Screenplay: Amos

“Amos”

By 

Sophie Grimaud

*NOTE before reading: This is awkwardly pasted because of the WordPress formatting. It’s not in exact screenplay formatting as it should be, but this is as close as I could get!

INT. NURSING HOME – DAY

ENTER into a large room in a nursing home. We see old people MEANDERING, a few nurses weave between. A luau event is about to begin. Cheap decorations are strewn around the room, with punch and store bought cupcakes. 

A man begins to play MUSIC on a ukulele. Some of the old people begin dancing. 

An old lady, EDNA, in a plastic hula skirt approaches AMOS, an old man sitting alone at a table. She shuffles up, dancing as she comes. 

EDNA: 

What are you doing sitting here? It’s party time. Come dance with me!

Amos looks up, DAZED, at Edna. HESITANTLY, he takes the already again swaying woman’s hand. She doesn’t pause her dancing as Amos slowly stands and takes her other hand. 

AMOS:

Sorry what is your name?

EDNA:

I’m Edna, Amos. You’re going nutty all over again. 

AMOS begins dancing with Edna JERKILY and strained, his movements uncoordinated. Edna is energetically dancing, not minding Amos’ jerkiness. Amos seems to have a little bit of fun for a moment, but then his demeanor changes. He looks lost and confused. 

The SCENE SKIPS. 

MUSIC FADES AND CHANGES. 

INT. LIVING ROOM – DAY

In a 50s-style living room, Frank Sinatra is playing on a record player. Laughter fills the room, and the atmosphere is lighter. Sunlight fills the room from open windows. 

A much younger Amos dances with a woman his age. She is smiling, the source of the laughter in the room. He smiles and dances with her, smooth and coordinated- the opposite of the old man in the nursing home. PEGGY swings back, and then twirls toward Amos. Caught up in looking at her, Amos steps on her foot. 

PEGGY:

Amos! You’ve gone and stepped on my foot!

Peggy smiles and stops dancing to kiss Amos on the nose as he grins sheepishly. 

The scene cuts out again, back to the —

NURSING HOME

— 

where Amos is standing frozen, a glazed look on his face. Edna is looking at him, exasperated. She lets go of his hand and moves on to find another dance partner. A kind faced NURSE gently leads Amos back to his table, where he stares ahead absently. 

INT. NURSING HOME BEDROOM – EARLY MORNING

Amos JERKS awake, sweating from some dream. 

We can see a nursing home bedroom, with little decoration except for a few picture frames of Amos and Peggy, and a smaller boy, whose pictures eventually change into that of a young man. 

Amos pants. He looks DISORIENTED and groggy. He reaches a SHAKY HAND across the bed to meet open air. The bed is not big enough to fit two people comfortably. A glimmer of clarity comes into his eyes. 

AMOS: 

She should be here. She comes on Wednesdays. It was Wednesday yesterday. She should have visited.

Amos slides back the sheets and his feet make contact with the ground. He puts on his clothes. It takes a while to button up his shirt; his hands are SHAKING. 

AMOS:

Need new shoes. Scuffed ‘em.

Amos walks out of his room. Two nurses are talking, but their backs are turned. Amos treads quietly past them, with a surprising amount of AWARENESS. He reaches the end of the hallway leading into the common room and peers around the corner. The door out of the common room has a keypad. The room is empty of residents. 

AMOS:

Hmph.

Amos waits, watching the door. From another hallway, a nurse in a hurry emerges, bustling toward the door out. She glances around quickly, but Amos has already ducked his head back into the hallway. 

The sound of a DOOR OPENING. 

Amos waits a heartbeat and then runs, as best he can, through the —

COMMON ROOM 

—

toward that door. He almost doesn’t make it. His hand pushes against the wood just before it could click shut. He pushes the wood gently, and then peers out. The corridor to the outside door  is empty. He strolls out. 

INT. NURSING HOME BEDROOM – MORNING

The kind faced nurse pushes the door open, and does a double-take. She looks CONCERNED, but not panicked. She pokes her head into the small bathroom attached to the room, which is empty. She walks briskly out of the room, down the hall, and into the–

COMMON ROOM

—

She finds Edna and an assortment of residents eating or watching television, but no Amos. 

