- The following Brooklyn
- bound "I" train
will depart in
approximately seven minutes.
Hello?
Hello?
Franny.
- Mom?
- Franny.
Mom?
Hello?
Your brother was in an accident.
He's in the hospital.
You need to come home.
- The impact occurred in
what's called the Pterion,
an especially vulnerable
part of the skull.
You see this bright biconvex region here
that looks like a lens?
This is what we call a
hematoma to the brain tissue,
a sort of blood clot...
- Can you just tell me
if he's gonna be okay?
I have to tell you,
he might never come out of this.
We can't really say for sure.
In these situations, we have no recourse
other than to be patient and wait.
You cut off all your hair.
Not all.
I loved it long.
I wanted a change.
Taxi driver's name is Rumnesh.
He has a wife and two kids.
They think he tried to
stop the car in time,
but Henry had his headphones on,
and I guess he didn't
look when he was crossing.
I haven't been paying attention.
He's been, just, living
somewhere in Brooklyn.
He comes home sometimes
to do his laundry,
but it's all about music for him,
and I've been trying to
finish the book and just...
- You couldn't have stopped
him from crossing the street.
I always told him to look both ways.
You just do your best, you know?
You just do your best.
Thankfully your father
isn't alive to see all this.
It's just a lot for
us to handle, you know?
Oh, uh...
You're gonna
have to sleep in Henry's room.
There's so many boxes in your room.
It's okay. I'll just move the boxes.
No, I gave your bed to Sylvia.
Who's Sylvia?
She delivers the mail.
Why'd you give her my bed?
Because, you know,
I asked her if she wanted a
bed, and she seemed so happy,
and you're never here, Franny.
I mean, you haven't lived here in years,
and you always complained
about that mattress anyway,
so just don't get all bent out of shape.
I'm not bent out of shape.
Hey, Franny, I...
I know you're busy,
and I know you think
this is a waste of time.
I'm not sure if you've listened
to anything else I've sent,
but here's another song I just finished,
probably the first one
I'm really proud of.
I hope you listen to it.
Henry.
I
- I don't really...
I don't...
I don't really know
what to do now.
Fuck!
Okay. Enjoy.
James forester!
James forester!
Hey.
Hello, new York.
Thank you, forester.
Take care.
Thank you.
Thank you.
- All right, man.
- Bye.
Um, James?
Hey.
Um...
I
- I really liked the show.
Thanks.
- My brother was hit
by a car this week.
I'm... I'm so sorry to hear that.
Henry Ellis.
You're his favorite.
Is he okay?
He's at memorial intensive care.
He's in a coma.
Jesus, I'm so sorry.
You don't remember him, do you?
He sent a letter to you
or to your record label.
The...
Yeah, the label gets a lot of letters,
and then it takes 'em
a while to get to me,
so unfortunately...
Okay. Okay.
Well, I brought you
something he was working on.
I thought... It's really good.
I guess I'm not the only one.
Thank you. Thanks so much.
- It was nice to meet you.
- Same here.
Oh, I'm Franny, Franny Ellis.
I hope Henry gets better.
Thank you.
Hey, I made you eggs.
Thank you.
I just... I can't...
I can't eat right now.
Hey, how does this sound for a title?
Tales of Monkokobaka
and the Dekay tribes.
Uh, sounds good.
It's so pointless.
How can I even do this right now?
Okay, write.
Hey.
- Hey.
- I was...
Hi.
- I was just in the
area and thought, um,
maybe I'd just, you know, stop by.
Didn't know if you liked sugar.
Thank you.
Thanks.
I'm okay. Thank you.
Um...
Aren't you really busy?
Depends on how you define "busy. "
- I guess I always think
of people like you having...
Things lined up every
millisecond of the day...
Back-to-back meetings
with important people.
I listened to Henry's song.
It's great.
I mean, I liked it a lot.
I know. It's really good, isn't it?
You know, he would really flip out
if he knew you were here.
He's kind of obsessed.
Not like in a freaky way or anything,
just, you know.
I could play him something if...
Not if... Not if you don't want me to.
I don't have to.
- No, no.
That would be great.
I'm sure he would love that.
Oh, mom.
Um...
This is James forester.
The singer?
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for coming
and for the tea.
- Oh, please, this is
the least I could do.
Oh, sorry.
I'm going to this place tonight...
This club Henry likes...
If you want to come.
I
- I've never been there before,
but the... There's a show at 11:00,
and I'm probably gonna go
to this place beforehand,
this other place that he likes.
