INT. OFFICE
We open on
LEWIS GLOSS (John C. Reilly), a medical doctor, sitting behind the desk in his
office. Lewis is busy filling out paperwork. We pull around behind his desk to
see a little boy, about age 8, lying on the floor, playing with GI JOE action
figures. This is his son TREVOR.
Lewis is
exiting the hospital with his sleeping son carefully balanced on his shoulder,
and his briefcase caught between his fingers. Lewis drops the briefcase next to
his Mercedes and fumbles in his jacket pocket for his car keys. He finds them,
unlocks the backseat, and puts Trevor in the backseat. Lewis then shuts the
door and climbs in the front seat.
INT. CAR
We follow Lewis in the car on the way home, quietly
listening to classical music, while his son sleeps in the backseat. His
cellphone vibrates and he picks it up off of the passengers seat. He flips it
open, looks at the name and shuts it back, not wanting to talk.
INT. HOME
Lewis opens
the door leading from his house to the garage, as the door behind him shuts. He
props it open with his briefcase, and heads back into the garage to retrieve
Trevor. He picks up Trevor and carries him inside.
INT. HOME-
BEDROOM
We cut ahead
to Lewis tucking Trevor into his bed. The room is decorated much like an eight
year olds room would be, with a heavy focus on basketball and baseball. Lewis
kisses Trevor on the forehead and walks out of the room.
INT. KITCHEN
Lewis moves
to the phone in the kitchen and picks it up, and dials a number.
LEWIS
Hey, Celia, you called?
A woman
(Laura Linney) on the other end responds.
CELIA
Why didn't you pick up?
LEWIS
I was driving Trevor home.
CELIA
Oh, OK. Hey, listen, we wanted to know if Trevor could come and stay with the
family for the weekend. It's kind of a big family get together, and we'd love
Trevor to come over.
LEWIS
Oh, of course, I'm sure he'll have a great time.
CELIA
And it'll give you some alone time.
LEWIS
Yeah, thanks.
CELIA
How're you doing?
LEWIS
I'm fine. Thanks. Is that all?
CELIA
That's all.
LEWIS
Alright, well, good night.
Lewis hangs
up the phone and takes a big sigh.
INT. LEWIS'S
BEDROOM
Lewis moves
into his bedroom, coming out of his master bathroom, ready to go to sleep. He
passes by his nightstand which has a picture of him with another woman, and
moves to the far side of the king sized bed. He sits down on the edge and
climbs into bed, tucking the sheets on his side around him. He is only on one
side of the bed.
INT.
HOSPITAL- NEXT DAY
Lewis is
moving out of a surgery room, with a team of fellow doctors, when another
doctor approaches him. This is CARTER DORMAN.
CARTER
Hey, Lewis, Neil scheduled a meeting at 4, and he wants everyone there.
LEWIS
At 4, oh come on now, my son's got a baseball game at 3, and I'm supposed to
pick him up.
CARTER
Sorry man, doctor's orders.
LEWIS
Dammit.
Lewis moves
away from Carter and to the side. He pulls out his cellphone.
LEWIS
Celia?
CELIA
Lewis, hey, what's up?
LEWIS
God, I hate asking you for this…
CELIA
No, go ahead, what's up?
LEWIS
They just scheduled some sort of important meeting at 4, and Trevor's got a
game at 3. Do you think you can be there, at least to pick him up?
CELIA
Sure, where is it?
LEWIS
Lincoln Park.
CELIA
Whoa, you let him play at Lincoln Park?
LEWIS
There are usually a lot of parents and stuff around, nothing goes wrong. It's
just an away game.
CELIA
Alright. I'll take Buddy's taurus. Maybe that won't draw attention to me.
LEWIS
Thanks a lot. I owe you one.
Lewis hangs
up the cell phone and rejoins his group.
INT. MEETING
ROOM, LATER
Lewis is sitting at the large table in the middle of the room, with a few other
doctors, including Carter. A nerdy looking doctor walks into the room.
NERDY DOCTOR
Hey, what are you guys doing in here?
CARTER
Meeting.
NERDY DOCTOR
Didn't you hear? The meeting is cancelled. Dr Lascher got something bad, he's
been vomiting since two.
Lewis grabs
his stuff and gets up.
CARTER
Where are you going?
LEWIS
I've got a baseball game to catch.
