Sins of the Preacher's Wife (2023) Movie Script
God, I love how the trees
are framed by the
sky, don't you?
When Ruth sees this
painting at the art gallery,
she is going to lose her mind.
What do you think, Cass?
Cassie?
Cassie.
Cassie!
No.
Cassie!
You okay?
Has she been
fussing a long time?
Barely started up.
But your mom ears
are in full effect.
I've always been a
light sleeper, Dan.
True, medically, when
you become a mother,
your sleep cycles change.
I didn't medically
become a mother.
I can't have kids remember.
Situationally, it, it's,
it's really the same thing.
Just...
Can we just stop diagnosing me?
I'm not your patient.
Okay, okay, all right.
It's the force of habit.
Is it a nightmare?
What?
Well, you're making a lot
of sounds in your sleep.
It's, it sounded like a
nightmare, but, you know,
here I go again diagnosing.
It wasn't a nightmare.
Look, I'll be fine, don't worry.
Oh, honey.
Here we are.
Welcome to Willowvale.
God, oh, you scared me.
I scared you?
Yeah, I just jumped
outta my skin.
Didn't you see me?
I gotta go to the clinic.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
Nothing?
I, I just put my hand
on your shoulder,
you acted like I
was an ax murderer.
Well, I guess you married
a crazy lady then.
Hon...
What?
This house is a little
creepy, don't you think?
No, I, I happen to think
it's quite nice, actually.
I mean, look at it.
We live eight miles
away from humans.
Dan, we've been here two weeks
and I've seen the same
squirrel twenty times.
And I'm starting to imagine
people outside in the bushes.
Aren't you the one who
wanted to get outta the city?
Yeah, I wanted to
leave our neighborhood,
but not escape life itself.
You said you wanted
to go somewhere safe
and be closer to nature.
Well, look, there's nature
and this is small-town-safe.
Well, then, I guess
I'm happy, huh?
Ugh, I'm sorry.
Okay. I'm sorry.
I'm just worried about her.
She never reaches for me.
I don't know.
Hey, look, I'm your mom.
You're supposed to reach for me.
She loves you, honey.
I didn't say she didn't love me.
Look, you just, you
gotta get out there.
Start talking to some
people, you know,
be a part of the community.
I do talk to people, okay?
The grocery store counter
people, sales people.
That's not what I'm
talking about, you know it.
- Oh, you think so.
- Yeah, yeah.
I love you and I just, I,
I want you to be happy.
That's it.
I am happy.
I'll see you later.
Do you wanna go
shopping, little girl?
I know, me neither. But it
won't take that long.
A couple errands and then
we're gonna be right back.
Do you feel like we're being
watched or am I losing my mind?
That's what you always say.
You know your mom
isn't crazy, I promise.
And I'm gonna do like
your annoying daddy says,
and try to be happy.
Alright, let's back up.
Great job.
Good job, ooh, you're
getting so big.
Yeah.
Here we go.
In you go.
In you go, good job.
Oh, God.
Can I help you?
Look, I, I have
mace in my purse.
Your purse is in the back seat.
Are you threatening me?
You should leave here.
Well, I'm trying,
but you're in my way.
I don't mean here.
I mean here.
Look, you need to
get outta my face
or I'm gonna put this
key in your eye.
I'm trying to tell you
something important.
You don't belong here.
Bad things will
happen to you here.
Bad things will happen to her.
Get away from my
baby, you psychopath.
You're not listening.
This place isn't for you.
It isn't for your kid.
It isn't for your husband.
You don't belong here.
Okay.
I'm, I'm just, I'm just
trying to tell you the truth.
I'm just trying to tell you.
Like, really strange...
You all right, ma'am?
No, this man is
threatening me, officer.
I didn't want her to fall, Tim.
You need to arrest
this psychopath.
I don't know about that, ma'am.
What do you mean "you
don't know about that"?
This man is threatening
me because, I don't know,
because he's crazy.
Boyd, are you
threatening this woman?
I didn't want her to fall.
Wait, why are you asking him?
I'm telling you what happened.
From your point of view.
Because he was threatening me.
Do you guys not have this
word in your vocabulary?
Threatening.
We have that word, ma'am.
You're just letting him go?
Ma'am, look...
No, don't "ma'am" me, officer.
Sheriff, not officer, ma'am.
Excuse me, Sheriff.
What is going on around here?
This is a small town, ma'am.
We all know each
other around here.
We don't jump at the
least little thing.
The least little thing?
Oh, my God.
And we don't take the
Lord's name in vain.
We're not like the city people
moving here with their
problems and drugs.
We don't like problems
and drugs around here.
Well, that's a shame
because I love problems
and drugs, officer.
Have yourself a nice day, ma'am.
Thanks for your help.
Listen to me, Dan.
I had a panic attack
on the way home
and nearly drove off the road.
Hon.
No, don't "hon" me.
We need to get out of this town.
I am just trying to say that
maybe you are overreacting.
I don't overreact, Dan.
We have moved three times, Beth.
First the condo's bad,
then the suburbs are bad.
And now you, you just, you
cannot fault me for thinking
that maybe there
is something else
besides just one, admittedly
very bad, confrontation.
It wasn't a confrontation.
He threatened me.
I, I understand
that, okay, I do.
But we just sunk a lot of
money into this clinic.
You're choosing the
clinic over your family.
I am not choosing the clinic.
If we really must move...
We must.
Okay, fine.
But that cannot
happen this second.
It can't.
So in the meantime,
why don't we look into
getting you a therapist.
A therapist?
Are you kidding me?
I know how you
feel about therapy,
but these panic attacks
that you were having,
they are getting worse.
Fine.
Okay, fine.
I will go to therapy and
they can pump me full of meds
like my parents did
when I was 13 years old
if it will just get us
out of this hell hole.
Okay?
Okay.
So Beth,
what's going on?
I hate this town.
I hate the people in this town.
And my husband
demands I do therapy.
Have you had any difficult
incidents recently?
Yeah.
I moved here.
Apart from that.
Um...
I don't know, I
had an altercation
at the grocery store
the other day, I guess.
What was that?
Um...
Nothing, I...
I-I'm sorry.
Sorry for what?
Beth?
You alright?
Um...
I'm so sorry, I just,
I really can't do this.
Careful!
Are you okay?
The ice will help
with the swelling.
Thanks.
It's okay?
Yeah.
Did you do the
fairytale paintings?
I did.
Do you like paintings?
Well, I'm a painter, in theory.
And what are you, in practice?
A jaywalker.
Yeah, I've been meaning
to paint some more,
but who has the time?
Also, the really
early fairy tales
had these wonderful
heroines, you know?
They did things.
They were active.
Not like those ones
who fall asleep
hoping that Brad Pitt knocks
on their window or whatever.
Yeah, I guess.
Yeah, they went out and
they grabbed life, right?
Cinderella, Sleeping
Beauty? Please.
Now, Adamantina, now
there's a heroine.
She goes to the market
to sell her sister's
homespun thread,
but instead she trades it
for a beautiful little
doll she wants bad.
Bad choice?
Obviously, her sister
is beside herself.
Adamantina just gave away
everything they
have in the world.
But as it turns out,
the doll is magical
and it grants them wish
after wish after wish.
She even marries a prince.
But that's not why
she bought the doll.
No, she bought it because
it's what she wanted.
She took what she wanted.
Now there's a lesson for any
little girl, don't you think?
Yeah.
Yeah, I guess.
How's your elbow feel now?
It hurts a little,
but I'll be all right.
I-I'm sorry, I, I don't
think I got your name.
Oh, my goodness.
I've been talking, talking,
I didn't even tell you
my name. I'm Marion.
I'm the preacher's wife
and I, uh, run the daycare.
I'm Beth.
It's nice to meet you, Beth.
So do you commit suicide every
day, or just on Wednesdays?
No, no, that's not
what I was doing.
Oh, no, I'm just kidding.
I'm kidding.
But that is a really good
way to get flattened,
to walk in front of a car.
It was a mistake.
I was just distracted.
Oh, I understand.
Believe you me.
But I saved your life.
So now we get to be friends.
Isn't that nice?
Yeah.
Um, look, thank you
again for everything.
Yeah, well small towns
can be challenging.
- Yeah.
- The people can be.
Well, let me tell you,
I'm not from around here.
And the transition was rough.
Yeah.
I wanted to escape into
the woods more than once.
Anyway, I think your
elbow's gonna be fine.
So you can go about your way.
Thanks again.
Well, take care Beth.
And if you ever need to talk,
I make the best poppy seed
pie in the entire universe.
And I'm always here,
among the angels.
Well, I might have to
take you up on that.
Thanks.
Oh, is that for me?
Here, ah.
Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
No, you have some,
come on, come on.
This is for you,
this is for you.
This is for you.
Oh, are we gonna start
wearing this spaghetti,
or we gonna eat it?
Honey, if you don't eat
before Mommy gets home,
Daddy's gonna get in trouble.
And you know what happens
when Daddy gets in trouble?
Oh, okay.
I think we, we're
missing, we're...
Okay, what if I do like a little
like...
