Violet Lee Written & Directed by Zachary Levine

Final Draft July 15, 2011

INT-DINING ROOM-DINNERTIME Our protagonist, VIOLET LEE, is in her dining room, finishing up her dinner. She is a perfectionist and you can tell - her clothes are neat, her hair is perfect and her jewelry is on. There is no mess from dinner - everything is either in her stomach or on her plate. Actually, shes such a perfectionist that she puts on her plate only what she can eat. Violet stands up from her table and walks into her kitchen OFFSCREEN. We HEAR her put her plate with utensils in the sink, get a new plate and utensils from the cabinet, and a SLICING coming from a drawer. Violet walks back into the dining room and sets her plate and utensils down onto the table. She has her right arm hidden behind her back. She looks into her hallway leading to the door. She walks into the hallway OFFSCREEN. FADE OUT AGAINST A BLACK FRAME WE READ "EVERYDAY AT BREAKFAST" FADE IN INT-KITCHEN-MORNING Violet is in her kitchen, cooking oatmeal for breakfast. She looks perfect again and she hasnt even gotten ready for work yet. She SHUFFLES utensils in the drawer and removes a spoon from the drawer. She POURS a cup of oatmeal into the BOILING water. She stirs it several times and on the fifth does a bit of a twirl with her stirring hand. Violet reaches and CLICKS the stove to "OFF". She empties the oatmeal into the bowl with one spoon and with another drops a spoonful of brown sugar into the oatmeal. She stirs the brown sugar into the oatmeal. She moves the bowl off the stove top and sets it on the counter. Very deliberately she chooses one blueberry and places it on top of the oatmeal, then another, until she has precisely placed five blueberries on top of the oatmeal. She picks up the bowl and walks into the dining room to enjoy - and one could argue if she actually ever enjoys eating - her breakfast.

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INT-DINING ROOM Violet walks into the dining room and sits down. She eats her oatmeal and the viewer moves closer and closer to her face and her CHEWING gets so loud that it bothers even her. She places one of the blueberries into her mouth and her CHEWING GETS LOUDER still. She looks around at the five empty chairs at the table. Violet exhales a loud sigh and DROPS her spoon into her bowl, unable to take the silence of her environment and the internal sound of her own eating. She stands up and walks into the kitchen. INT-KITCHEN Violet places her bowl and spoon into the sink and RUNS water into the bowl. She turns the water off and backs away from the sink and walks toward the dining room. FADE OUT INT-HOTEL-MORNING A WOMAN, whose name is never mentioned, rolls out of her hotel bed, onto the floor, as the ALARM CLOCK sounds. She GROANS as she struggles to silence the alarm. One gets the sense that this is too early for her, even while on vacation. She looks like a lot of energy and intelligence packaged into a small body despite being tired from traveling. The woman stands up curtains to let the bathroom and as she newspaper is on the and walks to the window and OPENS the sunlight pour in. She walks toward the does, she stops to turn on a light. A desk that reads "MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2011".

The woman steps into the bathroom. She TURNS ON the water and in the mirror she watches herself BRUSH her teeth. While brushing she pulls a shirt down over her head. She continues brushing. She TURNS OFF the water and SPITS into the sink. The woman walks out of the bathroom wearing the new shirt and a skirt. She walks to the nightstand in between the two beds and pulls a book from it. She CLOSES the drawer and walks toward the desk, picking up her backpack, putting it on her shoulders, and walks out the door.

