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Frankie and Alice (2010)
Miss? Miss, can you hear me? Miss?
All right, everybody, let's get it on. Come here. Hey, Frankie! Here you go, sweetheart. Wall Street. Oh, yeah, princess! Yeah! - Here you go. - No holding out. Wall Street! Try reading a newspaper, Hal. Wall Street's going down! Yeah, and dicks are going up. Keep 'em coming, Frankie! Let's go, chickies. Now come on, let's move it. Shut up! - Frankie. - That's pretty sad... Can you believe that sleazy son-of-a-bitch humping out my leg like a dog? -It's gonna take forever to get this shit off. - Girl, I'm trying to eat. He tipped me $4. Can you believe that shit? Four... I was just waiting for him to start counting quarters! I told you working on the floor is for chumps. Now if you was a Leo like me, you'd have figured it out already. I can take one look at their face and tell who ain't getting no sugar at home. And that's the one got the most money for Frankie. I'm a Pisces, so what does that mean? Charlie, get down those stairs now. Shit, blame your mama. I don't know! You through with the newspaper, sweetie? - Go ahead. - Thank you. Hey, Frankie? You want some of this? I don't mess with that. Okay, just tell me something. It gets easier, right? When I went out there tonight, I thought I was gonna barf. Here's what I do, baby. I close my eyes and let the music take me. Like I'm on the outside, just watching. Like I ain't even there. Like I'm watching myself from the outside. - Works for me. - Thanks. Thanks, Frankie. You did the crossword? No, I didn't. Well, yeah, sweetheart. Sure looks like you did. No, I didn't. That ain't even my handwriting. Genius has done the crossword again. I'll take that. What you trying to do, Frankie? Make us look bad? Got something to prove? So, are we going or what? Don't want you to be no slave don't want you to work all day But I want you to be true And [just want to make love to you Love to you Love to you I can tell by the way you walk that walk And I can tell by the way you talk that talk I can know by the way you treat your girl That I could give you all the loving In the whole wide world See what we got here! Girl, you're on fire. What did you think of that? Eight in the corner. No way. Not happening. She's gonna fold like a table. Frankie doesn't have it in her. Did you see that? Line 'em up! Frankie, that's some sharp shooting, baby. Real sharp. Polyester Molester... Marry me! - Honey, that ain't for real. - Hey, how do you know that? Number one, he's white. Number two... He's white! I know one guy who don't need no sock in his pants. Who, Cliff? He's so fine, I'd fuck him for free. Me too. Yeah? Make you feel good? Yeah? What? - Touch me. - Yeah, baby. Give it to me. Frankie? What's the problem? Frankie! Hey! It's all right. Took the kid to her mama's on Crenshaw, so... Frankie, we good, baby. Mama, what's wrong? Come on, baby, you can't leave me hanging like this. I been really nice to you. Take your filthy nigger hands off me. "Mortify, therefore your members which are on the earth. "Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, "evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry, "for which things' sake the wrath of God "comes on the children of disobedience." Frankie. Frankie come on, baby. Frankie is not here. What are you talking about? Come here. - Frankie, come on! - You are hurting me! - No, I'm not. - You're hurting me. Okay. Okay. Okay. Frankie, it's me. Okay? It's okay. I ain't gonna hurt you. Shit! - Damn it! - Okay. Frankie! Get your ass back here, Frankie! I'm going to kill you, girl! I swear to God I'm going to kill you dead! Shit! Frankie, get back here! Get off the road! Watch it! Frankie! Bitch! You're crazy! You know that? - You're a crazy goddamn bitch! - Get out of the intersection, are you drunk? - You crazy freak! - Jesus! - Man, you're gonna get hit, girl. - What's wrong with you? How could you do this to me? Hey, Miss? Miss, do you hear me? Hey, get up! Come on! Get up! - You think she's on drugs? - Hey! You listening to me? Come on! Get up! Get up! Let's get this junkie off the road. Watch your head, Miss. Dr. Sawyer to admitting. Dr. Sawyer to admitting. Sorry. Dr. Oswald? You're here early. Nurse Shaw. Do you listen to jazz? A colleague from the faculty of arts once told me that he'd had the most amazing results from listening to jazz. He claimed it allowed him full access to the subconscious state without any need for hallucinogens or stimulants. I don't experience anything at all. Well, maybe you're not listening properly. Yes, I am. This equipment... It's absolutely state-of-the-art. Dr. Oswald... Are you free to handle an admission? A patient? I looked everywhere for Dr. Michaelson but I think he is somewhere over in trauma. No. That's not my department and I have to teach a class in... Well, several hours. Well, I'm