaflet, it is still there. He leaves in a state of urgency. EXT. ARTHUR'S GARDEN. DAY Arthur goes out into the still pouring rain. He goes straight to the fence and clambers over it, with some difficulty. EXT. ALICE'S GARDEN. DAY He jumps down into Alice's old garden, then slowly walks up to the washing line. He sees the leaflet. He reaches up and holds it. Rain merged with ink drips onto his fingers. Alice's note is completely illegible. He turns the leaflet over. In large writing, it still reads: IS SOCIALISM DEAD? FADE OUT. |