The Rooster (2023) Movie Script
1
Hello?
Can you hear me?
I'm not sure what to do.
Could you repeat that, please?
I don't understand.
I don't know what to do. Can you hear me?
Can you please just repeat that?
I don't know what to do.
Please, can you repeat that?
Can you hear me?
Stay...
I don't understand.
Shit!
No, no, no.
No. No.
OK.
And here
to help you get out of bed
on this chilly winter's morning,
a little Bach.
Very nice. Good.
Get up, get up, yes.
We can't have this, Dan.
It's our kids.
I know. The girls OK?
Well, it just happened pretty
quick. I don't think they...
I don't think they
really knew what was happening.
I saw his
dick!
Lock him up, officer.
Hello?
Where is he, Boss? Huh?
I gotta go feed the chickens.
You let him know I'm looking for
him, alright?
Good boy.
Careful. Careful.
Come on.
Hey, you alright?
I've got your clothes in my car. Come on.
Let's get you home.
Alright. Here we go.
Put your legs out for me. Good.
Don't tell Mum.
Come on, mate. Come on.
Shit.
No. Stop. Stay.
Good boy.
Boss. What are you doing
here? Eh? Eh?
Boss!
Boss. Come on! Mate, come here.
Boss.
Dan sobs]
Uh...
Did you just... Did you both just
go to bed after I left?
What?
I just want to understand what happened.
You don't care about us!
You don't care about him.
I brought him home to you.
We didn't want that.
Don't blame us for your...
your dereliction.
Please.
Get out. Get out!
Get out!
And, why didn't you section him?
He was clearly mentally unwell.
I thought it could be worked out
within the family.
You know the family?
Is this a friend of yours?
Yeah. Childhood friend. Yeah.
Right.
We think the
evidence indicates
it was suicide.
There was no sign of a struggle.
The dirt on his hands,
under his nails suggest
he was just trying to cover
himself up as he bled out.
We'll look at the autopsy
but chatting to people around town
it seems he was visibly deteriorating.
Put him on leave for a few weeks
till Professional Standards
have a chance to investigate
the correct procedures were followed.
- Is your boss on his way?
- Yep.
OK.
Eugh!
I'm sorry, Chief.
Don't tell Mum.
Ow!
Ow.
You pervert.
- What?
- Spyin' on my while I'm having a wash.
- I wasn't.
- You're out there wankin' in the dark.
No. What? What?
Have you got any more booze?
- You gonna kill yourself?
- I'm camping.
Well, just do it or fuck off.
Alright? This is my forest.
OK.
Eugh.
Oh, shit. Christ.
No!
Hello?
Hello?
Cheers.
I'm Dan, by the way.
Are you?
Did you build this yourself?
- You from the council?
- No.
Well then, yes, mate. Yes.
No, I'm... I'm... it's a work in
progress, you know.
I'm in the process
of planning an extension.
I'm gonna put on an extra room
for when my little girl comes to
stay for a bit.
You know, she's getting a bit
old to share a room
with her old man.
Women need their privacy.
I understand that. I understand.
I'm gonna put fly screen up
round this veranda
so on the warmer summer evenings
I can sit here and not be bothered by
the bastard fuckin' flies.
I just want to eat
my fuckin' chicken in peace!
What line of work are you in?
Contemplation.
- You sure you're not from the council?
- Yeah, I'm sure.
Pretty quiet here, I imagine.
Yep. Usually.
Had a bit of a barney out here
a few nights ago though.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah.
What happened?
I hear this noise in the woods like...
I thought I was dreamin'
like I was in a time machine.
'Cause years ago I had this dog.
He used to go after the roos.
I dunno, roo must have rocked back,
you know, kicked him, ripped him open
and he's out there crying in the dark.
it was a full moon, fortunately,
so I found him.
His guts had fallen out.
I tried to sew him up on the kitchen table
but, I dunno, my hands are all
shaking 'cause I been...
I been on a boozer.
And it's all falling out
and it's no good and I gotta get
him to the vet.
So I wrapped him up in a blanket
and I put him in the ute
and then I went and rolled
the fuckin' thing.
I had to sleep out there.
I was holdin' onto him for warmth.
Did he make it?
Who, the fellow in the woods or the dog?
The dog.
Yeah, course he fuckin' made it.
Jeez, you're a bit grim.
What about the man?
No.
Did you see what happened?
No. It was pretty dark.
No-one with him?
Oh, it was dark.
Did you hear anything?
- You play?
- No.
You hear anything?
The man in the bush, did he say anything?
Hey, hey.
- Did he say anything?
- Ahh...
You're not here for the hunting,
are you, mate?
The man in the bush,
he was a friend.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
Oh.
Oh, well, he's gone.
- I know.
- No, mate, they took him away.
Yes, I know that.
Mate, I don't know where they
are. Nobody tells me anything.
Hey...
Yeah. I wrote some letters,
I got nothing back.
Did you see him alive?
- You play?
- What? No, please.
This is important.
No, no. Come on, you have a hit with me
and I'll tell you everything I
know about that poor soul.
Come on.
21 wins, yeah?
No-one... No-one wins, mate.
Just, just, just stay in the fuckin' game.
- Alright?
- Alright.
So, what happened?
