Forever Young (2023) Movie Script
1
[solemn orchestral music plays]
[Robyn] "My parents
tried their best to act
like I was a wanted child.
But with only one photo
of my childhood...
and one
I wasn't smiling in at that...
I remain a skeptic."
[]
[applauding]
-A die-hard fan, aren't you?
-Thank you. You're so lovely.
Well, I suppose technically
anyone over 75
is a die-hard fan.
I meant it as a compliment.
[door creaks open, shuts]
Um...
have you thought about it?
Will you write my book?
-It's about to happen.
-No.
Actually, it's not something
I've ever had to think about.
-Just no.
-I've found the cure.
I'm not indulging.
I've found the cure for regret.
Goodbye, Jim.
Can I keep these?
[door creaks, shuts]
-Huh, apparently not.
[pensive instrumental
music plays]
[groans lightly]
[man] Robyn?
How was the reading?
They haven't cut the lawn
in centuries.
Not even centuries in dog years.
-And I only left the back.
-[door opens]
[Robyn] I mean...
who does this?
Oh, I take my exercise
in moderation, dear.
It's hardly exercise
on a ride-on mower.
-[slaps stomach]
-[chuckles lightly]
Ooh, ouch.
It's your pack
for the Kruger National Park.
-Mm.
-You usually only order these
when we get back.
So, how did the reading go?
-I'm not upset.
-It's fine if you are.
Half of them left
while I was still reading.
Well, that's just rude.
I'm starting to think
perhaps I should stop sharing
what I write.
Well, never stop sharing
with me.
Okey dokey,
for the next question.
Every year in the spring,
thousands of garter snakes
participate
in a mass mating ritual.
[laughing] I remember those.
A mass hating ritual?
Turn your hearing aid on.
...in the world
is the largest mating den
for the garter snake?
Canada. Ontario.
I think it's actually Manitoba.
Manitoba? Are you sure?
Hmm, Robyn's right.
It is Manitoba.
I got my provinces mixed up.
[man] She's a keeper.
Good thing
Bob kicked the bucket.
Any bets on who's next?
[melancholic music plays]
[urine trickling]
-Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry.
-Oh!
Let me help you.
[emcee]
Okey dokey, time for a jokey.
Why did the recruitment officer
crash?
He careered off the road.
[car horn honks]
-You're driving too slowly.
-[car horn honking]
-Oscar.
-I'm luxuriating.
-Savoring your presence.
-[Robyn scoffs]
Play your cards right,
you might get lucky tonight.
-[Robyn laughing]
-[Oscar] I'm not joking.
-[car horn honking]
-[both laugh]
[birds chirping]
Wow.
-You still take my breath away.
-[chuckles]
[Oscar snoring]
[snoring continues]
[suspenseful orchestral music
plays]
[tool scraping]
[]
Get this-- Herbie got us
a two-for-one special on Sunday.
-Mm-hmm. Tombstones.
-Oh, yes.
-With matching calligraphy.
-[Robyn laughing]
God, my mother was right.
Never marry for love.
Have you...
read my latest?
-I couldn't get past page 40.
-[baby cooing]
Don't you see-- depressing.
-No wonder your parents
didn't want you. [chuckles]
-[chuckles]
You ladies need any help?
[coughing]
-Is he all right?
-He's had that cough
since our second date.
Can I hold her?
They are lovely
when they come
with a return policy.
It's really hard
being a single mother
for the grandmother.
I am going to get a face-lift
with Phyllis in Thailand.
[]
[birds chirping]
[breathes deeply]
[doorbell rings]
[doorbell ringing]
Yes?
Can I help you, sir?
[Jim] Have you given
writing my story more thought?
Jim?
This is wholly inappropriate.
[daunting orchestral music
plays]
But--
May I come in?
-Told you I'd found a cure
for regret.
-Tea.
I-- I'm gonna go
and make some tea.
I-- I-- I-- I need tea.
You stay there
and don't do anything.
[Jim, echoing]
I found a cure for regret.
[gasps]
[chuckles]
-But how?
-You'll write my book?
Is this an optical illusion
of sorts?
[chuckles]
Not my field of science.
Are you Jim's son?
Robyn, you know
I never had a son.
I'm getting my recorder.
-We're starting now?
-Yes! Yes! Yes!
-Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
-[chuckles]
Have you seen my recorder?
[Oscar] Hmm?
-[Robyn sighs]
-What?
I can't find it. Where is it?
What are you looking for?
-My recorder. I can't find it.
-Oh.
-Are you writing again?
-Yes.
[Oscar]
What a beautiful morning.
[clock ticking]
[whispering] There's somebody
in the house.
Oh, it's Jim.
W-- what? What? What Jim?
[Robyn] Jim, the science guy.
-What, Jim pharmaceutical?
-Yes.
The Jim you were dating
when we first met, Jim?
That's the one. Exactly.
-Jim that used to call you--
-Old socks.
Yes, I know. I remember.
Quite a nasty little man.
Okay, okay,
now can you just help me look
for this recorder?
Aha!
Well, what's Jim doing
in our house?
-My next book is about Jim.
-What?
No. No, no, no, no, no.
-That's not possible.
-[Robyn chuckles]
-[Oscar chuckles]
-Oscar, what are you
doing with that?
Clearing the air.
-With a pepper spray?
-Uh-huh.
[Jim] Oscar.
Who are you?
Oscar, that is Jim.
-Jim, but--
-Happy to see
you're still kicking.
Who the hell are you?
And what are you doing
in our house?
Robyn, I love the fact
you kept your first journal.
I knew you could write
the moment you shared it
with me.
Oscar, I was just making
some tea.
Would you like to finish?
-But--
-Oscar, tea.
[Oscar] I might need some help
in the kitchen.
An obvious scam.
Jim is obsessed about
age being a curable disease
-since I first met him.
-Age?
A disease? [chuckles]
Don't drink the Kool-Aid, Robyn.
Prove to me that you are Jim.
Are you sure?
Because from where I'm sitting,
the only thing
that we have in common
-is Robyn.
-Don't.
[Jim] She did this thing
with her tongue
-when we first kissed.
-Shut up.
It was like a wiggle
with a little bit of a...
-[slurps] suck.
-I told you to shut up.
That enough proof for you,
old socks?
Right. That's it.
I'm not making anyone tea.
There's a reason
why I never mentioned that kiss
in my journal.
Oh. Enlighten me.
-You really must be a sadist.
-[recorder clicks]
[recorder quietly whirrs]
Boring me already.
[chuckles]
[inquisitive music plays]
I see you've already
decided to take part.
I'm writing a book.
It's research.
We'll have to administer
medical tests
to make sure it's safe.
Meet me at noon.
I'll text you the address.
[Robyn] For the tests?
You think I'm that predictable?
[]
I once called my nanny "mommy."
Something we laughed about
at the time
until I was old enough
to understand the weight of it.
So, you read past page 40 then?
-Stalker.
-When it comes to your writing,
I don't have much choice.
Follow me.
[Jim] My daughter, Anna.
Her mother was
a one-night-stand-turned-junkie
who threw herself off a bridge.
I paid for the funeral,
but Anna didn't want me there.
[Robyn] Is Anna your reason
for inventing Novice?
So you could rewrite your
relationship with your daughter?
A rewrite. Yes. [chuckles]
I quite like that.
What might it do to her
if she took Novice now?
I told you,
we'd need to test
the subject first
to make sure
it's medically safe.
She's got needle marks
up her arm.
She wouldn't take it
from me anyway.
Honestly?
All right.
But just one drop.
[hopeful music plays]
[Robyn] Darling.
A sip of a new life.
[Oscar] Oh,
you're taking the gloves off.
Must be serious.
The results came back.
I'm afraid it's not good news.
You may be a candidate
for the Whipple procedure,
but--
well, it's pancreatic cancer.
20% of candidates are eligible,
and of that, only about 20%
have a chance
at another five years of life.
[somber music plays]
[thudding]
[thudding]
What-- what are you doing?
Creating a baby room.
Give me a hand.
Who's the father?
Wondered if you could help out
with that.
[Jim] Mm.
Jim is giving us both Novice
as payment for my book.
All of a sudden?
What changed?
Failsafe parenting.
If I mess it up,
I give it Novice.
We go back to the beginning
and try again.
"It?"
Him, her, they.
Um, I think
I've moved on from the idea.
Age forced us to move on.
But when we're 30 again,
well, in a few months, I should
be able to fall pregnant.
Mmm. And so we just put
our trust in Jim?
[Robyn]
A nurse will come tomorrow
to test for things
like MS and cancer
-and make sure it's safe for us
to take Novice.
-[Jim sighs]
Are you okay?
[Jim sighs]
Don't know
why it's shaking today.
I think it's because I'm tired.
I think they're both shaking now
because you're here.
[Jim chuckles]
[somber orchestral music plays]
Okay. That's all we need.
The results will be available
after the weekend.
