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Midnighters (2017)
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Is this thing on? Are we on? Alright, alright! Who's ready to par-tay? Grab your honey pot closer and get ready to give him a big old New Year's Eve smooch. Here we go now, let's all join in, on my mark! Ten, nine eight, seven, six five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year! There you are. You missed the countdown. I heard it. You left me hanging in there. I don't know how you stand workin' with these people So are you gonna pay the mortgage? Happy New Year, Jeff. Come here. This is our year, Linz. We're gonna make it happen. That was our resolution last year. Trust me. This is the one. - The cops will be out. - I got it. Wait, don't we need to pick up your sister? When I dropped her off, she said she'd get a ride. I bet she will. I didn't wanna tell you before the party but I caught her going through our closet earlier. She left most of her clothes in New York. She was weird about it. That's just how she is. Did you think about the offer? Yeah. And? I'll be done by April. It's been eight months. I'm sick of living in a construction zone. I'm on top of it, Linz. What are you doing? - Nothing. - Stop. What happened to that girl I fell in love with? The one who knew how to live a little. Remember her? Jeff! Oh, my God. What did you do? Hey, hey, hey, hey. Can you hear me, brother? Can you hear me? Hey. Call 9-1-1. Will you grab your phone? You're gonna be alright, alright? We got, we got people coming for you. We're gonna... just hang in there, man. There's no reception. Okay. Okay. Grab his legs. We gotta take him ourselves. Okay, okay, I got him. Open the door. Okay. Use this. Hey, hey. It's okay. Oh, Jesus Christ, he's seizing! - What do I do? - Talk to him! Okay. Hey, hey. Hey, man. Don't go towards the light. You got... You got stuff to live for. Lots of stuff, right? Hey? Hey, hey, hey! Hey. Hey, man? Can you hear me, man? Buddy? He stopped breathing. - Are you sure? - I don't fucking know! Check his pulse. Nothing. He's gone. Okay. Um... How much did you have to drink? I... I wasn't counting. We could say you were driving. I had three glasses of wine. Left. Go left. Go back to the house. - The hospital's in the other direction! - Just do it. - Jeff, we can't... - We can't stay here! We're gonna take him in, I promise. We just... We need some place where... w... where we can think about this, okay? Figure things out. There's nothing that we could have done. Two hours. That's all we need. - For what? - Sober up. Then we'll, we'll drop him off at the ER - and pretend like it just happened. - Whoa, whoa, no, no, no. - I don't think I can... - I'll... I'll do the talking. - Two hours? - Yeah, that's it. - Then we'll drop him off. - Okay. Why don't you, why don't you change out of that dress, yeah? Okay. Lindsey, come here. It's probably sitting in the middle of the road. - We have to call the police... - I, I have to go back. No, no, Jeff, please don't leave me... I'll be back in ten minutes. I'll be back in ten minutes. You'll be fine. Close the door behind me. Wait, your shirt! Hand me the hoodie. That felt good, thanks. So are we going inside or what? And you were doing so well. A couple good pick-up lines a ride on the open road not desperate, but not aloof. So what do you say? A guy I knew used to say that people are either wolves or they're wolves in sheep's clothing. So which are you? Happy New Year's. Happy New Year. Lindsey? Jeff? Let me go! My sister's calling the police right now my brother-in-law is getting his gun. I'm warning you. This is your last chance. What the fuck was that? It came from the garage. I thought it was you. Hannah? Hannah, whoa! Whoa! - Let me go, let me go! - Hannah, Hannah! Stop. - Get away from me! Get off of me! - It's us. It's me. - Hannah, it's us. - Get off of me! - Hannah, Hannah, it's us. - Get away from me! It's me! Hannah, it's me. Hannah, we're not gonna hurt you. Shut up. Shut up. - Don't go in there, Jeff, don't... - Shh. Oh, my God, careful. What did I do? What did I do? Hannah, I gotta get your shoes off, okay? They're gonna believe me... Sweetie, we're not calling the police. Why not? Jeff hit him. What? It was an accident. We were trying to help, okay? I know, sweetheart. I'm gonna get you in the shower, okay? Come on, Hannah. Come on. I got you. What's the deal? She took two Ambien. When