Wetherby (1985) Movie Script
Nixon? Yes.
You remember?
Of course I remember.
That's funny
how many people forget.
It wasn't so long ago.
Ten years.
What was happening
in Wetherby ten years ago?
He was a distinguished
member of my own profession.
What, liar?
No, not liar.
Solicitor.
Well, lawyer.
He trained as a lawyer.
Liar or lawyer.
Is there a difference?
I wonder, have we got
time for another drink?
Wouldn't it be marvelous
if Nixon walked in now?
Right now!
You just can't help it.
It would cheer everybody up.
Oh, I can't go on.
Oh, Stanley.
Oh, we've lived
in this town for too long.
Aye.
time, gentlemen, please.
I'll tell you
the best thing about Nixon.
Shouldn't you be getting
back to school?
No. No, listen.
I'll tell you the one story
about Nixon. All right?
When he first met pat,
she didn't like him very much.
So, after a bit, she said she
didn't want to see him anymore.
"Well," he said,
"it breaks my heart, pat.
I'll only stop seeing you on one condition".
"What's that?" she said.
"that I can always
be the chauffeur".
When she went out with men, say,
to the cinema, he'd drive them.
He'd drive them
all the way to the cinema.
They'd go in, her and her date,
and he'd wait outside.
He'd wait outside
during the whole film.
With a packet of popcorn
or a piece of chewing gum.
And then they'd come out,
and he'd drive them home.
I ask you, what does
that tell you about Nixon?
Jean, I ask you, what does
that tell you about pat?
If you want
to be loved in life,
There's no use
in having opinions.
I think you're right.
People who get loved are easy.
Easy to get along with.
Jean.
Have we lost the corkscrew?
I can't do the bloody thing!
There's a new girl
at work, at the library.
The sort of girl
men fall for. Vacant.
Cool?
Yeah, distant.
That's right.
She doesn't really
have a personality.
She just has a way
of suggesting to men
That she'll be whatever
they want her to be.
Not a person.
Not a real person.
What's she done, this
girl? Well, I'll tell you...
Just being this thing you object
to, or has she done anything wrong?
She exists.
She's young?
Yes, if you like.
She's young. So w-
It's an offense.
But there's no her!
There's nothing which is her!
I look at the young,
truly, and I'm mystified.
They want nothing. They need
nothing. They have no ambition.
Get married,
have children, get a mortgage.
A hundred thousand years
of human evolution.
Brontosaurus,
tyrannosaurus, man.
And the sum ambition?
Two up, two down in
the west riding of Yorkshire
On a custom-built
estate of brick and glass.
That's not right. Is it?
Well, can anyone tell me?
She's young. That's all
you're saying. She's young.
I think it's fixed.
Thank you.
A slate fell off
in the middle of the night.
I was frightened to go up.
It's all right.
Shall we go down?
I knew you'd say that.
I knew you would.
Lethal.
It wasn't
heath Phelps.
It was!
No, no, no.
It was. Don't you remember
the size of the hailstones?
There weren't any hailstones,
Stanley. Don't be ridiculous.
Yes, it was! It was pissing
with rain! Ah, coffee.
Whether our faces show.
This is the question.
We read a face.
We look into a face.
Into that face all sorts
of things we claim to read.
Mary here.
Or John.
John's got a sly face.
he has, too.
He has got a sly face.
He's got sly features.
Is John a sly boy?
he's sly, all right.
Right.
Do we become
the way we look?
Or do we look
the way we really are?
"if thou hast eyes to see..."
It's about the play.
Will you be needing me?
I'll be needing you, all right.
Will you do it? I should think so.
Good day, miss.
See you.
Miss Travers,
I was wondering,
Do you have
time for a chat?
Miss Travers, do you
think there's any point
In my going on
in the sixth form?
Of course. Don't be silly.
What makes you say that?
It's just that everyone
seems to end up unemployed.
Not everyone.
But, um, I do
know what you mean.
You get a university degree,
like in French. Then what?
Maybe you get to be a secretary,
and that's if you're lucky.
Honestly, I've really
thought about it,
And I don't really think
it's worth it, you see.
That's not what
education is, though, Suzie.
If you're thinking, "I must
use education for a career,"
Then you're already thinking of
education... In the wrong way.
Education...
Is a thing in itself.
It's a way of
fulfilling your potential,
Looking for ways
of thinking about things-
Ways which,
if you're lucky,
Will help not just your career,
but your whole life.
What ways?
Well...
Ways of being
more ordered, I suppose,
Of having more discipline
in the way you think.
Not always being bullheaded,
Learning not
to rush into things.
Do you think
uneducated people do that?
Well, I don't. No.
Not necessarily.
I mean...
Sometimes.
Are they inferior for
not knowing how to think?
No. Of course not.
But if you have something-
What you call a way of
thinking- which they don't,
Surely you're saying
you're superior.
No, Suzie.
I wouldn't say that.
What, then?
Different.
Better or worse?
I brought you some pheasants.
Am I disturbing you?
Well, I'll make some tea.
I love the slow evenings,
when summer begins to come.
It doesn't get dark until 8:00.
Are you staying
long with Marcie?
No.
I don't know Marcie.
What?
But you said...
What?
When you came to dinner.
I met her on the doorstep.
I thought...
Who invited you?
No one.
Are you saying...
it's not possible.
Are you saying...
I met Marcie on the doorstep.
I introduced myself.
I thought you came with her.
No.
It's not possible.
Then I said John Morgan,
if you remember.
Yes.
And you shook my hand.
Come on.
Come in, come in.
The more, the merrier.
And you accepted me.
I'll lay
an extra place.
Thank you.
It's absurd. It's impossible.
No.
no!
No!
Yes! Yes!
No.
Yes!
Don't you mean yes?
I mean yes! Yes!
Let me see.
Let me look at you.
You're not meant to.
I know.
Do you fly these?
Not a chance.
Engine fitters
don't get to fly.
It's three years before you
get to go on a flying course.
Longer, maybe,
and then not one of these.
Really? They take the troops
out in these... To the jungle.
Oh!
To the war.
You come down seven times
before you get to Malaya.
It takes over a week.
By the time you get there, you know
you've been traveling. I'm sure.
Did you realize you might
have to fight when you joined?
You're an airman,
you want to fly.
You're a soldier,
you want to fight.
Not much point else.
No.
I'll walk you home.
Happen if I were killed,
I'd still say fine.
I joined to fight.
Didn't have to.
Could just have
done national service,
Tramped the parade ground.
We're not even at war.
Well, not properly at war.
Half a war.
Malaya's half a war.
But I liked the idea.
Is your mum in bed?
I think so.
If she ever asks,
we saw the third man.
Jean?
Still awake?
Yes. How was it?
Good.
Orson Wells killed
all these children,
Then they shot him
in a sewer in the end.
That's good.
Yes.
Good night.
Never dreamt...
Never thought any
such happiness possible.
Hiding in the dark.
Loving a man in the dark.
Never knew any such
happiness possible at all.
How bad is it?
Why did he do it?
Depressed, I suppose.
So why did he do it in here?
I love the warm evenings.
Something.
Tea?
Doesn't get dark till eight.
How long are you
staying with Marcia?
I'm not.
Shock.
Moves towards him.
What do you mean?
He explains.
Unbelievable.
Right pocket.
That's it.
there seems
little point...
Ah!
My goodness!
I'm sorry, you startled me.
New lock?
The chances of the same
thing happening again...
Anyway, I let him in.
Well, it doesn't matter
how well you're locked up.
At times you're always going
to have to let people in.
Are you all right?
Yes.
I've been trying to sleep,
as best I may.
Yes, I'm sorry.
We don't clean up afterwards.
We just take the body away.
It seems a bit callous, I know.
But the thinking is... That
if we always had to clear up,
The police would spend their
entire life on their knees.
How are you getting on?
Well, we have something.
He was a student.
I see.
Yes. He was working
for his doctorate
At the university of Essex.
He came to the town a few
days ago and rented a room.
Are you a graduate yourself?
Yes. A subject of much mirth.
A graduate policeman.
This man wasn't my generation.
He was younger.
He was only 25.
He came to research at the
British library down the road.
A blankness.
A central,
disfiguring blankness.
That's what people
who knew him describe.
Yes, it's true.
I've been trying to remember.
He said so little at dinner,
until late in the evening.
He s-seemed
already set on a path.
It's funny.
I mean, looking back,
I took it for granted
that he was there.
Yes. Well, that's right.
I mean, I've often
been out to dinner,
And not been quite
sure who somebody was.
No.
Quite.
Though, usually, it is
different if you're the hostess.
Anyway, it turns out it wasn't
completely out of the blue.
