- My name is Dwight stroud.
I'm a prisoner here,
and I need to get out.
- Good morning, it's a
beautiful day outside.
- Every day outside is
beautiful.
- Come on now, let's not start
out the day being depressed.
- Thought I'd get a jump start
on it
especially since it's
so beautiful out there.
- Doc tells me that every day
you're here
you're one day closer to being
released.
- Feels that way already.
Eh, look I'm sorry.
I don't mean to give you a hard
time.
It's not your fault.
Cheer up.
I'm ready to be shrunk down to
size.
- How you
feeling this morning?
- Don't you mean do I feel
crazy like I'm supposed to?
- But you
think you are crazy.
- It was my attorney's bright
idea.
- You pleaded not guilty
by reason of insanity.
The jury decided in your favor.
- Some favor.
I'm not guilty by reason of
innocence.
- Innocent of what?
You can't remember.
- I was struck on the
head, I,
I, I don't remember anything
that happened that night.
- So how do you
know
you were struck on the head?
Then how do you know you
don't deserve to be here?
It's important for you to
understand why you are here.
- What's important for me is
to get the hell outta here.
Now, just gimme the shot
and let's get on with it.
- It's only
part of what might get you
out of here some day.
If you know why you're here,
that will help even more.
- So tell me.
- I do.
I tell you every time we meet,
and you always forget
every time you come back.
You forget lots of things,
Dwight.
- No.
Damn it.
- I'm sorry, very
sorry.
I don't mean to upset you.
You have a very good memory.
That's why I'm so concerned
you can't remember,
even though I tell you every
week.
Look at me, Dwight.
I'll believe you went crazy,
I'll believe you're insane,
just look me in the face and
tell me
so I can see it in your eyes.
- I'm not
crazy.
- I wanna help you live again,
Dwight.
- Coming from you,
that's really absurd.
- Why?
What is it you see when you look
at me?
When you look at me?
Then tell me this, is what you
see real?
- No.
Couldn't be.
- Why is that?
- 'Cause if it was real, it'd be
crazy.
- Don't feel
ashamed of your realization.
Be proud.
Knowledge is a powerful thing.
- It's this place.
I see things here that are
insane.
I try to ignore it as much as
possible,
just to go on living,
but every day it gets worse,
not better.
I gotta get out.
- An unbalanced mind is like
water,
takes the shape of its
environment.
Sameness and stability of this
place
is all that's holding you
together.
Holding you together,
holding you together.
That's better.
This hospital has had several
remarkable recoveries.
There's real hope for you here.
There's real hope.
- She always comes
to me after I get done
with my head-shrinking.
Almost like a reward.
I'm glad you're here.
- Glad to be here.
- I gotta get outta here.
- Soon.
- I don't know her name or her
face.
All that matters is that she's
beautiful and intelligent.
I can't really say if she's real
or just more proof of my
insanity.
She's my ideal woman,
and I hope part of my future
rather than my past.
She is my hope.
- It's time.
- Do I thank you?
- For what?
- Well, for treating
me like a real person.
- I will be there for you
when you get out of here.
Always.
- He's a friend of
mine.
Sometimes, I'm the only one
he'll talk to.
But, at times, he's
inapproachable even to me.
Like the time when he
pulled out one of his eyes.
Hey, Da Vinci, lookin' good!
- I told
you to call me Van gogh.
Lookin' good is what
you say to a drunk woman
right before last call.
- Yeah, like I remember what
to say to a drunk woman.
- So lend me your eye.
I'm a bit short.
And tell me somethin' I don't
know
about what I'm doin'.
Yeah.
- Let's see.
Uh, maybe add a bird or two.
- If you, if you insist.
- Jesus.
Why'd you do that?
- I thought that's what you
wanted.
Look, Dwight, you and I are the
same.
Much of what we see is a cause
rather than an effect of our
illness.
That's why I took out my left
eye.
I didn't like what it made me
see
and it was makin' me worse.
But there's danger in what we
see.
This insane reality can
look back and see us.
- I, I don't see them.
- I only paint what I see.
My paintings are like x-rays.
- Yeah, or you're much
fuckin' crazier than I am.
Hey, what are those things
stickin' out their heads?
- That's ectoplasm
risin' out of 'em.
- Yeah, ectoplasm, yeah.
Can you explain that to me in,
uh,
non-psychobabble, please?
- Ectoplasm is a physical
manifestation
of spiritual matter.
It can escape from the
body through any orifice.
- Wow.
You're both a lot crazier than i
am.
- That is very interesting.
What do you call it?
- I haven't finished.
- That's a very interesting
title.
- It's a stupid title.
There's no tellin' what it'll be
about
or what it'll be called when
it's done.
- While I despise poor choice in
humor,
your friend here has
been doing much better
and will be soon be ready
for a monitored release.
- What if I'd rather stay?
Can, uh, Dwight go instead?
- Doesn't work that way.
It should motivate him to get
better
so you can both be outta here.
Fall, season of life.
Birds know it.
Oh, how sad.
Orderly.
Remove this, please.
I don't know what happened to
its head,
but I don't want it to disturb
any of the patients.
Thank you.
- I guess Van
gogh's power over it is real.
I see so much stuff that can't
be,
that I guess I assume everything
i see is just a delusion.
Do I have some X-ray type vision
like his?
I pestered Van gogh about all of
this
for weeks after that day.
- No, I, I don't have the
power over life or death.
