A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN
Written by
Jonathan Hirschbein
based on the book
"A Prayer Before Dawn"
by Billy Moore
February 23, 2016
"This is a story of one man's fight against himself, knowing
he would never win but trying anyway. Every fucking day of it
was a war."
- Billy Moore
2.
Based on a true story
1 INT. SHACK (THAILAND) - NIGHT - ON A MAN'S HANDS 1
strong...raw skin, callused, with hard scar tissue build-up.
Knuckles raised and damaged...They unfold a scrap of aluminum
foil with a red pill inside it: `YABA'...Southeast Asia's
crack cocaine.
Zippo sparks beneath the foil -- Huge inhale, fumes rise and
steam a glass Pyrex pipe.
The Man chokes back, tries to hold the toke. He burps, smoke
spurting from his nostrils.
Meet BILLY MOORE...mid-20's, rugged, handsome, intense.
We HEAR THAI VOICES O.C., sharp tones. Billy moves to a wall
of rotted wood planks that divides the shack into two
"rooms." He peers through a crack, SEES --
BILLY'S POV: a larger MUAY THAI BOXER in his 30's (ECKACHAI).
Barrel chest, crude. A TRAINER holds mitts as Eckachai snaps
HARD/LOUD COMBOS of knees/fists. It's intimidating as hell.
Billy stares through the cracks...Suddenly, a distant CROWD
ROARS. A thousand voices firing at once, and we --
SMASH TO:
2 INT. RING: SLUM GYM - NIGHT - TWO MUAY THAI BOXERS 2
-- both twelve years old, are fighting in a ring surrounded
by GAMBLERS. It's loud, primal...A Thai promoter, PAPA (50's)
commentates rapid-fire on a mic, his voice echoing over bad
speakers as his wife, MAMA, shouts from the crowd...
In the ring, the smaller child boxer, NINDAM, is on the attack
-- Bodies twisting, grappling, their tiny fists, knees and
shins crashing, as--
3 INT. SHACK - BILLY 3
gets ready. Shirt off, his ripped build, battle scarred...He
POUNDS a cement post with his bare fist. One blow after another,
fists then forearms...Slow, dense thuds, tempering his nerves
NOT to feel, as--
4 INT. RING: SLUM GYM - NINDAM + OPPONENT 4
are fighting, jack-rabbit fast. Ringside gamblers shove and
shout. Bets exchange, hand signals flashing, odds rising, the
violence shocking, as--
3.
5 INT. SHACK - BILLY 5
stands, legs apart and brutally slams a 4x4 BOARD against each
of his shins...bruises blossom, shins cracking, NUMBING, again,
again and again, and--
6 INT. RING: SLUM GYM - NINDAM 6
jabs Opponent, who reels and drops his guard. Nindam fires a
kick to the jaw...
...and Opponent drops cold. Crowd roars. TRAINERS swarm in.
The REFEREE lifts Nindam's arm in victory. He smiles.
As Nindam exits the ring, two ADULT THAI FIGHTERS climb in...
Papa intros each, new odds soar. That fast, while --
7 INT. SHACK - BILLY 7
paces the room, anxiety rising, a caged beast...He pauses...
drops his shorts and cup guard, then grips his knees and
takes several fast, deep breaths....
Billy...sopping sweat...yanks up his guard/shorts...His hands
are shaking as he wraps them in KNOTTED ROPE...
We HEAR the SOUND of Eckachai leaving. Billy peeks outside
the shack, sees Eckachai and his Trainer walking away...
Billy smokes more Yaba. Breathes it deep in his lungs.
AND THE DOOR BANGS OPEN. Nindam enters -- Billy spins, quick
hides his pipe and foil in a gym bag, just in time;
Nindam says something in Thai, grabs a pair of BOXING GLOVES
and helps Billy put them on.
There's a feeling of urgency, that Billy is late.
As Nindam ties and tapes the gloves, Billy is too high/amped
and avoids Nindam's gaze.
After, both nod, bump fists.
8 EXT. SHACK - NIGHT - FOLLOW BILLY 8
with Nindam, hurrying together beneath a ROARING OVERPASS...
they cross a TRASH STREWN ALLEY lined with other shacks, slum
tenants drinking and smoking.
A MAN sits on a bucket holding a chain with a TINY MONKEY on
the end. The monkey wears a plastic doll mask;
4.
Two other MEN quickly carry a BLOODIED, UNCONSCIOUS FIGHTER on
a stretcher, the opposite way;
Billy and Nindam rush past...Sounds of the crowd and music
rise...They enter the slum gym...
Papa joins them...
9 INT. RING: SLUM GYM - AS BILLY STEPS THROUGH THE ROPES 9
with Nindam and Papa. Adrenaline charged...methamphetamine
spiked POV, he darts a look to the crowd: Gamblers trading
fistfuls of cash. Mama rallies loudly in Thai...A wired Billy
turns to Eckachai in the opposite corner with his Trainer...
The crowd getting louder...LOUDER...
Nindam and Papa, and Trainer exit the ring.
A COW-BELL rings for ROUND ONE.
BILLY + ECKACHAI
come out firing -- Explosive trades, bone-on-bone impact --
Through BILLY'S HEIGHTENED SENSES, we FEEL the visceral rage--
Mid-round, Billy sees an opening and SMASHES a hook to
Eckachai's jaw -- He hits the canvas hard -- Crowd ROARS --
Eckachai gets up -- Billy charges, a wild boar -- two fisted,
savage attack to the head and body....Eckachai survives.
THE BELL.
10 INT. RING: BILLY'S CORNER - BETWEEN ROUNDS - BILLY 10
sits. Papa and Nindam, as cornermen, go to work...but Billy's
HEART IS RACING, PULSE POUNDING, TOO FAST -- the drugs have
zapped his energy. As Billy inhales several sharp breaths, a
strange RINGING fades in OVER the following...
-- GAMBLERS' hands signals, the odds rising;
-- MAMA watching, concerned;
-- PAPA and NINDAM shouting instructions to Billy, but he/we
can't hear them, only this shrill RINGING...
-- ECKACHAI gets off his stool, revived and ready;
AND THE BELL FOR ROUND TWO.
5.
11 INT. RING - ROUND TWO - BILLY 11
storms out, tries to put Eckachai away -- Billy SWINGS
HEAVILY, THUNDERING HAYMAKERS THAT MISS and MISS --
Nindam, screaming encouragement in Thai as --
Eckachai AVOIDS, then SLAMS an elbow into Billy's eye, jarring
and concussive -- Billy staggers, blinking, dazed...
Eckachai unleashes a ROUNDHOUSE KICK and Billy's out on
impact.
BILLY'S HEAD bounces off the canvas -- eyes flash -- brain
stem shocked. SENSES CONTORT...He tries to get up as the Ref
counts over him. Takes seconds, feels like hours. AS HIS
SENSES RECONNECT ...Billy climbs to his feet -- but the Ref
counts "Sip!" (ten)
The fight's over.
The crowd goes crazy, IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAR, as --
Billy protests to the Ref, who affirms in Thai. Billy doesn't
understand.
CORNERMEN pour in. Ref and Billy keep arguing. Nindam gets
between them -- Ref violently SHOVES Nindam away, and --
Billy reacts -- hair trigger fast -- HEADBUTTS Ref full in
the face. Ref goes down. A nasty cut opens above Billy's eye
as he KICKS/STOMPS the Ref with MANIC, UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE --
BOUNCERS/OTHERS swarm over Billy, forcibly restraining him
from killing the Ref -- He tries fighting them too --
NOW PAPA FORCES IN -- grabs Billy hard around the neck, yanks
him close, sees the drugs in his eyes...And Billy knows it.
Billy's POV, SEES: Nindam is crying. SEES: the Ref writhing on
the floor, blood oozing through cupped fingers. SEES: the crowd
roaring. All of it, a disaster.
HOLD TIGHT ON BILLY'S FACE
as the RAGE...becomes REMORSE...becomes SELF-HATRED...and PAIN.
SMASH TO:
12 EXT. BANGKOK STREETS - NIGHT - MOVING WITH BILLY 12
as he walks the crowded streets. Face bruised, blood dried
through a bandage above his eye...
6.
From Billy's DRUGGED POV, IMAGES are kinetic and abstract, a
nightmarish KALEIDOSCOPE:
Flashing lights. Psychoactive. Multicolored.
Shadows pass/undulate. Stray dogs everywhere...
SOUNDS are discordant, reverberating: Car horns. Motorbikes.
People talking, laughing, shouting...
Billy moves through it, focus jumping, blurring. Everything
pulsing, pounding, claustrophobic.
13 INT. GO-GO CLUB: RED LIGHT DISTRICT - NIGHT 13
Music assaults us. Bass so heavy, it jars our teeth. We're in
a seedy sex playground, under harsh neon lights. Strippers on
stage, on poles, in cages...Most of them high on drugs, empty
eyes, bored. "Coyote Girls" in string bikinis, servicing
tourists, all sweating like fiends...
14 AT THE BAR - BILLY 14
slams a double-shot of whiskey.
He turns and scans the crowd till he spots a young Thai
girl...NINA, 20's, bikini clad...giving a lap dance to a mid-
60's CUSTOMER.
To Billy, Nina is impossibly beautiful, an angel, a rose. His
anger builds, as the Customer paws Nina's breasts and legs.
Nina looks up from her Customer, and sees Billy watching her.
Eyes meet...Billy forces a smile...Nina nods to a booth where
two YOUNG AUSTRALIAN MEN (20's) nervously wait.
Billy slams another whiskey, then--
15 INT. STALL: CLUB BATHROOM - BILLY + AUSTRALIAN #1 + #2 15
are in a stall. The Australians stare at Billy's bruises and
bloodied bandage...as he counts out two packets of 100 Yaba,
wrapped in cling film.
Australians hand Billy cash. Billy counts, pockets it. Gives
them the pills.
Then Australians #1/#2 watch as Billy cooks up a hit of Yaba.
Foil -- lighter -- smoke -- suck...
a
THUNDEROUS
FUCKING
RUSH
7.
16 SMASH TO: LATER - BILLY 16
works the club...
...and the SEQUENCE BUILDS, Billy hustling deals...Yaba for
cash, deal after deal. Getting HIGHER with customers. Getting
HIGHER alone, in between SHOTS OF WHISKEY and BUMPS OF COKE.
The music gets LOUDER. The action HEAVIER. More NARCOTIC...
17 BATHROOM. LATER 17
A very intoxicated Billy throws water on his face. He shadow-
boxes a few punches in front of a filthy mirror...then stares
at his reflection, morosely.
18 INT. MAIN FLOOR: GO-GO CLUB - NIGHT - BILLY 18
looks around for Nina. He finds her in a corner chatting with
other girls. THE MUSIC DEAFENING NOW -- We cannot hear what's
being said as...
Billy heads over. Nina sees his condition and stands up.
Billy tries to talk to her. Nina rejects him.
Billy takes her by the arm and pulls her close.
Nina catches the desperate pain in Billy's eyes, and looks at
him, gravely.
Billy lets Nina go. She hurries off --
19 LATER. BILLY 19
is obliterated, sweating profusely as he walks through the
club...Only the hardest sex/drug addicts remain. Billy's legs
buckle; he uses a wall for support, sparks a JOINT to slow his
heart.
His distorted POV.....A Stripper slides a cigar from her vagina
and pumps out smoke rings. Men applaud, hurl cash on stage.
Billy blinks, unsure if he's hallucinating.
20 DANCE FLOOR. LATER 20
Billy dances, alone, trancelike. Releasing himself from himself.
Everything rising to a fever pitch. Then, without warning...
SOUND CUTS OUT...and Billy starts to weep.
OVER THIS LONG, VERY LONELY SILENCE;
A STRANGE THUMPING begins, quietly, that carries us into....
8.
21 INT. BILLY'S APARTMENT - PRE DAWN - BILLY 21
sits in a chair, nude, his back to us.
Billy is, by now, paralytic. Mouth open, head tilted back,
like a corpse...The strange and dull THUMPING builds, like a
muted heart beat...
boom...
boom...
boom...
Billy mumbles, incoherent. Eyes rolled back, the drugs
cocooning him in a blissful isolation from all else. The
thumping, louder now...
Boom...
Boom...
Boom...
Billy's eyes start to flutter. Tries to open them: can't.
Suddenly, loud/startling...
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
Billy snaps alert -- turns to the door. Someone's BANGING on
it from the other side;
THEN, LOUD VOICES BEGIN SHOUTING IN THAI...
Billy peers through the peep-hole: SEES 4 THAI COPS, guns out.
He spins, looks at his table --
It's full of EIGHT YABA PACKETS, burned matches, a pipe.
He looks at his desk -- it's covered with WEAPONS: a Colt .45,
machete, a stun gun, knuckle duster, a pile of cell phones/sim
cards, and a Samurai sword.
Fuck.
POLICE BANG AWAY AT THE DOOR --
Billy quickly grabs a few yaba packets and forces them up his
ass -- painfully as --
POLICE KEEP SHOUTING/KNOCKING VIOLENTLY --
BILLY STARTS TO EAT THE OTHER YABA PACKETS: SIX OF THEM.
THE COPS KICK THE DOOR. THE SLIDE LOCK HOLDS IT SHUT; BARELY.
BILLY CHOKES DOWN THE LAST PACKET DRY. HACKS, SWALLOWS --
ANOTHER KICK. THE LOCK IS ABOUT TO GIVE.
While pulling on clothes, Billy takes a fall, gets up, as --
9.
DOOR BREAKS OPEN -- NEARLY OFF IT'S HINGES. COPS STAMPEDE IN
AND ROUGHLY THROW BILLY TO THE GROUND --
THEY CUFF HIM, SEARCH HIM. GUNS AT HIS HEAD, A FOOT ON HIS
NECK, ALL SHOUTING IN THAI --
COPS #1 + #2 inspect Billy's arsenal, chattering fast, as COPS
#3 + #4 find TWIN SYRINGES in a pie tin on the stove. They
immediately search for drugs: ripping open cabinets, rifling
drawers, kicking out panels, trashing everything they touch...
ON BILLY, terrified, sweating.
CUT TO:
22 INT. STAIRWELL: APT BUILDING - PRE DAWN - BILLY 22
is dazed, his cut reopen, bleeds down his face and t-shirt as
the Cops walk him downstairs in handcuffs...
They slow for a moment, passing the reception desk...where the
MANAGER sits, staring at Billy in horror.
Billy looks away in shame. They force him outside to...
23 EXT. CITY STREET - PRE DAWN 23
...a waiting POLICE PICKUP TRUCK. Billy is shoved in the back
of the truck, like an animal. And as they drive away, the
first streaks of dawn light the horizon over Bangkok...
24 I/E. POLICE PICKUP (TRAVELING) - PRE DAWN - BILLY 24
in back. A POLICE MOTORBIKE follows, headlight glaring bright.
Billy watches as various BANGKOK STRATA goes past...Empty
streets. Markets opening. Vendors and shops. The city waking,
coming to life.
Title: A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN
CUT TO:
25 INT. INTERROGATION ROOM: POLICE STATION - DAWN - BILLY 25
We slam in mid-scene. Billy -- sweating, nervous, hands
cuffed behind his back, sitting in this room -- as five THAI
COPS are all SCREAMING in Thai at Billy.
All the weapons and phones from his apartment are spread
across a desk, along with his passport...Billy is terrified,
doesn't know what's being said.
10.
Then, FIRST OFFICER slams down a DOCUMENT before Billy: it's
written in Thai.
FIRST OFFICER
You sign, na!
Cop #1 roughly uncuffs Billy, shoves a pen in his hand.
BILLY
I can't read Thai.
FIRST OFFICER
SIGN!
Billy, scared, shakes his head "no."
FIRST OFFICER
--SIGN!
The Cops all SHOUT again in Thai. Voices ARGUE, OVERLAPPING,
GETTING ANGRIER, SCARIER. It goes on and on and on...Billy
frozen. Until:
BILLY
(erupts; top of his lungs)
GET ME THE EMBASSY!! GET ME THE
FUCKING EMBASSY!!!
BEAT...thick silence.
BILLY
AY?!
First Officer smugs. He smokes a cigarette.
FIRST OFFICER
(re: the weapons + phones)
You steal, na.
BILLY
I bought those.
FIRST OFFICER
Drug dealer.
BILLY
No.
FIRST OFFICER
--Yaba: Death for you.
BILLY
No...fuck no.
11.
First Officer glances -- Cop #1, lightening fast, yanks Billy
to his feet. First Officer grabs the KNUCKLE DUSTER off the
desk and SLAMS a vicious punch to Billy's sternum.
Billy loses wind, vomit/pills tunneling up his throat -- He
retches violently, gags it back;
First Officer and Cops watching, waiting like vultures.....
Billy slumps in his chair, trembling hard, about to puke.
First Officer slides the confession + pen to Billy, closer...
FIRST OFFICER
For the weapons and phones.
BILLY
(can barely speak)
...the Embassy...
FIRST OFFICER
(grins)
They no help you.
First Officer picks up the knuckle duster again;
Billy signs.
CUT TO:
26 INT. HOLDING TANK: POLICE STATION - AFTER - BILLY 26
is shoved inside by Cops. The cell is small, dark and foul,
filled with 30 or so other sweating bodies.
Billy paces intensely, anxiety in his eyes. He waits for the
Cops to vanish down a hall.
THEN...
...Billy turns around and VOMITS.
Yaba packets hit the floor, plastic burned by intestinal
acid. Billy drops to his knees, anxiously digs through chunks
and fluid to find the Yaba pills.
A few others in the cell take notice: ADDICTS, sweating,
scratching...They hungrily move toward him...
Billy quickly starts to eat the pills.
He looks up, sees the Addicts standing over him. Threatening
tension hangs.
Billy moves back. The Addicts swoop in, devouring the rest of
his pills like wolves.
12.
Billy watches, helpless.
CUT TO:
27 I/E. CAGED PRISON BUS (MOVING) - A WEEK LATER - BILLY 27
rides, crammed among PRISONERS. He's having acute withdrawals.
Sweat soaked, in a lot of pain. Even sunlight hurts.
28 EXT. PRISON - DAY - AS THE PRISON BUS ARRIVES 28
Gates open, revealing the compound...High concrete walls and
barbed electric fences. Looming guard towers at intervals.
