[soft rumbling]
[sparks zapping]
[electronic humming]
[zapping and humming
growing louder]
[rhythmic music pounding]
[door slams]
[music continues]
[electronic roar over music]
[static over music]
[music growing louder]
[music stops]
[distorted echoes,
static]
[rhythmic footsteps echoing]
[girl] When I remember it...
I remember thinking...
[rhythmic pounding]
...the entire population
of Greensburg, Pennsylvania,
is 14,892.
[pounding growing louder]
If you divide that by
the number of days in the year,
there should be 41 people with
the same birthday every day.
[rhythmic pounding continues]
In my lifetime, the population
has decreased by 12.6%.
Soon, another 12.6%
will be gone.
And another.
And another.
Then another.
Until all that's
left here is me.
Me without you.
[rhythmic pounding continues]
[lighter clicks]
Me and the one thing
I was waiting to find out about.
[patient coughing]
[girl]
They were also waiting.
In the middle of nowhere.
In this doctor's office.
At 7:30 in the morning.
Twenty days ago,
I turned 20.
[rhythmic pounding continues]
Now we were all waiting to see
how many more birthdays
we'd have.
If there'd be one or 100.
If there'd be anyone new
to share them with.
[flame roars,
cigarette sizzles]
I've spent every birthday
in Greensburg.
Every day.
Every minute.
Every second.
[pounding stops]
[patient coughing]
[door closes]
- [phone ringing]
- [coughing continues]
[coughing growing louder,
echoing]
- [ringing continues]
- [distorted PA announcement]
[girl] When I remember it,
I remember believing
everything begins
with one exact moment.
[keying on cell phone]
[keying stops]
[indistinct whispering]
[Lissa whispering] Daniel.
Daniel.
Daniel.
[roaring sound]
[indistinct whispering,
distorted choral music]
Did you hear
what I just said?
You don't care.
You don't know anything.
Everything's fucked up.
What's the point
of even talking to you?
[Lissa] How can you say that?
After, after last year, after how
my mom's been acting, after my dad?
- I don't...
- Don't. Just don't.
Don't say I don't want
to end up like him?
Neither do you.
Here's the truest thing
I've ever said: fuck you.
Whatever.
And what about your mom,
have you talked to her?
Not since graduation.
Look, I didn't mean you don't
care, I didn't mean it that way.
- It's pretty clear how you meant it.
- Was it?
I'm hungry.
What? What are you
talking about?
That's an example
of being clear, "I'm hungry,"
which is what I am, hungry.
Come on, that doesn't
make any sense.
And bored.
Hungry and bored.
What do you wanna do, then?
I don't know.
Go to the porn store.
I'm legal now.
That one where the girls
wear nothing but a smile?
No, that's a strip club.
I was talking more about the ones
that flank the Barnes & Noble.
All that I was trying
to say is that...
it's got nothing to do
with your family.
I just meant that
you'll be out of here soon.
You're going to college.
- [Daniel] It's only a state school.
- [Lissa] So what?
[Daniel] Not far away.
Still better than
being stuck here.
Did you know Mount Pleasant
used to be called Hell Town?
[laughs] That's not true.
- It is.
- Why?
[Daniel] Something to do with,
this was in the '20s or something.
Coal miners lived
in Mount Pleasant,
whereas the rich bosses
lived in Scottdale, on the hill.
They should just go back
and rename the whole
goddamn area Hell Town.
[rap music pounding
on car speakers]
Sorry about earlier.
I was being a sharktopus.
- [Lissa] I was gonna say a sea hag.
- [Daniel] I don't get it.
A sharktopus
would make a good pet.
Sea hag is Jennifer Aniston.
I like Jennifer Aniston.
We go way back.
We're tight like spandex.
- Also, bumps, not lines.
- What?
I definitely wasn't
a sea monster.
- It's not coke.
- A sea hag, and yes you were.
It's cheap trucker's meth.
It's just that, for real,
I can't stand this place.
At least now I don't have to worry about
finding a job with dental insurance.
I can't end up like
these disgusting people.
I don't wanna drive my
12-year-old car to a stupid job.
- I don't want to think about cheating on my fat wife.
- [girl] See those lights?
I don't wanna work at my shit job for shit
pay so I can afford another used shit car.