You're probably really busy
with a lot of other things.
I- I-I'm
not...
I'm not playing tonight,
and I don't have any meetings
or anything then either.
Oh, good. Yeah, I got it.
Good. Okay.
- Cool.
- Great.
- Oh, where?
- What?
The place.
- Oh, the... Berry
and 11th... north 11th
in Williamsburg.
- 9:00?
- Uh, okay.
Okay.
- He's the only 19-year-old
I ever saw with a gramophone.
He was telling me that it
broke a couple of weeks ago.
Um, where does Henry sleep?
Um, it's right over there.
- Here?
- Yeah.
- Hey.
- Hi.
Do you have a gramophone?
Uh, no.
Junk market might have
one down by the b. Q.E.
- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.
What about keyboards?
- Yeah, we just got in
a vintage '59 Rigaledo.
Can I, uh... Can I see it?
Yeah, sure.
Check this sweet thing out here.
Hmm.
So, um...
What's your deal?
Uh, I, um...
I, um... yeah, I put out
an album five years ago,
bought me indie fame
and sort of fortune.
I'm a Libra.
Go on.
Okay, um, I...
I live in a cabin in Maine.
It's where I normally am when
I'm trying to be creative.
I haven't really been able
to write much of anything
since the last album, though.
Last time, I mean with the album,
it was easy.
I just got in my car and drove.
Me and Tessa, my ex-girlfriend.
I mean, well, we...
Yeah, we broke up about a year ago.
We were together a long time.
She found someone else.
Sorry.
It's all right.
What about you?
I'm getting my PhD in anthropology.
Nomadic tribes in
morocco are my specialty.
It must be a lot of work getting a PhD.
I get to ask a lot of questions,
and I listen to people.
It's a lot of reading.
I've been reading Henry's journal.
His... reading his
most private thoughts.
I...
I've been going to places he went to.
I've started recording
sounds he might recognize.
It's just really messed up.
You're his sister. I get it.
We had a fight,
like, our first real
adult fight, you know?
He, um...
He dropped out of
college to be a musician.
I said I thought that he
was making a huge mistake.
I said so many awful things.
We haven't talked in six months.
He sent me all these
links to videos he'd made,
songs he'd recorded, and...
I didn't open a single one.
I'm sorry. I...
- Hey, it's...
It's all right.
I can't even imagine.
You're James forester, right?
Yeah.
Will you sign my iPod?
Sure.
Thank you. I love your music.
Thanks.
I don't speak Portuguese,
and so this isn't gonna be pretty,
but I am the last guy of the night,
so here you go.
How long are you here for?
Two more shows in new York,
a wedding.
Who's getting married?
I don't know them.
I'm the entertainment.
Ah.
I never would have pegged
you for a wedding singer.
10,000. Three songs.
That's not bad.
I'm not proud of it.
Last show's in Philadelphia,
and then that it.
I'm going back home.
I'm actually kind of
freaked out right now.
They're trying to get me to go
and record in Berlin after this,
but the truth is, I'm just stuck.
What happens if you don't write
any more songs?
I'm not really sure.
You know, the best
thing about playing...
You know when you have a feeling
and you don't want to fade away,
but you don't really
know how to keep it?
Well, that feeling
comes back when I play,
like I can keep it.
No... no talking,
no disappointing anyone
for three to five whole minutes.
You should try playing longer songs.
Yeah, I should.
Why don't you try to choose something
and write a song about it,
like a nose?
- Nose?
- A nose.
- I don't think nose
songs are my thing.
- You could write the
greatest song in the world
about a nose...
There's a lot of
different types of ears.
There are endless possibilities.
I can get it from here.
- You all right?
- Yeah.
Guess I'll see you.
Yeah.
Thanks again.
I don't know.
I'm really sorry, Henry.
I didn't mean you were stupid.
I'm stupid.
I'm sorry.
You know I say things.
Sometimes I get too opinionated,
too stubborn.
You have to be okay.
- So I heard when
you're not on the road,
you spend most of your
time in the country.
What are you, like, a hermit?
Um, no.
Not... not really.
You once said you have no interest
in modern technology,
that all you need is music
and the person you love.
Uh, yeah. Yeah.
Maybe... Maybe I said that.
- What's the strangest thing
that's happened to you on tour?
I was chased by a moose.
What?
In California.
Mom?
Franny.
What are you doing?
I am making piaya.
Right.