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INT-HOTEL HALLWAY The woman walks down the hallway of the hotel into the area where the elevators are. EXT-HOTEL The woman walks out of the hotel, already reading her book. There is a stride to her step as she walks, ready to face the day, see some sites, and get a lot out of this vacation. EXT-PARK LIKE AREA-MOMENTS LATER Violet stands at the crosswalk, ready to cross the street as she makes her way to work in the morning. She walks with purpose and intention, only to get where shes going. Shes not interested in looking in the car windows as people drive by or the morning joggers. CUT-IN as the woman walks away from her hotel, running diagonally across the street, still reading. She wants to finish this book - she already has another waiting to be read. VARIOUS ANGLES show Violet and the woman as they walk, each their own respective direction with their own destination in mind. Violet maintains her direction and the woman maintains her own sporadic, spontaneous direction, knowing where shes headed but really only making certain not to wander into the street and accidentally get hit by a car. BOOM, the woman walks directly into Violets path. She hits Violet with her shoulders and the woman drops her book to the ground. She looks up at Violet as she kneels down to retrieve her book. WOMAN (standing back up) Oh, silly me. Im sorry. Just like me to not pay attention to where Im going. Violet is having none of this. Her faces clearly expresses her displeasure at this sudden occurrence. The woman looks taken aback at Violets expression, as if to say to herself, "Strange, she cant just accept the apology?"

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: (2) WOMAN (contd) Im just staying at that hotel over there. Heading out now for some breakfast. Do you know of a good place I could go?

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Violets day has been seriously disrupted now. She needs to get to work and she needs to get there now. She glares at the woman, looking at her with disgust, and turns and walks away. The woman turns away too, asking herself... WOMAN (contd) Hmmm, I guess maybe she doesnt speak English? EXT-METRO STATION-MOMENTS LATER The train RUSHES into its stop and opens the doors. The driver MUMBLES the station name and rider instructions over the intercom. The bells CHIME as the door gets ready to close. SUDDENLY Violet rushes to the top of the steps just as the doors close. She narrowly misses the train that she absolutely needed to catch to arrive exactly on time. She walks with the end of the train as it PULLS away. She begins pacing back and forth. Frustrated, angry, furious, WHY did that STUPID woman have to bump into her. Never mind that another train will be there soon, she needed THAT train. DISSOLVE TO ON A COMPUTER SCREEN WE READ "EVERYDAY AT LUNCH". INT-OFFICE-ALMOST NOON Violet sits at her desk. She CLICKS her computer mouse a few times, finishing up a document at work. She closes her computer, puts a magazine into her briefcase, and stands up to exit her office. EXT-OFFICE-MOMENTS LATER Violet exits her office from the main entrance. She stops and sets her briefcase on the ground. She pulls a small bottle of hand sanitizer from the briefcase and rubs it in for five seconds. She replaces the hand sanitizer, picks up her briefcase, and walks to lunch. As she walks, with each set of five steps, she runs her hands through her hair. (CONTINUED)

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QUICK FADE OUT/FADE IN INT-RESTAURANT-NOON Violet is sitting at her normal table, in a corner away from most other customers. She has her utensils ready and a glass of water in front of her. She again takes the hand sanitizer, puts some on her hands, and rubs it in for five seconds. The WAITRESS brings the salad to Violets table and sets it down. Violet takes the tomatoes on the plate and arranges five of them on top of the salad and begins eating her salad by eating the tomatoes. VARIOUS ANGLES as Violet continues to eat her salad and drink water. She is very precise in her movements, robot-like almost, in that everything seems either extremely routine, premeditated, as if there is no spontaneity to her life. Violet stands up to an empty plate and walks out of the restaurant. EXT-RESTAURANT BOOM again, the woman runs into Violet, only this time without the impact. The look on Violets face suggests that, even without the physical impact, this is nevertheless equally intrusive. The woman, however, looks delighted to see her new friend. WOMAN Hey again. If youre here this must be a good place! Violet is not amused. WOMAN (contd) Going back to work, eh? Violet will not answer her. The woman reaches into her backpack. WOMAN (contd) I want to give you this book. I finished reading it and its a pretty quick read. (CONTINUED)