Um, the day before,
he'd seen Marcia Pilborough.
As you know, she works
at the library. Oh, I see.
And he'd, um, gone up to her.
They'd had a conversation.
He wanted to borrow a book.
Afterwards, we think,
he probably waited
And started to follow her.
oh, well, I see.
It's beginning to make sense.
Well, would-would you say...
I'm sorry. I know these
things are very difficult,
But would you say
that Marcia was, in any way,
A woman who was
likely to have been...
Deliberately provocative?
Look. I mean, is lying,
and brought him to dinner...
Deliberately, or as a joke?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I don't mean to be rude,
but Marcia's my best friend.
I don't think that
would be possible at all.
he said I'm the best
builder in Wetherby.
He said that.
I knew you'd like it.
When did you take it?
and he said to me...
He said he'd come around...
Look everyone.
Look what Marcia's brought me.
A picture of my house.
Lovely.
Do you like it?
clever girl. Hmm.
It's great.
Jim...
Jim, no. Don't,
for goodness sake.
Goodness.
Is this a party wall?
Jim?
What?
Please. It's undignified.
Unladylike.
Yes.
Jim! Oh, lord, it's my mother.
What?
Let me down.
I want to make love to you.
Jim.
Jean, are you home?
I'm home.
Is there
anything you need?
No. No, I'm fine.
Do you know how long
you'll be staying?
Uh, just a couple of days.
Oh, well done, Stanley.
Thanks.
Jean?
We brought you some breakfast.
Thank you, Marcia.
I'm just coming down.
Take the paper, Stanley.
Hide it.
We've got you bacon and eggs!
Why hide it? I thought
she was there when it happened.
Well, she doesn't want
to be reminded. Would you?
Good morning.
No paper, I'm afraid.
I think there's a strike.
All right?
Well, I'm not
in the pink.
Oh, I
shouldn't wonder.
Did you sleep?
I had dreams.
Does anyone know
why he did it?
And why on earth should he come
and choose to do it to you?
It was me who
met him first.
I don't know why I didn't
think of it at the dinner.
I'd met him already.
He could have done it to me.
I think the lonely
recognize the lonely.
Well, you're not lonely.
I only want coffee.
Stan, do you mind? Would you
go and do something useful?
Do you know how
to do it with a filter?
Well, have you searched
back over all your behavior?
Did you offend him in any way?
That's what I've been thinking.
Or perhaps we upset him.
Perhaps you looked like his mother. Huh!
No, it is possible.
I read in a book.
No, I think it was
more what we shared.
What's that?
I told you.
A feeling for solitude.
Well, you may have thought that,
but to shoot your head off...
Oh, please.
Marcia, the bacon's too much.
Oh, god. Oh, it
hadn't occurred to me.
I'm sorry, Jean. I...
I just didn't think.
I'll take it out.
Oh Jean, I'm sorry.
It's out.
It's almost out.
If you're frightened of
loneliness, never get married.
I'm not frightened.
I'm hardened by now.
Come in, come in.
Nice to meet you.
This is Jean.
Mrs. Mortimer.
And this is Jims father. Hello.
Please,
sit down, sit down.
I've baked you some scones,
and there's battenburg cake.
You're looking
very thin, lad.
Nay, I've-I've been fine.
And so you'd be
giving up college, then?
No, I don't think so,
Mr. Mortimer.
Ah.
Jim thought as he'd be away
for so long and so often,
It's better if I occupy myself.
I think I have a place
at the university of hull.
Are you sure?
You don't think a woman
who's going to get married
Should be thinking of
going off away from her home.
But Jim won't be there.
He'll be in Malaya.
He'll want to know
you're where you belong.
What difference would it make
if he'd not be with me?
He'll want to know
you're at home.
I can't honestly see
it'd make any difference.
Any home life we have is bound
to be interrupted at the start.
We'll see each other
so little for a bit.
Seven years?
Is that right?
Well,
not necessarily.
Doesn't Jim speak?
The air force will
give me a house later,
When I'm back
from active service.
For now it's nice if
Jean goes on with her books.
More battenburg?
Did you
bake it yourself?
Don't be daft.
You shouldn't worry.
They made me feel stupid.
Why?
Perhaps it is silly.
Impractical.
Well, we're always
so happy together.
It never occurs to us there's
a world of people out there.
We can't spend our life with
the sheets up over our heads.
How can you make battenburg?
No one can make battenburg.
Half of it's pink!
Jim, I know. I was
frightened, that's all.
You know nothing.
The angle...
Yeah.
Of the body means murder
is probably discounted.
There's forensic evidence,
fingerprints.
Nobody else touched the gun.
At the inquest, I shall
be arguing it's suicide.
You look disappointed.
No. Not at all.
Where is it?
Derby.
That's where he came from.
All right.
Lads need the space.
New fire hose
demonstration.
Not in here,
for Christs sake.
Not real fire hoses, idiot.
Slide show.
No problem, all right?
Stick your thumb
up your bum for a bit.
Do fuck-all anyway.
Hey mike, look at this.
What is it?
Famous people without their
clothes on. Celebrity nudes.
Jesus, look at her.
Sergeant, what do you mean?
Celebrity nudes here, look.
It's Jackie Kennedy.
Jackie Kennedy.
All women?
Yup.
No men?
Hey, isn't that suppose
to be, um, Britt Ekland?
It's a bit of a bad likeness.
He must have been in the bushes.
No. Men'd be taking the joke
much too far, wouldn't it?
it's cilla black.
You don't need
to take flowers.
I can't explain it.
I just thought I would.
Jean, I'm sorry.
I was just settling your class.
We weren't expecting you.
I thought I'd feel
better if I came in.
I gave them some books
and told them to shut up.
Hmm. Good.
Well, uh... You must
come around to dinner.
Yes. I'd like to.
I-I mean, uh...
We must have you back.
We don't see enough of you.
Bye.
Right. Come on.
Heads out of the books.
Please everyone, that's not
how I teach, as you know.
Mr. Braithwaite said you weren't
going to be here today, miss.
You have a pleasant surprise.
Board please, Marjorie.
Please, miss, I forgot
to hand in my book.
Shut up. Sit down.
Open a window.
Uh, miss, you've still
got your fag in your mouth.
Good.
Right. Today...
We address ourselves
to the question,
Is Shakespeare worth reading
although it's only about kings?
Hello.
Sorry. I don't
mean to surprise you.
It's all right.
I should have rung.
I've come from the funeral.
I'm a friend of John Morgan's.
Come in.
I had a kind of inkling
he might do something silly.
I always thought
he was weird.
Were you at the same university?
He was post-graduate.
I'm just a first-year.
Had you...
Been going out with him?
No. I never
slept with him.
Went to
the cinema twice.
Seen that film
about the Indian.
Gandhi?
That's right.
Afterwards,
he couldn't stop talking.
He thought this
and he thought that.
The philosophy
of nonviolence and so on.
And I really didn't
think anything.
Except that, obviously,
the film was very long.
In that way,
we weren't even suited.
I think he was
trying to impress me.
He chose the wrong way.
I like people
who are just themselves.
Not talking
rubbish all the time.
I know I shouldn't say that
about anyone who's dead, but...
Anyone who did
what they did to you...
He certainly upset me.
Yes. I can tell.
Then he started
to pester me.
I had to go to his professor
to ask him to stop watching me.
The worst was in the launderette.
I think it was me
he wanted to do it to.
And just by bad luck,
he did it to you.
Are you going back?
When?
This evening.
I don't really have any plan.
I only came up on an impulse.
Then a policeman
at the funeral gave me a lift.
Who was that?
He was called Langdon.
I'd never have thought of it.
It was his idea I should come.
So how long
had you known him?
Who?
John Morgan.
Oh, him.
I don't know.
Do you have a television?
Yes. I've got one.
It's behind the chair.
I hardly ever watch it.
I watch it most evenings.
At university?
They have a room
you can sit in.
Do you mind
if I get it out?
I held a very
important position.
pull yourself
together, for god's sake.
I've finished
in the bathroom.
Good night.
How was the funeral?
Ghastly.
I had to go to derby.
And it started to rain.
There's only his
mother left alive.
She had no idea
why he'd done it.
Seems as if neither do you.
Have you been riding?
Hmm. That's why I fell asleep.
We broke in a new horse.
So, I'm saddle-sore.
The problem is...
No crime has been committed.
Killing yourself is legal,
even in front of somebody else.
Hmm.
Unless she did
something to provoke him.
Yes.
She'd only known him 24 hours.
She is...
What?
A teacher, obviously
good at her job.
Loved by her pupils.
Did she teach you?
No. But I remember her.
