The Cove

By
Darryn Critchlow
1 EXT. DEAL, KENT, COAST. 1992. DULL AUTUMN DAY. EVENING 1
The wind blows a moderate strength, making small waves in
the sea. Through window of sea front houses families are
having dinner. The shore is empty and quiet except from the
sounds of wind.
2 INT. LIVING ROOM OF TURNER FAMILY.EVENING 2
MICHAEL(40) sits at the dining table, 3 floral plates are
laid, a candle burns in the middle of the table. His son,
BEN(10) runs in bouncing with every step, smile beaming, the
dark red birthmark under his eye crinkles.
A framed black and white photo of MICHAEL(10), wearing
pressed high waist trousers and a shirt, and SHIRLEY(9),
wearing a collared dress with a wide skirt sits pride of
place on the mantle piece.
SHIRLEY walks into the room carrying a steaming dish of
lasagne she sets it next to the pot of vegetables and takes
her seat. MICHAEL smiles widely, his eyes shining he takes
the hand of his son and his wife.

MICHAEL
Look at my beautiful family. I’d do
anything for you two. I love you.
MICHAEL sniffs deeply, blinks away the tears that had formed
in the corner of his eyes. BEN looks at MICHAEL, head titled
holding back a laugh. MICHAEL laughs unconvincingly shaking
his head slightly.
The family eat their meal, smiling, laughing. Throughout
this there is focus on the redness of MICHAEL’S eyes, all of
his laughs are unenthusiastic.
3 INT. BEDROOM OF TURNER PARENTS.EARLY MORNING 3
MICHAEL puts on his burgundy waterproof coat and kisses his
wife. she stirs.
SHIRLEY
(Mumbling, half asleep)
See you later, love you.

MICHAEL
I love you too.
A single tear rolls down his cheek, he leaves the room.
 2.

4 INT. BEDROOM OF BEN. EARLY MORNING 4

MICHAEL places something in Ben’s school bag, kisses him
lightly on the head and quietly shuts the door.
5 EXT. SHORE. WINDY AUTUMN MORNING. EARLY MORNING 5

MICHAEL lifts his packed rucksack onto a small fishing boat.

Walks into the sea and across to the cliff face, dragging
the boat beside him, the sea is chest level.

He reaches the cliff face, grabs the rucksack, and runs his
hands along the cliff face.
His eyes widen as his hand finds the small cove underwater.

He disappears under the water as he enters the cove the wind

picks up, the waves become large and crash continually into
the cliff face.
6 INT. KITCHEN OF TURNER HOUSE. MORNING 6

BEN enters the kitchen in his grey school trousers and white
shirt, rubbing his eyes and yawning, he grabs his tie from
the counter.
SHIRLEY turns to BEN handing him a plate of jam on toast and
a brown paper bag.

SHIRLEY
Have a great day at school my
little man
SHIRLEY pinches his cheek he swerves his head away from her
hand playfully.
BEN
(shouting as front door shuts
behind him)
Bye Mum!
7 EXT. THE STREET. MORNING 7
BEN eats his last bite of toast and pulls his school bag to
his front to put in his brown paper lunch bag.

He opens the bag and pulls out a handmade wooden boat, ’Love
Dad X’ is carved on the side.
BEN smiles widely and he floats the boat in the air.
 3.

8 INT. KITCHEN OF TURNER HOUSE. LATE AFTERNOON 8

SHIRLEY stands over the stove, steam hitting her face. BEN
runs into the room brandishing his boat.
BEN
(excited)
Mum! Mum! Look what I found in my
bag!
SHIRLEY
Wow! Aren’t you a lucky boy.
She takes the boat to admire it. Gives it back to BEN and
tussles his hair, smiling brightly.
SHIRLEY
Go and get out of your uniform, you
can have half an hour computer time
before dinner.
9 INT. LIVING ROOM OF TURNER FAMILY.DINNER TIME 9

SHIRLEY lays the table with the floral plates, brings out
pots of vegetables and roast potatoes and a plate with a
whole roast chicken.
SHIRLEY
Okay Ben, time for dinner, turn off
the computer.
BEN turns off the large, bulky off white computer and sits
at the table.

