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The Harrow (2016)
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- Time don't march, or walk, or even move in a straight line. It skips around like a pinball. Last year, ten years ago, yesterday, it's all now. - Listen, that all was ten years ago. I don't know what I can tell you now. - Just anything at all would be real helpful. - Well that sort of thing never happened around here. Uriah and the misses, them bodies, hell, it was a god damn mess. I didn't know the, the wife too well. I knew Uriah though, he was a decent man far as I knew. - What did he do it for if he was so decent? I heard he had a sister? - Next county over, still there as far as I know. - What about the farmhands? - Migrants mostly, they move on after the harvest is done, except for one, and he lives downtown. - How do I find him? - Well, I could get you an address, but I think you might be wasting your time. The man's become some kind of recluse, from what I hear, completely shut himself up. People bring him things to fix. - Things to fix? Hello, misses Taylor. Uh, my name is Ruth young. I'd really like to talk to you about your brother, um, if you don't mind. I'm sorry, it's a little hard to explain over the phone. Can you call me, please? I'm lookin' for Miller Lee. Am I at the right address? - What do you want? - Well I was wonderin' if I could talk to you. - Well, ain't you? - Well, it's a little involved. Um, there somewhere we could sit down? I, I tried callin', you got no phone apparently. I, I think you mighta know someone. Her name was Gale. You work on the Taylor farm some years back? I talked to the sheriff this mornin'. - Then you heard all there is to know. - All right, but I thought since you work there, and all... - It was um, some time ago. - Yes, sir. See, I just wanted to... Wanted to know what she was like. - No, I can't help you. - Well, I coul..., I could leave you my number in case... All right. All right. - Quiet. - Mister Taylor? - What do you want? - I heard you're hirin' for the season. You know, a month or two is fine for me if you got somethin'. - You ever worked tobacco before? - No sir, but I got no problem with hard work. Besides that, I can fix most any mechanical thing you got around here. - That so? Think you can get that thing runnin'? - I can take a look at it. - Why don't you, and come on back here, tell me what's wrong with it. - Yes, sir. - Hey, put it in your pocket. Take the damn thing off, and put it in your pocket. I told you guys, nothing that can catch in the machine. Go home. - Needs a new starter. - Mm-hm. You'll need 'em for the oil on the leaves. You can return 'em when you get your own. Be here at five tomorrow mornin', fix the tractor, put you out in the fields. Pay's at the end of the week. At least I'll get a few days outta you before you run off and drink it all. - I ain't like that. - Huh? - I said I ain't like that, sir. - You drop that sir bullshit, you know my name. - Mine's, Miller. - I guess you know what I'm here for. Owner' got himself pretty worked up at this point. Says I bring it to him today, or he'll come get it himself. Well hell, let me see it at least, I got to tell him somethin'. Mm-hm. Well, it's comin' along. Fine work, like always. Well, god damn it, how long do I tell him? - A week. I think week. - You're killin' me here. You do the work, you keep on livin' here. You don't, you can get the hell out. I ain't runnin' a charity. - I paid 100 for materials. Can you cover me? - Christ all mighty, I come for the furniture, I leave empty handed and $100 lighter? Huh, ain't that just wonderful? You keep the place this neat, gotta have a girl around somewhere. - I just like things a certain way, is all. - Huh, well, Becky says you bein' all by yourself is the worst thing that can happen for a man. - I'm all right. - Says in prison they put a man in solitary just to torture him. I mean, go figure that. A man would rather spend his days with killers and psychopaths than be by himself. I guess that explains marriage too, don't it? - You got that cash on ya? - All right, yeah. 100, I shouldn't be givin' you this. Well, you're in luck. There it is, $100, don't say I never did nothin' for ya. This thing, there's no reason that... You've got to pull through for me, you understand? I'm a man of my word, I've given this guy my word. He's given us a lot of business, you know he has. I've already gone back to him to him twice. I'm goin' back one more time and see if I can buy you two or three days, but that's