sure you'll be through by then. Can't it wait for Dr. Michaelson? He's much more efficient than I am and I don't want to step on anybody's toes, so... These tapes will be here when you get back. Doctor? Miles Davis! Maybe I'll have better results with Miles Davis. Or even Dave Brubeck and... She is somewhat disoriented, but she doesn't appear drunk. Her name is... Murdoch. Miss Murdoch? Dr. Martinez to treatment room four. Dr. Martinez to treatment room four. Doctor, her file. So... Miss F.R. Murdoch. Nope. - You're not Murdoch? - No, that's me. It's just my middle name ain't R. It's Lucinda. Lucinda? Lucinda... From the Latin, Iucidus via Iucere, meaning "to shine". An origin it shares with the word "lucid" meaning "to think or see clearly." It's a beautiful name. Do I know you? No, we've never met. I'm Dr. Oswald. Shit. This one's pretty bad on my leg... No... Wait... You don't even know what you're doing. Yes, I do. I'm a doctor. Can you hold that? Why do you think we've met? I don't know. Maybe you came to see me dance or something. You're a dancer? Yup. Ballet? Exotic. Exotic? I'm a stripper. Well... How many times have you been admitted? To Pearce or some place like it? You knew your way to the examination rooms. You thought we'd met, but you couldn't remember. What else can't you remember? What happens? I get a little mixed up, that's all. Come on. Let's get this show on the road, Doc. You're in good shape. Well, thank you. What do you mean "mixed up"? Drugs? Are you currently taking any medication? Any recreational drug use? That depends what you talking 'bout, Doc. Benzodiazepine? Methaqualone? That's Valium and Quaaludes. None of that shit. Frankie got rules. No smack, no blow, no speed. LSD? Did you hear what I said? No! I smoke a little reefer... That's it. Look at my nose. What were you doing running in traffic? Were you being attacked? You don't recall, do you? I think we should keep you here for a while. On what grounds? Blood pressure, normal. Indications of memory loss. - No sign of nystagmus. - Exactly, she was absolutely reeking of alcohol, and yet, there was no oscillation at all. Completely smooth pursuit at every deviation. So she can hold her liquor... Well, that certainly is interesting, Joe. - Discharge her, please. - No! Does she pose a significant threat to others? - No. - Is she gravely disabled? - No. - No. So she's out. I'm sorry, Joe. I don't have the beds. They found her in the middle of the street! She has no recollection of how she ended up there. Come on, Joe. She's a stripper from Watts. She was probably coked out of her mind. Then keep her for three days. Wait for the toxicology report. Joe. Don't you have a class? Now, I thought you cut right back on the clinical work. - Yes. - Doctor. Look, we will patch her up and we will send her home. Let the cops handle it, please? What? Shit! Hey, Hector. gQu? pasa, jefe? Your check bounced. What? - No, no, no. I got money in the bank. - No, you don't. - Yes, I do. - You pay now. You pay now, or you go find a new place to play crazy. Okay. Okay, just hold on a minute. See what I got. Okay. Here you go, $20 it's what I got for now. Give me a couple days. I'll get the rest. Come on... You know I'm good for it, Daddy. Come on, you know... You know Frankie good for it. This is the last time. - Okay. - Last time. What? Jesus! Again? What? - What? - Stop! - What's going on? - Get off! You got something to say, you ought to just say it. You need help! - Come on now, honey. Let's go. - What's going on, Wanda? - They say you attacked him, Frankie. - Who? Cliff! They say you cut his head wide open! What got into you? He try something on you? He try to hurt you? Frankie! Talk to me! Frankie! I can't have it, Frankie. I can't. You're out of here. Fuck you then, Hal. - Hey, Frankie. - Hey, Bobby. Smell good! When do we eat? I just said, "When do we eat?" I heard what you said. We gonna eat when she gets here, not before. Mama, this is just like back home. No, Mama, I can't. I'm fitting to bust! Look at you girl, there's nothing to you. Would you stop that. Why don't you open your present? I'll take a little more cornbread. I hope you saved room for blueberry pie. Now, you know I did! Frankie. That's a ruby. That's my birthstone. And that's amethyst for Maxine. - So you think of us. - You shouldn't have. You think I don't already? Frankie, you didn't have to go wasting your money on me like this. - All right then, I'll take it back. - No, you won't! I'm gonna put this on right now. lam never gonna take it off. Must be going pretty good at the telephone company? They're going real good. Guess what, Mama? I'm going to night school to get my degree. Night school. You love it, Mama? Frankie, it's beautiful. It's beautiful! - Seen the paper today, Frankie? - Maxine! Go fetch that pie in here. Why? That girl, Paige your dearest friend? She's getting