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The Inland Road (2017)
Are you all right?
I'm okay. How about you? I've been better. The tire burst, I lost control. Where's Matt? I think he's just gone to get some help. Oh Jesus, Tia. Have you spoken to your mother? No. We had a fight. Yeah, she called. Let's have a look at it, then. What the fuck were you thinking? I was wondering if I could come stay with you for a bit. Carol and I, we've only just started to get ourselves together, you know. We've got the boys to think about. Please, Dad. Here. Take it. Get on a bus, go home, and sort it out with your mother, will you? You're 16, Tia. Just go home. I need to go to Cromwell. Cromwell? That'll cost close to 150 bucks. Here at St. Paul's, and in the wider community. I want to assure you of our prayers this week as you grieve the loss of Matthew Roberts. Matthew's family have had close links with St. Paul's church, and we see them as part of our extended family. We hope and pray that we can be a support to you, not only today, but in the weeks and months that lie ahead. A particular welcome to you, May. I know that there are many people here today that have come to support you. His sister-in-law, Donna. And his brother-in-law, Will. And to his daughter, Lily. Welcome to you today. Would you please be upstanding as we sing the 23rd Psalm. (bright organ music) # The Lord is my shepherd # I shall not want # He makes me down to lie # In pastures green # He leadeth me # Down quiet waters by Hi there. I'm Donna, I'm Will's wife. I saw you at the church, but I didn't get a chance to say a proper hello. Hi. Will's gone, Edith's looking for her. Can you just come and talk to her? Yeah, okay. Excuse me a minute. Hey. Hi. Do you want a tailor-made? Sure. - Cheers. You lied to me. You knew he was dead already. They knew before you ran for help. If I had told you, couldn't have lived, you. You saved my life, too. Thank you. Love you, Mom. Goodnight, May. What is she still doing here? Hi, Tia. Are you all right? Yeah. You just waiting for your ride, or... Um, no. Not really. Where else are you staying? Um... Why don't you come and stay with us tonight? Yeah, yeah. Just jump in. I know Will really appreciated you coming today. Sorry about the smell, but we're doing some renovations to the main house at the moment, and I just think you'll be more comfortable out here. No, this is good, thanks. 'Kay. Well, you just make yourself at home. Have you got any Peritol? Sure. It's yum. It's Donna's mum's recipe. I sometimes put tomatoes in it, but I think it's better just pumpkin. Are you a farmer? I'm a bricky. Builder. Matt was the main farmer. She's shooting fucking possums? I told you to lock that gun up! Who the hell does she think she is? Leave it, Donna. I'll handle it. Oi! What the fuck are you playing at? Tia. 'Night, then. How long is she gonna stay? I dunno. We don't even know anything about her. I mean, I think we should put a timeframe on it. It's not the greatest time to have a visitor. Will, we need to make a plan. We're having a baby, Will. Christ, Donna, have you seen her? I did that to her. Far as I'm concerned, she can stay as long as she goddamn likes. Morning. Do you want some breakfast? You can't go helping yourself to our rifles, okay? It's really dangerous. There was a possum on the roof. Yeah, well, we get a lot of possums. Look, if you need to stay here for a while, that's fine. But you need to help out around the place, okay? I was thinking I might go see May. She's not answering her phone. Okay. Do you want to come? No. I could use the company. May? Who is it? Hi, darling. Is your mom home? It's auntie Donna. Sorry, I think the bell's broken. You gonna let me in? I'm just gonna have a smoke. Where's Mom and Dad? I asked them to leave. Mom started fussing, I wanted the house to myself. They're at Ruth's, they'll give you a call before they head back. What happened to your face? I had an accident. My daddy had an accident. What's your name? Tia. That's a nice name. It's all right. What's your name? Lily. You know, like the mountain lily. Yeah. And the mountain on the flower lily? Yeah, I got it. What's that on your neck? Nothing. What does it mean? It's none of your business. Can I do your hair? It's quite knotty. Are you okay? Is it hurting? My tattoo says Paturoa. I don't really know what that means. It's my boyfriend's name. Hey, I want you to come for dinner tonight. I'll make something nice, you can stay. May... You need to be around people. Okay. Oh, no, it's okay. It's silk, it's really nice to wear. It's so soft. I should get you some other clothes to wear, so I can wash those. No, I'm all right. They're filthy. Here, what about... What have we got? What about that? You like it? It suits you. She's not answering, so let's just... It'll be cold. It'll be fine. Hey. Hey. Sorry I'm late. You eating? Of course. Jeez. Cranked out the good stuff. Dig in, everyone. You look nice. It's Donna's dress. It's not Donna's, it's mine. No, it's not. Yes it is. I bought it for Claire's wedding. No, you didn't. Yeah, I bought it for Claire's wedding. Are you sure? Yeah, doesn't matter, you can have it. Potatoes are good. So have you thought of any