Captain Fantastic (2016) Movie Script
Today, the boy is dead.
And in his place...
Is a man.
Here you go.
Training in 60 minutes.
Hurry up!
Where's the boning knife?
Dad? Zaja took the
boning knife again.
Oh, yeah.
Jesus.
- Pol pot.
- Yeah.
Boning knife.
- Mountain beaver, huh?
- Mm-hmm.
You're dead.
Vespyr, Kielyr, pair off.
Get your guard up.
You have to stab to kill.
Aim for the liver
or the kidneys.
Otherwise, she'll never learn.
Shouldn't we aim here? A knife in
the lungs creates a pneumothorax.
Or next to the sternum,
penetrate the heart?
That'd be instant death.
If it makes you happy, Zaj,
sure, aim for the heart.
- Bo, you want to show 'em?
- Over here.
Okay, let's go.
Disarm her if you can.
- Ow!
- Good.
How is that good? She just stabbed me.
She fucking just stabbed me.
Well, then learn
to defend yourself.
You kill her.
Yeah, thank you.
Let's try that.
Okay.
This is where she goes...
Zaj, page.
You still liking it?
Mm-hmm.
To stay on schedule for the test, you're
gonna have to be finished in eight days.
Okay?
Okay.
Vesp?
How you getting along?
I just finished chapter 12,
"the world on a string. "
What?
Are you having any trouble
with quantum entanglement?
Planck length
versus Planck time?
I'm fine.
Good.
Then tomorrow after lunch, you can
give a brief presentation on m-theory.
Argue counterpoints with Bo and
Rell vis-a-vis Witten and Dirac.
Whoo-hoo!
Whoo-hoo!
Go. Go all the way
to the top. Go!
Whoo-hoo!
Ah-ah!
If training is over today, can we take
Steve somewhere for class later?
Maybe. Why does mommy
have to be gone so long?
She hasn't been
gone very long.
Actually, it's been three months,
two weeks, six days and 11 hours.
- Mom is very ill. - Don't talk to
us like we're your inferiors.
Bo is right. Mom needs to be
in the hospital right now.
You said hospitals are
a great place to go
if you're a healthy person
and you want to die.
You said Americans are
undereducated and overmedicated.
You said the ama
are avaricious whores
only too willing to spread
their fat legs for big pharma.
All those things are true.
But mom does not have enough of
the neurotransmitter serotonin
to conduct electrical
signals in her brain.
Exactly when is
mom coming back?
That's what I'm
gonna go find out.
Be good, monkey butts.
- See you later, dad.
- Bye.
Bye, guys.
Sorry.
Are you coming in?
No?
Okay. Bye.
Here, Bo, I got that.
Go talk to 'em. We got time.
Ask her what she thinks of the working
people creating an armed revolution
against the exploiting classes
and their state structures?
Well, Marxists can be just
as genocidal as capitalists.
Or whether or not she's
a dialectical materialist
and accords primacy
to the class struggle?
Avoid Marxism. Or telling
her you're a Trotskyite.
Trotskyist.
Only a Stalinist would call
a Trotskyist a Trotskyite.
And I'm not
a Trotskyist anymore.
I'm a Maoist.
Right.
I forgot.
Sorry.
- Hey.
- Hey, Joe.
I sold all your stuff from last time.
Great.
Let's see what you got.
Hello?
Hey.
Ben.
How's she doing?
Harper?
Harper.
Leslie killed herself
last night.
How?
Harper? Harper.
Tell me.
She slit her wrists.
You're my brother. If you need
anything from me, I am right...
Last night,
mommy killed herself.
She finally did it.
Your mother is dead.
Nothing is going to change.
We will go on living
in exactly the same way.
We're a family.
Mom!
Fuck you!
Mom! Mom!
Fuck you!
Fucking... no!
Mom!
I hate you!
Fuck!
Daddy.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Forty-three.
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
Forty-four.
Forty-five.
Hold plank.
Like boards.
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
You got it.
Keep holding. You're strong.
You can do it.
Dad, when's mom's funeral?
The utter recklessness,
the instability and insecurity
that you have brought
to her life...
We decided to live here.
Both of us.
This is your fault.
Leslie had a disease.
She had to be in a good facility.
You were kind enough to offer to pay for
it as long as she was treated near you.
We did that.
I found her will.
I, I assume you know that
Leslie was a Buddhist.
That means she wanted to
be cremated, not buried.
It was very important to her...
I have just lost
my only child.
I'm in no mood to discuss the
particulars of her funeral with you.
Wherever you are,
stay there!
You are not welcome here.
If you show up,
I will have you arrested. Can...
Jack?
- Goddamn it.
- Hello, Ben.
Leslie is in heaven now.
She is finally at peace.
When is the ceremony?
It's in five days in new Mexico,
at our church.
How are the children?
Did you hear what Jack just said?
It's been years. He said that he
would have me arrested if we go there.
Did you hear that?
He's very upset.
It's just best to
do what he says.
It doesn't make any sense. I mean,
who are they to make these decisions?
It's this sick sense of entitlement
that they all seem to have.
This is what we stand against. This is what
mom stood against. Mom hated that world.
Clothes on when we eat, please.
- It's completely unjust.
- That's what it is.
We're in the very unique
position of hating those people.
- Can unique be modified?
- No.
We don't hate Nana and grandpa, but the
rest of their tribe are fascist capitalists.
You're just repeating
whatever dad says.
I'm writing down
everything you say.
In my mind.
Do you even know
what a fascist is?
Violent nationalist militants,
supported by big business,
and they're totalitarian
single-party dictators.
We're her family.
We have to go.
Grandpa said we can't.
What will happen
if they arrest you?
Will they take us
away from you?
That's a possibility.
Hey.
Wake up.
Wake up, grizzly bear,
my fantastic man.
What we're doing out
here is so incredible.
The kids are amazing.
But you have to take care
of them for me, okay?
I love you all so much.
I love you so much.
We want to see mom.
Plus, grandpa can't oppress us.
- We want to honor her life.
- It's the least you could do.
What's that supposed to mean?
You know.
No, I don't.
Forget it.
But I know.
We're strong and we're ready.
I said no.
It's too risky.
We're defined by our actions,
not our words.
- Dad, give us the mission.
- Mission: Rescue mom!
Training in 10 minutes.
Oh, fuck!
Rell?
Can you flex your fingers?
S - t - o - p.
Stay calm, think,
observe and plan.
If you hit the rocks below you,
you'll die from blunt force trauma.
Or internal bleeding from
massive bone fracturing.
Or splenic flexure of
the large intestine.
Yes, thank you, Zaj.
I can't.
My hand.
There's no cavalry.
No one will magically appear
and save you in the end.
Almost.
You got it.
Good boy.
All right, let's go.
Class time on Steve.
We're going up to the glacier.
Let's go.
We can't go to
mommy's funeral.
We have to do
what we're told.
Some fights you can't win.
The powerful control the
lives of the powerless.
That's the way
the world works.
It's unjust and it's unfair.
But that's just
too damn bad.
We have to shut
up and accept it.
Well, fuck that.
So they know we're coming.
Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy!
Whoo!
Attention, all campers.
This is your captain speaking.
Here we have the embodiment
of Calvin Coolidge's statement
that the business of
America is business.
Our democracy is one of the
brightest lights of social justice
in the history of humankind,
and yet most of our
fellow citizens engage
in frenzied shopping as their
primary form of social interaction.
Come on down!
Let's go shopping!
These prices are insane!
- What's a bordello?
- A whorehouse.
Oh.
What are you reading?
Lolita?
I didn't assign that book.
I'm skipping ahead.
And?
- It's interesting.
- Interesting!
- Illegal word!
- Dad, Kielyr said "interesting"!
Interesting is a non-word.
You know you're supposed to avoid it.
- Be specific.
- It's disturbing.
More specific.
Can I just read?
After you give us
your analysis thus far.
There's this old man
who loves this girl,
and she's only 12 years old...
that's the plot.
Because it's written
from his perspective,
you sort of understand
and sympathize with him,
which is kind of amazing because
he's essentially a child molester.
But his love for
her is beautiful.
But it's also sort of a trick
because it's so wrong.
You know, he's old,
and he basically rapes her.
So it makes me feel...
I hate him.
And somehow I feel sorry
for him at the same time.
Well done.
What does rape mean?
When a person,
usually a man,
forces another person,
usually a woman,
to have sexual intercourse.
- Oh.
- Who's hungry?
Me!
Me!
What's sexual intercourse?
When a man sticks his
penis in a woman's vagina.
Everyone keep their eyes
peeled for deer.
Why would a man stick his penis
in a woman's vagina?
Because it can give
them both pleasure.
And because the combination of a
man's sperm and a woman's egg
can create a baby and
continue the human race.
