This Beautiful Fantastic (2016) Movie Script
Bella Brown...
Well, what can I say?
There was nothing normal
about the girl.
It's a miracle she survived at all
after her arrival in the world.
They say she would have perished
if it hadn't of been for the ducks.
Sat on her like an egg,
they did.
Treated her as one of their own.
She was finally discovered by
one of those ancient lunatics
who frequent
the parks of our city
and seem to
enjoy hypothermia.
She grew into
the oddest of oddballs,
terrified by the
unpredictability of nature
and flora, in particular.
Where on earth that came from,
I dread to think.
She's always had a
preoccupation with order
that would have tried
the patience of a saint,
never mind the nuns
at Saint Fedelma's.
Bella Brown!
It's an insular and solitary
world for Miss Brown,
just her and her books.
Hers was a story
just waiting to be told
but the obsessive little world
she created
meant that this was
one book that remained
firmly shut.
I'm not a religious man
but I believe someone
sent her here
to test us.
Today,
I'm going to make a difference.
Why am I waasting your time with
all this worthless titter-tatter?
Because through some misguided
care in the community scheme,
this strange creature has
become my next door neighbor.
May I remind you,
on you indicated days,
you are to arrive here by 9 o'clock
and work until 4:30,
with an hour for lunch and
two 15 minute breaks for tea.
This morning you are to tend
to oceanography, A thru to J,
which is, quite frankly, all at sea.
Hello.
I'm looking for
Leonardo di SerPiero Da Vinci.
Please, I'm technical drawings
and the like,
You, be so kind.
Leonardo da Vinci, Civil Engineering,
in brackets European history,
on back wall, bottom left.
Marvelous!
Are you a member?
No, I'm not going to take them, anyway.
I'd only lose them. Where would that get us?
May I remind you, no eating
or drinking in the library
and we expect
absolute silence at all times.
Of course you can.
Absolute!
Absolutely.
Hello. Sorry.
Thank you, once again.
Yes, sorry, don't mind...
Yes, yes. I'm sorry.
Absolutely!
The library will be closing
in 3 minutes, exactly.
Please return your books
from whence they came
and make your way to
the exit, immediately, thank you.
Look what I found.
Ahh, yes!
Our very own
horticultural terrorist.
That place has gone to rack and ruin
since she's moved in.
Wiil you please calm down
and leave the poor girl alone.
Leave her alone?
Have you seen what she's done?
It's nothing less than
a wanton, criminal neglect.
I'm Milly Wilton,
Mr. Stephenson's
long suffering daughter.
You took a tumble.
the garden fought back,
that's what.
You'll survive,
no harm done.
No harm done? I think harms
had an absolute bloody field day!
Blunt pressure!
Don't worry,
tea is on it's way.
Vernon!
Where is that damn tea?
So, young lady, what is it you do
when you're not murdering plants?
I work in the library.
Filing, mostly, but
but really, I'm a writer.
Oh, a writer! I see. Yes, well, that
keeps you out of the garden, doesn't it?
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Inconvenience!
What about sorry
for the unmitigated
eco-apocalypse you created?
Vernon, the tea!
Textbook!
Great! I hope you
enjoy making me ill.
There's only one person
responsible for your health.
Yes, you!
Vernon!
Tea, please.
Ok, alright, alright,alright.
Here it is. I'm sorry.
Hello, Milly.
Alright, stop shouting.
Here.
A cup of tea.
Go on, they're homemade.
Right...
I've got to go.
Delicious!
Thank you.
85% cocoa,
that's the trick.
and I make them with oat bran, something
that's not so bad for His Lordship.
You look repellant in that apron
and you've been wearing it too long.
See the abuse that
I have to put up with?
If he wasn't so sick, I
wouldn't let him get away with it.
Don't speak to me like that. If you continue
speaking to me like that, I'm going to quit.
Oh, ho, ho! Quite the Celtic Braveheart,
aren't we, when we've got an audience!
He doesn't realize how important
this job is to him.
Anyway, you can start cleaning the carpet,
thanks to our unwanted guest.
Anytrime in the next 30 seconds.
No, no, no. I've got to go. I've
got to let the babysitter go.
Well, you better start
straight away, hadn't you?
For God's sake, stop
that Gaelic gibberish.
I'll do it.
No, it's OK, it's my job...
Go on, you'll be late.
Don't be ungracious, Vernon.
Thank the girl.
Oh, sorry, thank you. It's just that
my kids will be really worried.
Slavery was abolished in 1834,
just so you know.
And this country's been going
down the drain ever since.
Hi, Bella.
This is Sinead.
this is Niamph.
Say hi, girls!
Hi!
We've come
to cook you breakfast.
Well, it's the least
we can do after last night.
Come on, girls, Come on.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Ok, girls, will you help me
take out the ingredients?
Oh, it's dark in here.
Do you mind if I open these.?
Well, that's very thoughtful of you, Vernon
but there's really no need.
What, have you eaten?
No.
Well, it's really not a problem.
I'm going to get the girls picked up
here after breakfast, anyway.
So, ah, ok, let's see what
we're working with.
Food prison.
I really need to get ready for work.
Don't let us stop you.
We got it covered.
Good to go.
Ok, girls, you cook that up.
You take that one.
Girls, there's Bella!
So, what do we got here?
Enjoy!
You don't have to eat it all.
I do make big portions
for the big man next door.
Ok, there's your lift, girls.
We're out of time.
Ok.
And don't fall. Slow down!
Thanks, Jean.
Bye!
Does their mum
take them to school?
No, my wife passed away, so...
The breakfast is delicious.
Thank you.
Well, it's a long time
since I heard that.
You're welcome.
Your employer's a bully.
I don't know why you put up eith it.
Well, you know, you get used to it
and it pays the rent.
Is that him in the garden?
No, I can't do it.
What do you mean you can't do it?
Do you mind?
You may have won the hearts
of my slow-witted staff
but not me.
I can't forgive this.
You have squandered
everything nature has given you.
Why are you doing this to me?
It's something everyone must learn,
Miss Brown. It's called responsibility.
Anathema to you, perhaps but it's
an important part of the human condition.
And you, spuds for brains,
are late!
No, I'm not!
You are now.
I cannot tolerate tardiness,
so I won't be paying you for today.
I've had enough of this!
What?
I'm warning you, Alfie, one more word
and you can shove your job. Hear?
You're fired.
Okay. Will that be my
first verbal warning, then?
You're sacked, Vernon,
end of story.
You've heard of the
3 stage dismissal process, have you?
What?
So, let me see, I've been
working for you for 5 years,
that's a minimum of 5 months paid notice.
I can get you a copy of the
Employment Act if you want.
You'd be better off rehearsing:
"Would sir like chips with that?"
Save you time.
He can work for me.
What?
What?
You could work for me,
if you wanted to.
I do,
I do want to.
Yeah, I do.
Ah, so, it looks like I'm working here now.
So, you are trespassing.
Well, make the most of it.
You deserve each other.
We'll keep my usual payday,
first of the month, thank you.
Good!
I may have been
a little hasty.
No, no, no!
That's good, that's good.
It'll be a new, fresh start.
I don't know
how I'll pay you.
It's ok, he'll pay me,
so you don't have to.
I'll show that mean old man
what he's missing.
Have you already
got a cleaner?
Just me.
Alright
There's cleaning and
there's cleaning.
Eh, please don't do that.
There's only some things that
a professional
can spot.
Oh, my god!
I can't be late for work again.
Please don't touch anything.
Good.
Let's go.
Hello!
Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Sculpture or architecture?
Oh, Sculpture, of course,
every time.
It's the 4th aisle
on your right, top left shelf.
Top left. Thank you.
Do you know the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa?
Yes, I've seen pictures.
You must see it in the flesh.
It's incredible.
He makes tons of marble
simply float.
It defies gravity with beauty.
It destroys logic with emotion.
Horticulture.
Sorry.
How is it?
It's wonderful.
Well, the vegetables haven't
been tinned for two decades, so
you'll actually be able to taste them.
Where did you learn
to cook like this?
My mum, God rest her.
She was a cook?
No, she couldn't cook for toffee.,
So, I had to take matters into my own hands
as soon as I could reach the stove.
Bella, look, there's something
I have to tell you...
I did your laundry today and
I threw in some of the girls' stuff
and, uh,
I think it was
this little fella to blame.
I'm so sorry.
It's ok.
I'll put them over here.
I...Sorry!
Give me back my cook.
Who is this?
Your nemesis.
Alfred Stephenson,
your next door neighbor.
Oh, hello. I'm sorry
for the inconvenience...
Give me back my cook!
Miss Brown?
I haven't got all day, Miss Brown!
I wasn't expecting you til the
start of the month, Mr. O'Brien.
I'm here on urgent business, Miss Brown,
a matter of great importance!
Now then, let me see,
Flat 2, 6 Primrose Gardens.
I have the appropriate paperwork
pertaining to the property
and the relevant
photographic documentation.
Ah, this is all shipshape, Miss Brown,
very soothing on the eye.
Of course.
But I've received a complaint.
What? From whom?
Oh, my word!
This is worse than I expected!