I'm ready for you now.
Well, I--
I prefer to wait and see
what happens to her
if you don't mind.
[doctor] Sure.
I want you to know
that I don't regret a single day
of my life with you.
Not one moment.
I loved it all.
Loved?
Robyn,
I'm not going to do Novice
with you.
But that's ridiculous.
W-- what's this about?
[somber music plays]
Novice doesn't just cure
the age disease.
Cell rejuvenation cures
most other diseases, too.
In a few short years,
our dependence
on modern medicine will,
in all likelihood,
be a thing of the past, hence--
Hence the pharmaceutical company
firing you
shortly after discovering it.
It's going to cannibalize
their business.
So, you stole the formula
from a corporate giant?
A formula I invented, yes.
Don't you fear for your life?
I love how concerned you are.
You still flirt
like a creepy old man.
You still bat me away
like you think I'm gonna stop.
Once your book is out,
disposing of me
will only make
its revelations bigger.
So you really think my book
will make you safe?
More safe,
but I'd choose assassination
over dying of old age any day.
That's just, well, barbaric.
This is as far as we can go.
[Robyn] Let's check on Anna.
[Jim] Okay.
It was a hundred percent
More than you asked me to do
[Anna exclaims]
You think if you put my
You think if you put
My foot in front of the other
I'll do what you want me to
You did this.
I'm gonna march to the rails
I'm gonna march to the rails
I'm high
[crowd cheering]
[Anna laughs]
Gonna climb up the mountain
Gotta go, go, go, go, go
[keys jangle]
[Robyn] Oscar?
[somber music playing]
Oh, God.
Where have you been?
I've been here for an hour.
[sighs] I'm back now.
[ambulance siren wailing]
Luckily, just strained.
Oscar, how long
has this been going on?
[Oscar] You know, doc,
I used to have bruises
all over my body
when I played rugby.
[Robyn] He played rugger
for one season at college.
Right, well,
I suggest getting some help
around the house.
-[phone ringing]
-[Robyn] Excuse me.
Jane, what a surprise.
Back from Thailand already?
Oh...
Oh, Jane, I'm so sorry.
I feel so guilty.
The only thing I'm feeling...
is relief.
Don't beat yourself up about it.
Just feel it, okay?
I ended up never going
to Thailand for facial surgery.
-He said we couldn't afford it.
-[scoffs]
You've got nothing
to be ashamed of.
You're as beautiful as ever.
You always have it so together.
No, that's not true.
I've been thinking
about it a lot lately.
What if I'd never had the--
What if I had had Oscar's child?
You regret not having children?
[]
[rumbling]
[Robyn] Anna.
[chuckles] You have?
Come with me.
Oh, goodness,
I forgot those were here.
My first book.
Bought us the house.
Then this one paid
for the furniture.
And the rest...
[Robyn grunts]
Don't put the most money
you'll ever make
into a house
that needs so much maintenance.
[Anna giggling]
What are you doing?
Oh, no, please.
Is that why you thought
I brought you here?
No, darling.
I'll give you some privacy.
[birds chirping]
[doorbell rings]
Hello?
Can you come round here, please?
I have news.
You passed your medical.
[laughing joyously]
One drop a day
and every month that goes by
will make you a decade younger
and in four or five months,
you'll seem 20 again,
at which point
we'll dilute the formula
and keep you young...
-forever.
-Oh!
Chase it with bubbles.
[ominous music playing]
I don't feel a thing.
It's kind of anticlimactic.
Unlike our first time.
Exactly like
our first and last time.
[Jim chuckles]
Well, this too
will change your life.
[]
What are you doing here?
I invited her
to come and stay with us
for as long as she wants.
[Jim] I barely recognize you.
Do you know who I am?
The man that stares at me
but never books me.
I'm your father.
I don't have a father.
Sit.
It's all right.
[tense music building]
[rhythmic drumming]
[singing in background]
[door opens]
[Oscar] This is godly awful.
You'd better get used to it.
She'll be staying with us
for a bit.
What?
So I don't have a say
in my own house anymore?
If you have a problem,
you can always write
to the newspaper and complain.
Isn't that what old people do?
That's just rude.
You always said
that you wanted a child.
Well, now I've got you one.
Yes, but I wanted one with you.
Does that mean that
you will be taking the formula?
Oh, I know
what this is all about now.
You're trying to force my hand.
Speaking of which,
when will you be
cutting the lawn?
When I get a part
for the ride-on mower.
[Robyn scoffs]
We do have
a regular lawn mower, too.
Kate Bush is giving birth
to Marilyn Manson next door,
and all you're concerned about
is the grass.
Tell you what, I'll cut it.
What?
What you--
You're gonna cut the lawn
in the middle of the night?
So much energy.
[Oscar scoffs]
[lawn mower engine humming]
[Anna singing,
drumming in background]
[lawn mower engine humming]
[drumming stops, footsteps]
[Oscar] Robyn?
Robyn?
What?
I think the guest
is in my memory room.
Well, I'm sure
you can manage it on your own.
I'm taking my pepper spray.
[engine continues humming]
[objects clattering]
[door opens]
[Oscar]
What are you looking for?
A phone. You have one, yeah?
-A phone?
-Yeah.
[Anna] Thanks.
Who do you want to call?
It's just a mate.
It's just a friend of mine.
-Mmm.
-Yeah.
Friend.
Well, no phone calls tonight.
No!
[lock turns]
No, please, don't.
[ominous music building]
Please, open the door.
-Anna, you will stop this now.
-Hey, please, open.
Please, open.
-Now, do you hear?
-[Anna mumbling]
[crying]
Please, open...
[music fades]
Oscar?
This is incredible! [chuckles]
I've got no pain in my fingers,
and I've got all this energy,
and I haven't taken
any arthritis pills.
-Nada!
-[glass shattering]
[Anna screaming]
[objects thudding]
-What's going on?
-I caught her
looking for a phone.
-Probably to phone her--
-Her dealer.
[Anna] It's just a friend!
It's just a friend!
-Oscar, I'm so sorry.
-It's okay.
-I could ask Jim
to take her from tomorrow.
-No. No, it's okay.
[objects clattering]
Well, clearly,
she's trying to create
another memory
with her abstract art.
[Anna] Fuck you, bitch!
-Fuck you!
-[glass shattering]
[objects clattering]
Why don't you go back to bed?
I'll deal with this.
Bed?
No, I'm gonna go looking
for a couple
of glasses of whiskey
and maybe even
some hard drugs...
if she can give me his number.
-[both chuckling]
-[Anna screaming]
-Bed. Night-night.
-Night.
-[Anna groaning]
-[glass shattering]
[sobbing]
[panting]
[melancholy music intensifying]
[glass shattering]
[sobbing]
[Anna screaming]
[sobbing]
[]
[scream echoing]
[music fades]
-[door opens]
-[Anna retching]
[sobbing]
[retching]
[somber music playing]
[sobbing continues]
[retching]
[gagging]
[panting]
[crying]
[crying]
[Anna] Sorry.
Oh, that's all right.
I was looking for
another project anyway.
[]
[retching]
[sobbing]
[Robyn shushing]
[sobbing continues]
[Robyn humming melody]
[continues humming melody]
[peaceful music playing]
[birds chirping]
[eerie music playing]
[chuckles]
[phone ringing]
[ringing continues]
[upbeat piano melody playing]
[music intensifying]
[Anna vocalizing]
[doorbell rings]
Oscar probably forgot his key.
[doorbell ringing]
The fuck?
I see you got
your face-lift done.
You have every reason
to be upset with me.
I'm not upset, honey.
You are giving me Novice.
[Jim sighs] I'm afraid
that is not an option.
I think that's
your only option, sport.
[Jim]
You will have access to the drug
once it's on the market.
Oh, please.
As if someone like me could
afford it when that happens.
Either you give me Novice,
or I am going to go
to the last company
you worked for, Jim.
I hardly think
you're in a position
to make any threats.
Huh, and you think you are?
When you take the formula, um...
we'll have to do a blood test
before that to, um,
make sure it's safe.
[Jim sighs]
[chuckles] Good.
So it goes like that.
Mm.
And it-- Your turn. You try.
-[Oscar chuckling] Go on.
-Okay.
First of all, put petroleum
jelly on your fingers
so that
if you do get glue on them,
they don't stick together.
Which can be very inconvenient.
[chuckles]
Okay. Hold it.
-You got it?
-[Anna] Mm-hmm.
[Oscar] You got that.
And I've got the glue.
Okay, let's lean forward so we
don't get the glue on the floor.
-[Anna] Okay.
-[Oscar] That's it.
[tense music playing]
Push that out.
-Press.
-[Anna chuckles]
[muffled conversation]
[]
Oscar.
-Oscar, wake up.
-Hmm?
My menstrual cycle
started today.
[chuckles] You look worried.
I think it's time
we slept in separate bedrooms.
Age is officially just a number.
