廊桥遗梦THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY(1)
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廊桥遗梦THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY（1）
screenplay adaption by
Richard LaGravenese
MARCH 24, 1994, FIRST DRAFT
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Our story begins in 1965, on a hot afternoon in August.
FADE IN
EXT. IOWA LANDSCAPE - DAY
Rolling green hills, lush farmland, vast open space. Not a
house or sign of life in sight. On a long dusty road, a TRUCK
is driving across the screen. Clouds of dirt follow in its
tracks -- its motor, the only sound we hear.
INT. TRUCK - DAY
FRANCESCA JOHNSON is sitting in the front seat of the pick-up
truck. Her expression is distant. Her eyes are sad, as if
hiding a burden she can hardly bear. Her husband, RICHARD
JOHNSON, is driving.
RICHARD
You feeling better Franny?
FRANCESCA
Yes. I'm fine. It's just this heat I
think.
He nods, satisfied. He turns on the radio as the VOICE OF
DINAH WASHINGTON sings a bluesy, haunting love song, "I'LL
CLOSE MY EYES."
DINAH WASHINGTON
(SINGS)
"I'LL CLOSE MY EYES... TO EVERYONE
BUT YOU... AND WHEN I DO... I'LL SEE
YOU STANDING THERE..."
(CONTINUES)
RICHARD
(surprised)
What station is this?
FRANCESCA
It's a Chicago station. I found it
the other day.
RICHARD
Kinda pretty. Is this uh... jazz
kinda singing?
FRANCESCA
(nicely)
I don't know. Can we turn it off? I
have such a headache.
RICHARD
Sure.
Richard shuts it off. Francesca turns her face away from him
to look out at the vast expanse out of the countryside.
EXT. JOHNSON HOUSE - DAY
The truck stops in front of an isolated FARM HOUSE. A wooden
gate stands twenty yards from the front door. A barn and a
hot house sits on either side, surrounded by acres and acres
of beautiful pasture.
CAROLYN JOHNSON, a sixteen-year-old girl, steps out from the
vegetable garden with an arm full of vegetable. She watches
her parents exit the truck.
Francesca carries her groceries, walking briskly through the
front gate and entering the house.
Richard grabs a bag of feed from the flatbed and strolls more
leisurely. When he walks through the front gate, he notices
something on the ground and picks it up. It is a BUTTON with
RED NATURAL surrounding it. As if it had been torn from a
piece of clothing. His daughter approaches him.
RICHARD
Your mother isn't feel well. I want
you to help her out tonight with
dinner
.
(she nods)
Tell Michael to put this feed away.
He puts the feed bag down. She exits. He enters the house.
INT. FRONT HALL - DAY
Richard enters the front hall opposite the stairs to the
second floor. To his left is the living room. To his right,
through an archway is the kitchen. He moves towards the stair
when he suddenly hears the kitchen radio turned on and "I'LL
CLOSE MY EYES" continues. It puzzles him. He looks to the
kitchen. Francesca is obviously there but we can't see her.
He is about to call to her when his son, Michael, yells:
MICHAEL (O.S.)
Dad! You bought the wrong feed!
RICHARD
(irritated)
What?!
He exits through the house to the back door.
INT. KITCHEN - LATER
The family-- Francesca, Richard, Carolyn and their seventeen-
year-old son MICHAEL -- are eating supper. No one speaks.
FRANCESCA
So what are you going to do with the
prize money?
CAROLYN
I don't know. I might save up for one
of those hi-fi stereo players like
Peggy has.
Francesca nods. Silence again. She asks her son:
FRANCESCA
Are you seeing Betty tonight?
MICHAEL
(eating)
Nah.
Silence. She is used to her son's one syllable answers.
RICHARD
Oh! Frannie, is this yours?
He places the button with red material on the table. Hiding
her surprise, Francesca takes the button.
FRANCESCA
You found it! I got my dress caught
on that damn gate. You must have eyes
like a hawk.
FRANCESCA (cont'd)
You must all be tired. You got home
so early. What time did you leave
Illinos this morning?
RICHARD
'Bout 4:30.
FRANCESCA
Well you should all go to bed early.
I'll do the cleaning up.
This last remark she addresses to her daughter. Everyone
returns to their silent eating.
INT. JOHNSON HOUSE - NIGHT
The house is asleep and dark except for a bright light coming
from the kitchen. Carolyn quietly exits her bedroom in her
nightclothes. She was awakened by noises coming from the
kitchen downstairs.
INT. KITCHEN -
She enters to find the lights are on. An empty cake pan and
a half-used bowl of frosting sitting unwashed in the sink.
