♪ ♪
(birds chirping)
-ALAN: Candace! Candace? -(chain jingling)
Get down here! Now!
Sam just left. He is going to kill his father.
-What did you say to him? -He decided
that killing his father would make him better.
Would it?
Well, no, I don't think so.
He could come back here and...
Are you sure it won't work?
(sighs) Candace, I understand that this man was brutal to you.
But I'm supposed to care what happens to him?
Well... yes. Yes, a little.
(doorbell rings)
Can I come in?
You hungry?
(footsteps descending stairs)
I've been in this position many times.
There's nothing you can do.
I usually have a beer and try to relax.
(chain jingling)
(knife chopping)
Bathroom?
Uh, around the corner.
(sighs)
(urinating)
You think I'm some sort of a monster, too.
But I'm not.
I'm like anybody else.
When he's... out, like now...
I'm so scared for him.
I'm so sad for the life he's living.
But the families... the people he does this to...
I make up stories in my head about them.
I live it, in a way.
I picture... them as babies,
with their mothers holding them.
Their fathers playing with them on the floor.
These poor men.
But you won't call the police?
Candace... you won't save them from this?
I can't.
I cannot.
God.
(chain jingling)
(plates clinking)
(sighs)
Why did you used to hit me so much when I was a kid?
(sighs heavily)
I don't know.
How did it make you feel? When you...?
What?
When you used to hit me all the time.
How did it make you feel?
(sighs) I don't know.
Bad, I guess.
You were a weird kid.
You couldn't follow rules, you couldn't play games,
you didn't have any friends.
And your mother was reading all her books,
telling me it was all my fault you were like that.
Anyway, I'm sorry.
(grunting)
(straining)
(wheezes)
My therapist said not to kill you.
And then I left.
How do you feel?
I was choking him and I could feel him disappearing,
and I stopped.
It was like I didn't want to.
Why not?
I-I don't know.
I mean, he said he was sorry, but fuck him, right?
I just, I hate him so much
and usually that feeling, it makes me want to
go ahead and...
But I was on top of him, and I hated him.
And this time, that feeling, it-it made me not want to.
I...
Hmm.
Do you know why I didn't do it?
What was different, between your father,
and everyone else that you've hurt?
I don't know.
What's the obvious difference?
He hurt me the most.
Okay, good. What else?
What's the most obvious difference?
He's my father.
Right.
Sam, you were on top of him...
the one who treated you like this.
If you killed him, you'd be doing it, too.
Acting just like him.
Being just like him.
You hate that part of him.
You are trying to be different.
Trying to get rid of that ugly part of him
that lives inside of you.
You were right to confront your father.
But you didn't need to kill him.
You needed to not kill him.
This is it, Sam.
It is a major breakthrough,
even if you're not quite feeling it yet.
Not killing your father is...
You wanted to change.
Look at you. You've changed.
How does it feel?
Okay. I guess.
It's everything that we have been working towards.
You-you stopped yourself. This is extraordinary.
Thanks.
(takes deep breath)
-(Sam laughs softly) -Hmm.
(exhales, laughs)
I'm gonna go and get some dinner.
Uh, is there anything in particular that you'd...
I'm-I'm not really hungry right now.
I, um... Sam...
It's time to let me go home.
You're ready.
And I need to get back to my family.
Sometimes therapists talk with their patients
about their own lives.
Because... well, you know, we're all human beings.
We all are struggling, every last one of us.
So... I want you to understand a few things about me.
You have been struggling with your father.
And you just had a big breakthrough.
I'm in the middle of a struggle with my son, too.
And I need to get back to him for our breakthrough.
I did a lot of damage to my son, too.
I know it's not the same as what your father did.
But, Sam... people don't deserve to die
for falling short.
No matter how short.
We're all... broken vessels.
I need to get back to my son.
I want you to come see me in my office for regular sessions,
every day at first,
but pretty soon we can go to three days a week.
I have enormous faith in you.
I also want to address
your completely understandable concern, I assume,
that, if you let me go, I will turn you in.
As a therapist, I have a legal and ethical obligation
to keep your confidence.
Including any, um,
crimes that you may have committed in the past.
It only gets thorny if you are clearly going to kill somebody.
And if, at some point in the future,
you have an overwhelming urge to kill again,
and you don't think you'll be able to control it,
that will be the moment for us
to find a therapeutic institution for you.
But I don't see that happening.
I think that, by not killing your father,
you have demonstrated great progress
and likely permanent change.
I'm really proud of you.
I am proud of the progress that you have made.
And I think that you will continue to make progress.
(crickets chirping)
♪ ♪
(engine starts)
(truck approaching)
(engine turns off)
(truck door closes)
(tailgate opens)
(scraping)
(creaking, thumping)
(chain jingling)
(Sam grunting)
(grunts)
I'll be right back.
