0:00:02 > 0:00:08This programme contains very strong language and some scenes of a sexual nature.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12GASPS
0:03:23 > 0:03:26CLOCK CHIMES
0:03:26 > 0:03:29- MAN:- You mean to tell me You're President of the US,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32you bang some 22-year-old White House intern,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35ask her to keep her mouth shut and you really think
0:03:35 > 0:03:38- she'll do it?!- Clinton should count himself lucky
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- she didn't go straight to Oprah. - No, she was overwhelmed
0:03:41 > 0:03:46- by Starr's team in that hotel room. That was a gang-bang!- Oh, right,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49that's why she's talking to Linda Tripp, to everybody -
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- she's part of that whole dopey culture, yak-yak-yak.- Look,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56if Clinton couldn't figure Lewinsky, he shouldn't've been President -
0:03:56 > 0:04:00- grounds for impeachment alone.- True. - If he'd just fucked her -
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- that's how you create loyalty.- Yeah. Know what Kennedy would've done
0:04:03 > 0:04:06to her? Or Nixon? They would've told her,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09"Not only are you not gonna work ever again,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13your father's gonna be out of work. Your mother. Your brother."
0:04:13 > 0:04:16"Everybody in your family will not make one more dime
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- "unless you keep your mouth shut." - Clinton plays it like a lawyer,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24- that's why he didn't wanna cum! - He came, he was finished. Evidence.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28- Smoking cum.- MALE VOICEOVER: - '1998 was the summer of sanctimony.'
0:04:28 > 0:04:33'After the fall of communism and before the horrors of terrorism,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35'there was a brief interlude
0:04:35 > 0:04:38'when the nation was preoccupied by cocksucking.'
0:04:39 > 0:04:42'This is Coleman Silk, powerful Dean of Faculty
0:04:42 > 0:04:44'and Professor of Classics at Athena College
0:04:44 > 0:04:49'in western Massachusetts. Educated at NYU and Oxford,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52'Coleman taught in England before returning to the States
0:04:52 > 0:04:56'to become one of the first Jews to teach in a classics department
0:04:56 > 0:05:00'anywhere in America. When appointed Dean at Athena,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03'Coleman took a poky Sleepy Hollow-type college
0:05:03 > 0:05:05'and dragged it kicking and screaming
0:05:05 > 0:05:09'from mediocrity to excellence. Of course, in the process
0:05:09 > 0:05:11'he made a good many enemies.'
0:05:11 > 0:05:16"Sing, o goddess, the wrath of Achilles!"
0:05:16 > 0:05:20'And finally the persecuting spirit caught up with Coleman.'
0:05:20 > 0:05:23All of European literature springs from a fight,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25a bar-room brawl, really.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29And what was Achilles so angry about?
0:05:31 > 0:05:35He and King Agamemnon were quarrelling over a woman.
0:05:35 > 0:05:42A young girl. And her body. And the delights of sexual rapacity.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Achilles, the most hyper-sensitive fighting machine
0:05:46 > 0:05:48in the history of warfare.
0:05:48 > 0:05:54Achilles, because of his rage at having to give up the girl,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58isolates himself defiantly outside the very society
0:05:58 > 0:06:00whose protector he is
0:06:00 > 0:06:06and whose need of him is enormous. Achilles...has to give up the girl.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10He has to give her back. That is how
0:06:10 > 0:06:13the great imaginative literature of Europe begins
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and that is why three thousand years later
0:06:16 > 0:06:20we are going to begin there today.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Ms Cummings,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Tracy Cummings, can you tell us...
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Still not here... OK, Mr Thomas,
0:06:31 > 0:06:33William Thomas - is he here?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38We are five weeks into the semester
0:06:38 > 0:06:42and I haven't even laid eyes on these folks. Can anyone tell me,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46do these people exist? Or are they spooks?
0:06:46 > 0:06:48- WOMAN: - Were you aware, Professor Silk,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51that Cummings and Thomas were African-Americans?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54How could I be? I've never seen them.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58But you are aware of the connotation of the word "spook?"
0:06:58 > 0:07:01"Ghost", Professor - ghost.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05I was referring to their ectoplasmic character.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Here's the...first definition of the word.
0:07:11 > 0:07:19I quote. "Spook. Informal. Ghost, spectre."
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Dean Silk, may I remind you of the second definition?
0:07:23 > 0:07:25"Derogatory - Negro."
0:07:25 > 0:07:29I'd never laid eyes on them - how could I know they were black?
0:07:30 > 0:07:33- All I did know was that they were invisible.- Nevertheless,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36they have lodged a complaint. Miss Cummings was devastated.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40- Now, the issue here...- These students never attended a class.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44- "Do they exist? Or are they spooks?" Consider the context!- But -
0:07:44 > 0:07:46I've not finished!
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The only issue is the non-attendance of these students,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54their inexcusable neglect of work and their sheer chutzpah.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Miss Cummings is devastated? Give me a break.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02To charge me with racism is not only false,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05but is spectacularly false! And you know it!
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Thanks a lot, Herb(!)
0:08:13 > 0:08:17- I've quit.- What?!- I've resigned from that half-assed college.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Where's that last year's phonebook?
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- Wait a minute.- I saw it here the other day.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- I've been accused of a racist epithet.- What epithet?
0:08:26 > 0:08:27I used the word "spooks,"
0:08:27 > 0:08:32- which 50 years ago was slang for - - I know.- I'm gonna sue them.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- I want that lawyer.- Did you remind them that...- Yeah,
0:08:35 > 0:08:40- No, you hired Herb Keble, the first black...- Please, "African-American."
0:08:40 > 0:08:44- OK, African-American - ever on the faculty.- Where's that book?
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- Is Herb on this committee?- Why do you keep changing everything?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- Yes, he is.- They're our friends!
0:08:49 > 0:08:53- Did Herb even open his mouth?!- Yes, yes. "Sorry, Coleman,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58- I can't be with you on this." Bullshit.- Then we fight this lunacy!
0:08:58 > 0:09:02- After 35 years of your devotion - - That lawyer. I know.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05we're going to organise. We'll get them to sign a petition,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07- that's what we'll do.- Just - No,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- we're gonna do a two-pronged attack. - You keep moving everything!
0:09:10 > 0:09:15- Get lawyers, because I know - I know - I saw it here the other -- Coley?
0:09:15 > 0:09:16What?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- Something's wrong.- I know there is!
0:09:19 > 0:09:24- What do you mean?- Coley... - What's the matter? Hey, come on,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26what's the matter?
0:09:26 > 0:09:31What's the matter? Come on. Come on.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35- I'm sorry.- It's all right.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39- SHE SIGHS - I'm sorry...
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- MALE VOICEOVER RESUMES: - 'Iris Silk died several hours later
0:10:05 > 0:10:08'in her husband's arms. Six months after that,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10'Coleman came into my life.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14'I had been living alone in a small cabin by a lake
0:10:14 > 0:10:16'not far from Athena.'
0:10:16 > 0:10:19- BILL CLINTON:- ..including questions about my private life -
0:10:19 > 0:10:24questions no American citizen would ever want to answer.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Still, I must take complete responsibility
0:10:25 > 0:10:28for all my actions, both public and private.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31That is why I am speaking...
0:10:31 > 0:10:35HAMMERING AT DOOR Hello?
0:10:37 > 0:10:39TURNS TV OFF
0:10:39 > 0:10:44- Are you Mr Zuckerman?- Yeah. - Are you Nathan Zuckerman?
0:10:46 > 0:10:49- Yeah.- The Zuckerman that's the writer, correct?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52- Yeah, but...- We've gotta talk. May I come in?
