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Knives and Skin (2019)
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Carolyn? Carolyn, are you in there? Are you listening to your records? Still doing your homework? Are you still not talking to me? Carolyn, open the door! No, no, no, no, no, no, no. We're not going out there. - Come on. - No. Okay, fine. We can do it here but.. ...I wanna put my glasses in the car. Just put 'em in your pocket. No way. They're brand new. Mom would kill me if they broke. Keep 'em on. I don't care. I do care. I actually don't wanna see what's about to happen. I could be behind you. No. I like it from the front. You're such a nobody. - Say my name. - What? What's my name? Carolyn. With a C. Ow! Fuck! Now I can find you in the dark.. ...if we get separated. - No kissing on the mouth. - Come on. You're really good at it. Please. Better than my girlfriend. I'm not kissing you on the mouth. That's not how you do it. No, no, no, no, no, don't stop. Please. - I wanna go home. - No, we're not finished yet. - I changed my mind. - No, you promised. - I changed my mind. - Just.. - What is wrong with you? - I wanna go home! Find your own way home. Stupid slut. - I hate you! - I hate you too! I hate you with all my heart right now! Don't leave me alone like this. My glasses. Mom's gonna be so mad at me. Help! Help me! Please! Help me. Please! Help me! Where are you? Her mom called my house last night looking for her. Yeah, mine too. You know, if she doesn't show up soon we're gonna need a new drummer. And a new name. I like Beaver Fever or Bride of Blackness. Come on. She'll show up. Nobody ever leaves this place. Besides, she never really cared about the band anyway. She almost never comes to practice. Speaking of practice, I can't get together tonight. Told Mrs. Kitzmiller I'd help her with an alteration. Sewing more pretty pink dresses? You might need a pretty pink dress one day, and when you do don't ask me to make it. Joanna, a woman called for you last night after you went to bed. What woman? She was looking for her daughter uh, a friend of yours. Cory, Kelly? Carolyn. We aren't really friends anymore. Honey, what happened to your face? You should see the other guy. Hey, you can talk to me about anything. - I love that shirt. - I hate this shirt. I gave you that shirt. It glows in the dark. No, it doesn't. - You've tried it. - No. - Plus the tag is itchy. - Then cut the tag out. I would never cut the tag out. That would ruin it. Hey, Doug, will you pick up some glue the good glue on your way home? Store closes at 5:00 and I won't be done at the restaurant until 11:00. Sia switched shifts with Winnie 'cause her ex-husband keeps coming in for early bird. He just sits at the end of the counter tears streaming down his face which makes Winnie start crying too. He always orders the same thing, an orange pop with extra ice and a Denver omelet. I'll pick up your glue. The good glue. Oh, honey, aren't you gonna eat? Of course not. Well, more for us, right, Baby Kevin? Baby Skylar? Thought it was Doug Jr. or Shelby. Tell it you love it. You love it. I thought your dad lost his job. He did. - Colleen. - Here. - Joanna. - Here. - Jason. - Here. - April. - Here. - Afra. - Here. So, Ms. Laughton had her baby? Uh, I'm not sure. I guess there were some complications. The office just asked me to fill in for a few weeks while she's gone. Do we have a test? Mrs. Laughton thought that you all might need a couple extra days to prepare considering recent events with that girl. So, no. It says here no test today. When I was in high school, a girl went missing too. Nobody knew where she was for, like, a week. And then all of a sudden, her body washed up on the bank of the river during our senior picnic. What was her name? I don't remember. What's the name of your missing girl? Carolyn. Carolyn. Carolyn. Please don't stop. Finish the song. We did. It's over. Fuck. - Okay, that's enough. - Five more seconds. One send in the clowns, two send in the clowns three send in the clowns, four send in the clowns five send in the clowns. What is your problem? I don't like it when you do that. - Do what? - Touch me. - Well, how about you touch me? - Why can't we just talk? Talk? I don't wanna talk to you. And don't fuck up my jacket. My dad said we should keep our eyes peeled look for anything unusual. Like what? I don't know but I... I'm gonna keep my eyes straight ahead. You can look around but if you see something come back for it later, okay? I