The bus lurches forward, rumbling through the gates...GUARDS
approach with SHOTGUNS and CATTLE PRODS. The door jerks open:
prisoners disembark, all in CHAINS, Billy among them...
He gazes around, swallowed by the prison.
29 INT. RECEIVING BLOCK - DAY - BILLY + PRISONERS 29
are herded in. It's dim, narrow. Guards unlock the shackles;
chains drop, rattling to the floor...Guards bark orders in
Thai and the prisoners shed their clothes, lining up for
cursory exams -- mouth, ears, feet, balls, armpits, ass...
Billy watches, repulsed, as a SKINNY GUARD wearing a latex
glove, uses the same finger for each exam, without sterilizing.
Suddenly a muffled THAI RING-TONE plays from somewhere. It
RINGS, RINGS and RINGS...
Guards look around. Prisoners/Billy are still. NO ONE MOVES.
The ring-tone keep playing.
Then, Skinny Guard looks at a naked Thai (NOK, 20) and orders
him to step forward. He squats, coughs...and a CELL PHONE
drops out.
The name of the incoming caller: "Mom" (in Thai)
Cued by Skinny Guard's look, a BULL GUARD lashes out, BATON
across Nok's jaw, splaying it open. He goes down in a heap,
gash gushing red, defenseless.
Billy stares in shock as Bull Guard hails a series of blows,
baton beating Nok hard...The room goes DEAD SILENT.
Bull Guard walks away, leaving Nok a motionless pulp...
Skinny Guard says something in Thai...Billy steps up.
Mouth, ears, feet, balls, armpits, ass -- demeaning.
13.
GUARD #1 hands Billy his clothes. As he puts them on, GUARD
#1 extracts a SWITCHBLADE and cuts Billy's pants into shorts.
30 INT. RECEIVING BLOCK (END OF THE LINE) - AFTER - BILLY 30
is seated on the floor...He's dopesick, scared, and looks it.
Other Thais sit with him, cross-legged, not looking up.
NOW: OFFICER PI SIT steps in, lowering his head to get thru
the door. Chief of guards. 50, large, imposing. Without a
doubt, the man in charge. He motions Billy to stand. Billy
does, staring dead ahead, nervous, shaking...not meeting
Officer Pi Sit's stare.
OFFICER PI SIT
Chi yeng yeng... (keep cool heart.)
Officer Pi Sit taps Billy's chest lightly. And again:
OFFICER PI SIT
Chi yeng yeng... (keep cool heart.)
BILLY
I don't speak Thai.
Officer Pi Sit takes a clipboard and pen from Guard #1.
OFFICER PI SIT
(reads--)
Wi... Will-iam...William...
BILLY
William Moore.
OFFICER PI SIT
(reads in Thai--)
Luck Sap. (stolen goods)
BEAT.
OFFICER PI SIT
Age?
BILLY
Twenty-six.
OFFICER PI SIT
Faith?
BILLY
None.
OFFICER PI SIT
Country?
14.
BILLY
UK. Liverpool.
OFFICER PI SIT
You have family?
BILLY
No...
OFFICER PI SIT
Anyone to send you money?
BILLY
No one.
BEAT.
OFFICER PI SIT
Have criminal record?
BILLY
Not here.
BEAT.
OFFICER PI SIT
How long in Thailand?
BILLY
Six months.
OFFICER PI SIT
(re: the sentence)
Now, could be ten years.
Billy's dead silent.
OFFICER PI SIT
Have job in Thailand, Will-iam
Moore?
BILLY
...I teach English part-time. But
I'm a boxer...
Officer Pi Sit looks at Billy: eyes red, nose drips, dried
blood caked on his t-shirt and face.
OFFICER PI SIT
Professional?
BILLY
...I fought for tips.
15.
Officer Pi Sit walks away, leaving Billy with his troubles.
CUT ABRUPT TO:
31 MUG SHOTS OF BILLY: Left, right, center. Holding a Thai 31
slate.
Billy is fingerprinted.
Billy is weighed on a scale.
PHOTOS FLASH: Billy's scars, of which there's many.
32 INT. TRUSTEE CAGE - THAT MOMENT - ON THE CAMERA 32
A visage rises up from behind it: Burmese, 30's, hawk-like
features...Meet ELYIAS. Dressed in a clean blue-T/blue shorts,
ID around his neck on a silver chain. Elyias is a `Trustee.'
As he photos a sickly Billy, Elyias sees old track marks
between Billy's scarred knuckles.
ELYIAS
Can make pain go `way...
BILLY
...
ELYIAS
Me name Elyias. You sick, yes?
Billy nods, in great pain...
...Elyias reaches into the seam of his shorts, pulls out a
small object and discreetly slips it into Billy's hand: 50mg
of white powder sealed in a 1/4 straw, burned at both ends.
ELYIAS
Heroin. Good medicine.
Billy hesitates. Then he quickly bites the top off the straw,
snorts the heroin, and --
CUT TO:
33 I/E. VARIOUS CHAMBERS + AREAS - DAY/LATE DAY 33
A series of scenes. Billy high on heroin, as --
1. Getting his scalp shaved by a prison barber.
34 2. Bathing at a filthy trough, among prisoners. Billy washes 34
the blood from his face.
16.
35 3. Waiting in line to piss/shit in open-air toilets. 35
36 4. Eating with prisoners, rice and soup, on the canteen 36
floor. Billy stirs his soup: A raw chicken head rises.
37 INT. BUILDING SIX - NIGHT - BILLY 37
is taken by GUARD #2 through corridors that twist and turn. A
series of STEEL GATES and BARRED DOORS are unlocked and locked
again as they pass. The feeling is endless, unsettling. They
finally arrive at --
38 INT. NEWCOMER CELL - NIGHT - BILLY + GUARD #2 38
It's jam packed with over 70 THAI PRISONERS on threadbare
blankets, inches apart...Their clothes tattered, some with
blood-stained bandages, some in shackles. The chattering is
loud, incessant. Stench, unbearable. Flies and mosquitoes
...Like a mass grave.
Billy enters, nervous...The cell becomes VERY quiet. Guard #2
barks something in Thai and forces Billy along. He tries to
keep a brave face as all the prisoners STARE at him...
Seated on a blanket is TIFFANY, a Lady-boy in his 20's, long
hair, unshaven, scabbed lips, fake tits, penis bulging under
loosened shorts, and a t-shirt w/slogan: "NO MONEY, NO HONEY"
Nearby: A BODY lies on a damp, stained mattress. Insects feed
on open wounds. A shirt covers his face.
Guard #2 points Billy to the hard cement floor, between
Tiffany and the corpse.
BILLY
I'll sit somewhere else.
Guard #2 shouts in Thai.
BILLY
No, somewhere else...
(gestures desperately,
hoping Guard #2
understands--)
I'll sit over there.
Guard #2 shouts louder now.
BILLY
--Are you off your fuckin' nut?
He's dead.
Guard #2 throws Billy down hard to the floor, walks away.
17.
TIFFANY
(re: the dead body)
No worry. Tomorrow he go. Many,
many happy.
Billy tries to get situated, inches from the corpse.
TIFFANY
Me name Tiffany.
Billy just glares: it's deadly.
TIFFANY
Relax. I no like farang. Cock too
big.
Tiffany looks Billy over.
TIFFANY
You got nice eyes.
BILLY
(sharp)
-- Keep fuckin' back! And tuck that
tackle in or I'll fuckin' rip it
off.
Tiffany shrugs, buttons her shorts. Then, she slides out a
pack of cigarettes.
TIFFANY
You like smokey?
Billy hesitates, then snatches the cigarette. Tiffany smiles,
lights it for him.
Billy takes a long, deep drag...An awkward beat:
BILLY
Thanks...You speak good English.
TIFFANY
I speak nit-noy. I speak a little
bit.
A naked Indian Prisoner with an orange turban runs past,
screaming: "I HAVE GOD POWER! I HAVE GOD POWER!"
BILLY
(to Tiffany, re: the
corpse)
So what happened to him?
18.
TIFFANY
Who knows? Just die, maybe two
hour. You want his bed? All yours.
BILLY
(fuck no)
What about a pillow? Blanket? Some
fuckin' food I can eat...?
TIFFANY
Need money. Five hundred baht: Lady-
Boy sew you blanket. Prison shop
sell food. All inmate work for
guards or other inmate to survive.
No money? You die--
(the corpse)
--like him.
And a loud WHISTLE BLOWS.
TIFFANY
Sleep now, no more talk...
Billy lies back, staring miserably up at the lights that will
stay on all night...He then sees a SECURITY CAMERA pan/zoom
onto him...Ceiling fans RATTLE and WHIR. Thousands of insects
BUZZ in the air...Louder, LOUDER, VIOLENT CRESCENDO, THEN --
Billy shuts his eyes.
CUT TO BLACK, HOLD, THEN:
39 CUT HARD TO: 39
GUARDS loudly dragging their batons along the bars of each
cell, one cell after the next...
Billy bolts awake, looks around, disoriented.
It's morning;
40 INT. NEWCOMER CELL - MORNING - BILLY 40
and prisoners sit in rows for head count. Each shout a number
in Thai, Neung, Song, Sam, etc...It STOPS on Billy;
Guard #1 looks up from his clipboard, SHOUTS THAI at Billy.
Billy doesn't understand. All eyes on him.
GUARD #1
(angrier)
Farang, number you!
19.
BILLY
Six?
GUARD #1
In Thai!
BILLY
I don't know...
GUARD #1
Hok!
BILLY
Hok.
GUARD #1
Hok!!
BILLY
Hok!!
Count resumes: others shout. Guard #1 writes it down.
Billy watches as two TRUSTEES enter to remove the corpse, now
black with rigor mortis. Billy quickly snatches the corpse's
blanket, as they carry him away.
Prisoners roll up their blankets. Billy does the same.
41 TIMECUT. Water begins pumping from a black pipe and fills up 41
a plastic barrel. Billy watches as other PRISONERS quickly
grab large, plastic lemonade bottles from a pile in the
corner and fill them up with water.
Billy, still sitting there, hears someone giggle...He looks
over to see a mentally retarded Thai inmate, filthy, in moldy
flip-flops, (NOI, 19) watching him...Laughing. Noi is the
only other prisoner not trying to get water.
Now, Billy gets up and hurries in to get water. It's rowdy,
chaotic: NUMEROUS PRISONERS all yelling in Thai, forcing
their way in to fill up their bottles.
Billy gestures/talks. No one understands him.
Billy finally manages to fill up three bottles for himself.
42 EXT. TROUGHS - MORNING - BILLY 42
in line among prisoners. Billy struggles to hold/carry his
bottles of water. One is leaking. He tries to cover the hole.
Two THAI PRISONERS in their underwear, leaving the troughs,
bump into Billy...and he drops all his water.
20.
Billy holds in his frustration...barely.
43 INT. CANTEEN - MORNING - BILLY 43
and prisoners are fed breakfast. Rice and soup (fish skeleton
with only the head attached). Billy forces it down.
44 EXT. OPEN-AIR TOILET AREA - MORNING, AFTER - BILLY 44
in line, looking nauseous. He waits, and waits...It's finally
his turn. He runs into the stall and vomits.
CUT TO:
45 EXT. CORRIDOR - DAY, LATER - BILLY 45
walks down this long corridor alone, then heads out a door...
46 EXT. THE COURTYARD - WIDE - WITH BILLY 46
...into the chaos and cacophony of the MAIN YARD, a strange
world overflowing with bodies: all selling, eating, thieving,
drugging, betting, fighting and fucking.
MAKESHIFT SHOPS and STANDS throughout: Thai massages, a
barber, laundry, food, crafts, flavored water on ice for sale.
STATIC, THAI MUSIC drones over speakers...
PRISONERS IN SHACKLES play tackle FOOTBALL, argue and fight.
Some are in groups (North and South Thai gangs), gambling and
hawking wares. Lady Boys on the prowl. A human piranha tank.
Above it all, GUARDS watch from the two-story cell block and
surrounding towers.
ON BILLY -- taking it in...
UNSHAVEN LADY BOY
Yoo-hoo, farang!
(off Billy's look)
You want fuck arse me?
The Unshaven Lady-Boy lifts up her top to show giant, fake
breasts. Billy ignores.
Billy notices a few Westerners together: Australian and Arab.
They look at Billy...Billy stares them down.
Then;
BILLY'S POV -- across the yard...Amidst it all, he spots who
he's been looking for: Elyias.
21.
As Billy approaches...he sees Elyias with TRUSTEES #1 + #2 in
a heated argument with THREE MUSLIMS. It's loud, threatening,
lots of shoving, shouting in Thai.
Billy stands back, watches. The Muslims storm away.
Elyias turns...sees Billy, who discreetly gestures with his
hands what he needs...
47 E/I. PRISON LOCKER AREA - DAY - BILLY 47
follows Elyias through a gate, into the hangar-like structure.
It's dim, red bulbs hang, row upon row of lockers. Elyias
signals Billy to wait, then disappears into the shadows.
HOLD ON BILLY
alone. Nervous. Above him, Guards loom on balconies. They eye
Billy, then move on...Billy waits and waits...It's intense
and unnerving. Feels like forever.
He decides to leave -- when Elyias suddenly returns with
Trustees #1 + #2. Billy looks at them, ill at ease.
Then, Elyias slips Billy a lighter, gum foil, and YABA PILL.
As Trustees #1 + #2 stand watch, Billy lights up, cooks the
drug. Thick smoke rises...Billy hard INHALES, and --
SMASH TO:
48 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY, AFTER - PRISONERS 48
A FIST-FIGHT breaks out among prisoners. Then ANOTHER.
Someone gets STOMPED. Other prisoners crowd around and gamble
on who will win.
BILLY
is alone, motionless and drugged. WE SEE what/how HE SEES...
The nude INDIAN PRISONER in the turban runs past, yelling, "I
HAVE GOD POWER! I HAVE GOD POWER!..."
A BLIND PRISONER with a stick...An OLD MAN in a broken
wheelchair...Another prisoner with NO LEGS on a wooden board
with tiny wheels pulls himself along...A few PRISONERS being
publicly punished, jogging in chains in the scorching heat...
The Indian scurries onto a low divider laced with BARBED
WIRE. GUARDS shout at him to get down. The Indian keeps
moving/yelling "I HAVE GOD POWER," then jumps for the main
wall -- hits the ELECTRIC FENCE -- instantly fried.
"God Power" gone.
22.
The Guards cut the Indian down.
Billy just stares, over-fucking-whelmed.
Then, a strange calm washes over him...as if feeling the
Indian is now free.
49 INT. NEWCOMER CELL - PRE DAWN - BILLY 49
lies awake, depressed. Fluorescents blaze, humidity hangs.
He looks around at the other prisoners, inches apart.
BILLY'S POV: Some are asleep. Most in bad health: open sores,
diseases. Tiffany snores beside him. One prisoner mumbles to
himself, incoherent. Another cries quietly, his foot badly
infected with gangrene. A third prisoner makes a crude weapon
out of a SPOON. An OLDER PRISONER sits on the toilet steps,
whistle around his neck, on suicide watch. He just stares at
Billy, saying nothing...
ON BILLY. ALONE.
In the distance, faintly rising, we hear atonal CHANTING. The
Islamic call to prayer. It drones, hypnotic, a hundred voices
bypassing the prison walls...
"Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akba, Ash-hadu anla ilaha illah Allah,"
on and on.
Billy rises, drapes a wet rag over his head, then moves to
the bars and listens...
CUT TO:
50 INT. NEWCOMER CELL - DAYS LATER - PRISONERS 50
do morning head-count for Guard #2. When the count reaches
Billy, he yells "Nok!" and the count keeps going...
51 INT. NEWCOMER CELL - DAY - BILLY 51
sits on his blanket. Sweating, nauseous. Leg bouncing rapid.
The itch to get high...Tries to fight it.
He looks at the nail on his thumb. Starts to bite it.
He begins to tear it off with his teeth.
He rips it completely off and spits it on the floor.
His thumb is torn and bleeding.
Billy just stares at it.
23.
He hears someone laughing. Billy looks over to see Noi, the
mentally retarded inmate...laughing at him again.
Then, Billy bursts out the door.
52 INT. PRISON LOCKER AREA - DAY - AS A LIGHTER 52
sparks, a yaba pill boils...and Billy inhales full blast.
Trustee's #1 + #2 keep watch.
Then, Elyias:
ELYIAS
Yaba...Tiger. Horse. More you use,
more you need...
Billy, in some otherworldy place.
BILLY
The fuck are you on about?
ELYIAS
Now time, you pay me.
BILLY
(slow, high)
...I'll pay when I can.
ELYIAS
Must pay now. No money, you pay
other way...
AS BILLY AND ELYIAS MOVE OUT TO THE YARD
they/we see a distant GROUP OF MUSLIMS...CHANTING in Muslim
prayer, using newspapers for prayer mats: "Allahu Akbar,
Allahu, Aakbar..."
ELYIAS
Muslims. Bad for business...
You, boxer-- Boom boom them.
Elyias pounds a fist into his hand.
BILLY
I don't do that. Fuck off.
ELYIAS
Then me sell your debt to supplier:
"the Samurai."
Billy follows his gaze to a gang of SIX THAI in a nearby
section of the yard. Predatory, junkie-thin, full tattooed.
The leader, KENG, face tattooed, holds court.
24.
ELYIAS
HIV, AIDS, all them...
(off Billy's look)
Syringes are swords. Buy drugs and
you no pay? Give AIDS to you...
Hidden by the rest, A YOUNG SAMURAI sits in the dirt...a full
skeletal structure tattooed on his hands. He uses a strange,
CROOKED KNIFE to deeply carve/scar his own arms.
He looks at Billy. Eyes meet. Billy looks away.
ELYIAS
Choice yours.
As Billy stands there, on the edge of a precipice....
53 INT. PRISON KITCHEN: BUILDING SIX - LATE DAY - THREE MUSLIMS 53
busily work the stoves. Steam and flames rise in the dark as
they cook. Malaysian music plays low on a RADIO. They talk in
good spirits (AD LIB). THE OLDEST MUSLIM fills a large bowl
with food and leaves to feed the others.
MUSLIMS #1 + #2 talk/cook. One makes a joke, the other
laughs...Then, SOMEONE (O.C.) turns the radio up, LOUD. The
Muslims stop, turn...