I went back... ...there was a police car on the road. - Near where we hit him. - I'm calling Bob Graham. A lawyer's more likely to turn us in than help us. This isn't "Goodfellas," Jeff. If you make that call what do you think is gonna happen to me? Or your sister? Look. You do what you have to do but I'm gonna go in there and I'm gonna find out who this guy is before we do something stupid. Oh, God, please don't be so rough with him. Here we go. Wait. What? That's... that's our address. He was on his way here. Is there anything you've done? Any reason you could think of... ...that would make someone come after you? Because if there is, now would be... - How can you even ask me that? - You work at a bank! - I'm a loan officer! - So there's money! You should have been watching the road! Forgive me for trying to spice things up a little bit. Maybe if you weren't always at work letting Crisco walk all over you. My job is the only thing keeping us in this house. - How do you think that makes me feel? - You don't seem to mind. Yeah, well you don't seem to mind sitting on your ass all day. If the cops found the license plate they could be here any minute. Hey. We're gonna make it through this. Okay? But I need you to trust me. - I can't. I can't. - Yes, you can, yes, you can. If the cops come, we're gonna tell them that we hit a deer. We have to do something about this mess, though. Back there. We'll deal with it later. Him. We'll deal with him later. - You know what this reminds me of? - What? That shit-hole apartment we had after college. Cleaning it after we moved in. Those brushes my mom gave us. Trying not to gag on the bleach. - God, it was so damn hot... - Shut up, Jeff. Yeah. What time is it? Uh, almost 8:00, I think. I could use a little coffee, if you don't mind. Sure. Good morning, officers. Happy New Year, ma'am. Sorry to bother you so early. Oh, I'm an early riser. I'm Officer Varone. This is Officer Campbell. Um, you're Lindsey Pittman? - Your husband, Jeff Pittman? - That's right. I wondered who bought the old place after Miss Dainer passed. It's a real fixer upper, but we're getting there. You out late last night, Mrs. Pittman? Not especially. We had a work event. Anything unusual happened on the drive home? No, not that I can think of. Did you or your husband have anything to drink, ma'am? - No, we don't drink and drive. - Any car trouble? Why would there be car trouble? - Oh, the doe! - Pardon? Th... the deer. We hit a deer. Oh, thank you. It must have fallen off during the accident. Was it okay? Yeah, well, no, the... the, um, windshield's broken and the bumper has, you know, some dents in it. I meant the deer. There was some blood in the road. Oh, poor little thing. Uh, she twitched a couple times and then ran off. Can we see? Well, she ran off, like I said. So there's no body here, officer. He meant the car. Mrs. Pittman, We'd like to see it. Is there a problem? No, we don't. Just want to have a look at your vehicle. Hey, Linz, we're gonna need some more bleach to cover up the rest of this... Um, good morning, officers. - Morning. - Morning. These gentlemen want to see the damage from the deer we hit. They found this. Oh, yeah, the deer. You know, what they say, "You don't really hit a deer the deer hits you." Is that what they say? It was a big sucker. Must have been about a... ...four or five-pointer. Wife said it was a doe. Buck, fawn, doe. Lindsey knows as much about deer as I do about nail polish. Oh, we're donating some clothes to charity. Is that so? Good for you. It is the season. Can I offer you some coffee? No, thank you, ma'am. Caffeine keeps me up. How fast were you traveling when you hit the animal? About 35 miles per hour. That's a 45 zone. Can I ask what this is all about? Well, we got a lot of calls last night. More than usual. Noise complaints, people seeing things. Even found a broken down car on Route 4 about a mile from here. Not far from where you hit the deer. Alternator was busted. No registration. Stolen plates and... Like I said. Strange night. We heard some fireworks at around 1:00. We just assumed it was some neighborhood kids. Yeah, it happens every year. Well, you've got a problem, Mr. Pittman. What's that? We see you driving around with this we're gonna have to write you up. Of course. Yeah, I'll get it fixed today. It's a holiday. Yeah. Tomorrow then. Well, thank you for stopping by. Have a Happy New Year. Lindsey, do you have