The Karamazovs (2024) Movie Script
1
Am I going the right way,
to the Karamazovs?
Uh, you just make a left
at that big tree over there.
Sure it's not
faster by the stream?
Hm.
Let's not start there.
I don't even know
if it was snowing that day.
Fyodor Karamazov,
well known in his own day,
and still remembered
because of his dark
and tragic death,
had three children.
He was murdered.
He had three children.
He was murdered years ago now.
I'm Liz.
When Fyodor
found out he was sick,
he moved back here full time.
His summer house.
I took care
of it when he was away,
and then I was
taking care of him.
Fyodor?
It's me.
Hello?
It's 11 already.
So, Fyodor Karamazov,
he had three kids.
He was murdered.
He was already dying.
He was sick.
Stomach cancer.
He always thought
it would be lung cancer.
Or murder.
Are you
getting any reception?
I'm expecting a call.
Do we have internet?
Your dad doesn't
have a computer, so no.
Viv!
Hi. Oh!
Have you seen Dmitri?
I'm not
his fucking keeper.
Fyodor Karamazov
married twice.
The first wife,
Dmitri's mother,
she was young and she was
pregnant, so she had to.
Other things happened
that we don't really know,
things that, well,
I won't injure you with now.
Fyodor remarried,
and with the second wife
there were two more
children, Viv and Alyosha.
And then the second
wife died when the youngest
was just a few years old.
Fyodor Karamazov did
what was expected of him.
Nothing.
"Liz!"
"Liz!"
Liz?
Yeah?
Is Aly back
from the nut house?
You mean the monastery?
That's
what I said, isn't it?
I'm here, Papa.
She was unusual.
She dropped
out of college and moved back
to our little town
to join the monastery.
Do you know
if there are hooks in hell?
I didn't even
know we had a monastery.
Do you think
there's a ceiling in hell?
'Cause if there's no ceiling,
then there could be nowhere
to hang the hooks,
and the whole thing falls apart.
"Which is unlikely,
because if they don't hang me
down there, how is there
any justice in the world?"
...any justice
in the world?
Those hooks
are probably meant
for me alone.
Those hooks
are probably for me alone.
It will be easier
for me to go to hell
if I have a picture
of what it'll be like.
It was winter
when we all found ourselves
here together,
for the first time, really.
Fyodor and Dmitri were
fighting over money,
and then...
Fyodor said they should
meet as a joke,
and then Dmitri
called his bluff,
telling everyone to be there.
So they were.
Everyone thought
it was a terrible idea.
- Dmitri!
- Oh, fuck.
Hey, come down here
and face me like a man!
I'm gonna kill you!
I'm gonna kill you
if you don't give me my money!
Look, I can go there myself!
I hope you slip
on your own shit and die!
Let's not start there.
Dmitri stood in the driveway
for probably 30 minutes.
- Alyosha!
- Dmitri!
Look at you, all grown up!
Is he, um, is he here?
Dad?
I think he's in the bathroom.
We've been waiting.
I'm late?
The assistant told me 3 o'clock.
It's always been noon.
I think you actually
don't have a lot of time.
Dmitri, it's been too long.
- Hey.
- I was waiting for you
-at the ferry.
-How's your work going?
You know, I gotta be honest,
I couldn't get through it.
-Of course.
-It was really beyond me.
-Very experimental.
-Okay.
Yeah, well, if you--
Viv had sent Dmitri
her film for feedback.
It was about oppressive
systems and the patriarchy,
the search for true
freedom without faith,
inspired equally
by Dostoevsky's
Grand Inquisitor
and her own life.
I was formally inspired
by the films of Andrei Tarkovsky
and the symbolism
of the Holy Trinity...
The film was,
in fact, without distribution,
and she was even
accused of self-plagiarism
due to repurposing.
Filmmakers do it all the time.
I'd like to see your film.
Oh, I actually
really enjoyed it.
Both of them.
Oh, wow, thank you.
I'm actually
in a bit of a rut lately.
Wait, uh, who are you?
I'm Liz.
Smerdyakova, his nurse.
I used to take
care of the place,
now I'm taking care of him.
Huh, you specialize
in taking care
of old, rotting things?
So, what's it like having such
smart and interesting sisters?
You told me 3 o'clock.
No, you told us noon.
That was your idea.
So, listen, you didn't ask,
but I'm going to
get down to why we're here.
Um, it's very
important that we present
a united front,
and I need your help.
I'm a Karamazov,
and I'm not too proud.
You both know that I would
do anything for you, right?
I love you.
Now, Dad, on the other hand,
I'm all right with him dying
a slow, painful death,
or a quick, painful one.
You don't mean that.
No, it's true.
Now, I'm the oldest child,
and since he's been living off
my dead mother's money
my whole life,
both of you have too, I'm sure,
today we decide to do what
is fair, what I deserve.
Didn't you
already get some money?
You-- you what,
you bought a boat?
Yeah,
the best years of my life,
living out on the water,
but then, uh, bubble, so...
And I seem to remember there was
some kind of hunting accident?
Uh, yeah, you know,
my buddy who I, um...
He's-- he's doing
much better now.
Oh, what about your business
in the north?
Well,
that's still running, actually.
We-- we almost
broke even last year.
Yeah, we're Karamazovs!
Let us praise nature.
See how--
how clear the sky is?
The leaves are still green!
Listen, I'm not trying to take
anything away from you, per se.
I mean, let me be honest,
it should be mine.
And I can pay you back
in a few years,
and it just seems like you guys
have your housing situations
pretty much covered.
I tell you,
I should have bought that house
down at the lake
ten years ago, like I said.
Do you remember?
You know how much
that thing's worth now?
I-- I tell you, I knew it!
I have a sense for these things.
I don't care either way.
I don't want any of his money
or whatever you think is yours.
Me too.
If I had any money,
I would give it to you.
Liz!
-Come!
-Excuse me.
I need you.
Liz.
Does Dad
look very sick?
Not so different,
but how would I know?
But it is bad, right?
And how long does he have?
Days? Weeks? Months?
He's not even close.
Men like him never die.
Katya!
Hey!
Yeah.
Sorry to call so many times.
Um...
Just leaving
so many messages. I--
Thanks for calling back.
I just--
I just got into town, so.
Viv was secretly
in love with Dmitri's
first girlfriend Katya,
and terribly jealous
that Katya might still
be in love with Dmitri.
Yeah.
Mm. How's your family?
Uh-huh.
And you're all going together?
What movie?
What'd you cook?
Amazing.
Uh, yeah, my--
Things are okay here, I guess.
Do you still want
to hang out tomorrow, or...
Dmitri?
What?
Why do you ask?
No, he didn't.
He drinks a lot.
He's a grown man, and he's
asking my father for money.
I'm guessing
he already spent it, though.
Mm-hmm.
Let's not talk about him.
Alyosha?
Oh, no. Yeah.
She's planning to do it.
Yeah.
She's gonna marry Jesus.
Oh, really? Good.
I miss you a lot.
Well, let me know
if you decide about tomorrow.
Okay.
Bye.
Can I have one of those?
Trouble with a friend?
And I realize
I know nothing.
Right?
Especially nothing about love.
I know it only from poets.
No one ever taught me anything.
Right?
Just to be fearful of myself.
To be careful,
because I'm-- I'm a Karamazov,
and our passions can be
carried to the point of fever.
So I-- I tried to keep
my head down as a kid,
moving from
relative to relative.
And then later,
when I set out on my own,
after the reserves, I realized,
for the first time,
I'm attractive.
Like, people
are attracted to me.
And-- and that was just,
like, a really exciting thing.
It was just great,
just being two people,
promiscuous, and able to go
one way one night,
and then in the morning,
sort of a pleasant goodbye.
But, like, love?
I love this air!
God, I hope Dad doesn't
take all our money
and spend it erecting
some giant statue of himself
covered in fake gold
with some memorial plaque
on the bottom, as if...
I just found out I'm a father.
Or, I've been one--
Or, no, I have a kid.
For, like, seven years already.
A woman I barely know.
I think we
went on, like, two dates
when I worked
on the boats up north.
So...
Yeah, when I said
I was desperate for money,
it's because
I just got a court order
saying that I owe child
support from now on.
And also to make up
for the last seven years.
Seven years.
I think it's a girl.