0:10:54 > 0:10:59Thanks. Your last book won some sort of prize, right?
0:10:59 > 0:11:02- It was shortlisted for the - - Five years ago. What happened?!
0:11:02 > 0:11:04You're blocked! Right? You're blocked.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08You're worried you don't have another story in you. Well,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12- I'm the answer to your prayers. Know who I am?- Dean Silk?- Yes,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Dean Coleman Silk. The late retired and now resigned
0:11:15 > 0:11:20and unlamented Dean Silk. Following the murder - clock that? -
0:11:20 > 0:11:21following the murder of my wife.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27- How's that grab you? Get your juices flowing?- I'm not sure I understand.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Those sons of bitches killed my wife, Nathan. They killed her
0:11:30 > 0:11:36as if they'd taken a gun and fired it into her heart. Yeah.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Who'd've thought Iris couldn't take it?
0:11:38 > 0:11:42As strong as she was, brave as she was. But...
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Yeah, their kind of stupidity was too much,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50even for a juggernaut like my Iris. Massive embolism. Pow!
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Got her to the hospital, but it was too late. Point is,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58they meant to kill me, but got her instead.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00All in the name of "political correctness."
0:12:00 > 0:12:03There's an oxymoron if ever I heard one.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06So there's your book, Nathan. Mind if I call you Nathan?
0:12:06 > 0:12:10- Dean -- Just Coleman. All other titles I have given away.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Coleman.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16I'm sorry, but... I write fiction
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- and at the moment -- This'll read like "The Manchurian Candidate."
0:12:19 > 0:12:23They murdered the wrong person, for Christ's sakes! For one word!
0:12:23 > 0:12:25"Spooks!"
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Spooks! It's unbelievable.
0:12:30 > 0:12:35Let me tell you something, Nathan. My father was, er...
0:12:36 > 0:12:38..a saloon-keeper in New Jersey.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Yeah, he was the only Jewish saloon-keeper in East Orange.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46He only got as far as the seventh grade, but he insisted
0:12:46 > 0:12:50on the precision of words. I have kept faith with him.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52I have kept faith with him.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57You don't mind a suggestion? Maybe you oughta write it yourself.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Yeah. Maybe I ought to.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Yeah...
0:13:11 > 0:13:14I guess I oughta go. Let me ask you something.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Why are you hiding out here in the middle of the woods?
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- Hiding out?- Yeah. Isn't that what you're doing?
0:13:27 > 0:13:30What's the moment called in Greek tragedy,
0:13:30 > 0:13:35the one where the hero learns that everything he knows is wrong?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38It's called peripetio or peripeteia, take your choice.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Yeah... That's me.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Hey, you by any chance play gin rummy?
0:13:49 > 0:13:53- JAZZ PIANO:- 'This was how My friendship with Coleman began.'
0:13:53 > 0:13:57'And how I came out from my reclusive life,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00'living alone in a cabin by a lake.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:03You're divorced, huh?
0:14:04 > 0:14:09- Does it show?- Yeah, you have the look of a man at loose ends.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Takes one to know one. Why did your wife leave you?
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Which one, the first or the second?
0:14:16 > 0:14:20'Several years ago I had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.'
0:14:20 > 0:14:22'Although the treatment was successful,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26'I had nevertheless withdrawn to my cabin in the woods,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30'away from the expectations and entanglements of modern life.'
0:14:30 > 0:14:33'In the year that followed my meeting Coleman,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38'the time it took him to write his book, we had dinner together
0:14:38 > 0:14:42'several times a week, sometimes playing penny-a-point gin rummy,
0:14:42 > 0:14:46'sometimes listening to music that came from a small FM station
0:14:46 > 0:14:50'in Springfield that played '40s and '50s big band hits.'
0:14:51 > 0:14:53'It was during that time
0:14:53 > 0:14:55'that Coleman dragged me back to life,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57'much as he had Athena College.'
0:15:00 > 0:15:04- What's with the book? - The book has come and gone.- Meaning?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Meaning it's worthless.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Yeah.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14You can't make a college without breaking egg-heads
0:15:14 > 0:15:18and... I couldn't write a book called "Spooks"
0:15:18 > 0:15:23that didn't sound like the...ravings of a lunatic.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28So...all this is useless.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33Unless you count the dubious thrill of re-reading old love letters.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Who's the girl?
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- That's Steena Paulsson.- Very pretty. - Yeah.- This you?
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Yeah, that's me. I met her when I was at NYU
0:15:51 > 0:15:53and...it was 1948
0:15:53 > 0:15:57and I was on the GI Bill with the Navy behind me.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00I used to live in the Village in those days
0:16:00 > 0:16:04and I used to go to the library... It was just like fishing -
0:16:04 > 0:16:09I'd go into the stacks and come out with a girl. 'Steena Paulsson...'
0:16:10 > 0:16:12'I almost married her.'
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Hi.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Hi.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30- This book'll change your life, I promise.- All right.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35- Come on in. It'll just take me a minute to find it.- Oh,
0:16:35 > 0:16:37this is beautiful! I live in this dungeon
0:16:37 > 0:16:43- at the bottom of an air-shaft on West 26th Street.- Some coffee?
0:16:43 > 0:16:48- No, thank you, I should get back. - Just one cup, that's all, I promise.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51- And the library stays open till ten. - Sure, why not?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Good. How do you take it?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Black is fine, thanks.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03So - Steena Paulsson, that's - what is that, Swedish?
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Close. It's Danish and Icelandic.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11- So you're not from New York. - How could you tell... Fergus Falls,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13- Minnesota.- Well, Miss Steena Paulsson
0:17:13 > 0:17:17from Fergus Falls, Minnesota...
0:17:17 > 0:17:19..this is my gift for you -
0:17:19 > 0:17:22"Tender Is The Night," F Scott Fitzgerald.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- He's from the Midwest too.- Thank you.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28You're welcome.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32The coffee?
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Coffee.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- What happened?- To what?- The cut over your eye.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Oh, er, boxing. It's just a hobby.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52- You like that sort of thing?- Yes, I do. Don't get the wrong idea,
0:17:52 > 0:17:56it's not about strength, it's really all about how smart you are.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Are you smart - Miss Paulsson?
0:17:59 > 0:18:01What do you think, Mr Silk?
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- I think you'd make a great boxer. - Good answer.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Come on, let's see.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17- See what?- Show me.- Show you what? - Show me how good you are.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21- OK.- OK. Are you right-handed?- Yes.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25All right, put your left leg forward and your right leg back.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Bend at the knees. OK? Two fists. Your right one back by your chin.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34Keep it cocked. Left one comes out in front of you. You jab with it.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39Your thumbs are on the outside. Yeah. OK. It's like this.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Jab!
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Jab! Jab!
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- Try it.- Jab! Jab! Jab!
0:18:47 > 0:18:50That's pretty good, for starters. Your right hand,
0:18:50 > 0:18:55throw that in once in a while, just to mix the other guy up.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- That's a right cross. Like this. Jab! Jab-right!- Jab! Jab-right!
0:18:59 > 0:19:02- Jab! Jab-right!- That's good.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- Jab, jab-right.- All right. The hands.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10- OK. I'm getting hot. Jab. Jab-right. Jab. Jab-right.- Nice.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15- Keep your right back by your chin. - Jab. Jab-right. Jab! Jab-right!
0:19:15 > 0:19:18- Watch the hands.- Stop moving! Jab! Jab-right! Jab. Jab-right.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22- That's good.- Jab. Jab-right. Jab. Jab-RIGHT!
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Did I hurt you?