It's June 4th.
- Damn it!
- God!
Ahh!
Get the pillowcase out of the oven.
God.
Ugh, so loud!
God, it's so loud.
Thank you.
Jesus.
You, um...
You be in charge of...
Mm...
You be in charge of the glasses
and the decorations, okay?
Thanks.
There's a cat waving at you.
It's one of those
mechanical good luck ones.
Look really good in here now.
Actually it looks pretty horrible,
but it's better than it was.
It's your half-birthday,
and we're celebrating it.
Do you remember when we were in Zurich
for your half-birthday?
You were, like, five.
All you wanted were M&Ms and lemonade,
and we couldn't find any.
It was just expensive
swiss chocolate everywhere,
and then finally, we found some M&Ms
after hours of searching,
and mom bought you, like, 50 packs,
bought out the store.
Happy half-birthday, Henry.
Sorry about all this.
Happy half, Henry.
Hey.
Sorry if I'm interrupting.
You... You are not.
Come on in.
Join the party.
I think we even have an extra hat.
Here you go.
Um, looks nice.
It's Henry's half-birthday.
Keyboard looks good too.
Hey, have some persecco.
Don't tell the nurses.
Thanks.
Sure.
Cheers.
Thank you.
Turn left.
Please.
You didn't even speak Russian.
Why did you want Henry to learn it?
I wanted us to learn it together.
Secret language.
- Yours and 150 million other
people's secret language.
I don't speak Russian.
- Why do they always
make you learn that?
It is obvious you don't speak Russian.
Why do you have to go
around stating that?
Mom, I just...
I wish you could listen for two minutes.
Oh.
Oh.
I'm so sorry.
That is good coming from...
Never mind.
No, no, no, no. Come on, mom.
Tell me. What were you going to say?
I was going to say that that is good
coming from a girl who didn't even call
her own brother back
to say she was sorry.
You can't tell me that you
thought that dropping out
of college was a good idea.
Franny, he did not want to go back.
What was I supposed to do?
You never would have let me do that.
- You never would have
wanted to have done that ever.
And speaking of you,
you basically dropped off
the grid for six months.
For six months,
we didn't hear anything from you and...
Oh, is that okay?
No, I called you. I did text.
Oh, yeah. The famous text, yeah.
- Well, if you would
empty your voicemail
every once in a while.
Oh, that's it.
Yup, that's it.
You're right. You have all the answers.
You came out of my womb
havin' all the answers, man.
- God!
- Oh, my god.
James.
Would you like to come over for dinner?
I have a show tonight.
Okay. Tomorrow night then.
Mom.
You... You don't have to, really.
I would love to.
- Hi.
- Oh, hi.
I'm... I'm glad you came.
Yeah?
I just...
Decided to last minute, yeah.
Do you want...
Do you want a star fruit?
No, thank you.
- Yeah, I'm not big
on star fruit either.
Let me see that.
James, you're up.
- Good luck out there.
They're wild tonight.
Discman.
- Yeah, I'm a bit old
- fashioned.
This is my favorite song in the world.
I'm ready.
This is your favorite song?
Okay, oh. Not that one.
Th-that's a guilty pleasure.
It's an old mix.
Hold on. Wait.
Okay, I think you're gonna love it.
This is for you from Katie Johnstone.
"Hey, James. Give 'er a listen. "
I think he's trying
to speak to you as you.
Give 'er. Give us a listen.
Yeah, yeah.
"Dear James, I have been"...
Oh, my god.
Yeah, it's an epic.
"I would be extremely stoke...
"Ed to get a coffee,
"or in my case, a hot chocolate
because I don't like coffee very much. "
You're kidding me.
"You would like it. "
- She sounds like she just
drank a hell of a lot of coffee.
Wow.
She sort of got the eyes right.
- What?
- Yeah, this is hilarious.
Oh, my good...
"Die, James, die... James. "
And check out this side.
"I'm coming, James.
James, James, James, James. "
That's my favorite one.
Look at the eyes.
I just got kind of worried about you.
Look at the eyes.
They're gonna hypnotize me.
Beautiful.
You have to try it on.
It's gonna be way too small.
It's a medium.
It's a children's medium.
- I don't... it's
cotton. It'll stretch.
- Really?
- Yeah.
For you.
Sorry.
There.
I'm ready to go out now.
You know, this is really good.
It's not mine, the zombies.
How does the melody line go?
Something like...