She was nice.
A good woman...
Chosen, for some reason,
As the victim of
the ultimate practical joke.
I told Stanley
not to get drunk.
it's true, it's true.
I don't watch that.
I watch that thing on sundays.
Hello, verity.
Hello, darling.
Roger won't watch it
Because he says it's
full of jokes about blacks.
No. I didn't say that.
It's just that particular
kind of joke about blacks.
Hello, Stanley.
Oop! I need some more wine.
Ta-da.
Oh. No, red,
it's for cooking.
well, you're wrong.
I think if they want
to be accepted as British,
Then they'll have to put up
with the fact that they will
Be the butt of peoples' humor...
Just like mothers-in-law.
Do you know who that bloke is?
Stanley, don't be rude.
He's a friend of Jean's.
Here we are.
Stan, will you open this?
Yes.
Roger... Do you know, uh, John?
Uh, yes.
This is verity.
And if you actually don't
make jokes about blacks,
It's reverse discrimination
saying they don't really belong.
No, you have to say...
I don't have to say anything.
Jews make jokes about Jews.
It's called "Jewish humor".
When we do it,
it's called anti-Semitism.
Don't you agree?
You do realize this is
an emotional argument? So?
It has no basis
in logic whatsoever.
Oh, logic.
Yes! You know, logic,
that holds society together.
Logic that says people shouldn't
go around killing each other.
Quite right.
And that also tells us...
Look...
Please! I've started,
so please let me finish!
Magnus Magnusson.
Logic also tells us that
there must be constraints,
And that, if people went around
saying exactly what they feel,
The result would be barbarism.
And I prefer civilization.
That's all.
Thank you.
Roger dislikes anyone being
allowed to express themselves.
He sees it as a threat
to property values.
I don't think
that's quite fair.
He won't allow a firework display for
fear a rocket falls on our thatched roof.
Now you're raising a different
point. Life is dangerous!
Don't you realize?
And sometimes,
there's nothing you can do!
That's not true.
I think you can
always limit the danger.
What do you say, John Morgan?
Speak up. Intercede.
It's a marriage.
You must adjudicate
between warring parties.
Well, I can see
both sides, I suppose.
Oh, well, goodness.
How are you? This is
a coincidence. Um...
Chrissie, this
is Jean Travers.
Hello. Hello. Is this a coincidence?
Good lord, yes. I've given
up thinking about you.
Oh, yes. Um, do, please.
Or would I be interrupting?
No. Not in the slightest.
Uh, Chrissie came into
leeds to pick up some gear.
I ride horses.
I said I'd take her
and we'd go to the cinema.
Yes. Thank you.
a beer please.
Yes, and me.
So, what are you doing?
Oh, I don't know.
I've already ordered.
Right.
I'm afraid I got frightened.
Frightened?
Yes.
Are you living
on your own?
No, as it happens, I'm not.
This girl came to stay
with me. Oh, she stayed?
Yes. A friend of John Morgan's.
Have you heard about this?
Yes.
So you know what I mean.
And then today...
I just... I was going
to go home and...
Then I somehow, I couldn't
face it; I just had to get out.
Why does she
frighten you so much?
It sounds silly.
Well, I can't
get hold of her.
She arrived on my doorstep,
And I thought, "oh, she
really wants to speak to me,"
Because we've had a similar
experience, I suppose.
But it's as if
she had a faculty missing.
She seems to say something
and then it just slips away.
She has no curiosity.
Also... She asked if she could
stay the night. I said fine.
The next day she didn't leave
and yesterday she asked to stay.
It's hard to say, but...
I can understand how Morgan
became obsessed with her.
Did he?
Yes.
Violently, I think.
She's the sort of girl that
people become obsessed with.
Excuse me.
Well, I mean, I can
hardly wake her up and say,
"this is my friend
the policeman,
And he offered to come
around and tell you to leave".
No.
Um, I don't know.
Everything gets
to seem spooky.
Is that where the tile was?
Yes.
And he fixed it?
What?
How did he fix it?
From the inside?
Chrissie's waiting for you.
Yes.
Thank you for driving me home.
I have a list of books
I was hoping to borrow.
I'm sorry.
You've been misinformed.
This isn't a lending
library, you know.
It's the British library,
lending division?
Yes, I know.
But we don't lend books.
Or, only under very
special circumstances.
I have a letter
from my professor.
Well, that won't be nearly
special enough, I'm afraid.
Or just to look at
the books, not borrow them.
Oh, yes, yes.
You can look,
As long as you're
a registered user.
But you need
authorization from London.
Yes. Well, I'll get that.
Then I'll come back.
Go to bed. Bed!
We're off now, Stanley.
Don't forget
to unthaw the lunch.
Clearing out all that jumble
began to upset me.
Really?
Didn't you feel like that?
The past, you mean?
Mmm.
That isn't like you.
Second-hand clothes.
They say that murderers
are drawn to the second-hand.
I hadn't heard that.
Yes. There's a book.
You like murder, roger.
Yes, oh god, yes.
I'm addicted.
Yes. There's a theory that
murder is characteristically
Committed by people who
handle other peoples' things
In second-hand clothes shops,
junk shops, markets.
Self-improvement.
That's another hallmark.
People who teach themselves
things at home, at night.
Theories they only
half understand.
Informal education.
A fantasy life
of singular intensity.
Didn't you go
to Switzerland last year?
Yes. I, uh...
Yes. A package tour.
To the Reichenbach falls.
There were 40 of us
from all over England.
To see where Moriarty
pushed Sherlock Holmes over.
Wonderful countryside.
What did verity think?
Ah.
She didn't
come with me. No.
A colleague from
home economics came along.
Do you like murder?
Not much.
But I prefer it to romance.
Hello, Lil. Sorry we're late.
The dog was sick.
Oh, dear.
It's on a high-fiber diet.
You know what it's like.
I don't think it likes Mueslix.
The river flows dark
tonight, sir Thomas.
Will you take my boat?
Boatman, though I do not mean to
deprive you of your livelihood,
I cannot take your boat.
For if I travel tonight,
I shall travel to the tower.
They say that is a place
from which no man can return.
Aye, not alive.
But boatman, we are put on
this earth to serve god's will,
And if I do it tonight,
and in the fullness of my heart,
He shall protect me
and lead me to a better place
Than any we have
known in the world.
I wish you good fortune, sire.
Thank you, boatman.
You are lucky to know no kings.
Here, take gold.
Remember me
in your prayers.
So what do you do?
Well, come on. Answer me.
I don't want Janice
to take "a" level English.
Because we want
her to get on.
We bought her
a home computer.
Surely you can tell me
what your name is?
Now, look!
Excuse me.
she's cut her hand.
I wasn't saying anything!
I didn't do anything.
What's your problem, man?
Please, Mr. Varley, come back!
What did he say?
I don't know.
What difference does it make?
Why can't people leave me alone?
What did he want?
Who?
That parent.
Nothing. He just
asked questions.
What kind?
Oh, you know. Who was I?
What was I doing here?
That sounds quite innocent.
It's just... I hate it.
All this asking that goes on.
People digging around.
The way people have
to dig into one another.
It's horrible.
Did you say that to John Morgan?
Yes.
Well... I did.
No wonder.
I think you drove him crazy.
I don't know what you mean.
No, well... Exactly. That's why.
Goodness, I don't mean deliberately.
I don't mean you meant to.
I never do anything!
I never say anything!
Karen.
Karen?
It's me.
Karen, listen to me, please.
Get out of here.
I only want to talk.
Fuck you! Get out!
No, look. You must
listen to me. Please!
I want some feeling!
I want some contact!
I want you fucking near me!
Ah!
Oh!
Please don't go.
You make an effort.
You try and be nice!
Try and do anything!
You just get your
head chopped off.
Why try?
Anyway... Tell me.
Go on, tell me,
since you're so clever.
What did you do?
Oh, Karen.
If it wasn't an accident,
I'd love to know what you did.
Oh, Karen.
Karen...
Come back!
if I had
the guts, I'd just say to him,
"look. I don't want
you to go. I need you".
Why don't you say that?
Because to him,
it's everything.
Being an airman
is everything.
Until he gets to Malaya,
He isn't going to feel
being an airman is real.
What do you feel?
I don't know.
Of course I don't like it.
Are you frightened
he's going to get killed?
No.
No, of course not.
I hadn't even thought of it.
Why'd you say that?
I'm sorry. I didn't think.
With him I can't talk.
With him I can't
say anything I feel.
Because I read books,
I feel, for some reason,
I'm not allowed to talk.
There's always a gulf.
Doesn't seem a very
good basis for marriage.
No, I suppose.