You agreed to keep the property
in sond repair, Miss Brown.
This property, Miss Brown,
includes the garden.
I know.
I'm not much for the great outdoors,
I'm more of a...
I'm a fair man but
I am bound by the law,
as detailed in the contract
signed by your good self.
I have a dislike...
more of a distaste of...
You see, plants and I don't really
get along, so it's not really
neglect. It's more of a
fear and loathing but I
I promise you, I can fix that.
Everything will go back to normal.
The laws are there to
provide boundaries, Miss Brown.
This wanton level of neglect falls
well within your legal obligations
and you are, therefore, in breach.
Good morning.
I'm Vernon.
I'm Miss Brown's
partner.
Eugene O'Brien, landlord. We were just
discussing the spectacular level of neglect
relating to the
29ft north-facing garden
with lawns and
well stocked borders.
Alright, yeah, we were just
about to get into the garden.
Yeah, that's a major priority.
That's top of the list.
I'm afraid it's too late for that.
I shall have to ask you to
vacate by the end of the month.
Were you expecting
Mr. O'Brien this morning?
I wasn't.
Alright .
And you made an appointment?
I beg your pardon?
Section 34 of the Property Act:
A landlord must give clear warning
if he wants to inspect the property.
Very well, we'll come back later, then.
Too late, it's not convenient.
A convenient date must be mutually agreed
That's Section 17C.
Tomorrow then.
Tomorrow's no good.
Friday?
Friday...
No, can't do Friday.
Next Monday?
Next Monday's no good.
Alright then, when?
One calendar month's notice,
Section 17C.
You know that.
There will be repercussions,
Miss Brown!
If this garden's not fixed,
you're out on the street.
You have exactly
1 month from today.
What's the matter?
I'm kidding myself. I'm no writer
and I'm certainly no gardener.
What are you talking about?
Of course, you're a writer.
No, I'm not.
And...I know I'm to be evicted and then
I'll be homeless and you'll be unemployed
and it's all my fault.
Oh, I see.
You're feeling sorry for yourself.
No!
I mean, you have to look at the facts.
You have to weigh it out.
What?
Stand up.
Come on.
Just stay still.
I won't hurt you.
When was the last time
you were hugged?
It's been a while.
Alright, get on with it.
Lonicera aureoreticulata.
Honeysuckle, to you.
Though personally, I think they look better
when they're attached to the plant itself.
And look right next to it,
delphinium.
Great big iridescent blue flowers,
before you cut them up into little pieces.
I think they were the last living things
in your horticultural graveyard.
I was just trying
to tidy up a bit.
I think that's what Hitler
said about Europe.
Anyway, enough
of this smalltalk.
Give me back my cook!
What?
No!
Give him back,
I need him!
Well, you should have thought about that
before you treated him like dirt.
Stop... Don't act like a little girl,
give me my cook back!
Give him back!
I can't hear you.
What is wrong with you?
You could come
and help, you know.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I would but...hay fever,
chronic allergies.
My head swells up like a pumpkin.
I'm no use to man or beast,
I'm sorry.
There you go.
It may look like a
simple quiche and salad
but the balsamic reduction
and the onion glaze elevate it
to something
altogether more satisfying.
Enjoy!
I didn't want to have to
spell it out to you but
I'm a dying man.
Unlike you,
I don't have long left.
Time is my enemy.
i mourn every minute.
Every precious second marks
my life draining away.
That's dreadful,
I had no idea.
I don't have much to give me comfort,
no friend, no family, no one to love
I only have the beauty of nature
and the promise of
a hearty last meal.
I beg you,
send Vernon home to me
and we can put all this
silly mess behind us.
I had no idea you were so ill,
I'm so sorry but I can talk...
What are you doing?
Don't listen to that.
He's dying!
Why didn't you tell me?
The old coot's been dying
for the last 10 years.
Vernon!
Ok, let me guess.
Was it, ehm...
"Time is my enemy,
I mourn every minute,
I mourn every second", or
was it: "I have no friends,
I have no family,
I have nothing...nothing."?
He used both.
Oh, hey, so
he's getting desperate.
Perfect.
It's shut.
It's bloody shut!
Sorry, Miss Bramble. Problem
with the buses this morning...
I think the problem is with you,
not with public transport
and I wouldn't be making this point if
your tardiness was not pathological.
So sorry!
I hate to interrupt.
Looking Hercu Lampana.
Lamparna.
Architecture, back wall
on your right, third shelf down.
Thank you.
We also have a book
on his early illustrations.
That's exactly
what I'm looking for.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Goodbye, Miss.
Thank you again for earlier.
It's nothing, really.
What's your name, by the way?
I don't know what to call you.
Bella.
Bella Brown.
Well, I'm William, William Tranter
but everyone calls me Billy.
See you soon, Bella.
Billy.
Billy Tranter.
Excuse me, young lady.
Would you be so kind as to point me to
the section that deals with home cookery?
Certainly, sir. It's the 3rd aisle on
your left, lower 2 shelves on your right.
Thank you, very helpful.
We have recently received
Walker Owen's latest:
"Dinner for one",
A simple joy and classic
simple recipes for solo dining,
which is always popular.
Thank you, very helpful.
We do try to
be of assistance.
Well, the best assistance would be
to give me back my bloody Irishman,
you heartless...
This library is a
refuge for learning
and requires silence
at all times!
Oh, learning!? Well then,
how is it that your employees
have learned nothing of
compassion for their starving fellow man?
For the hungry, aging, decrepit,
the forgotten generation
that made this country great!
Get out!
Get out immediately or
I am calling the police.
Excellent!
Have her arrested.
She murders flora that
keep this planet alive.
Be silent and leave!
I'd stick to writing
if I were you.
Well, just tell me what I should be doing,
you horrid, wretched old man!
Why should I furnish you
with that advice?
I've got 3 weeks to
turn this garden round
or I'll wind up
sleeping in the park!
Everything ok?
I am trying my best here.
I want to make a difference
and if you had
an ounce of humanity,
you wouldn't just stand there gloating,
you would help me!
Alright, I'll help.
You will?
Yes, while you give me back my cook.
No!
Yes!
He's not a slave!
He's not mine to give.
If you had treated him
like a person...
Ok, ok, ok, I'll cook your meals,
you vituperative old bastard!
Excellent.
And 5 syllables, Vernon!
I didn't know you had it in you.
But I won't set foot
inside the house.
But I'm not going to eat scraps
out of a plastic container
like some trainspotter on
a windy platform in Runcorn.
I'll cook your meals. You help her
fix up the garden. That way, we all win
Take it or leave it, Alfred.
I'll take it.
Ok, house rules: breakfast at 8,
lunch at 1, dinner at 8.
Meals will be left here
at exactly those times
and then I'm going to ring this bell twice,
so you know you can retrieve them.
I'll leave serving instructions,
if necessary,
so I don't have to hear
your voice or see your face.
Yes but what if...
Creating a garden
starts as an interest
and soon becomes
a lifetime's obsession.
One that can be engaged
on a moment's notice,
by simply stepping outside.
"A true gardener can
create more happiness
propogating life in one seed
and seeing that single flower unfold,
than a rich man could ever get
from his perfect, rolling lawns."
I've never known him to let
that book out of his sight before.
Thank you so much
for the book.
I love the illustrations.
You read it?
Every word.
So what are you talking
to me for?
Get to work or
O'Brien will have you out.
What now?
Now, you dig.
Vernon!
Can you hear me?
What?
No black pudding with my breakfast,
this morning, my Irish friend.
Yeah, fine!
Did you read the book?
I did.
What's this?
Soil.
If you leave the roots
of the weeds in the soil,
they'll grow back before
you even finish digging.
They'll strangle the life
out of your new creation.
It's just like a time bomb
waiting to go off.
Dig it all again
and sieve out the roots.
I need my bed.
About bloody time, a man
could die of starvation in this place.
Billy!
Bella!
Silence!
Sorry.
You know, I believe
those things you said.
Why would you say that?
Vernon told me how many times
he's heard the exact same stories.
Shame on you.
You should doubt only a
man who changes his story.
I only repeat myself in
the vague hope that one day,
somebody will actually hear me.
Breathtaking, isn't it?
Come. Come, come.
Like sparks falling
from a giant furnace.
In some countries, they hold parties
when it starts to rain.
But here, we just scurry around
and run for cover.
It's the most important
currency in the world.
and yet in our green and pleasant land,
where we take so much for granted,
we see it only as a means
of ruining expensive hairdos
and making taxi drivers rich.
You're odd.
Says she.
Here.
Helianthus.
Giant sunflower.
Start off with them,
they're incredibly beautiful.
They need a lot of light and heat.
They follow the arc of
the sun from dawn until dusk,
extracting maximum energy
from every day.
It's a very...
a very clever flower.
Think about that.
I think there might
be a garden here, after all.
Arthur's book, it's gripping.
Where did you get it?
He was a friend of mine.
Dear old Arthur showed me the path
to true enlightenment
and then took me on
an incredible journey.
Look after it, it's
the only one I've got.
i am amazed you trust me with it.
So am I.
I bet even Arthur would have
been daunted by this garden.