any more conditioner? It's in the cabinet next to the sink. Were you in the car as well, ma'am? The car? No, I was in the garage. - That's where it happened. - My sister... Let her answer. What exactly happened in the garage? I'm... I'm sorry, I just woke up. I'm a little confused. What's going on? Ten-four twenty-two responding. It's alright, ma'am. Go back to sleep. She's going through a break up. I think she had too much to drink last night. - And one more thing, Mrs. Pittman. - Mm? Tell your husband to open the garage. Those fumes are toxic. I will. Thank you, officer. Okay, they're gone. - I didn't say anything. - You said enough. - I'm trying to protect us and you're screwing it up. - Jeff... How was I supposed to know? You're the one who brought him here. You pasted his brains on the wall! Alright, she's been through enough. I thought you called them. Lindsey, please tell him. - I should turn you in. They'd probably thank me. - Stop! I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. - No, it's not. - Oh, come on. I didn't know they'd come after me. What did you say? - I didn't mean to. - I knew it. - You have to believe me. - I'll handle this. Who's after you? For the first three months we dated I thought he owned a juice shop. Some organic vegan bullshit. The man in the garage? That's who you ran away from? No, I've never seen him before. - Then who is he? - I don't know. Richard, my boyfriend his real business was stocks. They took money from old people and never actually invested it anywhere. They just kept it and sent out fake statements like, Bernie Madoff. Un-fucking-believable. Like you're a model citizen. Why would Richard come after you? - He wouldn't. - He's a criminal. He wouldn't. He's dead. His partner killed him. You told me you left because he hurt you. I was just scared you wouldn't let me stay. I don't know why they sent that man after me. What happened? Richard was nervous about a handoff. I came home one afternoon and the whole apartment had been ransacked. There was blood everywhere. He told me that if something happened to him I should go somewhere safe. So I grabbed the bag and I came here. What bag? What's this? An Indian good luck charm. Richard was into stuff like that. He gave me this. Says it kept him centered, whatever that means. It's a claim slip from Crown Hill Lodge. - Did you know about this? - No, I swear. Ronnie and Joan had their anniversary there. It's a bed and breakfast, way out in the boonies. - I'll go grab the keys. - Let me go with you. - Not a chance. - I'm sorry. Fine. What do you want me to tell the cops if they show up again? Or would you rather handle that? I meant to thank you for the phone and the boots. It's been a long time since I had a Christmas with a tree and all. You know we have something in common. I doubt that. We both know what it's like to live in Lindsey's shadow. We have an arctic blast rolling in later tonight dropping down to the mid-teens and... Good morning! I guess it's afternoon. You must be, uh, Lindsey Pittman? Can I help you? Yes, I am Detective Smith. Is your husband home by any chance? Uh, he had to run out. Oh. Do you mind if I come in? I, I got a couple questions I gotta ask you. I talked to your friends this morning. I... I told them everything. Oh, it shouldn't take long at all, I promise. Okay, what would you like to know? Okay, to be honest I was kinda hoping for a cup of coffee while we talk. It's been a long night, you know. New Year's Eve and all. Should I say anything or should I just slide it across the counter? Let me have it, Jeff. You don't think I can handle it? I know how to talk to these people. This is my fault. Let me make it right. We can tell her it was you. I'll even embellish the story. You'll be the big hero. Shit. It is your fault. Don't screw it up. I'll be back before you can count to three. So don't you have more important things to do? Yeah, it's just paperwork really. Bean-counters want to make sure we follow up on every lead. Lead? We hit a deer. I meant incident report. Gotta make sure the foot soldiers didn't miss anything. So you said your husband is out? Uh, he's running an errand. New Year's Day, must be pretty urgent. Odds and ends. Uh, do you mind? No, no, have at it. Now, about the deer. Oh, well, like we told them this morning it was a... a four or five-point buck. I guess it knocked the license plate off. Right. Dulls the blades, right? You should tell