THE VERDICT
by David Mamet
INT. FIRST FUNERAL PARLOR - DAY
A working-class funeral in progress. THIRTY PEOPLE and an
inexpensive bier SEEN from the back of the hall.
ANGLE
A MANs back FILLS the SCREEN. He is dressed in a black suit;
his hands are clasped behind him. ANOTHER MAN stands next to
him. The Second Man reaches behind the First Mans back and
puts a discreetly folded ten-dollar bill into
folded note. Reaching across the desk, he
glances through the beads into the managers office. RADIO SOUNDS
O.S.
HIS P.O.V. - hard to see - the man sits in a chair, lit by the
glow of a T.V. set.
Walker grabs the note, looks at it. It says: JOHN WALKER - PLEASE
CALL - .. Thats all - no number. Walker thrusts the message
in his pocket.
MANAGER O.S.
(Cont.)
When you gonna pay up? Thats three
weeks y
the large florist box. He moves toward the left-
hand deposit-slips desks, takes one out and begins to fill
one out.
ON HOWARD
as he pulls out the keys, attached to the belt of his
uniform. Jackie approaches the door of the bank and stops,
neither in nor out, as though he cant make up his mind.
Howard watches him, waiting patiently, keys in hand, folded
flag under his arm.
CLOSE - SAL
still sit
wears her hair in a pony tail. Bud
has on a Lettermans sweater.
MARYSUE
Mother ... Father ... Bud has a little
surprise for you.
BETTY
Whats that Bud?
Bud hesitates for a moment, then folds up a shiny blue
ribbon.
BUD
First prize at the science fair. There
were lots of swell projects--guess mine
was just the "swellest".
BETTY
Darling thats wonderful. Except theres
no such word as "swellest".
BUD
angle. But in her limp hand is a gun. And
all around that hand, speckling the pristine white tile of the bathroom
and the carpeting beyond, is BLOOD.
A shrill BELL shatters the moment.
CUT TO:
INT. COUNSELORS OFFICE -- DAY
The bell continues. Its a school bell signaling the end of the period.
ON ALEX
as we see her for the first time, startled. Shes seventeen and pretty,
though in a simple way. He