Well, it's hard to put pieces all together
but I'm close, mate.
I'm close.
No, I'm talking about the man in the bush.
Oh.
- You from round here?
- Yeah.
Who's your old man?
Paul Jackson.
- What, the copper?
- Yeah?
Fuck. Fuck.
Fuck!
$237.
You owe me $237.
- What?
- Full weeks' pay.
That's what he took. Full weeks' pay.
- What are you talking about?
- I'd just finished work.
I'd a full pay packet in my top pocket.
Now, chain-sawing's thirsty work
so I have a drink with the fellas.
Driving home. OK, I have a heavy
foot but woo, woo, woo.
Jesus. Flashin' blues pull over
and this prick,
he reaches in through the window,
he slips my pay out of my pocket,
and he says,
"Now, what you gonna do about it?"
Jesus! You're not a cop too, are you?
- Yes. But I'm not...
- Oh, fuck!
It's worse than the fuckin'
council, you filthy pig!
You can... You can fuck right off!
And give me back my money!
Just fuck off!
Fuck off, you filthy pig!
Hello?
Look, I got you some food.
I just wanna talk
and then I'll leave you alone, alright?
Hello?
Shit!
Hey, hey.
Come on. Come on, buddy.
You're alright. Hey, hey, hey.
You're alright, man.
This man needs help.
- OK, what happened?
- Oh, he just...
- He collapsed.
- What's his name?
- I dunno. I'm sorry.
- OK.
Hey, can you hear me?
Hey, buddy, what's your name?
Hey, where are you going?
Hey, you haven't been released yet, mate.
Come back!
The doctor wants to see you, mate.
Get in. Come on! Get in.
Fuckin' can't stop now,
you fuckin' ching-chong Chinaman.
Oh!
Fuck, they're my fuckin' clothes!
Who asked you to do that? Eh?
What gives you the fuckin' right?
Oh, fuck. No. No, no, no, no.
No, no.
No, no. Oh, no.
- Oh, no.
- You sick?
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
There's this poem I like.
It's always brought me comfort.
It sort of...
Mate, shove your fuckin' poem
up your arse, fuckhead!
Who's a fuckin' poet? Fuckin' Christ?
Yes.
Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no.
No. Oh, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no.
Quick game?
Alright, yeah.
That's enough.
I can't see.
Go on, fuck off.
I don't want you.
Hey, your friend...
Was there something wrong with him?
He had googly eyes.
He had a brain injury.
There was a fight.
His head hit the concrete.
Oh, it's probably
for the best, then.
Horse breaks a leg, you shoot him.
He deserved better. A better life.
He'd already started when I
found him, you know.
One wrist was open and he's...
you know, workin' away on the other.
I said, "Don't go to sleep out here, mate.
The foxes will get you."
I sat with him for a bit.
I think he'd started to cross over.
Did you try and stop him?
It's not my place.
There's a reason why animals disappear
when they're close to the end.
It's dignity.
There's no need for the
humiliation of being watched
when you're in the final
reckoning with yourself.
It's a man's right to die alone.
He didn't want me fussin' and
fuckin' around.
I put a blanket over him.
I said, "I'll just be out there.
"I'll just be out there in the dark
"and, you know,
when it's all over I'll cover
you over with the earth
"and then you'll be nice and
warm when you're sleeping."
And he nodded.
So I sat out there in the dark...
and I waited.
Always takes longer than you think. Dying.
Except when it doesn't, of course.
Was he scared?
Yes, mate. I reckon he was.
I had this rooster,
real proud fella.
It would wake me up every
morning.
The day is here.
You made it through the night.
You're alive.
And I forgot to lock him in
and a fox got him.
And ahh...
since then I've had this feeling
like I'm not here anymore.
Like I've died.
Like I'm dead.
The fucking Christ! What the fuck?
You seem pretty alive to me.
Oh, what?
Right, if you're looking in the mirror
and you see yourself smiling like this...
stop drinkin'!
And stop drinkin'
if you're on your own and you
hear yourself saying,
"Oh, no", out loud.
If there's a possibility
for sexual intercourse,
get your fuck on.
It's become apparent
those opportunities are increasingly rare.
And also, it's very hard to fuck up
a toasted cheese sandwich.
Fuck!
Eugh!
I need a fuckin' drink!
Oh, no.
Oh, no!
Oh, no!
Is that your daughter?
Yep.
Is it good?
- Is what?
- Being a dad.
Mate, it's the best. It's the best.
I'm ... I'm proud, mate. I'm just proud.
You know, she's so smart.
She's so smart.
We had this tape
so she could learn the times tables.
You know, one four is four,
two fours are eight, three fours...
Anyway, she knew 'em all!
Where is she now?
- I dunno.
- Mmm.
- Hey, you got kids?
- No.
My partner and I,
we tried for years but it didn't work.
Oh, no.
Yeah.
I was so excited to be a dad
I built a cubby house before
there was a baby.
Oh, no!
No.
So, where is she now?
She left.
Oh, no!
Oh, fuck.
Hey, mate.
Oh, at least it's not us making
you miserable now, eh. Come on.
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Come on, mate. Get up, get up.
Come on, mate.
Oh, no!
Oh, fuck!
Hey!
Oh.