No, it's just
this child business.
It's just silly.
[grunts]
Silly, silly, silly business.
[Oscar sighs]
You're cute
when you get all serious.
[Oscar scoffs]
So, why haven't we had
children before?
Heaven knows I wanted them.
I had my writing.
Where would I have found
the time?
Well, you--
you had a-- a career.
I just had a job.
I would have looked after them.
I suppose you would have.
So, why now?
Why? Why with me?
Because...
that's my biggest regret.
Not having a child with you.
I don't regret a single day
in my life with you.
Bullshit.
Y-- you said it yourself.
You-- you had a job,
not a career.
Yeah, well,
life isn't just about work.
Well, you don't have
a single friend
you enjoy spending
any time with.
I have my quiz night
at the Mumbles.
Answering those questions
makes you feel clever.
Not at all. Not true.
Well, not anymore.
And I had my friend, Ronnie.
That was in college.
I have you.
You take two naps every day,
and the rest of the day
you spend building your models.
Well, there you are,
you see, I have great hobbies.
Nonsense, Oscar.
You build those models.
You even fixed them because...
Well, because our travels
are like trophies to you
compared to
the rest of your life.
The rest of my life?
It's average, Oscar.
I'm sorry, but we get
to change that with Novice.
All of it.
You have no excuse.
Like I said...
I have no regrets.
I'll be sleeping
in the open room.
[eerie music playing]
[typing continues]
[Robyn] When we marry,
we promise ourselves
to each other forever.
Yet our forever
has death as its expiry date.
That was our reality
before Novice.
But would someone taking Novice
ever again commit to forever?
[typing continues]
[eerie instrumental playing]
Welcome.
[Robyn] Never took
the scientist for an art lover.
If biochemistry manages to
recapture the beauty of youth,
is there a difference?
Why the elderly?
The have-nots.
They remind me
of how lucky we are.
[Robyn] Hmm.
Why did you call me here?
To be my pice de rsistance,
of course.
My masterpiece.
So, you read my depressing
book about my childhood
only producing one photograph,
and you ask to take mine.
And you say
you're not predictable.
Not just a photograph.
My first nude.
No, Jim, I can't do that.
Why not?
I've never done
anything like it.
Even so, this is the start
of your second life.
You've just been reborn.
Celebrate that.
This conversation is over.
Jane can't pass her medical.
You know that, right?
I only have a limited supply
without the means to make more.
-So...
-I'll say it's cancer.
Dormant,
and under normal circumstances,
not a threat,
but with Novice
accelerating all cell growth,
it's just too dangerous.
But she'll think she has cancer.
[tense music building]
I will give you the rest
of your supply,
and then it's up to you
as to whom you decide
to share it with.
What if I let you photograph me?
I can't force you to do that.
Then, maybe, I can tell her.
No, your mere presence
will deeply offend her,
make her realize
what she can't have,
will never have.
Just let me handle it.
[]
Okay.
Speak to Jane.
I can't stop thinking
what I'm going to do
with the rest of my life.
[sighs] Maybe traveling.
Do you know there's an island
called Bonin Island
just off Japan?
I can't imagine
what I should be doing there.
[laughing]
-You know when dad's coming?
-How come you're on Novice?
Surely, you weren't our age
when you started.
Any moment now.
Hello? I asked you a question.
[Robyn] Age isn't a disease
that only affects the elderly.
Anna is going to become
a singer-songwriter.
What,
you think I'm Hannah Montana?
I think you've got it.
[doorbell ringing]
We're round here!
And what were you
in your first life?
I lived under a bridge,
and fucked for drugs.
What? Your book says we should
keep it real, you feel me?
I feel you. [chuckling]
-Dad.
-Hi, sweetheart.
-Can we have a word?
-Yes.
[tense music playing]
[indistinct conversation]
I've got cancer!
[sobbing]
[typing]
[clock ticking]
[sandpaper scraping]
[grunting]
They just won't stop shaking.
Yeah, well, check mine, too.
[sighs] Like a pair
of recovering addicts we are.
[Anna] Yes. You're
no recovering addict, bitch.
With all
the prescription drugs I take,
I am yet to recover... bitch.
[Anna laughs]
[knocking]
-I'm taking a break, yeah?
-Yeah.
I brought you Novice.
Robyn, we spoke about this.
You not wanting to take it
is like-- like telling me
that you would prefer dying
to being with me.
-Well, that's not true, my love.
-Then why?
You'll clearly,
make a great father.
We can be the same age again.
How can that not be marvelous?
Just let it go.
Just sit with me, talk.
I really long
to spend time with you.
And you don't see the irony
in that request?
[sighs]
Okay.
[photo frame clatters]
[grandfather clock chiming]
[Jane] That's it.
We're going to [indistinct].
-[Oscar] Mm, and?
-[Jane] Remember? He hated it.
[both laughing]
[Jane] He thought that tacos
were cheap sandwiches.
He didn't trust
anything dim sum.
Even baguettes were pretentious.
No, the only thing
that Herbie liked
was my chicken soup,
and then only when I made it
to his mother's recipe.
[chuckling] Well,
whatever you brought us today
was absolutely delicious.
[Jane] Tom yum goong,
it's a traditional Thai soup--
Oh, yum.
Oh, my God.
I can't get used to you looking
just like you did when we met.
Hmm.
Jane has very kindly offered
to assist me around the house.
It would be
my absolute pleasure.
Oh, that's
really nice of you Jane,
but I'm sure we can cope.
Well, she's a qualified nurse,
and the doctor did say--
I am going to go
and fetch that tea.
I know Jane,
and when she's that nice,
you can't trust her.
I think you're being
a little paranoid, darling.
[chuckles]
You are just so together
and independent now.
You're just--
Wow, wow, wow.
You must be getting ready
to leave the nest.
I mean, get a record contract,
you are the complete package.
You are poised to be a star.
Look! I just thought,
I have got the most darling
little summer house.
It's totally independent.
You could make your music there
as loud as you want.
Do you want to come and see it?
[crunching] Nah.
[Jane] There's no sugar.
Just a drop of honey
and a pinch of cinnamon.
Tell me what you think.
-There you go.
-Thank you.
-[Oscar] Mm, delicious.
-Oh, good.
[Robyn] When are
the bandages coming off?
Well, the--
The doctor
in the clinic in Bangkok
said not to touch them
till I was safely home.
How long have you been home?
A while.
Let me help you remove them.
I am sure it's perfect.
And I'm not showing you
until it's been approved.
The, um... the muscles
around the eyes just--
-They need to relax.
-Mm-hmm.
No, no, no, no.
[exhales in excitement]
[chuckles] Ugh.
[sighs]
-Okay.
-Okay.
No, no, I can't look.
I can't look.
-You tell me.
-Okay.
Oh, my God.
Oh, I shouldn't have gone
to the cheapest clinic.
[gasps]
It could just be that
the swelling hasn't settled yet.
I need to be alone.
Jane...
[screaming] Go away!
[sobbing]
It's not good.
Best you find another caregiver.
[Jane screaming]
Well, Jane was never very good
at holding down a job.
[snickering]
[both laughing]
Oscar.
Robyn aborted your child
a month into your marriage.
Now I've got something
to giggle about, too.
Is that true?
Oscar...
It's true.
I--
I'll be at the Mumbles.
Oscar.
I can explain.
[clock ticking]
[eerie instrumental playing]
[baby cooing]
[]
[]
[Oscar] "I wonder why there
are always ravens around
the graveyard," and I said--
[all] Because they've been
dying to get in.
[all laughing]
Oscar?
You ready to talk?
I thought
you didn't have grandchildren.
I know,
I thought so too. [laughs]
Strange, isn't it? [chuckles]
I'll make some tea.
Chamomile?
I'll come and pick
some stuff up tomorrow.
Come now, Oscar.
I thought I would be
a terrible mother.
Even worse than mine.
Come home. Please.
I'm not doing this
to punish you.
[tea pouring]
[suspenseful
instrumental playing]
You say
you don't want to punish me,
but it feels a lot like you are.
[Oscar] Well, you know,
you can always visit
any time you'd like.
I don't want you
to dread coming here
just like a young person would.
Fifty years of marriage,
and it's this simple for you.
Fifty years
is nothing in eternity.
No. No, stop thinking for me.
Is this really what you want?
Yes, I think it is.
But first,
I want to take a little nap.
-God, on your single bed?
-Yes, on my single bed.
[tense music building]
[camera shutter clicks]
I have what I need.
[]
[exhales in excitement]
[whispering]
Why are you being a gentleman?
Put it on a timer.
You want a picture of us?
-[camera beeping]
-Five seconds.
[faster beeping]
[camera shutter clicks]
I'll need the photos as soon as.
[]
[]
[knocking on door]
[exhales in excitement]
-Our portrait.
-Oh, uh, thank you.
I developed it
as soon as you left.
Jim Petrak, really?
