Wednesday, March 27, 2019

"They start out that I'm in here."




From David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001), a dialogue that Vishal Jugdeo and I have acted out every spring for the past ten years.

It goes like this: we select a diner on Sunset and arrange to meet there for breakfast. We say nothing to each other apart from what's said in Lynch's scene (roles are pre-determined by a coin toss). When the dialogue ends ("Right then"), HERB gets up and pays. If Vish is playing HERB, he leaves, and I don't know where he goes; if it's me, I cab it back to LAX.

Here is the scene from Lynch's original screenplay:

INT. DENNY'S RESTAURANT , HOLLYWOOD - MORNING
    
Two well-dressed men HERB and DAN (mid 30's) are sitting at a
table drinking coffee. Herb has finished eating his
breakfast, but Dan hasn't touched his bacon and eggs - he
appears too nervous to eat. A blonde waitress with a
nameplate saying "DIANE" lays the check on their table
smiles, then walks off.
    
    HERB
  Why did you want to go to breakfast if
  you're not hungry?

    DAN
  I just wanted to come here.

    HERB
  To Denny's? I wasn't going to say
  anything, but why Denny's?
    
    DAN
  This Denny's.
    
    HERB
  Okay. Why this Denny's?
    
    
    DAN
  It's kind of embarrassing but,
    
    HERB
  Go ahead.
    
    DAN
  I had a dream about this place.
    
    HERB
  Oh boy.
    
    DAN
  You see what I mean...
    
    HERB
  Okay, so you had a dream about this
  place. Tell me.
    
    DAN
  Well ... it's the second one I've had, but
  they were both the same......they start
  out that I'm in here but it's not day or
  night. It's kinda half night, but it
  looks just like this except for the
  light, but I'm scared like I can't tell
  ya. Of all people you're standing right
  over there by that counter. You're in
  both dreams and you're scared. I get
  even more frightened when I see how
  afraid you are and then I realize what it
  is - there's a man...in back of this
  place. He's the one ... he's the one
  that's doing it. I can see him through
  the wall. I can see his face and I hope
  I never see that face ever outside a
  dream.
    
Herb stares at Dan to see if he will continue. Dan looks
around nervously, then stares at his uneaten food.
    
    DAN (cont'd)
  That's it.
    
    HERB
  So, you came to see if he's out there?

    DAN
  To get rid of this god-awful feeling.
    
    HERB
  Right then.


No comments:

Post a Comment