He looks like a little baby, eh?
I'm sorry for pissing on you, little baby.
It's not your fault things
worked out the way they did,
is it? Eh?
Your old man's a cunt.
Go on, you can say it.
"My old man's a cunt."
No, not you, peanut. Him.
No, Joe Quinney.
Joe Quinney, he was a cunt.
Who was that?
He's a turd in my brain
that just won't flush.
I'd just started boarding school.
I was seven years old.
My uncle had given me
this amazing pair of slippers
that had sheep's wool inside
to keep my feet warm
so I wouldn't miss home so much.
I loved 'em.
And one night, in the dorm,
I'm talking to Brother O'Brien,
I'm tryin' to convince him
to give us extra rations of Milo
for our milk.
Meanwhile, Joe Quinney
he's squishing a banana into my slippers,
deep down into the wool.
So of course when we go to
clean our teeth, you know,
and I slip my feet into them,
oh, everybody laughed and laughed at me.
Oh, no!
Next time we have dinner,
we're having roast lamb,
and I sat near Joe Quinney
and I fuckin' stabbed him in the
leg with my fork.
Oh, Brother O'Brien,
he pulled me up by the ear and
sends me to bed.
So, later that night, everyone's asleep.
Brother O'Brien, he wakes me up.
I can hear him sitting down in
the chair behind me.
"Take off your pyjamas."
So I does.
And he says, "Turn around."
So I does.
And he's staring at my willy.
He says, "Close your eyes."
So I does.
It's so dark. I can't see a thing.
It's so quiet too.
It's like I can hear everything,
like my ears are screamin'.
I can hear every little
movement, every little sound.
He makes a little groan...
I can smell it
and I don't know whether my eyes
are open or closed.
And I'm scared maybe I've gone blind.
And I was thinkin' maybe I
should have stabbed Joe Quinney
in the fuckin' head
for what he fuckin' did
to my fuckin' slipper!
But I got my revenge.
'Cause I had a good fuckin' life, Joe!
I had a big life!
Where did you go to school?
Down near Ballarat.
A very good football team.
"Squashed banana, squashed banana
"Hey, hey, hey
"In your shoe."
What you fuckin' looking at?
Nothing.
Hey, do you want me to do it?
You want me to do it?
What, this where you wanna be?
Down there in the fuckin' dirt?
What you doin' here?
Washing day. You stink.
You stinky boy.
I can smell you from here.
There's this poem that I like.
It's about a man who hears this music.
What sort of cop likes poems?
I don't know. Me?
Oh, yes. Don't get this on your dick.
Ooh!
Go.
Ooh!
Jeez, what are we
gonna do with you? Eh?
Disgraceful.
Hey, don't sit on that!
My girls are in there.
Ooh!
Ha, ha. I gotcha!
Hey, that friend of yours...
why did they dig him up?
The family wanted to cremate him.
Oh, that's a great shame.
He would have become a beautiful tree.
Probably should have waited
for a sunny day.
Come on, let's go. Come on.
Come on. Quick, quick, quick, quick.
You OK?
Isn't she beautiful?
I know. Before you go all
Perry fuckin' Mason on me,
me and your fella,
we had a gentlemen's agreement.
I might have forgotten to mention that
but part of the deal was that
I get the bike.
Now, I know thieving runs in
your family but this is mine.
Understand?
OK. You drive.
I know you've got the keys.
Yeah, come on. Come on.
Quick or we'll miss it. Come on.
You back it up, eh?
In here.
There we go.
Right.
What are we doing here?
Just you wait.
- Can you hear that?
- Course I can.
Sing praises sing praises
To our Lord...
Christian choir
bush walking club.
His name was Steve.
We heard about this party
some older kids were putting on.
We pinched some beers from his
dad and snuck in.
He's talking to this girl,
making her laugh,
and her boyfriend
pinned him up against the wall.
I couldn't move.
He looked at me for help and...
I couldn't move.
After, I'm trying to keep him
awake. He's going in and out.
And all he said was...
"Don't tell Mum."
He didn't want to worry her.
Part of me wishes he'd just died
then instead of...
- Have you ever thought about it?
- About what?
Ending things.
Have you?
It just comes.
I'll be chatting with someone
about all the rain we're getting and...
while I'm talking I sort of leave my body,
hang myself on a tree behind them.
People say, "Talk about it."
Talk about it.
I don't know how.
The feelings...
you can't catch them.
They're like dark shapes.
Flashes.
Like a dream.
Regret.
- Failure.
- Yep.
Shame.
I reckon that's what give me
this cancer. The shame.
I dunno what happened to my life.
I don't know where it went.
I can't see myself
in the future any more.
Your daughter, she'll remember you.
But when I'm gone...
I'll just be gone.
You won't be gone.
You'll be a fuckin' tree.
No, I can't keep going on like this.
I failed.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Come on, mate, get up.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Come on, mate. Get up, get up, get up.
Come on, mate, get up.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
No. Louder, mate. Let 'em hear you!
Come on, son. Let 'em hear you.
Louder.
You're still here.
Make 'em hear you.
You're still here!
Um...
This is the best I could get.
if you want the hard-core staff,
you gotta come with me to the doctor.
Oh, no, no. No, no.
