BEL AMI By Guy de Maupassant Adapted by Rachel Bennette

Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod 103A South Hill Park Hampstead NW3 2SP

Uberto Pasolini Redwave Films 31-32 Soho Square London W1D 3AP
[email protected] Tel: 020 7753 7200

Norman North The Agency 24 Pottery Lane London W11 4LZ

INT. ATTIC ROOM - SUNSET A bed. It is a narrow, old bed, with a bent iron frame.
Advancing across its dirty white sheets, a black mark. A cockroach. Fat,
glistening, it negotiates the hills and valleys of the bedclothes. Watching its
approach, face down, inert, is the other occupant of the bed: GEORGES DUROY, 30,
handsome, and, on this sweltering night, naked. He explodes into action. Flicks the
cockroach to the floor, grabs a boot and smashes the heel down on it. The room,
bare but for the bed, is almost dark. A single shaft of orange light moves across
the walls before dying with the sun. Georges lights a stub of candle. From the room
next door, the familiar eruption of an argument. He listens for a second to the
angry voices, the usual thud of overturned furniture. He dresses quickly. A worn
shirt, a shabby suit. He puts on his knackered old boots. The left heel crunches
underfoot with dead cockroach. He goes to the window ledge and scrapes off the
mess. On the window sill, three tiny coins, his worldly wealth, and an old crust of
bread and a cup of water. The bread is rock hard. He dunks it in the water to
soften it up, then wolfs it. He scoops the coins into his hand, one, two, three,
and pockets them. He inspects himself in a shard of mirror - tiny reflections of
himself, his eyes, his jaw, his tie. INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT Georges descends the
gloomy, narrow stairwell of his tenement. The stairs are crammed with people -
families and rubbish overflowing from tiny slum rooms. At the bottom of the stairs,
a DRUNK MAN pisses against the wall. Georges stops in disgust. He grabs the Man and
hauls him into the alleyway beyond.
2.

EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT The Man clings to him, reaching out his hand for money.
Georges shoves him away, into the darkness. He turns his face to the mouth of the
alley. Ahead, like light at the end of a tunnel, a glimpse of another world, golden
and gorgeous. The grand boulevards of Paris. EXT. BOULEVARD DE LA MADELEINE - NIGHT
The Boulevard de la Madeleine. Light and space and air. Wide, clean pavements;
street lamps in shining brass; soaring lime trees; glossy carriages waiting
patiently at the side of the road. The quiet, elegant calm of the rich. Georges
walks into it as if entering a dream. EXT/INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT An expensive
restaurant. Tall, elegant windows glittering with candlelight; inside, snow white
linen and silver and crystal. Orchids and roses. Champagne on ice. Georges walks
from window to window, from table to table, from oysters to lobster, from steak to
salmon. He watches, spellbound, as a man raises a glass of ice cold beer to his
lips and drinks. The DOORMAN moves him along with a contemptuous jerk of his head.
EXT. MONTMARTRE - NIGHT A rougher street now. A different world. At first glance,
silent and empty, but then, revealing themselves in the darkness, figures in
doorways: prostitutes, loitering men. Up ahead, at the crossroads of four streets,
stands a nightclub. The Gavotte. Georges approaches. At the door, he pays the
entrance fee with one of his three coins.
3.

INT. THE GAVOTTE - NIGHT Inside, it is small and rough. There is a stage on which a
woman is singing; before it, a dance floor packed with couples, and, around the
walls, boxes for the richer customers. Some have their curtains half-drawn,
obscuring what the men and women inside are doing. At the back of the theatre, the
bar. Leaning up against it, two or three prostitutes, all in black chokers, dresses
slashed to the waist. They are watching the entrance, waiting. They are what
Georges has come looking for. He comes to the bar and takes out his two remaining
coins. He plays with them in his hand for a moment. Eventually, the BARMAN comes to
him. He throws one coin onto the bar. Beer. GEORGES

He has one coin left. Standing beside him, watching him, is a prostitute, RACHEL.
He smiles at her. She does not smile back. He perseveres, puts on his best smile,
his most charming face. At last, a tiny response - but she is already leaving him,
with a shrug, for the Fat Old Rich Man behind him who is offering her his arm. He
turns to scan the room. And then -

- he double takes. He has seen someone he knows. A STOUT MAN, well-dressed, with a
smug demeanour. Georges stares at him. What the hell is his name? The Stout Man
seems to be pontificating to a group of other well-dressed men. Georges watches as
the group disperses. The Stout Man turns away as if to leave. Georges gives chase.
GEORGES (under his breath) Foucault? Fouchard? Fou -? He pushes on through the
crowds. ever closer to the exit. GEORGES For - For - Forestier! Georges catches him
just in time. GEORGES Charles Forestier? The Stout Man is getting

FORESTIER!
4.

Yes?

CHARLES

GEORGES Georges Duroy. Of the 6th Hussars! He is momentarily swallowed up by the

crowd. Then the throng parts to reveal the two men embracing one another like long
lost brothers. MOMENTS LATER Georges and Charles are seated at a table. A Waiter
brings champagne and a bucket of ice. Charles pays him, and waves him away
imperiously. He opens the champagne himself. CHARLES You’ve only just got out? What
have you been doing all these years? GEORGES I’m hoping to have better luck in
Paris. But Charles is preoccupied with the champagne. CHARLES No, this won’t do He
summons the Waiter back. CHARLES This is filthy. Bring another. He brings out a
silver cigar case, offers Georges a cigar. Georges takes one, and pockets it for
later. Charles lights his. CHARLES Shouldn’t really - picked up bronchitis last
year and I still haven’t shaken it. He takes a long, happy puff, coughs a bit, then
takes another. CHARLES Doctors want me to spend the winter in Cannes, but I can’t
be messing about on the beach, I’m the Political Editor of the Parisian.
5.

Georges has never heard of it. CHARLES You don’t know it? You soon will. We’re
going to be the little newspaper that brings down the government. GEORGES I’m a
clerk, at the railway offices. A clerk?! He guffaws. CHARLES

It triggers the cough, deep, rasping.

GEORGES I couldn’t find anything better - I don’t have your connections. I have to
get money somehow. I can’t go looting on the Boulevard Saint Germain CHARLES No,
indeed GEORGES Besides, I no longer have my pistol. They both laugh. CHARLES (after
a pause) Come to dinner, tomorrow night. Come and see the apartment. Come and meet
my wife. He holds out his card. Georges hesitates.

GEORGES The thing is, Charles... I don’t have any evening clothes. Another tiny
pause, and then Charles digs into his pocket and brings out a couple of gold coins.
He throws them down on the table. Georges stares at them, as if they were magic.
CHARLES Buy some, hire some - but come at seven thirty. Yes?
6.

Yes.

GEORGES

CHARLES I must be off He downs his champagne CHARLES Georges Duroy! Extraordinary!
And then he’s gone. Georges looks at the gold coins on the table. Only now can he
pick them up. He immediately puts one coin away, safe, in his pocket. He sees
Rachel in one of the boxes, with her Fat Old Rich Man. She perks up at the sight of
Georges and the gold coin in his hand. A real smile this time. INT. ATTIC ROOM -
NIGHT Georges and Rachel, up against Georges’ door, still clothed, fucking. LATER
Rachel has stayed the night. She is sitting cross-legged on Georges’ bed, naked
save for her choker, pinning her hair up, curl by curl, while Georges watches,
smoking his cigar. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT Charles’ apartment building.
Georges stands in the foyer. He is wearing a hired evening suit. It is slightly too
small for him, and makes him feel coarse and clumsy. He looks up at the grand,
sumptuous staircase and down at his battered old boots. He climbs the stairs. INT.
CHARLES’ APARTMENT - NIGHT The Head Footman, PAUL, opens the door of Charles’
apartment. He is wearing patent black leather shoes. His gaze sweeps over Georges,
taking in the boots in one terrible glance.
7.

PAUL (a trace of insolence) What name shall I give, sir? Duroy. GEORGES Georges
Duroy.

PAUL If you will wait here, sir. He disappears through a set of doors. Georges
waits. He polishes the toe of each boot against the back of the other leg. And then
Paul returns and opens the doors to him. PAUL Monsieur Georges Duroy. Georges looks
at the doors, waiting, open, and is seized by a momentary fit of nerves. Paul
eyeballs him. Georges sticks out his chin and strides in. INT. DRAWING ROOM - NIGHT
The drawing room, to his surprise, is empty, except for a woman. She turns to greet
him. She is a goddess. WOMAN I am Madeleine Forestier. GEORGES (amazed) You’re
Charles’ wife. Madeleine is used to getting this reaction. MADELEINE Please, sit
down. Charles has told me all about you. Thank you. GEORGES

He takes a seat. He can’t take his eyes off her. She is wearing a dress of light
blue cashmere, which clings to her body; her hair is swept up, revealing a haze of
soft curls at her neck. She smiles at him, an exquisitely mysterious and
intelligent smile.
8.

But then a bell rings, and Paul reappears. PAUL Madame Francois de Marelle. And
Georges turns to see another goddess entering the room. She is as dark and warm as
Madeleine is pale and mysterious. She wears a black dress that fits like a skin,
and a fat pink rose in her hair. She has a captivating smile. With her is a child
of six, LAURINE. Madeleine. MADELEINE My favourite girl! MME DE MARELLE She so
wanted to come, I bear to say no. (kissing Madeleine) Hello, Mado. You mustn’t
father - it’s our little isn’t it, my angel? Now, couldn’t tell her secret, say
hello. He She rushes to embrace

Laurine solemnly holds her hand out for Georges to take. bows to her. Hello.
GEORGES My name’s Georges.

LAURINE Good evening, Georges. MME DE MARELLE (taking Georges’ hand) Hello,
Georges. You can call me Clotilde. GEORGES Hello, Clotilde. CLOTILDE (twinkling)
And you can kiss my hand. He obliges. And then the bell rings again. PAUL Madame
Luc Rousset.
9.

And a third goddess enters: an elegant, demure redhead in a high-necked gown. She
has a wonderful quality of serenity and grace. He watches as the three women - the
blonde, the brunette, the redhead - greet each other. He can’t decide which he
likes the most. Mme Rousset offers him her hand. He instinctively bows as he takes
it. They turn to him as one, smiling. And he sees his desire reciprocated in their
gaze. He sees the way their eyes take in the curve of his muscles beneath the hired
suit, the power and heat of his body barely contained by those stiff, formal
clothes. And, then, there is a commotion in the hall MADELEINE The men are here. -
and the spell is broken. INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT Dinner is served. Georges is
seated amongst the women: Clotilde to his right, Madeleine to his left, and Mme
Rousset opposite. Servants seem to come at him from all directions, with food and
wine. He looks down at his plate and tries not to drool. Paul, the Head Footman,
stands behind Charles’ chair, keeping an eye on proceedings. Seated across the
table from Georges is a powerful, commanding man, ROUSSET. He lifts his glasses and
peers beneath them at his plate. ROUSSET What is this? Veal. He begins to eat.
Charles sees Georges contemplating his expanse of cutlery. CHARLES It’s this knife
and fork, Duroy. MADELEINE
10.

Charles!

MADELEINE

CLOTILDE Oh, Charles, who cares? Charles looks at the women, who are all frowning
at him. CHARLES What? He won’t be used to eating like this. The women smile
encouragingly at Georges. Beside him, Clotilde gives him a look that says she
thinks Charles is an idiot, too. A simple diamond earring trembles at her ear lobe
like a droplet of dew, poised to fall. Meanwhile, across the table, Madeleine is
whispering something to Rousset. ROUSSET (to Georges) You. You want to be a
journalist, do you? This is the first Georges has heard of it. GEORGES Yes, sir.
Yes, I do. I have always wanted, above everything else, to work at The Parisian
ROUSSET But you have no experience of writing or reporting? MADELEINE (quickly) I
believe you have only recently returned from your posting to North Africa. You were
in Algeria? Yes. there years then, GEORGES Charles and I were first together -
eight? - eight ago. He was a little thinner as I recall.

Charles is too busy eating to answer. MADELEINE Where were you garrisoned?
11.

GEORGES At the frontier, at the very edge of the Sahara. The very edge of the world
- scorpions and sands that sing. MME ROUSSET Sands that sing? The women are all
leaning forward slightly now. GEORGES It’s just an effect of the wind on the dunes.
But when you are on watch, out in the endless wilderness, in the dead of night, it
sounds like some princess of the desert is singing to you. You get very lonely out
there. The women are charmed. CLOTILDE But how on earth could you be lonely? And
there, where the women are divine? GEORGES Yes, they are ravishing. And, yet,
(looking at the women) I was homesick. Delight all round. Georges gains in
confidence. Madeleine watches him keenly. GEORGES But the desert fascinated me.
Life there is very simple - the need to survive. In the very heart of the desert -
the driest region of the Sahara - water, ounce for ounce, is worth more than gold.
And, as the people depend on one another for their survival, honesty, to them, is
worth more than water. MME ROUSSET How wonderful.
12.

MADELEINE (to Rousset) You could run something extraordinary about this - and don’t
you think it would be extremely timely? Timely? CLOTILDE Why timely?

CHARLES Don’t you ever read the papers? No. CLOTILDE

CHARLES The government wants to take Morocco MADELEINE (ironic) For the good of the
Moroccan people, of course. To bring stability to the region. CLOTILDE But the
people don’t want a war. CHARLES That won’t stop them. ROUSSET (still eating) No,
but we will. Pass the salt. MADELEINE Luc, think - an eyewitness view - a handsome
young soldier, at the frontier, homesick and alone - his adventures, his insights
CHARLES Only women will read that. The women all give him an eloquent look, Laurine
included. MADELEINE You could run it alongside the debate in the chamber. MME
ROUSSET “Diary of a Cavalry Officer.”
13.

