Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Page 6
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
Jason, Willoughby here. I’m dead now, sorry about that, but there’s something I wanted to say to you that I never really said when I was alive. I think you’ve got the makings of being a really good cop, Jason, and you know why? Because, deep down, you’re a decent man. I know you don’t think I think that, but I do, Dipshit.
EXT. MAIN STREET – NIGHT
Street deserted as Mildred, with backpack, checks to see no one’s watching, then slips inside through the taped-up door of Welby’s offices.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
I do think you’re too angry, though …
INT. WELBY’S OFFICE – NIGHT
Mildred at Welby’s desk in his swivel chair, phone book open to ‘Ebbing Police Precinct House’, telephone to her ear, backpack on table, broken window looking out on the dark police station across the street.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
… And I know it’s all since your dad died and you had to go look after your mom and all …
INT. POLICE STATION, MAIN ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Telephone on Desk Sergeant’s desk starts ringing, red light flashing, but as Dixon still has his headphones on he can’t hear. Phone stops ringing after a while.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
… but as long as you hold on to so much hate then I don’t think you’re ever going to become …
INT. WELBY’S OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
Mildred gets up and exits frame with her backpack, leaving just the table, window and the police station in shot. Sound only of four clinking bottles taken out of backpack. Mildred moves back into shot, looks at the phone again.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
… what I know you wanna become …
INT. POLICE STATION, MAIN ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Dixon walking around the station, reading tearfully. Passes Desk Sergeant’s desk, as phone starts ringing again. He still can’t hear it. After five or six rings it stops.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
… a detective.
INT. WELBY’S OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
Mildred looks at the phone she’s just put down, thinking, rolling a cigarette lighter around in her hand, thumbing the flint but not lighting it, until …
MILDRED
Fuck ’em!
She lights the lighter, and we pan with her and finally see the four Molotov cocktails she’s placed on the table.
She quickly picks up and lights the first, moves to the window and launches it high out across the street. It explodes below Dixon’s window, setting it and the whole wall alight.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
Cos you know what you need to become a detective? And I know you’re gonna wince when I say this …
INT. POLICE STATION – CONTINUOUS
Dixon hasn’t noticed the sound or the flames. He turns the letter to the second page.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
… but what you need to become a detective … is Love.
Dixon winces.
Because through Love comes Calm, and through Calm comes Thought. And you need Thought to detect stuff sometimes, Jason. It’s kinda all you need.
INT. WELBY’S OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
Mildred tosses the second Molotov out …
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
You don’t even need a gun. And you definitely don’t need Hate.
EXT. POLICE STATION – CONTINUOUS
It hits the second-storey windows, setting them alight.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
Hate never solved nothing …
INT. POLICE STATION – CONTINUOUS
Dixon is wrapped up in the letter, chewing his fingernails, flames leaping behind him …
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
… but Calm did. And Thought did. Try it. Try it just for a change. No one’ll think you’re gay.
INT. WELBY’S OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
Mildred tosses the third Molotov out …
INT. POLICE STATION – CONTINUOUS
Third Molotov hits the police station door, setting it alight.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
And if they do, arrest ’em for homophobia! Won’t they be surprised!
INT. POLICE STATION – CONTINUOUS
Flames still leap outside Dixon’s window as Dixon, his back to it, keeps reading.
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
Good luck to you, Jason. You’re a decent man, and yeah you’ve had a run of bad luck …
INT. WELBY’S OFFICE – CONTINUOUS
In slow-mo, Mildred tosses out the final Molotov …
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
… but things are gonna change for you …
EXT. MAIN STREET – CONTINUOUS
In slow-mo, the Molotov arcs up across the street …
WILLOUGHBY
(voice-over)
I can feel it.
… and in normal speed, smashes in through Dixon’s window.
INT. POLICE STATION – CONTINUOUS
Dixon finally notices this one, as it explodes behind him and knocks him off his feet, his desk and that whole side of the room set ablaze. He sees that the station door is on fire also, blocking his exit, and the Angela Hayes file on his desk on fire too.
He grabs and pats it against himself, getting the flames out but getting the gasoline all over himself in the process.
Dixon looks around, checks a locked back door, and realises there is no way out of the building other than through the fiery broken window.
DIXON
Calm. Calm.
Standing in front of the window, he looks down at the file, places it safely up inside his shirt, hugs it tightly to his chest, takes a few steps back, then makes a running leap, head first through the flames and out the window.
EXT. MAIN STREET – CONTINUOUS
Dixon lands on the sidewalk in a heap, his clothes all alight. He quickly pulls the case file out from under his shirt and tosses it as far away from the flames as he can.
