The Unspeakable Act (2012) Movie Script
1
In the spring of 2011,
at the age of 18, my brother Matthew
got his first real girlfriend.
I had somehow thought
that he and I had
an unspoken agreement that
we belonged to each other,
which was really
pretty stupid of me.
What do you need me to do?
We're in good shape, I think.
- Aren't we, Jeanne?
- We're fine.
Thank god.
I can't believe I'm actually expected
to cook dinner for this girl.
Do you want to eat out?
On me, anywhere in town.
What do you need, just tell
me what you want me to do.
Lemme think.
Do these need to be peeled?
- Yes, just peel them back.
- Okay.
Yolanda, mama, mama, Yolanda.
- It's lovely to meet you.
- Thank you for having me.
- Hi, I'm Jeanne.
- Hey, Yolanda.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice meeting you.
- Hi, I've heard so much about you.
- So have I.
Do you know Shirley Chang?
Yes, she's one of my best friends.
How do you know her?
We went to Cunningham
together before she moved.
- I love her so much.
- She's great.
And we've kept in
touch all these years
all because she's so good at
keeping up with her friends.
Oh, she's wonderful
about those things.
I can't believe you know her.
Yolanda, can I
get you something to drink?
Oh, no thanks, I'm fine.
- Would you like a tour of the house?
- Yeah, I would, thanks!
So Shirley said
that you're working on the school paper.
Yeah, we both
do, actually, next year.
We're going to be
co-editors together.
Oh, cool.
That's why a little bit.
Everything's delicious.
Yeah,
this is excellent.
It's really good.
The sauce is amazing.
She made that.
Oh, did you, it's great.
Thanks, yeah, it came out okay.
Could you excuse me a second?
Did you use oregano in it?
Mm-hmm.
My brother's the cook in our family.
I don't know where he gets it
from, certainly not my mom.
She cooks as little as possible.
Really, did she cook for
you when you were growing up?
Actually, my dad cooked
more when we were growing up.
My mom says women were expected
to cook when she was growing
up and she didn't with
that kind of life.
Oh, well, of course
that's true, but when
there's a family, someone
has to put food on the table.
Oh, no, I completely
agree but my mom, she's got
a mind of her own, I
mean I love her but
she lives her life the
way she wants to live it.
You coming upstairs?
Okay,
give me a minute.
Yolanda's really nice.
Yeah, she's great.
I think I'm having
some kind of breakdown.
I can't keep anything
down and half the time
I don't even want to eat and
last night I woke up at two
and I couldn't get to sleep
the rest of the night.
Do I look okay, are
there bags under my eyes?
- No, you look fine.
- Look.
- Did you sleep with her yet?
- No.
Will you tell me if you do?
Do you
want to hear it?
Yes, you have to tell
me, even if I freak out.
You have to tell me everything.
I won't be able to stand it
if we stopped doing that.
- Do you promise?
- Okay.
Does that make everything okay?
No, everything is terrible.
Do you really like
her better than me?
I don't anybody better
than you but I barely know
this girl, I want
to give it a chance.
I want to have sexual relationships.
Yeah, I know, you want to grow up
and you want to have
mature adult relationships
and not immature,
stunted ones like ours.
Okay, well, I guess
I'm going to bed.
You didn't quite make it.
Don't make fun of me,
I've started to make fun
of me all the time
and I don't like it.
I've really upset, you know?
I don't wanna...
I don't wanna leave this room
and I don't want to go back
in and I can't just stand
here for the rest of my life.
Drama queen.
No, no.
I'm going to get something
to eat, you wanna come?
No, I can't eat now.
What am I going to do?
Go.
Go get something to
eat, I'll be all right.
All right.
Are you writing
anything about Yolanda?
Did you like her?
You two seemed to get along well.
She's really nice.
Mama, I don't want him
to have a girlfriend.
Yes, you do, you know you do.
Don't talk like that.
No, I really don't.
One of the funny things
about being in love
with your brother
is that you can say
almost anything you want
about him to anyone you want
because no one wants to go there.
People will bend
over backwards to put
the blandest possible interpretation
on whatever you say.
I'm not hungry.
Hi.
- Hello, dear.
- Hi.
Matthew did tell me when he
finally slept with Yolanda.
It was a horrible thing
to hear but we always tell
each other everything.
I've never slept with anyone,
some of my friends have.
But I think I have a little longer
before I start to feel like a reject.
Long ago, Mama told me a
girl like me would attract
more boys in college
than in high school.
What I would like to try actually
is the unmentionable
act, the I word,
but that concept doesn't go
over so well with Matthew.
Shh.
It's not that I'm pretty or anything
but I think I could lure
some guy if I tried.
I have no experience but I
just think I could do it.
It's not high on my
priority list right now.
It's always easy to get the
things you don't care about.
Mama is an extremely good writer.
The only thing she writes
is her journal and letters
but her language is amazing,
so strong and clear.
I wish she would try to
get something published
but she has no ambition for that.
Mama writes long
letters almost every day
to my older brother Will.
He's studying in Paris.
After he gets his degree there,
he'll go back to Berkeley.
Mama misses him so badly.
It's really hard for
her, his being away.
Will is great but I don't
miss him like Mama does.
He changes the mood of the
house when he's around.
Everything revolves around
him, not that he's bossy
or anything but he's just
got a strong personality.
When he's gone, we all loosen
up, go our separate ways.
I actually like it better like that.
Matthew and Will are really tight.
They talk all the time.
As long as I can remember,
Jeanne wanted to grow up
as fast as she could
and become an adult.
You could tell that she
didn't like being a child.
She goes to community college.
She spends a lot of time
with her boyfriend Charles.
He seems like a nice guy but
we don't see that much of him.
One of these days I
expect that Jeanne
will leave home and not look back.
Our father died a few
years after I was born.
He was already separated
from Mama then.
Will remembers him but
none of the rest of us do.
We all think that maybe
his death was drug related.
Mama was addicted to drugs long ago.
It was probably
around the same time.
We share everything in our family.
We're impossibly close but
there are things in the past
that we don't know that much about.
They've been mentioned,
they've been explained.
We can ask about them if we
want but afterwards, we realized
that the important questions
somehow never get answered.
Can't get
him off the phone.
He's having a serious
conversation with a girlfriend.
Was it an argument?
I'll try to get him.
I'm not asking for that.
I'm not asking for anything.
I wish there was something
reasonable I could ask for.
Well,
I guess
that covers it.
I know.
No I don't want that.
I told you that I never said that.
I didn't say it and
I don't think it.
Honestly.
No, I like that about you, I
wish I were more like that.
Yeah.
Go ahead, I'll wait.
Hi.
Hello dear.
Did you find what you
needed at the library?
Kind of, I'm just
gonna start writing
and see what happens.
Did you know that Matthew
and Yolanda broke up?
- Matthew told me.
- When?
Last night.
I gathered from him that they
weren't entirely compatible.
What do you mean?
He said that he wasn't
comfortable with some of her behavior.
Really?
Yolanda is much more
socially outgoing.
That's plain to see, it
was a problem for Matthew.
Did she
make him jealous?
I don't know.
Yolanda seems like a
perfectly nice sweet girl.
I'm sure she didn't
do anything so awful.
Matthew can be a bit old-fashioned
when it comes to girls,
a little conservative perhaps.
I think Matthew will be
happier with a quieter girl,
somebody a bit more like himself.
Hi.
So were you planning on
telling me that you broke up?
You
found out already?
Everyone in town knows except me.
I haven't even
seen you since it happened.
You have good sources.
You talked to Mama about it.
Are you sad?
A little bit sad and
a little bit relieved.
- Was she cruel to you?
- No.
She wasn't cruel.
My theory is she really didn't want
to be in a relationship.
Her theory is different.
You'll get another girlfriend.
I hope so.
She's an interesting person.
I think you and she would get along.
I never want to see her again.
I got tickets for
Yolanda and me to see
The Decemberists in
Prospect Park, 14th.
Tony and a girl he's
dating are going too.
- Do you wanna come?
- Yes.
I don't think you don't?
- I haven't.
- Okay.
I don't really know a
lot about where our money comes from.
Mama has a trust fund somewhere.
I used to think we lived on that
but then she told us once
that it wasn't a large income.
We don't live extravagantly
but we always seem
to have enough for our needs.
Hi.
Hey, busy?
No, I'm on a break.
What
are you doing tonight?
I'm helping Sarah, she wants
to record a song she wrote.
What's your role?
I'm just pressing the record
button, stuff like that.
Moral support?
Yeah, for sure.
Want to meet
upstairs when you get back?
I want to talk about something.
Sure, is it something serious?
No, it's no big deal.
I'll tell you about it later.
Okay, what are you doing?
Finishing this
Muller book, it's awesome.
You have to read it when I'm done.
Oh great, hurry up and finish it.
- Okay, have a good time.
- Bye.
At night, the house is ours.
Mama goes to bed early.
Jeanne putters around in her room.
I really don't know
what she does in there
but it seems to keep her busy.
Hang on a second.
What?
With the cigarettes, I
wanted to talk about that.
So listen.
I think we should stop smoking.
Really?
What do you think?