My paintings show things
as they really are
or will be.
- So if you paint the doctor
dead,
I mean, if you're able to paint
it,
then it's, it's meant to be,
right?
- So you really want me
to help you escape, huh?
- Goddamn right I do.
I tell ya, when I look at him,
I see a dead man.
- Then paint the picture.
I quit the day that bird died.
I don't want my paintings
to be blood on my hands.
I'm through with that!
- Look, I can't, you know that.
Look, they say that
you're leavin' tomorrow.
They say you're cured.
- What do they know?
- Nothin',
but what does that matter if
you're free?
- Exactly!
- Maybe we were both crazy that
day.
Maybe nothing we saw was real.
Look, do it as a farewell
present for me.
- One last crazy thing
for old time's sake, huh?
- And when nothing happens,
then I'll know and accept
that I have to stay here.
My man Van gogh, thank
you.
It's beautiful.
Now in an hour, I have
the session with the doc.
That's when I want you to finish
it.
- What I saw was too horrible.
- Nurse.
Somebody come quick!
I'm sorry.
You should've stopped.
- What I saw,
I saw more clearly than ever
before,
and the more clearly I saw it,
I felt my mind, not
goin', but bein' taken.
- I'm sorry, I shoulda known no
good
would come of this, we're
insane.
- Yes, we are.
And that makes us vulnerable.
We're weak, so we can be taken.
I thought if, if I couldn't see
them,
they couldn't see me, and I'd be
safe.
Or, or maybe they wouldn't
want a blind man's life.
- I couldn't take much time to
mourn
my friend's final slip
into total insanity.
No!
His fate is what's waiting for
me
if I stay here to be cured.
So that's what you really look
like.
- What do you
think you're doing, Dwight?
- I don't know.
Somethin' crazy I guess you'd
say.
- No.
Lookin' for my keys in
that desk isn't crazy.
Luckily for both of us,
I was just coming back
here to put them away.
You saw what an unbalanced
mind did to your friend.
If you do this,
whatever it is you're about to
do,
you'll take that same step
into the bottomless deep end.
- More water analogies?
Well, this water wants out of
the glass.
You think you know
everything about us here?
Did you ever think that being
insane
allows us to see the
true reality around us?
That's what Van gogh believed.
- Van gogh?
You know, he let you call him
that
because the real Van gogh killed
himself
rather than live on and be
insane.
- I'm not gonna kill myself.
- If you do this, you're as good
as dead.
- Woo!
Is that you?
I'm free now.
Don't be sad.
I'm so happy to find you.
Okay.
Okay, you got me.
Maybe Van gogh and the doc were
right.
Maybe it's too much for me out
here.
You, you won't believe what i
just saw.
Was it something like
this?
- Hey, help!
Buddy, I don't know why
I'm trying to save you.
Come on outta there.
- No, stop it!
- What are you doin'?
- Stop it!
No!
- What are you doin'?
Get a grip.
You're free.
Got to get control of your
imagination
or you're not gonna last out
here.
Gotta put the water
back in the glass.
So who are you, huh, buddy?
I couldn't remember anything
about where I used to live.
I had nowhere else to go.
I figured a dead man's
not going to come home
for a good night's sleep, so
I'll take his place.
Finally.
A break.
I had no intention of
starting a life of crime,
but I needed a head start on my
new life.
Besides, I tried to save him.
I wasn't taking much in return.
You've done all right
for yourself, Mr. Finch.
Too bad you can't take it with
ya.
- Coming up next, an asylum
inmate is loose tonight.
- We bought
flooring for this room?
We got flooring for this room
free.
And this room was free, too.
It's on again.
- Is it really you?
Are you really here?
I thought I saw you earlier
tonight.
- Hello, art.
Where'd you see me?
In the bottom of a Martini
glass?
Or did you call out my name in
passion,
get kicked out of some slut's
house,
and have to come crawling back
here to me?
- Um.
No,
I, uh,
car was stolen.
- Save it.
- No, Ellen, I.
Ellen.
How do, how do I know?
Your name is Ellen Finch.
- By accident of marriage.
- Aw, what the fuck?
It's not me.
I know the alarm code.
I know her name's Ellen.
- Stop staring at me.
- Ellen, I just wanted you to
know
that I wasn't out drinking
tonight
or with anyone.
- Well good.
- I, I love you.
- Not tonight you don't.
Since you haven't been out
drinking,
I guess you can sleep in here.
- To repeat the top
story at this late hour,
a manhunt for an escaped
mental patient has ended.
The man was taken back to the
hospital,
and is in poor condition
after being involved
in a car accident.
The owner of the car is missing,
but the return of the escaped
man
comes as a relief, as he was a
danger
to himself and others.
- Ghouls, that's all those
people are.
You should've known
better than to turn it on
before going to bed.
That stuff gives me nightmares.
- Look, I don't
wanna press my luck with you.
Maybe I should sleep on the
couch tonight.
- I'm not used to your
being this perceptive.
Or sober.
- You're insane to like me.
Wow, that's really
funny because it's true.
- I'm sure you'll make up for it
by being extra drunk tomorrow.
Wanna turn the lights off?
- Ellen, I, uh,
guess we've known each other a
long time.
And, uh, I've done some bad
things.
But I want you to know all that
is over.
- You're just gonna make me mad
trying all that I'll change
stuff again.
- I just mean if, if we
don't go on together,
I'm sorry to have let us down.