Perhaps...
Perhaps sex isn't everything.
No.
It's time that
you talked to him.
Soon he'll be gone.
Jim.
Jim, it's hopeless.
How can it work anymore
Snatching time when
my mum's out at cards,
Knowing we can't get married
because of your parents?
We'll get married.
Eventually, yes.
When you finally
get back from Malaya.
But it's so long, it makes
everything seem pointless.
Don't you think
we should be sensible?
No.
Hmm.
Hello, boy.
There's a man
out here to see you.
...At its most basic.
Or at least not conveying the
sense. That's a possibility.
You've got to take
that into account.
Yes, I understand.
I don't want to press you.
No. Go ahead.
Hello. How are you?
...Your arms
above your head.
I'm just taking
that as an example.
Does that necessarily
mean you're happy?
You look
shattered.
...Happiness in
certain circumstances
According to those
circumstances, certainly, yes.
Or, it can mean
release, or triumph.
I'm afraid I've had
some trouble at home.
Chrissie went
back to her husband.
She had one already?
Oh, yes.
Who she told me
she never saw anymore.
But all the time...
I don't know.
It turns out
I was a subplot.
The real story was
happening elsewhere.
That's a terrible feeling.
Yeah. The worst.
It's shaken my
whole idea of myself.
You know, what I'm
doing as a policeman.
I mean, if the day
was no good, if it was...
Awful or silly, I could always
go back to Chrissie and laugh.
Now it turns out that
she wasn't really with me.
She laughed...
But she was elsewhere.
What's he like?
Awful.
He's the sort
of man who keeps sheep.
I mean, for god's sake,
If you want wool,
go and buy it in a shop.
Listen.
I'll tell you why I'm here.
I was piecing
together the evening.
Can't you leave it?
Well, yes.
This is just
an amateur's interest.
all right.
It's just that...
There was food...
Then there was talking...
Then you went upstairs.
Didn't you have
a few moments alone with him?
When you were together...
What did you talk about?
Fixing the roof.
It's just that roger-
your colleague, roger- says...
That when you came back,
he remembers that you'd changed.
Changed?
Not, uh... I don't mean...
I'm not saying...
As a person.
Your clothes.
Well, I put on my trousers.
I'd snagged my stocking.
Oh, gosh.
Poor you.
So, how are you managing alone?
Don't you think
you should tell me?
What happened?
Was it your fault?
I th... I think.
In a way.
It's because he was a stranger.
No. I'm not sure I can explain.
Because I didn't know him.
Now I can feel
him dragging me down.
I thought I could get over it,
But now, everywhere,
the darkness beckons.
These things become real.
He wants me down there.
Well, you have to fight.
Well, I have fought.
how dare you?
I fought for three weeks,
and you didn't help.
Sending me
that miserable little girl.
What gives you that right?
To meddle?
Police always bring sadness.
I'm going to sit here.
I won't go away.
Now, Stanley...
Don't drink too much, please.
Last night,
you were stupid with gin.
I like gin.
Oh.
I rang the bell.
Well, she can see us
through the window.
Jean?
I'm John Morgan.
hello.
Oh, you brought an extra.
Come on. Come on in.
The more, the merrier.
John Morgan.
I've already told
Stanley not to get drunk.
What?
Revenge.
That's what it is. Revenge!
That's what she's doing!
who?
The prime minister.
She's taking some...
Terrible revenge for something.
Some deep damage. Something
inside. God knows what.
For crimes behind
the privet hedge.
And now the whole
country's suffering!
Yet we've done nothing to her.
Do you
think that?
Yes, I do.
Coq au vin.
oh! Wonderful!
Stanley,
you're drunk.
One drunk?
Yes, I am.
Drunk and disorderly,
Where once
I was orderly.
Who's
first?
I used to keep my thoughts
in neat rows like vegetables.
All pegged out
under cloches.
I kept my thoughts under
cloches. Now, they grow wild.
Marcia?
Oh, sorry.
You wouldn't know.
I am the local solicitor.
The town's official
sanctifier of greed.
Those little
unseemly transactions.
I'll just take some of this.
Verity.
I see people
as they truly are.
nonsense.
Oh, this smells marvelous.
I remember once, my father,
Also a solicitor,
Said, "I have
learnt never to judge
Any man from his behavior with
money and the opposite sex".
Yet it is my own
saddened experience
That those are
the only ways to judge them.
salad?
thank you.
Stanley
thinks good of nobody.
Not true.
I expect good of nobody.
Thank you.
And I'm sometimes
pleasantly surprised.
There we are.
And when I find good,
My first feeling
Is one of nostalgia
for something we've lost.
Here, take.
Thanks.
Ask John Morgan.
John.
Well, I don't know.
go on.
I only know...
Goodness...
And anger...
And revenge...
And evil...
And desire.
These seem to me
far better words than
Neurosis
and psychology and paranoia.
These old words.
These good, old words
have a sort of... Conviction,
Which all this modern
apparatus of language now lacks.
ah, well, yes.
We bury these words.
These simple feelings.
We bury them deep.
And all the building over
that constitutes this century
Will not wish
these feelings away.
Yes, well, you'll have to say
what you really mean by that.
Would I?
Yeah.
Define your terms.
They don't need defining.
If you can't feel them,
you might as well be dead.
Well... What do you think?
Well, of course,
you look wonderful.
You don't like me going.
What makes you say that?
I've never said that.
I've encouraged you.
I can see it's your happiness.
You've never been
happier than today.
I've always told you,
you must do what you want.
Yes.
You supported me, and...
And I've been grateful.
I'll come back.
We'll have a house.
If you want to stop me, you can.
No. I'll study. I've lots to do.
Are you being true with me?
True?
What's it mean?
If you've anything
to say, speak it now.
Nothing.
good-bye.
Oh!
Where'd that come from?
Oh, god.
It looks as if your roof
is in trouble.
I'm very practical.
Right.
Show me your money.
Put that in your shoe.
Let's go in.
What you said...
What you said about those
feelings, it made such sense.
Yes. I thought
you'd understand me.
It's here.
Take part in your game.
We would like to.
We have heard, the best
game of poker in Malaya.
Okay.
Thanks very much.
I think it's fixed.
Thank you.
Shall we go down?
What have you given him?
Okay. It's okay.
I have something.
- Oh!
- Don't drag him!
Who runs this game?
I thought you were the boss!
No fighting, please.
I have something.
Step in here.
I will give you
some medicine for him.
I love the slow evenings
when summer begins to come.
It doesn't get dark until 8:00.
Absurd. It isn't possible.
No.
English airman...
Listen...
I know you're in trouble.
What?
You're in trouble...
Like me.
No. No, I don't
know what you mean.
Come on.
I... No.
You're lonely.
Yes, well, I'm lonely,
but I'm not in trouble.
Please don't argue.
All that hope coming out of you,
all that cheerful resolution.
All that
wonderful enlightenment...
For what? For nothing.
You know
it's for nothing.
Don't tell me that
cheerfulness is real.
Yes, of course.
You and I...
We understand each other.
What? No. What?
You fake. You fake
all that cheerfulness.
No! I don't. It's who I am.
Then why did you
lead me up here?
I didn't.
Liar!
You know. You know
where you're looking.
No, I don't.
You've been here,
where I am.
No, I haven't.
I'm sorry.
But I haven't been more ill.
I have to change.
No.
Yes. Oh, please.
You will!
Out into the night,
And then
good night again.
Oops!
Oh! The drinking of whisky
the drinking of gin...
It's been very pleasant.
Would you mind
if I came around again?
there. Hold me tight.
Jessica, aren't
you coming with me?
Yes. On the 16th.
I can't go on
the English trip.
Oh, yes, you can.
Right then, everyone.
Good morning.
Window, please.
Gosh. A dirty
blackboard already.
Where's Suzie, please?
Anyone know?
she's run away
to London, miss.
with Alfred Egerton
in science fifth.
Has she been in touch
with her parents?
Yes, miss.
Good.
She said she couldn't
see the point of school.
No?
Well, sometimes,
I have that problem.
Anyone else?
Anyone else want to go?
Right, then.
For those of us
still remaining-
Us maniacs, assorted
oddballs, eccentrics,
Folk who still think
education is worthwhile-
I suggest we keep trying.
All right, everyone?
Good.
Then, let's work.
How are you?
How are you?
I'm better.
How's Marcia?
Tremendous.
Oh, yes.
The charity bridge tournament
takes up all her time.
When you're a boy, you think,
"oh, it's so easy".
Always wipe
the slate and move on.
Then, with the years, you find
you become a prisoner of dreams.
A girl ran away
this morning.
Good luck to her.
Yes.
