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Soderbergh, Steven
Solaris (2001)
Love gets a second chance in this sci-fi thriller directed by the award-winning Steven Soderbergh. The film finds Dr. Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) aboard the space station Prometheus, whose crew had been investigating the planet Solaris and subsequently ceased all communications -- without explanation -- with Earth. Dr. Kelvin finds out exactly what happened and is given a chance to revisit an old love … but can he really go home again?
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Soderbergh, Steven. Solaris
Solaris Script
First, over BLACK, we hear the sound of a light rain.
Then:
A MAN’S VOICE
I’m not a poet. I’ve never moved
anyone with my words.
(beat)
Maybe that’s why they chose me.
EXT. WOODS - DAY
A mural of leafless trees beneath an overcast sky. Rain
continues to fall.
Maybe now we begin to notice a strange quality to the light
(or is it the sky?). Something vaguely unsettling.
CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING
Still, the sound of rain is heard.
A MAN
40s, lies on his side in bed, staring at us.
He has not been sleeping. In fact, judging from his distant
expression, he has not slept in ages.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROAD - DAY
Less like a road and more like a path that you maneuver a
vehicle through.
The Man, dressed in rain gear, walks down the middle. He is
accompanied by a medium-sized LABRADOR, and seems in no
particular hurry.
The sound of tires appear and grow in intensity. The Man,
without saying an actual word, instructs the dog to heal.
The dog obeys as the Man moves off the road. The vehicle
hurtles past him -- its engine quiet, its windows darkened --
spraying muddy debris in its wake.
Seconds later, the car brakes abruptly and skids to a stop.
THE MAN
Stops walking and stares at the car, which seems ominously
still.
The car then reverses direction and begins to move toward the
Man, who remains motionless.
When the car is alongside him, a darkened window turns
transparent and we see a WELL-DRESSED BUREAUCRAT in the rear
seat. His demeanor is pleasant and professional.
WELL-DRESSED BUREAUCRAT
Dr. Kelvin?
The Man he is addressing, who we now understand is CHRIS
KELVIN, stares back at him.
CUT TO:
INT. CABIN - DAY
The contrast between the cabin’s rustic aesthetic and the
aggressively high-tech equipment contained therein isn’t as
jarring as you might imagine.
Kelvin is seated in front of a desk, scrolling through a text
readout on a flat, transparent holographic screen. Behind
him is the Well-Dressed Bureaucrat from the car, and two
others: A WOMAN in her 50s and a MAN in his 30s. They are
also well-groomed. Each of their suits are embroidered with
a small but distinctive LOGO of some sort that composes the
acronym DBA.
Kelvin scrolls through several menus, hits a few keys, and a
digitized VIDEO IMAGE appears on his screen: A MAN, unshaven,
looking into the camera.
The man, GIBARIAN, looks very tired and somewhat apologetic.
The lower part of the screen has a time of day and date
display that reads: 0221 HRS 11/14/31.
GIBARIAN
We take off into the cosmos, ready
for anything: solitude, hardship,
exhaustion, death. We’re proud of
ourselves, in a way. But our
enthusiasm is a sham. We don’t
want to conquer the cosmos -- we
want to extend the boundaries of
Earth to the cosmos. We are only
seeking Man. We don’t want Other
Worlds. We want mirrors.
(beat)
Maybe we don’t need to know what it
is, or why. Maybe just knowing
that it is should be enough.
Gibarian stares at the camera for a long moment before
switching it off and ending the transmission.
Kelvin sits back.
The visitors exchange glances.
CUT TO:
INT. SPACE CAPSULE
Close on Kelvin. We hold on him a long time, as a myriad of
readouts scroll and flash across his face. A slit of
sunlight glides slowly through frame.
DISSOLVE TO:
KELVIN
in the same capsule, a month later. He is asleep.
DISSOLVE TO:
KELVIN
in the same capsule, two months later. He is dictating some
coordinates to Earth. He absently scratches his heavy growth
of beard.
DISSOLVE TO:
KELVIN
two months later still. He is looking out his small,
rectangular window, and for the fist time we cut around to
see the approaching planet: SOLARIS.
Kelvin stares at it, hypnotized. It has a translucent
quality, as though it is lit from within, and its undulating,
ocean-like surface slowly changes colors.
Kelvin’s attention is diverted as an orbiting ship, the
PROMETHEUS, edges into frame.
KELVIN
Prometheus, this is Athena 7, on
approach, do you read me?
(beat)
Prometheus, this is Athena 7, on
approach, do you read me?
No response. He exhales and types on a keyboard.
EXT. SPACE
The Athena 7, sporting a DBA logo, advances toward the
Prometheus.
