The Institute (2017) Movie Script

(dog barking)
(Man 1 ): Your sister's response
is a typical consequence of loss,
numbness that follows
a period of intense grief.
Losing one's parents,
especially so suddenly,
can be deeply disorienting.
Rest is what she needs.
At Rosewood, she will have
the benefit of time
and privacy to recuperate.
(Man 2): I don't see why,
if rest and recuperation
is what you prescribe,
we couldn't simply repair
to the coast as usual.
Or if warmer weather is what she needs,
we could go to ltaly.
Isabel, you love Venice
this time of year.
- You know that would remind me too much
of Mother and Father,
- But an institute?
That seems so severe.
- Rosewood is more akin to a resort spa
than a typical hospital.
Ladies of good repute
routinely make use of its services.
- Dr. Torrington is right.
I... I should be somewhere
I can reflect and work on myself.
Someplace safe.
- The staff of the institute
is finely trained
in the latest advancements
in medicine.
And my dear friend Dr. Cairn
is at the forefront
of psychiatric treatment.
- If it's what you recommend.
We trust you.
- I assure you,
our dear lsabel is in safe hands.
(birds chirping)
(woman): At the Rosewood Institute,
we employ the finest doctors
on this side of the Atlantic.
We work at the forefront
of the scientific world.
Nowhere will you find better,
more attentive care.
We cater to the best families
in Baltimore.
And your dear sister,
Mr. Porter, shall find...
- Please. Roderick.
- Your dear sister, Roderick,
shall find exactly
the caring, supportive environment
which she needs.
- Yes, this will do nicely.
This is where I will sit
as I write you letters.
- Let me introduce you
to one of our physicians.
Dr. Jacobs?
Dr. Jacobs is our newest addition
to our staff.
He's a leading researcher
into new advances in medical technologies.
- Madam Werner's too kind.
I am but a humble practitioner
of the healing arts.
It's a pleasure to meet you...
- Isabel.
- Isabel.
- Dr. Jacobs, there's a private matter
I wish to discuss with you.
Um, Nurse Oaks?
- Yes, Madam?
- My apologies.
Nurse Oaks,
please show them the garden. Yes?
- It would be my pleasure.
Please, come this way.
(Madam Warner):
Yes, Dr. Jacobs,
there is the private matter that I would...
- Right this way, please.
You'll find this is a lovely spot
to come read a book
or just enjoy the view of the woods.
The gardens are lovely, don't you think?
- Roderick.
- They're quite nice, I must admit.
- Yes, indeed.
(woman 1 ): What order shall be taken
with the prisoners?
(woman 2): Shoot them in the head.
I suspect witchcraft in the beast.
Where the evil which thou
has driven to mingle with my being
will slip away like a dream.
- Lucy, this is not a good time.
- Like the fragrance
of these poisonous flowers...
which will no longer taint my breath
in the Garden of Eden.
- Is that Hawthorne?
- What do you mean?
- You were quoting one of Mr. Hawthorne's
Twice-Told T ales, were you not?
- I do not know what you speak of.
Did he send you?
Is this a test?
- There you are, Lucy.
My apologies, Nurse Oaks.
It won't happen again.
- Thank you.
- Did I fail?
- No.
- I-I'm sorry. Um...
Did I fail? You won't tell them...
- Most patients come to Rosewood
in order to relax and recuperate
away from the harsh...
day-to-day life
outside of these gates.
Some patients, however,
they're faced with more...
advanced challenges.
But not to worry, patients like that
are kept in a separate wing from ladies
such as yourself, Miss Porter.
Shall we?
- Of course.
- And if you decide you don't like it,
I'll come right back.
- Okay.
- Okay?
That girl looked really disturbed.
Are you sure you want to stay?
- Roderick, do quit your
ceaseless worrying.
This is just what I need.
I feel better already.
- I'll come visit you soon.
Take care.
(crow cawing)
- Perhaps you'd like some tea?
- Oh, that sounds wonderful.
- Now you just let Gunther know
when you're ready,
and he'll show you to your quarters.
It can be easy to get lost here
until you know your way around.
- Thank you.
- She seems rather a bore.
Is she anyone of note?
Porter, have you heard of her?
Exactly.
(scoffs)
- Nouveau riche.
(background chatter)
(laughter)
(humming and muttering)
(clears throat)
- Excuse me, Gunther.
- Mm-hmm.
- What's down that way?
- That wing is forbidden
for a woman like you.
Oh.
(chuckles)
This way.
This is a...
this spot's reserved.
- Oh, anywhere is fine.
- Oh... Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
If you need any... anything at all,
you...
(bell dinging)
- Oh.
Thank you.
(man): Isabel...
Isabel.
Isabel.
(gasps)
I apologize
for the unorthodox introduction.
I'm Dr. Cairn.