No, he would
have relished it.
A totally blank canvas, a chance
to create your own masterpiece.
Come.
Come on, follow me.
How do we make a garden?
How do we
build a color palette?
How do we create
depth and texture?
How do we keep interest
from April to October?
Well, we start with these
stunning foxgloves
and these alliums.
Come on.
Come, come, come.
And run to these camas,
and dahlias, so colorful,
it hurts your eyes
and these gloriously
purple salvias
that go on flowering until
the frost claims them.
Then the verbascum
and the evening primrose,
and those deliciously green
shuttlecock ferns.
Look, clambering,
climbing clamatis.
Sweet rocket and look,
these monkswood,
so beautiful and poisonous,
they'll kill a man.
That's an interesting contradiction,
isn't it?
That lily, golden splendor.
Persicaria.
Nicotiana.
Hollyhocks. Come.
The pogonias.
Magnificent agapanthus.
and well,
the list
is endless.
It's a world of
beautifully ordered chaos.
No, no, that's chaos,
not calamity, Miss Brown.
because if you don't understand the
difference, we won't go very far.
We?
What?
You said "we".
That's ridiculous.
2 weeks to turn this
into a garden.
Bella?
Is everything all right?
Yes ,of course. I'm just
burning some steam.
I see.
So, what brings you here?
I come here every Sunday.
I see. To scream and shout
for next whole week.
Yes and to feed Sid.
Which one's Sid?
The scruffy one.
Well, I bet he was a looker
in his day.
Mm, he was.
Do you just work?
No, goodness, no. I just come to
sketch, doodle, think, work things out.
I invent things.
I'm a designer.
Numbers and working parts,
that's my specialty.
My ideas, they sort of come out
faster than I can cope, sometimes.
A pure left-brainer.
I'm more of a no-brainer.
I don't believe that
for a second.
You seem to know so much,
every book, every author of every shelf.
I'm really working there
until my book is published.
Oh, how exciting!
What's it about?
It's a childrens' book
but it doesn't really
well, what I mean is
it doesn't really have a story
at the moment.
A novel?
Eh, sorry. Tea?
Thank you.
I like your mechanical bird thing.
How on earth
do you know about that?
The other day in the library,
you left a piece of paper.
Right. Yes, I see.
My mechanical bird thing, yes.
well, I really ought to...
Would you like to see it?
My bird thing.
Well, I only live a few minutes away.
It's not far. Well, I really shouldn't.
No one else has seen it yet.
No one else has been invited
No, I really shouldn't.
It would be rude to say no.
I suppose I...
Excellent!
Come on.
I'm just down here.
Here we are!
Wow!
After my parents died,
They left George the townhouse.
Edward got the cottage, and I got this.
It's incredible.
Part of the joy's being the eldest.
I got first pick.
Here we go.
Now...
This is Sergis,
he's particularly interesting.
I made the body of a tortoise
but with the engine of a hare.
Still needs some work, though.
And over here...
Now for the main event!
This.
This is Luna.
She's powered by light.
Solar powered?
Even moonlight.
Hence, Luna.
Hence, Luna.
I love her!
I'm so glad.
well, you're the writer better.
Tell me a story about Luna.
Luna couldn't always fly,
you know.
Well, why not?
Well,
long ago, before
the world was round,
Luna and the rest of her species
inhabited a remote forest.
They had...
tiny little wings
but were flightless.
They foraged around
on the forest floor
and kept themselves
very much to themselves.
Luna lost her parents
at a very early age.
They were taken from Luna
just like that,
no explanation.
Barely out of the nest,
she was too young to know anything.
She was such a worrier.
only coming out for food briefly when
all the other animals had gone to sleep
and the forest floor
was bathed in moonlight.
She was such a
scrawny little thing,
a loner
Well, life was passing by
until one day
Luna saw a kindly traveler
holding a thing of great
wonder and beauty and...
Then what?
and that's it, for now.
But I'd like to know
what happens next.
So do I.
Are you kicking me,
Mr. Stephenson?
No.
I'm encouraging
you to get up.
If you ignore my encouragement,
then I'll start kicking you.
This garden is taking forever.
everything that matters
takes time.
You can speed read but
you can't speed garden.
try telling that to O'Brien.
Look at that.
Look!
What's that?
It's called
fragaria virginiana.
It's a wild strawberry.
Life, nature, it's just waiting to
burst out anywhere it can,
seeking the light and
getting on with it.
It's very simple.
It must have been buried
under a ton of rubbish.
Isn't it always like that?
I should have warned you,
laundry was never Vernon's strong point.
I've got something for you.
Queen Victoria wore
more color than you.
I always feel I'm at a funeral
when you are around.
Charming.
So, have you given
this much thought?
well, it should get about
5 hours of sunlight a day.
and given at the
minimum depth of 2ft, the lilies
and other aquatic plants were the ones
filled out and all the way around
and Vernon's going to help
with the filter and the pump.
what's he going to do,
cover them in puff pastry?
How quickly do you think
we can put the fish in?
Well, personally, I would wait
until there was water in there.
Approximately how soon?
Miss Brown! Yes?
Just dig.
Well, you're much better.
Yes, well, that's because I take
all that unnecessary medication
that you force-feed me.
Aha!
What is that?
Room service.
Breakfast is in the shed.
Come on, hurry.
Oh, hello, Milly.
This is the most bizarrething
I've ever seen.
Well, it's the only way
he's going to eat my food.
His Lordship would like to know
if there's any black pudding.
No.
Tell him we ran out
And it's bad for his
cholesterol, anyway.
You , of all people,
should know that.
But don't you dare
tell him I said that.
Are you going to explain what's
going on? No!
Mr. Stephenson.
Yes?
May I ask you a personal question?
No.
Please.
No.
Ask me one, then.
Definitely not.
Why not?
I don't want to trod around in
your little obsessive little world
any more than I have to.
I'm speechless.
If only that were true.
Now, shut up and dig.
I can't.
Why not?
It's done.
Well?
Well what?
Aren't you going to thank me
for all my hard work?
You'll come for tea at 4 o'clock.
This is beautiful.
Fantastic.
When I was younger, I
did a lot of travelling.
I collected seeds
from the most spectacular plants.
Each one is from
a different country.
A different color,
a different smell
and most importantly,
different memory.
I spend my days breathing life
into these wonderful things.
Where are these from?
Iran.
I found them
on a mountainside
overlooking the sea.
Will you tell me about them?
Ah, here, here!
Take these.
They're rather old, fine quality.
Do them justice.
But I...
I don't really know how...
Don't think. Just do.
So, where was I?
Iran.
Oh, yes!
In the province of Mazandaran,
on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.
Which is, in fact, the
world's biggest lake.
Which is, in fact, your last
interruption, young lady.
I was walking through a field
that seemed endless,
all around was this
blanket of deep red peonies.
Well, anyway,
let me go back.
It was July when I arrived in Tehran.
It was bloody hot.
It was very grand
in those days, Tehran.
This is disgraceful.
I'm so sorry.
Very rude of me.
Ham and piccalilly.
It's delicious.
I don't want your sandwich.
No?
Oh, then, really?
You must have a pickled egg!
You can gather your things
together and get out.
Leave the book!
Don't think I can't see what's going on
between you two. Disgusting.
Thank you so much for those
art recommendations, really.
Inspiring stuff, especially the bird...
Get out! Get out!
Bella, hello,
Just wanted to say I'm sorry
if I caused you trouble
with the old windbag.
It's a pity you got
chucked out when you did.
I found some fantastic
Viking drawings
which I thought
would be great for Luna.
Well, you can
always show me now.
No!
No, I couldn't. Fraternizing
with the enemy is bad enough
but I, eh, no, I...
Pink wafers!
They're Miss Bramble's biscuits.
Delicious.
So, what happens to Luna?
Mesmerized, Luna couldn't
help but think about the peony.
Luna asked the traveler where
he got the beautiful flower.
"There are many," the traveler said.
"From the top
of the mountain,
you can see thousands,
"A sea of petals.
It will make your heart sing,
for it's a beautiful sight"
But how will I get
to the top of the mountain?
I can't fly and
I only come out at night.
But the traveler
had heard this before.
"You seek the rarest flower
from the top of the
tallest mountain in the world.
If you want to see them enough,
you will."
Luna was scared
and excited,
in equal measure.
I think I will find my
mother and father there.
The traveler smiled.
"You have much to learn, child.
Are you sure want to
continue on this perilous quest?"
Keep going.
I don't know
what happens next.
But I must know the ending.
You will have tea
with me tomorrow?
After work.
Yes, please.
That would be lovely.
Well, til tomorrow,
Bella Brown.
Under the old cedar tree
in the park, 6 o'clock.
Bella, wake up.
Billy...
It's not Billy, it's bliss.
It's Vernon.
Come on.
I have work at 9.
Billy is his name, yeah?
He's wonderful, Vernon.
I seeing him again, tonight.
What does Mr. Wonderful do?
He invents mechanical animals
and he makes me
feel like I can fly.
So, he's got prospects, then.
See you later!
What?
You're fired.
But Luna knew
that whatever obstacle stood in her way,
her quest could not fail.