INT. CAR
We cut ahead
to Lewis driving down a street in what appears to be the worst neighborhood in
town. People give him, and his Mercedes, dirty looks. Finally, he reaches
Lincoln Park, where his son's baseball game has just finished. He sees Celia
and Trevor walking toward a teal Taurus, and he pulls up next to it, only
across the street. He looks around, again at the shady neighborhood, and what
appears to be a drug deal going on about twenty feet from his car. Trevor
notices his dad's car, and hands off his stuff to Celia, as Lewis turns off his
car and opens the car door.
TREVOR
Dad! We won!
LEWIS
That's great!
In the background, we see the drug deal goes bad. The four members
participating pull out guns. Lewis doesn't see this as Trevor is running across
the street to him.
CELIA
TREVOR! WATCH OUT!
The drug dealers start firing their guns at each other, only they miss. Lewis
watches in horror as a stray bullet rips through his son, dropping him quickly
to the ground. We cut to the drug dealers who stop shooting and run. Lewis
stands there, in shock by the side of his car for a second, looking at his son
lying in the middle of the road. Celia screams, and other parents/kids look in
their direction. Celia and Lewis both run to Trevor.
LEWIS
Trevor, trevor, please, can you hear me?
TREVOR
Daddy?
Lewis looks
at his son and the blood soaked jersey he has on.
LEWIS
I'm here… right here…
CELIA
SOMEONE DIAL 911!!!
Lewis rips off Trevor's jersey.
LEWIS
Celia, hold his head please.
Lewis looks
at the hole in his sons chest, almost perfectly centered on his body. Trevor
starts coughing up blood and choking.
LEWIS
God… no… please no… not again. Please…
Other parents move in to see what is going on, all the while averting their
children's eyes. The camera pulls back and watches as Trevor's body stops
moving. Celia starts crying even more. Lewis gets up and backs away from his
son.
LEWIS
God… dammit… I can't lose another one… please…I can't lose…
Lewis, not
knowing what he's doing, punches his driver's side window out with his fist,
setting the car alarm off. He pulls his bleeding hand back out, and a couple of
the parents come over and hold him back as he tries to punch more holes. The
camera pulls up and away from the scene as an Ambulance races down the street
to the scene.
EXT.
GRAVEYARD
We open a couple days later on the funeral. We see Lewis sitting in the front,
with some of the family, including Celia. Carter is in the background.
"Tears In Heaven" plays as background music to the scene. One by one,
people get up and put flowers on Trevor's grave, including his little league
baseball team. Finally, the family is left. A devestated Lewis gets up, with a
backpack next to him. He pulls out the bloody baseball jersey and drops it down
into the grave. He walks away from everyone else, silent.
EXT. HOME
Lewis pulls
up to his home, noticing a police car is parked outside. Two detectives are
sitting on his front porch. His car still has no window. Lewis gets out of the
car and moves to the detectives.
LEWIS
Can I help you?
GREEN
I'm Detective Green, and this is my partner Detective Brennan.
BRENNAN
We're terribly sorry to hear about your son.
Brennan, the
younger of the two officers comes off as insincere as he sits there with his
hands in his pockets, smacking on a stick of gum.
GREEN
We were wanting to talk to you, about the murder for a second, if you're OK
with that.
LEWIS
Anything I can do to help?
BRENNAN
Actually, not really, that's why we're here. We caught the kids, we just need
you to identify them.
GREEN
(To Brennan) Wait in the car.
Brennan
trudges off to the police car.
GREEN
I apologize if he comes off as… offensive. It's just his personality, he really
is a nice guy.
LEWIS
You caught them already?
GREEN
We caught one, he folded and turned the other three in. We still don't know
which one fired the stray shot.
LEWIS
Sure, I'll head down to the station if this will help.
GREEN
You really don't have to. In this case, we've got them all pointing fingers in
a circle, and basically they've all identified themselves. We just wanted to
stop by and let you know, we got em. Now, it's just a matter of trial.
LEWIS
How long will that take?
GREEN
Hard to say really. I'm sorry if I'm crossing any lines here, but if you're
feeling like you need to talk, I know a psychiatrist.
LEWIS
I'm a doctor.
GREEN
I'm just saying. My son was in the force, and was shot in his first week. Still
haven't found the killers. I know what it's like to lose a son, and I couldn't
have done it without help.
LEWIS
All I want are those bastards behind bars.
GREEN
I hope it happens for you, I really do.