it. After that, you have got to... - Dance with me. Don't you know how to dance? - I was in the neighborhood. - There ain't but one neighborhood in this town. - Right. Sir, I'm just asking you... - Look I told you... - because I seen it, on your face. When I said her name you knew her. I know what that man did to here. I just, I wanna know why. You worked on that farm, you gotta have some idea. - What's it matter to you? - I'm her daughter. It's an interesting place. What was it, a factory? - Abattoir. Uh, a slaughter house... - I know what an abattoir is. - No, don't touch it. - Is it valuable? How'd you come by it? - A rich family bought a plantation outside of town. I'm restoring every piece of it. - I heard you don't get out much. How come you don't talk to no one? - What for? - It's just one. Ain't he lonely? - No, he's all right. They say fish got no memory, anyhow. - Now how'd anyone know if that's true? What you starin' for? - I seen that smile before. - My grandma died a month back. She raised me like I was her daughter. I thought I was 'til now. I found these letters. It's my real mama tryin' to explain to me why she ran off after I was born. I ain't lookin' to stir nothing' up. I just wanna know, is all. - Where you come from? - Out near Asheville. Gale never said nothin' about us? She sent this in one of her letters. She's real beautiful. Can you just tell me somethin' about her? Just any old thing? - We harvest from the bottom up. We passed through this field twice, all ready. Every pass we pick from the lowest level. - It's been empty since I bought it. Thought I'd convert it into apartments, but the historical commission got word. Told me I wasn't changin' a damn thing. Place sits abandoned for 40 years, and suddenly it's a land mark. - The water work? - Yup, just gotta turn it on for ya? How long ya thinkin'? - Well, a few months, I guess. Where's that go? - Downstairs. Back in the day, they brought the cows down there, kept them all in the big room just below us, killed them in another room on the other side. Look, like I said, I can't do nothin' to spruce the place up. So you want it, or don't ya? - Uriah, hey, how you been? - I'm doin' fine. - Mighty nice to see you. Oh yeah, I haven't seen you all year, though. Did you crop that late? Well, what's been happenin'? - Quality crop, it's b1. - No way, I can't go b1, this is not b1. You know that, look at it, it's too much green, too much brown, it's not clean enough. - That's b1 if it's anything. - B2. Look, that's all I got. B2's the best I can do, I'm sorry. - Well, how much? - 213 a pound, that's pretty good. - You're stealin' my tobacco, you know that? It's as good a quality as any you got here. - Right, look, take it or leave it. That's all I've got. - Hey, come here. - What? Don't touch me. Give it to me. Give it to me. - What the hell you keep this for? - Give it to me, Uriah. - I know about that ring. It was her daddy's weddin' band. He died when she was 10. She said in her letters that was all that she had left of him. I hopin' better things mighta come her way. Mama, well here mama, she got married again, a couple years after, and there I came. I guess Gale and my daddy never got along too well. Can you tell me more about her? - Ma'am, I'm sorry to trouble you. - Who are you? - Name's Miller. I'm workin' for your um... Well, he gave me these until I could get my own. So uh, I'm returning them. - I'll be sure he gets 'em. - I'd appreciate that. - Well? - I uh... I know it ain't my business, but I saw what happened this morning. Well, I was just wonderin' if you were okay. - You were right the first time. It ain't your business. - Hey! I saw you at my house. My wife ain't none of your concern. That clear? - I'm sorry about your loss. It's late. - All right. Well, I'll be goin' then. Hey, maybe I come by again, if that's all right. - There ain't no reason to. I done what I can for you. - You know anything about workin' on a farm? Don't look like it! You cost me 100 a day! - Hey! Hey! Hey! Jesus Christ. - Get the hell off my farm! All you fuckers! I said get! Hey! God damn it, wait a minute! - I've had my fill of this! To hell with you! - All right, maybe I lost my composure a little bit. You done good, I'm grateful to ya. Hey. Come on, now. It's late. How 'bout you come on, have supper with us. I reckon I owe you that. - Don't you want more? - No. Thank you, ma'am. - So, where you goin' after season's out? - South. - Like what, Florida? - No, way down, Brazil, Argentina. - What for? - No reason, I just want to. - I seen