Lissa, do you see them?
- Shit!
- What should we do?
[Lissa] Daniel, take care
of the phone.
[siren chirps twice]
I can't believe
this is happening.
Everyone, dust off your hands.
I'm going to M-I-fucking-T.
I have an idea.
[taps on window]
Can I help you, officer?
What have you got
going on here?
Not sure yet... sir.
Take it elsewhere.
[rap music pounding]
- [Lissa] Fuck it all, fuck.
- [Aimee] Fuck you, copper.
[nurse] Lissa Maruska?
How are you today?
Ready to order?
I've been waitressing
for about two years.
A little under two years.
- I'm a human resources manager.
- I'm a chef and owner.
I teach family consumer science, which
used to be known as home economics.
[woman] I am a custodian.
I work for the county,
which is a good job,
although it's a crappy shift.
I am actually
a stay-at-home mom.
Some days you feel like you
don't talk to any other adults.
I spent 25 years
as a Pennsylvania state trooper.
I'm a union rep
for public employees in schools,
meaning teachers
and their support staffs,
such as bus drivers,
cafeteria workers, custodians.
Worst part is the repetition.
Maybe it's having to balance
multiple things like a circus clown.
No.
It's the repetition.
So, how are you doing?
Wanna hear the specials?
What can I get for you?
Want something to drink?
How would you
like that prepared?
Can I get you something else?
And on...
and on...
and on.
[loud thud]
Ready?
[Lissa] When I remember it,
I remember hearing...
14% of the population
lives below the poverty line
in Greensburg.
The average annual income
per person is $24,599.
One out of six
have a college degree.
Nine out of ten
have at least one child.
About 90 people die
of drug overdoses every year.
When I remember it...
I remember knowing...
I will never do any better.
[nurse] Dr. Woods will see you in a minute.
First, I just need your...
I thought...
Never mind, sorry.
Do you wanna use
your mom's insurance?
If that's okay.
[nurse] Do you have
her policy number?
Her policy number?
[nurse] Do you know
who her provider is?
I guess...
no, not really.
[nurse] Do you have any information
about her insurance at all?
Uh...
My mom and I don't
really talk anymore.
[nurse] Lissa,
I'm sorry about your dad.
Not your fault.
[nurse] I'm sure I can find
your mom's insurance here.
Looks like you've put on
a little bit of weight
since last time you were in.
Your heart rate's
a little fast.
Have you been doing
anything you shouldn't?
No. I don't do anything.
Your blood pressure's
136 over 94.
Is that normal?
Normal's 120 over 80.
[indistinct voices]
- [indistinct voices]
- [woman] Get up! Do something!
[woman] Don't...
[metallic pounding]
[Daniel] I can't believe
it's been a year.
I just finished this philosophy class.
Fucking awesome.
It was about Wittgenstein.
He said this great thing,
he said, "Death is not an event of
life, death is not lived through."
What do you think about that?
I don't. Don't other people
live through it?
Do you wanna sit down?
[pounding echoes]
I, um...
I have a surprise for you.
- Yeah?
- I'm gonna take you to a bad place for good drugs.
Happy birthday.
[techno music playing]
[Daniel, voice echoing] My professor
said I wrote the perfect essay.
Those were his words.
"Perfect."
I focused on Wittgenstein's
propositions.
We should read them.
I focused on...
[voice fading under music]
"If by eternity is understood
"not endless temporal duration
but timelessness...
...then he lives eternally
who lives in the present."
And that's true...
It's about being present now.
Right now.
There's so much
to see... to do...
to become...
I can't be trapped by home...
in Greensburg.
Family.
Belief.
I ended with what he wrote.
"Our life is endless in the way our
visual field is without limit."
[foot pounding rhythmically]
I'm tired.
I feel like I've been
talking all night.
It's okay.
Thank you for seeing me.
So, why did you come in?
Relax. Take it easy.
Tell me what's wrong.
I'm sorry, I...
Okay, how about this? Can you at
least tell me your chief symptom?
- It's not...
- Lissa, whatever you say to me is confidential.
- I understand.
- No, I'm not your mother.
No, no.
Do you have any kids,
Dr. Woods?
Do I?
