Script Report - Across the River and Into the Trees

7/28/2019 Script Report - Across the River and Into the Trees

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Future Films

PROJECT COVERAGE

Title: Across the River and Into the Trees Author: Peter FlannerySub To: Future Films Length: 93 PagesForm: Screenplay Languages: English/Italian

Budget: $10m Genre: AdaptationLocation: Trieste/Venice Period: Past - 1946Reader: Jessica Turner Date: June 2010

LOGLINE: While in Venice, a fifty one year American Colonel spends the last three days of his life duck hunting,sightseeing and having a passionate love affair with a nineteen year old Italian Contessa.

COMMENT SUMMARY: Across the River and Into the Trees proves itself to be Whilst the theme and theoriginality of the concept allow the screenplay to offer a broad audience appeal, certain parts of the story let it down. Itfocuses on a topical and interesting subject matter, yet at times the relationships that are built between key charactersbecome unclear, which in turn has an affect on the flow of the plotline. Too much emphasis is placed on creating aHollywood style romance, while the ending feels clichd and lacks the power and uncertainty it should provide. Overall itis a screenplay that has much potential and with a few elements reworked it could be a highly successful project. Based onthis draft it would be a consider.

CHARACTERS:

Richard Cantwell (51)American Colonel, fought in the First World War

Captain Tom CosmoBrother of John Cosmo who fought alongside Cantwell

Captain Wes ONeil Military Doctor

Jackson(25) Soldier, Driver for Cantwell to VeniceRenata Contarini(19) Beautiful Italian Contessa

Mrs ContariniRenatas Mother

GiulianaContarinis Maid

Antonio Ferrigohandsome, elegant. Renatas Fiance

Father CarminePriest

Guido DalmasioWealthy Businessman

GiuliettaGirlfriend of Guido

AlfonsoBarman at the Hotel.

Gran MaestroHeadwaiter at the Hotel.

Excellent Good Fair Poor

PREMISE X

STORYLINE X

CHARACTERISATION X

DIALOGUE X

STRUCTURE XPACE X

ORIGINALITY X

AUDIENCE APPEAL X


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Vanni RizzonCobbler

Premise

This is an adaptation of the 1950s Hemingway novel Across the River and Into the Trees. The story follows Richard

Cantwell a fifty one year old American Colonel who is suffering from the effects of the First World War. After being

warned by a military doctor about the condition of his physical health, Cantwell decides to travel to Venice to pursue his

passion - duck hunting. A difficult and stubborn character Cantwell is accompanied to Venice by Jackson a young soldier.

While in Venice, Cantwells hope is to purchase some guns to go hunting with. He meets Renata Contarini, a beautiful

Italian Contessa. The couple share a love for Venice and all it has to offer them. They spend their time together discussing

the meaning of life, their dreams, hopes and plans for the future.

The majority of the storys underlying theme places focus on the contemplation and exploration of the meaning of life and

death.This effectively portrayed throughout the script through the two protagonists Cantwell and Renata.

Cantwell is a man destroyed by war. He lives his life knowing he has little time left and intends to spend that time doing

only what he loves. He past experiences have left him

Renata in complete contrast is young, bright and beautiful. She is full of life and looks only to the future. She is someone

who finds meaning in everything. She encourages Cantwell to want to live and she asks him to never talk about death.

Much ofHemingways novel examines the idea of how a man could come to terms with death and the adaptation of thescript stays very true to this theme. Cantwell knows his has little time left and facing death he chooses to seek solace in a

younger character and effectively live his last few days through her.

Synopsis:

It is Venice 1946, as the sun rises, Richard Cantwell rows across a peaceful Venetian Lagoon. His deteriorated physical

condition is apparent. He throws four wooden hand painted ducks into the water surrounding him and sits waiting

patiently until the sound of flapping wings is muffled by the deafening sound of a gunshot. The scene is merged with a

slow motion close up of American soldiers being gunned down in deep water as other soldiers continue to walk on around

them.

In Trieste three days earlier Cantwell stands drinking in a bar, he is approached by another soldier named Tom Cosmo, he

informs Cantwell that his brother John Cosmo fought alongside Cantwell during the war. The other officers in the bar

stare at Cantwell in awe, and he begins to emerge as a real hero.