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The woman pushes it at Violet, who clings to her briefcase with the other hand on her hip. Violet doesnt even entertain the thought of taking that book. WOMAN (contd) Anyway, it makes the time on the trains go by quicker. Violet TAPS her foot as she clings to her briefcase, almost afraid of the woman, and looks at her with disdain. She walks away. CUT TO INT-RESTAURANT-MOMENTS LATER The woman sits at her table, drinking water and reading her newspaper. The same waitress is on her way with the womans food. The woman closes her newspaper and puts her drink on the cover of the paper, which reads "TUESDAY JUNE 28, 2011". WAITRESS (setting the food down) Here ya go. Hope you enjoy the food. WOMAN (sliding the plate toward her) Thank you very much. She means it sincerely. The food looks delicious, right up the womans alley. A grilled veggie sandwich with goat cheese, potato chips and a pickle. The meal almost defines the woman - a bit messy and disorganized, a patchwork of sorts, yet healthy, defined, a bit proper and regal, almost, with the goat cheese. Also a bit unrefined, an ability to enjoy the lesser of the fine things in life, like potato chips. VARIOUS ANGLES as the woman eats her sandwich, chips, and pickle, and drinks her water. CUT TO the woman being finished with her food. She pushes her plate away and stands up. She grabs her book and newspaper and pushes her chair in. Shes already reading before she gets to the door and continues reading as she exits the restaurant.

7. EXT-HOTEL-LATER THAT AFTERNOON The woman walks into the hotel, still reading, naturally. CUT TO the woman walking out of the hotel, this time with a different book and without her backpack. Shes still reading her new book, the same one she was reading when she walked in. Full from lunch, she has a new direction in mind and is off to continue enjoying her vacation. PAGE TURN TO INT-KITCHEN-DINNERTIME Violet is in the kitchen making dinner. She fixes a frozen dinner - perfectly portioned and organized, just like her. The flap on the box, which disappears from view later, reads "EVERYDAY FOR DINNER". Violet removes the frozen dinner from the microwave and sets it down, PEELING back the plastic cover. She removes each food item from its compartment individually and places it on the place. She sets her utensils on the plate and walks into the dining room. INT-DINING ROOM Violet sits down to eat her dinner. She again takes note of the emptiness at her dinner table, in her house, in her life. All she hears is SILENCE. She chews her food, drinks her water, and she shutters at the mechanical nature of it all. She picks up her fork and knife and cuts into her food, putting it in her mouth. There is violence to her cuts and her chewing. CUT TO Violet placing her utensils on her empty plate. She stands up and takes her utensils into the kitchen OFF SCREEN. She takes a new plate and utensils and walks back into the dining room. She sits down. From a small bowl in the middle of the large dining room table, she removes a foil-wrapped truffle. She OPENS the truffle and spreads the foil onto the table in a perfect square. She sets the truffle on the middle of her plate and picks up her fork and knife and slices into the truffle, the knife HITTING the plate. (CONTINUED)

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She takes the knife and scoops out the creamy chocolate interior, licking it from the knife. She does it again, smiling finally as she enjoys the chocolate and eating from the knife and the violent nature of it all. She picks up the broken truffle and pops half of it into her mouth, chewing, she then pops the other half into her mouth, again chewing. She loves this part of her day. Its the one part that satisfies her, makes it all worth it. She drinks from her glass of water, sets it down, pushes the plate away. QUICK FADE OUT/FADE IN INT-HOTEL-DINNERTIME The woman is sitting on her bed reading a book. She hears a KNOCKING at the door. She stands up to answer the door. While walking to the door, she picks up her wallet from the desk and a newspaper sits on the desk that reads "WEDNESDAY JUNE 29, 2011". She walks and opens the door. A DELIVERY MAN stands in the doorway, with the look of a man resigned to his lot in life, like nothing could possibly improve. DELIVERY MAN Hey, whats up? Heres your food. WOMAN (handing him money) Cool, thanks a bunch. DELIVERY MAN (taking the money, handing her the food) Thanks. Have a good one. She takes the food back to her bed, picking up her food from the nightstand. She takes a bite of food, then leans back against the headboard of the bed, eating and reading at the same time. She leans out over the container as she eats, trying not to spill anything on her clothes. Eating is more of a necessity for her. Its obvious she loves to read. CUT TO the woman sleeping in her hotel bed. Shes sprawled out across the bed, half-covered.