She hears the motor of the truck being turned on. She moves
to the front hall and looks out through the door to see:
The truck driving away. She calls out:
CAROLYN
Mom!
But she gets no response. She stands there wondering where
her mother could possibly being going this time of night, as
we -
DISSOLVE TO:
THIRTY YEARS LATER - SAME LOCATION
Carolyn, t
hirty years older, stands in the same doorway of
the same house thinking back to that evening her mother acted
so strangely.
A LAWYER is unpacking a briefcase in the living room off the
front entrance.
Carolyn sees a car with Florida plates driving up to the
house. She smiles.
EXT. JOHNSON HOUSE - DAY
Carolyn steps out of the doorway and heads for the car, out
of which exit her brother Michael and his country girl wife
BETTY, a stout buxom chatterbox. Both boast Florida tans and
fashion styles.
MICHAEL
(to Carolyn)
Explain to me again why we didn't do
this in Des Moines in an air
conditioned office?
CAROLYN
Mom's orders.
MICHAEL
Lawyer here?
CAROLYN
(nods)
I have some sandwich fixings if
you're hungry.
BETTY
(proudly)
No, we just had lunch at the hotel
with my brother and his new wife. She
told me all the dirt. I forgot how
interesting things can get around
here. It was so good to see them. The
last time we visited they were in
Europe. He is doing so well. He
ordered champagne. For lunch! I
nearly died.
MICHAEL
I nearly died when we split the bill.
BETTY
Michael doesn't understand. People
who make the kind of money my brother
makes don't carry money on them. They
keep it all in various accounts.
MICHAEL
Then we should have had lunch at the
bank.
Carolyn tries not to laugh. Betty shoots him a dirty look,
then stops to take in the house and its surroundings.
BETTY
Boy. It sure has been a long time.
MICHAEL
(correcting her)
We were here two Christmases ago.
BETTY
Well, that's a long time.
MICHAEL
It's not that long.
BETTY
(suddenly upset)
Well, why don't I just say black so
you can say white!
(to Carolyn)
Don't be surprised to find your
brother hasn't changed an iota. He
hardly ever talks and when he does
it's in that tone! You should have
heard him at lunch -- not two words
until the bill came and then he says,
"Worth every penny."
MICHAEL
(defensive)
SO!
BETTY
(angry)
You said it in that tone! Like you
were angry at me, my brother, at
the world for forcing you to eat a
nice lunch!
MICHAEL
Oh Jesus.
BETTY
(staring to cry)
I simply can not stand that tone!
CAROLYN
(sympathetically)
Come inside
zarre!
CAROLYN
Mr. Peterson, are you sure mama wrote
all this?
LAWYER
Well, it was notarized, and witnessed
by a Mrs. Lucy Delaney. Maybe you can
ask her.
MICHAEL
Who the hell is Lucy Delaney?
CAROLYN
I remember a Mrs. Delaney but Mama
told me years ago she died.
MICHAEL
Well, I don't care if it's legal or
not, we're not cremating her and
throwing her all over some bridge
where we can't even go visit her
because she's going to be blown all
over the place like an ashtray.
BETTY
Not to mention people driving over
her and doggies doing their business --
MICHAEL
(interrupting)
We're not doing it! I'm not even sure
it's Christian.
BETTY
Maybe it's an Italian thing. Their
mother was Italian.
MICHAEL
Doesn't matter. Move on.
The women dare not object. The lawyer raises his eyebrows
and continues:
LAWYER
Well, we'll come back to that. Shall
we open the box?
JUMP CUT TO:
MOMENTS LATER
C.U. SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX
A key is inserted and the lid is opened. There are many
papers, deeds, et. Michael begins sorting through these.
Carolyn notices a manila envelope addressed to her mother,
postmarked 1965. She opens it up to find TWO LETTERS and A
PHOTOGRAPH -- FRANCESCA standing NEAR A COVERED BRIDGE, her
hair wind blown, her expression serene, beautiful and sad.
She wears a RED DRESS with buttons down the front.
CAROLYN
Michael, look -- I've never seen this
picture of mama. Have you?
Betty and Michael look over her shoulder. He shakes "no."
CAROLYN (cont'd)
It was in this envelope from 1965.
BETTY
She's not wearing a bra.
(takes bridge photo)
This is Roseman Bridge in case
anyone's interested.
Interested yes, but no one thinks anything of it. Michael
returns to the other papers. Betty takes the photograph for
further examination. Carolyn opens one of the letters and
begins to read.