I don't know.
I feel bad that I got you started.
That's probably not the
smartest thing in the world.
Exactly.
Are you up for it?
Okay.
What about these?
I say we flush them.
Oh, we don't have to do that, do we?
Okay, maybe we should flush them.
I never smoked again
after that night.
I'm sure Matthew hasn't either.
The summer is almost over.
I don't want it to go.
I wish I could stop it.
Pick one.
I can't pick just one.
Suppose you had to.
Suppose you were stranded
on a desert island.
- Don DeLillo.
- DeLillo?
Over Pynchon, over
David Foster Wallace?
You told me to pick
one, I like DeLillo.
I mean I like him
too but over Pynchon?
Pynchon is great, why are
you on my ass about this
when you put a gun to my head
and forced me to pick one?
Because you picked the wrong one.
Feel free to get in
here whenever you want.
I'm just listening to the boy talk.
What do
you think, Jess?
You guys are just going to have
to settle this by yourselves.
There is nothing to settle
here, it is so obvious.
Oh my god,
don't they look
just like boyfriend and girlfriend?
Hmm?
Don't you think
they look like boyfriend
and girlfriend more
than brother and sister?
Yeah, so what are we doing next?
This is such a perfect night.
This is what I wish life
could always be like.
I know it's just a fantasy
but it's very sweet.
Maybe it wouldn't be much
fun if it weren't a fantasy.
We'll never know, will we?
Since when did you get
so resigned to your fate?
What makes you say that?
All my life I've known
there's no solution.
I don't have any expectation
of us having a life together.
I never have.
I'm not talking about
the unmentionable act.
I don't think that's
such a big deal.
I think that's just a
matter of logistics.
For an unmentionable act,
it gets mentioned a lot.
Oh, do I make you uncomfortable?
Come on, you like it.
You'd be sad if I lost interest.
If the phase were over,
you'd feel abandoned.
No, I wouldn't.
It'd really be a win-win
situation for you, you know?
What would be?
What we're talking about,
what can't be mentioned.
You could just drop it and move onto
an adult, mature relationship
whenever you were ready
and I would totally accept it.
Yeah, I just see you
totally accepting that.
Really and sincerely, I wish
you would take me seriously.
I take you very
seriously, the only one who
doesn't take you seriously
is making a big mistake.
There's something I don't
ever remember hearing you talk
about in this fantasy, the
one with no expectations,
- are there children?
- No.
Okay, I'm not sure exactly
what your limits are.
- No.
- Okay.
- You certainly know how to kill the mood.
- Sorry.
Were still living here.
They've
been gone a long time.
No, because I
remember listening to this song
When I imagine
Matthew leaving for college,
I always pictured a fall setting
with leaves on the ground
and everyone wearing
jackets but Princeton
had freshman orientation
before classes started
and he was gone by
the end of August,
when it was still summer.
The house isn't that much
quieter than it was before
but now the quiet moments are awful.
I feel as if I'm not
supposed to be here anymore
but I don't have anywhere else.
I decided to go away at
the same time as Matthew
to visit my cousin Annie
and her husband Joe upstate
but it was a funny
time for a vacation.
Their kids were
going back to school.
They were busy.
I came home after a weekend.
We text all the time.
We call a lot.
Email, not so much.
It's kind of awful and
depressing somehow.
Facebook is fun sometimes.
Matthew still posts on some blogs
and sometimes I
spoof comments to see
if he can figure out that it's me,
kind of pathetic.
It's actually
closed to the public
but a sophomore girl that
works at the library got me in.
Look at this stuff.
Matthew sent me a video
letter his second week at school.
He shot it and edited it himself.
I think it's so great
that he did that,
so much work for just a letter.
Zoe, you're moving it.
I'm not moving it, I swear.
Well, I'm not moving it.
Could it be a ghost moving it?
I swear it's moving.
Oh, oh my god.
Have you ever hear
this word, paraphilia?
Paraphilia?
Megan, you
have to concentrate.
It means repeated
intense sexual arousal
to unconventional or
social deviant stimuli.
Sarah, I
thought you were studying
for a chemistry test.
No, this is on
George's Facebook page.
Why is George
posting about deviant stimuli?
Is he coming out or something?
No, his whole page is full
of stuff from psychology texts.
This is from the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders.
I think he's just
trying to be perverted
and make it look like
it's an academic--
Here's another definition,
sexual arousal in response
to sexual objects or
situations that are not part
of society normative
arousal/activity pattern.
Okay, let's get
back to the Ouija board.
It stopped talking to us when
you brought up paraphilia.
They gave eight
categories of paraphilia,
exhibitionism,
fetishism, blah, blah.
Frotteurism, there's one
you don't hear every day,
touching or rubbing against
a nonconsensual person.
Does that mean
that frotteur is a word?
Yeah, I think so.
It's be
a good one too.
Maybe it's
a very proper ghost
from the olden days and
we're scaring it away
with this sex conversation.
Then the ninth
category is called NOS,
not otherwise specified.
When Will went away to Cornell,
I fell into a terrible,
terrible sadness.
I knew, of course,
that I would miss him
very much but what I
felt was beyond that.
I hadn't realized how much
I'd come to depend on him.
For a woman who's alone, her
children become everything.
And the oldest one...
I know myself better now.
I wasn't taken by surprise
in the same way when Matthew left.
I probably
should have talked more
after Matthew left, it made
Mama think I was depressed,
or maybe I was really
depressed, I don't know.
I felt like I was
pretending to be depressed
to avoid having to talk but
maybe I was really depressed
and just thought I was pretending.
Anyway, Mama, who means very well,
thought I should see a therapist.
Would you
like some coffee?
No.
There were also a few times
where she caught me crying.
I cried a lot after Matthew left.
It felt natural.
I felt better afterwards.
I don't think anything
was really wrong.
So, anyway, that's
all there is to that.
Your sister
is still living at home,
though, Jeanne, is that right?
Yeah, Jeanne.
Do you
speak to her much?
Once in a while.
We don't have all
that much in common.
You seem like a nice
person but I'm feeling
a little uncomfortable.
Yes, I can tell.
Completely terrified actually.
Can you talk about
what you're scared of?
If I could do that,
I wouldn't be scared, right?
I'm sorry.
I'm being rude.
You can be rude if you want to.
I'm really not used to
talking about private matters.
I
have the impression
- that you sometimes enjoy talking.
- Oh yeah.
In fact, you seem
unusually open about your feelings.
Yes, I have this bad habit
of embarrassing everyone
by just blurting things out.
But right now?
Yeah, I know you think that this
would be my big chance, right?
I'm actually really worried
that you're gonna tell
whatever I say to my mother.
Jackie, I always discuss
that issue with parents
before I begin therapy with a minor.
Your mother has agreed
that I will everything
you say in strict confidence.
There's only one
exception to that rule
and that's if you say something
that makes me think you're
likely to do harm to yourself.
I'm not gonna do harm to myself.
Then everything
you say will remain
in this room.
Maybe you might
give my mother advice
about what I should do.
Jackie, I will not give
your mother advice about you.
I will not tell her
what you say here, okay?
Okay.
So, you're a private person.
Yeah, sometimes.
Do you have any confidantes,
anyone you can talk to?
No, not really.
Do you keep
a diary or a notebook
where you can write
your thoughts down?
Oh my god.
No, I would never do such a thing.
You're afraid
your mother might read it.
No, my mother would never
do anything like that.
It's just the idea.
Jackie, I think it's
best if we stop for today.
I'm going to ask you to
go home and think about
what you want out of
this therapy, okay?
Okay, okay.
I'm going to keep your
appointment for next week
in my schedule and you or
your mother can give me call
and let me know what
you decide to do.
I felt really
stupid for clamming up
like that, I told myself that
I would just talk honestly
to this woman at the next
session but when it came around,
I was terrified all over again.
Okay, I guess that's all for now.
Um.
Do you think it's weird
that we never say,
"I love you," to each other?
Something has to go here at the end.
Right?
So anyway, I love you.
Bye.
Okay, I guess that's all for now.
I'll probably call you later on.
There's no need for a long
dramatic goodbye, right?
I miss you so horribly.
Okay, well, good night.
It's really good, the
way you put it together
is really intelligent.
I really like the way you
cut the rooms together.
No, I hated that.
I couldn't get it right.
No, it had a good rhythm.
Maybe you should think
about filmmaking.
I think you have a talent for it.
No, you're crazy.
I just gave up on it and hit upload.
Wait, I've got it
open in another window.
Hello--
Oh my god.
Let's see
what our house looks like.
- What?
- Stop it, stop it right now.
So you
want me to stop it?
No, wait.
Put it back on.
It's still on,
there's no sound in this part.
What's happening,
what's happening now?
This is
the shot of Mama.
Oh my god.
She's done
it, of course, she's done it
more than everyone in
the room put together.
So how is it?
I love sex.
You won't
get anything out of her.
Yeah, but it's
different, she's in love.
It's different when
you love the person.
Look, I'll admit, I haven't had sex.
And I feel like I'm in the majority
but listening to everybody
talk about sex all the time,
you start to feel like
some kind of freak.
Why do you feel like a freak?
