Lollipop (2024) Movie Script
This call is from a person currently
in a prison in England.
If you do not wish to accept this
call, please hang up now.
BEEP
It's just a few more sleepovers,
and then I'm coming to pick you up,
babies, OK?
What, we're allowed to come
home with you, Mum? Of course.
I'm coming to get you as soon
as they let me out of those gates.
And then I'm going to squeeze you,
and I'm never, ever, ever,
ever going to let you go.
I'm squeezing the phone, Mummy.
Are you?
Yeah, I'm squeezing it!
They're making us go back in,
babies.
I'm going to see you in three days,
OK?
I love you. Love you, Mummy.
BEEP
This film contains
very strong language.
MUSIC ON SPEAKERS: Esta Noche
by Dvi$hi
Banger. Innit.
What can I do for you?
Can I get a 10 top-up?
Yeah, of course.
Sorry - do you mind
if I charge my phone quickly?
Yeah, of course, babe.
Just round the corner.
Just there. OK. Yeah.
RINGING TONE
Oh, hello. Hi. Um, I don't know
if I'm through to the right place.
My name is Molly Brown.
Uh, hi, Molly.
What can I help you with?
Well, yeah,
my children were put in, um...
..in with you a couple of months
ago.
OK. Yeah, I'll just look
in the system and, uh,
we'll get you
an appointment sorted, OK?
Yeah, but is Ruth there?
Cos she just said to call when
I get out,
so can I just come pick 'em up now?
Ah, so you're going to need to make
an appointment
with your social worker.
An appointment?
What...?
SHE SCOFFS
What do I need an appointment for?
SIREN WAILS
VIDEO: Mum, please sing it with us.
I'll only do it if you do it with
me.
Yeah. OK, fine. Are you ready? Yeah.
ALL: # Amazing grace
# How sweet the sound... #
METALLIC RATTLING, LAUGHTER
KEYS JANGLE
SHE BREATHES HEAVILY
NEARBY LAUGHTER
NEARBY SHOUTING
Hello, madam.
How can I help you today?
I just want to see someone.
What's it regarding? Molly?
Oh, my God.
I can't believe it's you.
Hi!
How are you? Yeah.
I'm good, I'm good.
How are you? What's happening?
Are you going away?
Camping. Oh, that is not for me.
MOLLY LAUGHS
No! Clearly!
MOLLY LAUGHS EXAGGERATEDLY
Nice to see you.
How's Habib? Like, I've not seen you
since your wedding.
Oh, yeah. Habib's fine. Um...
He's good. Um...
You know what, Molly? Like,
I know we've not spoken
for such a long time,
and I know, like, life can get
in the way as well.
I really missed you, though.
I've missed you.
Can I have a hug?
You and your hugs...
Mya. Come. Mya? Hello!
After Mya.
Yeah, music got us through it, man,
didn't it?
Mya, this is Molly.
We used to be friends at college.
I stayed with her mum
for a little bit
when I couldn't stay at home.
Oh, my days, you were pregnant
last time I saw you.
Yeah.
Yeah, Ava's just turned 11 now.
And I've got a little boy, Leo.
He's five.
Congrats, Molly.
How's your mum?
Yeah, same old.
The job that she got me as a carer?
Well, now I'm doing a nursing
apprenticeship there as well.
I'm really grateful to her.
You can have her.
You can fucking have her.
Let me get your number,
and then we can get the kids,
meet up with the kids.
Yeah, yeah. There you go. I've, um,
I've got a lot going on next couple
of weeks, but after then just...
Yeah!
You all right? Hi.
What's your current
living situation?
Have you got a piece of
paper I can borrow?
Yeah. What for? Um...
I did have a home.
I was only away for four months,
but they made me give it up.
So, what happens now?
So, what, you're staying in
a tent now?
SHE SIGHS
God, I don't know how
you could do that.
Do what?
Just be away from your kids
for that long.
Right, so that means
you made yourself
intentionally homeless, then.
What's that mean?
Well, you went to prison,
and in doing so,
made yourself
intentionally homeless,
so I'm going to need to see some ID
for your homeless application.
It's at my mum's. We ain't talking.
Looks like you're going
to have to go there.
I'm going to be late.
I'm going to miss it.
AMINA SPEAKS SOMALI
Hiya.
MYA: Our car won't start.
What do you mean, like...?
What? Our car won't start.
We've tried for so long,
but it just won't budge.
Who's your mum on the phone to?
It's Dad, but he's busy.
I can take her, Amina.
It's all right, Molly.
It's fine.
SHE SPEAKS SOMALI
Do you want to go to the park? Yeah?
Mina? Mina? Look,
I can just take her to the park,
and then I can drop her off
at yours after.
You still at the same place with
Habib, yeah?
Nah, Molly, just leave it, please.
Honestly, I do it as a job.
Like, it's not a problem at all.
Go, you can't miss your exam.
SHE SPEAKS SOMALI
What time is her thing?
AMINA INHALES DEEPLY
You look like you're about to cry.
Mina. What, Molly?
Molly, wait.
I'm sorry.
What is it?
We live in a hostel, Molly...
..for homeless families.
Right, well, listen, Mina,
I don't care about all that,
so give me your keys.
Are you sure? Yeah.
OK. Mya,
you're going with Auntie Molly,
darling.
INFANT CRIES
JERKING LOCK
DOOR OPENS
MUFFLED SHOUTING, CRYING
Aw, I love this.
It's so cute.
"There's no way to be
a perfect mother,
"and a million ways
to be a good one."
Did you make all this together?
Yeah. Yeah?
Trying to see
if there's any photos of your dad.
He still got that big belly on him?
No photos of your dad?
OK.
Right, have you got any homework?
No.
Come on, I'll help you.
More street smart than book smart.
Same. Oh, are you? OK...
Like your pen.
It's a gift from my mum,
to wish me luck on my first day.
This is us. Yeah. OK.
This is Leo's nursery assistant.
Hi, Molly.
And you'll recognise
your probation officer.
Sorry, hi. Um...
And that's the children's
foster carer, Sheila.
Hi, Molly.
Good to see you, darling.
And here's Ava's teacher.
What's going on? I thought...
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um...
Take a seat, please.
Where are my kids?
We've just got
to iron a few things out first.
Where are my kids?
We're going to get it sorted.
Molly, please take a seat.
Where are they?
It's OK. Please, just take a seat.
Yeah, there's, um, probably a few
forms to sign first, ain't there?
That's what Ruth said. Where's Ruth?
Ruth's been signed off work
for a bit, unfortunately,
but I've read your file,
so I'm all up to speed.
I know how frightening
all this can be.
Frightening?
This isn't frightening, is it?
Oh, God. No, sorry.
Um, now we're here to review
Ava and Leo's progress
under a section 20.
Sorry, what are you...?
What are you talking about?
Look, um, get Ruth on the phone,
will you?
I just signed a bit of paper to say
you lot could look after 'em
for a bit.
The family agreement you made
with your mum didn't work out.
Wh...? What are you on about?
Why am I in a meeting
with all of you lot?
What's going on with my children?
They're coming home with me,
and that's the end of it.
We hope so too, Molly.
But you do need somewhere
to live first.
Mum? Yeah?
Where's my passport and that?
Don't know. Your boxes are upstairs.
MUSIC PLAYS ON SPEAKERS
Thanks for coming.
Yeah, great man.
Rodney.
Cheers for Rodney.
SHE CHUCKLES
Rodney would have loved this.
I wish he was here.
Oh, he would have loved this.
To Rodney. Cheers.
Bless him, eh?
Are you going to sing a little song,
Lollipop?
You've got a lovely voice.
You're going to sing a song
for your mum.
I am not singing.
Mum? Oh, don't be
so difficult all the time.
I'm not being difficult,
I just don't...
All right.
Sing a little song for Rodney.
I'm not singing.
My daughter's going to sing for you.
We're going to have a little song
for my Rodney.
Should we introduce her?
We've got Molly.
Here we go, Molly.
She's good, you know. You wait.
Oh, I love a sing-song.
Do it like...like you did
when you was little.
For my Rodney.
Come on, Molly.
# Amazing grace... #
Yeah, come on.
# How sweet the sound... #
Yeah, you're better than that.
Come on.
# That saved a wretch... #
There we go.
# Like me
TUNELESSLY: # Like me...
# I once was lost... #
She's wonderful, ain't she?
# But now I'm found
# Was blind but now I see. #
That's it, go on, one more verse.
# T'was grace that taught
# My heart to fear
# And grace my fears... #
Can you hear that?
Can you hear that?
# ..relieved... #
Go on, Lollipop.
# How precious did that grace appear
# The hour I first believed. #
That's it. Thank you, Lollipop.
Give her a round of applause again.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Thank you. Well done!
My daughter!
TRAY CLATTERS
All right!
CHAIR SCRAPES
I only had two glasses
of wine last night,
and a glass of brandy.
Mm, I don't remember the rest.
Oh, mind you, I did eat
loads of gherkins, though.
It must have been them, eh?
I know you don't like me very
much at the moment, Lollipop.
I didn't do it on purpose,
you know?
I love them kids more than anything.
It was a really hard time
for my Rodney.
His dementia got
really bad whilst...
Well, you know, when you was away.
Weren't easy for me.
I had all your house to pack up.
I had to put it all in boxes,
all on my own.
Your kids were playing up
because they was missing you.
I was really stressed, darling.
And you're thinking I put Rodney
before the kids.
Don't I know?
I can't even go out no more.
I feel like they're all talking
about me,
and I know what they're saying.
"Oh, she's a bad mother, that one."
We've taken everything
into consideration,
and we believe it's in the best
interest of the children
to keep them in foster care...
SHE PUFFS
..for now. You're...?
We want to ensure they face
as little disruption as possible.
You're the fucking one
disrupting them, for f...
Oh, my God.
They need to have
somewhere suitable to live,
which we think is fair.
You think it's fair?
You think it's fair?
You're... You're telling me, right,
I can't look after my children
because I've got no money,
and then you're going to go
and pay someone else
to look after 'em for me.
So, riddle me that one.
You'll have visitation. Visitation?
In a contact centre,
two hours, twice a week.
These are my children.
They're my children.
If all goes well, we can look
at supervised contact
in the community
with an activity of your choice.
Am I being tested?
Is this what's going on?
Surely you understand.
We can't send them home with you
if you don't have a home to go to.
Mum, I've missed you so much.
Where's Leo?
He's had to stay behind
with his foster carer for now.
He's got an appointment
that he's had to attend.
Why? What appointment? What
appointment? What's wrong with him?
It's for a health care assessment.
A health care...?
A health care assessment...
It's been postponed twice now.
..in my time. In my time?
It's nothing personal.
I will try and get him here later,
but unfortunately,
he's had to go today.
So you chose now?
Why have you...? Mum...
Why have you done that?
I've not done it personally.
Fucking hell...
It's nothing that I've done
personally. Eh?
I'm going to try everything
in my power
to get him here on this visit today.
Today? Yeah? Definitely.
What's your name?
My name's Aisha.
Thank you. No worries.
I can't... Ah. Hello.
Hello. Hello. Hello.
You're important. You're amazing.
So are you.
You are beautiful. So are you.
AVA GIGGLES
Oh, look at you,
I can't wait to squeeze you!
You OK?
Shall we sit down?
I've got some things to show you.
Really? Yeah. OK, come on, then.
WHISPERING: Weird, eh?
AVA GIGGLES
Got you some bits. Are you thirsty?
Are you hungry? Um...
I have eaten and drunken
before this.
Have you? Yeah.
Ready? Close your eyes.
Close your eyes. Close your eyes.
How did you know?
This is my favourite!
How did I know?
Oh, look, I've got
these for Leo.
MOLLY SQUEALS
How cute are they?
I mean, they're not brand-new,
but, like...
Mum, you do realise he wants
to be a vet now?
Oh. I'm sure he'll still
like the tap shoes.
He wants to be a vet?
Yeah, but they're still really nice.
When did he want to be a vet?
I'll get him to do
routines in them,
and then we can show you
when we come to yours.
Yeah, we can do...
Yeah, that would be great.
Should we put these back
in there, then?
Yeah, you can pop them back in
and then make sure that you take
them all with you, yeah? Mm-hm.
Do you have to do that right now?
Just a few notes, Molly.
Just need to let Tamara know
how you got on today.
Mum?
Mum...
Look at me!
Look at me.
MOLLY SNORTS, AVA LAUGHS
Mum, am I coming home
with you today?
Uh... Please say yeah.
Just a few more sleepovers.
I really want to see your house
and... OUR house.
And I am sorting all of that out,
yeah?
I promise. OK. Do you trust me?
Of course I do.
I'm not doing anything else.
Promise?
OK.
LEO: Mum!
SHEILA: Hi, Molly. Hi, baby. Hi.
Oh, no, Molly, we've got to go.
Say a quick hello.
We've got to get going.
He's got his tap dancing
in five minutes.
We're running late.
I'm really sorry.
AISHA: Molly,
you've done so well today, come on.
You can't...
No, no, no, you can't do that.
You can't just turn
up with him like that.
Trust me, I'll book
another appointment.
You can't do this, Molly.
No, no, come on. Molly,
you've had such a good afternoon.
Don't ruin it for yourself.
Hi, Ava.
Hi, Sheila.
Just give me the biggest cuddle
in the world!
I love you, I love you.
LEO: I love you, too, Mumma.
Molly, come on now.
Please, just give me a
minute with him, yeah?
Just give me one minute with him.
I won't take him out of the car,
I won't...
I'm not going to take him
out of the car, OK?
All right.
Are you going to go to tap dancing,
baby?
Leo, let me get your belt back on.
LEO WHINES
Don't cry, baby. It's OK.
Ava, please stop.
Baby, baby, baby...
Leo, come on.
OK, look, I'm going to go, baby.
No, Mum...
SCREAMING: No!
I'm going to go.
This isn't helping the situation.
Mum, no!
SHEILA: Good boy, good boy.
Mummy, no...
That's it, Ava, just pop it in.
I love you. I'm going to go.
Let go of me, baby.
Let go of me. OK, let go.
Oh, my God, I can't...
OK, let me go... Leo, let go of Mum.
All right,
I'm going to shut the door now.
Bye, Molly. I'm going to shut the
door, I'm going to shut the door!
Mum! I'm going to shut the door.
Mum! OK. Don't cry, baby.
It's OK. It's OK.
It's OK.
LEO SOBS AND WHINES
HE SNIFFLES
Mummy, please...
Bye, Molly. See you soon.
OK. Wave bye-bye to Mummy.