0:19:26 > 0:19:28No.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Your heart's beating fast.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16- I can't believe this...- Me neither.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21I guess we do things a little differently back home.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Yes, I can imagine.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30First...first we'd be eyeing each other.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34- In church on Sundays, right?- Hm.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Then, as fall slipped into winter,
0:20:37 > 0:20:42and the air turned cold, there'd be...sled-rides.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Skating on frozen lakes.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Singing carols around the Yuletide.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53You forgot log-rolling.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55And ducking for apples.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Go on, then, give me the straight dope.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Tell me about... real American courtship.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11You're American. Jews are American.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23RADIO PLAYS "Dancing Cheek To Cheek" by Fred Astaire
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Listen.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29It's Irving Berlin.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35I hear that and everything in me just sort of unclenches
0:21:35 > 0:21:39and the...the wish not to die...
0:21:40 > 0:21:45..never to die... becomes almost too great to bear.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54- TURNS VOLUME UP: - # Oh, I love to climb a mountain
0:21:54 > 0:21:57# And to reach the highest peak
0:21:57 > 0:22:01# But it doesn't thrill me half as much
0:22:01 > 0:22:03# As dancing cheek to cheek
0:22:03 > 0:22:06# Oh, I love to go out fishing
0:22:06 > 0:22:09# In a river or a creek
0:22:10 > 0:22:12# But I don't enjoy it half as much
0:22:12 > 0:22:15# As dancing to cheek... #
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Come on, dance with me. Come on, dance with me!
0:22:20 > 0:22:25I'm not making a pass at you, come on! Loosen up! Live a little!
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Come on, loosen up, relax.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- Just don't sing in my ear, right? - # Heaven- # Heaven
0:22:31 > 0:22:35- # I'm in heaven.. #- Come on... This is good. It's good for you.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38- # ..heart beats so that I can hardly speak.. #- Turn around.
0:22:38 > 0:22:46- Beautiful.- # And I seem to find the happiness I seek
0:22:46 > 0:22:52# When we're out together dancing # Cheek to cheek... # Good.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Good! Now a little spin.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Hey. Now a little soft-shoe.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Just look at that sky.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Very good. You're really good! Ha-ha!
0:23:31 > 0:23:33SONG FADES
0:23:34 > 0:23:37I'm having an affair, Nathan. I'm having an affair
0:23:37 > 0:23:41with a 34-year-old woman. I can't tell you what it's done to me.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46I think I have a pretty good idea.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49When this stuff comes back so late in life,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52completely unexpected,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54completely unwanted,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56it comes back with such force.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02There's nothing you can do about it. Nothing can dilute it.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05And when she's 34...
0:24:05 > 0:24:10And ignitable, Nathan. Ignitable.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Ever hear of something called Viagra? Well...without Viagra,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I could continue into my declining years
0:24:19 > 0:24:23and still draw profound philosophical conclusions
0:24:23 > 0:24:27and still have a steady moral influence on the young.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Without Viagra, I would not be doing something that makes no sense at all.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Something that is ill-considered.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41And potentially disastrous for all concerned.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Just where exactly did you find this astounding woman?
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- We're closing.- Two minutes, that's all I need.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- I said we're closing.- Two minutes, I promise!
0:24:53 > 0:24:55It's OK. Thank you.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02- Couldn't wait until tomorrow, huh? - No. It's my sister's birthday.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Good. Thank you.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Hi, Phil.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28- WOMAN ON RADIO:- ".. you telling me, Mr Starr,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- "you believe the President was lying?"- "As a witness,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34"when you take an oath it's a sacred obligation,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38"if you are a believer, that you're going to tell the truth
0:25:38 > 0:25:41"and you say 'So help me, God.' Serious business."
0:25:44 > 0:25:48- You got car trouble?- Every other day.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Can I give you a lift? Where can I drop you?
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- Nickerson's?- That's the dairy farm? - Yeah.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- You mind if I smoke?- No, go ahead.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Yeah, two dykes run it. They're giving me a room
0:26:05 > 0:26:08in exchange for doing the milking.
0:26:09 > 0:26:15- So you work at the post office and the dairy farm?- And the college.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Faunia Farley, custodial staff.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- Oh.- Says so on my name-tag.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25- Like to keep busy, huh? - Action is the enemy of thought.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Who said that?
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- Thanks for the lift.- OK.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- Wanna come in?- Hm?
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Um...you mean now?
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- Mm-hm.- I haven't been this close to a woman for -
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Since your wife died. I know.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28SIGHS
0:27:29 > 0:27:31- Listen... - CLEARS THROAT
0:27:33 > 0:27:35We should get something straight.
0:27:38 > 0:27:44If you're looking for sympathy... you've come to the wrong place.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50I don't do sympathy.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Hey...
0:27:57 > 0:27:59Whatever.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12- Thanks for the ride.- OK. Take care.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29EXHALES HEAVILY: Oh God...!
0:28:38 > 0:28:41STARTS CAR
0:28:48 > 0:28:50TURNS ENGINE OFF
0:29:37 > 0:29:40- Hi.- Hi.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45It's nothing personal, but...
0:29:47 > 0:29:51..you gotta go. I just...
0:29:54 > 0:29:58- I don't wanna wake up in the morning and have you here so...- Hm.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Like I said, it's nothing personal.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04OK...
0:30:08 > 0:30:10Oh God...
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Will I see you again?
0:30:23 > 0:30:25- You can't much miss me.- Hm.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40- What's that?- Question is...
0:30:42 > 0:30:44..will I see YOU again?
0:30:45 > 0:30:47MOOS
0:31:48 > 0:31:50What are you thinking?
0:31:54 > 0:31:58- I'm thinking you're gonna ruin it. - No, I'm not.- Yes, y'are.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02Just leave it alone, don't try and get inside my head.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Why do we have to talk?
0:32:08 > 0:32:12All right. All right, have it your way.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19I was thinking I'm a crow.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23- A crow? In what way a crow? CHUCKLES:- Uh-uh.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27- Your turn.- I was wondering
0:32:27 > 0:32:32- what it's like making love... - Fucking.- OK, fucking an old man.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39It's perfect.
0:32:40 > 0:32:41No surprises.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51- What's it like being out of a job? - It's lonely. Like you, I guess.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57My turn. Um... aside from that wreck of a car,
0:32:57 > 0:33:02you don't seem to have any possessions. No books, no pict -
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Action is the enemy of thought...
0:33:12 > 0:33:14All right.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20- My life story - is that what you want?- Mm-hm.- Fine.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I grew up with a lotta possessions.
0:33:28 > 0:33:33My father was rich, very rich. Lots of servants.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Whole nine yards.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43- Don't you believe me?- Yeah, I believe you.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47Then my parents got divorced and my mother remarried.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53Thing is, this one couldn't keep his hands off me -
0:33:53 > 0:33:55bedtime stories his speciality.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59"Hey, sweetheart, let me read you a story." Next thing you know it...
0:34:00 > 0:34:04- ..fingers in me.- You don't have to tell me this.- Hey, you asked.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Told my mother. She didn't believe me.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Nobody believed me. When I was 14 he tried to fuck me.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17That's when I split, I went to Florida.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Then a little of this and that...
0:34:24 > 0:34:30I dunno, y'know, girl like me... always get by.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34No possessions. Travel light.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47SIGHS
0:34:49 > 0:34:51- Yeah...!- Yeah...
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Real nice...
0:34:59 > 0:35:01My lover...
0:35:10 > 0:35:12- Did you hear something?- Hear what?
0:35:12 > 0:35:15- Didn't hear anything.- Ssshhh!