You don't like it?
You don't like it?
Look, Dad slaved away
over this spaghetti
for at least like
five minutes, so...
Hey, you must've
had a lot to say.
It's just, 'cause the
appointment, it took forever.
Oh, no, we didn't...
I mean, yeah, we just
mostly filled out paperwork.
Oh, okay.
I'm sure we'll get
deeper next time.
Yeah, all right, I just,
I just want you to be happy.
You're sweet.
Yeah, and very, very late.
So, sorry for the
mess, right, honey?
She's very sorry about the mess.
I'll see you in a bit.
Okay.
Hi.
Wow, you didn't even
wear a bib or anything.
He just gave it straight to you.
Okay.
Okay, here we go.
Yeah.
Hi, hon.
Dan?
Yeah.
Hon, are you there?
Someone is outside.
What do you mean?
Someone is outside the house?
I think it's that
weird guy from town.
You think you
saw someone outside,
or you did see someone outside?
I saw somebody
outside in the bushes
looking at me
through the window.
Look, Dan, please come home.
If you think you
saw someone outside,
you should call the police.
No, I'm not gonna call the
sheriff, that guy's crazy.
He's not gonna do anything.
Dan, just please come home.
Honey, I am, I, I'm
just about to leave.
Dan, please.
Okay.
Okay, I'll call the sheriff.
Oh, you think if
you call the sheriff
that's gonna change anything,
well, he's probably cousins
with that guy or something.
You don't believe me, do you?
I didn't say that.
You didn't have
to say anything, Dan.
Everything that you're doing
is showing me exactly what
you think and how you feel.
Look, do you know, you want
me to choose how I'm feeling?
That I feel unhappy all the
time and scared all the time.
You think I'm choosing this?
Look, I, my gut is telling me
that there's something
wrong with this town.
Okay, I, I, I understand.
And I'm leaving.
Oh, my God.
Beth, what's wrong?
Oh, my God.
Beth.
Marion?
Hi.
Hi, there, honey.
Ah, what are you doing here?
Well, you never came
by for that pie,
so I thought I'd
bring it to you.
How did you know where we lived?
There's only so many
people in this town.
Are you having a very
scary surprise party?
I thought I saw someone outside.
Well, you did, me.
Oh, I doubt you were
hiding in the bushes.
Well, yeah, that doesn't
sound like me to me,
but I don't know.
You worried, honey?
Do you wanna go check it out?
Sure.
Okay.
Let's go.
You think somewhere around here?
Um, yeah, I think so.
Hmm, well, trust your instincts.
He was here?
Yeah.
Are you looking for footprints?
My dad used to be
a hunter, yeah.
Not a very good shot,
but a hell of a tracker.
I don't know.
Maybe we should just
check in the daylight.
Yeah.
I mean, I am nuts.
I have completely lost it.
I'm starting to imagine
people in my backyard.
Well, maybe whoever he is
is really good at
covering his tracks.
Would you believe me
if I told you that?
I would.
But I'm very trusting.
Maybe I should work on that.
Well, you get it by giving it.
What?
Get it by giving it?
Ooh, you dirty minded thing.
What can I say?
It's good to see you laughing.
Well, this pie,
wow.
That's what he said.
Mm, I see what you did there.
I keep calling you
'cause you hung up.
I thought something
had happened.
Oh, babe, I'm so sorry.
Um, this is Marion.
- Hi, I'm Marion.
- How are you?
- Hi, nice to meet you.
- We're, we're fine.
It was just a misunderstanding.
Okay.
All right, it's good.
You ladies have a pie.
Sorry, I gotta go
catch my breath.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
He cares.
He's so sweet.
I know. I'm gonna have to
get that recipe from you.
- Oh, absolutely, yes.
- It was so good.
Nice car.
Oh, please call
the grandma police.
I got a nice truck
at home though.
It's my baby.
Well, one of my babies.
How you feeling about your baby?
What?
That bad?
Uh, no, not bad.
I, I love her.
You know how it is.
How is it?
She's, I don't know if you
know this, but she's adopted.
Oh, no.
I, I didn't realize that.
Whoa, well, that's wonderful.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's great.
Amazing.
All I ever wanted
was to be pregnant
and have a smashing art career.
But when that didn't work out,
she kind of, kind of
fell right into our laps.
But it is hard, I mean.
Sometimes I feel like we
don't connect, you know?
I don't know, but talking
to you makes me feel better.
But maybe it was the pie.
But seriously, thank
you for everything.
I really appreciate it.
Oh, please, it's nothing.
No, really, it means a lot.
If you ever need anything
or want anything,
just let me know.
I just want you to be happy
and maybe come by
the church sometime.
Oh, it's a lovely community.
And you can meet my husband
and I run a daycare
like nobody's business,
which I think your precious
little one would just love.
We're not really religious.
Neither is daycare,
but it would give you
some time to paint.
And if you're worried
about Dan's reaction,
then just tell him that you're
gonna take him to brunch
and surprise him.
That's what I would do.
You're a very
slick lady, Marion.
You don't know the half of it.
All right, honey,
this certainly doesn't
look like brunch to me.
I don't understand why-
You said you want us
to talk to people.
This is the way for
us to talk to people.
Okay, well, if they're
talking about God
the entire time
when we're in there...
It is church.
Of course, they're
gonna talk about God.
Which is why I don't want to go.
Oh, my gosh, are you just
gonna complain the whole time?
-Yeah, actually-
-Sounds like somebody's
first time to me.
I don't know, call it a hunch.
Hi, um, I'm Beth.
Hi, Beth.
This is my very
grumpy husband, Dan.
Don't worry about it, Dan.
I understand completely.
- And our daughter, Anna.
- Yeah, nice to meet you.
Well, hello there.
Aren't you gorgeous?
Say thank you.
Why don't I walk you guys in?
- Yeah, great.
- That'd be great.
Don't worry, Dan.
I came in kicking
and screaming too.
Yeah?
Man, how'd they get you to stay?
Well, why don't
we just take a seat
and listen and see.
You're gonna be just fine.
I don't have to sing, do I?
- Welcome.
- Thank you very much.
- Good to see you.
- Good to see you too.
We're just not that into
the whole church thing.
Completely understand, Dan.
- Yeah.
- 100%.
Morning.
Hello.
Hey, Marion.
I see you met my husband.
We did, Dan's head
is still spinning.
Oh, she is so sweet.
Come, come sit with me.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Abby, lovely to
see you here today.
Joe, the beard is killing it,
I see you're working on that.
Chloe, glad you're
feeling better.
Wanna thank you guys
for coming in today.
You know, I just recently
met somebody that said to me,
"Yeah, I'm not really
into the church thing."
No, no.
That's perfectly
reasonable in my book.
And I'll tell you why.
If I'm being really honest.
Really, really honest.
I'm not always into the
church thing either.
And what I mean by that is
I'm not always into worrying
about whether or
not the foyer way
was vacuumed this morning.
I'm not always into worrying
about whether the
chairs in the basement
should be fixed or pitched.
I'm not always
interested in worrying
about whether the parking
crew is gonna be here on time.
I'm not always
interested in worrying
about what I'm gonna
do when the bake sale
doesn't go off as we planned.
But that stuff is church though.
Just trying to answer
everyday questions.
But then there's
the big questions,
questions that
tug on your heart.
You know what I'm talking about.
Questions that keep
you up late at night.
The questions that wake you
up early in the morning.
Those are the questions.
Those are the questions
that I'm interested
in trying to answer.
And I'm perfectly
comfortable telling you guys
that I don't have the
answer to those questions.
I'm searching.
I'm searching just like you.
But I believe that the Good Book
is the pathway to the
answers to those questions.
I believe that I can choose
to walk that pathway or not.
I believe that I can choose
to walk that pathway alone.
And I also believe that I
can choose to invite you
to walk that pathway with me,
and that my friends,
that is the thing
that I'm into about church.
The togetherness, the "we",
the walking hand in
hand to find the answers
to those big questions.
So,
Chloe, would you
care to walk with me?
How about you?
Would you care to walk with me?
How about you?
Would you care to walk with me?
You are a lady
with a sleepy baby.
You wanna lay her down?
- We have a nap room.
- Yes, please.
Looks like they're
gonna be a while.
Marion, always good to see you.
Good to see you too.
Beth, my door is always open.
Hey.
Her first nap's
already wearing off.
They change fast.
You gotta hang on for the
ride, but not too tightly.
I consider that a general rule.
Yeah, I have a problem
with letting things go.
What things?
It's okay.
You can tell me.
I had a friend that died.
She died in the-
In the woods?
You make no bones
about hating the woods.
It's like you're mad
at every tree God made.
It doesn't take a genius to
put two and two together.
It's that obvious, huh?
Not at all.
You got your secrets, girl.
It's okay.
I got mine too.
I have quite the past myself.
I, uh...
I came to the church.
I came to Jim after, well, a
little bit too much living,
if I'm being honest.
I had my wild child days.
I still think about them.
Were you a wild girl, Beth?
No.
No, but
I knew one.
It's hard to be there
for people sometimes.