Good luck.
To all our escapes.
You remember?
Of course I remember.
That's funny
how many people forget.
It wasn't so long ago.
Ten years.
What was happening
in Wetherby ten years ago?
He was a distinguished
member of my own profession.
What, liar?
No, not liar.
Solicitor.
Well, lawyer.
He trained as a lawyer.
Liar or lawyer.
Is there a difference?
I wonder, have we got
time for another drink?
Wouldn't it be marvelous
if Nixon walked in now?
Right now!
You just can't help it.
It would cheer everybody up.
Oh, I can't go on.
Oh, Stanley.
Oh, we've lived
in this town for too long.
Aye.
time, gentlemen, please.
I'll tell you
the best thing about Nixon.
Shouldn't you be getting
back to school?
No. No, listen.
I'll tell you the one story
about Nixon. All right?
When he first met pat,
she didn't like him very much.
So, after a bit, she said she
didn't want to see him anymore.
"Well," he said,
"it breaks my heart, pat.
I'll only stop seeing you on one condition".
"What's that?" she said.
"that I can always
be the chauffeur".
When she went out with men, say,
to the cinema, he'd drive them.
He'd drive them
all the way to the cinema.
They'd go in, her and her date,
and he'd wait outside.
He'd wait outside
during the whole film.
With a packet of popcorn
or a piece of chewing gum.
And then they'd come out,
and he'd drive them home.
I ask you, what does
that tell you about Nixon?
Jean, I ask you, what does
that tell you about pat?
If you want
to be loved in life,
There's no use
in having opinions.
I think you're right.
People who get loved are easy.
Easy to get along with.
Jean.
Have we lost the corkscrew?
I can't do the bloody thing!
There's a new girl
at work, at the library.
The sort of girl
men fall for. Vacant.
Cool?
Yeah, distant.
That's right.
She doesn't really
have a personality.
She just has a way
of suggesting to men
That she'll be whatever
they want her to be.
Not a person.
Not a real person.
What's she done, this
girl? Well, I'll tell you...
Just being this thing you object
to, or has she done anything wrong?
She exists.
She's young?
Yes, if you like.
She's young. So w-
It's an offense.
But there's no her!
There's nothing which is her!
I look at the young,
truly, and I'm mystified.
They want nothing. They need
nothing. They have no ambition.
Get married,
have children, get a mortgage.
A hundred thousand years
of human evolution.
Brontosaurus,
tyrannosaurus, man.
And the sum ambition?
Two up, two down in
the west riding of Yorkshire
On a custom-built
estate of brick and glass.
That's not right. Is it?
Well, can anyone tell me?
She's young. That's all
you're saying. She's young.
I think it's fixed.
Thank you.
A slate fell off
in the middle of the night.
I was frightened to go up.
It's all right.
Shall we go down?
I knew you'd say that.
I knew you would.
Lethal.
It wasn't
heath Phelps.
It was!
No, no, no.
It was. Don't you remember
the size of the hailstones?
There weren't any hailstones,
Stanley. Don't be ridiculous.
Yes, it was! It was pissing
with rain! Ah, coffee.
Whether our faces show.
This is the question.
We read a face.
We look into a face.
Into that face all sorts
of things we claim to read.
Mary here.
Or John.
John's got a sly face.
he has, too.
He has got a sly face.
He's got sly features.
Is John a sly boy?
he's sly, all right.
Right.
Do we become
the way we look?
Or do we look
the way we really are?
"if thou hast eyes to see..."
It's about the play.
Will you be needing me?
I'll be needing you, all right.
Will you do it? I should think so.
Good day, miss.
See you.
Miss Travers,
I was wondering,
Do you have
time for a chat?
Miss Travers, do you
think there's any point
In my going on
in the sixth form?
Of course. Don't be silly.
What makes you say that?
It's just that everyone
seems to end up unemployed.
Not everyone.
But, um, I do
know what you mean.
You get a university degree,
like in French. Then what?
Maybe you get to be a secretary,
and that's if you're lucky.
Honestly, I've really
thought about it,
And I don't really think
it's worth it, you see.
That's not what
education is, though, Suzie.
If you're thinking, "I must
use education for a career,"
Then you're already thinking of
education... In the wrong way.
Education...
Is a thing in itself.
It's a way of
fulfilling your potential,
Looking for ways
of thinking about things-
Ways which,
if you're lucky,
Will help not just your career,
but your whole life.
What ways?
Well...
Ways of being
more ordered, I suppose,
Of having more discipline
in the way you think.
Not always being bullheaded,
Learning not
to rush into things.
Do you think
uneducated people do that?
Well, I don't. No.
Not necessarily.
I mean...
Sometimes.
Are they inferior for
not knowing how to think?
No. Of course not.
But if you have something-
What you call a way of
thinking- which they don't,
Surely you're saying
you're superior.
No, Suzie.
I wouldn't say that.
What, then?
Different.
Better or worse?
I brought you some pheasants.
Am I disturbing you?
Well, I'll make some tea.
I love the slow evenings,
when summer begins to come.
It doesn't get dark until 8:00.
Are you staying
long with Marcie?
No.
I don't know Marcie.
What?
But you said...
What?
When you came to dinner.
I met her on the doorstep.
I thought...
Who invited you?
No one.
Are you saying...
it's not possible.
Are you saying...
I met Marcie on the doorstep.
I introduced myself.
I thought you came with her.
No.
It's not possible.
Then I said John Morgan,
if you remember.
Yes.
And you shook my hand.
Come on.
Come in, come in.
The more, the merrier.
And you accepted me.
I'll lay
an extra place.
Thank you.
It's absurd. It's impossible.
No.
no!
No!
Yes! Yes!
No.
Yes!
Don't you mean yes?
I mean yes! Yes!
Let me see.
Let me look at you.
You're not meant to.
I know.
Do you fly these?
Not a chance.
Engine fitters
don't get to fly.
It's three years before you
get to go on a flying course.
Longer, maybe,
and then not one of these.
Really? They take the troops
out in these... To the jungle.
Oh!
To the war.
You come down seven times
before you get to Malaya.
It takes over a week.
By the time you get there, you know
you've been traveling. I'm sure.
Did you realize you might
have to fight when you joined?
You're an airman,
you want to fly.
You're a soldier,
you want to fight.
Not much point else.
No.
I'll walk you home.
Happen if I were killed,
I'd still say fine.
I joined to fight.
Didn't have to.
Could just have
done national service,
Tramped the parade ground.
We're not even at war.
Well, not properly at war.
Half a war.
Malaya's half a war.
But I liked the idea.
Is your mum in bed?
I think so.
If she ever asks,
we saw the third man.
Jean?
Still awake?
Yes. How was it?
Good.
Orson Wells killed
all these children,
Then they shot him
in a sewer in the end.
That's good.
Yes.
Good night.
Never dreamt...
Never thought any
such happiness possible.
Hiding in the dark.
Loving a man in the dark.
Never knew any such
happiness possible at all.
How bad is it?
Why did he do it?
Depressed, I suppose.
So why did he do it in here?
I love the warm evenings.
Something.
Tea?
Doesn't get dark till eight.
How long are you
staying with Marcia?
I'm not.
Shock.
Moves towards him.
What do you mean?
He explains.
Unbelievable.
Right pocket.
That's it.
there seems
little point...
Ah!
My goodness!
I'm sorry, you startled me.
New lock?
The chances of the same
thing happening again...
Anyway, I let him in.
Well, it doesn't matter
how well you're locked up.
At times you're always going
to have to let people in.
Are you all right?
Yes.
I've been trying to sleep,
as best I may.
Yes, I'm sorry.
We don't clean up afterwards.
We just take the body away.
It seems a bit callous, I know.
But the thinking is... That
if we always had to clear up,
The police would spend their
entire life on their knees.
How are you getting on?
Well, we have something.
He was a student.
I see.
Yes. He was working
for his doctorate
At the university of Essex.
He came to the town a few
days ago and rented a room.
Are you a graduate yourself?
Yes. A subject of much mirth.
A graduate policeman.
This man wasn't my generation.
He was younger.
He was only 25.
He came to research at the
British library down the road.
A blankness.
A central,
disfiguring blankness.
That's what people
who knew him describe.
Yes, it's true.
I've been trying to remember.
He said so little at dinner,
until late in the evening.
He s-seemed
already set on a path.
It's funny.
I mean, looking back,
I took it for granted
that he was there.
Yes. Well, that's right.
I mean, I've often
been out to dinner,
And not been quite
sure who somebody was.
No.
Quite.
Though, usually, it is
different if you're the hostess.
Anyway, it turns out it wasn't
completely out of the blue.