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INT-BEDROOM-NIGHT Violet is sleeping. The difference between the two women sleeping is obvious. Violet sleeps perfectly tucked in, hands crossed across her chest. Beside her is a teddy bear shes had since childhood, also tucked in. This teddy bear could be her only friend. DISSOLVE TO INT-OFFICE-ALMOST NOON Violets clock reads 11:45AM and a post-it note sits on her desk that reads "THURSDAY JUNE 30, 2011". Violet is not there. She should be. EXT-OFFICE-MOMENTS LATER Waiting for Violet to leave her office, like she does everyday. She doesnt come out the door. She should. Where is she? INT-RESTAURANT-EARLY AFTERNOON The woman wipes her mouth after finishing her lunch. She stands up, pushes her chair under the table, and walks out of the restaurant. EXT-HOTEL-LATER THAT AFTERNOON The woman walks into the hotel after lunch. Waiting for her to come out of the hotel. This is what she did the other day. Why is she not coming out? INT-DINING ROOM-DINNERTIME Violet Lee is in her dining room, finishing up her dinner. She hears some SHUFFLING coming from the hallway and she slyly looks into the hallway. She goes back to her meal. Violet stands up from her table and walks into her kitchen OFFSCREEN. We HEAR her put her plate with utensils in the sink, get a new plate and utensils from the cabinet, and a SLICING coming from a drawer.

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Violet walks back into the dining room and sets her plate and utensils down onto the table. She has her right arm hidden behind her back. She looks into her hallway leading to the door. She walks into the hallway OFFSCREEN. INT-HALLWAY Violet comes into view in the half-circle, back against the gleaming butchers knife. She the closet, OPENING them. She the closet. She has a fierce, fluid, she is water, a river, stopping her. hallway. She walks in a wall. She raises up a massive, leans into the double doors of is a raging bull charging into violent determination. She is a deluge, and there is no

In the hallway closet, the woman sits, tied to a chair, a scarf tied around her head, closing her mouth shut so that she cannot scream. Sweat covers her forehead. She pleads for mercy with her eyes. But there is no mercy in Violet Lee. The woman looks at her own reflection in the knife. FLASHBACK to the woman bumping into Violet. To Violet missing the train. To the woman stopping her after lunch. To Violet smiling as she pops the half truffle into her mouth. RETURN to the hallway. Violet brings the knife down onto the womans waiting skull. The woman watches the knife come straight down into her face. Blood splatters against Violets face as she pulls back, wincing as the blood splatters against her cheeks. Violet walks back into the dining room, knife in hand. INT-DINING ROOM Violet sets the bloody knife down onto the table. Her face has pock marks of blood and some on her hands. She sits down. From the same bowl in the middle of the table, she grabs a truffle. She repeats the same, meticulous process of opening, flattening the foil, and placing the truffle onto the middle of the plate. She cuts into the truffle and inside is a cherry, the red and pink of the cherry and the chocolate center oozing onto the plate. She eats the truffle, again using her knife and then her hands.

(CONTINUED)

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She picks up her glass of water and drinks. When she sets it down she notices the red blood on her fingers. She looks at her fingers and rubs her index finger on the plate, into the cherry chocolate sugary ooze from the truffle. She brings it to her lips and licks it off. DISSOLVE TO AGAINST A BLACK FRAME FLASHES "EVERYDAY FOR BREAKFAST" INT-KITCHEN-MORNING Violet prepares her oatmeal in the same fashion as always. She pours the oatmeal, stirs the oatmeal, pours the brown sugar, stirs the brown sugar. She moves the bowl onto the counter. She chooses SIX, not five, ripe blueberries, placing them in a circle on top of the oatmeal. She picks up her bowl and walks into the dining room. INT-DINING ROOM Violet sits at the head of the table. She takes care to look out and notice the six, empty chairs before her. Five blueberries and five chairs earlier, the sixth blueberry and sixth chair is for her sixth victim, whose name she never knows and whose demise she is pleased with having been a part of. She eats, exhales loudly, closes her eyes and breathes in. She looks out, smiling, the end of her week having ended peacefully, ready to face the day, knowing that there should be no disturbance to her routine today... at least not by the same woman from earlier in the week. FADE TO BLACK AGAINST A BLACK FRAME WE READ "VIOLENTLY VIOLET LEES STORY COMES TO A CLOSE"