- Now that I've never
heard you say before.
- Goodnight, Ellen.
Why did I say all that sappy
stuff to her?
If I'm incurably insane,
why wouldn't I be incurably
romantic?
You're not the woman that came
to visit me
at the hospital.
Maybe these women are the
fantasies
that kept me alive in the
asylum.
You're sure not the woman
i saw at the cemetery.
She'd obviously been
hurt by this Finch person
that she thinks I am.
So I felt I owed her an apology.
Is that all I felt for her?
I don't know.
How did I know her name and the
code?
The only thing I know for sure
is that this is all crazy,
but I was used to that.
I didn't even know what I'd wake
up to.
But I know I wasn't afraid.
- Can you get that?
- Yeah, sure.
- Artemis Finch?
- Yeah.
Uh, if you say so.
- We found your car burned down
on the side of the road last
night.
Care to explain that?
- So the car really was stolen
last night?
- Yeah, see?
And, uh, I guess whoever
stole it, wrecked it.
Right?
Come on in, I'll make you some
coffee.
As far as I can tell, I'm still
me.
But if everybody else says
different,
who am I to disagree?
- Come on, you'll be
late.
They say there's going to be a
crowd
of over 100 this year.
- Crowd for what?
- For you.
They say the mayor may even be
there.
- You know, I, I can never
get these ties on straight.
- Come on.
I have to get you there
so I can get to my mom's.
- What, you're not coming?
- You never wanted me there
before.
- Well maybe now it's different.
- You're the one that seems
different.
- Okay.
So go out with your mom.
How 'bout next time, hmm?
- That seems more familiar.
- She could definitely
become my dream woman.
And Finch screwed this marriage
up.
Well maybe I can fix that,
if I or things
don't get out of control again.
Well, if Finch is stuck with my
old life,
he's welcome to it.
I'd pity him, but I think
he probably deserves it.
Well, I can't help that.
And I'll get just fine stayin'
out here.
Doc and Van gogh were right.
It's completely insane out here.
But it's the kind of insanity
I could get used to.
- Sorry to have to do this,
but it's time for our keynote
speaker
to step up here.
Please welcome Mr. Artemis Finch
and his amazing success story.
- Oh, is that for me?
- Thank you.
- Oh, sure.
Good to see you.
Hi.
- Yes.
- Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Uh.
I, uh,
don't know where to begin.
- Well, you could begin talking
about, uh,
how you got out of the
institution.
- The institution?
But I'm Artemis Finch.
- Tell us how you get out
and rebuilt your life.
- Really?
Okay.
That'll be easy.
Thought you wanted me to
talk about something hard.
Really, it's, um, it's about
goal-orientation.
Even in the hell of
institutionalization,
I, I realized
I had to have a,
a dream, a goal
that I could strive for.
Finch's speech just came to me
as if it was out of my own
memory.
His thoughts come to me
actually better than my own.
I still have little memory
of why I was locked up.
But it seems Finch was, like me,
crazy at one point.
I'd certainly never met
him at the hospital.
But it seems like Finch
was one of the doctor's
success stories.
If it'll work for me, it'll work
for you.
Hi.
Thank you.
So glad you came out.
Thanks for buying my book.
I need the money, I could use
the money.
You look wonderful tonight.
It's good to see ya.
You're good to go.
Thanks so much.
Yeah.
- Mr. Finch, that was a great
speech.
Even, even better than the one
that changed my life a few years
ago.
Um, I, I don't expect you to
remember me,
but, uh, my name's Oscar Werner.
- Oscar.
Oscar wiener, how ya doin'?
So what's up?
Want me to speak for your group
again?
- Well, uh, yes and no.
I'm with a volunteer outreach
group.
- Yeah, volunteer.
That, that's very noble,
but I'm afraid I must limit
myself
to professional speaking
engagements now.
- Well, we have a tax deductible
status--
- Oscar, I,
you ever have the opportunity to
hire me,
so to speak, I'd be more
than happy to help ya out.
Uh, I just came in here to take
a piss.
Here's one of my cards.
You aren't a very nice
guy, are ya, Mr. Finch?
- Hey, Mr. wonderful.
- You, Jackie, right?
- You ready to leave?
What's that, a love letter?
- Hardly.
Let's go.
So you all talked out?
- Yeah, I guess so.
Nice of you to let me drive your
car.
- Where you driving to?
- I don't really know actually.
Maybe I've had too much to
drink.
Which way is it to my house?
- Well you really wanna just go
home?
- Yeah.
I'm afraid so.
- Uh, well why don't we
just swing by my place?
I, I left my cell.
I need to check my voice mail.
Maybe get you some coffee
and, um, sober you up?
- Sure.
- And there's no parking on this
street.
Just pull in the garage.
- Can I help you?
- Are you Jackie?
- No, I know her, but I don't
know you.
- Let go of her!
- You're not Dwight.
Where does Jackie live?
- Next door.
- Hello.
- What the hell's that?
- Dad, what happened to mom?
- Nothing important.
- That's my neighbor but
he'd never hurt anyone.
- Oh, he's gonna kill us next.
Are all the doors locked?
- Yes, no, I never bother
locking the kitchen.
- No, wait.
- Wait for what?
- You're makin' a mess of
things.
You'd better give yourself
peacefully
so no one else has to die.
- Look, just don't hurt me.
- That won't be possible.
