Face To Face
The scene begins with the view inside a car. A young lady, Lois Brown (Whitney Wright), is the only one inside the car, driving. We observe her over her shoulder as she pulls up to a residence.
She brings the car to a halt and switches it off. The camera pans down to show her trembling hands. She inhales deeply, steadying herself.
'You can do this,' she reassures herself and steps out of the car. She strides up the driveway to the entrance of the house and pauses momentarily before pushing the doorbell. After a moment, the door swings open and a man, James Stinson (Michael Vegas), stands there.
He regards her, evaluating her in an almost predatory manner. 'You must be Lois?' he inquires with a hint of cautious suspicion. Yes, and he must be Mr.
Stinson, Lois responds with a courteous and professional grin. Oh, she can address him as James, he says. A touch young for a journalist, isn't she? She flashes him a polite, detached smirk and says perhaps, she's 22 but folks often remark that she has an old spirit.
He nods and then realizes he's still obstructing the doorway - But where are his manners? Please, come in, he says, gesturing her in. She follows him into the house, a humble, neat and well-maintained dwelling. So where does she want to do this?, he asks, a hint of unease creeping into his voice.
Wherever he feels comfortable, she says politely but not warmly. how about the living room?, she suggests. He agrees and they sit down in the living room. He takes a seat and she sits in a chair across from him with a table between them.
She takes out her cell phone and opens up a voice recording app. Does he mind if she records this?, Lois asks. No, please do, he doesn't want to be misquoted, he's had enough of that - he chuckles, not because it was funny but to fill the awkward silence following his comment.
Great, she says after a pause, pressing the record button on the app and places the phone on the table between them. 'So let's start with the obvious: why now? Why grant your first face-to-face interview to a small college newspaper after all this time not speaking to the press?' Lois asks. He ponders over the question.
Well, it's straightforward: in all this time, she's not the first reporter to call him on the anniversary of the crime, but she IS the first reporter to call him and tell him that she believes he's not guilty, and offer to tell his side of the story, he says. But he WAS acquitted of the crime he was accused of, so what guilt is he referring to?, Lois probes. As she knows, the case was all over the news, day and night, and even though he was found not guilty, most people believe that he is guilty and the verdict was wrong, James says.
Guilty until proven innocent in the public eye, he says bitterly. And he's never been able to shake that stigma, people just don't look at him in the same way since then, he adds resentfully. It's a lonely existence.
'Maybe we can try to dispel some of that stigma once the public hears your side of the story. So I ask you, on the record: Are you guilty?' Lois asks. He smiles sadly back at her.
'Am I guilty?' he asks her. He takes a deep sigh. There is a tense moment of silence.
Once again, something dark and predatory flashes across his face. 'Yes. I am,' he says, his smile gone. CUT TO TITLE PLATE The interview continues and Lois looks shocked at James's confession.
'I am guilty. guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,' James clarifies. He happened to be at the club that night, and he happened to be the last person seen with. James says, trailing off, blanking at the victim's name. 'Darlene Davis,' Lois says, pronouncing the name carefully.
Yes that's right, it was a long time ago. and he has tried to put the whole episode behind him, being at the club that night, being at the wrong place at the wrong time. that ruined his life, James says. So how does he explain Darlene's DNA on his shirt?, Lois probes, adding that the police claim that this happened during the crime. The same way he explained it to the police, with the truth: she had a nosebleed when she was dancing with him, James says.
But the press got a hold of that and used that to assume his guilt, he continues. What they didn't bother to report was that she was a known drug user prone to nosebleeds, he says.
She brings the car to a halt and switches it off. The camera pans down to show her trembling hands. She inhales deeply, steadying herself.
'You can do this,' she reassures herself and steps out of the car. She strides up the driveway to the entrance of the house and pauses momentarily before pushing the doorbell. After a moment, the door swings open and a man, James Stinson (Michael Vegas), stands there.
He regards her, evaluating her in an almost predatory manner. 'You must be Lois?' he inquires with a hint of cautious suspicion. Yes, and he must be Mr.
Stinson, Lois responds with a courteous and professional grin. Oh, she can address him as James, he says. A touch young for a journalist, isn't she? She flashes him a polite, detached smirk and says perhaps, she's 22 but folks often remark that she has an old spirit.
He nods and then realizes he's still obstructing the doorway - But where are his manners? Please, come in, he says, gesturing her in. She follows him into the house, a humble, neat and well-maintained dwelling. So where does she want to do this?, he asks, a hint of unease creeping into his voice.
Wherever he feels comfortable, she says politely but not warmly. how about the living room?, she suggests. He agrees and they sit down in the living room. He takes a seat and she sits in a chair across from him with a table between them.
She takes out her cell phone and opens up a voice recording app. Does he mind if she records this?, Lois asks. No, please do, he doesn't want to be misquoted, he's had enough of that - he chuckles, not because it was funny but to fill the awkward silence following his comment.
Great, she says after a pause, pressing the record button on the app and places the phone on the table between them. 'So let's start with the obvious: why now? Why grant your first face-to-face interview to a small college newspaper after all this time not speaking to the press?' Lois asks. He ponders over the question.
Well, it's straightforward: in all this time, she's not the first reporter to call him on the anniversary of the crime, but she IS the first reporter to call him and tell him that she believes he's not guilty, and offer to tell his side of the story, he says. But he WAS acquitted of the crime he was accused of, so what guilt is he referring to?, Lois probes. As she knows, the case was all over the news, day and night, and even though he was found not guilty, most people believe that he is guilty and the verdict was wrong, James says.
Guilty until proven innocent in the public eye, he says bitterly. And he's never been able to shake that stigma, people just don't look at him in the same way since then, he adds resentfully. It's a lonely existence.
'Maybe we can try to dispel some of that stigma once the public hears your side of the story. So I ask you, on the record: Are you guilty?' Lois asks. He smiles sadly back at her.
'Am I guilty?' he asks her. He takes a deep sigh. There is a tense moment of silence.
Once again, something dark and predatory flashes across his face. 'Yes. I am,' he says, his smile gone. CUT TO TITLE PLATE The interview continues and Lois looks shocked at James's confession.
'I am guilty. guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,' James clarifies. He happened to be at the club that night, and he happened to be the last person seen with. James says, trailing off, blanking at the victim's name. 'Darlene Davis,' Lois says, pronouncing the name carefully.
Yes that's right, it was a long time ago. and he has tried to put the whole episode behind him, being at the club that night, being at the wrong place at the wrong time. that ruined his life, James says. So how does he explain Darlene's DNA on his shirt?, Lois probes, adding that the police claim that this happened during the crime. The same way he explained it to the police, with the truth: she had a nosebleed when she was dancing with him, James says.
But the press got a hold of that and used that to assume his guilt, he continues. What they didn't bother to report was that she was a known drug user prone to nosebleeds, he says.
Actors:
