On Swift Horses (2024) Movie Script
1
[SONG PLAYING] Our guardian star
lost all his glow
The day that I lost you
He lost all his glitter
the day you said no
And his silver turned to blue
Like him, I am doubtful
That your love is true
But if you decide to call on me
Ask for Mr. Blue
I'm Mr. Blue
Whoa, whoa, ooh
When you say you love me
I'm Mr. Blue
Then prove it by going out
On the sly
Proving your love isn't true
Call me Mr. Blue
I'm Mr. Blue
Whoa, whoa, ooh
When you say you're sorry
I'm Mr. Blue
Then turn around, heading for
The lights of town
Hurting me through and through
Call me Mr. Blue
-I stay at home at night
-I stay at home
Right by the phone at night
-Right by the phone
-But you won't call
And I won't hurt my pride
Call me Mister
I won't tell you
Whoa, whoa, ooh
-While you paint the town
-I'm Mr. Blue
A bright red
to leave it upside down
I'm painting it, too
But I'm painting it blue
[PANTING, GRUNTING]
Call me Mr. Blue
Whoa, whoa, ooh
Call me Mr. Blue
[HORN HONKS]
Whoa, whoa, ooh
Call me Mr. Blue.
-[PANTING, MOANING]
-[SONG ENDS]
JULIUS: Thank you.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
-Say yes.
-[LAUGHS]
Lee.
Marry me, Muriel.
You promised me an answer
by Christmas.
And it's Christmas Eve.
And I'll give you one.
Right now I need a shower.
[SHOWER RUNNING]
[SNIFFS]
[MATCH STRIKES]
[WIND WHISTLING]
JULIUS: You must be her.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
Must be.
Toss one of those down to me.
[CHUCKLES]
[MATCH STRIKES]
It's got to be freezing.
I'm Julius.
I know.
-Hi.
-Hello.
I heard your mom
left you the place.
That's right.
Lucky you.
I like the country.
JULIUS: Hmm.
[JINGLING]
[RADIO PLAYING INDISTINCTLY]
JULIUS: Solitaire.
MURIEL: Passes the time.
-Can play a real game, you want.
-[KNIFE CLATTERING]
Real game like what?
Poker.
You'll have to teach me.
Liar.
MURIEL: Only played a few times.
You know, you don't need
to keep secrets.
My brother's seen cards before.
It's no secret.
Lee never seemed interested
in card games is all.
Yeah, that's 'cause he's not.
-Not that it matters.
-[CRUNCHING]
[CARDS SHUFFLING IN OTHER ROOM]
[GRUNTS]
[SHUFFLING CONTINUES]
See, the thing about poker is,
uh, cards aren't just cards.
This right here is
pieces of time.
Okay?
There's what's on the table
and then what's coming
down the line. Follow me?
So, there's only a certain
amount of cards in each deck,
so you got some idea
what's already been dealt,
you got some idea
what's gonna happen next.
[CARD RUSTLES]
But you can't know
what's already been dealt.
Well, it most certainly
is frowned upon,
but that doesn't mean
you can't know.
And if, uh, memory fails.
Clever.
Truth is, a real gambler's only
got one solemn obligation.
What's that?
Staying well-informed.
Watch out now, Muriel.
He's coming for you.
JULIUS: [LAUGHING]
Hey.
LEE: Come here, you little shit.
See you met this one
already, huh?
Yeah, she's been spilling
her secrets all afternoon.
[LEE CHUCKLES]
Oh, don't worry, Muriel.
That's just the way
my little brother is.
I don't mind.
Let me show you around.
We called it
Hell Fire Valley
'cause that's exactly
what it was.
And we're running out of ammo,
but we all know there's more
on the truck, right?
Lee, this story's been told
and told again.
We all know there's more ammo
-on the truck.
-Come on, now.
Chinese bullets
are flying everywhere,
but no one's crazy enough
to risk it.
-[JULIUS CLEARS THROAT]
-So we figure, "That's it."
When all of a sudden
I see this guy.
He's up there
on this burning truck,
throwing ammo down to us
and pushing
wounded soldiers off.
It's this crazy-ass redneck
right here.
I guaran-goddamn-tee you,
if it wasn't for him,
you and I would've never
even met.
Wow. A hero,
this brother of yours.
-LEE: Oh, you bet.
-[JULIUS CHUCKLES]
Nothing but a shoulder wound.
-That's how they tell it.
-[JULIUS CLEARS THROAT]
I guess that's why they, uh,
they let me out.
Let you what?
I was discharged, um...
last week.
Well, I got six months left.
That means you got
six months left.
Well, not anymore.
LEE: You can still
fire a gun, can't you?
You can still walk.
We're still at war, aren't we?
Lee.
Your separation payout?
Pension?
Nope.
[SIGHS] We had a plan,
didn't we, Julius?
-[MURIEL MUTTERING]
-Pool our discharge pay
and get us a place
out in California.
-That was the plan, wasn't it?
-I-I got an idea.
-This is what he does, Muriel.
-No-no, my-my idea...
-He is always holding...
-No, she's got an idea.
...something
back. Always.
My idea is that
I-I want to dance.
I need a smoke.
[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]
[ LOVE OF NO RETURN
BY PETER SIVO BAND PLAYING]
[SIGHS]
[SONG PLAYING]
You whispered...
-Well?
-MURIEL: Oh.
Oh, I-I was just trying
to smooth things over.
So let's smooth them over.
Only to learn
JULIUS: Mm.
This love is a love
Of no return...
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
He, um... he thinks so highly
of you is all.
Yeah, that's 'cause
I'm all he's got.
Besides you.
You ever been in love before?
No.
Uh, not before now, I mean.
Have you?
You know what I think?
I think you see
right through all of it.
All of what?
All the supposed tos.
All the stuff
they tell you matters.
All the stuff the guys
next to me in Korea
cared so much about
right up until
their brains got blown out
the back of their heads.
[DOOR OPENS]
You got room for a dumbass hick
in the middle?
JULIUS: Mm.
Let me on in here now.
You know what?
I got the two people
that I love most in the world
right here in front of me.
-[JULIUS] Here it comes.
-[LEE CHUCKLES]
Muriel Jane Edwards...
[CHUCKLING]
I've asked before.
Lord knows I've asked.
And I'm asking you again.
I'm back to Korea in 72 hours.
It's Christmas Eve.
Go on, now, Lee, get up.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
I know you're worried about me,
but nothing's gonna happen.
And besides, if it does,
Julius here
will take care of you.
Don't say that to him.
LEE: Won't you, Julius?
Of course I will.
LEE: I can make you
happy, Muriel.
Well?
-You mean it?
-Yes. [CHUCKLES]
-LEE: Pardon me, now?
-MURIEL: Yes!
[MURIEL CHUCKLING]
-LEE: Woo-hoo!
-[MURIEL LAUGHING]
We can still do it, you know?
LEE: What's that?
San Diego, California.
I-I got money saved.
You serious?
I mean, that was the plan,
wasn't it?
Sure.
But don't do it for us
if it's not what you want.
Well, hell, I like sunshine
as much as the next guy.
[LEE AND JULIUS CHUCKLING]
All three of us
out in California.
What do you think, Muriel?
Well, a plan's a plan.
LEE: Yeah, but you got
to promise, Julius.
Promise.
I... I promise.
[ GAMBLIN' WOMAN BY CHUCK
HIGGINS AND HIS BAND PLAYING]
[LAUGHTER, WHOOPING]
JULIUS: Oh, here we go.
She's a gamblin' woman
I've got to let her go
JULIUS: Come on, now.
She's a gamblin' woman
I've got to let her go
[LAUGHTER, WHOOPING]
She goes, plays dice
She loses all my dough
-She goes, plays dice
-[DISHES CLATTERING]
She loses all my dough
[BELL RINGING]
MURIEL: Dear Julius...
Maybe it won't last forever,
but even Lee says
there's something
in the air here... a feeling.
It's really true what they say
about California.
Yeah, we both got jobs
just like that.
You believe it?
It's like that here.
You never know
what's just around the bend.
Like anything is possible.
As if the odds are stacked
in your favor.
I heard about a card game
for you down by the docks.
So get out here
and make us all rich.
We sure could use it.
I hope that new job
in Stockton's working out.
With love and high hopes
to see you soon.
Muriel and Lee.
She's a gamblin' woman
Well, I've got to let her go
She goes, plays dice
She loses all my dough
Gives me trouble
-[SONG ENDS]
-[QUIET CHATTER, LAUGHTER]
Hey, so, Rosie, uh,
what's your feminine intuition
tell you about, uh, Lone Sailor?
Track's running cuppy,
and he's all rode out.
Smart money's on Pastoral
in the sixth.
WAYNE: No shit?
Ten to one? [WHISTLES]
EDDIE: Money like that'd solve
anybody's problems.
WAYNE: Ain't that right, Rosie?
ROSIE: Anybody who's got
the stomach.
WAYNE: What do you got
in-in the third?
-ROSIE: Got Magic Hour.
-WAYNE: Magic Hour?
MURIEL: Oh.
-Here you go.
-LEE: Thank you, baby.
Those new houses going up
in the Valley.
Just...
something to think about.
[SIGHS] We talked
this through, Lee.
We can't afford this right now.
Sell your ma's place
back in Kansas.
My mother worked her whole life
for that house.
Right, but that was
her dream, Muriel.
This is ours.
So I don't have a choice?
[HESITATES, SIGHS]
That's the house I grew up in.
I shouldn't have said anything.
[PAMPHLET SKIDS]
[BUGLE PLAYING
CALL TO THE POST ]
[QUIET CHATTER]
Uh... [CLEARS THROAT]
$20 on Pastoral
in the sixth to win.
[INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENOVER P.A.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[STARTING GUN FIRES]
ANNOUNCER:
And here they come.
Othello's fading back now as
Pastoral heads up the outside
coming into the final stretch.
It's Pastoral and Lone Sailor,
Mother's Helper in third.
Now it's Pastoral and
Mother's Helper one and two.
Pastoral and Mother's Helper.
It's Pastoral
and Mother's Helper.
And here we go, into the finish.
Mother's Helper, Pastoral.
It's Pastoral
and Mother's Helper.
-It's Pastoral!
-[CHEERING]
-Pastoral takes the win!
-[LAUGHS]
I'd like an envelope, please.
[MAN GROANS]
[MEN GROANING, MUTTERING]
You ought to take a game
like yours out to the desert.
Yeah? Why's that?
Open all night, no cops,
$20 buy-ins.
Just like Korea.
The good parts, anyway.
This round's on me.
-MAN 1: You fucking kidding me?
-MAN 2 : Sit back down.
-Classic hit-and-run.
-MAN 3: Oh, come on.
[DISTANT CLATTERING]
You play a real tight game,
don't you?
Feel like a nightcap?
JULIUS: Probably not tonight,
friend.
Probably not?
Hey, somebody's
a little ginned up, huh?
You looking for company?
Twenty bucks, I could be, yeah.
Okay.
-What the hell is this, man?
-Hey.
-Easy. Relax.
-[BELT CLATTERING]
JULIUS: Get your
fucking hands off me.
Oh.
Now I'm impressed.
[JULIUS GRUNTING]
Jackpot.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[PANTING]
[DISTANT TRAFFIC NOISES]
[PHONE RINGING]
MURIEL: Hello?
JULIUS: [OVER PHONE]:
That you, Kansas?
Julius?
Are you waiting
on somebody else?
[LAUGHS]
Where are you?
Now, how is that card game
shaping up?
I-I've been playing the horses.
-You have not.
-Yeah.
I'm waiting tables
at this little place,
and it's all horsemen,
so I've been taking notes.
[CHUCKLES]
No shit? You remembered.
Yeah, a real gambler's
only solemn obligation
is staying well-informed.
That's a nice racket for a gal.
Oh, I bet nobody
sees you coming.
-Just for fun, really.
-Well, be careful now.
Might be one of those things
you can't ever get enough of.
We sure hoped
you'd be here by now.
Lee sure does miss you.
Lee just wants that happy
little home that we never had.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Well, what's wrong with that?
Say, how about you?
Is that what you want?
I...
I thought we had a plan.
I, uh, I lost my share.
I-I got a way to make it back,
I just got to...
I got to go on my own steam.
I think you understand that.
[CLICKS TONGUE]
I don't think I do, but...
give me your address
and I'll send you some money
for a bus ticket.
Uh, you can send it, uh,
care of me,
Western Union, Stockton.
[DOOR OPENS]
Oh, and, uh,
don't tell Lee, uh...
I want to surprise him.
Okay. Okay, thank you.
Bye, now, Nathaniel.
Uh, just the neighbor boy
checking on Ma's house for us.
JULIUS: To Mrs. Lee Walker,
Western Union, San Diego.
Muriel, sorry.
Change of plans.
Unexpected opportunities
have come up.
Back as soon as I can.
Wish me luck in Sin City.
Julius.