already feel like I might barf. What are you guys talking about? Death. Death? That seems unlikely. Abducted, maybe. Run away, probably. Running away just seems so much more stressful than staying put. I mean, what could you reasonably manage to take in terms of weight and mass versus what would be left behind that had no chance of ruining your reputation? When you're gone, people go through your stuff. Maybe she's just fed up. I heard she was hooking up with one of the football players. - Which one? - Who cares? They're all stupid assholes. They all can't be stupid assholes. Psyche. We found this. She's gonna need a new one. Mind if I take a look around? Why? Okay, fine. You can look but don't touch anything. Okay, we're not supposed to be in here. She can't know that we were in here. How am I supposed to find anything if I can't touch anything? I'll touch it for you. You seeing anybody? I mean, is there anyone new around that she's trying to avoid? There's no one. It's just me. What about her? Is she seeing anyone? She's not allowed to date until she's 16. Is she seeing anyone? I think she might be hooking up with someone. Or someones. Do you need anything? I can have Renee send over a casserole. I don't think it's time yet for casserole. What do you think is going on here? Every moment... since 11:47 p.m. on Friday when she was not where she was supposed to be.. ...I've thought, "Where are you?" It's that thought running over and over in my head. "Where are.. Where are you?" I'm thinking it right now. Where are you? Where are you? My God, where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where the fuck are you? Where are you? Oh, honey, can you help me with this? What is it? I'm making a flyer for that missing girl. I saw the ones her mother's been putting up and they're hideous. I'm not done yet but I'm gonna need you to make a bunch of copies and just hang them everywhere. Dad thinks it might help. You spelled her name wrong. Oh. Well, I'm not gonna start over now. I worked really hard on this. Hey, do you think this dress makes me look fat? No. The baby does. Carolyn! Carolyn! I'm gonna dial star 6-7 and then I'm gonna dial 3-1-1 because this may or may not be an emergency. And then I'm gonna hand the phone to you. - You owe me. - What do you want? - Grass. - Gr... Gr... Gramma. It helps me connect with my body. I'm modeling again for art students at the community college. - Nude modeling. - Hm. 3-1-1, how may I help you? She was alive when I left. Carolyn Harper. Does this hurt? Yeah. Mom? Mom? Charlotte's here. Laurel's coming in for a fitting today. You know what to do. I'll give you a manicure after. I've got a new color for you. It's called Bloodbath. My mom usually starts at the back by the zipper. I know what I'm doing. - Is she sick? - What do you care? I love this dress. - What? - I said I love this dress. - Are you going to homecoming? - No way. Why not? Did the Swamp Thing ask someone else? Yes. You. I'm in a serious relationship. How serious? Like, up the shirt? Yes. Down the pants? Yes. - Have you touched it? - Of course. All the time. Have you touched it? Yeah. Duh. Like, constantly. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone what you just told me. Wouldn't want people to think you're a slut. - I'm not a slut. - Oh, so you're a tease. I'm not a tease. Well, if you aren't a cunty slut and you aren't a bitchy tease then what are you? Huh? What are you? I'm neither. I'm nothing. I'm nobody. Yeah, me too. So, why aren't you going to homecoming? I don't have anything to wear. And homecoming is for dickheads. I could loan you something to wear like a big black garbage bag. Pink. I wear pink. My favorite color is pink. You're lying. Smells like fish and jizz in here That's your vagina. Get out! Get out or I'll tell mom. Yeah? Go! Tell mom. Don't touch that doll, please. One of her teeth fell out earlier today and I can't find it. They're real teeth, you know? How bad is it in here tonight? Can you feel that? Maybe it's the TV. I could turn it off. Is your father home? Yeah. What's he doing? I don't know. He's in the garage. Where's gramma? She's in Andy's room watching porn, I think. Could be home shopping. No. Off. Off. Get... get off! What are you doing in there? Planning my escape. What's this? I found a whole box of 'em in the garage today while I was looking for my top hat. I'm doing a kid's party next weekend and the trick with the dead rabbit's not as convincing without the hat. I did not find the hat. But I