Exhibiting Forgiveness (2024) Movie Script
1
[soft music plays]
[Tarrell] James Baldwin said,
"If the relationship
of father to son
could really be reduced
to biology,
the whole earth would blaze
with the glory of fathers
and sons."
But sometimes,
biology leaves us
with only smoldering embers.
[woman shouting indistinctly]
[car horn blares in distance]
[Gus grunts] It's hot.
You shouldn't be out here.
You got someplace to cool off?
I know you got family.
La'Ron.
La'Ron.
Yeah.
- [phone ringtone plays]
- Oh, shoot.
Yes?
I know.
[upbeat music plays]
[breathing heavily]
[sighs]
[plastic bottle thumps]
[men shouting indistinctly
in distance]
[door bells jingle]
- [man] Just give me
the fucking money!
- [Gus grunts]
[man] Why'd you make me
fucking do that?
I didn't wanna
fucking hurt you, man!
- [cash register opens]
- Get the fuck out!
Get the fuck out!
- Just wanted
the fucking money, man!
- [police siren wailing]
No, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no--
[both grunting]
[police siren continues wailing
in distance]
[breathing heavily]
- [wheezing]
- [baseball bat thuds]
[somber music playing]
[no audible sound]
[inhales deeply, groans softly]
[winces]
- [objects clatter]
- [groaning]
'Rell? 'Rell. 'Rell, baby.
- Baby. Baby, breathe.
- [gasps]
Look at me. Breathe.
- Breathe.
- [gasps]
[relieved sigh]
[Aisha, softly] God.
[both breathing heavily]
Tarrell, you got to do something
about this.
- [softly] It's okay.
- No, it's not okay.
- Something is wrong with you.
- It's fine, it's fine,
it's fine.
I can't do this shit anymore.
- It's okay, Aisha. It's okay.
- [door opens]
Daddy, can I get some pancakes?
No, baby,
Daddy doesn't feel good
right now.
- Hey, don't tell him that.
- Mommy will make you
some oatmeal.
Hey, come here, big boy.
I got ya. I got ya. [grunts]
You want some, uh,
some-some blueberries
in the pancake?
- Just pancakes.
- Yeah?
- Mm-hmm.
- All right, come on. Let's go.
[Jermaine] Pancakes, pancakes.
I love pancakes!
- [Aisha] Smells good.
- [Tarrell chuckles lightly]
Call the doctor.
I will.
- Please? [sighs]
- I will. Hey.
[Tarrell] Ahh.
- Yay! Chocolate chips,
chocolate chips.
- Jermaine.
[whispers] Two days
till mission.
- Shh.
- What, Mommy can't know?
What mission?
The extraction mission.
"The extraction mission"?
Parachute in, go save Grandma,
and bring her home to safety.
[Aisha] Oh. That mission.
And why do we accept
this mission, Jermaine?
Because sons take care
of mothers.
[laughing] Do they?
- Where'd he learn that from?
- I don't know.
'Rell, did you let him watch
The Godfather?
No. That ain't even a real line.
[chuckles]
Y'all get on my nerves.
[humming]
[piano playing]
[continues humming]
[humming]
[blues music plays
over turntable]
[blues music continues]
[blues music continues]
[blues music continues]
[music fades]
[knocking on door]
Tarrell, it's Janine.
Hey.
- Hey.
- Hey. What's going on?
What are you doing here?
- We-we don't have
a visit scheduled.
- I'm-- I know, I know.
I'm so-- I--
Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.
Listen, I was excited.
I wanted to see you. [laughs]
Face-to-face.
- [sighs] Yeah.
- Uh, can I come in?
I'm-I'm, actually,
I'm working right now, Janine,
- so it's not a good time.
- It's okay. I won't be long.
I won't be long.
- Did you read the review?
- Uh, yeah, yeah, I read it.
- And?
- And... it's a review.
When the review is positive,
even if it's not quite right,
we have to celebrate.
Come on, critics' pick.
I come bearing gifts.
[clicks tongue] Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
- Thank you very much.
What the fuck, T?
What?
Holy shit.
Hey, hey,
that's not ready, Janine.
It's-it's not ready yet, okay?
- Listen, Janine...
- So this is why
I haven't heard from you.
[chuckles] Oh, my God, T!
Oh, my God.
- Janine, please.
- Wait, wait, wait,
can I see it?
- Can I see it?
- No. Nope. Not yet.
Come on, have a seat.
Have a seat, have a seat,
have a seat.
- Hold on, hold on, hold on.
- Come on. Yeah, come on.
Just give me this. Give me--
Oh, my God, the...
The emotion on his face.
He's so frightened,
so vulnerable.
I'll take three of these,
please. [laughing]
Oh, my God, T.
No, but seri--
This one, this is finished.
This is done.
Not another brushstroke. Wow.
[exhales] I think
you gotta do another show.
- The art world wants you, T.
What can I say?
- Mmm-mmm.
[scoffs] Yeah, "the art world."
Oh, come on, you just got
a fucking brilliant review
from a critic
who hates everything.
- How is this not your world?
- It's not my world.
- Boo-hoo, Mr. Tortured Artist.
- "Tortured artist"? I just...
Do you know how many artists
would kill to be in your shoes?
Do you know? I know. Do you?
- [softly] Yeah.
- Another show.
Let's ride the wave.
- Trust me. It's the right move.
- [Jermaine] Daddy,
Daddy, Daddy.
- Oh!
- Hey.
Jermaine. Hey, kiddo.
- What's up?
- Hey.
- Look.
- What's this?
- That's me.
- Oh.
- Is he represented?
- That is you. [scoffs]
- [Janine chuckles]
- That's me.
- Yeah, that is-- That's good.
- Uh, Mom said,
um, come inside,
wash your hands,
and don't get no paint
in the house.
[chuckles] I'm on the way.
- That's my cue?
- Yes, it is.
I gotta get in there.
Thank you for the...
- Yeah.
- I'm proud of you.
- [piano plays off-key]
- [babbles]
- [playful growling]
- [Jermaine] Ahh!
- [Aisha] Hey, be careful.
- [Tarrell laughs]
- All right, all right.
- [Jermaine giggling]
- [panting] Hey, can I get
some help here?
- [Aisha] What do you mean?
- No, you're on duty.
- [Jermaine grunting]
Really? Come here.
Okay, okay, okay.
All right. All right, all right.
That's enough. That's enough.
Hey, come on.
- [Jermaine straining]
- [Tarrell exhales]
Come on, hey.
Okay, calm down, calm down,
calm down, calm down. Shh, shh.
Calm down.
Look at me. Look at me.
Breathe with me.
[inhales]
Uh-uh. Come here.
There you go.
One more.
Yeah, one more time.
[Tarrell]
"Shadows on the wall..."
"Shadows on the wall..."
"...noises down the hall."
"...noises down the hall."
"Life doesn't frighten me
at all."
"Life doesn't frighten me
at all."
"Mean, old Mother Goose,
lions on the loose."
[playful growl]
"They don't frighten me at all.
Dragons breathing flame
on my counterpane.
That doesn't frighten me at all.
I go boo, make them shoo.
I make fun the way they run.
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Tough guys in a fight
all alone at night.
Life doesn't frighten me
at all."
- [grunting]
- [Tarrell chuckles softly]
"Don't show me
the frogs and snakes
and listen for my scream.
If I'm afraid at all,
it's only in my dreams."
- Let me-let me see
what you're working on.
- [Jermaine] No!
[Aisha] No, don't show him.
Let me-- Let Mommy see.
Ohh.
- I look good, huh?
- Okay.
- He looks good.
- Yeah, you look good.
- Yeah, he looks good. [laughs]
- Yeah, I know I look good.
I know I look good.
- [Tarrell chuckles]
- [phone ringtone plays]
- Oh, it's Mama Joyce.
- Now, look.
Okay.
- That don't look like me.
Come on.
- [Jermaine laughs]
- Isn't this late for her?
- That don't look like me
at all.
- You said I look good.
- I got it.
- This is you, this is you.
- Hello?
I'll put him to bed.
Hey, Ma.
- [Aisha] Baby that's a...
- [Joyce over phone]
Lord, Lord, Lord.
Hey, Mom?
[Joyce sighs]
Something wrong?
I don't know
nobody there, Tarrell.
My church is here. I...
But we-we...
we talked about this, Ma.
What-what happened?
Baby, this is my home.
[Tarrell] It's just temporary,
Mom.
- [Joyce sighs]
- All right? I'll get you a...
get you a real nice place
on the south side,
and no more mortgage payments.
You know you don't have
to do that, 'Rell.
Well, I want to.
Now, now,
you know I don't need
nothing fancy, now.
[over phone speaker] You know
I don't need nothing fancy.
And you don't owe me nothing.
I owe you
the air in my lungs, Mama.
- I love you.
- Yeah.
Love you too.
Hey.
Finish packing, please.
- Mm-hmm.
- [chuckles softly]
[Aisha] How's Mama Joyce doing,
anyway?
Oh, she's, uh...
she's okay.
Just wanna get her
out of that house.
- But she's good, right?
- Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Janine stopped by.
She wants me to do another show.
What?
- You just had a show.
- Yeah, I know, I know.
But, you know...
[sighs] My mom
doesn't wanna be here
any longer than she has to.
- Mm-hmm.
- So, I...
I need to.
[sighs]
Fine.
Fine. Do the show.
But I will be in the studio
on Monday.
Yeah. It is your turn,
I promise you.
I promise.
Okay?
[guitar plays]
[vocalizing]
- Sound good.
- Uh-uh. Thank you, love.
You got the chorus?
Mm, I have...
Well, I don't have
all the words, but I have...
- All right.
- I have a little bit.
- Let me hear what you got.
- Okay.
What did our hands do?
High as they hold
High as they raised you
[Tarrell] Mmm.
My love untold
Can you...
- This is the chorus.
- Hmm.
Can you teach
Teach
[Tarrell] Hmm.
Me
Can
Can you feed
Feed
Feed me?
[chuckles softly]
Sounds like clouds.
Yeah. Trees with no leaves.
What about, uh...
what about a little more yellow?
[vocalizing]
What'd you think?
You see my song?
- I see you.
- [chuckles softly]
Okay, I'm done.
[both chuckling]
[police siren wailing
in distance]
[breathing heavily]
[ominous music plays]
[footsteps]
[Michael]
I don't know who you are
standing in front of my house,
but I need to warn you,
Uncle Sam taught me
how to shoot.
So if you don't start explaining
why the fuck you standing
in front of my house,
my Black face
gonna be the last thing you see.
Nuh-uh.
Don't play me.
Ronnie. Ronnie.
- Ronnie. What happened to you?
[grunts]
- [La'Ron whimpers]
Come on, let's get in the house.
- [La'Ron winces]
- [somber music plays]
[somber music continues]
[Michael sniffles]
[water running]
[sobbing]
[music fades]
[door opens]
[Regina] Hey, baby.
They didn't have mint chip,
so I got the only flavor
that felt appropriate,
Chubby Hubby.
All right.
[chuckles softly]
I got two spoons...
[Michael exhales]
- Uh, baby, baby, careful.
- [La'Ron groans]
- His ribs are broken.
- Oh, careful, his--
I don't give a shit
about his ribs.
He's hurt, baby.
He's hurt?
Where's my money
and the rest of the shit
you stole, La'Ron?
Hm?
Where are my rings, La'Ron?
[Michael] Gina, he...
How many times
are we gonna do this?
Why do you keep forgiving him?
He's my brother.
'Cause he's your brother?
I'm your wife.
Get him out of this house.
- [sighs]
- [door opens, closes]
You know she has every right
to be pissed at you.
Hey, George. It's me, Mike.
Hey, I need a real solid, man.
Ronnie's back.
Hey, man, I owe you.
[exhales]
[mellow music playing]
[Chaplain George] We don't have
any beds left at the shelter,
but you can stay
in the basement.
It's not much,
but it's better than an alley.
Anybody who lives with me
abides my rules.
I lock my door every night
at 8:00.
If you're not here,
you no longer have
a place to stay.
I go to chapel every morning
at 6:00.
You come with me,
or you no longer have
a place to stay.
The church has
recovery meetings every day.
You have to go twice a week,
or... you no longer have
a place to stay.
You agree to follow my rules?
I agree.
[music fades]
[insects chirping]
[chuckles softly]
[breathes deeply]
[paint brush tapping]
[sighs]
[soft instrumental music plays]
[soft instrumental music
continues]
[soft instrumental music
continues]
[switch clicks]
- [Tarrell] Ready, man?
- [Jermaine] Let's go,
let's go, let's go!
[Aisha] Let's go,
let's go, let's go!
[soft instrumental music
continues]
[indistinct chatter]
[Aisha] It's Grandma's house.
Yay! We made it!
[Jermaine cheers]
[Aisha] Mama Joyce!
- Oh, my God!
- Oh, my God!
- Come here, girl! Oh, yes!
- [both shrieking and laughing]
- Oh, my God!
- How are you?
- Hey!
- Let me see.
- Oh, you wanna see?
- Yes, ma'am.
Grandma, Grandma,
Grandma, Grandma, Grandma!
- Oh, no!
- Uh-oh.
- Oh, oh,
look what you brought to me.
- That's trouble.
- That's trouble.
- Look at what you brought
to me!
[indistinct chatter]
[Joyce] You better come--
Oh, where is he? Where is he?
[gasps] There he is!
There he is!
- Come here! You can't fool me.