CUT TO:
INT. PROMETHEUS
Kelvin, in a space suit, climbs with some difficulty out of
the Athena 7, which has come to rest in the DOCKING BAY of
the Prometheus. Several exploratory PODS fill the remainder
of the area.
Kelvin gets his bearings and looks around, but sees no sign
of life.
CUT TO:
INT. CORRIDOR
Empty.
(NOTE: Except for some ROBOTIC, NON-SPEAKING CHARACTERS: the
AUTOMATED TASKMASTERS. These are small, bug-like repair
units that constantly roam the ship, fixing things. Their
tiny hum is virtually silent, and we see them all the time on
the Prometheus. They can adhere to any surface at any
angle.)
Kelvin, now out of his space suit and holding a small
carrying case and a duffle bag, moves on.
CUT TO:
INT. GIBARIAN’S ROOM
Ransacked.
Kelvin registers it, then moves to the corner of the room
where the computer terminal rests. Within moments he has
discovered Gibarian has recorded a video message for him to
replay.
VIDEO
Gibarian addressing the camera. He appears to be lucid, but
extremely fatigued.
GIBARIAN
Hi, Chris.
(a light smile)
I’m so glad you came.
(beat, the smile fades)
I still have a little time, and I
want to tell you something. To
warn you. By now you know about
me, or if you don’t, get Snow or
Sartorius to tell you; it doesn’t
matter.
(beat)
I didn’t lose my mind. You should
be able to tell from this video.
I’m not mad.
(beat)
If it happens to you, remember that
it isn’t madness.
(beat)
You should know, I’m in favor of
destroying Solaris. I know
that’s... illegal. And unethical.
And irresponsible. But it’s the
only way to make it stop.
A long moment of silence is broken by a noise on the video,
which draws Gibarian’s attention offscreen.
GIBARIAN
(addressing whoever made
the noise)
Cut that out. Do you hear me?
Gibarian switches off the video.
The computer screen freezes the last recorded frame and
overlays a readout indicating the file has ended.
CUT TO:
INT. CORRIDOR
Empty. But there is a door at the end of it, slightly open.
Kelvin moves toward it.
INT. ROOM
A FIGURE, seated with its back to the door, turns to see
Kelvin enter. This is SNOW. He looks Kelvin up and down,
his expression wary and alert.
KELVIN
Snow. Didn’t you hear me radio?
I’m Kelvin.
A long beat. Snow just watches him.
SNOW
Yes. We heard.
Kelvin takes a step forward, and Snow recoils.
KELVIN
What’s wrong? What happened to
Gibarian?
SNOW
He’s dead.
KELVIN
How?
A beat.
SNOW
Suicide.
Snow exhales, then looks up as though he’s remembered
something.
SNOW
You didn’t bring any chocolate, did
you?
KELVIN
What?
SNOW
(musing)
I love chocolate. I realized just
yesterday how much I love it.
(beat, then he recovers)
I thought maybe, if they let you
bring personal effects, you might
have snuck some through, because...
well, I’ve been thinking about it.
A long beat as Kelvin stares at Snow.
KELVIN
What happened here?
Snow lies back in his bunk.
SNOW
I can’t talk just now. I’m too
tired.
KELVIN
Where’s Sartorius?
SNOW
In his lab. He won’t let you in.
KELVIN
(leaving)
He’ll let me in.
SNOW
Kelvin, if you see anything
unusual...
Kelvin stops, but doesn’t turn around.
SNOW
... try to stay calm.
CUT TO:
INT. CORRIDOR
Kelvin stands outside a door.
KELVIN
Let me in.
A beat.
SARTORIUS
(inside, muffled)
You have to give me your word you
won’t come in. Then I’ll come out.
KELVIN
All right.
Sartorius cracks the door open and slithers through the slit
and into the hallway. He is of obvious intelligence and not
to be messed with; contentious, intimidating when he wants to
be, and probably brilliant. Kelvin eyes him suspiciously.
KELVIN
What happened to Gibarian?
SARTORIUS
Didn’t you talk to Snow?
KELVIN
I want to hear your version.
SARTORIUS
(incredulous)
Who, here, could possibly care what
you want? At best, you’re Employee
of the Month for the highest bidder
in the Solaris auction. They have
no idea what’s going on up here.
They’ve never even been in space.
And I’m supposed to listen to you?
KELVIN
I am here to recover this mission,
report my findings, and make a
recommendation. Now: What happened
to him?
SARTORIUS
The same thing that could happen to
any of us.
KELVIN
Where’s his body?
SARTORIUS
In the lab. With her, probably.