- Hey, I'm Artemis Finch,
you don't wanna kill me.
- No you're not,
and yes, I do.
Where did you get that nasty
little scar?
Let me refresh your memory about
it.
Just had to be sure you were
really Dwight inside there.
Because as you can see,
looks are deceiving.
- I know you.
You're the morning guy.
- Morning, it's a beautiful day
outside.
- Every day outside is
beautiful.
- Sorry for showin' off like
that.
Just wanted to see your mind
crack open.
These weapons, they're clumsy.
But the pain they give,
it's worth the extra effort.
- What are you really?
And why are you trying to kill
me?
- Mr. Finch, Mr. Finch.
Mr. Finch, rise and shine.
It's a bright new day.
Oh, it's you, Dwight.
Well, you can't fool anybody in
here.
Ah, well, doesn't matter.
Good thing we nabbed Dwight.
As you can see, I need your
face.
Give it to me!
- No!
- I thought I heard you
scream.
- This reopened wound is
sensitive
to all kinds of things.
Right now, I can sense through
her touch
just how much she hated this man
Finch.
Thanks.
- That was my favorite.
It hasn't worked in years.
When did you learn to--
- it was something i
knew long before we met.
I can take things apart pretty
well.
But I'd rather put them back
together.
- Where are you taking
me?
- I think I left the shower on.
- I don't know about this.
- Do you want me to stop?
I'll just turn the water on,
okay?
- What, you afraid I'll break it
again?
- No, I fixed it for good this
time.
I'm gonna fix everything.
- It hasn't been like this
since--
- since before I was committed?
- No.
Even when you were at your--
- craziest.
- Yes.
Even then, when you were in the
hospital,
you were always sweet to me.
No, the doctors told me
that you'd get better
but I didn't believe them.
But you did.
It was wonderful.
Then when you came home,
it was like something had
changed.
Like you'd changed or something.
- Well, I hope so, I was sane.
- No.
Never mind.
This is the man I fell in love
with.
- If I'm good to Ellen, maybe
she can save me from madness,
and then I can, in turn, give
her the love
that Finch kept for himself
or sold off in small pieces to
others.
I thought this was all
just some crazy accident,
but maybe I deserve to take over
his life.
Wait a minute, I fucking hate
jogging.
God, you gotta be kiddin' me.
Oh yeah.
You can't go joggin' without
these.
The night I escaped, I ran
through here.
I wasn't sure if any of that was
real.
I saw those faceless things
somewhere around here.
Hmm, no sign of them now.
This is all crazy.
But I was used to that.
I wasn't afraid.
By living Finch's life,
am I losing my own identity?
No, I'm stronger than whatever
he is.
I can fight off his habits.
- That's dangerous you know.
There's dead leaves on the
ground.
You could start a fire.
- Yeah, sorry.
Those friends of yours?
- No, and neither are you.
Leave me alone.
Hey.
Maybe you can work this in.
- Don't need it.
That's the past.
- Oh yeah, that's right.
You only paint the future.
Who is that?
I'm sorry, you're blind.
But,
how can you paint if you can't
see?
- Oh,
I can see.
- You escaped the hospital.
But your insanity is the real
trap.
One you can't escape.
- Hey, uh,
hey, I'm sorry about that.
I, I didn't mean to hurt your
arm.
- It wasn't bleeding before.
- Hey, you know my mom used to
say
that pain is one way we know
we're alive.
- Yeah, you must have
had a great childhood.
- Yeah, from what I've
seen in my business, yeah.
- What business is that, chasing
people?
- When necessary.
I'm a detective, Brent kesler.
You looked a little frightened
back there, Mr. Finch.
I'm not that scary, am I?
- No, you're not.
Who hired you to follow me?
- I'm not supposed to say.
- What if I paid you more than
they are?
- Well, I reckon in this case
it doesn't make any difference.
It's all your money anyway.
- My money?
My wife?
Why would she do that?
- Mr. Finch, why do women
hire detectives anyway?
Hell, I cheat on my wife, i
still do.
I'm more on your side than your
wife.
- So why'd you tackle me, blow
your cover?
- You looked like you were
freakin' out,
havin' a breakdown or somethin'.
Like you were bein' chased by
someone.
- So you didn't
see anyone chasin' me?
You didn't see me talkin' to
anybody?
- Nah, we spoke in the
graveyard.
Since then, no one.
Look, your wife's filed for
divorce,
hired me to collect any
damning information.
That's the only reason I'm here.
- I doubt she'll want a divorce
now.
- Well that's up to her, isn't
it?
- Why don't you come to my
house?
Hear for yourself.
- Okay, it's true, all right?
I did, I was thinking
about it for a while.
You know, our lawyer told
me that I should hire
somebody and get information.
- Okay, I believe you,
and I believe our lawyer's
a spineless cocksucker,
and that she had nothin' to do
with it,
but I'm askin' you to tell him
that.
- That?
- That it's off.
That you don't wanna divorce me.
That he should just get
hired by somebody else
and fuck up their marriage!
- Are you ordering me to trust
you again?
- No.
Yeah, I,
no, that's not what I mean, I'm
sorry.
- Look, I'm part of the problem
here.
And I'm not bein' hired to do
that.
Mrs. Finch, call me, and you
tell me
either to pack it in or keep it
up.
I'll do whatever you say.
I'm outta here.
Bye, y'all.
- Look, I'm sorry to have put
you
in the middle of all that.