BEN
But Mum, Dad isn’t home yet, can I
have 10 more minutes?
SHIRLEY
He’ll be home any minute, you know
he’s always a bit late when he’s
fishing.
(teasing)
You have homework to finish before
bed so get eating.

SHIRLEY plates up BEN’S dinner and he shovels down forkful

after forkful.
SHIRLEY
Okay now, upstairs you go, it’s
homework time.

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 4.

BEN
(whining)
But Mum, Dad still isn’t home!
SHIRLEY
(unconvincingly)
He’ll be home soon, if you finish
your homework before he’s back,
maybe you can take your boat to the
shore.

BEN runs upstairs. SHIRLEY’S false smile drops as she looks

at Michael’s empty place setting.
10 INT. LIVING ROOM OF TURNER FAMILY.EVENING 10
SHIRLEY sits at the dining table, the candle has almost
burned to just a wick.
She plates up her own dinner and picks at it, head in hand.
BEN runs down the stairs.
BEN
Is dad home yet?
SHIRLEY
(sighs)
Not yet little man.

BEN
(whining)
But I wanna play with my boat!
SHIRLEY throws down her fork and opens her mouth to shout,
before pausing and putting on another false smile.
SHIRLEY
How about a bubble bath? you can
bring your boat have a practice
sailing it.

BEN drops his head and shrugs his shoulders.

11 INT. LIVING ROOM OF TURNER FAMILY. LATE EVENING 11
SHIRLEY enters the room, head hung.

The candle has burnt out, she turns on a small lamp and
looks at Michael’s untouched place setting.
She picks up the receiver from the phone on the wall and
dials a number.
 5.

12 INT. BEDROOM OF BEN. LATE EVENING 12

BEN is lay in bed looking at his boat, pretending to sail it
in the air.
He can faintly hear SHIRLEY’S voice downstairs.

13 INT. LIVING ROOM OF TURNER FAMILY. 9PM 13

SHIRLEY
(on phone to local pub, almost
crying)
He’s not been there at all? No, no
he hasn’t been home... I know he’s
been drinking a bit more than
normal, I hoped he’d be there. No
he left before I even woke up. He
just told me he was going
fishing...ok thanks, make sure you
call me if you see him.
14 INT. BEDROOM OF TURNER PARENTS.LATER 14

SHIRLEY lies awake, staring at the ceiling she covers her

face with her hands, quietly sobbing.
15 INT. BEDROOM OF BEN. LATE EVENING. A WEEK LATER. 15
SHIRLEY lies next to BEN, her arm around him while his eyes
slowly close he clings to the wooden boat. SHIRLEY lies
staring at the boat, she sighs deeply.
16 INT. KITCHEN OF TURNER HOUSE. LATER 16
SHIRLEY leans against the kitchen counter, mounds of dirty
dishes behind her.
She pours the last glass of wine from the bottle and places
the empty bottle on the windowsill next to 9 other bottles.

Her dark eyes stare blankly into the bottom of the glass,
she pushes back her greasy unwashed hair.
17 EXT. SHORE. BRIGHT AUTUMN AFTERNOON. 17
BEN is on the shore playing with some other young boys. they
laugh and run across the sand.
 6.

18 INT. LIVING ROOM OF TURNER FAMILY. AFTERNOON. 18

SHIRLEY stands at the window, staring out watching Ben.

A large glass of wine sits in her hands, the photo on the

mantelpiece has gathered a lot of dust, it sits dully
blending into the rest of the decor.
19 EXT. SHORE. BRIGHT AUTUMN AFTERNOON. 19

A young boy (10, YOUNG MICHAEL) appears from near the cliff
face.
His high waist pressed trousers and shirt dripping with
water. He looks either side of him, faced scrunched, his
walk swerves either side, almost tripping over as he looks
at his surroundings.
BEN sees the boy and runs over to him.
BEN
Are you okay?
YOUNG MICHAEL looks at BEN head titled, face still slightly
scrunched.
BEN
(slightly confused, teasing)
You’re dressed funny. Where did you
come from?
BOY
This looks like where I live but
it’s different. Where did those
buildings come from? What are these
on your legs?
YOUNG MICHAEL pulls at BEN’S denim shorts.