0:35:16 > 0:35:20- What is it?- No, no, no, ssshh! - I can't -- Ssshhhh!
0:35:25 > 0:35:27- It's Les.- Who's Les?
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Oh, shit!
0:35:32 > 0:35:34It's my ex-husband.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41He follows me around. I can feel him, he's out there somewhere.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47- I can handle him. I used to be a pretty good boxer.- Listen.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50I'm not kidding. He's out of his fucking mind.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53He did two tours of duty in 'Nam.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01He used to beat me up.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08One time he put me in a coma for two days.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Hey. There's nobody there.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14- WOMAN:- Ever kill anyone in Vietnam,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17- Mr Farley?- Did I ever kill anyone? - Mm-hm.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22Isn't that what I was supposed to do when I was sent to fucking Vietnam?
0:36:23 > 0:36:28They said everything goes, so...everything went.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Let's get something straight from the start.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36- I never hurt her, OK?- Mm-hm.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Never.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42And I never hurt the kids.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44That was all lies.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47That blue-blooded whore... Her parents were rich
0:36:47 > 0:36:50and she wouldn't ask for a fucking dime
0:36:50 > 0:36:52to help me with the kids.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58She never cared about anybody but herself.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02I shoulda never let her go off with the kids.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04She...
0:37:07 > 0:37:10- You sure it's all right if I smoke? - Yeah.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15She waited until I was in rehab.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18That's why she wanted me in rehab to start with,
0:37:18 > 0:37:23so she could take the kids. She used the whole thing against me
0:37:23 > 0:37:27to get the kids away. She had no right to steal my kids.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Now she's fucking this old Jew.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38I shoulda killed her back then.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44I'm sorry, madam, smoking is prohibited in the restaurant.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46- Sorry.- Thank you.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50- Sorry about that.- Oh, it's fine.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54Seem to have banned smoking everywhere now. This OK for you?
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Sure.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08Coleman? I don't know if this is such a good idea, y'know?
0:38:08 > 0:38:11It's a fine restaurant. They specialise in fish -
0:38:11 > 0:38:13- Sorry I'm late.- Oh, hi.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Nathan, this is - this is Faunia.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20- This is my friend Nathan Zuckerman. - Hi.- Nathan is a writer.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24Good writer. What's that prize you...almost won?
0:38:24 > 0:38:28Aw, never mind, never mind. I've been teaching Coleman
0:38:28 > 0:38:32- how to play gin rummy. - Full of surprises, aren't you?!- Hm?
0:38:33 > 0:38:35OK?
0:38:36 > 0:38:40- Just wanted you to meet a friend of mine -- So, er,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44- Coleman's told me so much about you. - He hasn't told me shit about you.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49What did he tell you? That he's fucking a cleaning lady?
0:38:49 > 0:38:53- Why are you doing this to me? - Doing what?- Why are you doing this?!
0:38:53 > 0:38:57You know exactly what you're doing! Want somebody to talk to?
0:38:57 > 0:39:00You have a good time, I'm outta here.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08- I'm sorry about that.- Coleman - - Later.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Well, you've really come down in the world, haven't you?
0:39:29 > 0:39:31Dean of the college, professor of classics...
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Look what you ended up with.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40- So what'd you tell him about me? - Nathan's my friend, that's all.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44- Just my friend.- Did you tell him I was a little whore?
0:39:45 > 0:39:47Thing is, you can't handle fucking someone
0:39:47 > 0:39:50you can't take to a fancy restaurant.
0:39:54 > 0:40:01Let's just end it. Y'know? Just end it, end it right now.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Hey.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Don't get it, do you?
0:40:14 > 0:40:16I can't.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19I simply can't.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50ENGINE REVVING NOISILY
0:41:00 > 0:41:01REVVING
0:41:02 > 0:41:05(Turn off the fucking light! It's Les.)
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Don't worry, I already called the cops.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11- They'll be here any minute. - CONTINUES REVVING
0:41:11 > 0:41:15I know how to deal with him, all right? We just have to wait.
0:41:19 > 0:41:24- What the fuck?! You can't go out, he's fucking crazy!- So am I.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29- Hey, Farley! What do you want, Farley?- Come on outta there,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33- you murdering bitch! Did she tell ya? Did she?- What?
0:41:33 > 0:41:36That she gave some guy a blowjob
0:41:36 > 0:41:39- while the kids were catching on fire?- Get away
0:41:39 > 0:41:42- or I'll brain you!- Huh?- Away! - Put that down
0:41:42 > 0:41:46before I ram it through your skull! That's my wife you're fucking!
0:41:46 > 0:41:48- I wanna talk to her.- Les!
0:41:50 > 0:41:52Hi, baby.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57- Hi, sweetheart.- Go home. Come on.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05- It's all right, I can... Come on, go home. Hear that? - FAINT SIREN
0:42:06 > 0:42:10- I had to call the cops. - You always fucking do that -
0:42:10 > 0:42:14I just wanna talk to you. You murdering fucking cunt...
0:42:14 > 0:42:19- Come on, darling. Why're you fucking this old guy anyhow?- Away from her.
0:42:19 > 0:42:23Come on, we'll go for a ride. I'll bring you right back,
0:42:23 > 0:42:26I promise. Fuck 'em. Come on.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31- No.- They know me, they're not gonna do anything.- C'mon, Les.- I swear,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35- I'll bring you back.- I don't wanna talk to you.- Fucking hands off me!
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Fuck it! This is payback for what I did in 'Nam.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44This is what I fucking get for saving my fucking country!
0:42:44 > 0:42:49All the shit I went through! I come home to some murdering bitch
0:42:49 > 0:42:52who treats me like garbage?! Please, no more of this!
0:42:53 > 0:42:55No more!
0:42:58 > 0:43:01You wanted to know why I didn't have any possessions.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25This is what's left of my kids.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29This.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39It was an accident. And he knows.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41He knows the truth.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47There was, er - there was a heater.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52And...
0:43:53 > 0:43:56..it tipped over. And the place...
0:43:58 > 0:44:03..place caught fire. I just...
0:44:03 > 0:44:07Y'know, I can't figure out what I should do with them.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10I don't know, do I keep 'em?
0:44:13 > 0:44:15Do I bury 'em?
0:44:18 > 0:44:20I don't know.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27What are you looking at? Huh?
0:44:28 > 0:44:31Is this all too trailer-trash for you?
0:44:35 > 0:44:37Just get outta here.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42Go on, just leave. You don't wanna be a part of this.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02SOBS
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Don't stay.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Please go!
0:45:23 > 0:45:25Please go...
0:45:57 > 0:46:02Please go... Go...
0:46:11 > 0:46:15"Everyone knows you're exploiting an abused woman half your age."
0:46:15 > 0:46:19- Well, if this doesn't take the cake. - What's more, I know damn well
0:46:19 > 0:46:22- who wrote this.- Who?- Delphine Roux.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24Professor of Languages and Literature.
0:46:24 > 0:46:29- I hired her. Hired all of them.- Why would she send you this?- No idea,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32you're my lawyer. Send her a letter, warn her off.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35- She'll just deny - - That's her writing.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37- Any handwriting expert will confirm that.- Coleman,
0:46:37 > 0:46:41forget the letter - what are you gonna do about Lester Farley?
0:46:41 > 0:46:45I'll get an injunction. A restraining order,
0:46:45 > 0:46:49- I don't know.- Have you any idea what you're getting into? You want
0:46:49 > 0:46:52that I fight a legal war on two fronts -
0:46:52 > 0:46:56with a phantom correspondent and with a lunatic. I can get you
0:46:56 > 0:46:58a handwriting expert, a bullet-proof vest -
0:46:58 > 0:47:01but I can't provide you with what you'll never have
0:47:01 > 0:47:05as long as you're involved with her - a scandal-free life.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Is she HIV-negative, by the way? Did you have her tested?
