Film
Summary: TESTAMENT
1983, Dir: Lynne Littman
Carol: Jane Alexander
Tom: William Devane
Mary Liz: Roxana Zal
Brad: Ross Harris
Scottie: Lukas Haas
ONE * *
* * * * *
* * *
1. Morning scene,
curtains wafting in front of a window.
Carol, in bed, listens to an aerobic program.
Later in the morning, Tom and his son
Brad out by the garage. The father is
interested in them riding their bikes, but the son is not interested.
Back in the house, Carol looks at
herself in the mirror and begins to brush her hair.
The bicycle scene. The father and son seem happy now. They ride through the cemetery. It's a beautiful summer day.
Back in the house, Scottie, the
younger brother, is plugged into countless electronic gadgets, much to the
dismay of his mother, Carol.
The father and son biking up a steep
hill. But the boy can't make it up, and
the father leaves for a longer ride.
Old Mr. Abhart, a man who lives at the top of the hill, says hi to both
of them.
At home, the family's daughter, Mary
Liz, is practicing the piano. Mom is
scurrying about, trying to get the little boy up and dressed.
Brad is back home, and he confesses
that he didn't make the hill Dad did. Mom has more trouble with the kids. Meanwhile, Dad stops off at a service station to chat with the
manager, Mike, and his son, Hiroshi.
Tom promises to take Hiroshi on a fishing trip with his kids.
Tom arrives home while Carol is taking
out the trash and the kids are off to school.
Mary Liz kisses him goodbye, Tom reminds his son that they'll ride their
bikes again tomorrow, and he brags about making his "course" in 18
minutes.
Inside the house, at 8:10, Tom is
gathering up his things for work, and Scottie appears dressed in his mouse
outfit for the school play. Carol, who
is directing the school play, is upset when Tom seems to belittle her
efforts. But they look hard at each
other, then begin smile, and they kiss lightly.
2. An extreme long
shot of the town at night. The three
children in their beds. The wind waves
the curtains at the open window of Tom and Carol's bedroom. "We need to talk," Carol
says. She wants to know what they
should buy Brad for his birthday. She
is also worried about a friend, whose son has not registered for the draft and
will be indicted. Tom, meanwhile,
complains about these interruptions.
She reaches for her journal to start making entries. Now Tom comes around. He makes a snide remark, but when she
continues to write, he begins to fondle her.
Before long she throws the journal over the edge of the bed and they
embrace.
TWO *
* * * * *
* *
3. The next morning,
Carol is doing chores while the gang files out one by one, each saying
"Bye, Mom" even Tom.
At school, the students rehearse their
play, "The Pied Piper of Hamlin." (The town is Hamlin,
California.) Carol works with the
children.
Later, at home, Carol listens to
messages on the phone answering machine (from Tom, her parents, and a fellow
teacher) while she notes the static on the television. Brad is working on the aerial. The kids are gathered around the
television. More static. Suddenly an image comes on the set. A newsman announces that "nuclear
devices" have exploded in New York and up and down the East Coast. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is
real." Suddenly the word ALERT
flashes on the screen. An official
voice notes that the White House has requested this interruption. The family seems stunned, not reacting to
the news. The phone rings. The official voice says, "Ladies and
gentlemen, the President of the United States" then the
screen goes white. The kids scream.
"Get away from that window," Carol yells. They huddle across from the window while the screen goes from
yellow to white because of the brightness of the light. "Oh, my God," Carol says.
4.Sirens go off, and
we see people walk, stunned, into the street, while parents call out for their
children. Someone asks Carol where Tom
is. "He'll be here any minute,"
she answers. Close-up of candle illuminating
a note on their table: "Tom, We're at Henry Abhart's. Come. We'll wait. Love, C."
5. At Henry Abhart's
house. People from all over have
gathered there. Henry is a Ham
operator, and he is busy on his radio.
He comes out to announce that he can't raise Seattle, Portland, Southern
California. San Francisco is
silent. (That's where Tom works) He says he can't raise anything west of
Iowa. He is still optimistic. "We
may be crippled, but we're not cut off, and we're not dead."
Another shot of the candle and note
from above. This time the candle has
only an inch of wax left. Carol and
Scottie in bed. Mary Liz comes in and
says she wants "Daddy." She
climbs in bed with them. Brad is
sitting up in a chair across the room.
"Keeping watch," Carol asks.
"Dad would." Close up
of Carol, trying to hold back the tears.
6. A morning
scene. Close-up of a quiet television
set. Then the camera pans left to show
other electronic appliances that are silent.
Carol is writing in her journal.