my sister. I had the same problem with my ex. Lindsey... I'm sorry. Do you mind if I call you Lindsey? Sure. Does your sister live with you? - Temporarily. - Is she here right now? She's with my husband, but she wasn't in the car. I was always jealous of families that spent the holidays together. Never happened with mine. No, my, uh, dad walked out when I was seven and my mom drank herself to death a few years later. I'm sorry, that's terrible. Oh, no, no, no, it was for the better. What doesn't kill you and all, right? My partner says I talk too much. Probably true. I think the coffee's ready. In my opinion, that's nothing a little hair of the dog can't fix. Mm, that hits the spot. Nice and strong. Thank you, Lindsey. Now where's the body? It wasn't dead. It limped into the woods. One minute you're alive and then, boom! Dead as a doornail. Detective, where's your partner? He's running an errand. You know, odds and ends. Do you have any creamer? What the... I didn't open it. Holy shit. This is... This is $50,000. Fifty thousand fucking dollars. Yes! - Merry Christmas. - Shit. Lindsey barely makes this much in a year. And that's before taxes. - I get it. I really do. - No. You really don't. She wanted to go to Cozumel for our honeymoon but we ended up at some Radisson in Daytona Beach. The breakfast buffet wasn't even included. I mean, this... This is the break we've been waiting for. We can... We can finally get our heads above water. Even if that bag had a million dollars it wouldn't fix anything. She has me on an allowance, for Christ's sake. It's still true. Boo. Oh... Oh, no. My ex used to cry all the time. It made me wanna strangle her. Better. Thank you. Look, I know what you're thinking. You're gonna hold out. Not gonna talk. Protect your family. Blah, blah, blah. It's all very noble of you. But I have to tell you that now is not the time for nobility. Some people say the blood tastes sour like, aluminum. That'd be the hemoglobin. Well, it's actually the iron in the hemoglobin to be more precise. Some people say it tastes sweet. I bet that's the glucose. Sweet versus sour. Must be something genetic. But I always wondered if somehow it was connected to personalities. Like, like an astrological sign or something. I'm a Scorpio, by the way. My astrologist says that we like to get to the bottom of things. Which brings me to my point. I can do this all day. I could. But eventually your lips will begin to flay and at some point your teeth are just gonna pop right through them and, pardon the pun, but I'm sure your pretty smile's a real asset at the bank. Wouldn't wanna ruin that, now would we? Where's the body? In the garage, we hit him with the car and then he attacked my sister. Please, you can have... Shh... shh. Oh, you must be a Capricorn. So honest and forthcoming. There's a flip-side to that, you know. Yeah, Capricorns, they get taken advantage of. Long hours at the bank. The boss copping a feel when no one's looking. And then it's home to Jeff. Jeff. Yeah, I read about his go in the College World Series. Ouch. Blowin' a lead in the bottom of the ninth, that's rough. Riddle me this, Lindsey how does someone like you a born go-getter end up with a testosterone-filled joker like him? Gerome, he's my therapist he would have a field day dissecting you. All your fantasies about white picket fences the prayers that Jeff might turn a corner the desperate desire to fix your screwed up little sister? The sad truth is you'll always be trapped by the same dysfunctional relationships you try so hard to escape. The cat got your tongue? I didn't hear a question. Where did they go? You know... ...she didn't tell me she had a sister until we'd been dating for, um... ...three months. Is that supposed to hurt my feelings? It wasn't that she was ashamed. I don't know. Maybe she was. You'd just been out of juvie. Just say whatever it is you're trying to say. I'm not sure what she'll do when we tell her about the money. Okay, I could ask nicely. Pretty please with a cherry on top? I think this might be too much for her. You mean, don't tell her? No. No. I'd never do that to Lindsey. You passed the test. She's under a lot of pressure, is all. Scorpio and Capricorn, Lindsey. There is always a spark. Do you feel it? 