Sunday, November 2, 2008

my mother's sister's girl













image via TWIN PEAKS ARCHIVE


Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (shooting script):

10. INT. DESMOND'S CAR - SAME

As they barrel down the highway -

STANLEY
That was really something. That
dancing girl.
(after a beat)
What did it mean?

DESMOND
Code. If you work with Gordon you learn
that right away.

STANLEY
Code, I've heard a lot about this.

Desmond pulls his arm back so that only his fingers come out of his sleeve.

DESMOND
Sort of shorthand.

STANLEY
(missing the humor)
Shorthand. really?

DESMOND
We're heading into a difficult situation.

STANLEY
How do you figure?

DESMOND
I'll explain it to you. Do you remember
Lil's dance?

As Desmond explains we -

INTERCUT WITH:

11. FLASHBACK: LIL'S DANCE

In slow motion.

ON LIL'S SOUR FACE

DESMOND
Lil was wearing a sour face.

STANLEY
What do you mean?

DESMOND
Her face had a sour look... that means
we're going to have trouble with the
local authorities. They are not going to
be receptive to the FBI.

ON LIL BLINKING BOTH EYES

DESMOND
Both eyes blinking means there is going
to be trouble higher up... the eyes of the
local authority. A sheriff and a deputy.
That would be my guess. Two of the
local law enforcers are going to be a
problem.

ON LIL PUTTING ONE HAND IN HER POCKET AND ONE IN A FIST

DESMOND (continued)
If you noticed she had one hand in her
pocket which means they are hiding
something, and the other hand made a
fist which means they are going to be
belligerent.

ON LIL WALKING IN PLACE

DESMOND (continued)
Lil was walking in place which means
there's going to be a lot of legwork
involved.

WE SEE COLE PUTTING HIS FINGERS IN FRONT OF HIS FACE AND SAYING LIL IS HIS SISTER'S GIRL.

DESMOND (continued)
Cole said Lil was "his mother's sister's
girl". What is missing in that sentence?
The Uncle.

STANLEY
Oh, the uncle is missing.

DESMOND
Not Cole's Uncle but probably the
sheriff's uncle in federal prison.

STANLEY
So the sheriff had got an Uncle who's
committed a serious crime.

ON LIL'S RED WIG

DESMOND
Right, which is probably why Lil was
wearing a red wig meaning we are
headed into a dangerous situation. Let
me ask you something, Stanley, did you
notice anything about the dress?

STANLEY
The dress she was wearing had been
altered to fit her. I noticed a different
colored thread where the dress had been
taken in. It wasn't her dress or she
must have lost some weight.

DESMOND
Gordon said you were good. The tailored
dress is our code for drugs. Did you
notice what was pinned to it?

STANLEY
A blue rose.

DESMOND
Very good, but I can't tell you about
that.

Stanley rides along quietly for a while.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this- I just watched Fire Walk With Me and loved this sequence.

John M. said...

Hi Audrey! Good to hear from you.

Indeed - you're welcome. That was one of my favorite parts of that movie.