Bye-bye, Mummy!
HE SOBS
I'm so sorry.
When you make your application
without your children,
you're classed as a single woman,
and only entitled
to a one-bedroom flat.
Yeah, b...
What am I meant to do, then?
Cos they're saying I can't get...
Right, they're saying I can't
get my children back, yeah,
until I have somewhere to live,
and now you're saying I can't
get somewhere to live
unless I have my children, so...
What I'm saying is you're eligible
for a one-bedroom flat.
There's nothing else
I can do for you, I'm sorry.
But I know...
You need to...
You NEED to do more for me.
You need to do more for me,
because I don't know
what else I'm going to do.
I'm sorry...
I really...
I really need you to help me, OK?
I understand...
Cos I can't... No, no, no.
They're saying
I can't get my children back
unless I have somewhere to live,
so I need you to help me, OK?
I understand you're upset...
No, you... You really don't.
..but there's nothing
I can do more for you.
It's either you have to just keep
trying and keep pushing,
or you take this.
Fucking where?
Fucking where?! Push where?!
No, it's not. It's not long at all.
AVA: But you said we'll be
home with you by now.
Yeah, yeah,
I know I said that. I did.
And it's not going to be long now.
LEO:
Did you not really mean it, Mummy?
Of course I meant it, baby.
Look,
I'm trying as hard as I can, OK?
And I promise you,
I'm going to see you very soon.
I'm going to give you both a big
squeeze.
Getting anything?
No.
What are you doing here?
I just want to ask you
something real quick.
Oh, yeah, what? Well,
they've said I can take
the kids to the park...
Mm-hm.
..and I need you to come with me.
What?
You know I don't like going out,
darling.
You know they're all talking
about me out there.
Yeah, I just, um...
I just need to show them
we're, like, a normal family.
We're not a normal family, darling.
That's all I fucking need, innit?
The neighbours seeing me
out with the social.
TV SHOW HOST: Oh, incorrect!
AUDIENCE GROANS
I'm not asking for me.
I'm asking for them, OK?
Can you please take them to
the park with me?
For fuck's sake.
Please, Mum.
What are you starting for?
I'm not starting.
Oh, don't start on me now, Lollipop.
I'm not starting, Mum.
I'm asking you,
just be normal with me
for an hour, two...
Just stop going on.
Can you just stop it?
There's Mum! Mum! Mum!
Come here!
LEO SQUEALS
Wow!
Hello, kids. Hello!
Got a hug for Nanny?
Oh, it's good to see you.
Why you got your sunglasses on,
Nanny?
Oh, I'm going to be over there a
little while. I'll tell you why.
Do you know why?
She's in disguise. Ooh! I know!
Mum, can we go on the swing?
Yeah, let's go. No, but it's wet.
Where's Aisha? Smear test.
Right, so who are you?
Nina.
Can we get on? Get on, get on.
Do you want me to push you?
Yeah! Yeah? Spin us!
Spin? You want to...? No, no, no!
SHE ROARS, THEY LAUGH
Rargh! Go faster!
DOGS BARK IN DISTANCE
There's a dog behind you.
Is there a dog?
DOG BARKS, KIDS YELP
Can you get your dog away?
I'm sorry... Move your dog away.
Are you stupid?
Get the dog away!
LEO SHRIEKS: Mum!
He doesn't normally do that.
NINA: OK, Leo? All right, darling?
You OK?
It's all right. Don't look at the
dog. Look at me. Are you OK?
LEO GRUMBLES
You're not scared of dogs.
What is it?
Look at me. What is it? What's
wrong?
When we'd come to you,
he was scared of the sniffer dogs.
Hey, do you trust me?
Never, ever, ever, ever
let anything happen to you, OK?
Yeah?
Excuse me. Can...can you wait...?
Can you wait until we're done?
Don't...don't ignore me.
You're really putting him off.
You can see that. Sorry.
It's not normal, is it?
I'm just doing my job.
I don't care...
She's writing it all down, Lollipop.
Is she? Is she writing it all down?
Can you wait until...? Like,
literally. I've just...
I've just started seeing my
children, yeah?
I've told you to stop fucking
writing them down. Mum...
I wouldn't speak to me like
that if I were you.
And I'd get some manners
if I was you, darling.
Don't swear in front of Leo.
Right, time to go, please.
Oh, come on, you can't do that.
Is that...is that it, yeah?
We just got here.
Cos I spoke to you like that? Yeah!
Come on, get your bags.
They've literally just got here.
I know, but I really need
to use the loo,
and it looks like it's
going to rain as well.
This is a fucking joke.
You're doing this on purpose.
You've literally just
brought them here,
and you're taking them away.
I know, but look...
I don't care about the fucking rain!
OK, you need to calm down.
Don't take...
Please don't take...
You need to calm down.
Mum? You sit. Sit there.
Sit on there.
Both of you sit.
They're not going anywhere.
They are not going anywhere.
OK... No.
Look, I'm really sorry,
but we've got to go. No!
Get your bags, please. No!
You can't make me go.
Mum, do something, please.
Can they not stay
at my mum's tonight?
It's not up to me.
You have to speak
to your social worker.
How many rooms is it?
Two bedroom. Yeah, that'd be
considered overcrowding.
Five more minutes! No...
Leo, get your bags. Five minutes.
Five minutes.
Please, I don't
want to keep repeating myself.
I need to go. I don't want
to stay at Sheila's,
I want to stay with Mum.
I really don't want to have
to do this,
but I really need to use the toilet.
Come on.
Use the toilet at my house.
It's only there.
I'm not allowed.
What do you mean, "not allowed"?
Not while I'm working.
You're not allowed to go
to the toilet while you're working?
That's a bit silly. I know.
Can't you just use Nan's toilet?
Just don't move. OK.
You don't move.
Come on, kids, just grab your bags.
No.
Come on. Mummy, I don't want to go.
Grab your bag, please.
I don't want to stay with Sheila!
It's only there, what's the matter
with you? You can't make us go.
LEO: Just five more minutes!
THUNDER RUMBLES
How far is it? Round the corner.
All right, five more minutes,
all right? OK.
Sheila'll be waiting. Oh, yeah.
Can't be late for Sheila.
No, come...
Can we play on the swing
for the last five minutes?
Yeah, yeah, you stay on the swing.
Mum, come back! Stay on the swing.
Come...
Mum. Mum!
Come here. LEO: Not round! OK.
OK... Up and down.
Leo? Hey, come here. Come here.
Do you want to play a game?
Yeah. Yeah?
Let's play a game. OK, I need you
to play hide-and-seek.
We're going to be really quiet
and really quick, OK?
How quick can you get your bag?
In five, in four...
Get your bag. What are you doing?
Hurry up and get your bag.
No. No, please.
We're going, OK?
I'm not having these people
controlling my life any more. Where?
I don't know, I'll figure it out,
OK?
You can't do this.
Yes, I can. I'm your mum.
You can trust me.
But what about money?
You don't need to worry about that.
But I do need to worry about that.
Don't argue with me!
You are coming...
Why are you raising your voice at
me? Come on. Now. Let's go.
I can't believe I'm doing this.
Ava! My bag!
Quick, get his bag.
Move, Ava, run.
I've got 200 quid I was saving
for emergencies
until I work out the rest, OK?
Hold on. Hold on to me. Hold on.
Gran says you've got a tent.
You've got a tent?
Go, go, go!
OK, OK.
Stop, stop, stop, stop.
Hold this, hold this, hold this.
Come here, come here.
OK. OK.
SHE PANTS
Give me your phone. My phone?
Yep, give me your phone.
Can I play a bit on
the phone while you...?
You can't play on
the phone just yet, baby.
Mummy, I don't want to go.
Ava, you are getting on that bus.
But I don't want you
to go back there again.
Ava, don't play me up, OK?
I mean it, and not in front
of your brother either.
Baby...
I don't want you to go. OK, listen.
Leo, look at me. I'm just going
to be over there, OK?
Sing Twinkle, Twinkle
for me really loudly.
OK, baby? Can you do that?
# Twinkle, twinkle, little star... #
OK, good boy.
# How I wonder what you are... #
We're going to be fine, OK?
It's going to be absolute... Don't.
Don't you cry.
Don't cry, Ava.
LEO CONTINUES SINGING
TEARFULLY:
I don't want you to get in trouble.
I'm not. I won't. OK?
I don't want you to go there.
I'm not. I'm not going anywhere.
Look at me. Look at me.
They're going to forget all about
us,
and it's just going to be us three,
yeah?
OK, do you promise me?
I promise you.
I promise you.
Are we getting on that bus?
Yeah. Do you trust me?
Of course I do. I love you, Mummy.
I love you. I love you always.
AVA SOBS
# Twinkle, twinkle, little star... #
OK. You going to get on
this bus with me?
Yeah. Yeah?
# How I wonder what you are. #
Come on, good girl.
OK. Good boy. Hello.
Go on. Thank you. Thank you.
CHATTER AND LAUGHTER
SHE SNIFFS
SHE BREATHES SHAKILY
KITE SCREECHES
Hey. Morning. Morning.
THEY SCREAM HAPPILY
Come back here!
LEO AND AVA LAUGH
Whoo-oo!
Ah-oo!
Wah!
Ah-ouw!
LEO SCREAMS
LEO GIGGLES
KITE SCREECHES, ALL SCREECH BACK
MOLLY SNORTS
THEY LAUGH
Look, there's mushrooms. Where?
There.
MOLLY AND LEO GASP
Wow! Did you know that fairies
live in those?
Do you think you might be able
to see any from over here, Ava?
Look at it. You can see, like,
the trees and stuff over there.
Oh, that's beautiful. Isn't it?
Mum, put me down. Want to get down?
I found something.
What have you found?
Uh-oh. Elephant's scared.
Elephants apparently
are scared of mice.
Let's watch.
Oh! It's adorable.
Mum? Mm? Is it true that
when you're a vet,
you have to stick your hand
up a cow's bum?
AVA GIGGLES
Hand up a cow's bum? Yeah. What?
I told him that if he
wants to be a vet,
he has to stick his
hand up a cow's bum.
THEY GIGGLE
Will I, then, Mum? Have to?
Um...
If you want to be a vet...
Yeah, yeah, probably,
you would have to do that.
Told you, you'll have to do it.
Do you not want to be a vet
any more, then?
Mm, I think I want to be a
tap dancer instead.
Yeah. You'd be the world's
best tap dancer. Mm.
WHISPERING: I'm sorry.
What are you sorry for?
Mum said that she's sorry.
You don't need to be sorry.
What are you sorry for, Mum?
Everything.
We're going to get some sleep now,
OK? OK.
OK. OK.
Ava, give me your hand.
Do you want one?
No, it's all for you, baby, OK?
Do you want one, Leo? Yes, please.
Eat them all up.
Take one. All of them? No, just one.
Good boy. You're welcome.
Hey, vegetables tomorrow.
Oh, come on! Yeah.
Don't give me that face.
Fine!
Have you got any homework?
I'm going back to school?
Of course you are.
First in our family to go to
university, aren't you?
What about tap dancing classes?
We can do those as well.
Tell you what,
we can go to brand-new schools,
really good ones,
and we're going to start anew.
Yeah? OK.
Listen, if I had the opportunity to
do that when I was your age,
I would have absolutely jumped at
it.
No-one needs to know anything
about us,
and we can just start again,
can't we?
What about my friends?
Ava, you're going to make
so many new friends,
OK? There's no need to worry about
that. They're going to love you.
But they won't even
know my real name,
and I don't even have my phone.
Why have you got to be
so negative all the time?
Just, please, eat your chips.
Why don't we look in that shop and
find something fun to wear tonight?
Excuse me. That's not for you, is
it?
MC: Thanks, Terry,
for that very emotional rendition
of I Will Always Love You.
CHEERING
Thought you might need it.
What is that face for?
What have you done?
Can I have Ada, Lionel and...
Oh, no. ..to the stage, please!
Come on, Mum! Please, please, Mum!
No! Come on!
No! Come on, Mum!
OK. OK, OK, I'm getting up. OK.
SHE PUFFS NERVOUSLY
OK.
APPLAUSE, MUSIC PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS
MOLLY EXHALES NERVOUSLY
MUSIC STOPS, CROWD HUSHES
Let me do it, baby.
MICROPHONE FEEDBACK
MUSIC: I Only Want To Be With You
ALL:
# I don't know what it is
that makes me love you so
# I only know
I'll never, ever let you go
# Cos you started something
Now, can't you see
# That ever since we met
you've had a hold on me?
# It happens to be true
# I only want to be with you
# It doesn't matter where you go
or what you do
# I wanna spend each moment
of the day with you
# Well, look what has happened
with just one kiss
# I never knew that I could be
in love like this
# It's crazy, but it's true
# I only want to be with you
# You stopped and smiled
at me and asked if I care to dance
# I fell into your open arms
and I didn't stand a chance
# Now, listen, honey
# I just want to be beside
you everywhere
# As long as we're together,
honey, I don't care
# Cos you started something
Oh, can't you see
# That ever since we met
you've had a hold on me?
# No matter what you do
# I only want to be with you. #
Ring-a-ding-ding.
Is that your banana phone ringing?
Ring, ring, ring.
It's your banana phone.
Oh, it's my banana phone!
Yeah! Hang on.
Hello? Hello, it's Leo.
Oh, is it Leo? Hi, there.
Hiya, Mom! Hey, Mum. What's up?
Hello, baby.
Got to go to work. Love you. Bye.
Have you got to go to work?
Love you.
I'm going to go to school.
Peace out, Mum!
Peace out! Love ya. Love ya!
Bye-ee!
SHE LAUGHS
Bye-ee!
You want strawberries?
Yes, please. Yeah?
DOOR CHIMES
You want to pick...?
You want to pick some oranges?
I haven't got any of them in the...
OK. Please.
We don't want to make a scene,
Ms Brown.
Please don't make this any more
traumatising than it already is.
No. No, no!
Come on, come on, come on.
Go. Come on.
No! Don't!
SCREAMING: No! No!
Don't touch her!
No! Mum! Please, don't!
Get your hands off of my mum!
Fucking get off me!
Mum! No! Mum, come back!
All right, Molly,
I'm just going to cut straight to
the chase.
You running away with the kids
has not helped your situation.
In fact, it's escalated matters.
You should be grateful
your mum showed us the letter
so we could find you.
Because of the abduction, we believe
that your children are at risk,
and we are now going
to start care proceedings,
which is where a final
determination will be made
by the family courts as to
whether or not
Ava and Leo should
be returned to you,
or whether they should remain
in foster care permanently.
