Page 236 - SHERLOCK transcripts

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(Jim turns and casually strolls out of the cell. Behind him, the man turns and looks around the
room. On almost every plain concrete panel of the walls, Jim has somehow carved a single word
into the cement. In different sizes and at different angles, the word repeats all around the cell –
and the word is SHERLOCK.
And with the dust which was loosened by the carving, Jim has scratched Sherlock’s name
backwards on the mirror so that whoever is watching him from the other side of the mirror will
see the name the right way round.
The man in the suit turns and walks away, closing the cell door behind him.)

The Reichenbach Fall

John Watson sits in a chair as rain pours down outside the window and thunder rumbles. He
looks tired and his face is full of pain.
ELLA (offscreen): Why today?
(John frowns enquiringly. His therapist is sitting opposite him.)
JOHN: D’you want to hear me say it?
ELLA: Eighteen months since our last appointment.
JOHN (his voice becoming quietly angry): D’you read the papers?
ELLA: Sometimes.
JOHN: Mmm, and you watch telly? You know why I’m here.
(There’s a pained groan in his voice as he ends the sentence.)
JOHN: I’m here because ...
(His voice breaks and he can’t continue. He looks down, swallowing hard while he fights not to
weep. Ella leans forward sympathetically.)
ELLA: What happened, John?
(John closes his eyes, trying to get control of himself, then looks up at her again, his eyes full of
loss. He clears his throat and breathes heavily.)
JOHN (his voice breaking): Sher...
(He can’t continue and he clears his throat again, swallowing hard.)
ELLA (gently): You need to get it out.
JOHN (softly, his voice full of pain and tears): My best friend ... Sherlock Holmes ...
(He sniffs, forcing his voice through the anguish.)
JOHN: ... is dead.
(He breaks and begins to cry.)

Opening Credits.

THREE MONTHS EARLIER. In an art gallery, the Director of the gallery is finishing his speech as
he stands near a painting.
GALLERY DIRECTOR: Falls of the Reichenbach, Turner’s masterpiece, thankfully recovered
owing to the prodigious talent of Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
(The patrons applaud. Sherlock and John are standing nearby. The Director gives a small gift-
wrapped box to Sherlock.)
DIRECTOR: A small token of our gratitude.
(Sherlock takes the box and looks at it.)
SHERLOCK: Diamond cufflinks. All my cuffs have buttons.
JOHN (to the Director): He means thank you.
SHERLOCK: Do I?
JOHN: Just say it.
SHERLOCK (insincerely to the Director): Thank you.
(He starts to walk away but John holds him back.)
JOHN: Hey.
(Sherlock unwillingly stops and the press start taking photographs. Later, one of the
photographs appears in a newspaper article headed “Hero of the Reichenbach”. The straplines
read “Turner masterpiece recovered by ‘amateur’ ; “Scotland Yard embarrased [sic] by
overlooked clues”. The text of the article reads: “A Turner masterpiece worth £1.7million that
was stolen from an auction house ten days ago has been recovered by an amateur detective
from North London. Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street has been investigating the art crime
simply as a hobby, and yet he was able to follow the trail that lead [sic] him to the famous work

Transcripts by Ariane DeVere (arianedevere@livejournal.com)