Nah, it's a boy.
And you didn't know until now?
No idea.
I just need the money to pay
for it, to make it go away.
I'm a real mess, Alyosha.
Any person who acknowledges
the inherent corruption
in all systems,
I mean, the church,
criminal justice,
capitalism, then acting
in one's own self-interest
becomes the most reasonable,
sanest thing to do.
Wait, let me make sure
I hear you correctly.
Um, the system's fucked up.
They're not
gonna give you anything,
so you just
need to take it, yes?
I think that's right.
Well, I'll remember.
I wish it wasn't true,
but the more I think of it,
p-people should
take whatever they need.
And I know that goes
against what they teach
you at the monastery.
Have you read
Beyond Good and Evil?
I have a copy,
if you want to borrow it.
I have a lot of reading,
but thank you.
Papa, how are you feeling?
Liz here told me 3 o'clock,
and then suddenly I find--
No, I definitely said--
I'm extremely
grateful that you could meet,
and of course I would expect
no less from your goodness.
I hope we can resolve this
in a most respectful manner.
We don't need to do this
right now, we could--
We could just take
a collective breath, or...
You get settled first.
Dmitri
did this crazy bow,
which wasn't really a thing.
It surprised us all
and just went on and on.
Oh,
Jesus fucking Christ!
I want to make one thing clear.
These are my daughters,
the flesh of my flesh,
my own dear flesh,
and what respectful,
smart children they both are.
But this? You?
The one we've all been
sitting here waiting for?
The one who insisted,
who thinks I owe him?
Well, let me
make it perfectly clear.
Whatever you say here
today is not going to change
the fact that you are not
getting a single cent from me!
Uh, forgive me, Father.
Uh, I'm-- I'm the imperfect,
uneducated brother,
the one that didn't
get sent to fancy schools
or frivolous
religious retreats.
No, no, I just
raised them and then got
shipped off
to the army, while you...
And then
the fight escalates suddenly.
It was something about how
Dmitri and Fyodor both loved
the same woman once,
and they each accused each other
of sullying her reputation.
And they go
on fighting about this woman,
and then, uh, old scandals
and grievances about money.
Dmitri and Fyodor,
both incredibly passionate men,
and it just--
just goes on and on and on.
You call yourself a father!
Oh, don't, don't, don't, no,
no, no, no, don't give me that!
We are here to settle
a dispute about an inheritance
that you owe me,
that was promised
to me by my mother!
May she rest in peace,
and that I need now!
What, what, what,
you think she's so good?
So smart?
She hates you
just as much as I do.
She's just too pathetic
to put her thoughts into action.
Oh, she thinks she's
so much better than us.
Hey, you should ask
her about her friend.
And of course, there's no one
but God to go for this one,
because you spent her
entire childhood terrifying her
by brutalizing
her mother, and worse,
and who was
there to protect them?
Me, how is such a man alive?
No, tell me,
how can you be allowed
to dishonor
the earth with yourself?
Dmitri!
Fuck!
Hello, Father.
She's talking to her
spiritual father, Zosima.
Thank you for seeing me.
It's just,
there's no peace there.
I... I couldn't do anything.
It's all confusion and darkness.
I just get lost.
I do want to try and love
fearlessly, like you say.
I will try.
I wonder if you
could just pray for us.
Or for me.
Um, I'm working on a song.
Let-- Sorry.
Do you want to hear it?
It's just a little song.
Oh, never mind,
I'm still working on it.
I should let you rest.
Goddamn this house!
Trying to kill me?
Don't worry,
none of you are inheriting it.
Hey, are you still, um,
are you still
in that political group?
No.
A few of us keep in touch,
but most of us
are on to other things now.
It must be hard to leave.
It was awful,
they were like family.
What happened
to him, the, uh, the leader?
Nothing.
He went to Canada, I think.
We actually thought
he was going to apologize,
but he just wanted
to pick up where he left off,
so most of us just left.
He wasn't charged?
No.
A few cases pending,
but it doesn't look like it.
Wow.
I wish he had
just died, you know?
We talk about
that all the time,
like if he had died
it would have been hard,
but we still believe
in the ideas, he'd be a hero.
Would you still believe?
Probably.
I wish I still could.
I excused it for a long time.
It was hard to see...
to see what needed to happen.
What needed to happen.
Yeah, I mean...
Some things...
really do just need to die
for others to grow, to live.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah, that's exactly what I was
exploring in my movie.
Um...
Those actors in your movie...
I don't know how to say this.
Uh...
They really
looked like your siblings.
Really?
Yeah.
It's uncanny.
I don't see it.
Ah!
Hey!
What's up?
Oh, sh--
Don't sit on the fish.
Oh, shit.
Ready?
One, two, three.
Ah!
-Keep holding it.
-Okay.
Oh, my God, I got something!
Oh!
Ah!
We kind of look alike.
I never thought
we'd be together again.
Why not?
We did try that once, remember?
I don't.
It was Christmas?
Why'd you come
here again, Aly?
It's nothing.
You'd think it's ridiculous.
Come on.
It's simple, I...
just wanted
to see our mother's grave.
She wasn't that great.
I was four, so I--
But I can still picture her.
-Can you, Viv?
-Not really.
Yeah, I remember
my mom had just died.
I came to live here.
I was, what, like 10?
You know,
I took care of you both.
They were always having parties.
You remember that?
Yeah, of course.
I was young, but I remember.
What about before that?
Your mother?
You know, um...
She drove us away
in the middle of the night.
I woke up
in the backseat of a car,
and I didn't see Dad
again until after she died.
I don't know why.
It's something about how...
I don't know.
Really?
Well, when your mom got
sick, they wanted me out, so--
I thought you wanted to go.
That's not what I heard.
Why would I want to?
That's what they told us.
No. Maybe.
Well, I ended up
living with my uncles
anyway before the army, so...
I saw a picture
of us the day you left.
You were still a kid,
but you looked older,
and you were smiling
with your arm around Viv,
who was sobbing
with her eyes bright red.
I don't remember
that at all.
Hey, Viv, try this.
- Oh, yeah. I don't--
- Yeah.
Oh!
I've got something!
Oh! I've got something!
I've got something!
Oh, my God!
Hold on.
Viv.
I got 20 years in, easy.
Long as these kids
don't leave me dry first.
All of you trying to kill me.
Maybe I should do it myself.
Shoot myself in the face
like your mother had to,
crazy bitch.
Oh, yes.
I was warned not to pay.
It's like feeding stray cats,
because you think
it's a one-time thing,
and then boom, month
after month, year after year,
school plays, and this job,
and that fancy nursing school.
Don't forget to pay for it.
I'm done.
Liz.
Liz, I'm done.
Liz!
Liz, God damn it, where--
Liz!
Liz?
Liz?
I'm done.
Liz?
Liz?
Liz!
Liz, God damn it!
Liz?
Liz?
I'm here.
I'm done.
Liz, look,
look, I'm a fisherman.
They came home drunk
with some kind of local fish.
Wait, what's this?
I cleaned it
and made fish soup.
Oh, you startled me.
Dad?
How are you feeling?
Here.
Bring him some coffee.
Thanks.
My sweet girl.
You're so pretty now,
just like your mother.
Let me help with that box.
Bunch of worthless shit.
Who's this?
Oh, mom's icons.
I remember these.
I do remember.
That light.
Aly's teacher, Zosima,
had said her path
was with her family.
To have love and compassion.
He was old and dying, too.
Devastating she lost
them both at the same time.
Hey, buddy.
Um. Can I ask you something?
So, um, you-- you know
why I need money, right?
Apparently, uh,
I need 3,000 today.
Or...
I-- I wouldn't ask
if it wasn't really important.
You remember--
You remember Katya?
Just go over to her place
and tell her I need a loan.
I've-- I have the worst luck.
Okay, I'll do it.
But just...
stay away from dad.
Yeah.
I think it went
something like that.
That sounds like
an errand I wouldn't want.
I just can't believe him.
Doesn't he know that
Viv's in love with her?
Morning.
-What's up?
-Nothing.
Gonna get some coffee.
Does anyone need anything, or--
I just made some.
Actually, can you
stay here and just keep
an eye on dad
in case Dmitri comes?
I'm-- I'm sorry, I need to run.
Is she okay?
Yeah, uh...