- Oh.
- I wanted to make sure
that all your needs are being seen to.
- Oh, yes.
The institute is... lovely.
- I'm happy that you're pleased.
You may be feeling stress.
So... this tonic may calm your nerves.
How are you responding to the tonic?
- I feel better already.
Lighter.
- Good.
Be warned, you may experience
unusually vivid dreams
as a side effect of the medication.
- All right.
- You get some rest.
We'll begin our first session tomorrow.
Drink.
Please describe your... affliction.
- Ever since my parents' accident,
their passing...
...I've had anxiety...
- Mm-hmm.
...insomnia.
Uh... my doctor thinks...
- Dr. Torrington.
- Yes, sir.
He feels that my afflictions
were not mere products of my grief, but...
...manifestations of more...
...latent maladies.
This is why he felt
I would benefit from your care.
- And which latent
maladies did he identify?
- I have often been called wilful,
overly curious.
I'm told that my flights of fancy
are not becoming of a lady.
These...
...character flaws,
he believes have evolved
into my current difficulties.
- And what do you think
of the doctor's assertion?
- My brother has always said that...
- I don't care what your brother thinks.
What do you think?
- I want to be a good daughter
and a good sister.
I do.
But I cannot accept curiosity
as a mark against my character.
And isn't imagination
the sign of an active intellect?
I know too much independence
is not becoming of a lady,
but it just...
(sighs)
- There is nothing wrong with you, lsabel.
You are independent.
It is your nature, not a malady.
You are dissatisfied because your life
constrains you.
- You say it so plainly.
I'm ashamed to seem ungrateful
for what I have.
But I just... want...
- You just want to be free.
- Exactly.
- Hmm.
(piano playing)
(background chatter)
- Thank you.
- Isabel!
- Roderick.
- My darling sister.
You are a sight for sore eyes.
How are you?
Have you settled in nicely?
- I have.
It's everything that we hoped it would be.
- And how is the famous doctor?
- The medication is helping already.
I... I already feel much more...
...at ease.
- Uh, little bird?
Where'd you go?
- I'm sorry.
Dr. Cairn says it's a part
of the healing process,
the side effect as I adjust
to the medication.
- Well, perhaps some, uh,
fresh air will help.
Would you like to take a walk?
Let's enjoy the beautiful gardens.
You lead the way.
(Dr. Cairn): Who are you?
(Lucy): I'm Edith.
The lady of the May.
- Mm-hmm.
- Walking through the woods to meet my love
this day in Marymount.
- Good.
And what do you see, Lady Edith?
Focus.
You must see through her eyes.
- I see... I see fawns
and nymphs.
They're transformed into brutes.
They dance around the maypole
where we shall be married.
They are the devils in ruined souls
that people the black wilderness.
- Good. Now, Lady Edith,
what is your family's relation to evil?
(hisses)
- We are well acquainted with evil.
These darks and monsters
are my brethren,
maddened by their troubles
into a gay despair
like evil spirits in the presence
of a dread magician.
- Good.
Now you will awaken...
as Lucy.
Now tell me, Lucy,
is the night's ritual
a dream... or a reality?
- I...
I don't...
- Ugh!
- A dream?
- Are you trying to fail?
Are you doing this on purpose?
Are you trying to spite me?
- The men and women
have seemed very pleased
with my performance.
- They've been pleased.
They've been pleased
with your performance?
This isn't a performance.
I don't want you to act.
I want you to become!
And if you can't do that,
you're worthless to me.
This session's over.
- No. I'm sorry.
I... I won't disappoint you.
I'm sorry.
Please, Doctor!
(door closes)
(door creaks opens)
- Your medication, Miss Porter.
- Thank you, Gunther.
- What book are you reading, miss?
- Oh, it's Edgar Allan Poe.
- Why would a lady like yourself
fancy such grim materials?
- The tales may be dark,
I know what you're saying,
but... through them,
he asks questions of humanity
in situations most extreme.
In plumbing these depths,
he... holds up a mirror
to our own lives.
- You're a very thoughtful woman.
- Thank you, Gunther.
- If you ever need anything ever...
...you just let me know.
(woman screams)
(screaming)
(screaming continues)
(screaming)
- Ah!!
(screams)
- Isabel.
- Oh, Dr. Jacobs.
- Calm yourself.
- Oh, thank God.
There's a man in there!
There's blood everywhere!
I... I just...
- Dr. Lemelle. Our surgeon.
What are you doing out of your room
this time of night?
- I heard a noise,
so I came to see what...
- Came to see what evil lurks
in these halls at night?
- No.
I'm sorry.
Let's see what frightened you.
It's okay. Come.
Dr. Lemelle,
allow me to introduce Miss Porter,
our new patient.
Isabel is new to her medication and she
had a bit of a fright watching you work.
- It was the noise.