She had been
greatly inspired
by the words of the
wonderful traveler.
He would stand by her.
Come on, Bella.
What's wrong?
I don't feel well.
Ah, my son,
how long since
your last confession?
Bella's ill.
What's wrong with her?
I don't know.
She should snap out of it.
Alright. Well, I'll be sure to pass on
your words of sympathy and support.
Come on, Bella,
what's wrong?
Come on, whatever's happening
with Mr. Mechanical Genius,
you've got to get
this garden finished.
O'Brien's going to be here Monday.
Ok Bella, I've got a pan au chocolat here
and I'm going to eat it here without a plate
Yeah, there is no plate here.
Ok, well, don't say
I didn't warn you.
The plate's gone warm
on the carpet here.
Leave me alone, please.
How's the patient?
It's more than medicine can fix unless
you've got something for a broken heart.
I can have a word with her
if you think it might help.
But gently does it, yeah?
Yes, of course.
Bella, open the bloody door!
Don't make me ask you again!
You look a mess!
Alfie!
Vernon, give us a
couple of minutes.
Why don't you go and
rustle up some of that nonexistent black
pudding that I saw in the kitchen just now.
Okay then.
I brought you a present.
Ask me that personal question.
Anything you like.
Have you ever been in love?
She was called Rose.
She was a free spirit.
She said I was a stuffed shirt.
You fell in love?
Yes.
It took about 20 minutes.
It took her a bit longer.
You were happy together?
As happy as two people can be,
I think.
She well and truly
unstuffed the shirt.
Then we traveled everywhere.
We shared everything.
She was a horticulturist.
The best.
She wrote the book?
Yeah, she did.
She thought that Arthur Mildmay
sounded more credible than Rose Milton.
In those days,
it was impossible to publish
a female horticulturist.
But
she was a bright spark and
if she believed in something,
she gave it all she had.
She taught me
how to live..
and then...
she died, all of a sudden,
in childbirth.
It was many years ago
but with no warning,
just gone. Both of them.
But the garden soon
helped me to cope.
Rose had a passion for life
and I see the seeds of that in you
and it upsets me greatly
to see you lying here,
withering on the vine.
So, I say,
I say grasp the metal,
you stupid girl
and stop feeling
sorry for yourself.
You're right.
I am stupid.
Stupid enough to fall for
a liar and a cheat.
I had thought
he actually cared.
Did you know
I represented my country
at clay pigeon shooting?
No.
Well, this boy
you're talking about,
this robot builder,
I think I may
have to shoot him.
Then one night,
alone in the forest,
Luna resolved to find
the magic flowers herself,
even if it meant
confronting terrifying demons.
She had nothing
left to lose.
What the hell is she doing?
Everything else is wrecked.
We'll never fix it in time.
I don't care about your hay fever.
We've got work to do.
Here she comes.
You know, I told you that in some parts
of the world, they celebrate when it rains.
Well, we think it would be healthy if
we celebrated this little storm too.
Celebrate?
The garden's ruined.
I'm ruined.
Oh, it's been
the making of you, Bella.
Trees blew down,
hedges blew down
but you saved the one thing
that needed to be saved.
Anyway, enough of this!
We think you should have a day off.
Yeah, our treat.
I'm not exactly in the mood.
Oh, come on,
have the day to yourself.
Cheer yourself up.
So, off you go.
You're both mad.
People in glass houses bad.
Well, that's settled, then. So,
off you go. Milly will go with you.
Anything to keep that doctor
away from me.
To the left.
You'll always hear me
singing a song.
Show me the way to go home
Oh, perfect!.
It's very dark in here.
What's this?
Hello, Bella.
Hi, Bella!
Hi, Bella!
What a new day to get
the pond ready for the fish.
It's wonderful.
Come on, come on.
Alright, look at this. Some of these
for you and some for you.
Some for you, if you want.
Alright, now just feed the fish.
Make sure they don't
bite your hands off.
Oh, they're just beautiful!
She been drinking?
Yes.
Be nice to her.
Of course.
Ok, alright, come on.
Sit down, everybody.
Who else wants a drink?
Oh, please!
Here we go!
You didn't have to do this.
Thank you, again.
The pleasure, Miss Brown,
is all mine.
I am so honored you gave me
that book. Now I know the story.
No, I only lent it to you.
When I'm pushing up the daisies,
then you can have it.
In that case,
I don't want it.
Care to dance?
Oh, don't be stupid!
Do you think
this is good enough?
We're about to find out,
Miss Brown.
Excuse me!
Eugene O'Brien, the landlord.
Miss Brown is popular with
the male of the species.
Bella!
Ah, Mr. O'Brien!
Welcome. Come on through.
Vernon Kelly, the
tenant's boyfriend.
What?
I'm impressed and
I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Obviously, I received no written request
for the insertion of a water feature
and the keeping of livestock
but I'm prepared to overlook it,
given the estimated work on the table.
Ok, great! Well, I'll overlook that
and that only leaves one matter
outstanding, the rent increase.
What are you talking about?
What rent increase?
If she wants to stay,
she'll have to pay an increased figure
in line with the new market value,
Section 23 of the contract, watertight.
That's why our legal system is
revered the world over.
I can forward you
the same paperwork, if you like.
This is her home now. She's done all
this work. You can't just do that.
Allow me to talk to Mr. O'Brien.
What are you doing here?
Come on.
He won't be
bothering Bella again.
Why?
What did you say to him?
Who are you?
I'm Billy.
I'm looking for Bella.
She's not expecting me,
I'm a few days late.
Married? Of course not I'm not married.
Why does she think that?
She saw you
all over some woman.
Yes, you stood her up,
you weasel.
I told you
I had an accident.
That's why I couldn't be there.
I've been in hospital.
I couldn't get her number.
You got her address.
I got it this morning
from the...
from the
Adopted Duck Society.
The Adopted Duck Society?
Look, I didn't know
she had a boyfriend, alright?
She doesn't have a boyfriend.
Why didn't you call her?
He's already answered that.
I know that. I'm trying to test him out
to see if he changes his answer.
What are your intentions
toward Bella?
I like her very much.
I appreciate that
you two are close family,
but really, I think I'd rather
tell Bella to her face
before you two
interrogate me any further.
William Tranter!
You have embarrassed
and humiliated me.
Now leave
before I let Vernon
loose on you.
Bella, we've had a word
with young Billy.
He says he isn't married and
for what it's worth, I believe him.
I saw him with someone else
the day we were supposed to meet.
But Bella, I was hit by a bus that day.
That's why I wasn't there.
I know what I saw.
It must have been George!
I know your face, Billy.
It wasn't your brother, it was you.
He's only 7 minutes younger, Bella.
We're identical.
You're a twin?
Triplet, actually.
Each of us all separated
by a whole 7 minutes.
He's quite the ladies' man, George!
You know, I would
never lie to you, Bella.
Well, actually, I've just been telling your
father and your grandfather here that...
I'm not her father!
Grandfather?
You must believe me, Bella.
I've got a couple of friends
playing in the park tonight.
I was rather hoping
you might be my guest.
Bella, are you there?
I'm here.
You're a bit accident prone.
I do seem to be
around you.
So the concert?
I'll come and get you
at half past six
and I'll be sure not to hit
any buses on my way.
Promise?
Perfect.
I love it!
Brilliant.
Why didn't you
show me before?
Hello?
Right, yes.
Of course.
Hello?
Come on, girls.
My dear Bella,
As per my somewhat
pedantic instructions,
I assume that you
are all in your garden,
which I hope is looking
as good as I expect.
Vernon should be planting
a rather splendid Japanese maple.
Make sure that he packs the earth down
and gives it a proper drink.
regularly.
The reason for planting the tree is,
I admit, a selfish one.
I quite like the idea
of you telling your progeny
of this objectionable old fool who
used to putter around the garden.
So, it is planted for you
and future generations
of spectacularly dysfunctional artists.
The boring details are, as ever,
in the hands of solicitors
but he bare fact is that
my home is now Vernon's.
He and the girls need the space
far more than I ever did.
You'll be able to keep
an eye on the daft bugger
because I'm giving you your flat.
I owned it.
The unfortunate Mr. O'Brien was
only acting on my behalf.
Or should I say,
on behalf of the old Alfie.
You were a wonderful pupil
and a dearly treasured friend.
You helped me remember
the good things.
Yours sincerely,
Alfred Stephenson.
And as Lun
drank in the view,
she was filled with
something quite magical.
In the distance, she could see the
southern shore of the Caspian Sea,
which isn't a sea at all
but actually the
biggest lake in the world.
Luna thanked the traveler.
"Oh, it's nothing.
You haven't done
the hard part yet."
"Really?" said Luna,
"Now, you must believe."
said the traveler.
And he pushed Luna
off the mountain.
Luna screamed to the traveler:
"Why did you do that?
I can't fly."
"Says who?" He replied.
And the wind lifted Luna
off the mountain and she soared.
"Can you see them now?"
yelled the traveler.
"Yes."
said Luna,
gliding through the air with
the wind whistling between her wings.
"I can see
thousands of them."