KELVIN
Her? Who are you talking about?
Sartorius is grabbed by something on the other side of his
door. He struggles to keep his composure.
SARTORIUS
His last wish was to be buried on
Earth. In dirt, he said. "I want
to buried in dirt." What a clown.
Sartorius is losing the battle with whomever or whatever is
on the other side of his door.
KELVIN
They shouldn’t let people like you
into space.
SARTORIUS
Just so you know: I’m not going
back until I understand what it is.
I am going to figure out what it
is, make it stop, and then I will
go home.
KELVIN
Listen --
SARTORIUS
We’re done. Oh, I should tell you,
I don’t trust Snow. There’s
something wrong with him.
Sartorius rotates and zips back into his room. As the door
closes Kelvin sees a flash of ANOTHER FIGURE in Sartorius’
room. The glimpse was too quick to judge who or what the
other figure could have been.
CUT TO:
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Kelvin walks, exploring the ship. He sees something that
stops him:
A NUDE WOMAN
Black, early 20s, slipping across a corridor up ahead.
Kelvin gives chase. He sees her turn a corner, but by the
time he gets there, she is gone.
CUT TO:
INT. SNOW’S ROOM
Snow is lying on his bunk.
KELVIN
Is there anybody else here?
SNOW
(sits up a little)
Why, who did you see?
KELVIN
Gibarian warned me. He left me a
message.
SNOW
Who was it?
KELVIN
She was real. Where did she come
from?
Snow looks at him but doesn’t respond.
KELVIN
Tell me. I won’t think you’re
insane.
SNOW
Oh, that’s a relief.
Snow lies back down.
KELVIN
Where did she come from?
A beat.
SNOW
How much sleep do you need?
KELVIN
How much sleep?
SNOW
How long can you go without sleep?
KELVIN
That depends.
SNOW
Well, when you do go to sleep:
barricade your door.
Snow rolls over, away from Kelvin.
CUT TO:
EXT. SPACE
Solaris. Quiet, but still active somehow.
KELVIN (V.O.)
The Prometheus, as far as I can
tell, is functionally intact. Crew
status: One dead, Gibarian. Cause
of death appears to be suicide.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin speaks into a video communication device. As he does,
we see images of the things and people he describes.
KELVIN
Interviews with the surviving
members and a perusal of the
deceased’s personal effects
indicate he was suffering from
severe depression with psychotic
features, along with bouts of
hypomania, dementia, delirium, and
primary insomnia. All of these
symptoms, combined with a profound
sense of isolation, are commonly
found in studies of low stimulation
environments, particularly long
range space travel. Snow and
Sartorius show indications of
depression, including dysthymic and
bipolar I; a variety of stress
disorders, including acute and
posttraumatic; and suggestions of
agoraphobia, obsessive/compulsive
disorder, and hypersomnia. I
emphasize these are preliminary
opinions on my part. I will
attempt to convince Snow and
Sartorius to return to Earth, but
as they currently view me as an
intruder of sorts, this may take
some time.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Later. Kelvin is lying down. The lights are out, and he is
trying to sleep.
After a moment, he gets up, checks the lock on his door, and
lies back down.
Then he gets up and moves a chair in front of the door, and
lies back down.
Then he gets up and puts two heavy cases on top of the chair,
and lies back down.
Laughing to himself, he drifts off to sleep.
Silence.
ANOTHER ANGLE
On Kelvin, asleep.
ANOTHER ANGLE
On Kelvin, still asleep. Then:
EXTREME CLOSE-UP:
A WOMAN’S LIPS, slightly parted.
BACK TO KELVIN
Asleep. Then:
INT. TRAIN - DAY
Continued silence, AND:
RHEYA, 30s, staring at us, practically daring us to look
away. Her obvious intelligence and confidence make her
extremely compelling, along with the fact that it was her
parted lips we were looking at a moment ago. Her expression
indicates she’s in a very raw emotional state.
REVERSE ANGLE
Kelvin is the person she has locked eyes with on the TRAIN.
He is younger here; not just in age, but in spirit. The
contrast with his older self is striking.
BACK TO KELVIN
Asleep on the ship. After a beat:
EXTREME CLOSE-UP:
Rheya’s LIPS.
Except the circumstance is clearly different: it’s darker and
there isn’t the side-to-side shimmy of the train car.
A WIDER VIEW
Reveals that Rheya is not sitting on the train -- she is
sitting in Kelvin’s room on the Prometheus, right now.
She is staring at Kelvin and she is ethereal in her
stillness.
KELVIN
Awakens, blinks, and slowly recognizes her.