DEALER: Lucky number seven...
[SONG PLAYING] See the moon
above the mountain
Winner, 11. Front line winner.
Go. No more bet.
No more bets.
Watch the stars
Light up the sky
Yes!
Oh, wherever
You are, darlin'
Do you feel
The same
As I?
Do you ever
Long to see me?
Do you ever
Feel this blue?
Hey, darling.
[OVER RADIO] Oh, wherever
You are, darlin'
Do you know
I'm missing you?
LEE: Just think...
Twenty-five bucks a month,
by the time we're 50,
this could all be ours.
If I could feel your arms...
[TOOLS CLATTERING]
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
[WORKERS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
LEE: Come on.
We'll be the first ones in here.
Developer says he can sell us
this model here for 10% off.
And this tract's
the best of them.
It's $2,000 for the land,
build-out's another four,
maybe six.
That's hardly anything,
considering.
Considering what?
How fast this will go.
We'll get at least a few grand
for your mother's place, right?
But you promised your brother
we'd all do this together.
What is it with you
and waiting on him?
See my brother around here
anywhere?
You know what Julius said?
He said it was good
that I was marrying you.
He said, "That sad girl,
she needs someone
to tell her what to do."
Muriel.
Muriel.
Stop. Stop there.
Stop there? Why?
I want to buy some olives.
You want to buy some olives?
Yes.
Sure.
[ROOSTER CROWS]
-[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
-SANDRA: Come in!
[BANDURRIA PLAYING IN DISTANCE]
Out back.
Lost?
Uh, no, your sign? Olives?
That was the Garcias',
next door, before they tore
the place down.
Oh.
You really want some,
I got some.
Looking at land, huh?
-We are.
-Hmm.
Now's the time, I hear.
Uh, that was real nice,
what you were playing
on the guitar.
-It's not a guitar.
-Oh.
-Give it here.
-Sorry.
Never had an olive.
There's a pit.
Oh.
What do I do with it?
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
You on your own here, then?
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
Could use some eggs,
if you're gonna shop.
Got some laid fresh
this morning.
How much do we owe you for it?
Doesn't feel right
selling you the olives.
It wasn't me you really wanted.
Oh, then we'll have
to overpay you for the eggs.
I've got money, Lee.
Thanks.
[SPITS]
[LAUGHS]
You've got it.
[ROOSTER CROWS]
Mind if I drive?
No.
[EXHALES]
You're right.
Let's do it.
Let's get the house.
What?
Really? You mean that?
[ TIME AND PLACE
BY THE MCGRAW BROTHERS PLAYING]
Well, there's a time
and a place for everything
Whoa, there's a time to be nice
And a time for play
Oh, baby,
there's a time to be true
And a time to be cheatin'
[COINS CLATTERING]
Oh, there's a time to be bitter
And a time to be sweet...
[SIGHS]
Say, I got a question.
The, uh, the work
you fellas do here,
you got any openings?
Entry level, of course.
What skills do you have
to offer?
Well, I know how people steal
and I know why they do.
You yourself do not steal.
And partly,
I know how people steal
'cause I've stolen in the past,
I'll be honest with you.
Well, this doesn't really seem
like the kind of place
to steal from,
and I'd like to stay
on the right side of that.
We've seen you around,
you play aboveboard.
We like that.
Blackjack's the only casino game
where the gambler can get
an edge over the house.
For that reason it attracts
cheaters of all kinds.
-Do you agree?
-I sure do.
Pit surveillance?
Simple, you see something,
you say something.
We take it from there.
Two-way mirrors
looking down on the floor.
You can see them,
but they can't see you.
Call box up top.
Spot a sharper, you phone it in.
[SONG CONTINUES FAINTLY]
[DISTANT CHEERING]
[LAUGHTER]
[CHEERING]
[LAUGHTER]
That's my girl. Woo-hoo!
Clever.
[CHUCKLES]
[DOOR CLOSES]
You're new.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
Henry.
Julius.
First time?
It is, yeah.
What do you think so far?
It's instructive.
HENRY: Only maybe
there's such a thing
as knowing too much.
Yeah, maybe there is.
Okey dokey.
I'll see you around.
ROSIE: I'll wait
for positions tomorrow.
Then I'll take
that Roustabout cash,
put it all on Flood
in the seventh.
EDDIE: What? Flood's too young.
WAYNE: Jumpy as a virgin.
ROSIE: You boys do what
you want, but at six to one,
that horse is a monster
in sheep's clothing.
WAYNE: Sounds like
some people we know.
[JAZZ PLAYING IN DISTANCE]
[DISTANT CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
You're looking at my scar.
Sorry.
HENRY: Why?
You didn't do it.
115 degrees today.
Tomorrow, too.
Well, the heat's
just fine with me.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
[JAZZ PLAYING IN DISTANCE]
[JULIUS EXHALES]
[DISTANT CHEERING]
JULIUS: [ECHOES] You okay?
Oh, whoa, whoa.
Hey, come on, come on.
Hey, hey, come on.
[STRAINS] Come on, now.
Okay.
[GRUNTING]
[SNIFFLING]
[CROWD CHEERING]
HENRY: Hey.
Ain't going home, are you?
Was planning on it.
I owe you a drink for before.
What is this? What is this,
some kind of hustle?
Ain't no hustle.
I got something
-to show you, that's all.
-Oh, yeah? What's that?
America.
[ENGINE REVS]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[R&B PLAYING OVER RADIO]
Thanks, man.
Hey.
Mira.
Call this an atomic cocktail.
Salud.
Oh, I don't think
this is such a good idea.
Why's that?
When boss men see us
palling around,
they're liable to think
we got an angle.
-[SIREN WAILING]
-This is Vegas.
So?
So they know we got an angle.
-MAN: Five!
-There's no other reason
-to be here.
-CROWD: Four, three,
two, one!
-[EXPLOSION]
-[HENRY CHUCKLES]
They test the fuckers
once a month out at the base.
We got a front-row seat.
[CHEERING]
See? I told you.
America.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
HENRY: Hey.
Hey.
What's all this?
I'm just calling it.
-You are, huh?
-Yep.
Give me a smoke.
Give me a light.
Mm.
Know any good jokes?
I bet you do.
Get out of here.
Sir, yes, sir.
[ SONG FOR HENRY
BY LOREN KRAMAR PLAYING]
There's a life
I've always wanted
I can't say
That I'm living it now
But someday
Someday
I could
Know how
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
The fuck is this?
-What are you doing?
-Hey. Hey.
Tranquilo.
No, I don't...
Hi, friend
Can I meet you again?
Time lost
And won and lost
And won and then
I burned the bridge of my life
To get to you
I'm a runner, I'm a runner
You're the lover I'm running to
[SOFT CLICKING]
[ANNOUNCER SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY]
-$200 on Roustabout to win.
-CASHIER: Yes, ma'am.
ANNOUNCER: And it's Sayonara
breaking on the outside,
Roustabout on the inside.
Roustabout and Sayonara.
Roustabout and Sayonara.
It's Roustabout!
Roustabout takes it.
CASHIER: Uh, ma'am?
Put it all on Flood
in the seventh.
All of it, ma'am?
Yes.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
GAIL: Excuse me,
is this table open?
Oh, uh, it is.
[SIGHS]
Crowds always make me sweat.
[BUGLE PLAYING
CALL TO THE POST ]
Who's yours?
Oh, uh, Flood.
No. Me, too.
Aren't we both brave?
-Six to one.
-I like
the look of him, though,
don't you?
I do.
Very much.
-[STARTING GUN FIRES]
-ANNOUNCER: And they're off.
It's Flood and Lost at Sea.
Lost at Sea holding his lead.
Flood coming up fast,
Lost at Sea and Flood.
Lost at Sea and Flood.
-[GASPING]
-Here they come.
Flood and Lost at Sea.
It's Flood making
one last break down the rail.
-It's Flood!
-[BOTH LAUGHING]
Flood takes it!
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
There you are.
How did we come out?
-Oh, darling.
-[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
-We won.
-Excellent.
Goodbye.
Bye.
[EXHALES]
CASHIER: $12,000.
Do be careful, ma'am.
Yeah.
GAIL: Don't flatter yourself.
You know I would never bet
on a loser. [CHUCKLES]
Someday I'm gonna
kill him in his sleep.
HENRY: So...
where are you supposed to be?
San Diego.
With my brother.
We, uh, we planned that
when we were overseas.
I think mostly he just wants
to keep an eye on me, though.
And how come you're not there?
We never had much in the way
of a family growing up.
My mom died when I was small,
and my dad pretty much
lost his marbles.
Then we just moved around,
place to place.
You know,
aunts and uncles and...
My brother,
he needs all that, I guess.
You know, walls, windows,
happy little home,
woman waiting at the door
for him.
And what about you?
Hey.
I thought
this was not a good idea.
Everybody makes mistakes.
[HENRY SIGHS SOFTLY]
[BABY CRYING]
[KEY CLICKING IN LOCK]
Where the hell have you been?
-Lee. Something happened, Lee.
-What? What is it?
I called the HeyDay.
-They said you left hours ago.
-Lee.
This isn't farm country, Muriel.
You can't just go out wandering.
Anything could happen
to you, okay?
Do you understand that?
What is this?
-We did it, Lee.
-You sold your mother's house?
-$3,000?
-[LAUGHING]
$3,000?
Oh, my gosh!
[CHUCKLES]
I've never even
seen money like this.
Muriel...
[SNIFFLING]
I know.
I know. That house is the last
piece of your ma you had left.
I understand.
[KISSING]
MURIEL: General
delivery, Las Vegas, Nevada.
To Julius Walker.
Dear Julius,
been a while since
I've heard back from you.
Suppose you must have hit it
big and forgot all about us.
As you can see, we went
and bought ourselves a house.
Included in this letter
is our new address.
Come on.
MURIEL: Come see us
when your luck runs out.
Muriel.
[TOOLS CLATTERING]
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
[PHONE RINGING]
Hello?
[SCOFFS] Goddamn it, Julius.
Muriel. It's my brother.
Thought she might like to know
you're not dead.
So tell me all the news, then.
Well, we finally sold
the house in Kansas.
Got us a little place here
in the Valley.
That ain't no news.
Muriel already
wrote me about it.
She did?
You know, I can't believe
she let her ma's place
go like that.
You know, truth be told,
I didn't know a thing about it.
She got it all done on her own
as a surprise to me.
Hold on. I'll put Muriel on
for a minute.
Hold on.
JULIUS: [OVER PHONE]:
Muriel, is that you?
Uh, it's that sad girl
that needs someone
to tell her what to do.
Oh, come on now. You know
I didn't mean nothing by that.
So why'd you say it?
You know why.
Don't tell me what I know.
Say, piece of advice.
Don't spend all that
horse money in one place.
Like on a bus ticket?
Well, I'd, uh,
I'd say I miss you,
but you probably don't believe
a word I say, do you?
[RECEIVER CLICKS IN CRADLE]
[DIAL TONE]
Said you wrote him.
Think he'll come?
I don't think
he ever planned to.
My brother is, uh...
My brother's not what you think.
What does that mean?
The world Julius lives in,
it's a different world,
that's all.
It's not like ours.
Um...
I-I love my brother, you know,
I always will, but...
He has passions of his own.
Do you know what I mean?
He's just not like us.
[DISTANT CROWD CHATTER]
[COINS JINGLING]
[DISTANT CHEERING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[MAN WHISTLES]
JULIUS: Partners.
-That's a new one.
-I guess it is.
Instructive.
-TERENCE: What's going on?
-At table ten.
-[BLOWS LANDING]
-[MEN GRUNTING]
[BODY THUDS ON GROUND]
-[MAN CRIES OUT]
-[GRUNTS]
Risk reward, eh?
[GRUNTS]
For your diligence.
-[JAZZ PLAYING]
-HENRY: Did you ever think of
tipping them off,
those blackjack players?
I always do.
Think of it.
We could make even more money
if we work with them.
Yeah, don't shit
where you eat's what I think.
But maybe a place where you can
take another man's money
and get rich doing it,
catch cheats, and watch a bomb
go off all in the same day
is exactly the kind of place
where the lines get blurred.
If you're saying there ain't
no difference between cheating
and not, I'd say you're crazy.
[SIGHS]
You have people, though.
-Just my brother and his wife.
-That's enough.
They probably love you
and wonder where you are.
I don't see your point, friend.
All I'm saying is,
they know you.
They don't know
a thing about me.
They know more about you
than anyone knows about me.
I've been dead a hundred years,
my friend.
You can ask my father.
Well, ain't that
just too bad for you?
-It is. It is too bad for me.
-Henry.
You saw what they did
to those boys back there.
I mean, we got a good thing
going here. Why fuck it up?
You ain't never seen good.
You think this is it?
So you're just leaving now?
We had a great time, right?
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. We always do.
All you can ask for, I guess.
Right?
[SIGHS] See you at work.
WAYNE: Some asshole will
always say, "Well, at least
he took pills
so he didn't suffer."
And I'd say,
"Then you didn't know Gerald."
Because if ever there
was a sufferer, it was him.
[LAUGHTER]
Cops putting his picture
in the paper like that.
Jesus, no wonder
he offed himself.
"Lewd behavior"?
WAYNE: Why did the cops
actually pick him up?
EDDIE: Caught him in
the bathroom at the Chester
-with another guy.
-WAYNE: The Chester?
EDDIE: Yeah, the queer bar
down by the docks.
WAYNE: [CHUCKLES] I wonder
what'll happen to that place,
you think?
EDDIE: Ain't the first time
it's been raided.
Won't be the last.
Think all those pretty boys
ran out into the sea?
[LAUGHTER]
WAYNE: You see that?
[LAUGHTER CONTINUES]
[DISTANT SHIP HORN BLOWING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[DISTANT CROWD CHATTER,
LAUGHTER]
[WOMAN WHOOPING]
-Where's the other guy?
-You got me, bud.
JULIUS: Dear Muriel,
I saw a girl on the floor
the other day
who looked just like you.
But then she smiled back at me
and I knew it couldn't be you.
Most days I think I made
the right choice coming here,
and some days I just
don't know anything at all.
It's like they say, everybody's
got an angle in this town.
Here you go.
JULIUS: I guess you just got
to play the cards as they come.
But you and Lee
really have it all.
Just like you planned.
Sure hope some of your luck
rubs off on me.
Forgive me someday if you can.
Julius.
LEE: ...what you want to hear,
but I don't think other folks
are going to feel
any different.
-Oh, hi.
-SANDRA: Hi.
I was just telling your husband
I'm collecting signatures.
-Signatures?
-Yeah.
County's enforcing
eminent domain, and they want
to build a highway extension
right through my family's land.
Highway coming this way
seems like a good thing
for everyone, don't it?
That house has been
in my family for 60 years.
Right, but they'll give you
a fair price for it.
It's her family's home, Lee.
Well, you sold off your mom's
old homestead, didn't you?
Well, yeah,
but that's different.
Because you were looking
toward the future.
It's the same thing here.
I'll leave you
to your breakfast.
Hey.
Hey, Sandra.
I'll sign. I mean, I-I want to.
Are you the property owner?
Well, yes, partly.
So the house
is under your name?
My husband's name, but, um...
You're not
the primary property owner.
That's all they'll accept.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hey. Um...
What was it? What you
were playing the other day
if it's not a guitar?
A bandurria.
Oh, bandurria? Is that Spanish?
-Mm-hmm.
-Oh.
Well, I like it.
I got eggs back if you need 'em.
[STATIC HISSING]
-[DOOR OPENS]
-[HENRY WHISTLES]
-[DOOR CLOSES]
-[HENRY CHUCKLES]
Where you been?
HENRY: Call in sick.
Got myself on a lucky streak.
Worried about me, huh?
No, it's just
a lot of cash to carry.
I can take care of myself.
Hmm?
[HENRY CHUCKLES]
[POPPING LIPS]
Did you get that
in a cereal box?
Hey, I won it in a game
of pitch in Tijuana.
Never go anywhere without it.
[HENRY SIGHS]
Why are you pulling
this shit, man?
Now, you ain't got to play
partners with nobody.
[HENRY SCOFFS]
You got me right here.
You know that.
I got you here in this room
but nowhere else.
So, what, I go out
and cheat with you,
or that's it, we just...
we're done?
You don't get it.
Me and you, this is
the one thing we can do
out there in the world together.
Right in front of them.
No, we can do something else.
We can change.
No, you can change.
You think we're the same?
Look at you.
Look at me.
People like me, we want
something, we got to take it.
There's no other way.
[CLAPS HANDS]
[HENRY SIGHS]
If we do this, we do it smart.
Okay, we play outside town.
Play it quiet, small rooms,
nobody knows us, private games.
That's it.
You don't have to do nothing...
But win.
Hmm?
-Stop.
-Nada.
Go.
Nada. [CHUCKLES]
[QUIET CHATTER]
[LAUGHS, SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
-Bang-bang-bang.
-[GROANS PLAYFULLY]
[PANTING HEAVILY]
This all feels like a dream.
Hmm?
It could be it is.
[FAINT HAMMERING IN DISTANCE]
MURIEL: Dear Julius,
the houses around us
are going up fast.
Soon we'll be
completely surrounded.
I'm gonna take 50 cents
out of the can for lunch.
Big day off, huh?
What you gonna do?
MURIEL: To be
honest, I can't see you here.
You wouldn't be able to breathe.
Lee says you have wanderlust
and you'll come back.
See you.
[VOICE-OVER] But I'm letting
go of the plans we made.
LEE: Bye.
MURIEL: I hope you're happy,
wherever you are.
Muriel.
-[QUIET CHATTER]
-[SEABIRDS CHIRPING]
-[QUIET CHATTER]
-[GENTLE JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
A stinger, please.
[GAIL LAUGHS]
[QUIET CHATTER
AND MUSIC CONTINUES]
GAIL: Such a funny story.
[LAUGHS]
I'll be back.
I bet you don't remember me.
How much?
So how's your luck these days?
Gave all that up.
Just like that?
Made a promise to myself.
What sort of promise?
If you think too much
about luck,
it starts to own you,
doesn't it?
We're all owned by something.
Or someone.
I'm Gail.
Oh, uh...
I'm Linda.
Nice to meet you, Linda.
[GLASSES CLINK]
You hear the news?
That poor Russian dog died.
The one they shot into space.
Sad.
You know they ran odds on it?
Twenty to one he'd make it
into orbit.
Hundred to one
he'd come back down.
What about dying?
Nobody wanted
to pay out that bet.
These days, people will bet
on just about anything.
Endless possibilities.
[SIRENS WAILING FAINTLY OUTSIDE]
Endless.
Funny.
[TIRES SCREECHING FAINTLY
OUTSIDE]
I never meet anyone.
[BUZZING]
[CLICK]
-MAN: Everybody quiet.
-[MUSIC AND CHATTER STOP]
-[SHUSHING]
-[BANGING ON DOOR IN DISTANCE]
GAIL: [WHISPERS]
The cops are outside.
OFFICER: Open up, open up!
MAN: Come in.
Uh, what can I do for you,
Officer?
OFFICER:
What's going on upstairs?
MAN: Uh, nothing, nothing.
Uh, I do have
this envelope here for...
MAN: Thank you, Officer.
[BUZZING]
-[CLICK]
-MAN: Coast is clear.
-[RELIEVED MURMURING, CHEERING]
-[GAIL CHUCKLES]
I can't stay out
any later tonight.
Uh, me neither.
You're new at this, aren't you?
It's all luck, really.
You'll see.
We're all just a hair's breadth
from losing everything.
All the time.
[INSECTS CHIRRING]
[LAUGHTER AND CHATTER
IN DISTANCE]
[LIVELY JAZZ MUSIC
PLAYING FAINTLY]
[CHATTER AND MUSIC
CONTINUE LOUDER]
Oh.
Oh, yes.
I...
I'm looking for Sandra.
-Are you here for a book club?
-[LAUGHTER]
LORETTA: Password is
your favorite author.
I'm sensing Willa Cather maybe.
OTHERS: Oh.
Oh, we're really
big readers here.
-[LAUGHTER]
-SANDRA: Jesus.
-Move.
-What?
Come on.
[SIGHS]
You're not wearing any shoes.
Over here, Mrs. Walker.
[CLEARS THROAT]
I wanted it to be quiet.
What?
I want it to be quiet.
-Like that?
-[CHATTER AND MUSIC CEASE]
[SONG PLAYING]
Something cool...
This is what it's like?
SANDRA: What?
Your life.
You're a little drunk, I think.
Stop making fun of me.
Tell me why you want it quiet.
I don't think so.
My, it's nice
To simply sit and rest a while
Now, I know it's a shame
I can't think of your name
I remember your smile
I don't ordinarily drink
With strangers
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
I most usually drink alone...
[SIGHS]
[PANTING HEAVILY]
[BREATHES SHARPLY]
I wasn't sure about you.
Are you sure about me now?
[CHUCKLES] I'm not.
You're really not afraid
of being alone, are you?
Neither are you.
What makes you say that?
Because you're here.
It's just right for the heat
Save my furs for the cold...
[CLATTERING IN OTHER ROOM]
[LAUGHTER]
Come. Come with me.
Well, I don't smoke them
As a rule...
[PANTING SHARPLY]
Who would beg and beg
to take me to the ball
And I'll bet
you couldn't picture me
[GASPING]
[PANTING HEAVILY]
The time I went to Paris
In the fall
[BREATHING SLOWS]
-[MURIEL SIGHING]
-And who would think
The man I loved
Was quite so handsome
Quite so charmed?
I hope you come back.
Well, it's through
It's just a memory I had
Okay, well...
G-Good night.
One I almost forgot
'Cause the weather...
[GUNFIRE]
TV ANNOUNCER:
The Rifleman.
If we ever hit it big,
where would you go?
Man, I've never really
thought about it.
Always got to have yourself
an exit plan.
Probably San Diego for you.
Got your brother there
and all, right?
Easier time down in Mexico.
Big money with the sailors
and the husbands
down from California.
They're always married.
[SIGHS]
Anyway,
why buy yourself a plain
old house in San Diego
when you can build
a palace in Tijuana?
Yeah, well,
if you ever hit it big...
If we ever hit it big.
-"We."
-So?
I mean, I'm wide open
to ideas, partner.
-Yeah, like what?
-Mm-hmm.
Taking five bucks a day
from housewives from El Paso?
Yeah, what's your idea, then?
Easy.
I mean, there's no rules
against us gambling there.
And our casino has
the best odds in town.
We can make a grand
in ten quick deals.
Are you insane?
You know they pay us
to catch guys like us.
I mean, the minute
you sit down at that table,
you're pinned.
No.
Not with you upstairs.
Not if you don't pin me.
When are you gonna see it?
You know, we got it good here.
I mean, real good.
I've been in Kansas and L.A.,
and I've been in Korea.
And in all those places,
I've been a thief,
a faggot and alone.
And, you know,
for the first time in my life,
I can finally see
around the next goddamn corner.
You know why?
Why?
Because I'm with you.
I mean, things are
different now, aren't they?
Well, aren't they?
You really are something.
-Aren't they?
-You know that, right?
Aren't they?
-Aren't they?
-You know they are.
No?
I'm just gonna wear you down.
But you know that, right?
One day you'll say yes.
[WHISPERS] Yeah.
Yeah, maybe I will.
You're crazy.
[WAVES CRASHING]
[SEAGULLS SCREECHING]
[BOTH GRUNTING, PANTING]
You okay?
Uh-huh.
-LEE: Like this?
-Uh-huh.
Open your eyes.
Let me see your eyes.
[DISTORTED PANTING]
[SONG PLAYING]
Baby
-Hush-a-bye, my baby
-[PANTING]
Go to sleep on Mammy's knee
[MURIEL SIGHS]
Rest your head upon my breast
In dreams again with me
Sandman is calling
Shadows are falling...
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
This is becoming a habit.
[SIGHS] Yes, it is.
-What is this music?
-[LAUGHING]
My mother liked
this kind of music.
-Yeah?
-Mm-hmm.
Well, not this, but like this.
-Anything you could dance to.
-Mm, a real honky-tonker, huh?
[LAUGHS]
Oh, yeah. She drove all those
proper ladies in town crazy.
Do tell.
My, uh, my mother was the, uh,
first woman to own a car
in Marshall County.
-Mm-hmm?
-Mm-hmm.
She was the first woman
to get a college degree
and the first woman
to get a divorce.
-All unrelated, I'm sure.
-[BOTH LAUGH]
I wish I could have met
this mother of yours.
You ever been in love before?
[SANDRA CHUCKLES]
Yes, once, up in L.A.,
before I moved back here
to take care of my dad.
I think she figured I'd give up
on this place once he passed,
but... I'm still here
and she's not, so...
What about you? Lee?
Yes. I-I love Lee.
But you're talking
about someone else?
I don't know. It's, um...
It's like I...
saw something no one ever
told me was there before.
Never made any sense.
Still doesn't.
Measure it all out,
we spent maybe 24 hours
in front of each other
and that's it.
Could be that's all it takes.
It's strange.
Like the minute
he walked in the door,
I could breathe again.
He?
You're kind of a lot,
Mrs. Walker.
-[SNICKERS]
-[SANDRA CHUCKLES]
[EXHALES]
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
JULIUS: Fuck.
Fuck.
[HORN HONKING]
Henry.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
JULIUS: No.
No, no, no.
CROUPIER: Thirteen...
black, odd.
JULIUS: Oh, no, Henry.
PLAYER: This feels like a seven.
JULIUS: Henry. Henry.
No, no, no, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck!
-[HENRY GRUNTING]
-TERENCE: You didn't
finger this greaser. Why?