And for the first time
in a hundred years,
the traveler allowed himself a smile.
Well, what can I say?
There was nothing normal
about the girl.
It's a miracle she survived at all
after her arrival in the world.
They say she would have perished
if it hadn't of been for the ducks.
Sat on her like an egg,
they did.
Treated her as one of their own.
She was finally discovered by
one of those ancient lunatics
who frequent
the parks of our city
and seem to
enjoy hypothermia.
She grew into
the oddest of oddballs,
terrified by the
unpredictability of nature
and flora, in particular.
Where on earth that came from,
I dread to think.
She's always had a
preoccupation with order
that would have tried
the patience of a saint,
never mind the nuns
at Saint Fedelma's.
Bella Brown!
It's an insular and solitary
world for Miss Brown,
just her and her books.
Hers was a story
just waiting to be told
but the obsessive little world
she created
meant that this was
one book that remained
firmly shut.
I'm not a religious man
but I believe someone
sent her here
to test us.
Today,
I'm going to make a difference.
Why am I waasting your time with
all this worthless titter-tatter?
Because through some misguided
care in the community scheme,
this strange creature has
become my next door neighbor.
May I remind you,
on you indicated days,
you are to arrive here by 9 o'clock
and work until 4:30,
with an hour for lunch and
two 15 minute breaks for tea.
This morning you are to tend
to oceanography, A thru to J,
which is, quite frankly, all at sea.
Hello.
I'm looking for
Leonardo di SerPiero Da Vinci.
Please, I'm technical drawings
and the like,
You, be so kind.
Leonardo da Vinci, Civil Engineering,
in brackets European history,
on back wall, bottom left.
Marvelous!
Are you a member?
No, I'm not going to take them, anyway.
I'd only lose them. Where would that get us?
May I remind you, no eating
or drinking in the library
and we expect
absolute silence at all times.
Of course you can.
Absolute!
Absolutely.
Hello. Sorry.
Thank you, once again.
Yes, sorry, don't mind...
Yes, yes. I'm sorry.
Absolutely!
The library will be closing
in 3 minutes, exactly.
Please return your books
from whence they came
and make your way to
the exit, immediately, thank you.
Look what I found.
Ahh, yes!
Our very own
horticultural terrorist.
That place has gone to rack and ruin
since she's moved in.
Wiil you please calm down
and leave the poor girl alone.
Leave her alone?
Have you seen what she's done?
It's nothing less than
a wanton, criminal neglect.
I'm Milly Wilton,
Mr. Stephenson's
long suffering daughter.
You took a tumble.
the garden fought back,
that's what.
You'll survive,
no harm done.
No harm done? I think harms
had an absolute bloody field day!
Blunt pressure!
Don't worry,
tea is on it's way.
Vernon!
Where is that damn tea?
So, young lady, what is it you do
when you're not murdering plants?
I work in the library.
Filing, mostly, but
but really, I'm a writer.
Oh, a writer! I see. Yes, well, that
keeps you out of the garden, doesn't it?
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Inconvenience!
What about sorry
for the unmitigated
eco-apocalypse you created?
Vernon, the tea!
Textbook!
Great! I hope you
enjoy making me ill.
There's only one person
responsible for your health.
Yes, you!
Vernon!
Tea, please.
Ok, alright, alright,alright.
Here it is. I'm sorry.
Hello, Milly.
Alright, stop shouting.
Here.
A cup of tea.
Go on, they're homemade.
Right...
I've got to go.
Delicious!
Thank you.
85% cocoa,
that's the trick.
and I make them with oat bran, something
that's not so bad for His Lordship.
You look repellant in that apron
and you've been wearing it too long.
See the abuse that
I have to put up with?
If he wasn't so sick, I
wouldn't let him get away with it.
Don't speak to me like that. If you continue
speaking to me like that, I'm going to quit.
Oh, ho, ho! Quite the Celtic Braveheart,
aren't we, when we've got an audience!
He doesn't realize how important
this job is to him.
Anyway, you can start cleaning the carpet,
thanks to our unwanted guest.
Anytrime in the next 30 seconds.
No, no, no. I've got to go. I've
got to let the babysitter go.
Well, you better start
straight away, hadn't you?
For God's sake, stop
that Gaelic gibberish.
I'll do it.
No, it's OK, it's my job...
Go on, you'll be late.
Don't be ungracious, Vernon.
Thank the girl.
Oh, sorry, thank you. It's just that
my kids will be really worried.
Slavery was abolished in 1834,
just so you know.
And this country's been going
down the drain ever since.
Hi, Bella.
This is Sinead.
this is Niamph.
Say hi, girls!
Hi!
We've come
to cook you breakfast.
Well, it's the least
we can do after last night.
Come on, girls, Come on.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Ok, girls, will you help me
take out the ingredients?
Oh, it's dark in here.
Do you mind if I open these.?
Well, that's very thoughtful of you, Vernon
but there's really no need.
What, have you eaten?
No.
Well, it's really not a problem.
I'm going to get the girls picked up
here after breakfast, anyway.
So, ah, ok, let's see what
we're working with.
Food prison.
I really need to get ready for work.
Don't let us stop you.
We got it covered.
Good to go.
Ok, girls, you cook that up.
You take that one.
Girls, there's Bella!
So, what do we got here?
Enjoy!
You don't have to eat it all.
I do make big portions
for the big man next door.
Ok, there's your lift, girls.
We're out of time.
Ok.
And don't fall. Slow down!
Thanks, Jean.
Bye!
Does their mum
take them to school?
No, my wife passed away, so...
The breakfast is delicious.
Thank you.
Well, it's a long time
since I heard that.
You're welcome.
Your employer's a bully.
I don't know why you put up eith it.
Well, you know, you get used to it
and it pays the rent.
Is that him in the garden?
No, I can't do it.
What do you mean you can't do it?
Do you mind?
You may have won the hearts
of my slow-witted staff
but not me.
I can't forgive this.
You have squandered
everything nature has given you.
Why are you doing this to me?
It's something everyone must learn,
Miss Brown. It's called responsibility.
Anathema to you, perhaps but it's
an important part of the human condition.
And you, spuds for brains,
are late!
No, I'm not!
You are now.
I cannot tolerate tardiness,
so I won't be paying you for today.
I've had enough of this!
What?
I'm warning you, Alfie, one more word
and you can shove your job. Hear?
You're fired.
Okay. Will that be my
first verbal warning, then?
You're sacked, Vernon,
end of story.
You've heard of the
3 stage dismissal process, have you?
What?
So, let me see, I've been
working for you for 5 years,
that's a minimum of 5 months paid notice.
I can get you a copy of the
Employment Act if you want.
You'd be better off rehearsing:
"Would sir like chips with that?"
Save you time.
He can work for me.
What?
What?
You could work for me,
if you wanted to.
I do,
I do want to.
Yeah, I do.
Ah, so, it looks like I'm working here now.
So, you are trespassing.
Well, make the most of it.
You deserve each other.
We'll keep my usual payday,
first of the month, thank you.
Good!
I may have been
a little hasty.
No, no, no!
That's good, that's good.
It'll be a new, fresh start.
I don't know
how I'll pay you.
It's ok, he'll pay me,
so you don't have to.
I'll show that mean old man
what he's missing.
Have you already
got a cleaner?
Just me.
Alright
There's cleaning and
there's cleaning.
Eh, please don't do that.
There's only some things that
a professional
can spot.
Oh, my god!
I can't be late for work again.
Please don't touch anything.
Good.
Let's go.
Hello!
Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Sculpture or architecture?
Oh, Sculpture, of course,
every time.
It's the 4th aisle
on your right, top left shelf.
Top left. Thank you.
Do you know the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa?
Yes, I've seen pictures.
You must see it in the flesh.
It's incredible.
He makes tons of marble
simply float.
It defies gravity with beauty.
It destroys logic with emotion.
Horticulture.
Sorry.
How is it?
It's wonderful.
Well, the vegetables haven't
been tinned for two decades, so
you'll actually be able to taste them.
Where did you learn
to cook like this?
My mum, God rest her.
She was a cook?
No, she couldn't cook for toffee.,
So, I had to take matters into my own hands
as soon as I could reach the stove.
Bella, look, there's something
I have to tell you...
I did your laundry today and
I threw in some of the girls' stuff
and, uh,
I think it was
this little fella to blame.
I'm so sorry.
It's ok.
I'll put them over here.
I...Sorry!
Give me back my cook.
Who is this?
Your nemesis.
Alfred Stephenson,
your next door neighbor.
Oh, hello. I'm sorry
for the inconvenience...
Give me back my cook!
Miss Brown?
I haven't got all day, Miss Brown!
I wasn't expecting you til the
start of the month, Mr. O'Brien.
I'm here on urgent business, Miss Brown,
a matter of great importance!
Now then, let me see,
Flat 2, 6 Primrose Gardens.
I have the appropriate paperwork
pertaining to the property
and the relevant
photographic documentation.
Ah, this is all shipshape, Miss Brown,
very soothing on the eye.
Of course.
But I've received a complaint.
What? From whom?
Oh, my word!
This is worse than I expected!
You agreed to keep the property
in sond repair, Miss Brown.