a lot pass through here, driftin', don't own nothin' but their clothes, and most of 'em are runnin' from something'. You ever done time? Well, shit. I have. Banker man, right here on my property, tellin' me he's gonna take this farm. He's talkin' and talkin', I just watched his jaw move until I couldn't stand it no more. I cracked his skull, busted his eye socket in. Looked more like a cut of meat than a man. And Gale here, she's screamin' at me, even turned the hose on me like I was some kind of rabbit dog. Didn't ya darlin'? - God's sake, Uriah, you gotta tell that story? I did three years for that. I got no regrets. A man can't defend his home, he ain't worth shit. - Who's that? - That looks like Jimmy. Jimmy, come on in. - Hey, Uriah. Hope I didn't interrupt nothin'. - You're okay. What's up? - Well, uh, I'm on that construction job they're doin' up on route 70. Could use a man to run the paver. - Yeah, startin' when? - Well, tomorrow. - You serious? - I can ask frank if you can't. I just thought I'd come to you first. - Don't bother 'bout it. You want another beer, or somethin'? - No, I'm fine. Place is real nice. - You think so? - How long you two been married? - Now, why you wanna know that? Well? - They need someone for that highway project, union wage. - How long? - A few days. - Got another job, or somethin'? - You think anyone's makin' a livin' from farmin'? Listen, I got to have that crop done before the frost. Looks like I'm a bit short handed at the moment, so uh, I appreciate you stickin' around a bit longer. - I guess I could. - I need you to go into town tomorrow, round up some help for the field. Think you can do that? - All right. - Miller? I know you're there. I ain't goin' nowhere. You deaf? I brought you coffee. I thought you might like some. I'll just stay a little while. - Look, I don't wanna do this. - Do what? We're just talkin'. What if I help you, then? - Like how? - Well, there's gotta be somethin'. I got two hands, don't I? - Hold it steady, now. Come on, you doin' this, or not? - I'm doin' it. Some things don't change. - How's that? - When I was just a girl, my daddy never let me do anything. I was always just holdin' stuff, a flashlight, a screwdriver, hold this, hold that. - Yeah, well, that's called apprenticeship. - It's called borin'. - When'd you see him last? - A while, I guess. - How come? Somethin' happen to him? - I don't mean to be, I just don't know if that's any of your concern, is all. - Ain't none of this my concern. You're the one that come here askin' questions. Hell, my old man, he beat on me, I mean good. I grew up tryin' to be invisible, hiding, you know. I was five years old, he knocked me out cold. Hey, uh, hand me that knife, would ya? - That looks pretty painful. - How it is, you know. Old man up and died some years back. Funny thing though, I'm sorry about it. Now I just wanna see him. - What for? - I'd just like to know him, is all. More to a man than what he done when he was too young to know better. Say he don't act the same, or think the same. Watch your fingers. After a few years, not a single piece of you is what it was, you know that? Well, it's a fact. Every cell in your body, every hair on your head, it's all dying, and replaced by somethin' new. You shed your skin 100 times. What you done, well, you can't shed that. - I started havin' dreams. - Dreams? - Things I'm seein' when I'm just a baby. Same face in the picture, but she's just a girl. She's staring at me like she needs to tell me somethin'. Her mouth opens but she don't have a voice to speak. In my dream I'm... I'm wonderin' what's she done to make my daddy punish her like that. She was just 14 when she had me. Hey Miller? Why did he do it? - Miller, they'll be hangin' around Montgomery street, get three. - Yeah, all right. - I'm back on Friday. All the north fields done by then, right? - All righty then. Same time tomorrow. - Yep. - Y'all good with that? - Yep. - I'm gonna drop the keys off. - Okay. - Have a good night. We're done for the day. - Somethin' else you need? - I saw you lookin' for it. A little bit for you, ain't it? - Well, it... Hey, all this about you goin' south. How come? You running? - That Uriah's take on it? - He thinks you're kinda strange. - Well, that's mutual. - So? - I'm just curious to see somethin' in this world. Ain't you? - I'm all right where I am. Just 'cause somewhere's different don't make it better. - Well... You might look around a bit first, before you decide. I heard the state fair's in town. - What about it? - Nothin', just I ain't