You were working tables all
around town together is why.
You were part of it.
Ain't that right, greaser?
No.
I don't work with
no dickless pansy boys.
Look at him, fucking shaking.
Go. Go, cabrn.
-Is that right, Mary?
-[GROANS]
-Get the fuck out of here.
-What are you gonna do to him?
-Get out of here.
-JULIUS: Henry!
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING OVER RADIO]
-[HAMMERING]
-[CHATTER IN SPANISH]
[HORN HONKING]
-[HONKING CONTINUES]
-Well, I'll be damned.
Hey! [TRILLING]
LEE: Well,
I'll be damned, Julius.
[WHISTLES]
Would you look at that?
You really did it, didn't you?
That garden's coming in nice.
LEE: Jesus Christ.
[LAUGHING]
Not even a postcard?
Tell us you're coming?
JULIUS: Yeah, well,
you can always
count on me for a surprise.
That a horse trailer?
You, uh, win a bet
or lose a bet?
Since when are you
the kind of people
who couldn't make use
of a horse?
Hello.
-[HORSE SNORTS]
-Mm-hmm.
I thought y'all said
you had a ranch.
It's a goddamn
ranch house, Julius.
[LAUGHS]
Well, I guess
we're real Westerners now.
-[LAUGHS]
-Come on, get in here.
Where the hell
did you get that animal from?
JULIUS: Lee, a fella
wants to bet his horse,
I'll take his horse.
Hey.
[SNORTING SOFTLY]
LEE: Got two bedrooms.
That one's all yours.
Figure this is a nursery.
We're still getting settled.
Muriel's been working doubles
at the caf.
I've been picking up extra
shifts whenever I can get 'em.
And, uh, this is ours.
-It's cozy.
-Mm-hmm.
Everything's looking
real prosperous around here.
LEE: Come on,
I'll show you out back.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
LEE: Builders here
took just eight weeks.
-You believe that?
-JULIUS: Mm.
Remember how long we took
trying to fix up
Uncle Jack's old place?
Burning the furniture for heat?
[JULIUS CHUCKLES]
[LEE CLEARS THROAT]
Imagine growing up
in a house like this.
Stand out back here some nights,
look at this house,
and I think...
"There's a place
that makes sense to a kid."
Yeah, well,
we ain't kids no more.
[DISTANT TRAIN HORN BLOWING]
I just wanted you to be here.
See it was possible.
Even for nobodies like us.
Only I ain't like you.
No, we ain't the same, Lee.
You think I don't know that?
You think I don't know
exactly who you are?
I ain't asking you
to change, Julius.
I just want you to be safe.
I want to see you.
I want to hear your goddamn
voice around this place is all.
Well, I'm here now.
[BANGS LOUDLY]
[SONG PLAYING OVER STEREO]
I'm just a hot mama
I'm known by that name
Hot mama, hot mama
Hands off that heat
If you can't cool the flame
Hot mama, hot mama
I'm warning all you chicks
Telling you what's right
Hot mama, hot mama
Yeah, I'm warning
all you chicks
Telling you what's right
Hot mama, hot mama
If you wanna keep your man...
LEE: Muriel.
-Muriel.
-JULIUS: We're going out,
-Muriel.
-LEE: Grab a jacket.
Come on. Come on.
[DOOR OPENS]
Horse?
-Horse!
-[MURIEL CHUCKLES]
Suppose you'll have to
catch him first.
See, Lee, even your wife
thinks that horse
has got too much blood.
Yeah, yeah.
[HOOFBEATS APPROACHING]
Oh! He's making a run for it.
Come on now. Get out the posse!
Yeehaw!
-LEE: Whoo!
-[JULIUS LAUGHS]
[HORSE NEIGHS IN DISTANCE]
JULIUS: So this is, uh,
this is paradise, huh?
-MURIEL: Something like that.
-[SCOFFS]
It must have been hard
letting your mom's place go.
It was.
You swore you were coming.
Forgive me?
-[SIGHS] I wish...
-Yeah?
I wish you came before.
Earlier.
Yeah, I wish all kinds of
different things all day long.
Like what?
Can I show you something?
MURIEL: That real?
This gun belongs to a man
named Henry.
And, uh...
Henry would say it
doesn't matter
whether the thing's
real or not.
What matters is that
people think it's real.
It-it belongs
to a man named Henry?
You remember once
I asked you about love?
[CHUCKLES] I didn't know
anything about anything.
I'm not sure I know
too much more now, but...
I am sure that
this is Henry's gun.
And, um...
I'm gonna get it back to him.
I'm gonna find him.
Uh, I don't understand.
I think you probably do.
Probably.
I don't.
[SOFTLY] Sometimes...
someone comes
into your life, and, um...
Nothing's ever the same again.
I need to borrow some money.
What?
I need money to find him.
[MURIEL EXHALES]
That's why you're here.
That's why you came.
To borrow money.
Stop. Stop touching me.
You were never gonna stay.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
Lee was right about you.
What's that supposed to mean?
You're a coward.
And you're a liar.
Take your damn pit pony and go.
Hey, Kansas.
You got your secrets
and I got mine!
[BOTTLE SHATTERS]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Julius.
It's just a dream.
Go back to sleep.
[ENGINE STARTING]
[ENGINE RUMBLING]
[TRUCK DEPARTING]
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
[MURIEL SCOFFS]
He couldn't go far.
Truck of his is about
ready for the...
We aren't gonna
find Julius, Muriel.
Not until the money's all gone.
We'll find a way, Lee.
[CAN CLATTERS]
[DOOR OPENS, SLAMS CLOSED]
[SIGHS]
[CROWD CHATTER]
[HORNS HONKING]
[TRADITIONAL MEXICAN MUSIC
PLAYING OVER RADIO]
Oh. P-Para. Para.
Stop. Stop.
[INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENTS
OVER SPEAKERS]
-[WHISTLE BLOWING]
-Henry!
Henry.
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
[ BAM-A-LAM BY ROY MILTON
AND HIS ORCHESTRA PLAYING]
[HUMMING]
[SNAPPING FINGERS]
You're a real suave dancer,
Mrs. Walker.
[SNAPPING FINGERS]
Hey, when's your husband
due home?
He's working late.
We've got hours
and hours and hours.
-Oh, yeah?
-Mm-hmm.
Besides, he knows I would never
do something like this.
Well, I love you, baby...
Like this?
You know what I mean.
Love me, baby, hold me tight...
Like me?
With all your might
Bam-a-lam
Bam-a-lam
-Well...
-[MUSIC STOPS]
Oh, come on. I love that song.
What are you doing?
What?
I'm real.
This is real.
God, Lee is real.
You get that, right?
[HESITATES] I know that.
-Do you?
-Stop.
Sandra, come on. We're ju...
we're just having fun.
Oh, I get it.
You're just having fun.
-You're on vacation.
-What are you talking about?
You go home every night
where it's warm and safe,
and you go fuck your husband
to feel normal.
And then you come over here
and you fuck me
to feel alive, and then
you do it all over again.
You knew exactly who I was
when you let me in here, okay?
You knew my situation.
You're too good at this.
-What did you expect?
-If that's all this is,
there's a bar in town
-with a dozen other women...
-Stop.
...that would
cause me a lot less pain.
-Sandra.
-Please, just go.
[OVER RADIO]
Cling to me
Like a fish in a deep, blue sea
Make my heart feel toodle-oo...
-[MUSIC STOPS]
-[MURIEL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
-Come on, please.
-[ENGINE IDLING]
-Just stop.
-Please don't.
I want you to leave.
-[SIGHS]
-MURIEL: I didn't,
I didn't mean it like that.
Hey. [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Hey.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
[SNIFFLES]
[SNIFFLES]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
I thought they had you
on a double today.
MURIEL: I'm too slow.
Couldn't use me.
She was out of eggs, then,
your friend?
Oh, yeah, yeah, she was out.
I'm not sure I realized before,
not for certain, I mean, but...
you remind me of him.
Julius.
I envy him sometimes, you know?
You do?
Yeah.
He gets to live
like there's no tomorrow.
You think I'm like that?
-Lee?
-[KEYS JANGLING]
[DOOR OPENS]
MURIEL: Hey.
Don't... no, don't say anything.
I remember this girl from town.
She had two men.
One of them was a kid
Julius used to run with.
Pool hall kid.
The other guy was a college
type none of us really knew.
Ran the sand mill
across the river with his pop.
The girl... Sally, I want
to say her name was...
Spent her afternoons
with Julius and Pool Hall Kid.
Went to dinner
in a better dress,
half-tilted on Hamm's
with Mr. Sand Mill.
Pool Hall knew all about it.
Never bothered him,
'cause she always used to
come home to him
at the end of the night.
Baffled me
when Julius told me about it.
Six months later...
Sally sits down Pool Hall,
tells him it's over.
And a month after that...
there was her name
in the engagement section.
And Julius was just outraged.
I think Julius hated
the fact that...
she picked
what wasn't real... honestly.
Bothered him to no end that...
She hadn't chosen
what he'd thought of as love.
I didn't really know her, so...
Who am I to say?
But I bet Julius thinks
I'm on the other side
of that story now.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
JULIUS: I'm looking for
my buddy.
Tall, skinny.
Scarred to hell on one arm.
Yeah, I think
I seen him around.
Not that I knew his name.
Do you know
where I can find him?
SONNY: I got a pretty good idea.
You think you can
take me to him?
[SHUDDERS]
[SNIFFLES]
[CRIES SOFTLY]
LEE: Did you ever want this?
-Any of it, I mean?
-[SNIFFLES]
[CRYING SOFTLY]
I'm sorry, Lee.
It doesn't matter.
[SNIFFLES]
You being sorry doesn't matter.
Not even a little bit.
JULIUS: Say,
where is this place, friend?
SONNY: TJ's a pretty small town.
Think I've seen him
right around here.
LEE: Muriel?
MURIEL: Lee,
you once told me
that until we met,
you weren't sure
there was anything good
left in the world.
You're a good man.
Your dream is a good dream.
I know I've let you down,
and nothing
can ever change that.
But I hope this helps you
find what you want.
Please don't give up.
Muriel.
[INSECTS CHIRPING]
SONNY: Okay, gringo.
These boys will take
your money now.
Waiting for someone?
I am.
Someone who owes me money.
[GRUNTING]
[MEN SHOUTING IN SPANISH]
[COUGHING]
[MAN LAUGHS]
-You faggot!
-TERRENCE: Come on!
[HIGH-PITCHED RINGING]
[ECHOING VOICES]
[CRYING SOFTLY]
[GRUNTS]
[SONG PLAYING]
Don't smile...
I'm waiting for someone, too.
Been a while?
It has.
Same here.
Well?
What do you say?
Beside
Your lovely smile
Don't laugh...
First time getting stood up?
-Big part of this game.
-Is it?
Guess it's never been easy
for people like us
to find each other.
MURIEL: No, I guess not.
You think it's all your fault?
Maybe it is.
I guess when you are
standing here
all on your own...
doesn't really matter
who did what
or who hurt who.
Does it?
It's just the world
getting in the way.
-Just the world.
-Hmm.
Well...
whoever they are,
they sure are missing out.
Tell him that for me
if you see him.
That's a promise.
Nature on her knees
[SPEAKS SPANISH]
Would fall
[SONG CONTINUES IN DISTANCE]
[BAG THUDS]
[WHISPERS] Goodbye.
[CAR DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[PUDDLE SPLASHING]
[SONG ENDS]
[ GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN
BY OMO TRIO PLAYING]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
JULIUS: Dear Muriel,
I don't know where you are
and I don't know
if I'll ever send this letter,
but there are so many things
I want to say to you.
Last time we saw each other,
I was trying to say something
about the two of us
I thought we already knew,
even if we never
said it out loud.
Well, hell,
it's Christmas Eve, ain't it?
I'm sorry I got it so wrong.
And I'm sorry for stealing from
you and all the rest of it.
Everything turned out
all right for me in the end,
so I don't want you
worrying about me.
It's Christmas, and somehow
I just bet you're okay.
Everybody deserves
a chance to be happy.
I can just picture you
saying that.
Everybody deserves a shot.
Even card sharps and liars
and petty thieves.
Merry Christmas, Muriel.
Julius.
[SONG ENDS]
[SONG PLAYING]
There's a life
I'm slowly recognizing
Just outside of trying
It's hard to give up trying
Okay. [SNIFFLES] Okay.
Oh, but when I get there
If I get there
Come on, let's go.
-I get closer and closer
-Hyah!
Lady Luck
has done her best for me
Can I find
whatever's left of me?
Hi, friend
Can I meet you again?