BILLY
stands there. STARK STILL. A pain in his eyes: self hatred,
remorse. Then, his rapid breathing induces a RAGE, RISING...
The Muslims furrow their brows.
A split-second heartbeat...just one;
AND BILLY ATTACKS. MANIACAL VIOLENCE. So fast, so shockingly
brutal it's hard to watch. Malaysian music blares, drowning
out the Muslims' screams. Billy destroys them both...till the
Muslims lie there, barely breathing, bloody, crippled pulps.
54 MOMENTS AFTER - BILLY'S HANDS 54
are blood covered. He runs water in a sink, fills up a
bucket, and sinks his hands into it. The water turns red.
Billy stares at it. Silent and tense.
CUT TO:
55 INT. NEWCOMER CELL - PRE DAWN - BILLY 55
lies awake, under a white sheet. Empty, sick, defeated.
Nowhere to turn. Nothing to hope for.
25.
One Prisoner on watch; everyone else asleep.
HOLD ON BILLY....staring up at the security camera, his sheet
pulled to his chin. He glances at Tiffany, asleep nearby.
It's VERY TENSE, VERY QUIET...
Prisoner on watch looks around.
Then, Billy makes the tiniest flinch. And we see something
dark -- moving... A SPOT OF BLOOD FORMS ON THE SHEET. THEN
ANOTHER...AND ANOTHER...ALL THEM POOLING OUT UNTIL THE SHEET
IS SOAKED WITH BLOOD.
Under the sheet: BILLY IS CUTTING HIMSELF WITH THE CRUDE
SPOON WE SAW EARLIER. CUTTING DEEP. CUTTING EVERYWHERE.
FLOODING WITH SELF-HATRED.
Billy holds in tears;
Suddenly, FEAR sets in. Instant REGRET and PANIC. Billy
throws the sheet off...It's an horrific sight...His arms and
leg and stomach opened and bleeding.
Billy drops the spoon by the inmate he stole it from, waking
and startling him. Nearby, Tiffany wakes up too, shocked as --
Billy staggers toward the bars...wounds pumping blood, air
leaving him...
Everyone begins chattering, incessant Thai; The prisoner on
watch loudly blows his WHISTLE. Again and again.
Billy grips the bars...Blood and drool and foam in his mouth,
he sputters, no words...
BILLY
Hel-- Hel-- I, I need--
Billy, scared, lost-- rears up, SCREAMING---
BILLY
HEEEEELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP!!!!!
BLACK.
56 INT. PRISON INFIRMARY - DAYS LATER - BILLY 56
lies still and bandaged in a bed. Other patients in beds:
AIDS-ridden, organs failing, runaway sepsis. One can't stop
shaking. We're in Death's waiting room.
Billy just lies there. Grave emotion. He quietly breaks down,
...then wipes the tears away.
26.
57 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - LATE DAY - BILLY 57
is walked by two Guards past the ENTIRE INMATE POPULATION
(500), gathered in the yard for head-count.
All eyes on Billy. Humiliated.
Officer Pi Sit watches from a distant balcony as the Guards
lead Billy toward a tiny cell, built beneath the prison
staircase -- And that is...
58 INT. THE ISOLATION CELL 58
No bed or sink. Just a bucket for a toilet. Paint peels in
scabs off the ceiling, only three-feet high. Porno mag photos
are stuck to a wall, among dozens of markings from previous
prisoners counting down days.
Billy grips the bars, on his knees, staring across the yard.
THE WHISTLE BLOWS and all prisoners return to their cells.
Officer Pi Sit returns to his office.
WE HOLD ON BILLY for the longest time...alone with the empty
courtyard. Only a large BUDDHA STATUE remains; incense and
candles burning, it's solemn face staring at Billy.
Billy staring back.
And as the sun starts to dip...In the distance, two GUARDS
exit a cell, followed by a group of MEN...well built, full
tattooed, shackled and chained...GYM BAGS in hand and BOXING
GLOVES tied around their shoulders. The Boxers and Guards go
past, not looking at Billy...
Billy watches them go. Forlorn. Numb.
CUT TO:
59 INT. SECTOR 5: CORRIDOR - DAY - BILLY 59
Days have passed. Billy -- bearded, filthy -- and three THAI
INMATES are led down a corridor.
60 INT. SECTOR 5 CELL - DAY - BILLY, THAI #1, #2 + #3 60
enter this huge, crowded cell, deemed maximum security.
Guards slam the bars behind them.
It's dark, foul. Wet clothes hang on lines. Bottles of murky
fluids. It's a SAMURAI CELL. Wall-to-wall packed w/INMATES,
tattooed from head-to-toe, many in shackles. Surveillance
cameras...The air itself is dangerous.
27.
Billy and the three Thai Inmates stand before the "cell boss,"
we saw in the yard: KENG. He sharply barks the rules in Thai.
Billy's quiet, doesn't like the tone. A few Samurai laugh.
As Billy looks for a space to sit, one Samurai gets up...KIAW
(30, Thai, body and lips tattooed, wearing shackles). He
shouts in Thai at a sleeping Samurai, "Bie!" (move!) then
kicks him hard in the ribs to make room for Billy.
Then Kiaw looks at Billy and smiles...
KIAW
Okay, farang. You sleep here.
Billy sits.
KIAW
I am Kiaw.
BILLY
Billy.
KIAW
(smiles)
Me hear of you...
BILLY
Yeah, what'd you hear?
KIAW
That you crazy foreigner. Farang,
ba. I like that. Kiaw friend to
you...
SUDDEN COMMOTION. EVERYONE TALKING. Billy looks up to see the
three Thai Inmates he came in with are clutching the cell
bars as Samurai take turns kicking them from behind.
KIAW
Initiation...not for Westerner.
When it's over, the three Thais celebrate. Samurai embrace
them. Billy watches, feeling oddly rejected.
CUT TO:
61 EXT. SHOWER AREA - MORNING - BILLY + KIAW 61
wait in a long cue of prisoners leading up to the troughs.
When it's their turn: five cups water, ten seconds soap, four
cups water; Next prisoner's turn.
28.
After, Billy and Kiaw shave, using dull razors and sharing a
small plastic bowl of water.
Kiaw gives Billy a clean t-shirt.
Billy puts it on.
CUT TO:
62 EXT. LAUNDRY AREA: PRISON COURTYARD - DAY - A SEA OF WHITE 62
linen sheets, clipped to lines, undulates in the breeze. Go
behind it TO REVEAL: small clusters of junkie prisoners,
using makeshift rigs out of Bic pens to boot heroin.
BILLY
watches, nervous and horrified as Kiaw builds a "syringe":
taking apart a Bic pen, then using a lighter to burn/melt one
end of the stem around a needle;
As Kiaw breaks open a straw of heroin and mixes it with water
in a bottle cap...
Kiaw sucks the heroin mix up through the "syringe," then
forces the needle into his vein, and blows the heroin in;
Billy is shocked.
KIAW
Now you.
BILLY
Fuck that.
KIAW
Best high like this.
Billy, ill at ease, contemplates, then....
....we HEAR a distant chorus of SOUND, IN THE DISTANCE:
rhythmic POUNDING, chains JANGLING, ropes WHIRRING...
It gets Billy's attention...he's unsure what it is;
63 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - RIGHT AFTER - WITH BILLY 63
as he starts thru the yard...He moves through the chaos, not
saying a word...
The SOUNDS get louder as we get closer, Billy following it...
drawn to it, now arriving at...
29.
64 A PRISON BOXING GYM 64
Billy enters...Its cage enclosed, decrepit, yet full to
bursting with MUAY THAI BOXERS at work: SKIPPING ROPES,
POUNDING BAGS (Two on each bag alternating kicks), HAMMERING
MITTS and PADS, SPARRING and SHADOWBOXING -- a great machine
of perpetual violence.
A DESK GUARD sits, reading a newspaper.
BILLY'S FACE as he edges forward, transfixed. Everything
that's happened writ deep in his eyes. Everything he did
wrong. All he'll never become. Wounded and frightened by the
abundance of strength around him...
The Boxers are aware of him now. They stop training.
And Billy freezes.
The Boxers staring at him. Every one of them, dangerous.
Billy staring back. SCARY SILENCE. And just like that....
AN ANGRY THAI MAN SPRINGS INTO FRAME, STARTLING US -- SHOVING
BILLY BACK AND SHOUTING AGGRESSIVELY IN THAI --
BILLY
(stumbling backwards)
--I'm sorry...sorry, I didn't--
The Man (NAN, 40's) keeps shouting/driving Billy out --
BILLY
Wait, I'm a fighter! I'M A
FIGHTER!!
A LIGHTENING FAST SHOVE and Billy's balance goes -- He falls
completely out of the gym, lands on his back, on cement.
Nan yanks the gate SHUT. Locks it with a SNAP.
Billy looks at him, dumbstruck.
Nan stares through the gate, smoking a cigarette. Then turns,
disappearing into the gym.
OFF BILLY. Mad. Stung. Confused. Roaring sounds of the gym
resume, and we CUT TO--
65 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - ANOTHER DAY - BILLY 65
sits alone, head in hands, feeling sick. Other prisoners
ignore him.
30.
A Guard looms on a balcony. Billy wipes sweat, stands and
gestures to him:
BILLY
I need a doctor.
66 INT. PRISON INFIRMARY - DAY - DOZENS OF PRISONERS 66
line up to a medical hatch, where TRUSTEE #3 hands out little
cups of pills, with little cups of water. Other TRUSTEES mill.
Billy, among the queue, ill, says to anyone in line --
BILLY
What're they knocking out up there?
In front of Billy, an enormous NIGERIAN INMATE answers --
NIGERIAN
Tramadol. Good for pain.
BILLY
Yeah? It's enough to do damage?
NIGERIAN
Not like Dilaudid or Roxinol. But
good enough.
BILLY
(slight laugh)
I'm Billy Moore. What's your name?
NIGERIAN
Black Dildo.
BILLY
"Black Dildo--?" Got a Christian
name, haven't you?
BLACK DILDO (NIGERIAN)
God name me this. I am Black Dildo.
BILLY
Well you know your painkillers,
Black Dildo. How much they charging
for it?
Black Dildo regards Billy. He doesn't look well.
BLACK DILDO
Free to all. Help get prisoners
clean.
Billy nods;
31.
Black Dildo reaches the hatch. Trustee #3 hands him a cup.
Black Dildo swallows his pills, then water.
Billy's turn...Trustee #3 hands him a cup: it's empty.
BILLY
Where's me pills?
TRUSTEE #3
You pay.
BILLY
"Pay?" The hell you mean? It's
free, isn't it?
TRUSTEE #3
You, farang. Pay five pack
cigarette.
BILLY
-- What?!
Prisoners in line grumble, getting impatient. Another TRUSTEE
#4 approaches...so does Black Dildo;
BLACK DILDO
Come back tomorrow. You no want
trouble here.
BILLY
No, no. It's alright, Dildo. I got
this...
The situation is now very dangerous. Billy, a volcano of
violence, is about to erupt.
BILLY
Now look, you lil' fuckin' cunt--
There's people waitin' here...I
don't want no trouble, so play
fuckin' nice and give me my pills.
Trustee #4 shouts something in Thai.
BILLY
What'd he say?
TRUSTEE #3
No pill for you!
BILLY
I NEED these pills--
Trustee #4 shouts in Thai again.
32.
TRUSTEE #3
--He say you go now!
Billy, rattlesnake strike, grabs Trustee #3's head and slams
it into the wall -- plaster splits -- startling us. Billy
snaps a hard right-left across #3's snout, blood sprays.
And all hell breaks loose.
Prisoners yell and scatter. Trustee #3 screams, cups his
nose, gushing. Trustee #4 and another, #5, grapple with Billy.
BILLY
(to Trustees)
GET OFF! GET FUCKIN' OFF ME!
Billy breaks loose and sinks his TEETH into #4's throat.
Blood spurts, #4 howls. Billy bites down even harder. Even by
his own brutal standards, it's shocking.
Trustee #5 chops away at Billy's head, who takes the pain.
Trustee #4 collapses. Billy hurls Trustee #5 to the floor.
A WHISTLE blows in the distance. Blood is everywhere: On
Billy's clothes/face/mouth. He looks at the injured Trustees,
smiles bloody teeth, crazed and raises both middle fingers.
BILLY
Three on one, shitbags!
Black Dildo grabs Billy and restrains him in a rear/jaw
headlock.
BLACK DILDO
STOP! CALM DOWN! NO MORE!
Billy, straining with anger, in Black Dildo's grip. A DOZEN
MORE TRUSTEES arrive with BATONS shouting in Thai.
BILLY
Okay! Alright, Dildo. I'm calm. I'm
calmed down.
The Trustees w/batons look at the Trustees that are injured.
They see the blood, then the bite marks.
Trustee #6 turns to Billy and grins.
TRUSTEE #6
Hey, farang. You no good boxer.
Fight very bad.
33.
Billy, ADRENALINE SURGE at the insult -- SCREAMS and breaks
loose again, charging Trustee #6. The other Trustees knock
Billy down with their batons and bury him.
67 EXT. CONTROL SECTION - AFTER - ON THE DOOR 67
it slams open. Two TRUSTEES throw Billy on his face, like a
sack of raw meat. Trustees go back inside...
Billy rolls to his back, leaving a blood mask on the ground.
Billy lies there...bloody and swollen. Eyes, purple slits.
The sun beating down on him, flies nipping at him, barely
able to breathe...
Then, a YOUNG WOMAN approaches, blocking out the sun. Early
20's. A paige-boy hair cut. We see her in SILHOUETTE...
BILLY
(barely a whisper)
...help me...
The Woman gently dabs Billy's wounds with a wet rag, cleaning
the blood. When she leans closer, her FACE comes into light.
Her name is JOM.
And she's a man...in bright red lipstick.
JOM
You okay?
Billy isn't.
JOM
Face look very bad.
Billy blinks.
JOM
No worry now. Me name Jom. I help
you.
Jom sits Billy up, continuing to nurse him. After a moment,
she helps Billy get to his feet.
Billy holds onto Jom for support...step-by-painful-step,
slowly making their way toward a looming ADMIN. BUILDING in
the center of this fenced-in compound.
Suddenly GUARDS #1 and #2 arrive, and shout at Jom in Thai.
Jom shouts back. Arguing ensues. She's protecting Billy.
34.
Guards roughly grab Jom and throw her aside.
Billy collapses again.
68 INT. ADMIN BUILDING: CHAIN ROOM - DAY, LATER - AS A HAMMER 68
SWINGS DOWN
onto an iron cuff, around Billy's ankle. WIDEN. And Billy's
leg is set on an anvil. A BLACKSMITH hammers a bolt through
the clasp.
Officer Pi Sit stands by with the Guards.
Blacksmith hammers ANOTHER CUFF around Billy's ankle, then
runs two ENORMOUS 6 KG CHAINS between shackles...
Billy stands, bound, shackled...his swollen eyes, defiant.
Officer Pi Sit signals to the Guards and Blacksmith to leave.
Then, Officer Pi Sit exhales heavily, glares at Billy...
OFFICER PI SIT
Why are you so fucked up?
Billy says nothing, inwardly tense.
OFFICER PI SIT
Disappoint me, William Moore. Fight
like mad dog, no good. Must be same-
same like Buddha.
Billy is silent. Officer Pi Sit slowly circles him...
OFFICER PI SIT
You say you are "boxer."
BILLY
(defiant)
Are you sayin' I'm not?
OFFICER PI SIT
Why you need drugs?
BILLY
Who said I "need" it?
Pi Sit stops. Stares. Cold.
Billy stands there. All his failures, like shrapnel, moving
through his heart...
35.
BILLY
(concedes, honest)
-- I've got a lot of bad shit in me
head...I don't want to think about.
(beat)
When I use, I don't hear it.
Pi Sit looks at Billy: sees the hard miles in his eyes. The
pain in his voice.
OFFICER PI SIT
If you want fight, you should fight
in the ring. But you must deserve
it.
Billy is silent;
OFFICER PI SIT
Behave, William Moore. Chi yeng
yeng...and maybe real fighters can
teach you something.
BILLY
...I can't box with chains on...
OFFICER PI SIT
For three months, get used to it.
69 EXT. CONTROL SECTION - HOURS LATER - BILLY 69
waits alone, chained and shackled, seated against a wall. In
the b.g., two LADY-BOYS (MAY and CHAR) give massages to a
pair of Guards on a shaded veranda of the Admin. buiding.
Now, Jom approaches Billy...
JOM
So you like fight?
Billy is quiet, morose.
JOM
-- Officer Pi Sit, good man. He
protect us.
(leans in close to Billy)
And now, he try and protect you...
Billy is silent. He touches his lip: it still bleeds.
JOM
Here, I feel safe. I go outside
compound,-- danger!
(MORE)
36.
JOM (CONT'D)
Four thousand man want boom boom
me...'cause I have pussy. Am real
girl...
A BEAT.
Billy just stares at her, unsure what to say.
JOM
I spend next thirty-five years of
my life here...very much afraid.
(beat)
I had boyfriend, say he love me.
Then he lie and cheat, and I slit
his throat when he beat me.
Billy is silent.
JOM
(smiles)
Do you have girlfriend in prison?
Just then, two Trustees arrive to escort Billy from the
compound. He struggles to rise, chains rattling...glancing
back once at Jom as he leaves...
70 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY, LATER - BILLY 70
walks with great difficulty through the yard, flanked by
Trustees. The iron cuffs cutting into Billy's ankles...step
by step...
A few Samurai hang around...Billy keeps walking.
71 INT. SECTOR 5 CELL - LATE NIGHT - BILLY + KIAW 71
face to face, both high, smoking heroin, lying under blankets
to avoid being seen by Guards.
The effects of the drug hit Billy hard. He crawls out of the
blanket amidst a plume of SMOKE. Slumps back against a wall,
sweating, heart pounding, eyes/lungs burning...
Thru Billy's haze he/we see/hear...a Thai pop-music video
playing on a small tv, sealed to the wall...Fans whirring...
Kiaw's lighter sparking under a blanket...Smoke and heat
rising...
Then, cell boss, Keng, sits up and signals to other Samurai.
One by one, three then four then five get up, and quietly
scale over other prisoners sleeping...making their way toward
the Young Thai inmate (we saw initiated earlier).
37.
Billy stares, unsure what's happening.
Suddenly, Keng and five Samurai throw themselves onto the
Young Thai, cover his mouth and rape him.