- [Jermaine] You can't see me.
[Joyce] Yes, I can.
I can see
all of my beautiful baby.
- Hello. Hi.
- Hi.
- Hey, Mama.
- [Joyce] Did you miss me?
- [Jermaine] Yeah.
- [Joyce] Did you miss me?
Where are the boxes?
Nothing's packed.
Mama, did you...
did you pack anything?
Did you pack anything at all?
Nothing, Mama?
It ain't gonna take that long.
- All right. Okay.
- Tarrell.
Have you lost yourself?
- Hey, Mama.
- You come here.
I thought you said
you was gonna pack. I just...
It ain't gonna take that long.
I got it.
All right, all right.
I'm gonna get started.
- It's good to see you.
- It's good to see you.
All right.
You lost yourself. Come here!
[Joyce] Ooh, hand me that.
Is that Fred?
- Is it? Oh, give me that.
- [phone ringing]
- [Tarrell] Uh, Mama, I'm trying
to put this stuff away.
- [chuckles]
- Let's, uh, keep moving, huh?
- [phone continues ringing]
I was looking cute
in that picture. [chuckles]
- You see how cute
I was looking? Hello?
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Tarrell sighs]
- [indistinct chatter]
No, I didn't forget.
Yeah, I-I-I--
I gotta reschedule, okay?
[Tarrell] Who is she talking to?
All right, I'll call you back.
Thank you.
All right, bye-bye.
[Aisha] All of this in two days?
The studio is on Monday.
[Tarrell]
If you do the other thing,
then maybe we can get this done
and-and still stay
on schedule...
Let me see that picture.
Let me see that.
- I was about to...
- Let me see.
Let me see it. [groans]
[Aisha] I'll call Uncle Mike
and Aunt Regina.
- They can come help us.
- Yeah.
- [Tarrell sighs]
I'll be right back.
- Hm.
Oh, I left my phone in the car.
Can you grab it for me, love?
I'll get it.
- Baby girl.
- What?
- You finish my song yet?
- Oh, my God.
Okay, it's almost done.
- It's not there yet,
but I'm gonna show--
- You gonna show it to me?
- Right now, Ma?
- Yes! Come on, come on.
- Ma! Oh. Oh, Lord.
- Show it to me.
Come on, show me.
Mm! You gonna get us in trouble.
[La'Ron] Tarrell.
Your mama asked me to come by.
[piano plays]
And now I'm so grateful
She made all things
Possible
- [door slams close]
- [Aisha] Whoa.
'Rell.
'Rell?
[Joyce] What's the matter, son?
Baby, what's wrong?
What's wrong? Look, Tarrell,
look at-look at me.
- Who is this?
- [Tarrell exhales sharply]
It's La'Ron.
Come here, Jermaine.
Let's go. Let's go. Come on.
[Aisha] What-- Ugh. Tarrell.
I'm sorry, Mama Joyce.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
You're not gonna let him
meet his grandfather?
- Now you wanna be
somebody's grand--
- Tarrell, let's go. Hey.
- You somebody's granddaddy now?
- [Aisha] Tarrell, let's go.
I ain't seen you for 15 years,
but now you gonna be
somebody's granddaddy?
- You somebody's daddy now?
- [Aisha] All right,
I don't want him to hear this.
- I'm taking him to the hotel.
- [Joyce] Tarrell, Tarrell.
He's clean, son.
Look at him. He's clean.
- Mama, stop. Stop.
- He's clean.
- Mama.
- He's clean.
He's going to church now.
- I don't care
where he's going, Mama.
- He's going to church now.
- I ain't got nothing
to say to you!
- He's going to church.
Just talk to him.
Now, where-where you going?
- He came here trying--
- Hey, you can go.
La'Ron, where you going?
- Tarrell.
- How could you do that?
Tarrell, come on.
Just talk to him.
He's trying. Tarrell.
Tarrell.
[Tarrell sighs] You know what?
Listen.
Listen, I need you
to speak to him.
- I need you to talk to him.
- No. No.
No. And I can't believe
you'd even ask me
to speak to him.
Look, I know how--
I know how hard this is for you.
It ought to be hard
for you, Mama.
- Trust me. Please.
He has changed.
- [scoffs]
He ain't changed.
And his change
ain't got nothing to do with me,
and it ain't got nothing
to do with you.
- Son. Son.
- Okay? Nothing.
- Look. Look, look,
look, look, look.
- Nothing to do.
Do it for me.
- Do it for me.
- Look, I love you.
- No, I got to go. I got to go.
- It's-- Tarrell!
- [door opens]
- [groans]
- [door closes]
- [exhales]
[sighs]
[bell tolling]
[exhales]
[children screaming]
[Quentin] Hey, yo, 'Rell.
'Rell!
What up, bro?
[Quentin laughs]
- [Quentin] What's up?
- [Tarrell] What's up, baby bro?
[Quentin]
Even when I was a baby,
I was a grown-ass man.
[Tarrell] Oh, get out of here.
[chuckles]
[boy yelling]
Hey, bro.
You know your daddy
back in town, right?
Mama tried to organize
some kind of surprise
family reunion earlier. [tuts]
Shit. I saw that nigga
the other day.
He tried to take me to church.
Like, what I look like
up in somebody's church, man?
Nigga think
he Martin Luther Vandross.
- [Tarrell tuts]
- Man, Mom always had
horrible taste in men. Shit.
- Least in my case, you know,
my dad, he was handsome.
- [Tarrell chuckles]
He ain't leave me shit
but these irresistible
good looks.
[chuckling]
Man, you something else.
Man, bullshit.
Hey, you gonna talk to him?
You know, Mom ain't gonna
leave you alone
till you talk to him.
You-you know how your mama be.
I ain't got shit to say to him.
Hey, fuck La'Ron.
Fuck that nigga.
This ain't about him.
It's about Mama.
Hey, get your ass down here.
Man, what you doing?
You been away from me
that long?
You know the routine.
Get your ass back in here, bro.
Here we go. Here we go.
[Quentin exclaims, cheers]
- What was that?
- Hey, that's four! Let's go!
- [gibbers] Ah!
- [water sloshing]
- Four.
- All right, all right.
You tired of me
beating your ass,
or you wanna keep it going?
- I got time. I don't know
if you got time, like...
- One more round.
I got time. One more round.
- One more? All right.
- One more time, man.
- [grunts] Ugh!
- [water sloshing]
Damn!
[Quentin] Oh! [laughing]
Ahh! Let's go, baby!
- That was pretty good.
- Oh, baby! That's, like...
- I'll give you that.
I'll give you that.
- ...seven, eight?
- That was pretty good.
- All right.
[Quentin] You wanna race?
Come on. [chuckles]
- [Tarrell] Keep running.
- Ahh!
Whoo!
[soft instrumental music
playing]
[engine starts]
[Quentin] Yeah, G-body.
[music fades]
[indistinct arguing in distance]
[Joyce] Yeah, yeah, yeah
You're the landlord
And the keeper
Of our love
[gate opens]
The boy won't even talk
to me, Joy.
Ain't nobody said
it was gonna be easy.
I know, but...
I tried to talk to him,
but the boy just won't
even give me a chance.
Wait a minute.
Is this the part
where you start talking about,
"It's just too hard.
I might as well quit"?
Again?
Let me ask you something.
How many times
did I take you back, La'Ron?
- A lot.
- [chuckles]
And how many times
did you tell me, you promise me,
things were gonna be different?
How many times?
- A lot.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
And every time,
you came back more broken
than you were before.
But I bandage you,
and I take care of you
like the Bible say
I'm supposed to.
Look at you.
You're the hardest-working man
I know.
Except when it comes
to relationships.
Relationships are hard.
They're hard.
You never understood that.
Do what you promised
you were gonna do.
I know it's hard.
Yeah, it's hard. Yes, it's hard.
You done messed over that child
for most of his life.
Yes, it's hard.
It should be hard.
But you need to make peace
with your son.
You're not gonna break
your promise this time.
[Aisha] No foundation
Building with bricks
That we were--
Built with bricks
That we were never given
I am your safe place, yeah
Filling the spaces
Filling the spaces
We were never filled in
Mm.
Filling...
And you are my treasure
Who can say, who can say
It's not a miracle?
Built, built with bricks
That we were never given
I am your safe place, yeah
[hums]
I'm sorry about earlier.
Are we gonna talk about
what happened with your father?
[Tarrell sighs]
I just thought
the first time you'd meet him,
he would be in his casket.
[sighs]
I know you would rather
be painting right now.
[Tarrell chuckles softly]
But all of this shit
is just gonna follow us home
if you don't deal with it here.
Some things can't be worked out
on canvas.
[washing machine whirring]
[washing machine
continues whirring]
[switch clicks]
[Tarrell exhales]
[no audible sound]
- [objects clatter]
- [Tarrell exclaims]
[grunts, panting]
- [Jermaine] Mommy!
- Baby, look-look at Mommy.
- Look at Mommy. Look at Mommy.
- [grunting]
[sobbing, panting]
[heavy breathing]
[Tarrell] I'm sorry.
Jermaine, I'm sorry.
Daddy's sorry. Hey.
Jermaine. [breathing shakily]
Hey, come here.
I'm sorry.
[Tarrell sighs]
[breathing heavily]
[kicks wall] Ah...
[mellow music playing]
[bell rings]
[mellow music continues]
[wheels rolling]
[object clatters]
[La'Ron] Over here.
What's all that?
[Tarrell breathes deeply]
Consider this a, uh, confession.
La'Ron, will you swear
to tell the whole truth?
There-there--
There's some things I wanna talk
to you about, Tarrell.
Hey, let me explain
something to you, man.
I really don't wanna
be doing this anyway,
but my mama asked me to,
so here I am.
Now, if you don't wanna do it,
I'd be more than happy to leave.
I'm not the same man
you remember, Tarrell.
[scoffs] I don't even know
what that's supposed to mean.
"All have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God."
Yeah. We doing this?
Uh, should I start with my name,
age, or something?
Why don't we, uh...
we just get to the point?
When did you first start using?
[gulps]
[exhales] Uh...
You remember your Uncle Willie?
You're stalling.
Oh, no,
I'm-I'm trying to tell you.
Uh, you remember
when we did the drywall
in his bedroom closet
- at his house?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember.
Well, Uncle Willie's daughter
Jamillah lit that closet
on fire.
Yeah, she was smoking crack,
trying to hide it
from her mama and daddy.
Fell asleep, burned a hole
right down to the studs.
Ain't nobody have no money
for no rehab back then,
so Jamillah ended up
back in that closet.
[sneers] But this time,
she set the whole house on fire.
I was helping Jamillah move in
with her boyfriend.
[chuckles]
And he was a crackhead too.
You know, that trifling nigga
didn't help me move one box.
The question, La'Ron.
The question.
Okay.
I...
I just finished
bringing the last box in,
and I was looking for Jamillah,
and I-and I found her.
In the bathroom,
sitting on the edge of the tub,
about to hit again.
I snatched that pipe
out her hand.
I grabbed her up by her arms.
"Jamillah,
what's wrong with you, girl?
You know better than this.
You just burned down
your daddy house,
and you doing this mess again?"
"You don't understand,"
Jamillah said.
[light chuckle]
"You never hit this before,
La'Ron. You don't understand."
I looked in her eyes, and...
I don't know.
- I don't know.
- You don't know what?
What you mean, you don't know?
I wanted to try it.
I took a hit,
put my head between my legs,
lifted up
and blew out that smoke,
and all hell broke loose.
I never felt
nothing like that before.
One hit, and I was on the ride.
All I could think about
was my next score.
At first, it was--
it-it was just on the weekends,
but every time I got
a little extra money, I'd hit.
Before I knew it,
I was smoking every day.
That-that's why
I worked so hard.
You know, I kept working,
so I was able to hide it
from most people.
I knew.
I knew.
[mouths] Yeah.
Hm.
Give me a second.
[exhales]
[groans softly]
This guy broke my rib.
Did you go to the doctor?
Did I see a doctor?
I had health insurance
once in my life.
It's when your mama told me
she was pregnant.
I remember the day
I told my father.
Yeah, we was working
on the back of the truck,
me and my daddy,
I'll never forget it,
shoveling burning barrels.
I looked over at him, I said,
"Daddy, you remember Joyce?
The quiet girl in the choir."
Now, Daddy hated it
when I tried to talk and work.
He said, "Boy, spit it out
and get back to work."
"Uh, she pregnant."
I never lifted my head.
I just kept on shoveling.
Daddy stopped,
looked at me and said,
"Well, who baby is it?"
I ain't say nothing.
I just kept on shoveling.
Just kept on shoveling.
"Who baby is it, La'Ron?"
I-I stuttered and I stammered
a bit, and I finally said,
"It's mine."
And I just went on back
to shoveling.
Went on back to shoveling.
What did he say?
He ain't say nothing.
He took that shovel
and he hit me
upside the head so hard,
it knocked me out cold.
We was over on James Street.
Daddy just left me there,
laying on the ground
in somebody's backyard.
I woke up with the neighbors
standing over me.
They thought I was dead.
I-I just walked home.
When I finally got home
that night,
Daddy said
I got to do two things,
marry Joyce and get a job
with health insurance
so I can take care of my baby.
You forgive your father?
Did you, uh...
did you ever even like him?
Your grandfather
was a complicated man, Tarrell.
[light chuckle]
Daddy would come home
mad about something
and try to take it out on Mama.
Your grandmother
was a living, breathing saint.