If he is not entirely surprised it is because he has
obviously dreamed of Rheya before. He looks at her, simply.
RHEYA
Stands and makes her way to Kelvin.
Without hesitation she kisses him and they begin to explore
each other and we see all of it happen and two things are
obvious: first, they have done this before, and two: they
haven’t done it in some time.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin is asleep, Rheya in his arms.
He wakes up and looks at her, perplexed. After a beat he
rises to sit on the edge of the bed.
A wave of terror is barely suppressed as he puts his hand to
his forehead. Rheya opens her eyes.
KELVIN
Oh, God. I’m awake.
RHEYA
Yes.
He looks at her.
KELVIN
Where did you come from?
She moves to him and kisses him as if that’s all she wants to
do, forever.
Between kisses.
KELVIN
How are you here?
She stops.
RHEYA
How do you mean?
(beat)
Chris, what’s wrong?
Hearing his name spoken by her (and those particular words,
perhaps) nearly causes Kelvin to scream.
He stands and moves to the chair. Rheya watches him.
RHEYA
I love you.
He looks up at her for as long as he can. Then he looks
down.
RHEYA
Do you love me?
He doesn’t look up.
KELVIN
Yes.
A beat.
KELVIN
I need to see Snow.
RHEYA
I’ll go with you.
KELVIN
(rising)
I’ll just be a minute.
She bolts out of bed.
RHEYA
Don’t.
KELVIN
Why?
RHEYA
I don’t know. I can’t be alone.
KELVIN
I’ll be right back.
She is trying to accommodate him but her fear of being left
alone is palpable, even excessive. He sees this and puts his
arms on her shoulders to comfort her.
KELVIN
All right. All right. Here.
He hands her a few pills and retrieves a glass of water.
RHEYA
What are they?
KELVIN
To calm your anxiety.
RHEYA
To calm my anxiety.
She takes the pills and smiles.
CUT TO:
INT. DOCKING BAY
Kelvin leads Rheya to one of the exploratory pods. They are
in space suits.
RHEYA
We’re taking a flight?
KELVIN
Yes.
He opens the door of a pod and indicates for her to enter.
She is unsure.
KELVIN
Go ahead. I’ll close the door
behind me.
She stares up and into the pod. Kelvin watches her go with
difficulty and then CLOSES THE DOOR behind Rheya.
He walks across the docking bay to the control room and
begins preparations for the pod to be jettisoned.
KELVIN
In agony as he watches a real-time, beat-by-beat brand of
technological murder take place: Rheya’s pod is pushed off
into space.
RHEYA
Her face contorted in confusion, watches through the pod
window as the docking bay doors close in front of her with a
brutal finality.
KELVIN
collapses to the ground, shattered.
INSERT:
A woman’s HAND, resting on the floor of an apartment. The
fingers are being licked by a LABRADOR PUPPY.
ANOTHER INSERT:
A pot of coffee, on the boil. Except that it has been left
unattended for too long...
ANOTHER INSERT:
A rain-streaked window.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin, on the edge of his bed. He wants to tear himself
inside out.
A voice calls over the intercom: Snow’s.
SNOW
Was her breakfast conversation that
bad?
KELVIN
Shut up.
SNOW
I told you, try to stay calm.
You’re supposed to be the
psychologist of the bunch.
KELVIN
What was it?
Kelvin rises and goes to wash his face.
SNOW
Personally, I think it’s God. At
least, it fits my definition.
KELVIN
And professionally?
SNOW
I’m not sure.
(beat)
It started with Gibarian. He
locked himself in his room and
refused to talk except through a
crack in the door. He covered the
video lens. Obviously we thought
he was having a nervous breakdown.
I don’t know why he didn’t tell us
he had somebody in there. By this
time, we were getting visitors,
too. He was desperately trying to
figure it out. Day and night.
(beat)
Who was she?
KELVIN
My wife.
SNOW
Dead?
Kelvin nods.
SNOW
She has materialized from your
memory of her. What was her name?
KELVIN
Rheya.
SNOW
It started about three months ago.
Right after the government sold the
expedition. We were ready to go
home.
KELVIN
Will she come back?
SNOW
Probably.
KELVIN
I wish you’d told me.
SNOW
Told you what?
A beat.
SNOW
What will you say?
KELVIN
To who?
SNOW
What are you going to report back
to Earth?
KELVIN
I don’t know.
SNOW
An enormous amount of money changed
hands to get control of this
project. We are in little danger
of being left alone for long.
(beat)
You’ll need to do something.
Otherwise they’ll be sending
someone out to recover you.
KELVIN
Gibarian said he thinks Solaris
should be destroyed.