Rousset listens to his wife. He looks over his spectacles at Georges for a long
moment. Georges waits. Then ROUSSET What’s for dessert? CLOTILDE Yes, please, let’s
talk about something else. (to Georges) I can’t bear politics. Men talking about
men fighting with men about men. It bores me stupid. GEORGES What does interest
you? CLOTILDE I like enjoying myself. GEORGES And what do you enjoy? She thinks,
smiling, as she reaches out and takes a cherry from a fruit bowl. She drops it into
her glass of wine. CLOTILDE Everything. The little diamond dewdrop trembles at her
earlobe. It looks as if it is sliding over her skin. Georges’ eyes drop to her
throat as if following its path. She turns to him. She knows he has been watching
her. But then, suddenly ROUSSET Alright. You. “Diary of a Cavalry Officer.” Give me
the first article tomorrow morning. CHARLES You realise he’s never written a word
MADELEINE That doesn’t matter. She smiles her mysterious, alluring smile.
14.

MADELEINE I’ll help him get started. INT. STAIRS - NIGHT Georges bounds down the
grand staircase two steps at a time, down to the first landing. There, he stops
suddenly, confronted by his own reflection in a grand, floor-length mirror. He is
no longer a scruffy exsoldier in a borrowed suit. He sees youth, strength, sex,
power. It is electrifying, narcotic. He exults in his own beauty. He swaggers on
down the stairs. INT. STUDY - DAY Georges is seated on a divan in Charles’ study.
He is leaning forward, as if about to pounce, his eyes on Madeleine, who is writing
at a desk with intense concentration. She sits in a shaft of light. The light gilds
her face, and reveals the shadowy outline of her arm and, almost, her breast
beneath her sleeve. He lifts his eyes, to find her watching him. Come here.
MADELEINE Georges sits down.

She gets up and offers her chair to him.

Madeleine sets paper and a pen before him. He stares down at the blank page. The
blank page stares back at him. GEORGES I’m not sure where to start. MADELEINE Do
you know what people like to read? They like love stories. Intrigue. Romance.
Desire. She looks right into him, her gaze frank and unwavering. MADELEINE I’m sure
you have a few tales to tell.
15.

GEORGES There was one girl. She wouldn’t tell me her name. MADELEINE Where did you
first see her? GEORGES In the souk. MADELEINE In the souk. The smell of leather and
saffron, a lovely face in the crowd - go on. GEORGES I followed her home. I nearly
lost her twice. MADELEINE What did she do? GEORGES She laughed at me, all the way.
But she waited. And then? MADELEINE Describe it.

GEORGES It was the afternoon. She was leaning against the wall of her house. The
sun was hot on my back. He gazes at her. She is lighting a cigarette, full lips
drawing in the smoke. Her eyes never leave his. GEORGES I wanted to kiss her. She
wouldn’t let me. After a moment MADELEINE We’ll write it as a letter to a friend.
“Dear Henri, sorry I haven’t written for so long Georges begins to scratch out the
words. At the very corner of his vision, he is aware of Madeleine. She has
stretched out on her back on the divan beside him. He can hear the gentle suck and
hiss of the cigarette, the sigh as she exhales.
16.

MADELEINE “It is almost a month since I first set foot in this glorious land...”
She moves her foot in circles as she talks. Her skirt has rucked up slightly to
reveal her ankle, and beyond. Her voice has become a vague murmur. Georges is
oblivious to everything except the tiny, shifting muscles beneath her skin and the
blue curls of smoke. GEORGES You’ve lost me. She comes to read over his shoulder.
MADELEINE (reading) “Discretion forbids me to describe it in detail.” She is
leaning against the back of his chair. gardenia envelops him. MADELEINE (dictating)
“But I can think of nothing but our next tryst....” Georges leans back into her,
revelling in the intimacy. MADELEINE That’ll bring them back. (dictating) “To be
continued.” Now, sign it. Georges hesitates. MADELEINE They won’t print it if you
don’t sign it. Georges shrugs and signs it. He looks at her. GEORGES I like being a
journalist. She sits down on the divan and looks at him for a long moment, her eyes
very clear. MADELEINE I hope you don’t think I’m going to write all your articles
for you. The scent of
17.

GEORGES No! No, of course. I would never presume... I meant - I meant something
quite different. MADELEINE I know what you meant. Let’s be very clear. I have no
interest in being your mistress. Georges chokes. MADELEINE There is nothing more
boring to me than an infatuated youth. I know perfectly well that love, for you, is
an appetite. It makes idiots of you all. Look at me, please. He obeys. MADELEINE I
will never be your mistress. you understand? Yes. GEORGES Do

MADELEINE Good. Then we can be friends real friends - and I can give you some
advice. Call on Mme Rousset. She likes you. GEORGES (amazed) Mme Rousset likes me?
MADELEINE Not like that. Never like that. Her husband values her opinion above all
others. One good word from her is worth more than ten years of grovelling to him.
Thank you. GEORGES

MADELEINE But you may very much enjoy a visit to my friend Clotilde. She is such
wonderful company, and her husband is very often away.
18.

Georges tries to read her. imperceptibly.

She nods at him, almost

GEORGES If there’s ever any way in which I can repay your kindness (sincere)
Charles is a lucky man. If only I could marry a woman like you... To his great
surprise, she reacts with some confusion to this compliment, as if it touches her.
Suddenly, something has shifted between them. But, at that moment, the door opens
and a tall man, much older than Madeleine, enters without being announced. He stops
dead when he sees another man in the room. Madeleine immediately jumps up.
MADELEINE Comte, may I present Georges Duroy? We’re helping him get on his feet.
This is the Comte de Vaudrec. Georges puts out his hand, but the Comte is already
turning away. Georges watches as he takes his jacket off, rings for a servant, and
settles into a chair. It is a startling display of familiarity. Georges looks at
Madeleine. A slight blush is spreading from her throat to her face. She puts her
hand up to her throat, an involuntary gesture. MADELEINE The Comte is our best and
closest friend. Madeleine hands Georges the article. It is clear he is no longer
welcome. She hustles him out of the room. MADELEINE Well, congratulations. Tomorrow
morning, your name will be in print. She is already closing the door. MADELEINE
(smiling) Don’t forget to call on your friends.
19.

And then she is gone, and, before he can speak, the door is shut on him. EXT.
BOULEVARD DE LA MADELEINE - DAY It is early morning. Georges runs towards the
newspaper kiosk on the corner. VENDOR is just opening for business. Georges pays
for a copy of The Parisian. He scrabbles through the pages looking for his article,
his heart thudding, and there it is, on page 4: “Diary of a Cavalry Officer” by
Georges Duroy. EXT. THE PARISIAN - DAY The offices of The Parisian. Georges enters,
full of himself. INT. THE PARISIAN/ENTRANCE HALL - DAY He runs up the stairs and
into the entrance hall on the first floor. He stops in his tracks at the sight
before him. It is like entering an ants’ nest. A jostling, hustling, seething mass
of industry. Messenger boys sprint in and out on commissions; journalists bomb
around, pens between their teeth; print-setters dash to and fro with huge sheets of
paper and trays of print; telegram machines chatter out interminable messages.
Everyone seems to be coated in black ink. Georges has to dodge his way to the
reception desk, where a CLERK is shouting at a delivery boy over the roar of the
printing presses. Charles appears at the door to the offices beyond and waves
Georges in. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Charles bowls down the main office corridor,
weaving and swerving as journalists and errand boys erupt from doorways. They are
hurtling towards a grand door. It opens, before Georges even knows where he is,
onto Rousset’s office. The
20.

INT. ROUSSET’S OFFICE - DAY The office is dominated by a large, round table at
which a group of important-looking men are playing cards and smoking cigars. There
is a huge stack of money in the centre of the table. Rousset is playing cards while
correcting proofs and signing letters. He hands a sheaf of papers to Charles, while
taking a new batch from a messenger boy, before playing a card, and winning the
pot. One of the other players, a smooth, sleek sort of man, LAROCHE, throws down
his hand in defeat. LAROCHE Come and play a hand, Forestier. need someone I can
beat. CHARLES Perhaps later, Monsieur Laroche, thank you. Rousset notices Georges.
CHARLES You remember Georges Duroy, sir? Diary of a Cavalry Officer? But Rousset is
engrossed in his new hand of cards for a moment. He seems to be able to see the
whole table’s play in one glance. ROUSSET (to Georges, still studying the cards)
Your first article was a success. GEORGES Thank you, sir. ROUSSET Write me another.
GEORGES Thank you, sir. ROUSSET Pay him, Forestier, and give him a job. Yes, sir.
CHARLES I
21.

GEORGES Thank you, sir. They stand there for a moment. Then Rousset plays a card -

ROUSSET And Forestier - we’re not to be disturbed for an hour. And Charles pulls
Georges away, out into the corridor. Georges looks back as the door closes - a
glimpse of secrecy, something conspiratorial between these glossy men - and then
the door is shut on him. Charles steers him into the room next door, the
Journalists’ Room. INT. JOURNALISTS’ ROOM - DAY The Journalists’ Room is full of
men. They are all seated at a long, green baize table that runs the length of the
room. Papers fly across the table, as they pass their work to one another to be
edited. One of the journalists holds up an empty inkwell, and an ERRAND BOY dashes
forward to refill it, while Messenger Boys bring notes, telegrams and snippets of
information. Charles takes his seat, gets out a notebook and begins to write.
CHARLES (to Georges) You’ll get five francs for this article, five for the next.
Then 200 a month, plus 10 centimes a line for any articles you manage to place. He
signs the chit, and rips it out of the book. CHARLES Give this to the Chief
Cashier. Georges takes the chit. He is reeling from the speed of it all. He stands
there, his hat in his hands, utterly at a loss. After a moment, Charles looks up at
him. CHARLES Find a place, sit down, and write.
22.

Georges looks up and down the table. There is no room. He has to squeeze onto a
corner, on a tiny stool. The Errand Boy immediately puts some paper and a pen in
front of him. Georges looks down at the blank sheet of paper. The huge expanse of
nothingness dizzies him. He feels his mind, and then the whole room, go white and
blank. He looks around him at the long black barrels of the pens twitching
frantically like birds’ tails down the length of the table, and then at his own,
lying uselessly across his hand. He realises that, to his left, one of the
journalists, LOUIS, is watching him. He begins to sweat. And then, thank God, a
Messenger Boy runs in, red-faced, breathing like an athlete, holding a strip of
telegram And Charles is leaping out of his seat CHARLES (reading) Riots in
Marrakech, Fez, Agadir 351 dead, 31 French dead - attack on consulate - rumours of
agent provocateur Another Messenger Boy enters with another message CHARLES
(reading again) Foreign Minister to address Chamber And the entire body of
journalists jumps to its feet, scrabbling for pens and notebooks, and bombs out of
the room, leaving Georges alone and forgotten. He sits there for a moment. The
blank page torments him again. He gives it one last, half-hearted try, and then
throws down the pen and gives up. INT. CHIEF CASHIER’S OFFICE - DAY Georges hands
his salary chit to the Chief Cashier. CHIEF CASHIER Do you want an advance? What?
GEORGES
23.

CHIEF CASHIER Do you want an advance? On your salary? Yes. GEORGES Yes, I do.

He stares as the Cashier counts out a nice wad of notes for him, and pushes it
across the counter. Georges takes it up. He riffles the notes in his hand. Can’t
believe his luck. He pockets the cash with glee. GEORGES Thank you very much. INT.
CLOTILDE’S DRAWING ROOM - DAY An extravagant posy of fat, luscious pink roses.
Georges is waiting in Clotilde’s drawing room. He is nervous, excited. He fidgets
inside his clothes. The door opens. But it is not Clotilde who enters, but her
daughter, Laurine. She approaches Georges with all the composure of the lady of the
house. LAURINE Please sit down, Georges. Maman will be down shortly. She’s still in
bed. She goes scarlet. She wasn’t supposed to say that. Georges

She sits down, back straight, ankles together. copies her. GEORGES What shall we do
while we wait for her? LAURINE We could have a conversation. GEORGES Or we could
play a game. LAURINE Games are not for playing indoors. That’s what Papa says.
24.

Does he?

GEORGES

LAURINE Maman says you should be able to play wherever you like. GEORGES What’s
your favourite game? LAURINE (lighting up)

Tag.

Georges leans over and gently touches her on the shoulder. GEORGES You’re. It. And
then he’s up on his feet, and she’s chasing him round the sofa, giggling. Clotilde
enters. Georges and Laurine both jump to attention like guilty schoolchildren. A
beat. Who’s It? CLOTILDE

LAURINE (tagging her) You are! Clotilde scrambles over the back of the sofa to get
Georges. GEORGES Off ground! Clotilde and Laurine immediately jump onto the
furniture. Laurine is screaming with excitement. They jump from chair to chair.
After a minute, Georges stops. GEORGES Wait a minute. Who’s chasing who? CLOTILDE
You’re chasing us. He considers this for a moment, then lunges at them.
25.

And then the door opens, and Laurine’s NANNY enters to find them screaming and
dashing about and climbing all over the furniture. They haven’t heard her knock.
Panting and dishevelled, they stare at her. She does not approve. NANNY It is time
for Laurine to take her lunch. Laurine hides behind Clotilde’s skirts. LAURINE I
want to stay with Georges. Georges kneels down beside her. GEORGES Perhaps you
would permit me to call on you again. She throws her little arms around his neck.
Come soon. I promise. LAURINE Bel Ami. GEORGES

CLOTILDE (kissing Laurine) Don’t start without me. Laurine allows herself to be led
away. CLOTILDE “Bel Ami”. She never hugs anyone. You must be irresistible. She
meets Georges’ eyes. first time. They are alone together, for the

CLOTILDE I’m so glad you called. GEORGES (immediately) Can I see you again?
Clotilde doesn’t look at him. extremely daring. She’s about to say something

CLOTILDE I’ll come to you, tomorrow at four.

26.

GEORGES Come today. INT. ATTIC ROOM - DAY Georges’ shabby little room. The broken
bed, the peeling walls. He stands there for a moment, surveying its squalor. Then
he gets to work. He hangs Chinese fans and prints over the worst stains on the
wallpaper. He hangs Chinese lanterns above the window, and from the ceiling. He
sets glasses, a bottle of brandy and a bag of cherries on the window sill. He
lights candles around the room. He paces excitedly. He sits on the bed. It gives a
very loud, very unromantic creak. He winces. He gets up again, can’t sit still.
And, then, there it is. The tap at the door.