Oh, he-he was a minister,
but she was a saint.
Man, when you were finally born,
I brought you home
to introduce you
to your grandfather.
He wouldn't even pick you up.
I tried to put you in his arms.
He walked right by.
He went over to Mama and said,
"Now, now, now, that's your son.
That's your lustful
heathen sinner."
Mama looked him dead in the eye
and said,
"Jesus is strong enough
to save."
Whoo-wee!
Daddy looked at me and said,
"You won't bring that child
into the house of the Lord.
That baby was conceived in sin.
And until you and Joyce
confess your sins
in front of the congregation,
you won't set one foot
inside of my church."
Oh, I never seen Mama so angry.
She jumped in his face and said,
"You don't speak for God!"
[exhales] That set Daddy off.
Now, your grandfather
kept a pistol.
Folks used to call him
"the gun-toting preacher."
He whipped that thing out
so fast, I ain't even see
where it came from.
He aimed that pistol
right at Mama's head.
She didn't flinch.
I dropped you on the couch,
and I-and I ran
and I jumped between them.
[chuckles lightly]
Mama tried to push me away.
Looking over my shoulder,
she said, "I trust God."
Daddy put that gun
to my head and said,
"Boy, stay out
of grown folks' business!"
[sneers]
Right when Daddy said that,
you fell headfirst
off the couch.
And, boy, you started wailing.
But Daddy put that pistol down
and said, "Somebody shut
that pickaninny up!
Somebody shut
that pickaninny up!"
"Shut that pickaninny up."
It was hard for him.
Hard for who?
Daddy.
I mean, you know,
Daddy was a good man.
He was a good man? You...
you just told me that he...
you just told me that he tried
to kill you and Grandma.
Well, Daddy wasn't
gonna kill her or me.
You know how many times
Daddy pulled a gun on us?
Um...
he had flaws.
[Tarrell scoffs] Wait...
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
No, no.
La'Ron, you judge a man
by his actions, by how he lives,
and by how he takes care
of his family.
All right, now, he-he pulled
a gun on you and on Grandma,
and now you're saying
he's a good man?
[stammering] Uh, he had flaws.
I mean, he definitely had flaws.
Flaws?
I mean, but everybody got flaws.
- I mean, who ain't got flaws?
- Flaws, man?
And you got flaws, Tarrell.
Ain't you got flaws?
Yeah, but we ain't talking
about flaws, man.
A flaw is an accident,
a mistake.
He fucking pulled a gun on you.
You don't get to go out here
a-abusing your family
and call yourself a good man.
[grunts]
[thudding, shattering]
Mm-hmm. There it is.
There it is.
"I'm not the same man you used
to know before, Tarrell."
That's what you said, right?
Ain't that what you said?
No, nigga, this what I remember.
Man, this is exactly
what the fuck I remember.
Why the fuck my mama
let you back in her life
in the first place?
- [door opens, slams close]
- Shit.
[somber music plays]
[somber music continues]
[no audible sound]
[La'Ron over video camera]
At first, it was--
it-it was just on the weekends,
but every time I got
a little extra money, I'd hit.
Before I knew it,
I was smoking every day.
That-that's why
I worked so hard.
You know, I kept working,
so I was able to hide it
from most people.
[Tarrell] I knew.
I knew.
[somber music continues]
[sighs]
[music fades]
[footsteps]
- [knock on door]
- [door opens]
[La'Ron] Let's get it.
[engine starts, revs]
[La'Ron] Roll it.
Come on, roll it.
[young Tarrell grunts]
[objects clattering]
Come on, let's get it.
Now, come on, bend down.
- Come on. You've got it.
Bend down.
- Agh.
[La'Ron] Let's get it.
[thuds]
Little man, jump over here.
Back the truck up.
I'll guide you.
[young Tarrell] Okay.
[La'Ron] Come on.
Come on, now.
Come on. Whoa!
Come on, let's go.
Come on. [grunts]
- Come on, get up here, man.
- [young Tarrell grunts]
[La'Ron] All right, come on.
Oh, come on, Tarrell!
You know how to--
I showed you to do it
better than that.
Come on, take this shovel.
Get on this side.
Come on, now.
We ain't got all day.
[straining]
[La'Ron grunts]
- [flesh squelches]
- Ahh! Dad!
[whimpers] Dad!
[whimpering in pain]
- [young Tarrell screaming
in pain]
- Ah! Be quiet.
[young Tarrell crying in pain]
[La'Ron] It's barely bleeding.
Come on.
I ain't your mama.
I ain't gonna baby you, boy.
- [young Tarrell sobbing]
- You're a little Black boy.
Ain't nobody
gonna ever feel sorry for you.
You need to get that shit
through your head right now.
[young Tarrell
continues sobbing]
Now, dry off.
We gotta go!
Tarrell, you got to understand,
the world don't give a shit
about us.
- [whimpers]
- Wake up, boy.
The only thing
that separates you
from these other little niggas
to these white folks
is how hard you work.
You got to be able
to outwork the next man.
You're both tired,
you're both in pain,
but who's more hungry, huh?
No, we don't get no days off.
You think I like shoveling shit?
- [lawn mower whirring loudly]
- [young Tarrell straining]
[grunts]
Ah!
Hey!
Hey! What-- what you doing, boy?
We got to finish this job!
[lawn mower turns off]
- Come on, let's go, boy!
- My foot.
I don't wanna hear
about your foot!
Let's go!
- I can't! I can't!
- Get, boy.
- What do you mean, you can't?
- [sniffles]
Boy, if you don't get this thing
up this hill, man,
your foot gonna feel like
a vacation next to your ass.
Now, let's go. Let's go!
- [grunts]
- [lawn mower turns on]
Push it, boy! Go!
- What is wrong with you, huh?
- My foot!
[somber music playing]
[breathing heavily]
- Boy, get up
off this woman's lawn!
- [gasps]
Let's go! Get in the truck, boy.
[engine starts, revs]
Dad?
Dad?
Can we-can we just go home?
We should just go home.
Mama's gonna be so excited
when she finds out
- how much money we made today.
- Boy, you ain't gonna tell
your mama a damn thing
about this money.
This is my money.
You hear me?
[La'Ron] Kenny.
Dad, you promised.
Stay out
of grown folks' business, boy.
What's up, La'Ron?
[indistinct whispering]
[car door opens, slams close]
[La'Ron] You worked hard today,
Tarrell.
You can do anything
you set your mind to, boy.
You learned that today.
Tarrell.
Tarrell.
[car engine starts]
[soft piano music playing]
You're looking
just like your daddy right now.
What'd you say?
Don't say that to me.
You all right?
He told me you came by.
[scoffs]
[Tarrell, softly] Mm-hmm.
Let's take Jermaine to the park.
We ain't got time
for the park. Quentin's coming
- with the truck at 4:00--
- Why are you in such a rush
to get me out of here?
[Joyce sighs]
I have good memories here.
I know you don't,
but I got good memories here.
[light chuckle]
[train horn blaring]
[indistinct yelling]
So, you went by.
Did you talk to him?
You remember
Douglas Street, Mama?
Of course.
We lived there for years.
But do you remember?
Why are you asking me that?
Do you remember
that broken mirror?
That night didn't happen.
It was a bad dream. I decided.
What about all the other nights?
Were they dreams too?
That shit happened, Mama.
- Watch your mouth.
- All right.
He was amazing...
at first.
But the same thing
that got a hold of this park
got a hold of him.
He gave me you, Tarrell.
He was my first love.
He was my first love.
And he gave me you.
Oh, I hate
you remember that house.
I still love him.
What?
Why?
[scoffs]
Why, Mama?
La'Ron has been through
a lot, Tarrell.
You-you've been through a lot.
You've been through a lot, Mama.
Why you still making excuses
for him?
Look...
the Bible says
that if you don't forgive others
of their past sins,
then you can't be forgiven.
That's the Bible, son.
- I don't care what--
- Matthew 6:15.
I don't care what the Bible say.
- Mama, I wanna know
what you say.
- No, honey. Now, look, son.
Now, now, I raised you
better than that.
I raised you
better than that, now.
- Until you--
- Come on.
Until you made him leave,
Mama, our life was fear.
I shook the fear,
and now you want me to sit here
and play some loving
father-son fantasy with you?
That boy over there...
Ours is the only
father-son story
I'm interested in, okay?
If you don't forgive others
of their sins,
if you don't forgive,
baby, if you don't forgive,
you won't be forgiven.
No, Mama.
[laughs] You and this--
Oh, you and this fucking Bible.
[laughs]
Tarrell, now,
wait a minute, now.
No, you wanna talk
about the Bible,
- let's talk about the Bible.
- Now, you can-- Li-listen.
- Listen, we can disagree--
- Let's talk about the Bible.
We can disagree,
but you not gonna blaspheme
- like-like that.
- I got one.
- Not in front of me.
- I got one for you.
- Abraham and Isaac.
- Not in front of me.
- Abraham and Isaac.
- You not gonna blaspheme
in front--
- You not gonna blaspheme.
- Abraham and Isaac.
God told Abraham
to kill his only son.
You remember that?
Sacrifices got to be made,
right?
So, baby boy had to go.
You remember, right?
So, Abraham takes Isaac
up to the mountaintop.
Isaac say,
"Daddy, where's the offering?
I know we gotta make a sacrifice
to your angry-ass God.
- Where is the sacrifice?
- Tarrell!
Where is the sacrifice?"
Abraham said, "Don't worry, son.
God will provide."
Abraham walks up to the top
of that mountain, takes Isaac,
throws him out on that altar,
raises the knife up
over his head,
and just when the knife starts
to break the skin,
God's angel swoops in
out of nowhere,
grabs his hand and says, "Abe,
I didn't know
you was gonna do that.
I was just fucking with you."
[mouths] Oh, my God.
[softly] No. My God.
Look at me.
Look at me, Mama.
Why did you leave me with him?
Look at me.
You knew what he was doing.
Why?
Jermaine, come on.
- Come on.
- [Jermaine] Do we
have to leave now?
- [Joyce sobbing]
- [voice breaks] Let's go.
[breathing heavily]
[indistinct yelling]
[heartbeat thumping]
[somber piano music plays]
[somber piano music continues]
Don't.
[man] What do you want?
I used to live in this house.
You want it back?
I hate this goddamn house.
[door closes]
[car door closes]
[gasps, whispers] You left Cool.
You left Cool, babe.
[Jermaine] Cool, Cool.
Thank you, Mom.
Hello.
I'm never staying here again.
I don't care how close it is
to your mama house.
[Jermaine]
Cool, Cool, Cool, Cool!
I don't wanna be here no more.
[Jermaine imitates
monkey gibbering]
What happened?
She still loves him.
I mean... [sighs]
Is it-is it just in my mind,
or are bad memories
somehow more saturated
than good ones?
I mean, how am I supposed
to paint a sunny day
if I don't remember
ever even seeing one?
- Hmm.
- She still loves him.
[Tarrell sighs]
[Tarrell chuckles]
[phone vibrates]
- Love.
- Hm?
It's your brother.
Hey. Hey, man, what happened?
- Where she at?
- I've been here 45 minutes,
and they won't let me see her.
- She's on machines right now
to-to keep her alive.
- Machines?
Yeah. And that nigga been
over there talking to himself
and praying.
[Tarrell] Wait a minute, man.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
She was fine when I left.
Hey, she was fine when I left.
Now, we had an argument
at the park,
but she was fine. She--
I left,
but she was just sitting there.
She-she passed out.
She stopped breathing
at the basketball court,
- so they had to come over
and bring her here.
- Stopped breathing?
- She in the ICU right now.
- Hey, man,
where-where the doctor?
- I don't-I don't know
where the doctor is.
- Where's the doctor?
- They not letting me
go see her. She--
- Doctor, where my mom?
Uh, we've been stabilizing her
- in the intensive care unit.
- Can I see her? Can I see her?
No, no. I'm sorry,
her condition is very serious.
Your mother has been suffering
from dangerously high
blood pressure for some time,
and her heart is very weak.
She was fine when I left.
She was fine when I left.
We released her
from our care last weekend,
against our advice.
She insisted
she be allowed to go home.
Uh, we won't be allowing
visitors until we're able...
[voice fades]
Excuse me.
Tarrell, we just need to pray.
[breathing shakily]
- [La'Ron] Our Father...
- [Quentin] Come on, bro.
[La'Ron] ...who art in heaven...
[Quentin] You know praying
ain't gonna do shit.
[La'Ron]
...hallowed be thy name...
[Quentin] 'Rell.
[La'Ron] ...thy kingdom come...
[Quentin] Come on, bro,
let's go.
[La'Ron] ...thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
I need you
to pray with me, Tarrell.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom
and the power
and the glory, forever.
[inhales deeply]
[indistinct announcement
over PA]
Tarrell, if you have faith,
God can do miracles.
- Tarrell.
- Hey.
- Tarrell.
- Hey!
Have you asked yourself
once, one time,
what's best for us?
For him? For your grandson?
[scoffs] Just...
You don't get to just pick up
where you left off, La'Ron.
[birds chirping]
[Aisha moans softly]
You're awake. I'm sorry.
Yeah, I didn't sleep.
I'm gonna head back
to the hospital.
All right. [clears throat]
- I'm gonna get dressed.
I'll take you.
- No. No, no, no.
Hey, hey. It's all right.
Okay? Um, we don't both need
to go.
- You sure?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Walking-walking will be good.
- Okay.