SNOW
That’s ludicrous. This is contact.
We have found God. The only issue
is figuring out how to prove this
in a way that will make sense back
on Earth. So how will we describe
it, if we choose to describe it at
all?
CUT TO:
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM
Before Kelvin’s arrival.
Gibarian is talking to Snow and Sartorius.
GIBARIAN
A pre-biological colloidal
envelope, possibly exceeding
terrestrial structures in
complexity; a plasmic mechanism.
Probably without life as we
conceive it, but capable of
performing functional activities on
an astronomic scale. My view is
that Solaris has reached, in a
single bound, the "homeostatic
ocean" stage without passing
through stages of terrestrial
evolution. I think it bypassed
cellular development altogether.
It hasn’t taken endless eons to
adapt itself to its environment,
but in fact dominated its
environment immediately. From the
moment it existed, it was the most
superior element in the Universe.
And now it passes the time doing
extravagant theoretical thinking
about the Universe, with us as the
cast.
We now show this scene being played out on a video monitor,
watched by Kelvin.
GIBARIAN
It’s engaged in a never-ending
process of transformation; an
ontological autometamorphosis,
begging the question: Can thought
exist separately from
consciousness?
SNOW
It’s God.
SARTORIUS
I don’t care what it is, we need to
figure out how to make it stop.
GIBARIAN
Nelson, we have the opportunity --
SARTORIUS
What if this thing follows us back
to Earth? What if what’s happening
here started happening on Earth, on
a mass scale? Don’t you see that
as a problem? I think it’s a
serious mistake to assume it’s
benign. For all we know it’s
driving us crazy so it can watch us
kill each other.
Gibarian considers this.
SNOW
We’re not even sure it will let us
leave.
CUT TO:
ANOTHER VIDEO
This time, Gibarian alone. Near the end.
GIBARIAN
Maybe it’s stuck. Maybe its power
isn’t that God-like. I mean, we
have God-like power relative to an
insect, but that doesn’t mean we
can move the Earth around at will.
Maybe it’s like a spider web,
waiting for something to show up.
(beat)
We intercepted some brief fragments
of what must be an everlasting
monologue with itself. Of course
it was beyond our understanding.
(beat)
I’ve come to hate it here. There’s
only one way out of its reach, for
us. Humans.
CUT TO:
INT. LAB
Kelvin stares at Gibarian’s body, which is lying under a
sheet in the ship’s operating room. Also under the sheet,
next to Gibarian: The Young Girl.
GIBARIAN
(from a video)
I thought I’d been behaving
normally, rationally. But a sign
of insanity is the inability to
think about more than one thing.
So if I am consumed by the idea
that I am insane and can’t think of
anything else, then I am insane.
(beat, smiles)
You ask questions at the end of
your life, the sort of questions
people who are content don’t ask.
(beat)
Maybe life just can’t be solved.
CUT TO:
EXT. SPACE
A shot hovering over the surface of Solaris.
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin is lying down, looking at the door.
After a beat, he turns out the lights and rolls over.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Time has passed. Kelvin is asleep.
RHEYA leans into frame and kisses him.
Without even waking, he kisses her back, hungrily.
KELVIN
Rheya...
RHEYA
I want you inside me right now.
They make love. It’s even better than before.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin and Rheya are asleep.
CUT TO:
INT. TRAIN - DAY
Kelvin, staring intently. What he is staring at is Rheya,
who is seated across from him. She doesn’t see him, yet.
When she does, she locks eyes with his and doesn’t look away.
This continues until she gets off the train. Kelvin watches
her go, and she looks back at him through the window as the
train pulls away.
INT. PARTY - NIGHT
Rheya enters, looks around. She spots Kelvin, who has
already spotted her. Their expressions indicate they are
pleased to see each other again. He approaches her, and they
stare at each other a long time, until:
KELVIN
"And Death Shall Have No Dominion".
RHEYA
Book?
KELVIN
Poem. Dylan Thomas. I thought of
it when I saw you on the train.
RHEYA
My Thomas is a little rusty.
He leans over and whispers into her ear. She listens, and
when he finishes, she leans back and looks at him, intrigued.
Genuinely intrigued. He smiles.
RHEYA
Not a very happy poem.
KELVIN
You didn’t look very happy.
RHEYA
I wasn’t.
KELVIN
And tonight?
RHEYA
Better.
He nods, and they smile. They seem to be rooting for each
other. After an extended pleasurable moment, Rheya leans
over and whispers in his ear. He listens, then leans back
and looks at her.
KELVIN
That’s good to know.
CUT TO:
INT. FRIEND’S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Another night.
