DAD’S DEAD – Post-Production Script

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
Do you ever think about the people you went to school with? What they look like. Where they are or who they are?

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
Like me best mate, Johnno. Me mum thought he was great. He bought a Doctor Who card off me, It was a sea devil, like, I know it came out of a cereal packet,  but it was a rare one. Ten bob he offered, I’m still waitin’ for the money.

EXTERIOR – (1976) QUEEN’S SILVER JUBILEE STREET PARTY – Narrator’s POV.

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
Sayin’ that though, there was something about him, special. People loved him, a charmer, I suppose I tried to be like him. At the Jubilee street party he stood on the table and sang Bay City roller songs, he had tartan turn ups on. I know, I know, but that was well cool then. We all thought he was gonna be famous.

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
He had Mark Limarr spiky hair.  He was a fashion God.

EXTERIOR - (1970's) - Backyard of a chemists shop.

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
We did everything together, like the time we broke into a chemist shop, well into it's backyard that is. There was this boss ice cream wagon there like. Blue and white with a spassy Popeye on the side. He smashed the window and got in, nicked the whippie man's cap and ten boxes of "99" flakes.

Characters on the side of an ice cream aggressively beat each other up.

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
We fuckin scoffed loads, then when we felt like spewing we just lobbed the rest at each other. Sound!

EXTERIOR – (1990’s)PAVEMENT – Narrator’s POV. Camera pans across pavement showing the paint marks on the floor.

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
He made hamsters fly and then spray-painted pigeons loads of different colours with car colours nicked from the garage. Fuck, he thought it was really funny.
.

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
Another time, we were goin’ to the pictures cos’ it was my birthday, Johnno came and told me that he couldn’t go because his dad was dead. I was shocked man,

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
His dad was an OK bloke. It was the first time I ever went to the florists, bought a wreath, went to his house and rang the bell.

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
His wife Mo, she was as thick as shit, when she was pissed she took a roast chicken to bed with her then complained about the grease on the sheets.

Front door opens and Mo appears.

MO
(She said,) Do you notice anything different?

Camera  looks her up and down.

NARRATOR(VOICE OVER)
What the fuck was she goin’ on about?

MO
Me teeth! They’re new.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
Her oversize molars flash at me with stupidity.

MO
What’s with the flowers?.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I said they were for Tommy.

MO
Flowers for Tommy! He’s not a fuckin’ bender. Hey Tommy fuckin look at this.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
Then straight up, on me life, and me mar’s, and me Dar’s and me brother’s. A dead man appeared on the step, a ghost. He spoke,

TOMMY
Who’s the wreath for?

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I shrank man, like in the black and white film where the man shrinks so much he becomes an atom. But the Earth didn’t swallow me up it just left me on the fuckin’ step

We see the narrator’s POV as he runs from the house.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I ran off, threw the wreath over the chemist wall.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I hid in the estate’s bin hole in shame and thought about what a cunt Johnno was. I tried to think happy thoughts.

EXTERIOR – Camera pans across ground, children’s book lies amongst rubbish. .
NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
A can of Tizer with my Auntie May, something cool in the sun. I loved the park, the swings, the floral clock,

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
…….but this all got jumbled up and became Anfield cemetery.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
Johnno the lying cunt. Why had he done it?……..I had to confront him.

EXTERIOR –(1980) STANLEY PARK LAKE. View of teenage Johnno from the narrator’s POV as he throws bricks at far way ducks.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I found him bricking some ducks. I stood before him unable to speak as anger turned into fear.

JOHNNO (Turns to narrator)
What?.. Who are you lookin’ at? (He said)

Johnno lurches the at the narrator, camera hits the floor (narrator’s POV).

JOHNNO (Threatening)
It's none of your fuckin' business, right, RIGHT!

NARRATOR (Fearful)
Yeh

JOHNNO (laughing)
You’re goin’ to see my mate.

EXTERIOR – (1980’s) DRAB & UNCOLOURFUL HALF DERELICT TOWER BLOCK – From narrator’s POV as Johnno drags him towards the block.

INTERIOR – (1980’s) STAIRCASE OF TOWER BLOCK – Narrator’s POV as Johnno pushes him up the stairs.

JOHNNO
(He dragged me up the stairs of a block and told me) Cats fly great off the tenth floor.

Camera moves over balcony crashing to the ground where dead cat lies.

INTERIOR – (1980’s) DOORWAY OF FLAT IN THE TOWER BLOCK. Narrator’s POV as Johnno knocks on the door.

JOHNNO (Shouts)
Come on, come on.

Slowly it opens, a man appears. His clothes were ingrained with dirt.

OLD MAN
Johnno is that you? (Said a small voice inside)

JOHNNO
Yeah.

We see a very dirty room, maggots crawl over an old chicken carcase lying on a table covered on brown grease.

OLD MAN
(The old man looked at me and said) Johnno looks after me, a saint he is.

Johnno laughed.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
Then I realised, the man was fuckin’ blind.

OLD MAN
He gets my dinners for me and makes sure that I’m alright.

Johnno takes ten pounds out of a pot on his mantle piece while the old blind man stands before him unable to see.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
Johnno smiled at me as if he had just won the Nobel peace prize.

Johnno puts his hand to his mouth and squeezed out siliva from his ugly gob. Holding the spit in his hand.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I thought, what was he doing? Oh Jesus, what the fuck is he going to do?

He flicks the spit on to the blindman’s back.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
He silently laughed while I cried inside.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I must have blacked out or something.

Camera fades back up to show a spreading fire creating an abstract pattern on the wall.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I came around and the place was on fire. Streaky yellow flames ran across the room like a spiders web.  He locked me in. I must have passed out again because I don’t remember anything else about that night.

Fade to black. Then fade to next scene.

NARRATOR (VOICE OVER)
I got put away for that. Yeah, me. Fuckin Johnno had torched the place and I got put away. I wonder if he feels guilty. Listen to me……… as if! Anyway, I got a letter from me Mum today. She’s too old and sick to come to the prison, so she writes.  Meals on wheels come and give her dinner though.

Someone beats on the door. She looks through the fish eye viewer in door.

MUM
Is that you?

Mum’s POV of somebody holding up a pass blocking out his face.

MEALS ON WHEELS MAN
Yeah

She opens the door. Johnno walks towards camera. Fade to black.

MUM
He gets me dinners for me and makes sure I am all right, a saint he is.

He laughs. Roll credits.

 CHRIS SHEPHERD. 2002