- That approach isn't
gonna work out, Mr. Finch.
I know that much about women.
- I know, I don't know what came
over me.
Of course, I knew what was
coming over me.
It was Finch.
His personality reaching
out from the hospital,
jealously trying to wreck things
and somehow switch
identities with me again.
Please, I insist on it.
Now look.
There's some people I want you
to check on
at the psych ward.
- Checkin' in on old friends?
- More like old enemies.
But that's what I want you to
find out.
- What's the name of this
patient?
- First off, check up on a Dr.
shaker.
See if he's still there.
And the patient's name is Finch,
he's.
No.
Oh, I'm sorry, that's my name.
Stroud, Dwight stroud.
He was in the car
accident the other night.
Dwight stroud.
- Who, this one?
- Yeah.
There's another patient i
want you to check up on, too.
- Yeah, what's his name?
- Never mind.
I just found him.
- I didn't think you liked art.
- I don't.
I thought this would be
different.
- It's different all
right.
I love this one actually.
It's beautiful.
- I'm gonna see if I can work
out a deal
with the artist.
- You don't have to do that.
- No, no, no, no.
Lemme do this for you.
Wait here.
Well, well, Mr. Van gogh.
- Van gogh?
- Actually, I used to call you
Da Vinci
just to irritate ya.
- Yeah, now I remember.
Um, Dwight, right?
- You recognize me?
- Yes, now I do.
- People out here think I'm
somebody else.
- Crazy, we're cured, not them,
remember?
- Oh, hey, I have a piece of a
painting
I found that looks like one of
yours.
I don't know, it's crazy
out here sometimes.
- You know what?
I'll take that over what
we had on the inside.
Listen, come here, I need to
talk to you for a second, okay?
- Uh huh.
- Listen, I realize
now that I've recovered
that my wild ideas in the
hospital
were just products of insanity.
- People out here think
I'm this other guy Finch.
- Be careful with that kinda
talk, friend.
The rewards that the
real world has to offer
are far more lasting and
satisfying
than any fantasies.
- That's true, but the
fantasies I have left
are pretty frightening.
- Just think of 'em as bad
dreams.
The more awake you are to
reality,
the more they'll fade.
- I don't know.
- Don't feel guilty about bein'
out here.
Guilt's what put us in
there in the first place.
Now, if your delusions persist,
get some therapy or new meds.
- You believe in therapy now?
- What else got us out here?
Listen, I gotta get back
to my adorin' public
and open their wallets
as well as their minds.
- Uh, can I see ya
again?
- No, I don't think that's a
good idea.
As a matter of fact, you
have better friends here now.
- Well, I found Dr. shaker
and I didn't find Dr. shaker.
- What do you mean?
- Well, one of the staff
here explained that, uh,
Dr. shaker isn't a person,
it's a, it's a room where
they leave these patients
after they've been medicated.
It's sort of a holding area
where they,
they keep 'em to make sure
they don't have a negative
reaction to the medication.
You know, like the shakes.
- Dr. shaker.
- They tell me
patients call medication
a trip to see Dr. shaker.
- What's the room look like?
- Well, I guess there
used to be a desk in here.
Stroud found a set of keys in
the drawer
and that sped his escape.
Well that's gone, so that
won't happen anymore.
- Keys from a desk?
What else?
- Well, let's see.
On the far wall, they've
got some pictures of, uh,
hospital staff, from what I can
see.
Old pictures.
- Pictures of dead people?
- No, they look
alive in the photos.
- Oh no, I mean, from a long
time ago.
They're probably dead now.
- Probably.
- No wonder shaker
always looked dead to me.
- What?
- Never mind.
Um,
what about my painter friend?
- Oh, he got out, not like the
stroud guy,
he was cured.
Hey, look, uh, I'll call ya
later.
- Everything okay?
- It wasn't what I thought.
I mean, yeah,
we're, we're okay.
- He recovered enough
to bring him back here
from intensive care.
His mental wounds are now
considered to be
his most important.
- Stroud was trying to escape?
- He's still trying.
As soon as he regained
consciousness,
he tried again, so we had to
restrain him.
- Can I talk to him?
- Talk at him's more like it.
I'd prefer you not get him
started.
- What do you mean?
- He'll just start ranting again
about how he's not Dwight
stroud,
and it's a mistake, and
how somebody on the outside
stole his life and he
shouldn't be in here, it's.
- What is that called?
Uh, disassociation.
What, what causes somethin' like
that?
- Well lots of things can,
though the theory in stroud's
case
is that he's trying to escape
the guilt
over what he did to end up in
here.
- What'd he do?
- Uh, I'm sorry, there's an
emergency.
I've gotta go.
- Hey,
can I stay here?
- I'll just be a few minutes,
but don't get him excited.
- I'll be as dull as possible.
- Why was I committed?
- Let's not talk about
that.
- No, really, help me remember
so it won't happen again.
- Well, your business collapsed
and then you lost faith in
yourself,
and you got really depressed,
and.
- And?
- You got violent.
- Did I hurt you?
- Not permanently.
You were more a danger to
yourself.
- And eventually I got better?
- No.
I think you were getting worse.
You were in a coma, and your
kidneys started to fail.
Then it was almost like a
miracle.
- Almost.
Do me a favor.
If I ever mistreat you
again, show me this.
It'll remind me of who
i need to be for you.
- I crawled out of the
grave to be with you.