SHE SNIFFS AND WHIMPERS
No...
Molly, I need you to calm down, OK?
I know this is hard,
but behaviour like this is
what is concerning us,
along with the homelessness,
you going to prison,
domestic abuse.
I left Ava's dad way before she
was even born, so...that's bullshit.
OK, but abducting the children,
poor mental health...
Your children are suffering
at the moment.
I've done my time, OK?
You can't... You can't...
You can't punish me
for the rest of my life.
You can't do that. Molly... Molly.
Please, please.
Molly,
we're not trying to punish you.
We are not trying
to punish you at all.
This isn't about you.
This is about your children.
Yeah, I know,
but they want to be with their mum.
And that's what you've got on your
side right now.
Look, you've got six months
until a final determination
will be made by the judge.
You need to get a lawyer, Molly.
It's a tricky system to navigate.
Kicking? Yeah, a lot.
THEY LAUGH
Aw...
All right!
Oh, I thought you were dead.
For fuck's sake, Mum!
Oh, don't... Don't start.
I ain't doing this any more, Mum.
Can't do it.
Sake. What's the matter?
What's the matter?!
What's the matter?!
You hand my children
over to the social,
when you were meant
to fucking look after 'em.
Can you not shout?
Why the fuck would you tell
the police?!
Why would you do that?!
Why would you do that, Mum?!
Look, calm down.
Let's have a little drink.
You want a drink?
Let's have a little drink together.
You want a little drink?
You want a fucking drink?
Let's just have a
nice little drink...
You want a fucking drink?!
It's all right.
Let's have a fucking drink.
Let's have a fucking drink.
Go on, Mum!
Go on. All right. Yeah?
What you come round here
doing this for?
You chose that.
You want to fucking choose that?
Over me and my fucking children?
So drink your fucking drink!
Do you want me to drink it?
Finish the fucking drink, Mum.
Watch me.
There you go. Are you happy now?
Yeah.
Are you happy now? Yeah.
Well, go and fuck off.
I'm in my world, in my house,
with my Rodney, all right?
I didn't tell you to come here,
did I?
MUSIC PLAYS ON SPEAKERS: Misty Blue
by Dorothy Moore
# Oh...
# It's been
Such a long, long time... #
Do you not know what they've done?
# Look like I... #
They're fucking
taking my children because of you!
Cos you went to fucking prison!
So it's all my fault, is it?
Yeah, it's all your fucking fault.
Leave me alone.
# You
# Turns my whole world... #
What are you doing?
# Misty blue. #
What are you doing?
It ain't my fault.
You... How old are you? 12?!
You're not 12 any more!
Lollipop. Get out of my fucking way!
Get out!
Calm down. I need someone
to see me right now.
I can make you an appointment.
I don't want a fucking appointment.
If you're so angry, it ain't...
I want someone to see me right now!
I don't give a fuck.
I want someone to see me right now,
I need someone
to just fucking help me,
cos nobody's fucking helping me,
so I need you to fucking help me.
Do you understand me?
Let me make you an appointment.
You just need to take a seat.
Excuse me, I was here first.
You what? I was here first.
No, you fucking wasn't, darling.
What the fuck do you mean?
You want a fucking go?
Do you want a fucking go?!
Let's go. No, no... Let's go.
You can fuck off right now.
Let's go.
Fucking go!
Right, that's it.
I'm calling the police.
Oh, you don't need
to call the police.
You don't need to call the police.
Don't call the police.
Please don't call the police.
Please don't call the police.
Get off me. Molly? Molly?
What the hell?
Sit down. Oh, my God...
MOLLY WAILS
MOLLY SCREAMS AND CRIES
SHE SCREAMS
SHE SOBS
MOLLY PANTS
What's happened?
MOLLY WHIMPERS
They've taken...my baby...
They haven't, Molly, they can't.
What?
What are you talking about?
What are you talking about?
MOLLY SOBS
Now they're going to...
I'm not going to see my...
Molly, listen to me. Listen to me.
They've taken my babies.
They haven't. They can't.
They have, and it all got too much,
and I feel like shit right now.
I've got fucking nothing.
Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh, fuck...
Molly, they haven't.
Please don't call the police,
I'm so sorry. It's all right.
It's all right.
I'm really fucking...
It's OK. I'm really fucking sorry.
Molly, calm down. Fuck!
Oh, my God... Listen to me. Listen.
Fuck...
WHISPERING: Calm down.
Just breathe.
MOLLY BREATHES SHARPLY AND SHAKILY
Fuck, oh, I need to go...
Listen to me.
Look at me. Calm down.
Just take a breath.
Everything's going to be fine.
Oh, fuck, sorry...
I'm really sorry.
You're OK now.
Bloody forgot now what
I'm in here for, haven't I? Huh?
AMINA LAUGHS
Taking care of you...
MOLLY SOBS
Can we get out of here? Fuck!
Can we get out? Can we leave?
Fuck. Where's my shit? I'm sorry.
It's OK.
Sorry.
Sorry.
Sorry, everyone. I'm really...
I can't do it any more, Mina.
I ain't got it in me.
Listen, Molly.
Let's get up. Come on, sit up.
Give me your hand.
Come here.
I hear what you're saying, babe.
We all feel like that sometimes.
God knows, I've been there
so many times, man.
Now, with Habib leaving...
..losing our home,
being in this place...
Sometimes, Molly,
I feel like giving up too.
I do.
But I don't have
a choice but to fight.
Just have to keep fighting.
And I think to myself, like,
"Fuck it,
"you can take whatever
you want from me.
"You're never going to take my joy."
Women are like lotus flowers.
The thicker the mud, the more
beautiful we grow, babe.
KNOCKING, DOOR OPENS
Hey, Mya. Hi, Hooyo.
Can't do it. I can help you.
Wait, I'll show you a trick, OK?
Get your arms in, yeah?
Fold it down like that.
And then from there...
Right?
OK?
And then you get the bottom...
Then we get the top. Yeah, exactly.
And now you're going to fold it
in the middle this way.
And then you've got that space
there.
Thank you. OK, give it a go.
Let me do... In the middle. Yeah.
In the middle. And then fold.
And then fold it over. Magic.
Do you want to come to our party?
What are you celebrating? Nothing.
So, why you having a party?
We have one every day,
and discos every Friday night.
The best day of the week.
Isn't it, Mum?
Best day of the week!
Give it to me.
THEY LAUGH
Ah, no, it's a bit mad, Molly,
but I try and treat her now
and again.
English breakfast on a Saturday
and self-care on Sundays.
Yeah, we make face masks
with whatever we've got left
in the fridge.
You want to come? Definitely.
PHONE VIBRATES
Hooyo... Yeah? Your phone.
Oh, guys, I'm going to
make a phone call, yeah?
I'll be back in a minute.
DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS
Hi, Kim. Me again.
You know what? This is
getting beyond a joke now...
Who is she on the phone to?
AMINA CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY
It's the woman we used to rent from.
She wouldn't give Mum
her money back.
She calls her every day.
Why doesn't she just go round there?
I think she's scared of our dad.
I need that money...
WHISPERING: Is it a lot of money?
Please call me back
as soon as you get this.
You ain't ready for what me
and Molly are about to throw down!
Me? Molly, we've been practising
since we were 17.
Come on!
MUSIC ON SPEAKERS: Body Groove
by Architechs
Oi! Eyyy!
MOLLY LAUGHS
Come on, Molly,
give it to me right now.
# Architects, baby...
# Are you ready?
# Bring it on
# Ah, ah, ah, ah
Eh, eh
# Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Eh, eh
# Ah, ah
Eh, eh
# Ah, ah, ah
Eh, eh
# Ah-eh
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Gotta make it, gotta let it
Gotta let this body move
# Gotta make it, gotta let it
Gotta let this body groove
# Gotta make it, gotta let it
Gotta make this body move
# Gotta make it, gotta let it
Gotta make this body groove. #
PHONE RINGS AND VIBRATES
Hello? Ava...
KNOCKING AND SHOUTING ON PHONE
What the fuck...?
What the fuck's going on?
Hello, Sheila? Sheila?
What have you...?
Molly? What's wrong with Ava?
Why is she crying like that?
I know I shouldn't be calling you,
but, um...
Ava won't come out of the bathroom,
I don't know what's wrong with her.
What have you done?
What have you done to my child?
What have you done to her?
AVA: I want my mum.
Hello? I've tried everything.
It's really out of character.
I don't know what to do.
Sheila, Sheila,
please, please,
please put Ava on the phone.
Listen, what she needs is
to hear you nice and calm.
I'm calm. She's clearly not,
and you can't... Go away!
Please, please, please put her on
the phone to me. Leave me alone!
Ava, can you hear me?
Move away from the door.
Ava, no, you know you can't have the
phone in there on your own.
Baby, calm down. Mum's here, OK?
Mum!
Sheila, just move away from
the door. What's happened?
Has she done something to you?
Has she done something to you?
Ava, you're going to need
to tell me what's wrong, OK?
Cos I'm getting... I'm getting...
I'm getting very worried.
I'm getting very worried now.
OK? So tell me what's happened.
Mum? There's blood in my knickers,
and I'm really scared.
OK...
OK, OK.
I'm going to come...
I'm going to come round to you, OK?
I'm going to see you. Don't panic.
Please, Mum, I'm fine. Molly,
listen, you can't come round,
that won't be good. Sheila...
..just please step back
for a minute, please, yeah?
Please... Sheila, I don't...
Please do not butt into
my conversation with my child.
Mum, don't come! Step away.
Ava, I'm going to....
You're going to make everything
worse! I'm going to come round.
Please! I'm not going to make it...
Baby, I'm not going to
make it worse.
You need your mum, and I'm going
to make it better, OK?
I know she needs her mum, but
listen, you can't come over.
I've already broken all the rules
by calling you.
I've got some pads, OK?
No, you are not meant to
be sorting this out, I am.
I've got to see to Ava now.
Once I've done that...
Please don't put the phone down.
..I will call you back, promise.
LINE DISCONNECTS
All right, baby, you've
got your special shoes.
Yeah! Yeah.
And you've got your top?
Yeah. All right. Cool.
I'm going to get Leo,
and I'll come back and
get you in an hour. OK.
What do you reckon about...?
What are you doing?
Molly, what are you doing?
Mum! Mum, get out.
Molly, you know
that you can't do this.
Baby, just one minute.
I've got...
I've got you a sparkly case.
It's got pads in it. Molly, you need
to get out of the car immediately.
Get the fuck out!
Ava...
You like to break promises over
and over again.
I'm not breaking a promise...
I'm not. You are.
This is different. This is
different.
This is different. You called me.
I called, and I shouldn't
have called. You called me.
You needed me. You needed me!
I told you not to come and you come.
Is that not breaking a promise?
You promised me.
Can...can you... Can you just go?
I don't even want
to see your face right now.
Ava, don't say that.
Come here. Don't say that.
Don't touch me!
Why, why?
I thought we were supposed
to be a happy family.
We are. But you're n...
You keep on breaking the rules.
I love you,
and I want you to take it, OK?
You never listen to me!
I'm not taking it. Molly, just
leave it and get out the car.
Thank you, Sheila. Please.
I've got to go and get Leo.
Ava, take...
I'm not taking it.
Just leave it and get out the car.
Baby, take it, please.
No, I'm not taking it.
You do it all the time,
and I don't think it's fair.
I'm s... I'm sorry.
No. Don't touch me.
I said don't touch me!
Go.
Please. Don't call 'em. Five.
All right, just go. Four.
OK...
Three.
SHEILA SIGHS
Are you OK? Not in the mood.
No. I don't blame you.
Can we just go get Leo? Yeah.
You don't want to go dance? Nope.
All right, fair enough.
Come on, then.
ALARM BEEPS
CHILDREN SHOUT AND PLAY
Start at the top. Yeah, OK.
Finish at the bottom.
Don't forget the keys.
Enjoy. Goodnight. Goodnight.
LEO: Mummy, I got a wobbly tooth.
Wow, another tooth, baby?
You think the tooth fairy
will know I'm staying at Sheila's?
Will you tell her, Mummy?
Yeah. I'll tell her.
Love you, Mummy.
Oh, baby. Me, too.
More than anything.
Is Ava there? Can I speak to her?
She doesn't want to come to
the phone, Mummy.
She's said to stop asking.
I know she doesn't want to see me,
but just tell her I'm doing
everything I can to make it better.
I love you both so much.
I've got to go play now, Mummy.
Love you.
DOOR OPENS
Morning. Morning.
AMINA SIGHS
How was work?
Fuck night shifts, man.
I'm so tired, Molly.
You hungry? Yeah, I'm starving.
Well, Mya's heating up the injera.
Don't worry, I didn't touch it.
Thank God.
Ah. How are you, though?
You know, Molly, all them social
service meetings you go to,
it's basically like a full-time job,
isn't it?
Now you've got your cleaning.
Are you sure you still have time
to help me with Mya?
Yeah, of course, babe.
You're all I've got.
Not going anywhere.
Molly, you know you should go
and see your mum.
Um, what for? I know it's not easy,
but it hurts more to
hold on to the pain.
You know that, right?
Oh. So, have you spoke to your mum
recently, then?
OK. Thanks, Molly.
Well, yeah, I'm just saying.
SHE LAUGHS, PHONE RINGS
It's my baby's first day
of school today.
LEO: Hi!
Hello! Is that my big boy?
Hello, Mumma.
Ava helped me tie my shoes.
Oh, did she?
I bet you look so handsome. Yeah.
Um, Mum? Hmm?
I really don't want to go. Oh, baby,
you're going to be fine at school,
OK? And you got Ava to look
after you as well.
Say hi to him, Molly? Yeah. Hi, Leo.
Hello. I'm Amina,
and your mum's told me
what a wonderful boy you are.
I know you're going to make lots
of new friends, OK?
OK.
Hi, Leo. Hi! I'm Mya.
I was scared on my first day, too,
but you can eat yummy snacks
and it goes by really fast.
You're amazing, baby. I know.
SHE LAUGHS
I love you!
LEO GIGGLES
That's not how you tickle!
Where have you gone, baby?
Sheila's tickling me
and making me laugh.
Oh, do you like her again?
I really like her, Mummy.
Can I buy her a present?
Yeah, of course you can, baby.
Um, I've got to go now, but I'm...
..I'm...I'm squeezing the phone.
Are you?
Yep!
Love you. Love you, Mummy.
Bye!
Come here. You're going to be fine.
Have you...
Have you said your blessings?
Yes, I have.