Now there is a trace of PANIC on the nurse’s face, as she rushes toward a phone on the wall. We can make out parts of what she is saying over the television and Edna talking animatedly to her subjects, who are chattering back, or half-watching with glazed eyes. Edna continues talking, but watches out of the corner of her eyes. 

NURSE:

Missing. Yes. Yes. No. I’ll check.

The nurse jogs off to check the other resident’s rooms.

EXT. BUS STOP – MORNING 

The scene CUTS to a bus and the sound of BRAKING. A door HISSES open. 

Worn brown shoes and tan slacks climb the stairs of the bus, and tread slowly to a seat on the–

BUS

— 

Amos sits, and looks around. A little GIRL sitting a few seats ahead peers CURIOUSLY at Amos from around the seat. She has brown hair and a colorful plastic headband. A lollipop stick is protruding from the side of her mouth. 

She gives Amos a SHY smile, which he returns. The lines around his eyes crinkle. The girl’s mother, who is sitting beside her, pulls the girl back from her position peeping into the aisle and turns back to smile apologetically at Amos. He smiles timidly, and watches the girl pull out a coloring book and begin to draw in crayon. 

SCENE SWITCHES QUICKLY. 

INT BUS – EVENING

A bus much more full of people replaces the near empty bus with the lollipop girl and her mother. Small talk and laughter replaces the quiet and sound of the bus on the road. Here people talk over it. 

A smooth hand grabs Amos’s arm, and a wistful face with bright brown eyes SMILES up at him. Peggy squeezes his arm, nearly bouncing up and down as she looks at what has her EXCITED. A little girl at the front of the bus is playing some sort of invented rhyme game with a girl across the bus aisle. 

PEGGY:

Aren’t they just adorable? Oh Amos, let’s have… ten!

AMOS: 

Ten?!

Amos’ voice is both amused and partially alarmed. 

PEGGY:
Yes, ten! They can dance around the house and make a mess of things, and draw on all the walls, and we can repaint them together every week. You like painting the walls. Maybe we’ll let them help fix it some, and then repaint over it when they make a mess of that too. 

Amos: 

Do these little miscreants have names?

PEGGY:

Oh YES! Claire, Julie, Jennifer- Jenny for short- 

AMOS:

What about a boy?

PEGGY: 

Oh a boy! Oh how I would love a little boy Amos.

Peggy’s face is filled with excitement and anticipation.

PEGGY:

He would terrorize his sisters, but secretly they’d love it. How about Paul?

AMOS:

Paul is perfect. I think I would like the little girls though.

PEGGY:

Oh I know, but you’d be hopeless. You wouldn’t be able to say no once to them! They’d be spoiled rotten.

Young Amos SMILES sheepishly and pulls Peggy closer to him on the bus. His smile fades, as the people on the bus and finally Peggy fade as well. 

INT. BUS – DAY

When Peggy fades, Amos is alone on the bus. It hisses to a stop and the doors open. Amos shuffles off. 

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD – DAY

Amos strolls through the neighborhood with ease. The familiar environment brings a bit more clarity to his facial expression. He stops to pick a few flowers from a yard. 

AMOS:

Busibody. I’m going to get scolded but she’ll think it’s funny. Can’t very well pick our flowers without getting my head bit off, anyways.

He continues to walk for a while. Finally Amos turns down a street of cookie-cutter houses with neatly trimmed lawns. He comes to a house nearing a coledesac, and stops in the driveway. He looks up at the house. He smiles and heaves a sigh of relief. 

Amos walks up to the door and looks for something. 

AMOS:

She must have gotten rid of the mat. That’s a shame, it was a nice doormat. No place here to hide the spare key now.

Amos tries the doorknob, but it is locked. He seems to have expected this, and nods to himself, but he doesn’t look concerned. He walks assuredly around the side of the house into the backyard. 

He pauses a moment when he sees the empty flowerbeds. A hint of UNEASE crosses his face, but he quickly brushes it off.

He moves confidently towards the backdoor. He slides it open, although there is some resistance. 

AMOS:

I should have fixed that lock for her before I left. Oh well, it helped me out this time. Always misplacing that spare key. Some buildup in the door track too. Maybe I’ll fix that too.

Amos smiles to himself and shakes his head. He takes a few steps into the —

HOUSE 

— 

Amos looks as though he has been SLAPPED across the face. He takes a stumbling step back. The flowers DROP to the ground. 

