Meadowland (2015)

When will we be in Ithaca?
- About three hours...
- Twenty minutes.
- Three hours.
- Get comfy.
Get comfy.
What about taking a nap?
Feel like a little nap?
Just put your head down
and go to sleep?
Nahhhh...
Oh, honey, you're making a mess.
It's not me doing it,
it's the cookies.
Oh, right.
You're like a little lawyer.
I just cleaned it.
Good job!
Last time I was
with Uncle Tim in Ithaca,
Ummm...
I was, I was...
running around
in a field of grass.
- Yeah.
- And climbing mountains.
Wow!
And...
watching shows about volcanoes.
- I'm thirsty!
- Okay.
What do you want, milk or juice?
Ummm, milk.
Or beer?
Beer...
I'm going to pull in
right up here.
Get a fill-up on four, please.
Here's a bathroom, Jessie.
- You got it?
- Yeah.
Will you get me a cup,
and I'll get him some milk.
Yeah.
Just get him some juice.
How you doing?
Need me to wipe for you?
You're the worst.
Jessie?
Okay, buddy, let's go!
- Let's go, Jessie!
- Did he lock the door?
Sir, can you unlock this please?
Thanks.
Jess?
Jessie!
Jessie...
- Jessie!
- Jess!
He's here.
Jessie!
- Fuckin' hell...
- Doesn't anyone else work here?
Yeah, but he's out at lunch.
Jess!
Jessie!
Jessie!
Jess!
Is he there?
No!
Jessie!
Jessie!
Jess!
C'mon, goddamnit!
Jessie!
Jessie!
Jessie!
It's okay.
Sorry, I took her wine,
I'll take both!
She's not drinking anything!
It's just that we're having a
dinner party so...
We can talk
about fucking bullshit.
Is there any more wine, or is
this what I'm dealing with?
I'll just have one of this,
it'll be easier to talk about...
Nothing, this is a problem.
- Ma'am, - You know...
- I'm sorry...
- We will fix this!
Don't worry...
Shhh, stop being angry.
- Wow, is that is mad face?
- That is his mad face!
- So mad.
- Whew!
Get her some water, maybe?
Okay.
She's still on lithium, so
she probably shouldn't be
drinking like that, sorry.
Please.
- She's having a good time.
- Yeah.
Just let her...
spread her wings.
Might make her jog home
beside the car.
It's good to see
you guys out, finally.
- It's been a year, man.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh Sarah...
- You know what?
- What, babe?
You would make
an excellent mother.
I got an email from my brother.
He's coming to the city.
He wants to stay here?
He's such a fucking mess.
I know...
A total fuck-up.
We grow accustomed to the dark.
When light is put away,
as when the neighbor holds a
lamp to witness her good-bye,
A moment,
we, uncertain,
step for newness of the night,
then fit our vision to the dark,
and meet the road, erect, and...
And so of larger darknesses,
those evenings of the brain
when not a moon disclose a sign,
or star come out.
Within the bravest,
grope a little,
and sometimes hit a tree
directly in the forehead.
But as they learn to see,
either the darkness alters,
or something in the sight
adjusts itself to midnight.
And life steps almost straight.
Thoughts?
Impressions?
What does the poet mean
by "accustomed"?
Enrique?
Well, where it says,
"as they learn to see,".
And "adjusts itself to
midnight,"
I think that's when you see
better in the dark.
How?
You get used to it.
Until it gets light again.
What did you think
of the poem, Alma?
It was heavy.
Heavy...
How?
Well...
It's like you don't know when
it's going to be light again.
It might just keep getting
darker.
- No!
- Let go! Right now!
No!
So, what did we tell you
about stealing, huh?
I don't remember!
If everyone stole books
from the library,
there would be none left
for anyone else!
Can I just...?
Can I just read this one?
Look, look, look!
The elephants, look!
When they die,
it's inconceivable,
when they die, their memory...
- Go to the office.
- No!
- Now!
- No!
Adam, get your butt off
this floor right now,
and you get
to the principal's now!
Well, you know, the thing
about the brain,
or, I should say...
the conscious brain,
is that all you can do is
scan things from left to right,
absorbing information in these
long, continuous sequences,
which is why it takes so long
to get educated.
But the unconscious...
The unconscious
is a completely different story.
It's a whole different
level of learning.
Because words have no intrinsic
meaning, they're just pointers...
- Right.
- We see this, we see that...
What is this?
This is a fucking table.
Who says it's a fucking table,
but I've named it,
and separated it out
from everything else
and Bob's your uncle, right?