married. Maxine! Yeah? To who? Some rich guy here in the city. Right here in LA? Yeah, that's why they put it in the newspaper. Works with Governor Reagan some shit. Should be quite a party. Maxine Murdoch, where'd you get such spite in you only the Devil knows. I'm okay, Mama. Happy birthday. - I'm glad you like your present. - I love it. Y'all got a Paige Prescott staying there? One moment, please. Hello? Paige Prescott. Hello ? Who is this? Hey. Hey, Bobby. I was gonna get some coffee. Do you want... I should get two? Yeah. Coffee'd be good. Paige, wait! Wait for me, Paige! You can't catch me. You can't catch me. Come on, Frankie! Frankie? Frankie! Let's play! Frankie. - Frankie! - Frankie? Frankie? Come on, Frankie! I'm gonna catch you! Frankie? No. Don't you touch me. Don't touch me! - Come back here! -Frankie... Come on, Frankie! It's not your place! - I'm gonna catch you! -it's not your place! Frankie? Come on, let's play! - Francine Murdoch! - Get out! You and me, Frankie, friends forever. Frankie? Frankie? Frankie? Frankie? Frankie's not here. Hello, Paige. You look beautiful. I'm sorry, have we met? I'm so angry I missed the ceremony. Now, I won't bore you with my reasons. Not too sure there's a difference between a reason and a plain old excuse anyhow. Well, how are you? I'm well. Remember, we always said we'd be there for each other on our wedding day. I'm here, Paige... And I wish you every happiness. Frankie? Now is that your husband back there? I would like to see him... How could you? Why would you come here? Paige... Excuse me? - There seems to be a misunderstanding. - Well, there certainly does! She seems to think I'm somebody I'm not. - I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. - I will not leave here. I was invited. Just walk with me this way, Miss. Take your hands off me, boy! I will have you fired before either one of us reach that doorway. You're acting crazy. Take your hands off of me! Have you lost your natural mind? Easy, there. I will call the police in here! Just give it to me. Give it to me. Stop her! Get off of me! Get off of me! Get off! - Dr. Oswald? - Yes? It's me, Frankie. Yes? Francine Murdoch? Lucinda, yes, okay. Yeah. Look, Doc... I'm locked up. They fittin' to put me in jail. Yes? They're telling me that, you know... Because of my history, I could get myself out of here if I check myself into the nuthouse. Under a 4011, maybe, yes... Sure, but it depends on an assessment. Well, is that something you can do? What has happened? Did you have another blackout? Don't know, Doc. I don't know what happened. 'Cause I think what I will do is I will refer you to Dr. Warren Backman. He's the Chief Attendant Psychiatrist here, and he's a clinician. No. It's gonna have to be you, Doc. But I don't have the time. I'm a research man. I have students. Please? There has to be certain conditions. Okay. Shoot. You'll be signing yourself In voluntarily, under my care. Okay. For how long? Let's say, to begin with, 30 days. 30 days! Yeah, to begin with. Okay. [guess it beats being in jail, don't it? I'm not that familiar with jails, but I suppose it does, yes. I believe there is something wrong with you, Miss Murdoch, but we don't have any idea what it could be. Okay, Doc, but look, you gonna have to be honest. What do you think is wrong with me? Come over here and we'll find out. This doesn't make sense. Are you ambidextrous? That's kind of personal for the first date. Don't you think? So look, if I'm gonna be here for 30 days, you gonna have to help me out with something, Doc. Because I'm about to go cold turkey something fierce. I ain't talking about dope. I'm talking about Ding Dongs. - Ding Dongs? - Yeah. You know, them little chocolate cakes with the cream on the inside? Do you know your IQ? They tell me it's pretty good. - Up around 130. Last year in March, when you checked into Kedren Community Health, you tested 156. That's pretty high, ain't it? Technically, it's genius. What can I say, my mama ain't raised no suckers. No. You don't understand. It's not possible to have such wildly divergent results. Or if it is, it's highly irregular. And then a third time, at Gateways, you scored a little better than average. Guess they took one look at a black stripper and decided she wasn't no Einstein. Left-handed, right-handed. Nearsighted, 20120 vision. Blood-pressure, 120 over 80. - Hold on, Doc. Enough about me. How about we talk about you for a second. When did she leave? - What? -Your wife. When did she leave you? I noticed you got you a tan line on your ring finger but it's faint. So that tells me you didn't just take that off before work today. It's been off. That's very observant. I grew up in Georgia in the '50s. You learn to pay attention to skin color. So how's that going for you, Doc? On the way home... Stop by the grocery, pick you up a tuna on rye, a fifth of whiskey? It's kind of