Well, do them again, then,
just to be sure. Got it.
I'm going to drop you to court,
then go down the housing office.
They expect you to wait in here for
a year with no fucking information.
I'm working after, so if you could
pick up Mya from judo,
then I'll bring us dinner home, OK?
Yeah.
Listen, I know it all feels like
it's riding on Ava at the moment,
but she'll come round.
Now, listen, Molly, you want
to make this woman your best friend.
She's the guardian who speaks
on behalf of Leo and Ava,
and she has a really big
sway with the judge,
so you want to get her on your side,
right?
Right? Yeah. OK.
Hello.
It's really lovely to meet you.
It's lovely to meet you, too, Molly.
Thank you
for everything you're doing.
I really appreciate it.
You don't need to thank me.
I've met Ava and Leo.
They're lovely.
They're a great testament to you.
Thank you.
I don't know what to say to that.
You're in a bit of a difficult
situation now, Molly.
Has Ava, um...?
Like, what has she said?
Does she want to come home with me?
I'm still in the process
of collecting the children's wishes,
but Ava has said that she does want
her voice to be valued in court.
She's angry with me because
I keep breaking my promises
cos of what's going on, so...
MOLLY SIGHS
I understand how hard it can be,
Molly,
but at some point, you have to take
accountability for your actions.
Yeah, my...
Um, I know.
And I have.
I've been to the appointments.
I've been to every meeting,
all the classes.
Um,
but with, you know,
I tried with therapy,
and the waiting lists are
so long that, you know, I can't
even get an appointment till after
the judge has even made her
decision.
It's difficult, and these things are
happening all the time.
Do you know Ava's decision?
I can't say right now,
but what's important is that we
focus on prioritising the children
and making sure
that we put their future first.
AMINA: Mya, can you take your
uniform off, please, and hang it up?
Mya...
SHE SPEAKS SOMALI
Quickly!
Mya? What did your mum just say?
Take your uniform off
and hang it up now.
Ugh...
Thank you, Molly.
She needs new shoes, you know.
I know.
Look, look at that.
What can I do about it?
Everyone's laughing at me in school
because of those shoes, Hooyo.
Mya, it's character building,
darling.
Mate, it's madness.
You can't have her walking around
with shoes like that
when that woman owes you money.
It's a joke.
I mean, who is she?
Where does she live?
Her name's Kim Davis.
Is this her?
Yes, that is her.
Let's have a look. Let me see.
That's her, with her shopping bags.
She's got coffee
and a pain au chocolat.
She's so rude.
She's always telling
me she ain't got no money.
She's taking the piss.
Fuck it, Molly,
I'm going round there.
On your own?
No, you're coming with me.
Just like the old days, Molly.
Me and you against the world.
Come on. Mina, I've...
I've got too much to lose.
You know that. I can't do... I
can't.
AMINA SIGHS
No, you're right.
Should have fucking done it sooner,
man.
She's living it large,
having her best life.
And I'm stuck here, Molly.
I can't even buy Mya shoes.
No, that's it. Fuck that bitch.
Mina, Mina... Wait.
Look, what are you going to do
if it kicks off?
Seriously? Well, I haven't
thought about that yet,
but I'm going to fucking go
and get my money.
Mina... That's it, I've had enough.
I can't take any more of this.
Mina, please don't go.
She'll come back.
I know she will.
Dear God, please help me.
SHE PRAYS IN SOMALI
Be with me. Mina, look at me.
It's going to be fine.
Stop freaking out.
Oh, God, be with me, please.
Fucking hell.
It's not that bad, is it?
Who are you calling?
MUSIC PLAYS ON PHONE:
Talkin' Da Hardest
by Giggs
Hype music.
# Walk in the party
Sporting Armani
# Half of the crowd's
all snorting my Charlie
# Sorted the bar
Time to sort the punani
# Chicks looking at me like,
"Talk to me, darling"
# Hollering at man
# Winking, smiling and
want to attack man
# I think these lighties loving
my Black Gang
# Everyone suit same colour
as Batman's... #
'K, ready? You ready? Yeah.
Right, let's go. Let's go.
# Bag 28 with a thought of a jib
# Anybody thinks they can
talk to my clique
# Will end up covered
in red like a portion of chips... #
KNOCKING AT DOOR
Hello? God, you must be freezing.
Yeah, it is cold. I'm Amina.
I'll stop you there.
Unfortunately,
I won't be buying tonight.
What the hell?
Do you not recognise me?
Should I? Well, I've left you enough
fucking messages.
Sorry, I don't know
what you're talking about.
Just give her her deposit back,
your dodgy cunt.
I'm going to shut the door now.
Stop playing dumb, Kim.
OK? I've asked you nicely,
now give me my deposit back.
Not got it. Is that your car, Kim?
Isn't it gorgeous?
I had every right
to keep your deposit.
That's fucking bullshit.
Now go and get your chequebook,
and give me my fucking deposit back,
so we can get this over
and done with.
Leave me alone
or I'll call the police.
Oi, no-one's calling the police.
Yeah, call the police.
I can fucking tell them
and explain to them
that you stole from a
homeless woman.
Don't you dare slam the
door in my fucking face, Kim.
Don't slam the door in my face.
Oi, Mina.
We're homeless, you know,
me and my daughter? Yeah, let's go.
Look at me,
I said I can't have any trouble.
INSISTENT KNOCKING
This is private property.
MINA SHRIEKS
Mina!
I'm all right. Hey!
Don't fucking push her!
Don't you dare fucking push her!
Give me my fucking money, Kim.
Oi, now, Mina, she's got a bat.
Come on, let's go.
You can go, Molly,
I'm getting my fucking money back.
Yeah?
MINA GRUNTS
Right, we want to go home, yeah?
So how do you want to do it?
Cash or cheque?
I'll write a cheque, if that's OK.
Great. Yeah.
Um, do you mind?
Thanks. How much was it? 1,500.
Thanks, Kim.
There you go. Thank you.
Be out of your hair, Kim.
You won't hear from us again.
This money is going to go
to really good use.
Thank you so much.
PHONE BEEPS
Just so it's clear, Kim,
we just came to get the money
that was rightfully owed to Amina.
We didn't hurt you.
We didn't steal anything.
We just came to get the money
that was rightfully owed.
That's right. Great.
Thank you very much, Kim.
PHONE BEEPS
I love what you've done
to your house.
THEY SHRIEK EXCITEDLY
Come on!
THEY LAUGH
You OK?
MOLLY LAUGHS
Oh, my God.
Are you OK? Oh, my days.
THEY LAUGH
You can't believe that happened.
I know!
Molly, thank you so much.
I could not have done
that without you.
I think you could. You went, like,
full-on rago back there.
What was that? Mad Amina
came back for a minute there.
She came back. She was on a rampage.
"Give me my fucking..."
"Give me my money."
THEY HOOT AND LAUGH
Thanks for watching her, Sylvie.
You're an angel.
Oh, she's been no trouble
whatsoever.
As good as gold, ain't you, darling?
You going to give Nanna a hug?
Oh...
Why don't you take your mum home,
Molly?
Are you coming in for a nightcap,
darling?
There you go, darling.
Easy, Mum. OK.
Just a little bit, eh?
That's enough. OK.
You all right?
You know, Mum, I look
at her and I feel so sad.
All the adventures
she wanted to go on.
Mm.
There was no-one there
to keep her safe, though.
Mm.
You're not going to start, are you?
No?
Look at her, look.
SYLVIE CHUCKLES
Cheeky.
THEY CHUCKLE
Not much changed now, actually.
Hey...
Oh...
Should we have a ciggy, darling?
THEY CHUCKLE
MOLLY SIGHS
LIGHTER FLICKS ON
I promised myself,
I never wanted you to go through
what I went through.
Yeah.
I promised that to myself and all.
Yeah, I know.
But you did your best, darling.
Sometimes your best
ain't good enough, Mum.
SYLVIE CHUCKLES
Why do you think it's
called your best?
It's just the best you
can do at the time.
PHONE RINGS AND VIBRATES
Hello?
AMINA: Oh, my God,
I've been trying to call you.
Mm, I fell asleep.
What do you mean, you fell asleep?
I'm at my mum's.
Don't do that to me again.
You worried me. Why?
I didn't know what happened to you.
What if you got arrested
or something?
THEY LAUGH
What? What did...?
What did you think would
happen to me?
Don't laugh at me, Molly!
Where are you?
KNOCKING
Welcome to my crib!
For fuck's sake, you've always
wanted to say that, haven't you?
I've always wanted to say that!
Come on, then.
AMINA GIGGLES
Yeah, fucking hell, though,
the rooms are massive.
Can you afford it?
I mean, how did you find it, Amina?
It's mad.
It came on the website this morning,
so I ran over here to have
a look at it.
Do you like it, Molly?
Mate, I love it.
I've been looking at places online,
and it's full of pages and pages
of shit that I can't afford.
I thought this money was going
to sort us out,
but once I paid for the deposit,
then what?
I work all the hours that I can,
and who knows how long
I'll be waiting in that hostel.
It's fucked. Mate.
It's going to take me months
to save for a deposit.
Molly,
we've both been through a lot,
and finding you again has helped
me more than I'd ever realised.
You see me.
You see me more than anyone
in my whole life has ever seen me.
Not just a mum.
I'm Amina. I'm me.
And it's not all about the kids.
You're not proposing to me,
are you?
THEY LAUGH
Shut up.
No, but honestly, Mina,
I couldn't have done it without you.
Your love is magic,
do you know that?
Does magical things to people.
It might sound mad,
but it could work.
What?
I was thinking we could split
the rent 50-50,
and we'll use my money
for the deposit,
bit like a loan.
I really want to live here, Molly.
We deserve this. We all do.
That's why I chose here, Molly.
It's big enough for all of us.
Our whole family,
Ava and Leo as well.
TEARFULLY: You're going to bring
your babies home.
You're going to bring them home.
MOLLY SNIFFLES
Fuck...
You all right? Yup.
Shall we go in? Yeah? Ready?
Thank you for joining our
final day of proceedings,
and for the work all
parties have put in over this time.
The children's guardian is now going
to read out a statement
that was written by Ava Brown
and is signed by Leo Brown
at the bottom, also.
"My mum isn't perfect,
and her going to prison
"was the hardest thing we've ever
had to deal with,
"especially when no-one turned up
to pick us up from school that day
"and we didn't know where she was.
"I didn't know pain
like that existed.
"Now I know it does.
"We've not had it easy,
even before that,
"but we've always had each other.
"I look after my mum sometimes,
"even though she's supposed
to look after me,
"which she does,
"and then sometimes
I look after Leo,
"and sometimes Leo looks after me,
"and that's just what we do.
"She encourages me to love school
and taught me about cool scientists
"that were women whilst everyone
was learning about princesses.
"I know everyone thinks they have
the best mum in the world,
"but I think my mum would be a
pretty strong contender.
"Things don't always come out
the right way,
"and sometimes she makes decisions
"that maybe other people
wouldn't make.
"But she's always done the best
that she ever could,
"and her best is good enough for us.
"If I could live anywhere,
it would be anywhere together,
"and I know my baby brother
feels the same.
"Thank you to Sheila.
"We really love her,
and she's been so kind to us,
"but we would like to go home now.
"Thank you for listening.
Ava Brown."
I firstly would like to thank
all the legal representatives
for the parties,
who have done a thorough job
in ensuring that I have
all the relevant evidence before me.
The mother has given evidence,
in emphatic terms,
to say that she is sorry
for abducting the children,
for going to prison,
and for being in an abusive
relationship with Ava's father.
The mother loves her
children greatly,
and she wants to be mother to them.
However,
I remain deeply concerned with
the mother's erratic behaviour
whilst abducting the children.
The mother had no plans
when she abducted the children,
and she took them, with barely
any money and nowhere to live.
The mother's actions were
reckless and selfish.
I am also of the opinion
that the mother
has made significant
changes in her life,
including making more
desirable friends,
one of whom is Ms Amina Ali,
who has provided a statement
in these proceedings to support
the return of the children to
the mother's care...
..and also noting her
housing arrangements.
My judgment is, therefore,
that the children will be
returned to the mother
under the phased plan
set out by Lydia Bass,
and the children
will be made subject to
a supervision order
for a period of 12 months,
so that the local authority can
continue to support the family.
To the mother, I will say
well done for coming this far.
It will not be easy,
and this is only the first step.
However, you have two children
who, from the reports I have read,
are intelligent and friendly,
and are a real credit to you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mum! Hi!
Hi. Hello.
Oh, I've really missed you.
Come here. Thank you.
Bye forever, Sheila.
Hiya. Hi.
Well done, Molly.
Thank you.
Thank you for loving my babies.
Bye-bye. Thank you, Sheila.
Thank you for looking after me.
Hi.
You OK? I'm coming under.
Ready? Yeah. Yeah?
This is your new house,
Ellie the Elephant.
Do you like it?
Ava.
We need to walk together. You OK?
Yeah? You OK?
KEYS JANGLE
OK.
Hi.
Mum, who are these two people?
Well, this is Mya.
Hi. Hi.
And this is my best friend, Amina.
Hello, Ava and Leo.
You're just in time for our party,
and we've got chocolate cake.
Do you like chocolate cake, Leo?
Yeah!
And guess what?
I told Mya all about your dancing.
Is that true?
Mm-hm, it's true.
So, do you want to
play musical statues?
Yeah! Yeah?
I know this is going to take
some getting used to, darling.
Come here.
It's all right.
Do you want to come with me
to see your bedroom?
Yeah.
Bye-bye.
Can we go upstairs?
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten, eleven, twelve...
All right, everything's OK, baby.
OK? You're home now.
Good girl.
MOLLY SIGHS
MOLLY GIGGLES TRIUMPHANTLY
MUSIC: Love
by Facesoul
# All love, all you need is love
# All you need is
# All love, all you need is
# All you need is
# All love, all you need is
# All you need is
# All love, all you need is
All you need is
# Step into the moment
# Let yourself free now
# All you need is loving
# And you'll find your way
# All you need is
# A little bit of love inside of you
# Carry it like a light, I say
# And this love,
this love'll carry you through
# Through
# All you need is love, love
# All you need is love, love
# All you need is love, love
# All you need is love
# All you need is love, love
# All you need is
# I don't know what I know
# All I know is you need
a bit of love to get you through
# I don't know what I know
# All I know is you need
a bit of love to make it through
# I don't know what I know
# All I know is you need
a bit of love to get you through
# I don't know what I know
# All I know is you need
a bit of love to get you through
# All you need is... #
in a prison in England.