Viv!
We gotta talk.
Yeah?
How long
are you gonna be here?
Hopefully, it's temporary.
Oh, now
you're a starving artist?
I thought I put you up in
one of those nice buildings.
No, dad.
I'm not trying to move in here.
I have to get
back to my film anyway.
I just don't want
any of your alternative
lifestyle under my roof.
It's true.
What?
Heard
from someone in town.
I've-- I've been thinking
about your film a lot.
That monk.
How he talks about dead weight.
Like the dead weight
of the generations before us.
Like-- Like how
when the lifeboat is full,
those who hate
life will load in
more people
and sink everybody,
but those who love life
will take the ship's axe
and sever the extra
hands clinging to the sides.
Or something like that.
Yeah.
Well, that's the exact wording.
Do you love life, Viv?
Do I?
Uh, I don't know.
Yeah.
I don't know either.
He sent Aly to Katya's house.
Dmitri did.
Wh-- Why?
Why?
Why?
Why does everyone know
everyone else's business
in this tiny,
shitty piece of shit town?
Aly's teacher had said,
avoid lies, all lies.
Especially
the lies you tell yourself.
And avoid fear.
Fear is a consequence
of every lie you tell.
Hey, what's this?
What's this?
Oh, my gosh!
You guys, please,
please don't wake him.
I love these woods.
The water, even the house.
But there was something
inside me that was
making it harder
and harder for me to be there.
I couldn't deny it.
The others,
they all found places to run.
Found ways to find comfort.
They built up their defenses.
They had to, to survive.
To... escape this place.
And I always wonder, how does
a person find something
to love?
Love must come from somewhere.
Or someone.
I was there.
I had loved them all.
I did.
Oh, that's
definitely you.
- Oh, wow.
- See, this is me.
I am a Karamazov!
Oh, Jesus H.
When I, when I, when I,
when I fall into the abyss,
I-- I go, I go
all the way in,
- head down and heels up.
- No.
No, no.
I'd like to know your music.
Your scarf--
Let me-- let me kiss
the hand of the scarlet
with which the gods
are clothed.
- Hey. Fire.
Fire.
-Fire.
-Fire.
- Okay.
- To the fire!
Just get out,
just get out of here.
He's gonna find--
He's just gonna wake up.
That's right.
Hey! Hey.
I know.
Allow my fate.
Fyodor Karamazov.
Well known in his own day.
And still remembered because
of his dark and tragic death.
Had three children.
Other things happen
that we don't really know.
I do miss him.
He had this way about him
that, I don't know...
made it impossible
to look away.
Fyodor Karamazov.
I thought
about him all the time.
His little jabs, and tantrums.
I'd stay awake at night
preparing comebacks.
Fyodor Karamazov.
He occupied people's minds.
I do remember.
Sorry, I forgot where I was.
Right, back to...
Katya?
You're really not there?
Look, I--I'm in a place
where I'm letting go of things
that aren't serving me,
toxic things,
and I don't know what business
you have with my brother,
or why you'd want to
hang on to that dead weight,
but if you're willing
to let go of things
that are torturing you
and should probably just die,
yeah, you should give me a call.
And I'm not expecting you to.
I'm leaving, and I would like
to not leave you behind.
But...
I loved you once.
Perhaps there still is love.
Within my heart,
it hasn't all died out,
but I wouldn't
trouble you with it.
I wouldn't
trouble you for anything.
That's Pushkin.
That's Pushkin.
If you're with Aly,
tell her to meet me at the cafe.
Viv, hi.
Uh, I decided I'm leaving.
Sorry, I know I just got here,
but, um,
I've been sitting here thinking,
how am I going
to say goodbye to Alyosha?
So you wanted to see me?
Of course.
Very much.
I'll get you some
fish soup or something.
They make it well here.
You don't live on
bread alone, do you?
I'll have fish soup and--
and bread and tea.
I'm hungry, but...
Listen, Viv--
And cherry preserve.
They have it here.
Do you remember how you used
to love cherry preserve?
- When you were little?
- You remember that?
I'll have preserve.
I still love it.
I remember everything.
Alyosha, of course I remember.
And I feel like
I've been here for days,
and you and I haven't
exchanged a single word.
I want to get to know you.
I want you to know me.
I don't know
what the fuck I'm doing.
Do you have siblings?
Yes.
Well, then you must know, right?
Or m-- maybe not.
Maybe-- Maybe your siblings
are reasonable,
realistic people,
people who actually
spend time in the real world,
where one has to pay
for things with--
with money and hard work,
not-- not prayers,
not ideas or words.
You know, look,
I-- I know it's shameful to ask,
but... my honor, actually,
yes, my honor guides me
to live in the real world
where nothing is free.
Right? Love, even
getting what we love costs.
Do you love me, Aly?
I do love you, Viv, very much.
You're a riddle to me,
but I think...
I understand
something about you.
I've been sitting here,
and do you know
what I've been
thinking to myself?
If I were
to not believe in life,
if I were to lose faith
in someone I loved
or just lose faith in the order
of things, if I were
to become convinced that life
was a disorderly, fucked-up,
chaotic mess,
I would still want to live.
I know this to be true.
I've asked myself,
is there so much despair
in the world
that it would overcome this...
wild, indecent
thirst for life in me?
And I've concluded
that apparently there's not.
Alyosha, I want to live.
And I do live,
even if it's against logic,
even if I don't believe
in the order of things.
Still-- the sticky little
leaves that come out
in the spring are dear to me.
The blue sky is dear to me.
Some people are dear to me.
Who you love
without even knowing why.
Some causes are dear,
which I thought
I'd stop believing in.
We've got to
get you this fish soup.
It's good.
They make it well here.
Sticky little leaves,
the blue sky.
I love them.
That's all.
These things, you-- you don't
love them with your mind,
not with logic, but
with your insides, your guts.
Do you understand any of this
blather, Alyosha, or-- or not?
Yes, you said it beautifully.
And I'm so glad
you want to live.
I think everyone
should love life
before everything else
in the world.
Love life more than its meaning?
Certainly.
Love life without logic,
like you said.
And until then, we'll never
understand its meaning.
That's what
my teacher always says.
Now... give me some tea.
I'm glad we're talking, Viv.
Like, Alyosha thinks
she's running around
saving us all from each other,
but where is she? Huh?
A-- and Viv's never had
any sense of urgencies.
Ever, really.
I always shielded them
from the worst of it.
Seems like you still are.
Thank you.
Thank you. You know, I--
I just--
I'm trying to do what's right.
You know?
Just put things in order.
If I could just get this money,
I could make things right.
I don't want
my kid to end up like me.
Yeah, that would be--
I don't know what to do.
I'm-- I'm-- I'm desperate.
You know your dad has money.
Why the hell
do you think I'm here?
- But he's not--
- No, it's in the house.
What, like cash?
Yeah.
Yeah, he usually
keeps about... at least 3000.
In an envelope,
just sitting there.
Where in the house?
Well, um, it gets
moved around a little bit.
It could be, uh,
in a couple places. Um...
There's the umbrella stand
in the entry hall and, uh...
Hmm.
Yeah, yeah, the, uh...
file cabinet in his office
or his nightstand.
What a, what a-- what a crazy,
surprising world this is.
Liz, you're-- you're
a perfect stranger and...
And-- and I'll give it back
before he even knows it's gone.
I mean, it's your money.
It should be yours.
Exactly.
I'll-- I'll give it back.
How is that possible?
You're not listening, Viv.
There's still
so much love in mankind.
How can you say that?
Have you been
listening to the news?
I'm going to give
you some samples, okay?
Uh, mass shooting,
child sex trafficking.
Yes, that's horrible.
Violence just
begets more violence.
But I think all we can
hold on to is active love.
Try to love your neighbor
actively and tirelessly.
And I think
that's all we can do.
Try to love.
I'm sorry, all of this...
love your neighbor stuff,
I don't buy it.
The closer you are to someone,
the harder it is to love them.
We have the same family,
Aly. You know this.
-What? What's wrong?
-I need to check--
No, no, no. Come on.
Sit down. Sit down. Sit down.
I need to check on
Dmitri and Dad!
Enough!
Enough of this
brother's keeper bullshit.
Let them tear each other apart.
It's all they've ever wanted.
Why are we denying them
their heart's desire?