If anything changes,
I'll-I'll let you know.
- Okay.
- All right.
I'll let the hotel know
we're gonna stay here
for a while.
No. No, Aisha, it's your turn.
Now, when Mama wakes up
and find out that
you hadn't finished that song,
- you know she gonna whup
your behind, right?
- [chuckles lightly]
Plus, I, uh, I called
Regina and Uncle Mike.
They said they can look after
Jermaine for a few days, so...
[mouths] Yeah.
[clicks tongue] Yeah.
Mama gonna be good.
All right.
[door closes]
[sighs]
[La'Ron] Tarrell.
I figured you'd probably
wanna go see your mama
first thing.
I can drive.
Just let me drive you, Tarrell.
You wanna get
some breakfast first?
Breakfast?
No.
Just wanna get to the hospital.
You remember you used to make
breakfast before our dump runs?
[light chuckle]
Man, we used to work, boy.
Couldn't stop us.
Ain't no father and son
ever work like we worked.
My boy used to work like a man.
Boy, you used to be
up on that truck faster than me.
All we ever did was work.
Don't know nothing else, man.
I done told you about my daddy.
That man didn't teach me nothing
but work.
I had to put steel in you, boy.
You remember how hard it was
around here.
I had to be hard on you.
Can't nobody say
that you're weak or soft.
Can't nobody say
that you don't know how to work.
I taught you that.
[compartment opens]
[object clattering]
Open it.
Now, that's my favorite.
It's called The Preacher's Wife.
That's Mama, right?
That's my mama.
That's my prayer closet.
I never stopped praying for you.
I hear you.
In my head.
But your voice...
it ain't just forcing me to work
or screaming at me
when I'm tired.
[sighs] When Jermaine...
when Jermaine messes up,
I think of something
that you might say.
It scares me.
[scoffs] Man, you put steel
in me all right.
But sometimes Jermaine...
I think he just needs to cry.
[elevator dings, door opens]
[elevator door closes]
[woman]
Yeah, seems like he's stable.
He survived.
It was such a scare.
[machine beeping]
You knew.
That's why
you didn't wanna pack.
You knew this was coming.
I just wanted to bring you home.
I just-- I was trying to...
[sighs] What am I gonna tell
Jermaine? [sniffles]
I'm sorry, Mama.
Mama.
Mama?
I'm sorry.
[somber music plays]
[young Tarrell breathes deeply]
[young Tarrell whimpering]
[wincing, whimpering]
[sobbing]
Tarrell.
- Tarrell, what's wrong?
- [sobbing]
- My God, baby,
where are your shoes?
- I don't...
What happened, Tarrell?
What happened?
[crying] I stepped on a nail.
[Joyce exhales sharply]
- Where's your father?
- I don't know.
Come on, baby.
Uh, let me take you
to the hospital.
- We gonna go--
It's gonna be all right.
- [car door closes]
- It's okay, baby.
It's gonna be okay.
- [engine starts]
[somber music continues]
[music fades]
[Joyce] La'Ron.
What happened to my son?
La'Ron!
- What happened to my son?
- Oh, calm down. Fuck!
[La'Ron groans]
Stop all the yelling. Geez.
Shit.
[lighter ignites]
He stepped on a nail
with all kinds
of... filth on it,
and you let him walk home
by himself.
[stammers] You gotta stop
spoiling that boy.
Do you hear
what I'm saying to you?
Do you hear me?
He's a boy.
You gotta stop working him
like he's a man.
You doing him
just like your daddy did you,
and look at you.
Look at you.
You disgust me.
I can't believe
you're doing this shit again.
I want you out of this house.
Yeah.
I want you gone.
I want you gone. I want you out!
[muffled] Me and my son,
me and my baby,
we not gonna live like this.
And you not making him
into a man.
You're breaking him.
And he's gonna hate you for it.
He is going to hate you for it.
[La'Ron] Well, let him
just hate me, then.
[Joyce] I want you
out of this house.
- This is my house!
- I want you gone.
- This is
my motherfucking house!
- I want you out of this house!
I ain't going nowhere!
- Did you hear me?
This my motherfucking house!
- I want you out of my house!
I'm not going nowhere! [screams]
[sobbing softly]
[dark music playing]
[thudding]
- [clattering]
- [Joyce screams]
[no audible sound]
[indistinct screaming]
[La'Ron screaming]
[La'Ron, muffled]
Why you make me do this?
Mom? Mom? Mom?
What did you do?
La'Ron, what did you do?
Mom? Mom? [sniffles]
Mom?
[crying] La'Ron,
what did you do?
Mom? Mom, can you--
can you wake up?
Mom? Mom?
[whimpers]
Mom. Help me!
Help me get her up!
Help me get her up!
[breathing heavily]
[suspenseful piano music plays]
[grunts]
[continues breathing heavily]
[objects clatter]
[music fades]
[dramatic instrumental music
plays]
[dramatic instrumental music
continues]
["Bricks" plays]
What we do is
What we do
Brick by brick
That's how we move
No foundation
Building with bricks
That we were never given
I am your safe place
Safe place
Filling the places
We were never filled in
And you are my treasure
Who can say
It's not a miracle?
What we do is what we do
What we do
Is what we do, oh
Painting a picture
We never envisioned
We are what
We've never seen before
Forgiving when we have
Never known forgiveness
[vocalizing]
Light came from the void
Learning to hear
When no one ever listened
Who can say
We're not a miracle?
Learning to heal
When no one ever healed
Healed us
She produced a miracle
[vocalizing]
Hands with pain
And grace unfold
Empty, but she filled you
Giving you life
That she was never given
And now, I'm so grateful
Grateful, grateful
She made all things
Possible
A firm foundation
Believing when her world gave
Nothing to believe
In
To believe in
What we do here
What we do
And brick by brick
That's how we move
No foundation
Built with bricks
That we were never given
[sighs]
[song ends]
[insects chirping]
[footsteps]
[Tarrell exhales]
[chill music plays]
[indistinct chattering]
- [Tarrell] Hi. How are you?
- Hi. Just wanna say,
big fan of your work.
- It's absolutely stunning.
- Thank you.
[woman] Oh, my God.
Can I get a selfie?
Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure.
- [man 1] Awesome.
- All right. Thank you.
- [Tarrell chuckles lightly]
All right, thank you.
- Yes. Love it.
- Um, Mrs., uh...
- Yeah. Barbara.
- Barbara. Barbara.
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yes.
It's good to see you. Hi.
- Yes, hi. I'm another Barbara.
- This is Barbara too, yes.
Yes, you know,
I've known him for a long time.
- Almost 20 years.
- Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
- [Janine] Tarrell,
this is James Kirlin.
- [Tarrell] Hi.
He's been wanting to meet you
for a really, really long time.
- Pleasure to meet you.
Nice to meet you, James.
- Nice to meet you.
- He owns two of your works.
- Oh, wow.
I remember his paintings
at the Studio Museum.
- Yeah. Yes, Studio--
- Hey. Hi.
- Can I steal you
for just a minute?
- Right, yeah. Sorry. So sorry.
- I have collages
of your work and paintings.
- [Tarrell laughs] Oh.
- So good to see you. Thank you.
- Nice to see you again.
- Can't wait to get back to it.
[chuckles]
- Thank you.
- Okay. Thank you.
- [Tarrell chuckles]
Can you hang out
a little-a little while longer?
Uh, um, just a little bit,
but not-not much longer.
I-I wanna-- I wanna get back.
Aisha-- I wanna get back.
- Aisha-Aisha went home, right?
- Yeah. Yeah.
All right, give me like--
give me another 20 minutes.
- Okay, ten minutes sounds good.
- Uh...
You know, I have been saving
something for you.
I have
ten other people interested,
but this one, right over there,
- what do you think?
- I love it.
[man 2 chuckles] I know.
Excuse me. Excuse me!
Sir, don't touch the artwork.
Oh, my God,
you're Tarrell's father.
Oh, my God, I am so sorry.
Forgive me. [laughs]
Oh, wow.
I didn't mean
to speak to you like that.
I-I'm sorry, ma'am.
It just got a hold of me.
I know exactly what you mean.
It is...
Ha. I'm Janine.
I represent Tarrell.
Wow, that son of yours
is so talented.
I bet he gets that from you.
[Arthur] Tarrell.
Tarrell.
Tarrell.
I own several of your paintings.
My favorite piece,
I hang over my bed.
I mean, my kids have grown up
seeing your work every day.
Um, when my daughter
went off to Dartmouth,
she insisted that her mother
and I let her take
a smaller piece,
- hang it in her dorm room.
- [chuckles lightly]
Oh, can I take a picture of you
to send to Jenny?
- ...which I think
is really interesting.
- [Arthur] Hm?
- Oh, she's gonna love this.
- It's a beautiful piece.
The light in there...
[Arthur] No?
- Oh, come on, she's gonna--
- Don't-don't-don't touch me.
- She's gonna love this.
- Don't touch-- don't touch me.
Hey.
- [Janine] Tarrell?
- I just bought the painting
you're standing in front of.
- I don't think a picture
is too much to ask for.
- Tarrell?
- I said don't fucking touch me.
- Tarrell, this is
Arthur Emanuel.
You don't know me.
- Arthur and Teresa Emanuel.
- Yes, thank you.
- I don't-I don't know you.
- All right? Just 'cause
you bought a fucking painting
- does not mean
you know me, okay?
- I'm a big supporter of you.
- Tarrell, calm down.
- Okay? I'm your biggest fan.
- All right?
- I'm a big supporter of you.
Did she tell you
about this painting?
You know who this is?
- It's your mom, right?
- Huh? It's my dead mother.
- Okay.
- You wanna hang her picture
over your-- over your bed too?
- Is that what you wanna do?
I got a better idea.
- I'm sorry.
- I'm very sorry.
- Why don't you take
the painting of my dead mother
and-and give it
to your daughter,
uh, Katie or Jenny,
- or whatever the fuck
her name is...
- Control yourself.
- ...as a graduation present.
- Come on, son.
[Janine] Arthur.
[crowd continues chattering]
[exhales deeply]
- [glass clinks]
- [drink pouring]
[door opens]
- [door closes]
- [footsteps]
[La'Ron] You okay?
Why are you here?
Why are you here?
I haven't seen you
since the funeral.
- I thought--
- Why are you here, La'Ron?
You painted me, Tarrell.
This painting was about
me being freed from the darkness
that I've done.
Hm. That's good.
Oh, that's good.
God was speaking
through that painting.
[Tarrell chuckles]
I'm glad for you.
- 'Cause everything
just gets erased, huh?
- [drink pouring]
- That's God's grace, Tarrell.
- [Tarrell sighs]
Grace?
You know, everything I saw
plays in my head again and again
and again and again,
and you talking about grace.
[scoffs]
You think that painting
is about you getting set free?
- You think that
that painting is about you?
- [glass thuds]
That painting is about me
trying to keep the past
from sneaking up behind me
and destroying my everything.
I put it on canvas
so that I could hold that shit
by the throat.
What you want me to say?
I raised you
the best way I knew how.
No, nigga, my mama raised me.
I did you
the way my daddy did me.
- Oh, this--
- But it worked on you.
I mean, look at everything
you've got, Tarrell.
Your art, your family.
What I did wrong
taught you to do right.
- [scoffs]
- You need to thank God
for that.
Thank God?
So, you-you saying...
[chuckles]
...that me watching you
abuse yourself
made me a better father?
You beating my ass
made me a better father?
Me watching you
put your hands on my mama
made me a better father?
And now... [breathes shakily]
...nigga, now, you want me
to thank God for that?
I was on crack, Tarrell.
- What'd you expect?
- And I was a boy
watching his father on crack!
That's not me no more.
- Okay.
- That's not me no more.
It's not good to live
with all that inside of you.
You need to forgive
so God can take that away.
You need to pray.
- [glass thuds]
- No more prayers, La'Ron.
No more prayers.
Those prayers
didn't save my mama.
[sniffles]
You know she still loved you?
[sobs softly]
After all that shit
you put her through...
she still loved you.
That's what we was arguing about
in the park, you know.
I couldn't understand it.
But I think I get it now.
It wasn't for you.
[sobbing softly]
Man, I need to move on.
[sighs, sniffles]
La'Ron, I forgive you.
[sobbing]
For what you did to me.
But I will never forget
what you did to my mama.
We-we still got the future.
No, man.
No future, La'Ron.
[Tarrell breathes deeply]
You wanted my forgiveness,
and I gave you that.
The, uh, the future...
[clears throat]
...the future belongs to, uh,
to Aisha and to Jermaine.
You took the past.
And, man, I forgive you.
I understand.
Life didn't give you
a lot of choices.
But the future...
[sighs]
...that's mine.
[door opens]
[door closes]
[whispers] Mama...
It's in a Byzantine style.
You know,
like the religious icons.
I mean, he-he really put
a lot of, uh...
Tarrell, what are you doing?
Tarrell, what are you doing?
[chuckles]
You can't do that.
What are you doing?
Tarrell.
For your prayer closet.
Don't stop praying for me.
[mellow music plays]
[mellow music continues]
[mellow music continues]
[music fades]
[chuckles lightly]
[objects clatter]
[hopeful music plays]
[hopeful music continues]
[hopeful music continues]
You okay, Dad?
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm all right.
I love you.
I love you.
Come on.