Yeah, it is.
My husband groused
the whole way here,
and now he wants to
have drinks with Jim.
He wants a play date.
He wants a play date.
Let's have some play dates then.
Ah, I guess we need to
schedule a play date.
Hey, Marion.
What's wrong, hon?
The art hurting you?
- Yeah.
- Okay, let's go.
Go where?
Where I'm taking you.
And where's that?
You'll see.
Where's Anna?
She's with Dan.
Okay, why don't you go change?
Okay.
Ah, yeah, I just feel like
I'm always pushing
a boulder up a hill.
Like I need to break
through, but I can't.
I don't know, like something
needs to snap into place
or snap all together,
I don't know.
Wait, where are we going?
You'll see.
Look, Marion, you know
I'm not comfortable.
Well, why would you be?
It's the woods,
you hate the woods.
Yeah, exactly.
Beth, if you want
to beat your fear,
you have to face it head on.
There's no other way.
You can't go around it.
You can't go under it.
You can't just ignore it.
You have to go through it.
I can see what you need
because I'm on the high ground.
I can see the forest clear
and you need to go into it.
My husband and I almost
bought that place
for when we wanted to escape.
We'd hide out here forever.
And we wanted to,
when we figured out
we couldn't have kids.
You are so lucky to have Anna.
She's so sweet and
beautiful and perfect.
We would've done
anything for her.
The Lord giveth to some
blessings, and to others,
well, I consider it a trial.
It's all about fortitude.
You gotta hang on.
Can you hang on?
Oh, my God.
What's wrong?
It's just, it looks
exactly like, uh...
Like what?
-Like-
-Come on, Beth.
Don't give up.
I can't, okay?
I, I can't go in there.
It's just a clearing
in the woods.
No, I can't.
Why?
What happened?
What did you do, Beth?
I didn't do anything.
I, I didn't do anything.
So what happened to your friend?
What happened, Beth,
just, just say it?
I didn't save her, okay?
I didn't save her.
I didn't go after her.
Did you ever have that friend
that you meant
everything to them
and they meant
everything to you?
We met when we were 12.
We did everything together.
Went everywhere together,
we were inseparable.
She was beautiful and
talented and smart.
An amazing artist,
way better than me.
And a little crazy.
She would disappear
and reappear and
it was like we had this on
again, off again relationship.
Everybody thought
that we were dating.
Hell, we even joked
that we were dating.
And one day she just...
disappeared for good.
I thought we were done with
all the back and forth.
And then she called me,
wanted to go camping and work
everything out, so we did.
And when we got there, she...
told me that she liked me.
And I told her that I was
in love with her brother.
She started begging me
to be with anybody else.
And then she just ran away,
and I promised myself I
wouldn't chase after her,
that I wouldn't do
that to myself anymore.
So I went back to
camp and went to bed.
And the next morning I woke
up and she wasn't there.
Cass?
Cass?
So I went looking
for her and that's,
that's when I found her.
I didn't save her, I
didn't go after her.
You couldn't have
saved that girl, Beth.
I could have gone after her.
Can you stop a freight train
by standing in front of it?
No.
Can you slow it down some?
Sure.
But that's a high price to pay.
Your friend Cass, God bless her,
was headed in one direction.
Some people are
just built that way.
They're lovely,
they're charming,
they're full of life,
but they're weak.
And you can't stop a weak
person from being weak
anymore than you can a strong
person from being strong.
I don't know.
No, because you
wanna blame yourself.
You wanna pretend to be
weak, but you're not weak.
You're strong.
You're afraid of the woods.
You're afraid of town.
You're afraid of your past.
No, you're not, Beth.
Not?
No, you're afraid of your power.
You're afraid that someone
loved you and needed you
and died because they did.
Well, I don't want
that kind of power.
Do you think that that matters?
Do you think that any
of us have a choice?
Do you think that we get what
we want, what we deserve?
No.
You have to grab it.
You have to go for
it or you lose it.
And that's just not
the woods, that's life.
That's the jungle.
The weak are food.
The strong survive.
I don't know about that.
Do you wanna just give up?
Do you wanna leave that
beautiful little baby behind?
Or do you want to tell
Cass that you wanna live?
Tell her you can't
help her anymore.
Tell her goodbye.
Goodbye, Cass.
Yeah.
No more crying.
That's for the weak.
Shh, it's okay.
Mommy and Daddy are busy.
But I'm here.
I'll stay with you.
I'm just gonna get
some water real quick.
No, that'll take too long.
Honey, um, well, I'm already up,
I'm just gonna check the baby.
Okay, but hurry up.
Hurry back.
Alright, here we go.
Up.
Okay.
Mommy will be right back.
What?
Hey, Marion.
Hi, Beth.
I was just in the neighborhood
with another pie,
for some reason.
Did you hear a loud noise?
Like what?
Like a window closing?
I didn't hear anything,
except the soft cries
of, "More pie, Marion,
we need more of
your delicious pie."
I do love your pie.
Of course, hon.
You know, if you, uh,
want me to watch that
delicious baby of yours
while you paint or
whatever, I'd be happy to.
That's really sweet of you,
but we're heading into
town for a checkup.
I forgot some of her
insurance paperwork.
Oh, okay.
I'll leave the pie here.
Don't mind me then.
I wanna say during those
years I was a chef, I think.
- What?
- Yeah.
- Well...
- You were a-
Cook is more like it.
Oh, it's still,
you were a cook too
I was a cook, I was a
bartender for a minute,
a motorcycle mechanic
- for a while.
- Oh, motorcycle.
- Yes sir.
- Oh, that's rich.
Hey, it took the good
Lord a minute to find me,
Danny boy.
And I wandered.
Ooh, I wandered.
Was, um, was pretty rough
and tumble sometimes.
Well, I'll tell you the craziest
thing I think I ever did
was, uh, fall from a rope
swing into a rushing river.
It was spring break
medical school second year.
And I thought I had broken
my neck and my back.
You okay?
I am perfectly fine.
I walked away with
a couple bruises
and the knowledge to
look before I swing.
And there's nothing
wrong with that.
- No.
- Nothing wrong
with being cautious.
You got a family to look after.
I don't know.
I took TaeKwonDo.
- Hey.
- I took TaeKwonDo
for seven years.
I, it was mostly
to get in shape.
But let me tell you,
I walked outta that class with
a tremendous...
But listen, I got a
story about a dragon
I need to tell you.
A story about it.
- That's right.
- I love stories
- about dragons.
- Yep, I was in China.
Anyway, let me tell you
about it when I get back.
I gotta see a man about a horse.
Yeah, see that horse.
It's a horse that
meets a dragon.
You should not trust him.
Excuse me.
Don't trust him.
What, what are
you talking about?
He took something
from my friend.
Jim?
Is that what he's
calling himself now?
I, I...
That, that is his name, yes.
No, it's not.
I don't know what his
name is, but it's not Jim.
He took something
from a friend of mine.
And whatever you do,
you cannot trust him.
And for God's sake,
don't trust his wife.
She is not who you think she is.
Hi, there.
That was weird.
Is it safe in there?
Gonna use the head.
Okay.
Cliff, couple more.
Got it.
Thank you, sir.
For a preacher, anything.
Thank you.
- Hey, there he is.
- Ooh.
We got another one.
- All right.
- Good to go.
So I saw you're making friends.
Yeah, I don't, I, I don't
know if I would call it that,
- but, uh...
- Sure.
She seemed like she saw the
martial artist in you, buddy.
She looked interested.
Well, you'd be surprised
how often I get that.
No, she said that she knew you.
Do you know her?
As a matter of fact, to be
completely honest, I do.
Really?
Or I did.
Yeah, she came around the church
a while back after a really...
Well, she'd been through
a real traumatic time.
Lost her kid.
- Oh, man. That's tough.
- Yeah.
She came to us
and she was having
trouble processing it.
And she was behaving
sort of erratically.
Yeah, she was telling
odd stories, and paranoid.
It was so bad for her.
Yeah.
I mean, honestly, she
needs our prayers, right?
- Sure.
- Cheers.
There.
Honey, hi.
- Dan?
- Whoa,
- easy.
- Yeah.
- Hi.
- Where, where's your car?
The car, oh, where's the car?
- Jim, where's the car?
- I drove.
Oh, he drove.
He drove.
Where's the music?
That's the question, and
where's your dancing shoes,
- honey.
- Danny?
- Yeah.
- I'm so sorry.
Oh, yeah.
- Danny, boy, be gentle, son.
- Let's go.
I'm fine!
Watch yourself, Danny boy.
That's just.
Why don't we, uh...
- I'm so sorry.
- What happened to him?
Oh, we had quite a night.
Oh, we did.
- Yes, we did.
- Quite a night?
- We did, yeah.
- Yeah.
Your, your boy here
got a little loose
- is how I'd put it.
- Loose.
No, I, you're loose.
- You're loosey-goosey.
- I'm loose, you're loose.
Yeah, this guy...
Why don't we dial it
back a little bit.
Lay you down, there he goes.
Watch his head, okay.
Let's relax.