- It was still alive.
It's distasteful, yes,
but it's the only way
to procure a fresh specimen.
- Poor thing.
- Perhaps.
But I cannot sally forth
and saw at the skulls
of dainty, melancholic humans
for my research, can I?
- No.
- Come, Isabel.
Let's leave the good doctor to his work.
Here we are.
- Thank you.
- Safe and sound.
Do not wonder the halls
in a place like this.
Yes?
- Yes.
- Good night, Miss Porter.
(gasps)
- Scream and I will slit your throat!
(panting)
- Please don't hurt me!
- Hurt?
No, no. I need you to help me.
I need to escape.
There's no leaving.
They will find me.
The wolves, they will find me.
- Let me try to find Dr. Cairn for you.
- I have failed him!
Because I do not know
whether night is a dream,
and he hates me,
and now he's going to give me to them
like he did with the others.
They are going...
to sacrifice me to the demons!
- It's all right. It's all right.
You're just imagining things.
Everything is going to be okay.
- What the devil is going on in here?!
- My apologies, ma'am.
This poor girl is clearly suffering
from some kind of delusional attack.
- Lucy... you cannot hurt me.
- I can. I will!
- You can't.
Gunther.
(Lucy sobbing)
- No!
Let go of me.
The wolves! The wolves!
No! The wolves...
- Thank you, sir.
(man): Porter.
- Detective Thomas. Good to see you.
- How're you doing? Good to see you.
- I'm good. I'm good. Please, sit.
- Sure.
- How are you?
- Oh, nothing a little whiskey
can't take care of, right?
I'm sorry to hear about your parents.
My condolences.
They were good people.
- Thank you.
Isabel has taken it especially hard.
- Hmm. Sorry to hear that.
Please give her my best.
- I will.
Truth be told,
I found it necessary
to temporarily place her in...
...professional care.
- Hmm.
- I didn't want to,
but Dr. Torrington
thought it the best course of action.
They say Rosewood is the best.
What is it, Detective?
- Nothing.
Rosewood provides
the best care money can buy.
- Thomas, please.
- Okay, I heard rumblings of...
...strange occurrences many years ago,
but they are mere rumours, nothing more.
- Thomas, you would tell me if there were
reason to be concerned, would you not?
- Yes, of course I would.
Of course I would tell you.
Please, pay me no mind.
When I drink, I speak heedlessly.
Look, set your mind at ease, all right?
Your sister's gonna be just fine.
She's in good hands.
(woman sobbing)
(wheezing)
(screaming)
- You. Have you seen me?
(muttering)
This is not me! It's not me.
- What are you doing in my pit?
- I'm sorry.
- Jesus, leave the poor
girl alone, Rebecca.
(woman): Time for your medication.
- Thank you.
- Don't mention it.
- Nurse Oaks?
- I'm sorry, Miss Porter.
The door was supposed to be locked.
Right this way, please.
(Dr. Cairn): I heard you found your way
into what the...
staff so lovingly calls the pit.
Were you lost?
- No.
I... I'd heard stories.
It was foolish of me.
I'm sorry. I was... simply curious.
- Don't apologize for your curiosity.
What'd you think when you were...
faced with the reality
of the healing process?
- The reality of...
I don't understand.
- We live in times
that are rife with ill mental health,
especially among the upper class.
To be blunt, we are a decadent people.
This leads to a... imbalance
as the mind and the flesh...
fall out of rhythm
with the animal instincts.
These... women that... prance around
as if this were a social club
rather than...
one of the world's foremost institutions
of mental science,
they don't want to heal.
We let them parade around
in their ridiculous costumes
as they live out their lives
out of joint with the rest of the world.
On the other hand,
there are some women here
who have embraced their own healing.
- The women in... the pit?
- Yes.
That is what true healing looks like.
- It's very different than what I imagined.
- Of course.
If it were easy or...
aesthetically pleasing,
then everyone would do it.
You and I are aligned in our ambitions.
My life's work is transformation.
I can give you the freedom you desire,
but you will need to trust my methods,
unorthodox though they may seem.
Everything that happens at Rosewood...
is done of one's own free will.
If you're brave and you're willing...
...I can help you become
the person that you wish to be.
Are you brave, Miss lsabel Porter?
- I want to be.
Yes.
- Good.
(knocking on door)
- Come in.
Miss Oaks, Dr. Lemelle.
- We're going to be moving you
into new quarters.
- May I ask why?
- Dr. Cairn believes that the first step
in your rehabilitation
is to cast aside old vanities.
- You're ashamed, yes?
- Uh...
- Oh, dear, that is precisely the point.
- Shame is a fallacy
imposed upon us by society.
It needs to be excised from the mind
like any malignant disease.
- Indeed.
It's time that you demonstrated
some responsibility for your own treatment.