found these. And I found all my old mix tapes. You want 'em? I don't have a tape player. Oh. Technically, this is your mother's. It was a present from me many years ago. She loved that thing. Now there's no telling what she loves. I don't like messing with her stuff. No, no, no, no. Take it. I won't tell her. I used to tell her everything. When are you gonna tell her you lost your job? - Shh. - What do you do all day anyway? Where do you go all dressed up for work? The quarry. - Gross. - No, it's... it's huge. It's quiet. I feel invisible, which is basically how I felt at work so it's, transition's been pretty seamless. Why? Where would you go? I would go get another job. I have another job. - Show me something. - Like what? Make something move.. ...that's not supposed to move on its own. Oh, I've never done that before. Just try. It's complicated. - Dad. - Alright. Okay. Um.. Alright. Let me try again. Okay. I guarantee you none of them gave a shit about her until she went missing. - We didn't either. - That's not true. She and I were friends in seventh grade. We shoplifted matching angora sweaters. Black with read hearts and a teddy bear. I started my period at her house. Laurel and Charlotte were there that night too. I bled all over her Beauty and the Beast comforter. Laurel hadn't started her period yet and she just sat there staring at the stain until Mrs. Harper took the whole thing outside and hung it on the clothesline. It stayed there for, like, a week until she just threw it out. Menstrual blood really gets in there. No telling how many underwear I've lost over the years. My dog used to dig them out of the trash. Well, that was seventh grade. Okay, well, you rode the band bus with her to away games all last year. Yeah, but I ignored her just like everyone else. But why? She wasn't an asshole. Actually, she could be pretty mean. So can you. That's all we've got. Settle down. Settle down now. As most of you know Carolyn Harper's been missing since Friday night and the sheriff here would like any information that you might have. Uh, if you know anything or hear anything let us know immediately. As you can imagine, her mother Ms. Harper here is very worried. I'm gonna need another job just to pay for these. I'm not qualified to do very much so.. I put more of these up every day. Nice ones. Everywhere I go. That's not cheap. I don't want them to get hidden among the lost cats and dogs and ads for prescription weight loss and... some shitty entertainment center for sale type of thing. She's missed three marching band practices in a row. She's gonna get kicked out. I'm gonna, um.. I'm gonna get her an ice cream cake for her birthday. One of those expensive.. ...cards that.. ...um, plays a song. Hi, Mrs. Harper. How are you? I'm a solid zero if not less than. How are you? What's the smell? I don't smell anything. Roll up the window. Oh, God. It's her. She's here. - I can smell her in here. - Who? Carolyn. My daughter Carolyn. Where is she? Where is she? I don't know. Take off your shirt. Take off your shirt. Where is she? I don't know. What do ya got? Pastrami on rye with extra mustard, macaroni salad and a pickle. I'd prefer a three-bean salad and a small pop with no ice. Do you want it or not? Let me see. Yeah. Did you wash these? Of course not. Next time, no pale pink. I hate a pale pink. It's not really a pale pink. - It's more of a dusty rose. - Same thing. I hate it. And I don't like an underwire. So do I give you a check or a gas card? Cash only. You were warned! All around, there is a sense of death. Let my voice be a precaution forward. I will rise.. ...if only to hold you down. Okay, that concludes the last of the book reports. Your next assignment is to write a sonnet. 14 lines, iambic pentameter. You must write about some aspect of love attraction affection longing lust heartache loss. This is wrong. Mm. This is wrong. Number 11. I don't get it. It's like you ace all the really hard ones and make small dumb mistakes with all the others. It's almost like you're messing up on purpose. Okay, the correct answer to number 11 is blackbody radiation. What? The correct answer to number 11. It's blackbody radiation. Duh. Would you pay attention. This isn't fun for me. I don't wanna be here any more than you. I kinda look forward to it, actually. Ah, that's a good color on you. It's called rotting corpse. - Hi. - Hi. What are you working on? Oh, a story problem. It's kind of complicated. A... a set of double Xs and... Let me see. You touched