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Acts of Vengeance (2017)
Coffee?
You know what you want? I'll be right back. Man: ...Libel if it's true. We've got to tell the client we can't do this work. We file this lawsuit, i swear... Thank you. Have nice day. He's sleeping with Anita. No way. She's not even hot. Like I care. Come on, guys. They traded this prick for three draft picks, none of them worth spit. Sit up straight and eat your food. You never listen. All you do is fool around. You never take anything seriously. Sorry, dad. Can I help you? How about you just turn your ass around and get the fuck out of here? You just back up, there. Man: Do I look crazy to you? Unhinged? Maybe I am. But before you rush to judgment, let's rewind a bit. Which is why he's gonna choose our firm to defend him and not some cut-rate llp with a radio commercial and a catchy jingle. Man: Women speak approximately 20,000 words a day. Yeah, you know, some not guilty. I want to spend an extra million or two on that, all right? Men, 17,000. No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. This is not what I think. This is what it is. Another victim of the systemic racism inherent in the police force. Man: I spoke around 80,000 words a day. ...my two favorite letters: N-g. Not guilty. Words were my weapon of choice. But out of those 80,000 words I spoke a day, you know how many are really important? Three. I love you. Come here. Three words total out of 80,000. I love you. Not a good ratio. Frank, you were supposed to be here a half an hour ago. The place is really starting to fill up. I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'm heading down to the garage right now. Olivia wants to talk to you. Hi, daddy. Hi, sweetheart. You're coming, right? I'm on my way. Good. 'Cause I think you're gonna love my performance. Promise you'll be here? I promise. I love you. Shit. Wait. Wait. Uh, frank, you got a minute? Okay, you've got to sign these too. We've got to ship them out tonight. Luckily there was a case argued just recently on the supreme court. For three reasons acquittals should have full effect under the double jeopardy clause... Olivia, you're next. This is my daddy's favorite song. He and I always sing it together. Hi, it's sue. Please leave a message. Susan. Listen, I'm sorry. Things just got away from me at work. Call me back, please. I'm sorry. Hi, it's sue. Please leave a message. Sue. Listen, uh... Listen, I know you're upset with me, but please call me back. It's getting late, and I'm worried about you guys, okay? Mr. valera, I'm detective lustiger. Where are they? Are they okay? Where are they? Mr. valera... Mr. valera... Mr. valera! We're still waiting for the forensic team. Frank! Frank! I can't let you contaminate the crime scene. Frank! My baby. Th-that's my baby. That's my baby! Hold him back! Let me go. Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Get him back! Get him back! The lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Chances are they'll never catch the people who killed them. And even if they do catch them, some slick-tongued defense attorney will probably get them off, some slick-tongued defense attorney just like you. I always kept my tongue quiet while my daughter was alive, but I never saw what she saw in you. She left her family, friends behind, she followed you across the country, put your needs ahead of her own, but as long as my daughter was happy, I was happy. Now that my daughter is dead, and my granddaughter, I'll tell you what I think of you, frank valera: You're all talk. You make your living spinning words into meanings that are vague and hazy and unclear, all just to exonerate the scum of the earth. And from this moment on, I do not ever want to hear your mealy-mouthed voice again. Am I understood. Jeff... I said, I never want to hear your voice again. A nod will suffice. Frank: Without a break in the case, all the police could do was talk. Empty words to appease. A familiar game. Your wife's car was expertly wiped down. My wife and daughter, murdered. Their killer still out there roaming the street. Maybe they knew what they were doing. And all anyone could do was... talk. And there wasn't any evidence at the crime scene, right? Found these tiny gold fibers. Gold fibers? I-i don't think my wife or Olivia were wearing anything gold that night, were they? No. So then, that's a lead, right? Well, I talked to a tailor downtown. He said it was a very common thread. It's not much of a lead. And there are still no witnesses? None have come forward, but we're still looking. That area is a notorious stomping ground for the oreversakonya. What was that? Russian mafia. They have a stranglehold in that area. It's hard to get anyone to talk. Would it have been the Russian mafia and not, like, robbery or a carjacking or something? You guys never found my wife's purse. Pretty violent for a purse-snatching, don't you think, frank? Or carjacking? Why'd they leave the car? I don't know. Maybe something went terribly wrong and they had to flee, i don't know. We are exhausting all leads. You don't need to keep coming down here, frank. I'll call you if anything comes up. I'll call you even if something doesn't, just to keep you informed. Detective lustiger, will