剧本the-lake-house.doc

The Lake House script

You coming or not?

-All right, l'll get her to you right away. -Appreciate it.

-Hi. -Hi.

Dr. Klyczynski to ER, stat. Dr. Klyczynski to ER, stat.

-Hi, excuse me. -Yeah, just a minute, okay?

-Fill this out for me and wait over there. -No, l'm-- l'm Dr. Forster.

l was told to report here.

You'll be covering 22 patients on rounds today, this floor and the next.

-Twenty-two? -Quiet morning.

lf you get into trou ble, beep me, but don't make it a ha bit.

The med students will help you out with scutwork.

What's he doing here? l ordered an MRl, stat.

-Transport said a bout four hours. -He could be dead in four hours.

Never mind. Dr. Forster, MRl.

-A right, two lefts, elevator to two. -Okay.

Follow the signs. Hustle back here for rounds.

Dr. Kly--

-Are you taking me somewhere? -l certainly hope so, sir.

-How are you feeling today? -Am--? Am l gonna make it?

Yes. A bsolutely.

Alex!

l made my famous spinach pie. The trailer's nice and toasty.

l can't.

Look, it's really cold out here. Don't get sick on me or anything.

l never get sick.

So l heard you bought a house, and apparently l'm the last one to know.

l thought l mentioned that.

Wait.

Where?

Outside of town. Up the shore a little bit.

Up the shore? There's no houses--

Oh, God. You don't mean that thing with the stilts and the--?

-You all right? -Yeah. Are you crazy?

Why would you take that house, Alex?

lt's made of glass. There's no privacy.

Mona?

Get yourself some boots.

Hey, Gonzalez!

-Four-thirty. -You lost?

-Yeah. -Takes a while to get your bearings.

-l'm Madhvi. -Kate Forster. Hi.

Oh, wrong floor. Where'd you do your residency?

Just a little community hospital up on the North Shore.

Dear new tenant, welcome to your new home.

As the previous tenant, let me say...

...I hope you'll like living here as much as I did.

I filed the change of address with the post office...

...but you know what a crapshoot that can be.

So if anything slips through, would you do me a favor and forward my mail?

I'd appreciate it. My new address is below.

Thanks in advance. P.S.:

''Sorry a bout the paw prints by the front door. They were there when l moved in.

Same with the box in the attic.''

Paw prints? What the hell is she talking a bout?

Hey, ba by girl. Hi. Hi. Hey.

Fix the light.

Get dog food, huh?

Get human food.

Hey. Hey.

Hey, come here.

Sixty degrees on Valentine's Day. Can't be Chicago.

The TV says it's glo bal warming.

The ice bergs start melting, water covers the Earth.

Thank God we won't live to see it.

What's this?

That's nothing. lt's one of your father's.

-Dostoyevsky? -Oh, yeah.

lt's a bout a guy who breaks the neck of a poor woman with an axe...

...and, so far, keeps wandering around regretting it.

This is good.

-Oh, yeah? -Yeah. lt's really good.

l'll meet you there.

What are you thinking?

My folks are coming into town.

Nothing.

When your father passed away, it was hard. lt still is hard.

Holding his books, l feel like he's with me somehow.

Knowing that he was once on the same pages...

...reading the same words.

Oh, my God! Some body call an am bulance!

We need an am bulance at Daley Plaza.

A man has been struck by a bus. Get an EMT crew here. Sir--

Get out the street. Get on the sidewalk.

-On the sidewalk. Off the street. -Sir?

Get on the sidewalk! Get on the sidewalk!

l'd like to get the foundation on num ber 1 7 dug today.

Look, l know you're kind of new around here, kid.

What?

l can't get to 1 7 until at least next week.

Come on, Mulhern. That's bullshit and you know it.

Take Clemens and Rodriguez off of roofing.

Jorge can run the backhoe they're not using on 1 4...

...and gra b four or five of those other guys...

...who are doing nothing on seven and 1 0.

Paulie, Carlos, Frank, Danny, and what's-his-name, the tall guy?

-Rafael. -Rafael.

-Let's go. -Okay.

Ready? -Yeah.

-Well, l need it to 1 0 and 1 1 . -Hey!

Housekeeping ER to the Suture Room, please.

Housekeeping ER to the Suture Room.

-Hey. -Hi.

l heard a bout Daley Plaza.

EMT said you fought hard for the guy.

Yeah. Really knocked myself out.

Kate, I'm going to tell you what I tell every young doctor.

Hopefully, you'll be the first to listen.