But that's not how kids see it,
or animals,
When you drown out all
the noise and the static,
and simply look at
what's actually there.
Sorry.
And the thing that
I'm grappling with
by just focusing on the most
obvious linear input stream.
Wow, looks like you've been
busy.
Yeah, a little bit.
It sounds complicated.
That's my point, right there...
- That's what you say.
- It's complicated to me,
you have a good handle on it.
I have a different idea.
You seem to have a grasp of it.
Hey, you guys want to go
karaoking later on?
Yeah, let's see
how we feel after dinner.
- Thanks for having me.
- You're welcome.
Gimme a hug, alright?
My fucking brother.
Oh, wow, thank you,
that's really nice, thanks.
I want you to know
I really appreciate this.
No worries.
I fucking loved that kid.
Can't believe it's been a year.
He really loved you too.
Did he really?
Imagine that.
Oh, fuck...
And yet you never once
remembered his birthday.
Okay, the fact that
I'm a super-flawed individual.
- Is already on the table.
- How hard was that, Tim?
For a self-medicating asshole
like me, it was hard, yeah.
Look, are you mad
at me right now?
Jiggle the handle
on the bathroom if you go,
it gets stuck.
- Are you a retard?
- What?
My mom says you should be
in a special school.
A trooper stopped his van
outside Harrisburg.
Take a moment, huh?
Think back to that day.
- Come on.
- You see if he looks familiar.
No...
No.
Where's he from?
Upstate New York.
He's got a farm
outside of Longville.
We found a hard drive
in the back of his van.
There were images,
young boys, children...
Okay, you know,
this has nothing to do with us.
It very well may not.
I wanna see
this fucking guy right now!
You know that's not possible.
Yeah?
Sarah, are you sure you don't
want to take a closer look?
Oh, forget it.
Okay...
I'll keep you updated.
- Who are we listening to?
- Burzum.
- You buy this for yourself?
- It's my older brother's.
Does he know
you're listening to it?
He's in Afghanistan.
Listen, Alma...
You're a smart person,
but you don't turn in
your homework.
So I'm going
to have to fail you.
Or you could just get motivated.
Yeah...
Just do you best, okay?
Okay.
Oh!
Jesus!
Is that supposed to feel good?
- Is that the idea?
- No.
It hurts.
You feel so,
like, unreal, you know?
Like...
"Twilight Zone,"
just removed from reality.
Everybody's moving at different
speeds from everybody else.
Like you're moving in slow
motion, and the world is...
zipping around you...
Hi!
Welcome.
There is a place that you get to
that's beyond all of that,
You move through to a place
of peace and acceptance.
And it's not just for you,
but for the person
that you lost, too.
And if you can just stay focused
on the positive,
every day find a way to
touch the positive in your life,
and eventually your journey
will lead you there.
- Eventually?
- Yeah.
It takes, I don't know,
as long as it takes.
- You know?
- Yep.
Anybody else want to share?
Jenna?
When you first lose that person,
you think you're not gonna be...
able to go back to normal,
you know,
and you don't,
but it changes and...
You know...
I really related
to what you said about...
Our next door neighbors growing
up had a kid with Asperger's.
You gave her your birthday,
or a date in history,
when Lincoln was shot,
she'd tell you exactly
what day of the week it was.
Not Adam Heywood.
Nope, just elephants.
He wears
the same shirt every day.
- Does he have parents?
- Foster parents.
His mom's a piece of work.
And for sure,
the dad has a record.
You've seen them?
Adam forgets his lunch
like three times a week.
And his mom
has to bring it to him.
And she is always
super-duper pissed about it.
Yeah, I can't believe
what she feeds them.
- What?
- Fried chicken, every day.
It's disgusting.
- Hey, how's it going?
- Hi, Pete.
You know it's a process, right?
Just gotta hang in there, man.
- That's all.
- Yeah.
Thanks.
This world is so
out of our control, you know?
Things just happen to us,
the worst things
and we just gotta...
be able, at the end
of the day, just say,
You know what Ted usually tells us?
"The only way past is through."
Yeah...
You know, I've never known
what happened to you.
Do you mind my asking?
Ahh, yeah, just...
It was my daughter.
My daughter,
she was coming home...
on her bike from a friend's
house, she had slept over and...
And this investment banker guy
was coming home drunk
from some bachelor party and...
And he hit her.
And, he took off, and he left
her on the side of the road.
And my marriage, it just...
My wife and I, we were just...
just...
It's been, what,
about two years now?
I still wake up every morning
expecting them to be there.
I even prayed to God, I asked
Him how to deal with this...
How do I live with it?