You don't mean that.
Oh, yeah? I don't?
Excuse me.
-Could I have another fish soup?
-What are you doing?
No, sir.
We'll just get the check.
No, I'm going to have
another fish soup
- and another craft-- craft beer.
- Viv, you're yelling.
And you're going to sit here
with me while I finish them.
And we are going
to live with the possibility
that we might get free.
Do you ever think of that?
Aly, don't
you want to be free?
When's the last time you could
honestly say you loved life?
You tried to love.
Shouldn't it be easier?
Do you want to live
for some heaven
where mothers embrace
the torturers of their children?
Where the suffering
of children is acceptable
for the sake of mercy?
That's some fucked up mercy,
if you ask me.
Why should we sit
here and eat fish soup?
Because I want justice.
Because
justice is reason enough.
Viv, it's okay.
Calm down.
Every time
I think I've escaped,
I'm back there
in that hell house.
I'm the little kid
in the broom closet
with their hands
over their ears.
We've never talked about this.
- Why are you doing this?
- Aly, I don't know
how much you remember.
Do you remember this?
Do you remember when Dmitri
didn't get into the reserve?
No. He failed a test
for the police academy.
And Dad was so mad,
he came downstairs
and cold-cocked Dmitri
in the face with the phone.
He picked him up by the neck.
Do you remember this?
Dmitri couldn't move
his head for like a month.
Do you remember when he tried
to run me over with the car?
You must remember.
You were in the back seat.
He pushed me
at the passenger side.
He took a swerve at me.
He said, "Don't worry,
I knew you would roll away."
He was laughing.
Do you remember
when he made Dmitri
spend the night in the garage?
It was below zero.
He was crying all night.
I got my head
cracked against the wall
for trying to let him out.
Do you remember when
he shot a hole in the ceiling?
Do you remember when
he hit me with a golf club
for trying
to change the channel?
Do you remember all
those trips he made you take
to the cabin with him?
Alone.
-Do you remember?
-I remember!
Can't help me.
Live with me.
Why do you stay here?
Why?
Well, it's like
a story from the 17th century.
It's a trope of...
Mostly I was
focusing on technique.
So it's not about us?
I think... it must be.
Is that what you want?
Why
should God forgive them?
- To just burn
it all down?
Let them kill each other?
Like you said, let us
all just take whatever we want?
Aly, I didn't
mean it like that.
- Really?
- It's a dumb--
But is that how you feel?
You--
You're holding
on to your idea too?
Yeah, I suppose.
I don't want
to talk about this anymore.
Now go, go.
Go to your teacher.
I'm gonna go
to the house for a few things,
and then catch the ferry.
Okay?
Bye.
Okay.
Love you.
Love you.
Bye.
Is everything okay?
Where's Dmitri?
What happened?
Should we call someone?
Who do we call?
Ladies and gentlemen...
Dmitri's trial
started almost immediately.
Ladies and gentlemen--
Ladies and gentlemen...
Uh...
Ladies and gentlemen...
Can we all agree on this?
It was a farce.
It is terrible, what has become
of our once great country.
Hard-working people like me--
Like you and me...
We are trapped in this...
just abyss between our lofty
ideals, best intentions,
and the reality
of how we actually behave.
I am proud.
I would tell you
if I killed my father.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the Karamazovs, right?
My nice little family.
I-- I went to what is legally,
rightfully my house.
Because the system,
it wants to hold me up
and tear me down as an example.
Now, I-- I went to my house
to get my money
so that I can
support my beautiful son.
And to avoid jail,
but here we are.
Legally, rightfully my house.
But I did not kill him.
And I see him there,
and I wasn't expecting him,
so I asked him again,
and I pleaded again.
He said no,
so I start looking
for the money,
and he's holding it.
And in a fit of rage that I am
not proud of, I snapped.
I'm good at a lot of things.
I'm not good at lying.
During this assault,
even as I'm in this blood rage,
I-- I know to, you know, stay
away from the vital organs.
Just-- just teach him a lesson.
A lesson that was
a long time coming,
but a completely
non-lethal lesson.
And not just for my sake, right,
not just for my son's sake
or my sisters' sake,
but for all of our sakes,
because he is one of the things
that is wrong with this town,
and we all know it.
And whatever you want
to do to me because I assaulted
my father, then-- then fine,
I-- I'll take that sentence
honorably and proudly,
but I did not kill him.
I picked him up off
the ground,
I put him back on the toilet,
and I walked out of
the house, and that's
the end of the story.
But I did not kill him.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I, I--
Thank you. Thank you.
I think it went
something like that.
He didn't need
to say all that stuff
about Dad being a bastard.
Everyone knew it.
Doesn't matter if we knew it,
of course it's true,
he just shouldn't have said it.
He's just really honest.
He said some
beautiful things, though.
Well, I guess we'll find
out at the sentencing, won't we?
But you could see the sincerity
that was coming from him.
I mean, who in this town could
believe that he could kill Dad?
Everyone.
Literally
everybody in this town.
You know what?
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter anyway.
Maybe it was his time.
And he was a terrible person,
and he did terrible things.
- I know that.
- Terrible things.
Liz, our family's
going through a lot right now,
and I think you need
to be a little nicer to Alyosha.
Whoever he was,
we lost our father.
I know.
I know that.
I understand completely.
Do you think
that I don't understand that?
Liz, I think
you need to go home.
This is my home.
I'm sorry?
This is my home.
I-- I'm the one
who's always been here.
I'm the one
who takes care of the place.
I'm the one who fixed that.
You guys came and went,
but I've always been here.
You! You go home! Go home!
Both of you, just go home!
But of course we're so grateful.
You're-- you're so grateful?
Yes.
What are you grateful for?
For all the care
you've given our father
when none of us were here.
For-- for every day,
everything you've done.
I know he's a very
hard person to be with,
and you were with him.
You took care of him.
- You took care of this house.
- Don't.
I'm so sorry
if we never recognized that.
Don't!
My dad always
said you're like family.
I'm like family?
Yes.
We see you as family.
I don't think I believe that.
I think you barely see
anything past yourselves.
Isn't that nice?
Isn't that nice?
That you didn't have to see--
that you didn't have
to see what everybody else saw.
That's great. That's great.
Nice little
life you got to have.
Your little problems,
your writer's block,
your-- your religious,
your-- your privileges
of being Karamazovs,
sitting in a monastery
and not having to pay attention
to what's happening
in the world.
Oh, that's great for you,
picking and choosing
what you get to see,
being all holy.
I'm not holy.
- Kneeling.
- That's enough.
For years I've been
trying to figure out,
do you know or do you not know?
That's fine.
We'll go.
You stay.
Come on, Aly.
Fyodor Karamazov.
He had four children.
He was murdered.
He was already dying.
He was sick.
But nevertheless,
it was a dark and tragic death.
He was a real bastard.
Still, I do miss him.
Liz!
Liz!
Liz!
Liz!
Love,
hate, revenge, mercy,
and justice
mingled into one.
Once again, cleaning up
the mess of the Karamazovs.
Liz!
I can't believe
I wasn't here with you.
I want
to remember what you said.
Love the earth,
and the flowers, the trees,
and the animals,
just as they are.
Love for that I throw myself
on the earth
and kiss the grass.
We come from something
bigger than ourselves,
a big sea, that life is that--
that we try to love,
but mostly we fail.
But that these little
seeds
of our trying
come from a bigger love,
this huge love
that we don't understand,
and that can give us courage.
That's something
to hold on to.
I will not be afraid.
Let it be madness.
There are these bright
moments, these miracles,
when I feel close to God,
and I'm in the right place,
and I'm on the right path,
and I just get lost.
You're from here, right?
It's so funny,
you don't remember either?
No, no, I do.
I just, when I left, so many
things became irrelevant.
I guess I just blocked it out.
Yeah, yeah, I'm from here.
My mom met my dad at work.
She was his accountant,
apparently.
Was she?
Apparently.
That I don't blame you.
You don't blame me?
Shit, I wanted him
dead for years.
Salvation?
You put yourself in prison.
I was a good daughter
without a father,
a good sister without
a brother.
You're a riddle to me.
I loved you once.
Perhaps there still is love.
Some things really
do just need to die
for others to grow, to live.
To our joy.
Not our grief, but our joy.