- I will do whatever it takes.
- Will you?
- Of course.
- Good.
Doctor.
- Ah, thank you, Gunther.
- Miss Porter.
- What is this?
- This is your new concoction.
Dr. Cairn had it personally
adjusted for you.
- Thank you.
- Very good.
Please!
Please don't do this!
Where is Dr. Cairn?!
- Dr. Cairn...
...has given you to me,
my exquisite... pitiful little creature.
- I'll do better, I promise.
Please give me a second chance.
Please, please.
- Don't worry.
This will all be over soon.
(switch clicks)
This is a special day.
- No, no, no.
- A celebration.
- No, no, no.
- In your honour.
- No.
(voices chanting)
(Dr. Lemelle): Life is changed,
not taken away.
(chanting continues)
(chanting)
Bodies grow slowly and die quickly.
(Latin)
(people chanting)
(chanting continues)
(gasping)
(...chanting...)
(pen scratching)
- How have your dreams...
...been of late?
- After my parents' passing,
I had the most frightful nightmares.
- Mm-hmm.
- Now... my dreams are...
...different.
- Different how?
Isabel, we spoke about this last week.
Without complete honesty,
the healing cannot take place.
- Yes, sir.
Lately, my dreams have been... strange.
They feel so real, I hardly know
where the dream ends and reality begins.
- This is natural. A projection.
Your mind fights against itself as it attempts
to expunge the pain and grief you carry inside.
You have internalized
society's rules and limits.
In order for you to achieve your desires,
we must first strip away
the guilt and shame
and outdated mores
that have taken residency
within your very flesh and bones.
- Yes. I think I understand.
- Good. I trust the...
increased dosage is agreeable?
- I feel wonderful.
I feel... liberated.
- Then we're ready
for the next stage of your treatment.
- When do we start?
- We start now.
(humming)
# You are going away #
- You look quite festive, by the way.
Darling, doesn't she look festive?
Just delightful, you are.
- Mr. Baxter?
- Ah, Roderick. Hello.
Are you visiting someone?
- Uh, yes, my sister lsabel.
She's convalescing.
- Yes. Well, good day, Roderick.
Great to see you.
Come, my love.
- Is this your daughter?
- No, this is my wife, Mrs. Baxter.
You haven't met?
- Good day.
- Uh, no, I meant the young girl. There.
- This is our niece.
She is lodging with us
while my cousin's family is away overseas.
- I remember you from my first visit here.
Do you know my sister lsabel?
- She's a shy girl.
(Mr. Baxter): She's very shy. Very shy.
- Are you okay?
- I'll be there. Go on.
Well, it's so good to see you, Roderick.
Best to the sister, yeah? Be well.
(Dr. Jacobs): You know, Isabel,
I'm working on something very exciting.
I'd like to invite you to my lab to see it.
Dr. Cairn says that your progression
has been remarkable,
so not to worry.
- I know my brother won't be pleased.
- You're a strong girl.
You don't need his approval.
You understand?
- Yes.
- Mr. Porter.
- Roderick.
- Isabel, what are you wearing?
Huh?
Your fingers, they're filthy.
- I know.
- Who did this to you? Huh?
- Roderick.
- Mr. Porter.
It is all part of the treatment.
- Roderick, it's all right, it's all right.
Can I speak to my brother
in private for a moment?
- I'll be right here if you need me.
- Okay, thank you.
Brother, do not worry.
Everything is fine.
Wonderful, in fact.
Dr. Cairn made me understand that the
root cause of my ailment is decadence.
But I just feel so much more relaxed,
and lighter even,
just being around all these women
who've truly embraced their healing.
- Isabel, please!
I can't follow a word you're saying.
In fact, I think it'd be best
if you came home.
- No. I have to stay until I'm healed.
- Of what?!
What sort of nonsense
are they feeding you?
- I suppose I shouldn't be surprised
that you're afraid
of what you don't understand,
but I will not be leaving with you.
Good day, brother.
- Isa...
- I'm afraid it's gonna be a while before
lsabel's ready to receive another visit.
- That is not for you to decide.
- Mr. Porter, visits are made
at the discretion of our patients.
So we will let you know the next time your
presence is requested here at Rosewood.
Good day, Mr. Porter.
(Porter): "Detective Thomas...
"I implore you to consider
an investigation into Rosewood."
- I'm going to put you in restraints.
This is the next step in your treatment.
You do trust me, don't you, Isabel?
Good. Nurse Oaks?
Please undo her gown.
Reorienting the body's humours
is a difficult process.
We must begin
with the most base reaction
and work towards
more complex emotions
and cognitive arrangements.
We'll start with the most primitive
of feelings:
pain.
(whimpers)
- Ah!!
(sobs)
(sniffles)
- Isabel, look at me.
It's a long path,
but by the end,
you will find the freedom that you seek.