Time lost
And won and lost
And won and then
I burned down the bridge
of my life
To get to you
I'm a runner
I'm a runner, you're the lover
I'm running to
I'm a runner
I'm a runner, you're the lover
I'm running to
Go on and break
what you've got to remake
Don't be afraid
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC ENDS]
[SONG PLAYING] Our guardian star
lost all his glow
The day that I lost you
He lost all his glitter
the day you said no
And his silver turned to blue
Like him, I am doubtful
That your love is true
But if you decide to call on me
Ask for Mr. Blue
I'm Mr. Blue
Whoa, whoa, ooh
When you say you love me
I'm Mr. Blue
Then prove it by going out
On the sly
Proving your love isn't true
Call me Mr. Blue
I'm Mr. Blue
Whoa, whoa, ooh
When you say you're sorry
I'm Mr. Blue
Then turn around, heading for
The lights of town
Hurting me through and through
Call me Mr. Blue
-I stay at home at night
-I stay at home
Right by the phone at night
-Right by the phone
-But you won't call
And I won't hurt my pride
Call me Mister
I won't tell you
Whoa, whoa, ooh
-While you paint the town
-I'm Mr. Blue
A bright red
to leave it upside down
I'm painting it, too
But I'm painting it blue
[PANTING, GRUNTING]
Call me Mr. Blue
Whoa, whoa, ooh
Call me Mr. Blue
[HORN HONKS]
Whoa, whoa, ooh
Call me Mr. Blue.
-[PANTING, MOANING]
-[SONG ENDS]
JULIUS: Thank you.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
-Say yes.
-[LAUGHS]
Lee.
Marry me, Muriel.
You promised me an answer
by Christmas.
And it's Christmas Eve.
And I'll give you one.
Right now I need a shower.
[SHOWER RUNNING]
[SNIFFS]
[MATCH STRIKES]
[WIND WHISTLING]
JULIUS: You must be her.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
Must be.
Toss one of those down to me.
[CHUCKLES]
[MATCH STRIKES]
It's got to be freezing.
I'm Julius.
I know.
-Hi.
-Hello.
I heard your mom
left you the place.
That's right.
Lucky you.
I like the country.
JULIUS: Hmm.
[JINGLING]
[RADIO PLAYING INDISTINCTLY]
JULIUS: Solitaire.
MURIEL: Passes the time.
-Can play a real game, you want.
-[KNIFE CLATTERING]
Real game like what?
Poker.
You'll have to teach me.
Liar.
MURIEL: Only played a few times.
You know, you don't need
to keep secrets.
My brother's seen cards before.
It's no secret.
Lee never seemed interested
in card games is all.
Yeah, that's 'cause he's not.
-Not that it matters.
-[CRUNCHING]
[CARDS SHUFFLING IN OTHER ROOM]
[GRUNTS]
[SHUFFLING CONTINUES]
See, the thing about poker is,
uh, cards aren't just cards.
This right here is
pieces of time.
Okay?
There's what's on the table
and then what's coming
down the line. Follow me?
So, there's only a certain
amount of cards in each deck,
so you got some idea
what's already been dealt,
you got some idea
what's gonna happen next.
[CARD RUSTLES]
But you can't know
what's already been dealt.
Well, it most certainly
is frowned upon,
but that doesn't mean
you can't know.
And if, uh, memory fails.
Clever.
Truth is, a real gambler's only
got one solemn obligation.
What's that?
Staying well-informed.
Watch out now, Muriel.
He's coming for you.
JULIUS: [LAUGHING]
Hey.
LEE: Come here, you little shit.
See you met this one
already, huh?
Yeah, she's been spilling
her secrets all afternoon.
[LEE CHUCKLES]
Oh, don't worry, Muriel.
That's just the way
my little brother is.
I don't mind.
Let me show you around.
We called it
Hell Fire Valley
'cause that's exactly
what it was.
And we're running out of ammo,
but we all know there's more
on the truck, right?
Lee, this story's been told
and told again.
We all know there's more ammo
-on the truck.
-Come on, now.
Chinese bullets
are flying everywhere,
but no one's crazy enough
to risk it.
-[JULIUS CLEARS THROAT]
-So we figure, "That's it."
When all of a sudden
I see this guy.
He's up there
on this burning truck,
throwing ammo down to us
and pushing
wounded soldiers off.
It's this crazy-ass redneck
right here.
I guaran-goddamn-tee you,
if it wasn't for him,
you and I would've never
even met.
Wow. A hero,
this brother of yours.
-LEE: Oh, you bet.
-[JULIUS CHUCKLES]
Nothing but a shoulder wound.
-That's how they tell it.
-[JULIUS CLEARS THROAT]
I guess that's why they, uh,
they let me out.
Let you what?
I was discharged, um...
last week.
Well, I got six months left.
That means you got
six months left.
Well, not anymore.
LEE: You can still
fire a gun, can't you?
You can still walk.
We're still at war, aren't we?
Lee.
Your separation payout?
Pension?
Nope.
[SIGHS] We had a plan,
didn't we, Julius?
-[MURIEL MUTTERING]
-Pool our discharge pay
and get us a place
out in California.
-That was the plan, wasn't it?
-I-I got an idea.
-This is what he does, Muriel.
-No-no, my-my idea...
-He is always holding...
-No, she's got an idea.
...something
back. Always.
My idea is that
I-I want to dance.
I need a smoke.
[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]
[ LOVE OF NO RETURN
BY PETER SIVO BAND PLAYING]
[SIGHS]
[SONG PLAYING]
You whispered...
-Well?
-MURIEL: Oh.
Oh, I-I was just trying
to smooth things over.
So let's smooth them over.
Only to learn
JULIUS: Mm.
This love is a love
Of no return...
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
He, um... he thinks so highly
of you is all.
Yeah, that's 'cause
I'm all he's got.
Besides you.
You ever been in love before?
No.
Uh, not before now, I mean.
Have you?
You know what I think?
I think you see
right through all of it.
All of what?
All the supposed tos.
All the stuff
they tell you matters.
All the stuff the guys
next to me in Korea
cared so much about
right up until
their brains got blown out
the back of their heads.
[DOOR OPENS]
You got room for a dumbass hick
in the middle?
JULIUS: Mm.
Let me on in here now.
You know what?
I got the two people
that I love most in the world
right here in front of me.
-[JULIUS] Here it comes.
-[LEE CHUCKLES]
Muriel Jane Edwards...
[CHUCKLING]
I've asked before.
Lord knows I've asked.
And I'm asking you again.
I'm back to Korea in 72 hours.
It's Christmas Eve.
Go on, now, Lee, get up.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
I know you're worried about me,
but nothing's gonna happen.
And besides, if it does,
Julius here
will take care of you.
Don't say that to him.
LEE: Won't you, Julius?
Of course I will.
LEE: I can make you
happy, Muriel.
Well?
-You mean it?
-Yes. [CHUCKLES]
-LEE: Pardon me, now?
-MURIEL: Yes!
[MURIEL CHUCKLING]
-LEE: Woo-hoo!
-[MURIEL LAUGHING]
We can still do it, you know?
LEE: What's that?
San Diego, California.
I-I got money saved.
You serious?
I mean, that was the plan,
wasn't it?
Sure.
But don't do it for us
if it's not what you want.
Well, hell, I like sunshine
as much as the next guy.
[LEE AND JULIUS CHUCKLING]
All three of us
out in California.
What do you think, Muriel?
Well, a plan's a plan.
LEE: Yeah, but you got
to promise, Julius.
Promise.
I... I promise.
[ GAMBLIN' WOMAN BY CHUCK
HIGGINS AND HIS BAND PLAYING]
[LAUGHTER, WHOOPING]
JULIUS: Oh, here we go.
She's a gamblin' woman
I've got to let her go
JULIUS: Come on, now.
She's a gamblin' woman
I've got to let her go
[LAUGHTER, WHOOPING]
She goes, plays dice
She loses all my dough
-She goes, plays dice
-[DISHES CLATTERING]
She loses all my dough
[BELL RINGING]
MURIEL: Dear Julius...
Maybe it won't last forever,
but even Lee says
there's something
in the air here... a feeling.
It's really true what they say
about California.
Yeah, we both got jobs
just like that.
You believe it?
It's like that here.
You never know
what's just around the bend.
Like anything is possible.
As if the odds are stacked
in your favor.
I heard about a card game
for you down by the docks.
So get out here
and make us all rich.
We sure could use it.
I hope that new job
in Stockton's working out.
With love and high hopes
to see you soon.
Muriel and Lee.
She's a gamblin' woman
Well, I've got to let her go
She goes, plays dice
She loses all my dough
Gives me trouble
-[SONG ENDS]
-[QUIET CHATTER, LAUGHTER]
Hey, so, Rosie, uh,
what's your feminine intuition
tell you about, uh, Lone Sailor?
Track's running cuppy,
and he's all rode out.
Smart money's on Pastoral
in the sixth.
WAYNE: No shit?
Ten to one? [WHISTLES]
EDDIE: Money like that'd solve
anybody's problems.
WAYNE: Ain't that right, Rosie?
ROSIE: Anybody who's got
the stomach.
WAYNE: What do you got
in-in the third?
-ROSIE: Got Magic Hour.
-WAYNE: Magic Hour?
MURIEL: Oh.
-Here you go.
-LEE: Thank you, baby.
Those new houses going up
in the Valley.
Just...
something to think about.
[SIGHS] We talked
this through, Lee.
We can't afford this right now.
Sell your ma's place
back in Kansas.
My mother worked her whole life
for that house.
Right, but that was
her dream, Muriel.
This is ours.
So I don't have a choice?
[HESITATES, SIGHS]
That's the house I grew up in.
I shouldn't have said anything.
[PAMPHLET SKIDS]
[BUGLE PLAYING
CALL TO THE POST ]
[QUIET CHATTER]
Uh... [CLEARS THROAT]
$20 on Pastoral
in the sixth to win.
[INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENOVER P.A.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[STARTING GUN FIRES]
ANNOUNCER:
And here they come.
Othello's fading back now as
Pastoral heads up the outside
coming into the final stretch.
It's Pastoral and Lone Sailor,
Mother's Helper in third.
Now it's Pastoral and
Mother's Helper one and two.
Pastoral and Mother's Helper.
It's Pastoral
and Mother's Helper.
And here we go, into the finish.
Mother's Helper, Pastoral.
It's Pastoral
and Mother's Helper.
-It's Pastoral!
-[CHEERING]
-Pastoral takes the win!
-[LAUGHS]
I'd like an envelope, please.
[MAN GROANS]
[MEN GROANING, MUTTERING]
You ought to take a game
like yours out to the desert.
Yeah? Why's that?
Open all night, no cops,
$20 buy-ins.
Just like Korea.
The good parts, anyway.
This round's on me.
-MAN 1: You fucking kidding me?
-MAN 2 : Sit back down.
-Classic hit-and-run.
-MAN 3: Oh, come on.
[DISTANT CLATTERING]
You play a real tight game,
don't you?
Feel like a nightcap?
JULIUS: Probably not tonight,
friend.
Probably not?
Hey, somebody's
a little ginned up, huh?
You looking for company?
Twenty bucks, I could be, yeah.
Okay.
-What the hell is this, man?
-Hey.
-Easy. Relax.
-[BELT CLATTERING]
JULIUS: Get your
fucking hands off me.
Oh.
Now I'm impressed.
[JULIUS GRUNTING]
Jackpot.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[PANTING]
[DISTANT TRAFFIC NOISES]
[PHONE RINGING]
MURIEL: Hello?
JULIUS: [OVER PHONE]:
That you, Kansas?
Julius?
Are you waiting
on somebody else?
[LAUGHS]
Where are you?
Now, how is that card game
shaping up?
I-I've been playing the horses.
-You have not.
-Yeah.
I'm waiting tables
at this little place,
and it's all horsemen,
so I've been taking notes.
[CHUCKLES]
No shit? You remembered.
Yeah, a real gambler's
only solemn obligation
is staying well-informed.
That's a nice racket for a gal.
Oh, I bet nobody
sees you coming.
-Just for fun, really.
-Well, be careful now.
Might be one of those things
you can't ever get enough of.
We sure hoped
you'd be here by now.
Lee sure does miss you.
Lee just wants that happy
little home that we never had.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Well, what's wrong with that?
Say, how about you?
Is that what you want?
I...
I thought we had a plan.
I, uh, I lost my share.
I-I got a way to make it back,
I just got to...
I got to go on my own steam.
I think you understand that.
[CLICKS TONGUE]
I don't think I do, but...
give me your address
and I'll send you some money
for a bus ticket.
Uh, you can send it, uh,
care of me,
Western Union, Stockton.
[DOOR OPENS]
Oh, and, uh,
don't tell Lee, uh...
I want to surprise him.
Okay. Okay, thank you.
Bye, now, Nathaniel.
Uh, just the neighbor boy
checking on Ma's house for us.
JULIUS: To Mrs. Lee Walker,
Western Union, San Diego.
Muriel, sorry.
Change of plans.
Unexpected opportunities
have come up.
Back as soon as I can.
Wish me luck in Sin City.
Julius.
DEALER: Lucky number seven...