It's not some magic
key or something.
Even if you have it, you
still feel like other people
are having it more
or having it better.
Yeah, but you didn't even like it.
It was okay, it was
fine, I didn't dislike it.
Why should I feel
better if you had bad sex?
If I'm like the only
person in the world
who hasn't had sex, I'm going--
I thought you
said you were in the majority.
Of feeling that way, if I'm feeling
like I'm the only person in
the world who hasn't had sex,
I'm not going to feel
any more nurtured
because you had bad sex.
Megan, you're being
a little hostile.
How am I being hostile?
I didn't say it was bad sex.
Look, people aren't
going to tell you
about their sex lives.
It doesn't mean you're
the only only one.
It just means people like to keep
their private lives private.
Except for Megan.
Yeah, except for you.
Did I start this conversation?
Did I start talking
about sex, I did not.
You know that I
haven't had sex either.
I know that but--
Yeah, but you don't count, Jackie,
because you're not even trying.
I'm not even trying?
You never even express
any interest in boys.
I can't tell whether you even care.
I do care, I think
about it constantly.
Deep down, I'm a total slut.
Well,
then go get some.
Everyone's
a slut deep down.
Then why don't you ever
flirt or even talk about guys?
I don't know, I don't
know how to flirt.
I guess I'm shy.
You
are so not shy.
Not with you.
Just doesn't
want to talk about it.
I think about it constantly
too and it's frustrating
because I know everything I'm
thinking is just a fantasy
that comes from songs and movies.
Maybe it has nothing
to do with reality.
Really?
I don't
know, I just wonder.
Mine feels real.
But you don't
really know though.
I have a really vivid image
of what it's like in my mind
with all the feelings and
emotions rolled up together.
Sounds like you
have a lot of vivid images.
I can totally see
Jackie being a late bloomer,
like in 10 years,
jetting around the world
having affairs with movie
stars, can't you picture it?
What about me?
Don't I get to jet around
the world with Jackie?
No, you get to go to college
and hook up with some guy
and immediately start
giving us all sex advice.
You are so rude.
If I get a boyfriend in
college, I don't intend
to be hanging around
with your ass just so
I can give you sex advice.
- I'm okay.
- I'm outta here.
It wasn't until
my third therapy session
that I made my
confession about Matthew
and Linda didn't call
the cops or anything.
In fact, she didn't
seem shocked at all.
I suppose she saw
the punchline coming.
Well, if you're
going to go to the city,
there's no campus.
Are you attracted
to other boys besides Matthew?
No, not really.
What do you
mean by "not really"?
Well, sometimes I'll
feel attracted to somebody
if they have some good
quality that I like,
like if he's an independent thinker
or if he says something
really smart or really funny
but all that stuff doesn't
mean anything really.
It doesn't
mean anything?
Well, who knows what
that person's really like?
There's no sense falling
in love with a guy
just 'cause he can tell a good joke.
You're concerned you don't
know what they're really like.
Sure.
A lot of people find
mystery attractive
but you seem to want
familiarity instead.
Yes, that's true.
I totally need to know everything
about a person before
I can get into them.
What does that mean?
I don't know,
what do you think it means?
I don't know.
Do you feel
afraid or nervous when
you don't know everything
about a person?
Not afraid exactly.
Does that person
seem dangerous or threatening?
I don't think so, I mean I
don't feel that consciously.
Mostly I'm just bored if I
don't know the other person.
Some people
project positive fantasies
onto an attractive stranger.
They imagine that the other person
has all the good qualities
that they're looking
for until proven otherwise.
Not me, I just assume
that everyone is messed up
until proven otherwise.
Maybe you
should become a therapist.
Really?
Well, messed up is not
the proper clinical term
but not projecting positive
fantasies onto people
is a quality that a
therapist needs to have.
So how does it work when you know
somebody really well,
when you can see
all their little quirks,
their imperfections--
Sure.
Does that make it difficult
for you to be attracted to them?
Well, it depends on what
the imperfections are.
I don't need people to be perfect.
Everybody has their issues.
Do you see
Matthew's issues?
Well, of course.
What are they?
Well...
Matthew can be a little bit
arrogant, like deep down,
he thinks he knows everything
better than everyone.
And he can be judgmental.
He tries not to be like that though.
That's something good about him.
You can talk to him if
you're upset about something
he did and he'll hear
what you're saying.
No matter how much I think about it,
what it comes down to,
he's the best person I know.
He's the smartest and
the most sensitive
and the most interesting
and it's not because
he's my brother, it's because
he's the best person there is.
If he weren't around,
I wouldn't love anyone.
For me, he's irreplaceable.
Did you visit any museums?
It's Will on the
phone, pick up in the kitchen.
Tell him I said hi.
Jackie just came
home, she says hello.
There are
two kinds of people here.
The first kind, which is my group,
pretends college is about
studying even though
they know it's really about topic A
and the second group
doesn't even pretend.
This cluster is legendary to
the alleged coed skinny dipping
that allegedly happens at
the alleged swimming pool.
I suspect it was a
total myth at first
but by now a bunch of people
have probably tried it
just because the idea
was put in their heads.
Ever
since Matthew left,
I've been waiting for the
news that he has a girlfriend.
Sometimes I wish that he
would stop dragging out
the suspense and just
get it over with.
Linda says that most people
are attracted to mystery
and that I'm attracted to
people I know really well.
Sounds like
she's got your number.
Are you attracted to mystery too?
In some ways.
Is that what you feel
about me, that you know me
too well to be attracted to me?
It's
hard to say exactly.
I don't get it, what's
the big deal about mystery
because people aren't going
to stay mysterious forever
and then when the mystery wears
off, you're stuck with them.
It appears
to be the way it works
if you look at married couples.
I think I've got a much
more practical system.
The mystery thing is bad evolution.
No, that's
wrong, evolution doesn't care
about the long run, it cares
about getting us reproduced.
After that, evolution
doesn't give a fuck.
And by the way, it also
cares about getting
new different genes in the
pool so the more mysterious,
the better as far as
evolution is concerned.
Yes, you're right.
Completely right as always.
I never thought of it that way.
You're so smart.
I'm an evolutionary
reject, I'm totally fucked.
Are you unhappy with the therapy?
No, it's okay.
I'm still not sure what
it's supposed to accomplish
but it's fine.
Are you
feeling any better
than you were when you started?
Maybe, I don't think I was
actually depressed or anything.
This has nothing to do
with you, I love you.
I think you're completely wonderful
so I wish I could have
a good transference
and think about you all
the time instead of him
and then I'd just be a lesbian.
Did I just say that?
Yes, you did.
That's embarrassing.
Don't be embarrassed, you
can say whatever you want here.
Actually I think I'm 100 % hetero.
I have had girl crushes
and stuff like that.
Supposed to just say whatever
comes into my head, right?
Mm-hmm.
I have a friend named
Madeleine whom I totally adore.
What's Madeleine like?
She's really pretty, um,
and she's incredibly sweet,
like she hasn't got a
mean bone in her body.
She's nice to everyone.
She has a boyfriend, I
don't see her that much.
Would you see
her more if you could?
Yeah, I would love to see her more.
Is your feeling
for Madeleine different
from your feeling for Matthew?
Uh.
Yeah.
How is it different?
Totally different in every way.
Is it different in terms
of sexual attraction?
Yeah.
So you're sexually
attracted to Matthew?
Yeah.
I wasn't completely clear on that.
You gave me the impression earlier on that it wasn't sexual.
Oh, I said all kinds of
dumb things earlier on.
You almost
never talk about Will.
- Is that his name?
- Yeah, Will.
Your oldest brother.
Will.
How do
you feel about him?
He's pretty cool.
I like him basically,
he's a real alpha male,
very aggressive, Matthew has
a more balanced personality.
You're wondering if I'm
attracted to Will, I bet?
Are you?
No.
Not in the least.
So you've never
thought of him in that way.
He's totally not the kind of person
I would feel that way about.
The idea of it is just...
Is just what?
Very unpleasant
and kind of disgusting.
In other words, it
would feel like incest?
Oh my god, I'm so messed up.
Listen
up, everyone, if you're
on the majorette squad and
you're going to the game
in Port Jervis, the bus is
outside the main building.
Report to the front
desk for a hall pass.
Hey, hey.
Yeah?
You should try out.
Why, do you think I'd
be a good majorette?
No.
Then why did you say anything?
What a loser.
The weird thing is
I think he's flirting.
I'm going
out with Sarah and Alex.
Oh, all right.
We're going to a party.
Really?
What's wrong with that?
Nothing, it's just you
don't often go to parties.
So I don't know what
time I'll be home.
That's fine, have a good time.
Okay, I'll see you later.
(Grunge rock music
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Do you remember me?
Yeah.
We did that Catholic
work at the soup kitchen
last year for a charity drive.
Yeah, I totally remember you.
How's Debbie?
She's great, she's studying.
Who do you know here?
Would you mind?
Okay, I'm totally inexperienced at that kind of thing but.
That's cool.
Just go for it.
It wasn't
until the second I had sex
that it occurred to me to
fantasize about Matthew.
After long and
serious consideration,
I selected email,
the most impersonal
form of communication.