0:47:08 > 0:47:13Did you use a condom? And if you don't use protection, does she?
0:47:13 > 0:47:16How do you know she doesn't wanna use you
0:47:16 > 0:47:20to make up for all that she's lost? Do you want a paternity suit?
0:47:20 > 0:47:24Give up the girl, Achilles. I took your Intro to European Lit
0:47:24 > 0:47:29umpteen years ago - give her up and your troubles go away.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34Faunia Farley is not in your league and she's not from your world.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38Last night you got a good look at her world. The fact is...
0:47:39 > 0:47:44..she ain't worth it. Achilles on Viagra -
0:47:44 > 0:47:46how much sense does that make anyway?
0:47:49 > 0:47:53Ah, Nelson... Sorry, have you quite finished?
0:47:53 > 0:47:59- Yes.- Nelson, you're a genuine vocal master.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03And so rich with contempt for every last human problem
0:48:03 > 0:48:06- you've never had to face - - Listen, I -- No, you listen.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10I never again wanna hear that self-admiring voice of yours
0:48:10 > 0:48:14or see your smug lilywhite face.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18Coleman, use the left! Coleman! Coleman! Jab! Jab!
0:48:18 > 0:48:24Nail him! Right! Move in! Move in! Come on! Good, good, good!
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Finish it off, finish it off.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33That's enough. That's enough.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35- Next week, West Point.- Come on, Doc,
0:48:35 > 0:48:40- that guy's got five pounds on me! - But he's slow. You'll take him easy.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43Besides, the coach of Pitt is gonna be there.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47- He's a buddy of mine. I want him to see you fight.- So?- So?!
0:48:47 > 0:48:52Once he sees your stuff and once I tell him about your grades,
0:48:52 > 0:48:56- I'm pretty sure he'll offer you a scholarship.- I can't go to Pitt!
0:48:56 > 0:49:01- My dad wants me to go to Howard. - He's an optician, your dad?- Was.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05- Lost his business in the Depression. - Coleman, just box for the guy,
0:49:05 > 0:49:09that's all. Then we'll see what happens.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11OK.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14One thing - when you meet the guy from Pitt,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17don't tell him you're coloured, OK?
0:49:19 > 0:49:22- Don't tell him?- Don't bring it up.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24You're neither one thing nor the other.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28- You're Silky Silk, that's all. - He won't know?- How?
0:49:28 > 0:49:31Here's the top kid from East Orange High,
0:49:31 > 0:49:33with Doc Chizner - he'll think you're Jewish.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49- You're late!- I know. - Walter's home on leave.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52Hide this for me, will you?
0:49:52 > 0:49:54Sorry I'm late. Hey, Mom.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59- Walt.- Cole.- How are ya?- Fine.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04So what's this I hear about you being class valedictorian?
0:50:04 > 0:50:07- It's all true. - With the only 4.0 grade average,
0:50:07 > 0:50:12- who else would they choose?- Yes, we're very proud of Coleman...
0:50:12 > 0:50:17- May I enquire how you did, Cole? - How I did?- Today in the boxing ring.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20I'm asking whether you won or lost your bout.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24- Did you tell him? - Kindly answer my question.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29- I won.- How many fights have you won?
0:50:33 > 0:50:34Eleven.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36And how many have you lost?
0:50:38 > 0:50:40None.
0:50:40 > 0:50:41So far.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49- When were you planning on turning professional?- Dad -
0:50:49 > 0:50:51This does not concern you, Walter.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00- I asked you a question, young man. - Doc says I could get
0:51:00 > 0:51:03an athletics scholarship. Maybe to Pitt.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Like Walter, you will go to Howard. And after Howard,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12should you choose to become a doctor,
0:51:12 > 0:51:16you will not be doing your hands any good in a boxing ring.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Coleman, if I were your father,
0:51:20 > 0:51:25- do you know what I would tell you? - You are my father.- I'm not sure.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29- I was thinking Doc Chitzner was your father.- He's my coach,
0:51:29 > 0:51:31that's all.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36He teaches me how to fight. You're my father.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40If I were your father, know what I would tell you now?
0:51:40 > 0:51:43I would say, "You won today - good."
0:51:43 > 0:51:46Now you can retire undefeated.
0:51:49 > 0:51:50You're retired.
0:51:55 > 0:52:00If you'll excuse me, I don't wish to be late for my train.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25- Boy?- Yes, sir?
0:52:25 > 0:52:27This fish is overcooked.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32Very sorry. I will attend to it right away, sir.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41- MINISTER:- "Cowards die many times Before their death.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45"The valiant only taste death but once.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48"Of all the wonders that yet I have heard
0:52:48 > 0:52:51"It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
0:52:51 > 0:52:53"Seeing that death, a necessary end,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56"Will come when it will come."
0:52:56 > 0:53:00Clarence Silk knew well these words from "Julius Caesar."
0:53:00 > 0:53:05He was a man of great intellect, unflinching courage
0:53:05 > 0:53:07and an uncompromising honour.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11But above all else, he was devoted to his family -
0:53:11 > 0:53:16his wife, Dorothy, his sons Walter and Coleman
0:53:16 > 0:53:20and his pride and joy, young Ernestine.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23Clarence Silk was the finest man I've ever met.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27Coleman?
0:53:45 > 0:53:48You're on duty? Tonight?!
0:53:52 > 0:53:54It's better this way, for me anyway.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01I never knew him, Mom.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07Not really. I didn't have any idea what he went through.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Day after day after day...
0:54:11 > 0:54:14I don't believe he wanted you to know, dear.
0:54:14 > 0:54:19- He couldn't see the point.- Point is, if you're coloured...
0:54:20 > 0:54:22..it doesn't matter how much you know...
0:54:23 > 0:54:29- ..you work in the dining car. - He did that so you wouldn't have to.
0:54:29 > 0:54:34Coleman, you don't have to worry. Your father's insurance
0:54:34 > 0:54:37and your academic record will see to it
0:54:37 > 0:54:41- that you get into Howard.- I heard all about Howard from Walt.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45He said, "They're always talking about 'the Negro people.'"
0:54:45 > 0:54:48"About 'we, the Negro people.'"
0:54:49 > 0:54:54I'm not a political person, Mom, I don't understand who this "we" is.
0:54:54 > 0:55:00- Who do you think you are?- I know who I am.- You need to be proud
0:55:00 > 0:55:06- of your race.- What about me? What about just being proud
0:55:06 > 0:55:09of being me? It's my life.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12- Or don't I get any say in the matter? - Coleman,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15- I'm not clever enough to argue with you.- Then don't.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18Don't let's argue.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23I love you, Mom.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25But don't ask me to go there.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31Coleman, you're barely 18 years old.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33What are you gonna do?
0:55:34 > 0:55:36Have a seat.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42- Have a registration card?- Yes.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13Welcome to the Navy, young man.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19So what did the lawyer say? He was more worried about Lester Farley?
0:56:19 > 0:56:22- Yeah.- Well -- I don't wanna talk about Lester Farley.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26- Anyway I can handle him.- Coleman, you yourself told me
0:56:26 > 0:56:28Farley's been locked up in the mental ward
0:56:28 > 0:56:32at the VA hospital. Twice. What do you think would've happened
0:56:32 > 0:56:34last night without the police?