BEN
(unsure but sympathetic)
You should come back to my house,
maybe my Mum can help.

20 INT. LIVING ROOM OF TURNER FAMILY.LATE AFTERNOON 20

BEN walks through the front door with YOUNG MICHAEL, they go
into the living room
BEN sits YOUNG MICHAEL down at the table. SHIRLEY walks in
with her glass of wine.
She sees the boy and drops the wine onto the carpet leaving
a dark red stain.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.

SHIRLEY covers her mouth with her hands and runs upstairs.
YOUNG MICHAEL looks at Ben, BEN sighs.

BEN
My Dad has been gone for a while.
Mum’s not been well, she cries a
lot now.

YOUNG MICHAEL looks around and sees the computer, he walks

over to it and slowly reaches his hand out towards it.
YOUNG MICHAEL
What’s this? This looks like what
the scientists use in the newspaper
pictures.
BEN
This?
(laughs)
This is my computer, I play games
on it, how have you never seen one.
Everybody has one now.
SHIRLEY comes back into the living room, picks up the
wineglass.

She takes a deep breath and wipes her red puffy eyes.
BEN
He’s lost, I found him on the
shore.

SHIRLEY
(turns to YOUNG MICHAEL)
You’re lost? Where are you from?
BOY
Here, I think. The beach looks like
where I live but things are diffe-
BEN
(interuppting)
- He doesn’t even know what a
computer is.
SHIRLEY
What’s your name?
YOUNG MICHAEL
Michael.
SHIRLEY chokes back tears and edges closer to YOUNG MICHAEL.

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 8.

SHIRLEY
(getting closer to him with
every word)
And what about your parents
Michael? Where are they?

MICHEAL
(uncomfortable)
My Dad...died. My Mum works a lot
but she loves me. I want to get
back to her!

SHIRLEY grabs YOUNG MICHAEL’S shoulders and puts her face

close to his
SHIRLEY
It is you.

YOUNG MICHAEL starts to squirm, his face scrunched and his

eyes filled with tears. BEN comes over to try and get
SHIRLEY to let go
BEN
You’re hurting him Mum! Let go!
SHIRLEY starts to loosen her grip YOUNG MICHAEL manages to
pull away from her. He starts to run out of the front door
and back towards the shore.

21 EXT. SHORE. EARLY EVENING 21

YOUNG MICHAEL runs, looking over his shoulder at SHIRLEY who
staggers quite far behind him.
His nose and cheeks are red and tear stained.

He heads back towards the cliff face.

SHIRLEY tries to run after him, her legs uneasy her eyes
red, BEN runs after her trying to grab her hand.

SHIRLEY
(screaming)
Come back! Michael!
A POLICE OFFICER sees SHIRLEY as she staggers onto the
shore.
He runs over to her and tries to restrain her.
 9.

22 EXT. IN WATER. EARLY EVENING 22

YOUNG MICHAEL clambers to the cliff face, his breathing
heavy.
He desperately tries to find the cove he came out of.
He pinches his nose, breathes in deeply and dunks his head
under the water.

The air bubbles start to clear and the water is completely

still
23 EXT. SHORE. EARLY EVENING 23

In the far distance YOUNG MICHAEL’S head disappears

underwater at the point of the cove.
SHIRLEY
(pointing to the cliff face)
He’s there! It’s him, it’s Michael!

SHIRLEY resists the OFFICERS restraint, pulling away from

him, trying to wiggle her shoulders out of his grip.
The officer scrunches his face and sniffs.

OFFICER
Ma’am have you been drinking?
SHIRLEY
That’s my husband! Let go of me!

OFFICER
Ma’am there’s nobody there.
BEN
(grabbing at Shirley)
Mum! He’s gone, he’s gone.
The OFFICER cuffs SHIRLEY and takes her and BEN to his car.
He puts them both in the back and begins to drive off.
SHIRLEY’S face is close to the window, her eyes stay fixed
on the point of the cove as the car drives away.
Near the cliff face there is a man in a long hooded coat
stood watching.
CLOSE UP.

A tear runs down the man’s face over the dark red birthmark
under his eye. Out of his pocket he pulls a small piece of
broken wood with ’Love Dad X’ engraved.
 10.

FIN.