Secluded Pestilence

Written by Pierre

Location: Ohio

“Secluded Pestilence”

Writer and Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Principle Cast:

John C. Reilly as Paul

Phillip Seymour Hoffman as The Weather Man

Amy Ryan as The Patient

Julie Andrews as the Depressed Wreck

Jack Nicolson as The Rich Guy

DJ Qualls as The Telephone Man

Amber Tamblyn as The Actress

Jenna Boyd as Amy

Jimmy Bennett as Billy

Brady Corbet as The Date

Jake Weber as The Paper Guy

Tagline: On The Core Everyone is Alone.

Synopsis:

He put out the cigarette and sat on his bed looking out the window for a while. The big sign on the wall read UCLA. He smiled as the sun began to rise. The coffee was sweet and dull tasting, kind of like his life had been for the past couple of months. His eyes began to swell up but there was no time for tears. Think the ceiling fan could hold up? He took the phone cord out of the wall. As he stepped on his bed, he took a deep breath. The fan held up very well.

The different noises that arose from the simple places terrified him. His father assured him that it was all his imagination. His brother used to be right in the next room, just waiting for him to come and join him in bed. A noise came from the window, then another. All these noises soon became one big rumble. Was it rain or the monster that he always believed in.

The annoying pest terminator would not stop talking. She just wanted to know what were the strange flying bugs in her basement. That conversation came to her having an ant problem to her possibly having a termite problem to him asking where the bathroom was. It was nice to have company however if even someone getting paid for a job. He came out of the bathroom with a slightly whiter face like he just saw a ghost. He began to rush his words telling her that the locusts would be gone soon enough and finally gave her the bill. After he left, she went into the bathroom and saw that the man was going thru her medicine cabinet. She found a picture by the bathroom sink. A picture of her and him together. She began to cry as a memory came into her head, a blurry one but still a memory. Something that was very unordinary. Then there was the noise of tires screeching outside of her window.

She didn’t really notice it. All this talk of this big storm that was headed L.A.s way. She never listened to anyone, that is what led her here. Everyone told her that she wasn’t going to fulfill her dream of being a actress. So far they were right, but it wasn’t her stubbornness that got in the way. It was the person that persuaded her to come here, her cousin who introduced her to heroin. Now she was on the road, attempting to go back home after witnessing her persuasion overdose. The weather man said that it was a slight chance of rain. As soon as the words came into her ear the clouds began to darken. It began to rain with hail even falling, the hail began to get bigger and destructive. She began to look back at the destruction that it was causing, wishing that it would come her way. She stopped looking forward and witnessed the car crashes everywhere, looking at what seemed like fire coming from the air from explosions and then came her wreck.

It was 30 minutes until airtime, enough time for a cup of Joe. As he stood in line he witnessed a man in front of him. He had all kind of strange bumps on his face. Holding back his laughter he quickly looked at his reflection, to reassure himself of his so called nice façade. As the man left in ignorance he wiped off the buttons on the coffee machine but as he wiped it off he witnessed the same bumps beginning to arise on his skin. Maybe he was imagining things like he once used to. He shook it off, 15 minutes until air time, looks like rain, to him it always did. He spoke the words “Hello ladies and gentleman, looks like we have a slight chance of rain.” He needed this to get him to the big time. So he could become something to his father, a person who still looked at him as if he was a peasant. He escaped long ago from that but still found himself running back to him. The strange bumps were gone, he was imagining things or maybe he did want to have the bumps so he could have a connection to someone. He sipped his cup of coffee and looked as the clouds began to darken.

They never really cared about anyone but themselves. He became successful that way, letting people down making sure they knew he was ahead of them. Now he was lonely, his wife a depressed wreck after he destroying her dreams in the past. He so desperately wanted a time machine to once again hold the love of his life. She attempted to commit suicide 3 times but he couldn’t put her in any place where they would treat her as if she was lesser than anyone. His oldest son hated him going off to college as far away as he could and his youngest couldn’t connect with him. The only living things that were by his side were the horses that he collected over the years. The trainer ran in to tell him that something horrible has happened. Jacob the oldest horse has fell ill, on his way to falling from the pain he landed on the leg of Emanuel, and when that happened Rebecca the mother ran over and on the way ran over Emanuel. Rebecca became crazy and tried to rush towards the trainer. Scared he shot the horse down.

Today was going to be a different day, a day he was going to remember he could feel it. He began to walk into the gas station with a big smile on his face. The attendant always looked at him funny, probably because of the pest control nametag that read Paul. 10 9 9 1 1 , he was going to win the pick 5 this time. The Jackpot was 110 million, way more than enough to get him away from here. Away from killing insects for the rest of his life. He wanted love so desperately ever since he lost the love of his life. The woman he had lost was now living by herself barely able to remember anything. She was stricken with Alzheimer’s. He was 32 when that happened, a very unordinary thing. Because she was only 28. Now he is 43 waiting for the hours to past. Then reality hit him when he witnessed a woman hit a raccoon on the streets. He balled up the ticket and rushed to the streets. Surprisingly the flies were approaching already. Then more came out of nowhere, it looked liked the raccoon was full of them. He figured he would be like this, something remembered for having insects all around him.

Amy was ready to come to school and brag about her weekend with her wealthy grandparents. Showing off the new ear rings. Today was the monthly check on head lice for the school. Ever since Emily came to school with a stray cat, the school wasn’t taking any chances. The spoiled kid knew she didn’t have them but she did and so did everyone in her circle of friends. Her circle of friends were the acclaimed bullies of her school, making fun of the less fortunate. It must have came from the stray cat or maybe Billy. His family was known for their love of animals. Billy couldn’t have it though because they were also the richest family in the school. Her head began to itch even more, then Billy came for his check up. No sign of them on him at all. The nurse began to scratch, and then Billy. The spoiled kid couldn’t help it she ran outside screaming only to have a bug fly into her mouth. She died right there, the locust was too big for her to cough it up.

