Requiem for a Dream

                                                 CUT TO:

INT. SARA'S APARTMENT

Sara sits in her viewing chair watching television and
reading her diet book as she slides herself a chocolate.
The diet book is called 'Ten Pounds in Ten Days.'

She flips through about a hundred pages of introduction
until she comes to the words, 'FIRST WEEK.'

She stares at the page and suddenly she becomes concerned.
She reaches for a chocolate-covered caramel as we read the
page with her:

                            BREAKFAST

                                                               15.

1 hard-boiled egg
1/2 grapefruit
1 cup black coffee (no sugar)

                            LUNCH

1 hard-boiled egg
1/2 grapefruit
1/2 cup lettuce (no dressing)
1 cup black coffee (no sugar)

                            DINNER

1 hard-boiled egg
1/2 grapefruit
1 cup black coffee (no sugar)
NOTE: Drink at least 2 quarts of water each day.

Sara stares and chews

Her eyes focus on the words, 'no' '1,' and '1/2'.  They focus
on the repetition of meals.  They focus on the insanity,
searching for the real information between the lines.

She hears a giggle and turns to look at the refrigerator.
The fridge tremors slightly -- a small mechanical rattle.

Defeated, she drops the book and reaches for another
chocolate.  Her head starts to hang and tears begin to well
up in her eyes.

But then she notices something on the television.

                            TAPPY TIBBONS
              Now, let's meet our next winner.
              Straight from Brighton Beach,
              Brooklyn, let's give juicy welcome
              to Mrs Sara Goldfarb.

There she is!  Herself dressed in red, her hair gorgeous
red, walking across the screen, so slim, so trim, so sexy.
Such curves.  This is Red Sara.

Our Sara's tears fade as her chin lifts and she begins to
smile.

She watches Red Sara pose for the television audience.  She
can hear the applause and the wolf whistles.

She puts the chocolates away and lifts up the book -- new
hope.

                                                 CUT TO:

                                                               16.

INT. MARION'S APARTMENT - MIDSUMMER DAY

Bright, summer sun shoots through the window and screams
across Marion's living room floor until it slows and falls
upon Harry and Marion.

They are asleep, fully dressed in each other's arms.

The racing sounds of the outside midday summer traffic
dissipate and they are alone in a vacuum of melodious
heartbeats and deep breaths.

                                                 CUT TO:

INT. SARA'S APARTMENT - DAY

Ada strips Sara's hair wth a smelly home-made peroxide
concoction at the sink.  They're positioned so that they can
both watch the TV set from the corners of their eyes.

                            SARA
              Ech, what a smell.  That's the
              Gawanus Canal?

                            ADA
              Just relax, Dolly, you got a long
              way to go.  You'll get used to it.

                            SARA
              Get used to it?  I'm almost losing
              my appetite.

They chuckle

                            SARA
              When's lunch?

Bigger laugh.

                            ADA
              Sweetie, we're lucky if we're
              finished before supper.

                            SARA
              So long?

                            ADA
              That's right.  With you we're
              starting from scratch one.

                            SARA
              And I thought I would catch a
              little sun today.

                                                               17.

                            ADA
              In a box you'll catch it.  You just
              relax and think how gorgeous you'll
              look with your red hair.  Today the
              hair, tomorrow the sun.

                                                 CUT TO:

INT. MARION'S KITCHEN

Marion straightens up the kitchen.  Harry is spinning some
records on his portable turntable.  Tyrone plays with his
yo-yo.

                            MARION
              Anybody wanna waste some time?

Marion pulls out three pills.  Harry and Tyrone each grab
one.  Ingestion...

WIDE SHOT of the kitchen in time lapse.  The next three-
minute scene is actually a three-hour event as Harry, Marion
and Tyrone hang out.  We listen to them at normal, if not
slightly slowed down, speed.

                            HARRY
              I'm starving.

                            TYRONE
              Yeah, me too, get me a Snickers.

                            HARRY
              Damn, Ty, don't you eat anything
              except Snickers?

                            TYRONE
              Yeah, Chuckles.  Ah digs Chuckles.

                            MARION
              You sure as hell don't know anything
              about eating, man.

                            HARRY
              What you need is some good noodle
              soup.

                            TYRONE
              Sheeit, Pepsi and Snickers'll take
              care of anything.

                            HARRY
              And maybe some bread.

                                                               18.

                            TYRONE
              I prefer the type that goes in my
              pocket not my mouth.

                            HARRY
              Exactly.  Angel told me about a
              job --

In the flash of an eye, Harry changes record after record,
Tyrone rolls a joint and Marion lights some candles.

                            TYRONE
              A job!  Hah!

                            MARION
              What?  You lose a bet?

                            TYRONE
                     (giggles)
              Damn, this is a righteous chick, Jim.

                            HARRY
              No, we got this idea.  Tyrone has
              this connection, Brody, with some
              dynamite shit.  If we can get some
              cash together we can get a piece,
              cut it up and make a fortune.

                            TYRONE
              Soon we could get a pound of pure
              and retire.

                            HARRY
              We'd get off hard knocks and be on
              easy street.

Someone is at the door.  Marion answers it and seven friends
pile in.

Everyone is in time lapse and everyone is partying.  We
watch and listen to the evening's festivities until --

                            MARION
              What's the catch?

Suddenly, the racing kitchen clock stops.

                                                 CUT TO:

INT. SARA'S BATHROOM - DAY

Sara stares in the mirror, blinking at her ridiculously
orange hair.  It's nowhere near red.

                                                               19.

                            SARA
              That's red?

                            ADA
              Well, it's not exactly red but it's
              almost, maybe, in the same family.

                            SARA
              The same family?  They're not even
              distant cousins already.

                            ADA
              It's a red.  Not a red red, but a
              red.

                            SARA
              Red?  You're telling me this is a
              red?

                            ADA
              Yeah.  I'm telling.  It's a red.

                            SARA
              Then what's orange?  If this is a
              red I want to know what's orange.

Ada looks at Sara's hair, then her reflection, then back to
Sara's hair and then back to her reflection.  She purses her
lips and shrugs.

                            ADA
              Well, it could be a little orange,
              too.

                            SARA
              A little orange?  It's a little
              orange like being a little pregnant.

                            ADA
                     (shrugs)
              So what's to worry?  It'll be
              alright.

                            SARA
              What's to worry?  Someone may try
              to juice me.

                            ADA
              Relax, relax, Dolly.  It just needs
              a little more dye.  It'll be
              alright for television.

                                                               20.

                            SARA
              All day long, I'm getting my scalp
              scraped and burned and smelling
              like dead fish and I look like a
              basketball.

                            ADA
              Relax.  You should learn to relax.
              That's your trouble, you don't know
              how to relax already.  I'm telling
              you it's alright.  Tomorrow we'll
              do it again and you'll look like
              Lucille Ball.