Rheya is wound up. Not drunk, something else. She has an
odd look in her eyes.
We are at a dinner party, and there are people trying -- but
failing -- not to watch.
RHEYA
You want to fuck her?
KELVIN
Stop it.
RHEYA
You behave as though you want to
fuck her.
KELVIN
Rheya. Not here.
RHEYA
And I just want to know if I’m
crazy or not -- if what I think is
happening is actually happening.
Or am I one of those people, those
women, who are blind to what’s
going on? Who pretend not to see
their husband’s attention toward
another woman?
KELVIN
Let’s go home.
RHEYA
You go home.
KELVIN
I am. Please come with me. I
don’t want to do this here.
RHEYA
You talk like an actor.
He is stung.
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
The immediate aftermath of the preceding scene, but at home
now.
Rheya crying as she embraces Kelvin.
RHEYA
I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.
He is unmoved, but she labors to change his mind.
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT - MORNING
Rheya, in a chair, remorseful, Kelvin is dressing.
KELVIN
You’re better when you take them.
RHEYA
I know, I know. But still, somehow
I don’t feel better.
KELVIN
All right. How about I feel better
when you take them?
A beat.
RHEYA
Right.
They look at each other and understand; she will take the
pills.
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT - MORNING
Rheya, on the floor, dead. Her hand outstretched, a repeat
of an image we saw earlier.
Rain streaks the kitchen window.
The bottle of pills nearby.
CUT TO:
INT. PROMETHEUS
Rheya is taking her pills. Kelvin watches.
KELVIN
What do you remember?
RHEYA
What do you mean?
KELVIN
Do you remember Beethoven? The
Beatles? Movies, books,
restaurants, friends?
RHEYA
(thinking)
Yes. But not until you mentioned
them. As soon as you said those
things, I remembered them. And
they have associations that make me
think of other things I remember.
It’s like filling up.
She looks out the portal at Solaris.
RHEYA
Is it a planet?
KELVIN
Not exactly. It exists in a
continuum that wasn’t proven until
ten years ago, a higher
mathematical dimension superimposed
on top of the Universe. An
infinite number of them, in fact.
It was a violation of all of our
various laws regarding the
Universe, Space, or Space-Time. It
was completely counter-intuitive.
We had to unlearn everything.
RHEYA
Is it intelligent?
KELVIN
Intelligent beyond our
comprehension.
RHEYA
Then it’s God, right?
KELVIN
It’s something.
RHEYA
You still don’t believe in God?
KELVIN
The whole idea of God was dreamed
up by a silly animal with a small
brain called Man. Even the limits
we put on it are human limits. It
can do this, it can do that! It
designs, it creates!
RHEYA
Even a God that wasn’t active, that
just created something and stood
back and watched?
KELVIN
You’re talking about a man in a
white beard again. You’re
ascribing human characteristics to
something that isn’t human. Human
beings look for causes and
patterns. How could we know what
Solaris is up to, if anything?
A beat.
RHEYA
But what if Solaris is what there
was before The Big Bang?
KELVIN
As I said, it is beyond our
comprehension.
RHEYA
As I said, then it’s God, right?
She looks at him and can’t keep from smiling, eventually.
RHEYA
Why are we talking about this shit
when we could be fucking?
Kelvin smiles.
The intercom comes to life.
SNOW
Kelvin, you awake?
KELVIN
What is it?
SNOW
Can you meet me and Sartorius on B
deck in an hour?
KELVIN
Why?
SNOW
Just a little strategy session.
But in person this time.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin is getting ready to leave. Rheya sits on the edge of
the bed, nervous.
KELVIN
All right?
She nods and Kelvin exits, locking the door behind him.
We sit with her for a moment as she tries to remain calm.
IN THE CORRIDOR
Kelvin listens. A long time.
Satisfied, he begins to walk away but is stopped by the
sounding of a CRASHING GLASS from within. He hears footsteps
approach the door, and then a fierce POUNDING.
He takes a step back. An INHUMAN AMOUNT OF NOISE begins
emanating from the other side of the door, which is now
threatening to break apart. It sounds like a plane is
crashing in Kelvin’s room -- no human could create this kind
of cacophony.
Finally, he steps forward and presses the button to open the
door.
RHEYA
Is revealed, covered in blood. She has completely torn the
inside of the cabin door apart and has badly injured herself
in the process.
KELVIN
Rheya...
Confused, she looks up at him as he takes her in his arms and
carries her to the bed.
RHEYA
What happened?
KELVIN
You were trying to break down the
door. Do you know why?
RHEYA
When I saw you were gone I got
scared.
He puts her down on the bed and runs to the bathroom, where
he gathers all the first aid materials he can find.