But that's where she pees.
Pee comes not from the vagina,
but from the urethra,
which is within
the outer labia.
But generally speaking, yes,
that is where she pees.
Everyone keep your eyes
open for game of any kind.
Okay.
Now what?
- What's wrong with everyone?
- Are they sick?
- What do you mean?
- Everyone's so fat.
- Yeah, they are.
- Fat like hippos.
- That's not nice to say.
- But look!
Okay, you can think that,
but we don't make fun of people.
Right, dad?
That's right.
- We don't make fun of people.
- Except Christians.
Dad?
Dad?
Shit.
This, right now...
This is your first real test.
Stay calm.
Remember your training.
Morning.
How you doing today?
Morning, officer. Can I see your
license and registration, please?
Certainly.
- Nice rig.
- Thank you.
I pulled you over because
your back left taillight is out.
- Did you know that?
- No, I didn't.
I'm sorry.
I'll be right back.
No school today?
Not yet.
Man, by his sin, has become
separated from god,
and only through personally accepting
the gift of reconciliation
purchased by
Jesus on the cross
can he regain his
fellowship with god.
We're home-schooled.
Father, may I?
You may.
Seriously, uh... look...
I gotta get back to work. When you
get a minute, fix that taillight, okay?
- I'll do it right away, sir.
- Have a good day, guys.
- God bless.
- God bless!
Power to the people.
Stick it to the man.
They're just standing there.
I miss mom.
Hey.
No. No Esperanto.
I'm not joking.
No foreign language unless
the language is spoken by all.
You know the rule.
No Esperanto!
- Please.
- I'm hungry.
Well, then maybe one of you should
have shot the fucking sheep.
They have hot dogs!
What's cola?
Poison water.
- Can I have the grilled cheese?
- No.
What's a milk shake?
Dad, can I have a hamburger and fries?
Can I have pancakes?
Okay, everyone up.
We're outta here.
- What? No, why? -'Cause there's
no actual food on this menu.
Let's go.
Are you okay?
An old man's having a heart attack!
Call 911!
Call 911!
Everyone, get back!
My pills!
I'm okay.
He's okay now.
- Sir?
- Sorry.
Sir?
Sir!
- Sir?
- Sorry about the fuss.
You sure we can't get you
an ambulance or anything?
No, I just forgot
to take my pills.
I'm fine now, really.
Where else can we improve?
Flawed exit strategy.
Everyone went out the same doors.
No one utilized the
loading dock area at all.
If it got blocked, we'd
all be trapped. Mm-hmm.
Inadequately planned
extraction point.
We probably shouldn't have
all gone directly to the bus.
Predetermined pickups would
have been much less risky.
On the plus side, mission:
Free the food accomplished.
Mission: Free the food!
Top marks all around.
Now, if you'd all do me a
favor and close your eyes.
You may open your eyes.
Happy Noam Chomsky day.
But Noam was born
on December 7.
Well, we're
celebrating it today.
Oh.
Mmm!
Yum.
It's so good.
All hail!
- Here we go. Nai.
- Yes.
- Bodevan.
- Thank you.
Rellian.
Rell.
Kielyr, Vespyr, Zaja.
All right, go for it.
Dad!
Fifty-five pound pull,
laminated wood and glass.
Whoa!
A ka-bar fighting knife?
That's right.
Thanks, dad!
It's so beautiful.
Seven-inch blade, partially serrated,
well-balanced if you dip when you cut.
Pictures.
Oh.
Those are black storm broadheads.
Razor sharp.
What kind of crazy person
celebrates Noam Chomsky's birthday
like it's some kind
of official holiday?
Why can't we celebrate Christmas
like the rest of the entire world?
You would prefer to celebrate
a magical fictitious elf
instead of a living
humanitarian
who's done so much to promote
human rights and understanding?
Okay, well,
let's have a discourse.
Forget it.
No, explain.
Take the opportunity
to make your case.
We're all open to hearing
your arguments.
If they're valid and
you persuade us,
I'm sure we'd all be willing
to change our minds.
Right?
Yeah.
Use your words.
Ah!
Yes!
Thanks, dad!
You're welcome.
You guys need a hand?
- No, we're fine.
- No, we got it.
- All right.
- Jackson, not at the table.
- Hey.
- Jackson.
All right.
Well, I am so happy that
our family is together.
Thanks for putting
on this feast.
It's all local and, um,
organic and non-gmo, so...
How did you kill
those chickens?
With an ax or a knife?
I... I didn't have to
kill the chickens.
I... they, uh... I...
It's a rotisserie chicken,
so you buy it on...
It's already dead.
Or cooked.
On a thing.
- Dig in.
- All right.
- Ben, some wine?
- Please.
Dad, can I have some wine?
- Sure. Why not?
- -Ben. No.
Children don't drink wine.
In France and other countries, children
drink small amounts of wine all the time.
It's a digestive.
It's not crack.
What's crack?
Crack is a crystallized, highly addictive
derivative of the stimulant cocaine.
In the mid-1980s, it accelerated the
decimation of inner-city neighborhoods.
Crackheads... some of them
kids just like you guys...
Were killing each other
over nothing, over their Nikes.
They killed each
other for Nike?
The Greek winged
goddess of victory?
Stop.
He's joking, right?
They're-they're
like Adidas.
- Who's Adidas?
- You're serious?
They're shoes.
Now?
Ben.
We're, uh... I, I just...
I'm sorry for your loss.
We're devastated.
- We're just... so sorry.
- Thank you, Dave.
I don't... I, I don't know
what else to say.
I'm like...
It's okay. We all know you
had issues with Leslie.
- What?
- It's not a secret.
I wouldn't say that.
Why would you...
Last time we saw you, you
called her a fucking bitch.
Ben.
What?
It's fine.
My kids remember.
- Don't you guys?
- Yeah.
Wait, no.
I said that...
We were all having a huge,
uh, fight about sugar.
I had given the kids some,
what, frosted mini-wheats.
And the extremity
of her position...
She was yelling at me.
She pushed me.
- And I said... -"don't be
such a fucking bitch. "
Ben.
I didn't say that.
They're just words.
Your words, but just words.
- Not spoken in this house.
- It's inappropriate in front...
To say that in
front of the kids.
Absolutely.
Understood.
It won't happen again.
Okay.
Dad, how did
aunt Leslie die?
Well, aunt Leslie was sick,
and she had complications
from her sickness.
Yeah.
She had a mental illness.
Bipolar affective disorder.
We think it started
right after Bo was born.
Probably a form of
postpartum psychosis.
She'd have violent
mood swings
ranging from mania,
where she'd be elated
and make elaborate
plans for the future,
to severe depression, where
she'd become almost catatonic,
utterly without hope.
We didn't... we didn't understand
what was happening.
We don't need to talk about
this in front of the children.
These are details that are...
Yeah. The doctors, um,
put her in the hospital.
They gave her medicine,
but she was really sick. Yeah.
And she... died.
Sick people die.
Sometimes they-they die.
She died 'cause of...
Because of her, uh...
Because of the sickness.
She slit her wrists. She killed herself.
That's what happened.
Or that.
Excuse me.
- Here you go, sweetie.
- Thank you.
Bo?
- To mom.
- To mom.
Shh.
Combo!
Extreme combo!
You are dead!
We're just doing the best we can, Ben.
That's all anybody is doing.
So am I! Just the best
that we know how.
I'm sorry it doesn't live up
to your high standards!
I tell the truth to my kids.
I don't lie to my kids.
Protecting children
from certain concepts
that they are too young to
understand is not lying to them.
Guys!
We have neighbors, okay?
Look, it's a... it's a very
hard time right now.
Everybody's still a little raw.
Can we just try to, come on,
put this to bed, all right?
I apologize.
I'm sorry for not respecting the way
you guys do things in your home.
Thank you for saying that.
I know Leslie had been
sick for a long time,
but I cannot imagine how difficult
this time must be for you.
Uh, guys, what-what
are you doing?
We're sleeping
under the stars.
- But... - We made up the rec
room downstairs for a sleepover.
Yeah.
We're fine here.
We're fine.
Okay.
Why do they have
to take showers?
They're not taking a shower.
I mean, it looks like a shower,
but it's really a gas chamber.
Jackson, put that away or I'm gonna
put it in the microwave, press popcorn.
All right.
Actually, why don't you take your cousins
and go show them your action figure guys?
- Why? -Because they may never
have seen them before.
It might be fun. So, can we
play Xbox afterwards?
One game.
Go.
Yes!
Thank you.
Yeah, try it.
- How are the kids doing?
- They're strong.
How long have you been out there...
wherever it is you're living now?
We left Boulder
when Bo was three.
And then we were on that farm
we had in Oregon until he was eight.
So, we bought the land in
the forest 10 years ago.