Billy tries to move. Can't. The attack's silent. Terrifying,
AIDS infecting. The Thai pop-song keeps playing...
72 EXT. OUTDOOR KITCHEN: PRISON COURTYARD - MORNING - COOKS 72
crack eggs, scramble, pour, flip and fold them. The stoves
are electric. PRISONERS wait in line for omelets, then move
to a gallery of lawn chairs and eat.
BILLY + KIAW
sit on buckets, using toothbrushes to scrub their ankles
beneath their shackles. Their eyes are hollow, black circles
from weeks of abuse. Track marks visible.
Billy scrubs roughly...His ankle starts to bleed. He keeps
scrubbing.
Suddenly the sound of HUNDREDS OF PRISONERS WHISTLING, making
CAT-CALLS in Thai. Billy and Kiaw look up --
Jom -- in a long wig and makeup -- is being escorted through
the yard by TRUSTEES. She swings her hips with exaggerated
sexiness, like a peacock flaunting it's feathers.
Billy is surprised at how attractive she looks.
Jom sees Billy, waves and calls out to him:
JOM
Hey, farang ba! You think me
beautiful?
Billy just watches. No words.
Jom enters a shop with an encaged window for protection. The
Trustees lock her in. Ready for business...
73 EXT. PRISON SHOP AREA: COURTYARD - DAY - BILLY 73
is trying to find cigarettes from one of the shops and stands.
It's loud, unruly: DOZENS OF PRISONERS all bargaining,
arguing, shoving at once.
Billy gestures over the noise. Every SHOP OWNER refuses him.
ANGLE, JOM
behind the counter of a CAGED-IN SHOP. She's selling
cigarettes, toiletries, coffee, homemade Valentine cards, etc,
along with May and Char.
38.
Deep in the crowd, Jom sees Billy -- frustrated, vulnerable.
Billy notices Jom watching, and works his way toward her.
JOM
(smiles, flirtatious)
Hello. How I can help you?
Billy, getting bumped on all sides, tries to hold ground.
BILLY
...cigarettes...
JOM
Five dollar.
BILLY
(pause, low)
Can I buy `em on credit?
Jom looks at him.
BILLY
(lying)
-- I'm expecting some cash from me
mum.
Jom regards him, then opens her ACCOUNT BOOK.
BILLY
William Moore.
JOM
I know...
She writes down Billy's name with a baht amount.
JOM
I give you fifty dollar credit. Pay
me back when you can?
Billy nods, embarrassed.
Jom slides him a CARTON OF CIGARETTES.
BILLY
(pause, then)
-- I never thanked you for fixin'
me head. So...
Billy nods "thanks."
JOM
You want, I can be your sexy
girlfriend...
39.
Billy's uncomfortable. VERY uncomfortable. So Jom just smiles
and then he leaves. Jom watches him go.
74 EXT. SECTOR 5 CELL - NIGHT - BILLY 74
and a THIN SAMURAI trade cigarettes for straws of heroin.
75 LATER - BILLY 75
is hunched under a blanket. He cuts two lines of heroin on a
bucket. Billy SNORTS one line, quickly switches nostrils,
SNIFFS the other, both barrels.
Billy's eyes press shut, to ESCAPE, for a moment. SILENCE...
precious silence...
Billy lifts an edge of the blanket, peers out: Thin Samurai
sits there, smoking a cigarette, watching him.
AMBIENT SOUND/REALITY...SELF-HATRED comes back;
Thin Samurai smiles, puts the cigarette out on his tongue.
Then he eats it.
Billy just looks at him. Then --
REVEAL NOW, across the cell...the YOUNG SAMURAI w/tattooed
hands. His head is bowed as Keng uses the CROOKED KNIFE we
saw earlier to shave Young Samurai's scalp...Slowly,
methodically...hair falls in bits, revealing Young Samurai's
scalp is full tattooed with the image of a DRAGON.
Billy watches this ritual, nightmarish and surreal --
76 I/E. SECTOR 5 CELL - DAWN - BILLY 76
is alone at the bars. Arms slung over the crossbars, smoking
a cigarette. Quiet, sullen.
It's DAWN - faint Buddhist and Muslim CHANTING O.C.
Kiaw hides a handful of heroin straws in a SHAMPOO BOTTLE.
Billy notices. Kiaw looks at him, smiles.
Billy picks up the carton of cigarettes. Only one pack left.
When he opens it, he finds a small NOTE tucked inside between
cigarettes. Billy mumbles low, as he reads --
BILLY
(to himself)
"Hi Billy.
(MORE)
40.
BILLY (CONT'D)
You missing me, yes or no?...I want
you be a good man for me, Billy. I
can be a good person for you
too...Can't say love now, but when
everything okay, you will be the
one, my boyfriend."
At the bottom of the note, a lipstick mark. Signed: "Jom"
Billy's jaw tenses. Silent. Disturbed.
Then, we hear the sound of MEN RUNNING. A lot of men. Billy
looks up: THE MUAY THAI BOXING TEAM is doing wind sprints in
the yard. Back and forth, powerful as horses, no one out
there but them.
Billy watches. One man coaching, looks up: NAN, smoking a
cigarette. Eyes meet.
And as the team keeps running...
The chanting grows louder... Louder... Fearful... CUT TO:
BLACK.
A LOUD SIREN SCREAMS ACROSS THE PRISON GROUNDS......
77 INT. SECTOR FIVE CELL - LATE NIGHT - BILLY 77
and all his cellmates bolt up. Billy looks at Kiaw:
KIAW
Someone killed...
SMASH TO:
78 EXT. PRISON WALKWAY - LATE NIGHT - MOVING SHOT: ELYIAS 78
lies mortally wounded -- the CROOKED SAMURAI KNIFE plunged
into his chest, as Trustees quickly push him on a cart to--
79 THE COURTYARD 79
where Officer Pi Sit + Guards have also found the corpses of
Trustees #1 + #2, blood sodden, knife wounds bleeding out.
Guards HEAVE the corpses onto PUSHCARTS. An ENRAGED Officer
Pi Sit shouts in Thai at Guards and Trustees, and we--
SMASH TO:
80 PRISON RAID SEQUENCE 80
GUARDS
41.
in riot gear -- move FAST and LOUD, charging into cells with
batons, flashlights and DOGS -- shouting rapid-fire Thai as --
PRISONERS
are violently grabbed, yanked out -- Their cells are
ransacked -- bedding and pillows ripped apart -- bins dumped
over -- false bottoms kicked out...sifting, searching...
81 INT. SECTOR 5 CELL - THAT MOMENT - BILLY 81
peers through the bars to get a glimpse of what's happening.
We HEAR distant mayhem. Batons hitting flesh. Men screaming
insanely.
Billy turns to see all of the Samurai sitting in silence.
Cross-legged, waiting. Only Keng looks at Billy...and
gestures for him to stay quiet.
The sound of beatings/screaming intensifies as the raid gets
closer to their cell.
Billy tries to swallow his fear, but it's impossible.
We begin hearing FOOTSTEPS somewhere. Lots of them. Coming
hard and fast. HEAVY KEYS jangling.
Billy steps back.
He blinks.
CUT TO BLACK/THEN ABRUPT TO:
82 THAT MOMENT - GUARDS 82
crash in. So fast, so frightening, giving us only glimpses --
BILLY + KIAW
and other Samurai are roughly grabbed and thrown in line.
A few Samurai protest/spit back -- Dogs bark and bite them --
Guards kick and punch them -- smashing batons across Samurai
bare backs with relentless force.
Billy sees another Samurai being dragged out by the hair.
Contraband hits the floor: cell phones, chargers, pocket
knives, spikes, shivs, drug paraphernalia, porn mags;
Guards keep shouting -- Terrified prisoners are marched along
landings -- down stairs -- Billy and Kiaw among them....
42.
Chaos everywhere, impossibly violent. Then;
83 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - PRE DAWN - BILLY + KIAW + 83
the ENTIRE PRISONER POPULATION stand in rows, nude, their
clothes on the ground. For Billy, and those in shackles,
their shorts/underwear are pulled to their ankles.
SILENCE IS DEAFENING. BRIGHT LIGHTS FLOOD THE YARD.
GUARDS body-search the prisoners one by one, then search
their clothes. The dead bodies of Elyias, Trustees #1 + #2
displayed for all to see.
Billy sees Nan and the Boxing Team amongst prisoners, also
nude. Nan doesn't notice Billy.
Then, TRUSTEES push Jom, May and Char to a distant corner,
wearing bras and panties. For the first time, we see Jom
without any makeup on.
She looks at Billy, his pale, naked body amongst tattooed
Samurai. Jom stares...Billy looks away...it's awkward.
OFFICER PI SIT
walks the line, tapping his baton against his leg, scanning
prisoners' faces, a cold anger in his eyes...
A paranoid Kiaw VERY SUBTLY kicks his shirt on the ground in
front of Billy...but Billy doesn't notice.
The Guards are getting closer, roughly searching prisoners
and their clothes.
THEN Bull Guard arrives/searches Billy: mouth, ears, feet,
balls, armpits, ass.
Bull Guard grabs Kiaw's shirt off the ground (thinking they
are Billy's). Billy SEES they aren't his...
Bull Guard folds back the seam of Kiaw's shirt: REVEALING A
HIDDEN POCKET stitched inside.
Billy glances at Kiaw in disbelief...Kiaw just stares ahead.
Bull Guard rips the pocket out, finds: STRAWS OF HEROIN --
then shouts in Thai to Officer Pi Sit.
Officer Pi Sit walks over. Takes the heroin. Bites open one
straw, tastes the powder.
Officer Pi Sit glares at Billy.
43.
BILLY
Those aren't mine.
Kiaw says something in Thai. Bull Guard shouts angrily back.
Kiaw talks/gestures to Billy -- says the heroin is his;
Billy shakes his head "no," frantic, terror stricken. Officer
Pi Sit just keeps staring at him.
As Bull Guard shouts in Thai, Billy snatches the shirt from
his hands and tries to put it on.
Too small. Doesn't fit. A SLEEVE rips, then hangs off.
Bull Guard goes silent. Officer Pi Sit looks at Billy and
Kiaw. A VERY SCARY, VERY INTENSE MOMENT.....
Officer Pi Sit turns, signals sharply to the Trustees.
IN A FLASH, the Trustees grab Kiaw and fiercely hurry him out
of the yard.
Kiaw protests, frantic-- as Billy watches, shackled, still.
Trustees wrestle Kiaw to an upstairs office and shut the door.
There's a sudden SQUALL OF FEEDBACK over the LOUD SPEAKERS,
followed by SOUNDS of footsteps scuffling -- A door being
slammed -- A chair being dragged -- Kiaw being interrogated --
IT GOES ON AND ON FOR A FEW SECONDS, THEN JUST STOPS.
SILENCE.
Then the SCREAMING begins.
Billy and the prisoners are frozen, listening to the SOUND OF
KIAW'S BLOOD-CHILLING SCREAMS as TRUSTEES SAVAGELY BEAT HIM
WITH BATONS.
84 I/E. - VARIOUS P.A. SPEAKERS + PRISON LOCATIONS - THAT MOMENT 84
The beating/screams/sobs broadcast across the entire prison.
85 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - BILLY + PRISONERS 85
all staring at the speakers: NOBODY MOVES, NOBODY SPEAKS.
HOLD ON BILLY, this just awful moment.
CUT TO:
44.
86 INT. LARGE ANTECHAMBER - DAY 86
A rather dark room, or lobby, filled with inmates lounging
and smoking cigarettes. Billy is high, among them.
The antechamber is connected to a small cell. And behind
those bars: a dressed up Jom is singing Karaoke. May and Char
sing back-up, lyrics roll on a shitty tv, as Jom sings into a
microphone. It's a slow, very seductive Thai BALLAD...
BILLY
his eyes glazed, watching Jom through the smoke...as do all
the other inmates. The room pulses slowly. Billy is totally
captivated by Jom's singing and stares without blinking.
Jom looks right at Billy, as if singing just for him. With
the effects of the drugs -- DREAMLIKE, SURREAL -- Jom becomes
emotional as she sings, appearing like a star...an angel...
For Billy, forgetting the prison surroundings for just this
moment, he's trancelike...mesmerized...as if he and Jom are
alone. Even the cell bars disappear;
When the song ends, Billy continues watching Jom and everyone
else loudly APPLAUDS.
87 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAYS LATER, MORNING - WIDE 87
The usual chaos and activity. We hear a TRUSTEE'S VOICE over
the loudspeaker:
TRUSTEE'S VOICE
William Moore, yat yeim...William
Moore, yat yeim
No sign of Billy. Instead, he --
88 INT. SECTOR 5 CELL - MORNING - BILLY 88
lies inert on his blanket, alone in the cell. A shirt covers
his face. Kiaw's shampoo bottle is open, empty, next to him.
BULL GUARD
stands over, puts a boot on Billy's chest. No response. He
yanks the shirt off Billy's face.
Billy's mouth is wide, eyes rolled back. Looks like a corpse.
Bull Guard lifts Billy's head, shakes it. Then harder. Billy
is totally limp.
Bull Guard gives him a VIOLENT KICK to the ribs. Billy's eyes
snap back in place. He wakes up, as if from a coma.
45.
Bull Guard shouts something in Thai.
Billy doesn't get up, zombie-like.
Bull Guard yanks him to his feet, throws a sky-blue uniform
shirt on him, and drags him out of the cell.
89 INT. VISITING AREA - MORNING - BILLY 89
is dragged in by Bull Guard, chains jangling. He's dumped
onto a stool before a STEEL MESH PARTITION.
Billy almost falls over. Bull Guard sits him up straight.
Billy is badly disheveled, bloodshot eyes, grey skin,
unshaven, beyond high. To his left and right, PRISONERS shout
back and forth to VISITORS on the opposite side -- ten feet
apart -- divided by bars/mesh. A BABY cries. It's madness.
Like talking across a freeway.
BILLY'S POV swims for a moment to an OUT OF FOCUS VISITOR
seated on the other side of the mesh...
As Billy blinks, strains to see, the Visitor comes INTO FOCUS
revealing: NINDAM (the young boy from the opening scene.)
He stares at Billy in shock. Shock of his decay. Shock of time
gone by.
Billy looking back, his bloodshot eyes moving down to:
BILLY'S POV -- NINDAM'S HANDS, holding a small TROPHY. He
grips it nervously, speaking slow and distinct; unsure if
Billy understands:
NINDAM
...Billy...you hear me?
Billy's mouth moves: no words come out.
NINDAM
I win tournament. In Bangkok. Muay
Thai, number one.
Billy tries to respond. Strains to focus...Can't.
Then, Nindam sadly sets an OLD GYM BAG on the divider:
Billy's gym bag.
NINDAM
This from gym locker. We wait long
time. Can no more keep for you...
(upset)
Sorry.
46.
Billy clenches his jaw-- a flood of emotion roils inside him.
Nindam FEELS it too, trying to be brave...
NINDAM
Next time I fight...when you leave
here, me want you walk me to ring.
Billy tries to smile. It falls quickly;
NINDAM
(low, tears welling now)
...bye, Billy...
Billy nods -- fighting back tears. Nindam, staring at him.
Then quietly, as if whispering a prayer...
BILLY
bye.
As Billy stands, Bull Guard searches him, checks his chains.
Nindam watches desperately.
After a moment, Billy turns back to look at Nindam...
...He's gone.
Billy, seeing it...feeling every fucking bit of it...
CUT TO:
90 INT. SECTOR 5 CELL - MORNING, WEEKS LATER - BILLY 90
Time has passed. He sits alone, clean shaven, writing a
letter in pencil.
We see GLIMPSES of his crude, childlike handwriting:
"...I know how difficult this is...""...I made a mistake..."
"...no one to blame but myself..."
91 INT. CHAIN ROOM - DAY - BILLY 91
is having his chains removed by the Blacksmith. Officer Pi
Sit stands nearby with Bull Guard;
After the shackles are pried off, Billy stretches his legs.
The lack of weight is relieving.
Bull Guard signals Billy to sit on the floor.
He does, then;
47.
BILLY
(to Officer Pi Sit)
I want to fight.
OFFICER PI SIT
You already did that.
BILLY
I mean with the team. I need to
fight...
Officer Pi Sit stares.
BILLY
You understand me.
BEAT.
OFFICER PI SIT
It's you who no understand.
(off Billy's look)
Boxing come with good behavior,
long time. We have prison
tournament each year, government
allowed. A chance for boxers at
life, privilege...and honor.
(pause)
You've earned nothing, William
Moore.
BILLY
So let me fight. I need it to
change. That's something...
OFFICER PI SIT
No.
BEAT;
Billy reaches into his pocket, pulls out a folded addressed
envelope.
BILLY
Will you mail this?
Pi Sit doesn't move.
BILLY
It's for me mum.
Pi Sit takes the envelope. Then he pulls out a SWITCHBLADE
and swiftly cuts the envelope open.
48.
Billy watches, uncomfortable, as Pi Sit reads the letter
inside. After a silence, he nods to Billy that he'll mail it.
CUT TO:
92 EXT. SHOP AREA - ANOTHER DAY - JOM 92
is working, selling. She wears a tight t-shirt that says,
"GUILTY" across the front. Muscular Trustee stands sentry.
BILLY
without his chains, approaches the shop and Jom smiles, bats
her eyelashes.
JOM
Hi, Billy! Missed you!
(off Billy's look--)
Long time, I thought you got
released...
BILLY
I, uh...I need cigarettes. A lot of
`em.
JOM
You need for drugs?
Billy looks at Muscular Trustee.
JOM
(smiles)
Relax. He no speak English.
BILLY
-- No, it's not for that. Not this
time.
Billy's hand is on the counter. Jom watches his expression as
she reaches through the bars, slowly...and lays her hand on
his. The tips of her fingers brush Billy's scarred knuckles,
lightly back and forth.
He's uncomfortable, and slides his hand back.
BILLY
I can pay you back. I mean, I will.
They look at each other for a moment, then...
JOM
I believe you.
She gives him a CARTON OF CIGARETTES, then discreetly hands
him another LOVE NOTE. Billy pockets it.
49.
JOM
(then, re: the cigarettes)
What they for?
93 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - RIGHT AFTER - MOVING WITH BILLY 93
through the heat and congested yard. He grips the cigarette
carton in one hand, his old gym bag in the other.