0:56:34 > 0:56:39Lester Farley's not going to just disappear off the face of the earth.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43This kinda thing will happen again. Next time you may not be so lucky.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47- So - I'll just throw her to the wolves.- I'm not thinking
0:56:47 > 0:56:51- about her, I'm thinking about you. - Nathan, she's waiting for that -
0:56:51 > 0:56:53- to her, sex and betrayal are synonymous.- Coleman,
0:56:53 > 0:56:58every mistake a man can make usually has a sexual accelerator.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02- The things that restore you can also destroy you.- I know that.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06- I'll tell you something, I don't give a damn.- These things
0:57:06 > 0:57:08don't come without a cost. Look what's happening -
0:57:08 > 0:57:12people say you got her pregnant and she had an abortion,
0:57:12 > 0:57:16- tried to kill herself.- Uh-huh? What else do they say, Nathan? Hm?
0:57:17 > 0:57:22- What else are they saying, Nathan? - Don't you look at me like that,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26- I know this is bullshit, I'm your friend.- Then act like one!
0:57:26 > 0:57:30Stop judging me and stop judging her! Jesus Christ!
0:57:40 > 0:57:42- Then Rachmaninoff. - PIANO INTRODUCTION
0:57:48 > 0:57:50Dance for me.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54SLOW JAZZ
0:59:30 > 0:59:32# Ta-da! #
0:59:35 > 0:59:40That has got to be... the single most...sexy dance
0:59:40 > 0:59:45ever danced by a girl from Fergus Falls in history.
0:59:45 > 0:59:50- (I love you. I love you.)- (I know.) - I love you.
0:59:50 > 0:59:54(I love you. I love you. I love you.)
0:59:57 > 0:59:59I wanna spend my life with you.
0:59:59 > 1:00:01MUSIC ENDS
1:00:07 > 1:00:09What are you doing Sunday?
1:00:09 > 1:00:16- Nothing. Why?- On Sunday, we're taking the train to New Jersey.
1:00:17 > 1:00:19To have dinner with my mother.
1:00:22 > 1:00:23OK.
1:00:23 > 1:00:26- OK?- I'd like that.
1:00:33 > 1:00:35Well, I hope she likes me.
1:00:37 > 1:00:40- I hope the chocolates are OK. - The chocolates'll be fine.
1:00:40 > 1:00:44- Maybe I should've gotten flowers. There was a place back -- No,
1:00:44 > 1:00:47- the chocolates'll be fine and you'll be fine.- OK.- You know,
1:00:47 > 1:00:51this is my old paper route. That's where I crashed my bike
1:00:51 > 1:00:55- into Mr Harris's front porch. - Which one?- Right over there.
1:00:55 > 1:00:59My father made me pay for the damage, to bike and porch.
1:01:04 > 1:01:06Scared...
1:01:07 > 1:01:10I love you. You know that, don't you?
1:01:11 > 1:01:13Love you too.
1:01:15 > 1:01:19Hi. Sorry we're late.
1:01:20 > 1:01:22Mother, this is Steena Paulsson.
1:01:22 > 1:01:25Steena, this is my mother.
1:01:25 > 1:01:28How lovely. Please come in.
1:01:29 > 1:01:33It's quite a beautiful city, Fergus Falls. It's quite unusual,
1:01:33 > 1:01:37because we have the Otter Tail Lake and the Otter Tail River
1:01:37 > 1:01:41very close to each other. My father owns a small hardware supply store
1:01:41 > 1:01:45and lumber yard there. He's a disorganised one,
1:01:45 > 1:01:48cuts himself, doesn't even bother to wash it.
1:01:48 > 1:01:50They're tough, those Icelanders.
1:01:52 > 1:01:55Actually, I didn't even know they were called Icelanders,
1:01:55 > 1:02:00growing up. My mother, she's Erasmus and she's the opposite.
1:02:00 > 1:02:03Sets table for Saturday dinner at five the night before.
1:02:03 > 1:02:07I guess I was sort of caught between the two extremes
1:02:07 > 1:02:11and so I decided to get away for college.
1:02:11 > 1:02:13Out of their reach, so to speak.
1:02:13 > 1:02:18- That's how I came to New York. - I've never been to the Midwest,
1:02:18 > 1:02:22but I'm sure I'd like it. Coleman, wouldn't you like to see it?
1:02:22 > 1:02:28New York City! Final destination. Penn Station, New York City!
1:02:33 > 1:02:35Steena?
1:02:37 > 1:02:39Honey, we're almost there.
1:02:48 > 1:02:50Honey?
1:03:06 > 1:03:08I can't do this, Coleman.
1:03:11 > 1:03:13I love you.
1:03:16 > 1:03:18I love you, but I can't.
1:03:37 > 1:03:42Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the St Nicholas Arena.
1:03:42 > 1:03:44Tonight, in our opening bout,
1:03:44 > 1:03:46from East Orange, New Jersey,
1:03:46 > 1:03:51weighing 162 pounds, Coleman "Silky" Silk!
1:03:52 > 1:03:56His opponent, from Rochester, New York,
1:03:56 > 1:04:00weighing 170 pounds, Sugar Pete Cunningham!
1:04:00 > 1:04:02Record - six wins, one loss -
1:04:02 > 1:04:07Take it easy with him, OK? Just give the people their money's worth.
1:04:07 > 1:04:10Dance him around for three, four rounds, then go to work.
1:04:12 > 1:04:13BELL
1:04:51 > 1:04:53Hey, kid. Hey!
1:04:54 > 1:04:58I asked you nicely to give folks their money's worth.
1:04:58 > 1:05:01I'm 162 pounds, he's 170 - I'm supposed to let him
1:05:01 > 1:05:06hit me in the head ten extra times to put on a show?
1:05:06 > 1:05:08I ain't holding up no nigger.
1:05:10 > 1:05:12MUSIC: String Quartet in C Major by Schubert
1:06:09 > 1:06:11(It's beautiful, isn't it? Hey?)
1:06:22 > 1:06:24I have to go.
1:06:27 > 1:06:29Stay tonight.
1:06:32 > 1:06:34Uh-uh.
1:06:35 > 1:06:37No. I never stay.
1:06:39 > 1:06:42- No.- Just this once.
1:06:59 > 1:07:01Hi, good morning.
1:07:03 > 1:07:06Would you like some breakfast? Eggs Benedict,
1:07:06 > 1:07:08ham?
1:07:14 > 1:07:17Siddown. Please.
1:07:20 > 1:07:23Coffee? No milk, huh?
1:07:27 > 1:07:30There you go. OK.
1:07:32 > 1:07:36Looks like Monica Lewinsky isn't gonna get a job in New York
1:07:36 > 1:07:40- for the time being.- Can't you avoid the fucking seminar?
1:07:42 > 1:07:46I don't give a fuck if Monica can't find a job.
1:07:48 > 1:07:52Does Monica care if my back hurts from milking those fucking cows?
1:07:53 > 1:07:57Does she care that I have to clean up other people's shit
1:07:57 > 1:08:01in the fucking post office? You think losing your fucking job
1:08:01 > 1:08:05when you're about to retire is a big deal, don't you, Coleman?
1:08:05 > 1:08:08No. I...hate to tell you it ain't!
1:08:08 > 1:08:11Having your stepfather put his fingers in your cunt
1:08:11 > 1:08:14is a big deal. Your husband come up behind you
1:08:14 > 1:08:19with an iron pipe, hitting you in the head is a fucking big deal!
1:08:20 > 1:08:22Having your two kids suffocating and dying -
1:08:22 > 1:08:25that is a big fucking deal!