How do you still have money?
We only buy what we need.
Look, Harper and I
have been talking.
The kids need
structure, stability.
They need to go to a real school,
so they can get real jobs.
Oh, for Christ's sake.
You're going to get them killed!
Whoa.
I'm sorry.
But your kids are
without a mother now.
I don't think you have any idea
what you're doing to them.
I'm saving their lives.
That's what I'm doing.
Ben, you sound so ridiculous.
Is knowing how to set a broken bone or
how to treat a severe burn ridiculous?
Knowing how to navigate by the stars
in total darkness... that's ridiculous?
How to identify edible plants, how
to make clothes from animal skins,
how to survive in the forest
with nothing but a knife?
That's ridiculous to you?
Jesus.
They have the cardiovascular and muscular
endurance levels of elite athletes.
Who cares?
They're children!
They need to go to school.
They need to learn about the world.
Justin.
Jackson?
Would you please come
down here for a second?
What?
How old are you now, Jackson?
Thirteen.
Can you tell me what
the bill of rights is?
Um, what something costs,
I guess.
That's a good guess.
- Justin, you're in high school?
- Yeah.
Do you like your school?
It's whatever.
Do you know what
the bill of rights is?
It's a government thing, right?
Like, rights that people
have in America and stuff.
Yep.
Hey, Zaja?
Yes?
Would you please come down
here a moment, sweetie?
I wanted to ask you
a quick question.
Zaja's just turned eight,
by the way.
The bill of rights.
Amendment one:
Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment
of religion,
or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof;
- Or abridging the freedom of...
- Stop.
Regurgitating memorized amendments
isn't what I'm asking for.
Just tell me something about
it in your own words.
Without the bill of rights,
we'd be more like China.
Here, at least, we don't
have warrantless searches.
We have free speech.
Citizens are protected from
cruel and unusual punishments...
- That's enough.
- Are protected...
Wait a minute.
Zaja.
How would you characterize the 2010
supreme court decision on citizens united?
Corporations have the
same rights as people,
so there's no spending
limit on candidates.
Which means our country is ruled by
corporations and their lobbyists
who fund candidates and command
their fealty by demanding that...
Jesus Christ. You made your point.
We get it.
It's very impressive.
All of you.
Is that yoga?
Your breath.
They call it "Pranayama. "
It flows with your movements,
your Asana.
It's supposed to connect the mind
and the body to fuel your Samadhi.
Does that really work?
I'm Claire.
Bodevan.
Bodevan?
What kind of a name is that?
My parents made it up.
That's weird.
Why?
Our names are unique. There's only
one of us in the whole world.
That's really weird.
What kind of music
do you listen to?
Mostly Bach.
Mainly the Goldberg variations,
especially Glenn
Gould's versions.
I also like the unaccompanied cello suites,
preferably when played by yo-yo ma.
Where are you from?
Most recently in Paris,
in the Marais.
Near Victor Hugo's house.
We're just back in the states
because of my dad's sabbatical.
He's writing a book
on Dr. Spock.
Oh, I love Star Trek.
It's awesome.
- Which star?
- You know, Spock.
The guy with the ears,
he's from Star Trek.
No, Dr. Spock was
from Connecticut.
Right after Yale, he wrote
baby and child care in 1947.
It's one of the seminal
books on child-rearing.
I was talking about
that old TV show.
Oh.
Child-rearing.
Of course.
Yeah, I, I know that one.
It's... awesome.
And what about your mom?
I can't talk about it.
She works for the
us government.
I can't talk about it due to
its highly classified nature.
- Seriously?
- I, I can't say any more.
I, I don't even know
that much myself.
It's, um...
I shouldn't have told you.
You can't tell anyone.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
Follow me.
We have to be quiet.
It's almost midnight.
I sincerely hope you two lovebirds haven't
been doing what I think you've been doing.
I know what you think.
But I know that your daughter has
taught me many things just now.
She has broadened my mind,
she has helped me grow.
When we just kissed for the
first time just then, it...
The endorphins that your
daughter sent through my body
were like dolphins swimming
through my bloodstream.
The way she has opened me up, she
has penetrated deep inside of me,
and I know that I have penetrated
deep, deep inside of your daughter.
And... but not-not like that.
I would love to when...
When it's necessary for...
I, I want kids someday. Not right now,
of course. But when you're ready,
when I'm ready, because I think
this should be a shared decision.
This is a decision that we
should make together.
But when you are ready,
I will be ready.
I am ready for you,
if you will have me.
Claire.
What's your last name?
M - M - Mccune.
Claire Mccune,
will you be my wife?
Okay, funny man,
I'm sure your dad's waiting up.
Don't worry.
You'll see her tomorrow.
Good night.
It's just a penis.
Every man has one.
We're all animals
of the earth.
Clothes when we eat!
Mmm.
You look happy.
I am happy.
Are you happy? Yeah.
I'm here with you.
O god, to whom mercy
and forgiveness belong,
hear our prayer on behalf of
your servant Leslie Cash,
whom you have taken
out of the world.
And because she put her
trust and hope in you,
command that she be carried
safely home to heaven
and come to enjoy
your eternal reward.
- Amen.
- Amen.
- Come on, guys.
- Who is that?
Do you mind scooting over, sir?
I did not know
Leslie personally,
and I am poorer for it.
I understand that she
was a loving mother
who gave up her law practice
to raise her children.
Leslie loved her mother,
Abigail,
and her father, Jack,
and their dogs,
Harvey and little bear.
They told me that she also loved
gardening and classical music,
particularly Glenn Gould's versions
of the Goldberg variations.
She also liked walks in the
moonlight on the beach.
And she loved her husband
Ben and their children...
I'll, uh, take that
as my cue, if I may.
First of all,
Leslie practiced Buddhism,
which to her was a philosophy
and not an organized religion.
In fact, Leslie abhorred
all organized religions.
To her, they were the most dangerous
fairy tales ever invented,
designed to elicit
blind obedience
and strike fear into the hearts of
the innocent and the uninformed.
To her, the only thing
worse than death
would have been the knowledge
that her rotting flesh
was to be trapped for all
eternity inside a big box...
And buried in the middle
of a fucking golf course.
Although the absurdity of being eulogized
by someone that didn't even know her
has exactly the kind of comedic flourish
that Leslie would have cherished.
If nothing else,
she had a sense of humor.
I want to read something to all of
you, so you'll know what I mean.
Leslie's last will
and testament.
And I quote,
"in the event of my death,
I, Leslie Abigail Cash, as a Buddhist,
wish to be cremated.
My funeral, such as it is, shall be
a celebration of the life cycle,
with music and dancing.
After, it is my expressed
desire that my ashes
shall be taken to a
nondescript location,
preferably public
and heavily populated.
At which point my ashes,
promptly and unceremoniously,
are to be flushed down
the nearest toilet. "
End quote.
Now that's comedy.
Sir, that's enough.
I'm not finished.
Hey, wait, I'm not finished.
- Dad!
- You're not listening to me.
- Dad!
- This is not what she wanted!
- Keep moving. -Come on.
- Let go of me!
Dad!
She's my wife!
This is her will!
This is against her wishes!
Goddamn it!
We have songs to sing!
Dad!
If you'll open your books,
we'll read this morning from
Matthew 18, verses 15-20.
You are the worst thing that has
ever happened to my family.
Why won't you respect
your daughter's wishes?
Or your grandchildren's?
Hi, kids.
Honey.
Hello, grandpa, I'm Nai.
Nai.
We've never met.
Hey, Abby.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Hi, honey.
Grandma!
Hello, grandma.
We're all together.
Isn't this wonderful?
Abby and I are gonna take
the children to the ceremony,
and then you can
follow us to the house.
They're my kids.
They're staying with me.
Children, I'm sorry that
you have to witness this,
but I don't think your father
is fit to attend the funeral.
We're not gonna let you
put her in the ground!
Who do you think the police
are gonna listen to? Me?
Or some hippie
in a clown outfit?
- Come on, Abby.
- Where are we going? I'm...
- We're going to see Leslie.
- I'm visiting with the children.
- We have to see them at the house.
- Give me a minute...
Honey, Leslie is waiting. Leslie
is waiting. Come on. Okay.
- Bye, grandma.
- Bye, grandma and grandpa.
Back on Steve.
Let's go.
- Dad?
- Let's go.
Dad, where are we going? We're
going to stop this fucking funeral!
- No, dad!
- No! Dad, no!
- Dad, we can't go!
- Please, listen to us.
- Why can't we go to mom's funeral?
- Because of dad.
- Because of his speech?
- Yes!
Everyone shut
up and sit down!
- Sit the fuck down!
- Dad.
Silence!
Put your goddamn seat belts on!
- No! Stop Steve! -You heard grandpa.
He'll have us arrested!