You seem so comfortable.
I thought it might
weird you out a little.
Of
course it's weird
but our whole relationship
is weird in the first place.
I wanted to weird you
out more than I did.
It did,
it weirded me out.
It's an interesting weird,
it's got a certain fascination.
Mm.
I turned this conversation
over in my head for days.
I put different
interpretations on it,
looked it at from every angle.
What were you feeling?
I don't know, not too much.
I was pretty cool headed
through the whole thing.
Were there
any difficulties?
No, it went fine.
Were you lubricated?
Oh yeah,
I mean he went
in pretty easily after
the hymen incident.
It sounds as if
you must have enjoyed
yourself a little bit at least.
Not really.
If you
were lubricated,
you must have had some reaction.
I was wet but I
wasn't really involved.
I felt like a spectator.
Trying to say that I
secretly enjoyed it?
I'm not trying to say that.
I'm saying that it sounds
as if you were
physically responsive.
Yeah.
I was...
responsive enough for, you know,
the minimum requirements.
You don't like the
idea of being attracted
to anyone other than
Matthew, do you?
I had a dream last
week where I saw a boy
who wasn't Matthew and
I felt attracted to him.
What happened
after that in the dream?
I can't remember it clearly.
I never talked to the boy and
nothing happened between us.
Who does the boy
in the dream remind you of?
No one in particular.
Can you describe him?
Oh god, I can't remember.
He was medium height and
he had long dark hair,
long for a boy, down to his chin
and he had a round face.
Did those features
remind you of anyone?
No, not exactly.
I guess I have a face like that.
Yes, you do.
You think that's me?
What would that mean?
I don't know,
what do you think it means?
I have no idea.
He's a nasty little twerp, isn't he?
You are so strong,
if that happened to me,
I would crawl under a rock and die.
Who gives fuck?
Two days later, after school,
when no one was around,
Tristan asked me to
go out with him again.
He said that he was probably
breaking up with Debbie
because she didn't like his friends
or he didn't like her
friends or something.
He kept saying what a good
time he had on Saturday night.
Which one
are you doing first?
Princeton.
Did you even
need to ask that, Mama?
Is that
your first choice?
For now, I'm still doing research.
That's nice,
dear, going away
would be much easier for
you if Matthew is around.
I'm getting a lot of
resistance from you on this.
Well, yeah.
We're just talking about it.
You know I'm not in any position
to force you to do anything.
That's right, you're not.
I haven't even
expressed a preference.
Yes, but I know what
you want me to do.
Can we talk about
why the idea of going
to a different school
bothers you so much?
Go ahead, talk.
Hey.
Hi.
Give me a minute,
I have to go finish
this for Miss Rodriguez.
Phillip has his Mama's van to go
to the Poconos this weekend.
This weekend I can't.
Why not?
It's a vacation and my
brother's home from school
and I have a lot of
stuff to do at home.
So you're busy the whole vacation?
I don't know, maybe not.
Okay.
Whatever.
Sorry, I just can't do it.
I really have to finish this.
All right, later.
Why wouldn't you come with me?
I don't see any
need to stand waiting outside
the subway station, you don't
even know when he's going to--
He's on his way now, I'm going.
You're making too big
a fuss over this, Jacqueline.
I don't want to be the
only one meeting him.
Come on, come with me.
Why don't you want to
be the only one meeting him?
I don't know.
But it should be more of an event.
I'm sure it'll
be quite a nice surprise
with you just meeting him there.
Don't take him out anywhere,
though, come straight home.
Oh my god.
How long have you been waiting here?
Welcome home.
This is a small token
of our appreciation
that you've returned to us.
Di Fara's, all right.
Is Mama making dinner?
Of course, but you
can go ahead and have-
- I guess I can handle a slice.
It's so good
to see you, dear.
Hey Matthew.
Hey Jeanne.
Peter completely agreed with me
but he knew I wanted a public room.
He felt we were violating some
unwritten law of roommate life.
No, that's absurd,
you were in the right.
I see his
point in theory but he had
all these friends over
from Groton on weekends.
Don't these Princeton
students ever study?
As far
as he's concerned,
if you wanna to study,
go to the library.
It's ridiculous but there's
no point in arguing with him.
Last time we went out
it was right in the middle
of my period and I figured
like whatever, go for it
but he was really nervous
and he wasn't sure whether
he should do it and I was really
surprised 'cause I thought
that guys these days were
cool with period blood.
Maybe he just
didn't want to bloody up
his mom's sheets.
It was the back
seat of his mom's car.
Maybe.
What about you, does
period blood bother you?
I've
never encountered it.
Yes you have.
I've never encountered
it in a sex context.
I'm pretty sure I'd be okay with it.
Did this guy get his act together?
Yeah, he was fine
once we got started.
I find that I like sex actually.
That
doesn't surprise me.
What do you mean?
I've always thought of
you as a sexual person,
just little things I remember
from when we were kids.
What do you remember?
Nothing particular, I
remember you being all smiley
and happy whenever we
were up to something,
if we were touching
ourselves or something
and me being more nervous
or guilty, of course.
You always seemed to
have your act together.
Aw, that's too bad that didn't last.
Mm.
Uh, the last time that
Tristan and I were together,
he asked me to do
something special for him.
Like what?
Well, he wanted me to
put my finger up his butt.
Oh, okay.
I pretended I was grossed
out by it and I said no.
I could tell he really wanted
it but he dropped the subject
and the thing is I wasn't
bothered by it at all.
I just didn't feel like doing it
for him right at that moment.
I guess I was being a bitch.
Did you act
all indignant, like,
"I beg your pardon, sir"?
I think I said, "Ew."
Maybe I'll change my mind
sometime and give him a thrill.
It
wouldn't bother you?
Totally not.
If I loved a boy, I would
do anything for him.
I would never say no to anything.
You're the last of the romantics.
Romantic with a capital R.
That last comment was
directed at me I guess.
I guess so.
Be so great if you has some
horrible disgusting perversion
that no one else in the
world would ever gratify.
You'd probably never
tell me, would you?
You could at least
pretend you're not watching
my crotch for a reaction.
Are you having a reaction?
What's wrong?
This was a mistake.
Matthew, wait, sit down.
It's like you're
doing everything you can
to make it impossible
for me to around you.
Please don't be
angry with me, please.
You have to know what you're doing.
You have to know how
hard you're pushing.
I know, I know, I'm sorry,
I'm really sorry but everything
is at stake, my whole life
is at stake right now.
I'm going to bed.
That was the
last sleepless night
of my life so far.
Hi.
Hi.
Can we go upstairs
and talk for a second?
Sure.
Do you need
your coffee first?
Yeah.
There's only one thing
I'm really afraid of
and that's that you'll
withdraw from me emotionally.
Maybe that's what has to happen
if we want to have a normal life.
You mean if I want
to have a normal life.
No, me too.
Really?
You're a very powerful person,
maybe you don't think so.
I don't
feel powerful.
But you are, I feel like
I'm caught in your force field
sometimes, I can't get
my balance.
What you're saying is
unbearably sad to me.
I can deal with our being apart.
I think I can deal with that.
I can deal with you having
other people in your life
but what I can't deal
with is the thought
that I won't be connected to you.
Look at you, though,
you're crying all the time.
You're crying now, is
that what you want?
Crying
isn't such a bad thing.
You don't understand that
'cause you never cry.
If I cried too, this house
would be like washed away.
You should try it
sometime, it helps.
Besides, I'm saying
goodbye to something.
You're supposed to cry
when you say goodbye.
Drama queen.
What's going on?
Just leave 'em alone.
I
managed pretty well
for the rest of that vacation.
I did have a little
breakdown when Matthew left
for school but that
wasn't too awful.
I think he expected it.
It was the hardest decision
I made in my entire
life but I never sent
in my application to Princeton.
I can't describe how I felt
as the deadline approached.
I don't like to think about it.
I was looking forward
to telling Linda
about my decision but, of course,
she turns it around on me
and says, "Did you think that
I wanted you to do that?"
I don't know why she's
wasting her time on small fry
like me, she should be
psychoanalyzing people
in Vienna or something.
This house is my native country.
Soon I'll have to leave it
and go among foreigners.
In the winter, I began dating
a nice boy named Robert
who goes to a different high school.
We aren't going to the
same college in the fall
and everyone seems to think
that romances don't last
when that happens.
I guess we'll see.
Maybe I'll be the
exception to the rule,
as I am to so many other rules.
I feel so old lately,
so prematurely old.
I'm not even 18 yet and
I'm already resigned
to never being happy,
pretending from morning to night
that I want to same
things as everyone else.
Linda says that I
shouldn't feel fatalistic,
that my life will keep changing.
She's a smart lady,
I hope she's right.
I'm thinking that I'd like
to major in psychology at college.
I can't honestly say
that therapy's changed me
in any big way but
that's one good thing
that came out of it at least.
Linda thinks that I'm
having a transference
but I'm really
interested in this stuff.
You may be worried
about the possibility
of getting a therapist who's
as twisted and abnormal as me,
but, you know, I think that's
how it usually happens.
First, you wonder how
your own head works
and then you get interested
in other people's heads.