her. She touched you. All the way? How was that? It was okay. Do you want to see it? No. Do you wanna touch it? No. She's a good kisser. You kissed her? On the mouth? Mrs. Harper. Don't talk. I need to tell you something else. Don't talk. I really hate it when you take so long. It's really hard on my carpel tunnel not to mention my TMJ. Sorry. I get distracted by your ring. I'm careful not to let it stack. No, no, no, no. It's not that. It's, it makes me think about your husband. Sometimes I think about him too. What do you think about him? What do you think about him? I don't know. I wonder what he's doing. If he's thinking of you or he's worried about you he wonders where you are. What do you think about? I think about, you know, being with him. - Sex? - Yeah. - Jesus. - I can't help it. It's just I.. It's been a while. You love him, don't you? Yeah. Always. Does he love you? I don't know. You need new clothes. I like it like this. If you need some extra money, you could probably sell my meds to your friends at school. I'm making good money on my own. How? I sell underwear. Fancy stuff? Used. Yours? No. Yours. - Do you wash 'em? - No. Nobody wants to buy clean underwear. Who buys dirty underwear? Builders, bankers lawyers, doctors dads, my history teacher. - Disgusting. - I try not to judge. Your fingernails are disgusting. Let me do them. They're gross. Really. So trashy. I should've been a manicurist. They hold hands for a living. I used to be really good at holding hands. I wouldn't want that job. I'm not much of a hand-holding kind of person. What kind of person are you? I'm a good liar. How much did you make tonight? Enough for half of an illegal abortion or early admit deadline to Sarah Lawrence. Well, what's your plan? I can't tell ya. It's a surprise. You'll have to see it to believe it. What do you got? Drunk tampons. Vodka with a splash of cranberry for drama. Give me one. I'm starving. - You don't eat it. - I know that. I'm gonna trade it for a hamburger at the snack bar. It's not a freebie. Ladies and gentlemen, do not forget to take advantage... I have a very old condom, unopened. I was saving it for the new kid but there isn't a new kid. No. You can try on my costume. I'm very particular about that. No. I got it. What about.. Where did you get this? My mom gave it to me. Get ready, folks. The second half is about to start as the Big River Beavers take the field. Let's go Beavers! Let's go Beavers! Sammy Barber of the Prairie Bulldogs completes the pass to Jim at the 25 yard line second down. Let's go Beavers! Let's go Beavers! Let's go Beavers! The Beavers started their own 40. First attempt. Beaver's quarterback Danny Luston completes a pass to Sid Turner for a first down. Probably there won't be a later seein' as nobody passes in this game. I was supposed to sing the song tonight. She smells like this. What have you done with her? Please don't be mad at me. You tell me where she is! Beavers touchdown! Can I try that on? - Help me. - What? Help me. Help me. Help me! Okay. Okay. If you find something, stay with it and yell, "Something" as loudly as you can. If you find Carolyn, stay with her. If she's okay, yell, "I need the knife!" as loudly as you can. If she's not okay, yell, "Give me some skin!" as loudly as you can. If you get lost or separated or just feel like you need some help yell, "Girls just wanna have fun!" - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! Wait, wait, wait. Stay here with me. I'm not wearing the right shoes for this. You need to pull it together. Do I? You know where your children are. - What are you doing here? - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! It's Carolyn's dress. I'm wearing her bra too. I must look ridiculous. It's just a little fancy for the occasion. Carolyn! Carolyn? Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! - Carolyn! Carolyn! - Ah! - Oh! Do you have it? Do you? It's worse than it looks. I love you.. ...Kevin or Skylar, whoever you are. Daddy loves you very much. "For if the darkness and corruption "leave a vestige of the thoughts that once I had "better by far that you should forget and smile than you should remember and be sad." Okay, have a good day, guys. Sonnets can be about anything anything you love except for your phone. Hey, how's your sonnet coming along? I don't know. It's okay, I guess. I'm having a hard time writing about love. Haven't you ever been in love? Been in like? Well, yeah, but nobody wants to read a poem about like. I would. Like can