And He answered me,
and He said, "Look inside."
"Let that guide you."
You know, it's funny,
this city...
You know how you bump
into people all the time?
I keep thinking...
I keep thinking that
I'm going to bump into the guy.
Right, I mean, he did his time
and now he's out,
and what if I bump into him down in
the subway station with his kids,
waiting for the train,
train comes in...
And I push him.
I push him
right into the tracks.
You know, just watch his body
fucking come apart.
- What'd you get?
- Drumsticks.
Is that it?
Hey, how do you know what
the word "inconceivable" means?
I don't know, I just do.
- What's that?
- Zarontin.
It's for my seizures.
It's an anti-epileptic.
"Anti" mean against and...
It's much better than Depakote
because it doesn't
make me constipated.
And of course,
to be taken with meals.
I'm doing bad in school.
It's a problem.
What subjects
are you having trouble with?
I don't know, all of them.
Did you know that elephants
walk on their tiptoes?
They have four toes
on their forelimbs,
and three toes
on their hindlimbs.
You're a really smart kid.
You know that?
No.
Can I have a sip of your soda?
No?
I'll just choke.
Turn the music off
for me, please.
I'm not gonna ask you twice.
Yeah, I'd be happy to. Come in.
What's the problem?
Thank you very much!
Guess what? The neighbors fucking
called cause your beats are shit!
- Don't give me your finger!
- Fuck you.
- Excuse me?
- You heard what I said.
- No, say it again.
- I said fuck you.
- Fuck you!
- Hey, hey...
- You don't say that to me!
- Don't do that!
- Stop that.
- It's fucking bullshit!
Do me a favor,
move over here, okay?
Actually, no,
go back to the room.
Why do I have go
in the other room?
Let me talk to her.
So I'm sorry to break her shit,
but she's running around town
fucking everybody!
It's really hard for me not to!
Just go into the back...
Oh, little baby gonna cry?
Sorry, asshole.
But look, it's not my problem?
What am I apologizing for?
What am I...? Okay, I'm sorry.
- For being a little bitch!
- Okay...
- Cut the... Nice!
- Uuughhhhh!
Ahhhh...
Can I sit down?
Yeah, sure.
Can I assume that you're
the rational one?
Yeah.
Bullshit! Bullshit!
- He does not exist.
- I'm right here, baby!
I'm right here!
Has he ever hurt you?
No.
He's never fucking hit me,
he's too much of a pussy.
Relationships
suck!
They suck!
Do you have a girlfriend?
- That's fucked up, man.
- No, it's not fucked up!
- Bullshit!
- Okay...
You two...
You're driving
the neighbors crazy so...
Figure it out.
- Have a great day.
- Wait.
Are you leaving?
Yeah, don't make me
come back either.
Wait!
I'm breaking up with you then.
Take care of your fish.
Have a good day.
Hi.
Hey.
Is everything okay?
Yeah, I'm just cleaning.
Are you getting rid
of these horrible things?
Un-huh...
- Unless you want them.
- Well, I...
Yeah, I didn't wanna ask,
but I saw this...
this one about "Feminine
Mystique," and I thought...
Oh, how appropriate.
Yeah.
You need any help with anything?
No.
You know, there was a...
I had a...
a house-sitting thing,
that sort of fell through,
and there was a...
a teaching thing,
and then I sort of...
You know, I don't know,
it's all just like...
I think I gonna go back
to Portland and...
try to apply back to
grad school though.
Hey, you know I feel like...
It seems like
I'm just hovering and I...
I'm just taking up space but...
I'll be out of here
before you know it.
But I wanted to say if
there's something that you need,
somebody to talk to,
that I've got big ears.
- And I'm a good listener.
- Okay.
Sorry.
Alright.
Have to... Okay.
Okay.
Alright.
Food okay?
Un-huh.
Why don't you eat something?
Just wondering
what he's doing right now?
Adam, we can't keep doing this.
- When's she coming?
- I dunno.
Soon.
Lunch is going to be over
by the time she gets here.
What the fuck
is the matter with you, huh?
- What?
- Sorry.
- Right. What's new.
- Thank you.
Menthol Lights.
No debit card purchase
of under $20.
For real?
Fuckin' Christ...
Can you just...? Come on, dude.
Cash only.
- Fuck me!
- I can get it.
No, hey, I...
You don't have to...
Yeah, it's fine.
Just put it all together.
You don't have to do that.
I know.
Thanks.
Hey, I got a pen in my car,
I'll get your address,
I'll pay you back.
No, it's okay.
No, really, I don't like
owing anybody anything.
It's not necessary.