Yes, my wife and I have
a daughter.
- What's her name?
- Kim.
- How old is she?
- She just turned two.
And what do you want for her?
What do you mean?
Like when she grows up,
what do you want her to be?
[Woods] I hold her sometimes.
When I look at her legs,
I wonder where she'll go,
where her legs will take her.
Away from here?
Whatever's best for her.
I came to see you because
20 days ago was my birthday.
- And you just turned 20, right?
- [Lissa] Yep.
Only my 20th birthday.
[rumbling noise]
[romantic music playing]
[indistinct romantic whispering]
[Lissa whispering]
I can't believe I'm 20.
[whispering] This is the only
birthday present I wanted.
When I remember it,
I remember feeling...
everything at once...
everything all together...
everything in place...
everything right now.
[door slams, echoing]
[static, sparks zapping]
[Woods] And how many partners
have you had?
- Two. Just two.
- Men, women, or both?
Only men.
At what age did you have
your first sexual encounter?
I was 13. Is that...
- Was it vaginal intercourse?
- Regular, vaginal.
- When was the last time you had intercourse?
- [Lissa] Twenty days ago.
- And have you been using any birth control?
- No.
Did you use protection?
Uh... we...
No. No, we didn't.
[Woods] Are you experiencing
any burning when you urinate?
- No.
- Any urethral discharge?
- No.
- When was your last menstrual period?
That's kind of
the reason I'm here.
[urinating]
[plastic rattles]
[water running]
[water stops]
[coughs]
[timer clicking]
[line ringing]
[Daniel] You are now listening
to the sound of Daniel's voice.
When you hear a beep, you will
leave the sound of your own voice.
- [beep]
- [timer clicking loudly]
[timer slowing down]
[timer slowing down]
[timer clicking slowly]
[sniffles]
[sighs]
[timer echoing, slowing down]
[timer rings]
[loud ticking]
[ticking stops]
[rhythmic music pounding]
At this point, a blood test
is the only way to be certain.
I don't like blood, and I'm afraid
of needles. Is there any...
- This isn't typical.
- It isn't?
No, not really, no.
I don't know, I didn't know
what to do or where to go.
- Just go see the nurse.
- Do I need to come back another day?
She'll take care of it. She's
excellent at drawing blood.
It'll be fine. Promise.
[Lissa] When I remember it,
I remember fearing...
[heart beating]
...inside my body
is a body...
- [static buzzing]
- Morning sickness,
backaches, stretch marks,
hemorrhoids,
varicose veins, fatigue,
[voice echoing]
indigestion, heartburn,
breast tenderness, nausea,
nine months until a birthday.
Shortness of breath, rashes,
mood swings, dry skin,
constipation, engorged genitals,
vaginal discharge, faintness,
bloating disease, leg cramps.
The most difficult part
of giving birth was...
The clock on the wall
was the worst enemy.
You remember everything about
that day to the second.
Every minute was like
an hour.
The moment that the
contractions first start...
- It was painful.
- Pain is so horrific that it doesn't seem natural.
I just wanted to rip
my hair out.
[woman] I just
remember screaming.
That needle was so long.
And the contractions
just kept getting stronger.
All the blood vessels
in my face broke.
Felt like my face
was turning inside out.
All of the sudden, they're telling
you they have to cut you open.
And there was just
blood everywhere.
And you realize like you're
going to have this baby
and be responsible.
[metallic echoes,
sparks zapping]
[liquid sloshing]
[static buzzing]
[static buzzing]
[Lissa] Listen, I have
really bad veins.
I got them from my dad.
- [knock on door]
- [Woods] Could you please come here?
There's an issue that requires
your immediate attention.
[sighs]
[Lissa] When I remember it...
I remember wanting...
more time with him.
More hours.
More minutes.
More words.
Even more silence.
Dad, can you pass the bread?
Robert?
Please.
- Here you go, honey.
- Thanks, Mom.
[indistinct conversation]
Robert?
Robert, did you take
the car in?
Robert?
What are you doing?
Robert?
Look at me.
Robert.
Did you take the car...?
[slams table]
Sorry.
- Shouldn't have done that.
- But I...
Listen, I've been doing this
for a long time.
[nurse] Now, make a fist.