-White sunglasses?
-Yeah. Down with the kids.
I don't think so,
and even when it was in fashion,
it wasn't fashionable.
-Can I give you a hand?
-No.
-You're going away?
-No.
Look, we should talk
about what happened yesterday.
-Never.
-What's that supposed to mean?
I don't have time for this, Jim.
I don't get you.
You take my daughter in,
you get naked in my apartment,
you do Novice without Oscar,
and now, you want nothing
to do with me.
I took Anna in to give Oscar
a taste of fatherhood.
I did Novice, because
I want to have a baby with him.
And I asked you
to take this photograph,
because-- because
I wanna make him jealous,
so he finally comes around.
Do you get it now?
All this
to have a baby with him?
It has nothing to do with you.
And you think
you're the sort of woman
he'd want to have a child with?
Fuck off, father of the year.
I feel like such a fool.
[knocking on door]
-Thought I'd save you the trip.
-Let me take that.
Thanks. Thank you.
That's very kind, thanks.
Come in. Come in.
[sandpaper scraping]
Something I wanted you to see.
[ominous instrumental playing]
I forgot
how a 30-year-old's skin feels.
So tightly stretched
over his muscular flesh.
-Unnecessary.
-Just thinking about it,
with his potential
to earn resources,
he'd make a great father.
He could teach our child,
or even children,
to lead successful lives.
-Unnecessary!
-What's the matter?
You did everything
you wanted, didn't you?
No regrets.
This is what you wanted.
To live an average life.
Not to set the bar too high,
to avoid the disappointment
of failure,
-drown those dreams
in excuses...
-Unnecessary!
...and not accept second chances
because what reason,
what excuse
could you possibly come up with
to justify being average
the second time around?
Unnecessary!
That is what you want, isn't it?
To breathe your last breath
as a self-justified failure.
Unnecessary.
There you are.
Unnecessary.
[furniture clattering]
[eerie melody building]
[furniture clattering]
[door slams shut]
[birds chirping]
Sometimes I think
I might be a horrible person.
Said the pretty lady
to the dirty old man.
[both laugh]
I'll tell you something.
Let's go home.
[Robyn inhales deeply]
Okay.
-[kisses]
-Mm.
[slow eerie music plays]
[]
I finished my book.
Oh.
How did you end it?
With her leaving.
[Oscar chuckling]
[Robyn]
You sure I can't take you?
I want to take the bus.
And I'm taking these after all.
If it gets weird
at Jane's house,
you come back here.
Promise me?
Mm-hmm.
[Oscar chuckles]
[Oscar sighs]
[Anna chuckles]
[tin foil rustling]
[Anna chuckles] It's pretty.
It's pretty beautiful.
It's my birthday coming up soon
and I wondered
if you'd come back
and do a show for us.
Paid for, of course.
You want me to sing
at your birthday?
Well, if I can afford it.
[both chuckling]
You'll be all right.
Yeah?
-See?
-Mm-hmm.
It's not shaking anymore.
-Thanks.
-You got it?
Yeah.
Thank you for everything.
[Oscar chuckles]
[]
So you like her music now?
Well, how else are we gonna
get her to come and see us?
You know the old
have to bribe the young
to get them to come and visit.
-[laughs]
-Everybody knows that.
[both chuckling]
I, um...
I feel that it's not finished.
That it isn't done.
Since when do you have such
a strong opinion on my work?
[Oscar chuckles] Oh, no.
Well, I love the idea that we're
all addicts addicted to time,
that Noviceterians
will constantly need
to redefine their meaning.
But, Robyn, darling,
it doesn't tell me
how you feel about it.
Hmm.
Fancy a cup of tea?
[Oscar chuckles] Okay.
The last time
That I held for you
I came over to your house
And we got drunk
On your bed
I knew it was the last time
We'd be making love
Before you left me
Alone in your head
I remember
When I fell for you
I was 15, early 2000
Full of innocence
Always close to the mend
And now I just
Call you a friend
Can I get high on you?
Drown in all your oceans
Can I get high on you?
Give me
The double dose emotions
Can I get high on you?
High on you
Be your little psycho
The last time
The last time
That I held for you
I was overdosing
On your tears
While you were drinking wine
I'm glad I was your muse
Even if it lasted
For a little while
It came to my attention
I was looking for myself
Oscar! What happened, Oscar?
I-- I'll get the car.
You held on too tight
Thank God the rope broke
And I didn't see it through
[gravel crunching]
Can I get high on you?
Give me
The double dose emotions
Can I get high on you?
[indistinct whispering]
[Robyn] Stay with me, okay?
Okay, I've got you.
[panting] Okay.
Like sinking sand
[Oscar groaning]
You held my hand
You filled my brain
With gold and silver
[Robyn] Help me!
Help me! Please, help me!
Help me! He's in here.
Help me get high on you
High on you
Be your little psycho
[rattling]
[hospital din]
-[Jim] Hi.
-Hi.
[Jim sighs]
I, um-- I finished it
in one sitting.
It's--
it's magnificent.
And don't think I'm being biased
when I say it's your best work.
It's not finished yet.
[doctor] Miss?
Are you here for Oscar Smith?
[Jim] This is Elizabeth,
Oscar's niece.
Elizabeth,
I regret to inform you that
the cancer has spread
from the pancreas.
Cancer?
[doctor] You didn't know?
Well, the important thing
is that he's comfortable.
Comfortable?
What are you saying, Doctor?
[doctor]
I wish I had better news.
He is stable now,
but he doesn't have long.
[sobbing softly]
You can see him.
Doctor, you don't understand
that I did this to him.
-I did this.
-[doctor] It's completely
normal to feel responsible--
No, no, no, no, no.
This is my fault.
Thank you, Doctor.
I've got this. Thank you.
-I gave him Novice, Jim.
-Shh!
I gave him Novice.
[sighs]
All right, listen. [sighs]
This is very serious.
If you say anything now,
you could go to prison.
That means no more Novice,
no more
endless possibilities, nothing.
How are you thinking of Novice
now when he's dying, Jim?
-He's dying of cancer.
-That Novice accelerated.
[Jim] No.
[Robyn sobbing]
[hyperventilating]
I am so selfish, Jim.
-Stop this.
-I did this to him.
-I'm so selfish.
-Stop this.
Listen, Robyn. Robyn, listen.
Please, stop this. Stop it.
You knew that you would
have to say goodbye
to everyone you loved
the moment
you took that formula.
Not to Oscar.
Not to Oscar.
I can-- I can--
I need Oscar because...
he is everything that I lack.
No, no, no.
I don't think we should see
each other again, Jim.
[sobs] I'm sorry.
You and me, we just--
we would bring out
the worst in each other.
[somber music plays]
[rhythmic beeping]
You were right.
I'm not done with it yet.
"You may find
in Novice your forever.
The mirage of the solution
to your regret."
See?
[Jane gasps]
"But as new life enters,
what you think, how you feel,
who you are still flows out."
You're a painting now.
That's how I see you.
Thank you.
[music swells]
"And so the world
does not need Novice
for you to become immortal."
[Robyn panting]
"Just the sharing of your love
blossoming in a lover.
That is the path
my Oscar chose to take.
His infinite life
found in his love for me,
his love I will one day
share with another.
My Oscar.
The only human I knew
that walked the path
to no regret."
It's beautiful, Robyn.
It's beautiful.
And it's true.
I'm pregnant, Oscar.
Oh.
Oh, wonderful.
-Really?
-And you know what
our first trip is going to be?
[chuckles]
I trust his father approves.
[chuckles]
Why didn't you tell me
about the cancer?
Well,
I didn't want you to know
because if you knew,
you would have stopped
taking Novice.
I would have stopped
taking Novice,
but you would have
still been alive.
Alive with cancer, Robyn.
Cancer.
The quicker the better.
I'm so sorry, Oscar.
What for?
What for? For wanting me
in your life forever?
No, that's the most
wonderful thing
anyone has ever wanted from me.
-[Robyn chuckles]
-Thank you.
[sniffling] How am I gonna
do this without you?
Oh, you've always done it
without me.
And to be a mother?
[Oscar chuckles]
Oh, are you kidding?
Nobody knows how to do that.
[Robyn chuckles]
[Oscar sighs]
[ominous orchestral music plays]
[Oscar sighs]
[baby giggling]
[toddler giggling]
[teenager giggling]
[]
[]
["Dreaming Again"
by Anna Wolf plays]
As the sky falls down
I bondage myself
Upside down here I go again
Playing pretend
As the snow falls down
I bondage myself
Upside down
I take a deep breath
My fears are right again
We're climbing
over mountains
Broke off all the trees
Stood on the ledge
Took one step back
And looked inside of me
We're finding
All the diamonds
Swam all the seas
Stood on the ledge
And took one step back
And found me
And the choir goes
[]
My days are young
In time I will see
Dreaming again
[]
[soft piano melody plays]
[soft orchestral music plays]
[music ends]
[solemn orchestral music plays]
[Robyn] "My parents
tried their best to act
like I was a wanted child.