This property, Miss Brown,
includes the garden.
I know.
I'm not much for the great outdoors,
I'm more of a...
I'm a fair man but
I am bound by the law,
as detailed in the contract
signed by your good self.
I have a dislike...
more of a distaste of...
You see, plants and I don't really
get along, so it's not really
neglect. It's more of a
fear and loathing but I
I promise you, I can fix that.
Everything will go back to normal.
The laws are there to
provide boundaries, Miss Brown.
This wanton level of neglect falls
well within your legal obligations
and you are, therefore, in breach.
Good morning.
I'm Vernon.
I'm Miss Brown's
partner.
Eugene O'Brien, landlord. We were just
discussing the spectacular level of neglect
relating to the
29ft north-facing garden
with lawns and
well stocked borders.
Alright, yeah, we were just
about to get into the garden.
Yeah, that's a major priority.
That's top of the list.
I'm afraid it's too late for that.
I shall have to ask you to
vacate by the end of the month.
Were you expecting
Mr. O'Brien this morning?
I wasn't.
Alright .
And you made an appointment?
I beg your pardon?
Section 34 of the Property Act:
A landlord must give clear warning
if he wants to inspect the property.
Very well, we'll come back later, then.
Too late, it's not convenient.
A convenient date must be mutually agreed
That's Section 17C.
Tomorrow then.
Tomorrow's no good.
Friday?
Friday...
No, can't do Friday.
Next Monday?
Next Monday's no good.
Alright then, when?
One calendar month's notice,
Section 17C.
You know that.
There will be repercussions,
Miss Brown!
If this garden's not fixed,
you're out on the street.
You have exactly
1 month from today.
What's the matter?
I'm kidding myself. I'm no writer
and I'm certainly no gardener.
What are you talking about?
Of course, you're a writer.
No, I'm not.
And...I know I'm to be evicted and then
I'll be homeless and you'll be unemployed
and it's all my fault.
Oh, I see.
You're feeling sorry for yourself.
No!
I mean, you have to look at the facts.
You have to weigh it out.
What?
Stand up.
Come on.
Just stay still.
I won't hurt you.
When was the last time
you were hugged?
It's been a while.
Alright, get on with it.
Lonicera aureoreticulata.
Honeysuckle, to you.
Though personally, I think they look better
when they're attached to the plant itself.
And look right next to it,
delphinium.
Great big iridescent blue flowers,
before you cut them up into little pieces.
I think they were the last living things
in your horticultural graveyard.
I was just trying
to tidy up a bit.
I think that's what Hitler
said about Europe.
Anyway, enough
of this smalltalk.
Give me back my cook!
What?
No!
Give him back,
I need him!
Well, you should have thought about that
before you treated him like dirt.
Stop... Don't act like a little girl,
give me my cook back!
Give him back!
I can't hear you.
What is wrong with you?
You could come
and help, you know.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I would but...hay fever,
chronic allergies.
My head swells up like a pumpkin.
I'm no use to man or beast,
I'm sorry.
There you go.
It may look like a
simple quiche and salad
but the balsamic reduction
and the onion glaze elevate it
to something
altogether more satisfying.
Enjoy!
I didn't want to have to
spell it out to you but
I'm a dying man.
Unlike you,
I don't have long left.
Time is my enemy.
i mourn every minute.
Every precious second marks
my life draining away.
That's dreadful,
I had no idea.
I don't have much to give me comfort,
no friend, no family, no one to love
I only have the beauty of nature
and the promise of
a hearty last meal.
I beg you,
send Vernon home to me
and we can put all this
silly mess behind us.
I had no idea you were so ill,
I'm so sorry but I can talk...
What are you doing?
Don't listen to that.
He's dying!
Why didn't you tell me?
The old coot's been dying
for the last 10 years.
Vernon!
Ok, let me guess.
Was it, ehm...
"Time is my enemy,
I mourn every minute,
I mourn every second", or
was it: "I have no friends,
I have no family,
I have nothing...nothing."?
He used both.
Oh, hey, so
he's getting desperate.
Perfect.
It's shut.
It's bloody shut!
Sorry, Miss Bramble. Problem
with the buses this morning...
I think the problem is with you,
not with public transport
and I wouldn't be making this point if
your tardiness was not pathological.
So sorry!
I hate to interrupt.
Looking Hercu Lampana.
Lamparna.
Architecture, back wall
on your right, third shelf down.
Thank you.
We also have a book
on his early illustrations.
That's exactly
what I'm looking for.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Goodbye, Miss.
Thank you again for earlier.
It's nothing, really.
What's your name, by the way?
I don't know what to call you.
Bella.
Bella Brown.
Well, I'm William, William Tranter
but everyone calls me Billy.
See you soon, Bella.
Billy.
Billy Tranter.
Excuse me, young lady.
Would you be so kind as to point me to
the section that deals with home cookery?
Certainly, sir. It's the 3rd aisle on
your left, lower 2 shelves on your right.
Thank you, very helpful.
We have recently received
Walker Owen's latest:
"Dinner for one",
A simple joy and classic
simple recipes for solo dining,
which is always popular.
Thank you, very helpful.
We do try to
be of assistance.
Well, the best assistance would be
to give me back my bloody Irishman,
you heartless...
This library is a
refuge for learning
and requires silence
at all times!
Oh, learning!? Well then,
how is it that your employees
have learned nothing of
compassion for their starving fellow man?
For the hungry, aging, decrepit,
the forgotten generation
that made this country great!
Get out!
Get out immediately or
I am calling the police.
Excellent!
Have her arrested.
She murders flora that
keep this planet alive.
Be silent and leave!
I'd stick to writing
if I were you.
Well, just tell me what I should be doing,
you horrid, wretched old man!
Why should I furnish you
with that advice?
I've got 3 weeks to
turn this garden round
or I'll wind up
sleeping in the park!
Everything ok?
I am trying my best here.
I want to make a difference
and if you had
an ounce of humanity,
you wouldn't just stand there gloating,
you would help me!
Alright, I'll help.
You will?
Yes, while you give me back my cook.
No!
Yes!
He's not a slave!
He's not mine to give.
If you had treated him
like a person...
Ok, ok, ok, I'll cook your meals,
you vituperative old bastard!
Excellent.
And 5 syllables, Vernon!
I didn't know you had it in you.
But I won't set foot
inside the house.
But I'm not going to eat scraps
out of a plastic container
like some trainspotter on
a windy platform in Runcorn.
I'll cook your meals. You help her
fix up the garden. That way, we all win
Take it or leave it, Alfred.
I'll take it.
Ok, house rules: breakfast at 8,
lunch at 1, dinner at 8.
Meals will be left here
at exactly those times
and then I'm going to ring this bell twice,
so you know you can retrieve them.
I'll leave serving instructions,
if necessary,
so I don't have to hear
your voice or see your face.
Yes but what if...
Creating a garden
starts as an interest
and soon becomes
a lifetime's obsession.
One that can be engaged
on a moment's notice,
by simply stepping outside.
"A true gardener can
create more happiness
propogating life in one seed
and seeing that single flower unfold,
than a rich man could ever get
from his perfect, rolling lawns."
I've never known him to let
that book out of his sight before.
Thank you so much
for the book.
I love the illustrations.
You read it?
Every word.
So what are you talking
to me for?
Get to work or
O'Brien will have you out.
What now?
Now, you dig.
Vernon!
Can you hear me?
What?
No black pudding with my breakfast,
this morning, my Irish friend.
Yeah, fine!
Did you read the book?
I did.
What's this?
Soil.
If you leave the roots
of the weeds in the soil,
they'll grow back before
you even finish digging.
They'll strangle the life
out of your new creation.
It's just like a time bomb
waiting to go off.
Dig it all again
and sieve out the roots.
I need my bed.
About bloody time, a man
could die of starvation in this place.
Billy!
Bella!
Silence!
Sorry.
You know, I believe
those things you said.
Why would you say that?
Vernon told me how many times
he's heard the exact same stories.
Shame on you.
You should doubt only a
man who changes his story.
I only repeat myself in
the vague hope that one day,
somebody will actually hear me.
Breathtaking, isn't it?
Come. Come, come.
Like sparks falling
from a giant furnace.
In some countries, they hold parties
when it starts to rain.
But here, we just scurry around
and run for cover.
It's the most important
currency in the world.
and yet in our green and pleasant land,
where we take so much for granted,
we see it only as a means
of ruining expensive hairdos
and making taxi drivers rich.
You're odd.
Says she.
Here.
Helianthus.
Giant sunflower.
Start off with them,
they're incredibly beautiful.
They need a lot of light and heat.
They follow the arc of
the sun from dawn until dusk,
extracting maximum energy
from every day.
It's a very...
a very clever flower.
Think about that.
I think there might
be a garden here, after all.
Arthur's book, it's gripping.
Where did you get it?
He was a friend of mine.
Dear old Arthur showed me the path
to true enlightenment
and then took me on
an incredible journey.
Look after it, it's
the only one I've got.
i am amazed you trust me with it.
So am I.
I bet even Arthur would have
been daunted by this garden.
No, he would
have relished it.