The following dialogue is heard OS, as CAMERA ANGLES ON
CAROLYN reading one of the letters:
BETTY (O.S.)
It's a beautiful picture of her.
MICHAEL (O.S.)
(to lawyer)
Why are there two deeds here?
LAYER (O.S.)
One of for the original parcel your
father bought and this one is for the
additional acres he purchased in '59.
MICHAEL (O.S.)
And this?
LAWYER (O.S.)
Those are bills of sale from the
equipment your mother sold in .
e to write
to. Find mama's relatives addresses
in Italy -- stuff like that.
BETTY
Well, I can help.
MICHAEL
I said NO!
That came out a bit aggressively. Betty is hurt.
MICHAEL (cont'd)
Why don't you go to your mothers. Or
back to the hotel. Sit in some air
conditioning. Take a bath.
BETTY
(near tears)
I do not need instructions from you
to bathe!
(gets her bag)
I knew you'd do this! I knew I'd come
all the way here and be shut out as
usual! I came to be here for you! I
didn't have to come!
(genuinely hurt)
Lord knows I was never much welcome
in this house before. Apparently dead
or alive, nothing's changed.
CAROLYN
Aw, Betty.
Carolyn feels badly for her. An impatient Michael refuses
sympathy. Embarrassed, Betty starts to exit then stops at
the mantle.
BETTY
Carolyn -- you want these
candlesticks?
CAROLYN
No. You can have them.
Betty grabs them both and exits. Carolyn looks at him
disapprovingly. Michael takes the letter from her hand.
MICHAEL
Now what's this about?
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN - LATER
Sitting at the kitchen table, Carolyn is in the middle of
reading the letter to Michael.
CAROLYN
"-- going over and over in my mind
every detail, every moment of our
time together and I ask myself, "What
happened to me in Madison County?" I
struggle to put it together in a way
that allows me to continue knowing
we're on separate roads. But then I
look through the lens of my camera,
and you're there. I start to write an
article and I find myself writing it
to you. It's clear to me now we have
been moving towards each other,
towards those four days, all our
lives --
MICHAEL
(rises)
Goddamn sonofabitch! I don't want to
hear anymore! Sonofabitch! Burn the
damn thing! I don't want to hear it!
Throw it away!
Carolyn continues reading silently. Michael's curiosity gets
the best of him:
MICHAEL
What's he saying now?
CAROLYN
Well, he just gets on about how if
mama ever needed him, she could find
him through the National Geographic
magazine. He as a photographer. He
promises not to write again. Then all
it says is...
(beat)
I love you... Robert.
MICHAEL
Robert! Jesus! I'll kill him.
CAROLYN
That would be some trick. He's
alre
ady dead. That's what this other
letter is.
(takes letter and
skims)
From his attorney. He left most of
his things to mama and requested...
(she stops)
MICHAEL
What?
CAROLYN
That he be cremated and his ashes
thrown on Roseman Bridge.
MICHAEL
DAMN HIM! I knew mama wouldn't have
thought of that herself. It was some
damn perverted... photographic mind
influencing her! When did the bastard
die?
CAROLYN
'82.
MICHAEL
Wait a minute! That was thirty years
after daddy. Do you think...?
CAROLYN
I don't know. I'm completely in the
dark here. That's what I get for
moving away.
MICHAEL
This happened way before we both got
married. I... I can't believe it.
(then, innocently)
You think she had sex with him?
Carolyn cannot believe he is this dense.
CAROLYN
(sarcastic)
My Lord. It must feel real nice
living inside your head with Peter
Pan and the Easter Bunny.
MICHAEL
Don't talk to me like that. She was
my mother for Christsakes. And now I
find out she was... She was a --!
CAROLYN
Don't say that!
MICHAEL
Well, what am I supposed to think?
CAROLYN
I can't believe she never told me? We
spoke at least once a week. How could
she do that?
MICHAEL
How did she meet him? Did Dad know?
Anything else in that envelope?
CAROLYN
No, I don't think so. I --
She dumps it over and a SMALL KEY FALLS OUT. Pause, as
Carolyn and Michael look to each other -- they grab the key
and run out of the kitchen, almost comically falling over
each other in their obsession to put this puzzle together.
A SERIES OF JUMP CUT --
From one lock to another as they try to find the keyhole that
fits the key -- they try closets, attic doors, jewelry boxes,
night tables, vanity drawers... Finally --
INT. BEDROOM - DAY
At the foot of their parents bed sits an WALNUT HOPE CHEST,
covered with a tapestry. Michael and Carolyn look to each
other first, before one removes the tapestry and the other
tries the key. It fits. They open the chest to find:
Camera equipment, a chain with a medallion that reads
"FRANCESCA," three leather bound notebooks -- and a sealed
envelope with "Carolyn or Michael" written on it.