♪ ♪
(Sam grunting)
(grunts)
I get what you've been saying.
I've been rushing you.
Because I want to get better.
But therapy takes time.
Years, you said, sometimes.
So, I'll get a TV and...
I can stock the fridge with anything you want.
(door closes)
It's a miracle that everyone who was beaten like that
doesn't become a serial killer.
Why wouldn't they, after suffering like that?
It's like an effort to turn them into a serial killer
that doesn't always work.
That poor kid...
with all of it...
he somehow managed to not kill his father.
Maybe this fucking therapy is working after all.
We know this story. He needs a replacement father.
That's why he wants to keep you here for the next ten years.
He understands, maybe intuitively, that he needs
to do it again.
To relive his life with a different model.
Well, I'm not spending the next ten years down here.
No, you're not.
(exhales)
(chain jingling)
♪ ♪
(takes deep breath)
A little meshuggener, maybe.
(laughs softly)
(drops pen)
(sighs)
Sam?
Sam, could you come out here, please?
Sam, I don't think...
I don't think that I said what really
needed to be said yesterday.
It has been a problem down here for me,
to always know exactly how to communicate with you.
And to know what I'm feeling.
I have something to say that may be difficult to hear.
That is part of this process, though,
honestly sharing the truth,
even if it's hard.
You brought me down here,
and you asked me to treat you, and I did.
And I can't do it anymore.
I have done the most I can.
And I am telling you, in my professional opinion,
and I consider this to be a near certainty,
for you to get better, you need to be physically stopped
from acting out your compulsion.
Being physically prevented from hurting anyone else
is what will give you the freedom to actually heal
your heart and your mind.
It's what will give you the space to heal
what your father did to you.
As much as it can be, Sam.
That kind of pain never heals entirely.
But you can do enough of it to allow you to live a better life.
Sam, I have so much respect for what you're trying to do.
It's very brave.
In the whole history of people who have struggled
with what you're struggling with,
I bet you stand alone
in the strength of your efforts to change.
(sighs) And...
...it's time to turn yourself in.
Call the police and turn yourself in.
I now know, apart from anything having to do with me,
this is the only way for you.
Our therapy is over.
You need to make a choice.
I'm making one, and you have to make one, too.
My choice is that I am not doing therapy with you anymore.
Your choice-- you can turn yourself in,
or you can end this the other way.
I don't want to do that.
Either one.
I know. But it's time.
And I'm not going to live down here like a pet.
♪ ♪
(door closes)
(sighs)
(keys jingling)
(door slides closed)
(footsteps departing)
(gate creaks)
(birds chirping)
♪ ♪
(truck approaching)
(engine turns off)
(truck door opens, closes)
(door opens, closes in distance)
♪ ♪
(door opens)
Thank you.
I know you want to go home...
but... he's not ready.
He's not.
Candace, this needs to end now.
No matter what happens, we can't leave anything unsaid.
This is going to be hard to hear,
and I want you to know that I am saying it
not just in my best interests,
but in yours and Sam's as well.
When he was a boy and his father was abusing him,
you didn't take any steps to stop it.
You didn't leave or get help.
It wasn't your fault, you didn't know what to do.
But you did not protect him.
You did not protect your son.
(sniffling)
(sobs, sniffles)
-Ah! What are you doing? -Sam! Sam?!
Ow, ow! Stop. What are you doing, Dr. Strauss?
Sam, come downstairs right now! Stop!
I am sorry to be in this position.
I don't want to be doing this.
I care about you, Sam, I really do.
But-- No, no! Stop!
But I will kill her if you don't call the police.
Sam, I...
Do it, Sam,
-or I will cut her throat. -Sam, please.
-Dr. Strauss, you... -ALAN: I don't want to.
I don't want to, Sam. What I want is for you to call 911,
and turn yourself in, you have to. Turn yourself in!
-Or I will do it! -He's just bluffing, Mom.
All he wants to do is get out of here.
I am not, Sam. Call 911!
I-I don't-- I don't believe you...
I am not bluffing, Sam!
I am going to kill her.
You said we shouldn't interrupt each other down here!
Goddamn it, we let each other finish!
You... you said I was getting better.
You-- I believed you.
I told you last night. You cannot get better
unless you are stopped from acting out your compulsions.
That is the only way out for you.
This is the only way out for me.
Make your choice.
I don't want to.
Then your mother's going to die. And you'll kill me.
I don't think you're the kind of man that can even do it.
(Candace screams)
(high-pitched ringing)
(distorted singing)
♪ ♪
CHAVA: Alan?
(whimpers)
Alan?
-(gasps) -(children chattering)
Are you okay?