Toys litter the floor and furniture is strewn about the combined dining area and kitchen haphazardly.

Amos stares around, looking small and CONFUSED. He begins to meander around in a disoriented fashion. There are pictures on the walls. They have a middle aged woman and three children in them. An older boy and two little girls. There are pictures of them laughing and playing together. Some of the older pictures show a large yellowish dog too. 

Tears fill Amos’ eyes but he blinks them away. 

The —

LIVING ROOM 

— 

has a worn couch in it. A few children’s books are sitting on a side table, and there is a doll on the floor and the couch. GENTLY, Amos picks up the doll and stares at it. He sits on the couch, holding that doll. 

The scene DARKENS. 

INT. HOUSE LIVING ROOM 

TALKING fills the silence and dark. The door to the house, in a small entryway next to the living room, swings open. The muffled talking becomes clear. Amos jerks awake, confused and startled. He looks at the time on his watch. 

AMOS:

Early, she shouldn’t be off work.

A young GIRL, from the photos, walks in, her nose in a book as she walks. She comes into the living room. She glances up from her book and freezes, staring in surprise at Amos. Amos stares back, in SHOCK. Her BROTHER comes in behind her and jumps in surprise. He grabs the girl’s arm and YELLS

BOY: 

MOMMMM!

A woman in her late thirties comes careening into the room. She puts a hand to her mouth at the sight of Amos, then JUMPS into action and  pushes both children behind her. Not taking her eyes off of Amos, she says to the boy behind her

WOMAN:

Jake go call the police. 911. Tell them a stranger is in the house, answer all of their questions.

The boy is looking at his mother with wide eyes. She glances back and hisses

WOMAN: 

Now!

Jake STARTS and backs away. We hear footsteps running and a phone being picked up. Jake begins talking to the police. 

A SMALLER GIRL has come up behind the woman, looking frightened. The girl with the book pulls her close and wraps an arm around her, trying to look a little brave. 

WOMAN:

Who are you and why are you in my house?

Amos still looks confused and startled. His gaze jerks from the little girls to their mother, who is now glaring at him, a mother bear preparing to fight for her cubs. 

AMOS:

I- I- This is, I am- I live here. 

He looks at a loss for words, his eyes on the woman both confused and pleading. The woman looks a little surprised at the answer, but is still WARY. She SCANS Amos, taking in the old man’s confusion and nervous state. 

WOMAN:

How did you get in here? When did you get here?

AMOS:

I- I needed to see Peggy. She was supposed to visit. It was a Wednesday.

He said all of this PLEADINGLY, looking at the woman as though she should understand that one does not miss a Wednesday appointment. 

WOMAN:

How did you get in here?

AMOS:

She’s always losing the spare key. I keep telling her to just put it back under the mat when she’s done but now she’s gone and lost that too. That’s why I’ve never fixed that broken back lock. She’ll just lose the spare key again and then how will I get in?

The woman seems to relax just a little bit, a hint of UNDERSTANDING finally dawning in her eyes. 

WOMAN:

What is your name?

AMOS:

Amos. I live here.

WOMAN:

Amos.

She nods, then looks at Amos. She drops her arms shielding the girls, and turns to WHISPER something to them. They scatter off in the direction of their brother. Finally, the woman turns around and looks DIRECTLY at Amos. 

WOMAN:

Well Amos, I bought this house a little over a year ago. I can assure you that you haven’t lived here in at least a year, and I didn’t buy this house from you. What’s your last name?

Amos looks very LOST. He stares past the woman, while he answers in a small voice

AMOS:

Garcia. 

The woman nods again, and breathes a sigh. 

WOMAN:

I believe I bought this house from your son? Paul?

Amos doesn’t answer, but a shadow crosses his face. He frowns. After a few moments of silence, a SIREN can be heard in the distance. Amos just stares past the woman. The siren grows louder and LOUDER, then stops. An urgent knock sounds on the door, followed by

POLICEMAN:

Cambridge Police Department, open up!

The woman looks at Amos, and in a commanding voice says

WOMAN:

Stay here.

The woman goes to the door and opens it. She holds up a hand and speaks in a HUSHED TONE to the police officer for a few moments. After listening for a few moments to something the POLICEMAN says, she allows two police officers to step into the entryway. They look into the living room at Amos, who is not even paying attention to them at all. He stares into space. 