They are not stopping
us from saving mom!
Dad, abort the mission!
Go home!
- Abort the mission!
- We are rescuing mom!
Mom is dead! This is not what
she would have wanted...
- They have no right!
- I don't want to lose you!
Please.
We can't lose you too.
Motherfuck!
I have memories of mom,
laughing.
I can't even remember
when that was.
Mom had psychotic episodes.
She had hallucinations.
Of smashing our heads
in with rocks.
I heard them talking about it.
Mom was sicker
than any of us knew.
Dad made her crazy.
Dad's dangerous.
You think our lives
are so great.
You think dad is so perfect.
Yale, Stanford,
Princeton, Harvard,
Dartmouth, MIT, brown.
Whew.
Well done.
Thank you.
It's very impressive.
I guess.
Yeah.
All this time you...
You've been deceiving me?
What? No. I took you to the library
and you snuck around behind my back,
taking sat tests and
contacting universities?
Dad, it's not like that. We're
not an accredited home school.
I don't know how
the fuck you did it.
I guess you somehow managed...
You don't understand.
To create acceptable transcripts,
got your work approved.
Listen. Listen, dad, please.
All without my knowledge or approval.
I don't know what's
more impressive,
the fact that you got into
all these fine schools,
or... or that for months you've
been lying directly to my face.
It was mom.
She helped me with everything.
We did it together.
I just want to go to college.
You speak six languages. You have
high math, theoretical physics!
This is what I'm talking about! What the
hell are these people going to teach you?
I know nothing!
I know nothing!
I am a freak because of you!
You made us freaks!
And mom knew that!
She understood!
Unless it comes out of a fucking book,
I don't know anything about anything!
Dad.
You should put some
clothes on, buddy.
No, stay on Steve.
I'll be right back.
- Where is he?
- No.
- Abby, I need Rell. It won't
work like this. - You know Jack.
He's my son.
All right.
It's all about timing.
Just be easy.
Follow through.
Okay, get your things.
Just a minute, please.
Come on, Rell.
I said "just a minute. "
I've clearly upset you,
and I apologize.
- You killed mom!
- Oh.
I heard you.
I heard you fighting about where we live.
Mom wanted to leave.
I heard.
Your mother and I made
certain decisions,
together, about what was
best for all of you.
I'm going to live here
with Nana and grandpa.
That's not possible.
Come on, get your stuff.
Let's go.
Let's go!
I hate you!
I fucking hate you!
Rellian.
Rellian.
What the fuck?
- That almost hit me!
- If I wanted to, I would have hit you.
You just shot an arrow at me!
You told me they were in school.
They are. Leslie and
I are their teachers.
Are...
Were their teachers.
So you're teaching them to steal.
Of course not.
"Mission: Free the food"?
That was part of their training.
So you're "training"
them to steal.
Their mother had just died.
They were in shock. They were devastated.
They needed a distraction.
So we made it
Noam Chomsky day.
"Noam Chomsky day. "
I don't even know who that is.
That's the day you gave my
grandchildren real weapons.
How did Rellian break his hand?
He slip... he fell.
And it's not broken.
He was climbing on a
rock face in the rain.
It was an accident.
And it wasn't raining
when we were climbing.
He has bruises over his whole body.
Yeah, and scratches.
- We all have them.
- It's child abuse.
Even if they make it through
whatever it is you're doing to them,
they're gonna be totally
unprepared for the real world.
And I happen to think
the opposite is true.
Rellian is legally old
enough to choose,
and I intend to
honor his wishes.
This is my lawyer's card.
Abby and I have decided that we're
gonna file for custody of the children.
Now I know you don't own a telephone,
but I suggest you find one immediately
and call him,
because I would hate to have to
issue a warrant for your arrest.
He's my son.
I'm not leaving without him, Jack.
Fine.
Who's this?
Hey! Hello, bill.
How are you?
It's Jack Bertrang from,
um, up in Coronado.
Listen, I think I just saw a prowler
wandering around outside on my grounds.
I wonder if you'd send a car?
Thanks. Yeah.
I hope you can explain Rellian's
injuries to the police, because I can't.
Thanks again.
Sure thing, Mr. Bertrang.
Okay, prisoner located.
Second floor, second window,
above the garage.
- Target locked.
- Bring him home, Vesp.
- Vesp!
- Vespyr!
Dad! Vespyr!
Vesp!
Mr. Cash?
She's got a decent concussion,
but we did a cat scan and there's
absolutely no damage to the brain.
She does have a slight fracture across
the tibia and fibula of her left leg.
She's going to need a neck brace and
a cast, but otherwise she's fine.
Can I show you something?
Uh, this is the top
vertebrae here.
This dark line... it's hard to see...
but that's the fracture line.
What was she
doing on a roof?
Just playing.
Well, for a girl her age
she's unusually strong.
Yeah. There's seven
vertebrae in the neck.
A break to any of the first four,
a tear to the spinal cord...
I mean, if this had happened
just a few millimeters lower,
we'd be talking about
death or paralysis.
You're a very lucky man.
Hey, guys, come on in.
Please, come in.
Hi!
Hi, sweetheart.
- Come right in, darling.
- Let me have your bag.
Slow down, now.
Slow down.
Let's go this way, darling.
This way, honey.
We're going to go right
into the kitchen.
Come on, let's get you
something to eat. Okay?
And you'll have
a good night's sleep. Okay.
One.
One.
Two.
Two.
Bodevan, kids: Three.
Four.
And then you come back, five.
Five.
Like here. And you jump
up and clap your hands.
Six.
Six.
Grand... grandfather abuse. Grandfather
abuse. Grandpa down! Grandpa down!
There's a lot in here, honey. I want
you to take whatever you want.
There's something I
did want to show you.
Just before you called about getting her
treatment, she sent me two letters.
And I wanted to show
this one to you.
"Dear mom, you don't need
to come get me anymore.
Burn the other letter.
What Ben and I have created here may
be unique in all of human existence.
We created a paradise
out of Plato's Republic.
Our children shall be
philosopher kings.
It makes me so
indescribably happy.
I'm going to get better
out here. I know I will.
Because we are defined by
our actions, not our words. "
Like, not going home?
Yeah.
Like not going home.
I am not staying here.
This house is a vulgar
display of wealth.
And an unethical use of space.
I think you'll all be safe here.
- But we want to live with you.
- I almost got you killed, sweetie.
It was an accident.
The tiles just cracked.
It was a beautiful mistake,
but a mistake.
I thought it would help her.
I thought...
I thought she'd get better out
there, you know? But, uh...
It was too much.
It was too much.
Too much.
And I knew it.
I did.
I knew.
Why can't we just
stay with you?
Because if you do...
I'll ruin your lives.
I'll call you in a few days.
You know where
you're heading?
So?
Hmm.
Uh, I don't know. Maybe you
could take them hunting.
They... they all like that.
Okay.
And, uh, Bo wants
to go to college.
He got in everywhere,
all the best schools.
I don't really know how we're going to
pay for all that. Ben, I'll take care of it.
We're going to look after
your children.
There's really nothing to
worry about, I promise.
You're doing the right thing.
Okay, well...
Good luck, Ben.
Thanks.
You shaved your face.
I don't hate you.
I just wish you'd helped mom.
Me too.
- I'm sorry.
- I love ya.
- We want to complete
the mission. - No.
- There is no mission. -Mission:
Rescue dad and mommy.
Mom wanted to be cremated.
And we want to honor her wishes.
And flush her down the toilet.
I can't put any of you
in danger ever again.
I'm sorry.
"If you assume that
there is no hope,
then you guarantee that
there will be no hope.
If you assume that there
is an instinct for freedom,
that there are opportunities
to change things,
then there is a possibility
that you can contribute
to making a better world. "
Noam Chomsky.
Dad, I found her.
"Leslie Abigail Cash.
May god bless her
soul for all eternity. "
Let's dig.
Otherwise she has to lie
under that bullshit forever.
Mommy's in here.
Hi, little bird.
It's me.
I'm sorry,
I didn't know what to do.
I'm sorry if I
made it worse.
My face is mine,
my hands are mine,
my mouth is mine,
but I'm not.
I'm yours.
Mom, here's your
favorite song.
Bye, mommy!
I love you all, okay?
We love you.
Mmm, mmm.
Why are you going to Namibia?
I just put my finger on a map.
When you have sex with
a woman, be gentle...
...and listen to her.
Treat her with respect and dignity,
even if you don't love her.
I know.
Always tell the truth.
Always take the high road.
I know.
Live each day like
it could be your last.
Drink it in.
Be adventurous, be bold,
but savor it. It goes fast.
I know.
Don't die.
I won't.
Get out of here.
Power to the people.
Stick it to the man.
Hi, guys.