be very powerful. Say you like someone just a little bit at first. You're drawn to something small about them the way they stare at you in class maybe and you start to get curious. You wonder what it would be like to be alone with her. You can't smoke in here. You gonna tell on me? No. Charlotte! Charlotte! Hey, Charlotte, wait. Charlotte. Look, I'm really sorry about what happened in the hallway. Hey, I'm sorry. But I need to ask you something. Yes. You're a stupid asshole. You look great. I like your hat. Can I get you a beer? Sure. I like your place. Wow, you have a lot of books and records. How long have you been here? About a year. I used to live with my girlfriend but it didn't work out. Oh, what happened? I met someone else. Are you gonna be okay? What's this about? This is shit. We are shit. I mean, you pay attention to me. You say my name. You, you touch me. Nobody else does that. But this is a shit move and I have to stop making shit moves. I'm the shittiest part of your life. It's not personal. You can't leave me. Renee, I care about you. I... I do, but... but I'm not dumb. Not that dumb. This is your problem. It's not mine. But you are that dumb. You're so fucking dumb. Please get out of my car. I want all my stuff back. I don't have any of your stuff. Please just get out. I hear your band needs a drummer. There is no band. Wait. You were right. About what? I was messing up on purpose. I know that number 11 was blackbody radiation. So you were wasting my time. No. I mean, I hope I'm not a waste of your time. Not a total waste. Well, in that case, I have to ask you something. What? Would you go to homecoming dance with me? - No. - W... why not? Homecoming is for dickheads. No, no, not this year. You see, last year was for the dickheads. This year is for the stupid assholes. Are you calling me a stupid asshole? - No. - Like, is this a joke? No. I just can't. Why not? I don't like to dance. Well, there's usually a fair amount of slow dancing which is mostly like standing around. And you're excellent at standing around. I don't have anything to wear. Can I go to a party tonight? - Whose party? - Just some guy from school. - Do you have a ride? - Yeah. What do I get if I say yes? What do you want? I want my underwear back. I can't do that. Uh, you could give me a manicure. Right now? It's not really that kind of a party. Sit on the bed, actually. That, that chair's broken. So what's that? Do you like it? Not really. Do you want a beer? Uh, no, thank you. No books? No. What'd you tell your mom and dad you were doing tonight? I told my mom I was going to a party. Do you live here alone? No. Does your girlfriend live here too? No, it's just me and my parents. Why are you so tough with her? I told her she could go to the party. That's not what I meant. I know. Look, your path is your path however, you've got nothing but sharp turns ahead. There's just no telling what's coming along next and very little can ever be truly undone. You have purpose and your might is measured by what you do now. So... what do I do now? You gotta wise up then rise up. Push through this bullshit with everything you've got. You must fuckin' get over it all. The pink ones make my mom sick to her stomach so I'm pretty sure those are for pain. The big white ones are muscle relaxers. The blue ones are her anti-anxiety and the beige ones are for weight loss. Not that you need those exactly. I'm not sure about the dosage. How much? First one's on me. First one's on you. Get off. Get off! Oh. Okay. Open the door. Open the door! You just have to push it in first and then pull it out. What happened back there? It was nothing. Sex or drugs? Drugs. Grass? No. Got any? No. That's what your mother needs instead of all that other junk. She wasn't always like this, you know? I know. You're a scrappy little bitch. You remind me of myself. I know that sounds cliche and I hate cliches more than I hate a selfish lover, for instance. One should not underestimate cunnilingus. You will not die from this. It will almost kill you. But you'll survive. You're gonna be okay. Okay? Okay. Look at me. Joanna. You're gonna be okay. Okay. Dad? Mom! What time is your mom picking you up? Like, ten minutes ago. Hey, mom. You have to drive. Mom, I don't even have my permit yet. Drive the car! Hey, where are you going? I'm going home. Get back in the car. Mom, stop that. - Stop! - Come on. - Let go! - Ah! Ah. Give me some skin. Give me some skin! Ah. Ah.. Ah, uh.. She's barely recognizable except for the