Beowulf (5 page)

Beowulf, standing on the bow of the ship, has been watching the coast guard's approach.

There is a stir of motion…the armed rider -- the Scyldings' Watch -- is GALLOPING his horse toward them, over the wet sands. He has a long spear which he lowers and points before

him, as if to impale the first man he reaches. It's a moment of fear for Beowulf's men…but not for Beowulf.

 

Then he reins his horse, a few feet from our ship, in a splash of water, and points his spear at Wiglaf's neck.

The Watch lifts his glance to Beowulf, looks over him with questioning eyes.

DISSOLVE TO:

34 EXT. RECESSED BEACH - DAY

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The Scyldings' Watch is riding upon his horse. Some rain drops begin to fall from the colorless ether above. The Watch is struck underneath the eye by a particularly large drop. He flinches and then looks to the clouds, more drops speckle his face.

Beowulf comes trotting ahead, past his men, upon his dwarf horse, no larger than a Great Dane dog.

The Scylding's Watch looks down at Beowulf on the tiny horse.

He nods and then looks ahead, down the

35 KING'S ROAD

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which is not much more than a rocky road of shale stones set into the mud. It leads into a forest.

DISSOLVE TO:

36 EXT. FOREST - THE KING'S ROAD - DAY

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Beowulf and his men are marching along, following the Scyldings' Watch. The Scylding's Watch reins his horse.

The watch kicks his horse, and heads back the way they came. And then he reins in his horse and calls,

Beowulf turns, and looks back at him.

CUT TO:

37 EXT. HEROT - VILLAGE - DAY

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There is a stir inside the village stockade, as the VILLAGERS see Beowulf and his 14 marching followers coming up the road toward them.

The villagers are terrified -- are these armed raiders, come to carry off the young women (who are either going off to hide, or making themselves look more desirable, depending on their temperament) or to burn the town?

 

They stop marching in front of Hrothgar's mead-hall. Hrothgar's herald, WULFGAR, a tall, dark-haired thane in his mid thirties, is standing at the great front doors to the hall.

CUT TO:

38 INT. HEROT - THRONE ROOM - DAY

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We follow Wulfgar through the hall, as he makes his way to Hrothgar's throne. Hrothgar looks even older and grayer than he did when last we saw him. He's staring off into nowhere.

Wulfgar the herald hurries out.

 

Hrothgar begins to walk around the throne room, looking younger and happier as he walks. He's placing all his hopes on Beowulf.

 

Unferth steps backwards into the shadow at the mention of Beowulf's name.

CUT TO:

39 EXT. HEROT - VILLAGE - DAY

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Beowulf and his men are standing around. Beowulf stands like a statue.

 

His men, behind him, are staring at a pretty girl, YRSA, who is eating a large, slightly over-ripe plum with gusto and relish. Juice runs down her chin and onto her cleavage.

 

HONDSHEW, one of Beowulf's more ornery Thanes, stares at her and licks his lips, but whether it's food or companionship he's after we do not know.

Hondshew swallows with an almost audible GULP.

 

Wulfgar, the King's herald, comes out.

Wiglaf, Esher, Hondshew and the others look at Beowulf for guidance. None of the Geats is going to put down his weapon until and unless Beowulf tells them so.

 

There is a CLATTERING, as Beowulf's sword and spear hit the ground. He pulls a dagger from his belt and throws it so the blade sticks in the ground.

 

His men copy him. The weapons fall to the floor. They follow Beowulf into the Hall. Wulfgar waits for the last man to go in. Then he glares at the plum girl, Yrsa.

She makes no reply, but with her little finger, wipes the drip of plum-juice from her breast, and licks it from her finger.

CUT TO:

40 INT. HEROT - THRONE ROOM - DAY

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The WHOLE COURT is assembled here now. Queen Wealthow and THE QUEEN'S WOMEN, GUARDS and COURTIERS. Unferth is there, but he is standing in the shadows to the right of the throne, and is not visible.

 

Hrothgar hugs Beowulf to him, proudly.

The Queen is about to say something doubtful about all this, but Hrothgar, who takes Beowulf at face value, announces to the hall…

The Queen, Wealthow, looks doubtful.

 

Unferth glares from the shadows.

 

Hrothgar raises his eyebrow, wanting to hear Beowulf tell of how he'll kill Grendel.

 

Beowulf steps forward and waves his hand.

Hrothgar squints.

Beowulf says nothing, but a huge Cheshire smile spreads across his face. A smile that's much too huge.

CUT TO:

41 INT. THE GREAT CAVE - GRENDEL'S LAIR - EVENING

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Grendel is SINGING to itself, a slow, sad, tuneless sort of noise. It is taking a soldier apart, bit by bit, and throwing the bits of body into the water. EELS seize the fragments of flesh and disappear back under the water with them. Grendel LAUGHS delightedly at the eels.

Then Grendel walks over to the side of the cave, and puts the warrior's head on a spike. He hangs the rest of the body from a hook. He moves awkwardly. While Grendel is not human, if he were human, he would be retarded, perhaps brain-damaged. He is honestly a sweet and gentle person, except in the matter of eating people, and then only when driven mad with noise.

 

Grendel begins to play with the spear (and the head on it) as if it were a puppet.

There is a RUSTLE behind him. Grendel is alarmed; he drops the head on the spear and his fingernails shoot out and become sharp claws. His eyes narrow.

 

EXTREME CLOSE ON: Grendel's mother's lips. She has full lips, tinged with gold -- almost like fish-scales. Her lips are not the lips of an old woman. We do not know, yet, whether or not they are the lips of a monster.

Grendel soothes a little, his nails recess back into his fingers.

He does an awkward, shuffling dance around the cave, SINGING as he does.

He sulks, defeated.

Grendel hesitates, then nods, reluctantly, as if it's being jerked out of him, an awkward little boy promising his mother something.