names yet? Not really. If it's a boy, we're thinking Nathaniel. What do you think? We went to school with a boy called Nate. He didn't amount to much. Started a rafting company that went bust last year. I thought he was all right. You only liked him 'cause he wanted to screw you. That's not true. I'm gonna put some music on. I hate jazz. Hello, sweetheart. Hi. Good snooze? Can I have some wine? Course you can, sweetheart. What? European kids drink wine all the time. Stop them turning into binge drinkers. You been overseas? I have. Just once. We went to Fiji, it was nice, actually. Do you remember that? When we went with Daddy? And Donna's been overseas. She went to the UK for a holiday and stayed eight years. Shame she came back, actually. We were doing fine 'til these guys came home. May, please... I had a husband, a family, a life... May... No, fuck you! May... - No, fuck you, too! You shouldn't have been driving. You don't know the roads! Sorry. Why couldn't you just stay away? I've spent the last eight years looking after Mum and Dad, dealing with fucking trenches to keep this place from falling down. You two just swum back from the UK and moved right on in. You said you wanted to be close to the school. You said... Bullshit! That's what Mum and Dad told you just to make themselves feel better! I never wanted to be there. I'm just gonna be sleeping over there, okay? Can you sing me a song? What song? # One little, two little, three little Indi # Five little, six little, seven little # Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians # Seven little, six little, five little Indians # Four little, three little, two little Indians # One little Indian boy She's asleep. Is this where you grew up? Yeah. Yeah, it's nice, actually. Lots of space to run around. Did Matt say anything to you? After the accident. No. Was he conscious? No. That's good. He seemed like a good guy. Yeah, he was a good guy. How'd you sleep? Good. You want a hot drink? Yeah. What do you want? A fizz. A what? A fizzy drink. I don't have fizz. What are you having? Coffee. Can I have a coffee? Were you in the car with Daddy? Aye. I wonder where he is. Is he coming back? Remember the church? Yeah. Then we went to the garden. Before the party? Yeah. And then we buried him in the ground, remember? Did we put him in the garden so he could grow again? What? No. If it rains, he might grow. Allison says rain makes things grow. Who's Allison? Allison from kindy. Over here. Tia. If you stand on the egg, there might be a problem. The chickens might fly up and lay it there. Shh, don't scare it. I know there's another egg somewhere. It's warm. You gotta slide it down the side so it doesn't crack. Mama... Mama... Lily, please! Come on! Lily! For goodness sake! Lily! I can look after her if you want. Leave her here, okay? Then go and stay with Mum and Dad. They'll want to look after you. I'll drive over if you change their mind, okay? Okay. I love you. I love you too. Have a shower, okay, 'cause you stink. Lily, go ask Will if he wants coffee. No. Come on. You go. I'm busy. No you're not. Hello? Yeah. Lily. Someone's speaking for Dad. I'll take it, sweetheart. Come on. Hello, Will speaking. Um, no, he's... Sorry, who's calling? Alright, I'm actually gonna be taking over as the contact name on that account. Yep. Wanna go for a walk? What? Come on. Ready, ready, go. Lead the way. See, if this river was back home, there'd be at least two shopping trolleys in it. Eh? So whose name have you got on your neck? My ex. Oh yeah? What happened there? He dumped me. He dumped you? Well, he sounds like an idiot. Yeah, well... You know. So how old are you, then? Man, I was a terror at that age. I was drinking, fighting, kicking mirrors off cars. I had the worst haircut ever. They called it curtains. Curtains? Yeah. It's like a middle parting down to here, shaved underneath, and an undercut. Not a good look, not a good look. Hey, can we go for a swim? Yeah, why not. Come on. Go deeper, go deeper. Um... Orange. Now choose something. One, two, three... No, just choose one at a time. Um, one. One orange thing. Not sure what it is. Beef, I think. Hillary brought it. Oh, that's kind. How's your leg? It's fine. It's good to get out, actually. That's good, I'm glad you're feeling better. And how are you, Tia? I'm fine, thanks. I'm good too, auntie Donna. Well, that is good. I got it. You take care of your baby. Oh, okay. Thank you. That bandage will need to come off at some point. Did the doctor give you any instructions? Yeah. How's it feeling? Not too bad anymore. That's good. So what are your plans? You back at school this year? No, might just hang around. See what comes up. Tia? Tia? Some dinner left, if you want it. Go away. Hey, what's going on? Tia. Fuck off. Doesn't look that bad. Bullshit. It makes me feel ugly. Tia, you're not ugly. You're beautiful. You are. I said fuck off! Yeah, hi Jen. Is Tony around? It's Donna. Yeah, hi Tony, how are you? Shaun said you might be able to help out this morning? Yep, sure. It's healing well. Yes, just for the day. Okay. Can you drive? - Yeah. You got a license? - Yeah. Is it clean? - Jesus, Donna. Yeah. Yes, perfect, okay. As soon as you can, thank you. Bye. Do