No, it'll be fine.
OK. Um...
- Oh, there's plenty of food.
- Yeah.
Oh...
Work upgraded a while ago.
Just in case you need me.
Mate, when the time comes...
you leave me be, right?
I don't want you here. I don't need you.
You leave me be. Understand?
Yeah?
Dignity.
We face what's left of this life like men.
All the best.
Yeah. All the best.
Um...
What's your name?
Mit.
- Mit?
- Mit.
Mit. Right.
Is the origin of that
'cause you're a hermit or...?
Get the fuck out of my house.
All the best.
Yeah.
Hello? Does this thing work?
Are you there?
Yeah, I'm here, mate.
Listen, it's not 'cause
I'm a hermit, fuckhead.
Tim. My name's Tim.
When I was a kid I'd always
spell it backwards
on all my paintings
and drawings and all that shit,
and it stuck.
So Mit I am, yeah?
Thank you.
For what?
Looking at your life makes me
feel a little bit better
about my own.
- Oh, piss off.
Do you want me to read you a poem?
- Nuh.
I've died, haven't I. I've died.
- This is hell.
Everything alright, Chief?
Yeah.
I can't sleep.
What's... What's the case?
Someone I've been chasing for years.
Case went cold but someone said
they saw this fella at the hospital.
What happened?
A little girl.
That was taken by Child Services.
A few days later
she and her mother disappeared.
Have you talked to the father?
Yeah, he was a drunk.
Your old man used to
take his pay packets off him
and give them to his wife
so that he wouldn't blow it all on booze.
We picked him up.
He was wandering around the school.
Hard to make out what he was saying,
he was just crying so much.
Then when he pulled himself together,
he reported them missing.
We did a search.
Didn't have much to go on.
Then he disappeared.
Thought he was long dead.
What did you make of it?
I always thought he killed them,
buried them in the bush somewhere.
Never got an answer on that one.
Hello, mate.
I wasn't expecting you.
I just came to see how you're doing.
Oh, I'm alright, mate. I'm alright.
How's the pain?
Oh, those pills are helping.
That's good.
That's good.
Hey, what happened to them?
Oh, I don't know.
You want me to call them?
Oh, they don't wanna hear from me.
What about when you're gone?
No. I don't have a number. I just...
Best to leave them be, I reckon.
I'm not feeling too good, mate.
I might have a little rest.
OK.
What's in there?
What, you on the job, are you?
I'm just asking.
- What's in there?
- Nothing.
- Got the key?
- I lost it.
There's no secrets between us.
Hey, don't kick that, mate.
What happened to them?
I don't know.
- You don't know?
- I don't know.
A lot of bad things happened in your life.
That a coincidence, do you think?
Some people just don't have no luck.
I saw their pictures.
What did you do to her?
- What?
- Her face you...
- What happened to them?
- I don't know.
Just tell me!
I don't know.
- That's a lie.
- No, mate, it's not.
It's all a lie.
Mate, I can't remember. I can't remember.
I can't remember.
Don't look at me like that.
We're friends.
Piss off, you fuckin' pig!
Hello?
I don't know if you can hear me or...
Can you hear me?
I'm walkin' home from the pub.
This dog starts followin' me.
He's a sweet little fellow.
He's licking my hand and all.
I said, "Go home, mate. Go home."
He doesn't have a home,
he just keeps following me.
So I...
I put him in my yard
and I passed out on the couch.
I didn't have time to tell the
missus and...
And in the mornin' my wife's
screamin' and...
the dog, he's locked himself
onto my little girl's face.
She'd gone to pat him
and he must've got scared.
So yep, my little girl, she lost
her eye. Doctors had to take it.
That was the only bit of me she got.
She'll have a better time
without it now, I reckon.
My little girl was born at 2:33 a.m.
We thought for a moment she was
stillborn 'cause she didn't cry.
She just...
looked around the room as if to
say oh, OK,
so this is life, eh?"
They squashed bananas in my shoes.
I don't think God is a very good person.
She didn't cry.
She didn't cry.
Are you there?
If you make it through...
you'll forget you were ever there.
Hello?
Is this Florence?
No. This is her daughter.
- Can I speak with her, please?
- Yeah, sure.
Hey, Mum?
Hello?
- Florence?
- Speaking.
I wanted to inform you
that Tim Franklin has passed away.
Oh.
Would you like me
to organise a funeral service?
Something?
No, thank you.
"The God Abandons Antony."
"When suddenly, at midnight, you hear
"an invisible procession going by
"with exquisite music, voices,
"don't mourn your luck that's failing now,
"work gone wrong, your plans
"all proving deceptive
"don't mourn them uselessly.
"As one long prepared,
and graced with courage,
"say goodbye to her,
the Alexandria that is leaving.
"Above all,
"don't fool yourself,
"don't say it was a dream,
your ears deceived you:
"don't degrade yourself
with empty hopes like these.
"As one long prepared,
and graced with courage,
"as is right for you who proved
worthy of this kind of city,
"go firmly to the window
"and listen with deep emotion, but not
"with the whining, the pleas of a coward;
"listen, your final delectation
to the voices,
"to the exquisite music
of that strange procession..."
"...and say goodbye to her,
to the Alexandria you are losing."
All yours, mate.