"Ulysses now left the haven
"and took the rough track
up though the wooded country
"and over the crest of the mountain
till he reached the place
where Minerva had said. "
I actually don't mind the
smell of smoke in my house
because it reminds me of
presanitized times, you know,
like Paris in the '70s.
Were you there in the '70s?
Who wasn't?
Um...
Well, I...
Okay, a lot of people weren't,
you two for example,
but my god, I'm sorry you weren't.
It was so great.
I got...
So much there.
I got my master's,
lovers... I won't say how many.
Don't worry...
A husband.
I was an Arkansas girl in Paris.
How great is that?
And then of course, I did
date a famous rock star.
Who?
I... She hasn't even told me.
I'm not even sure it's true.
Of course it's true.
Why would I make that up?
This guy was amazing.
He taught me one of the hardest songs
even to learn on the guitar.
Blackbird by the Beatles.
Mm, great song.
Never learned it.
Oh, it is a great one, James.
Oh, my god.
I gave Henry one time for Christmas,
and he loved it so much,
this unbelievable green accordion,
and he slept with it.
It was a teddy bear.
It was like his teddy bear, you know?
- My mom gave me my first
guitar when I was 13.
- Yeah, did it have a picture
of a hulu dancer on it?
Nope, unfortunately...
Oh, ta-da,
ta-da, ta-da!
Here it is.
Oh, hey, come on.
Thank you.
You are a very good girl.
I don't know how you are my daughter.
Well, you raised me well.
Yeah, so well.
Oh, my god.
That was so bad.
Why, thank you.
Franny, what was the song
that you were so obsessed with
that, um...
Oh... Come on.
By America? By America.
Oh, I don't remember.
Oh, you remember.
Oh, my god. Yes, you do.
She remembers.
She sang it nonstop, all the time,
over and over and over and over.
She sang it in the school talent show
because it was the '92 election,
and she believed that
it had political subtext
about how much the country needed
to have Bill Clinton
elected as president.
I was eight.
And here it is.
Oh, no. No!
No, come on.
You did so good.
- No.
Come on. You were so good.
- No, I wasn't.
- So good.
- Mom, come on. This...
this is embarrassing.
I don't believe in embarrassment.
I am kind of curious now.
- Come on, Franny. It'll
just make me so happy.
Beautiful.
Mom.
- Mom.
- No.
I have to go to bed.
Beautiful.
She'll be okay.
Is that something new?
Nah, just...
No, something been thinkin' of.
Might be nothing.
When are you heading back home?
Day after tomorrow,
right after the show in Philly.
Come on.
Hey, James.
- Hey.
- Hey, thanks, man.
You were great, really
made Lisa's night.
- Thanks.
- Thank you.
James. Thank you.
I just want to get one picture.
Sure.
Oh, yeah.
Good. Great.
All right, that's enough.
Probably get back in, you know?
- Thank you.
- Come on.
I know. He's amazing. You're welcome.
I know. This is kind of short.
This is something
I've been working on...
Something new, um,
still in progress,
but I hope you like it.
All right. That wasn't it.
Henry!
Henry.
Hey.
Hey.
Henry.
Henry?
Henry, can you hear me?
No.
No, no, no, no. No, no, no.
Come back. Come back.
Henry, come on. Come on, wake up.
I need somebody. My brother...
I need a nurse. I need...
He... He opened his eyes.
I saw it. He...
I'm going to go talk to the doctor,
and he'll talk to you.
Come on, Henry.
Henry wake up, pretty please.
Henry.
It's me and Franny.
We know you can hear us, and we're here.
Sorry.
Henry?
Hey. Hey.
Hey.
Henry.
Henry.
Franny?
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm so sorry.
You need to keep your eyes open.
Oh, excuse me.
- Yes, dear?
- Have you seen a guy
with a guitar case?
Sorry, I haven't.
I finally realized how hungry I am.
You want some?
Mmm.
Franny, no. No.
That is so, so bad for you.
I know.
I am a hypocrite, the worst kind.
Franny.
He's gonna be fine.
Hey.
Hey.
Can I buy a ticket inside?
Right inside there.
I wrote something...
Hi, one, please.
Show's sold out.
- In fact, I've only
played it for two people.
I started it in new York
for someone I met there.
This one was a new experience for me.
It's not finished, and I...
I wasn't gonna play it tonight,
but for some reason...
Last show.
And, okay, I'll just...
I'm gonna get it over with now.
- Oh, that's too bad.
It's real nice up there.