CAROLYN/MICHAEL
You read it!
Carolyn relents. She takes out the lefter and reads:
CAROLYN
"January, 1987. Dear Carolyn. I hope
you're reading this with Michael. I'm
sure he wouldn't be able to read it
by himself and he'll need some help
understanding all this, especially
the parts about me having sex..."
Insulted, Michael pulls the lefter out of her hand and
defiantly attempts to read it aloud himself to disprove his
mother's claim. But after looking at a few lines, he
surrenders and hands the lefter back to his sister.
CAROLYN (cont'd)
"First, and most of all, I love you
both very much and although I feel
fine, I thought it was time to put my
affairs, excuse that word, in order."
MICHAEL
I can't believe she's making jokes.
CAROLYN
Sshhh. "After going through the
safety deposit box, I'm sure you'll
find you're way to this letter. It's
hard to write this to my own
children. I could let this die with
the rest of me, I suppose.
(cont'd)
But as one gets older, one fears
subside. What becomes more and more
important is to be known -- known for
all that you were during this brief
stay. Row said it seems to me to leave
this earth without hose you love the
most ever really knowing who you
were. It's easy for a mother to love
her children no matter what -- it's
something that just happens. I don't
know if it's as simple for children.
You're all so busy being angry at us
for raising you wrong. But I thought
it was important to give you that
chance. To give you the opportunity
to love me for all that I was..."
Carolyn and Michael look to each other like two school
children about to take a difficult exam. They continue.
CAROLYN (cont'd)
"His name was Robert Kincaid. He was
a photographer and he was here in
1965 shooting an article for National
Geographic on the covered bridges of
Madison County. Remember when we got
that issue and looked at those
bridges we'd seen for years but never
noticed? How we felt like
celebrities? Remember when we started
getting the subscription?
They don't remember.
CAROLYN (cont'd)
I don't want you to be angry with
him. I hope after you know the whole
story, you might even think well of
him. Even grateful.
MICHAEL
Grateful!?
CAROLYN
(reads)
"... It's all there in the three
notebooks. Read them in order.
If you don't want to, I suppose
that's okay too. But in that case I
want you to know something -- I never
stopped loving your father. He was a
very good man. It's just that my love
for Robert was different. He brought
out something in me no one
had ever
brought out before, or since. He made
me feel like a woman in a way few
women, maybe more, ever experience..."
MICHAEL
That's it!
Grabbing the letter, he starts putting everything back in the
trunk.
CAROLYN
What are you doing?
MICHAEL
This is crazy. She waits till she's
dead to tell us all this. Well, I got
news for you. She was my mother.
That's enough for me. I don't have to
know who she was.
CAROLYN
Well, I'd like to read them.
MICHAEL
No. We're going to lock this up and --
CAROLYN
STOP IT!
(Michael freezes)
I want to read them! If you don't
want to, then just leave. But don't
you push me around like I'm some mule
you paid for -- I already GOT A
HUSBAND!
Michael is stymied.
INT. KITCHEN - LATER
Carolyn opens the first notebook which is dated AUGUST 1965.
Michael sits beside her with a cup of coffee.
CAROLYN
(reads)
"I suppose his coming into my life
was, in many ways, prepared for
weeks, maybe even months before.
There was a restlessness I feeling.
Out of the blue and for no apparent
reason. There's nothing more
frightening to a woman whose been
settled down for almost twenty years
than to suddenly feel unsettled. I
don't know when it started ... I do
remember one night in particular, a
little over a week before Robert
arrived..."
CAROLYN'S VOICE BECOMES FRANCESCA'S VOICE AS WE:
DISSOLVE TO:
1965
INT. JOHNSON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Richard is fast asleep while Francesca sits up in bed reading.
FRANCESCA (V.O.)
"It was late at night after a long
day. Your father was tired -- fighting
all afternoon with that new
equipment Robert Harrison convinced
him to buy. But I wasn't tired.
Lately, I could hardly sleep more
than two hours a night. I was reading
some John O'Hara novel, skimming the
words, turning the pages without
absorbing what I was reading. My mind
was far away. And no matter how I
tried, I couldn't call it back."
Francesca closes the book and turns off the light. She
nestles into the bed and tries to sleep. After a beat, she
opens her eyes and turns on the light. As she gets out of bed
she awakens Richard.
RICHARD
What time is it?
FRANCESCA
Later. Go back to sleep.
RICHARD
Where you going?