lonely, ain't it? You really don't have to do this, you know. There's no stigma attached to mental illness. At least, not here. So you don't have to be afraid. Tell me what do you remember about your arrest? You were picked up at the Ambassador Hotel. You got into a fight. Why were you at the Ambassador? Checked into the Presidential Suite. Heard it was real nice. Before you went, did you have any auditory hallucinations? Any what? Voices telling you what to do? Delusions? - You mean voices in my head? - Yes. Like talking to me? Hell, no! What do you think, I'm crazy? Any feelings of paranoia -or visual hallucinations? -No. How long have you had these blackouts? Waking up in unfamiliar places? I don't know. Since your late teens, early 20s? I don't know. Try to remember... Do you remember what you felt before you decided to go? Do you know why you wanted to go to the Ambassador in the first place? I don't remember! Could you sit over there, please. I'll check your ocular responses. Look at me, please. Look at my eyes... Look at my eyes. Very good. Look at me. Miss? Hello, miss, can you hear me? Miss? Look at me. Do you have feelings of dissociation? Miss? You all right? Miss? Nurse Freeman will take you to your room. I need some time alone with your file. Shut your face! Shut it! You never answered my question. Do you ever have a feeling of dissociation of being outside yourself? Watching yourself perform actions from an objective remove? Honey, I picked out clothes for you. These oughta be just about your size. Don't you ever dare touch me! And I choose what I wear. Miss Murdoch? You left your cigarettes. I don't ever smoke, Doctor. Tuna, right? [got tuna for Dr. Oz. What else is good? Ham salad, very good. Chicken salad, very good. Cheese salad, very good. - Tuna? - Tuna, yes. If you were to go to sleep one night and awake to find, that by some unknown agency you had been transported to a cold, dark cave, the rational mind provides for one of only five possible explanations. One, "I'm dead." Two, 'Tm dreaming. Three, 'Somebody played a trick on me. Four, 'Tm crazy. - Or? - Or, five... "I am in a cave." I get it, Doc. You're trying to say I'm crazy. Or somebody played a trick on you. Who? You. If you trust me, there's something I'd like to try. Actually, I spent most of the 1950s, 1954 to 1962 to be exact, on acid. Say what? LSD. It's a synthetic hallucinogen. I know what LSD is. You just don't seem like that kind of dude. "Turn on, tune in, drop out." It was nothing like that. I was investigating the phenomenological effects of LSD-25 on consciousness. We were among the first in the world to try it. It was a rigorous study. We tested over 900 patients. Yeah, by getting folks high? Well, it was a scientific experiment. So basically, what you're saying is you was responsible for the Grateful Dead? I guess I was. Doc, you got them Ding Dongs? This is just a mild sedative... To aid with hypnotic suggestion. I want you to follow the light with your eyes. And, as you do so, focus solely on the light. You're drifting away. There's nothing but the light. You're drifting away. Nothing but the light. Hey, Frankie. Frankie? Nod your head if you can hear me? Good. There's someone else I'd like to meet. Is that possible? Hello. Hi. You're like that wizard from Oz where Dorothy fell upon that witch? - You like that film? - I read the book. I read books. That's good. How long you going to keep her here? Who? Lucinda or Frankie? From the Latin, Iucidus via Iucere, meaning, "To shine." An origin it shares with the word "lucid" meaning "to think or see clearly." I'm not keeping her here. She's here of her own accord. I'm just trying to help her. Nobody ever care about Frankie. Except for Mama. And Mr. Pete. But you try to help her, don't you? When I can. What stops you? It's getting dark in here. Want me to open the blinds? Here. Have some water. Good Lord. Thank you. May I ask who I'm speaking with? Well, you never end a sentence with a preposition, Doctor. Isn't that what we were taught in school? You know who I am. That puts me at a slight disadvantage, doesn't it? Yes, it surely does. Maybe Miss Murdoch would be kind enough to make our introduction next time. That's quite slippery of you, Doctor. That is a trait that's common to your race. You don't deny that you are Hebrew? No. Well, at any rate, she won't be able to make an introduction, because she won't remember a word of our encounter. How's that? She's weak. She's frightened. She's incapable. Is there anything she has trouble accepting? Something that happened a long time ago? In my experience, doctors are almost always tiresome bores and frequently drunks. Which one are you, Dr. Oswald? Are you gonna be working late? Well, good night. Good night. Don't you all wanna watch something good? Every species... Jungle boogie Jungle boogie - Don't you want some jungle