The Lesson (2023) Movie Script
1
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
INTERVIEWER: You must be
getting quite bored of these.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Never dull
to discuss the work.
Okay, well, I thought we could
just jump straight in,
if that's okay with you.
-By all means.
-Okay.
Hello.
Liam Somers' story
of a fading patriarch
presiding over
a grief-stricken family
has been described
as one of the most striking
debuts of the year.
Here with us to discuss
his first novel is the author.
Thank you
for joining us, Liam.
Thanks for having me.
So, I thought we could start off
by touching on the inspiration
behind the novel.
What exactly is it that drew you
to tell this story?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(BICYCLE BRAKE SQUEALING)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)
-Hello?
-HATTIE: (OVER PHONE) Liam.
It's Hattie from the agency.
I'm on my way
to a lesson. Can it wait?
We cancelled that.
Something's come in for you.
(BICYCLE WHEELS WHIRRING)
Writers tend to say
they're a morning person,
or an evening kind of writer.
I don't subscribe to that.
(DOOR OPENS)
If you're writing,
you're writing.
Simple as that.
It's not something
that can be deferred or denied
if you have to do it.
Which, by the way, is
the prerequisite for writing.
You don't have
a choice in the matter.
You must write.
SINCLAIR: (OVER LAPTOP)
Listen, if I knew where
the ideas came from,
I'd have written,
and indeed been paid
a hell of a lot
more than I have.
Bearing in mind
that I've been prolific
and not badly off,
the short answer is
I don't know.
(BELL DINGS)
SINCLAIR:
I know writers who obsess.
"How do I
say something original?
"Am I saying
something unique?"
I'm sorry. (CHUCKLING)
There are no new ideas.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
Most writers
are reconciled to the fact.
And if they're not,
they pretty soon will be.
(TRUCK HONKING)
SINCLAIR: Now, average writers
attempt originality.
They fail. Universally.
Good writers have the sense
to borrow from their betters.
(GATE CREAKING)
But the greats,
great writers... steal.
(LAUGHS)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(GRAVEL CRUNCHING)
(DOOR OPENS)
-Good morning.
-Good morning.
-Mr. Somers.
-It's Liam.
If you'd like
to follow me this way, please.
(DUCKS QUACKING)
You'll find him just there.
I'll take that, shall I?
Thank you.
Hello. I'm Liam.
You must be Bertie.
BERTIE:
You've done your homework.
-Are your parents around?
-They're up at the house.
Why?
I usually speak to parents
before the first lesson.
It's fine.
I can get
my father if you want?
-I'm sure he won't mind.
-No, I don't wanna disturb.
But you want
to meet him, right?
-It's fine.
-He's only writing.
No, it's fine!
Okay.
So, what are we working on?
We are working on tragedy.
Modern? Ancient?
I don't need you
to turn the pages.
Congratulations, by the way.
English Literature is one of
the most competitive courses.
Oxford don't shortlist
many candidates
so your aptitude test
must have been
very impressive.
But that test is one thing.
The interviews,
the college-specific tests,
they're different.
You'll need to cultivate
the kind of critical thinking
that might not
be familiar to you... yet.
Kind of a house style.
They staple
at Oxford, don't they?
You can do it
in the house style.
(LAWNMOWER WHIRRING)
(BOTH SPEAKING FRENCH)
HELENE: Liam.
-LIAM: Mrs. Sinclair.
-Helene.
Thanks for coming
on such short notice.
Your CV was impressive.
Your agency speaks
very highly of you.
That's kind of them.
Well, I should hope not.
I should hope it's true.
You've a beautiful home,
Mrs. Sinclair.
Thank you. Summer suits it.
This is the reading room.
It's usually only me in here.
We don't use
the front entrance much.
There is
a back door to the garden.
LIAM: This is beautiful.
Thank you.
You made it?
It's kind of... numinous.
And you've met Ellis.
You're laying
the table for four tonight.
Yes, ma'am.
Any dietary
requirements, Mr. Somers?
Actually, I'm vegan.
Wonderful.
HELENE: And this is
my favorite acquisition.
I bought it from the artist
when she didn't
win the Turner.
Kind of a consolation.
She's a collector's
darling now, of course,
but I found her.
It's adapted from Bernini's
Apollo and Daphne.
-Do you know it?
-I know the story.
HELENE: Hmm.
Never had
the heart to sell it.
Why would you?
That's my job. I'm a curator.
Shouldn't really
get sentimental.
Something to drink?
You'd like a beer,
wouldn't you?
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(WATER VOLE SQUEALS)
You know, Liam graduated
with a First in English.
So why is he a tutor?
Well, must be a vocation.
He wants to share
his knowledge, his experience.
We thought it best
Bertie spend the last
of the summer term here
so he can focus
on his entrance exams.
You thought it best?
HELENE: Well, that school
has let you down enough.
I wasn't going
to leave this up to chance.
You must be good.
Evening, all.
Bonsoir, my love. (KISSES)
How goes it, Bert?
Liam, isn't it?
-Yes, Mr. Sinclair.
-Oh. Thank you.
You've come on a good day.
Ellis does a mean roast lamb.
Thank you.
Music.
(OPERATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
We had Rachmaninoff yesterday.
Well, give me
three good reasons
not to listen
to him today and...
I'll change my mind.
HELENE: Why don't
we ask our guest?
(MUSIC STOPS)
Liam, what do you
think of Rachmaninoff?
Um...
He was the last great
Russian romantic composer.
And...
known for his piano concertos
more than his symphonies.
His, um...
He was
the conductor of the Bolshoi
when the Russian...
First Russian Revolution
began...
The music. She meant,
"What did you
think of the music?"
I don't, um...
I'm not familiar.
Rachmaninoff it is, then.
-(BUTTON CLICKS)
-(OPERATIC MUSIC STARTS)
Last great Russian romantic.
(WOMAN VOCALIZING)
(SMACKS LIPS)
So, what did
you two study today?
Hamlet, for the most part.
Oh, you looked into
the manuscript tradition yet?
-I've got, uh, a few articles.
-SINCLAIR: Hmm.
I can make up a reading list.
Thanks.
SINCLAIR: You can
thank him when you get in.
If. If you get in.
We should have
a chat about the lesson.
See how it went.
Well, I'm sure
Bertie has some...
SINCLAIR: I'm sure he does.
Which is why
we'll discuss it after dinner.
You can wait
in the drawing room
when you're finished eating.
Liam...
You're out.
(WOMAN CONTINUES VOCALIZING)
(CUTLERY CLANKING)
(OPERATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
HELENE: We'd like you to stay.
LIAM: Is this from the agency?
I think we can part ways
with the agency here.
We prefer a personal bond.
There have been
incidents in the past.
LIAM: With guests?
With staff.
We told them
we no longer need a tutor.
Didn't wanna
compromise your relationship.
It's so important
Bertie has someone on his side
that knows the English system.
I studied in Paris
and New York.
And his father didn't go,
of course.
Non-disclosure.
He's very protective.
Getting close to the end,
so he tells me.
Yes. Five years
since the last one.
The subject of your thesis.
It's on your CV.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
HELENE: You'll report to me
at the end of every lesson
about Bertie's progress.
Come and find me.
He has to get in, Liam.
Uh, he doesn't know
about the thesis, does he,
Mrs. Sinclair?
I'm sure he'd be flattered.
But you're not here for him.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(PAPERS RUSTLING)
(OPERATIC MUSIC
PLAYING IN DISTANCE)
(PEN SCRIBBLING)
(SIGHING)
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(CLICKS TONGUE)
(CLOCK TICKING)
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(GRUNTS)
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(GASPS)
Good morning.
"From fairest
creatures we desire increase,
"That thereby
beauty's rose might never die,
"But as the riper
should by time decease,
"His tender heir
might bear his memory."
-So you're on to the Sonnets.
-So you've learnt a poem.
(BOOK SLAMS ON TABLE)
I just remember.
Have you got
a photographic memory?
Not quite.
Words are like
triggers for me.
They set off a sequence.
So, if I've read them,
I'll remember.
-You learnt that.
-You can try me.
-"To be, or not to be."
-(SCOFFS)
You can do better than that.
(PAPER RIPS)
"Nativity,
once in the main of light,
"Crawls to maturity,
wherewith being crown'd,
"Crooked eclipses
'gainst his glory fight,
"And Time that gave
doth now his gift confound."
"Time doth transfix..."
All right, you've got
a party trick. I... I get it.
I'm sure it helped
you get your First.
But I can't use it,
and I don't need it.
So, why don't you
fetch me that reading list?
Shall I write it down
so you don't forget?
(WATER VOLE SQUEALING)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES)
How did it go?
Well.
Independent research, mainly.
Is that your usual practice?
It varies.
For a student
of Bertie's intelligence,
I'd say independence
is a good thing.
You're the best
resource he could have.
He needs to be
making use of you.
Otherwise, why are you here?
I'll make sure he does.
Good.
(CONTINUES PLAYING PIANO)
That's Tchaikovsky, isn't it?
(STOPS PLAYING)
June, from The Seasons.
I thought you weren't
familiar with classical.
I'm learning.
(CHUCKLES) Me, too. Trying.
(CHUCKLES)
Are you
the only one who plays?
Bertie used to.
Beautifully.
His brother wrote.
Mostly short stories.
Like you.
He took after his father.
HELENE: He likes
to have someone around.
An amanuensis.
(SIGHS) Used to be me
at the start.
We don't talk about his work.
We don't talk about Felix.
Follow those rules
and you should be fine.
(STARTS PLAYING PIANO)
Of course.
(MUSIC STOPS)
(EXHALES)
Great writers... steal.
(ALL LAUGHING)
INTERVIEWER: But do you think
it's inevitable
that elements of your...
personal life
seep into your work?
Um, you're somebody
who has experienced
great personal tragedy,
and I'm wondering
if the loss of your son
has had a direct impact
on the nature of your writing.
If I were drawing on my life,
I'd be writing memoir,
not fiction.
But if you're asking
if it has affected my writing,
the answer is yes.
In as much as
any loss affects one's life.
Losing a child is...
losing a part of oneself.
And bound up with the grief is
a profound sense
of injustice...
...of being robbed.
And when
they take their own life...
one is...
compelled to the unthinkable.
To grieve the child
is to grieve the killer.
But if you're
asking me seriously,
and I sincerely
hope that you're not,
whether my son's death
has inspired my writing,
the answer is no,
I will not be writing
about his death.
I will be writing
in spite of it.
And you will have
your novel...
(MICROPHONE FEEDBACK)
...when it is ready.
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-INTERVIEWER: Mr. Sinclair.
Mr. Sinclair.
(DOOR CLICKS, SLAMS)
(CLASSICAL PIANO
MUSIC PLAYING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Liam, just family tonight.
There will be fixings
in the guest house.
-Sure. See you tomorrow.
-SINCLAIR: Three, four,
close the door.
Five, six, pick up sticks.
(MUFFLED) Bingo. Bon appetit.
(MUSIC STOPS)
(GASPS)
(FROG CROAKING)
(CROAKS)
(FROGS CHIRPING)
(FLIES BUZZING)
Oh, good morning, Mr. Somers.
Something I can help you with?
Yes. We've run out of
coffee in my, uh...
-place.
-Can't have that.
-I'll put a pot on now.
-Thanks.
Just getting us some coffee.
I'm glad you're
making yourself useful.
SINCLAIR: (YELLS)
Fucking hell!
Everything okay, Mr. Sinclair?
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
-Don't you have a lesson?
-Bertie's just setting up.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
The printer.
LIAM: What
are you trying to do?
Print something.
LIAM: Do you mind?
The printer's the problem.
Nothing to do with that thing.
(CLICKING)
(PRINTER WHIRRING)
-My dad worked in IT.
-Oh, sins of the father.
Yeah, I know a bit.
Thanks.
-That's Winterson.
-I beg your pardon?
"Empty space and points
of light." Jeanette Winterson.
Final words
of Sexing the Cherry.
"And even
the most solid of things
"and the most real,
the best loved
"and the well-known
are only hand-shadows
"on the wall. Empty space
and points of light."
(SINCLAIR CHUCKLES) Oh.
Good spot.
Is it research?
Close the door
on your way out, will you?
Mustn't keep Bert waiting.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
ELLIS: Hope you
like it strong, Mr. Somers.
Thank you.
It's Liam.
I know.
Might be useful
if I could read
some of what you're writing.
Useful for who?
(LEAVES RUSTLING)
(STREAM TRICKLING)
(STUTTERS) No, Liam.
Can't touch the buds.
Why not?
BERTIE: It's rhododendron.
Have you never been
in a garden before?
Not everyone
has gardens like this.
It's poisonous.
There's toxins in the sap.
(LIGHTER FLICKS)
Do you want one?
All right.
Cheers.
It's basically a weed.
Nothing can grow around it.
The roots, they, uh...
They strangle
everything they touch.
It's quite clever, actually.
Felix was obsessed with them.
Rhododendron.
The rose tree.
It's ancient Greek.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
They are beautiful.
That's not why
he was obsessed with them.
(RAIN PATTERING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
-(RAIN PATTERING)
-(SIGHS)
Oh, no, no, no, no.
(SHOUTS) Shit!
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(DOOR OPENS)
Oh, Mr. Somers.
There's been a slight
delay to your laundry.
I have brought you
a fresh change of clothes.
I'll just put them down here,
if that's all right?
-Sure. Oh, I can do that.
-No, no, no, no.
It's quite all right,
Mr. Somers.
You are expected at dinner.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(CUTLERY CLANKING SOFTLY)
(SLURPS)
HELENE: Liam, so sorry.
We should have warned you.
The power tends
to go down in a storm.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
The price of isolation.
(CHAIR SCRAPING FLOOR)
(ELECTRICITY HUMS)
-"And there was."
-(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(CUTLERY CLANKING)
Any objections to Beethoven?
-(BUTTON CLICKS)
-(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
(LIQUID POURING)
You boys didn't lose anything
in the storm, did you?
I didn't.
We were making
great progress, I think.
SINCLAIR: Oh, in that case,
I may need
to borrow you this evening.
Computer is playing up again.
You don't mind, do you, Liam?
LIAM: That's fine. I have
tomorrow's lesson planned.
SINCLAIR: Good.
You know,
Liam's a writer, too.
Mmm. Did you show Bertie
-your student pieces?
-BERTIE: No, no.
I've seen the novel.
Tower 24.
Working title.
It's actually quite good.
Reads like a Sinclair.
That's why the desk lamp
is burning into the night.
I haven't worked
on it in a long time.
It's, um, it's not finished.
Then why does Bertie have it?
Thanks.
SINCLAIR: Come and see me
after dinner.
You know where I am.
It suits you.
Felix's clothes.
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES)
This damn thing
buckles in a storm,
and I need to know
that my work is safe.
You've got
multiple backups, right?
Oh, I used to have
people do that for me.
-PAs, you know.
-But not anymore.
Well, people like
that can be very nosy.
-(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
-(CLICKING)
You need
to enter your password.
Okay.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
I can run a backup
to the Cloud if you want.
Oh, absolutely not.
I don't give my work away
for free.
Looks like there's
another server running.
Is it here?
Oh, that...
Oh, it's next door.
Used to be part of the study.
Don't need the space.
-You want me to shut it down?
-No, keep it running.
Just in case.
Okay. (TAPS KEYBOARD)
Now, you should be
safe for the next storm.
Goodnight, Mr. Sinclair.
(CHUCKLES)
Wow, that was quick.
Scotch?
Sit down.
If you're serious
about doing this,
you must bear
one thought cheerfully in mind
whenever you put pen to paper.
Whenever you read,
eat, drink, fuck, whatever,
one thought. One simple one.
Good writers borrow.
-Great writers steal.
-Don't tell me you're a fan.
(LAUGHING)
There is a new novel.
Started a while back.
Almost over the line.
I was wondering
if you might be on hand
for the final stretch.
Keep the story safe,
provide some amusement.
I've found in the past
that can be really useful.
Someone separate from work.
You know,
not a writer, preferably.
Well, not a real one.
So easy to forget...
it's only really a game.
Oh, don't want to distract
from Bert's studies.
No. No, you wouldn't.
SINCLAIR:
And I'd pay, of course.
Take it you're in?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(GLASSES CLINK)
We'll make a thief of you yet.
(BOTH LAUGH)
What's it called?
Rose Tree.
What do you think?
I love it.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
HELENE: What did
you two talk about?
Liam, I won't tell.
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Oh, hello. Are you lost?
Ah! The missing mother.
What are we discussing?
Bertie.
How he's doing.
SINCLAIR: Course.
The boy wonder.
Going to be another
late one I'm afraid, my love.
(WHISPERS)
Pay me a visit, won't you?
HELENE: Of course, darling.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
SINCLAIR: (OVER LAPTOP)
Friends, family,
there must be sacrifice.
When you embark upon a novel,
and begin that communion
with yourself,
you are alone.
Armed only with your craft
and, hopefully,
your talent. (CHUCKLES)
BERTIE: What's that?
It's an essay of yours.
(PAPERS RUSTLE)
This is good, Bertie.
I'd love to have
thought of this.
Your reading list helped.
How can I make it better?
And in your conclusion,
you might wanna to consider
Shakespeare's familiarity
with Hippolytus.
I didn't know
that you were allowed
to make connections like that,
you know, between texts,
across the genres.
(CHUCKLES) It's like
a whole different thing.
(LAUGHING)
Sorry, but there are
no new ideas.
To our Alexander
and our Aristotle.
Most writers
are reconciled to the fact.
And if they're not,
they very soon will be.
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(SIGHS)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY, INHALES)
(PEN CAP CLICKS)
(DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE)
(DOOR CREAKS)
-(KEYS JINGLING)
-(DOOR LOCKING)
Oh, Liam.
Give that
the once-over, will you?
Yeah.
Flower-Gathering
is my favorite.
From A Boy's Will.
Oh.
"Are you dumb
because you know me not,
"Or dumb because you know?"
Well spotted. Come in.
Everything's fine.
You've still got
that server running next door.
SINCLAIR: Oh, forget that.
It's dormant.
-Or I can just shut it down.
-Leave it.
Your father
teach you all that?
I learned. He didn't teach me.
I'll wager he's glad
you didn't go into IT.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
What are people
saying about me?
People think you've retired.
(CHUCKLING)
You are amusing.
(CHUCKLES)
HELENE:
Have you only just got out?
We're getting
our money's worth, aren't we?
You and Bertie seem
to be getting along.
This new arrangement isn't
drawing your focus
away from him, is it?
LIAM: No, not at all.
"What makes an ending?"
That's what
we've been talking about.
He's thinking of his own.
Have you seen it?
LIAM: No.
But he's writing?
I think so.
I think he's close.
He calls me
"the missing mother,"
because I wasn't
there when our son died.
I was in Venice. The Biennale.
I don't go anymore.
-You're up late.
-So are you.
You know
you're not the first, right?
Get some sleep, Bertie.
Goodnight.
Night.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING
OVER PROJECTOR)
(WATER SPLASHING)
SINCLAIR: Say I die.
Right here, right now.
Who owns my words?
I don't mean in a legal sense.
I mean,
testament to experience.
Words I chose
because I believed
they bore witness
to a truth beyond fiction.
Because, when strung together,
they accorded to a music
only I could hear.
Resolved some conflict
raging within me.
Who owns them?
They belong to whoever
chooses to read them.
And since we are
the words we write...
so do we.
-Finders fucking keepers.
-(BOTH CHUCKLE)
(UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL
MUSIC PLAYING OVER PROJECTOR)
Oh. Only gods come out
of the machine, Liam.
Ghosts stay in them.
You've said that before.
In Pearlescence.
Did I?
Jesus,
I'm repeating myself now.
And from one
of your lesser works.
-(SCOFFS)
-(ENGINE WHIRRING)
You know,
I don't even remember
half of that one.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING
OVER PROJECTOR)
First draft.
Tad shorter than usual.
Thought you might
like to proofread it.
Would that be a problem?
Not if you read mine.
All right. (CHUCKLES)
Drop it in
first thing tomorrow morning.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
(GUNSHOTS ON SCREEN)
Dante. Tolstoy. Flaubert.
Not a single one of them read.
What the fuck do they even
teach you at that school?
May as well burn them.
You may as well be illiterate.
Are you?
What your brother
would have given to read
any of these works
that you shun.
At least he had
the intellect to read mine.
(BERTIE SOBBING)
(SIGHS) Oh, Bert, come here.
It's me. It's me.
(EXHALES)
(BERTIE CRYING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR SLAMS)
-Morning.
-LIAM: Morning.
My novel.
Tower 24. Longhand.
Like the best.
Look forward to it.
Oh, take those, would you?
(SOBBING)
-I can't do this. He's right.
-Bertie.
(SOBBING) I haven't read...
I don't fucking...
I don't know enough.
I've not read enough.
I'm wasting my time.
I'm wasting your time.
It's just all a fucking waste.
Stop it, stop it. Hey. Hey.
-Stop it. Stop it.
-(BERTIE CRYING)
Hey. Listen to me. Look at me.
Take a breath. Take a breath.
Bertie. Bertie. Look at me.
Just one breath. One breath.
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
It's all right. It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
(BERTIE CRYING)
(SOFTLY) Hey.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(BERTIE SNIVELS)
I won't let him bother you.
It's too late for that.
(HESITATES) You... can go
if you want. I understand.
When you said
I wasn't the first,
what did you mean?
I know I'm not
the first tutor.
But that's not
what you meant, is it?
My father likes
keeping his favorites close.
He moved Felix into the room
next to his, for fuck's sake.
I'm not Felix.
I know.
Take the day off, Bertie.
So you're not leaving?
No.
I'm not going anywhere.
(BERTIE EXHALES)
(WATER SPLASHING)
(INHALES)
(WATER WARBLING)
(PANTING)
Good swim?
Yeah.
Not as warm as it looks.
Don't do it again.
-I'm sorry?
-Lake's off limits.
For their sake.
It's only been
two years since Felix.
They're a little delicate.
-I'm sorry. I didn't know.
-You do now.
I finished your novel,
by the way.
Bring mine over tonight,
we'll debrief.
LIAM: I might need
a little more time
to finish reading it.
You found time to swim.
(KNOCKS ON DOOR)
SINCLAIR: Come in.
(SINCLAIR SIGHS)
I've annotated the text
where I've spotted anything.
There's a cross-referenced
document on my laptop.
Very thorough.
Well, don't keep me
in suspense.
LIAM: It's like nothing
you've written before.
It was hard to read.
What...
(CHUCKLES) Why?
Because even if
I started writing it,
even if I...
devoted my entire life...
I wouldn't come close.
I mean, the voice,
the rhythm, the cadences.
It just feels... It feels new.
I don't know
how you've done it,
but you sound new.
It very well
could be a masterpiece.
But, um, the ending.
-Part three?
-Mmm-hmm.
It feels
like a different novel.
(EXHALES SOFTLY)
Like it doesn't belong here.
The work just deserves better.
-I had to tell you that.
-Mmm.
You seem
to have misunderstood, Liam.
We're not peers.
You're a proofreader.
But as you've begun...
we'll suspend
disbelief a while.
Your first novel.
Something of a misnomer,
is it not?
-How do you mean?
-It's not a novel.
It's passable airport fiction.
I can see
why you gave up on it.
(PAGES RUSTLING)
Could be tweaked
into a short story,
a novella at best.
I could easily
pass it on to my editor
for a second opinion.
But I have a reputation.
Imagine.
My publisher
wakes up one morning,
finds a message from me
claiming to have found
the next best thing.
Tower 24.
He'd think I'd cracked.
I can't put my name
to just anything.
That's years of work.
Really? How frustrating.
Then again,
I'll never get back the hours
-I spent reading it.
-(TAPPING ON BOOK)
We needn't waste
any more time.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
-I'm sorry.
-SINCLAIR: Oh, don't be.
You weren't to know.
Oh, have you
considered teaching?
This isn't about the writing.
Oh, it's only ever
about the writing, Liam.
And I regret to say...
you cannot write.
Send me that document,
would you?
I'll do it before I leave.
SINCLAIR: Ah!
You're not finished yet.
You can find someone else.
SINCLAIR: Liam.
You signed the agreement.
Great shame
to break your bond now.
I so loathe
dealing with lawyers.
I'm saving your life, Liam.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(SIGHS)
(SCOFFS) Fuck!
(SIGHS)
(WATER WARBLING)
(SPLASHING)
HELENE: I thought you didn't
want to do public appearances.
Just dropping
into the conference,
surprise them all.
Spontaneity, darling.
You remember that, don't you?
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
Ah! The tutor.
Did you want something?
I just wanted to say
thank you.
I'm honored
that you read my work.
-Still waiting on that email.
-I'll send it today.
Uh, no disclosure of my work
to any third party,
as per the agreement.
That includes Helene.
Liam, you're welcome.
-(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
-(ENGINE TURNS OVER, REVS)
LIAM: You've been brought up
by the most revered writer
in the country.
So, why should I
give you a place?
Well, uh, he's a writer.
I want to be able
to learn to read work.
You know,
to learn to criticize.
How do you criticize
your father?
(CHUCKLES)
I haven't read his work.
That's not what I asked.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I asked how you'd criticize
your father.
Nothing can grow around him.
My father never raised us.
He just made us sick.
How?
Not caring is worse
than cruelty.
What his son wanted
was his approval
and he couldn't give it.
-But don't you want it?
-No.
Look where that got Felix.
My brother didn't go
into the water to swim.
But you could.
I did.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(FAINT LAUGHTER, CHATTER)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(SIGHS SOFTLY)
Whoo!
(BERTIE WHOOPING)
I've been invited
to an 18th tonight
and my mother is worried
that it's gonna distract me
from our prep.
I'm not worried.
We've been working very hard.
-You're sick to death of me.
-(BERTIE CHUCKLES)
And I think he could do
with a night out of here.
What would your father say?
He's not here.
Where are you gonna stay?
At the flat.
Well, get a cab
if you need to, please.
-Thank you.
-(HELENE CHUCKLES)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
LIAM: Can I help?
Yes. Ah.
(LIAM GRUNTS)
HELENE: Thank you.
LIAM: Have you thought
about letting Bertie
be somewhere else this summer?
HELENE: Well,
if Bertie's not here,
there's no reason
for you to be.
I love it, too.
LIAM: I didn't say that.
HELENE: You didn't have to.
What did he do, Liam?
Did he destroy you, too?
(LIGHTER FLICKS)
HELENE: What do you want now?
LIAM: To do my job.
Help Bertie get out.
And leave.
Don't lie.
I think you want
the same thing I do.
And what's that?
Why does he lock
my dead son's door
if he's got nothing to hide?
I wanna know.
Don't you?
(DOOR UNLOCKS)
(DOOR CREAKS)
(CLICKS BUTTON)
(MOUSE WHEEL SCROLLING)
(MOUSE BUTTON CLICKS)
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
(KEYS JINGLE)
(DOOR UNLOCKS, SHUTS)
(KEYS CLATTER)
(KEYS JINGLE)
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
-(GRAVEL CRUNCHING)
-(DOOR OPENS)
-(KEYS CLATTER)
-Mr. Somers?
The usual?
Yes.
(DISHES RATTLING)
How are you feeling?
Like shit. And I can't find
that Bronte article anywhere.
SINCLAIR: Liam.
I need you in the study.
-We're still working.
-Now.
So, where is everything?
-Fuck.
-What?
This looks like a virus.
It's...
It's taken everything.
SINCLAIR: Restore it
from the backup.
LIAM: Well, you never
disconnected the drive.
It must have been running,
so it's gone down too.
-The other server.
-It's all...
(SIGHS) It's all gone,
Mr. Sinclair.
What?
I wanted to shut it down.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
It's the malware.
It must have come
from my computer
when I sent you the documents,
the annotations.
What?
I am so sorry.
HELENE: So unlike you
to be so careless, darling.
Especially when
it's taken you so long.
(SINCLAIR BREATH TREMBLING)
But you've still
got the hard copy.
Close that door.
(DOOR CREAKS)
He must have left it
at the conference.
Yeah. It's James Sinclair.
Uh, could you put me through
to the Conference Centre,
please?
Yes, I'll hold.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
HELENE: You've already
looked in there, darling.
Well, it's not
at the conference.
It's not at the hotel.
Not in the car,
not in the house.
Someone has taken my novel.
Someone here has it.
Which one of you is it, hmm?
Oh, you've taken it,
haven't you?
Ah.
Tucked it away somewhere,
have you?
So neat and tidy.
Where have you hidden it,
Bert?
We all know
you're hiding something.
Where is it?
Where is it?
-(SHOUTS) Where is it?
-That's enough!
"It had been
overcast all morning.
"But when
we were clear of the bay,
"the sun split
the cloud bank in two,
"and threw light
onto the water.
"Thin films of petrol,
"swirling rainbows.
"I was unsteady on my feet
as I approached the bow.
"Someone grabbed my arm,
stood me upright.
"I hadn't known how heavy
her ashes would be."
SINCLAIR: How much
do you remember?
All of it.
HELENE: Bertie,
go get your things.
BERTIE: Now?
HELENE: Now, sweetheart.
SINCLAIR:
But you're leaving tomorrow.
I'm giving you
the space you need,
no distractions. Ellis.
Bring me my bags, please.
SINCLAIR: He knows
I didn't mean it.
I need you here.
-You need to write the book.
-I've written it.
Then it shouldn't be
too hard to remember.
Is Liam coming?
LIAM: Just carry on
like we've done.
You'll be ready.
Good luck, Bertie.
He'll never get in.
That's what you said
about Felix.
-(GRUNTS)
-(VASE SHATTERS)
-That's my work.
-That's the feeling.
I married a writer.
So write.
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
Boys and their mothers, Liam.
Bet you weren't
pampered like that.
-No.
-Shall we?
We use this.
Won't need
to back this fucker up.
This fucking place.
You waiting for something?
(FLIPPING PAPERS)
Good start.
We'll pick up tomorrow.
Night, Liam.
What was it?
How did it go?
-I remember...
-Oh, uh, ah...
(LAWNMOWER WHIRRING)
"But even from a distance,
I could read something absent
"in her bearing, a frailty
that I hadn't seen..."
(WHIRRING)
(WATER VOLE CRIES)
(SQUEAKING)
I didn't write that.
It's the end of Part Two.
(READING) "These moments
rise up before me
"like shards of light
in a shallow pool,
"never joined for long enough
to tell the storm..."
(SCOFFS)
I didn't write that.
You're changing my work.
-I'm not.
-Who's the fucking writer?
(PAPER CRUMBLING)
(SINCLAIR EXHALES DEEPLY)
Right.
End of Part Two.
(SIGHS)
Let's call it a night.
(DOOR OPENS)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
You know,
your novel wasn't bad.
Wasn't bad.
She thinks I'm done.
But we'll show her.
(SLEEPILY)
We'll show her, Felix.
(CLOCK TICKING)
(EXHALES)
(DOOR OPENS)
HELENE: Ellis, would you mind?
(DOOR CLOSES)
SINCLAIR: Welcome home.
We've been working.
-So you're finished?
-Not yet.
Better hurry up.
You need to get started
on the next one.
-(SINCLAIR SCOFFS)
-Where's Bertie?
-In London.
-How is he?
He's fine. Preparing.
Darling, collect the bags
from the car, please.
Oh, sure.
Liam, can I see you
in the studio, please?
Why?
To extend our arrangement.
His words,
the ones you spoke.
They're not his.
They're my son's.
Then why has it taken him
all this time to write?
It wasn't finished.
He gave it an ending.
And?
Hmm.
Then I'd like you
to write one.
The shorter the better.
Consider this
your first commission.
How soon
can you get this done?
I'll start it now.
Good.
Better get on with it.
SINCLAIR: Return to normality.
We missed you, my love.
HELENE: Shall we
have some music?
Of course.
Some Schubert
for the homecoming.
Liam, you choose.
(SOFTLY) Ah.
We're getting close.
I'll call the publishers
tomorrow and let them know
it's on its way.
Well, I've already
been in touch with them
-and your editor.
-What? I'll speak to them.
No, you won't.
I'll deal with that.
No more distractions.
(CLASSICAL MUSIC
PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS)
You just focus on finishing.
You deserve to.
You've been
held back too long.
(INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING)
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
(PRINTER CLATTERING, WHIRRING)
(PRINTER WHIRRING)
You don't mind
if I deliver this, do you?
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
SINCLAIR: "And then...
"And then she walked
"along the shoreline...
"as far as I could see...
"her dress trailing in the...
"The..."
-"Wash..."
-"Wash!"
BOTH: "...of the tide."
LIAM: "The waves
-"took her footprints."
-SINCLAIR: "Footprints."
BOTH:
"I... followed... after."
"The end."
(SINCLAIR SIGHS IN RELIEF)
We did it.
-(PEN CAP CLICKS)
-It's done.
-We fucking did it!
-(GRIMACING)
Oh.
Oh. (KISSES)
(GROANS) Come here. Come here.
-(SINCLAIR GRUNTS)
-(LIAM GROANS SOFTLY)
-(GROWLING)
-(SOFTLY) Steady.
You and I...
we finished that bastard.
Okay.
This calls for a celebration.
All gone! (CHUCKLES)
(BOTTLE THUDS)
-(BOTTLE OPENS)
-SINCLAIR: Oh.
-(SINCLAIR LAUGHS)
-(BOTTLES CLINKING)
Congratulations, Mr. Sinclair.
Cheers!
I called it Rose Tree,
because I wrote it for him.
He was the only one.
The only one who understood.
I found him, you know.
Not his mother, not Bert.
Both had better things to do.
I dragged him
out of that water.
He had a real talent.
I tried to help him.
Constructive criticism,
like I gave you.
But he was weaker
than I thought.
Depressive.
If I'd known...
(VOICE BREAKS) he would have
done something that stupid...
I wouldn't have said...
(SOBBING)
...anything to him.
Right.
You, me, swim.
Right now! (CLAPS)
No excuses. Come on, Liam!
(SHOUTS) Come on!
(BOTTLE CLANKING)
Exercise makes the day, Liam.
Are you coming in?
LIAM: Of course.
SINCLAIR: Good man.
Now, how...
How...
How... How do you
want to be credited?
-How about "author"?
-(CHUCKLES) How's that?
It must have hurt you.
When you saw Rose Tree
for the first time,
of course,
you wished it was yours.
I did, too.
He was better than both of us.
Rose Tree is mine.
I wrote the book.
No. Felix wrote it.
You stole it. But I bet you...
he came to you for advice.
And I bet you,
you crushed him.
He's my son.
I gave him
every word of that novel,
and when he couldn't
see it through to the end,
I did.
You know, I found
the original on his server.
And I wiped it.
Yours, too. I threw
the printout into the lake.
Helene knows.
That's why she asked me
to write it and finish it.
(SINCLAIR GRUNTS)
'Cause she knew
you'd ruin that novel.
She begged me
to save it from you.
You're no writer.
That's not
what your wife thinks.
You don't fucking know her.
I know what she tastes like.
What?
(SINCLAIR GROWLING)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(SINCLAIR GASPING)
(GRUNTS)
Drown. Drown!
Drown, you... (MUTTERS)
(LIAM STRUGGLING)
Drown! Drown, you fucking...
(SINCLAIR GRUNTS)
(LIAM STRUGGLING)
(PANTING)
-(BLOW LANDS)
-SINCLAIR: Ah!
(SINCLAIR GASPS)
-You coward!
-(LIAM GRUNTS)
You fucking coward!
(SINCLAIR GROANS)
(LIAM PANTING)
(PANTING)
ELLIS: Ah,
we'll get that seen to.
And I'll get you
some dry clothes.
(SIGHS)
(CHUCKLES)
(WATER BUBBLES)
(INSECTS TRILLING)
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
Is he okay?
(GRIMACES)
HELENE: I've read them both,
and you were right.
Yours is the superior ending.
His is a... (SIGHS)
great shame.
You can get started now.
-(LIGHTER CLICKS)
-(FLAMES FLUTTER)
(FIREWOOD CRACKLING)
(HELENE CLICKS TONGUE)
I want to thank you
for everything you've done.
You were perfect.
Remarkable, even.
This is how the story goes.
My husband,
after completing
his latest novel...
drowned himself in the lake
where his son died.
We'd been worried about him
and his drinking for a while.
We did all we could
to save him... (EXHALES)
...but it was too late.
-What?
-And you, Liam,
you were never here.
You signed an NDA.
If you choose
to break our agreement,
there is another story.
Two witnesses can testify
to the murder of my husband
by an obsessive fan,
a would-be writer,
that took a teaching job
so he could be
close to his idol,
and who snapped
when his hero told him
something he didn't like.
I don't want
any kind of scandal,
but if I have to,
I will make you
the villain of this story.
This was never for Bertie.
I brought you here
to get me the truth.
And when I knew,
my husband was always gonna
join my son in the water.
Rose Tree will be
their legacy.
The ending.
I wrote the ending.
You have to give me that.
I wrote the fucking ending.
And I'm grateful.
That's why
I'm giving you a chance.
I'm going to call
an ambulance,
and I don't wanna have
to explain your presence
when it arrives.
Much better that you
never existed at all.
My version of events
is the only version.
You can see that.
You have talent.
You just needed a story.
Tell Bertie...
Don't tell Bertie.
The gates will close
behind you.
(GRAVEL CRUNCHING)
(GATE CLICKS, CREAKING)
(SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE)
(SIRENS APPROACHING)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(SIRENS APPROACHING CLOSER)
INTERVIEWER: Hello.
Liam Somers' story
of a fading patriarch,
presiding over
a grief-stricken family
has been described
as one of the most striking
debuts of the year.
Here with us
to discuss his first novel
is the author.
Thank you
for joining us, Liam.
Thanks for having me.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
INTERVIEWER: You must be
getting quite bored of these.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Never dull
to discuss the work.
Okay, well, I thought we could
just jump straight in,
if that's okay with you.
-By all means.
-Okay.
Hello.
Liam Somers' story
of a fading patriarch
presiding over
a grief-stricken family
has been described
as one of the most striking
debuts of the year.
Here with us to discuss
his first novel is the author.
Thank you
for joining us, Liam.
Thanks for having me.
So, I thought we could start off
by touching on the inspiration
behind the novel.
What exactly is it that drew you
to tell this story?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(BICYCLE BRAKE SQUEALING)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)
-Hello?
-HATTIE: (OVER PHONE) Liam.
It's Hattie from the agency.
I'm on my way
to a lesson. Can it wait?
We cancelled that.
Something's come in for you.
(BICYCLE WHEELS WHIRRING)
Writers tend to say
they're a morning person,
or an evening kind of writer.
I don't subscribe to that.
(DOOR OPENS)
If you're writing,
you're writing.
Simple as that.
It's not something
that can be deferred or denied
if you have to do it.
Which, by the way, is
the prerequisite for writing.
You don't have
a choice in the matter.
You must write.
SINCLAIR: (OVER LAPTOP)
Listen, if I knew where
the ideas came from,
I'd have written,
and indeed been paid
a hell of a lot
more than I have.
Bearing in mind
that I've been prolific
and not badly off,
the short answer is
I don't know.
(BELL DINGS)
SINCLAIR:
I know writers who obsess.
"How do I
say something original?
"Am I saying
something unique?"
I'm sorry. (CHUCKLING)
There are no new ideas.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
Most writers
are reconciled to the fact.
And if they're not,
they pretty soon will be.
(TRUCK HONKING)
SINCLAIR: Now, average writers
attempt originality.
They fail. Universally.
Good writers have the sense
to borrow from their betters.
(GATE CREAKING)
But the greats,
great writers... steal.
(LAUGHS)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(GRAVEL CRUNCHING)
(DOOR OPENS)
-Good morning.
-Good morning.
-Mr. Somers.
-It's Liam.
If you'd like
to follow me this way, please.
(DUCKS QUACKING)
You'll find him just there.
I'll take that, shall I?
Thank you.
Hello. I'm Liam.
You must be Bertie.
BERTIE:
You've done your homework.
-Are your parents around?
-They're up at the house.
Why?
I usually speak to parents
before the first lesson.
It's fine.
I can get
my father if you want?
-I'm sure he won't mind.
-No, I don't wanna disturb.
But you want
to meet him, right?
-It's fine.
-He's only writing.
No, it's fine!
Okay.
So, what are we working on?
We are working on tragedy.
Modern? Ancient?
I don't need you
to turn the pages.
Congratulations, by the way.
English Literature is one of
the most competitive courses.
Oxford don't shortlist
many candidates
so your aptitude test
must have been
very impressive.
But that test is one thing.
The interviews,
the college-specific tests,
they're different.
You'll need to cultivate
the kind of critical thinking
that might not
be familiar to you... yet.
Kind of a house style.
They staple
at Oxford, don't they?
You can do it
in the house style.
(LAWNMOWER WHIRRING)
(BOTH SPEAKING FRENCH)
HELENE: Liam.
-LIAM: Mrs. Sinclair.
-Helene.
Thanks for coming
on such short notice.
Your CV was impressive.
Your agency speaks
very highly of you.
That's kind of them.
Well, I should hope not.
I should hope it's true.
You've a beautiful home,
Mrs. Sinclair.
Thank you. Summer suits it.
This is the reading room.
It's usually only me in here.
We don't use
the front entrance much.
There is
a back door to the garden.
LIAM: This is beautiful.
Thank you.
You made it?
It's kind of... numinous.
And you've met Ellis.
You're laying
the table for four tonight.
Yes, ma'am.
Any dietary
requirements, Mr. Somers?
Actually, I'm vegan.
Wonderful.
HELENE: And this is
my favorite acquisition.
I bought it from the artist
when she didn't
win the Turner.
Kind of a consolation.
She's a collector's
darling now, of course,
but I found her.
It's adapted from Bernini's
Apollo and Daphne.
-Do you know it?
-I know the story.
HELENE: Hmm.
Never had
the heart to sell it.
Why would you?
That's my job. I'm a curator.
Shouldn't really
get sentimental.
Something to drink?
You'd like a beer,
wouldn't you?
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(WATER VOLE SQUEALS)
You know, Liam graduated
with a First in English.
So why is he a tutor?
Well, must be a vocation.
He wants to share
his knowledge, his experience.
We thought it best
Bertie spend the last
of the summer term here
so he can focus
on his entrance exams.
You thought it best?
HELENE: Well, that school
has let you down enough.
I wasn't going
to leave this up to chance.
You must be good.
Evening, all.
Bonsoir, my love. (KISSES)
How goes it, Bert?
Liam, isn't it?
-Yes, Mr. Sinclair.
-Oh. Thank you.
You've come on a good day.
Ellis does a mean roast lamb.
Thank you.
Music.
(OPERATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
We had Rachmaninoff yesterday.
Well, give me
three good reasons
not to listen
to him today and...
I'll change my mind.
HELENE: Why don't
we ask our guest?
(MUSIC STOPS)
Liam, what do you
think of Rachmaninoff?
Um...
He was the last great
Russian romantic composer.
And...
known for his piano concertos
more than his symphonies.
His, um...
He was
the conductor of the Bolshoi
when the Russian...
First Russian Revolution
began...
The music. She meant,
"What did you
think of the music?"
I don't, um...
I'm not familiar.
Rachmaninoff it is, then.
-(BUTTON CLICKS)
-(OPERATIC MUSIC STARTS)
Last great Russian romantic.
(WOMAN VOCALIZING)
(SMACKS LIPS)
So, what did
you two study today?
Hamlet, for the most part.
Oh, you looked into
the manuscript tradition yet?
-I've got, uh, a few articles.
-SINCLAIR: Hmm.
I can make up a reading list.
Thanks.
SINCLAIR: You can
thank him when you get in.
If. If you get in.
We should have
a chat about the lesson.
See how it went.
Well, I'm sure
Bertie has some...
SINCLAIR: I'm sure he does.
Which is why
we'll discuss it after dinner.
You can wait
in the drawing room
when you're finished eating.
Liam...
You're out.
(WOMAN CONTINUES VOCALIZING)
(CUTLERY CLANKING)
(OPERATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
HELENE: We'd like you to stay.
LIAM: Is this from the agency?
I think we can part ways
with the agency here.
We prefer a personal bond.
There have been
incidents in the past.
LIAM: With guests?
With staff.
We told them
we no longer need a tutor.
Didn't wanna
compromise your relationship.
It's so important
Bertie has someone on his side
that knows the English system.
I studied in Paris
and New York.
And his father didn't go,
of course.
Non-disclosure.
He's very protective.
Getting close to the end,
so he tells me.
Yes. Five years
since the last one.
The subject of your thesis.
It's on your CV.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
HELENE: You'll report to me
at the end of every lesson
about Bertie's progress.
Come and find me.
He has to get in, Liam.
Uh, he doesn't know
about the thesis, does he,
Mrs. Sinclair?
I'm sure he'd be flattered.
But you're not here for him.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(PAPERS RUSTLING)
(OPERATIC MUSIC
PLAYING IN DISTANCE)
(PEN SCRIBBLING)
(SIGHING)
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(CLICKS TONGUE)
(CLOCK TICKING)
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(GRUNTS)
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(GASPS)
Good morning.
"From fairest
creatures we desire increase,
"That thereby
beauty's rose might never die,
"But as the riper
should by time decease,
"His tender heir
might bear his memory."
-So you're on to the Sonnets.
-So you've learnt a poem.
(BOOK SLAMS ON TABLE)
I just remember.
Have you got
a photographic memory?
Not quite.
Words are like
triggers for me.
They set off a sequence.
So, if I've read them,
I'll remember.
-You learnt that.
-You can try me.
-"To be, or not to be."
-(SCOFFS)
You can do better than that.
(PAPER RIPS)
"Nativity,
once in the main of light,
"Crawls to maturity,
wherewith being crown'd,
"Crooked eclipses
'gainst his glory fight,
"And Time that gave
doth now his gift confound."
"Time doth transfix..."
All right, you've got
a party trick. I... I get it.
I'm sure it helped
you get your First.
But I can't use it,
and I don't need it.
So, why don't you
fetch me that reading list?
Shall I write it down
so you don't forget?
(WATER VOLE SQUEALING)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES)
How did it go?
Well.
Independent research, mainly.
Is that your usual practice?
It varies.
For a student
of Bertie's intelligence,
I'd say independence
is a good thing.
You're the best
resource he could have.
He needs to be
making use of you.
Otherwise, why are you here?
I'll make sure he does.
Good.
(CONTINUES PLAYING PIANO)
That's Tchaikovsky, isn't it?
(STOPS PLAYING)
June, from The Seasons.
I thought you weren't
familiar with classical.
I'm learning.
(CHUCKLES) Me, too. Trying.
(CHUCKLES)
Are you
the only one who plays?
Bertie used to.
Beautifully.
His brother wrote.
Mostly short stories.
Like you.
He took after his father.
HELENE: He likes
to have someone around.
An amanuensis.
(SIGHS) Used to be me
at the start.
We don't talk about his work.
We don't talk about Felix.
Follow those rules
and you should be fine.
(STARTS PLAYING PIANO)
Of course.
(MUSIC STOPS)
(EXHALES)
Great writers... steal.
(ALL LAUGHING)
INTERVIEWER: But do you think
it's inevitable
that elements of your...
personal life
seep into your work?
Um, you're somebody
who has experienced
great personal tragedy,
and I'm wondering
if the loss of your son
has had a direct impact
on the nature of your writing.
If I were drawing on my life,
I'd be writing memoir,
not fiction.
But if you're asking
if it has affected my writing,
the answer is yes.
In as much as
any loss affects one's life.
Losing a child is...
losing a part of oneself.
And bound up with the grief is
a profound sense
of injustice...
...of being robbed.
And when
they take their own life...
one is...
compelled to the unthinkable.
To grieve the child
is to grieve the killer.
But if you're
asking me seriously,
and I sincerely
hope that you're not,
whether my son's death
has inspired my writing,
the answer is no,
I will not be writing
about his death.
I will be writing
in spite of it.
And you will have
your novel...
(MICROPHONE FEEDBACK)
...when it is ready.
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-INTERVIEWER: Mr. Sinclair.
Mr. Sinclair.
(DOOR CLICKS, SLAMS)
(CLASSICAL PIANO
MUSIC PLAYING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Liam, just family tonight.
There will be fixings
in the guest house.
-Sure. See you tomorrow.
-SINCLAIR: Three, four,
close the door.
Five, six, pick up sticks.
(MUFFLED) Bingo. Bon appetit.
(MUSIC STOPS)
(GASPS)
(FROG CROAKING)
(CROAKS)
(FROGS CHIRPING)
(FLIES BUZZING)
Oh, good morning, Mr. Somers.
Something I can help you with?
Yes. We've run out of
coffee in my, uh...
-place.
-Can't have that.
-I'll put a pot on now.
-Thanks.
Just getting us some coffee.
I'm glad you're
making yourself useful.
SINCLAIR: (YELLS)
Fucking hell!
Everything okay, Mr. Sinclair?
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
-Don't you have a lesson?
-Bertie's just setting up.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
The printer.
LIAM: What
are you trying to do?
Print something.
LIAM: Do you mind?
The printer's the problem.
Nothing to do with that thing.
(CLICKING)
(PRINTER WHIRRING)
-My dad worked in IT.
-Oh, sins of the father.
Yeah, I know a bit.
Thanks.
-That's Winterson.
-I beg your pardon?
"Empty space and points
of light." Jeanette Winterson.
Final words
of Sexing the Cherry.
"And even
the most solid of things
"and the most real,
the best loved
"and the well-known
are only hand-shadows
"on the wall. Empty space
and points of light."
(SINCLAIR CHUCKLES) Oh.
Good spot.
Is it research?
Close the door
on your way out, will you?
Mustn't keep Bert waiting.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
ELLIS: Hope you
like it strong, Mr. Somers.
Thank you.
It's Liam.
I know.
Might be useful
if I could read
some of what you're writing.
Useful for who?
(LEAVES RUSTLING)
(STREAM TRICKLING)
(STUTTERS) No, Liam.
Can't touch the buds.
Why not?
BERTIE: It's rhododendron.
Have you never been
in a garden before?
Not everyone
has gardens like this.
It's poisonous.
There's toxins in the sap.
(LIGHTER FLICKS)
Do you want one?
All right.
Cheers.
It's basically a weed.
Nothing can grow around it.
The roots, they, uh...
They strangle
everything they touch.
It's quite clever, actually.
Felix was obsessed with them.
Rhododendron.
The rose tree.
It's ancient Greek.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
They are beautiful.
That's not why
he was obsessed with them.
(RAIN PATTERING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
-(RAIN PATTERING)
-(SIGHS)
Oh, no, no, no, no.
(SHOUTS) Shit!
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(DOOR OPENS)
Oh, Mr. Somers.
There's been a slight
delay to your laundry.
I have brought you
a fresh change of clothes.
I'll just put them down here,
if that's all right?
-Sure. Oh, I can do that.
-No, no, no, no.
It's quite all right,
Mr. Somers.
You are expected at dinner.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(CUTLERY CLANKING SOFTLY)
(SLURPS)
HELENE: Liam, so sorry.
We should have warned you.
The power tends
to go down in a storm.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
The price of isolation.
(CHAIR SCRAPING FLOOR)
(ELECTRICITY HUMS)
-"And there was."
-(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(CUTLERY CLANKING)
Any objections to Beethoven?
-(BUTTON CLICKS)
-(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
(LIQUID POURING)
You boys didn't lose anything
in the storm, did you?
I didn't.
We were making
great progress, I think.
SINCLAIR: Oh, in that case,
I may need
to borrow you this evening.
Computer is playing up again.
You don't mind, do you, Liam?
LIAM: That's fine. I have
tomorrow's lesson planned.
SINCLAIR: Good.
You know,
Liam's a writer, too.
Mmm. Did you show Bertie
-your student pieces?
-BERTIE: No, no.
I've seen the novel.
Tower 24.
Working title.
It's actually quite good.
Reads like a Sinclair.
That's why the desk lamp
is burning into the night.
I haven't worked
on it in a long time.
It's, um, it's not finished.
Then why does Bertie have it?
Thanks.
SINCLAIR: Come and see me
after dinner.
You know where I am.
It suits you.
Felix's clothes.
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES)
This damn thing
buckles in a storm,
and I need to know
that my work is safe.
You've got
multiple backups, right?
Oh, I used to have
people do that for me.
-PAs, you know.
-But not anymore.
Well, people like
that can be very nosy.
-(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
-(CLICKING)
You need
to enter your password.
Okay.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
I can run a backup
to the Cloud if you want.
Oh, absolutely not.
I don't give my work away
for free.
Looks like there's
another server running.
Is it here?
Oh, that...
Oh, it's next door.
Used to be part of the study.
Don't need the space.
-You want me to shut it down?
-No, keep it running.
Just in case.
Okay. (TAPS KEYBOARD)
Now, you should be
safe for the next storm.
Goodnight, Mr. Sinclair.
(CHUCKLES)
Wow, that was quick.
Scotch?
Sit down.
If you're serious
about doing this,
you must bear
one thought cheerfully in mind
whenever you put pen to paper.
Whenever you read,
eat, drink, fuck, whatever,
one thought. One simple one.
Good writers borrow.
-Great writers steal.
-Don't tell me you're a fan.
(LAUGHING)
There is a new novel.
Started a while back.
Almost over the line.
I was wondering
if you might be on hand
for the final stretch.
Keep the story safe,
provide some amusement.
I've found in the past
that can be really useful.
Someone separate from work.
You know,
not a writer, preferably.
Well, not a real one.
So easy to forget...
it's only really a game.
Oh, don't want to distract
from Bert's studies.
No. No, you wouldn't.
SINCLAIR:
And I'd pay, of course.
Take it you're in?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(GLASSES CLINK)
We'll make a thief of you yet.
(BOTH LAUGH)
What's it called?
Rose Tree.
What do you think?
I love it.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
HELENE: What did
you two talk about?
Liam, I won't tell.
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Oh, hello. Are you lost?
Ah! The missing mother.
What are we discussing?
Bertie.
How he's doing.
SINCLAIR: Course.
The boy wonder.
Going to be another
late one I'm afraid, my love.
(WHISPERS)
Pay me a visit, won't you?
HELENE: Of course, darling.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
SINCLAIR: (OVER LAPTOP)
Friends, family,
there must be sacrifice.
When you embark upon a novel,
and begin that communion
with yourself,
you are alone.
Armed only with your craft
and, hopefully,
your talent. (CHUCKLES)
BERTIE: What's that?
It's an essay of yours.
(PAPERS RUSTLE)
This is good, Bertie.
I'd love to have
thought of this.
Your reading list helped.
How can I make it better?
And in your conclusion,
you might wanna to consider
Shakespeare's familiarity
with Hippolytus.
I didn't know
that you were allowed
to make connections like that,
you know, between texts,
across the genres.
(CHUCKLES) It's like
a whole different thing.
(LAUGHING)
Sorry, but there are
no new ideas.
To our Alexander
and our Aristotle.
Most writers
are reconciled to the fact.
And if they're not,
they very soon will be.
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(SIGHS)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY, INHALES)
(PEN CAP CLICKS)
(DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE)
(DOOR CREAKS)
-(KEYS JINGLING)
-(DOOR LOCKING)
Oh, Liam.
Give that
the once-over, will you?
Yeah.
Flower-Gathering
is my favorite.
From A Boy's Will.
Oh.
"Are you dumb
because you know me not,
"Or dumb because you know?"
Well spotted. Come in.
Everything's fine.
You've still got
that server running next door.
SINCLAIR: Oh, forget that.
It's dormant.
-Or I can just shut it down.
-Leave it.
Your father
teach you all that?
I learned. He didn't teach me.
I'll wager he's glad
you didn't go into IT.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
What are people
saying about me?
People think you've retired.
(CHUCKLING)
You are amusing.
(CHUCKLES)
HELENE:
Have you only just got out?
We're getting
our money's worth, aren't we?
You and Bertie seem
to be getting along.
This new arrangement isn't
drawing your focus
away from him, is it?
LIAM: No, not at all.
"What makes an ending?"
That's what
we've been talking about.
He's thinking of his own.
Have you seen it?
LIAM: No.
But he's writing?
I think so.
I think he's close.
He calls me
"the missing mother,"
because I wasn't
there when our son died.
I was in Venice. The Biennale.
I don't go anymore.
-You're up late.
-So are you.
You know
you're not the first, right?
Get some sleep, Bertie.
Goodnight.
Night.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING
OVER PROJECTOR)
(WATER SPLASHING)
SINCLAIR: Say I die.