never seen one before. - It's funny workin' along side you. It's like you don't even know the time's passin'. What goes through your mind all these days you're alone? - I can see her sometimes, when I look at you. - It's nice if that were true, I know it ain't. She's much prettier than I'll ever be. - For you. - You givin' this to me? - If you want it. - Thank you. You know, you think you know yourself, who you are, where you came from. I ain't got a clue no more. Can you understand that? I guess it's late. Suppose I should go. - All right. - I was thinkin' about what you said. You uh, you think people can change? - I think if you do good, you can be good, no matter what you done before. - Good night, Miller. - Well, like I told you, ain't much to see. - Looks like time stood still. They kept cows here? - So I'm told. - Pretty sparse. - Well, they're just here to die. They don't need much else. They killed 'em in there, hung 'em up to bleed out, and then they'd freeze 'em, store 'em in here. - Do you think they knew they were gonna get killed? - Well now, there's a question. - Jesus, look at that old relic. Does it work? - I ain't tried it. - Moment of truth. - Oh. - Don't you know how to dance? Well, all right, I'll show you. Hang on, I'll make it easy for you. - Okay. - What time is it? - About five. - He'll be back soon. Don't play with me now, I gotta go. - Don't go. - I'm serious. - So am I. - You're crazy. Come on Miller, let go. - You could come with me. - What? - I said you could come with me. I'll take you so far from here you wouldn't ever have to come back. - You don't know much, do you? Ain't no simple thing, a wife leavin' her husband. Come on now, let me go. - Take from someone what's his, well, you best think twice about that. Comes a time, though, you can't see past what you want. Desire... Can't feel nothin' else. Like steppin' into a river. Water rushin'... Your feet leavin' the earth. - I never made love to no one before. Just had men take what they want. Ain't the same thing. When you go, I'd go with you. If you still want me to. Do you, still? - Where you been? - I didn't know you were back. I woulda made you somethin'. - Come here. I asked you a question. Where you been? - Nowhere, just walkin'. - Walking where? I said walkin' where? - I told you, just walkin'. - You wouldn't make a fool out of me, would ya? You ever did, I don't know what I'd do. - Uriah, please. - You're so pretty. Take your dress off. Take it off. Do it! Keep goin'. - Shoulda harvest like two weeks ago. - I want you to. - I'll get him. I promise I will. - Shhh... - I dream I walk through this door, and you're there, same as you were, same as I was, time, everything played out different. - Ma'am, my name is Ruth young. Uh, I left you a message already about your brother, Uriah. You please call me? Uh, my number is 9... - Hey Ruth. - He speaks my name. - What's that? - They told me this was the good stuff. What do you think? - Well, we'll find out. - I guess you think this is some kind of tactic. Get you drunk, get the truth outta you. I hope you're a happy drunk. - I can't get drunk no more. - Huh? - Drink don't make me feel nothin', one way or the other. I tried it often enough. - God help you. Well hey, look at that. This looks god damn amazing. - Yeah? - Are you kiddin'? It's great. Wow, beautiful. Did you uh, go through the night to get this done? - Somethin' like that. Look, I'm grateful to ya. - What for? - You bought me a little piece, for one night at least. - Well, now how 'bout we celebrate. Pour me another. - Don't go gettin' all stupid on me, now. - Oh, don't you worry about me. I'm tougher than you think. - Are ya? - Hell yes, I am. Hey, Miller? I gotta ask you one more thing. - What's that? - You tell me about her last day? Please, just everything you remember. - Well, what good's that gonna do? - Oh, just tell me, please. Just tell me, and I won't ever ask you for nothin' else. - You know, you're somethin'. Comin' here askin' all these questions, like I oughta bare my sole to you, like I owe you somethin'? - I never said that! - But you ain't told me a whole lot. How 'bout you talk some? - About what? - I suppose you tell me why she'd just up and leave her daughter behind. She didn't seem the type to me. - I don't know. - Oh, you don't know? - How should I? - Well I wonder, there's somethin' in that strange family of yours, you musta given it some thought. I bet you got a pretty good idea, actually. - You're a real bastard, you know that? - Am I? - Who are you to judge? - Mommy, mommy. How