He pulls Jom's note from his pocket, throws it away without
reading it.
Then Billy looks, walks with steely determination toward --
94 E/I. THE PRISON BOXING GYM 94
-- and reaches for the gate. From inside, a BAMBOO STICK
comes down hard. Billy yanks his hand back...It's Nan.
BILLY
You speak English?
NAN
(stares; then)
...Some.
Billy holds up the carton of cigarettes. Says intensely:
BILLY
Let me train, and they're yours.
BEAT. HOLD. THEN:
Nan draws back the gate. Takes the cigarettes. Billy enters.
95 INSIDE THE GYM - MOMENTS AFTER - TWENTY BOXERS 95
work out. It's very loud. Desk Guard in the corner.
BILLY
stands ringside, and wraps his own hands. Nan lights a
cigarette and watches as Billy pulls a small jar of Vaseline
from his gym bag and greases up his face, then inserts his
old mouthpiece and bites down. Last, he pulls out his old
boxing gloves (worn in, blood-stained).
Billy puts them on, looks to Nan to lace them.
As Nan laces Billy's gloves, he sees the SCARS on Billy's arm
and looks at him. Billy says nothing. Nan finishes tying the
gloves.
Billy climbs into the ring, THROUGH the ropes...and waits.
50.
Nan looks around the gym at all the BOXERS training. He
gestures to one: LEK (20's) -- lean, tattooed, much smaller
than Billy -- to get in the ring.
Billy, dead staring, watches as Lek steps OVER the ropes and
moves to a corner...
There's a moment. A LONG one.
NAN
Chok!(fight)
Billy charges out fast. Lek feels his aggression and starts
to circle.
Billy attacks and Lek nails him with a front kick to the
chest. Billy takes it, then fires a punch. Blocked. A leg
kick. Blocked. Lek snaps Billy's head back with a jab. Then
again. And again.
Then a HUGE KICK to the jaw -- THAT HITS WITH THE IMPACT OF A
TRUCK -- Billy goes down in a heap.
He shakes it off, clears his head. Other Boxers stop what
they're doing and watch as Billy picks himself up, fire in
his eyes...and goes after Lek with a vengeance --
Within moments, Lek is throwing and battering Billy like a
rag doll. Pounding him at will, with solid PUNCHES and KICKS
that knock Billy to the canvas over and over.
Billy keeps getting up...But the harder he retaliates, the
harder he gets hurt.
Nan, ringside, stoically smokes cigarettes, as --
Finally, Lek grabs the back of Billy's head, hauls it down
and launches knee after knee after knee into Billy's ribs.
Billy goes down hard. He slowly gets up. Balance wavers. Then
he turns and VOMITS over the top rope;
Humiliated.
Nan nods to Lek, who then exits the ring.
Billy looks up at all the Boxers talking in Thai, joking and
laughing about Billy.
He exits the ring...Nan removes the gloves, saying nothing.
An assistant trainer, TANE (45) approaches with a MOP and
BUCKET on wheels. He points to Billy's puke with disdain.
51.
Billy mops the floor.
The Boxers resume training.
When Billy finishes, he shoves the gate back, and leaves.
CUT TO:
96 EXT. PRISON SHOWER AREA - DAY - BILLY 96
his back to us, as he angrily breaks a block of ice in a
bucket, stabbing it repeatedly with a bike cog.
97 TIMECUT. Billy sits alone against concrete, holding ice 97
wrapped in a towel against his face. His head is throbbing,
ribs and legs hideously bruised and swollen...
He takes the ice pack off, revealing bad facial damage: Black
eyes, forehead knotted with welts. Dried blood in his nose.
He runs a finger inside his mouth, spits blood on the ground.
Billy sets the ice-pack on the back of his neck, and hangs
his head. A portrait of abject loneliness.
CUT ABRUPT TO:
98 INT. SECTOR 5 CELL - MORNING - BILLY 98
sits among Samurai as Bull Guard takes head count. When Billy
yells his number: "paet" -- Bull Guard SEES Billy's welts and
bruises and calls a halt to the count.
Bull Guard shouts something in Thai at Billy.
Billy doesn't understand;
Bull Guard then shouts at Keng and a few others in Thai ("Who
fucked this guy up?! He looks like shit, who did this?!")
The Samurai all deny it.
Bull Guard storms out.
The Samurai glare at Billy...a VERY uncomfortable tension.
99 EXT. TOILET AREA - LATE DAY - BILLY 99
stands in line. Other prisoners chatter in Thai. Billy says
nothing. Surrounded, yet alone.
100 INT. SECTOR 5 - NIGHT - BILLY 100
lies awake. Everyone else sleeps.
52.
And he thinks, realizes he's not a fighter...but wants to be.
CUT TO:
101 INT. PRISON BOXING GYM - MORNING - NAN 101
is watching the team train. He hears someone outside BANG on
the gate and walks over: it's Billy. His bruised face.
NAN
What you want?
Billy presses a new carton of CIGARETTES against the gate.
102 INT. PRISON BOXING GYM - BILLY + NAN 102
walk onto the main floor, passing the Desk Guard.
Billy watches the boxers hitting bags, mitts, skipping ropes,
sparring, getting massages, etc.
They all ignore him;
Lek is pounding a heavy bag. He stops and looks at Billy.
Lek smiles, nods...Billy nods back. There's a mutual respect
in this exchange.
Nan sits on the steps of the ring and lights a cigarette.
103 TIMECUTS - BILLY 103
stretches alone...the bruises and welts make it difficult.
Billy jumps rope. His legs are sore. Feet get tangled.
Billy's slow on the heavy bag. Sweats profusely, breathing
hard. Skills/body gone dormant from drugs.
Billy does sit-ups hanging off a bench. Grimaces thru a set.
No one holds his legs.
Billy shadowboxes before a large mirror. He watches the other
boxers, and tries to emulate their movements...
...then, Billy sees his own reflection: the face/body of a
drug addict. Inward/outward decay.
Billy can't look at himself.
As Nan finishes his last cigarette, CUT TO:
53.
104 INT. PRISON BOXING GYM - LATE DAY - BILLY + NAN 104
sit and talk; The other Boxers are cooling down, packing up
gear, talking. Desk Guard waits.
NAN
(to Billy)
You fight before?
BILLY
Boxing, six years. As a kid, I won
the Northwest area in England.
NAN
No Muay Thai?
BILLY
...Not much.
NAN
Father train you?
BILLY
(wry)
When he used me as a punching bag,
I might've learned some.
BEAT.
NAN
-- Why you want fight? You in
danger?
BILLY
(shakes his head "no")
It helps me forget where I am. When
the gloves are on,-- I don't have
pain.
NAN
Drugs no do that?
BEAT. HOLD. THEN:
BILLY
(the honest truth)
I don't want to die.
Nan stares at him...nods. Then:
BILLY
How long you got here?
54.
NAN
One hundred years.
PRELAP SOUND A WHISTLE BLOWING, CUT TO:
105 EXT. LANDING/VARIOUS CELLS - LATE DAY - BILLY + PRISONERS 105
are herded back to their cells. Guards lock them in.
106 INT. RING: PRISON BOXING GYM - MORNING - BILLY + NAN 106
train together, using focus pads. Time has passed, the wounds
on Billy's face/body look better.
NAN
Time, work!
Billy fires combos -- as Nan catches with the pads -- no
pause -- teaching rhythm -- pushing Billy to his limits --
He's clearly exhausted -- so Nan pushes even harder --
107 LATER: Billy unable to breathe, vomits in a trash can, drugs 107
leaving his system.
One of the Boxers hands him a bottle of water.
Billy is surprised by the gesture, and drinks.
CUT TO:
108 INT. SECTOR 5 CELL - NIGHT - CHINESE FIGHTING FISH 108
swim in a whiskey bottle filled with water. WIDEN, REVEAL:
All 70 Samurai crowded around, loudly making bets -- holding
up cigarettes -- on which fish will win.
BILLY
is among them, surrounded on all sides by Samurai.
Billy gestures/insists to Keng he wants to bet. The Samurai
ignore him, a few insult him.
Keng shouts at Billy to show him cigarettes.
BILLY
On my account...
(off Keng's stare)
My account...
Billy keeps gesturing, pointing to which fish he wants to bet
on, bluffing an amount.
55.
Finally, Keng nods -- he shouts in Thai at Thin Samurai, who
shakes the whiskey bottle up, then sets it down --
The agitated fish begin to circle, then fight...Nipping and
thrashing...scales and blood floating...
All the Samurai scream/shout, push/shove. Billy is nervous,
hoping his fish will win.
It does.
He exhales. Some Samurai cheer, others are mad. Cigarettes
wildly exchange. Billy doesn't get his.
He points to the fish he bet on. Samurai refuse to pay. More
shoving and shouting. Billy shoves back;
One Samurai, in a rage, grabs the whiskey bottle and SMASHES
IT against the wall, holds it to Billy's throat.
Billy watches the fish flop on the ground and die.
Keng, staring at him, signals to the Samurai to pay Billy his
cigarettes.
They finally do.
CUT TO:
109 INT. SECTOR 5 CELL - EARLY MORNING - BILLY 109
gets up, dresses quickly. First one to leave, while the
Samurai are asleep.
110 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY - BILLY 110
runs laps alone around the crowded yard, trying to navigate
the madness. The PRISON FOOTBALL TEAM get into a fight during
a game. All of them shouting and shoving...
Billy runs through it;
111 E/I. PRISON SHOP AREA: COURTYARD - DAY 111
Jom is working behind her cage. Billy walks up...She's happy
to see him.
JOM
Hello, Billy! How my Westerner
boyfriend...?
He drops a shoebox on her counter: it's filled with all the
cigarettes he won.
56.
Jom looks at them.
BILLY
You don't need to send me no more
love letters.
Jom's smile falls.
BILLY
I can't be your boyfriend. I just
can't...and never will be. Thanks
anyway.
Jom's eyes well up.
Billy walks away...
CUT TO:
112 INT. PRISON BOXING GYM: RING - ANOTHER DAY - BILLY 112
is in line behind three other Boxers in the ring. Across from
them, stands a ripped powerful fighter: PON (28).
One at a time, each Boxer challenges Pon to grappling combat,
until one of them is thrown to the floor.
Billy watches as Pon destroys each opponent with astonishing
speed and strength.
Then, it's Billy's turn.
Pon grins and waves him forth.
Billy moves in and --
PON + BILLY
slam into a clinch. Working hard, Billy takes the brunt of
the pain. He pushes Pon, the stronger man, toward the
ropes...They grapple aggressively. Then, Pon picks up Billy
and tosses him 180 degrees with his power.
Billy hits the canvas like a rag doll. Stunned.
Pon just laughs...He's extremely dangerous.
CUT TO:
113 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAWN - BILLY 113
waits alone with a Trustee in the empty yard. Eyes bleary,
Billy just woke up.
57.
THE BOXING TEAM jogs past. Billy watches them go...Then,
Trustee gestures that Billy's allowed to join;
Billy hesitates, then starts to jog...and falls in line...
MOVING WITH THEM
through different SECTORS of the empty prison. Some shadowbox
while running.
Billy struggles to keep pace, huffing and puffing. But then
he realizes...he's jogging through areas of the prison that
he's never seen...
Streaks of dawn light the sky. Cool morning air. For Billy,
he feels ALIVE...and smiles.
114 INT. PRISON GYM: RING - DAY - BILLY 114
is hitting the pads as Tane holds them. Billy fires fist/shin
combos. Hard shots resound. Sweat pours off Billy ...his
skill clearly improving.
Nan stands at the ropes, giving instructions.
THE BUZZER SOUNDS. Billy paces the gym, dripping sweat, hard
breathing. He suddenly FREEZES....
OFFICER PI SIT
is in the gym. Two GUARDS with him. They stare at Billy.
IMMEDIATE TENSION.
OFFICER PI SIT
Why you here?
BILLY
...
OFFICER PI SIT
I warned you. Made very clear, you
must earn this. And how you do
that? By defying me--?
BILLY
(low, sincere)
I have earned this.
Officer Pi Sit says something in Thai to the Guards. Then
turns to Billy:
58.
OFFICER PI SIT
You will be punished for a month.
Whole cell will be punished too.
One Guard pulls out shackles. The other, a baton.
Billy sighs and exits the ring. The Guards remove his gloves.
Nan just watching, then...
...As Officer Pi Sit angrily walks over to the Desk Guard,
talks firm, Nan walks over and talks to Pi Sit in private.
The Guards roughly cut off Billy's handwraps as he watches
Nan and Officer Pi Sit talk in the distance.
WE/BILLY CANNOT HEAR WHAT THEY'RE SAYING OVER THE ROAR OF
BOXERS HITTING BAGS, MITTS, PADS, ETC. Billy just watching,
several tense moments...
...then Officer Pi Sit walks back to Billy. A BEAT, THEN:
OFFICER PI SIT
(firm, still angry)
I give you one chance: You will
fight at Songkran.
Billy lets out a deep breath, nods.
BILLY
thanks.
As Officer and Pi Sit and Guards start to leave --
BILLY
Who am I fightin'?
OFFICER PI SIT
(keeps walking)
Could be yourself.
Nan joins Billy.
NAN
You know what is Songkran?
BILLY
No.
NAN
Thai New Year. In three weeks: all
prison celebrates...Boxers fight to
qualify for National tournament.
Off Billy's look --
59.
115 INT. PRISON BOXING GYM - WEEKS LATER - PON 115
is on a scale. All the Boxers are checking their weights for
Songkran. The gym is crowded with Guards and Officer Pi Sit,
who supervises.
Outside the gym gate: DOZENS OF PRISONERS have gathered to
watch, deciding who they'll bet on. Among them, are the
SAMURAI.
Pon makes weight: 175
Next, Billy steps on. Pi Sit leans in to read Billy's weight:
210 lbs. (about 35 lbs overweight)
BILLY
The fuck? Is the scale broke?
Billy looks down: Someone else's foot is on the scale: Pon.
He grins, malevolent.
Billy heels Pon's leg off.
Officer Pi Sit watches without expression.
On the verge of erupting...Billy gets off the scale, Nan
resets, and Billy gets back on.
Pon inches up behind...blows in Billy's ear, then whispers
something we can't hear.
Billy makes weight: 175
Then, he reels and throws a punch that doesn't land, because
they're separated. Shouting. Pushing. The entire team now,
the Guards-- CUT OUT;
116 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY - PRISONERS 116
celebrate. The yard is alive with festivities. Carnivalesque.
ON STAGE, with A LADY-BOY BAND, Black Dildo wears a long wig,
performs a romantic Thai song.
Prisoners and Guards are mixing, eating, dancing to music,
throwing water in all directions and laughing. Everyone in
high spirits...
OUT OF THE DARKNESS OF THE GYM, Billy and the boxing team
emerge, carrying the RING out to the sunlit yard, where they
set it down. THE SOUND OF A CELEBRATION FILLS THE AIR....
Billy stand with Lek, watching, in disbelief.
60.
Then, a prisoner runs by and hurls A BUCKET OF WATER on
Billy. He's soaked, freezing. Lek starts laughing, as--
ANGLE, THE BUDDHA STATUE
Two Prisoners on stools pour flowered water over it, as
others pray, light incense and candles.
A LINE OF BUDDHIST MONKS
young and old, in bright orange robes, move through the yard,
as the far as the eye can see.
Billy SEES Prisoners and Guards flock to the Monks, kneeling,
making offerings of fruit and ornaments.
In return, the Monks give blessings, sprinkling sacred water
with a stick on the prisoners' hands and faces...
ANGLE, A YOUNG MONK
that summons Billy forth.
Billy hesitates, then steps closer. The Young Monk smiles and
applies the sprinkles Billy's face. He doesn't know what it
means. Doesn't need to. It feels peaceful. AND AS MUSIC
CARRIES OVER...for the first time, Billy smiles.
WIDEN. THE WHOLE YARD IS CELEBRATING. Only the ring is empty.
Then, Black Dildo voice booms over the microphone:
BLACK DILDO
Lady-boys and gentlemen, iiiiittt's
FIGHT TIME!!
SMASH TO:
117 EXT. RING - DAY - LEK 117
is fighting THAI BOXER #2. They trade shots. Then, a HUGE
PUNCH from Lek CRASHES HARD into Thai Boxer #2's head -- AND
HE FALLS FACE DOWN ON THE CANVAS, EYES WIDE, KNOCKED OUT.
THE CROWD GOES CRAZY.
Billy stands outside the ring, gloves on, just inches from
the ko'd boxer's face.
We SEE the FEAR on Billy's face.
As the REFEREE (a Guard) tries to revive him, he sharply
signals to Billy that he fights next.
Lek exits the ring, pats Billy's shoulder and smiles,
encouraging him.
61.
Billy swallows, then climbs the steps to the ring, and we --
TIMECUT/SMASH TO:
118 EXT. RING - BETWEEN ROUNDS, PON'S CORNER - PON 118
sits as Tane and another CORNERMAN shout advice fast/loud in
Thai, over the noise of the crowd. As--
119 BILLY'S CORNER - A WHITE TOWEL 119
fills the frame. It's soaked with BLOOD. Go behind it as Nan
is working Billy's corner. He's breathing hard, his EAR IS
SPLIT OPEN down the middle. It's grotesque.
BILLY
How bad is it? Is it bad?
NAN
Not good.
BILLY
His elbow done it, the cunt.
NAN
Next round not for you. Your ear
almost come off.
BILLY
Fuck that. I got another one.
Billy looks to the crowd: Everyone from Songkran going crazy,
gambling. Keng and Samurai betting big on Pon. In the front
row: is Officer Pi Sit, arms folded, watching stoically.
JOM, in a short skirt and high heels, walks the ring w/a CARD
FOR ROUND 4. The crowd WHISTLES/CHEERS. Jom winks at Billy,
who looks away, annoyed.
AND THE BELL.
120 INT. THE RING - ROUND 4 - BILLY + PON 120
rush in. Trade heavy shots. FISTS, KNEES and SHINS... Their
bodies absorbing the shock.
Pon GRINDS HIS GLOVE into Billy's ear. Blood and white cells
pour. It's hard to watch.
Billy reacts and fires a three-punch flurry that lands, then
Pon steps over and hammers a hook to Billy's exposed kidney.
Billy drops to one knee, air leaves him, pain engulfing him.
62.