But with only one photo
of my childhood...
and one
I wasn't smiling in at that...
I remain a skeptic."
[]
[applauding]
-A die-hard fan, aren't you?
-Thank you. You're so lovely.
Well, I suppose technically
anyone over 75
is a die-hard fan.
I meant it as a compliment.
[door creaks open, shuts]
Um...
have you thought about it?
Will you write my book?
-It's about to happen.
-No.
Actually, it's not something
I've ever had to think about.
-Just no.
-I've found the cure.
I'm not indulging.
I've found the cure for regret.
Goodbye, Jim.
Can I keep these?
[door creaks, shuts]
-Huh, apparently not.
[pensive instrumental
music plays]
[groans lightly]
[man] Robyn?
How was the reading?
They haven't cut the lawn
in centuries.
Not even centuries in dog years.
-And I only left the back.
-[door opens]
[Robyn] I mean...
who does this?
Oh, I take my exercise
in moderation, dear.
It's hardly exercise
on a ride-on mower.
-[slaps stomach]
-[chuckles lightly]
Ooh, ouch.
It's your pack
for the Kruger National Park.
-Mm.
-You usually only order these
when we get back.
So, how did the reading go?
-I'm not upset.
-It's fine if you are.
Half of them left
while I was still reading.
Well, that's just rude.
I'm starting to think
perhaps I should stop sharing
what I write.
Well, never stop sharing
with me.
Okey dokey,
for the next question.
Every year in the spring,
thousands of garter snakes
participate
in a mass mating ritual.
[laughing] I remember those.
A mass hating ritual?
Turn your hearing aid on.
...in the world
is the largest mating den
for the garter snake?
Canada. Ontario.
I think it's actually Manitoba.
Manitoba? Are you sure?
Hmm, Robyn's right.
It is Manitoba.
I got my provinces mixed up.
[man] She's a keeper.
Good thing
Bob kicked the bucket.
Any bets on who's next?
[melancholic music plays]
[urine trickling]
-Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry.
-Oh!
Let me help you.
[emcee]
Okey dokey, time for a jokey.
Why did the recruitment officer
crash?
He careered off the road.
[car horn honks]
-You're driving too slowly.
-[car horn honking]
-Oscar.
-I'm luxuriating.
-Savoring your presence.
-[Robyn scoffs]
Play your cards right,
you might get lucky tonight.
-[Robyn laughing]
-[Oscar] I'm not joking.
-[car horn honking]
-[both laugh]
[birds chirping]
Wow.
-You still take my breath away.
-[chuckles]
[Oscar snoring]
[snoring continues]
[suspenseful orchestral music
plays]
[tool scraping]
[]
Get this-- Herbie got us
a two-for-one special on Sunday.
-Mm-hmm. Tombstones.
-Oh, yes.
-With matching calligraphy.
-[Robyn laughing]
God, my mother was right.
Never marry for love.
Have you...
read my latest?
-I couldn't get past page 40.
-[baby cooing]
Don't you see-- depressing.
-No wonder your parents
didn't want you. [chuckles]
-[chuckles]
You ladies need any help?
[coughing]
-Is he all right?
-He's had that cough
since our second date.
Can I hold her?
They are lovely
when they come
with a return policy.
It's really hard
being a single mother
for the grandmother.
I am going to get a face-lift
with Phyllis in Thailand.
[]
[birds chirping]
[breathes deeply]
[doorbell rings]
[doorbell ringing]
Yes?
Can I help you, sir?
[Jim] Have you given
writing my story more thought?
Jim?
This is wholly inappropriate.
[daunting orchestral music
plays]
But--
May I come in?
-Told you I'd found a cure
for regret.
-Tea.
I-- I'm gonna go
and make some tea.
I-- I-- I-- I need tea.
You stay there
and don't do anything.
[Jim, echoing]
I found a cure for regret.
[gasps]
[chuckles]
-But how?
-You'll write my book?
Is this an optical illusion
of sorts?
[chuckles]
Not my field of science.
Are you Jim's son?
Robyn, you know
I never had a son.
I'm getting my recorder.
-We're starting now?
-Yes! Yes! Yes!
-Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
-[chuckles]
Have you seen my recorder?
[Oscar] Hmm?
-[Robyn sighs]
-What?
I can't find it. Where is it?
What are you looking for?
-My recorder. I can't find it.
-Oh.
-Are you writing again?
-Yes.
[Oscar]
What a beautiful morning.
[clock ticking]
[whispering] There's somebody
in the house.
Oh, it's Jim.
W-- what? What? What Jim?
[Robyn] Jim, the science guy.
-What, Jim pharmaceutical?
-Yes.
The Jim you were dating
when we first met, Jim?
That's the one. Exactly.
-Jim that used to call you--
-Old socks.
Yes, I know. I remember.
Quite a nasty little man.
Okay, okay,
now can you just help me look
for this recorder?
Aha!
Well, what's Jim doing
in our house?
-My next book is about Jim.
-What?
No. No, no, no, no, no.
-That's not possible.
-[Robyn chuckles]
-[Oscar chuckles]
-Oscar, what are you
doing with that?
Clearing the air.
-With a pepper spray?
-Uh-huh.
[Jim] Oscar.
Who are you?
Oscar, that is Jim.
-Jim, but--
-Happy to see
you're still kicking.
Who the hell are you?
And what are you doing
in our house?
Robyn, I love the fact
you kept your first journal.
I knew you could write
the moment you shared it
with me.
Oscar, I was just making
some tea.
Would you like to finish?
-But--
-Oscar, tea.
[Oscar] I might need some help
in the kitchen.
An obvious scam.
Jim is obsessed about
age being a curable disease
-since I first met him.
-Age?
A disease? [chuckles]
Don't drink the Kool-Aid, Robyn.
Prove to me that you are Jim.
Are you sure?
Because from where I'm sitting,
the only thing
that we have in common
-is Robyn.
-Don't.
[Jim] She did this thing
with her tongue
-when we first kissed.
-Shut up.
It was like a wiggle
with a little bit of a...
-[slurps] suck.
-I told you to shut up.
That enough proof for you,
old socks?
Right. That's it.
I'm not making anyone tea.
There's a reason
why I never mentioned that kiss
in my journal.
Oh. Enlighten me.
-You really must be a sadist.
-[recorder clicks]
[recorder quietly whirrs]
Boring me already.
[chuckles]
[inquisitive music plays]
I see you've already
decided to take part.
I'm writing a book.
It's research.
We'll have to administer
medical tests
to make sure it's safe.
Meet me at noon.
I'll text you the address.
[Robyn] For the tests?
You think I'm that predictable?
[]
I once called my nanny "mommy."
Something we laughed about
at the time
until I was old enough
to understand the weight of it.
So, you read past page 40 then?
-Stalker.
-When it comes to your writing,
I don't have much choice.
Follow me.
[Jim] My daughter, Anna.
Her mother was
a one-night-stand-turned-junkie
who threw herself off a bridge.
I paid for the funeral,
but Anna didn't want me there.
[Robyn] Is Anna your reason
for inventing Novice?
So you could rewrite your
relationship with your daughter?
A rewrite. Yes. [chuckles]
I quite like that.
What might it do to her
if she took Novice now?
I told you,
we'd need to test
the subject first
to make sure
it's medically safe.
She's got needle marks
up her arm.
She wouldn't take it
from me anyway.
Honestly?
All right.
But just one drop.
[hopeful music plays]
[Robyn] Darling.
A sip of a new life.
[Oscar] Oh,
you're taking the gloves off.
Must be serious.
The results came back.
I'm afraid it's not good news.
You may be a candidate
for the Whipple procedure,
but--
well, it's pancreatic cancer.
20% of candidates are eligible,
and of that, only about 20%
have a chance
at another five years of life.
[somber music plays]
[thudding]
[thudding]
What-- what are you doing?
Creating a baby room.
Give me a hand.
Who's the father?
Wondered if you could help out
with that.
[Jim] Mm.
Jim is giving us both Novice
as payment for my book.
All of a sudden?
What changed?
Failsafe parenting.
If I mess it up,
I give it Novice.
We go back to the beginning
and try again.
"It?"
Him, her, they.
Um, I think
I've moved on from the idea.
Age forced us to move on.
But when we're 30 again,
well, in a few months, I should
be able to fall pregnant.
Mmm. And so we just put
our trust in Jim?
[Robyn]
A nurse will come tomorrow
to test for things
like MS and cancer
-and make sure it's safe for us
to take Novice.
-[Jim sighs]
Are you okay?
[Jim sighs]
Don't know
why it's shaking today.
I think it's because I'm tired.
I think they're both shaking now
because you're here.
[Jim chuckles]
[somber orchestral music plays]
Okay. That's all we need.
The results will be available
after the weekend.
I'm ready for you now.