Cantwell smokes a cigar during a medical examination. Wes ONeil the medical examiner doubts the test results he

receives from the cardiograph machine. The two men discuss Cantwells health. Cantwell reveals to ONeil that he is

taking pills to control his chest pains. ONeil becomes concerned and tells Cantwell he needs to slow down. Cantwell gets

dressed and tells ONeil he going to travel down to Venice for the weekend to go hunting and take it easy. ONeil is

hesitant, but the two shake on a deal in which Cantwell tells ONeil that if he allows him to go to Venice for the weekend

on his return, he will promise to do whatever ONeil wants him to do.

Cantwell returns to his room and packs his bag. He suddenly gasps for breath as the pain in his chest strikes him. Takinghis pills, he regains himself. Cantwell approaches his Officers quarters to find a young soldier, Jackson (25), sitting in the

front seat of his Buick. Jackson is Cantwells designated driver and the two men set off towards Venice.

As they drive through the countryside, the prominence of the war becomes very apparent. They pass bombed out

buildings and empty landscapes. As they cross over a bridge the two men begin to talk. Cantwell questions Jackson about

his life and Jackson makes it clear that he would like to go home to Tennessee. When Jackson returns the question,

Cantwell becomes annoyed making his temper prominent.

Cantwell orders Jackson to pull over and the two men go to look at a bombed out church.


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As they walk back to the car, Cantwell informs Jackson that he will drive, Jackson tells him he was inform to not allow to

do so, reluctantly though he lets Cantwell get behind the wheel. The men discuss the idea of heroism as they drive, their

conversation is accompanied by another flashback of a war scene showing Cantwell ordering soldiers to continue to fight

and move forward as bullets are fired and men are dying around them. Back in the present day, Jackson and Cantwell

arrive in the chaos of Venice. They approach the docks which are swarming with masses of different people and they

attempt to make their way through the crowd. Jackson attempts to stay with Cantwell, but Cantwell orders him to go and

garage the Buick, while he gets them a boat. Amongst the swarm of boat drivers, Cantwell spots Renata Contarini a

beautiful nineteen year old Italian Contessa; she catches Cantwell looking at her. They smile at each other and she calls

out his name. She helps him into the boat and he asks her to take him to Gritti Palace. Jackson appears in the crowd as the

boat disappears down the canal. Cantwell admires Renata. She reminds him that they met once before when she was a

volunteer at the transit camp in Trieste. She tells Cantwell she had a crush on him. Cantwell tells Renata he is in Venice to

shoot ducks.

Cantwell invites Renata in for a drink at the hotel, but she rushes off remembering she has to be somewhere. Renata picks

her mother up from a hair salon and drives her home to the Palazzo Contarini. They walk into the Palace Courtyard, while

Giuliana their maid serves their guests drinks. They greet Father Carmine, a Priest and Antonio, Renatas fiance. As they

walk through the courtyard, Antonio asks Renata to go to the pictures with him. Renata appears distant and distracted,

making Antonio become worried.

Cantwell walks into the bar of the hotel and orders a drink from Alfonso the barman. Cantwell stares at a couple in the

bar. The businessman approaches Cantwell with his girlfriend Giulietta. The two men discuss the matter of war. Cantwell

is approached by the headwaiter known to Cantwell as the Gran Maestro. The two men share a drink at the bar, while the

Gran Maestro informs him that there are guns for sale in Venice. Jackson arrives at the bar, he tells Cantwell he has been

ordered to stay by his side at all times. Cantwell become enraged and orders him to leave.

Cantwell makes his way to his hotel room, experiencing another chest pain. He lies down on his bed. We experience

another dramatic flashback to Cantwell in the midst of gunfire as the river around him fills with bodies.

Later that night Cantwell arrives at a Cobblers, he walks inside to meet Vanni Rizzon the shop owner. Rizzon tells

Cantwell it is in return for Cantwell fighting in the war. Cantwell is delighted and they begin to discuss the guns. Rizzon

tells Cantwell that the owner of the guns needs the money, but it does not mean she will sell them. Rizzon tells him to go

to the Palazzo Contarini.