One cannot live without joy.
Am I going the right way,
to the Karamazovs?
Uh, you just make a left
at that big tree over there.
Sure it's not
faster by the stream?
Hm.
Let's not start there.
I don't even know
if it was snowing that day.
Fyodor Karamazov,
well known in his own day,
and still remembered
because of his dark
and tragic death,
had three children.
He was murdered.
He had three children.
He was murdered years ago now.
I'm Liz.
When Fyodor
found out he was sick,
he moved back here full time.
His summer house.
I took care
of it when he was away,
and then I was
taking care of him.
Fyodor?
It's me.
Hello?
It's 11 already.
So, Fyodor Karamazov,
he had three kids.
He was murdered.
He was already dying.
He was sick.
Stomach cancer.
He always thought
it would be lung cancer.
Or murder.
Are you
getting any reception?
I'm expecting a call.
Do we have internet?
Your dad doesn't
have a computer, so no.
Viv!
Hi. Oh!
Have you seen Dmitri?
I'm not
his fucking keeper.
Fyodor Karamazov
married twice.
The first wife,
Dmitri's mother,
she was young and she was
pregnant, so she had to.
Other things happened
that we don't really know,
things that, well,
I won't injure you with now.
Fyodor remarried,
and with the second wife
there were two more
children, Viv and Alyosha.
And then the second
wife died when the youngest
was just a few years old.
Fyodor Karamazov did
what was expected of him.
Nothing.
"Liz!"
"Liz!"
Liz?
Yeah?
Is Aly back
from the nut house?
You mean the monastery?
That's
what I said, isn't it?
I'm here, Papa.
She was unusual.
She dropped
out of college and moved back
to our little town
to join the monastery.
Do you know
if there are hooks in hell?
I didn't even
know we had a monastery.
Do you think
there's a ceiling in hell?
'Cause if there's no ceiling,
then there could be nowhere
to hang the hooks,
and the whole thing falls apart.
"Which is unlikely,
because if they don't hang me
down there, how is there
any justice in the world?"
...any justice
in the world?
Those hooks
are probably meant
for me alone.
Those hooks
are probably for me alone.
It will be easier
for me to go to hell
if I have a picture
of what it'll be like.
It was winter
when we all found ourselves
here together,
for the first time, really.
Fyodor and Dmitri were
fighting over money,
and then...
Fyodor said they should
meet as a joke,
and then Dmitri
called his bluff,
telling everyone to be there.
So they were.
Everyone thought
it was a terrible idea.
- Dmitri!
- Oh, fuck.
Hey, come down here
and face me like a man!
I'm gonna kill you!
I'm gonna kill you
if you don't give me my money!
Look, I can go there myself!
I hope you slip
on your own shit and die!
Let's not start there.
Dmitri stood in the driveway
for probably 30 minutes.
- Alyosha!
- Dmitri!
Look at you, all grown up!
Is he, um, is he here?
Dad?
I think he's in the bathroom.
We've been waiting.
I'm late?
The assistant told me 3 o'clock.
It's always been noon.
I think you actually
don't have a lot of time.
Dmitri, it's been too long.
- Hey.
- I was waiting for you
-at the ferry.
-How's your work going?
You know, I gotta be honest,
I couldn't get through it.
-Of course.
-It was really beyond me.
-Very experimental.
-Okay.
Yeah, well, if you--
Viv had sent Dmitri
her film for feedback.
It was about oppressive
systems and the patriarchy,
the search for true
freedom without faith,
inspired equally
by Dostoevsky's
Grand Inquisitor
and her own life.
I was formally inspired
by the films of Andrei Tarkovsky
and the symbolism
of the Holy Trinity...
The film was,
in fact, without distribution,
and she was even
accused of self-plagiarism
due to repurposing.
Filmmakers do it all the time.
I'd like to see your film.
Oh, I actually
really enjoyed it.
Both of them.
Oh, wow, thank you.
I'm actually
in a bit of a rut lately.
Wait, uh, who are you?
I'm Liz.
Smerdyakova, his nurse.
I used to take
care of the place,
now I'm taking care of him.
Huh, you specialize
in taking care
of old, rotting things?
So, what's it like having such
smart and interesting sisters?
You told me 3 o'clock.
No, you told us noon.
That was your idea.
So, listen, you didn't ask,
but I'm going to
get down to why we're here.
Um, it's very
important that we present
a united front,
and I need your help.
I'm a Karamazov,
and I'm not too proud.
You both know that I would
do anything for you, right?
I love you.
Now, Dad, on the other hand,
I'm all right with him dying
a slow, painful death,
or a quick, painful one.
You don't mean that.
No, it's true.
Now, I'm the oldest child,
and since he's been living off
my dead mother's money
my whole life,
both of you have too, I'm sure,
today we decide to do what
is fair, what I deserve.
Didn't you
already get some money?
You-- you what,
you bought a boat?
Yeah,
the best years of my life,
living out on the water,
but then, uh, bubble, so...
And I seem to remember there was
some kind of hunting accident?
Uh, yeah, you know,
my buddy who I, um...
He's-- he's doing
much better now.
Oh, what about your business
in the north?
Well,
that's still running, actually.
We-- we almost
broke even last year.
Yeah, we're Karamazovs!
Let us praise nature.
See how--
how clear the sky is?
The leaves are still green!
Listen, I'm not trying to take
anything away from you, per se.
I mean, let me be honest,
it should be mine.
And I can pay you back
in a few years,
and it just seems like you guys
have your housing situations
pretty much covered.
I tell you,
I should have bought that house
down at the lake
ten years ago, like I said.
Do you remember?
You know how much
that thing's worth now?
I-- I tell you, I knew it!
I have a sense for these things.
I don't care either way.
I don't want any of his money
or whatever you think is yours.
Me too.
If I had any money,
I would give it to you.
Liz!
-Come!
-Excuse me.
I need you.
Liz.
Does Dad
look very sick?
Not so different,
but how would I know?
But it is bad, right?
And how long does he have?
Days? Weeks? Months?
He's not even close.
Men like him never die.
Katya!
Hey!
Yeah.
Sorry to call so many times.
Um...
Just leaving
so many messages. I--
Thanks for calling back.
I just--
I just got into town, so.
Viv was secretly
in love with Dmitri's
first girlfriend Katya,
and terribly jealous
that Katya might still
be in love with Dmitri.
Yeah.
Mm. How's your family?
Uh-huh.
And you're all going together?
What movie?
What'd you cook?
Amazing.
Uh, yeah, my--
Things are okay here, I guess.
Do you still want
to hang out tomorrow, or...
Dmitri?
What?
Why do you ask?
No, he didn't.
He drinks a lot.
He's a grown man, and he's
asking my father for money.
I'm guessing
he already spent it, though.
Mm-hmm.
Let's not talk about him.
Alyosha?
Oh, no. Yeah.
She's planning to do it.
Yeah.
She's gonna marry Jesus.
Oh, really? Good.
I miss you a lot.
Well, let me know
if you decide about tomorrow.
Okay.
Bye.
Can I have one of those?
Trouble with a friend?
And I realize
I know nothing.
Right?
Especially nothing about love.
I know it only from poets.
No one ever taught me anything.
Right?
Just to be fearful of myself.
To be careful,
because I'm-- I'm a Karamazov,
and our passions can be
carried to the point of fever.
So I-- I tried to keep
my head down as a kid,
moving from
relative to relative.
And then later,
when I set out on my own,
after the reserves, I realized,
for the first time,
I'm attractive.
Like, people
are attracted to me.
And-- and that was just,
like, a really exciting thing.
It was just great,
just being two people,
promiscuous, and able to go
one way one night,
and then in the morning,
sort of a pleasant goodbye.
But, like, love?
I love this air!
God, I hope Dad doesn't
take all our money
and spend it erecting
some giant statue of himself
covered in fake gold
with some memorial plaque
on the bottom, as if...
I just found out I'm a father.
Or, I've been one--
Or, no, I have a kid.
For, like, seven years already.
A woman I barely know.
I think we
went on, like, two dates
when I worked
on the boats up north.
So...
Yeah, when I said
I was desperate for money,
it's because
I just got a court order
saying that I owe child
support from now on.
And also to make up
for the last seven years.
Seven years.
I think it's a girl.
Nah, it's a boy.