"Nothing seems real. Maybe
if I write it will help. I ache to talk
to my mother. If I could only hear her
voice." The kids come in and begin
to complain about the food, the warm milk, the dirty dishes. Someone knocks on the door. In comes Larry, a young boy about Brad's
age. His mother and Father are in San
Francisco, and he spent the night alone.
He asks to stay with them.
THREE *
* * * * *
* * *
7. A church
scene. People are in an uproar. The minister, a woman from the town council,
and the chief of police. People are
interested in short term problems: who will replace my plate glass
window, which will refund the money I lost in stolen goods, etc. One man suggests the community band together
to provide assistance to each other. A
doctor summarizes the symptoms of radiation sickness if the dosage of radiation
reaches critical levels. Notice all of
the reaction shots as the scene continues.
A young mother is worried about her baby's health. No one has answers for her.
8. Gas line at Mike's
service station. Tempers flare, and we
see Carol and the family drive up. Mike
welcomes them as regular customers.
Hiroshi comes up next to his dad, and Scottie calls out to his
friend.
9. Carol at
night. She is checking the status of
their canned goods. We hear her voice
as she reads from her journal.
"How did this happen?"
10. Grocery
store. Long line outside. Policeman on guard. Tempers flare in the line. Later, we see Brad riding his bike up
"the big hill." At the top,
he goes into Henry's house. Inside,
Henry is still on his Ham radio. Brad
asks if he can stay. Henry gives him an
errand, and then he praises Brad for making it up the hill with his bike.
11. Home movies
showing Tom painting. Then we hear Carol's
voice as she reads from her journal "Eleven days. I wear your sweater." Then to Carol sitting stoically in the
kitchen. Brad comes in. She is readying a picnic lunch and says
they'll visit the trees they planted when the children were born. Brad notes that some people are leaving for
Northern Canada and survival camps. She
asks, "What do you think we should do?" His response: "Mr. Abhart, he lets me watch, runs errands. I ride my bike." Mom says, "And this is our
home." A look passes between them.
On their picnic. They seem to be having a good time, but
Carol pulls up short when she sees a small tree, looking frail against the
mountainside. "Scottie's tree. I can't write today."
12. The school play,
"The Pied Piper of Hamlin."
Note reaction shots in the audience.
Carol, the director, stands in the background. Here comes Scottie, who plays a disabled boy. Then his "King of Hamlin" comes
out and mourns the loss of all of the children to the charms of the
"Piper." Scottie comes out to
announce to the king, "Your children are not dead. They will return. They are just waiting until the world deserves them." Then
he turns strangely to look out at the audience. He keeps a somber expression on his face. Applause.
Then reaction shots of members of the audience, many on the verge of
tears. Music up as the sound of
applause is cut off camera pans across the stage showing the
children smiling appreciatively as the music continues.
FOUR *
* * * * *
* *
13. A rainy day, Carol
comes home with some supplies. She runs
into a neighbor, who appears dazed. He
carries a drawer from a dresser. He speaks
incoherently, and we soon realize that this drawer will be his dead baby's
coffin. "She'll fit in."
Carol comforts him. "We thought we
were so lucky." He recalls their
delight at being parents, and he notes they tried to do all the right things to
keep the baby healthy. Carol says,
"Tell Kathy (his wife) we love her."
He walks off. The street is
quiet. We hear Carol's voice. "March 8. I write this to try to keep my sanity. What if the baby is the lucky one?"
14. Brad, Mary Liz,
and Larry fighting. She had been
feeding a stray cat. Carol cuts them
off and says, "I won't have fighting." She reinforces that they have to ration food. Larry, the boy whose parents never came
back, is one of the family now. Mary
Liz wonders why they pretend they'll survive.
Carol demands, "I won't have you talk like that! Mary Liz talks back, accusing her of siding
with Brad. She runs upstairs. Carol follows her and goes into her
room. She goes to her and strokes her
back. "I just want to die,"
Mary Liz cries. "I want my
daddy." Carol says, "I miss
him too." Her daughter embraces
her.
15. Later, Carol is in Scottie's room. She finds one of his drawers (his
"treasure" drawer) empty.
Downstairs, the kids are quiet.
She asks Brad if he has seen Scottie.
Outside her house the minister finds her. He takes her to the cemetery, where he has left Scottie. Carol goes over to him. Scottie is digging a
hole in the ground. She stoops down to
talk to him. He is burying his
treasure. "There's not enough food for them anymore. I'm running away. I hate fighting."
She asks him where he'll go.
"Maybe I'll find dad."
They talk about what would happen if he found dad. "I don't like it." "Me, neither," she says. "Tell it to go away," he
says. "I can't." Note the editing to contrast in the scene as
they converse. He stands up and
embraces his mother.