[SONG PLAYING] See the moon
above the mountain
Winner, 11. Front line winner.
Go. No more bet.
No more bets.
Watch the stars
Light up the sky
Yes!
Oh, wherever
You are, darlin'
Do you feel
The same
As I?
Do you ever
Long to see me?
Do you ever
Feel this blue?
Hey, darling.
[OVER RADIO] Oh, wherever
You are, darlin'
Do you know
I'm missing you?
LEE: Just think...
Twenty-five bucks a month,
by the time we're 50,
this could all be ours.
If I could feel your arms...
[TOOLS CLATTERING]
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
[WORKERS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
LEE: Come on.
We'll be the first ones in here.
Developer says he can sell us
this model here for 10% off.
And this tract's
the best of them.
It's $2,000 for the land,
build-out's another four,
maybe six.
That's hardly anything,
considering.
Considering what?
How fast this will go.
We'll get at least a few grand
for your mother's place, right?
But you promised your brother
we'd all do this together.
What is it with you
and waiting on him?
See my brother around here
anywhere?
You know what Julius said?
He said it was good
that I was marrying you.
He said, "That sad girl,
she needs someone
to tell her what to do."
Muriel.
Muriel.
Stop. Stop there.
Stop there? Why?
I want to buy some olives.
You want to buy some olives?
Yes.
Sure.
[ROOSTER CROWS]
-[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
-SANDRA: Come in!
[BANDURRIA PLAYING IN DISTANCE]
Out back.
Lost?
Uh, no, your sign? Olives?
That was the Garcias',
next door, before they tore
the place down.
Oh.
You really want some,
I got some.
Looking at land, huh?
-We are.
-Hmm.
Now's the time, I hear.
Uh, that was real nice,
what you were playing
on the guitar.
-It's not a guitar.
-Oh.
-Give it here.
-Sorry.
Never had an olive.
There's a pit.
Oh.
What do I do with it?
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
You on your own here, then?
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
Could use some eggs,
if you're gonna shop.
Got some laid fresh
this morning.
How much do we owe you for it?
Doesn't feel right
selling you the olives.
It wasn't me you really wanted.
Oh, then we'll have
to overpay you for the eggs.
I've got money, Lee.
Thanks.
[SPITS]
[LAUGHS]
You've got it.
[ROOSTER CROWS]
Mind if I drive?
No.
[EXHALES]
You're right.
Let's do it.
Let's get the house.
What?
Really? You mean that?
[ TIME AND PLACE
BY THE MCGRAW BROTHERS PLAYING]
Well, there's a time
and a place for everything
Whoa, there's a time to be nice
And a time for play
Oh, baby,
there's a time to be true
And a time to be cheatin'
[COINS CLATTERING]
Oh, there's a time to be bitter
And a time to be sweet...
[SIGHS]
Say, I got a question.
The, uh, the work
you fellas do here,
you got any openings?
Entry level, of course.
What skills do you have
to offer?
Well, I know how people steal
and I know why they do.
You yourself do not steal.
And partly,
I know how people steal
'cause I've stolen in the past,
I'll be honest with you.
Well, this doesn't really seem
like the kind of place
to steal from,
and I'd like to stay
on the right side of that.
We've seen you around,
you play aboveboard.
We like that.
Blackjack's the only casino game
where the gambler can get
an edge over the house.
For that reason it attracts
cheaters of all kinds.
-Do you agree?
-I sure do.
Pit surveillance?
Simple, you see something,
you say something.
We take it from there.
Two-way mirrors
looking down on the floor.
You can see them,
but they can't see you.
Call box up top.
Spot a sharper, you phone it in.
[SONG CONTINUES FAINTLY]
[DISTANT CHEERING]
[LAUGHTER]
[CHEERING]
[LAUGHTER]
That's my girl. Woo-hoo!
Clever.
[CHUCKLES]
[DOOR CLOSES]
You're new.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
Henry.
Julius.
First time?
It is, yeah.
What do you think so far?
It's instructive.
HENRY: Only maybe
there's such a thing
as knowing too much.
Yeah, maybe there is.
Okey dokey.
I'll see you around.
ROSIE: I'll wait
for positions tomorrow.
Then I'll take
that Roustabout cash,
put it all on Flood
in the seventh.
EDDIE: What? Flood's too young.
WAYNE: Jumpy as a virgin.
ROSIE: You boys do what
you want, but at six to one,
that horse is a monster
in sheep's clothing.
WAYNE: Sounds like
some people we know.
[JAZZ PLAYING IN DISTANCE]
[DISTANT CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
You're looking at my scar.
Sorry.
HENRY: Why?
You didn't do it.
115 degrees today.
Tomorrow, too.
Well, the heat's
just fine with me.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
[JAZZ PLAYING IN DISTANCE]
[JULIUS EXHALES]
[DISTANT CHEERING]
JULIUS: [ECHOES] You okay?
Oh, whoa, whoa.
Hey, come on, come on.
Hey, hey, come on.
[STRAINS] Come on, now.
Okay.
[GRUNTING]
[SNIFFLING]
[CROWD CHEERING]
HENRY: Hey.
Ain't going home, are you?
Was planning on it.
I owe you a drink for before.
What is this? What is this,
some kind of hustle?
Ain't no hustle.
I got something
-to show you, that's all.
-Oh, yeah? What's that?
America.
[ENGINE REVS]
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
[R&B PLAYING OVER RADIO]
Thanks, man.
Hey.
Mira.
Call this an atomic cocktail.
Salud.
Oh, I don't think
this is such a good idea.
Why's that?
When boss men see us
palling around,
they're liable to think
we got an angle.
-[SIREN WAILING]
-This is Vegas.
So?
So they know we got an angle.
-MAN: Five!
-There's no other reason
-to be here.
-CROWD: Four, three,
two, one!
-[EXPLOSION]
-[HENRY CHUCKLES]
They test the fuckers
once a month out at the base.
We got a front-row seat.
[CHEERING]
See? I told you.
America.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
HENRY: Hey.
Hey.
What's all this?
I'm just calling it.
-You are, huh?
-Yep.
Give me a smoke.
Give me a light.
Mm.
Know any good jokes?
I bet you do.
Get out of here.
Sir, yes, sir.
[ SONG FOR HENRY
BY LOREN KRAMAR PLAYING]
There's a life
I've always wanted
I can't say
That I'm living it now
But someday
Someday
I could
Know how
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
The fuck is this?
-What are you doing?
-Hey. Hey.
Tranquilo.
No, I don't...
Hi, friend
Can I meet you again?
Time lost
And won and lost
And won and then
I burned the bridge of my life
To get to you
I'm a runner, I'm a runner
You're the lover I'm running to
[SOFT CLICKING]
[ANNOUNCER SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY]
-$200 on Roustabout to win.
-CASHIER: Yes, ma'am.
ANNOUNCER: And it's Sayonara
breaking on the outside,
Roustabout on the inside.
Roustabout and Sayonara.
Roustabout and Sayonara.
It's Roustabout!
Roustabout takes it.
CASHIER: Uh, ma'am?
Put it all on Flood
in the seventh.
All of it, ma'am?
Yes.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
GAIL: Excuse me,
is this table open?
Oh, uh, it is.
[SIGHS]
Crowds always make me sweat.
[BUGLE PLAYING
CALL TO THE POST ]
Who's yours?
Oh, uh, Flood.
No. Me, too.
Aren't we both brave?
-Six to one.
-I like
the look of him, though,
don't you?
I do.
Very much.
-[STARTING GUN FIRES]
-ANNOUNCER: And they're off.
It's Flood and Lost at Sea.
Lost at Sea holding his lead.
Flood coming up fast,
Lost at Sea and Flood.
Lost at Sea and Flood.
-[GASPING]
-Here they come.
Flood and Lost at Sea.
It's Flood making
one last break down the rail.
-It's Flood!
-[BOTH LAUGHING]
Flood takes it!
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
There you are.
How did we come out?
-Oh, darling.
-[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
-We won.
-Excellent.
Goodbye.
Bye.
[EXHALES]
CASHIER: $12,000.
Do be careful, ma'am.
Yeah.
GAIL: Don't flatter yourself.
You know I would never bet
on a loser. [CHUCKLES]
Someday I'm gonna
kill him in his sleep.
HENRY: So...
where are you supposed to be?
San Diego.
With my brother.
We, uh, we planned that
when we were overseas.
I think mostly he just wants
to keep an eye on me, though.
And how come you're not there?
We never had much in the way
of a family growing up.
My mom died when I was small,
and my dad pretty much
lost his marbles.
Then we just moved around,
place to place.
You know,
aunts and uncles and...
My brother,
he needs all that, I guess.
You know, walls, windows,
happy little home,
woman waiting at the door
for him.
And what about you?
Hey.
I thought
this was not a good idea.
Everybody makes mistakes.
[HENRY SIGHS SOFTLY]
[BABY CRYING]
[KEY CLICKING IN LOCK]
Where the hell have you been?
-Lee. Something happened, Lee.
-What? What is it?
I called the HeyDay.
-They said you left hours ago.
-Lee.
This isn't farm country, Muriel.
You can't just go out wandering.
Anything could happen
to you, okay?
Do you understand that?
What is this?
-We did it, Lee.
-You sold your mother's house?
-$3,000?
-[LAUGHING]
$3,000?
Oh, my gosh!
[CHUCKLES]
I've never even
seen money like this.
Muriel...
[SNIFFLING]
I know.
I know. That house is the last
piece of your ma you had left.
I understand.
[KISSING]
MURIEL: General
delivery, Las Vegas, Nevada.
To Julius Walker.
Dear Julius,
been a while since
I've heard back from you.
Suppose you must have hit it
big and forgot all about us.
As you can see, we went
and bought ourselves a house.
Included in this letter
is our new address.
Come on.
MURIEL: Come see us
when your luck runs out.
Muriel.
[TOOLS CLATTERING]
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
[PHONE RINGING]
Hello?
[SCOFFS] Goddamn it, Julius.
Muriel. It's my brother.
Thought she might like to know
you're not dead.
So tell me all the news, then.
Well, we finally sold
the house in Kansas.
Got us a little place here
in the Valley.
That ain't no news.
Muriel already
wrote me about it.
She did?
You know, I can't believe
she let her ma's place
go like that.
You know, truth be told,
I didn't know a thing about it.
She got it all done on her own
as a surprise to me.
Hold on. I'll put Muriel on
for a minute.
Hold on.
JULIUS: [OVER PHONE]:
Muriel, is that you?
Uh, it's that sad girl
that needs someone
to tell her what to do.
Oh, come on now. You know
I didn't mean nothing by that.
So why'd you say it?
You know why.
Don't tell me what I know.
Say, piece of advice.
Don't spend all that
horse money in one place.
Like on a bus ticket?
Well, I'd, uh,
I'd say I miss you,
but you probably don't believe
a word I say, do you?
[RECEIVER CLICKS IN CRADLE]
[DIAL TONE]
Said you wrote him.
Think he'll come?
I don't think
he ever planned to.
My brother is, uh...
My brother's not what you think.
What does that mean?
The world Julius lives in,
it's a different world,
that's all.
It's not like ours.
Um...
I-I love my brother, you know,
I always will, but...
He has passions of his own.
Do you know what I mean?
He's just not like us.
[DISTANT CROWD CHATTER]
[COINS JINGLING]
[DISTANT CHEERING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[MAN WHISTLES]
JULIUS: Partners.
-That's a new one.
-I guess it is.
Instructive.
-TERENCE: What's going on?
-At table ten.
-[BLOWS LANDING]
-[MEN GRUNTING]
[BODY THUDS ON GROUND]
-[MAN CRIES OUT]
-[GRUNTS]
Risk reward, eh?
[GRUNTS]
For your diligence.
-[JAZZ PLAYING]
-HENRY: Did you ever think of
tipping them off,
those blackjack players?
I always do.
Think of it.
We could make even more money
if we work with them.
Yeah, don't shit
where you eat's what I think.
But maybe a place where you can
take another man's money
and get rich doing it,
catch cheats, and watch a bomb
go off all in the same day
is exactly the kind of place
where the lines get blurred.
If you're saying there ain't
no difference between cheating
and not, I'd say you're crazy.
[SIGHS]
You have people, though.
-Just my brother and his wife.
-That's enough.
They probably love you
and wonder where you are.
I don't see your point, friend.
All I'm saying is,
they know you.
They don't know
a thing about me.
They know more about you
than anyone knows about me.
I've been dead a hundred years,
my friend.
You can ask my father.
Well, ain't that
just too bad for you?
-It is. It is too bad for me.
-Henry.
You saw what they did
to those boys back there.
I mean, we got a good thing
going here. Why fuck it up?
You ain't never seen good.
You think this is it?
So you're just leaving now?
We had a great time, right?
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. We always do.
All you can ask for, I guess.
Right?
[SIGHS] See you at work.
WAYNE: Some asshole will
always say, "Well, at least
he took pills
so he didn't suffer."