- Just relax.
- I'm so sorry.
Serious.
It's good.
We didn't drink.
We didn't drink, we
didn't, we, we had...
- Quite a couple.
- Three,
- four, five?
- Yeah.
Five?
So we, no, it's
two drinks twice.
- Could have been.
- So what?
- Okay, Dan, listen.
- Wait.
Where are you going?
There's no horse
in the bathroom,
and that's where you're going.
Dan, hey.
-Can you, please-
-He owes me a dragon story.
- Listen to me.
- Yeah.
- Listen to me.
- I'm listening.
I found footprints.
You found Bigfoot?
No.
What? No.
Are you that drunk?
I, no, I'm not drunk.
It's something different.
Believe me, there is
this woman at the bar.
She said not to trust him
and not to trust his wife.
What? Ssh.
I, I am whispering.
No, you're not whispering.
It's fine.
Listen.
I sprayed the dirt outside.
I found a footprint in the
mud in the exact same spot
where I saw someone watching me.
- Oh, why?
- Do you not understand
- what I'm saying?
- I told you I do.
You just, you're so smart.
You're so smart.
Honey, this is why I, this
is why I love you.
This is why.
- No, I love you.
- Stop, Dan!
Yeah, look, she took
something from someone.
That's what I'm
trying to tell you.
With who? Who?
When we... at the bar and I
keep trying to tell you.
Oh, my God, I am so thirsty.
Oh, hurry.
Dan!
Dan, stop!
I'm fine.
Do we have any chicken?
- What?
- I dunno,
I just feel really in the mood
- for chicken.
- Just focus for a second.
- Yeah, oh.
- Why did you get this wasted?
Ah, there is no good reason.
Well, how many
drinks did you drink?
Three.
You had three beers
and you're this drunk.
Maybe.
Sheriff, it's Marion.
I hate to do this,
but I have to report
a child in danger.
No, I'm, I'm, I'm positive.
Yeah, no, there's,
there's drugs involved.
Yeah, you need to come to Beth
and Dan's house immediately.
I'm sure.
I'm definitely sure.
Did you get these
beers yourself?
Yes, I got the beers.
Well, no, actually,
Jim got the last one.
It was very nice, he
didn't have to do that.
He got one of those strong ones.
And they seem zingy
- with the buzz on the tongue.
- Zingy?
Just buzzy.
But I mean, I'm not buzzing.
It's just my mouth talking.
Does that, Jim,
did he just leave?
Jim.
I'm never getting
the dragon story.
This is unbelievable.
Oh, honey, I found the chicken.
It's behind the baby food.
Oh, yeah.
Honey, do you want any of this?
Oh, my God.
Dan.
Dan.
Dan.
Dan.
Dan, Dan.
Look, wake up.
Look, listen to me.
Anna is gone.
Do you hear me?
Anna is gone, Jim must have...
Look, I don't know
what happened,
but Jim must have taken her.
Do you hear what I'm saying?
I don't need to go
to practice anymore.
What?
Dan.
What do I... where
did I put my phone?
Where's my keys?
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
It was her.
It was Marion.
Oh, my God, it was Marion.
Marion took Anna.
My husband and I almost
bought that place
for when we wanted to escape.
Look, Dan, look, I know you
can't hear me right now,
but, but Marion
and Jim have Anna.
Just come and find me, okay?
I know, girl, it's okay.
We'll just keep going, yeah.
You're gonna take a nice nap.
A nice nap.
Yes, you are, love.
I'm just getting
started on my hair.
The, uh, packing still
needs to be done.
Did you get the documents?
Yeah, yeah, they're on
the table right there.
Where's the tithing money?
Boyd's getting
the tithing money.
Remember you asked
him to do that?
Well, why isn't he here?
I-i-it's just sitting
in a safe in, in church.
Why isn't he back yet?
Do it, Boyd.
Don't be weak.
Do it for your family.
Do it
for your family.
Marion, are you sure
that you want to go this route?
Don't finish that sentence.
Don't even think about
finishing that sentence.
The strong take what they will.
That's nature.
That's God's will,
you know that.
I do, I do, I do.
Take responsibility for
yourself and no one else.
And feel peace.
May peace, mercy, and
love be multiplied to you.
We have been multiplied.
You're right.
Telly, I need you with
me, Chavez, around front.
Caution, we don't know
what his state of mind is.
- So be careful.
- Yes, sir.
Let's go.
Son.
You all right, Boyd?
Did you find her?
Did you take care of her?
I didn't see her.
You didn't wait for her?
You told me I had to be here.
After you got rid of her.
I didn't see her, Marion.
Mommy.
It's not Marion, it's Mommy.
I'm sorry, Mommy.
You said I had to hurry
here with the money.
I did, you're right.
It's okay.
We're gonna move on.
The sheriff will take
care of her for us
because Papa did his part right.
Wake up.
Hey, drug boy.
Wake yourself.
Sheriff?
Yeah.
You wanna tell me about this?
I don't know what that is.
Really?
Oxycontin.
It's brand name stuff, and
it's real expensive.
And you've been selling it
in my town to my people?
That's not mine.
Huh, that's what they
always say, huh, Fratelli?
What happened to me.
You got high, son.
I feel sorry for his
wife and his baby.
Wait, that's it.
She was telling
me, but I was too.
I, I just, I couldn't,
I couldn't think.
- I couldn't think.
- Calm down.
But I could hear her.
- Yeah.
- I could hear her.
She was telling me,
the woman at the bar.
The woman at the bar, she
was trying to warn me.
- Yeah, the preacher, Jim.
- Really?
He set me up.
That's where this started.
Calm down, it's alright.
I didn't listen to my wife.
Beth told me.
She warned me, it's Marion.
Marion has the baby.
No, you don't understand.
Marion has my baby.
Marion has the baby.
Okay, where's Marion?
Marion, do you know
where Marion is?
- Calm down.
- Please tell me.
- Will you...
- You need to calm down.
Tell me you know
where Marion is.
You need to come down
to the station.
Does anyone know
where Marion is?
We need to find her. Right now!
We need to find her.
Boyd.
Boyd, you're a good boy.
You always were.
First time I saw you,
beautiful little boy.
Saw you with that woman,
called herself a mother.
She didn't know how to take
care of a boy like you.
She didn't know how to love
you right, raise you right.
I knew.
And now,
we're finally together,
a whole family.
So let's dye that
scrappy head of yours.
And let's start over.
Boyd,
sit still.
My name's Tristan.
No, your name is Boyd
and I'm your mommy.
I already have a mommy.
Well, I'm your mommy now.
Mommy and Boyd.
Boyd.
- Boyd.
- Boyd.
Dammit.
I'll go get him.
No, just stay here
and finish packing.
It's Boyd, I need to
speak to the sheriff.
No, I need the sheriff now.
I know you're out here, Boyd.
I know you're scared,
but you needn't be,
it's just me, Mommy.
Did you tell on us, Boyd.
I know how you break down.
I know everything about you.
But if that girl
comes into my woods,
I'm gonna have to kill her
myself because you couldn't.
I'll gut anyone
who gets in my way.
Yeah.
Boyd's where?
Boyd said what?
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Tell him to get outta there now.
No, I don't want
anybody getting hurt.
I'm on my way.
Get in the front,
we gotta go now.
You guys follow, come on.
Let's go.
Goddammit, Beth.
What are you doing, Jim?
I think you know.
You don't have to do this, okay?
Look, you don't have
to do this for Marion.
But you see, you're
gonna take her from us
if I don't, aren't you?
Because she's mine.
She is my child.
Look, we can do
this together, Jim.
No, no.
You see, you don't know
her like I know her.
Nobody's gonna be
able to stop her.
You can't stop her.
I can try.
We can try together.
Goddammit.
Dammit.
I'm sorry.
I gotta do this, Beth.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
You are a faithless mother.
Look, why are you
doing this, Marion?
My mother was just like you.
A weak, distracted,
disappointed,
trivial artist who
cared more about herself
than me, her child.
It was always about Mommy.
I would never do that.
I would never leave my child
in the hands of another
unless I was thinking
of giving her away.
Look, I'm not listening
to you, Marion.
You're an evil woman.
Maybe I am, but
it's an evil world.
My mother led me into it,
bought me into it, young.
Evil ways, the
ways of criminals,
con artists, degenerates,
but I escaped.
Yeah, I escaped
because I was strong.
Too strong.
That's why they never let me
have a child under the law.
But they let you have one.
They let you have a baby.
That's madness.
They don't let
criminals adopt, Marion.
I was meant to be a mother
to a beautiful little girl.
And that's what I'll be.
Now, before my Daddy left,
he taught me how to use a knife
and I never forgot.
Goodbye, Mama bear.
No.
No, no.
No, Boyd.
No.
No.
He's my baby.
I hurt my baby.
Beth.
Beth.
Beth.
He's my baby.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I, I didn't mean to.
He's my baby.
How's my baby girl
doing back there?
All right, co-pilot,
what's our ETA?
Oh, we're not outta
the woods yet.
Yeah, we are Dan, and
we're staying out.