(sighs) Just a bad dream.
(playful chatter continues)
(sighs)
About when you were... away?
Not exactly.
Then what was it?
I'll tell you in about ten years.
EZRA: Keep your stuff together, here we go.
Everyone, let's go. It's dinnertime.
I'm just saying, I don't know
how Shmuel ended up being the coach.
Shush. Dov likes him.
You can't shield him from the truth.
I'm not so sure about that.
Coach Shmuel was captain
of the intermural baseball team
-at UMass. -Yes, we know.
We all know. That's my point.
(chuckles)
Thank you.
(singing in Hebrew)
(all joining in)
(singing in Hebrew)
(all continue singing in Hebrew)
♪ ♪
(laughs, continues singing)
(all singing in Hebrew)
♪ ♪
(all continue singing in Hebrew)
(song ends)
(recites passage in Hebrew)
(others respond in Hebrew)
(Ezra reciting passage in Hebrew)
♪ ♪
Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't!
Don't, Sam!
Stop! Stop! Stop!
No! No...
(crying): No, no, no...
Oh, Sam.
(breathing heavily)
♪ ♪
(panting)
(lock clicking)
(door opens)
(whimpering)
♪ ♪
(door creaks)
(keys jingling)
(door creaks)
SAM: "Dear children of Dr. Strauss,
"I am writing to let you know the bad news
"that your dad is dead.
"He helped me a lot.
"I know from him it's important for you Jews to have a body
"when someone dies, so I put it where you can find it.
"It's ten yards back in the trees
"by the northwest entrance to Finch Ridge Preserve.
I am enclosing a letter he left for you."
ALAN: "Dear Shoshana and Ezra,
"I love you both so much.
"I'm sorry this happened to you, and I'm sorry it happened to me.
"But here we are.
"I want you to know I haven't suffered.
"And I've had a lot of time to think.
-"You know I like to do that. -(crying)
"The two of you gave my life, and your mother's life, meaning.
"All parents love their children,
"but no one loved their kids more than we did.
"You are extraordinary people.
"I want you both to go forward without my death
"defining your lives.
"I also want to make sure that some of the conflicts we had
"don't define how you remember our relationships either.
"Shoshana, you and I and your mother had our issues,
"but mostly it has been easy and full of caring.
-"I thank you for that gift. -(sobbing)
"You are the brightest, most extraordinary young woman
"I can imagine.
"In these dark times, I have thought about you
"and your beautiful family constantly,
"and it has given me joy, pride and solace.
"Ezra, my dear son,
"you are a bright light in this world.
"We both know it hasn't been such smooth sailing between us.
"And your mother.
"I have spent a lot of time thinking back on everything
"that happened, and I see things now
"that I was unable to grasp when they were happening.
"I want you to know that I understand now
"everything you said to me.
"You were right. Mostly.
"I was judgmental, I didn't accept you for who you were,
"and worst of all, I allowed your mother
"to take the blame for this,
"when I was as much at fault as anyone.
"More.
"I want you to know that I see this and I'm sorry.
"Through it all, I always loved you.
"And I want you to know how very much
"I respect who you are and the choices you've made.
"You've built a beautiful family and a beautiful life.
You are a special and truly wonderful person."
(sniffles)
(sighs)
A little meshuggener, maybe.
(laughs softly)
♪ ♪
(gate creaks)
SAM: I think I really changed.
The therapy worked.
I'm not going to do it again.
I am never going to hurt anyone again.
That's not true.
You're going to do it again.
We both know it.
♪ ♪
Mom! Can you come down here?!
(door opens)
♪ ♪
Did you know him?
Not personally.
I have colleagues who were students of his.
And I read his book.
You know, I never read it.
I don't even have a copy.
Although, I think I'm about to inherit
like three boxes of them.
I think one of the sections is on parenting.
Huh.
I guess I should read it.
So, how are you getting along?
What happened was...
I'm just worried for my kids.
And my wife.
And my sister.
What about you?
It's been hard, but I'm okay.
Do you want to tell me a little more about yourself, Ezra?
I'm... I'm not sure where to start.
Really anywhere's okay.
♪ ♪
I...
("You Want It Darker" by Leonard Cohen plays)
♪ If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game ♪
♪ If you are the healer, it means I'm broker than lame ♪
♪ If thine is the glory, then mine must be the shame ♪
♪ You want it darker ♪
♪ We kill the flame ♪
♪ Magnified, sanctified ♪
♪ Be the holy name ♪
♪ Vilified, crucified ♪
♪ In the human frame ♪
♪ A million candles burning ♪
♪ For the help that never came ♪
♪ You want it darker ♪
♪ Hineni, hineni ♪
♪ I'm ready, my Lord ♪
(vocalizing)
♪ ♪