[door closes]
[music fades]
["Bricks" by Andra Day plays]
["Bricks" continues playing]
[song ends]
[mellow music plays]
[mellow music continues]
[music ends]
[soft music plays]
[Tarrell] James Baldwin said,
"If the relationship
of father to son
could really be reduced
to biology,
the whole earth would blaze
with the glory of fathers
and sons."
But sometimes,
biology leaves us
with only smoldering embers.
[woman shouting indistinctly]
[car horn blares in distance]
[Gus grunts] It's hot.
You shouldn't be out here.
You got someplace to cool off?
I know you got family.
La'Ron.
La'Ron.
Yeah.
- [phone ringtone plays]
- Oh, shoot.
Yes?
I know.
[upbeat music plays]
[breathing heavily]
[sighs]
[plastic bottle thumps]
[men shouting indistinctly
in distance]
[door bells jingle]
- [man] Just give me
the fucking money!
- [Gus grunts]
[man] Why'd you make me
fucking do that?
I didn't wanna
fucking hurt you, man!
- [cash register opens]
- Get the fuck out!
Get the fuck out!
- Just wanted
the fucking money, man!
- [police siren wailing]
No, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no--
[both grunting]
[police siren continues wailing
in distance]
[breathing heavily]
- [wheezing]
- [baseball bat thuds]
[somber music playing]
[no audible sound]
[inhales deeply, groans softly]
[winces]
- [objects clatter]
- [groaning]
'Rell? 'Rell. 'Rell, baby.
- Baby. Baby, breathe.
- [gasps]
Look at me. Breathe.
- Breathe.
- [gasps]
[relieved sigh]
[Aisha, softly] God.
[both breathing heavily]
Tarrell, you got to do something
about this.
- [softly] It's okay.
- No, it's not okay.
- Something is wrong with you.
- It's fine, it's fine,
it's fine.
I can't do this shit anymore.
- It's okay, Aisha. It's okay.
- [door opens]
Daddy, can I get some pancakes?
No, baby,
Daddy doesn't feel good
right now.
- Hey, don't tell him that.
- Mommy will make you
some oatmeal.
Hey, come here, big boy.
I got ya. I got ya. [grunts]
You want some, uh,
some-some blueberries
in the pancake?
- Just pancakes.
- Yeah?
- Mm-hmm.
- All right, come on. Let's go.
[Jermaine] Pancakes, pancakes.
I love pancakes!
- [Aisha] Smells good.
- [Tarrell chuckles lightly]
Call the doctor.
I will.
- Please? [sighs]
- I will. Hey.
[Tarrell] Ahh.
- Yay! Chocolate chips,
chocolate chips.
- Jermaine.
[whispers] Two days
till mission.
- Shh.
- What, Mommy can't know?
What mission?
The extraction mission.
"The extraction mission"?
Parachute in, go save Grandma,
and bring her home to safety.
[Aisha] Oh. That mission.
And why do we accept
this mission, Jermaine?
Because sons take care
of mothers.
[laughing] Do they?
- Where'd he learn that from?
- I don't know.
'Rell, did you let him watch
The Godfather?
No. That ain't even a real line.
[chuckles]
Y'all get on my nerves.
[humming]
[piano playing]
[continues humming]
[humming]
[blues music plays
over turntable]
[blues music continues]
[blues music continues]
[blues music continues]
[music fades]
[knocking on door]
Tarrell, it's Janine.
Hey.
- Hey.
- Hey. What's going on?
What are you doing here?
- We-we don't have
a visit scheduled.
- I'm-- I know, I know.
I'm so-- I--
Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.
Listen, I was excited.
I wanted to see you. [laughs]
Face-to-face.
- [sighs] Yeah.
- Uh, can I come in?
I'm-I'm, actually,
I'm working right now, Janine,
- so it's not a good time.
- It's okay. I won't be long.
I won't be long.
- Did you read the review?
- Uh, yeah, yeah, I read it.
- And?
- And... it's a review.
When the review is positive,
even if it's not quite right,
we have to celebrate.
Come on, critics' pick.
I come bearing gifts.
[clicks tongue] Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
- Thank you very much.
What the fuck, T?
What?
Holy shit.
Hey, hey,
that's not ready, Janine.
It's-it's not ready yet, okay?
- Listen, Janine...
- So this is why
I haven't heard from you.
[chuckles] Oh, my God, T!
Oh, my God.
- Janine, please.
- Wait, wait, wait,
can I see it?
- Can I see it?
- No. Nope. Not yet.
Come on, have a seat.
Have a seat, have a seat,
have a seat.
- Hold on, hold on, hold on.
- Come on. Yeah, come on.
Just give me this. Give me--
Oh, my God, the...
The emotion on his face.
He's so frightened,
so vulnerable.
I'll take three of these,
please. [laughing]
Oh, my God, T.
No, but seri--
This one, this is finished.
This is done.
Not another brushstroke. Wow.
[exhales] I think
you gotta do another show.
- The art world wants you, T.
What can I say?
- Mmm-mmm.
[scoffs] Yeah, "the art world."
Oh, come on, you just got
a fucking brilliant review
from a critic
who hates everything.
- How is this not your world?
- It's not my world.
- Boo-hoo, Mr. Tortured Artist.
- "Tortured artist"? I just...
Do you know how many artists
would kill to be in your shoes?
Do you know? I know. Do you?
- [softly] Yeah.
- Another show.
Let's ride the wave.
- Trust me. It's the right move.
- [Jermaine] Daddy,
Daddy, Daddy.
- Oh!
- Hey.
Jermaine. Hey, kiddo.
- What's up?
- Hey.
- Look.
- What's this?
- That's me.
- Oh.
- Is he represented?
- That is you. [scoffs]
- [Janine chuckles]
- That's me.
- Yeah, that is-- That's good.
- Uh, Mom said,
um, come inside,
wash your hands,
and don't get no paint
in the house.
[chuckles] I'm on the way.
- That's my cue?
- Yes, it is.
I gotta get in there.
Thank you for the...
- Yeah.
- I'm proud of you.
- [piano plays off-key]
- [babbles]
- [playful growling]
- [Jermaine] Ahh!
- [Aisha] Hey, be careful.
- [Tarrell laughs]
- All right, all right.
- [Jermaine giggling]
- [panting] Hey, can I get
some help here?
- [Aisha] What do you mean?
- No, you're on duty.
- [Jermaine grunting]
Really? Come here.
Okay, okay, okay.
All right. All right, all right.
That's enough. That's enough.
Hey, come on.
- [Jermaine straining]
- [Tarrell exhales]
Come on, hey.
Okay, calm down, calm down,
calm down, calm down. Shh, shh.
Calm down.
Look at me. Look at me.
Breathe with me.
[inhales]
Uh-uh. Come here.
There you go.
One more.
Yeah, one more time.
[Tarrell]
"Shadows on the wall..."
"Shadows on the wall..."
"...noises down the hall."
"...noises down the hall."
"Life doesn't frighten me
at all."
"Life doesn't frighten me
at all."
"Mean, old Mother Goose,
lions on the loose."
[playful growl]
"They don't frighten me at all.
Dragons breathing flame
on my counterpane.
That doesn't frighten me at all.
I go boo, make them shoo.
I make fun the way they run.
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Tough guys in a fight
all alone at night.
Life doesn't frighten me
at all."
- [grunting]
- [Tarrell chuckles softly]
"Don't show me
the frogs and snakes
and listen for my scream.
If I'm afraid at all,
it's only in my dreams."
- Let me-let me see
what you're working on.
- [Jermaine] No!
[Aisha] No, don't show him.
Let me-- Let Mommy see.
Ohh.
- I look good, huh?
- Okay.
- He looks good.
- Yeah, you look good.
- Yeah, he looks good. [laughs]
- Yeah, I know I look good.
I know I look good.
- [Tarrell chuckles]
- [phone ringtone plays]
- Oh, it's Mama Joyce.
- Now, look.
Okay.
- That don't look like me.
Come on.
- [Jermaine laughs]
- Isn't this late for her?
- That don't look like me
at all.
- You said I look good.
- I got it.
- This is you, this is you.
- Hello?
I'll put him to bed.
Hey, Ma.
- [Aisha] Baby that's a...
- [Joyce over phone]
Lord, Lord, Lord.
Hey, Mom?
[Joyce sighs]
Something wrong?
I don't know
nobody there, Tarrell.
My church is here. I...
But we-we...
we talked about this, Ma.
What-what happened?
Baby, this is my home.
[Tarrell] It's just temporary,
Mom.
- [Joyce sighs]
- All right? I'll get you a...
get you a real nice place
on the south side,
and no more mortgage payments.
You know you don't have
to do that, 'Rell.
Well, I want to.
Now, now,
you know I don't need
nothing fancy, now.
[over phone speaker] You know
I don't need nothing fancy.
And you don't owe me nothing.
I owe you
the air in my lungs, Mama.
- I love you.
- Yeah.
Love you too.
Hey.
Finish packing, please.
- Mm-hmm.
- [chuckles softly]
[Aisha] How's Mama Joyce doing,
anyway?
Oh, she's, uh...
she's okay.
Just wanna get her
out of that house.
- But she's good, right?
- Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Janine stopped by.
She wants me to do another show.
What?
- You just had a show.
- Yeah, I know, I know.
But, you know...
[sighs] My mom
doesn't wanna be here
any longer than she has to.
- Mm-hmm.
- So, I...
I need to.
[sighs]
Fine.
Fine. Do the show.
But I will be in the studio
on Monday.
Yeah. It is your turn,
I promise you.
I promise.
Okay?
[guitar plays]
[vocalizing]
- Sound good.
- Uh-uh. Thank you, love.
You got the chorus?
Mm, I have...
Well, I don't have
all the words, but I have...
- All right.
- I have a little bit.
- Let me hear what you got.
- Okay.
What did our hands do?
High as they hold
High as they raised you
[Tarrell] Mmm.
My love untold
Can you...
- This is the chorus.
- Hmm.
Can you teach
Teach
[Tarrell] Hmm.
Me
Can
Can you feed
Feed
Feed me?
[chuckles softly]
Sounds like clouds.
Yeah. Trees with no leaves.
What about, uh...
what about a little more yellow?
[vocalizing]
What'd you think?
You see my song?
- I see you.
- [chuckles softly]
Okay, I'm done.
[both chuckling]
[police siren wailing
in distance]
[breathing heavily]
[ominous music plays]
[footsteps]
[Michael]
I don't know who you are
standing in front of my house,
but I need to warn you,
Uncle Sam taught me
how to shoot.
So if you don't start explaining
why the fuck you standing
in front of my house,
my Black face
gonna be the last thing you see.
Nuh-uh.
Don't play me.
Ronnie. Ronnie.
- Ronnie. What happened to you?
[grunts]
- [La'Ron whimpers]
Come on, let's get in the house.
- [La'Ron winces]
- [somber music plays]
[somber music continues]
[Michael sniffles]
[water running]
[sobbing]
[music fades]
[door opens]
[Regina] Hey, baby.
They didn't have mint chip,
so I got the only flavor
that felt appropriate,
Chubby Hubby.
All right.
[chuckles softly]
I got two spoons...
[Michael exhales]
- Uh, baby, baby, careful.
- [La'Ron groans]
- His ribs are broken.
- Oh, careful, his--
I don't give a shit
about his ribs.
He's hurt, baby.
He's hurt?
Where's my money
and the rest of the shit
you stole, La'Ron?
Hm?
Where are my rings, La'Ron?
[Michael] Gina, he...
How many times
are we gonna do this?
Why do you keep forgiving him?
He's my brother.
'Cause he's your brother?
I'm your wife.
Get him out of this house.
- [sighs]
- [door opens, closes]
You know she has every right
to be pissed at you.
Hey, George. It's me, Mike.
Hey, I need a real solid, man.
Ronnie's back.
Hey, man, I owe you.
[exhales]
[mellow music playing]
[Chaplain George] We don't have
any beds left at the shelter,
but you can stay
in the basement.
It's not much,
but it's better than an alley.
Anybody who lives with me
abides my rules.
I lock my door every night
at 8:00.
If you're not here,
you no longer have
a place to stay.
I go to chapel every morning
at 6:00.
You come with me,
or you no longer have
a place to stay.
The church has
recovery meetings every day.
You have to go twice a week,
or... you no longer have
a place to stay.
You agree to follow my rules?
I agree.
[music fades]
[insects chirping]
[chuckles softly]
[breathes deeply]
[paint brush tapping]
[sighs]
[soft instrumental music plays]
[soft instrumental music
continues]
[soft instrumental music
continues]
[switch clicks]
- [Tarrell] Ready, man?
- [Jermaine] Let's go,
let's go, let's go!
[Aisha] Let's go,
let's go, let's go!
[soft instrumental music
continues]
[indistinct chatter]
[Aisha] It's Grandma's house.
Yay! We made it!
[Jermaine cheers]
[Aisha] Mama Joyce!
- Oh, my God!
- Oh, my God!
- Come here, girl! Oh, yes!
- [both shrieking and laughing]
- Oh, my God!
- How are you?
- Hey!
- Let me see.
- Oh, you wanna see?
- Yes, ma'am.
Grandma, Grandma,
Grandma, Grandma, Grandma!
- Oh, no!
- Uh-oh.
- Oh, oh,
look what you brought to me.
- That's trouble.
- That's trouble.
- Look at what you brought
to me!
[indistinct chatter]
[Joyce] You better come--
Oh, where is he? Where is he?
[gasps] There he is!
There he is!
- Come here! You can't fool me.
- [Jermaine] You can't see me.