Hey!
I sell supplements.
You know Metabolife?
If you're interested,
I'll hook you up.
Oh...
Great stuff, we're running
a promotion right now.
No, no, it's okay.
It's good stuff.
- You sure?
- Yeah.
Alright.
Do you have any kids?
Me, no. Why?
Ahhh...
It's not really
a family vehicle.
Oh...
Yeah, you know,
got no time for it.
Focusing on my career,
and what not.
- How about you?
- Yeah, I have a little boy.
Mothers and sons...
They have a special bond, right?
- Right, thanks...
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Standing alone in the
house that I grew up in,
there's a...
big field back behind it,
and I can...
And I can see Jessie back there.
There's real tall grass
back there and...
he's just kind of appearing
and...
disappearing...
And he looks just
totally on his own.
He just used to have a...
He had a real...
He had a real good time just
playing on his own by himself.
And...
You know, I can just see
that he's happy.
And, you know,
I can hear him laughing.
And that always...
That always used to
make me laugh.
He had, like a...
He had a real funny little laugh
cause he was
so little...
When he'd laugh really hard...
He had, like this real...
real deep laugh.
And it didn't even sound like,
you know, it...
could come out of him,
and always used to
make me laugh.
Ah...
Thanks.
So good, so good, Phil, and...
And that's a place that you can
go back to anytime, right?
"Over 100,000 Elephants Killed by
Poachers in the Last Three Years."
Take your time, there's
one photo in particular
we'd like you to look at.
So, it's two children,
I can see that.
Two boys...
facing away from the camera...
Jesus, I don't know, maybe...
- Sarah, if you want to...
- It's not him.
- Could you please just look at it?
- This is complete bullshit!
It's not him.
Please take a look at it.
So besides the photos,
what else do you have?
The forensic team is
up at his property now.
Fuck...
Hey...
Jessie is fine.
I can feel it.
Sarah...
Sarah?
This is real.
Alright?
So you need to wake the fuck up!
Morning.
Seen Sarah?
She went out earlier, she's...
She went to school.
She needs help, Tim.
You know what I think?
I think she's gonna
figure it out herself.
Yeah?
Yeah...
Because I could not
stop for Death,
he kindly stopped for me,
the carriage held
but just ourselves
and immortality.
Okay.
Good.
Can anyone tell me
what the carriage of this...
poem is...
Be right back.
Great fucking block.
Come on!
- Huh?
- Yeah.
Well, you gotta loosen up.
Got a tennis fan over here.
No, it was a good block.
Thanks, man,
thank you very much.
Right!
Cheers, fellas.
What's that all about?
Oh, ahhh...
Kelly.
She's...
Get this...
She's pregnant.
No shit!
Yeah, man, it's early.
How early?
Like...
Four months.
What, you weren't gonna tell me?
What are you talking about, man?
I just told you.
- Hey, it's fucking awesome!
- Thank you!
What is it?
It's a...
It's a boy.
Wow, a baby!
That is outstanding.
Thanks, man.
- You must be so proud.
- I am.
We gotta celebrate.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Get another round.
Maybe next week,
we can do something.
Oh, when?
- I dunno, Wednesday, or...
- Next week?
I gotta check with
the boss, but I'll call you.
Shit, man, I should go.
I got a doctor's appointment...
Doctor's appointment?
This shit's starting
to get real, right?
Yeah, man, really real.
Pretty exciting time,
hold on, man.
What?
You think I'm gonna
get it on you?
- Get what?
- My bad luck?
What do you mean,
"Come on, man"?
- Phil...
- Why are you acting like this?
Think I'm going to infect you?
Phil, that's enough, man.
And talk to these guys,
you're not gonna talk to me?
Just want you to act
like my fuckin' friend.
So what's up?
Hey.
- How you doing today?
- Great.
How are you doing?
Wish I'd slept
a little bit more.
Could use a cup of coffee.
We'll get you one.
What, you know the owner?
What is that?
His address.
- Where'd you get this?
- Look, Pete...
You just do
whatever you need to do.
Okay?
No judgment.
What's the matter with you?
Nothing.
Nothing...
I'm just trying to help.
How is this supposed to help me?
Well, I mean,
it's what you wanted.
We were sitting right there,
you told me...
I think it was just...
I dunno, I was talking,
that's all, just talking.
Hell, we were sitting
right there, you said...
Dude, Dude, this is not helping.
What kind of friend
are you, man?
I need to speak
with Mrs. Anderson.
Sarah?
Can I have a word with you?
- Time to go?
- Yeah.
Mr. Ciccarella will be right in.