[Lissa sighs]
[nurse tapping arm]
Faster.
Faster.
Come on. Almost there.
Don't stop now, Lissa.
[metallic clanging,
electronic humming]
[clanging grows louder]
[liquid sloshing]
[boards clattering]
[high-pitched whirring]
[thud]
[rhythmic clanging]
Couldn't find the vein.
Gotta try again.
[clang]
[rhythmic cranking]
[Lissa] He started working in
the mine on his 18th birthday.
He was a beltman.
He said it paid well,
that it wasn't too dangerous.
He did it for 26 years.
He took pride in his work.
[nurse] Can't see the vein,
but I can feel it.
[Lissa] His grandfather was
a coal miner before his father.
His father before his brother.
His brother before him.
His brother with him.
[loud thud]
The Steelers are on
at 1:00 Sunday.
Kids coming over?
It's been a while
since you've been over.
Robert.
[voice muffled] Robert.
Hey, Gus, could you
give us a second, please?
Thank you.
Look, no shit.
These last couple weeks,
you're fucked up.
Yeah. No, I'm good.
Look, you're my kid brother.
If you need anything, if there's
anything I can do for you...
You know, whatever.
I'm here for you.
[Robert] I know.
[nurse tapping arm]
[nurse] Got it.
[wind whistling]
That's it.
- That's it?
- Now you just have to wait for your results.
[wind whistling]
[muffled horn blaring]
[indistinct voices echoing]
It isn't much
of a dinner, but...
You're what?
What grade are you in?
Eleventh. Duh.
Ha.
Your mom expects you
to go to college.
So do I.
I know.
Nobody pushed me
into doing anything.
Except work in the mines.
- Was that with Uncle Keith?
- Yeah, but he's...
You okay?
I'm so proud of you.
You sure you're okay?
You're the best part of me.
I want you to have
everything that I didn't have.
You know, your mother can be...
But she loves you.
She's so...
Just remember that.
Seriously, is everything okay?
Everything's fine.
Sure?
[Robert] Everything's
gonna be fine.
Everything...
is gonna be fine.
[static hissing,
dog barking]
[sobbing]
[alarm clock beeping]
- [beeping stops]
- [Lissa] On that day, he woke up at 7 a.m.
[alarm beeping]
- [beeping stops]
- Or he woke up at 7:30 a.m.
No one knows for certain.
He had slept for three hours.
Or for three and a half hours.
His morning was the same
as it had been for 26 years.
He always drank
two cups of coffee,
but the autopsy report said that
there was alcohol in his system.
I prefer to think
there wasn't.
[truck engine starts]
At about 8:15 a.m.,
he bought a pack of cigarettes.
- The last words he ever heard were...
- Have a good one.
- [Lissa] Or he heard...
- See you tomorrow.
- [Lissa] Or he heard...
- Need any matches?
[Lissa] Or he heard nothing.
[truck drives off]
[Lissa] He drove south
on Church Street...
turned right on route 31...
took the ramp to route 70
heading east...
continued on 119 north...
took a right...
then another right.
As he drove,
he smoked five cigarettes.
He arrived at his destination
some time late in the morning.
Was he crying?
Did he think of his wife,
his daughter?
Did he ask for forgiveness?
Was his last feeling relief?
[cocks gun]
[gunshot]
[inaudible]
Took over six hours
for his body to be found.
[exhales]
[engine starts]
When I remember it...
I remember wishing...
I could start over.
I could go back
to the first day of school.
I could try harder.
I could get better grades.
I could take back
that first kiss.
I could erase
the mistakes I've made.
I could say goodbye to him.
I could tell him
not to make that drive.
I could explain
what he left us with.
I could listen to my mom more.
I could be more patient.
More understanding.
More empathetic.
I could do all of those things.
I could start over.
I'm Joan Maruska.
Thank you so much
for coming out.
I'm going to talk to you about the
importance of unions in our lives,
in our country's life.
Unions are important because
they are the only organized
collective voice
for workers in America.
[rhythmic slicing]
[doorbell rings]
Mom?
I know it's been a long time,
but something's happened.
[sighs]
Why don't you come in
and we'll talk about it?
It's Daniel's, isn't it?
I'm not sure it's anything yet.
But yeah.