And this time I'm
picking out the house.
Okay.
are framed by the
sky, don't you?
When Ruth sees this
painting at the art gallery,
she is going to lose her mind.
What do you think, Cass?
Cassie?
Cassie.
Cassie!
No.
Cassie!
You okay?
Has she been
fussing a long time?
Barely started up.
But your mom ears
are in full effect.
I've always been a
light sleeper, Dan.
True, medically, when
you become a mother,
your sleep cycles change.
I didn't medically
become a mother.
I can't have kids remember.
Situationally, it, it's,
it's really the same thing.
Just...
Can we just stop diagnosing me?
I'm not your patient.
Okay, okay, all right.
It's the force of habit.
Is it a nightmare?
What?
Well, you're making a lot
of sounds in your sleep.
It's, it sounded like a
nightmare, but, you know,
here I go again diagnosing.
It wasn't a nightmare.
Look, I'll be fine, don't worry.
Oh, honey.
Here we are.
Welcome to Willowvale.
God, oh, you scared me.
I scared you?
Yeah, I just jumped
outta my skin.
Didn't you see me?
I gotta go to the clinic.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
Nothing?
I, I just put my hand
on your shoulder,
you acted like I
was an ax murderer.
Well, I guess you married
a crazy lady then.
Hon...
What?
This house is a little
creepy, don't you think?
No, I, I happen to think
it's quite nice, actually.
I mean, look at it.
We live eight miles
away from humans.
Dan, we've been here two weeks
and I've seen the same
squirrel twenty times.
And I'm starting to imagine
people outside in the bushes.
Aren't you the one who
wanted to get outta the city?
Yeah, I wanted to
leave our neighborhood,
but not escape life itself.
You said you wanted
to go somewhere safe
and be closer to nature.
Well, look, there's nature
and this is small-town-safe.
Well, then, I guess
I'm happy, huh?
Ugh, I'm sorry.
Okay. I'm sorry.
I'm just worried about her.
She never reaches for me.
I don't know.
Hey, look, I'm your mom.
You're supposed to reach for me.
She loves you, honey.
I didn't say she didn't love me.
Look, you just, you
gotta get out there.
Start talking to some
people, you know,
be a part of the community.
I do talk to people, okay?
The grocery store counter
people, sales people.
That's not what I'm
talking about, you know it.
- Oh, you think so.
- Yeah, yeah.
I love you and I just, I,
I want you to be happy.
That's it.
I am happy.
I'll see you later.
Do you wanna go
shopping, little girl?
I know, me neither. But it
won't take that long.
A couple errands and then
we're gonna be right back.
Do you feel like we're being
watched or am I losing my mind?
That's what you always say.
You know your mom
isn't crazy, I promise.
And I'm gonna do like
your annoying daddy says,
and try to be happy.
Alright, let's back up.
Great job.
Good job, ooh, you're
getting so big.
Yeah.
Here we go.
In you go.
In you go, good job.
Oh, God.
Can I help you?
Look, I, I have
mace in my purse.
Your purse is in the back seat.
Are you threatening me?
You should leave here.
Well, I'm trying,
but you're in my way.
I don't mean here.
I mean here.
Look, you need to
get outta my face
or I'm gonna put this
key in your eye.
I'm trying to tell you
something important.
You don't belong here.
Bad things will
happen to you here.
Bad things will happen to her.
Get away from my
baby, you psychopath.
You're not listening.
This place isn't for you.
It isn't for your kid.
It isn't for your husband.
You don't belong here.
Okay.
I'm, I'm just, I'm just
trying to tell you the truth.
I'm just trying to tell you.
Like, really strange...
You all right, ma'am?
No, this man is
threatening me, officer.
I didn't want her to fall, Tim.
You need to arrest
this psychopath.
I don't know about that, ma'am.
What do you mean "you
don't know about that"?
This man is threatening
me because, I don't know,
because he's crazy.
Boyd, are you
threatening this woman?
I didn't want her to fall.
Wait, why are you asking him?
I'm telling you what happened.
From your point of view.
Because he was threatening me.
Do you guys not have this
word in your vocabulary?
Threatening.
We have that word, ma'am.
You're just letting him go?
Ma'am, look...
No, don't "ma'am" me, officer.
Sheriff, not officer, ma'am.
Excuse me, Sheriff.
What is going on around here?
This is a small town, ma'am.
We all know each
other around here.
We don't jump at the
least little thing.
The least little thing?
Oh, my God.
And we don't take the
Lord's name in vain.
We're not like the city people
moving here with their
problems and drugs.
We don't like problems
and drugs around here.
Well, that's a shame
because I love problems
and drugs, officer.
Have yourself a nice day, ma'am.
Thanks for your help.
Listen to me, Dan.
I had a panic attack
on the way home
and nearly drove off the road.
Hon.
No, don't "hon" me.
We need to get out of this town.
I am just trying to say that
maybe you are overreacting.
I don't overreact, Dan.
We have moved three times, Beth.
First the condo's bad,
then the suburbs are bad.
And now you, you just, you
cannot fault me for thinking
that maybe there
is something else
besides just one, admittedly
very bad, confrontation.
It wasn't a confrontation.
He threatened me.
I, I understand
that, okay, I do.
But we just sunk a lot of
money into this clinic.
You're choosing the
clinic over your family.
I am not choosing the clinic.
If we really must move...
We must.
Okay, fine.
But that cannot
happen this second.
It can't.
So in the meantime,
why don't we look into
getting you a therapist.
A therapist?
Are you kidding me?
I know how you
feel about therapy,
but these panic attacks
that you were having,
they are getting worse.
Fine.
Okay, fine.
I will go to therapy and
they can pump me full of meds
like my parents did
when I was 13 years old
if it will just get us
out of this hell hole.
Okay?
Okay.
So Beth,
what's going on?
I hate this town.
I hate the people in this town.
And my husband
demands I do therapy.
Have you had any difficult
incidents recently?
Yeah.
I moved here.
Apart from that.
Um...
I don't know, I
had an altercation
at the grocery store
the other day, I guess.
What was that?
Um...
Nothing, I...
I-I'm sorry.
Sorry for what?
Beth?
You alright?
Um...
I'm so sorry, I just,
I really can't do this.
Careful!
Are you okay?
The ice will help
with the swelling.
Thanks.
It's okay?
Yeah.
Did you do the
fairytale paintings?
I did.
Do you like paintings?
Well, I'm a painter, in theory.
And what are you, in practice?
A jaywalker.
Yeah, I've been meaning
to paint some more,
but who has the time?
Also, the really
early fairy tales
had these wonderful
heroines, you know?
They did things.
They were active.
Not like those ones
who fall asleep
hoping that Brad Pitt knocks
on their window or whatever.
Yeah, I guess.
Yeah, they went out and
they grabbed life, right?
Cinderella, Sleeping
Beauty? Please.
Now, Adamantina, now
there's a heroine.
She goes to the market
to sell her sister's
homespun thread,
but instead she trades it
for a beautiful little
doll she wants bad.
Bad choice?
Obviously, her sister
is beside herself.
Adamantina just gave away
everything they
have in the world.
But as it turns out,
the doll is magical
and it grants them wish
after wish after wish.
She even marries a prince.
But that's not why
she bought the doll.
No, she bought it because
it's what she wanted.
She took what she wanted.
Now there's a lesson for any
little girl, don't you think?
Yeah.
Yeah, I guess.
How's your elbow feel now?
It hurts a little,
but I'll be all right.
I-I'm sorry, I, I don't
think I got your name.
Oh, my goodness.
I've been talking, talking,
I didn't even tell you
my name. I'm Marion.
I'm the preacher's wife
and I, uh, run the daycare.
I'm Beth.
It's nice to meet you, Beth.
So do you commit suicide every
day, or just on Wednesdays?
No, no, that's not
what I was doing.
Oh, no, I'm just kidding.
I'm kidding.
But that is a really good
way to get flattened,
to walk in front of a car.
It was a mistake.
I was just distracted.
Oh, I understand.
Believe you me.
But I saved your life.
So now we get to be friends.
Isn't that nice?
Yeah.
Um, look, thank you
again for everything.
Yeah, well small towns
can be challenging.
- Yeah.
- The people can be.
Well, let me tell you,
I'm not from around here.
And the transition was rough.
Yeah.
I wanted to escape into
the woods more than once.
Anyway, I think your
elbow's gonna be fine.
So you can go about your way.
Thanks again.
Well, take care Beth.
And if you ever need to talk,
I make the best poppy seed
pie in the entire universe.
And I'm always here,
among the angels.
Well, I might have to
take you up on that.
Thanks.
Oh, is that for me?
Here, ah.
Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
No, you have some,
come on, come on.
This is for you,
this is for you.
This is for you.
Oh, are we gonna start
wearing this spaghetti,
or we gonna eat it?
Honey, if you don't eat
before Mommy gets home,
Daddy's gonna get in trouble.
And you know what happens
when Daddy gets in trouble?
Oh, okay.
I think we, we're
missing, we're...
Okay, what if I do like a little
like...
You don't like it?
You don't like it?