As the REFEREE (a Guard) counts, Billy looks to the crowd:
SEES Officer Pi Sit watching him, SEES gambling prisoners
going nuts. Samurai sensing victory. Then, he SEES Nan who
signals Billy to rise....
....and he does. A split-second, and Pon charges. Billy
blocks A RAGE OF PON'S HEAD SHOTS and KNEES, doing his best
to cover. A FIST SLAMS through Billy's guard, like a shotgun.
Billy comes off the rope and hits Pon with a vicious three-
shot combo, right-left-right. WHAM-WHAM-WHAM. Feints. Then a
solid OVERHAND RIGHT that BREAKS the bridge of Pon's nose.
THE BELL. The Ref pulls them apart. Billy throws Pon a crazed
look of defiance -- The crowd ROARS for Billy, as he goes to
his corner and sits;
121 INT. BILLY'S CORNER 121
Nan works Billy's arms and legs;
BILLY
How's the ear?
NAN
Still there.
Jom walks the ring with a CARD FOR ROUND 5. This time, she
blows Billy a kiss...taunting him.
Billy gets even madder...Nan slaps him hard across the face.
NAN
(shouting)
Last round, Billy! Must knock out
or lose fight!
IN THE OPPOSITE CORNER: Pon stares at Billy with disdain.
Ready to finish him off;
THE BELL.
122 ROUND FIVE: A PON BARRAGE 122
slams us right into mid-round five. Billy covers. Pon --
insulting, taunting -- grapples with Billy, cursing through
his mouthpiece...
Pon launches a short right that Billy counters with a BIG
LEFT HOOK that connects. Pon's head snaps, sweat sprays.
And Billy goes for the kill.
63.
A HARD RIGHT CROSS SLAMS HOME on Pon's face -- knocking him
to the canvas with a HEAVY THUD, out cold.
No need to count. The Ref waves it over, removes Pon's
mouthpiece: it's a bloody mess.
The Crowd erupts. The Samurai, staring, simmering. Officer Pi
Sit, in disbelief. Pon lays unconscious, as Cornermen try to
revive him.
As Billy, drapes his arms over the corner, and breathes...he
looks up, sees Jom being escorted out by Trustees.
A beat of regret;
123 EXT. RINGSIDE - LATER, LATE DAY - BILLY 123
lies on a bench as a THAI CUTMAN stitches up Billy's ear.
KENG + 70 SAMURAI
stand nearby...all shouting/cursing/spitting/vehement in
Thai, angry at having lost their bets. FOUR GUARDS stand
post, keeping them back, as --
Two THAI BOXERS fight in the ring, the tournament hasn't
stopped. The crowd going wild.
We can see the pain in Billy's face.
CUT TO:
124 EXT. SHOWER AREA: PRISON COURTYARD - DUSK - THE BOXING TEAM 124
celebrate. The courtyard empty, but them and two Guards.
Billy (his ear now bandaged) with Lek and the team, bathing
their WOUNDS, their CUTS, their SWOLLEN LIMBS from their own
fights at Songkran. They laugh and throw water, for the
moment, as if children. Nan is with them, smoking, smiles.
125 INT. PI SIT'S OFFICE: COMMAND CENTRE - NEXT DAY - BILLY 125
his ear bandaged, enters with a GUARD.
Pi Sit waits at his desk.
Billy sits on the floor, placing his hands together, as a
mark of respect. After a moment:
OFFICER PI SIT
Your fight at Songkran was
impressive. Insane, but impressive.
BILLY
...
64.
OFFICER PI SIT
I'm going to transfer you to the
boxing team's cell...
(off Billy's look)
You will share in their privileges:
better food, earlier to shower to
avoid line, same thing at night.
Billy nods, tight smile.
OFFICER PI SIT
But if you lose in National
tournament, you will be sent back
to live with regular prisoners.
Billy's smile drops.
OFFICER PI SIT
You are first Farang to compete.
Consider this an honor. But for us
to win, every - fight - count. Have
two months to train...and you'll
need it.
Billy's silent. Reality of the pain ahead floods in.
OFFICER PI SIT
Tournament will take place in
maximum security prison. The men
you will face have life and death
sentence. They no just try win,
they try kill.
Billy reacts. The weight of these stakes hadn't occurred to
him.
OFFICER PI SIT
If you no want face this, and can't
represent this prison...say now.
PAUSE.....
BILLY
I won't let you down.
Officer Pi Sit signals to the Guard, who then lifts Billy to
his feet. As he starts to leave...
OFFICER PI SIT
Wait.
Billy turns to see Officer Pi Sit pick up an envelope from
his desk and holds it out to Billy.
65.
It's already been opened and read.
OFFICER PI SIT
From your Mother.
ON BILLY. HOLD.
CUT TO:
126 I/E. SECTOR 5 CELL - DAYS LATER - KENG + 70 SAMURAI 126
sit in silence, angry, simmering, as TWO GUARDS stand by the
door, waiting --
BILLY
collects his belongings. He's being transferred out of the
Samurai cell.
As Billy heads for the door, he looks back at Keng, who
gestures a knife cutting Billy's throat.
Billy walks out.
127 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY - FOLLOW BILLY 127
and Guards as they escort him across the yard...into a
separate, WOOD BUILDING and move down a long, dark hall in
silence. Billy is led into a LARGE CELL and first sees the
FOOTBALL TEAM, standing looking at him...
...Then, suddenly, Billy discovers Nan, Lek and the ENTIRE
BOXING TEAM waiting for him in this SPORT TEAMS' CELL ("Hong
Nak Geela").
All the boxers cheer and whistle, call him "Crazy Farang."
All except Pon.
Billy, bewildered by it all, dives into the team. All of them
laughing and wrestling.
128 INT. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - NIGHT - BILLY 128
is awake, as everyone else sleeps. Billy reads the letter
from his Mum quietly to himself;
Deep emotion fills Billy's face. He wipes his eyes.
SMASH TO:
129 E/I. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - PRE DAWN - GUARDS 129
loudly drag their batons along the bars of the team cell,
waking Billy, Nan and the Boxers.
66.
A Guard gives them a head count.
130 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAWN - WIDE: 130
The yard is very still, very quiet.
As the sun dips low, the boxing team, in silhouette, jogs
laps around the courtyard.
Billy runs among the them...He sees a rapist Samurai, naked,
hands tied behind his back, being forced to roll in the yard,
while getting kicked and humiliated by Guards.
Billy looks up at the Sector 5 Cell, sees the rest of the
Samurai behind bars, watching. Billy keeps jogging...
ALL WE HEAR IS BREATHING...IN/OUT/IN/OUT/IN/OUT/IN/OUT/AND
131 INT. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - NIGHT - BILLY 131
lies on his stomach in the dark, amidst a circle of Boxers,
conducting a sacred Sak Yant tattoo ritual.
It's EXTREMELY HOT, EXTREMELY INTENSE. Lek and two Boxers
hold Billy down, as another: TIGER uses a 40cm long needle
(the "Mai Sak") to apply the ink onto Billy's back with fast,
repeated jabs....the image of a LEAPING TIGER beginning...
Billy fights the pain, holding it in;
The boxers invoke a deep, hypnotic mantra (the "Kata"), some
clutching amulet fragments, the chanting becomes ONE VOICE...
CU's. Billy's pores, needle scraping ink made of snake venom,
and jabbing. Lek wipes blood off Billy's back, revealing the
Leaping Tiger and SAK YANT tattoos forming.
Billy's eyes roll back, the mantra inducing a trance state.
As Nan blows into the tattoo, the Boxers become shadows,
silhouettes...The cell walls fading. All we see is Billy. All
we hear is chanting...
132 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY - BILLY 132
walks alone, thinking. Time has passed. His bandage is gone.
Billy watches the swirl of activity from a distance.
Prisoners eating in the outdoor kitchen. And Jom, in her
shop, selling wares...engaging with prisoners.
Billy stares for a moment...then keeps walking.
67.
133 EXT. PRISON GYM: CANTEEN - DAY - BILLY, NAN + BOXING TEAM 133
are crowded around a long table. Plates/bowls of fish, ant
eggs, crab somtam, chicken, pork, chiang-mai noodles are
passed around as Billy and the boxing team eat. AD LIB
talking/joking/banter.
THAI BOXER
Hey Crazy farang, why you in
prison?
BILLY
...Drugs...
THAI BOXER
What kind?
BILLY
All of `em.
The Team laughs. Billy can't help but smile.
BILLY
How `bout you?
THAI BOXER
No, I no do drugs...I just kill.
Thai Boxer pounds his own chest, as if stimulating a knife
stabbing. The Team LAUGHS harder....so Billy laughs too.
134 INT. PRISON BOXING GYM: RING - DAY - BILLY + LEK 134
in protective gear, spar and grapple. Flesh on flesh impact.
Nan stands at the ropes, instructing.
Billy gets thrown down.
Nan yells at him to get up.
Billy jumps up and re-engages. Lek throws him down again.
Billy pounds the canvas with his fist, in frustration.
Nan signals Billy to exit the ring.
Two more Boxers climb in.
135 INT. SPORTS TEAM CELL - EVENING - BILLY, NAN + BOXING TEAM 135
are given head count by a Guard at night.
68.
136 INT. SPORTS TEAMS' CELL - NIGHT - BILLY + LEK 136
sit together, looking at a PHOTO ALBUM of Lek's family.
Lek points to things in the photos, then teaches Billy how to
say them in Thai: ..."my house"..." "...my son..." "...my
temple..." "...my father..."
Billy repeats each in Thai. Then:
LEK
Do you have father?
Billy pauses, then nods "yes."
LEK
He come visit you?
BILLY
...no...we don't talk anymore.
137 INT. PRISON BOXING GYM - MORNING - BILLY 137
shadowboxes before the large mirror. He looks strong, fast.
Now, comfortable facing his reflection.
CUT TO:
138 INT. LOCKER AREA - DAY - BILLY 138
leaving the gym, walks out to his locker. He opens it, shoves
his gym bag inside, shuts it.
Then, Billy turns to see someone standing there.
It's Kiaw. Cold stare at Billy.
BILLY
Kiaw...When'd they let you out?
KIAW
When I heal.
Billy sees new scars on Kiaw's face. They're unnerving.
BILLY
I haven't got time for this.
KIAW
Your hair look good...
BILLY
--What?
69.
KIAW
You take my shampoo bottle-- smoke
all heroin inside it.
Billy's silent. Then:
BILLY
So? You was gonna throw me to the
guards...Now we're even.
KIAW
That heroin belong to Samurai. Cost
much money!
BILLY
That's your problem...
Kiaw persists, getting angry:
KIAW
You pay now.
BILLY
(in disbelief--)
I don't owe you nothin'.
SOMEONE WHISTLES from above...A GUARD on the balcony. He
sharply gestures to Billy and Kiaw to move on.
Billy walks away. Kiaw steps in his path:
KIAW
You know I have AIDS. You pay my
debt to Samurai or I inject you
with my blood.
Kiaw holds Billy's stare: it's murderous. Then, he leaves.
139 INT. PRISON INFIRMARY - AFTERNOON - BILLY 139
and a few other BOXERS sit on a bench, having their training
injuries treated by DOCTORS: cut knuckles, cut lips and
eyebrows, hyper-extended knees, black-eyes.
Billy, still angry, is having his bruised ribs taped.
A GERMAN INMATE in his 60's -- pale, fat, sweaty -- sits on
another bench, waiting, eating a plate of food.
Near the medical hatch, Jom is talking to a MUSCULAR TRUSTEE,
fanning herself with a Chinese fan and flirting.
She notices Billy-- glancing over, then ignores him and
struts toward the other Boxers, as if an audience:
70.
JOM
...You good fighters, not bad. My
father want me to be Muay Thai,
like him.
The Boxers all look at her, in disbelief. Jom smiles;
JOM
But his dream not mine. I start
taking hormones when I was fifteen.
Father say I bring great shame, and
he disown me.
(she looks deliberately at
Billy--)
But now I am who I want to be.
Happy with myself.
Billy, simmering, as Jom turns back to Muscular Trustee and
smiles;
JOM
My only regret is I should have had
kids before I cut my dick off.
Muscular Trustee smiles back. Billy hides his jealousy, but
can't keep from watching Jom deliberately feign affection for
Muscular Trustee.
GERMAN INMATE
Well me, I like to fuck `em
younger. Much younger...Dick or no
dick, it don't matter.
The German grins. Jom looks at him, uncomfortable.
For Billy, the tension rises to a boiling point.
GERMAN INMATE
(to Jom)
How many cigarettes to suck me off?
JOM
You, Westerner-- what your
problem?!
GERMAN INMATE
-- I haven't got a problem, I've
got cigarettes. Are you going to
blow me or not--?!
THE SIREN BEGINS TO WAIL: time to go back to the cells.
They keep arguing; back and forth. Jom becomes livid,
shouting in Thai and --
71.
Billy reacts -- He charges across and yanks the German Inmate
up by the neck -- grabs the FORK from his plate --
German Inmate SCREAMS, terrified -- as an enraged Billy puts
the fork to his throat.
BILLY
-- Shut your mouth, or I'll bash
your fuckin' skull in, nob head!
Jom is frozen. Surprised. But also flattered.
GERMAN INMATE
(pulls away; then to
Billy--)
Fuck off, faggot!
A crazed Billy overpowers the German Inmate -- fiercely,
intensely -- pushing the fork toward the German's EYE --
He can't hold Billy off --
BILLY
Open your eyes...
He doesn't.
BILLY
I SAID, OPEN YOUR FUCKIN' EYES!!!
He does, then shuts them immediately.
The fork's within centimeters -- about to force in --
JOM
(shouts)
BILLY, NO! CALM DOWN! LET HIM GO!
Billy reacts;
Now, Muscular Trustee shoves Billy off -- as the Boxers
forcibly restrain Billy from killing the German Inmate.
Jom moves away, well protected by Muscular Trustee.
THE SIREN KEEPS WAILING;
JOM
(shouting)
You scare me, farang...very crazy!
Can no control yourself!
BILLY
-- You, you're just a whore!
72.
Jom's eyes go wide with shock. Anger.
JOM
-- You make everything bad! You
fucking junkie! Will never change!
You think too much!
(then)
Mi dong kit mak! (You think too
much!)
Billy, held by Boxers, looks at her -- His rage replaced by
shame.
JOM
I no want see you, farang ba!
(crazy foreigner) Don't ever come
around me!
Jom leaves down a hall w/Muscular Trustee, who comforts her.
Billy is led toward the exit by the Boxers, but he keeps
staring after Jom. He feels rejected.
THE SIREN STILL WAILING, AS --
140 INT. RING: PRISON BOXING GYM - DAY - BILLY 140
unleashing a hailstorm of violent Thai kicks, pounding the
bag -- harder and harder, yelling out with each attack.
141 INT. RING: PRISON BOXING GYM - LATER - LEK + ANOTHER BOXER 141
are in the ring, demonstrating the Ram Muay ritual dance.
They each wear a "mongkhon" (headband) and "pra jiad"
(armbands). Wai Khru music plays on an old radio.
Billy and Nan, also in the ring, stand near the ropes.
NAN
Ram Muay...before each fight, we
pledge respect to spirits.
Nan points/bows/prays AROUND the ring: the ropes, the canvas,
the gloves, the fighters themselves...
NAN
--Bless...spirit...bless...spirit,
bless...
Billy watches Lek and the boxer gracefully move through a
series of rhythmic gestures and postures.
73.
Billy is deep in a stew of his own confusion, trying to hide
his state of mind from the others.
NAN
(re: the Ram Muay)
Now you.
BILLY
I'm no dancer.
NAN
Can no compete tournament without.
Billy doesn't move. Nan shoots him an angry look.
NAN
Muay Thai more than just "fight."
Disrespect spirits or no believe,
you never understand Muay Thai!
BILLY
I "believe."
NAN
No--!
(off Billy's look)
When you at peace, can control
anything, and win. Anger: lose
everything.
ON BILLY.
142 INT. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - EVENING - BILLY 142
among the entire Boxing Team, and Football Team, as they
kneel for Buddhist Evening Prayer ("Suad Mon Yen"). Chanting
fills the cell, and Billy watches them, isolated and apart.
His thoughts elsewhere.
SMASH TO:
143 INT. RING: PRISON GYM - DAY - BILLY 143
is nailed with a punch in this sparring session. A combo of
THREE MORE HARD SHOTS from Lek hit Billy clean, and he
bounces off the ropes.
Lek looks over at Nan, who is standing on the ring apron,
watching: Billy is NOT throwing back.
NAN
Hands up!
74.
Billy takes a kick to the chest. Then another. Lek gives an
imploring look, then fires a series of PUNCHES; Billy just
takes it, refusing to cover.
Lek knees his ribs, and Billy slumps forward into a clinch.
Lek shoves Billy off, paws with a jab...concerned. Suddenly,
Billy dips and CRASHES A HOOK ON LEK'S JAW -- stunning him.
As Lek staggers, Billy unleashes FOUR DEVASTATING PUNCHES AND
LEK IS BADLY HURT.
NAN
Billy! Hya Suk! (that's enough!)
Other Boxers stop training now, looking over, as--
BILLY KEEPS ATTACKING -- A BARRAGE OF HOOKS, BOTH LEFTS AND
RIGHTS -- LEK IS OUT ON HIS FEET.
DESK GUARD, ALARMED, SHOUTS SOMETHING IN THAI;
NAN JUMPS IN THE RING, GOES TO JUMP IN-BETWEEN AS --
BILLY LANDS A HUGE UPPERCUT AND LEK FALLS, HIS NECK BOUNCING
OFF THE BOTTOM ROPE, WHERE HE LAYS, UNCONSCIOUS.
SILENCE falls over the gym.
Billy is shocked at what he's done. So is Nan, as he quickly
goes to Lek's aid.
Billy storms out of the ring, rips off his gloves with his
teeth, then slams them in a trash bin and leaves...
Desk Guard hurries after him.
The rest of the Boxers, confused, watch Billy go.
CUT TO:
144 INT. PUNISHMENT CELL - NEXT DAY - BILLY 144
is walked in by Desk Guard, holding his belongings. He's been
transferred to another cell: 12 square feet. Only five Thai
inmates inside.
As the Desk Guard shuts the bars, Billy hears someone giggle.
He turns to see Noi -- the mentally retarded inmate from
earlier.