Cut to a shot of a family standing
among the graves for a funeral service.
FIVE *
* * * * *
* *
16. Carol says goodbye
to her neighbors, the young couple whose baby died. They stand on opposite sides of a chain link fence. "We'll come back," Kathy
says.
17. Brad comes into Henry's Ham Operator
room. Henry still is on the radio. He gets no response. Brad asks if he can help. Henry suggests he stand in for Henry's wife,
who is not well. He tells Brad, "I
can't raise Santa Rosa." (Earlier he had told Brad Santa Rosa suffered bad
blast damage).
18. Brad on his
bike. He rides by empty cars, trash,
etc. on the street. We hear Carol's
voice: "March 23. Mary Liz is
practicing a new piece. Larry has
stopped talking, and Brad never rests.
At least 1300 have died."
About a month has passed.
19. At the church, the
scene is quiet. The minister looks
tired. He asks people to do their own
burials carefully. The police chief tries
to sound encouraging. "The
manpower has been depleted, the communications system will be repaired. Order will be “ Then he breaks
down. People comfort him. He is in shock.
Brad rides through the cemetery. Family members are digging a grave for the
dead.
20. At home, Carol is
making the bed while Mary Liz looks through old photo albums. As Mary Liz reminisces, she recalls,
"the morning I walked in on you and Dad." Carol listens carefully.
"What's it like?" Mary Liz asks. "Making love. Don't
play Mother with me." Carol comes
over to her. "I was so ignorant as
a girl . . . so full of fantasy. I
thought some man would come along and sweep me off my feet." Carol in a close-up. "And your father he wasn't
at all like I was looking for."
Close-up of Mary Liz as Carol continues. "When you love someone, you want to be as close to them as
you can get." Close-up of Carol.
"You make love, and you feel almost like the same body." Close-up of Mary Liz. "Like it was intended. You have a space, and that person fills it
up." Close-up of Carol. "We would fight, we wouldn't listen to
each other. But sometimes most
times there was this feeling, and I could wait for him to be here
with me." Close-up of Mary Liz
reacting, then the shot changes to show both women in the frame: "Everyone's always alone, and yet there
can be this gift, this making of miracles you." Close-up of Mary Liz as she says, "Not
for me."
21. At night, Carol in
her bathroom. She pours water into the
bowl, then goes out to bring Scottie back into the bathroom. She lowers him into the bowl. "Shit!" she cries. She lifts him out, and the water is a muddy
brown. He looks weak as she wipes him
down. She wipes his face. He doesn't say anything. Larry comes in with Scottie's teddy
bear. She lifts him up in the blanket
and holds him close. We can see blood
staining the bottom of the blanket.
Later, Carol holds him and sings a
lullaby as she rocks in the chair. He
sings along with her. The only light is
a small candle on a table.
Old home movies of Scottie years
earlier riding his bike in the yard. He stops in front of the camera and smiles
proudly and waves.
22. Carol angrily runs
from room to room in the house. She is
frantic, looking for something. She
runs downstairs, ripping through the furniture and looking everywhere for
something. Outside, the children are
standing in front of a small grave they have dug in the yard. Scottie's body, wrapped in a blanket, lies
next to the grave. "I can't find
it. I want that bear!" Brad urges her to get on with the
burial. The minister comes around the
corner. He looks dazed. "Sorry I'm late. Let's begin. God said "
Carol hits him, then grabs him and yells, "No one is burying him
until I find his bear!" Reaction
shots all around as she runs back inside.
The minister begins, "Whosoever believeth in me. . . shall never
die." Shot of the body next to the
open grave.
23. Carol alone in the house. Her flashlight is out of batteries. Suddenly she grabs the phone answering
machine. But she accidentally touches
the replay button, and she hears a last message from her husband, Tom. "I'm going to have to stay in San
Francisco. All these false alarms. I'll make it up to you, I
promise." Carol kneels down and
cradles the machine in her arms, as if it were a precious object. "Give the kids a kiss. Love to you." She holds up the machine and kisses it. Then she pulls out the batteries.
SIX *
* * * * *
* *
24. Brad visits the
woman who gives Mary Liz piano lessons.
She has been sleeping. She puts
on a hairpiece. In the next room Mary
Liz is at the piano. The older woman comes in and they get to work. They practice a piece together. The music continues, as we see Brad on his
bike. Then we hear, too, Carol's voice,
reading from her journal: "Watching Brad . . . the man he's become. .
. the man he'll not live to be."