She is wearing a dress that fits like a skin, and a little hat with a veil tipped
over one eye. The usual row from the people on the stairs follows her into the
room. Georges shuts the door against it. She looks at the room, wildly over-
decorated. CLOTILDE I hope you didn’t go to any trouble. GEORGES No, no trouble at
all. Both grinning like idiots. CLOTILDE It’s lovely. She takes off her hat,
unveiling her bright, sweet face. Georges watches as she looks around the room. Her
eyes follow the lanterns over the ceiling. Her glance drops to the bed below. She
goes over to it, and sits down. It creaks a little.
27.

GEORGES Would you like a drink? CLOTILDE Yes, please, I would. I’m a little bit
nervous. So am I. GEORGES

He hands her a glass of brandy and drops a cherry in it. She is delighted. She
takes a sip. A droplet of brandy clings to her lips. He sits beside her on the bed.
It creaks again, more loudly this time. Clotilde bounces on the bed. They both
laugh as it protests angrily. CLOTILDE Do you think it can take both of us? She
lies back. beside her. He needs no encouragement. He lies back

Then she turns towards him and kisses him, her mouth open. A long, wonderful, wet,
hot kiss. But then she breaks away. CLOTILDE Poor Georges. How do you sleep in this
bed? GEORGES (kissing her again) I don’t know. I don’t care. They are both heating
up. CLOTILDE I’d like to do this again. GEORGES (between kisses) Can’t we do it
now? But she’s caught in a train of thought. CLOTILDE I mustn’t come to your room
again, though. All those people on the stairs. (MORE)
28.

CLOTILDE (cont'd) I can’t risk a divorce - I might lose Laurine. And, besides, I
don’t want to embarrass my husband. He’s a good man.
She kisses him. He keeps hold of her. But CLOTILDE A love nest is what we need. A
little place we could go to every now and then. Georges hesitates. She seems to
read his mind.

CLOTILDE I would pay for it. He sits up. GEORGES No, I couldn’t allow that.
CLOTILDE It would be my money, not my husband’s. She kisses him lingeringly. He
gives a little.

CLOTILDE My money to spend on me... Another kiss CLOTILDE ...on something I want. -
another thaw. CLOTILDE If you say yes, I’ll stop talking. Yes, then. GEORGES Yes.

He moves in for a kiss, but she stops him, and lies back below him. She spreads her
arms luxuriously behind her head. Unwrap me. CLOTILDE

She does, indeed, look like a gift. He finds the end of the ribbon on her corset
and pulls. She laughs.
29.

INT. CAFE/BAR - NIGHT Clotilde laughing helplessly now. She and Georges have come
to a packed little bar where dancing has broken out. They are dancing together,
delirious, a perfect fit. They are both drunk. Georges drinks from a champagne
bottle. He empties it. Swaying, he pulls more crumpled notes from his pockets,
scattering money on the floor, and blows his salary on two more bottles. The
dancing sweeps them in again. INT. CAFE/BAR - END OF THE NIGHT Georges and
Clotilde, both half-passed out amongst bottles and glasses, off their heads, in the
corner of the emptying bar. Bliss. FADE TO BLACK Wild, joyous, hilarious.

INT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE NEST - AFTERNOON Clotilde’s love nest. The bed is a wide,
double bed - nothing grand - sturdy, with soft, white bedclothes. A vase of pink
roses stands on the bedside table. In bed, in the dim light of a rainy afternoon,
Georges is dozing alone, when Clotilde enters the flat. She strips out of her wet
clothes and dives straight into bed with him. Ah! GEORGES You’re freezing.

CLOTILDE Warm me up. A LITTLE LATER Georges is out of bed, making tea for Clotilde
by the fire. He puts the cup on the table beside her, and stands there for a
moment, looking down at her.
30.

He climbs into bed.

He is holding a letter.

CLOTILDE What are you reading? GEORGES A letter from my father. Every week he puts
on his best suit and goes to the priest, and the priest writes a letter for him.
Every week, the same letter. “Your mother sends her blessing. The pigs have got
diarrhoea. When are you getting married?” He laughs. GEORGES He’s a peasant. He’s
never left his village. She kisses him. CLOTILDE I’d like to see where you grew up.
GEORGES I’d like to see you there. The kisses become more tender. CLOTILDE Promise
me something. Don’t bring your other women here. GEORGES I don’t have other women.
CLOTILDE All men have other women. Not me. Honestly? GEORGES CLOTILDE Don’t lie to
me.

GEORGES Honestly and truly. She kisses him passionately. A LITTLE LATER -
31.

At the dressing table, Clotilde is tidying her hair. CLOTILDE Let’s go to the
Gavotte. In the adjoining drawing room, Georges is checking his wallet, then his
trouser pockets, for cash. They are empty. No. GEORGES Let’s stay in.

And then he finds something unexpected: a gold sovereign in the pocket of his coat.
He didn’t put it there. He stares at it, vexed. GEORGES (as Clotilde enters) Did
you put this in my pocket? Me? No. CLOTILDE

GEORGES I don’t want you to give me money. She tries to kiss him. He pushes her
off.

GEORGES I can’t pay you back. CLOTILDE I don’t know what you mean. She whips the
sovereign from his hand. CLOTILDE But let’s spend it on champagne. INT./EXT. THE
GAVOTTE - NIGHT Georges and Clotilde push their way through the crush of bodies.
Clotilde loves the rough glamour of the place. Georges is not in a good mood. He
pays for some champagne with the gold sovereign. And, then, he sees a familiar face
in the crowd: Rachel. She sees him and comes towards him, smiling. Panicked, he
turns his back on her. She comes to stand at the bar, beside Clotilde.
32.

Hello.

RACHEL

Clotilde turns to her. Hello. CLOTILDE

RACHEL I was talking to your friend. Hello. Hello. Hello. Georges doesn’t respond.
He doesn’t know what to do. RACHEL I think he’s gone deaf. Georges? CLOTILDE

Georges looks down at Rachel coldly. GEORGES You seem to have mistaken me for
someone else. RACHEL So I see. Not so friendly after all, are you? Now that you’re
not looking for a cheap fuck. They have an audience now. RACHEL (to Clotilde) Make
sure he pays first. Clotilde looks for Georges to defend her, but he is paralysed.
Georges! CLOTILDE

RACHEL And there’s no mistake. He’s Georges Duroy. I’m still covered in bruises
from that awful old bed of his. A shocked beat.
33.

GEORGES (to Clotilde) It was before I knew you.

Clo -

But she is already wrenching herself away from him, and running into the promenade,
into the crowds. The group at the bar clap as she goes. Georges gives chase. Clo!
GEORGES

She is at the doors at the entrance of the club. Georges grabs her as she battles
her way into a waiting cab. GEORGES I haven’t seen her for months He tries to take
her hand CLOTILDE I forbid you to touch me! GEORGES Listen to me! It was before I
knew you She manages to smack him in the eye. Georges falls back as the carriage
door slams against him and the cab lurches away. He hollers in fury after it. He
steps toward the watching few, willing someone to take him on. People scatter, to
reveal Rachel. They stare at one another for a moment. RACHEL All you had to do was
say hello to me. GEORGES Who are you to speak to me? Who am I? RACHEL

She looks him up and down. Beggar. RACHEL

INT. JOURNALISTS’ ROOM - DAY Three tiny coins in Georges’ hand. His worldly wealth.
stares at them. He
34.

Around him, the usual frenzy of the paper - the scribbling men, the messenger boys,
people dashing in and out. One of the journalists holds up an empty inkwell.
Georges gets to his feet and refills it for him, then fills the others, and
restocks the stacks of paper. He hovers beside Louis, as a couple of journalists
leave the room, then, choosing his moment Louis... Yes? GEORGES LOUIS I need

(seeing Georges’ face) No. You still owe me forty. to eat, too.

Behind, watching from the doorway, is Charles. He has changed - he is thin and ill
now. He breathes with some difficulty, and coughs often. CHARLES Begging again,
Duroy? Why don’t you try earning it? Georges stares at him. CHARLES Diary of a
Cavalry Officer? Whatever happened to that? Georges still has no answer. CHARLES
Perhaps you’ve been waiting for my wife to write it. No GEORGES

CHARLES Perhaps you thought you could just draw your salary and she would do your
job for you. Agitated, he begins to cough. He can’t stop. He is bent double. At
last, he coughs up a mouthful of stuff into his handkerchief. Georges grimaces in
disgust. GEORGES I’ll write it now.
35.

CHARLES We don’t need it now. But Georges takes up a pen. The blank page
momentarily paralyses him, but he steels himself and, defiant, begins to write.
LATER Georges, covered in ink, words scrawling across the page. He finishes
triumphantly, then sorts his pages into a neat stack. GEORGES There you are,
Charles. “Diary of a Cavalry Officer”, part two. Charles reads them. He looks up at
Georges.

CHARLES You write like an errand boy. Georges snatches the pages back and begins
again. LATER Charles takes the new pages, reads them and hands them back to Georges
without a word. He watches as Georges, again, takes up a pen. CHARLES This could go
on all day. He comes to Georges, takes the pages and throws them, once and for all,
on the fire. CHARLES Listen, Duroy, I’ve had enough. This can’t go on. You’re no
use to me. You’ll have to find something else - something better suited to your
talents. Whatever they may be. GEORGES You’re sacking me? Charles stands CHARLES Be
gone when I get back.
36.

Charles! - and leaves.

GEORGES

Georges is shell-shocked.

GEORGES He sacked me. LOUIS Pompous idiot. He can talk. Couldn’t write his own name
without his wife to spell it for him. GEORGES (quiet fury) He sacked me. INT.
ROUSSET’S APARTMENT - DAY A room full of women. Or that’s how it seems. In fact,
there are only six, seated on blue silk chairs around a small tea table, but the
tiny room is hung wall-to-wall with mirrors, which give the impression of many,
many women. At their centre, the calm presence of Mme Rousset. One by one, they
turn their heads our way, and fall silent, as they become aware of another presence
in the room. Georges stands before them. pears. He holds in his arms a basket of

GEORGES I hope you will forgive me for intruding. The fans flutter. GEORGES I
wanted to make a gift to you, Mme Rousset, of these pears, which were sent to me
today from my parents’ estate in Normandy. MME ROUSSET How very kind. The other
ladies murmur their appreciation. MME ROUSSET Please, Monsieur Duroy, won’t you
join us?
37.

Georges takes a seat amongst the women. One black suit amidst six bright gowns. He
looks around him admiringly. The fans begin to flutter again. They are waiting for
him to speak. to say. At last, inspiration GEORGES Will you eat a pear, Mme
Rousset? I beg you to taste one. She is slightly taken aback by this unusual
request. After a pause I will. MME ROUSSET He has absolutely nothing

She takes a pear, followed by the other ladies. Eventually Georges takes one too.
The ladies look at him. He takes the first bite. The juice runs down his chin. He
laughs, mopping himself with his handkerchief. The ladies laugh with him. And, one
by one, they begin to eat. Their hands and fingers are soon running with pear juice
- they must lick them clean. Georges watches them, and they him. Their eyes gleam.
INT. OFFICE - DAY Georges, at the office, reinstated. Promoted. New clothes, a
proper place at the baize table, errand boys fussing round him now. Charles and
Louis are watching. LOUIS Head of Gossip. CHARLES Head of Gossip?! Georges looks
back at Charles and grins. EXT. ROUSSET’S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT Rousset’s
apartment building.
38.

Georges stands in the foyer. He is wearing a beautifully tailored, expensive suit,

a glossy top hat and white tie, and carrying a gold-topped ebony cane. He looks up
at the magnificent, glorious staircase, and down at his new black patent boots. He
smiles to himself. EXT. ROUSSET’S APARTMENT - NIGHT The HEAD FOOTMAN opens the door
to Georges. respectfully as he takes Georges’ coat. INT. ROUSSET’S APARTMENT -
NIGHT Georges walks through the polished halls of the Rousset home. Rousset comes
out of nowhere and grabs him. ROUSSET Come and look at my new painting. Almost
every inch of the hall is hung with pictures. ROUSSET What do you think? Georges
looks at the painting. It is a brown landscape. He bows

He tries to find the right words, fails and opts for audacity. GEORGES It’s
hideous, sir. Rousset looks at him. Then laughs. And look at

ROUSSET Isn’t it? HIDEOUS! this one Monstrous. GEORGES

ROUSSET It’s worth five hundred francs! And this! Guess how much this one’s worth?
GEORGES A thousand? Rousset is hooting now.
39.

He turns at the sound of approaching voices. The other guests are coming in from
the drawing room: Laroche, Charles, wheezing, and, behind them, the women:
Madeleine, Mme Rousset and - Georges freezes - Clotilde. He hasn’t seen her since
their fight at the Gavotte. And now she’s coming towards him, full of purpose. He
waits, with some trepidation. But she breaks into a wide smile. CLOTILDE Well, Bel
Ami, don’t you have a kiss for an old friend? He kisses her hand, still surprised
at her tone. MADELEINE Bel Ami! I was beginning to think you’d forgotten me The
women crowd round him. Rousset and the men watch, at a little distance. Rousset is
amused. ROUSSET Let’s go in. Ladies... (to Georges) Bel Ami... Georges doesn’t know
how to react to this nickname. Laroche seems to be laughing at him. But then
Clotilde comes to him. CLOTILDE I have pages and pages of gossip for you... She
smiles up at him. breaks into a grin. A LITTLE LATER It is after dinner. Rousset’s
daughter, Suzanne, is at the piano. She’s a mediocre singer, with a thin voice.
Georges claps her performance obediently. He is seated beside Clotilde, at the back
of the room, where he can run his fingers along the inside of her wrist without
anyone else noticing. Rousset is in rapture at the sight of his little princess.
The performance is only marred, for him, by Charles’ relentless coughing. It soon
becomes a fit. Suzanne stops playing. Unseen, her hand brushes his thigh. He
40.