'Cause I sure do. If you need anything, just whistle. Boo. Honey? In here. Hey, Linz, whose car is that? You forgot to call. We got it, hon. 50 grand. Did you hear me? $50,000. I heard you. What happened? Come on. He happened. He showed up right after you left... ...and he knows everything about us. What are you doing? - Softening him up. - Stop it. Please. Don't even look at her. Go back to your room. We'll handle this. Now! Ready to talk, asshole? Who else knows you're here? Sweet. It tastes sweet. No, no, no, no. Here's a thought. Let me talk to your sister. You sent a man to kill her and now you wanna talk to her? Either we settle this like civilized beings or someone else dies. Maybe you, maybe me. No offense, but she doesn't look like the type to chop off my balls and shove 'em down my throat, now does she? She might listen. We'd be right here. No, no. Alone. Not a chance in hell. Come on, slugger. You don't want me to tell her about the stash of Asian schoolgirl porn you got in the cabinet... You're not getting anywhere. Come on. It's like baseball, Jeff. Sometimes you gotta call in the relief pitcher. Especially in the ninth inning. If there's porn in there, he planted it. I don't care. I'm gonna go get Hannah. You're crazy to leave her alone in there with him. There's more to her than you think. He wants to talk to you. Okay. - You don't have to... - I said I'd do it. Are you sure? Do you know what it was like after you left? 'Cause our mom had bad boyfriends before. I can't apologize for leaving, Hannah. I didn't ask you to. I thought you were dead. - There was so much blood. - No. It was not mine, babe. Not mine. I told you that we would always be together. Is that why you sent that asshole after me? I had to make sure that you were safe. I was worried sick about you. I missed my little, Hannah banana. I missed you too. Cut me loose. It's startin' to hurt. You shouldn't have done that to her. Babe, for Christ's sake, I asked her for creamer and she came at me with a butcher knife. I would never hurt your sister on purpose. Did you get the money? Yes. Good. Hey, we're gonna go to Europe. Australia. See the pyramids. You name it. Just the two of us. We can even split it with them if you want. Does anyone else know you're here? No, babe. We got a one-way ticket out. When you disappeared... ...I realized how I felt. I couldn't say it before but... I love you. I can't let you go right now. Just... just think about this for a goddamn second, okay? Let me talk to them. I'll convince them you'll be good to your word. How did it go? He said he'll split it with us if we let him go. That's all he said? I think he means it. Look, we can't keep him tied up forever. How can you be so naive? You wanna talk to me about naive? There is a dead man in your garage and a live one in your basement and you are sitting there eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich dreaming about an island vacation. Fuck you, Jeff. Fuck you and your $50,000. He's just trying to keep us safe. What is it? It's okay. You can tell me. When we were in the car... ...he tried to get me to say that we didn't find anything. He wanted to hide the money from you. You must have misunderstood what he meant. I didn't, Lindsey. Lindsey... He wouldn't. You can't trust Jeff. Wait here. I might need you in a bit, okay? She's lying. Why, you don't believe me? I have to check something. It's the same. Linz? It reminds me that the world is full of sheep. - Keeps me centered. - Shut up. What, babe? Hannah's boyfriend. Richard, Smith, it's the same guy! - It's his money! - Him? Bottom of the ninth, Jeff. Lot of pressure. Don't blow it. - You think that's funny? - Stop! He'll break. He will. But not like that. Tape his mouth. Here. You ever chip a nail, detective? There are a lot of nerve endings in the fingertips women deal with it all the time. Although we have a higher threshold for pain than men. Helps us with child birth. It's genetic. Right here. Guess I'm the relief pitcher. Again. Another. That's three. There are seven more. Seventeen, if you wanna press your luck. When I take this tape off I want you to start at the beginning. Do you understand me? She hasn't changed at all. You still got me. That's worth somethin'. It'll be dark in two hours. I know. Both bodies will fit in the car. We can't murder him, Jeff. It's self defense. Smith, Richard, whoever the fuck this guy is, he's gonna be after us as long as he's alive. You know that. What would we do after? There's a dumpster out on Route 4... No, Jeff, what would we do? I go back to the bank tomorrow like nothing happened? You