Okay, eat your breakfast. The school
bus will be here in 15 minutes.
And in his place...
Is a man.
Here you go.
Training in 60 minutes.
Hurry up!
Where's the boning knife?
Dad? Zaja took the
boning knife again.
Oh, yeah.
Jesus.
- Pol pot.
- Yeah.
Boning knife.
- Mountain beaver, huh?
- Mm-hmm.
You're dead.
Vespyr, Kielyr, pair off.
Get your guard up.
You have to stab to kill.
Aim for the liver
or the kidneys.
Otherwise, she'll never learn.
Shouldn't we aim here? A knife in
the lungs creates a pneumothorax.
Or next to the sternum,
penetrate the heart?
That'd be instant death.
If it makes you happy, Zaj,
sure, aim for the heart.
- Bo, you want to show 'em?
- Over here.
Okay, let's go.
Disarm her if you can.
- Ow!
- Good.
How is that good? She just stabbed me.
She fucking just stabbed me.
Well, then learn
to defend yourself.
You kill her.
Yeah, thank you.
Let's try that.
Okay.
This is where she goes...
Zaj, page.
You still liking it?
Mm-hmm.
To stay on schedule for the test, you're
gonna have to be finished in eight days.
Okay?
Okay.
Vesp?
How you getting along?
I just finished chapter 12,
"the world on a string. "
What?
Are you having any trouble
with quantum entanglement?
Planck length
versus Planck time?
I'm fine.
Good.
Then tomorrow after lunch, you can
give a brief presentation on m-theory.
Argue counterpoints with Bo and
Rell vis-a-vis Witten and Dirac.
Whoo-hoo!
Whoo-hoo!
Go. Go all the way
to the top. Go!
Whoo-hoo!
Ah-ah!
If training is over today, can we take
Steve somewhere for class later?
Maybe. Why does mommy
have to be gone so long?
She hasn't been
gone very long.
Actually, it's been three months,
two weeks, six days and 11 hours.
- Mom is very ill. - Don't talk to
us like we're your inferiors.
Bo is right. Mom needs to be
in the hospital right now.
You said hospitals are
a great place to go
if you're a healthy person
and you want to die.
You said Americans are
undereducated and overmedicated.
You said the ama
are avaricious whores
only too willing to spread
their fat legs for big pharma.
All those things are true.
But mom does not have enough of
the neurotransmitter serotonin
to conduct electrical
signals in her brain.
Exactly when is
mom coming back?
That's what I'm
gonna go find out.
Be good, monkey butts.
- See you later, dad.
- Bye.
Bye, guys.
Sorry.
Are you coming in?
No?
Okay. Bye.
Here, Bo, I got that.
Go talk to 'em. We got time.
Ask her what she thinks of the working
people creating an armed revolution
against the exploiting classes
and their state structures?
Well, Marxists can be just
as genocidal as capitalists.
Or whether or not she's
a dialectical materialist
and accords primacy
to the class struggle?
Avoid Marxism. Or telling
her you're a Trotskyite.
Trotskyist.
Only a Stalinist would call
a Trotskyist a Trotskyite.
And I'm not
a Trotskyist anymore.
I'm a Maoist.
Right.
I forgot.
Sorry.
- Hey.
- Hey, Joe.
I sold all your stuff from last time.
Great.
Let's see what you got.
Hello?
Hey.
Ben.
How's she doing?
Harper?
Harper.
Leslie killed herself
last night.
How?
Harper? Harper.
Tell me.
She slit her wrists.
You're my brother. If you need
anything from me, I am right...
Last night,
mommy killed herself.
She finally did it.
Your mother is dead.
Nothing is going to change.
We will go on living
in exactly the same way.
We're a family.
Mom!
Fuck you!
Mom! Mom!
Fuck you!
Fucking... no!
Mom!
I hate you!
Fuck!
Daddy.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Forty-three.
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
Forty-four.
Forty-five.
Hold plank.
Like boards.
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
You got it.
Keep holding. You're strong.
You can do it.
Dad, when's mom's funeral?
The utter recklessness,
the instability and insecurity
that you have brought
to her life...
We decided to live here.
Both of us.
This is your fault.
Leslie had a disease.
She had to be in a good facility.
You were kind enough to offer to pay for
it as long as she was treated near you.
We did that.
I found her will.
I, I assume you know that
Leslie was a Buddhist.
That means she wanted to
be cremated, not buried.
It was very important to her...
I have just lost
my only child.
I'm in no mood to discuss the
particulars of her funeral with you.
Wherever you are,
stay there!
You are not welcome here.
If you show up,
I will have you arrested. Can...
Jack?
- Goddamn it.
- Hello, Ben.
Leslie is in heaven now.
She is finally at peace.
When is the ceremony?
It's in five days in new Mexico,
at our church.
How are the children?
Did you hear what Jack just said?
It's been years. He said that he
would have me arrested if we go there.
Did you hear that?
He's very upset.
It's just best to
do what he says.
It doesn't make any sense. I mean,
who are they to make these decisions?
It's this sick sense of entitlement
that they all seem to have.
This is what we stand against. This is what
mom stood against. Mom hated that world.
Clothes on when we eat, please.
- It's completely unjust.
- That's what it is.
We're in the very unique
position of hating those people.
- Can unique be modified?
- No.
We don't hate Nana and grandpa, but the
rest of their tribe are fascist capitalists.
You're just repeating
whatever dad says.
I'm writing down
everything you say.
In my mind.
Do you even know
what a fascist is?
Violent nationalist militants,
supported by big business,
and they're totalitarian
single-party dictators.
We're her family.
We have to go.
Grandpa said we can't.
What will happen
if they arrest you?
Will they take us
away from you?
That's a possibility.
Hey.
Wake up.
Wake up, grizzly bear,
my fantastic man.
What we're doing out
here is so incredible.
The kids are amazing.
But you have to take care
of them for me, okay?
I love you all so much.
I love you so much.
We want to see mom.
Plus, grandpa can't oppress us.
- We want to honor her life.
- It's the least you could do.
What's that supposed to mean?
You know.
No, I don't.
Forget it.
But I know.
We're strong and we're ready.
I said no.
It's too risky.
We're defined by our actions,
not our words.
- Dad, give us the mission.
- Mission: Rescue mom!
Training in 10 minutes.
Oh, fuck!
Rell?
Can you flex your fingers?
S - t - o - p.
Stay calm, think,
observe and plan.
If you hit the rocks below you,
you'll die from blunt force trauma.
Or internal bleeding from
massive bone fracturing.
Or splenic flexure of
the large intestine.
Yes, thank you, Zaj.
I can't.
My hand.
There's no cavalry.
No one will magically appear
and save you in the end.
Almost.
You got it.
Good boy.
All right, let's go.
Class time on Steve.
We're going up to the glacier.
Let's go.
We can't go to
mommy's funeral.
We have to do
what we're told.
Some fights you can't win.
The powerful control the
lives of the powerless.
That's the way
the world works.
It's unjust and it's unfair.
But that's just
too damn bad.
We have to shut
up and accept it.
Well, fuck that.
So they know we're coming.
Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy!
Whoo!
Attention, all campers.
This is your captain speaking.
Here we have the embodiment
of Calvin Coolidge's statement
that the business of
America is business.
Our democracy is one of the
brightest lights of social justice
in the history of humankind,
and yet most of our
fellow citizens engage
in frenzied shopping as their
primary form of social interaction.
Come on down!
Let's go shopping!
These prices are insane!
- What's a bordello?
- A whorehouse.
Oh.
What are you reading?
Lolita?
I didn't assign that book.
I'm skipping ahead.
And?
- It's interesting.
- Interesting!
- Illegal word!
- Dad, Kielyr said "interesting"!
Interesting is a non-word.
You know you're supposed to avoid it.
- Be specific.
- It's disturbing.
More specific.
Can I just read?
After you give us
your analysis thus far.
There's this old man
who loves this girl,
and she's only 12 years old...
that's the plot.
Because it's written
from his perspective,
you sort of understand
and sympathize with him,
which is kind of amazing because
he's essentially a child molester.
But his love for
her is beautiful.
But it's also sort of a trick
because it's so wrong.
You know, he's old,
and he basically rapes her.
So it makes me feel...
I hate him.
And somehow I feel sorry
for him at the same time.
Well done.
What does rape mean?
When a person,
usually a man,
forces another person,
usually a woman,
to have sexual intercourse.
- Oh.
- Who's hungry?
Me!
Me!
What's sexual intercourse?
When a man sticks his
penis in a woman's vagina.
Everyone keep their eyes
peeled for deer.
Why would a man stick his penis
in a woman's vagina?
Because it can give
them both pleasure.
And because the combination of a
man's sperm and a woman's egg
can create a baby and
continue the human race.
But that's where she pees.