- Bad dream?
- The worst.
- I know
where you are now, Dwight.
You thought you killed me
but that was just a body I was
using,
just like you're using my body
now.
I'm going to come over
there and take it back.
- No, anywhere but here.
I'll do whatever you say as
long as Ellen isn't involved.
- Now
you're learning, Dwight.
Meet me outside the main
library at midnight.
- What are you doin'?
I told you to stay home.
- I thought you could use the
help.
- I'm sure, but it's
not gonna be dangerous.
- It's not gonna be dangerous?
You've been different lately
but I can still tell when you're
lying.
- I'm not, and you really need
to go.
- Come on, you make me drop you
off
in the middle of the night,
and you won't even tell me why?
- Okay, look, this guy, he's
another former mental patient.
He's shy, especially around
women.
He thinks he's havin'
some sort of relapse.
We're supposed to help
support one another.
- Like a husband and wife do?
No, I'm not going.
- Please trust me and leave.
Goddamn it!
- I'm sorry, honey.
- I would never hurt you.
- I'm so sorry, honey, I didn't
mean to grab your bad arm.
Are you okay?
- It's okay, it's okay.
It's nothing, look, look,
there's my friend.
Look, here's what you do,
just drive around the block,
and just check up on me.
If you see anything strange,
call the police.
- 'Kay, well stay where I can
see you.
- Finch!
- Hey, kesler,
I was supposed to meet
somebody here at midnight.
I, I, I think they meant to kill
me.
- That would be me.
- Kesler.
- Not anymore.
The first time I tried to kill
ya,
this woulda slowed me down,
but now.
- He's in trouble.
- Death is an ugly thing.
You were an accident.
Not part of the plan.
- Who were you fighting with?
He hurt you.
What he did, I can feel your
pain.
I knew I had to get back.
- I can't explain it in any
rational way.
No police.
No, we can't get involved in
this, okay?
There was an innocent man killed
tonight.
I think this whole thing was
planned
just to set me up!
- What just happened out there?
- I didn't know you
smoked.
- I got it from you.
Don't change the subject.
You know, when you first got
sick
and they put you away, my mom
told me
that it was a good thing
'cause your going crazy
would eventually make me go to,
and, you know, I told her off,
and I hung up the phone,
but I don't understand what's
going on.
I think I just helped you
kill somebody out there,
and what was that thing in the
gully?
- You didn't see anything,
you were too far away.
- I'm sure you didn't want me to
see it
because from what little that i
did see
it wasn't even--
- I told you
to leave it alone!
Now why don't you just
get off my ass, woman?
And I swear to god,
if you ever mention your mother
again.
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
I, I don't even smoke.
Come on, sit down.
You want a drink?
- Yes.
You know, the last couple days,
I felt more connected
to you than I ever have,
but to feel your pain,
to know that you were in
trouble, it's.
- A painter friend of mine told
me
to feel love deeply was
to be able to do that.
Empathy.
- It's beyond anything normal.
You're not drinking either?
- No, I, i--
- who are you?
- I'm your husband.
And I love--
- that's right, you are now.
I loved you before they put you
away.
But, when you got out,
well, you were kind of a
bastard,
like you were a second ago.
Mostly, though, you were just
distant.
But you made money and we
traveled.
I started collecting
these everywhere we went.
I was hiding behind them.
Not like you noticed.
But you notice now.
It seems you see inside me,
and I'm seeing.
Outside.
I see like I'm seeing through
your eyes.
To your insanity.
- No.
- But you seem fine now.
Messing up is your disease.
- No, no, you're just a little
drunk.
It's all right.
- No, I'm not drunk, I.
You drugged me?
- Look, look, I've taken
these a million times.
You'll be fine, you'll just
sleep
a deep, quiet, dreamless sleep.
- But I don't wanna sleep,
I wanna understand.
- No, no, if you understood it
you'd be as crazy as I was.
When you wake up in the morning,
it will all be better.
- Okay.
- I don't know how, but I'm
gonna make it
all go away.
Get your hands off my wife.
- She's Finch's wife, not yours.
You think she's starting
to figure that out?
- Stop touching her!
- I'm not doing anything,
Dwight,
'cause I'm not even here.
- I know that.
- But I am part of your
personality.
I'm proof that you aren't Finch.
Or not yet.
Not inside here.
Anyway,
why be so angry?
You've assumed Finch's life and
thoughts,
and, as you see,
that will make you into
the lovable guy he was.
- She deserves better than that.
What if Finch doesn't live?
- I'd barely call it living.
He's trapped in that damaged
body
at our favorite hospital.
To end that life, well,
I'd barely call it murder.
You thought those
were my keys.
- What matters is that
they're hospital keys.
I'm gonna kill Finch.
- Go ahead,
you're good at that.
Don't worry about Ellen.
She's safer here with me
than with you.
Only trouble is, I'm not here
alone.
- Home again, home again.
Why can't I remember what room i
was in?
Man, I'd kill for a cigarette.
I'll lose all of my own
personality
if I don't end this soon.
Trapped inside of what was my
body
is Finch's soul, I guess I'd
call it,
for lack of a better word.
- Beasts without souls.
That's what insane
people used to be called.
That's what made you so perfect
to take over for us.
- That's over now.
You'll die right where you are,
and I'll stay in your body alive
and sane.
- Is that your plan?
To live out your life as Artemis
Finch?
