"The master bedroom?" " Boys need, you know, space." " How old are they?" " Steven's ten, Danny's seven." " Lucky kids." "Lucky dad." "Is everything" " It's my first house, and" " Doyle, you're getting the loan." "I'm not sure I filled everything out correctly." "You're approved." "We'll have it done for you tomorrow." "Come by, say, 12:30, and we can sign off on this." "What about you?" " He bought all these instruments." " Right." "Did you know that he built this hall?" "And a gallery... a shelter and a hospital in Mexico... and a lot of other really great things." "I met Simon Dunne when I was in college." "I was tutoring kids from the local school-- kids who didn't have a lot of resources." "And one of the people I was working with... said that her grandfather liked to help children in nee." "Her name was Mina Dunne." "In fact, she's sitting right over here." "So my friend and I went to her grandfather and we said... we have some kids who need a playground." "We needed a thousand dollars." "He said, "I'll tell you what." "You can't have a thousand dollars... to build one playground." "You can have 10,000 to build ten."" "So we did." " How long have you played violin?" " Six years." " How about you?" " I feel like champagne." "I understand the idea of celebration." "I see the bubbles in champagne... as something good and beautiful." "Not part of my soul evaporating... but-- but rising... with-- with joy." "What I'm trying to say is..." "I don't want champagne." "I am champagne." "It's great to be alive." "Thanks for lettin' me share." "Thanks for sharing." " I'm Mike, and I'm an alcoholic." " Hi, Mike!" "I've been so ber for 15 days." "Mina, wait a second!" "My grandfather liked you for some mysterious reasons of his own." "Excuse me." "That's the only reason we allowed you to speak today." "Wait a minute." "Mina, we're friends." "We were friends a long time ago." "Mina, I owe you so much." "What happened to you?" "What do you mean?" " I'll see you in court." " Mina!" "Wait a second." "It's okay, it's okay." "Let her go." "Let her go." "George, Melissa." "How are you?" " Hi." " Good to see you." "...grant me the serenity... to accept the things I cannot change... and the wisdom to know the difference... to keep coming back." "It works if you work it, so work it." "You're worth it." " Good morning, Julia." " Hey, Gavin." "Good morning, guys." "...use of the premises by lessee, then lessor and lessee shall" "I don't deserve this." "I did absolutely nothing wrong... and now she just decides she's gonna hate me." "Just a second, Tom." " No, nothing." "Do your thing." "I just wanna tell you the news." "You know, I did a bsolutely nothing wrong." "So what is it with all this champagne stuff?" " Oh, that was" " That's just" " It's a metaphor." "Yeah." "But I'm not drinking... and that's what's important, right?" "Be careful with your metaphors." "Just one drink, right?" "She's only mad at you because she can't be mad at him." "He was your client." "She's not." "Simon Dunne was your client." "She's still just incredibly angry about this." "Those are her feelings, not yours." " I know that, Steven." " You got the documents all signed." "Get in and get out, Gavin." " We didn't do anything wrong." " Of course we didn't." "File the papers and get out." " Okay?" " Right." "Okay, Mr. Warren." "What you want is term insurance, but you're not sure about the cost." "What's important is that you be realistic about what you need." "This policy is never gonna cost you more than $15 a month." "That's right." "Ellen, call the courthouse and tell them I'm gonna be late." "You know what?" "Just call Kaufman's offllce... and tell him that I called to say that I'm gonna be late, okay?" """Your Honor, I'm representing myself today... because I want you to hear the sincerity of my words." "Boys need their fathers." "Boys need their fathers."" " You all right?" " Yeah." "Are you?" "Yeah." "You got an insurance card?" "Yeah, sure." " We just got a call from the court." " I had an accident." " Are you okay?" " Yeah, I'm fine." " I'm fine." "It's nothing." " Nothing?" " Who's that?" " It's no one." " This may be nothing to you" " No, don't do that!" "Don't do that!" " I'll do what I have to." " I'm sorry." "Not you." " I have to do this right, you know?" " I think so." "I do." "Yes, hold on a second!" " Clean in all my actions." " Hold on for one second, okay?" " What do you want me to do?" " Tell the court I'm on my way." "Okay, tell them I'm on the steps." "Okay, thank you." " It's only gonna take five minutes." " I gotta be somewhere." "You really should keep your card in your glove compartment..." " and not your briefcase." " That's not what I'm looking for." "Come on!" "Shit." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Very nice of you." "Listen." "Tell you what." "I'm gonna write you a blank check, and you just get your car fixed" " I don't want your check, man." " You have an honest face." " Don't worry about it." " I wanna do this right." " Come on!" "Please!" "I gotta go!" " I gotta be someplace else too!" "It's important to me we do it right." "It should be important to you too." "That's it." "I'm sorry." "I gotta go." " You're sorry what?" " I gotta go, man." "I'm late." "I've gotta be somewhere too!" "Well, can I get a lift?" " I'm sorry." " Where are you going, man?" " Don't leave me out here like this!" " Better luck next time." "Better luck" "Hey, you're leaving the scene of an accident!" "Your Honor, I'm sorry I'm late." " I was in a traffllc accident." " Are you all right?" " Yes, Your Honor." " Was anyone hurt?" "Then will Mr. Kaufman begin?" "Your Honor, since its inception, the Simon Dunne Foundation... was managed by Mr. Dunne and a board of trustees... which included his granddaughter, my client Mina Dunne." "Upon his death, that board was disbanded." "We wanna know why." "Well, it was on instructions from my client, Your Honor." "Why would he do that?" "These people were his friends." "They were wonderful people who loved kids and music... but they weren't qualiflled to manage a 100-million-dollar foundation." " That's why he signed" " Your Honor, please." "Address the court, Counselor." "Simon Dunne signed a power of appointment appointing..." "Walter Arnell and Steven Delano sole trustees of the foundation." "He was old and he was taken advantage of." "You took advantage of him, Gavin!" "Now you're charging a crime, Miss Dunne... and this is probate court, not criminal court." " Does your client understand?" " She does, Your Honor." "Your Honor, I'm not here to debate everyone's opinion... about Simon Dunne's intention." "I'm here to present some papers to the court... which are signed by Mr. Dunne." "They've all been notarized." "And furthermore... they direct the foundation to be administered... in precisely the way in which Mr. Dunne... not his granddaughter, intended." " Please the court?" " What do you got?" "Trust agreement... tax exemption... power of appointment." " Mr. Banek?" " Sorry." "Mr. Banek?" "I made a mistake." "What mistake?" "This morning, after the accident by the side of the road... we were exchanging insurance information... and I used the file folder... to, you know, to-- you know, to" "No, I don't know." "To write my name on, and address." "And I gave it to him." "I just wasn't thinking clearly, I guess." "Must've been the accident." "Did you get his name?" "Did I get his-- Yes, of course I got his name." "Let's call him." "As I" " If memory serves, Your Honor..." " I believe he's not in." " How do you know?" "He made some reference to the fact that he was... feeling hurried because... he had to be at an appointment of some sort." " Call him and leave a message." " Yes, of course." "I will." "Your Honor, may I make a suggestion?" "I'm in no hurry, and I know how bad... a person feels after a-- a car crash, right?" "Yeah." "Thanks, Terry." "No." "Don't mention it." "So, Gavin, when the man, whose name you don't know... gets out of the meeting that you say he's in... would you call him at the number that you think is in your car... so that we can have the document you assure us gives us the proof... that the senior partners of your law firm... do control the money Simon Dunne left to the children of New York?" "Doesn't matter." "He'll have a copy." "He'll bring the copy in." "A piece of paper with an original signature on it... still has great magical power." "Without that piece of paper with the signature..." "Miss Dunne can sue that law firm for fraud... and possibly send you and the other members of your law firm to jail." "Mr. Banek, find your man... and bring me back that file by the end of the day." " Thank you, Your Honor." " Thank you." " Hold on, sir." " Put your hands up, please." "Wait." "Hold on a second." " Okay." " Thank you, sir." " Dad!" " Hey, guys." " You're late." "Mom went in already." " What's in the bag?" " What bag?" " Daddy!" "Oh, this bag." "It's a present for the judge." "I want a present!" "I want a present!" " You shouldn't lie to him, Dad." " Okay, okay." "I would never give a judge such a cool present." "Happy birthday yesterday." "Listen to me, guys." "Everything's gonna be better." "I bought a house." " In Oregon?" " No, in Queens." " Mommy says we're movin' to Oregon." " Now you don't have to." "That's why I bought the house-- so you don't have to move to Oregon." "Are you gonna live there with us?" "See what the judge says, okay?" "The court denies the motion for joint custody... and awards sole custody of the children to their mother." "Wait!" "Miss Gipson is moving to Oregon to start a new