A totally blank canvas, a chance
to create your own masterpiece.
Come.
Come on, follow me.
How do we make a garden?
How do we
build a color palette?
How do we create
depth and texture?
How do we keep interest
from April to October?
Well, we start with these
stunning foxgloves
and these alliums.
Come on.
Come, come, come.
And run to these camas,
and dahlias, so colorful,
it hurts your eyes
and these gloriously
purple salvias
that go on flowering until
the frost claims them.
Then the verbascum
and the evening primrose,
and those deliciously green
shuttlecock ferns.
Look, clambering,
climbing clamatis.
Sweet rocket and look,
these monkswood,
so beautiful and poisonous,
they'll kill a man.
That's an interesting contradiction,
isn't it?
That lily, golden splendor.
Persicaria.
Nicotiana.
Hollyhocks. Come.
The pogonias.
Magnificent agapanthus.
and well,
the list
is endless.
It's a world of
beautifully ordered chaos.
No, no, that's chaos,
not calamity, Miss Brown.
because if you don't understand the
difference, we won't go very far.
We?
What?
You said "we".
That's ridiculous.
2 weeks to turn this
into a garden.
Bella?
Is everything all right?
Yes ,of course. I'm just
burning some steam.
I see.
So, what brings you here?
I come here every Sunday.
I see. To scream and shout
for next whole week.
Yes and to feed Sid.
Which one's Sid?
The scruffy one.
Well, I bet he was a looker
in his day.
Mm, he was.
Do you just work?
No, goodness, no. I just come to
sketch, doodle, think, work things out.
I invent things.
I'm a designer.
Numbers and working parts,
that's my specialty.
My ideas, they sort of come out
faster than I can cope, sometimes.
A pure left-brainer.
I'm more of a no-brainer.
I don't believe that
for a second.
You seem to know so much,
every book, every author of every shelf.
I'm really working there
until my book is published.
Oh, how exciting!
What's it about?
It's a childrens' book
but it doesn't really
well, what I mean is
it doesn't really have a story
at the moment.
A novel?
Eh, sorry. Tea?
Thank you.
I like your mechanical bird thing.
How on earth
do you know about that?
The other day in the library,
you left a piece of paper.
Right. Yes, I see.
My mechanical bird thing, yes.
well, I really ought to...
Would you like to see it?
My bird thing.
Well, I only live a few minutes away.
It's not far. Well, I really shouldn't.
No one else has seen it yet.
No one else has been invited
No, I really shouldn't.
It would be rude to say no.
I suppose I...
Excellent!
Come on.
I'm just down here.
Here we are!
Wow!
After my parents died,
They left George the townhouse.
Edward got the cottage, and I got this.
It's incredible.
Part of the joy's being the eldest.
I got first pick.
Here we go.
Now...
This is Sergis,
he's particularly interesting.
I made the body of a tortoise
but with the engine of a hare.
Still needs some work, though.
And over here...
Now for the main event!
This.
This is Luna.
She's powered by light.
Solar powered?
Even moonlight.
Hence, Luna.
Hence, Luna.
I love her!
I'm so glad.
well, you're the writer better.
Tell me a story about Luna.
Luna couldn't always fly,
you know.
Well, why not?
Well,
long ago, before
the world was round,
Luna and the rest of her species
inhabited a remote forest.
They had...
tiny little wings
but were flightless.
They foraged around
on the forest floor
and kept themselves
very much to themselves.
Luna lost her parents
at a very early age.
They were taken from Luna
just like that,
no explanation.
Barely out of the nest,
she was too young to know anything.
She was such a worrier.
only coming out for food briefly when
all the other animals had gone to sleep
and the forest floor
was bathed in moonlight.
She was such a
scrawny little thing,
a loner
Well, life was passing by
until one day
Luna saw a kindly traveler
holding a thing of great
wonder and beauty and...
Then what?
and that's it, for now.
But I'd like to know
what happens next.
So do I.
Are you kicking me,
Mr. Stephenson?
No.
I'm encouraging
you to get up.
If you ignore my encouragement,
then I'll start kicking you.
This garden is taking forever.
everything that matters
takes time.
You can speed read but
you can't speed garden.
try telling that to O'Brien.
Look at that.
Look!
What's that?
It's called
fragaria virginiana.
It's a wild strawberry.
Life, nature, it's just waiting to
burst out anywhere it can,
seeking the light and
getting on with it.
It's very simple.
It must have been buried
under a ton of rubbish.
Isn't it always like that?
I should have warned you,
laundry was never Vernon's strong point.
I've got something for you.
Queen Victoria wore
more color than you.
I always feel I'm at a funeral
when you are around.
Charming.
So, have you given
this much thought?
well, it should get about
5 hours of sunlight a day.
and given at the
minimum depth of 2ft, the lilies
and other aquatic plants were the ones
filled out and all the way around
and Vernon's going to help
with the filter and the pump.
what's he going to do,
cover them in puff pastry?
How quickly do you think
we can put the fish in?
Well, personally, I would wait
until there was water in there.
Approximately how soon?
Miss Brown! Yes?
Just dig.
Well, you're much better.
Yes, well, that's because I take
all that unnecessary medication
that you force-feed me.
Aha!
What is that?
Room service.
Breakfast is in the shed.
Come on, hurry.
Oh, hello, Milly.
This is the most bizarrething
I've ever seen.
Well, it's the only way
he's going to eat my food.
His Lordship would like to know
if there's any black pudding.
No.
Tell him we ran out
And it's bad for his
cholesterol, anyway.
You , of all people,
should know that.
But don't you dare
tell him I said that.
Are you going to explain what's
going on? No!
Mr. Stephenson.
Yes?
May I ask you a personal question?
No.
Please.
No.
Ask me one, then.
Definitely not.
Why not?
I don't want to trod around in
your little obsessive little world
any more than I have to.
I'm speechless.
If only that were true.
Now, shut up and dig.
I can't.
Why not?
It's done.
Well?
Well what?
Aren't you going to thank me
for all my hard work?
You'll come for tea at 4 o'clock.
This is beautiful.
Fantastic.
When I was younger, I
did a lot of travelling.
I collected seeds
from the most spectacular plants.
Each one is from
a different country.
A different color,
a different smell
and most importantly,
different memory.
I spend my days breathing life
into these wonderful things.
Where are these from?
Iran.
I found them
on a mountainside
overlooking the sea.
Will you tell me about them?
Ah, here, here!
Take these.
They're rather old, fine quality.
Do them justice.
But I...
I don't really know how...
Don't think. Just do.
So, where was I?
Iran.
Oh, yes!
In the province of Mazandaran,
on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.
Which is, in fact, the
world's biggest lake.
Which is, in fact, your last
interruption, young lady.
I was walking through a field
that seemed endless,
all around was this
blanket of deep red peonies.
Well, anyway,
let me go back.
It was July when I arrived in Tehran.
It was bloody hot.
It was very grand
in those days, Tehran.
This is disgraceful.
I'm so sorry.
Very rude of me.
Ham and piccalilly.
It's delicious.
I don't want your sandwich.
No?
Oh, then, really?
You must have a pickled egg!
You can gather your things
together and get out.
Leave the book!
Don't think I can't see what's going on
between you two. Disgusting.
Thank you so much for those
art recommendations, really.
Inspiring stuff, especially the bird...
Get out! Get out!
Bella, hello,
Just wanted to say I'm sorry
if I caused you trouble
with the old windbag.
It's a pity you got
chucked out when you did.
I found some fantastic
Viking drawings
which I thought
would be great for Luna.
Well, you can
always show me now.
No!
No, I couldn't. Fraternizing
with the enemy is bad enough
but I, eh, no, I...
Pink wafers!
They're Miss Bramble's biscuits.
Delicious.
So, what happens to Luna?
Mesmerized, Luna couldn't
help but think about the peony.
Luna asked the traveler where
he got the beautiful flower.
"There are many," the traveler said.
"From the top
of the mountain,
you can see thousands,
"A sea of petals.
It will make your heart sing,
for it's a beautiful sight"
But how will I get
to the top of the mountain?
I can't fly and
I only come out at night.
But the traveler
had heard this before.
"You seek the rarest flower
from the top of the
tallest mountain in the world.
If you want to see them enough,
you will."
Luna was scared
and excited,
in equal measure.
I think I will find my
mother and father there.
The traveler smiled.
"You have much to learn, child.
Are you sure want to
continue on this perilous quest?"
Keep going.
I don't know
what happens next.
But I must know the ending.
You will have tea
with me tomorrow?
After work.
Yes, please.
That would be lovely.
Well, til tomorrow,
Bella Brown.
Under the old cedar tree
in the park, 6 o'clock.
Bella, wake up.
Billy...
It's not Billy, it's bliss.
It's Vernon.
Come on.
I have work at 9.
Billy is his name, yeah?
He's wonderful, Vernon.
I seeing him again, tonight.
What does Mr. Wonderful do?
He invents mechanical animals
and he makes me
feel like I can fly.
So, he's got prospects, then.
See you later!
What?
You're fired.
But Luna knew
that whatever obstacle stood in her way,
her quest could not fail.