Well, I--
I prefer to wait and see
what happens to her
if you don't mind.
[doctor] Sure.
I want you to know
that I don't regret a single day
of my life with you.
Not one moment.
I loved it all.
Loved?
Robyn,
I'm not going to do Novice
with you.
But that's ridiculous.
W-- what's this about?
[somber music plays]
Novice doesn't just cure
the age disease.
Cell rejuvenation cures
most other diseases, too.
In a few short years,
our dependence
on modern medicine will,
in all likelihood,
be a thing of the past, hence--
Hence the pharmaceutical company
firing you
shortly after discovering it.
It's going to cannibalize
their business.
So, you stole the formula
from a corporate giant?
A formula I invented, yes.
Don't you fear for your life?
I love how concerned you are.
You still flirt
like a creepy old man.
You still bat me away
like you think I'm gonna stop.
Once your book is out,
disposing of me
will only make
its revelations bigger.
So you really think my book
will make you safe?
More safe,
but I'd choose assassination
over dying of old age any day.
That's just, well, barbaric.
This is as far as we can go.
[Robyn] Let's check on Anna.
[Jim] Okay.
It was a hundred percent
More than you asked me to do
[Anna exclaims]
You think if you put my
You think if you put
My foot in front of the other
I'll do what you want me to
You did this.
I'm gonna march to the rails
I'm gonna march to the rails
I'm high
[crowd cheering]
[Anna laughs]
Gonna climb up the mountain
Gotta go, go, go, go, go
[keys jangle]
[Robyn] Oscar?
[somber music playing]
Oh, God.
Where have you been?
I've been here for an hour.
[sighs] I'm back now.
[ambulance siren wailing]
Luckily, just strained.
Oscar, how long
has this been going on?
[Oscar] You know, doc,
I used to have bruises
all over my body
when I played rugby.
[Robyn] He played rugger
for one season at college.
Right, well,
I suggest getting some help
around the house.
-[phone ringing]
-[Robyn] Excuse me.
Jane, what a surprise.
Back from Thailand already?
Oh...
Oh, Jane, I'm so sorry.
I feel so guilty.
The only thing I'm feeling...
is relief.
Don't beat yourself up about it.
Just feel it, okay?
I ended up never going
to Thailand for facial surgery.
-He said we couldn't afford it.
-[scoffs]
You've got nothing
to be ashamed of.
You're as beautiful as ever.
You always have it so together.
No, that's not true.
I've been thinking
about it a lot lately.
What if I'd never had the--
What if I had had Oscar's child?
You regret not having children?
[]
[rumbling]
[Robyn] Anna.
[chuckles] You have?
Come with me.
Oh, goodness,
I forgot those were here.
My first book.
Bought us the house.
Then this one paid
for the furniture.
And the rest...
[Robyn grunts]
Don't put the most money
you'll ever make
into a house
that needs so much maintenance.
[Anna giggling]
What are you doing?
Oh, no, please.
Is that why you thought
I brought you here?
No, darling.
I'll give you some privacy.
[birds chirping]
[doorbell rings]
Hello?
Can you come round here, please?
I have news.
You passed your medical.
[laughing joyously]
One drop a day
and every month that goes by
will make you a decade younger
and in four or five months,
you'll seem 20 again,
at which point
we'll dilute the formula
and keep you young...
-forever.
-Oh!
Chase it with bubbles.
[ominous music playing]
I don't feel a thing.
It's kind of anticlimactic.
Unlike our first time.
Exactly like
our first and last time.
[Jim chuckles]
Well, this too
will change your life.
[]
What are you doing here?
I invited her
to come and stay with us
for as long as she wants.
[Jim] I barely recognize you.
Do you know who I am?
The man that stares at me
but never books me.
I'm your father.
I don't have a father.
Sit.
It's all right.
[tense music building]
[rhythmic drumming]
[singing in background]
[door opens]
[Oscar] This is godly awful.
You'd better get used to it.
She'll be staying with us
for a bit.
What?
So I don't have a say
in my own house anymore?
If you have a problem,
you can always write
to the newspaper and complain.
Isn't that what old people do?
That's just rude.
You always said
that you wanted a child.
Well, now I've got you one.
Yes, but I wanted one with you.
Does that mean that
you will be taking the formula?
Oh, I know
what this is all about now.
You're trying to force my hand.
Speaking of which,
when will you be
cutting the lawn?
When I get a part
for the ride-on mower.
[Robyn scoffs]
We do have
a regular lawn mower, too.
Kate Bush is giving birth
to Marilyn Manson next door,
and all you're concerned about
is the grass.
Tell you what, I'll cut it.
What?
What you--
You're gonna cut the lawn
in the middle of the night?
So much energy.
[Oscar scoffs]
[lawn mower engine humming]
[Anna singing,
drumming in background]
[lawn mower engine humming]
[drumming stops, footsteps]
[Oscar] Robyn?
Robyn?
What?
I think the guest
is in my memory room.
Well, I'm sure
you can manage it on your own.
I'm taking my pepper spray.
[engine continues humming]
[objects clattering]
[door opens]
[Oscar]
What are you looking for?
A phone. You have one, yeah?
-A phone?
-Yeah.
[Anna] Thanks.
Who do you want to call?
It's just a mate.
It's just a friend of mine.
-Mmm.
-Yeah.
Friend.
Well, no phone calls tonight.
No!
[lock turns]
No, please, don't.
[ominous music building]
Please, open the door.
-Anna, you will stop this now.
-Hey, please, open.
Please, open.
-Now, do you hear?
-[Anna mumbling]
[crying]
Please, open...
[music fades]
Oscar?
This is incredible! [chuckles]
I've got no pain in my fingers,
and I've got all this energy,
and I haven't taken
any arthritis pills.
-Nada!
-[glass shattering]
[Anna screaming]
[objects thudding]
-What's going on?
-I caught her
looking for a phone.
-Probably to phone her--
-Her dealer.
[Anna] It's just a friend!
It's just a friend!
-Oscar, I'm so sorry.
-It's okay.
-I could ask Jim
to take her from tomorrow.
-No. No, it's okay.
[objects clattering]
Well, clearly,
she's trying to create
another memory
with her abstract art.
[Anna] Fuck you, bitch!
-Fuck you!
-[glass shattering]
[objects clattering]
Why don't you go back to bed?
I'll deal with this.
Bed?
No, I'm gonna go looking
for a couple
of glasses of whiskey
and maybe even
some hard drugs...
if she can give me his number.
-[both chuckling]
-[Anna screaming]
-Bed. Night-night.
-Night.
-[Anna groaning]
-[glass shattering]
[sobbing]
[panting]
[melancholy music intensifying]
[glass shattering]
[sobbing]
[Anna screaming]
[sobbing]
[]
[scream echoing]
[music fades]
-[door opens]
-[Anna retching]
[sobbing]
[retching]
[somber music playing]
[sobbing continues]
[retching]
[gagging]
[panting]
[crying]
[crying]
[Anna] Sorry.
Oh, that's all right.
I was looking for
another project anyway.
[]
[retching]
[sobbing]
[Robyn shushing]
[sobbing continues]
[Robyn humming melody]
[continues humming melody]
[peaceful music playing]
[birds chirping]
[eerie music playing]
[chuckles]
[phone ringing]
[ringing continues]
[upbeat piano melody playing]
[music intensifying]
[Anna vocalizing]
[doorbell rings]
Oscar probably forgot his key.
[doorbell ringing]
The fuck?
I see you got
your face-lift done.
You have every reason
to be upset with me.
I'm not upset, honey.
You are giving me Novice.
[Jim sighs] I'm afraid
that is not an option.
I think that's
your only option, sport.
[Jim]
You will have access to the drug
once it's on the market.
Oh, please.
As if someone like me could
afford it when that happens.
Either you give me Novice,
or I am going to go
to the last company
you worked for, Jim.
I hardly think
you're in a position
to make any threats.
Huh, and you think you are?
When you take the formula, um...
we'll have to do a blood test
before that to, um,
make sure it's safe.
[Jim sighs]
[chuckles] Good.
So it goes like that.
Mm.
And it-- Your turn. You try.
-[Oscar chuckling] Go on.
-Okay.
First of all, put petroleum
jelly on your fingers
so that
if you do get glue on them,
they don't stick together.
Which can be very inconvenient.
[chuckles]
Okay. Hold it.
-You got it?
-[Anna] Mm-hmm.
[Oscar] You got that.
And I've got the glue.
Okay, let's lean forward so we
don't get the glue on the floor.
-[Anna] Okay.
-[Oscar] That's it.
[tense music playing]
Push that out.
-Press.
-[Anna chuckles]
[muffled conversation]
[]
Oscar.
-Oscar, wake up.
-Hmm?
My menstrual cycle
started today.
[chuckles] You look worried.
I think it's time
we slept in separate bedrooms.
Age is officially just a number.
No, it's just
this child business.