Um, the day before,
he'd seen Marcia Pilborough.
As you know, she works
at the library. Oh, I see.
And he'd, um, gone up to her.
They'd had a conversation.
He wanted to borrow a book.
Afterwards, we think,
he probably waited
And started to follow her.
oh, well, I see.
It's beginning to make sense.
Well, would-would you say...
I'm sorry. I know these
things are very difficult,
But would you say
that Marcia was, in any way,
A woman who was
likely to have been...
Deliberately provocative?
Look. I mean, is lying,
and brought him to dinner...
Deliberately, or as a joke?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I don't mean to be rude,
but Marcia's my best friend.
I don't think that
would be possible at all.
he said I'm the best
builder in Wetherby.
He said that.
I knew you'd like it.
When did you take it?
and he said to me...
He said he'd come around...
Look everyone.
Look what Marcia's brought me.
A picture of my house.
Lovely.
Do you like it?
clever girl. Hmm.
It's great.
Jim...
Jim, no. Don't,
for goodness sake.
Goodness.
Is this a party wall?
Jim?
What?
Please. It's undignified.
Unladylike.
Yes.
Jim! Oh, lord, it's my mother.
What?
Let me down.
I want to make love to you.
Jim.
Jean, are you home?
I'm home.
Is there
anything you need?
No. No, I'm fine.
Do you know how long
you'll be staying?
Uh, just a couple of days.
Oh, well done, Stanley.
Thanks.
Jean?
We brought you some breakfast.
Thank you, Marcia.
I'm just coming down.
Take the paper, Stanley.
Hide it.
We've got you bacon and eggs!
Why hide it? I thought
she was there when it happened.
Well, she doesn't want
to be reminded. Would you?
Good morning.
No paper, I'm afraid.
I think there's a strike.
All right?
Well, I'm not
in the pink.
Oh, I
shouldn't wonder.
Did you sleep?
I had dreams.
Does anyone know
why he did it?
And why on earth should he come
and choose to do it to you?
It was me who
met him first.
I don't know why I didn't
think of it at the dinner.
I'd met him already.
He could have done it to me.
I think the lonely
recognize the lonely.
Well, you're not lonely.
I only want coffee.
Stan, do you mind? Would you
go and do something useful?
Do you know how
to do it with a filter?
Well, have you searched
back over all your behavior?
Did you offend him in any way?
That's what I've been thinking.
Or perhaps we upset him.
Perhaps you looked like his mother. Huh!
No, it is possible.
I read in a book.
No, I think it was
more what we shared.
What's that?
I told you.
A feeling for solitude.
Well, you may have thought that,
but to shoot your head off...
Oh, please.
Marcia, the bacon's too much.
Oh, god. Oh, it
hadn't occurred to me.
I'm sorry, Jean. I...
I just didn't think.
I'll take it out.
Oh Jean, I'm sorry.
It's out.
It's almost out.
If you're frightened of
loneliness, never get married.
I'm not frightened.
I'm hardened by now.
Come in, come in.
Nice to meet you.
This is Jean.
Mrs. Mortimer.
And this is Jims father. Hello.
Please,
sit down, sit down.
I've baked you some scones,
and there's battenburg cake.
You're looking
very thin, lad.
Nay, I've-I've been fine.
And so you'd be
giving up college, then?
No, I don't think so,
Mr. Mortimer.
Ah.
Jim thought as he'd be away
for so long and so often,
It's better if I occupy myself.
I think I have a place
at the university of hull.
Are you sure?
You don't think a woman
who's going to get married
Should be thinking of
going off away from her home.
But Jim won't be there.
He'll be in Malaya.
He'll want to know
you're where you belong.
What difference would it make
if he'd not be with me?
He'll want to know
you're at home.
I can't honestly see
it'd make any difference.
Any home life we have is bound
to be interrupted at the start.
We'll see each other
so little for a bit.
Seven years?
Is that right?
Well,
not necessarily.
Doesn't Jim speak?
The air force will
give me a house later,
When I'm back
from active service.
For now it's nice if
Jean goes on with her books.
More battenburg?
Did you
bake it yourself?
Don't be daft.
You shouldn't worry.
They made me feel stupid.
Why?
Perhaps it is silly.
Impractical.
Well, we're always
so happy together.
It never occurs to us there's
a world of people out there.
We can't spend our life with
the sheets up over our heads.
How can you make battenburg?
No one can make battenburg.
Half of it's pink!
Jim, I know. I was
frightened, that's all.
You know nothing.
The angle...
Yeah.
Of the body means murder
is probably discounted.
There's forensic evidence,
fingerprints.
Nobody else touched the gun.
At the inquest, I shall
be arguing it's suicide.
You look disappointed.
No. Not at all.
Where is it?
Derby.
That's where he came from.
All right.
Lads need the space.
New fire hose
demonstration.
Not in here,
for Christs sake.
Not real fire hoses, idiot.
Slide show.
No problem, all right?
Stick your thumb
up your bum for a bit.
Do fuck-all anyway.
Hey mike, look at this.
What is it?
Famous people without their
clothes on. Celebrity nudes.
Jesus, look at her.
Sergeant, what do you mean?
Celebrity nudes here, look.
It's Jackie Kennedy.
Jackie Kennedy.
All women?
Yup.
No men?
Hey, isn't that suppose
to be, um, Britt Ekland?
It's a bit of a bad likeness.
He must have been in the bushes.
No. Men'd be taking the joke
much too far, wouldn't it?
it's cilla black.
You don't need
to take flowers.
I can't explain it.
I just thought I would.
Jean, I'm sorry.
I was just settling your class.
We weren't expecting you.
I thought I'd feel
better if I came in.
I gave them some books
and told them to shut up.
Hmm. Good.
Well, uh... You must
come around to dinner.
Yes. I'd like to.
I-I mean, uh...
We must have you back.
We don't see enough of you.
Bye.
Right. Come on.
Heads out of the books.
Please everyone, that's not
how I teach, as you know.
Mr. Braithwaite said you weren't
going to be here today, miss.
You have a pleasant surprise.
Board please, Marjorie.
Please, miss, I forgot
to hand in my book.
Shut up. Sit down.
Open a window.
Uh, miss, you've still
got your fag in your mouth.
Good.
Right. Today...
We address ourselves
to the question,
Is Shakespeare worth reading
although it's only about kings?
Hello.
Sorry. I don't
mean to surprise you.
It's all right.
I should have rung.
I've come from the funeral.
I'm a friend of John Morgan's.
Come in.
I had a kind of inkling
he might do something silly.
I always thought
he was weird.
Were you at the same university?
He was post-graduate.
I'm just a first-year.
Had you...
Been going out with him?
No. I never
slept with him.
Went to
the cinema twice.
Seen that film
about the Indian.
Gandhi?
That's right.
Afterwards,
he couldn't stop talking.
He thought this
and he thought that.
The philosophy
of nonviolence and so on.
And I really didn't
think anything.
Except that, obviously,
the film was very long.
In that way,
we weren't even suited.
I think he was
trying to impress me.
He chose the wrong way.
I like people
who are just themselves.
Not talking
rubbish all the time.
I know I shouldn't say that
about anyone who's dead, but...
Anyone who did
what they did to you...
He certainly upset me.
Yes. I can tell.
Then he started
to pester me.
I had to go to his professor
to ask him to stop watching me.
The worst was in the launderette.
I think it was me
he wanted to do it to.
And just by bad luck,
he did it to you.
Are you going back?
When?
This evening.
I don't really have any plan.
I only came up on an impulse.
Then a policeman
at the funeral gave me a lift.
Who was that?
He was called Langdon.
I'd never have thought of it.
It was his idea I should come.
So how long
had you known him?
Who?
John Morgan.
Oh, him.
I don't know.
Do you have a television?
Yes. I've got one.
It's behind the chair.
I hardly ever watch it.
I watch it most evenings.
At university?
They have a room
you can sit in.
Do you mind
if I get it out?
I held a very
important position.
pull yourself
together, for god's sake.
I've finished
in the bathroom.
Good night.
How was the funeral?
Ghastly.
I had to go to derby.
And it started to rain.
There's only his
mother left alive.
She had no idea
why he'd done it.
Seems as if neither do you.
Have you been riding?
Hmm. That's why I fell asleep.
We broke in a new horse.
So, I'm saddle-sore.
The problem is...
No crime has been committed.
Killing yourself is legal,
even in front of somebody else.
Hmm.
Unless she did
something to provoke him.
Yes.
She'd only known him 24 hours.
She is...
What?
A teacher, obviously
good at her job.
Loved by her pupils.
Did she teach you?
No. But I remember her.
She was nice.
A good woman...