If you do not wish to accept this
call, please hang up now.
BEEP
It's just a few more sleepovers,
and then I'm coming to pick you up,
babies, OK?
What, we're allowed to come
home with you, Mum? Of course.
I'm coming to get you as soon
as they let me out of those gates.
And then I'm going to squeeze you,
and I'm never, ever, ever,
ever going to let you go.
I'm squeezing the phone, Mummy.
Are you?
Yeah, I'm squeezing it!
They're making us go back in,
babies.
I'm going to see you in three days,
OK?
I love you. Love you, Mummy.
BEEP
This film contains
very strong language.
MUSIC ON SPEAKERS: Esta Noche
by Dvi$hi
Banger. Innit.
What can I do for you?
Can I get a 10 top-up?
Yeah, of course.
Sorry - do you mind
if I charge my phone quickly?
Yeah, of course, babe.
Just round the corner.
Just there. OK. Yeah.
RINGING TONE
Oh, hello. Hi. Um, I don't know
if I'm through to the right place.
My name is Molly Brown.
Uh, hi, Molly.
What can I help you with?
Well, yeah,
my children were put in, um...
..in with you a couple of months
ago.
OK. Yeah, I'll just look
in the system and, uh,
we'll get you
an appointment sorted, OK?
Yeah, but is Ruth there?
Cos she just said to call when
I get out,
so can I just come pick 'em up now?
Ah, so you're going to need to make
an appointment
with your social worker.
An appointment?
What...?
SHE SCOFFS
What do I need an appointment for?
SIREN WAILS
VIDEO: Mum, please sing it with us.
I'll only do it if you do it with
me.
Yeah. OK, fine. Are you ready? Yeah.
ALL: # Amazing grace
# How sweet the sound... #
METALLIC RATTLING, LAUGHTER
KEYS JANGLE
SHE BREATHES HEAVILY
NEARBY LAUGHTER
NEARBY SHOUTING
Hello, madam.
How can I help you today?
I just want to see someone.
What's it regarding? Molly?
Oh, my God.
I can't believe it's you.
Hi!
How are you? Yeah.
I'm good, I'm good.
How are you? What's happening?
Are you going away?
Camping. Oh, that is not for me.
MOLLY LAUGHS
No! Clearly!
MOLLY LAUGHS EXAGGERATEDLY
Nice to see you.
How's Habib? Like, I've not seen you
since your wedding.
Oh, yeah. Habib's fine. Um...
He's good. Um...
You know what, Molly? Like,
I know we've not spoken
for such a long time,
and I know, like, life can get
in the way as well.
I really missed you, though.
I've missed you.
Can I have a hug?
You and your hugs...
Mya. Come. Mya? Hello!
After Mya.
Yeah, music got us through it, man,
didn't it?
Mya, this is Molly.
We used to be friends at college.
I stayed with her mum
for a little bit
when I couldn't stay at home.
Oh, my days, you were pregnant
last time I saw you.
Yeah.
Yeah, Ava's just turned 11 now.
And I've got a little boy, Leo.
He's five.
Congrats, Molly.
How's your mum?
Yeah, same old.
The job that she got me as a carer?
Well, now I'm doing a nursing
apprenticeship there as well.
I'm really grateful to her.
You can have her.
You can fucking have her.
Let me get your number,
and then we can get the kids,
meet up with the kids.
Yeah, yeah. There you go. I've, um,
I've got a lot going on next couple
of weeks, but after then just...
Yeah!
You all right? Hi.
What's your current
living situation?
Have you got a piece of
paper I can borrow?
Yeah. What for? Um...
I did have a home.
I was only away for four months,
but they made me give it up.
So, what happens now?
So, what, you're staying in
a tent now?
SHE SIGHS
God, I don't know how
you could do that.
Do what?
Just be away from your kids
for that long.
Right, so that means
you made yourself
intentionally homeless, then.
What's that mean?
Well, you went to prison,
and in doing so,
made yourself
intentionally homeless,
so I'm going to need to see some ID
for your homeless application.
It's at my mum's. We ain't talking.
Looks like you're going
to have to go there.
I'm going to be late.
I'm going to miss it.
AMINA SPEAKS SOMALI
Hiya.
MYA: Our car won't start.
What do you mean, like...?
What? Our car won't start.
We've tried for so long,
but it just won't budge.
Who's your mum on the phone to?
It's Dad, but he's busy.
I can take her, Amina.
It's all right, Molly.
It's fine.
SHE SPEAKS SOMALI
Do you want to go to the park? Yeah?
Mina? Mina? Look,
I can just take her to the park,
and then I can drop her off
at yours after.
You still at the same place with
Habib, yeah?
Nah, Molly, just leave it, please.
Honestly, I do it as a job.
Like, it's not a problem at all.
Go, you can't miss your exam.
SHE SPEAKS SOMALI
What time is her thing?
AMINA INHALES DEEPLY
You look like you're about to cry.
Mina. What, Molly?
Molly, wait.
I'm sorry.
What is it?
We live in a hostel, Molly...
..for homeless families.
Right, well, listen, Mina,
I don't care about all that,
so give me your keys.
Are you sure? Yeah.
OK. Mya,
you're going with Auntie Molly,
darling.
INFANT CRIES
JERKING LOCK
DOOR OPENS
MUFFLED SHOUTING, CRYING
Aw, I love this.
It's so cute.
"There's no way to be
a perfect mother,
"and a million ways
to be a good one."
Did you make all this together?
Yeah. Yeah?
Trying to see
if there's any photos of your dad.
He still got that big belly on him?
No photos of your dad?
OK.
Right, have you got any homework?
No.
Come on, I'll help you.
More street smart than book smart.
Same. Oh, are you? OK...
Like your pen.
It's a gift from my mum,
to wish me luck on my first day.
This is us. Yeah. OK.
This is Leo's nursery assistant.
Hi, Molly.
And you'll recognise
your probation officer.
Sorry, hi. Um...
And that's the children's
foster carer, Sheila.
Hi, Molly.
Good to see you, darling.
And here's Ava's teacher.
What's going on? I thought...
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um...
Take a seat, please.
Where are my kids?
We've just got
to iron a few things out first.
Where are my kids?
We're going to get it sorted.
Molly, please take a seat.
Where are they?
It's OK. Please, just take a seat.
Yeah, there's, um, probably a few
forms to sign first, ain't there?
That's what Ruth said. Where's Ruth?
Ruth's been signed off work
for a bit, unfortunately,
but I've read your file,
so I'm all up to speed.
I know how frightening
all this can be.
Frightening?
This isn't frightening, is it?
Oh, God. No, sorry.
Um, now we're here to review
Ava and Leo's progress
under a section 20.
Sorry, what are you...?
What are you talking about?
Look, um, get Ruth on the phone,
will you?
I just signed a bit of paper to say
you lot could look after 'em
for a bit.
The family agreement you made
with your mum didn't work out.
Wh...? What are you on about?
Why am I in a meeting
with all of you lot?
What's going on with my children?
They're coming home with me,
and that's the end of it.
We hope so too, Molly.
But you do need somewhere
to live first.
Mum? Yeah?
Where's my passport and that?
Don't know. Your boxes are upstairs.
MUSIC PLAYS ON SPEAKERS
Thanks for coming.
Yeah, great man.
Rodney.
Cheers for Rodney.
SHE CHUCKLES
Rodney would have loved this.
I wish he was here.
Oh, he would have loved this.
To Rodney. Cheers.
Bless him, eh?
Are you going to sing a little song,
Lollipop?
You've got a lovely voice.
You're going to sing a song
for your mum.
I am not singing.
Mum? Oh, don't be
so difficult all the time.
I'm not being difficult,
I just don't...
All right.
Sing a little song for Rodney.
I'm not singing.
My daughter's going to sing for you.
We're going to have a little song
for my Rodney.
Should we introduce her?
We've got Molly.
Here we go, Molly.
She's good, you know. You wait.
Oh, I love a sing-song.
Do it like...like you did
when you was little.
For my Rodney.
Come on, Molly.
# Amazing grace... #
Yeah, come on.
# How sweet the sound... #
Yeah, you're better than that.
Come on.
# That saved a wretch... #
There we go.
# Like me
TUNELESSLY: # Like me...
# I once was lost... #
She's wonderful, ain't she?
# But now I'm found
# Was blind but now I see. #
That's it, go on, one more verse.
# T'was grace that taught
# My heart to fear
# And grace my fears... #
Can you hear that?
Can you hear that?
# ..relieved... #
Go on, Lollipop.
# How precious did that grace appear
# The hour I first believed. #
That's it. Thank you, Lollipop.
Give her a round of applause again.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Thank you. Well done!
My daughter!
TRAY CLATTERS
All right!
CHAIR SCRAPES
I only had two glasses
of wine last night,
and a glass of brandy.
Mm, I don't remember the rest.
Oh, mind you, I did eat
loads of gherkins, though.
It must have been them, eh?
I know you don't like me very
much at the moment, Lollipop.
I didn't do it on purpose,
you know?
I love them kids more than anything.
It was a really hard time
for my Rodney.
His dementia got
really bad whilst...
Well, you know, when you was away.
Weren't easy for me.
I had all your house to pack up.
I had to put it all in boxes,
all on my own.
Your kids were playing up
because they was missing you.
I was really stressed, darling.
And you're thinking I put Rodney
before the kids.
Don't I know?
I can't even go out no more.
I feel like they're all talking
about me,
and I know what they're saying.
"Oh, she's a bad mother, that one."
We've taken everything
into consideration,
and we believe it's in the best
interest of the children
to keep them in foster care...
SHE PUFFS
..for now. You're...?
We want to ensure they face
as little disruption as possible.
You're the fucking one
disrupting them, for f...
Oh, my God.
They need to have
somewhere suitable to live,
which we think is fair.
You think it's fair?
You think it's fair?
You're... You're telling me, right,
I can't look after my children
because I've got no money,
and then you're going to go
and pay someone else
to look after 'em for me.
So, riddle me that one.
You'll have visitation. Visitation?
In a contact centre,
two hours, twice a week.
These are my children.
They're my children.
If all goes well, we can look
at supervised contact
in the community
with an activity of your choice.
Am I being tested?
Is this what's going on?
Surely you understand.
We can't send them home with you
if you don't have a home to go to.
Mum, I've missed you so much.
Where's Leo?
He's had to stay behind
with his foster carer for now.
He's got an appointment
that he's had to attend.
Why? What appointment? What
appointment? What's wrong with him?
It's for a health care assessment.
A health care...?
A health care assessment...
It's been postponed twice now.
..in my time. In my time?
It's nothing personal.
I will try and get him here later,
but unfortunately,
he's had to go today.
So you chose now?
Why have you...? Mum...
Why have you done that?
I've not done it personally.
Fucking hell...
It's nothing that I've done
personally. Eh?
I'm going to try everything
in my power
to get him here on this visit today.
Today? Yeah? Definitely.
What's your name?
My name's Aisha.
Thank you. No worries.
I can't... Ah. Hello.
Hello. Hello. Hello.
You're important. You're amazing.
So are you.
You are beautiful. So are you.
AVA GIGGLES
Oh, look at you,
I can't wait to squeeze you!
You OK?
Shall we sit down?
I've got some things to show you.
Really? Yeah. OK, come on, then.
WHISPERING: Weird, eh?
AVA GIGGLES
Got you some bits. Are you thirsty?
Are you hungry? Um...
I have eaten and drunken
before this.
Have you? Yeah.
Ready? Close your eyes.
Close your eyes. Close your eyes.
How did you know?
This is my favourite!
How did I know?
Oh, look, I've got
these for Leo.
MOLLY SQUEALS
How cute are they?
I mean, they're not brand-new,
but, like...
Mum, you do realise he wants
to be a vet now?
Oh. I'm sure he'll still
like the tap shoes.
He wants to be a vet?
Yeah, but they're still really nice.
When did he want to be a vet?
I'll get him to do
routines in them,
and then we can show you
when we come to yours.
Yeah, we can do...
Yeah, that would be great.
Should we put these back
in there, then?
Yeah, you can pop them back in
and then make sure that you take
them all with you, yeah? Mm-hm.
Do you have to do that right now?
Just a few notes, Molly.
Just need to let Tamara know
how you got on today.
Mum?
Mum...
Look at me!
Look at me.
MOLLY SNORTS, AVA LAUGHS
Mum, am I coming home
with you today?
Uh... Please say yeah.
Just a few more sleepovers.
I really want to see your house
and... OUR house.
And I am sorting all of that out,
yeah?
I promise. OK. Do you trust me?
Of course I do.
I'm not doing anything else.
Promise?
OK.
LEO: Mum!
SHEILA: Hi, Molly. Hi, baby. Hi.
Oh, no, Molly, we've got to go.
Say a quick hello.
We've got to get going.
He's got his tap dancing
in five minutes.
We're running late.
I'm really sorry.
AISHA: Molly,
you've done so well today, come on.
You can't...
No, no, no, you can't do that.
You can't just turn
up with him like that.
Trust me, I'll book
another appointment.
You can't do this, Molly.
No, no, come on. Molly,
you've had such a good afternoon.
Don't ruin it for yourself.
Hi, Ava.
Hi, Sheila.
Just give me the biggest cuddle
in the world!
I love you, I love you.
LEO: I love you, too, Mumma.
Molly, come on now.
Please, just give me a
minute with him, yeah?
Just give me one minute with him.
I won't take him out of the car,
I won't...
I'm not going to take him
out of the car, OK?
All right.
Are you going to go to tap dancing,
baby?
Leo, let me get your belt back on.
LEO WHINES
Don't cry, baby. It's OK.
Ava, please stop.
Baby, baby, baby...
Leo, come on.
OK, look, I'm going to go, baby.
No, Mum...
SCREAMING: No!
I'm going to go.
This isn't helping the situation.
Mum, no!
SHEILA: Good boy, good boy.
Mummy, no...
That's it, Ava, just pop it in.
I love you. I'm going to go.
Let go of me, baby.
Let go of me. OK, let go.
Oh, my God, I can't...
OK, let me go... Leo, let go of Mum.
All right,
I'm going to shut the door now.
Bye, Molly. I'm going to shut the
door, I'm going to shut the door!
Mum! I'm going to shut the door.
Mum! OK. Don't cry, baby.
It's OK. It's OK.
It's OK.
LEO SOBS AND WHINES
HE SNIFFLES
Mummy, please...
Bye, Molly. See you soon.
OK. Wave bye-bye to Mummy.
Bye-bye, Mummy!
