Arthouse: A Novel

Fellini Satyricon

163 Fellini Satyricon Federico Fellini (1969) Scene 2 Professor, Shelby and Professor’s mother in wheelchair facing wall. Nursing home, Int night. 11-17 The characters stand in front of an interior wall, every inch of which is covered with homemade valentines, layered two deep in places, in a riot of red and white cardboard and white and pink stiff doily lace. There are a few photographs scattered throughout the display—almost all depicting indistinguishable white-haired ladies—and candy hearts and cinnamon redhots are glued into patterns or letters to provide three-dimensional texture. The camera zooms in on a few: “Be Mine,” “From Your Not So Secret Admirer,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” “I Miss You So,” and “Kiss Me.” Some of the writing betrays a shaky hand and perhaps a fading grasp of the alphabet, while elsewhere Palmer method cursive is featured. The camera wanders. A no-nonsense block style handwriting appears and reappears, which, together with the 164 J E F F R E Y D E S H E L L generic quality of its messages (“Happy Valentine’s Day,” “You’re Special!”) signals a mediating presence, possibly a nurse or social worker. Some are from grand or great grandchildren (“Get Well Grandma”), and a patch originates from the local high school (“We Have the Valentine SPIRIT” and “Gimme an ‘L,’ Gimme an ‘O,’ Gimme a ‘V,’ Gimme an ‘E’”). The mother begins to whimper in the wheelchair. 18 The Professor looks down at his mother, then kneels down and squeezes her hand. 19 Medium shot Shelby. SHELBY How much do you think she knows? 20 Medium shot Professor. PROFESSOR About what we just did? Or about what we’re about to do? I don’t know. Wish I did. 21 Medium shot Shelby. SHELBY Did she like that woman, the woman who took care of her? 22 Medium shot Professor. Fellini Satyricon 165 PROFESSOR (shrugs) You mean Lizzie? I’ve no idea. I really didn’t pay enough attention. 23 Medium shot Shelby. SHELBY Look at all these. Look at this one: ‘I want to sex you up.’ And this: ‘Viva Viagra. Vinnie.’ 24 Medium shot Professor. PROFESSOR (stands, wrinkles nose) What’s that smell? Smells worse than my mom. 25 Close shot Shelby. SHELBY Nursing home. I smelled it a soon as we walked in the door. 26 Medium shot of Shelby walking in front of Professor and mother, still staring at the wall. Can hear mother whimper. Shelby has pronounced limp. 27 Close shot Professor. 166 J E F F R E Y D E S H E L L 28 Close shot Shelby. SHELBY These must be the pictures of the staff. Employee of the Month is Rogelio Lopez. 29-32 Medium shot from the rear. Professor pushes the wheelchair slowly down the hall. Professor and Shelby continue to look at the wall, until it ends. Then they move across the hall to the last office in the corridor, where it stops and branches off into a T shape. A closed door. Camera follows, then zooms on a yellow post-it stuck on the door. “I’ll be in the Activities Room until 4:30, Janet.” 33 Close shot Professor. The Professor leans forward and looks left. 34 Professor’s POV. Vague figures, some standing and some sitting, at the end of a long hallway. 35 Close shot Professor. The Professor looks right. 36 Professor’s POV. Similar figures as to the left, but longer hallway, less defined. Fellini Satyricon 167 37 Medium shot Professor. PROFESSOR Where the fuck is the activity room? (he looks at Shelby) What do you say, left or right? 38 Medium shot Shelby. SHELBY (she points to her left) Left. Scene 3 Professor, Shelby and Professor’s mother in corridor. Nursing home, Int night. 39 Camera from the rear, tracking the three down a hallway, with doors on either side. Shelby limps to the right of the Professor, who’s pushing his mother slowly, slowly. The corridor is peach colored, and illuminated not too harshly by overhead fluorescents. There’s a thick blonde wooden railing on both walls. Ambient noise in deep background. 40 Tracking shot from Professor’s left. A closed door. 41 Zoom in on door. “Men’s Bath” 168 J E F F R E Y D E S H E L L Zoom back. An orange “Occupied” sign...