Charles is rendered completely helpless, fighting for breath, his entire body
jerking with the ferocity of each spasm. The guests exchange glances. Those near to
Charles draw away a little. Madeleine helps Charles to his feet. He leans heavily
on her. Georges watches as Madeleine helps her husband out of the room. His fingers
slide gently over Clotilde’s skin... INT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE NEST - NIGHT ... naked
now, as they make love. taken them both by surprise. GEORGES I missed you. CLOTILDE
Why didn’t you come to me? GEORGES I thought you didn’t want me anymore. CLOTILDE I
always want you. They kiss; they move. GEORGES Is it too slow? CLOTILDE It’s
perfect. Tender, aching moments pass between them. Now? No. GEORGES CLOTILDE The
intensity of it has

They kiss; they move. He watches her eyes as they slowly liquefy. Now? GEORGES
41.

Yes.

CLOTILDE

It is very soft, very quiet. LATER Georges wakes. opens one eye. Clotilde is
stretched out against him. She

CLOTILDE I must go home. My husband will be waiting. (kissing Georges) My other

husband. A pause. GEORGES Your rich husband. He gets up, pulls some trousers on.
CLOTILDE The father of my daughter. He doesn’t answer. She gets up, puts on her
corset. CLOTILDE Will you lace me up? tie it Remember to

GEORGES - with a bow. Like your husband does it. He begins to lace her up. Neither
speaks.

CLOTILDE Let’s not waste our time with quarrelling. Think of Charles. Madeleine is
taking him to the sea, but it won’t help. He listens. CLOTILDE Poor Madeleine. Then
-
42.

CLOTILDE She won’t be a widow for long. He pauses for the tiniest second. corset
off. With a bow. EXT. CANNES, VILLA - DAY The dazzling Cote d’Azur. overlooks the
sea. On the rise of a hill, a villa Then he carefully ties the

Georges is climbing out of a carriage at the gates of the drive. He carries a small
bag, and a bunch of mimosa. Madeleine receives him on the front porch. paler. Her
fragility touches him. MADELEINE Thank you for coming. You’re the only one. He
remembers the mimosa. She is delighted. MADELEINE It’s my favourite. Thank you. How
is he? GEORGES She is thinner,

MADELEINE I brought him to Cannes to make him better. But I’ll bury him here. She
turns and goes inside. INT. CHARLES’ SICK ROOM - EVENING A beautiful bed, with an
elegant headboard of carved walnut. In it, Charles is dying. His face is as gaunt
as a skull; his breathing clogged and heavy. He watches Georges approach. CHARLES
You’ve come to see me die. GEORGES No, Charles. I’ve come to escape the winter.
43.

CHARLES Because I’m going to live. I am! I’m going to live! Help me up. I want to
go for a drive. MADELEINE You’re not strong enough CHARLES I want to go for a
drive! Help me! Georges helps him haul his feeble body up. Charles flops against
him. He begins to gasp, then to cough. The fit takes him very quickly, brutal and
revolting. Georges tries to disengage from him but Charles’ hands grip his arms
like jaws. Charles begins to choke. Bloody slime erupts from him, and spatters down
his nightshirt, and onto Georges’ sleeve and wrist. Georges wrenches himself away.
MOMENTS LATER Georges washing the bloody mess off, rinsing his hands over and over
again, shuddering, in disgust and horror. INT. CHARLES’ SICK ROOM - NIGHT Night has
fallen. Beside the bed, Madeleine, exhausted, is dozing in a chair. Georges gazes
at her. The fine fabric of her gown clings to the curve of her outstretched leg.
Charles watches, his eyes narrow slits of light, as Georges’ gaze travels down
Madeleine’s body. Georges looks up and is caught. The two men stare at one another.
Charles begins to cough again. Madeleine wakes instantly and kneels at his side. He
chokes up great mouthfuls of matter. After some time, the fit subsides. The waiting
recommences. Georges, his heart thudding, watches Charles’ hands as they grasp at
the sheet. LATER Charles’ eyes are dull with pain and weakness.
44.

Madeleine enters the room silently. She is followed by a PRIEST. As the Priest
draws near, Charles’ expression is appalling, pitiful, to see. Georges and
Madeleine stand apart as he reads the Last Rites. Madeleine is shaking. Georges
takes her arm - it seems unbearably thin and frail in his hand - and draws her out
of the sick room. INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT GEORGES I’ll arrange everything. She shakes
her head. MADELEINE For weeks I’ve done nothing but prepare for this moment.
GEORGES Will your family come? She is silent. landing. She sits on a bench against
the wall of the

MADELEINE My mother died when I was a child. My father seduced and abandoned her.
(unemotional) I am alone. Georges is shocked. He had never imagined her so
vulnerable.

GEORGES What will you do? She has no answer. She looks at him.

MADELEINE Please stay. He is on his knees before her. He would do anything she
asked. INT. CHARLES’ SICK ROOM - NIGHT Georges sits at Madeleine’s side.
45.

His eyes are drawn again to the restless, febrile clawing of Charles’ hands on the
sheets. And then, appallingly, the hands fall still Georges wakes, in a sweat. The
hands are moving again, opening and closing, holding on. Charles’ breath rattles in
his throat. CHARLES Open the windows. Madeleine wipes his brow. CHARLES (terror)
Let in the light. Open the windows. Madeleine tries to calm him. CHARLES Open the
windows. He loses consciousness. They wait and watch again in the gloom. Charles in
his bed; Madeleine beside him. The lamps burn. Slowly, inexorably, the scene
darkens. A tide of blackness seeps into the light, like pools of ink soaking
through a cloth. Obliteration. The blotting out of all life. Oblivion. Georges
wakes again, gasping for air. He looks at Charles, and, at that moment, he sees a
frown cross the dying man’s face. His hands cease their scrabbling movement. He
looks at Georges; there is surprise, as well as sorrow, in his expression. He gives
a little gulp, and a trickle of blood runs thickly from the corner of his mouth,
and drops onto his nightshirt like a deep, red full stop. And, as if the split
second were drawn out to an hour, Georges watches, his breath held in mute terror,
as the light in Charles’ eyes gutters and dies. Tears spring, in shock, to Georges’
eyes. Kneeling beside the bed, Madeleine weeps. INT. CHARLES’ SICK ROOM - LATER
Charles’ VALET meticulously lays out the corpse. He whimpers, pitifully.
46.

Georges watches as he washes the pallid flesh, the white limbs rolling and lifeless
in his hands. INT. CHARLES’ SICK ROOM - DAWN Charles’ dressed body is laid out on a
table. Madeleine lights candles around the room and lays out branches of palm.
Georges stares down at Charles’ body, at the terrible, deathdistorted face. The
corpse is beginning to stink. Georges moves away from it. Outside, the birds are
beginning their chorus. Georges throws the shutters open, flooding the room with
fresh, crisp air. He inhales deeply. He turns to look back at Madeleine with all
the alert, concentrated attention of a leopard. At last, she comes to stand beside
him. lungs. GEORGES I shall have to leave after the funeral. MADELEINE (heavily) He
begins to speak, softly. She, too, fills her

Yes.

He senses his moment.

GEORGES I want you to listen to what I’m going to say and try to understand. Don’t
be angry. I am not making you a proposal. At this time, in this place, it would be
an odious thing to do. I only want you to know that with one word you can make me
happy. You can make me your friend - your brother, even. Or you can make me your
husband. My heart and my body are yours. He hasn’t looked at her throughout this
speech. Now he turns his head towards her, and sees that her eyes are alight. That
direct, unwavering gaze, full of energy and comprehension. She takes his hand
immediately. MADELEINE You have to understand, I am not like other women. (MORE)
47.

MADELEINE (cont'd) I cannot be an obedient and submissive wife. Marriage, to me, is

a partnership, a contract between equals.
Georges is blinded. GEORGES Yes, yes, of course. MADELEINE Look at me. He obeys.
MADELEINE I will not accept authority or jealousy or questioning of my conduct. I
insist on being free. Yes, yes. GEORGES

MADELEINE But you must give it more thought. It is an important decision for both
of us. She moves away. MADELEINE Don’t give me your answer now. EXT. CEMETERY - DAY
Georges and Madeleine are the only mourners at Charles’ funeral. They stand beside
the open grave, listening to the Priest as he reads a prayer. Georges feels the
earth between his fingers before he casts it over the coffin. EXT. TRAIN STATION -
DAY Georges and Madeleine stand on the platform together. Paris train waits. Well.
GEORGES Goodbye. MADELEINE The

Goodbye.
48.

He climbs aboard, and leans out of the window. one another.

They stare at

The train begins to move. A billow of steam momentarily obscures Madeleine from
view. As it clears, Georges puts his hand to his mouth and blows her an ardent
kiss. The train gathers pace, begins to round the bend. Soon she will be out of
sight. But, at the very last moment, she raises her hand and, faintly and
discreetly, returns the gesture. INT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE NEST - DAY Clotilde’s bed.
Clotilde’s face is a picture of happiness as she stretches out beneath the white
bedclothes. Georges is dressing. He looks down at her. eyes, smiles sleepily,
reaches up to him. He pulls away. Clo. GEORGES She opens her

He sits on the bed, with his back to her, for a long moment. She sits up in alarm.
Clo GEORGES

CLOTILDE Just tell me. Tell me quickly. GEORGES I’m getting married. She takes the
blow. CLOTILDE Of course you must. After a tiny moment CLOTILDE Who is she? GEORGES
(quietly) Madeleine Forestier.
49.

She gives a low, wounded gasp. CLOTILDE Of course. Yes, you’ve chosen exactly the
woman you need. Yes. GEORGES

But Clotilde senses something more. CLOTILDE And you love her. He can’t answer. She
stands up. She is heartbroken. Georges reaches up to her. Clo. GEORGES

CLOTILDE No, no. I’ll be alright. And, without another word, she leaves him there,
alone on the rumpled bed. FADE TO BLACK

INT. MADELEINE’S BEDROOM - DAY Madeleine’s bed. It is a grand, antique bed, in a

grand room, with tall, elegant windows and fine furniture. The bed is covered, from
head to foot, in paper. Newspapers, journals, maps, letters, balls of scrumpled-up
paper and halfwritten articles. Madeleine herself is buried under it all, as she
dictates to Georges. MADELEINE “The government insists that it has abandoned its
designs on Morocco -” Sorry, no. “The government insists that it has listened to
the will of its people and abandoned its designs on Morocco -”
50.

He wants to get on the bed with her. space.

He tries to find a

MADELEINE No, no, not there! Don’t move anything! He is peeved. write. He has to
sit at the tiny dressing table to

GEORGES (writing) “- and abandoned its designs on Morocco -” He throws down the
pen. GEORGES It’s so boring! This endless to and fro - they say this, we say that.
MADELEINE Yes, you’re quite right. It’s stale as old bread. She thinks. MADELEINE
Wasn’t there a deputy - who was it? He bet his moustache the government was lying.
GEORGES Sarrazin. Let’s give Sarrazin’s moustache a column of its own. MADELEINE
Yes! Rousset will love it. She looks over at him, sees that he is sulking. She
carefully moves a pile of papers for him, and pats the bed. MADELEINE I’ve been
thinking. The Political Editor of a leading newspaper should have a memorable name,
something a bit grand. Georges is intrigued. He comes to sit beside her.

MADELEINE Where are your parents from?

51.

GEORGES Canteleu. You remember. We didn’t have our honeymoon there. Listen.
MADELEINE Du Roy de Canteleu.

He likes the sound of it. He writes it out on a piece of paper. MADELEINE It’s not
quite right. (experimenting) Du Roy de Cantel. He writes it again. GEORGES I like
De Canteleu better. where I was born. MADELEINE No, listen. (her lips close to his)
Georges du Roy de Cantel. She kisses him. His eyes linger on her mouth. It’s

GEORGES Say it again. MADELEINE Georges du Roy de Cantel. He kisses her. He is

intoxicated by her, by her skin, her eyes, her hair. MADELEINE Madame du Roy de
Cantel. She lies back, savouring the sound of it. rustles and crackles beneath her.
The bed of paper His

He looks at her wonderingly, touches her in awe. goddess. INT. THE PARISIAN - DAY

Georges du Roy de Cantel, splendidly dressed, with a leather wallet under one arm,
enters the offices of The Parisian.
52.

A nod to the Chief Clerk and he passes through the swinging door into the offices
beyond. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY He strides down the corridor to Rousset’s office,
knocks and enters. The same old scene: the card game, the cigar smoke, the stack of
money at the centre of the table. Georges gives him the article he and Madeleine
have written. Rousset reads it quickly and laughs out loud. ROUSSET Sarrazin’s
moustache! - that’s marvellous He looks up at Georges in surprise. ROUSSET This is
exactly what we need - some originality of thought. (summoning a Messenger Boy)
Boy! Print Room. The Boy dashes off with the article. And then Rousset pulls out a
chair for Georges. a hand of cards. He deals him

And Georges turns back to the door, all smiling cockiness, and shuts it in our
face. INT. FLORIST - DAY Georges is buying a huge bunch of mimosa for Madeleine. He
watches, smiling with pride, as the SHOPKEEPER carefully wraps the flowers in fine
paper and ribbon. GEORGES It’s for my wife. INT. STAIRS - DAY Georges climbs the
grand staircase of the apartment building, carrying the mimosa.
53.

He stops in front of one of the grand mirrors, just as he did that night all those
months ago, and smiles at his good fortune. INT. DRAWING ROOM - DAY Georges enters
the drawing room, the flowers held as a secret behind his back. But he finds
Madeleine arranging another huge bunch of mimosa in a vase in the centre of the
room. GEORGES Who’s that from? And, following Madeleine’s eyes, he turns to find
another man in the room. The Comte de Vaudrec. He is pulling a jacket on over his
shirt sleeves. acknowledge Georges. He doesn’t

Madeleine quickly comes to Georges and takes the mimosa from him. MADELEINE Oh,
thank you. You know how I love it. I can never have too much. Georges looks at her,
at the blush creeping up from her neck to her cheeks. Her hand goes to her throat
as if to hide it. MADELEINE The Comte was just leaving. GEORGES Not for my sake, I
hope. VAUDREC No, I have business to attend to. Paul appears with Vaudrec’s hat and
coat. VAUDREC Thank you, Paul. Give my regards to your wife. I wish her better
health. PAUL You are too kind, Monsieur le Comte.
54.