LEWIS
Thanks for stopping by.
Lewis moves
away from Green and into the house as Green walks back to his car.
INT. TREVOR'S
BEDROOM
Lewis stands
in the doorway to his son's room. He looks at everything in the room, from the
unmade bed, to his son's backpack on the floor.
INT. SUPPORT
GROUP MEETING
Lewis is
sitting in a circle of people, in a support group he has just joined to help
him deal with the loss of his son.
LEWIS
I… I wrote a poem… about what I felt right after the funeral. About Trevor.
Lewis opens
up a folded piece of paper and begins to read.
LEWIS
the past is
here and it’s not gonna leave, ever. I look at the pictures, the trophies, the
bible on the bed, and begin to cry at the hypocrisy of God. He believed so much
in a short period of time, he believed in Heaven and I hope he was right. Faith
has new meaning now that my son is gone. And I don’t believe in life after
death, so I’m lost
in this
silent room.
The group is
silent, moved by his poem.
LEWIS
I apologize if it's…
MODERATOR
No… my god… it was beautiful…
LEWIS
Thanks.
EXT. BUILDING
Lewis is standing outside a brick building, where the support group wss being
held, as the members gradually leave the building. A woman steps out and lights
a cigarette. This is IRIS LEE.
IRIS
You want one?
LEWIS
No thanks, I don't smoke.
IRIS
You will.
LEWIS
Maybe just one.
Lewis takes a
puff of Iris's cigarette.
LEWIS
My wife used to smoke.
IRIS
Used to?
LEWIS
Before she died of lung cancer.
IRIS
Oh God, I'm sorry.
LEWIS
No, it's fine really. I'm fine… no… wait… I'm not… I'm just coping. I'm numb
really, I don't feel anymore.
Another
member of the group steps outside, this time a teenage boy. This is CALVIN
(Mac).
CALVIN
Hey. Wow man, that was a moving poem.
LEWIS
Thanks.
CALVIN
Hey, I'm Calvin, resident goofball. I deal with tragedy by making a joke about
it.
LEWIS
Who'd you lose?
CALVIN
Both of my parents. Suicide. I was too annoying for them.
Calvin laughs.
LEWIS
How can you even joke about that?
CALVIN
It gets easier.
IRIS
Well, keep the cig, I've got more.
LEWIS
Thanks.
IRIS
You talk a bit too much for my taste.
Iris leaves.
CALVIN
You said in there… that you don't believe in life after death?
LEWIS
No, do you?
CALVIN
Oh yeah, I know it's there.
LEWIS
Because the bible says so or something?
CALVIN
You know, you're a nice guy. Why are you hatin so much?
LEWIS
Calvin, you
don't know me.
CALVIN
Lemme buy you a cup of coffee and get to know you. I want to help you.
INT. DINER
Calvin and Lewis are sitting in a booth, drinking coffee and Calvin has also
ordered a piece of pie and is eating it.
CALVIN
Can I offer you a piece of advice?
LEWIS
What's that?
CALVIN
Usually, good comes out of bad.
LEWIS
Well… lets see… my wife died, and then my son, so I think you're proven wrong
there.
CALVIN
I'm just saying.
LEWIS
This is a waste of my time.
CALVIN
Stay.
LEWIS
No, you're annoying the hell out of me.
CALVIN
Lewis. Trevor's fine. He's happy. And Kelly? She's fine too.
LEWIS
What? You're crazy.
CALVIN
I know why you sleep outside his room, I know why you're afraid to move from
the spot. You think he's coming back, but he's not.
LEWIS
Who are you?
The room
looks at Lewis standing up.
CALVIN
Look at me. They want you to move on they want you to be happy. That's all they
want.
LEWIS
You're…
CALVIN
Giving you a message. He's sorry they're gone, but people come and go all the
time. And maybe in the long run, you can come to forgive Him.
LEWIS
OK, now, I know you're fuckin crazy.
Lewis turns
away from Calvin and looks at the whole room staring at him and back at the
table. No Calvin, and more importantly nothing is on the table.
EXT.
GRAVEYARD
Lewis kneels
in front of Trevor's stone, with an article in his hand. He tapes it to the
stone. The headline is "Dealer sentenced to death". Lewis kisses the
stone and backs away.
LEWIS
I hope he was right.
Lewis walks
away from the stone as the camera pulls away and fades to black.
The End.