And I'd say,
"Then you didn't know Gerald."
Because if ever there
was a sufferer, it was him.
[LAUGHTER]
Cops putting his picture
in the paper like that.
Jesus, no wonder
he offed himself.
"Lewd behavior"?
WAYNE: Why did the cops
actually pick him up?
EDDIE: Caught him in
the bathroom at the Chester
-with another guy.
-WAYNE: The Chester?
EDDIE: Yeah, the queer bar
down by the docks.
WAYNE: [CHUCKLES] I wonder
what'll happen to that place,
you think?
EDDIE: Ain't the first time
it's been raided.
Won't be the last.
Think all those pretty boys
ran out into the sea?
[LAUGHTER]
WAYNE: You see that?
[LAUGHTER CONTINUES]
[DISTANT SHIP HORN BLOWING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[DISTANT CROWD CHATTER,
LAUGHTER]
[WOMAN WHOOPING]
-Where's the other guy?
-You got me, bud.
JULIUS: Dear Muriel,
I saw a girl on the floor
the other day
who looked just like you.
But then she smiled back at me
and I knew it couldn't be you.
Most days I think I made
the right choice coming here,
and some days I just
don't know anything at all.
It's like they say, everybody's
got an angle in this town.
Here you go.
JULIUS: I guess you just got
to play the cards as they come.
But you and Lee
really have it all.
Just like you planned.
Sure hope some of your luck
rubs off on me.
Forgive me someday if you can.
Julius.
LEE: ...what you want to hear,
but I don't think other folks
are going to feel
any different.
-Oh, hi.
-SANDRA: Hi.
I was just telling your husband
I'm collecting signatures.
-Signatures?
-Yeah.
County's enforcing
eminent domain, and they want
to build a highway extension
right through my family's land.
Highway coming this way
seems like a good thing
for everyone, don't it?
That house has been
in my family for 60 years.
Right, but they'll give you
a fair price for it.
It's her family's home, Lee.
Well, you sold off your mom's
old homestead, didn't you?
Well, yeah,
but that's different.
Because you were looking
toward the future.
It's the same thing here.
I'll leave you
to your breakfast.
Hey.
Hey, Sandra.
I'll sign. I mean, I-I want to.
Are you the property owner?
Well, yes, partly.
So the house
is under your name?
My husband's name, but, um...
You're not
the primary property owner.
That's all they'll accept.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hey. Um...
What was it? What you
were playing the other day
if it's not a guitar?
A bandurria.
Oh, bandurria? Is that Spanish?
-Mm-hmm.
-Oh.
Well, I like it.
I got eggs back if you need 'em.
[STATIC HISSING]
-[DOOR OPENS]
-[HENRY WHISTLES]
-[DOOR CLOSES]
-[HENRY CHUCKLES]
Where you been?
HENRY: Call in sick.
Got myself on a lucky streak.
Worried about me, huh?
No, it's just
a lot of cash to carry.
I can take care of myself.
Hmm?
[HENRY CHUCKLES]
[POPPING LIPS]
Did you get that
in a cereal box?
Hey, I won it in a game
of pitch in Tijuana.
Never go anywhere without it.
[HENRY SIGHS]
Why are you pulling
this shit, man?
Now, you ain't got to play
partners with nobody.
[HENRY SCOFFS]
You got me right here.
You know that.
I got you here in this room
but nowhere else.
So, what, I go out
and cheat with you,
or that's it, we just...
we're done?
You don't get it.
Me and you, this is
the one thing we can do
out there in the world together.
Right in front of them.
No, we can do something else.
We can change.
No, you can change.
You think we're the same?
Look at you.
Look at me.
People like me, we want
something, we got to take it.
There's no other way.
[CLAPS HANDS]
[HENRY SIGHS]
If we do this, we do it smart.
Okay, we play outside town.
Play it quiet, small rooms,
nobody knows us, private games.
That's it.
You don't have to do nothing...
But win.
Hmm?
-Stop.
-Nada.
Go.
Nada. [CHUCKLES]
[QUIET CHATTER]
[LAUGHS, SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
-Bang-bang-bang.
-[GROANS PLAYFULLY]
[PANTING HEAVILY]
This all feels like a dream.
Hmm?
It could be it is.
[FAINT HAMMERING IN DISTANCE]
MURIEL: Dear Julius,
the houses around us
are going up fast.
Soon we'll be
completely surrounded.
I'm gonna take 50 cents
out of the can for lunch.
Big day off, huh?
What you gonna do?
MURIEL: To be
honest, I can't see you here.
You wouldn't be able to breathe.
Lee says you have wanderlust
and you'll come back.
See you.
[VOICE-OVER] But I'm letting
go of the plans we made.
LEE: Bye.
MURIEL: I hope you're happy,
wherever you are.
Muriel.
-[QUIET CHATTER]
-[SEABIRDS CHIRPING]
-[QUIET CHATTER]
-[GENTLE JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
A stinger, please.
[GAIL LAUGHS]
[QUIET CHATTER
AND MUSIC CONTINUES]
GAIL: Such a funny story.
[LAUGHS]
I'll be back.
I bet you don't remember me.
How much?
So how's your luck these days?
Gave all that up.
Just like that?
Made a promise to myself.
What sort of promise?
If you think too much
about luck,
it starts to own you,
doesn't it?
We're all owned by something.
Or someone.
I'm Gail.
Oh, uh...
I'm Linda.
Nice to meet you, Linda.
[GLASSES CLINK]
You hear the news?
That poor Russian dog died.
The one they shot into space.
Sad.
You know they ran odds on it?
Twenty to one he'd make it
into orbit.
Hundred to one
he'd come back down.
What about dying?
Nobody wanted
to pay out that bet.
These days, people will bet
on just about anything.
Endless possibilities.
[SIRENS WAILING FAINTLY OUTSIDE]
Endless.
Funny.
[TIRES SCREECHING FAINTLY
OUTSIDE]
I never meet anyone.
[BUZZING]
[CLICK]
-MAN: Everybody quiet.
-[MUSIC AND CHATTER STOP]
-[SHUSHING]
-[BANGING ON DOOR IN DISTANCE]
GAIL: [WHISPERS]
The cops are outside.
OFFICER: Open up, open up!
MAN: Come in.
Uh, what can I do for you,
Officer?
OFFICER:
What's going on upstairs?
MAN: Uh, nothing, nothing.
Uh, I do have
this envelope here for...
MAN: Thank you, Officer.
[BUZZING]
-[CLICK]
-MAN: Coast is clear.
-[RELIEVED MURMURING, CHEERING]
-[GAIL CHUCKLES]
I can't stay out
any later tonight.
Uh, me neither.
You're new at this, aren't you?
It's all luck, really.
You'll see.
We're all just a hair's breadth
from losing everything.
All the time.
[INSECTS CHIRRING]
[LAUGHTER AND CHATTER
IN DISTANCE]
[LIVELY JAZZ MUSIC
PLAYING FAINTLY]
[CHATTER AND MUSIC
CONTINUE LOUDER]
Oh.
Oh, yes.
I...
I'm looking for Sandra.
-Are you here for a book club?
-[LAUGHTER]
LORETTA: Password is
your favorite author.
I'm sensing Willa Cather maybe.
OTHERS: Oh.
Oh, we're really
big readers here.
-[LAUGHTER]
-SANDRA: Jesus.
-Move.
-What?
Come on.
[SIGHS]
You're not wearing any shoes.
Over here, Mrs. Walker.
[CLEARS THROAT]
I wanted it to be quiet.
What?
I want it to be quiet.
-Like that?
-[CHATTER AND MUSIC CEASE]
[SONG PLAYING]
Something cool...
This is what it's like?
SANDRA: What?
Your life.
You're a little drunk, I think.
Stop making fun of me.
Tell me why you want it quiet.
I don't think so.
My, it's nice
To simply sit and rest a while
Now, I know it's a shame
I can't think of your name
I remember your smile
I don't ordinarily drink
With strangers
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
I most usually drink alone...
[SIGHS]
[PANTING HEAVILY]
[BREATHES SHARPLY]
I wasn't sure about you.
Are you sure about me now?
[CHUCKLES] I'm not.
You're really not afraid
of being alone, are you?
Neither are you.
What makes you say that?
Because you're here.
It's just right for the heat
Save my furs for the cold...
[CLATTERING IN OTHER ROOM]
[LAUGHTER]
Come. Come with me.
Well, I don't smoke them
As a rule...
[PANTING SHARPLY]
Who would beg and beg
to take me to the ball
And I'll bet
you couldn't picture me
[GASPING]
[PANTING HEAVILY]
The time I went to Paris
In the fall
[BREATHING SLOWS]
-[MURIEL SIGHING]
-And who would think
The man I loved
Was quite so handsome
Quite so charmed?
I hope you come back.
Well, it's through
It's just a memory I had
Okay, well...
G-Good night.
One I almost forgot
'Cause the weather...
[GUNFIRE]
TV ANNOUNCER:
The Rifleman.
If we ever hit it big,
where would you go?
Man, I've never really
thought about it.
Always got to have yourself
an exit plan.
Probably San Diego for you.
Got your brother there
and all, right?
Easier time down in Mexico.
Big money with the sailors
and the husbands
down from California.
They're always married.
[SIGHS]
Anyway,
why buy yourself a plain
old house in San Diego
when you can build
a palace in Tijuana?
Yeah, well,
if you ever hit it big...
If we ever hit it big.
-"We."
-So?
I mean, I'm wide open
to ideas, partner.
-Yeah, like what?
-Mm-hmm.
Taking five bucks a day
from housewives from El Paso?
Yeah, what's your idea, then?
Easy.
I mean, there's no rules
against us gambling there.
And our casino has
the best odds in town.
We can make a grand
in ten quick deals.
Are you insane?
You know they pay us
to catch guys like us.
I mean, the minute
you sit down at that table,
you're pinned.
No.
Not with you upstairs.
Not if you don't pin me.
When are you gonna see it?
You know, we got it good here.
I mean, real good.
I've been in Kansas and L.A.,
and I've been in Korea.
And in all those places,
I've been a thief,
a faggot and alone.
And, you know,
for the first time in my life,
I can finally see
around the next goddamn corner.
You know why?
Why?
Because I'm with you.
I mean, things are
different now, aren't they?
Well, aren't they?
You really are something.
-Aren't they?
-You know that, right?
Aren't they?
-Aren't they?
-You know they are.
No?
I'm just gonna wear you down.
But you know that, right?
One day you'll say yes.
[WHISPERS] Yeah.
Yeah, maybe I will.
You're crazy.
[WAVES CRASHING]
[SEAGULLS SCREECHING]
[BOTH GRUNTING, PANTING]
You okay?
Uh-huh.
-LEE: Like this?
-Uh-huh.
Open your eyes.
Let me see your eyes.
[DISTORTED PANTING]
[SONG PLAYING]
Baby
-Hush-a-bye, my baby
-[PANTING]
Go to sleep on Mammy's knee
[MURIEL SIGHS]
Rest your head upon my breast
In dreams again with me
Sandman is calling
Shadows are falling...
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
This is becoming a habit.
[SIGHS] Yes, it is.
-What is this music?
-[LAUGHING]
My mother liked
this kind of music.
-Yeah?
-Mm-hmm.
Well, not this, but like this.
-Anything you could dance to.
-Mm, a real honky-tonker, huh?
[LAUGHS]
Oh, yeah. She drove all those
proper ladies in town crazy.
Do tell.
My, uh, my mother was the, uh,
first woman to own a car
in Marshall County.
-Mm-hmm?
-Mm-hmm.
She was the first woman
to get a college degree
and the first woman
to get a divorce.
-All unrelated, I'm sure.
-[BOTH LAUGH]
I wish I could have met
this mother of yours.
You ever been in love before?
[SANDRA CHUCKLES]
Yes, once, up in L.A.,
before I moved back here
to take care of my dad.
I think she figured I'd give up
on this place once he passed,
but... I'm still here
and she's not, so...
What about you? Lee?
Yes. I-I love Lee.
But you're talking
about someone else?
I don't know. It's, um...
It's like I...
saw something no one ever
told me was there before.
Never made any sense.
Still doesn't.
Measure it all out,
we spent maybe 24 hours
in front of each other
and that's it.
Could be that's all it takes.
It's strange.
Like the minute
he walked in the door,
I could breathe again.
He?
You're kind of a lot,
Mrs. Walker.
-[SNICKERS]
-[SANDRA CHUCKLES]
[EXHALES]
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
JULIUS: Fuck.
Fuck.
[HORN HONKING]
Henry.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
JULIUS: No.
No, no, no.
CROUPIER: Thirteen...
black, odd.
JULIUS: Oh, no, Henry.
PLAYER: This feels like a seven.
JULIUS: Henry. Henry.
No, no, no, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck!
-[HENRY GRUNTING]
-TERENCE: You didn't
finger this greaser. Why?