come daddy doesn't love me just like Gale? - What are you talkin' about, honey? He loves you just the same. - How come daddy doesn't kiss me just like Gale? - What'd you just say? - I didn't want to mama, he made me! He made me! - You're own father! - He ain't my father. He's just some asshole you let into our home. - You get the hell out! - If I go, I'm takin' her with me. - Like hell you will! You leave her be, Gale. I mean it. How's a little tramp like you, with a baby. - You can go to hell, mama. - She'd a kept her secrets to stay with us, but I brought it all to light. I made her go. - There's somethin' I want you to know. I did my best to care for her. I want you to know that. - Care for her? Why would you? - I wanted... I wanted more than anything to be the man that was good to her. I wanted to be the one that treated her kind. I did her no harm. She was real to me. She's all that ever was. - Is that why he killed my mama? Is that why you never said nothin' about you and her? God damn it, tell me! - What's it matter now? - 'Cause it does, 'cause it's the truth. - Oh, like that's some precious thing. - What do you think? That I'm some little girl, you gotta shield my eyes? You're the one all caged up in here hidin'. You're the one scared! You tell me why he did it. Tell me! Was it 'cause of you? Is that why she's dead? - Watch your mouth. - That's why he killed her, ain't it? Because you fucked her! - I'm sorry, Ruth. I didn't mean that. Jesus, we were so careful. We were so god damn careful. I told her, don't be scared. I said I'd take care of her. She said I'd be scared too if I knew him. - He'll come lookin', I know he will. - She said we oughta wait 'til he goes off again on another highway job. But each day seemed like forever. I was goin' crazy thinkin' of her sleepin' in the same bed as him. But Uriah, well, he needed me then, just to get through the season. But his mind was gone in all directions, and all of them crooked. Suspicious of everything. - What do you do when you're down there in town, at night? - There ain't too much goin' on. - You got yourself a girl there? - I'm just passing through. - That's right, I forgot. - Time was gettin' short. I knew that much. Somethin' was gonna happen. God damn it. Jesus. - Thing went out of it's god damn mind. Came right at me. - I think it's back is broken. - God damn dogs, you trust 'em and they turn on ya. Help me bury it? - Next day he got called away again to work on the highway, just for a day. I told her that was as good as it was gonna get for us. So that was that. We was gonna go. - Where you goin'? - Nowhere. - Nowhere? Nowhere. I love you, girl. Don't you know that? Don't ya? - Yes. - What do you wanna leave me for? - I don't. - Hurts me when you lie like that. You know how much? - Uriah. - He beat her bad enough to kill a man. Broke her neck before he shot himself. I wondered ever since how that musta been. Her last breath, all that pain. Police carried her body out in a white sheet, stained red. Where the hell was I? Where in the hell was I? I can see her dyin', I can see her eyes starin' at me, and I ain't man enough to save her. God damn it, where was I? - You'd a done somethin' for her if you could. I know you would have. Tomorrow, you and me, we're gonna walk outta here. We're gonna leave it all behind us. - It ain't as easy as all that. - Well it's ain't impossible neither. I'll help you. - I'm sorry. Every damn day of my life I'm sorry. - I wanna come home, I wanna come home. Ruth. - Hello? Yes, thank you for callin'. Well I was hopin'... Well how far from the city are you? - Won't you sit down? I'm awful sorry about her. My brother loved her deeply. I don't what you came here for, exactly. But I found these for you. I thought you'd like to have 'em. I remember when she showed up. Uriah took her in like some kind of lost kitten. She looked like one too. Skinny, broke, run away from somewhere. He told me once that he knew she was too pretty to keep. Well, he went and married her, all the same. Too pretty. Young and wild is what she was. I apologize for sayin' that. I don't mean anything against her. For two days I got no answer on Uriah's phone. I told the neighbors to go by and check the house. They called me a few hours later, told me what they found. I drove right over. Police didn't want me in. Said it'd be more than I can take, to see it. Uriah was just a farm boy. Maybe he wasn't a genius, but I never knew him to be cruel. Never once. - Not to dogs neither. - What? - People change, ma'am. - You think so? - To