boogie? - No. - Yes, you do. - No. - Come on. Get up. - No. Me too. Yeah! "Murdoch. Francine L. "History of substance abuse, amnesiac episodes, outbursts of rage." Come on, Celeste. Up. Jungle boogie Jungle boogie Schizophrenia? Or manic depression, possibly. We might start her on lithium. I know what it is. That's not the problem at all. She has a dissociative identity disorder. It's really quite extreme. MPD? Under hypnosis and pentobarbital sedation... she presented two quite distinct and consistent alters. Really? Quite a girl. Yeah. How can you be sure that it wasn't a transient ego-state phenomenon? A mood swing? The girl is a pothead. I was there. Might she be responding to your own suggestion? You know I'm wary of hypnosis. I haven't told her yet. Multiple personality? Who are they? They're you, they're aspects of you, your subconscious. Okay, but why? Well, that's what we have to find out. Okay, so what you're saying is I got all these different people livin' inside me, right? But I don't know who they are? Well, we all have different personalities and different selves "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself. "I am large. I contain multitudes." It's Whitman. I know who it is. He was a racist fag. Well, I don't think that covers him entirely. Well... At least you ain't been wasting your time, Doc. 'Cause I'm crazy as a shithouse rat. - Yeah? - Hey, Maxine, it's me. - Frankie? - Hey, Mama. You still wearing that necklace I gave you? Of course I am! Where have you been? I needed to take a little break, Mama, so I went down to Florida. That sounds real nice. Take care of yourself, baby, all right? Okay, Mama. I will. Well, Doctor? Again, I find myself unable to properly address you. No names. A little mystery adds spice, don't you think? Now, Doctor, I sincerely hope I didn't offend you when I made that reference to your religion but I was bewildered by whatever that was you'd administered that girl. - You feel the effects of the sedative? - Of course! I suffer every abuse she inflicts on this body. Frankie likes to drink, doesn't she? She certainly does. At least her taste runs to bourbon. It's that vile marijuana I can't stand. Do you think it's got something to do with something she's trying to cover up, some bad feelings about the past, or... Doctor, do we have to talk about her? Let's talk about your wife. Or don't you want to talk about that? No, it's fine. We weren't compatible. Did you learn this from Frankie? Well, that girl does know how to read a man, I have to give her that. And she ought to, considering her occupation. You find her promiscuous? Well, now that's a fancy word for an ugly tendency. But you're different from her in that respect? Why, Dr. Oswald, whatever do you hope to imply? I have nothing in common with that girl... Except the unfortunate situation of having to share this body. And we'll see how long that lasts because I'm getting tired of having to step in for her. Suffer her hangovers. The smell of her encounters still on the sheets. They actually smell different from you and me. Don't you find that? You mean black people? Negroes... Yes. Did you know that one of them claimed in a book that Beethoven was a colored? Beethoven! I'd like you to tell me a little about Paige Prescott. I tried calling her family, but they weren't prepared to talk to me. Well that family has an inflated sense of its own importance. But you attended her wedding, didn't you? At the Ambassador Hotel? Looks like rain. All right. Tell me about Mr. Pete. Did you know him back in Georgia? - Did he do something to Frankie? - She wasn't fit to lick his boots. So they knew each other? How sad. I was right. You're just a bore. She thinks she's white? Well, one of her multiples does. It's the child I want to try to reach. She's a helper. She's very smart. The woman, on the other hand, who thinks she's white, she's far too strong. She's a problem. I thought the county sent her to us under 4011.6. It says here, the charges against her have been dropped? I'm working on having her sign a 6000 voluntary admission, but I don't want to rush it. I don't want any of the alters to walk out on me. And you're certain she's not just making this up? Well... You said it yourself. She's intelligent, imaginative... No. Girl, your head looks just like a feather bed. Come on. Pretty girl like you oughta make something of herself. Come on now, when's the last time you combed through this hair? What medication do you have her on? Nothing. Just the sedative when I induce hypnosis. I don't want anything to interfere with her therapy. The wrong medication could cause an alter to predominate. Then what happens to Murdoch? - If an alter predominates? - Yeah. She'd no longer be Murdoch. Sit down. Hi! - You ever had a flip? - My friend. Just bring it down... I'll get my iron, we'll straighten this out and just flip it back. That's my