25. Carol lying awake
in bed. We hear her voice: "Larry
left us today. . . just crawled into a ball and died." Suddenly the sound of broken glass. Brad gets up to investigate. He sees a former school chum stealing some
of their canned food. Carol comes in to
stop the kid from hitting Brad with a flashlight. The kid runs off, grabbing Brad's bike as he goes.
26. Carol and Brad
alone in the living room. She is making
a fire in the fireplace. Brad gets a
radio to work. He starts to dance in
place and invites his mom to dance.
They hold each other's hands and dance to the Beatles song, "All My
Loving. "
Cut to old home movies of the family
dancing around in the front yard, acting silly.
27. Brad opens the garage and gets his father's
bike down. We hear Tom's voice in
Brad's memory: "Never in the history of the world has there been a boy
slow as you are." He rides away.
We see him enter Henry's Ham radio
room. The room is empty. Brad sits down in front of the console. Henry comes in, and Brad jumps, but the old
man is understanding of the boy's curiosity and when he sits down he confides
again in Brad: "I'm not giving up on this old world." His wife is dead now, but as he says,
"I'll be here." He starts
calling again. Then we see Brad
pedaling down the quiet street. We hear
Carol's voice: "I don't know what day it is. I lost track. Henry thinks some miracle may save us yet. It's foolish." Brad rides by the cemetery. "The cemetery's full. They're burning the bodies.
28. Carol, a somber
expression on her face, tearing up sheets in the bedroom. She works as if in a daze. Cut to a longer shot of Carol sitting beside
a bed, sewing the funeral shroud of her daughter, Mary Liz. As she sews, we hear her voice, reading from
her journal: "My first born, my daughter."
SEVEN * *
* * * * *
* *
29. Brad rides by
Mike's service station, and he sees a man loading a body wrapped in a garbage
bag into a truck. "Is that
Mike?" The man nods. Brad goes inside the station and finds
Mike's son, Hiroshi, sitting amid a cache of canned goods. Brad tells him to come with him. Brad loads up Hiroshi's large tricycle, and
then we see the two on their way. Brad
talks about taking Hiroshi fishing. He
laughs about having a picnic with all of this food.
30. Carol cleaning out
the last of the peanut butter in a jar.
Then she sees a rat in the cupboard.
At night, the camera pans right to
show all of the old photos and memorabilia in Henry Abhart's Ham Radio
room. Brad sits down at the console and
begins calling as Henry had done before.
He repeats the call, saying this is Brad Weatherly for Henry
Abhart. "Looking for call, looking
for call."
Carol throwing up in the
bathroom.
31. Carol stands at
the cemetery. She watches the funeral
pyre in the distance. All around her
are simple wooden crosses placed earlier by families. Brad rides up behind her.
"Henry's dead." She
doesn't respond. They watch the
fires. He goes off. She groans and falls to the ground, pulling
at the dirt. "Who did this!"
she cries. "God damn
you!" From behind her the minister
approaches. He is dressed simply in
jeans and shirt. He helps her up and
they kiss passionately for a moment.
Then they embrace.
32. Brad sits by the
two graves of his siblings in the front yard as Carol covers the furniture in
the house. She takes a last look at
some of the objects from their past. She
puts on earrings and stands to look at herself in the mirror. Then we see her out in the garage. She closes the door, stuffs rags at the
bottom, and gets into the car. Brad and
Hiroshi are inside. She starts the
engine after saying, "I'm ready."
Cut to home movies of Brad and Carol
acting silly in the yard. Back to the
car. "Brad, I can't do it,"
Carol says. She shuts off the car.
33. Carol lights three
candles on crackers spread with peanut butter.
"We forgot presents," Carol says. But Hiroshi comes back with Scottie's old teddy bear and hands it
to Carol. "Where did you find
it?" she asks. Hiroshi smiles and
shrugs. Then he takes her hand. He even kisses it. "What do we do now?" Brad asks. "Make a wish." Close-up of Brad. "What do we wish for, Mom?" Close-up of Carol.
"That we remember it all the good and the awful, the
way we finally lived. That we never
gave up. That we were last to
be here, and deserved the children."
The three blow out their candles.
Cut to home movies, run in slow
motion, of Carol coming out of the house with a birthday cake for Tom. Mary Liz and Scottie follow. Evidently Brad is taking the pictures. Tom acts surprised. Note the musical accompaniment. Tom comes toward them, acting silly. We see Mary Liz and Scottie enjoying the show. Tom blows out all of his candles, and Brad,
who has sat down the camera, comes over and applauds the effort.
Summary written by Robert E. Yahnke
Professor, General College, Univ. of Minnesota
Copyright by Robert E. Yahnke, ©
2001
Permission granted for reprinting for
educational use only