job." " Weekly visitations are impossi ble." " So noted." " File with the court clerk." " Hold it!" "Your Honor" "Your Honor, I know I'm late, but someone hit my car." "Now" " See, look here." "This is evidence-- new evidence." "I have a new plan for joint custody." "It's all right here." "Mr. Gipson, you are late, and the hearing has been conducted." " But I had an accident." " Your Honor, are we free to go?" " I'm not done yet!" " The court ruled, Mr. Gipson." " But I wasn't here." " The court ruled." "Valerie, I-- I bought you a house." " It's too late, Your Honor." " No, it's not too late!" "It's 20 minutes." "It's just 20 minutes." "Twenty minutes can't be too late." "Valerie, please." "Don't let 20 minutes stand in the way of what I'm trying to do." " Please don't start." " Don't talk to him." "Mr. Gipson, would you please approach the bench?" " Your Honor, can we leave now?" " Yes." " Mr. Gipson" " Valerie, can't we talk?" " Valerie, can we" " Mr. Gipson." "Mr. Gipson, come here for a moment." "Please?" "Emotions run high in here." "If this weren't a divorce court... the way you just yelled in my courtroom" " I'm sorry." " Of course you are." "You have children, Mr. Gipson." "Keep them in front of you." "I just wanted to tell my wife I got her a house for the children." " When?" " Well, I have it all right here." "That's my plan." "I found a house for Valerie and for the boys... and they don't have to move." "This is what I wanted to say." """Boys need their fathers." "The streets of this world are lonely for boys without their fathers." "I have made mistakes, and I have grown... and I have recognized those mistakes."" "What kind of a house?" "It's not a big house, and it's not in great shape." "But I can fix it." "I can make it work." "And there's a space for" "Well, if she'll have me back, there's a place for me too." "But I'm not asking for that right now." "I'm just asking that... she not take the boys and move halfway across the world." "You can arrange visitations." "Oregon is not the other side of the world." "It is to me!" "I want my family." "I want my boys." "I had an accident." "This guy hit me on the FDR." "He cut me off!" "I wanted to be here!" "If this was my marriage, I would've been here on time." "Everyone was here on time, except you." "Next case." "Thank you." " Docket 718." " Thanks." "Counselor, step up, please." " How is everybody today?" " Good morning, Your Honor." "Nice to see you again." "It's not gonna help me pay my phone bill, my electric bill." "I'm not making any money sittin' in court." "I'm goin' to court." "I've been sittin' in court every day." "I'm not making any money." "If you and I had gotten caught before we stopped... and my wife found out, and I left the law... and you died in a horrible accident at sea..." "I would be better off than I am right now." "What happened?" "He wouldn't take a check." "He said he wanted to be clean in all his actions." " The judge wouldn't take a check?" " The guy." "What guy?" " What day is today?" " Friday." " Actually, it's Good Friday." " Good Friday." " What's good about it?" " Gavin, what's going on?" "I know what's good about it." "My file's walking down the street." "Hey!" "Excuse me." "Listen, man, you don't know me." "I know." "And you don't have to believe me, but that was not like me today." "And I'm just so grateful, you know, to God... and right here in front of the Lord's house." "Come on." "Hop in." "Get in the car." "Get out of the rain." "My name's Gavin Banek." " Doyle Gipson." " Hey, listen, Doyle." "That is not what I'm like-- this morning." "That's not who I am." "I mean it." "I'm a lawyer." "I should have never left the scene of an accident." "I should know better." "My file-- did you fllnd it?" "I had an orange file." "It was in my briefcase." "I thought may be it fell out and you picked it up." "Do you have it?" "Did you get it?" "You said, ""Better luck next time."" "I said, ""Give me a lift." You said..." """Better luck next time," and just" """Better luck next time"?" "I said that?" "Listen, sir, please." "I have no excuse for my behavior, and I am sorry." "I don't know what I can do to make it up to you, except" "I will buy you a new car." "Money." "You think I want money?" "What I want is my morning back." "I need you to give my time back to me." "Can you give me back my time?" "Can you give my time back to me?" "Huh?" "Can you?" "Whoa!" "Wait a minute!" "Whoa!" "All right!" "So she won't move to Oregon!" "So she won't take the boys!" "So they'll move into the house so I can be a father!" "Just 20 minutes!" "Can you give me that?" "I wish I could, man." "I wish I could." "I wish I could." "Wait a minute!" "Wait." "Do you have the file?" "Doyle, you got the file?" "Wait a minute!" "Doyle!" "Wait a minute!" "Doyle, do you have