- Yes, and I'll treat Ellen
the way she should be treated.
- Oh, and all the rest?
You'll make a better Finch than
i did,
is that it?
I hope it works out for ya.
- How did I end up in your body?
- After the car wreck,
when I was at the point of
death.
You touched me.
No!
Raping me of Finch's life,
giving me your mindless
asylum life in its stead.
We're sharing souls.
That can't continue.
- No, it can't.
And you don't have long
now by the looks of it.
- Now, at the moment of death
again,
I'll take Finch back.
- You're helpless to do
anything but die, Finch.
- I'm not Finch.
- Not, not Finch?
- Finch was a mindless vacuum,
an empty insane mind that
allowed me
in to take his place.
- He didn't recover?
- Oh no.
He's trapped in my remains now.
- And where is that?
- You'll only find that
out when it's too late.
I should thank you, Dwight.
I sent the detective and the
other orderly
out for you before, and they
failed.
Now you've come to me.
A plague.
This body's dead.
But what of the soul?
- So shall you be here,
freed from the demons of
your mind that tormented you,
and resting in peace
until that judgment day
when god shall reclaim you
as his own, Dwight stroud.
- Well, that's the end
of me
as far as the world is
concerned.
Only I know that it's Finch
who's being buried for good.
I never thought I'd be the only
mourner
at my own funeral.
Was she my sister?
A friend?
Maybe even a wife or daughter?
I can't remember.
But it was harder to be happy
about my supposed death
knowing I'd left someone behind
and alone.
The two worst things you can be.
- I woke up feeling foggy.
I don't remember,
did we have a fight or
something?
- No, nothing like that.
- I still feel groggy.
What's wrong with me?
- Not a thing.
- Who are you now?
Finch the cheat?
The manipulator?
- He's dead.
I'll live his life my own way.
- Dwight stroud's way?
Then you still have to
know why you went insane.
- That doesn't matter.
It's different now.
- Well, if you're sane now, why
am I here?
- Who are you talking to?
I thought I saw a shadow out
there.
- No, I was just talking in my
sleep.
Where are you going?
- Bathroom.
- Where are you going now?
- Relax, goin' to the
kitchen to get somethin'
to settle my stomach.
Ugh, it's too hard.
I'll have to use a knife
to get the rest of it out.
It's for you, Dwight.
It's for you.
You left the ice cream out last
night.
Melted all over.
- Hello?
- Yeah, hello.
- Is that you Mr. Finch?
- Yes, yes, sure.
- Okay, great.
You're speaking to our
company meeting today.
- I am?
Okay.
- We wondered if you could
be here a little later than we
planned.
- Uh, I can be there in an hour.
- That was the
old time.
How 'bout right after lunch, two
pm.
- Sure, great.
And that's my recipe for
success.
- That's very interesting, Mr.
Finch.
But I had some questions
about your accounting formula.
For market research.
- Formula?
- I'd like you to just take us
through
some computations, one to one,
like you did the last time you
were here.
- The last time.
You mean, the old days.
Right, um, sure.
Let me find a good example.
Here.
There we go.
Now.
- Good recovery, Dwight.
Finch is dead now.
You're really on your own.
But I have faith in you.
Shh.
- Right.
So
here's an equation.
As you'd usually see it.
- Is there anything wrong?
- We know math is.
Just
a tool.
What you can do is use that
to succeed.
Anyone can fudge around.
With numbers.
What do I have
to do to be rid of you?
- Just become sane.
Sorry.
You know, though you weren't
listening at your funeral,
I was.
Though it's commonly
believed that when we die
we go immediately to heaven or
hell,
that really doesn't
happen until judgment day.
Till then, we're all trapped.
- He's trapped in his body.
I'll, I'll destroy the body in
the grave.
Is that the answer?
- Did you say destroy
the body in the grave?
- No.
Slip of the tongue.
So if there are no other
questions,
I'll be leaving.
- Well, if he thinks
I'm gonna pay good money
for that load of double talk,
he's completely out of his
fucking mind.
- Is it really you?
- Oh, I, look, I, I'm sorry
what happened at the gallery.
I had to pretend I didn't know
you
so no one else would know.
- Look, I understand you
want to live your life
free of the past, that's,
that's all I wanna be able to
do.
What's buried there beneath
my name still haunts me.
- I heard you died and came
here to pay my respects.
- I came here to destroy
it in order to be free.
I see you over there, doc.
Don't worry, you can't see him.
He's only in my mind.
- You're right, I'm not the
one you have to worry about.
- Hi, uh, this is Mrs. Finch
again.
What time did you say my husband
left?
- I don't know,
hours ago?
Look, I'm busy, I, I gotta go.
- I see you standing there.
You've been standing here
staring at me
for over an hour.
Who are you, what do you want?
- If you love your husband,
you'll follow me.
I'm Mrs. Dwight stroud.
I'll show you.
I'll be as gentle as possible.
What's yours will soon be mine.
As it should be.
This is where Dwight and I lived
when we were first married.
The neighborhood wasn't great
then
but better than what's left of
it now.
- I don't believe you.
- Really?
I'll show you.
- Gimme the pick.
- Why do you need the
lid off?
- You and I see things in the
same way.
I need you to see it, too.
Gimme a hand.
Look down there.
Is that me?
- No.
- Really?
There must be no trace of him
left.
- That's not my husband.
- Look closer.
- What's the point?
If you have the power to lead me
here,
you can probably make me
see whatever you want.