You are a brave woman, aren't you?
(sniffles)
(breath hissing)
(whimpering)
You see, a woman like you has probably
never felt real physical pain, have you?
That... is a problem.
(screaming)
And... another.
(gasps)
- God!
(lsabel sobbing)
- The mind is an incredible organ.
The body's senses
and send signals to the brain,
but how the brain interprets those signals
is a matter of great delicacy.
More of an art than a science, I believe.
Most live their lives
controlled by these impulses.
But you don't have to.
If we can rewire
this most primitive instinct...
...imagine what's possible.
Complete authority
over one's own mind.
Limitless autonomy.
Absolute power.
We must strip away
the last vestiges of your old self.
And only then will you know
real empowerment.
Again.
Congratulations.
Welcome to the first day
of your new life.
(knocking on door)
Come in.
Miss Porter.
- May I ask you something?
- Of course.
- It's about Dr. Cairn.
His methods are...
I fear that I cannot do
what he asks of me,
that I will fail him, fail myself.
- Look at you.
Another spoiled rich girl.
So eager to be his pet.
Yet you come running, crying to me,
the moment he pushes you.
- I just thought...
- You thought you'd quit?
Just like every other vapid socialite
he's wasted his talents on.
I expect more of you.
Do you understand me?
- Mm-hmm.
- Do you understand me?
- Yes.
- You may go.
- Most of the women here,
they're hardly cared for.
(woman): Most of them are homeless.
They don't have families.
The doctors here aren't
trying to heal them.
They're just keeping them out of sight.
Beats living in the gutter.
At least here... you get fed.
Did something happen with the doctor?
- No, it's just...
his methods are...
...unorthodox.
Never mind.
I shouldn't be speaking about my treatment.
- Are you all right, miss?
- I'm fine.
(Roderick): I came about lsabel.
- Is something the matter?
- Yes.
I fear she's being manipulated.
- Manipulated?
- And the way they have her dressed,
like she's some sort of common peasant...
- Hmm.
Roderick, I know what you're going through,
with the loss of your parents,
and now your sister, her illness.
And I understand that you've taken over your
father's business entirely on your own.
Is that correct?
- I did not come here to discuss myself.
- And I appreciate that,
but you mustn't underestimate the toll
the past few months have taken
on your own psyche.
- I see.
Thank you, Doctor.
- Tell me, what is your name?
- Isabel Porter.
- That's incorrect.
Where are you from?
- Worchester.
- Look at me.
That's incorrect again.
(screaming)
- God!
Ah!!
- Does that hurt? Does that hurt?
(whimpering)
No, that does not hurt.
(whimpering)
When one is nothing,
one feels nothing.
Okay?
Again.
(sobs)
(sobbing)
I do this for your own benefit.
Through me, you shall understand pain.
Now.
(liquid pouring and hissing)
(moaning softly)
(liquid hissing)
(gulping)
Good.
- Sit up for me.
Tonight you will face your final test.
- Mr. Porter.
- Mr. Avery.
- I took a look at it.
- And?
- It's chockfull of laudanum...
...and what I think is lndian root.
And it appears to have trace amounts...
of aconite.
- Aconite?
- Monkshood.
Wolf's bane.
A poison, Mr. Porter.
Not enough to kill you,
but certainly enough to have...
...rather unpleasant effects...
on your mind.
(faint chanting)
(chanting continues)
(louder chanting)
(...chanting...)
- Congratulations.
You found us.
One final test...
for your commitment.
Who do you see?
- Margaret.
- And why do you think she's here?
- She whispered lies into my mind,
sowed doubts within me.
She tried to turn me against you.
- No, Isabel.
- She must be punished.
- Please.
- You will be my star.
Cleanse her with the lash.
(Margaret gasping)
Her screams will be
her sacrament of reconciliation.
- Isabel, please! Please!
(snickering)
(Margaret screaming)
(screaming)
(crying out)
(screaming)
(women hooting and gibbering)
(women shouting)
(laughter)
Help me!!
Please help!!
Help!
(keys jangling)
- Gunther.
(grunts)
Where's Margaret?
- Don't worry, ma'am.
I'll take care of you.
- You're home now.
- Roderick.
- So I looked into...
- The Aconite Society.
- Yeah.
- And?
- There are whispers of a secret order
made up of society's wealthiest
and most influential men.
- And?
- And whispers are about all
anybody would say about it.
- Thomas... if it's money you want,
I'm in no short supply.
- I don't want your money.
- I'll make it worth your while.
- Listen, I have some advice for you.
Leave this alone.
Even if half of these stories are true,
they run everything:
the courts, the papers, the banks.
- All Rosewood?
- I don't know.
- Is Dr. Cairn one of them?
- I don't know a Dr. Cairn.
- What about the girl Lucy that I saw?