It's OK.
Hello?
Can you hear me?
I'm not sure what to do.
Could you repeat that, please?
I don't understand.
I don't know what to do. Can you hear me?
Can you please just repeat that?
I don't know what to do.
Please, can you repeat that?
Can you hear me?
Stay...
I don't understand.
Shit!
No, no, no.
No. No.
OK.
And here
to help you get out of bed
on this chilly winter's morning,
a little Bach.
Very nice. Good.
Get up, get up, yes.
We can't have this, Dan.
It's our kids.
I know. The girls OK?
Well, it just happened pretty
quick. I don't think they...
I don't think they
really knew what was happening.
I saw his
dick!
Lock him up, officer.
Hello?
Where is he, Boss? Huh?
I gotta go feed the chickens.
You let him know I'm looking for
him, alright?
Good boy.
Careful. Careful.
Come on.
Hey, you alright?
I've got your clothes in my car. Come on.
Let's get you home.
Alright. Here we go.
Put your legs out for me. Good.
Don't tell Mum.
Come on, mate. Come on.
Shit.
No. Stop. Stay.
Good boy.
Boss. What are you doing
here? Eh? Eh?
Boss!
Boss. Come on! Mate, come here.
Boss.
Dan sobs]
Uh...
Did you just... Did you both just
go to bed after I left?
What?
I just want to understand what happened.
You don't care about us!
You don't care about him.
I brought him home to you.
We didn't want that.
Don't blame us for your...
your dereliction.
Please.
Get out. Get out!
Get out!
And, why didn't you section him?
He was clearly mentally unwell.
I thought it could be worked out
within the family.
You know the family?
Is this a friend of yours?
Yeah. Childhood friend. Yeah.
Right.
We think the
evidence indicates
it was suicide.
There was no sign of a struggle.
The dirt on his hands,
under his nails suggest
he was just trying to cover
himself up as he bled out.
We'll look at the autopsy
but chatting to people around town
it seems he was visibly deteriorating.
Put him on leave for a few weeks
till Professional Standards
have a chance to investigate
the correct procedures were followed.
- Is your boss on his way?
- Yep.
OK.
Eugh!
I'm sorry, Chief.
Don't tell Mum.
Ow!
Ow.
You pervert.
- What?
- Spyin' on my while I'm having a wash.
- I wasn't.
- You're out there wankin' in the dark.
No. What? What?
Have you got any more booze?
- You gonna kill yourself?
- I'm camping.
Well, just do it or fuck off.
Alright? This is my forest.
OK.
Eugh.
Oh, shit. Christ.
No!
Hello?
Hello?
Cheers.
I'm Dan, by the way.
Are you?
Did you build this yourself?
- You from the council?
- No.
Well then, yes, mate. Yes.
No, I'm... I'm... it's a work in
progress, you know.
I'm in the process
of planning an extension.
I'm gonna put on an extra room
for when my little girl comes to
stay for a bit.
You know, she's getting a bit
old to share a room
with her old man.
Women need their privacy.
I understand that. I understand.
I'm gonna put fly screen up
round this veranda
so on the warmer summer evenings
I can sit here and not be bothered by
the bastard fuckin' flies.
I just want to eat
my fuckin' chicken in peace!
What line of work are you in?
Contemplation.
- You sure you're not from the council?
- Yeah, I'm sure.
Pretty quiet here, I imagine.
Yep. Usually.
Had a bit of a barney out here
a few nights ago though.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah.
What happened?
I hear this noise in the woods like...
I thought I was dreamin'
like I was in a time machine.
'Cause years ago I had this dog.
He used to go after the roos.
I dunno, roo must have rocked back,
you know, kicked him, ripped him open
and he's out there crying in the dark.
it was a full moon, fortunately,
so I found him.
His guts had fallen out.
I tried to sew him up on the kitchen table
but, I dunno, my hands are all
shaking 'cause I been...
I been on a boozer.
And it's all falling out
and it's no good and I gotta get
him to the vet.
So I wrapped him up in a blanket
and I put him in the ute
and then I went and rolled
the fuckin' thing.
I had to sleep out there.
I was holdin' onto him for warmth.
Did he make it?
Who, the fellow in the woods or the dog?
The dog.
Yeah, course he fuckin' made it.
Jeez, you're a bit grim.
What about the man?
No.
Did you see what happened?
No. It was pretty dark.
No-one with him?
Oh, it was dark.
Did you hear anything?
- You play?
- No.
You hear anything?
The man in the bush, did he say anything?
Hey, hey.
- Did he say anything?
- Ahh...
You're not here for the hunting,
are you, mate?
The man in the bush,
he was a friend.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
Oh.
Oh, well, he's gone.
- I know.
- No, mate, they took him away.
Yes, I know that.
Mate, I don't know where they
are. Nobody tells me anything.
Hey...
Yeah. I wrote some letters,
I got nothing back.
Did you see him alive?
- You play?
- What? No, please.
This is important.
No, no. Come on, you have a hit with me
and I'll tell you everything I
know about that poor soul.
Come on.
21 wins, yeah?
No-one... No-one wins, mate.
Just, just, just stay in the fuckin' game.
- Alright?
- Alright.
So, what happened?