friend, Frankie. That's gonna look so nice on you. - This one goes way back to 1957. -It'll make you feel better, to do your hair. You know you got a pretty face. If I had a face like yours, you know my hair would be straight. It's gonna look a whole lot better. Afterwards, it gets tight like this. I'm gonna get my iron. You're gonna look real nice. You're gonna feel better. What are you doing? This is my brother! Get out my house, you filthy degenerate! Get out! Get out! Get out! Make you feel good? Bonnie! Eva! Peter! Code green! Eva, get some help! Get your filthy... Stop! Stop! Stop! Miss Murdoch! You're gonna have to control yourself! Subdue her! Subdue her! "No man could bind him, no, not with chains..." Keep the area around her clear! Miss Murdoch, I need you to calm down. "Bound with fetters and chains..." Come on, give it to me now! "The chains were plucked asunder by..." - Hold her still. There you go. Okay. -"The fetters torn him to pieces..." "Neither could any man tame him." ls everyone okay? Let's get her back to her room. Everybody, now. Nurse, please? It was like she was a whole other person. She just went off on me. - What triggered the switch? -l don't know. - What made her attack? -l don't know. Think! - We had the radio playing. -What was it? It was some old song. [can't remember. What? What is it? Frankie? Mr. Oz? Mr. Oz? Hello, Genius! I hope you don't mind if I call you that? That's a mighty big name. You're a very smart kid. Now, there's a game I'd like you to play. I did notice that you have a squint, so I got you these. It's a writing game. You like words, don't you? I want you to think of words that mean something to Frankie. I want you to write them down for me. Can you do that? Think of words and names, like Mr. Pete. What? Did he hurt Frankie? He hurt her real bad. Ain't nobody ever hurt Frankie like Mr. Pete did. What about the woman I've been talking to? The Southern one? You know her name? You know her name? - Sorry! - I ain't done with that! Thank you! Here. Write her name. "Alice." 'This contract is an agreement between you, the patient, Francine L. Murdoch and alternate personalities Alice and Genius, and Dr. Joseph Oswald. AII concerned are expected to respect. Please do not sign the contract until you are satisfied "with the terms and conditions of it. "If you are not satisfied, you are strongly advised to discuss the matters with me, Dr. Joseph Oswald. She's her usual charming self this morning. Coffee? Why, thank you, Doctor. Just set it right over there. What's the matter? You don't quite seem yourself this morning. I want you to tell me about Pete. I think he hurt Frankie and I think you know about it. And I want to know how and why. How sweet. You've been talking to that child, I see. Well, I'm sure I'll take care of that. You looktired. Were you up all night, thinking about your wife? Or is it somebody new? Well, now, I don't mean to be ungrateful, Doctor, but why would I waste a second of my time to help her? What do you mean "ungrateful"? Well, for all the help you've given me. I think it's this place. Poor thing's gettin' tired. She's findin' it harder and harder to cope. I don't know how much longer she can go on fightin' with me. Alice... You gotta see who you are. You're black, you're not white. You're her, and she's you. Well, then who am I looking at? You don't mean to tell me you're taking the side of a common donkey? Nobody's taking anybody's sides. This is not a fight. It's not a battle you can win. Well, I promise you, Doctor, it's not a battle I will ever let her win. I have a contract here, I want you to sign. It sets out some provisions... - Doc? - Frankie? I can hear her in my head. You can? That's good. That's fantastic, Frankie. That's fantastic. We're getting there, Frankie. - We're getting there. - Yeah. "I, the patient, agree to take part in the treatment proposed, as follows... "I understand the objectives of treatment the techniques to be used... "Francine L. Murdoch... "Alice, Genius... ...and Dr. Joseph Oswald. Hello, Martha? Is this a message machine? I know it's late, but I was thinking of something you said... No, I wasn't thinking, I was feeling. I was feeling. But then, on the one level, cognitively, there's very little to distinguish between the processes of thinking and feeling, and... It's Oz. No, I'll start all over again. What I wanted to say is that... Whoever it is that you wanted me to be... I think I'm prepared to be him now. Foryou. What? Thank you. Francine. Good morning. I am Warren Backman and I am here to make my evaluation. Evaluation? Yes, I was hoping that we might start off with a few simple tests, if you don't mind? Okay, but who the fuck are you? I'm the Chief Psychiatrist here. Okay? Just tell me what you see. I see a honky in a piss-ugly suit. Now would you please go get my doctor. 