Is Mr. Baxter involved with these people?
- Listen to me.
I don't want anything to do with this.
- There's gotta be something more
you can give me. Please.
- That's all I can tell you. Goodbye.
(Dr. Cairn): Tell me of this Isabel Porter.
- She is weak...
timid.
Narcissistically concerned
with petty trivialities.
Unable to express her true self.
- And do you wish
to return to your life as lsabel?
- No.
I have to forget
I was ever such a vapid creature.
- Very good.
You are tabula rasa incarnate.
Do you understand the significance
of what we've achieved?
- Yes, sir.
Thank you, sir.
- You are ready for your new identity.
(knocking)
- Hello, good man.
I'm sorry to disturb you at this late hour,
but is Mr. Baxter in?
- No. I'm sorry. He's out.
Was he expecting you, Mr...
- No, sir. I was in the area
and thought I'd call on him.
- My apologies. Perhaps you could
call on him another time?
- Certainly. Thank you.
- Good evening.
(faint laughter)
(faint chatter)
- My sweet, pretty wife.
Dost thou doubt me already,
and we but three months married?
- More. Your Faith doubts you.
- Then God bless you.
And may you find all well
when you come back.
- Say thy prayers,
go to bed before dusk,
and no harm will come to thee.
Ah, my poor Faith.
What a wretch am I to leave her.
- You are Goodman Brown.
Forget your past...
...and become him entirely
with every inch of your being.
Go. Go.
- Dearest heart, pray thee...
...put off your journey till sunrise
and sleep in your own bed tonight.
- My love and Faith,
of all nights in the year,
this one night
must I tarry away from thee.
(Dr. Cairn): Bravo.
(clapping)
You're ready.
Only three weeks in,
and you're already a better Brown
than Lucy ever was.
This will be greatest performance
they've ever seen.
- Performance?
I don't understand.
- Forgive me, Goodman.
A momentary flight of fancy,
nothing more.
Come.
You've been working all day in the field.
You deserve some rest.
(soft piano music)
- Oh, God.
(whispering): "Mr. and Mrs. Baxter,
"you're invited...
"9:00 at Rosewood.
Aconite Society."
(laughing)
- Come, my dear.
Are you ready to see?
I've got a surprise for you, my love,
something really exquisite.
Feast, my dear, feast.
Fe...
Roderick.
(growls)
(grunting)
(roaring)
Ah!!
(gurgling)
(grunting)
(groaning)
(Roderick panting)
(Baxter gurgling)
(woman exclaiming)
(gasping)
(woman gasping)
(soft music playing)
(faint chatter)
(grunting softly)
(classical music)
(woman): Ladies and gentlemen,
as is customary before we begin,
we'd like to offer you
a token of our appreciation.
- Dance with me.
It is the order of things.
We drink the poison, and in doing so,
push back the darkness that surrounds us.
(chanting softly)
(background chatter)
(speaking Latin)
(crowd chanting)
(Dr. Cairn): We are, of course,
gathered here
to celebrate you,
the Aconite Society,
who have made so much possible
both within and outside our walls.
Tonight is a veritable miracle
in modern science,
for our star is no mere actress.
She has been fully transformed...
...shedding her previous identity...
like an ill-fitting suit.
I give you...
"Young Goodman Brown."
Begin.
- Dearest heart, pray thee,
put off your journey until sunrise
and sleep in your own bed tonight.
- My love and Faith,
of all nights in the year,
this one night
must I tarry away from thee.
My journey forth and back again
must needs be done 'twixt now and sunrise.
Oh, my poor Faith!
She talks of dreams and now it is I who feel
as though I walk through shadowed realms.
- My Goodman.
Come, let me guide you with my light.
- There is a peculiarity in such solitude.
With these lonely steps,
I may be walking
through unseen multitudes!
What if the devil himself
could be at my very elbow?
I shall yet stand firm against the devil.
Come witch, come wizard,
come devil himself!
And hear comes young Goodman Brown.
You may as well fear him
as he feared you!
- Stop!
Isabel!
- Seize him!
- Isabel.
- Bind this creature to the altar.
Now, are ye undeceived?
Evil is the nature of mankind.
- Isabel!
- Evil must be thy only happiness.
- Isa...
- Welcome, children,
to the communion of your race!
(Roderick groans)
(Roderick): No! Isabel!
- I, young Goodman Brown...
- Isabel, help! Help!
-...stand before you
with the devil as my witness.
And promise to strike down
any who seek to impede my destiny.
- Isabel, it's me.
Isabel, please! No!
Ah!!
(Roderick gasping)
(intense music)
- Oh, Faith.
What would I do without you?
- Allison, will you please leave us?
Faith, will you please leave us?
Who are you?
- A simple good man named Brown.
- And at the coven,
you spoke the lines of the devil.