- Mm, but you can't
dismiss your own feelings.
Haven't you noticed recently
your husband's been kinder,
more gentle lately?
It's because he's not your
husband.
He's mine.
Come with me upstairs and I'll
prove it.
Dwight and I, we're not
who you think we are.
We're fluid.
We can fill whatever body
our emotions shape us into.
I need to empty you out.
So I can refill us.
- He knows he's still not free.
- Yeah, that's right, he doesn't
know.
He doesn't know at all.
- Goodbye, Dwight.
You won't see me anymore,
you're beyond listening to me.
If you do get free of Finch,
then you'll be truly alone
because his personality is
the only sanity you have left.
- I saw you talkin' to him.
No sense pretending he's
not real, he's in my mind.
- Well I'm glad the pretense is
over.
I'll tell you what I know.
- I know you're not what you
seem.
You tore your eyes out the night
i escaped
and now you have eyes.
When I saw you at the gallery,
you acted like you
didn't know me at first.
You look like Van gogh,
just like I look like Finch,
but who are you really?
- It's all true.
Only when we touch that
i see you as Dwight.
Your soul in his body,
his trapped in yours.
We see the real faces behind
these masks.
- If Finch's soul is trapped in
my body,
they both are destroyed,
but I'm still crazy,
I'm still not free.
- That's right, Dwight.
There's a big piece of the
puzzle missin',
and you're standin' on it.
- I, I, I escaped.
But those faceless things
i saw, they were real?
- Not only were they real,
they still are.
We're still here.
Don't worry, Dwight, they're
too stupid to do anything.
We're all waiting for judgment
day.
Well, a few of us got tired of
waiting.
Three of us saw you pathetic,
mindless creatures up there
and decided to live through you.
We ate away what was left of
your souls
or minds, if you prefer,
and took over your live bodies
as our own.
Finch was taken over first
so they would leave the
hospital.
Then it was your former wife
turned to inhabit a life.
I took the painter.
You aren't free of what you knew
as Finch
because what you destroyed
was just some dirty clothing
that his soul had been wearin'.
You've driven him back
into his own corpse.
They are glass.
I don't need eyes to see.
- There's no spirit above this
grave
because it's trapped underneath.
- What insane thing are you
doin' now?
- Don't give me that insanity
crap.
I believe what the real Van gogh
told me.
That what I see is the real
truth.
This is the body that took
over Finch's life before me.
This is the source.
Whatever's left rotting under
here,
I've got to destroy.
He can't escape me,
there's nowhere else to go.
- What makes you think I won't
stop you?
- You would've stopped me a long
time ago
if you wanted to.
You're too selfish to care about
anything
but yourself and the life you
stole
from the real Van gogh,
the one who was my only true
friend.
Unless you'd rather go back
to your original body also.
- You know me well enough,
but don't think your desires
are much different from mine.
You may not have to dig
as deeply this time.
- It's time we met
face-to-face.
My true shape of what you knew
as Finch.
I am the soul we are both
sharing.
- Dwight, it's that pain that
connects you
to your old life.
'Cause that's all our life was,
pain.
It's the pain that forced you
insane
so you could forget it.
If you kill this thing, you
can live that life again.
- Ellen.
No, Ellen, get out!
- That's
what happened before.
And that's what will happen
again.
That's where you left
me when you killed me.
You meant to kill yourself
afterwards,
but you went crazy
before you could finish.
- No.
- Think of anything else you
would force yourself to forget?
Anything as horrible?
- No.
No, you're right.
I can never remember this life.
- I know.
And that's why I forgave you.
Every
single
time I came to see you at the
hospital.
I can never let you touch me
or you'd remember all the pain.
It would destroy you before
i could have you back.
- That was all that kept me
going.
It was good at first.
You were so good to me.
Please, please let Ellen go.
- You can't love her.
- Help!
- I came back from the
dead to be with you.
I took over this body
and I gave you Finch.
Back from the dead to be with
you.
I made sure you got free.
- We were no good for each
other.
Look at where we ended up.
- You'll kill her, Dwight.
Once you're free of Finch,
you'll go insane again.
- Since you want her body and
not mine,
this is how you did it, Dwight.
Switch with her
at the moment of death.
That way, we can be together
at least for a few moments.
So you see, you'll have me
whether you want me or not.
- No.
Not Ellen.
- You'll have to kill me
again, Dwight.
It's what you are and what you
were.
But at least we'll be together
for a few moments.
It will be beautiful.
- Don't worry,
my friend Van gogh had enough
of his sad part in this world.
He wanted to end his life
a lot more than you wanted
to take it from him.
- Well, I try to do justice
with what he created.
Tell me what you think of this.
It's yours, to remind you
of what you did to be free.
- I want you to finish it.
- It is finished.
- No.
I want you to add my face to it.
- Do you know what'll
happen if I did that?
- I know what'll happen if you
don't.
I know who I was now.
Who I am.
I'm Dwight stroud, a
psychopathic killer.
And I know I'll kill Ellen
eventually
if I go on living.
But I want you to add one more
thing
to it first.
- Don't touch him.
He's at the point of death.
- No!
No!
What are you?
Why would you let him do this?
- If you had touched him,
you'd have found out.
He saved you from that
and perhaps much worse.
The painting is yours.
He had me finish it to save you.
But it's not mine.
Dwight lived that painting.
And he signed it as his own.