Cantwell leaves and begins to get lost; he becomes aware of footsteps behind him, to discover it is Jackson who has beenfollowing him all this time. Enraged he tells Jackson not to follow him. Jackson reveals he has been ordered to followCantwell, so he can bring his body back from Venice. Cantwell gives Jackson a final warning and the two men go off inseparate directions.

Cantwell arrives at the Palazzo and meets Mrs Contarini. While he assembles the guns, Mrs Contarini becomes sad andshe remembers her husband. Mrs Contarini points to photographs of her husband and her daughter. Cantwell sees that her

daughter is Renata and tells Mrs Contarini he has a son that he has not seen in a very long time. Cantwell asks to purchasethe guns, but she appears surprised and tells him they are not for sale. Disappointed Cantwell leaves the palace and meetsRenata outside. They discuss the guns and Renata tells him she will talk to her mother. Cantwell invites her out and theyagree to go for a coffee. They sit in a canal side restaurant and talk about marriage. Renata tells Cantwell she is engagedand he orders champagne to toast her. Cantwell tells Renata he has been married three times. Renata tells him her familyarranged for her to marry Antonio. Over dinner he tells her about his son. They discuss life and their dreams. Cantwelltalks of his dream of the perfect duck-hunt.

Renata asks Cantwell if she can show him Venice telling him she has nowhere else to be. They walk through the darkquiet streets. They visit a church. Cantwell asks her to tell him about her life and she begins to tell him the history of theContarini family.


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She asks him about the women in his life and tells him she feels safe with him. They discuss war and Cantwell tells her itis all he has ever done. When she asks about his future, he tells her he has no plans as all he thinks about is being asoldier.

They arrive at a restaurant and begin to dance. He is uncomfortable with the situation, but gets up anyway. While they aredancing she asks him to never talk about death. She becomes very direct with her questions. She asks him what made himsuch a lonely man, which takes him aback. She tells him to write a book about all his experiences, but he dislikes the idea.The band begins to pack up and people start to drift away. She tells him she is not ready to go home and takes him to a

passage which leads to a dark garden. Cantwell is entranced by the garden which delights Renata. She tells him it wasbuilt by one of her ancestors, a man who was feared by everyone in Venice. He fell in love with a young American girl,but could not be with her because she had a duty to her family. He spent the last few days of his life in the garden thinkingabout his life.

As day breaks they go to a fish market that is setting up. They sample the fish together and watch the sunrise on the cityfrom the Grand Canal. Cantwell tells Renata to go home, so as to not get in trouble.The next day Renata, her Mother, Antonio and Father Carmine are at the chapel discussing Renata and Antonioswedding. Renata is uninterested. The Father does a blessing. Antonio becomes serious and passionate; he tells Renata thathis heart belongs to her. Renata is moved and agrees to go to dinner with Antonio that evening.

Back at the Palace, Renata looks at the guns. Her Mother enters and asks her where she was the whole night. She tells her

Mother she went to coffee with Cantwell and asks why she did not sell him the guns. Her Mother makes the suggestionthat he with come back.

Cantwell is sightseeing, he visits all the places he went to with Renata, but he doesnt feel the magic without her. As heleaves the Church he sees Renata and begins to call after her. When she turns round he realises it is just another pretty girlBack at the hotel Cantwell drinks at the bar with the Gran Maestro. He tells him he is checking out because he has noguns. Gran Maestro tries to convince him that she will sell them, but Cantwell tells him he must get back to Trieste.Cantwell leaves the hotel and sees Jackson and informs him they are leaving.

Renata checks her appearance in the mirror; her Mother enters to inform her that Antonio has arrived. Renata tells hermother that she cannot see him tonight and leaves.

Jackson and Cantwell are walking; they stop while Cantwell recovers from a chest pain. As they walk over the bridgeCantwell sees Renata approaching, he tells Jackson to leave. Confused by the change of order, Jackson follows Cantwellsgaze and he becomes entranced by her. She spots them and quickens her pace. The two of them share a moment and smileat each other. Jackson shuffles uncomfortably and Cantwell introduces him to her.

Cantwell and Renata go for dinner. They arrive at the hotel bar, the businessman and Giulietta are there. Gran Maestrogreets them and tells Renata he is very honoured to have her there. They order lobster and drinks.Renata asks him to put his disfigured hand on the table. She holds his hand and they tell each other how much they missedone another. They talk about their connection and their dreams from the night before. She tells him when she looks at hisface she sometimes forgets to breathe. The food arrives; Cantwell tells her that when he leaves her life will return tonormal. They dance together again and decide to take a gondola in the moonlight. They agree to meet in the hotel lobbyafter Renata has been to the bathroom.

Renata goes into the bathroom and meets Giulietta; she tells Renata she is beautiful. They share a cigarette together.Giulietta asks Renata if she and Cantwell are together, but Renata replies that she hardly knows him and he is difficult toget close too. Giulietta tells Renata that Cantwell is obviously in love with her. Renata is very surprised by this. She tellsRenata that she and the businessman are in Venice to look at some guns. Renata meets Cantwell in the lobby. Renata takeshold of his face and kisses him passionately on the lips. Cantwell leaves to get her a scarf from his room. As he returns heis taken over by pain and collapses.

Cantwell wakes up the next morning in bed. Jackson and Renata are there. Renata has been crying. Renata calls theDoctor in off the balcony. The Doctor is looking at the pills that Cantwell has been taking. Renata tells him he must go tohospital. The Doctor wishes Cantwell good luck and leaves. Renata asks Cantwell why he didnt tell her about his


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physical condition. She asks Jackson to leaves the room, but Cantwell orders him to stay and help him get dressed.Cantwell asks Renata to leave as he going duck hunting. He looks at her and tells her goodbye, wishing her a very longlife and happiness. He tells her that their relationship was just a game. Devastated she hugs him and leaves.Jackson asks him why he playing games with such a lovely girl.

Renata walks alone smoking. Gran Maestro enters Cantwells room, he tries to urge him to go to hospital, but Cantwelltells him he just wants guns to go hunting with the next morning. Gran Maestro tells him there are no guns and leaves.At the Palace the businessman is looking at the guns. Giulietta goes to find Renata. Renata is sad and tells Giulietta aboutCantwells condition.

Meanwhile, Jackson is driving Cantwell back to Trieste in the Buick. The journey cuts back and forth between flashbacksof soldiers dying and Cantwell telling Jackson about his war experiences and the day he became a hero. Cantwells storyaccompanies scenes of men being gunned down. They run into the gunfire as Cantwell shouts orders.As they approach the church, Cantwell spots Renata holding a shotgun sitting on the bonnet of her car. Jackson stops thecar and Cantwell gets out. They look at one another in silence. Renata shows him the gun bag. Cantwell thanks Jacksonfor all his help and tells him that when he dies, he wants to be buried across the river and into the trees. Jackson drives offtowards Trieste.

Cantwell tells her he has very little time left and he would like to spend it with her. They return to the Gritti Palace Hotel.The room is lit romantically by candle light. He kisses her. They lie in bed together and make lover. He tells Renata she ishis greatest love. He talks to her about his heart, comparing it to his watch. He gives her his watch and they talk about

Renatas ancestor who built the garden. Hours later Renata is asleep, he kisses her and gets dressed before leaving. Hewalks through the deserted streets of Venice and goes to the fish market.

As dawn approaches he gets to the Fondamenta, when he arrives there is only one boat, the oarsman is slumped drunk in adoorway. Cantwell puts the guns into the boat and begins to row himself out into the lagoon as the light starts to appear inthe sky. Renata wakes up alone in the hotel. Gran Maestro enters with a try of breakfast and leaves.

Renata arrives at morning mass, where her Mother, Antonio and his parents are waiting. Her Mother smiles at her as shesits next to her and prays. They begin to pray with Father Carmine. Meanwhile, Cantwell is on the lagoon. He smiles as hegets ready to shoot. Renata realises she is still wearing Cantwells Rolex. She takes it off and puts it in her pocket.

Cantwell waits for the ducks while he reloads his gun. The sound of his heartbeat can be heard, until it stops. He lets out a

long sigh and falls forwards as he dies. The ducks fly over him in the sky above.