It lands in a clean spot, no flames touching it, which can’t be said for Dixon. He rolls around, trying to put himself out, but it’s just making it worse, he’s like a fireball …
Across the street, Mildred comes out of Welby’s building and sees him, horrified, just as James turns a far corner and sees Dixon on fire and Mildred in the doorway.
He sprints over and beats out the flames with his hands and clothes but Dixon’s head, hands and body are badly charred. Mildred turns away from him, horrified, and sees the case file lying there, and realises what Dixon has done, as the sirens and blue lights of the ambulance and firemen arrive.
EXT. MAIN STREET – DAWN
Later. Fire almost out, building ravaged. Mildred sits exhausted on the sidewalk outside Welby’s, James beside her, looking at her suspiciously. She looks away. Abercrombie comes over.
ABERCROMBIE
(to Mildred)
So what did you see?
JAMES
Well, when we turned the corner from Spring, the fire was already raging, so, and then two seconds later the cop guy just jumps out the window …
ABERCROMBIE
Wait, the two of you turned the corner from Spring? Where were you before this?
JAMES
Round at my place.
ABERCROMBIE
You two are boyfriend and girlfriend?
JAMES
Well, it’s early stages, y’know.
ABERCROMBIE
(to Mildred)
That right?
MILDRED
We’ve had a couple dates.
Abercrombie moves off, suspicious.
JAMES
So you wanna go out to dinner next week?
MILDRED
She heads off.
JAMES
Well, I ain’t gonna fuck you neither. (Quietly.) I guess.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
Welby reading. A man, face and body bandaged (it’s Dixon, though Welby can’t see this) is wheeled in by a Nurse.
NURSE
(to Welby)
Burn victim. He’s pretty heavily sedated.
Nurse leaves. Welby hobbles over to take a look. Half Dixon’s hair is gone and only his eyes are visible through the bandages.
RED
Hey, man? You doing okay? Jeez, you got burned up pretty bad. You’ll be okay though, don’t worry. You want a glass of orange juice? I got a straw somewheres …
The eyes behind the bandages start to cry.
Hey, man, don’t cry. You’ll be okay.
DIXON
I’m sorry, Welby.
RED
(pause)
You know me?
DIXON
I’m sorry.
RED
Sorry for what, man?
DIXON
For throwing you out the window.
Welby realises finally, starts backing away.
RED
Save it.
DIXON
I’m sorry, man.
RED
I don’t care. And stop crying. The salt’ll just fuck up your wounds.
DIXON
I thought salt was supposed to be good for wounds.
RED
Well what am I, a fucking doctor?!
Welby goes back to his bed. Sound of Dixon still crying.
Dixon’s point-of-view: through bandages, of the ceiling, him crying still. Then the sound of liquid pouring. Then the sound of shuffling steps. Then the point-of-view catches Welby, limping over. Carrying a glass of orange juice. He places it beside Dixon’s bed and puts a straw in it.
Point-of-view follows Welby a little way back to his bed then drifts to the ceiling and remains there. As his crying continues.
INT. MILDRED’S HOUSE – CONTINUOUS
A knock on the front door. Mildred looks out through the spyhole, doesn’t recognise Jerome, who knocks again.
MILDRED
Who is it?
JEROME
Oh, you don’t know me really.
MILDRED
Well, what you want?
JEROME
I come about the billboards.
MILDRED
What about ’em?
JEROME
They got burned up.
MILDRED
I know that.
JEROME
I’m one of the guys who put ’em up in the first place.
Mildred opens door, vaguely recognises Jerome.
Jerome.
They shake hands.
MILDRED
What can I do for ya, Jerome?
JEROME
Well, y’know, when you’re putting up a buncha posters like that, just in case any of ’em gets screwed up or torn, they give ya a set of duplicates, y’know?
Jerome shows her what he’s brought up. Through the crack in the door she sees two big card rolls full of posters.
MILDRED
(smiling)
No, I didn’t know that.
EXT. BILLBOARD ROAD, SECOND BILLBOARD – DAY
Later that day. Mildred and Robbie sloshing up the posters on the AND STILL NO ARRESTS billboard, as, distantly, Jerome is finishing up with the first billboard. James is holding Mildred’s ladder steady, looking up at her.
MILDRED
Ladder’s pretty steady as it is, there, James.
JAMES
Oh, I don’t mind. I like holding ladders. It takes me out of myself.
Mildred sighs. A car pulls up. Out gets Denise.
DENISE
Need a hand?
Squealing, Mildred gets down, gives her a hug.
MILDRED
When’d you get out?
DENISE
Hour ago. Judge threw it out, said the arrest report weren’t filled out right. Say, you didn’t burn down the police station, did ya?