Chosen, for some reason,
As the victim of
the ultimate practical joke.
I told Stanley
not to get drunk.
it's true, it's true.
I don't watch that.
I watch that thing on sundays.
Hello, verity.
Hello, darling.
Roger won't watch it
Because he says it's
full of jokes about blacks.
No. I didn't say that.
It's just that particular
kind of joke about blacks.
Hello, Stanley.
Oop! I need some more wine.
Ta-da.
Oh. No, red,
it's for cooking.
well, you're wrong.
I think if they want
to be accepted as British,
Then they'll have to put up
with the fact that they will
Be the butt of peoples' humor...
Just like mothers-in-law.
Do you know who that bloke is?
Stanley, don't be rude.
He's a friend of Jean's.
Here we are.
Stan, will you open this?
Yes.
Roger... Do you know, uh, John?
Uh, yes.
This is verity.
And if you actually don't
make jokes about blacks,
It's reverse discrimination
saying they don't really belong.
No, you have to say...
I don't have to say anything.
Jews make jokes about Jews.
It's called "Jewish humor".
When we do it,
it's called anti-Semitism.
Don't you agree?
You do realize this is
an emotional argument? So?
It has no basis
in logic whatsoever.
Oh, logic.
Yes! You know, logic,
that holds society together.
Logic that says people shouldn't
go around killing each other.
Quite right.
And that also tells us...
Look...
Please! I've started,
so please let me finish!
Magnus Magnusson.
Logic also tells us that
there must be constraints,
And that, if people went around
saying exactly what they feel,
The result would be barbarism.
And I prefer civilization.
That's all.
Thank you.
Roger dislikes anyone being
allowed to express themselves.
He sees it as a threat
to property values.
I don't think
that's quite fair.
He won't allow a firework display for
fear a rocket falls on our thatched roof.
Now you're raising a different
point. Life is dangerous!
Don't you realize?
And sometimes,
there's nothing you can do!
That's not true.
I think you can
always limit the danger.
What do you say, John Morgan?
Speak up. Intercede.
It's a marriage.
You must adjudicate
between warring parties.
Well, I can see
both sides, I suppose.
Oh, well, goodness.
How are you? This is
a coincidence. Um...
Chrissie, this
is Jean Travers.
Hello. Hello. Is this a coincidence?
Good lord, yes. I've given
up thinking about you.
Oh, yes. Um, do, please.
Or would I be interrupting?
No. Not in the slightest.
Uh, Chrissie came into
leeds to pick up some gear.
I ride horses.
I said I'd take her
and we'd go to the cinema.
Yes. Thank you.
a beer please.
Yes, and me.
So, what are you doing?
Oh, I don't know.
I've already ordered.
Right.
I'm afraid I got frightened.
Frightened?
Yes.
Are you living
on your own?
No, as it happens, I'm not.
This girl came to stay
with me. Oh, she stayed?
Yes. A friend of John Morgan's.
Have you heard about this?
Yes.
So you know what I mean.
And then today...
I just... I was going
to go home and...
Then I somehow, I couldn't
face it; I just had to get out.
Why does she
frighten you so much?
It sounds silly.
Well, I can't
get hold of her.
She arrived on my doorstep,
And I thought, "oh, she
really wants to speak to me,"
Because we've had a similar
experience, I suppose.
But it's as if
she had a faculty missing.
She seems to say something
and then it just slips away.
She has no curiosity.
Also... She asked if she could
stay the night. I said fine.
The next day she didn't leave
and yesterday she asked to stay.
It's hard to say, but...
I can understand how Morgan
became obsessed with her.
Did he?
Yes.
Violently, I think.
She's the sort of girl that
people become obsessed with.
Excuse me.
Well, I mean, I can
hardly wake her up and say,
"this is my friend
the policeman,
And he offered to come
around and tell you to leave".
No.
Um, I don't know.
Everything gets
to seem spooky.
Is that where the tile was?
Yes.
And he fixed it?
What?
How did he fix it?
From the inside?
Chrissie's waiting for you.
Yes.
Thank you for driving me home.
I have a list of books
I was hoping to borrow.
I'm sorry.
You've been misinformed.
This isn't a lending
library, you know.
It's the British library,
lending division?
Yes, I know.
But we don't lend books.
Or, only under very
special circumstances.
I have a letter
from my professor.
Well, that won't be nearly
special enough, I'm afraid.
Or just to look at
the books, not borrow them.
Oh, yes, yes.
You can look,
As long as you're
a registered user.
But you need
authorization from London.
Yes. Well, I'll get that.
Then I'll come back.
Go to bed. Bed!
We're off now, Stanley.
Don't forget
to unthaw the lunch.
Clearing out all that jumble
began to upset me.
Really?
Didn't you feel like that?
The past, you mean?
Mmm.
That isn't like you.
Second-hand clothes.
They say that murderers
are drawn to the second-hand.
I hadn't heard that.
Yes. There's a book.
You like murder, roger.
Yes, oh god, yes.
I'm addicted.
Yes. There's a theory that
murder is characteristically
Committed by people who
handle other peoples' things
In second-hand clothes shops,
junk shops, markets.
Self-improvement.
That's another hallmark.
People who teach themselves
things at home, at night.
Theories they only
half understand.
Informal education.
A fantasy life
of singular intensity.
Didn't you go
to Switzerland last year?
Yes. I, uh...
Yes. A package tour.
To the Reichenbach falls.
There were 40 of us
from all over England.
To see where Moriarty
pushed Sherlock Holmes over.
Wonderful countryside.
What did verity think?
Ah.
She didn't
come with me. No.
A colleague from
home economics came along.
Do you like murder?
Not much.
But I prefer it to romance.
Hello, Lil. Sorry we're late.
The dog was sick.
Oh, dear.
It's on a high-fiber diet.
You know what it's like.
I don't think it likes Mueslix.
The river flows dark
tonight, sir Thomas.
Will you take my boat?
Boatman, though I do not mean to
deprive you of your livelihood,
I cannot take your boat.
For if I travel tonight,
I shall travel to the tower.
They say that is a place
from which no man can return.
Aye, not alive.
But boatman, we are put on
this earth to serve god's will,
And if I do it tonight,
and in the fullness of my heart,
He shall protect me
and lead me to a better place
Than any we have
known in the world.
I wish you good fortune, sire.
Thank you, boatman.
You are lucky to know no kings.
Here, take gold.
Remember me
in your prayers.
So what do you do?
Well, come on. Answer me.
I don't want Janice
to take "a" level English.
Because we want
her to get on.
We bought her
a home computer.
Surely you can tell me
what your name is?
Now, look!
Excuse me.
she's cut her hand.
I wasn't saying anything!
I didn't do anything.
What's your problem, man?
Please, Mr. Varley, come back!
What did he say?
I don't know.
What difference does it make?
Why can't people leave me alone?
What did he want?
Who?
That parent.
Nothing. He just
asked questions.
What kind?
Oh, you know. Who was I?
What was I doing here?
That sounds quite innocent.
It's just... I hate it.
All this asking that goes on.
People digging around.
The way people have
to dig into one another.
It's horrible.
Did you say that to John Morgan?
Yes.
Well... I did.
No wonder.
I think you drove him crazy.
I don't know what you mean.
No, well... Exactly. That's why.
Goodness, I don't mean deliberately.
I don't mean you meant to.
I never do anything!
I never say anything!
Karen.
Karen?
It's me.
Karen, listen to me, please.
Get out of here.
I only want to talk.
Fuck you! Get out!
No, look. You must
listen to me. Please!
I want some feeling!
I want some contact!
I want you fucking near me!
Ah!
Oh!
Please don't go.
You make an effort.
You try and be nice!
Try and do anything!
You just get your
head chopped off.
Why try?
Anyway... Tell me.
Go on, tell me,
since you're so clever.
What did you do?
Oh, Karen.
If it wasn't an accident,
I'd love to know what you did.
Oh, Karen.
Karen...
Come back!
if I had
the guts, I'd just say to him,
"look. I don't want
you to go. I need you".
Why don't you say that?
Because to him,
it's everything.
Being an airman
is everything.
Until he gets to Malaya,
He isn't going to feel
being an airman is real.
What do you feel?
I don't know.
Of course I don't like it.
Are you frightened
he's going to get killed?
No.
No, of course not.
I hadn't even thought of it.
Why'd you say that?
I'm sorry. I didn't think.
With him I can't talk.
With him I can't
say anything I feel.
Because I read books,
I feel, for some reason,
I'm not allowed to talk.
There's always a gulf.
Doesn't seem a very
good basis for marriage.
No, I suppose.
Perhaps...
Perhaps sex isn't everything.