No one else says a word.
CUT TO:
75.
145 INT. PUNISHMENT CELL - DAYS/NIGHTS - BILLY 145
condemned in here for a week. No talking. Very little light.
In the days/nights that follow....
Billy pounds the wall with his fist. Slow, heavy thuds, that
come one after another.
Billy pumps out sit-ups.
Billy does furious push-ups.
Noi watches Billy, giggling. Billy stops and looks at him.
Billy does push-ups with Noi on his back.
Guards enter, drop off food, then lock the bars again.
Billy and Noi sit/eat together. Noi smiles. Billy smiles back.
Prisoners' clothes hang on a wire. Billy rips it down and
uses it as a jump rope.
As he does, Billy's eyes glaze over, somewhere else.
Billy/Cellmates sleep, inches apart. Noi right next to Billy.
Guards enter again. Drop off food. Shut the bars.
In back of the cell/shower, Billy helps Noi bathe. Then dries
him off with a towel.
Later, Billy stands with a DULL RAZOR and starts to shave his
own head. Intense expression on his face;
All the prisoners watch in ominous silence.
A few drops of blood stream down the back of Billy's scalp
and neck.
His head now shaved, he now shaves off his eyebrows...leaving
the skin underneath beaded in blood.
Guards bring in food; shut the bars.
Billy starts shadowboxing. FIRING COMBOS that get faster and
harder -- More and more violent...
The other prisoners move back, nervous, afraid -- Except Noi.
Billy keeps punching, pivoting, attacking...dripping with
sweat. The combos coming with blazing force and speed --
76.
Billy finally stops, drops to his knees. Noi applauds, his
eyebrows shaved as well.
Noi gives Billy water, smiles.
And for the first time, Billy SPEAKS in THAI:
BILLY
Pom chuu Billy khrap? (My name is
Billy) Khoun chuu aray? (What's
your name).
Noi giggles.
CUT TO:
146 EXT. PRISON - DAWN - WIDE: 146
It's still and quiet. Everyone in their cells, asleep.
CUT TO:
147 INT. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - EARLY MORNING - NAN + BOXING TEAM 147
are sitting in their cell, quietly. Lek, among them, still
with bruises.
There's a sound of the door opening and a figure walks in:
It's Billy...released from punishment. Brought in by Desk
Guard.
Everyone stares. Billy tries to gather courage as he walks up
to Nan.
There's a long moment before he speaks:
BILLY
I fucked up. I know it, Nan.
Honest.
Nan says nothing...
BILLY
I just lost it, is all. I lost me
self,-- everything you taught me.
(beat)
If I could, I'd rip me own heart
out and show it to you...
(beat, then)
I didn't come this far to quit.
Nan stares. Silent. Billy tries not to break down.
77.
Then, Nan hands Billy a pair of BOXING SHORTS. Billy looks
down, sees the name written on them:
"CRAZY FARANG"
NAN
Tournament very soon. Must train
twice as hard now. Don't disappoint
me.
Billy nods, quietly comes alive.
BILLY
(realizes)
I forgot cigarettes.
NAN
I no more smoke. Bad for health.
Billy's back on the team. He walks to Lek and sits down next
to him. There's a moment...Then, Lek holds out a fist...Billy
bumps it, both smile.
CUT TO:
148 INT. PRISON GYM - DAY - BILLY 148
holds a rope between his teeth, that's tied to a weight. He
lifts it up and down, strengthening his neck.
149 EXT. COURTYARD: SHOP AREA - ANOTHER DAY - BILLY 149
walks in the strangely almost empty courtyard. Like an
uncomfortable dream. Suddenly he SEES in the distance...
NOI
sitting alone, on the ground. He's sad, dejected, for once
not smiling.
Billy walks over. Noi sees Billy and his mood changes
immediately. He runs to him with his moldy FLIP-FLOPS split
down the middle;
NOI
BILLY!!!
Noi hugs Billy tight.
BILLY
You need new shoes...
Noi doesn't respond.
78.
Billy speaks in Thai:
BILLY
Rong tow, see lao. (Your shoes are
not good)
Noi looks up, grunts.
NOI
Roo lao! (I know!)
BILLY
Pom Ja sue longtow mai hai khun na.
(I'll buy you new ones.)
Noi, a huge smile...He removes his flip-flops, gives them
kiss, then HURLS them over the prison wall. He then marches
quickly away, singing a Thai song loudly and out of tune.
150 EXT. SHOP AREA - LATER - BILLY + NOI 150
are at a stand, rummaging through items for sale. The shop
owner is a VERY OLD THAI PRISONER.
Billy inspects items: coffee, shaving cream, soup cans...They
agree on the flip=flops that Noi likes.
As Noi tries them on, Billy then moves to a row of feminine
items: lipstick, eye shadow, a woman's headband with a
plastic flower attached.
He looks up at the Old Man watching him.
Billy picks up the flower headband;
BILLY
(to the Old Man)
...it's not for me...
The Old Man SMILES.
Noi looks at Billy, concerned. Hopes it's not for him. Shakes
his head, "no."
Billy is amused.
Both laugh.
151 INT. ANTECHAMBER - ANOTHER DAY - BILLY 151
is alone in the empty chamber, practicing the Ram Muay dance.
The music plays on a bad radio...His movements are stiff,
uncomfortable. He's clearly frustrated.
79.
There's a sound. Billy turns;
REVEAL: JOM
is standing outside the chamber. She wears the hair band with
the plastic flower. Two TRUSTEES stand sentry as Jom enters
the chamber and walks to Billy.
Billy stares at her in silence. Emotion roiling through him.
They look at each for a long, unspoken moment.
Then Jom steps back and begins to perform the Ram Muay dance.
Billy watches, transfixed as she teaches. It's strange and
spiritual. Her movements graceful, yet surprisingly powerful.
Now, Billy tries, following Jom's lead. Back and forth...She
guides him along, together...both moving like water.
Both smile. Forgiving.
152 INT. RING: PRISON BOXING GYM - EVENING (TWO WEEKS LATER - 152
BILLY + PON
are sparring. The gym is otherwise empty except for Nan, Tane
and the Desk Guard. (Billy's eyebrows are mostly grown back.)
BILLY + PON
engage, grapple, then fight out. It's intense, but more for
technique, ironing out Billy's flaws.
Mid-round, Pon CRASHES a shin into Billy's kidney. Billy
takes it. Covers and assaults, aggressively going after Pon.
THE BUZZER ends the round...Billy and Pon bump gloves.
IN THE CORNER: Nan gives Billy water, then notices that Billy
is sweating profusely.
NAN
Faster! Let hands and feet go!
Billy takes a labored breath, nods.
THE BUZZER
Billy circles, on the defensive. Pon cuts down the ring and
tries to nail him, but Billy avoids and clinches. He's having
trouble breathing...
Pon wrestles Billy to the ropes. Billy hacks and splutters...
a few FLECKS OF BLOOD spray onto Pon's shoulder. Only Billy
notices...
Something is wrong;
80.
They break apart and Billy fends off more blows from Pon.
THE BUZZER ENDS THE ROUND.
153 INT. PRISON GYM: BATHROOM - RIGHT AFTER - BILLY 153
walks in and shuts the door. Locks it.
He stands there a moment, afraid.
When suddenly and without warning -- a knife-like pain shoots
through Billy's side -- his chest begins heaving --
AND HE VOMITS BLOOD VIOLENTLY.
154 EXT. PRISON GYM + COURTYARD - MINUTES LATER - BILLY 154
with Nan, Pon, Tane follow Desk Guard back toward their cell.
WE SEE the concern on Billy's face. He tries to hide it from
Nan...
NAN
You okay?
BILLY
(he isn't)
...yeah...
NAN
Fear is good for fight. Like fire,
inside you.
Billy's silent, struggling to hide his pain from Nan.
NAN
It's almost time.
Billy considers telling Nan about his pain: He doesn't.
BLACK.
155 INT. PRISON INFIRMARY: SMALL OFFICE - AFTERNOON - BILLY 155
waits, alone. In the hallway, two other Westerner inmates
wait on a bench.
A MAN'S VOICE (O.C.)
Mr. Moore?
Billy looks up: DR. ADI (40, British) has entered, holding a
clipboard.
81.
DR. ADI
Mr. Moore, I am Dr. Adi.
BILLY
Never seen you here before...
DR. ADI
I come once a month to give medical
aid to foreigners.
BEAT.
DR. ADI
How are you feeling?
BILLY
I'm not sure.
DR. ADI
You have a delineation of the
esophagus.
BILLY
A what...?
DR. ADI
It's a tear. Primary cause: drug
and alcohol abuse. Through years of
this, it's worn away the lining of
your esophagus.
BEAT.
BILLY
Well I'm sober now.
DR. ADI
You need to stay that way.
BILLY
(nods)
So can I get out of here...get back
to the gym?
DR. ADI
You need to heal. After, exercise
is good,-- but only moderate.
A BEAT.
BILLY
I've got a tournament comin' up:
Muay Thai.
82.
DR. ADI
Make other plans.
BILLY
Doc, I'm in prison. I haven't got
no "other plans."
BEAT.
DR. ADI
Boxing is what caused the rupture.
You vomited blood because you had
at least a pint in there. Any more
trauma, and you could hemorrhage.
You'll bleed to death.
Billy looks at him.
Dr. Adi starts to write on his clipboard.
DR. ADI
I'm putting in a request to have
you transferred to a government
hospital. They'll patch your
esophagus, or perhaps cauterize it.
BILLY
I'll just, I'll keep my guard up.
DR. ADI
Mr. Moore --
BILLY
-- I'll watch my pace.
DR. ADI
Mr. Moore. You must never fight
again.
ON BILLY. HOLD.
156 EXT. PRISON INFIRMARY - AFTERNOON - BILLY 156
steps out of the infirmary into the heat. He stands there,
alone, looking around...a lost animal.
CUT TO:
157 INT. RING: PRISON BOXING GYM - DAY, LATER - NAN 157
stands at ring center, in full protective gear w/large pads --
one by one, five boxers take their turn unleashing rapid-fire
Thai kicks (20 at a time), shouting with each shot.
83.
It's fast. It's loud. It's relentless.
BILLY
is the last to go. Hoping to prove the doctor wrong. He
attacks the bag. fast. loud. violent.
REVEAL: NOI is in the gym now, sitting on the ring steps. He
LAUGHS and APPLAUDS Billy. (He also wears new flip-flops.)
Nan points to a BROOM nearby.
NAN
Nong Chai, Kub pai tum ngan khun na
krub. (Little brother, go back to
work.)
Noi quickly gets up, starts to sweep the gym. He's the new
team assistant.
Billy looks at Nan, nods "thanks."
And Billy walks away. Light-headed, he clutches his chest,
hiding the pain.
BILLY
(low, to himself)
...fuck...
CUT TO:
158 INT. SHOWER AREA (TROUGH) - DAY - BILLY 158
under the water. It flows down his neck and tattooed back.
Cup after cup. He breathes in the cold...breathing in that
place where fighters go...where emotion is stilled and eyes
focus, concentrating. Then --
BILLY'S FACE
plunges into water, FULL FRAME. Bubbles spiral, eyes peel
open. Then, he whips his head back...
...out of a trough, as he stands in THE COURTYARD. He wipes
water from his face. Then, sensing something in the distance,
he instinctively turns...
To his left: two Samurai.
To his right: Kiaw and one more.
Then Keng. All of them, staring.
Billy freezes, staring back. Now, something in the Samurai's
eyes goes dead and realization hits him...
84.
Utter
fucking
TERROR
Billy RUNS -- heart hammering, thru prisoner traffic as the
Samurai give chase.
Suddenly, KIAW catches Billy from behind, both go sprawling --
Billy, on his feet fast, STOMPS KIAW HARD -- then sprints
away, as the other Samurai close in...
159 THE LAUNDRY AREA - BILLY 159
-- bursts in, frenetic thru a maze of sheets. He gets
tangled, screams, falls. AND ALL FIVE SAMURAI POUNCE, fists
and feet...pounding Billy, trapped in the sheet, as--
KENG rips the sheet back. Faces inches apart. He shouts to
Kiaw in Thai, who pulls out a SYRINGE and plunges it into his
own veins...drawing out INFECTED BLOOD.
Kiaw hands Keng the syringe, as the others hold Billy's neck.
BILLY
NO! NO!
KENG
(to Billy)
You have tournament come up, yes?
Billy frozen, wide-eyed, nods.
KENG
Win fight and pay us your earnings.
You lose, it end bad for you...
TENSE PAUSE. FUCKING ALL HELL TERRIFYING.
Billy nods.
The Samurai drops Billy in the dirt, then walk away.
DISSOLVE TO:
160 INT. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - PRE DAWN - BILLY 160
back in the cell with the entire Boxing Team and Football
Team, as they kneel for Buddhist pre-dawn sutras. Chanting
fills the cell.
Billy shows Noi how to pray;
They all pray together.
85.
161 INTERCUT: OTHER CELLS/AREAS + PRISONERS 161
also praying. Lady Boys, Samurai, et al. In the COURTYARD,
Muslims pray ("Salat al-Maghhrib"). All of it, hypnotic,
tonal overlapping floods the air... The prayer before dawn.
BLACK/HOLD IN BLACK/THEN:
162 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY - BILLY, NAN, LEK, TIGER + A FEW 162
OTHER BOXERS
march in chains and shackles; gym bags in hand, some with
boxing gloves tied around their necks. Guards watch the line.
The yard is otherwise empty. All the prisoners, locked in
their cells, watch the team pass.
Billy sees: Jom in the Control Section. She smiles, waves
through the fence.
Billy nods, gratitude behind it.
Then he glances at the Isolation Cell as he passes.
They team is marched through a series of MASSIVE GATES and
BARRED DOORS, onto the MAIN GATES...where a pair of GUARDS
pull them open, showing us the outside....
163 EXT. PRISON: MAIN GATES - BILLY, NAN, LEK, TIGER + BOXERS 163
step outside the prison gates. Billy pauses for a moment...
taking in the open air. There's a few houses around, offices
and empty lots. The slightest smile comes to his face.
ANGLE, A WAITING PRISON BUS
It's packed to the rafters with prisoners. Faces peer through
steel-mesh. Billy follows the team into the bus...
164 INT. PRISON BUS - BILLY 164
gets on. Prisoners crammed like cattle, everyone in chains.
Billy squeezes through and sits next to Nan.
BILLY
They all here for the fight?
NAN
Only boxers go to tournament.
Billy looks to the back of the bus: a group of prisoners are
caged in a smaller compartment, facing a Guard w/a shotgun.
BILLY
So where they headed?
86.
NAN
Some get transfer. Others go to
death house.
165 E/I. PRISON BUS (MOVING) - DAY/LATE DAY - VARIOUS 165
shots of the prison bus, traveling through Thailand.
BILLY
watches scenery pass. People on the streets; temples;
markets; life on the outside.
As the bus moves through lush Evergreen forests...Billy leans
against the mesh window, wind hitting his face. He breathes
in clean air.
166 INT. MAX. SECURITY PRISON: RECEPTION - BILLY, NAN, LEK, TIGER166
+ OTHER BOXERS
enter. They're given a SECURITY CHECK. Guards search them and
their gym bags. Chains and shackles are removed.
Nearby, FAMILIES wait in line as their bags are inspected.
167 EXT. MAX. SECURITY PRISON: COURTYARD - LATE DAY - WIDE: 167
It's huge, filled with people. Guards and Prisoners, Families
visiting. Some play basketball, some gamble, others talk and
laugh with their loved ones. Lady Boys, dressed as Ring Card
Girls, are in a separate caged area, putting on makeup.
In the center of the yard, a BOXING RING is being prepared:
Prisoners set the canvas (a giant logo: "Department of
Corrections"); they secure the ropes, and corner pads. A
gallery of chairs around it.
BILLY
sits alone. He watches other boxers with their families. Pon,
Tiger, etc. Lek, holding and kissing his INFANT SON. Then,
Billy looks away and quietly stares at the ring.
ANGLE, OFFICER PI SIT.
talking to Government Officials. He sees Billy sitting alone,
walks over and sits. They both watch the families and
prisoners interact for a moment. Then:
OFFICER PI SIT
I talked to your Mother. She could
no afford airfare, but she sends
her love.
Billy is silent.
87.
OFFICER PI SIT
They say boxers should have no
pleasure before fight.
BILLY
...
OFFICER PI SIT
They say it softens you,-- steals
your hunger.
BILLY
Well maybe "they" are full of shit.
Officer Pi Sit smiles. Billy's loneliness is evident.
OFFICER PI SIT
The man you fight tonight, he no
deserve to ever leave prison...So
he'll do anything he can to win.
BEAT, THEN:
OFFICER PI SIT
But you...
(off Billy's look)
You had to go to prison in order to
be free.
Billy is still. Hard truth.
CUT TO:
168 INT. LARGE CELL: MAX. SECURITY PRISON - NIGHT - BILLY 168
lies on a table, in this improvised locker room. Nan is
giving Billy a pre-fight massage...Applying heated oil to the
skin, the scars, the back tattoo, working the muscles with
his hands. It's very quiet but intense, ritualistic, as wel
FEEL the BUZZ in the air...
Lek, Tiger, a few other boxers enter the cell. All sweating,
breathing hard, just having fought.
Billy sits up. Alert.
169 INT. BATHROOM: MAX. SECURITY PRISON - NIGHT - BILLY 169
enters. Alone, he looks in the mirror, touches his chest
nervously. Eyes closed, he prays. Focus and intensity
builds...
FADE IN SOUNDS of a distant crowd. Fights underway. CHANTING.
SHOUTING. MUAY THAI MUSIC on the loudspeakers.
88.
There's a knock on the door. Billy opens it:
NAN
It's time.
170 CU'S: BILLY 170
-- as he pulls on his cup guard, then his shorts.
-- as Nan tapes his hands.
-- as an OFFICIAL signs the tape.
-- as Lek ties Prajiads around his biceps
-- a garland of flowers around his neck.
-- then the gloves.
-- Billy bows as Nan puts the Mongkhon on his head.
He's ready.
171 I/E. MAX. SECURITY PRISON - NIGHT - FOLLOW BILLY 171
with Nan and Lek, as he leaves the cell and makes the VERY
LONG WALK down a corridor, lined with cells...
The TIGER TATTOO vibrant on Billy'S back.