'Cause he wants me to sign this shit and I don't even know what the hell this is. Look, Francine. I'm not obliged to keep you in here. Now, I don't want you out on the streets causing havoc. And I don't wanna release you if you're gonna be a danger to yourself, but how am I supposed to judge the level of care you need if you won't cooperate with me? I got a court order, don't I? I'm supposed to be up in here. Well, no, that's not true. Those charges were dropped. Dr. Oswald should have explained that to you. You lied to me! Nurse Shaw! Love can hurt, can't it? He didn't abuse her. She loved him! I've been an idiot. Too literal. Far too literal again! What? See how that goes. You discharged a patient under my care. You had no right to do that. Dr. Oswald, maybe this could wait until later in my office... She was a patient at this hospital. She was deep in therapy! She was an outpatient at this hospital, Joe, and you knew that. Now, why didn't you tell your patient that she was free to go? Because it had to be handled carefully! I'd drawn up a contract I wanted them each to sign. You were waiting for her multiples to give you the okay? Well, of course! How else was I going to get them to cooperate? Well, did you plan on having their lawyers look it over first? That's an incredibly unimaginative way of looking at it. Her address is on file. And her next of kin. Probably too many previous employments to be any use, but... Some white guy here. Has something happened? Is it the police? I doubt it. Didn't know she was seeing a psychiatrist. How could she afford it? Well, technically the State was paying for her treatment while she was under my care. - What's wrong with her? - There ain't nothing wrong with her. She just has these spells and the child gets agitated sometimes. She's been like that, though, ever since she was a girl. - I really have to find her. - We ain't seen her in a while. Last I heard, she was some place down in Florida... She was just here. She flew in here this morning. She had one of her crazy moods on. She was asking for money and saying that we owed her, and then she went for Mama. Show the man what she did! She just wanted the necklace, that's all. She wanted the necklace and I told her she couldn't afford it when she gave it to me. Mama, she had her hands around your throat and she wouldn't let go! - Stop it! - Why do you keep defending her? She's my daughter! Actually, in a sense, the one who attacked you is not your daughter. Frankie has a very particular condition. It's brought on by repressed trauma. I believe it has something to do with a man she knew. A Pete, a Mr. Pete. - Do you know him? - He died, Dr. Oswald. He died a long time ago. That was God's will. They was trying to live between two worlds. Wouldn't have fitted in neither one. Are you saying he was white? It's over now. And now it's time for you to leave. With all respect, it's not over. It's not over for Frankie and I'm trying to help her. And I'm not? I've always tried to do what was best for Frankie. I've only done what was right. Whatever happened, this, her illness, it's not your fault. If she tries to contact you again... Or if you could tell me where she last held a job, I would appreciate it. She works at the phone company over in Inglewood. Thank you. No, she don't. Better get you a pencil and draw you a map. You don't look like the kind of man who would know where this place is. Yeah! You feeling groovy out there? I never touched the guy! What do I look like? Do I look retarded? You were on your knees with a nice dick in your mouth! Well I never touched him with my hand. Come on, Hal. Give her a break. - Go on. - We're outta here. - Hello, handsome. - I need a smoke. - You Vice? - No. I'm looking for Francine Murdoch. - Who? - Francine Murdoch. She works here, or used to. I'm her psychiatrist. You mean Frankie. She was definitely a whack job. Good moves, great tits, but pure psycho. Do you know where she might be? Can you tell me? It's important. She might be over in Lakewood. She might be in Venice Beach. She might be in Philly, taking cookies to her sick grandmother. Now, would you mind getting out of my place of work. I got things to do... You looking for Frankie? You're a doctor? A head doctor? Do you know where she liked to go? Maybe some place unusual? Someplace she normally wouldn't be found dead in? She's sick? I mean, mentally? You're gonna fix her, right? You better! Try to think of a place she might go when she wasn't acting like herself. We like to call our servants "staff." Quite often, we would treat them like family. Wait, Alice. Maybe I knew your aunt. Why, sure I did. Jemima? Or perhaps it was your uncle. Did you have an uncle named Tom? - Thank you for my drinks, gentlemen, but I... - Hey hey, Alice, wait. I was only fooling. - Excuse me. - You haven't finished your drink. - Sit down. - Alice! I'm sorry I'm so late. Let's go. Hey. Hey! Who's