Look, Dad slaved away
over this spaghetti
for at least like
five minutes, so...
Hey, you must've
had a lot to say.
It's just, 'cause the
appointment, it took forever.
Oh, no, we didn't...
I mean, yeah, we just
mostly filled out paperwork.
Oh, okay.
I'm sure we'll get
deeper next time.
Yeah, all right, I just,
I just want you to be happy.
You're sweet.
Yeah, and very, very late.
So, sorry for the
mess, right, honey?
She's very sorry about the mess.
I'll see you in a bit.
Okay.
Hi.
Wow, you didn't even
wear a bib or anything.
He just gave it straight to you.
Okay.
Okay, here we go.
Yeah.
Hi, hon.
Dan?
Yeah.
Hon, are you there?
Someone is outside.
What do you mean?
Someone is outside the house?
I think it's that
weird guy from town.
You think you
saw someone outside,
or you did see someone outside?
I saw somebody
outside in the bushes
looking at me
through the window.
Look, Dan, please come home.
If you think you
saw someone outside,
you should call the police.
No, I'm not gonna call the
sheriff, that guy's crazy.
He's not gonna do anything.
Dan, just please come home.
Honey, I am, I, I'm
just about to leave.
Dan, please.
Okay.
Okay, I'll call the sheriff.
Oh, you think if
you call the sheriff
that's gonna change anything,
well, he's probably cousins
with that guy or something.
You don't believe me, do you?
I didn't say that.
You didn't have
to say anything, Dan.
Everything that you're doing
is showing me exactly what
you think and how you feel.
Look, do you know, you want
me to choose how I'm feeling?
That I feel unhappy all the
time and scared all the time.
You think I'm choosing this?
Look, I, my gut is telling me
that there's something
wrong with this town.
Okay, I, I, I understand.
And I'm leaving.
Oh, my God.
Beth, what's wrong?
Oh, my God.
Beth.
Marion?
Hi.
Hi, there, honey.
Ah, what are you doing here?
Well, you never came
by for that pie,
so I thought I'd
bring it to you.
How did you know where we lived?
There's only so many
people in this town.
Are you having a very
scary surprise party?
I thought I saw someone outside.
Well, you did, me.
Oh, I doubt you were
hiding in the bushes.
Well, yeah, that doesn't
sound like me to me,
but I don't know.
You worried, honey?
Do you wanna go check it out?
Sure.
Okay.
Let's go.
You think somewhere around here?
Um, yeah, I think so.
Hmm, well, trust your instincts.
He was here?
Yeah.
Are you looking for footprints?
My dad used to be
a hunter, yeah.
Not a very good shot,
but a hell of a tracker.
I don't know.
Maybe we should just
check in the daylight.
Yeah.
I mean, I am nuts.
I have completely lost it.
I'm starting to imagine
people in my backyard.
Well, maybe whoever he is
is really good at
covering his tracks.
Would you believe me
if I told you that?
I would.
But I'm very trusting.
Maybe I should work on that.
Well, you get it by giving it.
What?
Get it by giving it?
Ooh, you dirty minded thing.
What can I say?
It's good to see you laughing.
Well, this pie,
wow.
That's what he said.
Mm, I see what you did there.
I keep calling you
'cause you hung up.
I thought something
had happened.
Oh, babe, I'm so sorry.
Um, this is Marion.
- Hi, I'm Marion.
- How are you?
- Hi, nice to meet you.
- We're, we're fine.
It was just a misunderstanding.
Okay.
All right, it's good.
You ladies have a pie.
Sorry, I gotta go
catch my breath.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
He cares.
He's so sweet.
I know. I'm gonna have to
get that recipe from you.
- Oh, absolutely, yes.
- It was so good.
Nice car.
Oh, please call
the grandma police.
I got a nice truck
at home though.
It's my baby.
Well, one of my babies.
How you feeling about your baby?
What?
That bad?
Uh, no, not bad.
I, I love her.
You know how it is.
How is it?
She's, I don't know if you
know this, but she's adopted.
Oh, no.
I, I didn't realize that.
Whoa, well, that's wonderful.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's great.
Amazing.
All I ever wanted
was to be pregnant
and have a smashing art career.
But when that didn't work out,
she kind of, kind of
fell right into our laps.
But it is hard, I mean.
Sometimes I feel like we
don't connect, you know?
I don't know, but talking
to you makes me feel better.
But maybe it was the pie.
But seriously, thank
you for everything.
I really appreciate it.
Oh, please, it's nothing.
No, really, it means a lot.
If you ever need anything
or want anything,
just let me know.
I just want you to be happy
and maybe come by
the church sometime.
Oh, it's a lovely community.
And you can meet my husband
and I run a daycare
like nobody's business,
which I think your precious
little one would just love.
We're not really religious.
Neither is daycare,
but it would give you
some time to paint.
And if you're worried
about Dan's reaction,
then just tell him that you're
gonna take him to brunch
and surprise him.
That's what I would do.
You're a very
slick lady, Marion.
You don't know the half of it.
All right, honey,
this certainly doesn't
look like brunch to me.
I don't understand why-
You said you want us
to talk to people.
This is the way for
us to talk to people.
Okay, well, if they're
talking about God
the entire time
when we're in there...
It is church.
Of course, they're
gonna talk about God.
Which is why I don't want to go.
Oh, my gosh, are you just
gonna complain the whole time?
-Yeah, actually-
-Sounds like somebody's
first time to me.
I don't know, call it a hunch.
Hi, um, I'm Beth.
Hi, Beth.
This is my very
grumpy husband, Dan.
Don't worry about it, Dan.
I understand completely.
- And our daughter, Anna.
- Yeah, nice to meet you.
Well, hello there.
Aren't you gorgeous?
Say thank you.
Why don't I walk you guys in?
- Yeah, great.
- That'd be great.
Don't worry, Dan.
I came in kicking
and screaming too.
Yeah?
Man, how'd they get you to stay?
Well, why don't
we just take a seat
and listen and see.
You're gonna be just fine.
I don't have to sing, do I?
- Welcome.
- Thank you very much.
- Good to see you.
- Good to see you too.
We're just not that into
the whole church thing.
Completely understand, Dan.
- Yeah.
- 100%.
Morning.
Hello.
Hey, Marion.
I see you met my husband.
We did, Dan's head
is still spinning.
Oh, she is so sweet.
Come, come sit with me.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Abby, lovely to
see you here today.
Joe, the beard is killing it,
I see you're working on that.
Chloe, glad you're
feeling better.
Wanna thank you guys
for coming in today.
You know, I just recently
met somebody that said to me,
"Yeah, I'm not really
into the church thing."
No, no.
That's perfectly
reasonable in my book.
And I'll tell you why.
If I'm being really honest.
Really, really honest.
I'm not always into the
church thing either.
And what I mean by that is
I'm not always into worrying
about whether or
not the foyer way
was vacuumed this morning.
I'm not always into worrying
about whether the
chairs in the basement
should be fixed or pitched.
I'm not always
interested in worrying
about whether the parking
crew is gonna be here on time.
I'm not always
interested in worrying
about what I'm gonna
do when the bake sale
doesn't go off as we planned.
But that stuff is church though.
Just trying to answer
everyday questions.
But then there's
the big questions,
questions that
tug on your heart.
You know what I'm talking about.
Questions that keep
you up late at night.
The questions that wake you
up early in the morning.
Those are the questions.
Those are the questions
that I'm interested
in trying to answer.
And I'm perfectly
comfortable telling you guys
that I don't have the
answer to those questions.
I'm searching.
I'm searching just like you.
But I believe that the Good Book
is the pathway to the
answers to those questions.
I believe that I can choose
to walk that pathway or not.
I believe that I can choose
to walk that pathway alone.
And I also believe that I
can choose to invite you
to walk that pathway with me,
and that my friends,
that is the thing
that I'm into about church.
The togetherness, the "we",
the walking hand in
hand to find the answers
to those big questions.
So,
Chloe, would you
care to walk with me?
How about you?
Would you care to walk with me?
How about you?
Would you care to walk with me?
You are a lady
with a sleepy baby.
You wanna lay her down?
- We have a nap room.
- Yes, please.
Looks like they're
gonna be a while.
Marion, always good to see you.
Good to see you too.
Beth, my door is always open.
Hey.
Her first nap's
already wearing off.
They change fast.
You gotta hang on for the
ride, but not too tightly.
I consider that a general rule.
Yeah, I have a problem
with letting things go.
What things?
It's okay.
You can tell me.
I had a friend that died.
She died in the-
In the woods?
You make no bones
about hating the woods.
It's like you're mad
at every tree God made.
It doesn't take a genius to
put two and two together.
It's that obvious, huh?
Not at all.
You got your secrets, girl.
It's okay.
I got mine too.
I have quite the past myself.
I, uh...
I came to the church.
I came to Jim after, well, a
little bit too much living,
if I'm being honest.
I had my wild child days.
I still think about them.
Were you a wild girl, Beth?
No.
No, but
I knew one.
It's hard to be there
for people sometimes.
Yeah, it is.