And you didn't know until now?
No idea.
I just need the money to pay
for it, to make it go away.
I'm a real mess, Alyosha.
Any person who acknowledges
the inherent corruption
in all systems,
I mean, the church,
criminal justice,
capitalism, then acting
in one's own self-interest
becomes the most reasonable,
sanest thing to do.
Wait, let me make sure
I hear you correctly.
Um, the system's fucked up.
They're not
gonna give you anything,
so you just
need to take it, yes?
I think that's right.
Well, I'll remember.
I wish it wasn't true,
but the more I think of it,
p-people should
take whatever they need.
And I know that goes
against what they teach
you at the monastery.
Have you read
Beyond Good and Evil?
I have a copy,
if you want to borrow it.
I have a lot of reading,
but thank you.
Papa, how are you feeling?
Liz here told me 3 o'clock,
and then suddenly I find--
No, I definitely said--
I'm extremely
grateful that you could meet,
and of course I would expect
no less from your goodness.
I hope we can resolve this
in a most respectful manner.
We don't need to do this
right now, we could--
We could just take
a collective breath, or...
You get settled first.
Dmitri
did this crazy bow,
which wasn't really a thing.
It surprised us all
and just went on and on.
Oh,
Jesus fucking Christ!
I want to make one thing clear.
These are my daughters,
the flesh of my flesh,
my own dear flesh,
and what respectful,
smart children they both are.
But this? You?
The one we've all been
sitting here waiting for?
The one who insisted,
who thinks I owe him?
Well, let me
make it perfectly clear.
Whatever you say here
today is not going to change
the fact that you are not
getting a single cent from me!
Uh, forgive me, Father.
Uh, I'm-- I'm the imperfect,
uneducated brother,
the one that didn't
get sent to fancy schools
or frivolous
religious retreats.
No, no, I just
raised them and then got
shipped off
to the army, while you...
And then
the fight escalates suddenly.
It was something about how
Dmitri and Fyodor both loved
the same woman once,
and they each accused each other
of sullying her reputation.
And they go
on fighting about this woman,
and then, uh, old scandals
and grievances about money.
Dmitri and Fyodor,
both incredibly passionate men,
and it just--
just goes on and on and on.
You call yourself a father!
Oh, don't, don't, don't, no,
no, no, no, don't give me that!
We are here to settle
a dispute about an inheritance
that you owe me,
that was promised
to me by my mother!
May she rest in peace,
and that I need now!
What, what, what,
you think she's so good?
So smart?
She hates you
just as much as I do.
She's just too pathetic
to put her thoughts into action.
Oh, she thinks she's
so much better than us.
Hey, you should ask
her about her friend.
And of course, there's no one
but God to go for this one,
because you spent her
entire childhood terrifying her
by brutalizing
her mother, and worse,
and who was
there to protect them?
Me, how is such a man alive?
No, tell me,
how can you be allowed
to dishonor
the earth with yourself?
Dmitri!
Fuck!
Hello, Father.
She's talking to her
spiritual father, Zosima.
Thank you for seeing me.
It's just,
there's no peace there.
I... I couldn't do anything.
It's all confusion and darkness.
I just get lost.
I do want to try and love
fearlessly, like you say.
I will try.
I wonder if you
could just pray for us.
Or for me.
Um, I'm working on a song.
Let-- Sorry.
Do you want to hear it?
It's just a little song.
Oh, never mind,
I'm still working on it.
I should let you rest.
Goddamn this house!
Trying to kill me?
Don't worry,
none of you are inheriting it.
Hey, are you still, um,
are you still
in that political group?
No.
A few of us keep in touch,
but most of us
are on to other things now.
It must be hard to leave.
It was awful,
they were like family.
What happened
to him, the, uh, the leader?
Nothing.
He went to Canada, I think.
We actually thought
he was going to apologize,
but he just wanted
to pick up where he left off,
so most of us just left.
He wasn't charged?
No.
A few cases pending,
but it doesn't look like it.
Wow.
I wish he had
just died, you know?
We talk about
that all the time,
like if he had died
it would have been hard,
but we still believe
in the ideas, he'd be a hero.
Would you still believe?
Probably.
I wish I still could.
I excused it for a long time.
It was hard to see...
to see what needed to happen.
What needed to happen.
Yeah, I mean...
Some things...
really do just need to die
for others to grow, to live.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah, that's exactly what I was
exploring in my movie.
Um...
Those actors in your movie...
I don't know how to say this.
Uh...
They really
looked like your siblings.
Really?
Yeah.
It's uncanny.
I don't see it.
Ah!
Hey!
What's up?
Oh, sh--
Don't sit on the fish.
Oh, shit.
Ready?
One, two, three.
Ah!
-Keep holding it.
-Okay.
Oh, my God, I got something!
Oh!
Ah!
We kind of look alike.
I never thought
we'd be together again.
Why not?
We did try that once, remember?
I don't.
It was Christmas?
Why'd you come
here again, Aly?
It's nothing.
You'd think it's ridiculous.
Come on.
It's simple, I...
just wanted
to see our mother's grave.
She wasn't that great.
I was four, so I--
But I can still picture her.
-Can you, Viv?
-Not really.
Yeah, I remember
my mom had just died.
I came to live here.
I was, what, like 10?
You know,
I took care of you both.
They were always having parties.
You remember that?
Yeah, of course.
I was young, but I remember.
What about before that?
Your mother?
You know, um...
She drove us away
in the middle of the night.
I woke up
in the backseat of a car,
and I didn't see Dad
again until after she died.
I don't know why.
It's something about how...
I don't know.
Really?
Well, when your mom got
sick, they wanted me out, so--
I thought you wanted to go.
That's not what I heard.
Why would I want to?
That's what they told us.
No. Maybe.
Well, I ended up
living with my uncles
anyway before the army, so...
I saw a picture
of us the day you left.
You were still a kid,
but you looked older,
and you were smiling
with your arm around Viv,
who was sobbing
with her eyes bright red.
I don't remember
that at all.
Hey, Viv, try this.
- Oh, yeah. I don't--
- Yeah.
Oh!
I've got something!
Oh! I've got something!
I've got something!
Oh, my God!
Hold on.
Viv.
I got 20 years in, easy.
Long as these kids
don't leave me dry first.
All of you trying to kill me.
Maybe I should do it myself.
Shoot myself in the face
like your mother had to,
crazy bitch.
Oh, yes.
I was warned not to pay.
It's like feeding stray cats,
because you think
it's a one-time thing,
and then boom, month
after month, year after year,
school plays, and this job,
and that fancy nursing school.
Don't forget to pay for it.
I'm done.
Liz.
Liz, I'm done.
Liz!
Liz, God damn it, where--
Liz!
Liz?
Liz?
I'm done.
Liz?
Liz?
Liz!
Liz, God damn it!
Liz?
Liz?
I'm here.
I'm done.
Liz, look,
look, I'm a fisherman.
They came home drunk
with some kind of local fish.
Wait, what's this?
I cleaned it
and made fish soup.
Oh, you startled me.
Dad?
How are you feeling?
Here.
Bring him some coffee.
Thanks.
My sweet girl.
You're so pretty now,
just like your mother.
Let me help with that box.
Bunch of worthless shit.
Who's this?
Oh, mom's icons.
I remember these.
I do remember.
That light.
Aly's teacher, Zosima,
had said her path
was with her family.
To have love and compassion.
He was old and dying, too.
Devastating she lost
them both at the same time.
Hey, buddy.
Um. Can I ask you something?
So, um, you-- you know
why I need money, right?
Apparently, uh,
I need 3,000 today.
Or...
I-- I wouldn't ask
if it wasn't really important.
You remember--
You remember Katya?
Just go over to her place
and tell her I need a loan.
I've-- I have the worst luck.
Okay, I'll do it.
But just...
stay away from dad.
Yeah.
I think it went
something like that.
That sounds like
an errand I wouldn't want.
I just can't believe him.
Doesn't he know that
Viv's in love with her?
Morning.
-What's up?
-Nothing.
Gonna get some coffee.
Does anyone need anything, or--
I just made some.
Actually, can you
stay here and just keep
an eye on dad
in case Dmitri comes?
I'm-- I'm sorry, I need to run.
Is she okay?
Yeah, uh...
Viv!
