Thursday, September 13, 2007

Possible movie version of Genesis album, part 11

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Screenplay draft (part eleven)

(“Ravine” fades out as “The Light Dies Down on Broadway” begins) Rael is standing still in a trancelike state. There’s a strange window within his arm’s reach above the path just ahead of him which shows a street scene. Rael recognizes it as home. He can finally escape this crazy world he’s been trapped in. He remembers his past experiences as he stands oddly rooted to the ground. There's something not quite right that makes him hesitate. (“But as the skylight beckons him to leave”) Rael slowly turns and looks toward the river, walking to the edge of the precipice to get a better view. Suddenly he comes out of his trance as he sees his brother John in the rapids, trying to stay afloat. Rael looks to the window to see that it is beginning to fade. He has to make a choice: Go through the window at once and possibly get home, or run to save John before he drowns in the river. (“Hey John”) Rael takes off down the path, leaving the window to fade

(“The Light Dies Down on Broadway” fades out as “Riding the Scree” –sans vocal- cross fades in). The way down becomes extremely treacherous as Rael encounters large boulders and sliding rocks in his descent to the river. Below the rapids are fierce and John is only barely managing to keep afloat. Rael finally makes it to the bank and jumps in just as John is going by. Rael swims as fast as he can but the rapids are too strong, and he can’t close the gap between him and his brother. Fade to Black.

(“Riding the Scree” fades and an instrumental version of “In The Rapids” begins) Rael, now in slow motion, keeps struggling to reach John. He gains on him as John momentarily slowed by a calmer section of the rapids. But Rael can’t guide himself and is swept past John. John is soon sucked back in to the rapids though, and now their positions are switched. Rael looks for something to grab on to and finds it in the form of a large rock. He anchors himself and hopes for John to come close enough. John comes within a few feet and Rael launches himself out to grab him (“In The Rapids” fades out).

They come to calmer water and Rael swims, still in slow motion, toward the nearest bank while holding up an unconscious John with one arm. He drags John up on to the bank. The noise of the river and surroundings are still heard until he lays John down and faces him. John becomes conscious and Rael looks in to his eyes. All sound is silenced, even his own heartbeat. He is immediately aware that this other body is not somebody else. It is he, himself. Rael’s senses become fused with this other self and begin to oscillate from one to the other. He sees himself looking down at himself, and then alternately up at himself. This oscillation speeds up as the two become one. For Rael, the surroundings begin to melt away as he approaches being, left with just his inner self. The facial features of both bodies begin to fade too, and after that his body. He is left with just the essence of Rael, the mind without physical perceptions.

The camera backs up and away from the scene of the two bodies in embrace. The shot continues as the scene opens up to the surrounding ravine and the high bank where Rael first saw John in the rapids. The camera backs out of the window and we start to see Broadway, now with the ravine showing through the window, which appears as a hole in a theatre marquee. As the camera continues backing away, we see a car crash scene with a pedestrian victim lying in the street surrounded by medical emergency staff. They cover the body with a white sheet. Slow fade to Black.

(end credits begin as the opening chords of “IT” are heard)
The last credit reads “It’s over to you”

1 comment:

aqwaya said...

I do not agree with your interpretaton of the plot. The story isn´t about dying. It deals with the rhythm of life and the nessesity of renewal and a process of maturity. So in my oppinion it´s the opposite of your description.
For example, Lilith is a well known figure in astrologie and stands for the hidden aspects of personality, for the female principle.(She should not be dressed in white! but her skin is shining) She leads Rael in deep spaces of subconcousness to get rid of his violent attitudes. That´s because he need a castration, to cut his aim to get power over something or somebody.
In the end he is rejoined with John, his alter ego to get whole and to be healed. So he starts to a new life: IT
N.Y.C. and counting out time are reviews. In counting out time you see a much more younger Rael in his first love-adventure. That´s why he needs the book. He´s still an innocent boy. I think he cought a slap of that girl ("I got unexpectet distress from my mistress"). Between COT an N.Y.C. he cuddled the porcupine, he made himself strong and hard. He build a shield around his heart. That was shaved (raped) in Pontiac, just to become much more harder afterwards to burn everything to ash.
He was quitting with his parents: "moma and poppa had taken a ride on his back, so he left very quickly to join The Pack." (Cover-Story)
He is forced to get a new inner sight ´cos he gets aware of his situation. He joined The Pack in believing to free himself, to get independent from society rules (and the low position that society offered him). First his actions of revenche frees him indeed but were followed by reaction of course. Now he´s cought up by the past, his future is a dark cloak. His freedom at stake. The future has nothing to offer him but a prison cell, if not something more worse. He have to stop that spiral of action and reaction. He have to cut his former life. This perception (impact in Fly on a winshield)leads to complete isolation (cuckoo cocoon), disconnection (in the cage), holding just one string of security back (= John) and so on....