HE SOBS
I'm so sorry.
When you make your application
without your children,
you're classed as a single woman,
and only entitled
to a one-bedroom flat.
Yeah, b...
What am I meant to do, then?
Cos they're saying I can't get...
Right, they're saying I can't
get my children back, yeah,
until I have somewhere to live,
and now you're saying I can't
get somewhere to live
unless I have my children, so...
What I'm saying is you're eligible
for a one-bedroom flat.
There's nothing else
I can do for you, I'm sorry.
But I know...
You need to...
You NEED to do more for me.
You need to do more for me,
because I don't know
what else I'm going to do.
I'm sorry...
I really...
I really need you to help me, OK?
I understand...
Cos I can't... No, no, no.
They're saying
I can't get my children back
unless I have somewhere to live,
so I need you to help me, OK?
I understand you're upset...
No, you... You really don't.
..but there's nothing
I can do more for you.
It's either you have to just keep
trying and keep pushing,
or you take this.
Fucking where?
Fucking where?! Push where?!
No, it's not. It's not long at all.
AVA: But you said we'll be
home with you by now.
Yeah, yeah,
I know I said that. I did.
And it's not going to be long now.
LEO:
Did you not really mean it, Mummy?
Of course I meant it, baby.
Look,
I'm trying as hard as I can, OK?
And I promise you,
I'm going to see you very soon.
I'm going to give you both a big
squeeze.
Getting anything?
No.
What are you doing here?
I just want to ask you
something real quick.
Oh, yeah, what? Well,
they've said I can take
the kids to the park...
Mm-hm.
..and I need you to come with me.
What?
You know I don't like going out,
darling.
You know they're all talking
about me out there.
Yeah, I just, um...
I just need to show them
we're, like, a normal family.
We're not a normal family, darling.
That's all I fucking need, innit?
The neighbours seeing me
out with the social.
TV SHOW HOST: Oh, incorrect!
AUDIENCE GROANS
I'm not asking for me.
I'm asking for them, OK?
Can you please take them to
the park with me?
For fuck's sake.
Please, Mum.
What are you starting for?
I'm not starting.
Oh, don't start on me now, Lollipop.
I'm not starting, Mum.
I'm asking you,
just be normal with me
for an hour, two...
Just stop going on.
Can you just stop it?
There's Mum! Mum! Mum!
Come here!
LEO SQUEALS
Wow!
Hello, kids. Hello!
Got a hug for Nanny?
Oh, it's good to see you.
Why you got your sunglasses on,
Nanny?
Oh, I'm going to be over there a
little while. I'll tell you why.
Do you know why?
She's in disguise. Ooh! I know!
Mum, can we go on the swing?
Yeah, let's go. No, but it's wet.
Where's Aisha? Smear test.
Right, so who are you?
Nina.
Can we get on? Get on, get on.
Do you want me to push you?
Yeah! Yeah? Spin us!
Spin? You want to...? No, no, no!
SHE ROARS, THEY LAUGH
Rargh! Go faster!
DOGS BARK IN DISTANCE
There's a dog behind you.
Is there a dog?
DOG BARKS, KIDS YELP
Can you get your dog away?
I'm sorry... Move your dog away.
Are you stupid?
Get the dog away!
LEO SHRIEKS: Mum!
He doesn't normally do that.
NINA: OK, Leo? All right, darling?
You OK?
It's all right. Don't look at the
dog. Look at me. Are you OK?
LEO GRUMBLES
You're not scared of dogs.
What is it?
Look at me. What is it? What's
wrong?
When we'd come to you,
he was scared of the sniffer dogs.
Hey, do you trust me?
Never, ever, ever, ever
let anything happen to you, OK?
Yeah?
Excuse me. Can...can you wait...?
Can you wait until we're done?
Don't...don't ignore me.
You're really putting him off.
You can see that. Sorry.
It's not normal, is it?
I'm just doing my job.
I don't care...
She's writing it all down, Lollipop.
Is she? Is she writing it all down?
Can you wait until...? Like,
literally. I've just...
I've just started seeing my
children, yeah?
I've told you to stop fucking
writing them down. Mum...
I wouldn't speak to me like
that if I were you.
And I'd get some manners
if I was you, darling.
Don't swear in front of Leo.
Right, time to go, please.
Oh, come on, you can't do that.
Is that...is that it, yeah?
We just got here.
Cos I spoke to you like that? Yeah!
Come on, get your bags.
They've literally just got here.
I know, but I really need
to use the loo,
and it looks like it's
going to rain as well.
This is a fucking joke.
You're doing this on purpose.
You've literally just
brought them here,
and you're taking them away.
I know, but look...
I don't care about the fucking rain!
OK, you need to calm down.
Don't take...
Please don't take...
You need to calm down.
Mum? You sit. Sit there.
Sit on there.
Both of you sit.
They're not going anywhere.
They are not going anywhere.
OK... No.
Look, I'm really sorry,
but we've got to go. No!
Get your bags, please. No!
You can't make me go.
Mum, do something, please.
Can they not stay
at my mum's tonight?
It's not up to me.
You have to speak
to your social worker.
How many rooms is it?
Two bedroom. Yeah, that'd be
considered overcrowding.
Five more minutes! No...
Leo, get your bags. Five minutes.
Five minutes.
Please, I don't
want to keep repeating myself.
I need to go. I don't want
to stay at Sheila's,
I want to stay with Mum.
I really don't want to have
to do this,
but I really need to use the toilet.
Come on.
Use the toilet at my house.
It's only there.
I'm not allowed.
What do you mean, "not allowed"?
Not while I'm working.
You're not allowed to go
to the toilet while you're working?
That's a bit silly. I know.
Can't you just use Nan's toilet?
Just don't move. OK.
You don't move.
Come on, kids, just grab your bags.
No.
Come on. Mummy, I don't want to go.
Grab your bag, please.
I don't want to stay with Sheila!
It's only there, what's the matter
with you? You can't make us go.
LEO: Just five more minutes!
THUNDER RUMBLES
How far is it? Round the corner.
All right, five more minutes,
all right? OK.
Sheila'll be waiting. Oh, yeah.
Can't be late for Sheila.
No, come...
Can we play on the swing
for the last five minutes?
Yeah, yeah, you stay on the swing.
Mum, come back! Stay on the swing.
Come...
Mum. Mum!
Come here. LEO: Not round! OK.
OK... Up and down.
Leo? Hey, come here. Come here.
Do you want to play a game?
Yeah. Yeah?
Let's play a game. OK, I need you
to play hide-and-seek.
We're going to be really quiet
and really quick, OK?
How quick can you get your bag?
In five, in four...
Get your bag. What are you doing?
Hurry up and get your bag.
No. No, please.
We're going, OK?
I'm not having these people
controlling my life any more. Where?
I don't know, I'll figure it out,
OK?
You can't do this.
Yes, I can. I'm your mum.
You can trust me.
But what about money?
You don't need to worry about that.
But I do need to worry about that.
Don't argue with me!
You are coming...
Why are you raising your voice at
me? Come on. Now. Let's go.
I can't believe I'm doing this.
Ava! My bag!
Quick, get his bag.
Move, Ava, run.
I've got 200 quid I was saving
for emergencies
until I work out the rest, OK?
Hold on. Hold on to me. Hold on.
Gran says you've got a tent.
You've got a tent?
Go, go, go!
OK, OK.
Stop, stop, stop, stop.
Hold this, hold this, hold this.
Come here, come here.
OK. OK.
SHE PANTS
Give me your phone. My phone?
Yep, give me your phone.
Can I play a bit on
the phone while you...?
You can't play on
the phone just yet, baby.
Mummy, I don't want to go.
Ava, you are getting on that bus.
But I don't want you
to go back there again.
Ava, don't play me up, OK?
I mean it, and not in front
of your brother either.
Baby...
I don't want you to go. OK, listen.
Leo, look at me. I'm just going
to be over there, OK?
Sing Twinkle, Twinkle
for me really loudly.
OK, baby? Can you do that?
# Twinkle, twinkle, little star... #
OK, good boy.
# How I wonder what you are... #
We're going to be fine, OK?
It's going to be absolute... Don't.
Don't you cry.
Don't cry, Ava.
LEO CONTINUES SINGING
TEARFULLY:
I don't want you to get in trouble.
I'm not. I won't. OK?
I don't want you to go there.
I'm not. I'm not going anywhere.
Look at me. Look at me.
They're going to forget all about
us,
and it's just going to be us three,
yeah?
OK, do you promise me?
I promise you.
I promise you.
Are we getting on that bus?
Yeah. Do you trust me?
Of course I do. I love you, Mummy.
I love you. I love you always.
AVA SOBS
# Twinkle, twinkle, little star... #
OK. You going to get on
this bus with me?
Yeah. Yeah?
# How I wonder what you are. #
Come on, good girl.
OK. Good boy. Hello.
Go on. Thank you. Thank you.
CHATTER AND LAUGHTER
SHE SNIFFS
SHE BREATHES SHAKILY
KITE SCREECHES
Hey. Morning. Morning.
THEY SCREAM HAPPILY
Come back here!
LEO AND AVA LAUGH
Whoo-oo!
Ah-oo!
Wah!
Ah-ouw!
LEO SCREAMS
LEO GIGGLES
KITE SCREECHES, ALL SCREECH BACK
MOLLY SNORTS
THEY LAUGH
Look, there's mushrooms. Where?
There.
MOLLY AND LEO GASP
Wow! Did you know that fairies
live in those?
Do you think you might be able
to see any from over here, Ava?
Look at it. You can see, like,
the trees and stuff over there.
Oh, that's beautiful. Isn't it?
Mum, put me down. Want to get down?
I found something.
What have you found?
Uh-oh. Elephant's scared.
Elephants apparently
are scared of mice.
Let's watch.
Oh! It's adorable.
Mum? Mm? Is it true that
when you're a vet,
you have to stick your hand
up a cow's bum?
AVA GIGGLES
Hand up a cow's bum? Yeah. What?
I told him that if he
wants to be a vet,
he has to stick his
hand up a cow's bum.
THEY GIGGLE
Will I, then, Mum? Have to?
Um...
If you want to be a vet...
Yeah, yeah, probably,
you would have to do that.
Told you, you'll have to do it.
Do you not want to be a vet
any more, then?
Mm, I think I want to be a
tap dancer instead.
Yeah. You'd be the world's
best tap dancer. Mm.
WHISPERING: I'm sorry.
What are you sorry for?
Mum said that she's sorry.
You don't need to be sorry.
What are you sorry for, Mum?
Everything.
We're going to get some sleep now,
OK? OK.
OK. OK.
Ava, give me your hand.
Do you want one?
No, it's all for you, baby, OK?
Do you want one, Leo? Yes, please.
Eat them all up.
Take one. All of them? No, just one.
Good boy. You're welcome.
Hey, vegetables tomorrow.
Oh, come on! Yeah.
Don't give me that face.
Fine!
Have you got any homework?
I'm going back to school?
Of course you are.
First in our family to go to
university, aren't you?
What about tap dancing classes?
We can do those as well.
Tell you what,
we can go to brand-new schools,
really good ones,
and we're going to start anew.
Yeah? OK.
Listen, if I had the opportunity to
do that when I was your age,
I would have absolutely jumped at
it.
No-one needs to know anything
about us,
and we can just start again,
can't we?
What about my friends?
Ava, you're going to make
so many new friends,
OK? There's no need to worry about
that. They're going to love you.
But they won't even
know my real name,
and I don't even have my phone.
Why have you got to be
so negative all the time?
Just, please, eat your chips.
Why don't we look in that shop and
find something fun to wear tonight?
Excuse me. That's not for you, is
it?
MC: Thanks, Terry,
for that very emotional rendition
of I Will Always Love You.
CHEERING
Thought you might need it.
What is that face for?
What have you done?
Can I have Ada, Lionel and...
Oh, no. ..to the stage, please!
Come on, Mum! Please, please, Mum!
No! Come on!
No! Come on, Mum!
OK. OK, OK, I'm getting up. OK.
SHE PUFFS NERVOUSLY
OK.
APPLAUSE, MUSIC PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS
MOLLY EXHALES NERVOUSLY
MUSIC STOPS, CROWD HUSHES
Let me do it, baby.
MICROPHONE FEEDBACK
MUSIC: I Only Want To Be With You
ALL:
# I don't know what it is
that makes me love you so
# I only know
I'll never, ever let you go
# Cos you started something
Now, can't you see
# That ever since we met
you've had a hold on me?
# It happens to be true
# I only want to be with you
# It doesn't matter where you go
or what you do
# I wanna spend each moment
of the day with you
# Well, look what has happened
with just one kiss
# I never knew that I could be
in love like this
# It's crazy, but it's true
# I only want to be with you
# You stopped and smiled
at me and asked if I care to dance
# I fell into your open arms
and I didn't stand a chance
# Now, listen, honey
# I just want to be beside
you everywhere
# As long as we're together,
honey, I don't care
# Cos you started something
Oh, can't you see
# That ever since we met
you've had a hold on me?
# No matter what you do
# I only want to be with you. #
Ring-a-ding-ding.
Is that your banana phone ringing?
Ring, ring, ring.
It's your banana phone.
Oh, it's my banana phone!
Yeah! Hang on.
Hello? Hello, it's Leo.
Oh, is it Leo? Hi, there.
Hiya, Mom! Hey, Mum. What's up?
Hello, baby.
Got to go to work. Love you. Bye.
Have you got to go to work?
Love you.
I'm going to go to school.
Peace out, Mum!
Peace out! Love ya. Love ya!
Bye-ee!
SHE LAUGHS
Bye-ee!
You want strawberries?
Yes, please. Yeah?
DOOR CHIMES
You want to pick...?
You want to pick some oranges?
I haven't got any of them in the...
OK. Please.
We don't want to make a scene,
Ms Brown.
Please don't make this any more
traumatising than it already is.
No. No, no!
Come on, come on, come on.
Go. Come on.
No! Don't!
SCREAMING: No! No!
Don't touch her!
No! Mum! Please, don't!
Get your hands off of my mum!
Fucking get off me!
Mum! No! Mum, come back!
All right, Molly,
I'm just going to cut straight to
the chase.
You running away with the kids
has not helped your situation.
In fact, it's escalated matters.
You should be grateful
your mum showed us the letter
so we could find you.
Because of the abduction, we believe
that your children are at risk,
and we are now going
to start care proceedings,
which is where a final
determination will be made
by the family courts as to
whether or not
Ava and Leo should
be returned to you,
or whether they should remain
in foster care permanently.