We gotta talk.
Yeah?
How long
are you gonna be here?
Hopefully, it's temporary.
Oh, now
you're a starving artist?
I thought I put you up in
one of those nice buildings.
No, dad.
I'm not trying to move in here.
I have to get
back to my film anyway.
I just don't want
any of your alternative
lifestyle under my roof.
It's true.
What?
Heard
from someone in town.
I've-- I've been thinking
about your film a lot.
That monk.
How he talks about dead weight.
Like the dead weight
of the generations before us.
Like-- Like how
when the lifeboat is full,
those who hate
life will load in
more people
and sink everybody,
but those who love life
will take the ship's axe
and sever the extra
hands clinging to the sides.
Or something like that.
Yeah.
Well, that's the exact wording.
Do you love life, Viv?
Do I?
Uh, I don't know.
Yeah.
I don't know either.
He sent Aly to Katya's house.
Dmitri did.
Wh-- Why?
Why?
Why?
Why does everyone know
everyone else's business
in this tiny,
shitty piece of shit town?
Aly's teacher had said,
avoid lies, all lies.
Especially
the lies you tell yourself.
And avoid fear.
Fear is a consequence
of every lie you tell.
Hey, what's this?
What's this?
Oh, my gosh!
You guys, please,
please don't wake him.
I love these woods.
The water, even the house.
But there was something
inside me that was
making it harder
and harder for me to be there.
I couldn't deny it.
The others,
they all found places to run.
Found ways to find comfort.
They built up their defenses.
They had to, to survive.
To... escape this place.
And I always wonder, how does
a person find something
to love?
Love must come from somewhere.
Or someone.
I was there.
I had loved them all.
I did.
Oh, that's
definitely you.
- Oh, wow.
- See, this is me.
I am a Karamazov!
Oh, Jesus H.
When I, when I, when I,
when I fall into the abyss,
I-- I go, I go
all the way in,
- head down and heels up.
- No.
No, no.
I'd like to know your music.
Your scarf--
Let me-- let me kiss
the hand of the scarlet
with which the gods
are clothed.
- Hey. Fire.
Fire.
-Fire.
-Fire.
- Okay.
- To the fire!
Just get out,
just get out of here.
He's gonna find--
He's just gonna wake up.
That's right.
Hey! Hey.
I know.
Allow my fate.
Fyodor Karamazov.
Well known in his own day.
And still remembered because
of his dark and tragic death.
Had three children.
Other things happen
that we don't really know.
I do miss him.
He had this way about him
that, I don't know...
made it impossible
to look away.
Fyodor Karamazov.
I thought
about him all the time.
His little jabs, and tantrums.
I'd stay awake at night
preparing comebacks.
Fyodor Karamazov.
He occupied people's minds.
I do remember.
Sorry, I forgot where I was.
Right, back to...
Katya?
You're really not there?
Look, I--I'm in a place
where I'm letting go of things
that aren't serving me,
toxic things,
and I don't know what business
you have with my brother,
or why you'd want to
hang on to that dead weight,
but if you're willing
to let go of things
that are torturing you
and should probably just die,
yeah, you should give me a call.
And I'm not expecting you to.
I'm leaving, and I would like
to not leave you behind.
But...
I loved you once.
Perhaps there still is love.
Within my heart,
it hasn't all died out,
but I wouldn't
trouble you with it.
I wouldn't
trouble you for anything.
That's Pushkin.
That's Pushkin.
If you're with Aly,
tell her to meet me at the cafe.
Viv, hi.
Uh, I decided I'm leaving.
Sorry, I know I just got here,
but, um,
I've been sitting here thinking,
how am I going
to say goodbye to Alyosha?
So you wanted to see me?
Of course.
Very much.
I'll get you some
fish soup or something.
They make it well here.
You don't live on
bread alone, do you?
I'll have fish soup and--
and bread and tea.
I'm hungry, but...
Listen, Viv--
And cherry preserve.
They have it here.
Do you remember how you used
to love cherry preserve?
- When you were little?
- You remember that?
I'll have preserve.
I still love it.
I remember everything.
Alyosha, of course I remember.
And I feel like
I've been here for days,
and you and I haven't
exchanged a single word.
I want to get to know you.
I want you to know me.
I don't know
what the fuck I'm doing.
Do you have siblings?
Yes.
Well, then you must know, right?
Or m-- maybe not.
Maybe-- Maybe your siblings
are reasonable,
realistic people,
people who actually
spend time in the real world,
where one has to pay
for things with--
with money and hard work,
not-- not prayers,
not ideas or words.
You know, look,
I-- I know it's shameful to ask,
but... my honor, actually,
yes, my honor guides me
to live in the real world
where nothing is free.
Right? Love, even
getting what we love costs.
Do you love me, Aly?
I do love you, Viv, very much.
You're a riddle to me,
but I think...
I understand
something about you.
I've been sitting here,
and do you know
what I've been
thinking to myself?
If I were
to not believe in life,
if I were to lose faith
in someone I loved
or just lose faith in the order
of things, if I were
to become convinced that life
was a disorderly, fucked-up,
chaotic mess,
I would still want to live.
I know this to be true.
I've asked myself,
is there so much despair
in the world
that it would overcome this...
wild, indecent
thirst for life in me?
And I've concluded
that apparently there's not.
Alyosha, I want to live.
And I do live,
even if it's against logic,
even if I don't believe
in the order of things.
Still-- the sticky little
leaves that come out
in the spring are dear to me.
The blue sky is dear to me.
Some people are dear to me.
Who you love
without even knowing why.
Some causes are dear,
which I thought
I'd stop believing in.
We've got to
get you this fish soup.
It's good.
They make it well here.
Sticky little leaves,
the blue sky.
I love them.
That's all.
These things, you-- you don't
love them with your mind,
not with logic, but
with your insides, your guts.
Do you understand any of this
blather, Alyosha, or-- or not?
Yes, you said it beautifully.
And I'm so glad
you want to live.
I think everyone
should love life
before everything else
in the world.
Love life more than its meaning?
Certainly.
Love life without logic,
like you said.
And until then, we'll never
understand its meaning.
That's what
my teacher always says.
Now... give me some tea.
I'm glad we're talking, Viv.
Like, Alyosha thinks
she's running around
saving us all from each other,
but where is she? Huh?
A-- and Viv's never had
any sense of urgencies.
Ever, really.
I always shielded them
from the worst of it.
Seems like you still are.
Thank you.
Thank you. You know, I--
I just--
I'm trying to do what's right.
You know?
Just put things in order.
If I could just get this money,
I could make things right.
I don't want
my kid to end up like me.
Yeah, that would be--
I don't know what to do.
I'm-- I'm-- I'm desperate.
You know your dad has money.
Why the hell
do you think I'm here?
- But he's not--
- No, it's in the house.
What, like cash?
Yeah.
Yeah, he usually
keeps about... at least 3000.
In an envelope,
just sitting there.
Where in the house?
Well, um, it gets
moved around a little bit.
It could be, uh,
in a couple places. Um...
There's the umbrella stand
in the entry hall and, uh...
Hmm.
Yeah, yeah, the, uh...
file cabinet in his office
or his nightstand.
What a, what a-- what a crazy,
surprising world this is.
Liz, you're-- you're
a perfect stranger and...
And-- and I'll give it back
before he even knows it's gone.
I mean, it's your money.
It should be yours.
Exactly.
I'll-- I'll give it back.
How is that possible?
You're not listening, Viv.
There's still
so much love in mankind.
How can you say that?
Have you been
listening to the news?
I'm going to give
you some samples, okay?
Uh, mass shooting,
child sex trafficking.
Yes, that's horrible.
Violence just
begets more violence.
But I think all we can
hold on to is active love.
Try to love your neighbor
actively and tirelessly.
And I think
that's all we can do.
Try to love.
I'm sorry, all of this...
love your neighbor stuff,
I don't buy it.
The closer you are to someone,
the harder it is to love them.
We have the same family,
Aly. You know this.
-What? What's wrong?
-I need to check--
No, no, no. Come on.
Sit down. Sit down. Sit down.
I need to check on
Dmitri and Dad!
Enough!
Enough of this
brother's keeper bullshit.
Let them tear each other apart.
It's all they've ever wanted.
Why are we denying them
their heart's desire?
You don't mean that.