Well, it's hard to put pieces all together
but I'm close, mate.
I'm close.
No, I'm talking about the man in the bush.
Oh.
- You from round here?
- Yeah.
Who's your old man?
Paul Jackson.
- What, the copper?
- Yeah?
Fuck. Fuck.
Fuck!
$237.
You owe me $237.
- What?
- Full weeks' pay.
That's what he took. Full weeks' pay.
- What are you talking about?
- I'd just finished work.
I'd a full pay packet in my top pocket.
Now, chain-sawing's thirsty work
so I have a drink with the fellas.
Driving home. OK, I have a heavy
foot but woo, woo, woo.
Jesus. Flashin' blues pull over
and this prick,
he reaches in through the window,
he slips my pay out of my pocket,
and he says,
"Now, what you gonna do about it?"
Jesus! You're not a cop too, are you?
- Yes. But I'm not...
- Oh, fuck!
It's worse than the fuckin'
council, you filthy pig!
You can... You can fuck right off!
And give me back my money!
Just fuck off!
Fuck off, you filthy pig!
Hello?
Look, I got you some food.
I just wanna talk
and then I'll leave you alone, alright?
Hello?
Shit!
Hey, hey.
Come on. Come on, buddy.
You're alright. Hey, hey, hey.
You're alright, man.
This man needs help.
- OK, what happened?
- Oh, he just...
- He collapsed.
- What's his name?
- I dunno. I'm sorry.
- OK.
Hey, can you hear me?
Hey, buddy, what's your name?
Hey, where are you going?
Hey, you haven't been released yet, mate.
Come back!
The doctor wants to see you, mate.
Get in. Come on! Get in.
Fuckin' can't stop now,
you fuckin' ching-chong Chinaman.
Oh!
Fuck, they're my fuckin' clothes!
Who asked you to do that? Eh?
What gives you the fuckin' right?
Oh, fuck. No. No, no, no, no.
No, no.
No, no. Oh, no.
- Oh, no.
- You sick?
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
There's this poem I like.
It's always brought me comfort.
It sort of...
Mate, shove your fuckin' poem
up your arse, fuckhead!
Who's a fuckin' poet? Fuckin' Christ?
Yes.
Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no.
No. Oh, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no.
Quick game?
Alright, yeah.
That's enough.
I can't see.
Go on, fuck off.
I don't want you.
Hey, your friend...
Was there something wrong with him?
He had googly eyes.
He had a brain injury.
There was a fight.
His head hit the concrete.
Oh, it's probably
for the best, then.
Horse breaks a leg, you shoot him.
He deserved better. A better life.
He'd already started when I
found him, you know.
One wrist was open and he's...
you know, workin' away on the other.
I said, "Don't go to sleep out here, mate.
The foxes will get you."
I sat with him for a bit.
I think he'd started to cross over.
Did you try and stop him?
It's not my place.
There's a reason why animals disappear
when they're close to the end.
It's dignity.
There's no need for the
humiliation of being watched
when you're in the final
reckoning with yourself.
It's a man's right to die alone.
He didn't want me fussin' and
fuckin' around.
I put a blanket over him.
I said, "I'll just be out there.
"I'll just be out there in the dark
"and, you know,
when it's all over I'll cover
you over with the earth
"and then you'll be nice and
warm when you're sleeping."
And he nodded.
So I sat out there in the dark...
and I waited.
Always takes longer than you think. Dying.
Except when it doesn't, of course.
Was he scared?
Yes, mate. I reckon he was.
I had this rooster,
real proud fella.
It would wake me up every
morning.
The day is here.
You made it through the night.
You're alive.
And I forgot to lock him in
and a fox got him.
And ahh...
since then I've had this feeling
like I'm not here anymore.
Like I've died.
Like I'm dead.
The fucking Christ! What the fuck?
You seem pretty alive to me.
Oh, what?
Right, if you're looking in the mirror
and you see yourself smiling like this...
stop drinkin'!
And stop drinkin'
if you're on your own and you
hear yourself saying,
"Oh, no", out loud.
If there's a possibility
for sexual intercourse,
get your fuck on.
It's become apparent
those opportunities are increasingly rare.
And also, it's very hard to fuck up
a toasted cheese sandwich.
Fuck!
Eugh!
I need a fuckin' drink!
Oh, no.
Oh, no!
Oh, no!
Is that your daughter?
Yep.
Is it good?
- Is what?
- Being a dad.
Mate, it's the best. It's the best.
I'm ... I'm proud, mate. I'm just proud.
You know, she's so smart.
She's so smart.
We had this tape
so she could learn the times tables.
You know, one four is four,
two fours are eight, three fours...
Anyway, she knew 'em all!
Where is she now?
- I dunno.
- Mmm.
- Hey, you got kids?
- No.
My partner and I,
we tried for years but it didn't work.
Oh, no.
Yeah.
I was so excited to be a dad
I built a cubby house before
there was a baby.
Oh, no!
No.
So, where is she now?
She left.
Oh, no!
Oh, fuck.
Hey, mate.
Oh, at least it's not us making
you miserable now, eh. Come on.
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Come on, mate. Get up, get up.
Come on, mate.
Oh, no!
Oh, fuck!
Hey!
Oh.
He looks like a little baby, eh?
