I was at Centrelink a few weeks ago and I was left alone at one of the desks while the employee went to find something out for me when I heard a couple talking at another desk. I often find myself listening in on people’s conversations and I don’t even realise how rude it is until later or if they catch me watching. The woman was speaking calmly to the employee explaining that she hadn’t informed them of her new living arrangement because it was on and off, but the man slipped up and told them they were living together 24/7, this caused the employee to change the payments the woman was receiving. When I got up to leave, the couple were just ahead of me and once we were out of the vicinity, the woman started screaming at the man about how much he’d fucked up. She hurled abuse at the man for at least 30 seconds before she grabbed the keys from his hand and drove off without him. He stood there for a few seconds before walking in the opposite direction.

THE FILM

I think if I wanted to translate this into a film, I would want to make it a scene of a large conflict. Perhaps even keep the setting of the front of Centrelink. I think this setting would actually work really well in a film. The couple could either be very clean and well dressed, maybe to juxtapose with the setting and the commonalities of attire often seen there; or I could work with the sort of look the two actual characters were sporting: dirty tracksuits and a hoodie. I would want this to be a very short and only focus on one scene, and have it mostly focused on the dialogue and acting of the conflict, and not so much on the aesthetic and style of shooting.