MILDRED
No …
JAMES
No. She was with me the whole night.
Denise looks at Mildred.
MILDRED
(shakes head, mouthing)
It’s a long story.
Jerome comes up, having finished the first billboard. Denise eyes him up, thinks he’s cute, it’s mutual, and they exchange a ‘Hi’. Jerome holds up a part of the Willoughby poster.
JEROME
You sure you still wanna put up the Willoughby one, him dead an’ all?
MILDRED
Why not? He paid for it.
EXT. BILLBOARD ROAD – DUSK
Some weeks later. A grey and windy evening. The posters all up beautifully, though the burnt billboards look like they could crumble any second.
INT. BAR – NIGHT
Dixon slouched low in a booth, morose, bandages gone, but his burns still visible. In a distant corner, Jerome and Denise chat quietly.
A truck pulls up outside. The Crop-Haired Guy and a male Pal enter, order a couple of beers from Tony and sit in the booth behind Dixon, not noticing him.
INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT
Mildred and James at dinner at a nice restaurant, Waiter pouring wine. Charlie and Penelope enter and pass, Charlie smiling at the sight of Mildred with a dwarf. Mildred has a fleeting look of embarrassment, which James registers.
JAMES
Who’s that?
MILDRED
My ex-husband. And his nineteen-year-old girlfriend.
JAMES
You wanna leave?
MILDRED
No, no. A deal’s a deal.
Mildred smiles. James only partly reciprocates.
INT. BAR – NIGHT
Murmured conversation behind Dixon as he peels the label off his beer.
CROP-HAIRED GUY
(off screen)
It was fucking wild, man, I think I was certifiably fucking insane for a while back there.
PAL
(off screen)
When was this?
CROP-HAIRED GUY
(off screen)
’Bout nine, ten months ago.
PAL
(off screen)
Were you on your own or what?
Dixon is barely listening, as Denise is staring hatefully at him from across the bar. He ignores her, slugs some beer, as the conversation behind him continues.
CROP-HAIRED GUY
(off screen)
No, had a coupla buddies with me.
PAL
(off screen)
Oh yeah?
CROP-HAIRED GUY
(off screen)
Yeah.
PAL
(off screen)
They fuck her too?
CROP-HAIRED GUY
(off screen)
I think they got their kicks just watching, you know.
PAL
(off screen)
Was she hot?
CROP-HAIRED GUY
(off screen)
After the gasoline kicked in she was hot.
Dixon’s listening now. He gets up and ambles past their booth, to get an idea of who’s talking, but they clam up as they notice him passing.
EXT. BAR – CONTINUOUS
Dixon continues on out of the bar, lights a cigarette in trembling hands, takes out a pen, and makes a note of the truck’s Idaho licence plate. Finishes the cigarette, goes back inside.
INT. BAR – CONTINUOUS
Dixon ambles past their booth again, coming in on …
CROP-HAIRED GUY
I ain’t going down for that shit, last fucking day down there …
Guy shuts up again as Dixon sits back in his booth.
(Quietly.) He been there the whole time?
PAL
Who?
CROP-H
AIRED GUY
Burnt-face-Jake. Keeps fucking walking up and down.
PAL
I don’t know. I don’t think so.
Guy goes to the bar and turns to get a good look at Dixon, who just stares at his beer. Guy gets two more beers and returns to his own booth, staring at him the whole way. Dixon gets up, ambles to the bar, glancing at the Guy as he goes.
CROP-HAIRED GUY
Can I help you with something, man? You’ve been looking over here all fucking night, now, unless you got something to say to me, why don’t you take your burnt fucking face and get the fuck outta here, okay?
Pause. Dixon goes over and sits in beside Pal, nudging him over, facing the Guy.
What the fuck are you doing?!
DIXON
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait …
Dixon holds his hands up, back and front, so the Guy can see there’s nothing in them, and that he means no harm.
Just trust me, okay?
Dixon reaches out with his empty right hand, slowly puts it behind Guy’s right ear, Guy flinching slightly, exchanging a glance with Pal.
Just trust me …
CROP-HAIRED GUY
Just do the fucking trick.
Dixon smiles, then quickly and deeply rakes his long fingernails down the Guy’s cheek, leaving a couple of deep bloody lines there.
Guy and Pal spring at Dixon, pummelling him horrifically, reopening all his wounds.
Dixon doesn’t fight back at all, in fact he just clutches his fists to his chest to protect them. The two keep going and going, stamping on him sickeningly. Jerome stands up …
JEROME
Hey! That’s enough now!
Guy approaches, menacingly …
CROP-HAIRED GUY