SHE SNIFFS AND WHIMPERS
No...
Molly, I need you to calm down, OK?
I know this is hard,
but behaviour like this is
what is concerning us,
along with the homelessness,
you going to prison,
domestic abuse.
I left Ava's dad way before she
was even born, so...that's bullshit.
OK, but abducting the children,
poor mental health...
Your children are suffering
at the moment.
I've done my time, OK?
You can't... You can't...
You can't punish me
for the rest of my life.
You can't do that. Molly... Molly.
Please, please.
Molly,
we're not trying to punish you.
We are not trying
to punish you at all.
This isn't about you.
This is about your children.
Yeah, I know,
but they want to be with their mum.
And that's what you've got on your
side right now.
Look, you've got six months
until a final determination
will be made by the judge.
You need to get a lawyer, Molly.
It's a tricky system to navigate.
Kicking? Yeah, a lot.
THEY LAUGH
Aw...
All right!
Oh, I thought you were dead.
For fuck's sake, Mum!
Oh, don't... Don't start.
I ain't doing this any more, Mum.
Can't do it.
Sake. What's the matter?
What's the matter?!
What's the matter?!
You hand my children
over to the social,
when you were meant
to fucking look after 'em.
Can you not shout?
Why the fuck would you tell
the police?!
Why would you do that?!
Why would you do that, Mum?!
Look, calm down.
Let's have a little drink.
You want a drink?
Let's have a little drink together.
You want a little drink?
You want a fucking drink?
Let's just have a
nice little drink...
You want a fucking drink?!
It's all right.
Let's have a fucking drink.
Let's have a fucking drink.
Go on, Mum!
Go on. All right. Yeah?
What you come round here
doing this for?
You chose that.
You want to fucking choose that?
Over me and my fucking children?
So drink your fucking drink!
Do you want me to drink it?
Finish the fucking drink, Mum.
Watch me.
There you go. Are you happy now?
Yeah.
Are you happy now? Yeah.
Well, go and fuck off.
I'm in my world, in my house,
with my Rodney, all right?
I didn't tell you to come here,
did I?
MUSIC PLAYS ON SPEAKERS: Misty Blue
by Dorothy Moore
# Oh...
# It's been
Such a long, long time... #
Do you not know what they've done?
# Look like I... #
They're fucking
taking my children because of you!
Cos you went to fucking prison!
So it's all my fault, is it?
Yeah, it's all your fucking fault.
Leave me alone.
# You
# Turns my whole world... #
What are you doing?
# Misty blue. #
What are you doing?
It ain't my fault.
You... How old are you? 12?!
You're not 12 any more!
Lollipop. Get out of my fucking way!
Get out!
Calm down. I need someone
to see me right now.
I can make you an appointment.
I don't want a fucking appointment.
If you're so angry, it ain't...
I want someone to see me right now!
I don't give a fuck.
I want someone to see me right now,
I need someone
to just fucking help me,
cos nobody's fucking helping me,
so I need you to fucking help me.
Do you understand me?
Let me make you an appointment.
You just need to take a seat.
Excuse me, I was here first.
You what? I was here first.
No, you fucking wasn't, darling.
What the fuck do you mean?
You want a fucking go?
Do you want a fucking go?!
Let's go. No, no... Let's go.
You can fuck off right now.
Let's go.
Fucking go!
Right, that's it.
I'm calling the police.
Oh, you don't need
to call the police.
You don't need to call the police.
Don't call the police.
Please don't call the police.
Please don't call the police.
Get off me. Molly? Molly?
What the hell?
Sit down. Oh, my God...
MOLLY WAILS
MOLLY SCREAMS AND CRIES
SHE SCREAMS
SHE SOBS
MOLLY PANTS
What's happened?
MOLLY WHIMPERS
They've taken...my baby...
They haven't, Molly, they can't.
What?
What are you talking about?
What are you talking about?
MOLLY SOBS
Now they're going to...
I'm not going to see my...
Molly, listen to me. Listen to me.
They've taken my babies.
They haven't. They can't.
They have, and it all got too much,
and I feel like shit right now.
I've got fucking nothing.
Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh, fuck...
Molly, they haven't.
Please don't call the police,
I'm so sorry. It's all right.
It's all right.
I'm really fucking...
It's OK. I'm really fucking sorry.
Molly, calm down. Fuck!
Oh, my God... Listen to me. Listen.
Fuck...
WHISPERING: Calm down.
Just breathe.
MOLLY BREATHES SHARPLY AND SHAKILY
Fuck, oh, I need to go...
Listen to me.
Look at me. Calm down.
Just take a breath.
Everything's going to be fine.
Oh, fuck, sorry...
I'm really sorry.
You're OK now.
Bloody forgot now what
I'm in here for, haven't I? Huh?
AMINA LAUGHS
Taking care of you...
MOLLY SOBS
Can we get out of here? Fuck!
Can we get out? Can we leave?
Fuck. Where's my shit? I'm sorry.
It's OK.
Sorry.
Sorry.
Sorry, everyone. I'm really...
I can't do it any more, Mina.
I ain't got it in me.
Listen, Molly.
Let's get up. Come on, sit up.
Give me your hand.
Come here.
I hear what you're saying, babe.
We all feel like that sometimes.
God knows, I've been there
so many times, man.
Now, with Habib leaving...
..losing our home,
being in this place...
Sometimes, Molly,
I feel like giving up too.
I do.
But I don't have
a choice but to fight.
Just have to keep fighting.
And I think to myself, like,
"Fuck it,
"you can take whatever
you want from me.
"You're never going to take my joy."
Women are like lotus flowers.
The thicker the mud, the more
beautiful we grow, babe.
KNOCKING, DOOR OPENS
Hey, Mya. Hi, Hooyo.
Can't do it. I can help you.
Wait, I'll show you a trick, OK?
Get your arms in, yeah?
Fold it down like that.
And then from there...
Right?
OK?
And then you get the bottom...
Then we get the top. Yeah, exactly.
And now you're going to fold it
in the middle this way.
And then you've got that space
there.
Thank you. OK, give it a go.
Let me do... In the middle. Yeah.
In the middle. And then fold.
And then fold it over. Magic.
Do you want to come to our party?
What are you celebrating? Nothing.
So, why you having a party?
We have one every day,
and discos every Friday night.
The best day of the week.
Isn't it, Mum?
Best day of the week!
Give it to me.
THEY LAUGH
Ah, no, it's a bit mad, Molly,
but I try and treat her now
and again.
English breakfast on a Saturday
and self-care on Sundays.
Yeah, we make face masks
with whatever we've got left
in the fridge.
You want to come? Definitely.
PHONE VIBRATES
Hooyo... Yeah? Your phone.
Oh, guys, I'm going to
make a phone call, yeah?
I'll be back in a minute.
DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS
Hi, Kim. Me again.
You know what? This is
getting beyond a joke now...
Who is she on the phone to?
AMINA CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY
It's the woman we used to rent from.
She wouldn't give Mum
her money back.
She calls her every day.
Why doesn't she just go round there?
I think she's scared of our dad.
I need that money...
WHISPERING: Is it a lot of money?
Please call me back
as soon as you get this.
You ain't ready for what me
and Molly are about to throw down!
Me? Molly, we've been practising
since we were 17.
Come on!
MUSIC ON SPEAKERS: Body Groove
by Architechs
Oi! Eyyy!
MOLLY LAUGHS
Come on, Molly,
give it to me right now.
# Architects, baby...
# Are you ready?
# Bring it on
# Ah, ah, ah, ah
Eh, eh
# Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Eh, eh
# Ah, ah
Eh, eh
# Ah, ah, ah
Eh, eh
# Ah-eh
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Make the body move
You got to let the body groove
# Gotta make it, gotta let it
Gotta let this body move
# Gotta make it, gotta let it
Gotta let this body groove
# Gotta make it, gotta let it
Gotta make this body move
# Gotta make it, gotta let it
Gotta make this body groove. #
PHONE RINGS AND VIBRATES
Hello? Ava...
KNOCKING AND SHOUTING ON PHONE
What the fuck...?
What the fuck's going on?
Hello, Sheila? Sheila?
What have you...?
Molly? What's wrong with Ava?
Why is she crying like that?
I know I shouldn't be calling you,
but, um...
Ava won't come out of the bathroom,
I don't know what's wrong with her.
What have you done?
What have you done to my child?
What have you done to her?
AVA: I want my mum.
Hello? I've tried everything.
It's really out of character.
I don't know what to do.
Sheila, Sheila,
please, please,
please put Ava on the phone.
Listen, what she needs is
to hear you nice and calm.
I'm calm. She's clearly not,
and you can't... Go away!
Please, please, please put her on
the phone to me. Leave me alone!
Ava, can you hear me?
Move away from the door.
Ava, no, you know you can't have the
phone in there on your own.
Baby, calm down. Mum's here, OK?
Mum!
Sheila, just move away from
the door. What's happened?
Has she done something to you?
Has she done something to you?
Ava, you're going to need
to tell me what's wrong, OK?
Cos I'm getting... I'm getting...
I'm getting very worried.
I'm getting very worried now.
OK? So tell me what's happened.
Mum? There's blood in my knickers,
and I'm really scared.
OK...
OK, OK.
I'm going to come...
I'm going to come round to you, OK?
I'm going to see you. Don't panic.
Please, Mum, I'm fine. Molly,
listen, you can't come round,
that won't be good. Sheila...
..just please step back
for a minute, please, yeah?
Please... Sheila, I don't...
Please do not butt into
my conversation with my child.
Mum, don't come! Step away.
Ava, I'm going to....
You're going to make everything
worse! I'm going to come round.
Please! I'm not going to make it...
Baby, I'm not going to
make it worse.
You need your mum, and I'm going
to make it better, OK?
I know she needs her mum, but
listen, you can't come over.
I've already broken all the rules
by calling you.
I've got some pads, OK?
No, you are not meant to
be sorting this out, I am.
I've got to see to Ava now.
Once I've done that...
Please don't put the phone down.
..I will call you back, promise.
LINE DISCONNECTS
All right, baby, you've
got your special shoes.
Yeah! Yeah.
And you've got your top?
Yeah. All right. Cool.
I'm going to get Leo,
and I'll come back and
get you in an hour. OK.
What do you reckon about...?
What are you doing?
Molly, what are you doing?
Mum! Mum, get out.
Molly, you know
that you can't do this.
Baby, just one minute.
I've got...
I've got you a sparkly case.
It's got pads in it. Molly, you need
to get out of the car immediately.
Get the fuck out!
Ava...
You like to break promises over
and over again.
I'm not breaking a promise...
I'm not. You are.
This is different. This is
different.
This is different. You called me.
I called, and I shouldn't
have called. You called me.
You needed me. You needed me!
I told you not to come and you come.
Is that not breaking a promise?
You promised me.
Can...can you... Can you just go?
I don't even want
to see your face right now.
Ava, don't say that.
Come here. Don't say that.
Don't touch me!
Why, why?
I thought we were supposed
to be a happy family.
We are. But you're n...
You keep on breaking the rules.
I love you,
and I want you to take it, OK?
You never listen to me!
I'm not taking it. Molly, just
leave it and get out the car.
Thank you, Sheila. Please.
I've got to go and get Leo.
Ava, take...
I'm not taking it.
Just leave it and get out the car.
Baby, take it, please.
No, I'm not taking it.
You do it all the time,
and I don't think it's fair.
I'm s... I'm sorry.
No. Don't touch me.
I said don't touch me!
Go.
Please. Don't call 'em. Five.
All right, just go. Four.
OK...
Three.
SHEILA SIGHS
Are you OK? Not in the mood.
No. I don't blame you.
Can we just go get Leo? Yeah.
You don't want to go dance? Nope.
All right, fair enough.
Come on, then.
ALARM BEEPS
CHILDREN SHOUT AND PLAY
Start at the top. Yeah, OK.
Finish at the bottom.
Don't forget the keys.
Enjoy. Goodnight. Goodnight.
LEO: Mummy, I got a wobbly tooth.
Wow, another tooth, baby?
You think the tooth fairy
will know I'm staying at Sheila's?
Will you tell her, Mummy?
Yeah. I'll tell her.
Love you, Mummy.
Oh, baby. Me, too.
More than anything.
Is Ava there? Can I speak to her?
She doesn't want to come to
the phone, Mummy.
She's said to stop asking.
I know she doesn't want to see me,
but just tell her I'm doing
everything I can to make it better.
I love you both so much.
I've got to go play now, Mummy.
Love you.
DOOR OPENS
Morning. Morning.
AMINA SIGHS
How was work?
Fuck night shifts, man.
I'm so tired, Molly.
You hungry? Yeah, I'm starving.
Well, Mya's heating up the injera.
Don't worry, I didn't touch it.
Thank God.
Ah. How are you, though?
You know, Molly, all them social
service meetings you go to,
it's basically like a full-time job,
isn't it?
Now you've got your cleaning.
Are you sure you still have time
to help me with Mya?
Yeah, of course, babe.
You're all I've got.
Not going anywhere.
Molly, you know you should go
and see your mum.
Um, what for? I know it's not easy,
but it hurts more to
hold on to the pain.
You know that, right?
Oh. So, have you spoke to your mum
recently, then?
OK. Thanks, Molly.
Well, yeah, I'm just saying.
SHE LAUGHS, PHONE RINGS
It's my baby's first day
of school today.
LEO: Hi!
Hello! Is that my big boy?
Hello, Mumma.
Ava helped me tie my shoes.
Oh, did she?
I bet you look so handsome. Yeah.
Um, Mum? Hmm?
I really don't want to go. Oh, baby,
you're going to be fine at school,
OK? And you got Ava to look
after you as well.
Say hi to him, Molly? Yeah. Hi, Leo.
Hello. I'm Amina,
and your mum's told me
what a wonderful boy you are.
I know you're going to make lots
of new friends, OK?
OK.
Hi, Leo. Hi! I'm Mya.
I was scared on my first day, too,
but you can eat yummy snacks
and it goes by really fast.
You're amazing, baby. I know.
SHE LAUGHS
I love you!
LEO GIGGLES
That's not how you tickle!
Where have you gone, baby?
Sheila's tickling me
and making me laugh.
Oh, do you like her again?
I really like her, Mummy.
Can I buy her a present?
Yeah, of course you can, baby.
Um, I've got to go now, but I'm...
..I'm...I'm squeezing the phone.
Are you?
Yep!
Love you. Love you, Mummy.
Bye!
Come here. You're going to be fine.
Have you...
Have you said your blessings?
Yes, I have.