1:08:26 > 1:08:30Don't you...ever talk to me about that.
1:08:30 > 1:08:32Because you don't fucking know.
1:08:36 > 1:08:38I knew I shouldn't've stayed...
1:08:40 > 1:08:42I knew it was a mistake.
1:08:42 > 1:08:45Big mistake. Even whores know that. Men don't pay you
1:08:45 > 1:08:50to sleep with them, they pay you to fuck and go home.
1:09:02 > 1:09:06Hey there. Hey, Prince.
1:09:14 > 1:09:20Yeah, it's me. You remember me, don't you? It's Fauny.
1:09:20 > 1:09:24Did ya forget me? I wanted to come and see you.
1:09:24 > 1:09:26- But I couldn't.- Hi.
1:09:26 > 1:09:30I haven't seen you in - it must be three, four months.
1:09:30 > 1:09:33Prince missed you. He got out the other day.
1:09:33 > 1:09:37The other birds attacked him. He doesn't have the right voice.
1:09:37 > 1:09:39Because he's hand-raised.
1:09:42 > 1:09:44Yeah.
1:09:44 > 1:09:48He's been hanging around people like us all his life.
1:09:50 > 1:09:53Crow that doesn't know how to be a crow.
1:09:57 > 1:10:02(First time I tried, it was... a month after they died.)
1:10:04 > 1:10:09I got all dressed up. Even my mother would've been proud.
1:10:09 > 1:10:13You know I called her? I did.
1:10:14 > 1:10:17Called her to tell her my kids were dead.
1:10:17 > 1:10:20"Mom, it's Faunia."
1:10:20 > 1:10:2420 years. No call for 20 years.
1:10:25 > 1:10:31She said, "Oh, I don't know anybody by that name" and hung up.
1:10:34 > 1:10:36Bitch.
1:10:37 > 1:10:40Why did they have to break the door down?
1:10:41 > 1:10:43Even the nurse said, she said later,
1:10:43 > 1:10:48there wasn't a heartbeat - not when they first showed up.
1:10:48 > 1:10:50Not a heartbeat.
1:10:53 > 1:10:55Why couldn't they let me die?
1:10:56 > 1:10:59Couldn't even get that right, could I?
1:11:09 > 1:11:12I think I made a mistake this morning.
1:11:40 > 1:11:44Faunia Farley, custodial staff, y'know?
1:11:45 > 1:11:49Just...just doing my thing.
1:11:57 > 1:11:59So where were you?
1:12:00 > 1:12:02Hm?
1:12:03 > 1:12:07- I was starting to get worried. - I walked around. Went to a movie.
1:12:08 > 1:12:10Listen...
1:12:13 > 1:12:17..I'm sorry. Everything that I said and everything that I did, I...
1:12:17 > 1:12:21- You were right. What happened to me is nothing.- No.
1:12:21 > 1:12:24You lost everything - you lost your wife, your job.
1:12:25 > 1:12:29They took your life away from you over a stupid pissy little word.
1:12:29 > 1:12:33- That's not nothing.- Maybe. I don't think you can measure sorrow.
1:12:33 > 1:12:35Yeah.
1:12:38 > 1:12:41I brought you these. They're doughnuts.
1:12:42 > 1:12:45They're from - from the doughnut store.
1:12:45 > 1:12:47Jelly.
1:12:52 > 1:12:56Listen, if you don't want me... If you want me to go,
1:12:56 > 1:13:00you know, then I understand that, because...
1:13:03 > 1:13:06..I understand and I won't blame you.
1:13:09 > 1:13:13- What are you smiling at? - Just so happy to see you.
1:13:16 > 1:13:19Same here. I'm happy too.
1:13:48 > 1:13:51Listen, there's something I need to tell you.
1:14:47 > 1:14:49STARTS CAR
1:15:29 > 1:15:31- ZUCKERMAN:- 'It seemed impossible to me
1:15:31 > 1:15:34'that someone as vital as Coleman could've been killed
1:15:34 > 1:15:38'in what the police called a freak accident.'
1:15:39 > 1:15:43'The more I thought about it, the more I began to feel
1:15:43 > 1:15:46'that Coleman and Faunia could not have died
1:15:46 > 1:15:48'without the presence somewhere nearby of Lester Farley
1:15:48 > 1:15:52- 'and his pick-up truck.' - When did you get in your truck
1:15:52 > 1:15:56- that morning?- Before sun-up. - Why did you get in your truck?
1:15:56 > 1:16:00- To get him.- To get who? - The Jew professor.
1:16:00 > 1:16:03- Why were you gonna get him? - Because I had to.
1:16:03 > 1:16:07- You were gonna kill him?- Oh, yes, all of us.
1:16:07 > 1:16:09That was the plan.
1:16:09 > 1:16:12- There was planning, then? - There was no planning.
1:16:13 > 1:16:16- But you knew what you were doing? - Yes.
1:16:16 > 1:16:18But you didn't plan it?
1:16:19 > 1:16:21No!
1:16:21 > 1:16:24- Did you think you were back in Vietnam?- No Vietnam.
1:16:24 > 1:16:28Were you thinking about the kids? Was this payback?
1:16:28 > 1:16:32- No payback.- Weren't you trying to get revenge for that?- No,
1:16:32 > 1:16:34no revenge.
1:16:36 > 1:16:38- Were you depressed?- No(!)
1:16:38 > 1:16:42- No depression.- Angry?- No more anger.
1:16:44 > 1:16:48- But you drove your truck into their car.- I didn't kill them.
1:16:51 > 1:16:55I didn't kill them. "They killed themselves."
1:17:02 > 1:17:05- What do you think?- I checked with the police
1:17:05 > 1:17:08and there are no skid-marks at the side of the accident,
1:17:08 > 1:17:10no sign of a collision.
1:17:13 > 1:17:18I...think... Lester Farley is delusional.
1:17:19 > 1:17:21Completely delusional.
1:17:21 > 1:17:27My name is Herbert Keble. I am among those
1:17:27 > 1:17:30who failed to rise to Coleman's defence
1:17:30 > 1:17:34when he was accused of racism.
1:17:35 > 1:17:39"Coleman? I can't be with you on this."
1:17:39 > 1:17:44That is what I said - to my everlasting shame.
1:17:44 > 1:17:47I should have spoken up,
1:17:47 > 1:17:51to say then... what I want to say now...
1:17:52 > 1:17:55..in the presence of his former colleagues...
1:17:55 > 1:18:01..that the alleged misconduct never took place.
1:18:01 > 1:18:07Coleman Silk and his wife Iris were betrayed
1:18:07 > 1:18:14by the moral stupidity of a censorious and coercive community.
1:18:15 > 1:18:18And I was a part of that community.
1:18:20 > 1:18:22- We all were. - KADDISH BEING SUNG
1:18:53 > 1:18:57Mrs Keble. My name is Nathan Zuckerman.
1:18:57 > 1:18:59I was a friend of Coleman's.
1:18:59 > 1:19:03- I thought your husband's speech - - I'm not Mrs Keble.
1:19:14 > 1:19:17- Are you...? - I'm Coleman Silk's sister.
1:19:19 > 1:19:23Iris. Nice name. And when is the happy day?
1:19:23 > 1:19:25June 14th.
1:19:26 > 1:19:28Have you told her?
1:19:33 > 1:19:35When will you?
1:19:40 > 1:19:43You planning on bringing her home for dinner?
1:19:45 > 1:19:47I told her my parents are dead.
1:19:48 > 1:19:50Dead?!
1:19:53 > 1:19:57You have no brother, you have no...sister?
1:19:57 > 1:20:00There's no Ernestine, there's no Walter?
