His Lasts

screenplay

by Simon Owens

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata begins and plays throughout the film. In black and white we see an eye open and blink. The camera switches to being farther back so we can see it is a bearded old man lying in his bed. He sits up. Across the bottom of the screen, the words “His Last Awakening” show in white letters. He sits on the edge of his bed and stares at the floor, his dresser clock says it’s 6:00 a.m.

Now we are in his kitchen. The old man is staring out the window where the sun is coming up and shining through. The words “His Last Sunrise” show in white letters across the bottom of the screen.

We see the horizon, time speeding up as the sun crawls up and over and to the west.

Next we’re in front of his house. We see his door open and the old man steps out and locks his door behind him before walking down his steps and along the sidewalk. We follow him; the words “His Last Walk” show in white letters across the bottom of the screen. We follow him for a while as he walks through an old New England town. We see him cross the street at a streetlight, leaning against a wall and resting. When he’s close to his home again he pulls out a cigarette and smokes it. The words “His Last Cigarette” show in white letters across the bottom of the screen. He throws it down and smothers it with his foot.

We are inside his house, he has a phone at his ear. He is smiling while he speaks, the phone cord wrapped under his hand. The words “His Last Words” show in white letters across the bottom of the screen.

Later he is cooking and then he’s eating dinner at his table alone. The words “His Last Meal” show in white letters across the bottom of the screen. We see the water falling over his hands as he rinses the dishes.

The camera watches him pull down his sheets and climb into his bed. We see the books on his night table. For a few moments we see some of the photographs on his wall. Pictures of him when he was younger, stretching over the span of his life. His hand reaches up and turns off the light. We watch him lying there on his back. The words “His Last Sleep” show in white letters on the bottom of the screen. Time passes, we watch his chest move up until the words “His Last Breath” show in white letters on the bottom of the screen. The camera stays there for a few moments before The Moonlight Sonata ends and the screen fades to black.