[Joyce] Yes, I can.
I can see
all of my beautiful baby.
- Hello. Hi.
- Hi.
- Hey, Mama.
- [Joyce] Did you miss me?
- [Jermaine] Yeah.
- [Joyce] Did you miss me?
Where are the boxes?
Nothing's packed.
Mama, did you...
did you pack anything?
Did you pack anything at all?
Nothing, Mama?
It ain't gonna take that long.
- All right. Okay.
- Tarrell.
Have you lost yourself?
- Hey, Mama.
- You come here.
I thought you said
you was gonna pack. I just...
It ain't gonna take that long.
I got it.
All right, all right.
I'm gonna get started.
- It's good to see you.
- It's good to see you.
All right.
You lost yourself. Come here!
[Joyce] Ooh, hand me that.
Is that Fred?
- Is it? Oh, give me that.
- [phone ringing]
- [Tarrell] Uh, Mama, I'm trying
to put this stuff away.
- [chuckles]
- Let's, uh, keep moving, huh?
- [phone continues ringing]
I was looking cute
in that picture. [chuckles]
- You see how cute
I was looking? Hello?
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Tarrell sighs]
- [indistinct chatter]
No, I didn't forget.
Yeah, I-I-I--
I gotta reschedule, okay?
[Tarrell] Who is she talking to?
All right, I'll call you back.
Thank you.
All right, bye-bye.
[Aisha] All of this in two days?
The studio is on Monday.
[Tarrell]
If you do the other thing,
then maybe we can get this done
and-and still stay
on schedule...
Let me see that picture.
Let me see that.
- I was about to...
- Let me see.
Let me see it. [groans]
[Aisha] I'll call Uncle Mike
and Aunt Regina.
- They can come help us.
- Yeah.
- [Tarrell sighs]
I'll be right back.
- Hm.
Oh, I left my phone in the car.
Can you grab it for me, love?
I'll get it.
- Baby girl.
- What?
- You finish my song yet?
- Oh, my God.
Okay, it's almost done.
- It's not there yet,
but I'm gonna show--
- You gonna show it to me?
- Right now, Ma?
- Yes! Come on, come on.
- Ma! Oh. Oh, Lord.
- Show it to me.
Come on, show me.
Mm! You gonna get us in trouble.
[La'Ron] Tarrell.
Your mama asked me to come by.
[piano plays]
And now I'm so grateful
She made all things
Possible
- [door slams close]
- [Aisha] Whoa.
'Rell.
'Rell?
[Joyce] What's the matter, son?
Baby, what's wrong?
What's wrong? Look, Tarrell,
look at-look at me.
- Who is this?
- [Tarrell exhales sharply]
It's La'Ron.
Come here, Jermaine.
Let's go. Let's go. Come on.
[Aisha] What-- Ugh. Tarrell.
I'm sorry, Mama Joyce.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
You're not gonna let him
meet his grandfather?
- Now you wanna be
somebody's grand--
- Tarrell, let's go. Hey.
- You somebody's granddaddy now?
- [Aisha] Tarrell, let's go.
I ain't seen you for 15 years,
but now you gonna be
somebody's granddaddy?
- You somebody's daddy now?
- [Aisha] All right,
I don't want him to hear this.
- I'm taking him to the hotel.
- [Joyce] Tarrell, Tarrell.
He's clean, son.
Look at him. He's clean.
- Mama, stop. Stop.
- He's clean.
- Mama.
- He's clean.
He's going to church now.
- I don't care
where he's going, Mama.
- He's going to church now.
- I ain't got nothing
to say to you!
- He's going to church.
Just talk to him.
Now, where-where you going?
- He came here trying--
- Hey, you can go.
La'Ron, where you going?
- Tarrell.
- How could you do that?
Tarrell, come on.
Just talk to him.
He's trying. Tarrell.
Tarrell.
[Tarrell sighs] You know what?
Listen.
Listen, I need you
to speak to him.
- I need you to talk to him.
- No. No.
No. And I can't believe
you'd even ask me
to speak to him.
Look, I know how--
I know how hard this is for you.
It ought to be hard
for you, Mama.
- Trust me. Please.
He has changed.
- [scoffs]
He ain't changed.
And his change
ain't got nothing to do with me,
and it ain't got nothing
to do with you.
- Son. Son.
- Okay? Nothing.
- Look. Look, look,
look, look, look.
- Nothing to do.
Do it for me.
- Do it for me.
- Look, I love you.
- No, I got to go. I got to go.
- It's-- Tarrell!
- [door opens]
- [groans]
- [door closes]
- [exhales]
[sighs]
[bell tolling]
[exhales]
[children screaming]
[Quentin] Hey, yo, 'Rell.
'Rell!
What up, bro?
[Quentin laughs]
- [Quentin] What's up?
- [Tarrell] What's up, baby bro?
[Quentin]
Even when I was a baby,
I was a grown-ass man.
[Tarrell] Oh, get out of here.
[chuckles]
[boy yelling]
Hey, bro.
You know your daddy
back in town, right?
Mama tried to organize
some kind of surprise
family reunion earlier. [tuts]
Shit. I saw that nigga
the other day.
He tried to take me to church.
Like, what I look like
up in somebody's church, man?
Nigga think
he Martin Luther Vandross.
- [Tarrell tuts]
- Man, Mom always had
horrible taste in men. Shit.
- Least in my case, you know,
my dad, he was handsome.
- [Tarrell chuckles]
He ain't leave me shit
but these irresistible
good looks.
[chuckling]
Man, you something else.
Man, bullshit.
Hey, you gonna talk to him?
You know, Mom ain't gonna
leave you alone
till you talk to him.
You-you know how your mama be.
I ain't got shit to say to him.
Hey, fuck La'Ron.
Fuck that nigga.
This ain't about him.
It's about Mama.
Hey, get your ass down here.
Man, what you doing?
You been away from me
that long?
You know the routine.
Get your ass back in here, bro.
Here we go. Here we go.
[Quentin exclaims, cheers]
- What was that?
- Hey, that's four! Let's go!
- [gibbers] Ah!
- [water sloshing]
- Four.
- All right, all right.
You tired of me
beating your ass,
or you wanna keep it going?
- I got time. I don't know
if you got time, like...
- One more round.
I got time. One more round.
- One more? All right.
- One more time, man.
- [grunts] Ugh!
- [water sloshing]
Damn!
[Quentin] Oh! [laughing]
Ahh! Let's go, baby!
- That was pretty good.
- Oh, baby! That's, like...
- I'll give you that.
I'll give you that.
- ...seven, eight?
- That was pretty good.
- All right.
[Quentin] You wanna race?
Come on. [chuckles]
- [Tarrell] Keep running.
- Ahh!
Whoo!
[soft instrumental music
playing]
[engine starts]
[Quentin] Yeah, G-body.
[music fades]
[indistinct arguing in distance]
[Joyce] Yeah, yeah, yeah
You're the landlord
And the keeper
Of our love
[gate opens]
The boy won't even talk
to me, Joy.
Ain't nobody said
it was gonna be easy.
I know, but...
I tried to talk to him,
but the boy just won't
even give me a chance.
Wait a minute.
Is this the part
where you start talking about,
"It's just too hard.
I might as well quit"?
Again?
Let me ask you something.
How many times
did I take you back, La'Ron?
- A lot.
- [chuckles]
And how many times
did you tell me, you promise me,
things were gonna be different?
How many times?
- A lot.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
And every time,
you came back more broken
than you were before.
But I bandage you,
and I take care of you
like the Bible say
I'm supposed to.
Look at you.
You're the hardest-working man
I know.
Except when it comes
to relationships.
Relationships are hard.
They're hard.
You never understood that.
Do what you promised
you were gonna do.
I know it's hard.
Yeah, it's hard. Yes, it's hard.
You done messed over that child
for most of his life.
Yes, it's hard.
It should be hard.
But you need to make peace
with your son.
You're not gonna break
your promise this time.
[Aisha] No foundation
Building with bricks
That we were--
Built with bricks
That we were never given
I am your safe place, yeah
Filling the spaces
Filling the spaces
We were never filled in
Mm.
Filling...
And you are my treasure
Who can say, who can say
It's not a miracle?
Built, built with bricks
That we were never given
I am your safe place, yeah
[hums]
I'm sorry about earlier.
Are we gonna talk about
what happened with your father?
[Tarrell sighs]
I just thought
the first time you'd meet him,
he would be in his casket.
[sighs]
I know you would rather
be painting right now.
[Tarrell chuckles softly]
But all of this shit
is just gonna follow us home
if you don't deal with it here.
Some things can't be worked out
on canvas.
[washing machine whirring]
[washing machine
continues whirring]
[switch clicks]
[Tarrell exhales]
[no audible sound]
- [objects clatter]
- [Tarrell exclaims]
[grunts, panting]
- [Jermaine] Mommy!
- Baby, look-look at Mommy.
- Look at Mommy. Look at Mommy.
- [grunting]
[sobbing, panting]
[heavy breathing]
[Tarrell] I'm sorry.
Jermaine, I'm sorry.
Daddy's sorry. Hey.
Jermaine. [breathing shakily]
Hey, come here.
I'm sorry.
[Tarrell sighs]
[breathing heavily]
[kicks wall] Ah...
[mellow music playing]
[bell rings]
[mellow music continues]
[wheels rolling]
[object clatters]
[La'Ron] Over here.
What's all that?
[Tarrell breathes deeply]
Consider this a, uh, confession.
La'Ron, will you swear
to tell the whole truth?
There-there--
There's some things I wanna talk
to you about, Tarrell.
Hey, let me explain
something to you, man.
I really don't wanna
be doing this anyway,
but my mama asked me to,
so here I am.
Now, if you don't wanna do it,
I'd be more than happy to leave.
I'm not the same man
you remember, Tarrell.
[scoffs] I don't even know
what that's supposed to mean.
"All have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God."
Yeah. We doing this?
Uh, should I start with my name,
age, or something?
Why don't we, uh...
we just get to the point?
When did you first start using?
[gulps]
[exhales] Uh...
You remember your Uncle Willie?
You're stalling.
Oh, no,
I'm-I'm trying to tell you.
Uh, you remember
when we did the drywall
in his bedroom closet
- at his house?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember.
Well, Uncle Willie's daughter
Jamillah lit that closet
on fire.
Yeah, she was smoking crack,
trying to hide it
from her mama and daddy.
Fell asleep, burned a hole
right down to the studs.
Ain't nobody have no money
for no rehab back then,
so Jamillah ended up
back in that closet.
[sneers] But this time,
she set the whole house on fire.
I was helping Jamillah move in
with her boyfriend.
[chuckles]
And he was a crackhead too.
You know, that trifling nigga
didn't help me move one box.
The question, La'Ron.
The question.
Okay.
I...
I just finished
bringing the last box in,
and I was looking for Jamillah,
and I-and I found her.
In the bathroom,
sitting on the edge of the tub,
about to hit again.
I snatched that pipe
out her hand.
I grabbed her up by her arms.
"Jamillah,
what's wrong with you, girl?
You know better than this.
You just burned down
your daddy house,
and you doing this mess again?"
"You don't understand,"
Jamillah said.
[light chuckle]
"You never hit this before,
La'Ron. You don't understand."
I looked in her eyes, and...
I don't know.
- I don't know.
- You don't know what?
What you mean, you don't know?
I wanted to try it.
I took a hit,
put my head between my legs,
lifted up
and blew out that smoke,
and all hell broke loose.
I never felt
nothing like that before.
One hit, and I was on the ride.
All I could think about
was my next score.
At first, it was--
it-it was just on the weekends,
but every time I got
a little extra money, I'd hit.
Before I knew it,
I was smoking every day.
That-that's why
I worked so hard.
You know, I kept working,
so I was able to hide it
from most people.
I knew.
I knew.
[mouths] Yeah.
Hm.
Give me a second.
[exhales]
[groans softly]
This guy broke my rib.
Did you go to the doctor?
Did I see a doctor?
I had health insurance
once in my life.
It's when your mama told me
she was pregnant.
I remember the day
I told my father.
Yeah, we was working
on the back of the truck,
me and my daddy,
I'll never forget it,
shoveling burning barrels.
I looked over at him, I said,
"Daddy, you remember Joyce?
The quiet girl in the choir."
Now, Daddy hated it
when I tried to talk and work.
He said, "Boy, spit it out
and get back to work."
"Uh, she pregnant."
I never lifted my head.
I just kept on shoveling.
Daddy stopped,
looked at me and said,
"Well, who baby is it?"
I ain't say nothing.
I just kept on shoveling.
Just kept on shoveling.
"Who baby is it, La'Ron?"
I-I stuttered and I stammered
a bit, and I finally said,
"It's mine."
And I just went on back
to shoveling.
Went on back to shoveling.
What did he say?
He ain't say nothing.
He took that shovel
and he hit me
upside the head so hard,
it knocked me out cold.
We was over on James Street.
Daddy just left me there,
laying on the ground
in somebody's backyard.
I woke up with the neighbors
standing over me.
They thought I was dead.
I-I just walked home.
When I finally got home
that night,
Daddy said
I got to do two things,
marry Joyce and get a job
with health insurance
so I can take care of my baby.
You forgive your father?
Did you, uh...
did you ever even like him?
Your grandfather
was a complicated man, Tarrell.
[light chuckle]
Daddy would come home
mad about something
and try to take it out on Mama.
Your grandmother
was a living, breathing saint.