Today was going to be the perfect picnic for the two of them. Ever since he met her he was in love. Everything was here in L.A. No father in his ear demanding perfection. He basically had no father, he just knew of a name that was on his birth certificate. It was surprising however that she wanted him, her major was theatre having aspirations of performing in front of thousands of people on the stage. He was into math, one day wanting to become like John Nash his idol. Ever since watching A Beautiful Mind he was obsessed with him, even though half of the movie was only for entertainment and fiction. She was 15 minutes late, a strange thing for her. But he wasn’t going to call. Then the rain began to fall and then through the pond beside him he could see frogs jumping on the lily pads. They seem to at peace instead of miserable like he felt right now.

The front page read “Coffee and Cigarettes Can KILL You, No But Really”. There was a suicide of a young college boy, and a cigarette was just put out with coffee in a mug beside it. He sipped his coffee as he read on to the next article, where there was a young teenager who died after choking on a locust. The doctors were saying that she couldn’t get the locust out of her throat because of all the second hand smoking she had encountered in her life. The father of the little girl worked for a cigarette company. He took a smoke of his cigarette and then looked at the lotto numbers. 10 1 9 1 8, another miss. He turned the page only to see that the sea levels were rising and dangerous hail killed 3 people which was strange because it only rained in one section of town, the U.S is just going down the drain he thought to himself. As he was laughing he began to see blood on the page. A nosebleed very unordinary.

What The Press Would Say:

A portrayal of not only the human spirit but also of consequences that go straight for the human soul, while watching this movie you go thru every range. Something that many films have but not like this. You may come out of this movie out of breath beginning to wonder what your close ones think of when they are alone. Some may not like the slow pace at the beginning but stay on the ride and enjoy an experience that you may hate you missed. The direction by Paul Thomas Anderson is his finest, something that has been said 4 times over. From Boogie Nights to now PTA has continually amazed us with his portrayals of characters that go way beyond the 2 plus hours that they are on screen. He directs a stellar cast to lifetime performances by all. From the amazing stedi-cam long take opening in black and white to the blinding red in the ending, his direction is well done. The shots are beautiful and with his partnership with cinematographer something that you have to see.

The cast is not something to sleep on. There are some actors that have more screen time than others but all are memorable. The first that should be mentioned is DJ Qualls, who opens the film with an ode to the silent film, an actor who has come out of nowhere. His performance is amazing and you feel for him. We never find out why he killed himself but his face and the way he holds his body makes him a person that you would like to get to know. The next characters that we are introduced too are John C. Reilly and Amy Ryan. John C. Reilly brings a very good performance as the lonely Paul, who by his first appearance on film you can tell he is alone just looking for someone to talk too. The way he carries himself when we first see him is as this confident person who knows less than what he lets off. Later in the film we discover what is his true meaning for this persona. Amy Ryan as the lady with Alzheimer’s is good in her brief role. You can tell that she is longing for something as she seems to be at ease with a person that as far as she knows, doesn’t even know.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman as The Weather Man brings another complex character to the big screen and you are witnessing greatness every moment he is on film. Although he has been great in many films, you can tell that PTA brings the best out of him. His character doesn’t hide the fact that he hates the weirdness of the world . We find that his father is also similar to that and that is where he gets this burden from. But Phillip brings another layer to the character, revealing that at times he wishes that he was apart of the weird crowd just to be accepted somewhere. As a weather man who can predict the future weather but he cant change it, kind of like his past and what seems to be future. Jack Nicolson brings another Oscar worthy performance as a man who has written an alienated future for himself. His body is clean with expensive clothes but you can tell that his soul is withered and tired. His wife, played out by the surprisingly brilliant Julie Andrews, wants to kill herself just to get away from the world he has built for the two of them. Julie Andrews unrecognizable role as the depressed wife is the standout of the film. Her voice away from the trademark British tone, her hair filthy and in a ruined white night gown. The character that Paul Thomas Anderson has written for her to perform is far away from something that she has ever attempted to perform. Most actors with her type of award winning past would probably stray away from this type of role and stay to what they do best but not her and this is what is going to astonish moviegoers as she puts her all in this role. The heartjerking scene of the film is when she is sitting looking in the mirror at what her life has become crying as she realizes that it is too late for her.

The young performers such as Amber Tamblyn, Jenna Boyd and Brady Corbet round out the cast proving that they can hang with the great ones. Jenna Body brings a performance out of left field as the horrible teenager who comes to grasp with her own fate. She performs this role very well and we could be seeing a lot of her. She is truly the standout of the three and could gain some considerable buzz. Jake Weber brings the film together as a whole at the end with a summary of some of the characters.

This film only furthers the genius of Thomas Anderson as he helps his characters do what a lot of filmmakers cant do. Which is make people who for most of the film have scenes in which they are alone still interesting to the viewers. The characters come to some sort of grasp with themselves and their futures which is because of their past. When it comes to awards Best Picture is a must as well as Best Director. When it comes to the acting categories, critics will have their choosing which could be very hard.

Awards Consideration:

Best Picture

Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Original Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Supporting Actress: Julie Andrews and Jenna Boyd

Best Supporting Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Jack Nicholson

Best Editing

Best Score

Best Cinematography