keep dry-walling and handing out resumes? We'll pick up the pieces and move on like we always have. Where has that gotten us? I mean, look around, this isn't what we planned. You don't think I know that? It's just a bump in the road, Lindsey. Once we deal with this mess... ...and once we deal with your sister... Whoa! What do you mean, deal with my sister? - She lied to you. - He manipulated her. Look, we just need her out of the way for a couple of hours while we deal with this little shit show of hers. When this is all settled down we'll, um, use the money... ...to set her up someplace. Get her back on her feet. Do you mean that? Yeah. Do I have your word she won't get hurt? Scout's honor. She betrayed you, you know. But she's family. So am I. It's time. I always hated finance. But you work in a bank. Funny how life turns out. - You kept it? - Yeah. All this shit over one little piece of paper. It just didn't feel right to throw it away. Let's go. I fucked up. I have to tell you something. It's about Richard. It's just he's the guy in the basement. I know. You're not mad? Do you love him? I don't know. It's gonna be alright. Come on. Let me go! Let me go! Hannah, Listen to me. Shh, shh, shh. It's me. Look, whatever they have in mind isn't good for either of us so you gotta do exactly what I say and we'll get out of this. Okay? - Now, follow my voice. - Okay. And get as close as possible. You got it. Straight back. There you go. What if she can't breathe? You ever get five minutes of peace and quiet when she's around? She's got strong lungs. I'm gonna get the gun and a couple of pillows. There you go. One more, one more. Okay, now try to get onto your knees. There you go. Little bit more. Listen to me, we are gonna get through this, okay? I need you to get the wolf's head charm from your bracelet. It's sharp, you can cut with that. Got it. Yeah, that's right, 227 Thayer Drive. Please just come as soon as you can. What are you doin'? Why two pillows? The money's gone and you have two pillows. Why? - Help me! - Shh, shh, shh. They could hear us. Just give me a second, okay? Just like a Band-Aid. Just like a big fucking Band-Aid. If the money's gone... ...your sister took it. I asked you a question. To muffle the shots. Now, put the gun down. Shots? Plural? One person, one shot, one pillow. What do you think this is? Huh? A goddamned fairy tale? Wake up. Hannah is not on our side. This isn't about sides. Well... ...that's exactly... ...what this is about. No! No! - Please, Richard, untie me! - Hold on. It hurts me, it really, really hurts. Shh, shh, shh. Please let me go. Please. You know, I've gotten a lot of ass over the years... ...but yours was definitely the sweetest. Calm down, calm down, calm down! She's my sister. I don't care. I do. Honey? Go to sleep. We made a vow. Remember? We can tell each other anything. You want her out of your life. So do I. Brutal honesty, Linz. That's what marriage is. Goddamn it! Don't... Please, Lindsey... ...don't make me hurt you. I love you too much. You don't even know what that means. Yes, I do. Everything I did, I did for us. Don't you understand that? You're out of your mind. We're gonna work this out... ...or die trying. Hello, Lindsey. You've got a lot more fight than your sister did. I like that. Scorpio and Capricorn, Lindsey. Can you imagine if we met when we were single? Well, technically... ...I guess we are. What do you say? - Drop the gun! Do it now! - Last chance! All units, all units... Mrs. Pittman, we're here. Ma'am, I really think it'd be best for you to stay with someone tonight. I think right now I just need to sleep for a very long time. Well, don't go too far. We'll have more questions for you when you're ready. Of course. Ma'am, this place is miles away from anything. Why here? Because it's miles away from anything. You take care, Mrs. Pittman. I will. That was a bad scene, man. And all over 50 grand. Think she'll be okay? Yeah, I do. She's a survivor. Hey, let's hit that diner over on 87 for some corned beef and cabbage? - Oh. No, no. - It's a tradition. Have at it. I'll stick with a burger. Happy New Year. It's after midnight. Whatever. Now, weren't you here earlier? - That was my sister. - Oh. Oh, oh, yeah. Yeah. The... the one who... who got the bag and put it back. Said she'd come get it tomorrow. Uh, although, uh, I guess that's today. She's not coming back. |
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