The woman and the police officer beside her exchange a pitying glance. The POLICEWOMAN who just exchanged glances with the woman steps in front of her partner, and approaches Amos. She kneels in front of Amos and looks into his face. 

POLICEWOMAN:

Mr. Garcia, I’m going to need you to come with me.

Amos’ eyes clear a little bit. He seems to NOTICE for the first time the policewoman in front of him. 

AMOS:

What?

The policewoman reaches a hand out and GENTLY leads Amos to stand. She puts an arm around him, and he haltingly walks with her. 

POLICEWOMAN:

We need to take a walk okay Mr. Garcia? These kids have some homework they need to do and we can’t distract them here.

Amos follows her lead, looking disoriented as they head out the door and down the porch steps. A police car is parked on the curb of the street. Amos looks back at the house. The other POLICEMAN says something to the woman, who nods and shakes his hand before he heads out the door, closing it behind him. Before the door closes, the woman’s eyes meet Amos’ and she smiles SADLY. 

AMOS:

No.

POLICEWOMAN:

Come on Mr. Garcia, it’s time to go home. People are very worried about you.

AMOS:

This is my home! I will not leave it! This is my home, I have to wait, Peggy isn’t home from work yet. She didn’t come on Wednesday. Something is wrong, she always comes on Wednesday.

Amos, now agitated, tries to twist out of the policewoman’s grip, but she tightens her hold. And nods to her partner behind them. He comes over, and opens the door to the back of the police car. She pulls Amos as gently as possible towards the door. 

POLICEWOMAN:

Mr. Garcia, you can’t stay here, you don’t live here anymore. Someone else lives here now. 

Amos slumps, and the policewoman guides him into the back of the car gently. 

POLICEWOMAN:

We’re going to take you home now, Mr. Garcia. We’ll be there soon.

INT. POLICE CAR – EVENING

The police officers start talking quietly in the front of the vehicle.

TEARS slide down Amos’ face. 

EXT. NURSING HOME – EVENING

The policewoman escorts Amos back into the nursing home, where very relieved nurses usher Amos back into the —

INT. NURSING HOME COMMON ROOM 

— 

The kind faced nurse is in the nursing room with some of the other residents. Edna sits in the corner of the room, her animated chatter PAUSING at Amos being led into the room. Her sharp eyes WATCH him enter with a couple of nurses. Some of the residents wave, a few recognizing Amos. He stares at them, disgruntled and CONFUSED. Edna continues to watch. Her usual flippant or unconcerned facial expression is more GUARDED and watchful. She seems to be WARY of what will come next.

The kind faced nurse looks extremely relieved to see Amos. She approaches and appears to be about to tell Amos off, but stops when she sees Amos’s red, puffy eyes. Amos looks at her, agitated and becoming angry. 

AMOS:

Take me back now.

NURSE:

Amos. You know-

AMOS:
TAKE ME BACK NOW!

The other residents are now also watching. Only a few of the residents with foggier eyes stare into space, ignorant of the encounter. The nurse opens her mouth but Amos interrupts again.

AMOS:
Where is she?

NURSE:
Where is who Amos?

AMOS:

Where is she? She wasn’t at home. They wouldn’t let me wait for her to come back from work, but she didn’t come. 

Although Amos’ body language reflects anger, his eyes again fill with tears. He looks at the nurse pleadingly and in a QUIETER voice says

AMOS:

It was a Wednesday.

The nurse looks heartbroken for Amos.

AMOS:

WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS PEGGY?

The nurse’s own eyes tear up a bit as she looks at Amos in his state of confusion, and anger. 

NURSE:

Amos, Peggy hasn’t come for a long time.

Amos’ shoulders cave in. The nurse guides him to a nearby cushioned chair. He slumps into it, looking DEFEATED.

AMOS:

She wasn’t home.

The nurse sits in front of Amos and says in a heartbroken voice

NURSE:

Amos, Peggy died a year ago. I’m so sorry.

Amos shakes his head, again looking confused. A tear falls down his cheek. Very softly, Amos says

AMOS:

She was here last week.

Edna, still quiet, shakes her head to herself sadly.

The SCENE FADES as the nurse takes and squeezes Amos’ hand. He stares EMPTILY ahead.