On your day off, get as far away from this place as you can.

Go someplace where you feel most like yourself.

Dear Ms. Forster:

I got your note...

...and I'm afraid there must be some kind of misunderstanding.

As far as I know, the lake house has been empty for several years.

Maybe your note was intended for the Sandburg house down the shore--

''--since no one has lived in this house for years.

But l'm curious a bout the paw prints.''

Dear Mr. Wyler, I'm very familiar with the Sandburg cottage...

...and I can guarantee I never lived there.

I'm old-fashioned, but I don't think a cottage should be over 6000 square feet.

So let me try again.

I used to live at the lake house, then I moved.

Now I live at 1 620 North Racine in Chicago.

I'd appreciate it if you would forward my mail if you get any.

Oh, by the way, it's 2006.

Has been all year, ask anyone.

2006?

What does she mean, 2006?

God.

Oh, God.

-Good morning, Mr. Wyler. -Morning, Mr. Wyler.

-Morning, sir. -Morning, morning.

Hello, Mr. Wyler.

Mr. Wyler.

Sir.

Well, o bviously, l derived my inspiration...

...for the metaphor of the fugue, the loop--

Yeah.

-Two hours of that shit. You kidding me? -What are you talking a bout?

-He didn't say a word. -Sadistic, bitter, bitter old man.

l think you're being a little overdramatic.

Where are you going?

Man, l love that place.

l can't believe that thing's still running.

Yep.

You look like shit.

l missed you too.

Hey, forget a bout him.

-Condos. -Riviera Estates.

-You're joking. -l don't believe this.

l come back after four years...

-...and l get this in front of me. -What?

My brother thinking he's Frank Lloyd Whatever.

-Oh, come on. -Dad keeps you hostage...

...in that little mythmaking factory of his...

...while you haven't built so much as a phone booth or a hamster cage.

That's funny you say that, actually.

l have a hamster cage in mind. A development of them, actually.

Prefa b, no foundations. What do you think a bout that?

See, that's what l'm talking a bout. You have vision.

Speaking of which...

...l'd like you to know l bought a house.

-Where? -On the lake.

A lake house. So you are making some money.

Well, it's a dump. Been a bandoned for years, but--

So you got an a bandoned, haunted lake hou--

That's as good a reason as any...

...for selling out and joining the fla b by-developers' guild.

-How a bout this? l even got a dog. You got a dog?

He just showed up at the house from out of nowhere.

-What are we doing here? -l have to deliver a letter.

lt should be here. 1 620 North Racine.

But...

...there's nothing here.

Are we meeting someone? Does some body live here? What?

Yeah.

l thought so

Should we ring the bell?

Dear Ms. Forster:

I went to 1 620 North Racine, and it's not there.

It's just a construction site.

From the pictures it looks nice, but not for another 1 8 months.

What am I missing here?

Maybe you got the address wrong, because you got the date wrong too.

You really wanna play this game.

lf you are truly in the year 2004...

...then...

... be forewarned.

Remem ber that day? You were not happy. Remem ber that?

l know.

Okay, my mystery correspondent, I get it.

Just in case you really are where and when you think you are...

...you'll need this.

There was a freak late snow that spring and everyone got sick.

So plenty of rest, lots of fluids. Doctor's orders.

Snow. Right.

Yeah, come to papa.

Jackie.

Jack.

Jack, come on. Come on, girl. Come on, come on. Jack.

''lmpossi ble, l know. Not possi ble...

... but it's happening.''

Okay.

Where am l?

Very clever.

''The lake house.''

The lake house. As you can see, l, too, am at the lake house...

... but l'm getting tired of these games so l'm leaving, okay? Bye.

Thank you. Bye.

May be we should introduce ourselves properly.

I'm a doctor, dedicated to curing the sick.

At least, trying to.

I'm an architect. I like to build.

And while I wouldn't say my current project is ideal...

...it allows me to be here, in this place, and that's enough for now.

But tell me something. If you're working in a hospital in Chicago now...

...where were you before, in my time?

Two years ago, in your time...

...I was working in internal medicine in Madison.

Tell me about the future.

What's it like in the year 2006?

I'm afraid the world's pretty much the same.

Of course, we all dress in shiny metal jump suits and drive flying cars...

...and no one talks anymore because we can read each other's minds.

But the truth is, man from the past...

...not much has really changed in 2006.

Speaking of the past, though, I've been thinking about the paw prints.

-How is that possible? -Well, l think we have the same dog.

Oh, yeah? What's yours like?

According to the vet, mine is eight years old in my time...