you please stop texting, sir? Can I see the file on the case? Chief wants a word with you, bill. Tell him I'll be right there. Please. No. It's confidential. It's police business. It is my wife and my daughter. Frank, I am trying to find out who did this and to bring them into justice. Well, try harder. Goddamn it! You have any idea how often a violent crime is committed in this country? No, I... Every 25.3 seconds, frank. That means for the 25.3 minutes you sat here, 60 violent crimes have been committed. Really? You okay? Am I okay? I'll never be okay. Mr. valera. We never give up. Yeah. Man: Kill him! Man 2: Tackle him! Come on! Come on! Frank: It became clear to me that justice would never be served. I made my family a promise, but my words were as empty as everyone else's. I was the guilty one. Crowd: Get him! Get him! Get him! Get him! I'd found my form of penance. Watch Movies Online Free What are you doing? My associates suggested I take some time off. "Mental-health days," they called it. Although I know it was really because they didn't want me around anymore. Frankly, the feeling was mutual. I need time. Defending suspected criminals was something I'd lost my taste for. Break it up! Stop! I suppose you're wondering, what is a nice guy like me doing in a place like this? Something like that, yeah. I promised I'd meet them at my daughter's talent show the night they were killed. I should've been there for them. The last message i ever got from my wife was a text of a video she took of a performance I missed. Yeah. Gave them my word, then I broke it. It's killing me. Frank, you can't blame yourself for what happened. Oh, believe me, I can. What about you? You're not in a police uniform, which means you're not here to bust the fights up. You follow me here? This job, frank... It's a fucking war zone out there. The way people feel about cops, sometimes I just gotta blow off a little steam, you know? Of course, if the department knew that I sometimes mixed it up in the underground fight circuit, well, wouldn't be too good for my career in law enforcement. You know, I, uh, was sorry to hear that, um, they're going to re-prioritize your case. What the hell are you talking about? Your case has been re-prioritized from active to cold. I thought you knew. Wh-why? Frank, it's been a long time. We've got no fresh leads. I mean, it's hard. The case is dead? No, it's not dead, it's just... cold. Those are fucking semantics, and you know it. This is a way of twisting words around. Believe me, i know about it. I've made a lot of money doing that. Look, I'll stay on top of lustiger. You know, try and keep it in his mind. Talk is cheap, huh? Hey, mister. You looking for... Company tonight? I can make you feel good if you want. You could do anything. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. What are you doing out here? You're too young to be here. How old are you? Answer me. How old are you? Thirteen. Thirteen... Shit. Get your ass over here. I'm sorry, buddy. She thought you were somebody else. Let's go. Please, sir. This girl is someone's daughter. Frank: If could have been listening more closely, if I would have been listening at all, I probably would have heard it. Frank: Finding the book was a sign. I had been punishing myself for their deaths, but I wasn't the one who killed them. I had been punishing the wrong person. Meditations was written nearly 2,000 years ago and became the basis for stoicism, which believed that the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what he said but rather what he did. Stoics would take a vow of silence in order to focus on a specific task. It is why I took my own vow not to be broken until I avenged my wife and daughter's murders. Within days after I stopped talking, my sense of hearing had drastically improved. You see? Good things do happen when you shut the fuck up for a minute or two. Hey! Hey. Nice ride, my man. But unfortunately you're in our territory, so how about you just give me your wallet and car keys, and we'll call it even. Could these be the men who killed them? A carjacking gone terribly wrong. Come on! Fucking dumb piece of shit! Please... I wanted to search his face for the slightest hint of recognition. He had no idea who they were. Are you okay? My name is Alma. I'm an E.R. nurse over at mercy. I volunteer at the local homeless shelter. A-and you are? Are you okay? Do you understand me? Comprende? C-can you hear me? Do you remember anything about yesterday? About how you got here? I was coming home from the hospital, and I found you lying in the road. So I helped you over here. You were really out of it, and that's when I discovered you'd been shot. Let me check it out. Okay? You're lucky. The bullet only grazed you, so the wound was pretty easy to dress. Hey. Frank: Why would Susan roll down her window in the rain? Why? Hi. You left this at my house. Your address is on your driver's license. Plus, I have to re-check your wound. You were very lucky. You don't have me fooled, you know. I know you can talk. Last night, after I bandaged you up, you talked in your sleep. And if you can talk in your sleep, you can talk when you are awake. You kept saying two names over and over: Sue and Olivia. Your wife and daughter? I am