He bows respectfully to him. Madeleine leaves the room with Vaudrec. She shuts the
door behind them. Georges stares at Vaudrec’s mimosa. He becomes aware of Paul
waiting, watching him. GEORGES That will be all. Paul bows to him. PAUL Very good,
sir. There is a world of insult in the way he inclines his head. Madeleine returns.
GEORGES What did he want? MADELEINE He always comes on a Tuesday. She kisses him.
He allows himself to be reassured. his arms around her. GEORGES When are your
politicians arriving? MADELEINE In half an hour. GEORGES (pulling her close) Half
an hour? MADELEINE I’ve invited a senator. A deputy. And Monsieur Laroche. GEORGES
The Shadow Foreign Minister. MADELEINE And lots of other very important men. She
breaks away from him. He puts
55.

INT. DRAWING ROOM - DAY The drawing room is packed with very important men.
Madeleine is the only woman present. One white gown amongst ten black suits. She is
in her element. Rousset and Louis are there from The Parisian, and Laroche, the
politician. The others are grand-looking men in formal suits we haven’t met before.
George watches as his wife passes from man to man, a smile to one, a word to
another. He sees how they look at her, how their eyes linger on her. INT. DRAWING
ROOM - LATER The salon is over. The very important men have gone. Laroche remains,
sitting at Rousset’s right hand. ROUSSET Lies. I want the word to appear on every
front page. I want it to appear on every wall, in every shop window. I want the man
on the street to know the government is lying without ever reading a single column
of newsprint. MADELEINE But we must arm ourselves with proof. We must have evidence
of corruption. ROUSSET Look into their financial dealings (to Georges) Forestier,
see what you can dig up. GEORGES (starting) What? What? ROUSSET Only

GEORGES You called me Forestier. ROUSSET Did I? Force of habit. He sees Georges
reel.
56.

ROUSSET Don’t be offended. You can’t blame me. It’s an easy mistake to make.
GEORGES What does that mean? Madeleine intervenes quickly. MADELEINE And we should
look into troop movements, armaments, logistics. ROUSSET Laroche, you can help us
here. Laroche nods. Georges is still smarting.

LAROCHE I know of two high-ranking officers who are sympathetic to our cause. Good.
ROUSSET Talk to -

He gestures at Georges. ROUSSET (to Georges) Laroche will tell you what to write.
Yes And I want about me. visit from Interior. Did he? GEORGES ROUSSET you to write
an article This morning I had a the Minister of the He offered me a job. MADELEINE

ROUSSET He asked me why I was wasting my time running a newspaper when I could be
running the country. Rousset and Laroche are really amused. ROUSSET He thinks he’s
in charge!
57.

MADELEINE Well, then, let’s show him. ROUSSET We’re going to take this government
down, minister by minister, and we’re going to start with him. LAROCHE (to Georges)
Better get some more ink, my friend. Georges forces a smile. INT. STUDY - DAY In
the study, Madeleine is hard at work, sorting through papers. She moves around the
room, from pile to pile, looking for clues, putting facts together. She is utterly
engrossed. Georges watches her, brooding. GEORGES Do you know what puzzles me?
What? MADELEINE

GEORGES Why you married Charles. MADELEINE (after a pause) What do you mean?
GEORGES A woman like you with a man like him. She has more important things to
think about. GEORGES What did you see in him? MADELEINE He was an honest man.
friend. And a good
58.

GEORGES Just a friend? I hope you don’t think of me like that. He comes to her and
begins to caress her. He sits at the desk and pulls her onto his lap. She continues
to study a piece of paper over his shoulder. She breaks away suddenly. Something
has caught her eye.

MADELEINE Look at these exports to Oran. They’ve gone from shipping hundreds of
tons of grain - here - to thousands - here. Why? GEORGES To feed an army. Madeleine
looks at him. MADELEINE To feed an army! She kisses him, suddenly passionate.
MADELEINE This is it. This is it! We’ve got them! Who’s supplying the grain, that’s
the question She reaches for a pen. MADELEINE Come on, we’ve got to get this down
GEORGES My brilliant wife. He kisses her neck. She sighs, almost in spite of
herself. Georges is completely distracted, hands all over her. MADELEINE No,
Georges - I want to work. But he holds onto her. do is give in. She sees that the
quickest thing to

MADELEINE (annoyed) Alright.

59.

And she climbs on top of him, and takes control. The sex is fast and efficient.
There is something cold and expert about her. Slow down. GEORGES Mado...

He tries to touch her, but she bats his hands away. Come on. MADELEINE Come on.

GEORGES (shocked) Wait. Come on. MADELEINE He comes. Georges is left in

He can’t stop himself.

Immediately, she climbs off him. disarray.

He looks up at her. She is already standing over him, holding out a pen. And he
sees, with a great, cold pang, that there is no love at all in her eyes. GEORGES Of
course, it’s Tuesday. I suppose the Comte de Vaudrec will be here soon. She is
shocked. But she swallows it. She puts paper in front of him, and the pen. She
stands over him. MADELEINE “The Parisian has unearthed incontrovertible proof of
the government’s true intentions towards Morocco.” GEORGES We have never talked of
that, have we? I have never asked you about the Comte de Vaudrec. The man who
arrives unannounced, who knows the servants better than I do. MADELEINE “Buried
deep amongst the dreary columns of our trade figures, where no-one would think - ”
60.

GEORGES What is he to you? MADELEINE (raising her voice) “ - where no-one would
think of looking - “ GEORGES What is he to you? She is infuriated. eyes. She holds
the pen up in front of his

MADELEINE Do you want to be the man who brought down the government? Or are you
going to be a fool? But Georges cannot contain his spite. GEORGES Yes. You’re
right. I am a fool no, an idiot. Isn’t that what you said? Love makes idiots of us
all. She throws the pen at him, disgusted. MADELEINE I need to wash. INT. BATHROOM
- DAY Georges comes to the bathroom door. He pushes it open an inch and looks in on
Madeleine, sitting on the rim of the bath, her dress hitched up as she dries her
legs. She looks up at him, but doesn’t speak. He comes forward. Then he sinks to
his knees before her, pulling the towel from her hands, and dries her himself. EXT.
THE PARISIAN - NIGHT The offices of The Parisian are lit up. Rousset is throwing a
small party to celebrate the fall of the government - nothing too grand, just for
the staff and members of the new Cabinet. Georges and Madeleine are climbing out of
a carriage. Georges helps Madeleine down.
61.

INT. THE PARISIAN - NIGHT The entrance hall is lit with candles and decorated with
bunting and flags. The staff of The Parisian are in high spirits, drinking
champagne. The Chief Cashier is there with his wife. She is both wider and taller
than her husband. All raise their glasses to Georges and Madeleine as they enter.
Rousset immediately comes to them. His daughter, Suzanne, hangs off his arm
adoringly. She has a little basket of posies which she distributes to the guests.
ROUSSET We’ve been waiting for you - you remember my daughter, Suzanne? Suzanne
gives Madeleine a posy of flowers. SUZANNE And another for Monsieur Bel Ami...
Georges looks at her. She holds his gaze, a little too knowing for her years.
SUZANNE It’s what Maman calls you. He turns to Mme Rousset. She is flustered.

MME ROUSSET (to Madeleine) I hope you don’t mind. I’ve heard it used so often, it’s
become a habit. Of course. MADELEINE

Georges is still struck by Mme Rousset. She looks ravishing this evening. ROUSSET
There’s Laroche. Minister! Can the new Minister for Foreign Affairs spare a moment
for the press? Laroche joins them. LAROCHE (to Georges) I am arranging a very
special thank you for you.
62.

ROUSSET You should really be thanking my wife. She was the one who persuaded me to
hire him. Mme Rousset blushes under Georges’ gaze. Laroche begins to pontificate.
LAROCHE We have a great task ahead of us. Our achievements in government must dwarf
our achievements in opposition. MADELEINE The rumours have already begun that the
new government has plans of its own for Morocco. ROUSSET (immediately) Yes, we must
close that chapter once and for all. We’ll run a special edition of the paper.
Georges turns away from them, bored. And then he sees her, in the midst of a little
group of people at the far end of the room: Clotilde. They meet in the middle of
the room. Hello. GEORGES

CLOTILDE Hello. No need to ask how you are. I’m so pleased for you. Georges is
touched by her generosity. GEORGES How’s Laurine? CLOTILDE She still hasn’t
forgiven you. She calls you Monsieur Forestier now. He winces. CLOTILDE She’s too
young to understand.
63.

And you?

GEORGES

CLOTILDE You made a good marriage. have to do it.

We all

Georges looks at Madeleine, talking to Laroche. CLOTILDE (straightforward) And I

miss you. Our love nest feels cold without you. GEORGES You kept it on? Clotilde
shrugs. CLOTILDE I’m an optimist. Rousset breaks the moment. ROUSSET (to Clotilde)
May I borrow my protege for a moment? INT. ROUSSET’S OFFICE - NIGHT Rousset’s
office is quiet after the clamour of the party. One or two oil lamps burn low. On
the round table, packs of cards are scattered, some still in hands, as if the
players had got up and left mid-game. ROUSSET I don’t much care for parties.
Brandy? Sit, sit. He pours them a drink. armchairs. Georges sits in a deep, leather

ROUSSET Your father must be proud. His son is going to be a great man. Have a
cigar. He holds out a box of cigars. Georges takes one. Rousset lights it for him.
Rousset sits and puts his feet up.
64.

ROUSSET They used to call me that Southerner Rousset, the upstart. Now they call me
Monsieur Rousset, the magnate. And they bow to me and speak in hushed tones.
Georges smokes. He is enjoying being a great man.

ROUSSET I am more powerful than a king. Not as rich - not yet, anyway. He laughs.
ROUSSET In a mere morning, between breakfast and lunch, I can empty the Chamber of
Deputies and fill it again with men of my choosing. With nothing more than words on
a page. GEORGES They’re not your words. Rousset looks at him. Are they? GEORGES

Rousset doesn’t speak for a moment. He is considering the challenge before making
his response. ROUSSET Did you know you were an embarrassment to Charles? A failed
soldier. Barely literate. Of course, he couldn’t have known, then, that you would
marry his wife while he was still warm in the grave. (paternal) How is married
life? Get on alright with the Comte de Vaudrec? Georges can’t speak. That name is
like an electric shock. ROUSSET I only ask because I know he visits often. I
suppose it’s only fair that he should. (seeing Georges’ face) (MORE)
65.

ROUSSET (cont'd) Well, he owns the apartment, doesn’t he?

He watches Georges absorb this. ROUSSET Yes, he set them up in the apartment after
he married Madeleine to Charles. GEORGES He married Madeleine to Charles? ROUSSET
Well, he introduced them, and paid her dowry, so I suppose that’s how you’d put it.
Georges is up on his feet. GEORGES (defensive) He was like a father to her. ROUSSET
Oh, perhaps. The disbelief in his tone is sickening. Georges tries to regain some
composure, but his guts are in knots. He sits at the round table and begins to
fidget angrily with the cards. Laroche enters. He looks at the two men, staring at
each other. He sits in Georges’ seat. LAROCHE The dancing has begun. ROUSSET (to
Georges) Go and enjoy the party. GEORGES Yes, they’ll be wondering where I am. Bel
Ami. ROUSSET

Georges musters as much dignity as he can manage, and leaves the room. Rousset and
Laroche stare after him. other. They don’t look at each
66.

INT. ENTRANCE HALL - NIGHT Disturbed, Georges re-enters the party. Around him, the
champagne has begun to take effect. The room is heaving, hot and wild. He sees
Madeleine beyond the dancing, surrounded by men. She looks over at him, her gaze as
unwavering and clear as ever. INT. MADELEINE’S APARTMENT/BEDROOM - NIGHT Paul,
still up at this late hour, lets Georges and Madeleine in. Georges watches
Madeleine’s every move. He follows her into the bedroom. She comes to him and
begins to undo his tie and collar. He looks down into her face, studying her. He
can feel her breath on his skin. MADELEINE What have you done to Virginie? GEORGES
What do you mean? MADELEINE She spent the whole evening gazing at you. I think she
may be a little in love with you. Love. GEORGES

The word seems to revolt him. The force of it startles her. She tries to read him;
and he her. They search one another’s faces. She turns and offers him her back.
MADELEINE Would you help me? Her dress has a backbone of buttons. He takes his
time, his eyes on her throat and shoulders as the dress falls open beneath his
hands. She pulls away from him and steps out of it. He looks at her in her
underclothes. She meets his eyes, keeps her distance.
67.

Then she comes back to him, and begins to unbutton his shirt. He allows her to, his
face turned away from her as if recoiling. She recognises the insult. She remains
composed. His shirt gapes open. She allows her eyes to linger on the warm skin of
his belly. Desire takes him very quickly. She sees, and lets him reach for her. And
then she turns away. MADELEINE Good night, Georges. INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT Georges
watches himself in the mirror as he finishes undressing. He runs his fingers down
his breastbone, down his beautiful body. EXT. THE CHURCH OF THE MADELEINE - DAY The
exquisite Mme Rousset. She is modestly dressed, as always, in a gown buttoned up to
the neck. She is dressed for church. Behind her, following her, is Georges. He
watches as she climbs the grand steps of the Madeleine, and disappears inside. INT.
THE CHURCH OF THE MADELEINE - DAY Inside the church it is quiet and cool. He sees
her immediately, sitting in a pew towards the back of the nave. He walks past her
as if oblivious and kneels at a pew a few yards ahead. He seems to pray. Then he
gets up from his knees and sits quietly. He does not look behind him, but he can
feel her eyes upon him. He waits. Then he rises to leave. Then MME ROUSSET Monsieur
Duroy! GEORGES Mme Rousset! I didn’t know you came here. He walks past her.
68.

MME ROUSSET Yes, I come most afternoons. GEORGES I’m afraid I don’t come as often
as I should. You are well? MME ROUSSET Thank you, yes. He tips his hat with
impeccable good manners. GEORGES Well, I won’t disturb you any further. Good
afternoon. He bows, and leaves her. She listens to his footsteps. him. He walks on.
EXT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE NEST - NIGHT Georges unlocks the door of the love nest.
Clotilde pulls him inside. the door has even closed. He has her on the floor before
Then she turns back to look at

INT. THE CHURCH OF THE MADELEINE - DAY Torrential rain is falling. The streets are
flooded.