...six in yours.

She's skinny, has sad eyes, snores, and sleeps like a person.

I don't know why, but I call her Jack.

Hello, Jack.

It's nice out here.

Let's not go out for dinner. Let's stay here.

-Hey. -We have to eat.

What are you doing? You're supposed to be asleep.

I'll cook.

I thought you didn't like to cook.

No, I don't like to cook.

ls she gonna marry him?

-What do you think? -l don't know. He's kind of old.

-Where are you going? -Okay, he's not that old.

My mom's last boyfriend was bald.

He was nice...

-... but my mom didn't marry him. -No?

''There's always something better coming around the corner.''

That's what she says.

May be that's what that lady should do. Wait for something better...

-...to come around the corner. -May be.

But if she's not careful, she could spend her whole life waiting.

Do you want me to bring anything back with me?

Yes. What about a nice bottle of wine...

...to celebrate?

-What time shall I come back? -Seven o'clock.

Sorry I haven't made it to the mailbox lately.

It's been a long week. All night shifts.

Good to hear from you. I thought you left me.

You should know that you're my only connection to the future.

How come we never talk about the things we like?

Well, let's see. Reading the classics to Jack.

-Who's his favorite? -Dostoyevsky.

For me, this city, on a day when the light is so clear...

...that I can touch every detail...

...every brick and window in the buildings I love.

Come on, take a walk with me this Saturday. Let me show you.

You're crazy. Why are you going through all this trouble for me?

No trouble. Summer's here.

Okay, your turn. Favorite things.

Where to start? Okay.

When I smell the flowers before I see them.

When it starts to rain just as the picnic is ending.

And I love the smell of Jack's paws.

You didn't forget to mention your husband, did you?

Well, of course I love my husband, who is also a doctor.

Plastic surgeon for small farm animals.

Good. I'm married too.

I've got eight children, and none of them look like me.

-I'm worried, Kate. -I would be too.

I'm single.

Me too.

Number 2 7.

She's a beauty. My father used to tell me...

...she was the grandma for all the houses in the city.

He used to take me on walks like I'm taking you now.

-Alex? -Kate?

I wish we could have done this walk together.

So, what do you think?

He sounds like a nice boy.

Sounds like a nice boy. Anything else?

-He has wonderful penmanship. -Mother...

...look at the date on the letter. The date.

-You mean the time thing? -Yes.

-That's just a detail. -Just a detail?

A bout the... The other day...

...it was not a good moment. l was in a hell of a hurry.

Of course.

You've got some nice pieces here.

Oh, yeah. Music's fine, music helps.

lt's like Nietzsche says:

-''Life would be senseless--'' -''Without music.''

l guess l told you that, huh?

Pour yourself a drink.

Can you appreciate a good wine by now?

You bet.

You know, you'll have to forgive your father for being curious...

... but where have you been all these years?

l thought your Kerouac days were behind you.

-l'm sorry, what? -What?

Oh, you can come up, if you like.

What are you working on?

Oh, l'm just-- l'm just remem bering things.

lt's not such an easy jo b, let me tell you.

Nor is it particularly innocent, in my case.

Your father is writing his memoirs.

-Are we in it? -What do you think?

Do you wanna be?

Do you?

Of course. You were all a part of your father's life.

Why are you talking to me in the third person?

Well, l-- l don't--

Because l'm writing a bout myself, l suppose. Why, doesn't it suit you?

l thought you might like these.

What are these? Something you've been working on?

No, they're-- They're yours.

From a house l just bought on the lake.

Oh, yes, l heard. They said some sleazy little condo developer...

...had snapped it up.

Oh, come on. lndulge your father.

Can't you take a little joke, for God's sake?

Come on.

Tell me.

Where have you been? l really want to know.

l was trying to forget you.

Or forgive you.

Did you succeed?

No.

Let me know if you need any help remem bering.

Oh, yeah, l will.

Charging 360. Get 1 milligram of epi. Have 300 amio ready in case we need it.

-All clear? -Clear.

Hold compression, start bagging.

He's got a rhythm. Slow.

-Do we have a pulse with that? -We got a pulse, thready.

-lt's getting stronger. -Long days, these days.

I just worked 30 hours straight.

Every time I stop to take a breath...

...I realize how isolated I've let myself become.

Believe me, you can get a bit desperate.

That one? Okay. There you go.

Nice move. Very nice. Nice.

It's not that I'm complaining, I love my work.

And our tour through Chicago opened my eyes to its beauty.

But my heart still misses the lake house...

...and