In the spring of 2011,
at the age of 18, my brother Matthew
got his first real girlfriend.
I had somehow thought
that he and I had
an unspoken agreement that
we belonged to each other,
which was really
pretty stupid of me.
What do you need me to do?
We're in good shape, I think.
- Aren't we, Jeanne?
- We're fine.
Thank god.
I can't believe I'm actually expected
to cook dinner for this girl.
Do you want to eat out?
On me, anywhere in town.
What do you need, just tell
me what you want me to do.
Lemme think.
Do these need to be peeled?
- Yes, just peel them back.
- Okay.
Yolanda, mama, mama, Yolanda.
- It's lovely to meet you.
- Thank you for having me.
- Hi, I'm Jeanne.
- Hey, Yolanda.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice meeting you.
- Hi, I've heard so much about you.
- So have I.
Do you know Shirley Chang?
Yes, she's one of my best friends.
How do you know her?
We went to Cunningham
together before she moved.
- I love her so much.
- She's great.
And we've kept in
touch all these years
all because she's so good at
keeping up with her friends.
Oh, she's wonderful
about those things.
I can't believe you know her.
Yolanda, can I
get you something to drink?
Oh, no thanks, I'm fine.
- Would you like a tour of the house?
- Yeah, I would, thanks!
So Shirley said
that you're working on the school paper.
Yeah, we both
do, actually, next year.
We're going to be
co-editors together.
Oh, cool.
That's why a little bit.
Everything's delicious.
Yeah,
this is excellent.
It's really good.
The sauce is amazing.
She made that.
Oh, did you, it's great.
Thanks, yeah, it came out okay.
Could you excuse me a second?
Did you use oregano in it?
Mm-hmm.
My brother's the cook in our family.
I don't know where he gets it
from, certainly not my mom.
She cooks as little as possible.
Really, did she cook for
you when you were growing up?
Actually, my dad cooked
more when we were growing up.
My mom says women were expected
to cook when she was growing
up and she didn't with
that kind of life.
Oh, well, of course
that's true, but when
there's a family, someone
has to put food on the table.
Oh, no, I completely
agree but my mom, she's got
a mind of her own, I
mean I love her but
she lives her life the
way she wants to live it.
You coming upstairs?
Okay,
give me a minute.
Yolanda's really nice.
Yeah, she's great.
I think I'm having
some kind of breakdown.
I can't keep anything
down and half the time
I don't even want to eat and
last night I woke up at two
and I couldn't get to sleep
the rest of the night.
Do I look okay, are
there bags under my eyes?
- No, you look fine.
- Look.
- Did you sleep with her yet?
- No.
Will you tell me if you do?
Do you
want to hear it?
Yes, you have to tell
me, even if I freak out.
You have to tell me everything.
I won't be able to stand it
if we stopped doing that.
- Do you promise?
- Okay.
Does that make everything okay?
No, everything is terrible.
Do you really like
her better than me?
I don't anybody better
than you but I barely know
this girl, I want
to give it a chance.
I want to have sexual relationships.
Yeah, I know, you want to grow up
and you want to have
mature adult relationships
and not immature,
stunted ones like ours.
Okay, well, I guess
I'm going to bed.
You didn't quite make it.
Don't make fun of me,
I've started to make fun
of me all the time
and I don't like it.
I've really upset, you know?
I don't wanna...
I don't wanna leave this room
and I don't want to go back
in and I can't just stand
here for the rest of my life.
Drama queen.
No, no.
I'm going to get something
to eat, you wanna come?
No, I can't eat now.
What am I going to do?
Go.
Go get something to
eat, I'll be all right.
All right.
Are you writing
anything about Yolanda?
Did you like her?
You two seemed to get along well.
She's really nice.
Mama, I don't want him
to have a girlfriend.
Yes, you do, you know you do.
Don't talk like that.
No, I really don't.
One of the funny things
about being in love
with your brother
is that you can say
almost anything you want
about him to anyone you want
because no one wants to go there.
People will bend
over backwards to put
the blandest possible interpretation
on whatever you say.
I'm not hungry.
Hi.
- Hello, dear.
- Hi.
Matthew did tell me when he
finally slept with Yolanda.
It was a horrible thing
to hear but we always tell
each other everything.
I've never slept with anyone,
some of my friends have.
But I think I have a little longer
before I start to feel like a reject.
Long ago, Mama told me a
girl like me would attract
more boys in college
than in high school.
What I would like to try actually
is the unmentionable
act, the I word,
but that concept doesn't go
over so well with Matthew.
Shh.
It's not that I'm pretty or anything
but I think I could lure
some guy if I tried.
I have no experience but I
just think I could do it.
It's not high on my
priority list right now.
It's always easy to get the
things you don't care about.
Mama is an extremely good writer.
The only thing she writes
is her journal and letters
but her language is amazing,
so strong and clear.
I wish she would try to
get something published
but she has no ambition for that.
Mama writes long
letters almost every day
to my older brother Will.
He's studying in Paris.
After he gets his degree there,
he'll go back to Berkeley.
Mama misses him so badly.
It's really hard for
her, his being away.
Will is great but I don't
miss him like Mama does.
He changes the mood of the
house when he's around.
Everything revolves around
him, not that he's bossy
or anything but he's just
got a strong personality.
When he's gone, we all loosen
up, go our separate ways.
I actually like it better like that.
Matthew and Will are really tight.
They talk all the time.
As long as I can remember,
Jeanne wanted to grow up
as fast as she could
and become an adult.
You could tell that she
didn't like being a child.
She goes to community college.
She spends a lot of time
with her boyfriend Charles.
He seems like a nice guy but
we don't see that much of him.
One of these days I
expect that Jeanne
will leave home and not look back.
Our father died a few
years after I was born.
He was already separated
from Mama then.
Will remembers him but
none of the rest of us do.
We all think that maybe
his death was drug related.
Mama was addicted to drugs long ago.
It was probably
around the same time.
We share everything in our family.
We're impossibly close but
there are things in the past
that we don't know that much about.
They've been mentioned,
they've been explained.
We can ask about them if we
want but afterwards, we realized
that the important questions
somehow never get answered.
Can't get
him off the phone.
He's having a serious
conversation with a girlfriend.
Was it an argument?
I'll try to get him.
I'm not asking for that.
I'm not asking for anything.
I wish there was something
reasonable I could ask for.
Well,
I guess
that covers it.
I know.
No I don't want that.
I told you that I never said that.
I didn't say it and
I don't think it.
Honestly.
No, I like that about you, I
wish I were more like that.
Yeah.
Go ahead, I'll wait.
Hi.
Hello dear.
Did you find what you
needed at the library?
Kind of, I'm just
gonna start writing
and see what happens.
Did you know that Matthew
and Yolanda broke up?
- Matthew told me.
- When?
Last night.
I gathered from him that they
weren't entirely compatible.
What do you mean?
He said that he wasn't
comfortable with some of her behavior.
Really?
Yolanda is much more
socially outgoing.
That's plain to see, it
was a problem for Matthew.
Did she
make him jealous?
I don't know.
Yolanda seems like a
perfectly nice sweet girl.
I'm sure she didn't
do anything so awful.
Matthew can be a bit old-fashioned
when it comes to girls,
a little conservative perhaps.
I think Matthew will be
happier with a quieter girl,
somebody a bit more like himself.
Hi.
So were you planning on
telling me that you broke up?
You
found out already?
Everyone in town knows except me.
I haven't even
seen you since it happened.
You have good sources.
You talked to Mama about it.
Are you sad?
A little bit sad and
a little bit relieved.
- Was she cruel to you?
- No.
She wasn't cruel.
My theory is she really didn't want
to be in a relationship.
Her theory is different.
You'll get another girlfriend.
I hope so.
She's an interesting person.
I think you and she would get along.
I never want to see her again.
I got tickets for
Yolanda and me to see
The Decemberists in
Prospect Park, 14th.
Tony and a girl he's
dating are going too.
- Do you wanna come?
- Yes.
I don't think you don't?
- I haven't.
- Okay.
I don't really know a
lot about where our money comes from.
Mama has a trust fund somewhere.
I used to think we lived on that
but then she told us once
that it wasn't a large income.
We don't live extravagantly
but we always seem
to have enough for our needs.
Hi.
Hey, busy?
No, I'm on a break.
What
are you doing tonight?
I'm helping Sarah, she wants
to record a song she wrote.
What's your role?
I'm just pressing the record
button, stuff like that.
Moral support?
Yeah, for sure.
Want to meet
upstairs when you get back?
I want to talk about something.
Sure, is it something serious?
No, it's no big deal.
I'll tell you about it later.
Okay, what are you doing?
Finishing this
Muller book, it's awesome.
You have to read it when I'm done.
Oh great, hurry up and finish it.
- Okay, have a good time.
- Bye.
At night, the house is ours.
Mama goes to bed early.
Jeanne putters around in her room.
I really don't know
what she does in there
but it seems to keep her busy.
Hang on a second.
What?
With the cigarettes, I
wanted to talk about that.
So listen.
I think we should stop smoking.
Really?
What do you think?
I don't know.
