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“The moment of truth”

SPOILERS

Kidnapper: they’re terrified of you

Scene 59. INT. CHUCK’S ROOM -- NIGHT

Chuck is already getting down to studying when his Mother appears at his door. She waits at the door watching.

MOTHER: We hardly ever see you these days?

CHUCK: I’m down at the library.

She moves behind him to look at what he’s studying. He looks back at her. We see her disbelief. And so...

MOTHER: If you’re smoking “mary jane” I can handle it. You can tell me.

CHUCK: I’m just studying.

His Mother nods, accepting it, but not really accepting it.

MOTHER: I used to be pretty good at Latin, you know? (picks up a piece of paper) Futue te... Which verb’s that?

Chuck is embarrassed, but he recovers.

CHUCK: It means... “to twist.”

Mother nods. She picks up some more papers. Detailed Latin homework and geometry. She is surprised at his diligence.

MOTHER: You did all this?

Chuck nods. Afraid to hope that she might praise him. But wanting her to. But finally she says...

MOTHER: Don’t you think you’re taking this exam a bit too seriously? It’s the summer, Charles... You should be enjoying yourself.

It’s absolutely the wrong thing to say. Charles responds coldly.

CHUCK: I got the red hair. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.

He stares flatly at her. She can see he’s tuning her out.

MOTHER: You can be a real cold one.

Chuck can’t respond. She exits. Chuck looking after.

______________________________________________________________

The above deleted scene was transcribed from a draft of the the script to The Man Without a Face (1993) (screenplay by Malcolm MacRury, based on Isabelle Holland’s 1972 YA novella of the same name).

The scene would have occurred directly after the “waxing poetic” scene from the film where Charles comes home and happily questions his Mother about her knowledge of Shakespeare but before the scene where McLeod acts out Portia’s “quality of mercy” monologue from The Merchant of Venice.

The actors involved would have been Nick Stahl and Margaret Whitton.

Contextual note 1: The Latin phrase Chuck’s Mother finds is a reference to a dropped extended scene from the script. Charles believes he has found the closest Latin equivalent to “fuck you” -- he uses it to insult his older sister, Gloria.

1993 Mel Gibson interview with Bobbie Wygant on The Man Without a Face.