I'm sorry for pissing on you, little baby.
It's not your fault things
worked out the way they did,
is it? Eh?
Your old man's a cunt.
Go on, you can say it.
"My old man's a cunt."
No, not you, peanut. Him.
No, Joe Quinney.
Joe Quinney, he was a cunt.
Who was that?
He's a turd in my brain
that just won't flush.
I'd just started boarding school.
I was seven years old.
My uncle had given me
this amazing pair of slippers
that had sheep's wool inside
to keep my feet warm
so I wouldn't miss home so much.
I loved 'em.
And one night, in the dorm,
I'm talking to Brother O'Brien,
I'm tryin' to convince him
to give us extra rations of Milo
for our milk.
Meanwhile, Joe Quinney
he's squishing a banana into my slippers,
deep down into the wool.
So of course when we go to
clean our teeth, you know,
and I slip my feet into them,
oh, everybody laughed and laughed at me.
Oh, no!
Next time we have dinner,
we're having roast lamb,
and I sat near Joe Quinney
and I fuckin' stabbed him in the
leg with my fork.
Oh, Brother O'Brien,
he pulled me up by the ear and
sends me to bed.
So, later that night, everyone's asleep.
Brother O'Brien, he wakes me up.
I can hear him sitting down in
the chair behind me.
"Take off your pyjamas."
So I does.
And he says, "Turn around."
So I does.
And he's staring at my willy.
He says, "Close your eyes."
So I does.
It's so dark. I can't see a thing.
It's so quiet too.
It's like I can hear everything,
like my ears are screamin'.
I can hear every little
movement, every little sound.
He makes a little groan...
I can smell it
and I don't know whether my eyes
are open or closed.
And I'm scared maybe I've gone blind.
And I was thinkin' maybe I
should have stabbed Joe Quinney
in the fuckin' head
for what he fuckin' did
to my fuckin' slipper!
But I got my revenge.
'Cause I had a good fuckin' life, Joe!
I had a big life!
Where did you go to school?
Down near Ballarat.
A very good football team.
"Squashed banana, squashed banana
"Hey, hey, hey
"In your shoe."
What you fuckin' looking at?
Nothing.
Hey, do you want me to do it?
You want me to do it?
What, this where you wanna be?
Down there in the fuckin' dirt?
What you doin' here?
Washing day. You stink.
You stinky boy.
I can smell you from here.
There's this poem that I like.
It's about a man who hears this music.
What sort of cop likes poems?
I don't know. Me?
Oh, yes. Don't get this on your dick.
Ooh!
Go.
Ooh!
Jeez, what are we
gonna do with you? Eh?
Disgraceful.
Hey, don't sit on that!
My girls are in there.
Ooh!
Ha, ha. I gotcha!
Hey, that friend of yours...
why did they dig him up?
The family wanted to cremate him.
Oh, that's a great shame.
He would have become a beautiful tree.
Probably should have waited
for a sunny day.
Come on, let's go. Come on.
Come on. Quick, quick, quick, quick.
You OK?
Isn't she beautiful?
I know. Before you go all
Perry fuckin' Mason on me,
me and your fella,
we had a gentlemen's agreement.
I might have forgotten to mention that
but part of the deal was that
I get the bike.
Now, I know thieving runs in
your family but this is mine.
Understand?
OK. You drive.
I know you've got the keys.
Yeah, come on. Come on.
Quick or we'll miss it. Come on.
You back it up, eh?
In here.
There we go.
Right.
What are we doing here?
Just you wait.
- Can you hear that?
- Course I can.
Sing praises sing praises
To our Lord...
Christian choir
bush walking club.
His name was Steve.
We heard about this party
some older kids were putting on.
We pinched some beers from his
dad and snuck in.
He's talking to this girl,
making her laugh,
and her boyfriend
pinned him up against the wall.
I couldn't move.
He looked at me for help and...
I couldn't move.
After, I'm trying to keep him
awake. He's going in and out.
And all he said was...
"Don't tell Mum."
He didn't want to worry her.
Part of me wishes he'd just died
then instead of...
- Have you ever thought about it?
- About what?
Ending things.
Have you?
It just comes.
I'll be chatting with someone
about all the rain we're getting and...
while I'm talking I sort of leave my body,
hang myself on a tree behind them.
People say, "Talk about it."
Talk about it.
I don't know how.
The feelings...
you can't catch them.
They're like dark shapes.
Flashes.
Like a dream.
Regret.
- Failure.
- Yep.
Shame.
I reckon that's what give me
this cancer. The shame.
I dunno what happened to my life.
I don't know where it went.
I can't see myself
in the future any more.
Your daughter, she'll remember you.
But when I'm gone...
I'll just be gone.
You won't be gone.
You'll be a fuckin' tree.
No, I can't keep going on like this.
I failed.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Come on, mate, get up.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Come on, mate. Get up, get up, get up.
Come on, mate, get up.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
No. Louder, mate. Let 'em hear you!
Come on, son. Let 'em hear you.
Louder.
You're still here.
Make 'em hear you.
You're still here!
Um...
This is the best I could get.
if you want the hard-core staff,
you gotta come with me to the doctor.
Oh, no, no. No, no.
No, it'll be fine.