The doorway of the Madeleine offers passers-by momentary respite. Outside, in a

carriage, Georges is waiting, watching. At last, Mme Rousset arrives. He catches a
glimpse of her face as the COACHMAN helps her out of her carriage, before she
disappears under an umbrella. The crowd parts to let her into the church. Georges
follows.
69.

INT. THE CHURCH OF THE MADELEINE - DAY Inside, apart from the cluster of people at
the door, the church is empty. Georges shakes out his umbrella. Mme Rousset is
kneeling in her usual pew towards the back of the nave. She wears a veil over her
face. Georges takes a seat in the row behind her. lips moving in prayer beneath the
veil. GEORGES (softly) Virginie. She looks at him as if she has been caught. He
comes to sit beside her. MME ROUSSET What - what chance brings you here again? You
were caught in the rain. Yes. Pause. GEORGES No. I did not come here by chance. She
looks into his face. His eyes are on her mouth, her skin. His meaning is
unmistakeable. She rises in a panic, but he touches her arm. GEORGES I don’t mean
to frighten you. I expect nothing. I ask for nothing. I don’t even know what I’m
doing. She sits down again. GEORGES I have offended you. MME ROUSSET No, I am not
offended. She meets his eyes for the first time. Her soft, timid glance gives him a
great thrill of desire. GEORGES He can see her
70.

MME ROUSSET But we must not speak of it anymore. GEORGES Shall I leave you? A tiny
spasm of disappointment betrays her. GEORGES Shall I stay? She takes flight, like a
startled bird. still crammed with people. But the doorway is He seizes it.

Georges catches her, draws her away from the crowd, along the aisle at the side of
the church. The wall is covered with engraved memorials to the dead. He has one arm
against it, blocking her path. He will not let her eyes leave him. GEORGES Is there
hope for me? She flutters on, further into the church, into the shadows behind the
altar. He follows. She seems to wait for him, then she slips into one of the tiny
chapels alongside. He enters the chapel. This time, she does not move away.
Instead, she steps forward, suddenly, unthinking, and they kiss; he kisses her and
she kisses him. His hands, running from her neck to the small of her back, pull her
body close against him. Footsteps interrupt them. Mme Rousset breaks away, just
before a PRIEST passes them, on his business. She drops to her knees in an attitude
of prayer. The Priest’s footsteps die away. She gets to her feet. Georges moves
towards her, but when she turns her eyes to him, he sees reproach there. MME
ROUSSET You are trying to seduce me in a church? And she flees. He watches as she
runs to the Priest, sees how she grips his hand and allows herself to be led into a
confessional. Her hypocrisy turns him cold.
71.

He makes a decision. He is going to wait for her. He takes his seat again.

An OLD MAN, a poor man, comes to kneel in the pew beside him. Georges watches him
whisper his fervent prayer. He looks up into the vault of the church, as if
watching the words dissipate in the emptiness there. The Man’s old working clothes
are wet from the rain; his boots are splitting at the heel. Georges props his
umbrella against the pew, discreetly, so that the Man may take it. And then he
turns away from him. He chooses a seat at the back of the church, near the
confessional. She will have to pass him to leave. He waits. The door of the
confessional opens, and he drops to his knees immediately, in prayer. She sees him,
his hands clasped tight. Her sense of certainty evaporates. He gets up, as if
startled, and comes to her, contrite. GEORGES Forgive me. (convincing) Have pity on
me. And, before she can say a word, he leaves her. EXT. THE CHURCH OF THE MADELEINE
- DAY Georges emerges from the Madeleine. It has stopped raining; the skies are
lighter. He strolls across the street towards a cab rank. GEORGES (to the Coachman)
Wait here for a moment. He climbs inside, and waits. After a moment, the door opens
and there she is, pale and anxious. He holds his hand out to her, and she takes it
quickly, and he pulls her inside. MME ROUSSET Where are we going? He doesn’t
answer.
72.

INT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE NEST - DAY Mme Rousset stands, trembling, in the centre of the
drawing room of Clotilde’s love nest. The bedroom door is open, revealing the bed
beyond. She glances at it. But Georges shuts that door. He takes off his jacket,
and his tie, his eyes always on her. He closes the blinds, one by one, prowling
around the room, sometimes drawing near. He lights a lamp. GEORGES Do you want
something to drink? She is overwhelmed and cannot speak. He doesn’t bother
unbuttoning his shirt. He just pulls it off over his head. She anticipates his
touch, her eyes on his chest MME ROUSSET I have never had a lover before. - but he
just looks at her. for him. He is revelling in her desire

MME ROUSSET I must have been mad to come here with you. GEORGES You want to be
here. Be honest. MME ROUSSET (longing)

Yes.

Then he comes to her, and unbuttons those top buttons, one by one. He begins to
strip her. She tries to hide her face in her hands, but he pulls them away. He is
in front of her, unhooking her corset. As it comes free, she grabs hold of it and
hides her face in it again. He pulls it away from her. GEORGES Look at me. He makes
her watch him as his eyes travel over her naked body. She quivers as if his gaze
were touching her skin.
73.

GEORGES Does your husband tell you you’re beautiful? MME ROUSSET (faint) He is cool

No.

He reaches out and traces the line of her breast. and appraising. He watches her
melt. Please... MME ROUSSET

But Georges is enjoying himself too much. Then, at last, when she can almost bear
no more, he pulls her to him and kisses her. He forces her roughly to the floor,
her body white and delicate against the red carpet. Then she curls her legs around
him, and gives herself to him with an unexpected, ravenous passion. And she mouths
silently, ecstatically, to herself, her hands on his back as he kisses her body:
MME ROUSSET I love you I love you I love you INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT A dinner
party. Georges sits at the head of his grand dining table, the master. The table
stretches before him, laden with flowers and fruit, gleaming with silver and
crystal. Rousset and Laroche are his guests; his women are on either side of him,
Clotilde to his left, Mme Rousset to his right. Madeleine sits opposite him. He
watches as Rousset drinks his wine and eats his food, while, beneath the table, Mme
Rousset rests her foot on his. He watches Laroche as he attempts to flirt with
Clotilde, whose hand, beneath the table, is resting on his knee. INT. BEDROOM -
NIGHT But, as he climbs into bed with Madeleine at the end of the evening, there is
silence.
74.

They lie side by side, wordless, unconnected, and the great expanse of the bed
stretches between them, empty. FADE TO BLACK

INT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE NEST - DAY Clotilde’s bed, the vase of pink roses, as ever, on
the bedside table. Georges is asleep. Beside him, his back to her, her arms wrapped
tightly around him, is Mme Rousset. He leaps awake. GEORGES (dressing) Virginie!
Virginie! He throws her clothes at her. GEORGES Time to go. Come on! She stretches
languidly, puts her arms up to him. MME ROUSSET Whose arms are these? GEORGES
(impatient) They are mine. MME ROUSSET And whose lips are these? Virginie GEORGES

MME ROUSSET Whose lips are these? She pulls him back down to the bed, clings to
him. He kisses her quickly, to appease her. GEORGES They are mine, now come on, get
up. He has to prise her arms free.
75.

A LITTLE LATER Georges is hustling Mme Rousset to the door. MME ROUSSET When will I
see you again? Soon. When? Not long. GEORGES MME ROUSSET GEORGES I promise.

Now, please -

She kisses him feverishly. MME ROUSSET Please, tell me when, my Georgie, my
beautiful Georges GEORGES (exasperated) Tomorrow. He manages to push her out of the
door. She reaches back for a kiss, but he is too quick for her, and manages to slam
the door shut. He races through the flat. He throws back the bedcovers to air the
sheets, opens all the windows. He checks the bedclothes and carpet for signs of Mme
Rousset. And, just when he has got the flat back to its normal, pristine state,
Clotilde arrives. He hurries to greet her, and, in his haste, almost treads on the
one thing that he has missed: an emerald earring on the carpet. She feels it
underfoot as they kiss. She bends down to pick it up. She holds it up to the light.
She stares at it for the slowest second. CLOTILDE I’ve been looking for this
everywhere.
76.

INT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE NEST - DAY Georges, exhausted, is asleep again. looking down
at him. Georges. Georges groans. CLOTILDE Madeleine will be wondering where you
are. He leaps awake. INT. MADELEINE’S BEDROOM - DAY Madeleine’s bed is made-up,
untouched. bare. Madeleine! GEORGES (O.S.) The room is tidy and CLOTILDE Clotilde,
dressed, is

Through the open door, Georges can be seen pacing the length of the corridor,
looking for his wife. GEORGES Madeleine! (seeing Paul) Where is my wife? PAUL She’s
with the Comte de Vaudrec. What? GEORGES

Paul doesn’t answer for a moment. PAUL He died this morning. INT. OFFICE - DAY
Madeleine, dressed in mourning, sits beside Georges, while a SOLICITOR sorts
through some papers.
77.

SOLICITOR (addressing Madeleine) I have asked you here today, Mme du Roy de Cantel,
to hear the will of the Comte de Vaudrec. The Comte has named you, Madame, as the
sole inheritor of his estate Georges looks at Madeleine. She refuses to look at
him.

SOLICITOR - the value of which stands at one million, eighty thousand and fifteen
francs. And twenty nine centimes. They both stare at him, stunned. throat
nervously. The Solicitor clears his

SOLICITOR There is one complication, a rather awkward affair. There is a nephew who
wishes to contest the will, but he is prepared to accept a settlement of one
hundred thousand francs. He has no right to it, of course. (stuttering a little)
But if you refuse him, he will take the matter to court, and this may attract
attention to the nature of the legacy. A tiny pause. GEORGES The nature of the
legacy? SOLICITOR If you’ll forgive me, sir, it is unusual for an estate to be left
solely to a married woman. It would normally be left to the husband. GEORGES And
why is that? The poor Solicitor sweats under his fierce gaze.
78.

SOLICITOR To avoid any suggestion of forgive me - impropriety in the relationship

between the deceased and the beneficiary. GEORGES Impropriety in the relationship.
He repeats it, cruelly, eyes on Madeleine. SOLICITOR I must tell you that, in these
cases, it is for the husband to decide whether to accept the legacy. The husband’s
written approval is required. GEORGES (ironic) Thank you. INT. MADELEINE’S BEDROOM
- DAY Georges and Madeleine in the bedroom. bed, lost. Georges paces. GEORGES What
was he thinking, the stupid old bastard? He should have left it all to me. It would
have been much better for you. She looks at him, a glance so piercing that he has
to look away. GEORGES He must have known what people would make of it. He must have
realised how it would compromise you. Unless it was done in innocence. (hopeful) A
fatherly gesture - he was like a father to you, wasn’t he? A guardian. He tries to
read her, but she seems fractured, only half there. Madeleine sits on the She
stares ahead.
79.

GEORGES Who would believe it, anyway? I cannot accept the legacy. It would be seen
as an admission on your part, and acceptance on mine. MADELEINE Then give it to the
nephew. I don’t want a million francs. A million francs. GEORGES Well, let’s not be
hasty. I’m sure there are ways around it. Madeleine is not even listening, lost
again in her own grief. GEORGES But, of course, the will is there for all to see. I
can only redeem it by rejecting it. He refuses to be defeated by this simple truth.
GEORGES But if I, your husband, choose to accept it, who is to question me?
Madeleine watches him, disgusted. GEORGES Indeed, to refuse is to acknowledge the
shame - whereas to accept is to deny it. He is delighted to have reached this
conclusion. GEORGES As for the nephew, well, he can have fifty thousand MADELEINE
(cold) No. Give him what he asks for. GEORGES Yes, alright. Good. He is ineffably
pleased with himself.
80.

GEORGES Perhaps your old man wasn’t such a fool after all. MADELEINE Do not speak
of him. GEORGES What was he to you? Tell me. I deserve an answer. She does not
respond. He stands over her.

GEORGES You can admit it. She seems to erupt. MADELEINE He is the man I have lost!
He is the man I am grieving! She pushes him away from her. MADELEINE You want it to
be something small, something squalid and contemptible adultery, betrayal Desperate
emotion threatens to overwhelm her. MADELEINE My friend. My father. My lover.
(choking) He was the strength in my bones, the sharpness in my brain She begins to
cry, a violent, retching outpouring of anguish, shocking to behold. GEORGES You
loved him. He has not understood until this moment that this was what he feared
most. Yes. MADELEINE

Her grief devours her.

81.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING/STREET - DAY Georges emerges from the apartment building.
outside, like a faithful dog, is Mme Rousset. Waiting

He doesn’t acknowledge her. She must trail along behind him. MME ROUSSET You have
not come to see me for a while. For a whole week I’ve been waiting for you, for a
word from you. He doesn’t respond at all. Georgie MME ROUSSET

GEORGES Don’t call me that. He stops at a flower shop, and buys a bunch of pink
roses. She watches, wretched, ecstatic, hopeful. GEORGES They’re not for you. He
walks, pulling her hopelessly behind him as if she were tied to him. GEORGES You
can’t come back with me. MME ROUSSET You’re meeting someone else. She will accept
anything from him. MME ROUSSET Please take me with you. Just for an hour. I need to
see you She tries to take his arm. He pushes her off him. GEORGES Remember where
you are. There are other people on the street, and cabs waiting at the side of the
road.
82.

MME ROUSSET You ought not to have seduced me. You ought to have left me as I was, a
happy and faithful wife. Please take me with you She is snatching at him now. MME
ROUSSET You must let me He pushes her away again, roughly. MME ROUSSET I have
something to tell you. Something important, to do with my husband. He stops. MME
ROUSSET Something to your advantage. She looks at him, pathetic. Please. MME
ROUSSET

INT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE NEST - DAY Georges puts the pink roses into a vase and takes
them into the bedroom. Mme Rousset watches him move about the apartment, yearning,
intense, on the brink of tears. GEORGES Oh, you’re going to cry. case, goodbye. No!
MME ROUSSET Please In that

She falls to her knees at his feet. MME ROUSSET I will tell you He sits down. She
clings to him. She dares to rest her head against his chest. He waits, but she
cannot at first speak. She is trying to capture the moment, his nearness, his
smell.
83.