- Lines?
I'm afraid I don't know what you mean.
I admit that night in the woods
is a bit of a blur.
There was so much darkness.
I'm just glad I was able to save my Faith.
- Very well.
It's a testament to your will
that you were able
to inhabit your role so fully.
But now I need you to forget him.
You are no longer Goodman Brown.
And Allison is no longer your Faith.
Do you remember the performance we
had you do as part of your therapy?
- I think so.
I remember something about a...
...a demon.
- Mm-hmm.
You did very well.
It was evident that you're taking control
of your own identity.
Now I need to see
if you can do another role.
- Another role?
- Soon you will be able
to be whomever you want to be
without limits.
I'm going to keep you in the dark for now.
But I'll let you know when you're ready.
In the meantime,
you'll have to trust me.
- Of course.
(birdsong)
(Dr. Cairn): How's the device coming?
(Dr. Lemelle): The physics are impressive.
It's just a question of...
getting the device itself constructed.
- Doctors.
Dr. Lemelle, if you would excuse me,
I'd like a word alone with Dr. Cairn.
I trust this event will be worth
the resources devoted to it.
The inner circle came to see me today.
Our benefactors are concerned
you're shirking your duties.
The flow of girls
to the society members
is the institute's lifeblood,
yet you're spending
all your time on one girl,
and you've lost control of her.
- They can face me themselves
if they don't like my methods.
- You forget yourself, Doctor.
Rosewood and the society that supports it
have existed long before you arrived.
- That's true.
But you'd just be an old maid
prostituting deranged women
for wealthy miscreants without me.
So why don't you go back in and deal
with your drapes and leave me to my art?
- Very well...
...Doctor.
- Very well done, Dr. Lemelle.
Very well done.
(voices chanting)
(chanting continues)
- No. No.
(moaning)
(woman screaming)
(Roderick): Isabel!
- Roderick?
- Please, no!
(metal scraping)
- Roderick. Roderick, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- After all the girls
I brought through this place...
...you owe me.
I want the Porter girl.
- One would wonder if you had her admitted
to have your way with her.
- I've always loved that girl.
- Let's say we revisit the topic
of lsabel Porter's future
after tomorrow night's event.
- Hmm. Fine.
(Dr. Cairn): How's the exposure?
(Dr. Lemelle): Should be fine.
- I want her to hear it from you.
I fear she has too strong
of a connection to my voice.
- I'm a surgeon.
- It's not a request.
- Fine.
You are Mary Bradbury.
You are awaiting trial for witchcraft
and immorality of the highest order.
Mary Bradbury,
you are accused of crimes most heinous.
Admit that you are wrong and repent...
...or you will be condemned
to murder by hanging.
But of course what interests me, my dear,
is how an evolution in identity
can manifest itself in the amygdala.
But then again,
a tree is still a tree, is it not?
(keys rattling)
- Mm, Gunther.
- You need to eat, Mary.
- Please...
help me.
If nothing else, kill me, please.
Make this end.
- You're gonna be...
You're gonna be okay, Mary.
You're gonna be okay.
- "The gardens at midnight...
beneath the gnome."
- Isabel.
- Ah! Foul demon, leave me be!
- What's wrong with you?
- He knows everything.
You will tell him and he'll hurt me!
- lsabel. Isabel.
Please, you can trust me.
- You keep calling me lsabel.
I am Mary.
But I remember you.
Margaret!
- Jesus Christ, what did they do to you?
What did they do to you?
- I dreamt I killed you.
- I'm still here.
- Did I hurt you?
Margaret!
(gasps)
No!
How can it be?
Why would you help me
if I did this to you?
- You're my friend.
I know it wasn't you who did that.
(gate opening)
We can't stay here.
You have to tell me everything.
- Are you trying
to shut down my performance?
- You may have your event,
if after the performance,
you give up the girl.
- That's ridiculous.
- You've grown too attached.
The society has decided
that they will do with Isabel
as they see fit.
It's time for her to be placed.
- I refuse.
- I thought all these characters...
I thought it was part of my therapy.
But then...
...I started having all these dreams,
and some of them turned out to be real,
like... like...
like hurting you and...
...and Roderick.
I don't know
what happened to Roderick.
He did this to me.
They need to be punished.
But how?
- Gunther.
- You should go back to your room, Mary.
- You fill the goblets
for the society rituals?
(Margaret): Please, help us, Gunther.
- Thank you.
- There's something you should know, ma'am,
about one of the men
who's judging you tonight.
(Margaret): Look for the one
that says "wolf's bane."
- This?
- Yes.
(door slams)
- Hide, hide, hide.
- What about you?
- Don't worry about me. End this.
- Why are you in here?
- I don't know.
- You don't know?
Is the disgusting...
repulsive little urchin...
(gasping)
...sampling my wares?