OK. Um...
- Oh, there's plenty of food.
- Yeah.
Oh...
Work upgraded a while ago.
Just in case you need me.
Mate, when the time comes...
you leave me be, right?
I don't want you here. I don't need you.
You leave me be. Understand?
Yeah?
Dignity.
We face what's left of this life like men.
All the best.
Yeah. All the best.
Um...
What's your name?
Mit.
- Mit?
- Mit.
Mit. Right.
Is the origin of that
'cause you're a hermit or...?
Get the fuck out of my house.
All the best.
Yeah.
Hello? Does this thing work?
Are you there?
Yeah, I'm here, mate.
Listen, it's not 'cause
I'm a hermit, fuckhead.
Tim. My name's Tim.
When I was a kid I'd always
spell it backwards
on all my paintings
and drawings and all that shit,
and it stuck.
So Mit I am, yeah?
Thank you.
For what?
Looking at your life makes me
feel a little bit better
about my own.
- Oh, piss off.
Do you want me to read you a poem?
- Nuh.
I've died, haven't I. I've died.
- This is hell.
Everything alright, Chief?
Yeah.
I can't sleep.
What's... What's the case?
Someone I've been chasing for years.
Case went cold but someone said
they saw this fella at the hospital.
What happened?
A little girl.
That was taken by Child Services.
A few days later
she and her mother disappeared.
Have you talked to the father?
Yeah, he was a drunk.
Your old man used to
take his pay packets off him
and give them to his wife
so that he wouldn't blow it all on booze.
We picked him up.
He was wandering around the school.
Hard to make out what he was saying,
he was just crying so much.
Then when he pulled himself together,
he reported them missing.
We did a search.
Didn't have much to go on.
Then he disappeared.
Thought he was long dead.
What did you make of it?
I always thought he killed them,
buried them in the bush somewhere.
Never got an answer on that one.
Hello, mate.
I wasn't expecting you.
I just came to see how you're doing.
Oh, I'm alright, mate. I'm alright.
How's the pain?
Oh, those pills are helping.
That's good.
That's good.
Hey, what happened to them?
Oh, I don't know.
You want me to call them?
Oh, they don't wanna hear from me.
What about when you're gone?
No. I don't have a number. I just...
Best to leave them be, I reckon.
I'm not feeling too good, mate.
I might have a little rest.
OK.
What's in there?
What, you on the job, are you?
I'm just asking.
- What's in there?
- Nothing.
- Got the key?
- I lost it.
There's no secrets between us.
Hey, don't kick that, mate.
What happened to them?
I don't know.
- You don't know?
- I don't know.
A lot of bad things happened in your life.
That a coincidence, do you think?
Some people just don't have no luck.
I saw their pictures.
What did you do to her?
- What?
- Her face you...
- What happened to them?
- I don't know.
Just tell me!
I don't know.
- That's a lie.
- No, mate, it's not.
It's all a lie.
Mate, I can't remember. I can't remember.
I can't remember.
Don't look at me like that.
We're friends.
Piss off, you fuckin' pig!
Hello?
I don't know if you can hear me or...
Can you hear me?
I'm walkin' home from the pub.
This dog starts followin' me.
He's a sweet little fellow.
He's licking my hand and all.
I said, "Go home, mate. Go home."
He doesn't have a home,
he just keeps following me.
So I...
I put him in my yard
and I passed out on the couch.
I didn't have time to tell the
missus and...
And in the mornin' my wife's
screamin' and...
the dog, he's locked himself
onto my little girl's face.
She'd gone to pat him
and he must've got scared.
So yep, my little girl, she lost
her eye. Doctors had to take it.
That was the only bit of me she got.
She'll have a better time
without it now, I reckon.
My little girl was born at 2:33 a.m.
We thought for a moment she was
stillborn 'cause she didn't cry.
She just...
looked around the room as if to
say oh, OK,
so this is life, eh?"
They squashed bananas in my shoes.
I don't think God is a very good person.
She didn't cry.
She didn't cry.
Are you there?
If you make it through...
you'll forget you were ever there.
Hello?
Is this Florence?
No. This is her daughter.
- Can I speak with her, please?
- Yeah, sure.
Hey, Mum?
Hello?
- Florence?
- Speaking.
I wanted to inform you
that Tim Franklin has passed away.
Oh.
Would you like me
to organise a funeral service?
Something?
No, thank you.
"The God Abandons Antony."
"When suddenly, at midnight, you hear
"an invisible procession going by
"with exquisite music, voices,
"don't mourn your luck that's failing now,
"work gone wrong, your plans
"all proving deceptive
"don't mourn them uselessly.
"As one long prepared,
and graced with courage,
"say goodbye to her,
the Alexandria that is leaving.
"Above all,
"don't fool yourself,
"don't say it was a dream,
your ears deceived you:
"don't degrade yourself
with empty hopes like these.
"As one long prepared,
and graced with courage,
"as is right for you who proved
worthy of this kind of city,
"go firmly to the window
"and listen with deep emotion, but not
"with the whining, the pleas of a coward;
"listen, your final delectation
to the voices,
"to the exquisite music
of that strange procession..."
"...and say goodbye to her,
to the Alexandria you are losing."
All yours, mate.
It's OK.