so sorry. Was their killer ever caught? I know that area very well. I drive through it on my way to work. Let me know if you need any help. Frank: A transportation security dog. Trained to sniff out the smallest of scents in the most densely populated areas with military precision. I wonder if my new friend could fill in some blanks. The homeless encampment I had found-- if anyone was there that night, they would have been the perfect witness. Maybe even the perfect killer. Alma: No fever. You are going to be okay, honey. The doctor will come soon. Woman: Thank you very much. You have something for me? I told you it was done. Nobody is done. Not until I say so. I'll be seeing you soon. Alma: Yeah, I know this spot. It's Mr. shivers' place. Sometimes on my way home from the night shift, I see him around here, always smoking. But I've never interacted with him. Actually, i never saw his face. So I wouldn't be able to I.D. Him for you. I'm sorry. But I heard he works sometimes at the local diner as a fry cook. We don't know his real name. People at the shelter call him Mr. shivers because he gives them the creeps. They say he has this really violent attitude. Thanks, frank. You and I need to talk. Where are my drugs? I don't want to do this anymore. Listen. You will do as I tell you, understood? Yes. Shut up! Those guys... They came into the E.R. About a year ago... Forcing me to pay protection. Have me steal drugs for them. From the hospital, you know. Oxy, codeine, fentanyl. But the other day i told them I was done. They're gonna kill me for this, frank. What am I going to do? Watch Movies Online Free Nobody ever accused me of being able to cook. But I figured that one breakfast was the least I could do to thank you. You know, I've been thinking about the guy you are looking for, Mr. shivers. Like I said, I've never worked with him directly at the shelter, but... But he had this cough, a hacking cough you'd recognize anywhere. Frank: Do I still look crazy to you? Unhinged? Like a maniac? All of the above? Yeah. You're probably right. But at least now, you understand why. He recognized them. But... There was no death in this man's eyes. He wasn't the killer. I saw what happened that night. It was a cop. I was there. I saw the whole thing. Olivia: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mr. shivers: He killed them in the warehouse. What could I do? Huh? I've got enough trouble already. I don't need no more trouble with cops. The purse... Got left behind. I took the money from it, and I got rid of it. I needed the money, man. I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry. Open that door! Come on! Open this door now! Open this door right now! Woman: I just want to see my son. Take me to see my son. Man: Get your hands off me! Hey! I didn't do nothing, goddamn it! What'd I tell you? Why don't you just let me go, man? Cuff him! Motherfuckers! Calm down! You need some help? Man: Fuck you! Policeman: Calm down! Policeman 2: Keep moving! Frank: I wanted to narrow my pool of suspects by finding out which officers were on duty the night shivers witnessed the killings. And of those officers, which one had been assigned to patrol that particular district. I was surprised to discover a familiar face. Could it really be him? Man: Show him what you got! Woman: Hit him! I followed Payton for seven whole days and nights. I chased him as my demons were chasing me. I even alternated between cars, as to not arouse suspicion. Night after night, day after day. All the while wondering, if this man truly was the one who had killed my wife and daughter, then why? So I kept watching... Trying to find an answer... A sign... Or maybe a mistake. Found these tiny gold fibers. Gold fibers? Yes, officer? Can you please pull over on the next road? Olivia's voice: Mommy! Frank: The case is dead? Strode: It's not dead, it's just cold. This is a way of twisting words around. I made a lot of money doing that. Now you know why i did it, frank. Some creep you put back on the streets... Killed my little girl. Twelve years old, frank. Murdered by a guy who should have been behind bars. This is where they died. Your wife was a fighter, frank. But your little girl... Well, she was screaming, crying for her daddy to come and save her. But you didn't. Where were you, frank? Where were you? Frank: I wanted nothing more than to kill the human monster before me but that would make me no better than him. Because the greatest stoic of them all has said, "the best revenge is to be unlike your enemy." Woman: What do you think about the verdict? The evidence against officer strode was overwhelming. The department is very happy with the verdict. There is nothing worse than a bad cop. Man: Detective, were there other cops involved? Lustiger: No, there's no evidence supporting that. Frank: Justice had been served. I had tried to make things right. But I knew that nothing I did would ever bring them back. And I could never go into the past to be there for them, like I promised. If I could, I would tell my daughter that she was right-- I loved her performance. And I would tell them both the words that still matter the most, among the thousands we speak every day-- I love you. |
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