Right here, right now.
Who owns my words?
I don't mean in a legal sense.
I mean,
testament to experience.
Words I chose
because I believed
they bore witness
to a truth beyond fiction.
Because, when strung together,
they accorded to a music
only I could hear.
Resolved some conflict
raging within me.
Who owns them?
They belong to whoever
chooses to read them.
And since we are
the words we write...
so do we.
-Finders fucking keepers.
-(BOTH CHUCKLE)
(UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL
MUSIC PLAYING OVER PROJECTOR)
Oh. Only gods come out
of the machine, Liam.
Ghosts stay in them.
You've said that before.
In Pearlescence.
Did I?
Jesus,
I'm repeating myself now.
And from one
of your lesser works.
-(SCOFFS)
-(ENGINE WHIRRING)
You know,
I don't even remember
half of that one.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING
OVER PROJECTOR)
First draft.
Tad shorter than usual.
Thought you might
like to proofread it.
Would that be a problem?
Not if you read mine.
All right. (CHUCKLES)
Drop it in
first thing tomorrow morning.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
(GUNSHOTS ON SCREEN)
Dante. Tolstoy. Flaubert.
Not a single one of them read.
What the fuck do they even
teach you at that school?
May as well burn them.
You may as well be illiterate.
Are you?
What your brother
would have given to read
any of these works
that you shun.
At least he had
the intellect to read mine.
(BERTIE SOBBING)
(SIGHS) Oh, Bert, come here.
It's me. It's me.
(EXHALES)
(BERTIE CRYING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR SLAMS)
-Morning.
-LIAM: Morning.
My novel.
Tower 24. Longhand.
Like the best.
Look forward to it.
Oh, take those, would you?
(SOBBING)
-I can't do this. He's right.
-Bertie.
(SOBBING) I haven't read...
I don't fucking...
I don't know enough.
I've not read enough.
I'm wasting my time.
I'm wasting your time.
It's just all a fucking waste.
Stop it, stop it. Hey. Hey.
-Stop it. Stop it.
-(BERTIE CRYING)
Hey. Listen to me. Look at me.
Take a breath. Take a breath.
Bertie. Bertie. Look at me.
Just one breath. One breath.
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
It's all right. It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
(BERTIE CRYING)
(SOFTLY) Hey.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(BERTIE SNIVELS)
I won't let him bother you.
It's too late for that.
(HESITATES) You... can go
if you want. I understand.
When you said
I wasn't the first,
what did you mean?
I know I'm not
the first tutor.
But that's not
what you meant, is it?
My father likes
keeping his favorites close.
He moved Felix into the room
next to his, for fuck's sake.
I'm not Felix.
I know.
Take the day off, Bertie.
So you're not leaving?
No.
I'm not going anywhere.
(BERTIE EXHALES)
(WATER SPLASHING)
(INHALES)
(WATER WARBLING)
(PANTING)
Good swim?
Yeah.
Not as warm as it looks.
Don't do it again.
-I'm sorry?
-Lake's off limits.
For their sake.
It's only been
two years since Felix.
They're a little delicate.
-I'm sorry. I didn't know.
-You do now.
I finished your novel,
by the way.
Bring mine over tonight,
we'll debrief.
LIAM: I might need
a little more time
to finish reading it.
You found time to swim.
(KNOCKS ON DOOR)
SINCLAIR: Come in.
(SINCLAIR SIGHS)
I've annotated the text
where I've spotted anything.
There's a cross-referenced
document on my laptop.
Very thorough.
Well, don't keep me
in suspense.
LIAM: It's like nothing
you've written before.
It was hard to read.
What...
(CHUCKLES) Why?
Because even if
I started writing it,
even if I...
devoted my entire life...
I wouldn't come close.
I mean, the voice,
the rhythm, the cadences.
It just feels... It feels new.
I don't know
how you've done it,
but you sound new.
It very well
could be a masterpiece.
But, um, the ending.
-Part three?
-Mmm-hmm.
It feels
like a different novel.
(EXHALES SOFTLY)
Like it doesn't belong here.
The work just deserves better.
-I had to tell you that.
-Mmm.
You seem
to have misunderstood, Liam.
We're not peers.
You're a proofreader.
But as you've begun...
we'll suspend
disbelief a while.
Your first novel.
Something of a misnomer,
is it not?
-How do you mean?
-It's not a novel.
It's passable airport fiction.
I can see
why you gave up on it.
(PAGES RUSTLING)
Could be tweaked
into a short story,
a novella at best.
I could easily
pass it on to my editor
for a second opinion.
But I have a reputation.
Imagine.
My publisher
wakes up one morning,
finds a message from me
claiming to have found
the next best thing.
Tower 24.
He'd think I'd cracked.
I can't put my name
to just anything.
That's years of work.
Really? How frustrating.
Then again,
I'll never get back the hours
-I spent reading it.
-(TAPPING ON BOOK)
We needn't waste
any more time.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
-I'm sorry.
-SINCLAIR: Oh, don't be.
You weren't to know.
Oh, have you
considered teaching?
This isn't about the writing.
Oh, it's only ever
about the writing, Liam.
And I regret to say...
you cannot write.
Send me that document,
would you?
I'll do it before I leave.
SINCLAIR: Ah!
You're not finished yet.
You can find someone else.
SINCLAIR: Liam.
You signed the agreement.
Great shame
to break your bond now.
I so loathe
dealing with lawyers.
I'm saving your life, Liam.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(SIGHS)
(SCOFFS) Fuck!
(SIGHS)
(WATER WARBLING)
(SPLASHING)
HELENE: I thought you didn't
want to do public appearances.
Just dropping
into the conference,
surprise them all.
Spontaneity, darling.
You remember that, don't you?
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
Ah! The tutor.
Did you want something?
I just wanted to say
thank you.
I'm honored
that you read my work.
-Still waiting on that email.
-I'll send it today.
Uh, no disclosure of my work
to any third party,
as per the agreement.
That includes Helene.
Liam, you're welcome.
-(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
-(ENGINE TURNS OVER, REVS)
LIAM: You've been brought up
by the most revered writer
in the country.
So, why should I
give you a place?
Well, uh, he's a writer.
I want to be able
to learn to read work.
You know,
to learn to criticize.
How do you criticize
your father?
(CHUCKLES)
I haven't read his work.
That's not what I asked.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I asked how you'd criticize
your father.
Nothing can grow around him.
My father never raised us.
He just made us sick.
How?
Not caring is worse
than cruelty.
What his son wanted
was his approval
and he couldn't give it.
-But don't you want it?
-No.
Look where that got Felix.
My brother didn't go
into the water to swim.
But you could.
I did.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(FAINT LAUGHTER, CHATTER)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(SIGHS SOFTLY)
Whoo!
(BERTIE WHOOPING)
I've been invited
to an 18th tonight
and my mother is worried
that it's gonna distract me
from our prep.
I'm not worried.
We've been working very hard.
-You're sick to death of me.
-(BERTIE CHUCKLES)
And I think he could do
with a night out of here.
What would your father say?
He's not here.
Where are you gonna stay?
At the flat.
Well, get a cab
if you need to, please.
-Thank you.
-(HELENE CHUCKLES)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
LIAM: Can I help?
Yes. Ah.
(LIAM GRUNTS)
HELENE: Thank you.
LIAM: Have you thought
about letting Bertie
be somewhere else this summer?
HELENE: Well,
if Bertie's not here,
there's no reason
for you to be.
I love it, too.
LIAM: I didn't say that.
HELENE: You didn't have to.
What did he do, Liam?
Did he destroy you, too?
(LIGHTER FLICKS)
HELENE: What do you want now?
LIAM: To do my job.
Help Bertie get out.
And leave.
Don't lie.
I think you want
the same thing I do.
And what's that?
Why does he lock
my dead son's door
if he's got nothing to hide?
I wanna know.
Don't you?
(DOOR UNLOCKS)
(DOOR CREAKS)
(CLICKS BUTTON)
(MOUSE WHEEL SCROLLING)
(MOUSE BUTTON CLICKS)
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
(KEYS JINGLE)
(DOOR UNLOCKS, SHUTS)
(KEYS CLATTER)
(KEYS JINGLE)
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
-(GRAVEL CRUNCHING)
-(DOOR OPENS)
-(KEYS CLATTER)
-Mr. Somers?
The usual?
Yes.
(DISHES RATTLING)
How are you feeling?
Like shit. And I can't find
that Bronte article anywhere.
SINCLAIR: Liam.
I need you in the study.
-We're still working.
-Now.
So, where is everything?
-Fuck.
-What?
This looks like a virus.
It's...
It's taken everything.
SINCLAIR: Restore it
from the backup.
LIAM: Well, you never
disconnected the drive.
It must have been running,
so it's gone down too.
-The other server.
-It's all...
(SIGHS) It's all gone,
Mr. Sinclair.
What?
I wanted to shut it down.
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
It's the malware.
It must have come
from my computer
when I sent you the documents,
the annotations.
What?
I am so sorry.
HELENE: So unlike you
to be so careless, darling.
Especially when
it's taken you so long.
(SINCLAIR BREATH TREMBLING)
But you've still
got the hard copy.
Close that door.
(DOOR CREAKS)
He must have left it
at the conference.
Yeah. It's James Sinclair.
Uh, could you put me through
to the Conference Centre,
please?
Yes, I'll hold.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
HELENE: You've already
looked in there, darling.
Well, it's not
at the conference.
It's not at the hotel.
Not in the car,
not in the house.
Someone has taken my novel.
Someone here has it.
Which one of you is it, hmm?