- No, no.
- There are consequences
for disobedience!
(door opens)
- Tonight's the night.
Together, my Mary...
...we shall put on the performance
of a lifetime.
(Latin)
(...Latin...)
(chanting)
(Dr. Cairn): Let the trial begin.
Mary Bradbury,
you stand accused of crimes most heinous.
Witchcraft, devilry,
sins against the Lord.
Admit what you have done and repent,
or you will be sentenced
to murder by hanging.
- I didn't do anything.
I didn't hurt anyone.
- Yours is not the only soul
on trial this day.
You must also decide the fate
of Susanna Sheldon,
the young lady you brought down
with your unholy ways.
- Mary... please save me.
- I didn't make her do anything.
- You lie.
Susanna, tell the judges the truth.
- Mary Bradbury kidnapped me
and forced me to commit sins
against the Lord.
But...
- What is it, Susanna?
- Truthfully...
...I enjoyed it.
- Do you see what your lies have wrought?
They've turned the purity
of an innocent girl
into the devil's plaything.
- I didn't. I...
- You lie!
Confess!
- No, you are a liar, Dr. Cairn.
You lied to me.
You took my faith away from me.
You are a monster.
- As chief magistrate,
I demand you go back to your position.
You're still under trial.
- I am innocent
of what I am accused of tonight,
but there is something else
to which I must confess.
From a young age,
this man was not only my trusted physician,
but the object of my lust.
He was a friend of my father's
and forbidden to me.
But in my innermost desires,
I burned for him.
He is here tonight.
In fact, he is the very man
who brought me here to Rosewood.
Torrington...
come.
Let us finally admit
what has remained silent for so long.
Please...
let us be married in sin together.
Come play our little game tonight.
You will be rewarded later.
- This is not the trial!
- Now it is time for you to play your part.
(Torrington): I can't wait to do this
to you when we're alone tonight.
I've dreamed of this evening
since you were a young girl.
- Isabel.
- Tonight,
the judges shall be judged.
(Torrington): Dr. Cairn,
this blade looks quite real.
(Dr. Cairn): Calm yourself, Doctor.
It's all part of the performance.
- Tonight, you will all be on trial.
Aconites, you call yourselves.
Playing with people's lives
while you pretend to drink monkshood,
wolf's bane.
Well, tonight...
...you drank the real thing.
(coughing)
- Dr. Cairn?
(coughing)
Doctor...
Dr. Cairn?
Get me out of here.
Dr. Cairn, get me out of here.
(screaming)
(screaming)
(screaming continues)
- Run.
You run far away from this place.
You have to go.
- Turn around!
You won't hurt him.
You can't.
- Thank you for teaching me
the meaning of pain, Nurse Oaks.
Glad I could return the favour.
- Isabel.
That was quite a performance.
- Hmm.
- Do you know Hawthorne's
"The Gray Champion"?
- Yes.
It's the story of a legendary warrior
who comes to the aid of those oppressed
by tyranny and injustice.
- Yes. Yes.
Exactly.
This is your finest performance yet.
You... you are The Gray Champion.
- I am The Gray Champion?
- Yes, this fine institution of...
of healing
has been overrun
with decadence and filth, and...
like an avenging angel,
you have purified it.
Don't you see?
- This is still part of my treatment.
- Yes, exactly.
Exactly. This is all part of my plan.
You and I have purified Rosewood.
Now...
you're finally home.
Isabel.
Isabel, you're healed.
- I'm healed?
- Yes.
Yes.
- Yes.
Now I see.
I am The Gray Champion.
I've purified my home.
- Bravo, Miss Porter.
(chuckles)
- You... you look like...
- Isabel, it's a curious
thing, appearances,
isn't it?
People don't look closely at anybody...
(indistinct lisping)
...ma'am.
(laughing)
- Gunther.
Why?
- I'm afraid that I have failed
to properly introduce myself.
I'm one of the four heads
of the Aconite Society.
The inner circle,
as those unimaginatively like to call us -
those in gowns and tuxedoes
who imagine that they wield power,
but they are nothing more than mere pawns,
no different than you
or any of the other girls
in this despicable pit.
Oh, if you could only know
how long the wheels have been in motion
to bring you to Rosewood.
I cannot tell you...
the last time my compatriots and I have
been genuinely surprised by... anything.
But you?
You have been a pleasant surprise
to all of us.
Because of you,
the institute will emerge
stronger than ever before.
And I would hate to see
the doctor's good work go to waste,
so we'll find another role for you
soon enough,
and you'll wake from this dream
into another.
But until that time...
...the institute thanks you.
(soft music)
(door opening)
(woman): Excuse me, Madam Porter?
- Yes.
- They're ready for you.
- Thank you.
(soft music)
(soft piano music)
(lively piano music)
(soft piano music)