1:20:01 > 1:20:05I don't want to be Coleman Silk, the Negro classics professor.
1:20:07 > 1:20:10And that's how it would always come out, Mom.
1:20:10 > 1:20:13You know it. And I know it.
1:20:14 > 1:20:18Funny, I never thought of you as black or white.
1:20:19 > 1:20:23Gold. You were my golden child.
1:20:26 > 1:20:28Look, Mom...
1:20:29 > 1:20:31..I haven't...
1:20:33 > 1:20:37- ..figured the whole thing out yet. - Will you have children?
1:20:39 > 1:20:41Yes, I suppose so.
1:20:42 > 1:20:47You aren't gonna let them see me, are you?
1:20:49 > 1:20:51My grandchildren.
1:20:55 > 1:21:01"Mom," you'll tell me, "sit in the waiting room at Penn Station.
1:21:01 > 1:21:06"At 11.15am, I'll walk by With my kids in their Sunday best."
1:21:09 > 1:21:12That'll be my birthday present five years from now.
1:21:16 > 1:21:19And you know I'll be there.
1:21:21 > 1:21:26But aren't you...taking a risk having children?
1:21:27 > 1:21:30The suspense will be unbearable.
1:21:31 > 1:21:35Suppose they don't pop out of her womb as white as you?
1:21:35 > 1:21:37Won't you have some explaining to do?
1:21:40 > 1:21:43Will you accuse her of adultery with a Negro?
1:21:48 > 1:21:52- I have to go now, Mom.- Coleman...
1:21:53 > 1:21:55..you think like a prisoner.
1:21:59 > 1:22:01You're white as snow
1:22:01 > 1:22:03and you think like a slave.
1:22:41 > 1:22:42Murderer...
1:22:56 > 1:22:58BUZZER
1:23:00 > 1:23:03- Was that the doorbell? - I'll get that.
1:23:25 > 1:23:27Don't you ever come near Mom again.
1:23:28 > 1:23:31- Walt -- You don't call, you don't write, nothing.
1:23:31 > 1:23:34I never wanna see your lilywhite face again.
1:23:42 > 1:23:44And your mother obeyed Walter?
1:23:44 > 1:23:48All the Silk men, from my father on down,
1:23:48 > 1:23:52are very decisive. Yes, she did it.
1:23:52 > 1:23:57But I didn't. I was trying to reach him two days ago.
1:23:57 > 1:24:01It was his birthday. The day after he was killed.
1:24:03 > 1:24:07I don't blame Walter. He was only trying to protect Mother.
1:24:08 > 1:24:10And was he as successful?
1:24:12 > 1:24:14Just before she died,
1:24:14 > 1:24:18she was delirious. She kept saying,
1:24:18 > 1:24:23"Oh, nurse, get me to the train."
1:24:23 > 1:24:26"I've got a sick baby at home."
1:24:29 > 1:24:32Did you know why your brother resigned from the college?
1:24:32 > 1:24:35I gathered he was accused of racism.
1:24:37 > 1:24:40That beats it all, doesn't it?
1:24:40 > 1:24:42For using the word "spooks."
1:24:44 > 1:24:46Sounds like, from what I heard today,
1:24:46 > 1:24:49almost anything goes nowadays.
1:24:49 > 1:24:52People are just getting dumber.
1:24:52 > 1:24:57But more opinionated. You know what's sad, Mr Zuckerman?
1:24:57 > 1:25:02Nowadays it's hard to imagine that anyone would do
1:25:02 > 1:25:05what Coleman felt he had to do -
1:25:05 > 1:25:09constructing his whole life around a lie.
1:25:09 > 1:25:14Coleman could have stopped that racism charge in its tracks
1:25:14 > 1:25:17if he'd only told the truth!
1:25:17 > 1:25:20But that's the one thing he couldn't do.
1:25:20 > 1:25:23Think he ever told anyone?
1:25:29 > 1:25:31Maybe.
1:25:31 > 1:25:33Maybe someone.
1:25:33 > 1:25:36So finally I guess my mother was right -
1:25:36 > 1:25:38I wanted to be free...
1:25:39 > 1:25:41..but I became a prisoner instead.
1:25:44 > 1:25:46And you never told anyone?
1:25:48 > 1:25:50Not even my wife. She...
1:25:53 > 1:25:56I've not said a word about it to anyone until tonight.
1:25:56 > 1:26:01Hadn't told anyone until...you.
1:26:05 > 1:26:09Why me? Why'd you tell me now?
1:26:37 > 1:26:39SIGHS
1:26:50 > 1:26:52'It was during my conversation with Ernestine
1:26:52 > 1:26:55'that I decided to write this book.'
1:26:56 > 1:26:59'A book that Coleman could never have written himself.'
1:26:59 > 1:27:02'The story of his mother and father.'
1:27:03 > 1:27:05'Of Walter and Ernestine.'
1:27:06 > 1:27:11'Of Steena Paulsson and of Faunia Farley.'
1:27:11 > 1:27:14'Who ran from a world of privilege
1:27:14 > 1:27:18'just as Coleman had run from a world bound by race.'
1:27:19 > 1:27:24'And finally there was one more thing I had to do.'
1:27:56 > 1:27:58Beautiful spot.
1:28:01 > 1:28:03It's peaceful.
1:28:04 > 1:28:08- As long as I can keep it secret. - Only now I know.
1:28:12 > 1:28:14- You're the writer, aren't you? - That I am.
1:28:14 > 1:28:17- Any luck?- Not much.
1:28:21 > 1:28:25What do you think about out here when the fish aren't biting?
1:28:25 > 1:28:30I was thinking if I had a son he'd be out here with me, fishing.
1:28:30 > 1:28:32That's what I was thinking about.
1:28:32 > 1:28:35When you walked out here.
1:28:35 > 1:28:38What kind of books do you write?
1:28:38 > 1:28:40I write about people like you.
1:28:41 > 1:28:46- Their problems.- You live at Mike Dumichelle's place, right?
1:28:46 > 1:28:48The cabin on the lake.
1:28:50 > 1:28:53What's the name of one of your books?
1:28:53 > 1:28:56- "The Human Stain."- Can I get it?
1:28:56 > 1:29:00It's not finished. I'll send you a copy.
1:29:07 > 1:29:10I started ice-fishing after my wife left me.
1:29:12 > 1:29:14All you need is warm clothes
1:29:14 > 1:29:17and the right equipment.
1:29:18 > 1:29:20Like this Otter.
1:29:20 > 1:29:24You drill a hole through the ice. This'll cut through anything.
1:29:24 > 1:29:27Then you drop your line with your favoured lure,
1:29:27 > 1:29:30right through. Any flash down there, fish are attracted,
1:29:30 > 1:29:35even in the dark. And it's way dark down there.
1:29:38 > 1:29:41And I had a son... Little Les...
1:29:43 > 1:29:47..a son of my own, I reckon I'd be telling him all this stuff
1:29:47 > 1:29:49instead of you.
1:29:51 > 1:29:55- It's cold out here. - You'd better believe it.
1:29:55 > 1:30:00- I should be going.- You know you're ice-fishing now, don't you?
1:30:00 > 1:30:06- You can put it in your book.- I will. - And you know my secret place.
1:30:07 > 1:30:10You know everything now, don't you, Mr Zuckerman?
1:30:12 > 1:30:14But you won't tell, will you?
1:30:20 > 1:30:22And hey!
1:30:24 > 1:30:26The book - send me one.
1:30:31 > 1:30:33It's in the mail.
1:31:36 > 1:31:39Subtitles by IMS