She rubs her head against him, and gasps as her hair gets caught in one of the
buttons of his waistcoat, the third button down. Then, very carefully, she winds a
tiny lock of hair around it. MME ROUSSET You will love me when you hear what I have
found out. I‘ve been so discreet, so clever. I’ve listened carefully, and asked all
the right questions. Come on. GEORGES

MME ROUSSET Ginnie will tell Georgie for a kiss. He pushes her away from him, and
she smiles with exquisite pain as the hairs are plucked from her head. Then MME
ROUSSET The new government is going to take Morocco. Georges reacts, then dismisses
it. GEORGES What is this nonsense, Virginie? They came to power - I brought them to
power - on the promise that they would not. MME ROUSSET Don’t you see? That’s the
whole point. No-one is expecting it. They’re going to make a fortune. My husband
and Laroche hatched the plan together. The first troops sail tonight. Tonight?
GEORGES

But still he can’t really believe her. GEORGES No. You’re wrong. They would have
included me.
84.

MME ROUSSET They did not trust you. They think you are impulsive. Too greedy, they
said. Not used to having money. They thought you’d give them away. Georges is on
his feet, furious, pacing. GEORGES Too greedy. She tries to put her arms around
him. MME ROUSSET They don’t know you as well as I do. He rejects her again. MME
ROUSSET In the past weeks, they‘ve bought up the whole of the Moroccan loan, and
all of Morocco’s copper mines, every last one. They’ve used shady dealers to cover
their tracks. They stand to make seventy million apiece. GEORGES Seventy million.
MME ROUSSET He’s already spending it. He’s going to buy the Palais SaintHonore from
the Prince of Carlsbourg. GEORGES Seventy million - and I shamed myself for a
pittance! Seventy million! MME ROUSSET Aren’t you proud of me? Didn’t I do well, to
find this out? And, Georgie my darling, I have bought shares for you, too, and they
will bring you at least seventy thousand. He is insulted. He throws her away from
him savagely.
85.

GEORGES I don’t want your miserable pennies! They’re not worth the price I have
paid for them. He takes her by the arms and drags her to the door. She fights to
stay with him, holding onto him passionately. No, no MME ROUSSET

GEORGES You disgust me. MME ROUSSET (on her knees) I love you. GEORGES I don’t want
your love. I despise you. He throws her from him, so violently that she falls
through the open door, to the floor outside the apartment. MME ROUSSET You loved
me. You loved me at first. GEORGES I have never loved you. Your smell turns my
stomach. You smell of him. Your filthy husband. He is choking. GEORGES I used to
laugh after I’d had you, to think I’d sent you back to him with my sweat on your
skin. Laughing to myself like a fool, when, all the while, I was the one getting
fucked. She lies broken on the floor. He kicks her feet away from the door, and
slams it shut on her. He is disgusted with his own stupidity, his blindness. He
wants to hurt himself, to kick and punch himself. To beat himself. He bites
savagely into his own hand, on and on, through the terrible pain, until he cries
out.
86.

He looks down in shock at his bleeding hand and, trembling, goes to the washstand
and washes the blood away. He has frightened himself. He sits in silence, as
darkness draws in. LATER Clotilde finds him. She lights lamps around the room.

CLOTILDE Georges? Why are you sitting in the dark? He is momentarily confused. is
not there. CLOTILDE What’s wrong? She feels his hot skin. CLOTILDE You’re unwell.
Let’s get you to bed. She helps him to take off his tie and collar. She kisses him.
It turns into a long, meaningful kiss. A nurturing kiss. He clings to her. She
leads him gently into the bedroom. CLOTILDE You bought me roses. She kisses him,
touched, then begins to unbutton his waistcoat. He feels himself coming back to
life. She undoes another button. They kiss again. More passionate than the last.
find the third button. Her fingers She He opens the door. Mme Rousset

She breaks away, as something unravels in her hand. looks at it. CLOTILDE It’s a
hair. Isn’t that romantic? Madeleine has wound her hair around your buttons.

But she sees that it is not one of Madeleine’s hairs.

87.

CLOTILDE No, it’s not hers. It’s red. She stops dead. CLOTILDE Whose is it? Georges
is frozen. She has found another hair. CLOTILDE And here’s another! And it’s GREY!
You’re doing old women now? Christ! Did she pay you for it? Is that it? Are you
getting paid for it now? And you brought her here. Today. You brought her here
today. Did you bring her to our bed? Is it still warm? She rips back the covers on
the bed, crying with rage. She takes the roses he bought her and rips them to
pieces. CLOTILDE And she loves you. She wanted you to carry a piece of her with
you. Clo GEORGES

CLOTILDE Don’t! Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry. I don’t want
that stupid word in your mouth. She is shuddering, her whole body shaking
uncontrollably. CLOTILDE Who is she? Virginie. GEORGES

CLOTILDE (astounded) Virginie. She tries to fathom this.

88.

GEORGES I don’t love her. He drops to his knees before her. GEORGES Clo, don’t
leave me. leave me. He clings to her. GEORGES I need you. She recoils from him,
shocked to her core. Outraged, she hits him across the face with all her strength,
once, twice, three times, then pushes him to the door. Get out! CLOTILDE GET OUT!
Please don’t

She throws herself at him with all her strength, so that he stumbles and falls. He
scrambles away, out into the night. EXT. BOULEVARD DE LA MADELEINE - NIGHT The
Boulevard de la Madeleine. Georges walks through the crowds, dishevelled, without
his jacket and tie. He finds refuge in a cab. He draws the blinds over the windows
as it carries him home. INT. MADELEINE’S APARTMENT - NIGHT Desperate, Georges
enters the apartment. INT. DRAWING ROOM - NIGHT He finds Madeleine in the drawing
room. And, following her eyes, he turns to find another man in the room. Two men.
Laroche and Rousset. GEORGES Get out of my house.
89.

ROUSSET Your house? Georges turns away from them, pours a drink into a heavy glass
tumbler. He is trembling with fury. ROUSSET You think I’ve robbed you, but you’re
not my responsibility. The opportunity was there for anyone with eyes to see it.
GEORGES I am going to ruin you. Oh? ROUSSET Really?

GEORGES (to Laroche) And you, cockroach MADELEINE Georges, shut up! ROUSSET Oh, let
him have his tantrum. He’ll feel better for it. Georges feels the weight of the
glass in his hand. And in one sudden, violent movement, he hurls it straight at
Rousset’s head. The glass misses by a hair’s breadth and smashes on the wall
behind. There is a moment of deep shock. Rousset’s famous composure is shattered.
He recovers it quickly, more or less. ROUSSET It seems Charles was right about you,
after all. He turns to Madeleine. ROUSSET You’ll be missed at The Parisian. I wish
you‘d married more wisely. He kisses her hand. She watches, desolate, as he leaves.
Laroche hangs back for a moment. He hands Georges a black box. For you. LAROCHE The
Legion of Honour.
90.

Georges doesn’t even open it. GEORGES (incredulous) Are you waiting for me to thank
you? He hurls it at Laroche. It hits him as he exits.

GEORGES (turning on Madeleine) How long have you known? She turns away from him in
disgust and goes into the bedroom. He catches her arm. GEORGES How long have you
known? MADELEINE Don’t be absurd! I’m a woman, Georges. I’m not invited to the card
game. She is incredulous. MADELEINE Who was it today? Clotilde? Or Virginie? He
looks at her. MADELEINE Or both? And yesterday? Who was it yesterday? And the day
before? She can barely contain her contempt. MADELEINE You stupid, stupid man. You
complete and perfect man. (emotional) I poured my talent into you She is
inarticulate for a moment. MADELEINE I had no conception of the depth of your
emptiness. She seizes his face in her hands, and looks into his eyes.
91.

MADELEINE Nothing! There’s nothing there. Nothing but rage. Like a dumb animal.
That’s what you are - an animal. I thought I could teach you. What I should have
done was train you. He is a heartbeat away from hitting her, but her fury is the
greater. MADELEINE Look at what you have done to me! As long as you are nothing, I
am nothing. I am bound to you. With an immense effort, she brings herself under
control. MADELEINE Very well, then. We will start again. I will find you another
paper, another job, and we will start again. She turns away from him before he can
speak, and goes into the bedroom. After a moment, he follows. INT. CORRIDOR/BEDROOM
- NIGHT The door to their bedroom is open. Georges approaches.

She comes to the door, her eyes cold and full of reproach. And then she slams it
shut on him, once and for all. FADE TO BLACK

INT. THE GAVOTTE - NIGHT The usual crush of bodies, the prostitutes watching the
doors. Georges is at the bar. Rachel, the prostitute from earlier, comes to stand
beside him. She watches as he pours a bottle of booze down his gullet. LATER -
92.

Georges and Rachel, in the alley outside the club, up against the wall. LATER A
fight. One of those booze-fuelled, late-night brawls that no-one knows the cause
of. Georges is in the midst of it three men against him. LATER Georges, lying in
the street, wasted. He opens his eyes, grimacing. He hurts everywhere. He
contemplates his situation. Perhaps his first ever moment of reflection. A
stillness comes over him. EXT. PALAIS SAINT-HONORE - NIGHT A great palace of a
house, all lit up with electric lights and garlanded for a grand party. A
magnificent carpet covers the steps and on each step a footman in livery stands
like a statue. It is Rousset’s new home. Rousset himself appears on the steps,
welcoming his guests. He gives his arm to a grandlooking woman and escorts her
inside. From the other side of the road, Georges stares. He still carries a trace
of black eye. Otherwise, he is immaculate. Shaved, scrubbed, white tie and top hat.
All around him, a steady stream of people, the elegant and the wealthy, pours
through Rousset’s gates. Georges moves forward, towards the house. At the doorway,
TWO FOOTMEN bar his entrance. FOOTMAN Not you, I’m afraid, Monsieur Du Roy de
Cantel. Mme Rousset appears. MME ROUSSET Let him in, Jean. INT. PALAIS SAINT-HONORE
- NIGHT Inside, the Roussets’ new home is grand, opulent and grotesque.
93.

MME ROUSSET Aren’t you going to thank me? She waits. He doesn’t. MME ROUSSET
Couldn’t you be a little kind to me? Georges walks on, into the heaving ballroom.
The crowds stare at him; people whisper. There are many faces there from The
Parisian. They do not acknowledge him. He sees Louis. He nods at Georges, but does
not come to him. A Footman passes with a tray of champagne. Georges stops him and
takes a glass, downs it, takes another, downs it. Takes another. From the other
side of the room, Clotilde watches. doesn’t see her. He

He comes face to face with Rousset. The two men square up to one another. The
guests around them watch, silent. ROUSSET I’ve always liked your audacity. GEORGES
I’m not going to hide my face. not the criminal. Rousset darkens. GEORGES You’re
not going to throw me out. ROUSSET No. There’s no need for that. Stay. Drink my
champagne. Dance with my wife. Yours, I see, is already spoken for. And Georges
turns, to see Madeleine arm-in-arm with Laroche, their heads bowed together as they
whisper to one another, conspirators. She sees him, and he sees in one glance that
she is ashamed of him. She turns her back on him. He reels away, away from Rousset
and the crowds of staring people. Clotilde catches him. She draws him through a
door. It leads into a palm house, filled thickly with exotic plants. Calm and
peaceful, it is a sanctuary. I’m
94.

There is an ornamental fish pond hidden deep in the midst of the greenery. He sits
on the marble rim, his head in his hands. After a moment GEORGES I’ve been a fool.
He couldn’t admit it to anyone else. GEORGES I have nothing left. I am nothing.

CLOTILDE You were nothing to start with. She comes and sits beside him. GEORGES Why
do you come back to me? CLOTILDE I don’t know. Perhaps because you never expect me
to. GEORGES I am sorry I hurt you. saying. They sit together for a moment. Then she
stands and waits beside him. He gets to his feet. They re-enter the party, side by
side. They walk through the crowds. CLOTILDE Did you ever see such a host of
chinless cretins? Georges looks around him. The ballroom is, indeed, jampacked with
buck-toothed young men. CLOTILDE All heirs to a title, and not a penny between
them. The youths are forming a line. It is worth
95.

CLOTILDE Every one a noble bankrupt. All here for Suzanne and her thirty million
francs. Georges blinks, as if waking from a deep sleep. CLOTILDE (delighted) And
here she is. And Georges turns, as the crowds part, and there is Suzanne,
descending the grand, sweeping staircase on her father’s arm, in her white
debutante’s gown. She looks like a little doll. Almost a bride.

GEORGES (barely a whisper) I have been blind. He watches as Rousset presents her to
a long line of eagerlooking youths. They bow to her one by one, a wave of ambition,
as she passes them by. And then she comes to Georges, who looks like a wild animal
next to these fey juveniles, and, gripped by the idea that has shot like a
thunderbolt into his mind, he bows to her, kissing her hand Suzanne. GEORGES

- as Rousset sweeps her quickly past him. But she looks back with a glint in her
eye, and gives him, and him alone, her most dazzling smile. INT. CORRIDOR/APARTMENT
DOOR - DAY A banging at the door, insistent, urgent. VOICE (O.S.) Open this door!
Footsteps can be heard inside the apartment, but the door remains closed. VOICE
(O.S.) Open this door, or we will force it. Shouting.
96.

Then Who is it? Police. WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.) VOICE (O.S.)

There is a pause, and then the door opens a crack. To reveal Madeleine, half-
dressed, her hair loose. Three POLICE OFFICERS and the POLICE COMMISSIONER are
standing at the door. She looks at them, and then at Georges, who stands amongst
them. The crowd of men bursts through the door. They sweep through the flat. POLICE
COMMISSIONER Madame Madeleine du Roy de Cantel? Here, the remains of a dinner for
two. POLICE COMMISSIONER Wife of Monsieur Georges du Roy de Cantel? There, clothes
scattered across the drawing room floor. MADELEINE (her eyes on Georges) In the
bed, a figure is hiding

Yes.