gonna pay for her drinks? It's a curious thing, but the thought of breaking your nose is almost as satisfying as actually doing it. You came for me? Of course I did. Thank you. You came for me. Give that necklace back to me! ifs mine. - It's mine! Give it back to me! -Mama! No! Mama! I know he died. It's something you have to face. We was in love, then a car killed him. What else you want to know? I don't remember that much about it really. Well, maybe she does. That's her? Does that name mean anything to you? But I want to see her. Is that something you can help me do? Yeah. HOW? Shit. You don't have no idea, do you? You're not alone. Well, no shit! You lied to me, Doc. - No, I didn't. - Yeah. You did. You ain't tell me that I didn't have to be here by law. Well, I withheld some information. Yeah, well... That's okay. If we're gonna keep workin' on this thing, there's somethin' I'm gonna need. Dr. Oz, is that all? Yes. Thank you. What's this? Where'd you get that from, Doc? You steal that shit? Can you put those away? Sorry. You should try this though. Really good! I want you to concentrate on the light. Focus solely on the light. There's nothing but the light. And you're no longer here. It's no longer now. We're going back to your youth... Going back to Georgia. What are you doing? This is my brother! Get out of my house, you filthy degenerate! Get out! We had to leave. Because of what happened with Pete? He was gonna take me to a place where nothing mattered. Not money... Not family... Not the skin color. He loved you? You came for me. He loved me so much. But he died? Miss? Miss, can you hear me? His hand, I want to touch it, but I can't touch it. What happened after the accident? After he died, what happened? Mama. Your mother? Edna? Mama. It hurts, Mama. It hurts! Frankie? She lied to me. She made me a promise and she broke it. What kind of promise? Why the only promise that really matters! Alice, what promise? What's happening, Frankie? Where are you? Can you tell me where you are? "With skin and flesh you clothed me, with bones and sinew, you knit me together. "Your hands have formed and furnished me. Will you then turn and destroy me?" Who wants to destroy you, Alice? Mama! Is it coming, Mama? What is it? What's coming? Frankie, what's coming? Mr. Oz? Is that you, Mr. Oz? Yes, Genius. It's me. She's hurting. I know. I know she's hurting. She's hurting! - And she's crying! - Yeah. She's crying. The pain will go away, Genius. Frankie will be okay. It's not Frankie. -It's not Frankie! - Then who is it? - No, Frankie! - Who is it, Frankie? - Mama, is it coming? - Yes, baby, it's coming. Just breathe, Frankie. Just keep breathing. Push... -it hurts, Mama. It hurts. - I know. Push, baby. Push. Push. Mama... Is it coming, Mama? - Mama! Please, make it stop! - All right, baby. Just come on, now. Can you see it? - Tell me what it is! - Come on. Come on. Me and Pete, we got names picked out. Emmett if it's a boy, and if it's a girl... Frankie... Okay, baby. Okay. Thank God. - Mama, is it out? - Yes, baby. Tell me what it is. Is it a girl? What? Mama, what's wrong? Mama? What's wrong? Mama, why isn't he crying? Let me see my baby. Wait, Mama! Where are you going? No, Mama! Mama! No! Mama! Mama! With skin and flesh you clothed me. With bones and sinew, you knit me together. Your hands have formed and furnished me. Will you then turn and destroy me?" Who wants to destroy you? Mr. Oz? Is that you, Mr. Oz? Ifs me. She's hurting. I know she's hurting. And she's crying! - Frankie... - I saw a hand move. My mama killed it. Our memories are not always trustworthy. Maybe the child wouldn't have survived anyway. Perhaps your mother just tried to protect you from that. Protect me? Every dream I had was in that baby. It's the only thing I had left of Pete. Me and Pete, we got names. If it's a boy, we gonna name it Emmett... And if it's a girl... Alice. We were going to call her Alice. Do you think my mama killed her? I think all of us have to face something we've done, mistakes we've made, things we've allowed to happen. The things that would've happened anyway. But I don't think it's the blame that's important. I think it's the facing of it. If we don't, there's no chance ever for us to become whole. Are they gone? No. But so long as you continue to experience simultaneous co-presence, you have a chance of achieving successful integration. In English, Doc? You'll have to learn to live together. Wall Street, Tina baby. Wall Street. I will be putting it on your mid-term. Like a fresh start. Well, I can work with that. ls Alice going to let me be me? That's between the two of you. You have to understand, treatment is indefinite. And integration is only the beginning. The ultimate goal is acceptance. How long will that take? Honestly? I don't know. Guess we'd better get started. |
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