Oh, he-he was a minister,
but she was a saint.
Man, when you were finally born,
I brought you home
to introduce you
to your grandfather.
He wouldn't even pick you up.
I tried to put you in his arms.
He walked right by.
He went over to Mama and said,
"Now, now, now, that's your son.
That's your lustful
heathen sinner."
Mama looked him dead in the eye
and said,
"Jesus is strong enough
to save."
Whoo-wee!
Daddy looked at me and said,
"You won't bring that child
into the house of the Lord.
That baby was conceived in sin.
And until you and Joyce
confess your sins
in front of the congregation,
you won't set one foot
inside of my church."
Oh, I never seen Mama so angry.
She jumped in his face and said,
"You don't speak for God!"
[exhales] That set Daddy off.
Now, your grandfather
kept a pistol.
Folks used to call him
"the gun-toting preacher."
He whipped that thing out
so fast, I ain't even see
where it came from.
He aimed that pistol
right at Mama's head.
She didn't flinch.
I dropped you on the couch,
and I-and I ran
and I jumped between them.
[chuckles lightly]
Mama tried to push me away.
Looking over my shoulder,
she said, "I trust God."
Daddy put that gun
to my head and said,
"Boy, stay out
of grown folks' business!"
[sneers]
Right when Daddy said that,
you fell headfirst
off the couch.
And, boy, you started wailing.
But Daddy put that pistol down
and said, "Somebody shut
that pickaninny up!
Somebody shut
that pickaninny up!"
"Shut that pickaninny up."
It was hard for him.
Hard for who?
Daddy.
I mean, you know,
Daddy was a good man.
He was a good man? You...
you just told me that he...
you just told me that he tried
to kill you and Grandma.
Well, Daddy wasn't
gonna kill her or me.
You know how many times
Daddy pulled a gun on us?
Um...
he had flaws.
[Tarrell scoffs] Wait...
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
No, no.
La'Ron, you judge a man
by his actions, by how he lives,
and by how he takes care
of his family.
All right, now, he-he pulled
a gun on you and on Grandma,
and now you're saying
he's a good man?
[stammering] Uh, he had flaws.
I mean, he definitely had flaws.
Flaws?
I mean, but everybody got flaws.
- I mean, who ain't got flaws?
- Flaws, man?
And you got flaws, Tarrell.
Ain't you got flaws?
Yeah, but we ain't talking
about flaws, man.
A flaw is an accident,
a mistake.
He fucking pulled a gun on you.
You don't get to go out here
a-abusing your family
and call yourself a good man.
[grunts]
[thudding, shattering]
Mm-hmm. There it is.
There it is.
"I'm not the same man you used
to know before, Tarrell."
That's what you said, right?
Ain't that what you said?
No, nigga, this what I remember.
Man, this is exactly
what the fuck I remember.
Why the fuck my mama
let you back in her life
in the first place?
- [door opens, slams close]
- Shit.
[somber music plays]
[somber music continues]
[no audible sound]
[La'Ron over video camera]
At first, it was--
it-it was just on the weekends,
but every time I got
a little extra money, I'd hit.
Before I knew it,
I was smoking every day.
That-that's why
I worked so hard.
You know, I kept working,
so I was able to hide it
from most people.
[Tarrell] I knew.
I knew.
[somber music continues]
[sighs]
[music fades]
[footsteps]
- [knock on door]
- [door opens]
[La'Ron] Let's get it.
[engine starts, revs]
[La'Ron] Roll it.
Come on, roll it.
[young Tarrell grunts]
[objects clattering]
Come on, let's get it.
Now, come on, bend down.
- Come on. You've got it.
Bend down.
- Agh.
[La'Ron] Let's get it.
[thuds]
Little man, jump over here.
Back the truck up.
I'll guide you.
[young Tarrell] Okay.
[La'Ron] Come on.
Come on, now.
Come on. Whoa!
Come on, let's go.
Come on. [grunts]
- Come on, get up here, man.
- [young Tarrell grunts]
[La'Ron] All right, come on.
Oh, come on, Tarrell!
You know how to--
I showed you to do it
better than that.
Come on, take this shovel.
Get on this side.
Come on, now.
We ain't got all day.
[straining]
[La'Ron grunts]
- [flesh squelches]
- Ahh! Dad!
[whimpers] Dad!
[whimpering in pain]
- [young Tarrell screaming
in pain]
- Ah! Be quiet.
[young Tarrell crying in pain]
[La'Ron] It's barely bleeding.
Come on.
I ain't your mama.
I ain't gonna baby you, boy.
- [young Tarrell sobbing]
- You're a little Black boy.
Ain't nobody
gonna ever feel sorry for you.
You need to get that shit
through your head right now.
[young Tarrell
continues sobbing]
Now, dry off.
We gotta go!
Tarrell, you got to understand,
the world don't give a shit
about us.
- [whimpers]
- Wake up, boy.
The only thing
that separates you
from these other little niggas
to these white folks
is how hard you work.
You got to be able
to outwork the next man.
You're both tired,
you're both in pain,
but who's more hungry, huh?
No, we don't get no days off.
You think I like shoveling shit?
- [lawn mower whirring loudly]
- [young Tarrell straining]
[grunts]
Ah!
Hey!
Hey! What-- what you doing, boy?
We got to finish this job!
[lawn mower turns off]
- Come on, let's go, boy!
- My foot.
I don't wanna hear
about your foot!
Let's go!
- I can't! I can't!
- Get, boy.
- What do you mean, you can't?
- [sniffles]
Boy, if you don't get this thing
up this hill, man,
your foot gonna feel like
a vacation next to your ass.
Now, let's go. Let's go!
- [grunts]
- [lawn mower turns on]
Push it, boy! Go!
- What is wrong with you, huh?
- My foot!
[somber music playing]
[breathing heavily]
- Boy, get up
off this woman's lawn!
- [gasps]
Let's go! Get in the truck, boy.
[engine starts, revs]
Dad?
Dad?
Can we-can we just go home?
We should just go home.
Mama's gonna be so excited
when she finds out
- how much money we made today.
- Boy, you ain't gonna tell
your mama a damn thing
about this money.
This is my money.
You hear me?
[La'Ron] Kenny.
Dad, you promised.
Stay out
of grown folks' business, boy.
What's up, La'Ron?
[indistinct whispering]
[car door opens, slams close]
[La'Ron] You worked hard today,
Tarrell.
You can do anything
you set your mind to, boy.
You learned that today.
Tarrell.
Tarrell.
[car engine starts]
[soft piano music playing]
You're looking
just like your daddy right now.
What'd you say?
Don't say that to me.
You all right?
He told me you came by.
[scoffs]
[Tarrell, softly] Mm-hmm.
Let's take Jermaine to the park.
We ain't got time
for the park. Quentin's coming
- with the truck at 4:00--
- Why are you in such a rush
to get me out of here?
[Joyce sighs]
I have good memories here.
I know you don't,
but I got good memories here.
[light chuckle]
[train horn blaring]
[indistinct yelling]
So, you went by.
Did you talk to him?
You remember
Douglas Street, Mama?
Of course.
We lived there for years.
But do you remember?
Why are you asking me that?
Do you remember
that broken mirror?
That night didn't happen.
It was a bad dream. I decided.
What about all the other nights?
Were they dreams too?
That shit happened, Mama.
- Watch your mouth.
- All right.
He was amazing...
at first.
But the same thing
that got a hold of this park
got a hold of him.
He gave me you, Tarrell.
He was my first love.
He was my first love.
And he gave me you.
Oh, I hate
you remember that house.
I still love him.
What?
Why?
[scoffs]
Why, Mama?
La'Ron has been through
a lot, Tarrell.
You-you've been through a lot.
You've been through a lot, Mama.
Why you still making excuses
for him?
Look...
the Bible says
that if you don't forgive others
of their past sins,
then you can't be forgiven.
That's the Bible, son.
- I don't care what--
- Matthew 6:15.
I don't care what the Bible say.
- Mama, I wanna know
what you say.
- No, honey. Now, look, son.
Now, now, I raised you
better than that.
I raised you
better than that, now.
- Until you--
- Come on.
Until you made him leave,
Mama, our life was fear.
I shook the fear,
and now you want me to sit here
and play some loving
father-son fantasy with you?
That boy over there...
Ours is the only
father-son story
I'm interested in, okay?
If you don't forgive others
of their sins,
if you don't forgive,
baby, if you don't forgive,
you won't be forgiven.
No, Mama.
[laughs] You and this--
Oh, you and this fucking Bible.
[laughs]
Tarrell, now,
wait a minute, now.
No, you wanna talk
about the Bible,
- let's talk about the Bible.
- Now, you can-- Li-listen.
- Listen, we can disagree--
- Let's talk about the Bible.
We can disagree,
but you not gonna blaspheme
- like-like that.
- I got one.
- Not in front of me.
- I got one for you.
- Abraham and Isaac.
- Not in front of me.
- Abraham and Isaac.
- You not gonna blaspheme
in front--
- You not gonna blaspheme.
- Abraham and Isaac.
God told Abraham
to kill his only son.
You remember that?
Sacrifices got to be made,
right?
So, baby boy had to go.
You remember, right?
So, Abraham takes Isaac
up to the mountaintop.
Isaac say,
"Daddy, where's the offering?
I know we gotta make a sacrifice
to your angry-ass God.
- Where is the sacrifice?
- Tarrell!
Where is the sacrifice?"
Abraham said, "Don't worry, son.
God will provide."
Abraham walks up to the top
of that mountain, takes Isaac,
throws him out on that altar,
raises the knife up
over his head,
and just when the knife starts
to break the skin,
God's angel swoops in
out of nowhere,
grabs his hand and says, "Abe,
I didn't know
you was gonna do that.
I was just fucking with you."
[mouths] Oh, my God.
[softly] No. My God.
Look at me.
Look at me, Mama.
Why did you leave me with him?
Look at me.
You knew what he was doing.
Why?
Jermaine, come on.
- Come on.
- [Jermaine] Do we
have to leave now?
- [Joyce sobbing]
- [voice breaks] Let's go.
[breathing heavily]
[indistinct yelling]
[heartbeat thumping]
[somber piano music plays]
[somber piano music continues]
Don't.
[man] What do you want?
I used to live in this house.
You want it back?
I hate this goddamn house.
[door closes]
[car door closes]
[gasps, whispers] You left Cool.
You left Cool, babe.
[Jermaine] Cool, Cool.
Thank you, Mom.
Hello.
I'm never staying here again.
I don't care how close it is
to your mama house.
[Jermaine]
Cool, Cool, Cool, Cool!
I don't wanna be here no more.
[Jermaine imitates
monkey gibbering]
What happened?
She still loves him.
I mean... [sighs]
Is it-is it just in my mind,
or are bad memories
somehow more saturated
than good ones?
I mean, how am I supposed
to paint a sunny day
if I don't remember
ever even seeing one?
- Hmm.
- She still loves him.
[Tarrell sighs]
[Tarrell chuckles]
[phone vibrates]
- Love.
- Hm?
It's your brother.
Hey. Hey, man, what happened?
- Where she at?
- I've been here 45 minutes,
and they won't let me see her.
- She's on machines right now
to-to keep her alive.
- Machines?
Yeah. And that nigga been
over there talking to himself
and praying.
[Tarrell] Wait a minute, man.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
She was fine when I left.
Hey, she was fine when I left.
Now, we had an argument
at the park,
but she was fine. She--
I left,
but she was just sitting there.
She-she passed out.
She stopped breathing
at the basketball court,
- so they had to come over
and bring her here.
- Stopped breathing?
- She in the ICU right now.
- Hey, man,
where-where the doctor?
- I don't-I don't know
where the doctor is.
- Where's the doctor?
- They not letting me
go see her. She--
- Doctor, where my mom?
Uh, we've been stabilizing her
- in the intensive care unit.
- Can I see her? Can I see her?
No, no. I'm sorry,
her condition is very serious.
Your mother has been suffering
from dangerously high
blood pressure for some time,
and her heart is very weak.
She was fine when I left.
She was fine when I left.
We released her
from our care last weekend,
against our advice.
She insisted
she be allowed to go home.
Uh, we won't be allowing
visitors until we're able...
[voice fades]
Excuse me.
Tarrell, we just need to pray.
[breathing shakily]
- [La'Ron] Our Father...
- [Quentin] Come on, bro.
[La'Ron] ...who art in heaven...
[Quentin] You know praying
ain't gonna do shit.
[La'Ron]
...hallowed be thy name...
[Quentin] 'Rell.
[La'Ron] ...thy kingdom come...
[Quentin] Come on, bro,
let's go.
[La'Ron] ...thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
I need you
to pray with me, Tarrell.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom
and the power
and the glory, forever.
[inhales deeply]
[indistinct announcement
over PA]
Tarrell, if you have faith,
God can do miracles.
- Tarrell.
- Hey.
- Tarrell.
- Hey!
Have you asked yourself
once, one time,
what's best for us?
For him? For your grandson?
[scoffs] Just...
You don't get to just pick up
where you left off, La'Ron.
[birds chirping]
[Aisha moans softly]
You're awake. I'm sorry.
Yeah, I didn't sleep.
I'm gonna head back
to the hospital.
All right. [clears throat]
- I'm gonna get dressed.
I'll take you.
- No. No, no, no.
Hey, hey. It's all right.
Okay? Um, we don't both need
to go.
- You sure?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Walking-walking will be good.
- Okay.
If anything changes,
I'll-I'll let you know.