Pee comes not from the vagina,
but from the urethra,
which is within
the outer labia.
But generally speaking, yes,
that is where she pees.
Everyone keep your eyes
open for game of any kind.
Okay.
Now what?
- What's wrong with everyone?
- Are they sick?
- What do you mean?
- Everyone's so fat.
- Yeah, they are.
- Fat like hippos.
- That's not nice to say.
- But look!
Okay, you can think that,
but we don't make fun of people.
Right, dad?
That's right.
- We don't make fun of people.
- Except Christians.
Dad?
Dad?
Shit.
This, right now...
This is your first real test.
Stay calm.
Remember your training.
Morning.
How you doing today?
Morning, officer. Can I see your
license and registration, please?
Certainly.
- Nice rig.
- Thank you.
I pulled you over because
your back left taillight is out.
- Did you know that?
- No, I didn't.
I'm sorry.
I'll be right back.
No school today?
Not yet.
Man, by his sin, has become
separated from god,
and only through personally accepting
the gift of reconciliation
purchased by
Jesus on the cross
can he regain his
fellowship with god.
We're home-schooled.
Father, may I?
You may.
Seriously, uh... look...
I gotta get back to work. When you
get a minute, fix that taillight, okay?
- I'll do it right away, sir.
- Have a good day, guys.
- God bless.
- God bless!
Power to the people.
Stick it to the man.
They're just standing there.
I miss mom.
Hey.
No. No Esperanto.
I'm not joking.
No foreign language unless
the language is spoken by all.
You know the rule.
No Esperanto!
- Please.
- I'm hungry.
Well, then maybe one of you should
have shot the fucking sheep.
They have hot dogs!
What's cola?
Poison water.
- Can I have the grilled cheese?
- No.
What's a milk shake?
Dad, can I have a hamburger and fries?
Can I have pancakes?
Okay, everyone up.
We're outta here.
- What? No, why? -'Cause there's
no actual food on this menu.
Let's go.
Are you okay?
An old man's having a heart attack!
Call 911!
Call 911!
Everyone, get back!
My pills!
I'm okay.
He's okay now.
- Sir?
- Sorry.
Sir?
Sir!
- Sir?
- Sorry about the fuss.
You sure we can't get you
an ambulance or anything?
No, I just forgot
to take my pills.
I'm fine now, really.
Where else can we improve?
Flawed exit strategy.
Everyone went out the same doors.
No one utilized the
loading dock area at all.
If it got blocked, we'd
all be trapped. Mm-hmm.
Inadequately planned
extraction point.
We probably shouldn't have
all gone directly to the bus.
Predetermined pickups would
have been much less risky.
On the plus side, mission:
Free the food accomplished.
Mission: Free the food!
Top marks all around.
Now, if you'd all do me a
favor and close your eyes.
You may open your eyes.
Happy Noam Chomsky day.
But Noam was born
on December 7.
Well, we're
celebrating it today.
Oh.
Mmm!
Yum.
It's so good.
All hail!
- Here we go. Nai.
- Yes.
- Bodevan.
- Thank you.
Rellian.
Rell.
Kielyr, Vespyr, Zaja.
All right, go for it.
Dad!
Fifty-five pound pull,
laminated wood and glass.
Whoa!
A ka-bar fighting knife?
That's right.
Thanks, dad!
It's so beautiful.
Seven-inch blade, partially serrated,
well-balanced if you dip when you cut.
Pictures.
Oh.
Those are black storm broadheads.
Razor sharp.
What kind of crazy person
celebrates Noam Chomsky's birthday
like it's some kind
of official holiday?
Why can't we celebrate Christmas
like the rest of the entire world?
You would prefer to celebrate
a magical fictitious elf
instead of a living
humanitarian
who's done so much to promote
human rights and understanding?
Okay, well,
let's have a discourse.
Forget it.
No, explain.
Take the opportunity
to make your case.
We're all open to hearing
your arguments.
If they're valid and
you persuade us,
I'm sure we'd all be willing
to change our minds.
Right?
Yeah.
Use your words.
Ah!
Yes!
Thanks, dad!
You're welcome.
You guys need a hand?
- No, we're fine.
- No, we got it.
- All right.
- Jackson, not at the table.
- Hey.
- Jackson.
All right.
Well, I am so happy that
our family is together.
Thanks for putting
on this feast.
It's all local and, um,
organic and non-gmo, so...
How did you kill
those chickens?
With an ax or a knife?
I... I didn't have to
kill the chickens.
I... they, uh... I...
It's a rotisserie chicken,
so you buy it on...
It's already dead.
Or cooked.
On a thing.
- Dig in.
- All right.
- Ben, some wine?
- Please.
Dad, can I have some wine?
- Sure. Why not?
- -Ben. No.
Children don't drink wine.
In France and other countries, children
drink small amounts of wine all the time.
It's a digestive.
It's not crack.
What's crack?
Crack is a crystallized, highly addictive
derivative of the stimulant cocaine.
In the mid-1980s, it accelerated the
decimation of inner-city neighborhoods.
Crackheads... some of them
kids just like you guys...
Were killing each other
over nothing, over their Nikes.
They killed each
other for Nike?
The Greek winged
goddess of victory?
Stop.
He's joking, right?
They're-they're
like Adidas.
- Who's Adidas?
- You're serious?
They're shoes.
Now?
Ben.
We're, uh... I, I just...
I'm sorry for your loss.
We're devastated.
- We're just... so sorry.
- Thank you, Dave.
I don't... I, I don't know
what else to say.
I'm like...
It's okay. We all know you
had issues with Leslie.
- What?
- It's not a secret.
I wouldn't say that.
Why would you...
Last time we saw you, you
called her a fucking bitch.
Ben.
What?
It's fine.
My kids remember.
- Don't you guys?
- Yeah.
Wait, no.
I said that...
We were all having a huge,
uh, fight about sugar.
I had given the kids some,
what, frosted mini-wheats.
And the extremity
of her position...
She was yelling at me.
She pushed me.
- And I said... -"don't be
such a fucking bitch. "
Ben.
I didn't say that.
They're just words.
Your words, but just words.
- Not spoken in this house.
- It's inappropriate in front...
To say that in
front of the kids.
Absolutely.
Understood.
It won't happen again.
Okay.
Dad, how did
aunt Leslie die?
Well, aunt Leslie was sick,
and she had complications
from her sickness.
Yeah.
She had a mental illness.
Bipolar affective disorder.
We think it started
right after Bo was born.
Probably a form of
postpartum psychosis.
She'd have violent
mood swings
ranging from mania,
where she'd be elated
and make elaborate
plans for the future,
to severe depression, where
she'd become almost catatonic,
utterly without hope.
We didn't... we didn't understand
what was happening.
We don't need to talk about
this in front of the children.
These are details that are...
Yeah. The doctors, um,
put her in the hospital.
They gave her medicine,
but she was really sick. Yeah.
And she... died.
Sick people die.
Sometimes they-they die.
She died 'cause of...
Because of her, uh...
Because of the sickness.
She slit her wrists. She killed herself.
That's what happened.
Or that.
Excuse me.
- Here you go, sweetie.
- Thank you.
Bo?
- To mom.
- To mom.
Shh.
Combo!
Extreme combo!
You are dead!
We're just doing the best we can, Ben.
That's all anybody is doing.
So am I! Just the best
that we know how.
I'm sorry it doesn't live up
to your high standards!
I tell the truth to my kids.
I don't lie to my kids.
Protecting children
from certain concepts
that they are too young to
understand is not lying to them.
Guys!
We have neighbors, okay?
Look, it's a... it's a very
hard time right now.
Everybody's still a little raw.
Can we just try to, come on,
put this to bed, all right?
I apologize.
I'm sorry for not respecting the way
you guys do things in your home.
Thank you for saying that.
I know Leslie had been
sick for a long time,
but I cannot imagine how difficult
this time must be for you.
Uh, guys, what-what
are you doing?
We're sleeping
under the stars.
- But... - We made up the rec
room downstairs for a sleepover.
Yeah.
We're fine here.
We're fine.
Okay.
Why do they have
to take showers?
They're not taking a shower.
I mean, it looks like a shower,
but it's really a gas chamber.
Jackson, put that away or I'm gonna
put it in the microwave, press popcorn.
All right.
Actually, why don't you take your cousins
and go show them your action figure guys?
- Why? -Because they may never
have seen them before.
It might be fun. So, can we
play Xbox afterwards?
One game.
Go.
Yes!
Thank you.
Yeah, try it.
- How are the kids doing?
- They're strong.
How long have you been out there...
wherever it is you're living now?
We left Boulder
when Bo was three.
And then we were on that farm
we had in Oregon until he was eight.
So, we bought the land in
the forest 10 years ago.
How do you still have money?
We only buy what we need.