My husband groused
the whole way here,
and now he wants to
have drinks with Jim.
He wants a play date.
He wants a play date.
Let's have some play dates then.
Ah, I guess we need to
schedule a play date.
Hey, Marion.
What's wrong, hon?
The art hurting you?
- Yeah.
- Okay, let's go.
Go where?
Where I'm taking you.
And where's that?
You'll see.
Where's Anna?
She's with Dan.
Okay, why don't you go change?
Okay.
Ah, yeah, I just feel like
I'm always pushing
a boulder up a hill.
Like I need to break
through, but I can't.
I don't know, like something
needs to snap into place
or snap all together,
I don't know.
Wait, where are we going?
You'll see.
Look, Marion, you know
I'm not comfortable.
Well, why would you be?
It's the woods,
you hate the woods.
Yeah, exactly.
Beth, if you want
to beat your fear,
you have to face it head on.
There's no other way.
You can't go around it.
You can't go under it.
You can't just ignore it.
You have to go through it.
I can see what you need
because I'm on the high ground.
I can see the forest clear
and you need to go into it.
My husband and I almost
bought that place
for when we wanted to escape.
We'd hide out here forever.
And we wanted to,
when we figured out
we couldn't have kids.
You are so lucky to have Anna.
She's so sweet and
beautiful and perfect.
We would've done
anything for her.
The Lord giveth to some
blessings, and to others,
well, I consider it a trial.
It's all about fortitude.
You gotta hang on.
Can you hang on?
Oh, my God.
What's wrong?
It's just, it looks
exactly like, uh...
Like what?
-Like-
-Come on, Beth.
Don't give up.
I can't, okay?
I, I can't go in there.
It's just a clearing
in the woods.
No, I can't.
Why?
What happened?
What did you do, Beth?
I didn't do anything.
I, I didn't do anything.
So what happened to your friend?
What happened, Beth,
just, just say it?
I didn't save her, okay?
I didn't save her.
I didn't go after her.
Did you ever have that friend
that you meant
everything to them
and they meant
everything to you?
We met when we were 12.
We did everything together.
Went everywhere together,
we were inseparable.
She was beautiful and
talented and smart.
An amazing artist,
way better than me.
And a little crazy.
She would disappear
and reappear and
it was like we had this on
again, off again relationship.
Everybody thought
that we were dating.
Hell, we even joked
that we were dating.
And one day she just...
disappeared for good.
I thought we were done with
all the back and forth.
And then she called me,
wanted to go camping and work
everything out, so we did.
And when we got there, she...
told me that she liked me.
And I told her that I was
in love with her brother.
She started begging me
to be with anybody else.
And then she just ran away,
and I promised myself I
wouldn't chase after her,
that I wouldn't do
that to myself anymore.
So I went back to
camp and went to bed.
And the next morning I woke
up and she wasn't there.
Cass?
Cass?
So I went looking
for her and that's,
that's when I found her.
I didn't save her, I
didn't go after her.
You couldn't have
saved that girl, Beth.
I could have gone after her.
Can you stop a freight train
by standing in front of it?
No.
Can you slow it down some?
Sure.
But that's a high price to pay.
Your friend Cass, God bless her,
was headed in one direction.
Some people are
just built that way.
They're lovely,
they're charming,
they're full of life,
but they're weak.
And you can't stop a weak
person from being weak
anymore than you can a strong
person from being strong.
I don't know.
No, because you
wanna blame yourself.
You wanna pretend to be
weak, but you're not weak.
You're strong.
You're afraid of the woods.
You're afraid of town.
You're afraid of your past.
No, you're not, Beth.
Not?
No, you're afraid of your power.
You're afraid that someone
loved you and needed you
and died because they did.
Well, I don't want
that kind of power.
Do you think that that matters?
Do you think that any
of us have a choice?
Do you think that we get what
we want, what we deserve?
No.
You have to grab it.
You have to go for
it or you lose it.
And that's just not
the woods, that's life.
That's the jungle.
The weak are food.
The strong survive.
I don't know about that.
Do you wanna just give up?
Do you wanna leave that
beautiful little baby behind?
Or do you want to tell
Cass that you wanna live?
Tell her you can't
help her anymore.
Tell her goodbye.
Goodbye, Cass.
Yeah.
No more crying.
That's for the weak.
Shh, it's okay.
Mommy and Daddy are busy.
But I'm here.
I'll stay with you.
I'm just gonna get
some water real quick.
No, that'll take too long.
Honey, um, well, I'm already up,
I'm just gonna check the baby.
Okay, but hurry up.
Hurry back.
Alright, here we go.
Up.
Okay.
Mommy will be right back.
What?
Hey, Marion.
Hi, Beth.
I was just in the neighborhood
with another pie,
for some reason.
Did you hear a loud noise?
Like what?
Like a window closing?
I didn't hear anything,
except the soft cries
of, "More pie, Marion,
we need more of
your delicious pie."
I do love your pie.
Of course, hon.
You know, if you, uh,
want me to watch that
delicious baby of yours
while you paint or
whatever, I'd be happy to.
That's really sweet of you,
but we're heading into
town for a checkup.
I forgot some of her
insurance paperwork.
Oh, okay.
I'll leave the pie here.
Don't mind me then.
I wanna say during those
years I was a chef, I think.
- What?
- Yeah.
- Well...
- You were a-
Cook is more like it.
Oh, it's still,
you were a cook too
I was a cook, I was a
bartender for a minute,
a motorcycle mechanic
- for a while.
- Oh, motorcycle.
- Yes sir.
- Oh, that's rich.
Hey, it took the good
Lord a minute to find me,
Danny boy.
And I wandered.
Ooh, I wandered.
Was, um, was pretty rough
and tumble sometimes.
Well, I'll tell you the craziest
thing I think I ever did
was, uh, fall from a rope
swing into a rushing river.
It was spring break
medical school second year.
And I thought I had broken
my neck and my back.
You okay?
I am perfectly fine.
I walked away with
a couple bruises
and the knowledge to
look before I swing.
And there's nothing
wrong with that.
- No.
- Nothing wrong
with being cautious.
You got a family to look after.
I don't know.
I took TaeKwonDo.
- Hey.
- I took TaeKwonDo
for seven years.
I, it was mostly
to get in shape.
But let me tell you,
I walked outta that class with
a tremendous...
But listen, I got a
story about a dragon
I need to tell you.
A story about it.
- That's right.
- I love stories
- about dragons.
- Yep, I was in China.
Anyway, let me tell you
about it when I get back.
I gotta see a man about a horse.
Yeah, see that horse.
It's a horse that
meets a dragon.
You should not trust him.
Excuse me.
Don't trust him.
What, what are
you talking about?
He took something
from my friend.
Jim?
Is that what he's
calling himself now?
I, I...
That, that is his name, yes.
No, it's not.
I don't know what his
name is, but it's not Jim.
He took something
from a friend of mine.
And whatever you do,
you cannot trust him.
And for God's sake,
don't trust his wife.
She is not who you think she is.
Hi, there.
That was weird.
Is it safe in there?
Gonna use the head.
Okay.
Cliff, couple more.
Got it.
Thank you, sir.
For a preacher, anything.
Thank you.
- Hey, there he is.
- Ooh.
We got another one.
- All right.
- Good to go.
So I saw you're making friends.
Yeah, I don't, I, I don't
know if I would call it that,
- but, uh...
- Sure.
She seemed like she saw the
martial artist in you, buddy.
She looked interested.
Well, you'd be surprised
how often I get that.
No, she said that she knew you.
Do you know her?
As a matter of fact, to be
completely honest, I do.
Really?
Or I did.
Yeah, she came around the church
a while back after a really...
Well, she'd been through
a real traumatic time.
Lost her kid.
- Oh, man. That's tough.
- Yeah.
She came to us
and she was having
trouble processing it.
And she was behaving
sort of erratically.
Yeah, she was telling
odd stories, and paranoid.
It was so bad for her.
Yeah.
I mean, honestly, she
needs our prayers, right?
- Sure.
- Cheers.
There.
Honey, hi.
- Dan?
- Whoa,
- easy.
- Yeah.
- Hi.
- Where, where's your car?
The car, oh, where's the car?
- Jim, where's the car?
- I drove.
Oh, he drove.
He drove.
Where's the music?
That's the question, and
where's your dancing shoes,
- honey.
- Danny?
- Yeah.
- I'm so sorry.
Oh, yeah.
- Danny, boy, be gentle, son.
- Let's go.
I'm fine!
Watch yourself, Danny boy.
That's just.
Why don't we, uh...
- I'm so sorry.
- What happened to him?
Oh, we had quite a night.
Oh, we did.
- Yes, we did.
- Quite a night?
- We did, yeah.
- Yeah.
Your, your boy here
got a little loose
- is how I'd put it.
- Loose.
No, I, you're loose.
- You're loosey-goosey.
- I'm loose, you're loose.
Yeah, this guy...
Why don't we dial it
back a little bit.
Lay you down, there he goes.
Watch his head, okay.
Let's relax.
- Just relax.
- I'm so sorry.