Well, do them again, then,
just to be sure. Got it.
I'm going to drop you to court,
then go down the housing office.
They expect you to wait in here for
a year with no fucking information.
I'm working after, so if you could
pick up Mya from judo,
then I'll bring us dinner home, OK?
Yeah.
Listen, I know it all feels like
it's riding on Ava at the moment,
but she'll come round.
Now, listen, Molly, you want
to make this woman your best friend.
She's the guardian who speaks
on behalf of Leo and Ava,
and she has a really big
sway with the judge,
so you want to get her on your side,
right?
Right? Yeah. OK.
Hello.
It's really lovely to meet you.
It's lovely to meet you, too, Molly.
Thank you
for everything you're doing.
I really appreciate it.
You don't need to thank me.
I've met Ava and Leo.
They're lovely.
They're a great testament to you.
Thank you.
I don't know what to say to that.
You're in a bit of a difficult
situation now, Molly.
Has Ava, um...?
Like, what has she said?
Does she want to come home with me?
I'm still in the process
of collecting the children's wishes,
but Ava has said that she does want
her voice to be valued in court.
She's angry with me because
I keep breaking my promises
cos of what's going on, so...
MOLLY SIGHS
I understand how hard it can be,
Molly,
but at some point, you have to take
accountability for your actions.
Yeah, my...
Um, I know.
And I have.
I've been to the appointments.
I've been to every meeting,
all the classes.
Um,
but with, you know,
I tried with therapy,
and the waiting lists are
so long that, you know, I can't
even get an appointment till after
the judge has even made her
decision.
It's difficult, and these things are
happening all the time.
Do you know Ava's decision?
I can't say right now,
but what's important is that we
focus on prioritising the children
and making sure
that we put their future first.
AMINA: Mya, can you take your
uniform off, please, and hang it up?
Mya...
SHE SPEAKS SOMALI
Quickly!
Mya? What did your mum just say?
Take your uniform off
and hang it up now.
Ugh...
Thank you, Molly.
She needs new shoes, you know.
I know.
Look, look at that.
What can I do about it?
Everyone's laughing at me in school
because of those shoes, Hooyo.
Mya, it's character building,
darling.
Mate, it's madness.
You can't have her walking around
with shoes like that
when that woman owes you money.
It's a joke.
I mean, who is she?
Where does she live?
Her name's Kim Davis.
Is this her?
Yes, that is her.
Let's have a look. Let me see.
That's her, with her shopping bags.
She's got coffee
and a pain au chocolat.
She's so rude.
She's always telling
me she ain't got no money.
She's taking the piss.
Fuck it, Molly,
I'm going round there.
On your own?
No, you're coming with me.
Just like the old days, Molly.
Me and you against the world.
Come on. Mina, I've...
I've got too much to lose.
You know that. I can't do... I
can't.
AMINA SIGHS
No, you're right.
Should have fucking done it sooner,
man.
She's living it large,
having her best life.
And I'm stuck here, Molly.
I can't even buy Mya shoes.
No, that's it. Fuck that bitch.
Mina, Mina... Wait.
Look, what are you going to do
if it kicks off?
Seriously? Well, I haven't
thought about that yet,
but I'm going to fucking go
and get my money.
Mina... That's it, I've had enough.
I can't take any more of this.
Mina, please don't go.
She'll come back.
I know she will.
Dear God, please help me.
SHE PRAYS IN SOMALI
Be with me. Mina, look at me.
It's going to be fine.
Stop freaking out.
Oh, God, be with me, please.
Fucking hell.
It's not that bad, is it?
Who are you calling?
MUSIC PLAYS ON PHONE:
Talkin' Da Hardest
by Giggs
Hype music.
# Walk in the party
Sporting Armani
# Half of the crowd's
all snorting my Charlie
# Sorted the bar
Time to sort the punani
# Chicks looking at me like,
"Talk to me, darling"
# Hollering at man
# Winking, smiling and
want to attack man
# I think these lighties loving
my Black Gang
# Everyone suit same colour
as Batman's... #
'K, ready? You ready? Yeah.
Right, let's go. Let's go.
# Bag 28 with a thought of a jib
# Anybody thinks they can
talk to my clique
# Will end up covered
in red like a portion of chips... #
KNOCKING AT DOOR
Hello? God, you must be freezing.
Yeah, it is cold. I'm Amina.
I'll stop you there.
Unfortunately,
I won't be buying tonight.
What the hell?
Do you not recognise me?
Should I? Well, I've left you enough
fucking messages.
Sorry, I don't know
what you're talking about.
Just give her her deposit back,
your dodgy cunt.
I'm going to shut the door now.
Stop playing dumb, Kim.
OK? I've asked you nicely,
now give me my deposit back.
Not got it. Is that your car, Kim?
Isn't it gorgeous?
I had every right
to keep your deposit.
That's fucking bullshit.
Now go and get your chequebook,
and give me my fucking deposit back,
so we can get this over
and done with.
Leave me alone
or I'll call the police.
Oi, no-one's calling the police.
Yeah, call the police.
I can fucking tell them
and explain to them
that you stole from a
homeless woman.
Don't you dare slam the
door in my fucking face, Kim.
Don't slam the door in my face.
Oi, Mina.
We're homeless, you know,
me and my daughter? Yeah, let's go.
Look at me,
I said I can't have any trouble.
INSISTENT KNOCKING
This is private property.
MINA SHRIEKS
Mina!
I'm all right. Hey!
Don't fucking push her!
Don't you dare fucking push her!
Give me my fucking money, Kim.
Oi, now, Mina, she's got a bat.
Come on, let's go.
You can go, Molly,
I'm getting my fucking money back.
Yeah?
MINA GRUNTS
Right, we want to go home, yeah?
So how do you want to do it?
Cash or cheque?
I'll write a cheque, if that's OK.
Great. Yeah.
Um, do you mind?
Thanks. How much was it? 1,500.
Thanks, Kim.
There you go. Thank you.
Be out of your hair, Kim.
You won't hear from us again.
This money is going to go
to really good use.
Thank you so much.
PHONE BEEPS
Just so it's clear, Kim,
we just came to get the money
that was rightfully owed to Amina.
We didn't hurt you.
We didn't steal anything.
We just came to get the money
that was rightfully owed.
That's right. Great.
Thank you very much, Kim.
PHONE BEEPS
I love what you've done
to your house.
THEY SHRIEK EXCITEDLY
Come on!
THEY LAUGH
You OK?
MOLLY LAUGHS
Oh, my God.
Are you OK? Oh, my days.
THEY LAUGH
You can't believe that happened.
I know!
Molly, thank you so much.
I could not have done
that without you.
I think you could. You went, like,
full-on rago back there.
What was that? Mad Amina
came back for a minute there.
She came back. She was on a rampage.
"Give me my fucking..."
"Give me my money."
THEY HOOT AND LAUGH
Thanks for watching her, Sylvie.
You're an angel.
Oh, she's been no trouble
whatsoever.
As good as gold, ain't you, darling?
You going to give Nanna a hug?
Oh...
Why don't you take your mum home,
Molly?
Are you coming in for a nightcap,
darling?
There you go, darling.
Easy, Mum. OK.
Just a little bit, eh?
That's enough. OK.
You all right?
You know, Mum, I look
at her and I feel so sad.
All the adventures
she wanted to go on.
Mm.
There was no-one there
to keep her safe, though.
Mm.
You're not going to start, are you?
No?
Look at her, look.
SYLVIE CHUCKLES
Cheeky.
THEY CHUCKLE
Not much changed now, actually.
Hey...
Oh...
Should we have a ciggy, darling?
THEY CHUCKLE
MOLLY SIGHS
LIGHTER FLICKS ON
I promised myself,
I never wanted you to go through
what I went through.
Yeah.
I promised that to myself and all.
Yeah, I know.
But you did your best, darling.
Sometimes your best
ain't good enough, Mum.
SYLVIE CHUCKLES
Why do you think it's
called your best?
It's just the best you
can do at the time.
PHONE RINGS AND VIBRATES
Hello?
AMINA: Oh, my God,
I've been trying to call you.
Mm, I fell asleep.
What do you mean, you fell asleep?
I'm at my mum's.
Don't do that to me again.
You worried me. Why?
I didn't know what happened to you.
What if you got arrested
or something?
THEY LAUGH
What? What did...?
What did you think would
happen to me?
Don't laugh at me, Molly!
Where are you?
KNOCKING
Welcome to my crib!
For fuck's sake, you've always
wanted to say that, haven't you?
I've always wanted to say that!
Come on, then.
AMINA GIGGLES
Yeah, fucking hell, though,
the rooms are massive.
Can you afford it?
I mean, how did you find it, Amina?
It's mad.
It came on the website this morning,
so I ran over here to have
a look at it.
Do you like it, Molly?
Mate, I love it.
I've been looking at places online,
and it's full of pages and pages
of shit that I can't afford.
I thought this money was going
to sort us out,
but once I paid for the deposit,
then what?
I work all the hours that I can,
and who knows how long
I'll be waiting in that hostel.
It's fucked. Mate.
It's going to take me months
to save for a deposit.
Molly,
we've both been through a lot,
and finding you again has helped
me more than I'd ever realised.
You see me.
You see me more than anyone
in my whole life has ever seen me.
Not just a mum.
I'm Amina. I'm me.
And it's not all about the kids.
You're not proposing to me,
are you?
THEY LAUGH
Shut up.
No, but honestly, Mina,
I couldn't have done it without you.
Your love is magic,
do you know that?
Does magical things to people.
It might sound mad,
but it could work.
What?
I was thinking we could split
the rent 50-50,
and we'll use my money
for the deposit,
bit like a loan.
I really want to live here, Molly.
We deserve this. We all do.
That's why I chose here, Molly.
It's big enough for all of us.
Our whole family,
Ava and Leo as well.
TEARFULLY: You're going to bring
your babies home.
You're going to bring them home.
MOLLY SNIFFLES
Fuck...
You all right? Yup.
Shall we go in? Yeah? Ready?
Thank you for joining our
final day of proceedings,
and for the work all
parties have put in over this time.
The children's guardian is now going
to read out a statement
that was written by Ava Brown
and is signed by Leo Brown
at the bottom, also.
"My mum isn't perfect,
and her going to prison
"was the hardest thing we've ever
had to deal with,
"especially when no-one turned up
to pick us up from school that day
"and we didn't know where she was.
"I didn't know pain
like that existed.
"Now I know it does.
"We've not had it easy,
even before that,
"but we've always had each other.
"I look after my mum sometimes,
"even though she's supposed
to look after me,
"which she does,
"and then sometimes
I look after Leo,
"and sometimes Leo looks after me,
"and that's just what we do.
"She encourages me to love school
and taught me about cool scientists
"that were women whilst everyone
was learning about princesses.
"I know everyone thinks they have
the best mum in the world,
"but I think my mum would be a
pretty strong contender.
"Things don't always come out
the right way,
"and sometimes she makes decisions
"that maybe other people
wouldn't make.
"But she's always done the best
that she ever could,
"and her best is good enough for us.
"If I could live anywhere,
it would be anywhere together,
"and I know my baby brother
feels the same.
"Thank you to Sheila.
"We really love her,
and she's been so kind to us,
"but we would like to go home now.
"Thank you for listening.
Ava Brown."
I firstly would like to thank
all the legal representatives
for the parties,
who have done a thorough job
in ensuring that I have
all the relevant evidence before me.
The mother has given evidence,
in emphatic terms,
to say that she is sorry
for abducting the children,
for going to prison,
and for being in an abusive
relationship with Ava's father.
The mother loves her
children greatly,
and she wants to be mother to them.
However,
I remain deeply concerned with
the mother's erratic behaviour
whilst abducting the children.
The mother had no plans
when she abducted the children,
and she took them, with barely
any money and nowhere to live.
The mother's actions were
reckless and selfish.
I am also of the opinion
that the mother
has made significant
changes in her life,
including making more
desirable friends,
one of whom is Ms Amina Ali,
who has provided a statement
in these proceedings to support
the return of the children to
the mother's care...
..and also noting her
housing arrangements.
My judgment is, therefore,
that the children will be
returned to the mother
under the phased plan
set out by Lydia Bass,
and the children
will be made subject to
a supervision order
for a period of 12 months,
so that the local authority can
continue to support the family.
To the mother, I will say
well done for coming this far.
It will not be easy,
and this is only the first step.
However, you have two children
who, from the reports I have read,
are intelligent and friendly,
and are a real credit to you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mum! Hi!
Hi. Hello.
Oh, I've really missed you.
Come here. Thank you.
Bye forever, Sheila.
Hiya. Hi.
Well done, Molly.
Thank you.
Thank you for loving my babies.
Bye-bye. Thank you, Sheila.
Thank you for looking after me.
Hi.
You OK? I'm coming under.
Ready? Yeah. Yeah?
This is your new house,
Ellie the Elephant.
Do you like it?
Ava.
We need to walk together. You OK?
Yeah? You OK?
KEYS JANGLE
OK.
Hi.
Mum, who are these two people?
Well, this is Mya.
Hi. Hi.
And this is my best friend, Amina.
Hello, Ava and Leo.
You're just in time for our party,
and we've got chocolate cake.
Do you like chocolate cake, Leo?
Yeah!
And guess what?
I told Mya all about your dancing.
Is that true?
Mm-hm, it's true.
So, do you want to
play musical statues?
Yeah! Yeah?
I know this is going to take
some getting used to, darling.
Come here.
It's all right.
Do you want to come with me
to see your bedroom?
Yeah.
Bye-bye.
Can we go upstairs?
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten, eleven, twelve...
All right, everything's OK, baby.
OK? You're home now.
Good girl.
MOLLY SIGHS
MOLLY GIGGLES TRIUMPHANTLY
MUSIC: Love
by Facesoul
# All love, all you need is love
# All you need is
# All love, all you need is
# All you need is
# All love, all you need is
# All you need is
# All love, all you need is
All you need is
# Step into the moment
# Let yourself free now
# All you need is loving
# And you'll find your way
# All you need is
# A little bit of love inside of you
# Carry it like a light, I say
# And this love,
this love'll carry you through
# Through
# All you need is love, love
# All you need is love, love
# All you need is love, love
# All you need is love
# All you need is love, love
# All you need is
# I don't know what I know
# All I know is you need
a bit of love to get you through
# I don't know what I know
# All I know is you need
a bit of love to make it through
# I don't know what I know
# All I know is you need
a bit of love to get you through
# I don't know what I know
# All I know is you need
a bit of love to get you through
# All you need is... #