Look, Harper and I
have been talking.
The kids need
structure, stability.
They need to go to a real school,
so they can get real jobs.
Oh, for Christ's sake.
You're going to get them killed!
Whoa.
I'm sorry.
But your kids are
without a mother now.
I don't think you have any idea
what you're doing to them.
I'm saving their lives.
That's what I'm doing.
Ben, you sound so ridiculous.
Is knowing how to set a broken bone or
how to treat a severe burn ridiculous?
Knowing how to navigate by the stars
in total darkness... that's ridiculous?
How to identify edible plants, how
to make clothes from animal skins,
how to survive in the forest
with nothing but a knife?
That's ridiculous to you?
Jesus.
They have the cardiovascular and muscular
endurance levels of elite athletes.
Who cares?
They're children!
They need to go to school.
They need to learn about the world.
Justin.
Jackson?
Would you please come
down here for a second?
What?
How old are you now, Jackson?
Thirteen.
Can you tell me what
the bill of rights is?
Um, what something costs,
I guess.
That's a good guess.
- Justin, you're in high school?
- Yeah.
Do you like your school?
It's whatever.
Do you know what
the bill of rights is?
It's a government thing, right?
Like, rights that people
have in America and stuff.
Yep.
Hey, Zaja?
Yes?
Would you please come down
here a moment, sweetie?
I wanted to ask you
a quick question.
Zaja's just turned eight,
by the way.
The bill of rights.
Amendment one:
Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment
of religion,
or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof;
- Or abridging the freedom of...
- Stop.
Regurgitating memorized amendments
isn't what I'm asking for.
Just tell me something about
it in your own words.
Without the bill of rights,
we'd be more like China.
Here, at least, we don't
have warrantless searches.
We have free speech.
Citizens are protected from
cruel and unusual punishments...
- That's enough.
- Are protected...
Wait a minute.
Zaja.
How would you characterize the 2010
supreme court decision on citizens united?
Corporations have the
same rights as people,
so there's no spending
limit on candidates.
Which means our country is ruled by
corporations and their lobbyists
who fund candidates and command
their fealty by demanding that...
Jesus Christ. You made your point.
We get it.
It's very impressive.
All of you.
Is that yoga?
Your breath.
They call it "Pranayama. "
It flows with your movements,
your Asana.
It's supposed to connect the mind
and the body to fuel your Samadhi.
Does that really work?
I'm Claire.
Bodevan.
Bodevan?
What kind of a name is that?
My parents made it up.
That's weird.
Why?
Our names are unique. There's only
one of us in the whole world.
That's really weird.
What kind of music
do you listen to?
Mostly Bach.
Mainly the Goldberg variations,
especially Glenn
Gould's versions.
I also like the unaccompanied cello suites,
preferably when played by yo-yo ma.
Where are you from?
Most recently in Paris,
in the Marais.
Near Victor Hugo's house.
We're just back in the states
because of my dad's sabbatical.
He's writing a book
on Dr. Spock.
Oh, I love Star Trek.
It's awesome.
- Which star?
- You know, Spock.
The guy with the ears,
he's from Star Trek.
No, Dr. Spock was
from Connecticut.
Right after Yale, he wrote
baby and child care in 1947.
It's one of the seminal
books on child-rearing.
I was talking about
that old TV show.
Oh.
Child-rearing.
Of course.
Yeah, I, I know that one.
It's... awesome.
And what about your mom?
I can't talk about it.
She works for the
us government.
I can't talk about it due to
its highly classified nature.
- Seriously?
- I, I can't say any more.
I, I don't even know
that much myself.
It's, um...
I shouldn't have told you.
You can't tell anyone.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
Follow me.
We have to be quiet.
It's almost midnight.
I sincerely hope you two lovebirds haven't
been doing what I think you've been doing.
I know what you think.
But I know that your daughter has
taught me many things just now.
She has broadened my mind,
she has helped me grow.
When we just kissed for the
first time just then, it...
The endorphins that your
daughter sent through my body
were like dolphins swimming
through my bloodstream.
The way she has opened me up, she
has penetrated deep inside of me,
and I know that I have penetrated
deep, deep inside of your daughter.
And... but not-not like that.
I would love to when...
When it's necessary for...
I, I want kids someday. Not right now,
of course. But when you're ready,
when I'm ready, because I think
this should be a shared decision.
This is a decision that we
should make together.
But when you are ready,
I will be ready.
I am ready for you,
if you will have me.
Claire.
What's your last name?
M - M - Mccune.
Claire Mccune,
will you be my wife?
Okay, funny man,
I'm sure your dad's waiting up.
Don't worry.
You'll see her tomorrow.
Good night.
It's just a penis.
Every man has one.
We're all animals
of the earth.
Clothes when we eat!
Mmm.
You look happy.
I am happy.
Are you happy? Yeah.
I'm here with you.
O god, to whom mercy
and forgiveness belong,
hear our prayer on behalf of
your servant Leslie Cash,
whom you have taken
out of the world.
And because she put her
trust and hope in you,
command that she be carried
safely home to heaven
and come to enjoy
your eternal reward.
- Amen.
- Amen.
- Come on, guys.
- Who is that?
Do you mind scooting over, sir?
I did not know
Leslie personally,
and I am poorer for it.
I understand that she
was a loving mother
who gave up her law practice
to raise her children.
Leslie loved her mother,
Abigail,
and her father, Jack,
and their dogs,
Harvey and little bear.
They told me that she also loved
gardening and classical music,
particularly Glenn Gould's versions
of the Goldberg variations.
She also liked walks in the
moonlight on the beach.
And she loved her husband
Ben and their children...
I'll, uh, take that
as my cue, if I may.
First of all,
Leslie practiced Buddhism,
which to her was a philosophy
and not an organized religion.
In fact, Leslie abhorred
all organized religions.
To her, they were the most dangerous
fairy tales ever invented,
designed to elicit
blind obedience
and strike fear into the hearts of
the innocent and the uninformed.
To her, the only thing
worse than death
would have been the knowledge
that her rotting flesh
was to be trapped for all
eternity inside a big box...
And buried in the middle
of a fucking golf course.
Although the absurdity of being eulogized
by someone that didn't even know her
has exactly the kind of comedic flourish
that Leslie would have cherished.
If nothing else,
she had a sense of humor.
I want to read something to all of
you, so you'll know what I mean.
Leslie's last will
and testament.
And I quote,
"in the event of my death,
I, Leslie Abigail Cash, as a Buddhist,
wish to be cremated.
My funeral, such as it is, shall be
a celebration of the life cycle,
with music and dancing.
After, it is my expressed
desire that my ashes
shall be taken to a
nondescript location,
preferably public
and heavily populated.
At which point my ashes,
promptly and unceremoniously,
are to be flushed down
the nearest toilet. "
End quote.
Now that's comedy.
Sir, that's enough.
I'm not finished.
Hey, wait, I'm not finished.
- Dad!
- You're not listening to me.
- Dad!
- This is not what she wanted!
- Keep moving. -Come on.
- Let go of me!
Dad!
She's my wife!
This is her will!
This is against her wishes!
Goddamn it!
We have songs to sing!
Dad!
If you'll open your books,
we'll read this morning from
Matthew 18, verses 15-20.
You are the worst thing that has
ever happened to my family.
Why won't you respect
your daughter's wishes?
Or your grandchildren's?
Hi, kids.
Honey.
Hello, grandpa, I'm Nai.
Nai.
We've never met.
Hey, Abby.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Hi, honey.
Grandma!
Hello, grandma.
We're all together.
Isn't this wonderful?
Abby and I are gonna take
the children to the ceremony,
and then you can
follow us to the house.
They're my kids.
They're staying with me.
Children, I'm sorry that
you have to witness this,
but I don't think your father
is fit to attend the funeral.
We're not gonna let you
put her in the ground!
Who do you think the police
are gonna listen to? Me?
Or some hippie
in a clown outfit?
- Come on, Abby.
- Where are we going? I'm...
- We're going to see Leslie.
- I'm visiting with the children.
- We have to see them at the house.
- Give me a minute...
Honey, Leslie is waiting. Leslie
is waiting. Come on. Okay.
- Bye, grandma.
- Bye, grandma and grandpa.
Back on Steve.
Let's go.
- Dad?
- Let's go.
Dad, where are we going? We're
going to stop this fucking funeral!
- No, dad!
- No! Dad, no!
- Dad, we can't go!
- Please, listen to us.
- Why can't we go to mom's funeral?
- Because of dad.
- Because of his speech?
- Yes!
Everyone shut
up and sit down!
- Sit the fuck down!
- Dad.
Silence!
Put your goddamn seat belts on!
- No! Stop Steve! -You heard grandpa.
He'll have us arrested!
They are not stopping
us from saving mom!