Prisoners cheering, some taunting, other reach through the
bars and pat him... Billy keeps moving, eyes charged, fixed
ahead, shadowboxing a few punches as he goes...
DOWN A FLIGHT OF STEPS
into the bowels of THE YARD, where SIGHT/SOUNDS EXPLODE.
Prison spotlights REVEAL THE YARD IS PACKED.
Around the ring, a sea of prisoners. Guards in uniforms, Gov.
Officials. Numerous families throughout. The NOISE builds to
deafening levels as Billy makes his way toward the ring, and
steps OVER the top rope...
172 INT. RING - WITH BILLY 172
as he enters. And we're seeing him, now, at this moment, as a
full Muay Thai warrior.
Another ROAR sweeps over the crowd...His opponent entering
the ring...And Billy turns to face the man who intends death
for him: DIESEL CHOR (25, pure malevolence).
Prisoners ROAR for him.
89.
Billy and Diesel walk the ring, opposite sides, praying to
each corner, touching the ropes, "sealing" the ring...
Ceremonial music begins...Billy and Diesel both perform the
Ram Muay. As Billy moves rhythmically, in time to the music,
his arms and legs telling his journey w/beatific precision...
CUT TO:
173 INT. LADY BOY CELL - NIGHT - JOM 173
with May and Char are watching a small TV, chatting up a
storm. Women's bras, thongs, hang on wires. Perfume and
makeup abound.
Jom watches Billy on TV intently, sees him perform the Ram
Muay as she taught him.
174 BACK TO: INT. MAX. SECURITY PRISON: RING - NIGHT - BILLY 174
FEELS the spirit now rising inside him...When he finishes the
Ram Muay, the music cuts out.
Billy locks eyes with Officer Pi Sit, ringside, for a moment.
Then, Billy heads to his corner, lowers his head so Nan can
remove the Mongkhon... They pray together, head-to-head...
The crowd baying for blood, grows louder... LOUDER now...
Then, suddenly, abruptly--
CUT TO BLACK/SMASH TO:
THE BELL;
175 INT. RING - ROUND ONE - BOTH 175
rush in. A measured pace at first. Billy and Diesel circling,
feinting, like a storm brewing...
Billy fires jabs and teeps with a balance and deftness we
haven't seen before... Diesel, taking shots, trying to cut
the ring, but Billy evades...
UNTIL: DIESEL'S TRAINER shouts something Thai. And Diesel
fires an OVERHAND RIGHT that Billy doesn't see and hits him
like a pole-ax.
Billy's entire body feels it. (So do we.)
A barrage of pulverizing kicks, elbows and punches follow,
Billy trying to cover up. Diesel's attack goes through like
bullets. It's fast. It's shocking. Hurts to watch. And --
90.
THE BELL.
Diesel throws Billy down, smiles. The crowd ROARS; the Ref
warns him. Billy gets up, goes back to his corner.
Ringside: Officer Pi Sit watches, concerned.
CUT TO:
176 INT. SAMURAI CELL - NIGHT - KENG, KIAW + ALL SAMURAI 176
watch the fight on their shitty TV. They argue, shove and
shout, wildly gambling cigarettes, as--
177 BACK TO: MAX. SECURITY PRISON/RING: BILLY'S CORNER - BILLY 177
breathes, panicking. Nan and Lek work his legs.
BILLY
He's too strong!
NAN
Breathe, Billy. Have calm.
BILLY
I can't keep him off me!
NAN
You can!
BILLY
--No--
NAN
-- Remember what I teach you!
Remember what you fight for!
A LADY BOY WALKS THE RING WITH A CARD FOR ROUND TWO.
AND THE BELL.
178 ROUND TWO 178
Billy is under attack in seconds.
Diesel firing in punches. Billy bounces off the ropes just as
Diesel strikes with a flying knee that CRASHES into Billy's
forehead-- then Diesel spins him around and KICKS BOTH LEGS
OUT from under him.
Billy goes down hard. HIS HEART STARTS POUNDING. Billy
clutches his sternum, takes a breath and fights through it.
The Ref counts. Nan and Lek shout from the corner in Thai.
91.
179 INT. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - NIGHT - NOI 179
sits up close to the TV. Eyebrows shaved. Worried for Billy.
The Football Team, remaining Boxing Team watch in the b.g.
180 INT. LADY BOY CELL - NIGHT - JOM 180
also worried. May and Char shout at the TV in Thai for Billy
to get up.
181 BACK TO: INT. MAX. SECURITY PRISON: RING - BILLY 181
staggers up. Diesel resumes his assault. Billy tries to grab
as Diesel drives him into a corner, where a STORM OF KNEES
batter his legs and organs. Billy, taking HUGE SHOTS, can't
escape, then--
CU, BILLY
under a BLUR of shots, something in him SLOWS...CALMS -- AS
IF SPIRITUAL...HE/WEE SEE a split-second opening in Diesel's
attack and Billy FIRES -- a COUNTER PUNCH that hits and hurts
Diesel. His face is damaged. He staggers back.
THE CROWD ROARS.
182 INT. SAMURAI CELL - KENG, KIAW + ALL THE SAMURAI 182
go wild. Cigarettes flying. Shouting, cheering, cursing, as--
183 INT. MAX. SECURITY PRISON: RING - NIGHT - BILLY 183
bores in...nailing Diesel with aggressive kicks, elbows and
teeps, that knock Diesel back to a corner. Billy unloads:
PUNCH AFTER PUNCH AFTER PUNCH!!
THE CROWD GOES CRAZY. Even Officer Pi Sit.
184 INT. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - NIGHT - NOI 184
is excited, squealing with laughter, and --
185 BACK TO: INT. MAX. SECURITY PRISON: RING - NIGHT 185
THE BELL. And the Referee yanks them apart.
SUDDENLY BILLY'S GASTRAL TRACK LURCHES and Billy doubles
over, again clutching his sternum.
186 INT. BILLY'S CORNER - BILLY 186
sits. Nan and Lek feverishly rub Billy's legs. Billy spits in
the bucket: it's a lot of blood.
92.
NAN
You okay, Billy?! You alright?!
BILLY
...yeah...
NAN
You SEE, Billy?! You FEEL it?! Muay
Thai in HERE--
(pokes Billy's heart)
And HERE--
(pokes Billy's mind)
Now, FIGHT! Khun samarth chna!
187 INT. DIESEL'S CORNER - HIS TRAINERS 187
shouting advice.
A DIFFERENT LADY BOY WALKS THE RING WITH ROUND THREE CARD.
AND THE BELL.
188 INT. RING - ROUNDS THREE + FOUR 188
They trade. Back and forth. Both fighters standing ground,
creating angles, traps, dodging and attacking. "The Art of
Eight Limbs" in full force.
They slam into a clinch (reminiscent of the exercise with
Pon). But this time, Billy throws Diesel down.
Diesel jumps up immediately and attacks Billy;
AND THE BELL. BILLY AND DIESEL CONTINUE TO FIGHT AFTER THE
BELL. The crowd roars, shifting momentum, rooting for Billy,
the Crazy Farang.
189 INT. LADY BOY CELL - JOM, MAY + CHAR 189
chattering, clapping, watching another LADY BOY on TV walk
the ring with a card for ROUND 5.
190 INT. BILLY'S CORNER - BETWEEN ROUNDS 190
rubbing Billy's legs that are brutally swollen at the tendons
around the calves and knees. He struggles to breathe.
NAN
Last round! No get tired now!
BILLY
I won't!
93.
NAN
No go down, Billy! Need last round
to win!
BILLY
Okay.
NAN
Okay?!
BILLY
Okay!!
WE DON'T HEAR A BELL. INSTEAD, WE SLAM HARD RIGHT INTO--
191 INT. RING - MID-ROUND FIVE - DIESEL'S BARRAGE 191
has Billy hurt. A right to the jaw then three knees to the
ribs knocks the wind out of Billy. He stumbles to his left.
Diesel takes advantage and fires a left lead kick that almost
knocks Billy down. They grapple, shove each other off.
Both boxers exhausted, it's a matter of will. Trading shots.
As Billy finds, masterfully, his distance, his timing, he
chops a hard kick to Diesel's thigh that buckles him.
THE HUNGRY CROWD ON IT'S FEET. Even Officer Pi Sit, who jumps
up from his seat, CHEERING BILLY, as --
Billy RUSHES in --
-- but mid-charge, his GASTRAL TRACK LURCHES AGAIN. HEART
POUNDING, DANGEROUSLY FAST. BILLY GRIMACES IN PAIN, AS --
DIESEL COMES RIGHT BACK, SLAMMING IN SHOTS.
BILLY FIGHTS THROUGH THE PAIN. PUSHING HIMSELF. IT'S BACK AND
FORTH -- BOTH MEN LANDING....
UNTIL A SOLID COMBO STAGGERS DIESEL...BILLY GOES FOR THE
FINISH -- SEVERAL CHOPPING KICKS -- THAT BRUTALLY, FINALLY
KNOCK DIESEL'S ENTIRE LOWER BODY BACKWARDS AND DROPS HIM ON
HIS FACE.
Diesel writhes in agony.
The Ref pushes Billy back.
Diesel is counted out.
The Ref raises Billy's hand.
CROWD GOES CRAZY.
94.
192 INT. LADY BOY CELL - NIGHT - JOM, MAY + CHAR 192
all on their feet. Chatting, clapping. A smile comes to Jom's
face, as--
193 INT. SPORT TEAMS' CELL - NIGHT - NOI 193
His face filled, with emotion. Watching his friend win.
194 BACK TO: INT. MAX. SECURITY PRISON: RING - NOW - BILLY 194
is swarmed by Nan, Lek, Pon, Tiger, and the rest of the team
that floods the ring.
Officer Pi Sit climbs in and congratulates him.
AND SUDDENLY, ABRUPTLY, ALL SOUND CUTS OUT. BILLY/WE SEE ALL
THE EXCITEMENT AROUND HIM IN THE RING AND CROWD, PEOPLE
TALKING, CHEERING, ETC...
FOR NOW, IT'S PERFECTLY SOUNDLESS.
Then, Billy's knees buckle...and he COLLAPSES to the canvas.
On his back. Eyes roll to WHITE. His body in shock, CONVULSES
VIOLENTLY -- as BLOOD fills his mouth and he starts to CHOKE.
The team gathers around him, all shouting in Thai (We can't
hear any of it).
Nan rolls Billy onto his side, and blood pours out...
Nan reaches into Billy's mouth, digs out his tongue.
Officer Pi Sit shouts to all security, this terrible silence,
and CUT TO--
195 INT. PRISON AMBULANCE (MOVING HIGH SPEED) - NIGHT - BILLY 195
lies in back, eyes rolled, breathing erratic. A MEDIC puts an
oxygen mask on his nose. The siren wails. We do not see the
GUARDS faces as they drive Billy to the hospital.
BLACK.
196 EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY - WIDE 196
The yard is empty. We hear a TRUSTEE'S VOICE over the
loudspeaker:
TRUSTEE'S VOICE
William Moore, yat yeim...William
Moore, yat yeim.
95.
No sign of Billy.
197 INT. VISITING ROOM - DAY 197
A MAN is waiting (50's, white, UK). He is alone. No one else
is in the visiting area.
He is still for a VERY LONG MOMENT.
Finally, a Guard emerges.
GUARD
Sorry, Mister Moore. We no can find
your son.
MR. MOORE
(nods)
It's okay. I'll come back.
CUT TO:
198 INT. GOV. HOSPITAL: RECOVERY ROOM (DAYS LATER) - BILLY 198
stirs awake. He sees a light overhead and an air vent working.
Billy takes a moment to get his bearings...Lying in a clean
bed, white sheets, quiet surroundings. There's a large post-
op bandage on his side where a drain was removed.
Then Billy looks down, SEES his ankles are shackled/chained.
A PATIENT in a neighboring bed stares at him awkwardly.
HOLD ON BILLY, THIS VERY LONG AND AWFUL MOMENT...then, he
slowly sits up, turns to a window, peers out;
REVEAL NOW: We're in a GOVERNMENT HIGH RISE, overlooking the
city of Bangkok -- 20 stories below. Billy pushes opens the
window, BREATHING IN FRESH AIR...HE LOOKS OVER THE LEDGE...A
LOOOONGGG WAY DOWN.
There's a sudden SOUND. Billy drops back into bed, just as
the door opens and a NURSE walks in.
BILLY
Nurse. `Think I should go to the
loo.
Nurse helps Billy out of bed. She looks down at his chains,
then hands him a SARONG.
Billy wraps the sarong around his waist, covering the chains.
96.
199 INT. CORRIDOR: GOV. HOSPITAL - BILLY 199
as the Nurse escorts him...They pass a GUARD seated at a
nearby desk. He hardly glances over from the TV he's
watching.
The Nurse leads Billy around the corner to the bathroom. She
waits as he goes in alone.
200 INT. HOSPITAL BATHROOM - BILLY 200
pisses in the urinal, then goes to the mirror and looks at
himself. He washes his hands and face. Then walks out...
201 INT. CORRIDOR: GOV. HOSPITAL 201
...and finds an empty corridor. The Nurse is gone. Billy
peers around the corner, SEES the Nurse talking to an AIDE
down the hall.
PAUSE...THEN;
Billy moves to an elevator and quickly taps the button.
The elevator door slides open...and Billy FREEZES.
Inside: is a DOCTOR and two NURSES. They all STARE at Billy.
DOCTOR
Going down?
Billy nods, steps in, SLOW, careful not to shake the chains.
202 INT. ELEVATOR (DESCENDING) - BILLY 202
avoids eye contact. Instead, he focuses on the floor lights
dropping: 9...8...7- DING!
Door opens: two more DOCTORS get in. Billy tenses.
The descent resumes: 6- DING! Door opens again: now an
ORDERLY w/a WHEELCHAIR PATIENT enters. Billy edges to the
back corner;
Floor by floor, the elevator keeps stopping. Rapidly filling
with NURSES, DOCTORS, ORDERLIES and PATIENTS. We can FEEL
Billy's panic in this now crowded elevator, descending
agonizingly slow...
It finally reaches the LOBBY. Everyone files out, until Billy
is alone. He steps out carefully, minding the chains...
97.
203 INT. LOBBY: GOV. HOSPITAL - DAY - BILLY 203
turns a corner, into the LOBBY. It's full-to-bursting with
PEOPLE waiting for medical attention. Some in plastic chairs,
wounded and sickly. Some on the floor. Others on gurneys,
shoved against the walls. The Staff under siege, outnumbered.
BILLY'S POV: at the far end of the lobby, is the EXIT TO THE
STREET.
Pulse racing, nervous, Billy moves toward it...ever-tiny
steps, so NOT to hear the chains...step by step. A few people
look at him curiously. Billy, heart pounding through his
chest now, just reaches the exit and --
204 EXT. HOSPITAL/CITY STREET - BILLY 204
bursts out. WE'RE IMMEDIATELY STRUCK BY THE ROAR OF BANGKOK'S
RUSH HOUR. CARS/PEOPLE EVERYWHERE, OVERWHELMING BILLY AND US.
Billy, sweating profusely, walks down the sidewalk, fast as
the chains will allow (which isn't fast at all); He glances
nervously back at the hospital, keeps walking....
205 EXT. BANGKOK: VARIOUS CITY STREETS - WITH BILLY 205
One city block after the next, navigating crowds, unsure
where he's going. He turns down a quiet street lined with
parked cars.
He tries several car doors. All of them locked.
Frustrated, scared, he looks across the street and STOPS.
BILLY'S POV: A DRUG STORE. All lit up, open for business.
206 INT. DRUG STORE - DAY - BILLY 206
enters. It's empty. No customers. He heads to the back for
the pharmacy counter...then SLOWS when he SEES...
AN ENORMOUS FLOOR-TO-CEILING WALL OF PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS.
(Painkillers, amphetamines, etc.)
Billy stares, in awe.
Billy's reverie snaps when a YOUNG PHARMACIST (Female, 25)
appears behind the counter.
YOUNG PHARMACIST
Can I help you?
Billy just stands there. Staring. Realizes:
98.
BILLY
...no...
207 EXT. DRUG STORE - MOMENTS AFTER - BILLY 207
steps out to the street. Exhales.
He watches people, cars, life go by. And suddenly it's clear.
All the chaos in Billy's eyes is replaced with steel. He
wants to live.
And now he's walking. Toward the hospital.
Walking faster. Determined. Faster and faster, toward the
hospital as we....CUT TO:
208 INT. RECOVERY WARD + ROOM - DAY - GUARD 208
looks up from his TV, oddly, at Billy walking in, sweating.
BILLY
(smiles)
-- How you doin'? Took a fuckin'
helluva piss in there.
Billy enters his room, hoists himself into bed-- and right at
that moment, the Recovery Ward door opens: it's Officer Pi
Sit. Accompanied by two other GUARDS with SHOTGUNS.
Without a word, they help Billy out of bed, cuff his wrists.
209 E/I. BUREAU OF CORRECTION VAN - DAY, AFTER - BILLY 209
is put in the back seat, next to Officer Pi Sit. The Guards
up front, drive in silence....Then:
OFFICER PI SIT
(without looking at Billy)
Why did you come back?
BEAT. Billy looks at him.
OFFICER PI SIT
You could be free. Why did you turn
around?
BILLY
(caught, stunned)
You saw me?
Officer Pi Sit still won't look at him.
99.
BILLY
I don't want to run anymore.
Billy waits for a response; Officer Pi Sit doesn't give one.
And as they ride in THICK SILENCE, en route back to prison...
CUT TO:
210 INT. PRISON VISITING ROOM - DAYS LATER - MR. MOORE 210
is waiting in the Visiting Area alone. WE HOLD ON HIS FACE.
THEN;
TEXT ON SCREEN: After serving three years, Billy Moore was
transferred to a UK prison and released on an amnesty by the
King of Thailand in October 2010.
Upon his return, he reconnected with his family.
With the help of Narcotics Anonymous, Billy remains clean to
this day, and works with other addicts who are in recovery.
Now, a smile comes to Mr. Moore's face.
Across from him, REVEAL: sits Billy.
They look at each other for a LONG MOMENT, in deep silence.
Emotion is palpable between them.
Then, Billy smiles to his father.
CUT TO BLACK:
A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN
| A Prayer Before Dawn
Writers : Jonathan Hirschbein
Genres : Crime Drama
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