I feel bad that I got you started.
That's probably not the
smartest thing in the world.
Exactly.
Are you up for it?
Okay.
What about these?
I say we flush them.
Oh, we don't have to do that, do we?
Okay, maybe we should flush them.
I never smoked again
after that night.
I'm sure Matthew hasn't either.
The summer is almost over.
I don't want it to go.
I wish I could stop it.
Pick one.
I can't pick just one.
Suppose you had to.
Suppose you were stranded
on a desert island.
- Don DeLillo.
- DeLillo?
Over Pynchon, over
David Foster Wallace?
You told me to pick
one, I like DeLillo.
I mean I like him
too but over Pynchon?
Pynchon is great, why are
you on my ass about this
when you put a gun to my head
and forced me to pick one?
Because you picked the wrong one.
Feel free to get in
here whenever you want.
I'm just listening to the boy talk.
What do
you think, Jess?
You guys are just going to have
to settle this by yourselves.
There is nothing to settle
here, it is so obvious.
Oh my god,
don't they look
just like boyfriend and girlfriend?
Hmm?
Don't you think
they look like boyfriend
and girlfriend more
than brother and sister?
Yeah, so what are we doing next?
This is such a perfect night.
This is what I wish life
could always be like.
I know it's just a fantasy
but it's very sweet.
Maybe it wouldn't be much
fun if it weren't a fantasy.
We'll never know, will we?
Since when did you get
so resigned to your fate?
What makes you say that?
All my life I've known
there's no solution.
I don't have any expectation
of us having a life together.
I never have.
I'm not talking about
the unmentionable act.
I don't think that's
such a big deal.
I think that's just a
matter of logistics.
For an unmentionable act,
it gets mentioned a lot.
Oh, do I make you uncomfortable?
Come on, you like it.
You'd be sad if I lost interest.
If the phase were over,
you'd feel abandoned.
No, I wouldn't.
It'd really be a win-win
situation for you, you know?
What would be?
What we're talking about,
what can't be mentioned.
You could just drop it and move onto
an adult, mature relationship
whenever you were ready
and I would totally accept it.
Yeah, I just see you
totally accepting that.
Really and sincerely, I wish
you would take me seriously.
I take you very
seriously, the only one who
doesn't take you seriously
is making a big mistake.
There's something I don't
ever remember hearing you talk
about in this fantasy, the
one with no expectations,
- are there children?
- No.
Okay, I'm not sure exactly
what your limits are.
- No.
- Okay.
- You certainly know how to kill the mood.
- Sorry.
Were still living here.
They've
been gone a long time.
No, because I
remember listening to this song
When I imagine
Matthew leaving for college,
I always pictured a fall setting
with leaves on the ground
and everyone wearing
jackets but Princeton
had freshman orientation
before classes started
and he was gone by
the end of August,
when it was still summer.
The house isn't that much
quieter than it was before
but now the quiet moments are awful.
I feel as if I'm not
supposed to be here anymore
but I don't have anywhere else.
I decided to go away at
the same time as Matthew
to visit my cousin Annie
and her husband Joe upstate
but it was a funny
time for a vacation.
Their kids were
going back to school.
They were busy.
I came home after a weekend.
We text all the time.
We call a lot.
Email, not so much.
It's kind of awful and
depressing somehow.
Facebook is fun sometimes.
Matthew still posts on some blogs
and sometimes I
spoof comments to see
if he can figure out that it's me,
kind of pathetic.
It's actually
closed to the public
but a sophomore girl that
works at the library got me in.
Look at this stuff.
Matthew sent me a video
letter his second week at school.
He shot it and edited it himself.
I think it's so great
that he did that,
so much work for just a letter.
Zoe, you're moving it.
I'm not moving it, I swear.
Well, I'm not moving it.
Could it be a ghost moving it?
I swear it's moving.
Oh, oh my god.
Have you ever hear
this word, paraphilia?
Paraphilia?
Megan, you
have to concentrate.
It means repeated
intense sexual arousal
to unconventional or
social deviant stimuli.
Sarah, I
thought you were studying
for a chemistry test.
No, this is on
George's Facebook page.
Why is George
posting about deviant stimuli?
Is he coming out or something?
No, his whole page is full
of stuff from psychology texts.
This is from the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders.
I think he's just
trying to be perverted
and make it look like
it's an academic--
Here's another definition,
sexual arousal in response
to sexual objects or
situations that are not part
of society normative
arousal/activity pattern.
Okay, let's get
back to the Ouija board.
It stopped talking to us when
you brought up paraphilia.
They gave eight
categories of paraphilia,
exhibitionism,
fetishism, blah, blah.
Frotteurism, there's one
you don't hear every day,
touching or rubbing against
a nonconsensual person.
Does that mean
that frotteur is a word?
Yeah, I think so.
It's be
a good one too.
Maybe it's
a very proper ghost
from the olden days and
we're scaring it away
with this sex conversation.
Then the ninth
category is called NOS,
not otherwise specified.
When Will went away to Cornell,
I fell into a terrible,
terrible sadness.
I knew, of course,
that I would miss him
very much but what I
felt was beyond that.
I hadn't realized how much
I'd come to depend on him.
For a woman who's alone, her
children become everything.
And the oldest one...
I know myself better now.
I wasn't taken by surprise
in the same way when Matthew left.
I probably
should have talked more
after Matthew left, it made
Mama think I was depressed,
or maybe I was really
depressed, I don't know.
I felt like I was
pretending to be depressed
to avoid having to talk but
maybe I was really depressed
and just thought I was pretending.
Anyway, Mama, who means very well,
thought I should see a therapist.
Would you
like some coffee?
No.
There were also a few times
where she caught me crying.
I cried a lot after Matthew left.
It felt natural.
I felt better afterwards.
I don't think anything
was really wrong.
So, anyway, that's
all there is to that.
Your sister
is still living at home,
though, Jeanne, is that right?
Yeah, Jeanne.
Do you
speak to her much?
Once in a while.
We don't have all
that much in common.
You seem like a nice
person but I'm feeling
a little uncomfortable.
Yes, I can tell.
Completely terrified actually.
Can you talk about
what you're scared of?
If I could do that,
I wouldn't be scared, right?
I'm sorry.
I'm being rude.
You can be rude if you want to.
I'm really not used to
talking about private matters.
I
have the impression
- that you sometimes enjoy talking.
- Oh yeah.
In fact, you seem
unusually open about your feelings.
Yes, I have this bad habit
of embarrassing everyone
by just blurting things out.
But right now?
Yeah, I know you think that this
would be my big chance, right?
I'm actually really worried
that you're gonna tell
whatever I say to my mother.
Jackie, I always discuss
that issue with parents
before I begin therapy with a minor.
Your mother has agreed
that I will everything
you say in strict confidence.
There's only one
exception to that rule
and that's if you say something
that makes me think you're
likely to do harm to yourself.
I'm not gonna do harm to myself.
Then everything
you say will remain
in this room.
Maybe you might
give my mother advice
about what I should do.
Jackie, I will not give
your mother advice about you.
I will not tell her
what you say here, okay?
Okay.
So, you're a private person.
Yeah, sometimes.
Do you have any confidantes,
anyone you can talk to?
No, not really.
Do you keep
a diary or a notebook
where you can write
your thoughts down?
Oh my god.
No, I would never do such a thing.
You're afraid
your mother might read it.
No, my mother would never
do anything like that.
It's just the idea.
Jackie, I think it's
best if we stop for today.
I'm going to ask you to
go home and think about
what you want out of
this therapy, okay?
Okay, okay.
I'm going to keep your
appointment for next week
in my schedule and you or
your mother can give me call
and let me know what
you decide to do.
I felt really
stupid for clamming up
like that, I told myself that
I would just talk honestly
to this woman at the next
session but when it came around,
I was terrified all over again.
Okay, I guess that's all for now.
Um.
Do you think it's weird
that we never say,
"I love you," to each other?
Something has to go here at the end.
Right?
So anyway, I love you.
Bye.
Okay, I guess that's all for now.
I'll probably call you later on.
There's no need for a long
dramatic goodbye, right?
I miss you so horribly.
Okay, well, good night.
It's really good, the
way you put it together
is really intelligent.
I really like the way you
cut the rooms together.
No, I hated that.
I couldn't get it right.
No, it had a good rhythm.
Maybe you should think
about filmmaking.
I think you have a talent for it.
No, you're crazy.
I just gave up on it and hit upload.
Wait, I've got it
open in another window.
Hello--
Oh my god.
Let's see
what our house looks like.
- What?
- Stop it, stop it right now.
So you
want me to stop it?
No, wait.
Put it back on.
It's still on,
there's no sound in this part.
What's happening,
what's happening now?
This is
the shot of Mama.
Oh my god.
She's done
it, of course, she's done it
more than everyone in
the room put together.
So how is it?
I love sex.
You won't
get anything out of her.
Yeah, but it's
different, she's in love.
It's different when
you love the person.
Look, I'll admit, I haven't had sex.
And I feel like I'm in the majority
but listening to everybody
talk about sex all the time,
you start to feel like
some kind of freak.
Why do you feel like a freak?
It's not some magic
key or something.