- Okay.
- All right.
I'll let the hotel know
we're gonna stay here
for a while.
No. No, Aisha, it's your turn.
Now, when Mama wakes up
and find out that
you hadn't finished that song,
- you know she gonna whup
your behind, right?
- [chuckles lightly]
Plus, I, uh, I called
Regina and Uncle Mike.
They said they can look after
Jermaine for a few days, so...
[mouths] Yeah.
[clicks tongue] Yeah.
Mama gonna be good.
All right.
[door closes]
[sighs]
[La'Ron] Tarrell.
I figured you'd probably
wanna go see your mama
first thing.
I can drive.
Just let me drive you, Tarrell.
You wanna get
some breakfast first?
Breakfast?
No.
Just wanna get to the hospital.
You remember you used to make
breakfast before our dump runs?
[light chuckle]
Man, we used to work, boy.
Couldn't stop us.
Ain't no father and son
ever work like we worked.
My boy used to work like a man.
Boy, you used to be
up on that truck faster than me.
All we ever did was work.
Don't know nothing else, man.
I done told you about my daddy.
That man didn't teach me nothing
but work.
I had to put steel in you, boy.
You remember how hard it was
around here.
I had to be hard on you.
Can't nobody say
that you're weak or soft.
Can't nobody say
that you don't know how to work.
I taught you that.
[compartment opens]
[object clattering]
Open it.
Now, that's my favorite.
It's called The Preacher's Wife.
That's Mama, right?
That's my mama.
That's my prayer closet.
I never stopped praying for you.
I hear you.
In my head.
But your voice...
it ain't just forcing me to work
or screaming at me
when I'm tired.
[sighs] When Jermaine...
when Jermaine messes up,
I think of something
that you might say.
It scares me.
[scoffs] Man, you put steel
in me all right.
But sometimes Jermaine...
I think he just needs to cry.
[elevator dings, door opens]
[elevator door closes]
[woman]
Yeah, seems like he's stable.
He survived.
It was such a scare.
[machine beeping]
You knew.
That's why
you didn't wanna pack.
You knew this was coming.
I just wanted to bring you home.
I just-- I was trying to...
[sighs] What am I gonna tell
Jermaine? [sniffles]
I'm sorry, Mama.
Mama.
Mama?
I'm sorry.
[somber music plays]
[young Tarrell breathes deeply]
[young Tarrell whimpering]
[wincing, whimpering]
[sobbing]
Tarrell.
- Tarrell, what's wrong?
- [sobbing]
- My God, baby,
where are your shoes?
- I don't...
What happened, Tarrell?
What happened?
[crying] I stepped on a nail.
[Joyce exhales sharply]
- Where's your father?
- I don't know.
Come on, baby.
Uh, let me take you
to the hospital.
- We gonna go--
It's gonna be all right.
- [car door closes]
- It's okay, baby.
It's gonna be okay.
- [engine starts]
[somber music continues]
[music fades]
[Joyce] La'Ron.
What happened to my son?
La'Ron!
- What happened to my son?
- Oh, calm down. Fuck!
[La'Ron groans]
Stop all the yelling. Geez.
Shit.
[lighter ignites]
He stepped on a nail
with all kinds
of... filth on it,
and you let him walk home
by himself.
[stammers] You gotta stop
spoiling that boy.
Do you hear
what I'm saying to you?
Do you hear me?
He's a boy.
You gotta stop working him
like he's a man.
You doing him
just like your daddy did you,
and look at you.
Look at you.
You disgust me.
I can't believe
you're doing this shit again.
I want you out of this house.
Yeah.
I want you gone.
I want you gone. I want you out!
[muffled] Me and my son,
me and my baby,
we not gonna live like this.
And you not making him
into a man.
You're breaking him.
And he's gonna hate you for it.
He is going to hate you for it.
[La'Ron] Well, let him
just hate me, then.
[Joyce] I want you
out of this house.
- This is my house!
- I want you gone.
- This is
my motherfucking house!
- I want you out of this house!
I ain't going nowhere!
- Did you hear me?
This my motherfucking house!
- I want you out of my house!
I'm not going nowhere! [screams]
[sobbing softly]
[dark music playing]
[thudding]
- [clattering]
- [Joyce screams]
[no audible sound]
[indistinct screaming]
[La'Ron screaming]
[La'Ron, muffled]
Why you make me do this?
Mom? Mom? Mom?
What did you do?
La'Ron, what did you do?
Mom? Mom? [sniffles]
Mom?
[crying] La'Ron,
what did you do?
Mom? Mom, can you--
can you wake up?
Mom? Mom?
[whimpers]
Mom. Help me!
Help me get her up!
Help me get her up!
[breathing heavily]
[suspenseful piano music plays]
[grunts]
[continues breathing heavily]
[objects clatter]
[music fades]
[dramatic instrumental music
plays]
[dramatic instrumental music
continues]
["Bricks" plays]
What we do is
What we do
Brick by brick
That's how we move
No foundation
Building with bricks
That we were never given
I am your safe place
Safe place
Filling the places
We were never filled in
And you are my treasure
Who can say
It's not a miracle?
What we do is what we do
What we do
Is what we do, oh
Painting a picture
We never envisioned
We are what
We've never seen before
Forgiving when we have
Never known forgiveness
[vocalizing]
Light came from the void
Learning to hear
When no one ever listened
Who can say
We're not a miracle?
Learning to heal
When no one ever healed
Healed us
She produced a miracle
[vocalizing]
Hands with pain
And grace unfold
Empty, but she filled you
Giving you life
That she was never given
And now, I'm so grateful
Grateful, grateful
She made all things
Possible
A firm foundation
Believing when her world gave
Nothing to believe
In
To believe in
What we do here
What we do
And brick by brick
That's how we move
No foundation
Built with bricks
That we were never given
[sighs]
[song ends]
[insects chirping]
[footsteps]
[Tarrell exhales]
[chill music plays]
[indistinct chattering]
- [Tarrell] Hi. How are you?
- Hi. Just wanna say,
big fan of your work.
- It's absolutely stunning.
- Thank you.
[woman] Oh, my God.
Can I get a selfie?
Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure.
- [man 1] Awesome.
- All right. Thank you.
- [Tarrell chuckles lightly]
All right, thank you.
- Yes. Love it.
- Um, Mrs., uh...
- Yeah. Barbara.
- Barbara. Barbara.
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yes.
It's good to see you. Hi.
- Yes, hi. I'm another Barbara.
- This is Barbara too, yes.
Yes, you know,
I've known him for a long time.
- Almost 20 years.
- Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
- [Janine] Tarrell,
this is James Kirlin.
- [Tarrell] Hi.
He's been wanting to meet you
for a really, really long time.
- Pleasure to meet you.
Nice to meet you, James.
- Nice to meet you.
- He owns two of your works.
- Oh, wow.
I remember his paintings
at the Studio Museum.
- Yeah. Yes, Studio--
- Hey. Hi.
- Can I steal you
for just a minute?
- Right, yeah. Sorry. So sorry.
- I have collages
of your work and paintings.
- [Tarrell laughs] Oh.
- So good to see you. Thank you.
- Nice to see you again.
- Can't wait to get back to it.
[chuckles]
- Thank you.
- Okay. Thank you.
- [Tarrell chuckles]
Can you hang out
a little-a little while longer?
Uh, um, just a little bit,
but not-not much longer.
I-I wanna-- I wanna get back.
Aisha-- I wanna get back.
- Aisha-Aisha went home, right?
- Yeah. Yeah.
All right, give me like--
give me another 20 minutes.
- Okay, ten minutes sounds good.
- Uh...
You know, I have been saving
something for you.
I have
ten other people interested,
but this one, right over there,
- what do you think?
- I love it.
[man 2 chuckles] I know.
Excuse me. Excuse me!
Sir, don't touch the artwork.
Oh, my God,
you're Tarrell's father.
Oh, my God, I am so sorry.
Forgive me. [laughs]
Oh, wow.
I didn't mean
to speak to you like that.
I-I'm sorry, ma'am.
It just got a hold of me.
I know exactly what you mean.
It is...
Ha. I'm Janine.
I represent Tarrell.
Wow, that son of yours
is so talented.
I bet he gets that from you.
[Arthur] Tarrell.
Tarrell.
Tarrell.
I own several of your paintings.
My favorite piece,
I hang over my bed.
I mean, my kids have grown up
seeing your work every day.
Um, when my daughter
went off to Dartmouth,
she insisted that her mother
and I let her take
a smaller piece,
- hang it in her dorm room.
- [chuckles lightly]
Oh, can I take a picture of you
to send to Jenny?
- ...which I think
is really interesting.
- [Arthur] Hm?
- Oh, she's gonna love this.
- It's a beautiful piece.
The light in there...
[Arthur] No?
- Oh, come on, she's gonna--
- Don't-don't-don't touch me.
- She's gonna love this.
- Don't touch-- don't touch me.
Hey.
- [Janine] Tarrell?
- I just bought the painting
you're standing in front of.
- I don't think a picture
is too much to ask for.
- Tarrell?
- I said don't fucking touch me.
- Tarrell, this is
Arthur Emanuel.
You don't know me.
- Arthur and Teresa Emanuel.
- Yes, thank you.
- I don't-I don't know you.
- All right? Just 'cause
you bought a fucking painting
- does not mean
you know me, okay?
- I'm a big supporter of you.
- Tarrell, calm down.
- Okay? I'm your biggest fan.
- All right?
- I'm a big supporter of you.
Did she tell you
about this painting?
You know who this is?
- It's your mom, right?
- Huh? It's my dead mother.
- Okay.
- You wanna hang her picture
over your-- over your bed too?
- Is that what you wanna do?
I got a better idea.
- I'm sorry.
- I'm very sorry.
- Why don't you take
the painting of my dead mother
and-and give it
to your daughter,
uh, Katie or Jenny,
- or whatever the fuck
her name is...
- Control yourself.
- ...as a graduation present.
- Come on, son.
[Janine] Arthur.
[crowd continues chattering]
[exhales deeply]
- [glass clinks]
- [drink pouring]
[door opens]
- [door closes]
- [footsteps]
[La'Ron] You okay?
Why are you here?
Why are you here?
I haven't seen you
since the funeral.
- I thought--
- Why are you here, La'Ron?
You painted me, Tarrell.
This painting was about
me being freed from the darkness
that I've done.
Hm. That's good.
Oh, that's good.
God was speaking
through that painting.
[Tarrell chuckles]
I'm glad for you.
- 'Cause everything
just gets erased, huh?
- [drink pouring]
- That's God's grace, Tarrell.
- [Tarrell sighs]
Grace?
You know, everything I saw
plays in my head again and again
and again and again,
and you talking about grace.
[scoffs]
You think that painting
is about you getting set free?
- You think that
that painting is about you?
- [glass thuds]
That painting is about me
trying to keep the past
from sneaking up behind me
and destroying my everything.
I put it on canvas
so that I could hold that shit
by the throat.
What you want me to say?
I raised you
the best way I knew how.
No, nigga, my mama raised me.
I did you
the way my daddy did me.
- Oh, this--
- But it worked on you.
I mean, look at everything
you've got, Tarrell.
Your art, your family.
What I did wrong
taught you to do right.
- [scoffs]
- You need to thank God
for that.
Thank God?
So, you-you saying...
[chuckles]
...that me watching you
abuse yourself
made me a better father?
You beating my ass
made me a better father?
Me watching you
put your hands on my mama
made me a better father?
And now... [breathes shakily]
...nigga, now, you want me
to thank God for that?
I was on crack, Tarrell.
- What'd you expect?
- And I was a boy
watching his father on crack!
That's not me no more.
- Okay.
- That's not me no more.
It's not good to live
with all that inside of you.
You need to forgive
so God can take that away.
You need to pray.
- [glass thuds]
- No more prayers, La'Ron.
No more prayers.
Those prayers
didn't save my mama.
[sniffles]
You know she still loved you?
[sobs softly]
After all that shit
you put her through...
she still loved you.
That's what we was arguing about
in the park, you know.
I couldn't understand it.
But I think I get it now.
It wasn't for you.
[sobbing softly]
Man, I need to move on.
[sighs, sniffles]
La'Ron, I forgive you.
[sobbing]
For what you did to me.
But I will never forget
what you did to my mama.
We-we still got the future.
No, man.
No future, La'Ron.
[Tarrell breathes deeply]
You wanted my forgiveness,
and I gave you that.
The, uh, the future...
[clears throat]
...the future belongs to, uh,
to Aisha and to Jermaine.
You took the past.
And, man, I forgive you.
I understand.
Life didn't give you
a lot of choices.
But the future...
[sighs]
...that's mine.
[door opens]
[door closes]
[whispers] Mama...
It's in a Byzantine style.
You know,
like the religious icons.
I mean, he-he really put
a lot of, uh...
Tarrell, what are you doing?
Tarrell, what are you doing?
[chuckles]
You can't do that.
What are you doing?
Tarrell.
For your prayer closet.
Don't stop praying for me.
[mellow music plays]
[mellow music continues]
[mellow music continues]
[music fades]
[chuckles lightly]
[objects clatter]
[hopeful music plays]
[hopeful music continues]
[hopeful music continues]
You okay, Dad?
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm all right.
I love you.
I love you.
Come on.
[door closes]
[music fades]
["Bricks" by Andra Day plays]
["Bricks" continues playing]
[song ends]
[mellow music plays]
[mellow music continues]
[music ends]