you fancy a drive to Glenorchy? I don't mind. We need to pick up Dave's drill. Can I please go? - It's hours away. Why doesn't Dave just bring it back here? Because we're already asking so many favors of him. - Can I please go? Okay, you're all gonna go. You can take Matt's truck. And you're the adult. You're in charge. ("For Today" by Netherworld Dancing Tools) # For today # I'll remember your smile Sorry about last night. What do you think, Lily? She's cuddly. Cuddly? Fuck me. Watch your language. You're supposed to be the adult, remember? It's okay, my daddy says fuck. Oh, shit. Well that's not gonna work. Nope. I better phone Dave. I'm gonna walk back to that garage. Sure. Yeah, hi, I need to get a tire fixed. Could you do it tonight? We've gotta get home. Well, why the fuck do you have your number on the door then? It'll be fine. It's fine, we'll check into a hotel. Okay. Well I'll call you in the morning. Yeah, I'll be fine. It'll be fine. Okay, all right. Is she coming to get us? No, I told her we'd check into the motel down the road. Lily's asleep. It's like a 20 minute walk. We should just sleep in the truck. Not sleeping in the truck. She's happy. It doesn't bother me. Well, I guess we're sleeping in the truck then. Do you smoke pot? It's illegal. Are you an undercover cop? I hate cops. My dad was a cop. Oh, shit. What was that like? It was okay. He was pretty strict. Hope I'm gonna be a better dad than he was. In what way? Guess I just want my kid to know that I love them. You feel that? Let them know they can do whatever they want to do. And that that's all right. I mean, if they want to take up karate, I'm not gonna force them to play football, you know? Come on, Jackie Chan. It's stunning. I like your accent. Thanks. Where are you from? Kirkcaldy. What? Kirkcaldy. Where's that? It's just north of Edinburgh. Where's that? Uh, Scotland. What's so funny? I don't know, I guess I just thought everyone knew where Edinburgh was. What's it like? Um... It's old. It's beautiful. It's got a castle. Aye. What about you, where are you from? Up north. Jesus, you don't make it easy, do you? Mapou. And where might that be? I thought everyone knew where Mapou was. # Swing low, sweet chariot You gotta stay on your note. Okay, all right. # Swing low, sweet chariot You're singing my note! I can't help it. Of course you can. - I can't! You're lucky I'm singing this in the first place. I'd get strung up back home if I was caught singing this. Why? It's an English rugby song. Lucky I'm singing it at all. Block your ears. What's that gonna do? It's gonna help. - All right, okay, right. # Swing low, sweet chariot Fuck, you're hopeless. All right, okay, right. Where are you? Take my hand. Come here, come here. Stay with me, stay with me. Okay. # Swing low, sweet chariot # Coming for to carry me home # Swing low, sweet chariot # Coming for to carry me home That wasn't so bad. We done great. Yeah. What does that mean? This isn't easy. No, it's not. I can't do this now. But I love you. I'm married, Tia. I've got a wife. And I love my wife. I love Donna. Take it easy, Tia. He's in there, I can hear him. Jesus, Tia. Seven o' clock. That's when we open. Where's our tire? Sorry? I left our tire sitting right outside your door. Nope, haven't seen it. Bullshit! Look, I came to work this morning, there was nothing here. Now, I can sell you a tire if that's what you want, but otherwise I can't help you. You have any Dunlop Supercat? Yeah. Do you want a hot chocolate or something? Hi, Donna. Lily, aye, she's fine. Oh yeah, sorry. We slept in the truck. I know, but the motel was 20 minutes walk away. Okay, yeah, we'll talk about it later. We'll see you at home. Bye. Did you fuck her? No, of course I didn't. No. No! Donna, I love you. I was just trying to make her feel better. She's 16. She won't know what you're trying to do. We're having a baby, Will. I need everything to be okay. It will. It will, I promise. I can't find him. He's not here. Is he coming back? No. I'm sorry. You feel warmer now? Yeah. I'm gonna give your mom a call, all right? Yeah. Nice and soapy. Are you gonna come say goodbye? Goodbye. Off you go. Bye. Hello precious! Hi! Hello. What the fuck are you doing, Tia? You're wearing my slip. I'm sorry. Here. You need to go home to your own family. I can't. Why not? I had sex with my mom's boyfriend. It's his name on my neck. Did you tell your mom? No, but if she sees the tattoo, she'd throw him out. He said he was gonna run away with me. And did he? No. But he said he loved me. And you believe that? Yes. And does he love you? No. Come on, come on. Hi, Mom. It's Tia. I'm sorry. I wanna come home. Okay. Thanks, Mom. I will. I love you too, Mom. ("Ships" by James Kenyon) # I had a romance # In the shadows # We used to slow dance # While you were all asleep # On the off chance # That you were watching # We'd wear our hats low # And talk softer than the breeze # Some days # We spun out of the shade # Some days # We moved across your gaze # Later # We moved far # From the water # And across a mountain range # I played my guitar # And tried to make that sound # Of the bells and boat calls # All out on the bay |
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