It's just silly.
[grunts]
Silly, silly, silly business.
[Oscar sighs]
You're cute
when you get all serious.
[Oscar scoffs]
So, why haven't we had
children before?
Heaven knows I wanted them.
I had my writing.
Where would I have found
the time?
Well, you--
you had a-- a career.
I just had a job.
I would have looked after them.
I suppose you would have.
So, why now?
Why? Why with me?
Because...
that's my biggest regret.
Not having a child with you.
I don't regret a single day
in my life with you.
Bullshit.
Y-- you said it yourself.
You-- you had a job,
not a career.
Yeah, well,
life isn't just about work.
Well, you don't have
a single friend
you enjoy spending
any time with.
I have my quiz night
at the Mumbles.
Answering those questions
makes you feel clever.
Not at all. Not true.
Well, not anymore.
And I had my friend, Ronnie.
That was in college.
I have you.
You take two naps every day,
and the rest of the day
you spend building your models.
Well, there you are,
you see, I have great hobbies.
Nonsense, Oscar.
You build those models.
You even fixed them because...
Well, because our travels
are like trophies to you
compared to
the rest of your life.
The rest of my life?
It's average, Oscar.
I'm sorry, but we get
to change that with Novice.
All of it.
You have no excuse.
Like I said...
I have no regrets.
I'll be sleeping
in the open room.
[eerie music playing]
[typing continues]
[Robyn] When we marry,
we promise ourselves
to each other forever.
Yet our forever
has death as its expiry date.
That was our reality
before Novice.
But would someone taking Novice
ever again commit to forever?
[typing continues]
[eerie instrumental playing]
Welcome.
[Robyn] Never took
the scientist for an art lover.
If biochemistry manages to
recapture the beauty of youth,
is there a difference?
Why the elderly?
The have-nots.
They remind me
of how lucky we are.
[Robyn] Hmm.
Why did you call me here?
To be my pice de rsistance,
of course.
My masterpiece.
So, you read my depressing
book about my childhood
only producing one photograph,
and you ask to take mine.
And you say
you're not predictable.
Not just a photograph.
My first nude.
No, Jim, I can't do that.
Why not?
I've never done
anything like it.
Even so, this is the start
of your second life.
You've just been reborn.
Celebrate that.
This conversation is over.
Jane can't pass her medical.
You know that, right?
I only have a limited supply
without the means to make more.
-So...
-I'll say it's cancer.
Dormant,
and under normal circumstances,
not a threat,
but with Novice
accelerating all cell growth,
it's just too dangerous.
But she'll think she has cancer.
[tense music building]
I will give you the rest
of your supply,
and then it's up to you
as to whom you decide
to share it with.
What if I let you photograph me?
I can't force you to do that.
Then, maybe, I can tell her.
No, your mere presence
will deeply offend her,
make her realize
what she can't have,
will never have.
Just let me handle it.
[]
Okay.
Speak to Jane.
I can't stop thinking
what I'm going to do
with the rest of my life.
[sighs] Maybe traveling.
Do you know there's an island
called Bonin Island
just off Japan?
I can't imagine
what I should be doing there.
[laughing]
-You know when dad's coming?
-How come you're on Novice?
Surely, you weren't our age
when you started.
Any moment now.
Hello? I asked you a question.
[Robyn] Age isn't a disease
that only affects the elderly.
Anna is going to become
a singer-songwriter.
What,
you think I'm Hannah Montana?
I think you've got it.
[doorbell ringing]
We're round here!
And what were you
in your first life?
I lived under a bridge,
and fucked for drugs.
What? Your book says we should
keep it real, you feel me?
I feel you. [chuckling]
-Dad.
-Hi, sweetheart.
-Can we have a word?
-Yes.
[tense music playing]
[indistinct conversation]
I've got cancer!
[sobbing]
[typing]
[clock ticking]
[sandpaper scraping]
[grunting]
They just won't stop shaking.
Yeah, well, check mine, too.
[sighs] Like a pair
of recovering addicts we are.
[Anna] Yes. You're
no recovering addict, bitch.
With all
the prescription drugs I take,
I am yet to recover... bitch.
[Anna laughs]
[knocking]
-I'm taking a break, yeah?
-Yeah.
I brought you Novice.
Robyn, we spoke about this.
You not wanting to take it
is like-- like telling me
that you would prefer dying
to being with me.
-Well, that's not true, my love.
-Then why?
You'll clearly,
make a great father.
We can be the same age again.
How can that not be marvelous?
Just let it go.
Just sit with me, talk.
I really long
to spend time with you.
And you don't see the irony
in that request?
[sighs]
Okay.
[photo frame clatters]
[grandfather clock chiming]
[Jane] That's it.
We're going to [indistinct].
-[Oscar] Mm, and?
-[Jane] Remember? He hated it.
[both laughing]
[Jane] He thought that tacos
were cheap sandwiches.
He didn't trust
anything dim sum.
Even baguettes were pretentious.
No, the only thing
that Herbie liked
was my chicken soup,
and then only when I made it
to his mother's recipe.
[chuckling] Well,
whatever you brought us today
was absolutely delicious.
[Jane] Tom yum goong,
it's a traditional Thai soup--
Oh, yum.
Oh, my God.
I can't get used to you looking
just like you did when we met.
Hmm.
Jane has very kindly offered
to assist me around the house.
It would be
my absolute pleasure.
Oh, that's
really nice of you Jane,
but I'm sure we can cope.
Well, she's a qualified nurse,
and the doctor did say--
I am going to go
and fetch that tea.
I know Jane,
and when she's that nice,
you can't trust her.
I think you're being
a little paranoid, darling.
[chuckles]
You are just so together
and independent now.
You're just--
Wow, wow, wow.
You must be getting ready
to leave the nest.
I mean, get a record contract,
you are the complete package.
You are poised to be a star.
Look! I just thought,
I have got the most darling
little summer house.
It's totally independent.
You could make your music there
as loud as you want.
Do you want to come and see it?
[crunching] Nah.
[Jane] There's no sugar.
Just a drop of honey
and a pinch of cinnamon.
Tell me what you think.
-There you go.
-Thank you.
-[Oscar] Mm, delicious.
-Oh, good.
[Robyn] When are
the bandages coming off?
Well, the--
The doctor
in the clinic in Bangkok
said not to touch them
till I was safely home.
How long have you been home?
A while.
Let me help you remove them.
I am sure it's perfect.
And I'm not showing you
until it's been approved.
The, um... the muscles
around the eyes just--
-They need to relax.
-Mm-hmm.
No, no, no, no.
[exhales in excitement]
[chuckles] Ugh.
[sighs]
-Okay.
-Okay.
No, no, I can't look.
I can't look.
-You tell me.
-Okay.
Oh, my God.
Oh, I shouldn't have gone
to the cheapest clinic.
[gasps]
It could just be that
the swelling hasn't settled yet.
I need to be alone.
Jane...
[screaming] Go away!
[sobbing]
It's not good.
Best you find another caregiver.
[Jane screaming]
Well, Jane was never very good
at holding down a job.
[snickering]
[both laughing]
Oscar.
Robyn aborted your child
a month into your marriage.
Now I've got something
to giggle about, too.
Is that true?
Oscar...
It's true.
I--
I'll be at the Mumbles.
Oscar.
I can explain.
[clock ticking]
[eerie instrumental playing]
[baby cooing]
[]
[]
[Oscar] "I wonder why there
are always ravens around
the graveyard," and I said--
[all] Because they've been
dying to get in.
[all laughing]
Oscar?
You ready to talk?
I thought
you didn't have grandchildren.
I know,
I thought so too. [laughs]
Strange, isn't it? [chuckles]
I'll make some tea.
Chamomile?
I'll come and pick
some stuff up tomorrow.
Come now, Oscar.
I thought I would be
a terrible mother.
Even worse than mine.
Come home. Please.
I'm not doing this
to punish you.
[tea pouring]
[suspenseful
instrumental playing]
You say
you don't want to punish me,
but it feels a lot like you are.
[Oscar] Well, you know,
you can always visit
any time you'd like.
I don't want you
to dread coming here
just like a young person would.
Fifty years of marriage,
and it's this simple for you.
Fifty years
is nothing in eternity.
No. No, stop thinking for me.
Is this really what you want?
Yes, I think it is.
But first,
I want to take a little nap.
-God, on your single bed?
-Yes, on my single bed.
[tense music building]
[camera shutter clicks]
I have what I need.
[]
[exhales in excitement]
[whispering]
Why are you being a gentleman?
Put it on a timer.
You want a picture of us?
-[camera beeping]
-Five seconds.
[faster beeping]
[camera shutter clicks]
I'll need the photos as soon as.
[]
[]
[knocking on door]
[exhales in excitement]
-Our portrait.
-Oh, uh, thank you.
I developed it
as soon as you left.
Jim Petrak, really?
-White sunglasses?