They enter the bedroom. beneath the sheets.

POLICE COMMISSIONER And who is this? The figure doesn’t respond. POLICE
COMMISSIONER Please reveal yourself. Nothing. POLICE COMMISSIONER I am a
commissioner of the police and I call upon you to give your name!
97.

FIGURE (from beneath the sheets) Please, commissioner, I’m a married man. POLICE
COMMISSIONER Come out from under there. FIGURE But I’ve got nothing on. Georges
nods to the Police Commissioner, and the Commissioner strides forward and jerks the
sheet away. The gathered policemen react at the sight of the Foreign Minister,
Laroche. He puts his head in his hands. Oh God... LAROCHE

POLICE COMMISSIONER Mme du Roy de Cantel, I have found you alone here, in a place
that is not your home, with Monsieur Francois Laroche, both of you in a state of
undress. Do you admit that this man is your lover? MADELEINE (after a pause) Yes. I
admit it. She has accepted her fate. She is business-like. Police Commissioner
makes notes in a notebook. MADELEINE Do you like your job, Commissioner? POLICE
COMMISSIONER Not much, madame. MADELEINE I should think not. (her eyes on Georges)
It’s an ugly business. Georges meets her gaze, unabashed. GEORGES Have the courage
of your conduct. Ha! MADELEINE The
98.

But, with characteristic intelligence, she accepts this notion. POLICE COMMISSIONER
Mme du Roy de Cantel, I have no choice but to charge you with adultery. Do you have
anything you wish to say? No. MADELEINE

GEORGES (to the Police Commissioner) Let’s leave her in peace. We have no further
business here. LAROCHE What should I do? Should I go? GEORGES (to Madeleine) You’ll
hear from my solicitor in the next few days. She goes to the mantelpiece and takes
a cigarette from a case. Georges strikes a match and offers its flame to her. They
look at one another, two people who have come to know one another’s deepest selves.
There is even a strange kind of mutual respect in this moment. And they are each
glad to be free of the other. She lights her cigarette from his match. MADELEINE
Goodbye, Georges. Goodbye. GEORGES

EXT. ROUSSET’S HOUSE - NIGHT It is almost midnight. A carriage rolls to a halt on

the street below the Roussets’ house. It waits there. The lights can be seen going
out around the house. windows remain illuminated. A clock begins to strike the
hour. Only two
99.

The street is silent. INT. CARRIAGE - NIGHT Inside the carriage, behind the drawn
blinds, Georges is waiting. He is nervous. From time to time, he peers around the
edge of the blind to look up at the Roussets’ house. The two lighted windows give
nothing away. He looks at his watch. There are footsteps in the street,
approaching. heavy and slow, not what he’s listening for. They pass. He waits. He
has begun to sweat. quarter hour. And the half hour. The minutes lumber by. He
contemplates failure. And then, just as despair has begun to get the better of him,
the carriage door is flung open, and Suzanne is hurling herself into the carriage.
SUZANNE I couldn’t get away, they were shouting and screaming at me, on and on -
he’s not good enough for you, he has no money. Georges is startled. GEORGES You
told them? He knocks urgently on the roof, and the carriage lurches off
immediately. Georges peers through the blinds as if expecting Rousset and a pack of
dogs to appear at any moment. SUZANNE I said, he is the one I have chosen and I
will not marry anyone else. And Maman wouldn’t stop crying, and wailing - she was
like a madwoman. She begins to laugh like a hyena, slightly hysterical with
excitement. The clock strikes the But they are
100.

What?

GEORGES

SUZANNE I wish I could see their faces when they find me gone! Papa will turn blue!
A pot hole throws her into Georges’ arms. She clings to him, the heroine of her own
scandalous, romantic adventure. She turns her face up to his, ecstatic. at her, at
her parted lips. EXT. COACHING INN - NIGHT The carriage brings them to a coaching
inn, just outside Paris. INT. COACHING INN - NIGHT The INNKEEPER is used to being
woken in the middle of the night by eloping couples. He watches Suzanne, deadpan,
as she shivers and giggles with excitement, Georges’ arm around her shoulders. He
leads them upstairs to the rooms above. On the narrow, dark stairs, Suzanne looks
back at Georges. In the light of the Landlord’s candle, her eyes glisten with
anticipation. Georges follows, his face in shadow. The Landlord unlocks a door for
them. INNKEEPER The bridal suite. The door swings open to reveal a very shabby
room, a double bed. GEORGES We will need two rooms. INNKEEPER (ironic) Of course.
He unlocks the adjacent room. Georges gives him some money. He takes the hint and
leaves them to it. Suzanne presses herself against Georges. Georges looks down
101.

But GEORGES Good night, Suzanne. SUZANNE But (clutching at him as he turns away) -
I need a good night kiss. She smiles alluringly up at him. He stoops and kisses her
chastely. GEORGES You must get some sleep. But SUZANNE

GEORGES Get some sleep. And she watches as he goes into the other bedroom, and
shuts the door. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Georges lies on the bed in the darkness,
gazing ahead. INT. ROUSSET’S DRAWING ROOM - DAY Georges and Suzanne wait in the
grand, cavernous drawing room of Rousset’s palace. Suzanne paces impatiently. After
a moment, she flops sullenly onto a sofa. SUZANNE Where is he? GEORGES He’s making
us wait. SUZANNE But he can’t say no to us, can he? No. GEORGES
102.

And then the doors open, and Rousset enters, followed by his wife. She is a shadow.
Rousset does not acknowledge Georges. Instead, he goes to his daughter and
scrutinises her. She is calm and composed. Papa. SUZANNE

Rousset is satisfied. Maman. SUZANNE She stands, trembling, lost.

Mme Rousset does not look up.

Rousset turns to Georges for the first time. ROUSSET It seems I should have thrown
you out, after all. Georges smiles at him and pointedly takes a seat. He makes
himself comfortable. ROUSSET I have only myself to blame. MME ROUSSET (from deep
within her) He will not marry her. Rousset ignores her. ROUSSET I should have seen
MME ROUSSET He will not marry her! He will not! I will not suffer it! ROUSSET He
will marry her. He must marry her. And you will accept it, Virginie. This is your
doing as much as it is mine. My doing? MME ROUSSET

ROUSSET It is your infatuation with him that has infected my daughter.

103.

She is stricken. Even Georges flinches at this. He looks away. ROUSSET He will
marry her. And I’m glad of it. What does a father wish for, but to see his daughter
with a man he can respect? Mme Rousset leaves the room, distraught. GEORGES (to
Suzanne) Go to your mother. Reluctantly, she obeys. The two men are left alone.

ROUSSET You will come back to The Parisian. Perhaps. GEORGES

ROUSSET I have decided to give up the position of editor. I’m too old and tired for
it. We’ll see. GEORGES Then he gets to his feet. I

Rousset smiles to himself.

ROUSSET I shan’t keep you any longer. know you’re a busy man. He gives Georges a
sly look.

ROUSSET And you are eager, I’m sure, to spread the happy news. INT. CLOTILDE’S LOVE
NEST - NIGHT The love nest is almost dark, lit only by the light from the street.
Georges enters, pausing for a moment in the hall, taking in the darkness and the
silence. He comes into the drawing room.
104.

Clotilde is sitting in the gloom. He looks at her, but she doesn’t speak. He lights
a lamp. She is red-eyed and exhausted from crying, but calm now. There is a great
mess of broken china and flowers beside her - she has smashed a vase against the
wall. CLOTILDE She’s just a child. Pause. CLOTILDE Do you love her? GEORGES No.
She’s of no interest to me. He has misunderstood the question. CLOTILDE Poor little
Suzanne. And what of her dreams? Her feelings? GEORGES Poor little Suzanne? She is
her father, in perfect miniature. CLOTILDE You have ruined her. GEORGES Not at all.
I’m going to marry her. CLOTILDE Did you sleep with her? No. GEORGES

She wants to believe him, but the idea is taking hold. CLOTILDE Did you sleep with
her? GEORGES I didn’t touch her. I didn’t need to. It was enough that people would
think I had. She is deeply shocked. She steps forward into the light and takes his
face in her hands. He jerks his head away.
105.

CLOTILDE I don’t know you at all. GEORGES Yes, you do. CLOTILDE Do I? I don’t know.
She is frightened. CLOTILDE You planned it. You planned it. You humiliated
Madeleine, ruined Laroche. And Suzanne - did you hurt her too? GEORGES Do you think
I took her against her will? Do you think I made her fight? They break away from
one another. GEORGES You married de Marelle. Rousset married Virginie. I married
Madeleine, and she married me. And she’ll find someone else, someone who meets her
needs. And Suzanne? She chose me. She chose me because I was the only one she
wasn’t allowed to have. CLOTILDE And me? Did you think about me? Did you think of
how it would hurt me? GEORGES I would never hurt you. CLOTILDE Then why am I in
pain? GEORGES I don’t know. CLOTILDE You think I‘ll forgive you anything. She
begins to cry again.
106.

CLOTILDE I had to hear it from my husband. You didn’t even tell me. GEORGES I will
not be stopped, Clotilde. will marry her. She looks at him. CLOTILDE You’re just
one of them, after all. Just another selfish, brutal man. Just another thief. No.
GEORGES I

CLOTILDE It’s not enough to be loved. You must be a king. (crying) It is not enough
to be loved. He grips her savagely by the arms. GEORGES No, it is not enough! It is
not enough to be loved, even by you! She falls back in shock. GEORGES You don’t
know what it is to be poor. Down on your knees, begging. Praying to God that the
next life will be better - there is no next life! The flesh rots in the earth. It
rots. She listens. GEORGES It is so clear to me. (almost a reproach) I thought you
would understand. She looks into his eyes. She is trying to read him. But she
fails. CLOTILDE I don’t know.
107.

Don’t.

GEORGES

But she pulls herself away from him and leaves him. He stands there for a moment
absorbing the hit of her absence. It takes some effort. But he succeeds. INT. THE
CHURCH OF THE MADELEINE - DAY The Church of the Madeleine. The wedding.

The pews fill, row by row. The PRIEST takes his position at the altar, and looks
out over the congregation. They are elegant, sophisticated - this is a grand
society wedding. In the front row are an ELDERLY COUPLE, stiff in unfamiliar formal
clothes. Georges’ parents: his father the peasant, his harsh life seen in his
gnarled body; his mother, stout and forceful, using her spit to tame her husband’s
hair. At the back of the church, Louis is fussing with Georges’ tie. Georges is
watching the doorway anxiously, as the guests arrive. GEORGES Show me the ring.
Louis gives him a look, but Georges isn’t satisfied until he has seen it with his
own eyes. Then, Madeleine arrives, on the arm of a very handsome YOUNG MAN. Who’s
he? GEORGES

LOUIS His name is Jean Le Dol. He’s a new writer on The Scribe. Georges begins to
fidget. GEORGES Is it getting late? LOUIS No, everything is perfectly on time.
108.

He begins to push Georges up the aisle. turn as he passes.

The women’s heads

He stops to say a word to his parents, suffers the last minute attentions of his
mother, then takes his place in front of the Priest. Louis stands beside him. They
wait at the altar. Moments, as long as decades, seem to crawl by. Louis shows him
the ring again to calm him down. Then, the organ announces the arrival of the
bride. heart is beating a hundred to the minute. Georges’

She looks perfect, a porcelain doll, with orange blossom in her hair. She walks
with her hand on her father’s arm, proudly surveying the people around her. At his
daughter’s side, Rousset’s face is expressionless. Mme Rousset follows, alone. She
is dressed in black with a veil over her face, her head bowed as if in mourning.
The crowd whispers at the sight of her. As they approach the altar, Georges steps
forward to greet Suzanne. Rousset stops in front of him. The two men face one
another. There is a telling pause. Georges holds his hand out for Suzanne. Rousset,
a thousand eyes upon him, hesitates for a tiny moment. Then, a natural politician,
he embraces Georges, a public display of reconciliation, before giving his daughter
away. INT. THE CHURCH OF THE MADELEINE - DAY Georges kneels beside Suzanne before
the altar as the Priest begins the service. PRIEST Georges du Roy de Cantel, you
are one of the blessed of this earth, a leader, an example to others. You enter
today the sacred and blessed state of wedlock, the union of two hearts and minds, a
bond of love and fidelity Georges can’t hear a word of it. He is oblivious to
everything but the ring, waiting on the open Bible. A LITTLE LATER -
109.

PRIEST If anyone knows of any impediment to the marriage of this man to this woman,
let them speak now. A bead of sweat runs down Georges’ cheek. waiting. No-one
speaks. Georges takes up the ring. He makes his vows. And then, at last, he puts
the ring on Suzanne’s finger. He seems to breathe freely for the first time.
Suzanne makes her vows. Georges looks about him - at the Priest in his magnificent
robes, at Suzanne, beautiful beside him, at his parents, the peasants who bore and
raised him. And, humbled by the enormity of his achievement, he bows his head in
gratitude and wonder. A LITTLE LATER Georges lifts Suzanne’s veil, and kisses his
wife. In the front row, Mme Rousset weeps inconsolably beneath her black veil. The
magnificent organ of the Madeleine begins its hallelujah, as Georges and Suzanne
walk down the aisle, man and wife. The congregation rises as one to congratulate
them. The men step forward to shake Georges’ hand, or to kiss Suzanne; many pat
Georges on the shoulder. He accepts their gestures, almost overwhelmed. stupefied.
He is He is rigid,

Then Madeleine steps forward and takes his hand. She looks at him with that clear,
knowing gaze of hers, seeming to understand everything, and he smiles at her. The
bells above begin to ring. dream. He hears them as if in a

And there she is. In a dress that fits like a skin, with a little hat tipped over
one eye, and her sweet smile on her lips. Clotilde. She is stepping forward to
greet him. He feels her slip her hand into his, feels the pressure as she grips his
fingers. He looks down into her lovely face. He holds her hand in his.
110.

And then he is swept forward again. The great doors of the Madeleine open before
him. And the golden, gorgeous light of Paris spills into the church, pouring over
him and his new bride, calling him out into the world, out into his glorious,
dazzling future.