Even if you have it, you
still feel like other people
are having it more
or having it better.
Yeah, but you didn't even like it.
It was okay, it was
fine, I didn't dislike it.
Why should I feel
better if you had bad sex?
If I'm like the only
person in the world
who hasn't had sex, I'm going--
I thought you
said you were in the majority.
Of feeling that way, if I'm feeling
like I'm the only person in
the world who hasn't had sex,
I'm not going to feel
any more nurtured
because you had bad sex.
Megan, you're being
a little hostile.
How am I being hostile?
I didn't say it was bad sex.
Look, people aren't
going to tell you
about their sex lives.
It doesn't mean you're
the only only one.
It just means people like to keep
their private lives private.
Except for Megan.
Yeah, except for you.
Did I start this conversation?
Did I start talking
about sex, I did not.
You know that I
haven't had sex either.
I know that but--
Yeah, but you don't count, Jackie,
because you're not even trying.
I'm not even trying?
You never even express
any interest in boys.
I can't tell whether you even care.
I do care, I think
about it constantly.
Deep down, I'm a total slut.
Well,
then go get some.
Everyone's
a slut deep down.
Then why don't you ever
flirt or even talk about guys?
I don't know, I don't
know how to flirt.
I guess I'm shy.
You
are so not shy.
Not with you.
Just doesn't
want to talk about it.
I think about it constantly
too and it's frustrating
because I know everything I'm
thinking is just a fantasy
that comes from songs and movies.
Maybe it has nothing
to do with reality.
Really?
I don't
know, I just wonder.
Mine feels real.
But you don't
really know though.
I have a really vivid image
of what it's like in my mind
with all the feelings and
emotions rolled up together.
Sounds like you
have a lot of vivid images.
I can totally see
Jackie being a late bloomer,
like in 10 years,
jetting around the world
having affairs with movie
stars, can't you picture it?
What about me?
Don't I get to jet around
the world with Jackie?
No, you get to go to college
and hook up with some guy
and immediately start
giving us all sex advice.
You are so rude.
If I get a boyfriend in
college, I don't intend
to be hanging around
with your ass just so
I can give you sex advice.
- I'm okay.
- I'm outta here.
It wasn't until
my third therapy session
that I made my
confession about Matthew
and Linda didn't call
the cops or anything.
In fact, she didn't
seem shocked at all.
I suppose she saw
the punchline coming.
Well, if you're
going to go to the city,
there's no campus.
Are you attracted
to other boys besides Matthew?
No, not really.
What do you
mean by "not really"?
Well, sometimes I'll
feel attracted to somebody
if they have some good
quality that I like,
like if he's an independent thinker
or if he says something
really smart or really funny
but all that stuff doesn't
mean anything really.
It doesn't
mean anything?
Well, who knows what
that person's really like?
There's no sense falling
in love with a guy
just 'cause he can tell a good joke.
You're concerned you don't
know what they're really like.
Sure.
A lot of people find
mystery attractive
but you seem to want
familiarity instead.
Yes, that's true.
I totally need to know everything
about a person before
I can get into them.
What does that mean?
I don't know,
what do you think it means?
I don't know.
Do you feel
afraid or nervous when
you don't know everything
about a person?
Not afraid exactly.
Does that person
seem dangerous or threatening?
I don't think so, I mean I
don't feel that consciously.
Mostly I'm just bored if I
don't know the other person.
Some people
project positive fantasies
onto an attractive stranger.
They imagine that the other person
has all the good qualities
that they're looking
for until proven otherwise.
Not me, I just assume
that everyone is messed up
until proven otherwise.
Maybe you
should become a therapist.
Really?
Well, messed up is not
the proper clinical term
but not projecting positive
fantasies onto people
is a quality that a
therapist needs to have.
So how does it work when you know
somebody really well,
when you can see
all their little quirks,
their imperfections--
Sure.
Does that make it difficult
for you to be attracted to them?
Well, it depends on what
the imperfections are.
I don't need people to be perfect.
Everybody has their issues.
Do you see
Matthew's issues?
Well, of course.
What are they?
Well...
Matthew can be a little bit
arrogant, like deep down,
he thinks he knows everything
better than everyone.
And he can be judgmental.
He tries not to be like that though.
That's something good about him.
You can talk to him if
you're upset about something
he did and he'll hear
what you're saying.
No matter how much I think about it,
what it comes down to,
he's the best person I know.
He's the smartest and
the most sensitive
and the most interesting
and it's not because
he's my brother, it's because
he's the best person there is.
If he weren't around,
I wouldn't love anyone.
For me, he's irreplaceable.
Did you visit any museums?
It's Will on the
phone, pick up in the kitchen.
Tell him I said hi.
Jackie just came
home, she says hello.
There are
two kinds of people here.
The first kind, which is my group,
pretends college is about
studying even though
they know it's really about topic A
and the second group
doesn't even pretend.
This cluster is legendary to
the alleged coed skinny dipping
that allegedly happens at
the alleged swimming pool.
I suspect it was a
total myth at first
but by now a bunch of people
have probably tried it
just because the idea
was put in their heads.
Ever
since Matthew left,
I've been waiting for the
news that he has a girlfriend.
Sometimes I wish that he
would stop dragging out
the suspense and just
get it over with.
Linda says that most people
are attracted to mystery
and that I'm attracted to
people I know really well.
Sounds like
she's got your number.
Are you attracted to mystery too?
In some ways.
Is that what you feel
about me, that you know me
too well to be attracted to me?
It's
hard to say exactly.
I don't get it, what's
the big deal about mystery
because people aren't going
to stay mysterious forever
and then when the mystery wears
off, you're stuck with them.
It appears
to be the way it works
if you look at married couples.
I think I've got a much
more practical system.
The mystery thing is bad evolution.
No, that's
wrong, evolution doesn't care
about the long run, it cares
about getting us reproduced.
After that, evolution
doesn't give a fuck.
And by the way, it also
cares about getting
new different genes in the
pool so the more mysterious,
the better as far as
evolution is concerned.
Yes, you're right.
Completely right as always.
I never thought of it that way.
You're so smart.
I'm an evolutionary
reject, I'm totally fucked.
Are you unhappy with the therapy?
No, it's okay.
I'm still not sure what
it's supposed to accomplish
but it's fine.
Are you
feeling any better
than you were when you started?
Maybe, I don't think I was
actually depressed or anything.
This has nothing to do
with you, I love you.
I think you're completely wonderful
so I wish I could have
a good transference
and think about you all
the time instead of him
and then I'd just be a lesbian.
Did I just say that?
Yes, you did.
That's embarrassing.
Don't be embarrassed, you
can say whatever you want here.
Actually I think I'm 100 % hetero.
I have had girl crushes
and stuff like that.
Supposed to just say whatever
comes into my head, right?
Mm-hmm.
I have a friend named
Madeleine whom I totally adore.
What's Madeleine like?
She's really pretty, um,
and she's incredibly sweet,
like she hasn't got a
mean bone in her body.
She's nice to everyone.
She has a boyfriend, I
don't see her that much.
Would you see
her more if you could?
Yeah, I would love to see her more.
Is your feeling
for Madeleine different
from your feeling for Matthew?
Uh.
Yeah.
How is it different?
Totally different in every way.
Is it different in terms
of sexual attraction?
Yeah.
So you're sexually
attracted to Matthew?
Yeah.
I wasn't completely clear on that.
You gave me the impression earlier on that it wasn't sexual.
Oh, I said all kinds of
dumb things earlier on.
You almost
never talk about Will.
- Is that his name?
- Yeah, Will.
Your oldest brother.
Will.
How do
you feel about him?
He's pretty cool.
I like him basically,
he's a real alpha male,
very aggressive, Matthew has
a more balanced personality.
You're wondering if I'm
attracted to Will, I bet?
Are you?
No.
Not in the least.
So you've never
thought of him in that way.
He's totally not the kind of person
I would feel that way about.
The idea of it is just...
Is just what?
Very unpleasant
and kind of disgusting.
In other words, it
would feel like incest?
Oh my god, I'm so messed up.
Listen
up, everyone, if you're
on the majorette squad and
you're going to the game
in Port Jervis, the bus is
outside the main building.
Report to the front
desk for a hall pass.
Hey, hey.
Yeah?
You should try out.
Why, do you think I'd
be a good majorette?
No.
Then why did you say anything?
What a loser.
The weird thing is
I think he's flirting.
I'm going
out with Sarah and Alex.
Oh, all right.
We're going to a party.
Really?
What's wrong with that?
Nothing, it's just you
don't often go to parties.
So I don't know what
time I'll be home.
That's fine, have a good time.
Okay, I'll see you later.
(Grunge rock music
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Do you remember me?
Yeah.
We did that Catholic
work at the soup kitchen
last year for a charity drive.
Yeah, I totally remember you.
How's Debbie?
She's great, she's studying.
Who do you know here?
Would you mind?
Okay, I'm totally inexperienced at that kind of thing but.
That's cool.
Just go for it.
It wasn't
until the second I had sex
that it occurred to me to
fantasize about Matthew.
After long and
serious consideration,
I selected email,
the most impersonal
form of communication.