-Yeah. Down with the kids.
I don't think so,
and even when it was in fashion,
it wasn't fashionable.
-Can I give you a hand?
-No.
-You're going away?
-No.
Look, we should talk
about what happened yesterday.
-Never.
-What's that supposed to mean?
I don't have time for this, Jim.
I don't get you.
You take my daughter in,
you get naked in my apartment,
you do Novice without Oscar,
and now, you want nothing
to do with me.
I took Anna in to give Oscar
a taste of fatherhood.
I did Novice, because
I want to have a baby with him.
And I asked you
to take this photograph,
because-- because
I wanna make him jealous,
so he finally comes around.
Do you get it now?
All this
to have a baby with him?
It has nothing to do with you.
And you think
you're the sort of woman
he'd want to have a child with?
Fuck off, father of the year.
I feel like such a fool.
[knocking on door]
-Thought I'd save you the trip.
-Let me take that.
Thanks. Thank you.
That's very kind, thanks.
Come in. Come in.
[sandpaper scraping]
Something I wanted you to see.
[ominous instrumental playing]
I forgot
how a 30-year-old's skin feels.
So tightly stretched
over his muscular flesh.
-Unnecessary.
-Just thinking about it,
with his potential
to earn resources,
he'd make a great father.
He could teach our child,
or even children,
to lead successful lives.
-Unnecessary!
-What's the matter?
You did everything
you wanted, didn't you?
No regrets.
This is what you wanted.
To live an average life.
Not to set the bar too high,
to avoid the disappointment
of failure,
-drown those dreams
in excuses...
-Unnecessary!
...and not accept second chances
because what reason,
what excuse
could you possibly come up with
to justify being average
the second time around?
Unnecessary!
That is what you want, isn't it?
To breathe your last breath
as a self-justified failure.
Unnecessary.
There you are.
Unnecessary.
[furniture clattering]
[eerie melody building]
[furniture clattering]
[door slams shut]
[birds chirping]
Sometimes I think
I might be a horrible person.
Said the pretty lady
to the dirty old man.
[both laugh]
I'll tell you something.
Let's go home.
[Robyn inhales deeply]
Okay.
-[kisses]
-Mm.
[slow eerie music plays]
[]
I finished my book.
Oh.
How did you end it?
With her leaving.
[Oscar chuckling]
[Robyn]
You sure I can't take you?
I want to take the bus.
And I'm taking these after all.
If it gets weird
at Jane's house,
you come back here.
Promise me?
Mm-hmm.
[Oscar chuckles]
[Oscar sighs]
[Anna chuckles]
[tin foil rustling]
[Anna chuckles] It's pretty.
It's pretty beautiful.
It's my birthday coming up soon
and I wondered
if you'd come back
and do a show for us.
Paid for, of course.
You want me to sing
at your birthday?
Well, if I can afford it.
[both chuckling]
You'll be all right.
Yeah?
-See?
-Mm-hmm.
It's not shaking anymore.
-Thanks.
-You got it?
Yeah.
Thank you for everything.
[Oscar chuckles]
[]
So you like her music now?
Well, how else are we gonna
get her to come and see us?
You know the old
have to bribe the young
to get them to come and visit.
-[laughs]
-Everybody knows that.
[both chuckling]
I, um...
I feel that it's not finished.
That it isn't done.
Since when do you have such
a strong opinion on my work?
[Oscar chuckles] Oh, no.
Well, I love the idea that we're
all addicts addicted to time,
that Noviceterians
will constantly need
to redefine their meaning.
But, Robyn, darling,
it doesn't tell me
how you feel about it.
Hmm.
Fancy a cup of tea?
[Oscar chuckles] Okay.
The last time
That I held for you
I came over to your house
And we got drunk
On your bed
I knew it was the last time
We'd be making love
Before you left me
Alone in your head
I remember
When I fell for you
I was 15, early 2000
Full of innocence
Always close to the mend
And now I just
Call you a friend
Can I get high on you?
Drown in all your oceans
Can I get high on you?
Give me
The double dose emotions
Can I get high on you?
High on you
Be your little psycho
The last time
The last time
That I held for you
I was overdosing
On your tears
While you were drinking wine
I'm glad I was your muse
Even if it lasted
For a little while
It came to my attention
I was looking for myself
Oscar! What happened, Oscar?
I-- I'll get the car.
You held on too tight
Thank God the rope broke
And I didn't see it through
[gravel crunching]
Can I get high on you?
Give me
The double dose emotions
Can I get high on you?
[indistinct whispering]
[Robyn] Stay with me, okay?
Okay, I've got you.
[panting] Okay.
Like sinking sand
[Oscar groaning]
You held my hand
You filled my brain
With gold and silver
[Robyn] Help me!
Help me! Please, help me!
Help me! He's in here.
Help me get high on you
High on you
Be your little psycho
[rattling]
[hospital din]
-[Jim] Hi.
-Hi.
[Jim sighs]
I, um-- I finished it
in one sitting.
It's--
it's magnificent.
And don't think I'm being biased
when I say it's your best work.
It's not finished yet.
[doctor] Miss?
Are you here for Oscar Smith?
[Jim] This is Elizabeth,
Oscar's niece.
Elizabeth,
I regret to inform you that
the cancer has spread
from the pancreas.
Cancer?
[doctor] You didn't know?
Well, the important thing
is that he's comfortable.
Comfortable?
What are you saying, Doctor?
[doctor]
I wish I had better news.
He is stable now,
but he doesn't have long.
[sobbing softly]
You can see him.
Doctor, you don't understand
that I did this to him.
-I did this.
-[doctor] It's completely
normal to feel responsible--
No, no, no, no, no.
This is my fault.
Thank you, Doctor.
I've got this. Thank you.
-I gave him Novice, Jim.
-Shh!
I gave him Novice.
[sighs]
All right, listen. [sighs]
This is very serious.
If you say anything now,
you could go to prison.
That means no more Novice,
no more
endless possibilities, nothing.
How are you thinking of Novice
now when he's dying, Jim?
-He's dying of cancer.
-That Novice accelerated.
[Jim] No.
[Robyn sobbing]
[hyperventilating]
I am so selfish, Jim.
-Stop this.
-I did this to him.
-I'm so selfish.
-Stop this.
Listen, Robyn. Robyn, listen.
Please, stop this. Stop it.
You knew that you would
have to say goodbye
to everyone you loved
the moment
you took that formula.
Not to Oscar.
Not to Oscar.
I can-- I can--
I need Oscar because...
he is everything that I lack.
No, no, no.
I don't think we should see
each other again, Jim.
[sobs] I'm sorry.
You and me, we just--
we would bring out
the worst in each other.
[somber music plays]
[rhythmic beeping]
You were right.
I'm not done with it yet.
"You may find
in Novice your forever.
The mirage of the solution
to your regret."
See?
[Jane gasps]
"But as new life enters,
what you think, how you feel,
who you are still flows out."
You're a painting now.
That's how I see you.
Thank you.
[music swells]
"And so the world
does not need Novice
for you to become immortal."
[Robyn panting]
"Just the sharing of your love
blossoming in a lover.
That is the path
my Oscar chose to take.
His infinite life
found in his love for me,
his love I will one day
share with another.
My Oscar.
The only human I knew
that walked the path
to no regret."
It's beautiful, Robyn.
It's beautiful.
And it's true.
I'm pregnant, Oscar.
Oh.
Oh, wonderful.
-Really?
-And you know what
our first trip is going to be?
[chuckles]
I trust his father approves.
[chuckles]
Why didn't you tell me
about the cancer?
Well,
I didn't want you to know
because if you knew,
you would have stopped
taking Novice.
I would have stopped
taking Novice,
but you would have
still been alive.
Alive with cancer, Robyn.
Cancer.
The quicker the better.
I'm so sorry, Oscar.
What for?
What for? For wanting me
in your life forever?
No, that's the most
wonderful thing
anyone has ever wanted from me.
-[Robyn chuckles]
-Thank you.
[sniffling] How am I gonna
do this without you?
Oh, you've always done it
without me.
And to be a mother?
[Oscar chuckles]
Oh, are you kidding?
Nobody knows how to do that.
[Robyn chuckles]
[Oscar sighs]
[ominous orchestral music plays]
[Oscar sighs]
[baby giggling]
[toddler giggling]
[teenager giggling]
[]
[]
["Dreaming Again"
by Anna Wolf plays]
As the sky falls down
I bondage myself
Upside down here I go again
Playing pretend
As the snow falls down
I bondage myself
Upside down
I take a deep breath
My fears are right again
We're climbing
over mountains
Broke off all the trees
Stood on the ledge
Took one step back
And looked inside of me
We're finding
All the diamonds
Swam all the seas
Stood on the ledge
And took one step back
And found me
And the choir goes
[]
My days are young
In time I will see
Dreaming again
[]
[soft piano melody plays]
[soft orchestral music plays]
[music ends]