Returning, he blanches.
Rheya’s wounds have HEALED; in fact, they are HEALING in
front of us.
She looks up at him and doesn’t like the look on his face.
RHEYA
Chris, what’s wrong with me?
CUT TO:
INT. LAB
Kelvin runs Rheya through a battery of tests and studies the
results.
RHEYA
Am I all right?
A beat.
KELVIN
Yes.
CUT TO:
INT. B DECK CONFERENCE ROOM
Snow and Sartorius wait for Kelvin.
SNOW
He won’t do it.
SARTORIUS
Why do you say that?
SNOW
He won’t.
Kelvin enters, with Rheya. Snow and Sartorius exchange
glances.
KELVIN
This is my wife, Rheya.
She looks at Snow and nods. Sartorius she hates instantly,
and the feeling seems to be mutual.
SARTORIUS
We thought you’d be alone. We want
to talk about...
SNOW
We want to talk freely.
KELVIN
Go ahead.
Sartorius begins.
SARTORIUS
I suggest we pool our knowledge
regarding the... visitors. We can
express whatever questions or
conclusions we might have... share
information about our various...
experiments. Agreed?
Kelvin and Snow nod.
SARTORIUS
I would like to start with
motivation. Why are they here?
Sartorius looks at Rheya. She looks away.
SARTORIUS
They are not autonomous individuals
and they’re not actual persons.
They are projections materializing
from our minds, based on a given
individual.
SNOW
It’s an experiment.
KELVIN
No. There’s no behavior
modification.
SARTORIUS
She reappeared exactly as she had
before?
Kelvin looks at Rheya and nods. She is struck by the word
"before".
SNOW
The same vulnerabilities?
He nods again.
SARTORIUS
A recoil, with no compensating
mechanism.
SNOW
And when a given situation no
longer corresponds to the normal
faculties of the... original, the
visitor suffers some sort of
disconnected consciousness.
SARTORIUS
Followed by non-human
manifestations.
SNOW
Are the actions of Solaris
premeditated?
KELVIN
Is it being deliberately cruel, you
mean? I don’t think so.
SNOW
I’m just trying to find an
explanation for the continual
reappearances.
KELVIN
(to Rheya)
When you cut yourself pounding the
door, did it hurt?
RHEYA
Yes.
(looks around)
Of course.
SARTORIUS
If they’re not learning anything
and they’re not modifying their
behavior, why do they come back?
SNOW
It’s like they’re plugged into a
game, which goes around and around,
endlessly repeating itself.
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
This is ten years ago. Rheya enters, alone.
She crosses to the kitchen and makes a drink. Almost
immediately, the labrador puppy enters from the bedroom and
stands beside her, tail wagging. She ignores it and
continues mixing her drink.
Halfway through this activity, the bedroom light comes on. A
moment later, Kelvin is in the doorway. Eventually, but not
angrily, because he’s still not really awake:
KELVIN
Where’ve you been?
RHEYA
I been thinking about how much I
hate you.
She finishes making her drink, drinks it, and walks out the
door.
Kelvin stands in the doorway for a beat, then pivots and
returns to bed. The light goes out.
RHEYA (V.O.)
Yes, I remember that. I went back
to Lois’ house and spent the night.
Those were dark days.
CUT TO:
INT. PARTY - NIGHT
Kelvin and Rheya, later in the evening when they spoke for
the first time. They are absolutely infatuated with each
other; they know something is happening between them, will
happen between them.
RHEYA
I would have these -- I don’t know
how to describe them -- visions,
when I was younger. Maybe not
visions, but like these waking
dream states. Time would just
collapse, I would be inside time.
I would stare at a second hand on a
clock until it stopped. Freaky
stuff.
KELVIN
How old were you?
RHEYA
Seven, eight. So one day my mother
catches me sort of staring off into
space, and she asks me what I’m
doing, and I start trying to
explain to her, about this state
that I can put myself in, and this
look comes over her face.
KELVIN
What kind of look?
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin and Rheya sit together in the Prometheus. Rheya
continues her story without a beat.
RHEYA
Scared. No, not scared. Wary.
Like I was something to be... her
guard went up. I was a threat.
Now I know why. She was afraid
she’d be seen. That I would see
her for the self-obsessed neurotic
that she was. I think she thought
she had a few more years of being
on a pedestal. But that’s the
cycle, right? I knew a little more
than she did, she knew a little
more than her mother, and on and
on.
(beat)
I guess that’s part of the reason
why --
KELVIN
I know. I know. We don’t have to
talk about that.
Another beat.
RHEYA
I remember days of just thinking
about you.