You seem so comfortable.
I thought it might
weird you out a little.
Of
course it's weird
but our whole relationship
is weird in the first place.
I wanted to weird you
out more than I did.
It did,
it weirded me out.
It's an interesting weird,
it's got a certain fascination.
Mm.
I turned this conversation
over in my head for days.
I put different
interpretations on it,
looked it at from every angle.
What were you feeling?
I don't know, not too much.
I was pretty cool headed
through the whole thing.
Were there
any difficulties?
No, it went fine.
Were you lubricated?
Oh yeah,
I mean he went
in pretty easily after
the hymen incident.
It sounds as if
you must have enjoyed
yourself a little bit at least.
Not really.
If you
were lubricated,
you must have had some reaction.
I was wet but I
wasn't really involved.
I felt like a spectator.
Trying to say that I
secretly enjoyed it?
I'm not trying to say that.
I'm saying that it sounds
as if you were
physically responsive.
Yeah.
I was...
responsive enough for, you know,
the minimum requirements.
You don't like the
idea of being attracted
to anyone other than
Matthew, do you?
I had a dream last
week where I saw a boy
who wasn't Matthew and
I felt attracted to him.
What happened
after that in the dream?
I can't remember it clearly.
I never talked to the boy and
nothing happened between us.
Who does the boy
in the dream remind you of?
No one in particular.
Can you describe him?
Oh god, I can't remember.
He was medium height and
he had long dark hair,
long for a boy, down to his chin
and he had a round face.
Did those features
remind you of anyone?
No, not exactly.
I guess I have a face like that.
Yes, you do.
You think that's me?
What would that mean?
I don't know,
what do you think it means?
I have no idea.
He's a nasty little twerp, isn't he?
You are so strong,
if that happened to me,
I would crawl under a rock and die.
Who gives fuck?
Two days later, after school,
when no one was around,
Tristan asked me to
go out with him again.
He said that he was probably
breaking up with Debbie
because she didn't like his friends
or he didn't like her
friends or something.
He kept saying what a good
time he had on Saturday night.
Which one
are you doing first?
Princeton.
Did you even
need to ask that, Mama?
Is that
your first choice?
For now, I'm still doing research.
That's nice,
dear, going away
would be much easier for
you if Matthew is around.
I'm getting a lot of
resistance from you on this.
Well, yeah.
We're just talking about it.
You know I'm not in any position
to force you to do anything.
That's right, you're not.
I haven't even
expressed a preference.
Yes, but I know what
you want me to do.
Can we talk about
why the idea of going
to a different school
bothers you so much?
Go ahead, talk.
Hey.
Hi.
Give me a minute,
I have to go finish
this for Miss Rodriguez.
Phillip has his Mama's van to go
to the Poconos this weekend.
This weekend I can't.
Why not?
It's a vacation and my
brother's home from school
and I have a lot of
stuff to do at home.
So you're busy the whole vacation?
I don't know, maybe not.
Okay.
Whatever.
Sorry, I just can't do it.
I really have to finish this.
All right, later.
Why wouldn't you come with me?
I don't see any
need to stand waiting outside
the subway station, you don't
even know when he's going to--
He's on his way now, I'm going.
You're making too big
a fuss over this, Jacqueline.
I don't want to be the
only one meeting him.
Come on, come with me.
Why don't you want to
be the only one meeting him?
I don't know.
But it should be more of an event.
I'm sure it'll
be quite a nice surprise
with you just meeting him there.
Don't take him out anywhere,
though, come straight home.
Oh my god.
How long have you been waiting here?
Welcome home.
This is a small token
of our appreciation
that you've returned to us.
Di Fara's, all right.
Is Mama making dinner?
Of course, but you
can go ahead and have-
- I guess I can handle a slice.
It's so good
to see you, dear.
Hey Matthew.
Hey Jeanne.
Peter completely agreed with me
but he knew I wanted a public room.
He felt we were violating some
unwritten law of roommate life.
No, that's absurd,
you were in the right.
I see his
point in theory but he had
all these friends over
from Groton on weekends.
Don't these Princeton
students ever study?
As far
as he's concerned,
if you wanna to study,
go to the library.
It's ridiculous but there's
no point in arguing with him.
Last time we went out
it was right in the middle
of my period and I figured
like whatever, go for it
but he was really nervous
and he wasn't sure whether
he should do it and I was really
surprised 'cause I thought
that guys these days were
cool with period blood.
Maybe he just
didn't want to bloody up
his mom's sheets.
It was the back
seat of his mom's car.
Maybe.
What about you, does
period blood bother you?
I've
never encountered it.
Yes you have.
I've never encountered
it in a sex context.
I'm pretty sure I'd be okay with it.
Did this guy get his act together?
Yeah, he was fine
once we got started.
I find that I like sex actually.
That
doesn't surprise me.
What do you mean?
I've always thought of
you as a sexual person,
just little things I remember
from when we were kids.
What do you remember?
Nothing particular, I
remember you being all smiley
and happy whenever we
were up to something,
if we were touching
ourselves or something
and me being more nervous
or guilty, of course.
You always seemed to
have your act together.
Aw, that's too bad that didn't last.
Mm.
Uh, the last time that
Tristan and I were together,
he asked me to do
something special for him.
Like what?
Well, he wanted me to
put my finger up his butt.
Oh, okay.
I pretended I was grossed
out by it and I said no.
I could tell he really wanted
it but he dropped the subject
and the thing is I wasn't
bothered by it at all.
I just didn't feel like doing it
for him right at that moment.
I guess I was being a bitch.
Did you act
all indignant, like,
"I beg your pardon, sir"?
I think I said, "Ew."
Maybe I'll change my mind
sometime and give him a thrill.
It
wouldn't bother you?
Totally not.
If I loved a boy, I would
do anything for him.
I would never say no to anything.
You're the last of the romantics.
Romantic with a capital R.
That last comment was
directed at me I guess.
I guess so.
Be so great if you has some
horrible disgusting perversion
that no one else in the
world would ever gratify.
You'd probably never
tell me, would you?
You could at least
pretend you're not watching
my crotch for a reaction.
Are you having a reaction?
What's wrong?
This was a mistake.
Matthew, wait, sit down.
It's like you're
doing everything you can
to make it impossible
for me to around you.
Please don't be
angry with me, please.
You have to know what you're doing.
You have to know how
hard you're pushing.
I know, I know, I'm sorry,
I'm really sorry but everything
is at stake, my whole life
is at stake right now.
I'm going to bed.
That was the
last sleepless night
of my life so far.
Hi.
Hi.
Can we go upstairs
and talk for a second?
Sure.
Do you need
your coffee first?
Yeah.
There's only one thing
I'm really afraid of
and that's that you'll
withdraw from me emotionally.
Maybe that's what has to happen
if we want to have a normal life.
You mean if I want
to have a normal life.
No, me too.
Really?
You're a very powerful person,
maybe you don't think so.
I don't
feel powerful.
But you are, I feel like
I'm caught in your force field
sometimes, I can't get
my balance.
What you're saying is
unbearably sad to me.
I can deal with our being apart.
I think I can deal with that.
I can deal with you having
other people in your life
but what I can't deal
with is the thought
that I won't be connected to you.
Look at you, though,
you're crying all the time.
You're crying now, is
that what you want?
Crying
isn't such a bad thing.
You don't understand that
'cause you never cry.
If I cried too, this house
would be like washed away.
You should try it
sometime, it helps.
Besides, I'm saying
goodbye to something.
You're supposed to cry
when you say goodbye.
Drama queen.
What's going on?
Just leave 'em alone.
I
managed pretty well
for the rest of that vacation.
I did have a little
breakdown when Matthew left
for school but that
wasn't too awful.
I think he expected it.
It was the hardest decision
I made in my entire
life but I never sent
in my application to Princeton.
I can't describe how I felt
as the deadline approached.
I don't like to think about it.
I was looking forward
to telling Linda
about my decision but, of course,
she turns it around on me
and says, "Did you think that
I wanted you to do that?"
I don't know why she's
wasting her time on small fry
like me, she should be
psychoanalyzing people
in Vienna or something.
This house is my native country.
Soon I'll have to leave it
and go among foreigners.
In the winter, I began dating
a nice boy named Robert
who goes to a different high school.
We aren't going to the
same college in the fall
and everyone seems to think
that romances don't last
when that happens.
I guess we'll see.
Maybe I'll be the
exception to the rule,
as I am to so many other rules.
I feel so old lately,
so prematurely old.
I'm not even 18 yet and
I'm already resigned
to never being happy,
pretending from morning to night
that I want to same
things as everyone else.
Linda says that I
shouldn't feel fatalistic,
that my life will keep changing.
She's a smart lady,
I hope she's right.
I'm thinking that I'd like
to major in psychology at college.
I can't honestly say
that therapy's changed me
in any big way but
that's one good thing
that came out of it at least.
Linda thinks that I'm
having a transference
but I'm really
interested in this stuff.
You may be worried
about the possibility
of getting a therapist who's
as twisted and abnormal as me,
but, you know, I think that's
how it usually happens.
First, you wonder how
your own head works
and then you get interested
in other people's heads.