You know, you're gonna have to
start taking care of yourself.
You're gonna have
to eat better and you're...
- Stop, I get it.
- You are going to have to be responsible
for someone else.
- I need...
- You need to grow up.
- I can't fucking...
- Stop that language and don't you raise...
- You're judging me.
- Don't you raise your...
I came here for help,
and all you can do is stare
at your fucking wine glass.
All you can think
about is yourself.
What does that even mean?
Look, I feel bad.
The situation is bad,
it's really bad.
I'm glad to hear
that you feel bad,
because if you didn't
feel bad...
I would be worried that you
wouldn't feel anything at all.
Wonder where I get that from.
I can't live up to
your bullshit expectations.
I try, I try every day.
That's all I do.
You're a constant
disappointment to me.
Every day I think of you,
and you know what I think?
You think I'm okay with this,
to be stuck here?
What makes you think
I'm okay with my life?
I think, what a waste.
I don't expect you
to go to Harvard,
to win a Rhodes Scholarship.
- I don't expect much out of you.
- I hate it.
I hate Dad for what he did,
I hate you for how you are.
I expect you to do something.
You've squandered
every opportunity,
everything your father
wanted for you.
- I hate everything.
- Look at you, just look at you.
- I hate my stupid life.
- That's your answer for everything.
Oh, I hate this.
Oh, everything sucks.
Yeah, Mom, keep mocking.
"I'm just a poor little
victim baby with nothing,
and everybody sucks but me."
- Keep it coming.
- What else? What else?
- You know what?
I'm sick of trying with you.
I am sick.
Yeah, you're right.
That's the first right thing
you've ever said, you're sick.
And you sicken me.
At least I do something
with myself.
[muffled shouting]
- Talk talk, that's all it is.
- You are 20 years old.
- And what do you do?
- When I really need you, you're not present!
- I came to you, I need your help.
- I don't even know you!
- I need you.
- And the shit you do! The shit you do!
I didn't kill him.
It's not my fault.
You say you try.
I don't see you trying.
You say you try?
I try.
And I tried.
And I still try.
You just wallow in it.
I loved him and...
As if I didn't.
That is not what I meant.
And you know what?
You did kill him.
The same way, when I was, what, 8, you
told me my lower lip was too big.
My eyes were too close together.
I didn't do that.
You did. You did the same thing
to him, slowly, over time.
Like when you belittled me
when I was learning to count.
I'd always mess up
four and five.
I'm sorry that happened.
It didn't just happen.
It wasn't an accident.
You did it.
Again and again.
I'm sorry.
[softly] I'm sorry
I did that to you.
You fucking should be.
Happy birthday, by the way.
I thought you forgot.
Okay. Okay, Lissa.
What do you want to talk about?
[gun cocks]
[soft panting]
[electronic buzzing]
[gunshot]
[wings fluttering]
Did you know...
Did you think...
Did you know he would
ever do anything like that?
[sighs]
No, no.
I was working so much,
you know.
Seventy hours a week,
I wasn't around.
I mean, I think if I had been,
maybe I, maybe I could have...
Yeah, I think the same things.
[Joan] I want you to know
something about your father.
He was never happy.
Even when we were young
and I first met him
at the union rally,
he wasn't happy.
He never thought
anything he did was good.
He never thought anything he did was
worthwhile, except for one thing.
He loved you.
More than anything in the world.
And he was proud of you.
I remember the day
you were born.
[laughs] You were...
you were so little.
You fit into his,
his arm, just...
your whole length of your
body, and he held you
and he pulled you to his heart,
and I want you to know...
it was your father
that wanted to have you.
I wasn't sure that I
would be a good mother.
And I know I'm not
a lot of the time.
- I know I mess up.
- Yeah, so do I.
[Joan] But to answer
your question,
yes, I knew he was
getting worse.
He was drinking all the time.
Just like his father,
you must have noticed that.
I don't know, I think so.
I knew that something
was very wrong with him.
And I wanted him
to get help.
Did you like force him?
[Joan sighs]
It was more complicated
than that.
Nobody forced anybody.
Okay, well, explain it to me.
Why do you always do that?
Why can't you just tell me?
This is...
uh, very...
hard for me to talk about.
That's not fair.