Comments

Overall the script is a strong adaptation of a classic novel. It echoes the tone and flow that is very much in the style of

Hemingway and this has been successfully translated into the script. The characters effectively represent the different

ideas regarding the main theme of the story.

Cantwell is a man heavily burdened by his past experiences of war. The

A sense of heroism is continuously established throughout the story. All the other soldiers and many of the men including

Vanni Rizzon are in awe of Cantwells presence as well as his work within the a rmy. He is seen as a true hero by other

members of the community. This conflicts with Cantwell own opinion of himself because is only able to see himself as

someone who followed orders and led many men to their deaths.

Renata is young, attractive fun-loving girl essentially she is a free spirit, yet feels trapped by the duty she has to her

family. Renata is such a prominent and interesting character it would be good to see more of her and her personality come

through in the dialogue. It would also be interesting to see a bit more insight into her life outside of her relationship with

Cantwell.


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Giulietta and the Businessman seem to play such a small part, they are almost unnecessary to the progression of the story.

That said they resemble typical characters that have a less than prominent presence, so often found in Hemingways

novels. Giulietta has more prominence than the businessman in many ways because it is she who implies to Renata that

Cantwell is in love with her. It also her input towards the end that really encourages Renata to go after Cantwell before he

can return to Trieste.

One part of the story that perhaps needs more focus is the apparentness of the feelings between Cantwell and Renata. It

would be good to heighten the chemistry between them. Although many of their views and approaches towards life are

very different there is definitely a connection between the two of them, but as an audience we need to feel that we want

them to be together. The story needs to be more compelling, because currently it feels like the not that much happens. It is

a fairly simple story in its storyline, yet it is the dialogue that really participates in making it a much deeper and darker

concept. Renata is almost too forward in her attraction to Cantwell. When they first meet on the boat, she tells Cantwell

she had a crush on him when she was working at the camp in Trieste. In many ways she needs to be more

At times many of the scenes feel slightly too long, making the pace feel awkward.

Some of the scenes could be shortened slightly to make the pace in the beginning more fluent and allow the reader to feel

like they are progressing with the story at a faster rate.

An example of this would be, the scene in which Cantwell is having his medical examination. Essentially the scene isneeded because it gives us an insight into his personality, his physical condition and his ability to take each day as comes,

at the same time there is almost too much information and dialogue that we dont need to see. This

The travel to Venice is also quite drawn out. Cantwell and Jackson converse throughout the journey.

It could be argued that removing parts of these scenes would actually have an effect on the theme of the story as well as

make it less clear as to what Cantwells past experiences and his life choices are.

Generally the pace of the script is good, although the beginning feels much slower than the closing scenes. The ending

scenes seem to gather a different sense of pace altogether and the events that follow seem to happen very quickly. These

are really the scenes that hold the most action within the story yet they unfold within a couple of pages. In many ways it

makes the script feel like it needs more of a balance in terms of pace.

Flannery has made every effort not to stray from the main underlying theme of the novel and he presents the two

protagonists in way in which they do not lose their character at any point throughout the story. On first reading it feels like

a simple story, yet it possesses the ability to touch on a deeper concept through the dialogue.

The element that really heightens the script success is that it doesnt rely on the use of too many flashbacks. The sporadic

use of flashbacks injects just enough poignancy and impact to allow the story to flow smoothly without distracting from

the present time. In Hemingways novel the majority of the book focuses on Cantwell looking back at his time in Venice

as a past event. The way in which the script has been written really allows the story to retain its structure. It focuses on thepresent and does not view Venice as a past memory. This really allows the reader to feel involved with the action that is

taking place. With some poignant scenes placed towards the end, the writer has worked this into the script to effectively

present Cantwells life choices.

The script has a fairly strong audience appeal. Not only will it appeal to fans of Hemingway himself, but it will also attract

people to the idea of an unconventional romance, as well as creating interest as well as being placed around the First

World War. To really heighten the scripts success it needs a strong cast attached in order to propel the story forward. If

the cast is well known it makes these slightly unconventional characters and their relationship much easier to identify

with. Overall the script offers an interesting concept that hides a thought provoking deeper meaning

Documents

Script Report - Across the River and Into the Trees