Does my brother
know where you are?
No.
Is that okay with you?
No, no...
Why?
That's DMT.
Stop.
My son is alive.
- He's out there...
- He's out there.
You feel him?
Yes!
He's out there.
He is.
He's living with another family.
What family?
What family?
Tequila.
I know who you are.
I know who you are.
You're a teacher...
at Essex County, right?
I know, I know,
cause I've seen you...
I've...
My son goes to school there.
Yeah, not teaching today, huh?
No.
What is it, recess?
My son's name is Adam.
He's "special needs." You'd
recognize him if you saw him.
There's a lot of kids.
You know what this song's
supposed to be about?
It's about a fire lake?
Wow, you are a teacher.
You send your son
to a regular school?
Yeah, until they kick him out.
You don't send him to a special
education program, or anything?
No, he's...
He's a foster kid, right?
And the agency
claims they didn't know
about his condition.
We thought we were getting a...
normal kid?
Yeah right, okay,
I'm an asshole, alright?
But you know,
look, it's a burden.
They don't let you
just dump him?
I'm glad you weren't my teacher.
You should be.
Look, I mean...
He's a sweet kid,
but if you're looking
for Rain Man,
or like a math genius,
or a classical fucking pianist,
you're out of luck.
Out of luck.
I heard that a lot of these
kids, though, they're gifted.
You just have to recognize
what it is.
Oh, he's gifted in staring
at the fucking TV all day.
Yeah.
So am I.
And what's your special talent?
What are you good at...?
Do that, do that!
Do that!
Yes...!
Is it three o'clock yet?
No.
I'm supposed to pick up Adam.
You still have an hour.
Adam, your dad's here.
- That's not my dad.
- Adam, I'm not a babysitter.
You wanna spend the night
here at school,
or do you wanna go home?
Hi, Adam!
Where's my dad?
Your dad told me
to come get you.
- You know Joe?
- I do. I know Joe.
Old Joe Crow,
who likes to crow...
Hey, did you know that
birds clean elephants?
And, and...
And that's called "symbiosis."
Adam, why don't you
get in the car?
And you can tell me about,
and we can go.
Are you gonna take me home?
Uh-huh.
Unless there's somewhere else
you'd like to go.
I would like to go to Africa.
There's the most amazing
elephant sanctuary there.
Okay.
- Really.
- Mm-hmm.
- You serious?
- Yeah.
- How was school?
- It was alright.
Good.
The flight must be long.
Yeah, hours and hours.
Are there movies on the plane?
Ah-huh, movies and TV shows.
Like "Animal Planet"?
Yeah, we'll see,
but I'm sure they have...
Hey, you wanna get a burger
first?
- White Castle?
- Yeah.
- No chicken?
- Never.
- Can I get sliders?
- Yep.
- Can I get two?
- Yeah.
- Can I get four?
- Only four?
I'm gonna get cheese sliders,
but I don't want any jalapeos.
- I don't like jalapeos.
- Okay...
No jalapeos.
Hi, it's Sarah, I'm not here,
so leave a message.
- Is it good?
- It's delicious!
I'm happy, Adam.
Hey, finish up, okay?
But we just got here.
I know, but I think we should get
going, we don't wanna be late.
- Where's your food?
- I'm not hungry.
Well, I think you should eat if
we're going on this long trip,
I don't know if there's going
to be food on the plane.
I'll be okay.
I like the cheeseburgers better
than the jalapeo burgers
because the jalapeo burgers
are spicy.
I like cheeseburgers...
cause it's not spicy.
Where are you going?
- Just to the bathroom.
- Are you coming back?
Yeah.
Sarah, I don't know where you are.
I've been trying you for hours.
Please call me back, they...
This is Mommy's room and...
This is the bathroom.
And then here is my bedroom
with the dinosaur.
And my pink shirt.
- Hi.
- Hi.
How you doing, big guy?
- Don't waste the battery.
- I won't.
- You wanna watch the show?
- No.
Okay.
Mom?
Hey, let's go.
- Why?
- Cause.
- Can I bring my food?
- Yeah.
Did you know that elephants
pass the mirror test?
That means that they can recognize
themselves in the mirror.
Is that the airport?
Yeah.
You ready?
Where are we going?
I don't know, I don't know.
I think you should
answer your phone.
Where you going?
Where you going?
Don't leave me!
Wait!
Did you see that?
Can you stop the car?
Pull over!
She's an elephas maximus.
An Asian elephant.
She has a hump-like structure
on her head.
Her ears don't pass her neck.
She has a dent on her forehead.
Mistral Artist - New York