She had been
greatly inspired
by the words of the
wonderful traveler.
He would stand by her.
Come on, Bella.
What's wrong?
I don't feel well.
Ah, my son,
how long since
your last confession?
Bella's ill.
What's wrong with her?
I don't know.
She should snap out of it.
Alright. Well, I'll be sure to pass on
your words of sympathy and support.
Come on, Bella,
what's wrong?
Come on, whatever's happening
with Mr. Mechanical Genius,
you've got to get
this garden finished.
O'Brien's going to be here Monday.
Ok Bella, I've got a pan au chocolat here
and I'm going to eat it here without a plate
Yeah, there is no plate here.
Ok, well, don't say
I didn't warn you.
The plate's gone warm
on the carpet here.
Leave me alone, please.
How's the patient?
It's more than medicine can fix unless
you've got something for a broken heart.
I can have a word with her
if you think it might help.
But gently does it, yeah?
Yes, of course.
Bella, open the bloody door!
Don't make me ask you again!
You look a mess!
Alfie!
Vernon, give us a
couple of minutes.
Why don't you go and
rustle up some of that nonexistent black
pudding that I saw in the kitchen just now.
Okay then.
I brought you a present.
Ask me that personal question.
Anything you like.
Have you ever been in love?
She was called Rose.
She was a free spirit.
She said I was a stuffed shirt.
You fell in love?
Yes.
It took about 20 minutes.
It took her a bit longer.
You were happy together?
As happy as two people can be,
I think.
She well and truly
unstuffed the shirt.
Then we traveled everywhere.
We shared everything.
She was a horticulturist.
The best.
She wrote the book?
Yeah, she did.
She thought that Arthur Mildmay
sounded more credible than Rose Milton.
In those days,
it was impossible to publish
a female horticulturist.
But
she was a bright spark and
if she believed in something,
she gave it all she had.
She taught me
how to live..
and then...
she died, all of a sudden,
in childbirth.
It was many years ago
but with no warning,
just gone. Both of them.
But the garden soon
helped me to cope.
Rose had a passion for life
and I see the seeds of that in you
and it upsets me greatly
to see you lying here,
withering on the vine.
So, I say,
I say grasp the metal,
you stupid girl
and stop feeling
sorry for yourself.
You're right.
I am stupid.
Stupid enough to fall for
a liar and a cheat.
I had thought
he actually cared.
Did you know
I represented my country
at clay pigeon shooting?
No.
Well, this boy
you're talking about,
this robot builder,
I think I may
have to shoot him.
Then one night,
alone in the forest,
Luna resolved to find
the magic flowers herself,
even if it meant
confronting terrifying demons.
She had nothing
left to lose.
What the hell is she doing?
Everything else is wrecked.
We'll never fix it in time.
I don't care about your hay fever.
We've got work to do.
Here she comes.
You know, I told you that in some parts
of the world, they celebrate when it rains.
Well, we think it would be healthy if
we celebrated this little storm too.
Celebrate?
The garden's ruined.
I'm ruined.
Oh, it's been
the making of you, Bella.
Trees blew down,
hedges blew down
but you saved the one thing
that needed to be saved.
Anyway, enough of this!
We think you should have a day off.
Yeah, our treat.
I'm not exactly in the mood.
Oh, come on,
have the day to yourself.
Cheer yourself up.
So, off you go.
You're both mad.
People in glass houses bad.
Well, that's settled, then. So,
off you go. Milly will go with you.
Anything to keep that doctor
away from me.
To the left.
You'll always hear me
singing a song.
Show me the way to go home
Oh, perfect!.
It's very dark in here.
What's this?
Hello, Bella.
Hi, Bella!
Hi, Bella!
What a new day to get
the pond ready for the fish.
It's wonderful.
Come on, come on.
Alright, look at this. Some of these
for you and some for you.
Some for you, if you want.
Alright, now just feed the fish.
Make sure they don't
bite your hands off.
Oh, they're just beautiful!
She been drinking?
Yes.
Be nice to her.
Of course.
Ok, alright, come on.
Sit down, everybody.
Who else wants a drink?
Oh, please!
Here we go!
You didn't have to do this.
Thank you, again.
The pleasure, Miss Brown,
is all mine.
I am so honored you gave me
that book. Now I know the story.
No, I only lent it to you.
When I'm pushing up the daisies,
then you can have it.
In that case,
I don't want it.
Care to dance?
Oh, don't be stupid!
Do you think
this is good enough?
We're about to find out,
Miss Brown.
Excuse me!
Eugene O'Brien, the landlord.
Miss Brown is popular with
the male of the species.
Bella!
Ah, Mr. O'Brien!
Welcome. Come on through.
Vernon Kelly, the
tenant's boyfriend.
What?
I'm impressed and
I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Obviously, I received no written request
for the insertion of a water feature
and the keeping of livestock
but I'm prepared to overlook it,
given the estimated work on the table.
Ok, great! Well, I'll overlook that
and that only leaves one matter
outstanding, the rent increase.
What are you talking about?
What rent increase?
If she wants to stay,
she'll have to pay an increased figure
in line with the new market value,
Section 23 of the contract, watertight.
That's why our legal system is
revered the world over.
I can forward you
the same paperwork, if you like.
This is her home now. She's done all
this work. You can't just do that.
Allow me to talk to Mr. O'Brien.
What are you doing here?
Come on.
He won't be
bothering Bella again.
Why?
What did you say to him?
Who are you?
I'm Billy.
I'm looking for Bella.
She's not expecting me,
I'm a few days late.
Married? Of course not I'm not married.
Why does she think that?
She saw you
all over some woman.
Yes, you stood her up,
you weasel.
I told you
I had an accident.
That's why I couldn't be there.
I've been in hospital.
I couldn't get her number.
You got her address.
I got it this morning
from the...
from the
Adopted Duck Society.
The Adopted Duck Society?
Look, I didn't know
she had a boyfriend, alright?
She doesn't have a boyfriend.
Why didn't you call her?
He's already answered that.
I know that. I'm trying to test him out
to see if he changes his answer.
What are your intentions
toward Bella?
I like her very much.
I appreciate that
you two are close family,
but really, I think I'd rather
tell Bella to her face
before you two
interrogate me any further.
William Tranter!
You have embarrassed
and humiliated me.
Now leave
before I let Vernon
loose on you.
Bella, we've had a word
with young Billy.
He says he isn't married and
for what it's worth, I believe him.
I saw him with someone else
the day we were supposed to meet.
But Bella, I was hit by a bus that day.
That's why I wasn't there.
I know what I saw.
It must have been George!
I know your face, Billy.
It wasn't your brother, it was you.
He's only 7 minutes younger, Bella.
We're identical.
You're a twin?
Triplet, actually.
Each of us all separated
by a whole 7 minutes.
He's quite the ladies' man, George!
You know, I would
never lie to you, Bella.
Well, actually, I've just been telling your
father and your grandfather here that...
I'm not her father!
Grandfather?
You must believe me, Bella.
I've got a couple of friends
playing in the park tonight.
I was rather hoping
you might be my guest.
Bella, are you there?
I'm here.
You're a bit accident prone.
I do seem to be
around you.
So the concert?
I'll come and get you
at half past six
and I'll be sure not to hit
any buses on my way.
Promise?
Perfect.
I love it!
Brilliant.
Why didn't you
show me before?
Hello?
Right, yes.
Of course.
Hello?
Come on, girls.
My dear Bella,
As per my somewhat
pedantic instructions,
I assume that you
are all in your garden,
which I hope is looking
as good as I expect.
Vernon should be planting
a rather splendid Japanese maple.
Make sure that he packs the earth down
and gives it a proper drink.
regularly.
The reason for planting the tree is,
I admit, a selfish one.
I quite like the idea
of you telling your progeny
of this objectionable old fool who
used to putter around the garden.
So, it is planted for you
and future generations
of spectacularly dysfunctional artists.
The boring details are, as ever,
in the hands of solicitors
but he bare fact is that
my home is now Vernon's.
He and the girls need the space
far more than I ever did.
You'll be able to keep
an eye on the daft bugger
because I'm giving you your flat.
I owned it.
The unfortunate Mr. O'Brien was
only acting on my behalf.
Or should I say,
on behalf of the old Alfie.
You were a wonderful pupil
and a dearly treasured friend.
You helped me remember
the good things.
Yours sincerely,
Alfred Stephenson.
And as Lun
drank in the view,
she was filled with
something quite magical.
In the distance, she could see the
southern shore of the Caspian Sea,
which isn't a sea at all
but actually the
biggest lake in the world.
Luna thanked the traveler.
"Oh, it's nothing.
You haven't done
the hard part yet."
"Really?" said Luna,
"Now, you must believe."
said the traveler.
And he pushed Luna
off the mountain.
Luna screamed to the traveler:
"Why did you do that?
I can't fly."
"Says who?" He replied.
And the wind lifted Luna
off the mountain and she soared.
"Can you see them now?"
yelled the traveler.
"Yes."
said Luna,
gliding through the air with
the wind whistling between her wings.
"I can see
thousands of them."
And for the first time
in a hundred years,
the traveler allowed himself a smile.