Oh, you've taken it,
haven't you?
Ah.
Tucked it away somewhere,
have you?
So neat and tidy.
Where have you hidden it,
Bert?
We all know
you're hiding something.
Where is it?
Where is it?
-(SHOUTS) Where is it?
-That's enough!
"It had been
overcast all morning.
"But when
we were clear of the bay,
"the sun split
the cloud bank in two,
"and threw light
onto the water.
"Thin films of petrol,
"swirling rainbows.
"I was unsteady on my feet
as I approached the bow.
"Someone grabbed my arm,
stood me upright.
"I hadn't known how heavy
her ashes would be."
SINCLAIR: How much
do you remember?
All of it.
HELENE: Bertie,
go get your things.
BERTIE: Now?
HELENE: Now, sweetheart.
SINCLAIR:
But you're leaving tomorrow.
I'm giving you
the space you need,
no distractions. Ellis.
Bring me my bags, please.
SINCLAIR: He knows
I didn't mean it.
I need you here.
-You need to write the book.
-I've written it.
Then it shouldn't be
too hard to remember.
Is Liam coming?
LIAM: Just carry on
like we've done.
You'll be ready.
Good luck, Bertie.
He'll never get in.
That's what you said
about Felix.
-(GRUNTS)
-(VASE SHATTERS)
-That's my work.
-That's the feeling.
I married a writer.
So write.
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
Boys and their mothers, Liam.
Bet you weren't
pampered like that.
-No.
-Shall we?
We use this.
Won't need
to back this fucker up.
This fucking place.
You waiting for something?
(FLIPPING PAPERS)
Good start.
We'll pick up tomorrow.
Night, Liam.
What was it?
How did it go?
-I remember...
-Oh, uh, ah...
(LAWNMOWER WHIRRING)
"But even from a distance,
I could read something absent
"in her bearing, a frailty
that I hadn't seen..."
(WHIRRING)
(WATER VOLE CRIES)
(SQUEAKING)
I didn't write that.
It's the end of Part Two.
(READING) "These moments
rise up before me
"like shards of light
in a shallow pool,
"never joined for long enough
to tell the storm..."
(SCOFFS)
I didn't write that.
You're changing my work.
-I'm not.
-Who's the fucking writer?
(PAPER CRUMBLING)
(SINCLAIR EXHALES DEEPLY)
Right.
End of Part Two.
(SIGHS)
Let's call it a night.
(DOOR OPENS)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
You know,
your novel wasn't bad.
Wasn't bad.
She thinks I'm done.
But we'll show her.
(SLEEPILY)
We'll show her, Felix.
(CLOCK TICKING)
(EXHALES)
(DOOR OPENS)
HELENE: Ellis, would you mind?
(DOOR CLOSES)
SINCLAIR: Welcome home.
We've been working.
-So you're finished?
-Not yet.
Better hurry up.
You need to get started
on the next one.
-(SINCLAIR SCOFFS)
-Where's Bertie?
-In London.
-How is he?
He's fine. Preparing.
Darling, collect the bags
from the car, please.
Oh, sure.
Liam, can I see you
in the studio, please?
Why?
To extend our arrangement.
His words,
the ones you spoke.
They're not his.
They're my son's.
Then why has it taken him
all this time to write?
It wasn't finished.
He gave it an ending.
And?
Hmm.
Then I'd like you
to write one.
The shorter the better.
Consider this
your first commission.
How soon
can you get this done?
I'll start it now.
Good.
Better get on with it.
SINCLAIR: Return to normality.
We missed you, my love.
HELENE: Shall we
have some music?
Of course.
Some Schubert
for the homecoming.
Liam, you choose.
(SOFTLY) Ah.
We're getting close.
I'll call the publishers
tomorrow and let them know
it's on its way.
Well, I've already
been in touch with them
-and your editor.
-What? I'll speak to them.
No, you won't.
I'll deal with that.
No more distractions.
(CLASSICAL MUSIC
PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS)
You just focus on finishing.
You deserve to.
You've been
held back too long.
(INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING)
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
(PRINTER CLATTERING, WHIRRING)
(PRINTER WHIRRING)
You don't mind
if I deliver this, do you?
(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
SINCLAIR: "And then...
"And then she walked
"along the shoreline...
"as far as I could see...
"her dress trailing in the...
"The..."
-"Wash..."
-"Wash!"
BOTH: "...of the tide."
LIAM: "The waves
-"took her footprints."
-SINCLAIR: "Footprints."
BOTH:
"I... followed... after."
"The end."
(SINCLAIR SIGHS IN RELIEF)
We did it.
-(PEN CAP CLICKS)
-It's done.
-We fucking did it!
-(GRIMACING)
Oh.
Oh. (KISSES)
(GROANS) Come here. Come here.
-(SINCLAIR GRUNTS)
-(LIAM GROANS SOFTLY)
-(GROWLING)
-(SOFTLY) Steady.
You and I...
we finished that bastard.
Okay.
This calls for a celebration.
All gone! (CHUCKLES)
(BOTTLE THUDS)
-(BOTTLE OPENS)
-SINCLAIR: Oh.
-(SINCLAIR LAUGHS)
-(BOTTLES CLINKING)
Congratulations, Mr. Sinclair.
Cheers!
I called it Rose Tree,
because I wrote it for him.
He was the only one.
The only one who understood.
I found him, you know.
Not his mother, not Bert.
Both had better things to do.
I dragged him
out of that water.
He had a real talent.
I tried to help him.
Constructive criticism,
like I gave you.
But he was weaker
than I thought.
Depressive.
If I'd known...
(VOICE BREAKS) he would have
done something that stupid...
I wouldn't have said...
(SOBBING)
...anything to him.
Right.
You, me, swim.
Right now! (CLAPS)
No excuses. Come on, Liam!
(SHOUTS) Come on!
(BOTTLE CLANKING)
Exercise makes the day, Liam.
Are you coming in?
LIAM: Of course.
SINCLAIR: Good man.
Now, how...
How...
How... How do you
want to be credited?
-How about "author"?
-(CHUCKLES) How's that?
It must have hurt you.
When you saw Rose Tree
for the first time,
of course,
you wished it was yours.
I did, too.
He was better than both of us.
Rose Tree is mine.
I wrote the book.
No. Felix wrote it.
You stole it. But I bet you...
he came to you for advice.
And I bet you,
you crushed him.
He's my son.
I gave him
every word of that novel,
and when he couldn't
see it through to the end,
I did.
You know, I found
the original on his server.
And I wiped it.
Yours, too. I threw
the printout into the lake.
Helene knows.
That's why she asked me
to write it and finish it.
(SINCLAIR GRUNTS)
'Cause she knew
you'd ruin that novel.
She begged me
to save it from you.
You're no writer.
That's not
what your wife thinks.
You don't fucking know her.
I know what she tastes like.
What?
(SINCLAIR GROWLING)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(SINCLAIR GASPING)
(GRUNTS)
Drown. Drown!
Drown, you... (MUTTERS)
(LIAM STRUGGLING)
Drown! Drown, you fucking...
(SINCLAIR GRUNTS)
(LIAM STRUGGLING)
(PANTING)
-(BLOW LANDS)
-SINCLAIR: Ah!
(SINCLAIR GASPS)
-You coward!
-(LIAM GRUNTS)
You fucking coward!
(SINCLAIR GROANS)
(LIAM PANTING)
(PANTING)
ELLIS: Ah,
we'll get that seen to.
And I'll get you
some dry clothes.
(SIGHS)
(CHUCKLES)
(WATER BUBBLES)
(INSECTS TRILLING)
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
Is he okay?
(GRIMACES)
HELENE: I've read them both,
and you were right.
Yours is the superior ending.
His is a... (SIGHS)
great shame.
You can get started now.
-(LIGHTER CLICKS)
-(FLAMES FLUTTER)
(FIREWOOD CRACKLING)
(HELENE CLICKS TONGUE)
I want to thank you
for everything you've done.
You were perfect.
Remarkable, even.
This is how the story goes.
My husband,
after completing
his latest novel...
drowned himself in the lake
where his son died.
We'd been worried about him
and his drinking for a while.
We did all we could
to save him... (EXHALES)
...but it was too late.
-What?
-And you, Liam,
you were never here.
You signed an NDA.
If you choose
to break our agreement,
there is another story.
Two witnesses can testify
to the murder of my husband
by an obsessive fan,
a would-be writer,
that took a teaching job
so he could be
close to his idol,
and who snapped
when his hero told him
something he didn't like.
I don't want
any kind of scandal,
but if I have to,
I will make you
the villain of this story.
This was never for Bertie.
I brought you here
to get me the truth.
And when I knew,
my husband was always gonna
join my son in the water.
Rose Tree will be
their legacy.
The ending.
I wrote the ending.
You have to give me that.
I wrote the fucking ending.
And I'm grateful.
That's why
I'm giving you a chance.
I'm going to call
an ambulance,
and I don't wanna have
to explain your presence
when it arrives.
Much better that you
never existed at all.
My version of events
is the only version.
You can see that.
You have talent.
You just needed a story.
Tell Bertie...
Don't tell Bertie.
The gates will close
behind you.
(GRAVEL CRUNCHING)
(GATE CLICKS, CREAKING)
(SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE)
(SIRENS APPROACHING)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(SIRENS APPROACHING CLOSER)
INTERVIEWER: Hello.
Liam Somers' story
of a fading patriarch,
presiding over
a grief-stricken family
has been described
as one of the most striking
debuts of the year.
Here with us
to discuss his first novel
is the author.
Thank you
for joining us, Liam.
Thanks for having me.