INT. OFFICES - DAY
Intercut Kelvin and Rheya at their respective jobs, going
through a normal day. There is no sound. As we see these
images, it’s clear that Kelvin and Rheya are slightly not
present in their respective encounters with other people;
they are distracted by the idea of each other.
And they like it.
RHEYA
Thinking what you were doing and
saying, just being consumed by
thinking of you. I loved it so
much, that feeling.
KELVIN
I did too.
INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Rheya on the edge of the bed, facing away.
KELVIN
I used to watch you undress.
As she does:
KELVIN
I never tired of watching you
undress. Every time, it was
exciting. Right until... to the
end.
A beat. Then a shot of Kelvin that we’ve seen before: Him
leaving their apartment, angry.
ON THE PROMETHEUS
A beat.
RHEYA
What happened to us, exactly?
KELVIN
You don’t know?
Rheya shakes her head.
Kelvin just watches her.
RHEYA
I remember... something burning.
Coffee burning.
INT. APARTMENT - DAY
The rain-streaked window.
An automated coffee maker has been left on, and the
solidified coffee at the bottom of the pot is smoking.
Rheya’s body is on the floor of the kitchen.
RHEYA (ON PROMETHEUS)
She is looking at Kelvin. He is dreading this.
RHEYA
You found me?
He nods. It’s coming back to her.
INT. APARTMENT - DAY
Kelvin is yelling at Rheya. We don’t hear what he’s saying,
but judging from her reaction, it’s not pleasant. She is
crying.
RHEYA (ON PROMETHEUS)
Experiencing this all over again. Kelvin comes and sits in
front of her.
INT. APARTMENT - DAY
Kelvin, still yelling, is packing some things into a
suitcase. Rheya, between sobs, pleads with him.
RHEYA (ON PROMETHEUS)
Her eyes fill with tears. Kelvin embraces her.
KELVIN
I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
Rheya is devastated, inconsolable.
RHEYA
Why did you say those things?
KELVIN
I don’t know. I couldn’t
understand why you didn’t tell me.
INT. APARTMENT - DAY
Rheya lies on the kitchen floor, dead. There is a NOTE in
her hand.
Kelvin kneels next to her.
KELVIN (ON PROMETHEUS)
With Rheya still in his arms.
KELVIN
When you said you wouldn’t make
it... I didn’t believe you. Or I
didn’t take you seriously, which is
worse.
INT. APARTMENT - DAY
Kelvin holds the dead Rheya.
KELVIN (ON PROMETHEUS)
Squeezing her.
KELVIN
I should have believed you.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin lies in bed, his eyes open. Rheya is in his arms.
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT - DAY
Rheya, talking to Chris. Obviously during a period when they
were getting along. Or at least: not fighting.
RHEYA
I can’t help feeling that I’m
cheating when I take them.
KELVIN
It’s genetics. You know this. You
know where it comes from. There is
nothing wrong with uncrossing a few
crossed wires.
She knows, intellectually, that he is right. But it doesn’t
matter.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin is out of bed and speaking into a videophone to Snow.
Rheya is asleep in the background. The room is dark except
for the glow of the screen.
SNOW
You’re unnerved because you’ve
spent your whole life thinking
nobody is looking over you, and
suddenly your subconscious is an
open book. We are, for the first
time, experiencing changes in
natural reality by a force not our
own. That proves that --
KELVIN
-- we are not sure of that. We are
not sure we aren’t all
hallucinating.
SNOW
If God is beyond our comprehension,
and she --
(meaning Rheya)
-- is here for reasons that can’t
be understood, isn’t God here?
KELVIN
Not necessarily.
SNOW
Stop equivocating! Unbelievable,
how you equivocate! You, the
atheist, you’re more dogmatic than
any holy person I’ve ever seen!
This is happening, Kevin. Wake up.
KELVIN
Consciousness is enough, that’s all
I’ve saying. Consciousness should
be enough for anybody.
SNOW
Who are you trying to convince?
Kelvin just looks back at Rheya.
SNOW
It will end badly. As inevitably
as the rising of a bubble.
Kelvin doesn’t respond.
SNOW
Let’s all meet tomorrow. Sartorius
has some new ideas, about making it
stop.
Kelvin just keeps staring at Rheya, asleep.
CUT TO:
INT. KELVIN’S ROOM
Kelvin is eating with Rheya. Looking at her. Desiring her.
RHEYA
Do you have any idea how much I
like fucking you?
KELVIN
I think so.
RHEYA
Good. Because I want you to know.
I really like fucking you.
He leans over and whispers in her ear. She smiles and leans
back.
&nbs |