I don't care
if it's fair or not.
- He was my dad.
- Hmm.
Yeah, great.
That's a stunning observation.
Fuck you.
I fucking hate you.
That's better,
but still not original.
- What the fuck is wrong with you?
- I think it's better
for you just to stay
in your fantasy world.
You're the worst fucking thing
that has ever happened to me.
I can't believe
you won't tell...
I can't believe...
I can't believe
you won't tell me.
I can't bel...
I can't believe...
I can't believe
you won't tell me.
I can't fucking believe
you won't tell me!
Just tell me!
Okay.
It was Wednesday.
The day before.
- [Lissa] The day before he died?
- [Joan] Yeah.
[Lissa] The day with the door.
The door.
Yeah.
But what I didn't tell you
is that I was there.
- You'd always said...
- I know.
[Joan] But I didn't want you
to think of him that way.
[Lissa] It's hard to even
imagine him like that.
[Joan] I wish I could
have hid that from you.
[Lissa] It was there
when I got home.
Everything I did was
to protect you from him.
And from that,
and from knowing that.
[door slams]
- [banging on door]
- [Joan gasping]
[banging continues]
[Joan] I was just...
- Reacting?
- Something like that.
[banging on door]
[banging stops]
[banging resumes]
I don't even know what I...
what I... what I did.
Stop.
He came towards me...
- Mom.
- Please.
[gasping, whimpering]
Don't.
Stop! [whimpering]
Robert! Stop! Stop!
You don't have to do whatever
you're thinking of doing!
[gasping]
And he said, "First you..."
- [Lissa] No.
- "...then Lissa, then me."
No. He would never say that.
[gasping]
[gagging]
There are things
I'm not gonna tell you.
There are parts of this
you're never gonna know.
[sighs]
[gasping] Robert.
[coughing]
I told him I was leaving him.
And that I was
taking you with me.
And that we couldn't
live like this.
And he...
[Joan crying]
[electronic whirring]
[Robert sobbing] Don't...
Don't tell her.
[door slams]
And I went looking for you,
and I looked all over.
I went to school,
and you weren't there.
I went over to Daniel's parents'
house, you weren't there.
I went to Aimee's house,
I looked all over,
and then I came home
and you were there.
With him.
He was so calm.
He made me a sandwich.
And he said,
"Everything's gonna be fine."
[Joan] I know.
What I really thought
is that everything was okay
and that it was over.
And then he left.
And that's the last time...
He did come back.
He came back later that night
and he got into bed with me and
I was too tired to say anything
or to do anything.
And then the next morning,
he was gone.
There's nothing you could
have done, you know that, right?
- Yeah. Yeah, I know.
- Listen to me.
There is nothing
you could have done.
I miss him a lot.
Despite everything that happened,
I miss him all the time.
[woman] I never thought
you can love a human being
as much as you love your kids.
And you'll do anything
for them, anything.
[sighing]
The best part of the day is
whenever my kids smile at me
or they give me a hug
and say, "I love you, Mommy."
My kids are my best friends.
They are.
They are my world.
They're funny.
[giggles] You know,
I just love 'em, I love 'em.
No matter what they do,
that you will, as a mother,
love them unconditionally.
They're the reason that I've
chosen to go on with life,
when I didn't want to.
As long as they can grow up
happy and healthy
and be good people,
that you'll do anything
that you need to do
to make that happen.
I love her.
Everything...
would be okay...
if he just hadn't...
It can still be okay.
Well, we have to find out
whether, um...
Either way.
Everything in the past
has just gone so wrong.
I wish... I wonder...
Listen to me.
You can question
everything in the past.
All the whos,
the whats, the wheres,
but what matters is here now.
I'm here for you.
You're not alone.
When I remember it,
I remember understanding.
When the test results came in...
I knew it wasn't my time.
But one day it will be.
[alarm beeping]
[beeping stops]
Then I'll be ready.
[rhythmic techno music playing]
[Lissa] Gonna make a wish?
[Joan] Absolutely.
- [Lissa] What is it?
- [Joan] I can't tell you.
- [Lissa sighs]
- [Joan laughing] It won't come true.
Want to know what mine is?
On the count of three.
One...
two...
three.
[both inhale]
[both exhale]