FRANCESCA
I'm not tired. I thought I might
finish Carolyn's skirt.
RICHARD
Now
?!
(checks clock)
It's after eleven.
FRANCESCA
I can't sleep.
RICHARD
Again? Maybe you should see a doctor.
FRANCESCA
I'm not sick, Richard. I'm just not
tired, now go back to sleep before
you're up for the whole night too!
Francesca exits. Richard nestles under the covers, mumbling:
RICHARD
If you're not sick, how can it be
contagious?
INT. ATTIC - NIGHT
Francesca sits at her sewing machine, working on Carolyn's
skirt. When the thread runs out, she checks her sewing box
for another spool of that color. Not finding it, she raises
and walks to an opened closet. She pulls on a light cord and
checks her supplies.
There are shelves of boxes, crates, old clothes and shoes all
crammed together. She pulls out one shoe box and an entire
stack of items tumble off the shelf onto her head.
FRANCESCA
Damn it! Shit!
She looks at the mess and decides it's time to re-organize.
LATER:
The clock reads 2:30 AM. The closet has been emptied.
Francesca rummages through box after box.
Two huge piles have been created -- one for items to be thrown
away, another for items to be kept. Francesca is wiping the
bare shelves down with a rag and some cleanser. Looking up to
the bottom of the next shelf, she notices A SHOULDER STRAP
hanging, wedged between the wall and the shelf. Pulling over
a stool, she steps up to be eye level with the shelf.
It is an OLD HANDBAG -- of a style not seen since the forties
when she was a young girl. She pulls it down to examine. It
is very dusty and worn, but the snaps still work. She places
it against her side to see if it would still be fashionable.
She opens it and finds an old lipstick -- reading the bottom
where the name of the shade is located.
FRANCESCA (cont'd)
Ha, they don't even made this color
anymore.
She exits the closet and moves to an old mirror, trying the
lipstick on. As she decides whether or not she likes it, a
thought occurs to her... she remembers something.
She crosses back to the handbag and feels the inside for a
compartment hidden by a flap of material and a snap. She
unsnaps it and an old BACK & WHITE PHOTO slips out. She
looks at its image -- two young people against an Italian
background. Francesca is twenty years younger with her arms
around a handsome, black-haired charmer named --
FRANCESCA (V.O.)
"Niccolo. I couldn't remember the
last time I had seen that face. And
then the memories wouldn't stop.
Like an avalanche..."
CUT TO:
FLASHBACK -
EXT. NAPLES COUNTRYSIDE, 20 YEARS EARLIER - DAY
A hot, breezy summer day. A young vibrant Fr
ancesca is
storming through an open field, angry, while Niccolo calls
after her in pursuit.
The following scene is played in Italian with subtitles.
NICCOLO
Francesca! Francesca! Where the hell
are you going?
FRANCESCA
Leave me alone!
NICCOLO
You play these games and I'm supposed
to follow -- run after you like a
schoolboy. Well, I'm not! I'm fed up!
Niccolo stops. Several yards ahead of him, Francesca stops
and turns. Suddenly, she storms back towards him until they
are face to face.
FRANCESCA
So that's it! You just give up!
NICCOLO
What "give up"? You agreed with them!
Mommy and Daddy said stay away from
me and you said all right. What am I
supposed to do?
FRANCESCA
Fight for me!
Niccolo grabs her violently.
NICCOLO
ENOUGH! You don't know what you want!
Stop looking for me to tell you! STOP
IT!
Francesca knows he's right. He releases her.
NICCOLO (cont'd)
We can go back now and end it or we
can go back and you tell them off.
This is your choice! Not mine. But I
won't do this anymore. This is for
children!
Frustrated and sad, Francesca sits upon the ground. Niccolo
knows she cannot face her parents yet he looks sympathetic.
EXT. JOHNSON HOUSE - DAWN 1965
Francesca sits on the back porch in her bathrobe, looking out
over the pasture as if she were watching the previous scene
happen right before her eyes.
In the pasture stands NICCOLO as he was twenty years ago.
Memories have overlapped. A field in Naples is now a pasture
in Iowa and Niccolo is as real to her as the grass. He is
staring at her seated on the porch of her Iowa home, a woman
twenty yards older than when he knew her. He smiles.
FRANCESCA (V.O.)
"I had forgotten this. I had somehow
remembered it being more his fault,
his decision. Then I remembered we
made love in that field before we
left for home. And I remembered it
was my idea. I remembered tearing
his shirt and biting his body, hoping
he would kidnap me. I had forgotten
that too. And I wondered, as I sat
there... how many other things I'd
forgotten."
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