No.
It's time that
you talked to him.
Soon he'll be gone.
Jim.
Jim, it's hopeless.
How can it work anymore
Snatching time when
my mum's out at cards,
Knowing we can't get married
because of your parents?
We'll get married.
Eventually, yes.
When you finally
get back from Malaya.
But it's so long, it makes
everything seem pointless.
Don't you think
we should be sensible?
No.
Hmm.
Hello, boy.
There's a man
out here to see you.
...At its most basic.
Or at least not conveying the
sense. That's a possibility.
You've got to take
that into account.
Yes, I understand.
I don't want to press you.
No. Go ahead.
Hello. How are you?
...Your arms
above your head.
I'm just taking
that as an example.
Does that necessarily
mean you're happy?
You look
shattered.
...Happiness in
certain circumstances
According to those
circumstances, certainly, yes.
Or, it can mean
release, or triumph.
I'm afraid I've had
some trouble at home.
Chrissie went
back to her husband.
She had one already?
Oh, yes.
Who she told me
she never saw anymore.
But all the time...
I don't know.
It turns out
I was a subplot.
The real story was
happening elsewhere.
That's a terrible feeling.
Yeah. The worst.
It's shaken my
whole idea of myself.
You know, what I'm
doing as a policeman.
I mean, if the day
was no good, if it was...
Awful or silly, I could always
go back to Chrissie and laugh.
Now it turns out that
she wasn't really with me.
She laughed...
But she was elsewhere.
What's he like?
Awful.
He's the sort
of man who keeps sheep.
I mean, for god's sake,
If you want wool,
go and buy it in a shop.
Listen.
I'll tell you why I'm here.
I was piecing
together the evening.
Can't you leave it?
Well, yes.
This is just
an amateur's interest.
all right.
It's just that...
There was food...
Then there was talking...
Then you went upstairs.
Didn't you have
a few moments alone with him?
When you were together...
What did you talk about?
Fixing the roof.
It's just that roger-
your colleague, roger- says...
That when you came back,
he remembers that you'd changed.
Changed?
Not, uh... I don't mean...
I'm not saying...
As a person.
Your clothes.
Well, I put on my trousers.
I'd snagged my stocking.
Oh, gosh.
Poor you.
So, how are you managing alone?
Don't you think
you should tell me?
What happened?
Was it your fault?
I th... I think.
In a way.
It's because he was a stranger.
No. I'm not sure I can explain.
Because I didn't know him.
Now I can feel
him dragging me down.
I thought I could get over it,
But now, everywhere,
the darkness beckons.
These things become real.
He wants me down there.
Well, you have to fight.
Well, I have fought.
how dare you?
I fought for three weeks,
and you didn't help.
Sending me
that miserable little girl.
What gives you that right?
To meddle?
Police always bring sadness.
I'm going to sit here.
I won't go away.
Now, Stanley...
Don't drink too much, please.
Last night,
you were stupid with gin.
I like gin.
Oh.
I rang the bell.
Well, she can see us
through the window.
Jean?
I'm John Morgan.
hello.
Oh, you brought an extra.
Come on. Come on in.
The more, the merrier.
John Morgan.
I've already told
Stanley not to get drunk.
What?
Revenge.
That's what it is. Revenge!
That's what she's doing!
who?
The prime minister.
She's taking some...
Terrible revenge for something.
Some deep damage. Something
inside. God knows what.
For crimes behind
the privet hedge.
And now the whole
country's suffering!
Yet we've done nothing to her.
Do you
think that?
Yes, I do.
Coq au vin.
oh! Wonderful!
Stanley,
you're drunk.
One drunk?
Yes, I am.
Drunk and disorderly,
Where once
I was orderly.
Who's
first?
I used to keep my thoughts
in neat rows like vegetables.
All pegged out
under cloches.
I kept my thoughts under
cloches. Now, they grow wild.
Marcia?
Oh, sorry.
You wouldn't know.
I am the local solicitor.
The town's official
sanctifier of greed.
Those little
unseemly transactions.
I'll just take some of this.
Verity.
I see people
as they truly are.
nonsense.
Oh, this smells marvelous.
I remember once, my father,
Also a solicitor,
Said, "I have
learnt never to judge
Any man from his behavior with
money and the opposite sex".
Yet it is my own
saddened experience
That those are
the only ways to judge them.
salad?
thank you.
Stanley
thinks good of nobody.
Not true.
I expect good of nobody.
Thank you.
And I'm sometimes
pleasantly surprised.
There we are.
And when I find good,
My first feeling
Is one of nostalgia
for something we've lost.
Here, take.
Thanks.
Ask John Morgan.
John.
Well, I don't know.
go on.
I only know...
Goodness...
And anger...
And revenge...
And evil...
And desire.
These seem to me
far better words than
Neurosis
and psychology and paranoia.
These old words.
These good, old words
have a sort of... Conviction,
Which all this modern
apparatus of language now lacks.
ah, well, yes.
We bury these words.
These simple feelings.
We bury them deep.
And all the building over
that constitutes this century
Will not wish
these feelings away.
Yes, well, you'll have to say
what you really mean by that.
Would I?
Yeah.
Define your terms.
They don't need defining.
If you can't feel them,
you might as well be dead.
Well... What do you think?
Well, of course,
you look wonderful.
You don't like me going.
What makes you say that?
I've never said that.
I've encouraged you.
I can see it's your happiness.
You've never been
happier than today.
I've always told you,
you must do what you want.
Yes.
You supported me, and...
And I've been grateful.
I'll come back.
We'll have a house.
If you want to stop me, you can.
No. I'll study. I've lots to do.
Are you being true with me?
True?
What's it mean?
If you've anything
to say, speak it now.
Nothing.
good-bye.
Oh!
Where'd that come from?
Oh, god.
It looks as if your roof
is in trouble.
I'm very practical.
Right.
Show me your money.
Put that in your shoe.
Let's go in.
What you said...
What you said about those
feelings, it made such sense.
Yes. I thought
you'd understand me.
It's here.
Take part in your game.
We would like to.
We have heard, the best
game of poker in Malaya.
Okay.
Thanks very much.
I think it's fixed.
Thank you.
Shall we go down?
What have you given him?
Okay. It's okay.
I have something.
- Oh!
- Don't drag him!
Who runs this game?
I thought you were the boss!
No fighting, please.
I have something.
Step in here.
I will give you
some medicine for him.
I love the slow evenings
when summer begins to come.
It doesn't get dark until 8:00.
Absurd. It isn't possible.
No.
English airman...
Listen...
I know you're in trouble.
What?
You're in trouble...
Like me.
No. No, I don't
know what you mean.
Come on.
I... No.
You're lonely.
Yes, well, I'm lonely,
but I'm not in trouble.
Please don't argue.
All that hope coming out of you,
all that cheerful resolution.
All that
wonderful enlightenment...
For what? For nothing.
You know
it's for nothing.
Don't tell me that
cheerfulness is real.
Yes, of course.
You and I...
We understand each other.
What? No. What?
You fake. You fake
all that cheerfulness.
No! I don't. It's who I am.
Then why did you
lead me up here?
I didn't.
Liar!
You know. You know
where you're looking.
No, I don't.
You've been here,
where I am.
No, I haven't.
I'm sorry.
But I haven't been more ill.
I have to change.
No.
Yes. Oh, please.
You will!
Out into the night,
And then
good night again.
Oops!
Oh! The drinking of whisky
the drinking of gin...
It's been very pleasant.
Would you mind
if I came around again?
there. Hold me tight.
Jessica, aren't
you coming with me?
Yes. On the 16th.
I can't go on
the English trip.
Oh, yes, you can.
Right then, everyone.
Good morning.
Window, please.
Gosh. A dirty
blackboard already.
Where's Suzie, please?
Anyone know?
she's run away
to London, miss.
with Alfred Egerton
in science fifth.
Has she been in touch
with her parents?
Yes, miss.
Good.
She said she couldn't
see the point of school.
No?
Well, sometimes,
I have that problem.
Anyone else?
Anyone else want to go?
Right, then.
For those of us
still remaining-
Us maniacs, assorted
oddballs, eccentrics,
Folk who still think
education is worthwhile-
I suggest we keep trying.
All right, everyone?
Good.
Then, let's work.
How are you?
How are you?
I'm better.
How's Marcia?
Tremendous.
Oh, yes.
The charity bridge tournament
takes up all her time.
When you're a boy, you think,
"oh, it's so easy".
Always wipe
the slate and move on.
Then, with the years, you find
you become a prisoner of dreams.
A girl ran away
this morning.
Good luck to her.
Yes.
Good luck.
To all our escapes.