50
SUSAN SONTAG
Medium shot, taken from the side of the bed. Carl is trying
clumsily to make love, but he's impotent. Lena whispers.
LENA:
What can I do?
Carl doesn't answer. Lena moves off Carl and lies at his side,
propped up on one elbow. She is nearer the wall. The upper part of
Carl's head is in the foreground at the bottom of the image. The
camera moves to the left as Lena bends over Carl's torso. She slides
her body down the bed, further under the blanket. Just as her head
is about to disappear, Carl's hand comes into the shot. He has
grabbed Lena's hair to stop her. She looks up at him questioningly.
LENA:
Tell me what you'd like.
Reverse angle of the previous medium shot. Carl shakes his
head. Lena moves back up on the bed, so her face is near his.
LENA:
Shall I talk? About what a woman likes.
Again Carl shakes his head.
LENA :
No?
...
I'll tell you about other men I've been with. What
they did.
Carl shakes his head more emphatically, and shifts restlessly on
the bed. Lena coves him with her arm to quiet him.
LENA:
There must be something.
...
Carl, staring at her, wets his lips. There is a note of entreaty
in his voice.
CARL :
Are you willing
...
to go
...
very
...
far?
Lena is startled. She doesn't answer.
CARL:
Say!
LENA:
Yes.
Medium close-up. Carl moves on top of Lena, getting tangled up
in the blankets. We see only their two torsoes.
LENA (off):
Let's go very far.
He thrashes about for a few seconds. Then, still impotent, he
rolls off her.
LENA (off ):
Hurt me.
Carl's torso rises out of the shot.
Medium shot taken from behind the head of the bed. Carl is