You were working tables all
around town together is why.
You were part of it.
Ain't that right, greaser?
No.
I don't work with
no dickless pansy boys.
Look at him, fucking shaking.
Go. Go, cabrn.
-Is that right, Mary?
-[GROANS]
-Get the fuck out of here.
-What are you gonna do to him?
-Get out of here.
-JULIUS: Henry!
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING OVER RADIO]
-[HAMMERING]
-[CHATTER IN SPANISH]
[HORN HONKING]
-[HONKING CONTINUES]
-Well, I'll be damned.
Hey! [TRILLING]
LEE: Well,
I'll be damned, Julius.
[WHISTLES]
Would you look at that?
You really did it, didn't you?
That garden's coming in nice.
LEE: Jesus Christ.
[LAUGHING]
Not even a postcard?
Tell us you're coming?
JULIUS: Yeah, well,
you can always
count on me for a surprise.
That a horse trailer?
You, uh, win a bet
or lose a bet?
Since when are you
the kind of people
who couldn't make use
of a horse?
Hello.
-[HORSE SNORTS]
-Mm-hmm.
I thought y'all said
you had a ranch.
It's a goddamn
ranch house, Julius.
[LAUGHS]
Well, I guess
we're real Westerners now.
-[LAUGHS]
-Come on, get in here.
Where the hell
did you get that animal from?
JULIUS: Lee, a fella
wants to bet his horse,
I'll take his horse.
Hey.
[SNORTING SOFTLY]
LEE: Got two bedrooms.
That one's all yours.
Figure this is a nursery.
We're still getting settled.
Muriel's been working doubles
at the caf.
I've been picking up extra
shifts whenever I can get 'em.
And, uh, this is ours.
-It's cozy.
-Mm-hmm.
Everything's looking
real prosperous around here.
LEE: Come on,
I'll show you out back.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
LEE: Builders here
took just eight weeks.
-You believe that?
-JULIUS: Mm.
Remember how long we took
trying to fix up
Uncle Jack's old place?
Burning the furniture for heat?
[JULIUS CHUCKLES]
[LEE CLEARS THROAT]
Imagine growing up
in a house like this.
Stand out back here some nights,
look at this house,
and I think...
"There's a place
that makes sense to a kid."
Yeah, well,
we ain't kids no more.
[DISTANT TRAIN HORN BLOWING]
I just wanted you to be here.
See it was possible.
Even for nobodies like us.
Only I ain't like you.
No, we ain't the same, Lee.
You think I don't know that?
You think I don't know
exactly who you are?
I ain't asking you
to change, Julius.
I just want you to be safe.
I want to see you.
I want to hear your goddamn
voice around this place is all.
Well, I'm here now.
[BANGS LOUDLY]
[SONG PLAYING OVER STEREO]
I'm just a hot mama
I'm known by that name
Hot mama, hot mama
Hands off that heat
If you can't cool the flame
Hot mama, hot mama
I'm warning all you chicks
Telling you what's right
Hot mama, hot mama
Yeah, I'm warning
all you chicks
Telling you what's right
Hot mama, hot mama
If you wanna keep your man...
LEE: Muriel.
-Muriel.
-JULIUS: We're going out,
-Muriel.
-LEE: Grab a jacket.
Come on. Come on.
[DOOR OPENS]
Horse?
-Horse!
-[MURIEL CHUCKLES]
Suppose you'll have to
catch him first.
See, Lee, even your wife
thinks that horse
has got too much blood.
Yeah, yeah.
[HOOFBEATS APPROACHING]
Oh! He's making a run for it.
Come on now. Get out the posse!
Yeehaw!
-LEE: Whoo!
-[JULIUS LAUGHS]
[HORSE NEIGHS IN DISTANCE]
JULIUS: So this is, uh,
this is paradise, huh?
-MURIEL: Something like that.
-[SCOFFS]
It must have been hard
letting your mom's place go.
It was.
You swore you were coming.
Forgive me?
-[SIGHS] I wish...
-Yeah?
I wish you came before.
Earlier.
Yeah, I wish all kinds of
different things all day long.
Like what?
Can I show you something?
MURIEL: That real?
This gun belongs to a man
named Henry.
And, uh...
Henry would say it
doesn't matter
whether the thing's
real or not.
What matters is that
people think it's real.
It-it belongs
to a man named Henry?
You remember once
I asked you about love?
[CHUCKLES] I didn't know
anything about anything.
I'm not sure I know
too much more now, but...
I am sure that
this is Henry's gun.
And, um...
I'm gonna get it back to him.
I'm gonna find him.
Uh, I don't understand.
I think you probably do.
Probably.
I don't.
[SOFTLY] Sometimes...
someone comes
into your life, and, um...
Nothing's ever the same again.
I need to borrow some money.
What?
I need money to find him.
[MURIEL EXHALES]
That's why you're here.
That's why you came.
To borrow money.
Stop. Stop touching me.
You were never gonna stay.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
Lee was right about you.
What's that supposed to mean?
You're a coward.
And you're a liar.
Take your damn pit pony and go.
Hey, Kansas.
You got your secrets
and I got mine!
[BOTTLE SHATTERS]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Julius.
It's just a dream.
Go back to sleep.
[ENGINE STARTING]
[ENGINE RUMBLING]
[TRUCK DEPARTING]
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
[MURIEL SCOFFS]
He couldn't go far.
Truck of his is about
ready for the...
We aren't gonna
find Julius, Muriel.
Not until the money's all gone.
We'll find a way, Lee.
[CAN CLATTERS]
[DOOR OPENS, SLAMS CLOSED]
[SIGHS]
[CROWD CHATTER]
[HORNS HONKING]
[TRADITIONAL MEXICAN MUSIC
PLAYING OVER RADIO]
Oh. P-Para. Para.
Stop. Stop.
[INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENTS
OVER SPEAKERS]
-[WHISTLE BLOWING]
-Henry!
Henry.
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
[ BAM-A-LAM BY ROY MILTON
AND HIS ORCHESTRA PLAYING]
[HUMMING]
[SNAPPING FINGERS]
You're a real suave dancer,
Mrs. Walker.
[SNAPPING FINGERS]
Hey, when's your husband
due home?
He's working late.
We've got hours
and hours and hours.
-Oh, yeah?
-Mm-hmm.
Besides, he knows I would never
do something like this.
Well, I love you, baby...
Like this?
You know what I mean.
Love me, baby, hold me tight...
Like me?
With all your might
Bam-a-lam
Bam-a-lam
-Well...
-[MUSIC STOPS]
Oh, come on. I love that song.
What are you doing?
What?
I'm real.
This is real.
God, Lee is real.
You get that, right?
[HESITATES] I know that.
-Do you?
-Stop.
Sandra, come on. We're ju...
we're just having fun.
Oh, I get it.
You're just having fun.
-You're on vacation.
-What are you talking about?
You go home every night
where it's warm and safe,
and you go fuck your husband
to feel normal.
And then you come over here
and you fuck me
to feel alive, and then
you do it all over again.
You knew exactly who I was
when you let me in here, okay?
You knew my situation.
You're too good at this.
-What did you expect?
-If that's all this is,
there's a bar in town
-with a dozen other women...
-Stop.
...that would
cause me a lot less pain.
-Sandra.
-Please, just go.
[OVER RADIO]
Cling to me
Like a fish in a deep, blue sea
Make my heart feel toodle-oo...
-[MUSIC STOPS]
-[MURIEL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
-Come on, please.
-[ENGINE IDLING]
-Just stop.
-Please don't.
I want you to leave.
-[SIGHS]
-MURIEL: I didn't,
I didn't mean it like that.
Hey. [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Hey.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
[SNIFFLES]
[SNIFFLES]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
I thought they had you
on a double today.
MURIEL: I'm too slow.
Couldn't use me.
She was out of eggs, then,
your friend?
Oh, yeah, yeah, she was out.
I'm not sure I realized before,
not for certain, I mean, but...
you remind me of him.
Julius.
I envy him sometimes, you know?
You do?
Yeah.
He gets to live
like there's no tomorrow.
You think I'm like that?
-Lee?
-[KEYS JANGLING]
[DOOR OPENS]
MURIEL: Hey.
Don't... no, don't say anything.
I remember this girl from town.
She had two men.
One of them was a kid
Julius used to run with.
Pool hall kid.
The other guy was a college
type none of us really knew.
Ran the sand mill
across the river with his pop.
The girl... Sally, I want
to say her name was...
Spent her afternoons
with Julius and Pool Hall Kid.
Went to dinner
in a better dress,
half-tilted on Hamm's
with Mr. Sand Mill.
Pool Hall knew all about it.
Never bothered him,
'cause she always used to
come home to him
at the end of the night.
Baffled me
when Julius told me about it.
Six months later...
Sally sits down Pool Hall,
tells him it's over.
And a month after that...
there was her name
in the engagement section.
And Julius was just outraged.
I think Julius hated
the fact that...
she picked
what wasn't real... honestly.
Bothered him to no end that...
She hadn't chosen
what he'd thought of as love.
I didn't really know her, so...
Who am I to say?
But I bet Julius thinks
I'm on the other side
of that story now.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
JULIUS: I'm looking for
my buddy.
Tall, skinny.
Scarred to hell on one arm.
Yeah, I think
I seen him around.
Not that I knew his name.
Do you know
where I can find him?
SONNY: I got a pretty good idea.
You think you can
take me to him?
[SHUDDERS]
[SNIFFLES]
[CRIES SOFTLY]
LEE: Did you ever want this?
-Any of it, I mean?
-[SNIFFLES]
[CRYING SOFTLY]
I'm sorry, Lee.
It doesn't matter.
[SNIFFLES]
You being sorry doesn't matter.
Not even a little bit.
JULIUS: Say,
where is this place, friend?
SONNY: TJ's a pretty small town.
Think I've seen him
right around here.
LEE: Muriel?
MURIEL: Lee,
you once told me
that until we met,
you weren't sure
there was anything good
left in the world.
You're a good man.
Your dream is a good dream.
I know I've let you down,
and nothing
can ever change that.
But I hope this helps you
find what you want.
Please don't give up.
Muriel.
[INSECTS CHIRPING]
SONNY: Okay, gringo.
These boys will take
your money now.
Waiting for someone?
I am.
Someone who owes me money.
[GRUNTING]
[MEN SHOUTING IN SPANISH]
[COUGHING]
[MAN LAUGHS]
-You faggot!
-TERRENCE: Come on!
[HIGH-PITCHED RINGING]
[ECHOING VOICES]
[CRYING SOFTLY]
[GRUNTS]
[SONG PLAYING]
Don't smile...
I'm waiting for someone, too.
Been a while?
It has.
Same here.
Well?
What do you say?
Beside
Your lovely smile
Don't laugh...
First time getting stood up?
-Big part of this game.
-Is it?
Guess it's never been easy
for people like us
to find each other.
MURIEL: No, I guess not.
You think it's all your fault?
Maybe it is.
I guess when you are
standing here
all on your own...
doesn't really matter
who did what
or who hurt who.
Does it?
It's just the world
getting in the way.
-Just the world.
-Hmm.
Well...
whoever they are,
they sure are missing out.
Tell him that for me
if you see him.
That's a promise.
Nature on her knees
[SPEAKS SPANISH]
Would fall
[SONG CONTINUES IN DISTANCE]
[BAG THUDS]
[WHISPERS] Goodbye.
[CAR DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[PUDDLE SPLASHING]
[SONG ENDS]
[ GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN
BY OMO TRIO PLAYING]
[HORSE WHINNYING]
JULIUS: Dear Muriel,
I don't know where you are
and I don't know
if I'll ever send this letter,
but there are so many things
I want to say to you.
Last time we saw each other,
I was trying to say something
about the two of us
I thought we already knew,
even if we never
said it out loud.
Well, hell,
it's Christmas Eve, ain't it?
I'm sorry I got it so wrong.
And I'm sorry for stealing from
you and all the rest of it.
Everything turned out
all right for me in the end,
so I don't want you
worrying about me.
It's Christmas, and somehow
I just bet you're okay.
Everybody deserves
a chance to be happy.
I can just picture you
saying that.
Everybody deserves a shot.
Even card sharps and liars
and petty thieves.
Merry Christmas, Muriel.
Julius.
[SONG ENDS]
[SONG PLAYING]
There's a life
I'm slowly recognizing
Just outside of trying
It's hard to give up trying
Okay. [SNIFFLES] Okay.
Oh, but when I get there
If I get there
Come on, let's go.
-I get closer and closer
-Hyah!
Lady Luck
has done her best for me
Can I find
whatever's left of me?
Hi, friend
Can I meet you again?
Time lost
And won and lost
And won and then
I burned down the bridge
of my life
To get to you
I'm a runner
I'm a runner, you're the lover
I'm running to
I'm a runner
I'm a runner, you're the lover
I'm running to
Go on and break
what you've got to remake
Don't be afraid
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC ENDS]