do what he did? - What do you think he did? - I know what he did. - None of you knew my brother. If you knew him at all, you would know he wasn't capable. - Well if that's true, then what did he do time for? - Time, Uriah never did time. - Maybe you didn't know your brother as much as you thought. - You think I don't know my own brother. - I love you Miller. - Miller. - What are you doin' here? I thought... I got everything packed up, I was comin' for ya. - I can't no more. - What do you mean? - I love you, Miller, I truly do. I ain't goin' with you, I can't. - Miller? - Miller? - He do somethin' to you? Well then, then what? - I'm expecting. Do you hear what I said? - Well... Well so you are, that don't change nothin' between you and me. - It changes everything. - But, baby, I'm not the kind of man who's just gonna run away on you. You know that, don't you? - No, you got good intentions. But... It ain't yours. - Well, wait a minute, you don't know that. No, this don't make no sense, you can't. Is it 'cause you're still fuckin' him? Are you still fuckin' him? - He's my husband. - There's no way you love that man. Look, we'll go, and we'll find some place to settle. - Like where? - Like somewhere, I don't know, we'll figure it out. I'll take care of you, I swear I will. - You're a good man, you are. One think I know, a man won't ever love another man's child. - Gale, you... You hush your head. You know me, you know I ain't the kind of man... - it'd decided, Miller. - Who says it is? - Stop, please! - Wait, you can't go. Gale, wait. God damn it, I said wait! - You down here? Miller? - You came back. - You scared me. - You been gone so long. - I left you a note. I been to see Uriah's sister. - How come you went there? - She called me. - Well what did she want? - Nothin'. - Nothin'? - She uh, I mean, she's all confused. She said they found my mama's body some days after. That ain't right though, 'cause you'd a known right away somethin' happened to her. You wouldn't have left her there like that. You wouldn't of. - I got somethin' for ya. - That's hers. - It's for you. I found it for you. - How'd you get it? - Take it. - Uriah's sister, she said he couldn't of done them things. I was thinkin' about what you said, about the dog. M... Miller, you, you got them scars. - No, he did it. God damn it, he did all of it. She loved me, she came here to tell me, she... She loved me. - Where, Miller? Where was she? Was she here, in this room? Where! - There. She was standin' right there. - What happened then? What happened then! - I took hold of her. I just wanted her to see sense. She hit me, hard, and... I... I'm somewhere else. There's blood spreadin' out around her head like a halo. I had to stop her blood from spillin'. I-I couldn't stop it. I loved her. I love her so much, I... No, it's all wrong I did not do that! No, she couldn't have been bleedin' here. I mean, why would she do that? No, she was bleedin' up there, at that house. Up there where her husband killed her. He did it! That fuckin' killer! That fuckin' murderer! He's gonna pay for what he done. - What did he do? What did he do? Damn it, Miller! What did he do! - He took her. He took her away f... He took her. - Gale. Gale? Oh, Jesus. Gale. - All this time. You let everyone believe. - I ain't that man, I... I ain't. It ain't me no more. It ain't me not more. Don't be scared of me. D-don't be scared of me. She ain't dead, she's here. She's right her, I see her. What are you doin', where you goin? Y-you said we was gonna go away, you said that. - You stay away form me! - What, you wanna leave me? - You bastard, you god damn bastard! - You said you was gonna help me. - Oh god. - That what you want? You gonna leave me? Answer me, Gale. Answer me! - I don't. I swear, I don't. Please, Miller. Please. I wanna stay. I'll stay with you. I want to. - I'm beggin' you to forgive me. Please, forgive me. - I love you, Miller. - I truly do. - Where are you, girl? Baby, where'd you go? Where are you, girl? Don't go, Gale. Gale, don't go. Gale, please don't go. - Lord, I've gotten old. I'm retirin' this year, you know. My wife says she want's to see Alaska while we can still walk. She sure has put up with a lot over these years. As far as this situation, you can go on like you please. I guess you got what you came for. - I don't really feel that way. What if I never showed up here? I mean, what if he'd just gone on livin' there, keepin' to himself? - Well, I don't know. That sound like justice to you? |
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