Oh, yeah? I don't?
Excuse me.
-Could I have another fish soup?
-What are you doing?
No, sir.
We'll just get the check.
No, I'm going to have
another fish soup
- and another craft-- craft beer.
- Viv, you're yelling.
And you're going to sit here
with me while I finish them.
And we are going
to live with the possibility
that we might get free.
Do you ever think of that?
Aly, don't
you want to be free?
When's the last time you could
honestly say you loved life?
You tried to love.
Shouldn't it be easier?
Do you want to live
for some heaven
where mothers embrace
the torturers of their children?
Where the suffering
of children is acceptable
for the sake of mercy?
That's some fucked up mercy,
if you ask me.
Why should we sit
here and eat fish soup?
Because I want justice.
Because
justice is reason enough.
Viv, it's okay.
Calm down.
Every time
I think I've escaped,
I'm back there
in that hell house.
I'm the little kid
in the broom closet
with their hands
over their ears.
We've never talked about this.
- Why are you doing this?
- Aly, I don't know
how much you remember.
Do you remember this?
Do you remember when Dmitri
didn't get into the reserve?
No. He failed a test
for the police academy.
And Dad was so mad,
he came downstairs
and cold-cocked Dmitri
in the face with the phone.
He picked him up by the neck.
Do you remember this?
Dmitri couldn't move
his head for like a month.
Do you remember when he tried
to run me over with the car?
You must remember.
You were in the back seat.
He pushed me
at the passenger side.
He took a swerve at me.
He said, "Don't worry,
I knew you would roll away."
He was laughing.
Do you remember
when he made Dmitri
spend the night in the garage?
It was below zero.
He was crying all night.
I got my head
cracked against the wall
for trying to let him out.
Do you remember when
he shot a hole in the ceiling?
Do you remember when
he hit me with a golf club
for trying
to change the channel?
Do you remember all
those trips he made you take
to the cabin with him?
Alone.
-Do you remember?
-I remember!
Can't help me.
Live with me.
Why do you stay here?
Why?
Well, it's like
a story from the 17th century.
It's a trope of...
Mostly I was
focusing on technique.
So it's not about us?
I think... it must be.
Is that what you want?
Why
should God forgive them?
- To just burn
it all down?
Let them kill each other?
Like you said, let us
all just take whatever we want?
Aly, I didn't
mean it like that.
- Really?
- It's a dumb--
But is that how you feel?
You--
You're holding
on to your idea too?
Yeah, I suppose.
I don't want
to talk about this anymore.
Now go, go.
Go to your teacher.
I'm gonna go
to the house for a few things,
and then catch the ferry.
Okay?
Bye.
Okay.
Love you.
Love you.
Bye.
Is everything okay?
Where's Dmitri?
What happened?
Should we call someone?
Who do we call?
Ladies and gentlemen...
Dmitri's trial
started almost immediately.
Ladies and gentlemen--
Ladies and gentlemen...
Uh...
Ladies and gentlemen...
Can we all agree on this?
It was a farce.
It is terrible, what has become
of our once great country.
Hard-working people like me--
Like you and me...
We are trapped in this...
just abyss between our lofty
ideals, best intentions,
and the reality
of how we actually behave.
I am proud.
I would tell you
if I killed my father.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the Karamazovs, right?
My nice little family.
I-- I went to what is legally,
rightfully my house.
Because the system,
it wants to hold me up
and tear me down as an example.
Now, I-- I went to my house
to get my money
so that I can
support my beautiful son.
And to avoid jail,
but here we are.
Legally, rightfully my house.
But I did not kill him.
And I see him there,
and I wasn't expecting him,
so I asked him again,
and I pleaded again.
He said no,
so I start looking
for the money,
and he's holding it.
And in a fit of rage that I am
not proud of, I snapped.
I'm good at a lot of things.
I'm not good at lying.
During this assault,
even as I'm in this blood rage,
I-- I know to, you know, stay
away from the vital organs.
Just-- just teach him a lesson.
A lesson that was
a long time coming,
but a completely
non-lethal lesson.
And not just for my sake, right,
not just for my son's sake
or my sisters' sake,
but for all of our sakes,
because he is one of the things
that is wrong with this town,
and we all know it.
And whatever you want
to do to me because I assaulted
my father, then-- then fine,
I-- I'll take that sentence
honorably and proudly,
but I did not kill him.
I picked him up off
the ground,
I put him back on the toilet,
and I walked out of
the house, and that's
the end of the story.
But I did not kill him.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I, I--
Thank you. Thank you.
I think it went
something like that.
He didn't need
to say all that stuff
about Dad being a bastard.
Everyone knew it.
Doesn't matter if we knew it,
of course it's true,
he just shouldn't have said it.
He's just really honest.
He said some
beautiful things, though.
Well, I guess we'll find
out at the sentencing, won't we?
But you could see the sincerity
that was coming from him.
I mean, who in this town could
believe that he could kill Dad?
Everyone.
Literally
everybody in this town.
You know what?
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter anyway.
Maybe it was his time.
And he was a terrible person,
and he did terrible things.
- I know that.
- Terrible things.
Liz, our family's
going through a lot right now,
and I think you need
to be a little nicer to Alyosha.
Whoever he was,
we lost our father.
I know.
I know that.
I understand completely.
Do you think
that I don't understand that?
Liz, I think
you need to go home.
This is my home.
I'm sorry?
This is my home.
I-- I'm the one
who's always been here.
I'm the one
who takes care of the place.
I'm the one who fixed that.
You guys came and went,
but I've always been here.
You! You go home! Go home!
Both of you, just go home!
But of course we're so grateful.
You're-- you're so grateful?
Yes.
What are you grateful for?
For all the care
you've given our father
when none of us were here.
For-- for every day,
everything you've done.
I know he's a very
hard person to be with,
and you were with him.
You took care of him.
- You took care of this house.
- Don't.
I'm so sorry
if we never recognized that.
Don't!
My dad always
said you're like family.
I'm like family?
Yes.
We see you as family.
I don't think I believe that.
I think you barely see
anything past yourselves.
Isn't that nice?
Isn't that nice?
That you didn't have to see--
that you didn't have
to see what everybody else saw.
That's great. That's great.
Nice little
life you got to have.
Your little problems,
your writer's block,
your-- your religious,
your-- your privileges
of being Karamazovs,
sitting in a monastery
and not having to pay attention
to what's happening
in the world.
Oh, that's great for you,
picking and choosing
what you get to see,
being all holy.
I'm not holy.
- Kneeling.
- That's enough.
For years I've been
trying to figure out,
do you know or do you not know?
That's fine.
We'll go.
You stay.
Come on, Aly.
Fyodor Karamazov.
He had four children.
He was murdered.
He was already dying.
He was sick.
But nevertheless,
it was a dark and tragic death.
He was a real bastard.
Still, I do miss him.
Liz!
Liz!
Liz!
Liz!
Love,
hate, revenge, mercy,
and justice
mingled into one.
Once again, cleaning up
the mess of the Karamazovs.
Liz!
I can't believe
I wasn't here with you.
I want
to remember what you said.
Love the earth,
and the flowers, the trees,
and the animals,
just as they are.
Love for that I throw myself
on the earth
and kiss the grass.
We come from something
bigger than ourselves,
a big sea, that life is that--
that we try to love,
but mostly we fail.
But that these little
seeds
of our trying
come from a bigger love,
this huge love
that we don't understand,
and that can give us courage.
That's something
to hold on to.
I will not be afraid.
Let it be madness.
There are these bright
moments, these miracles,
when I feel close to God,
and I'm in the right place,
and I'm on the right path,
and I just get lost.
You're from here, right?
It's so funny,
you don't remember either?
No, no, I do.
I just, when I left, so many
things became irrelevant.
I guess I just blocked it out.
Yeah, yeah, I'm from here.
My mom met my dad at work.
She was his accountant,
apparently.
Was she?
Apparently.
That I don't blame you.
You don't blame me?
Shit, I wanted him
dead for years.
Salvation?
You put yourself in prison.
I was a good daughter
without a father,
a good sister without
a brother.
You're a riddle to me.
I loved you once.
Perhaps there still is love.
Some things really
do just need to die
for others to grow, to live.
To our joy.
Not our grief, but our joy.
One cannot live without joy.