teeth. I know those teeth. We're pretty certain it was an accident combined with heart failure. She's young for a heart condition, of course but life can gut a person. Can I stay in here tonight? I don't want her to be alone. I have to check on that. Can I have her phone? I'd like to have her phone. We can't release that yet. What about her glasses? We didn't find any glasses. Lisa. Oh, okay. Oh, my God. You owe us an apology. Apologize! Was that even dad's fake baby? Of course. Say something. What are you thinking? You look like you're thinking about something. What is this about? "Star Wars." The movie? The part where hologram Princess Leia ask for help. Come in. My mom made this. It's a lasagna and garlic bread. Beef stew with biscuits. I'm not at all sure what this is. You guys doin' okay? - Yes. - Yes. Are you lying? - Yes. - Yes. Sometimes I can still feel her moving inside of me like before her birth which was unremarkable aside from the mess. I didn't even wanna touch her when she first came out. And now all I wanna do is be able to hold her again. People keep asking me how I'm doing. It's really annoying. But I know eventually, they'll stop asking so I'm trying not to be an asshole about it. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. What if I stop being able to remember her accurately? Like her crooked little toe her terrible handwriting her smell. You girls, you should take something of hers so that you don't forget. Take whatever you want. I used to worry about her so much when she wasn't with me. It's the most crippling kind of worry. I suppose there'll be less of that worry now. There's so much regret. I never asked her what kind of funeral she wanted. I never asked. And so now what? I'm useless. Mrs. Harper, that's not true. You taught us how to sing. You can sing? What is going on with you? I've called you. I've left messages. Leave me alone. - Seriously? - Seriously. Leave me alone. You can't break up with me. You treat girls like shit. I'm Varsity first team all-district for four years and I drive a Mustang. You treat girls like shit. Why are you being such a bitch right now? I'm not a bitch. I'm not a slut and I'm not a tease. You treat girls like shit. I want my jacket back. "A sweet delusion of parted lips "and for this task "a blind eclipse of those things "that once passed for lust. "Sworn with whispered words we forge a new weapon idea." Who's next? I'll go. "Hey, Jo, we cool? "I need some more blue ones. "Those are the dollar sign H-I-T. "I thought about you long and hard after you left. "Or was it hard and long? "LOL. "I hope you don't mind. "I could not help myself. "Your mouth looked so hot when you said, "Get off." "BTW voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir is an example of iambic pentameter." Okay, that doesn't really fit the theme of the assignment. Yeah? You gonna fail me? Should I show the picture? Yo! Jesse's on the roof! Wha.. Jesse! What are you doing up there? Get down here right now! Don't jump! Don't jump! Mom likes you best! There's never been a better Beaver than you! I don't think you're up there high enough. You'll probably just break both legs which would really interfere with cross-country. Unless you went down head-first like a swan dive! Jesse! Please don't jump! You'll make a mess down here and it's already such a fucking mess down here! I'm not going to jump! Then what are you doing up there? I like the view! Do not be a smartass. You are really freaking us out! I'm being serious! From up here, I can see the highway in the distance. It's really far but I can see it. I need to know there's a way out of this place. Get down from there right now! No! Get down from there or you're all suspended! I prefer a three-bean salad and a small pop with no ice! Look, Mrs. Kitzmiller has a strict policy against returns. - Take it. - No. Take it. I don't need it but you might. By the way, homecoming is still for dickheads. At least now you'll have something to wear. You know all that stuff I told you? Yeah. I lied. - Up the shirt? - No. Down the pants? No. Have you ever touched it? No. What about you? I saw one once by accident. What did it look like? ET. Why do you wear that shirt if the tag is so itchy? It's nice. Nicer than any of my other shirts. Is he gone? Yeah. He just picked up the last of the boxes you put in the driveway. He left a few things behind. He fucked up. But so did I. It feels good in here today. It's not too bad. |
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