Dad, abort the mission!
Go home!
- Abort the mission!
- We are rescuing mom!
Mom is dead! This is not what
she would have wanted...
- They have no right!
- I don't want to lose you!
Please.
We can't lose you too.
Motherfuck!
I have memories of mom,
laughing.
I can't even remember
when that was.
Mom had psychotic episodes.
She had hallucinations.
Of smashing our heads
in with rocks.
I heard them talking about it.
Mom was sicker
than any of us knew.
Dad made her crazy.
Dad's dangerous.
You think our lives
are so great.
You think dad is so perfect.
Yale, Stanford,
Princeton, Harvard,
Dartmouth, MIT, brown.
Whew.
Well done.
Thank you.
It's very impressive.
I guess.
Yeah.
All this time you...
You've been deceiving me?
What? No. I took you to the library
and you snuck around behind my back,
taking sat tests and
contacting universities?
Dad, it's not like that. We're
not an accredited home school.
I don't know how
the fuck you did it.
I guess you somehow managed...
You don't understand.
To create acceptable transcripts,
got your work approved.
Listen. Listen, dad, please.
All without my knowledge or approval.
I don't know what's
more impressive,
the fact that you got into
all these fine schools,
or... or that for months you've
been lying directly to my face.
It was mom.
She helped me with everything.
We did it together.
I just want to go to college.
You speak six languages. You have
high math, theoretical physics!
This is what I'm talking about! What the
hell are these people going to teach you?
I know nothing!
I know nothing!
I am a freak because of you!
You made us freaks!
And mom knew that!
She understood!
Unless it comes out of a fucking book,
I don't know anything about anything!
Dad.
You should put some
clothes on, buddy.
No, stay on Steve.
I'll be right back.
- Where is he?
- No.
- Abby, I need Rell. It won't
work like this. - You know Jack.
He's my son.
All right.
It's all about timing.
Just be easy.
Follow through.
Okay, get your things.
Just a minute, please.
Come on, Rell.
I said "just a minute. "
I've clearly upset you,
and I apologize.
- You killed mom!
- Oh.
I heard you.
I heard you fighting about where we live.
Mom wanted to leave.
I heard.
Your mother and I made
certain decisions,
together, about what was
best for all of you.
I'm going to live here
with Nana and grandpa.
That's not possible.
Come on, get your stuff.
Let's go.
Let's go!
I hate you!
I fucking hate you!
Rellian.
Rellian.
What the fuck?
- That almost hit me!
- If I wanted to, I would have hit you.
You just shot an arrow at me!
You told me they were in school.
They are. Leslie and
I are their teachers.
Are...
Were their teachers.
So you're teaching them to steal.
Of course not.
"Mission: Free the food"?
That was part of their training.
So you're "training"
them to steal.
Their mother had just died.
They were in shock. They were devastated.
They needed a distraction.
So we made it
Noam Chomsky day.
"Noam Chomsky day. "
I don't even know who that is.
That's the day you gave my
grandchildren real weapons.
How did Rellian break his hand?
He slip... he fell.
And it's not broken.
He was climbing on a
rock face in the rain.
It was an accident.
And it wasn't raining
when we were climbing.
He has bruises over his whole body.
Yeah, and scratches.
- We all have them.
- It's child abuse.
Even if they make it through
whatever it is you're doing to them,
they're gonna be totally
unprepared for the real world.
And I happen to think
the opposite is true.
Rellian is legally old
enough to choose,
and I intend to
honor his wishes.
This is my lawyer's card.
Abby and I have decided that we're
gonna file for custody of the children.
Now I know you don't own a telephone,
but I suggest you find one immediately
and call him,
because I would hate to have to
issue a warrant for your arrest.
He's my son.
I'm not leaving without him, Jack.
Fine.
Who's this?
Hey! Hello, bill.
How are you?
It's Jack Bertrang from,
um, up in Coronado.
Listen, I think I just saw a prowler
wandering around outside on my grounds.
I wonder if you'd send a car?
Thanks. Yeah.
I hope you can explain Rellian's
injuries to the police, because I can't.
Thanks again.
Sure thing, Mr. Bertrang.
Okay, prisoner located.
Second floor, second window,
above the garage.
- Target locked.
- Bring him home, Vesp.
- Vesp!
- Vespyr!
Dad! Vespyr!
Vesp!
Mr. Cash?
She's got a decent concussion,
but we did a cat scan and there's
absolutely no damage to the brain.
She does have a slight fracture across
the tibia and fibula of her left leg.
She's going to need a neck brace and
a cast, but otherwise she's fine.
Can I show you something?
Uh, this is the top
vertebrae here.
This dark line... it's hard to see...
but that's the fracture line.
What was she
doing on a roof?
Just playing.
Well, for a girl her age
she's unusually strong.
Yeah. There's seven
vertebrae in the neck.
A break to any of the first four,
a tear to the spinal cord...
I mean, if this had happened
just a few millimeters lower,
we'd be talking about
death or paralysis.
You're a very lucky man.
Hey, guys, come on in.
Please, come in.
Hi!
Hi, sweetheart.
- Come right in, darling.
- Let me have your bag.
Slow down, now.
Slow down.
Let's go this way, darling.
This way, honey.
We're going to go right
into the kitchen.
Come on, let's get you
something to eat. Okay?
And you'll have
a good night's sleep. Okay.
One.
One.
Two.
Two.
Bodevan, kids: Three.
Four.
And then you come back, five.
Five.
Like here. And you jump
up and clap your hands.
Six.
Six.
Grand... grandfather abuse. Grandfather
abuse. Grandpa down! Grandpa down!
There's a lot in here, honey. I want
you to take whatever you want.
There's something I
did want to show you.
Just before you called about getting her
treatment, she sent me two letters.
And I wanted to show
this one to you.
"Dear mom, you don't need
to come get me anymore.
Burn the other letter.
What Ben and I have created here may
be unique in all of human existence.
We created a paradise
out of Plato's Republic.
Our children shall be
philosopher kings.
It makes me so
indescribably happy.
I'm going to get better
out here. I know I will.
Because we are defined by
our actions, not our words. "
Like, not going home?
Yeah.
Like not going home.
I am not staying here.
This house is a vulgar
display of wealth.
And an unethical use of space.
I think you'll all be safe here.
- But we want to live with you.
- I almost got you killed, sweetie.
It was an accident.
The tiles just cracked.
It was a beautiful mistake,
but a mistake.
I thought it would help her.
I thought...
I thought she'd get better out
there, you know? But, uh...
It was too much.
It was too much.
Too much.
And I knew it.
I did.
I knew.
Why can't we just
stay with you?
Because if you do...
I'll ruin your lives.
I'll call you in a few days.
You know where
you're heading?
So?
Hmm.
Uh, I don't know. Maybe you
could take them hunting.
They... they all like that.
Okay.
And, uh, Bo wants
to go to college.
He got in everywhere,
all the best schools.
I don't really know how we're going to
pay for all that. Ben, I'll take care of it.
We're going to look after
your children.
There's really nothing to
worry about, I promise.
You're doing the right thing.
Okay, well...
Good luck, Ben.
Thanks.
You shaved your face.
I don't hate you.
I just wish you'd helped mom.
Me too.
- I'm sorry.
- I love ya.
- We want to complete
the mission. - No.
- There is no mission. -Mission:
Rescue dad and mommy.
Mom wanted to be cremated.
And we want to honor her wishes.
And flush her down the toilet.
I can't put any of you
in danger ever again.
I'm sorry.
"If you assume that
there is no hope,
then you guarantee that
there will be no hope.
If you assume that there
is an instinct for freedom,
that there are opportunities
to change things,
then there is a possibility
that you can contribute
to making a better world. "
Noam Chomsky.
Dad, I found her.
"Leslie Abigail Cash.
May god bless her
soul for all eternity. "
Let's dig.
Otherwise she has to lie
under that bullshit forever.
Mommy's in here.
Hi, little bird.
It's me.
I'm sorry,
I didn't know what to do.
I'm sorry if I
made it worse.
My face is mine,
my hands are mine,
my mouth is mine,
but I'm not.
I'm yours.
Mom, here's your
favorite song.
Bye, mommy!
I love you all, okay?
We love you.
Mmm, mmm.
Why are you going to Namibia?
I just put my finger on a map.
When you have sex with
a woman, be gentle...
...and listen to her.
Treat her with respect and dignity,
even if you don't love her.
I know.
Always tell the truth.
Always take the high road.
I know.
Live each day like
it could be your last.
Drink it in.
Be adventurous, be bold,
but savor it. It goes fast.
I know.
Don't die.
I won't.
Get out of here.
Power to the people.
Stick it to the man.
Hi, guys.
Okay, eat your breakfast. The school
bus will be here in 15 minutes.