Serious.
It's good.
We didn't drink.
We didn't drink, we
didn't, we, we had...
- Quite a couple.
- Three,
- four, five?
- Yeah.
Five?
So we, no, it's
two drinks twice.
- Could have been.
- So what?
- Okay, Dan, listen.
- Wait.
Where are you going?
There's no horse
in the bathroom,
and that's where you're going.
Dan, hey.
-Can you, please-
-He owes me a dragon story.
- Listen to me.
- Yeah.
- Listen to me.
- I'm listening.
I found footprints.
You found Bigfoot?
No.
What? No.
Are you that drunk?
I, no, I'm not drunk.
It's something different.
Believe me, there is
this woman at the bar.
She said not to trust him
and not to trust his wife.
What? Ssh.
I, I am whispering.
No, you're not whispering.
It's fine.
Listen.
I sprayed the dirt outside.
I found a footprint in the
mud in the exact same spot
where I saw someone watching me.
- Oh, why?
- Do you not understand
- what I'm saying?
- I told you I do.
You just, you're so smart.
You're so smart.
Honey, this is why I, this
is why I love you.
This is why.
- No, I love you.
- Stop, Dan!
Yeah, look, she took
something from someone.
That's what I'm
trying to tell you.
With who? Who?
When we... at the bar and I
keep trying to tell you.
Oh, my God, I am so thirsty.
Oh, hurry.
Dan!
Dan, stop!
I'm fine.
Do we have any chicken?
- What?
- I dunno,
I just feel really in the mood
- for chicken.
- Just focus for a second.
- Yeah, oh.
- Why did you get this wasted?
Ah, there is no good reason.
Well, how many
drinks did you drink?
Three.
You had three beers
and you're this drunk.
Maybe.
Sheriff, it's Marion.
I hate to do this,
but I have to report
a child in danger.
No, I'm, I'm, I'm positive.
Yeah, no, there's,
there's drugs involved.
Yeah, you need to come to Beth
and Dan's house immediately.
I'm sure.
I'm definitely sure.
Did you get these
beers yourself?
Yes, I got the beers.
Well, no, actually,
Jim got the last one.
It was very nice, he
didn't have to do that.
He got one of those strong ones.
And they seem zingy
- with the buzz on the tongue.
- Zingy?
Just buzzy.
But I mean, I'm not buzzing.
It's just my mouth talking.
Does that, Jim,
did he just leave?
Jim.
I'm never getting
the dragon story.
This is unbelievable.
Oh, honey, I found the chicken.
It's behind the baby food.
Oh, yeah.
Honey, do you want any of this?
Oh, my God.
Dan.
Dan.
Dan.
Dan.
Dan, Dan.
Look, wake up.
Look, listen to me.
Anna is gone.
Do you hear me?
Anna is gone, Jim must have...
Look, I don't know
what happened,
but Jim must have taken her.
Do you hear what I'm saying?
I don't need to go
to practice anymore.
What?
Dan.
What do I... where
did I put my phone?
Where's my keys?
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
It was her.
It was Marion.
Oh, my God, it was Marion.
Marion took Anna.
My husband and I almost
bought that place
for when we wanted to escape.
Look, Dan, look, I know you
can't hear me right now,
but, but Marion
and Jim have Anna.
Just come and find me, okay?
I know, girl, it's okay.
We'll just keep going, yeah.
You're gonna take a nice nap.
A nice nap.
Yes, you are, love.
I'm just getting
started on my hair.
The, uh, packing still
needs to be done.
Did you get the documents?
Yeah, yeah, they're on
the table right there.
Where's the tithing money?
Boyd's getting
the tithing money.
Remember you asked
him to do that?
Well, why isn't he here?
I-i-it's just sitting
in a safe in, in church.
Why isn't he back yet?
Do it, Boyd.
Don't be weak.
Do it for your family.
Do it
for your family.
Marion, are you sure
that you want to go this route?
Don't finish that sentence.
Don't even think about
finishing that sentence.
The strong take what they will.
That's nature.
That's God's will,
you know that.
I do, I do, I do.
Take responsibility for
yourself and no one else.
And feel peace.
May peace, mercy, and
love be multiplied to you.
We have been multiplied.
You're right.
Telly, I need you with
me, Chavez, around front.
Caution, we don't know
what his state of mind is.
- So be careful.
- Yes, sir.
Let's go.
Son.
You all right, Boyd?
Did you find her?
Did you take care of her?
I didn't see her.
You didn't wait for her?
You told me I had to be here.
After you got rid of her.
I didn't see her, Marion.
Mommy.
It's not Marion, it's Mommy.
I'm sorry, Mommy.
You said I had to hurry
here with the money.
I did, you're right.
It's okay.
We're gonna move on.
The sheriff will take
care of her for us
because Papa did his part right.
Wake up.
Hey, drug boy.
Wake yourself.
Sheriff?
Yeah.
You wanna tell me about this?
I don't know what that is.
Really?
Oxycontin.
It's brand name stuff, and
it's real expensive.
And you've been selling it
in my town to my people?
That's not mine.
Huh, that's what they
always say, huh, Fratelli?
What happened to me.
You got high, son.
I feel sorry for his
wife and his baby.
Wait, that's it.
She was telling
me, but I was too.
I, I just, I couldn't,
I couldn't think.
- I couldn't think.
- Calm down.
But I could hear her.
- Yeah.
- I could hear her.
She was telling me,
the woman at the bar.
The woman at the bar, she
was trying to warn me.
- Yeah, the preacher, Jim.
- Really?
He set me up.
That's where this started.
Calm down, it's alright.
I didn't listen to my wife.
Beth told me.
She warned me, it's Marion.
Marion has the baby.
No, you don't understand.
Marion has my baby.
Marion has the baby.
Okay, where's Marion?
Marion, do you know
where Marion is?
- Calm down.
- Please tell me.
- Will you...
- You need to calm down.
Tell me you know
where Marion is.
You need to come down
to the station.
Does anyone know
where Marion is?
We need to find her. Right now!
We need to find her.
Boyd.
Boyd, you're a good boy.
You always were.
First time I saw you,
beautiful little boy.
Saw you with that woman,
called herself a mother.
She didn't know how to take
care of a boy like you.
She didn't know how to love
you right, raise you right.
I knew.
And now,
we're finally together,
a whole family.
So let's dye that
scrappy head of yours.
And let's start over.
Boyd,
sit still.
My name's Tristan.
No, your name is Boyd
and I'm your mommy.
I already have a mommy.
Well, I'm your mommy now.
Mommy and Boyd.
Boyd.
- Boyd.
- Boyd.
Dammit.
I'll go get him.
No, just stay here
and finish packing.
It's Boyd, I need to
speak to the sheriff.
No, I need the sheriff now.
I know you're out here, Boyd.
I know you're scared,
but you needn't be,
it's just me, Mommy.
Did you tell on us, Boyd.
I know how you break down.
I know everything about you.
But if that girl
comes into my woods,
I'm gonna have to kill her
myself because you couldn't.
I'll gut anyone
who gets in my way.
Yeah.
Boyd's where?
Boyd said what?
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Tell him to get outta there now.
No, I don't want
anybody getting hurt.
I'm on my way.
Get in the front,
we gotta go now.
You guys follow, come on.
Let's go.
Goddammit, Beth.
What are you doing, Jim?
I think you know.
You don't have to do this, okay?
Look, you don't have
to do this for Marion.
But you see, you're
gonna take her from us
if I don't, aren't you?
Because she's mine.
She is my child.
Look, we can do
this together, Jim.
No, no.
You see, you don't know
her like I know her.
Nobody's gonna be
able to stop her.
You can't stop her.
I can try.
We can try together.
Goddammit.
Dammit.
I'm sorry.
I gotta do this, Beth.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
You are a faithless mother.
Look, why are you
doing this, Marion?
My mother was just like you.
A weak, distracted,
disappointed,
trivial artist who
cared more about herself
than me, her child.
It was always about Mommy.
I would never do that.
I would never leave my child
in the hands of another
unless I was thinking
of giving her away.
Look, I'm not listening
to you, Marion.
You're an evil woman.
Maybe I am, but
it's an evil world.
My mother led me into it,
bought me into it, young.
Evil ways, the
ways of criminals,
con artists, degenerates,
but I escaped.
Yeah, I escaped
because I was strong.
Too strong.
That's why they never let me
have a child under the law.
But they let you have one.
They let you have a baby.
That's madness.
They don't let
criminals adopt, Marion.
I was meant to be a mother
to a beautiful little girl.
And that's what I'll be.
Now, before my Daddy left,
he taught me how to use a knife
and I never forgot.
Goodbye, Mama bear.
No.
No, no.
No, Boyd.
No.
No.
He's my baby.
I hurt my baby.
Beth.
Beth.
Beth.
He's my baby.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I, I didn't mean to.
He's my baby.
How's my baby girl
doing back there?
All right, co-pilot,
what's our ETA?
Oh, we're not outta
the woods yet.
Yeah, we are Dan, and
we're staying out.
And this time I'm
picking out the house.
Okay.