the file?" " I'm sorry!" " I don't have your file!" " I threw it away!" " What do you mean?" "I threw it away!" " Hey, guys." " How did it go?" "Well, Kaufman did some tap dancing." "But once I filed the papers, what was he gonna do?" "The guy squeaked like a mouse." "I love it when they squeak." "We have the power of appointment, so God's on our side." "Hey, I'm going over to Southeast Harbor tomorrow... to look at a boat." "Hinckley 51 ." "Wow." "Fifty-one footer, huh?" "It's a tough life." "You are not quite ready for a 51-footer yet." "Oh, right." "But as soon as I take delivery on her..." "I want you and Cynthia to have China Bird." " Steven, I don't know what to say." " You don't have to say anything." "I'm saying thank you to my partner and my son-in-law... and my friend." "Thank you." "Thank you so much." "Thank you." "Thank you." "So I have a couple more interviews I gotta bang out... down the hall, so I'm gonna... go back down there and do some work." "Great." "All right, well, so long." " See you." " All right." " How are you doing, Kate?" " Hey, Gavin." " So, how'd it go?" " In and out." "Easy-peasy." " What kind of people have we here?" " This is Sarah Windsor." "Hello." "It's a pleasure." " Tyler Cohen." " How are you?" "Who's up first?" " Miss Windsor." " Sarah Windsor, come on down!" "Have a seat, please." " And who are you?" " Sarah Windsor." "Not the name tag." "Who are you, as in what have you been doing?" "Why do you wanna be a lawyer?" "Why do you wanna work here?" "Well, I went to St. Paul's." "I did my undergraduate work at Yale." "And now, I'm finishing at Yale Law." "I clerked last summer for the California State Supreme Court." "I chose law because my father was district attorney of San Francisco." "Really?" "I've always been interested in the law and politics... and I was an economics major." "This firm is particularly strong... in municipal finance law and public policy... which is the area I'm hoping to explore." "Although, I gotta tell you..." "I do have an eye on public service." "I know how much this firm supports pro bono work... and I'd love to help on a death penalty defense for the poor." "Why didn't I just give him my insurance card?" "I'm sorry?" "I'm sorry." "It's not your fault." "It's my fault." "Excuse me." "Gavin?" "This really weird fax Just came in." " I think you should look at it." " Okay." "Thank you." "Do you know what it means?" "Michelle, I gotta talk to you." "Just a second." "What the hell" "Read this!" "It's from the file." "He's got the file." "Help me." "Can I have a..." " bourbon, straight up?" " Sure." "Can I have a twist, please?" "I'm not a partner here." "That actually doesn't bother me." "Partners have to bring in business." "I just gotta do my job." "If I don't like it here, I can leave." " What's not to like?" " Watching you become one of them." "I always thought you were cutting a pretty big corner... by convincing a dying old man to sign a power of appointment." " It wasn't like that." " Are you sure it wasn't like that?" "Of course I'm sure." "What?" "He was in pretty bad shape when I went to see him." "I mean, it was-- May be he didn't" "May be?" "May be he didn't understand exactly." "Didn't understand exactly?" "He didn't know exactly what he was signing." "Walter and Steven said that..." "Simon put too much faith in his friends, and... the board was in his pocket, and it was better for the foundation... if we could just help control and manage the money." "Delano said that?" " Doesn't that sound reasonable?" " What's that supposed to mean?" " Doesn't that sound reasonable?" " What's that supposed to mean?" "That means that without this file... you'll be in more trouble than your father-in-law and his partner." "You're the attorney of record." "You could actually go to jail for this." "You need that file." "What am I gonna do?" "There's this guy." "He helps out with things that need... helping out." "Like what?" "Like things." "Like... getting people to do things you want them to do... when they don't necessarily want to do them." "Where is he?" "I need help." "Did you really believe that it served Simon Dunne... to sign those papers when he was too weak to read them?" "I wouldn't have done it otherwise." "Yes." " Yes, I did." " Do you want what's right?" "Of course I do." "And what's right is your job, your wife... your life?" "Where is he?" "Don't go anywhere." " Hey, where are you going?" " I'm going out." "I'm in a bar." "You want company?" "That champagne feeling gave you a hangover." "Are you drinking?" "What happened in court today?" "I'm in a bar." "What's that tell you?" "It tells me that you're really angry, and that anger... has gotten you into the one place in the world you shouldn't be." "Come on." "Leave that bar." "Come on." "Leave the bar." "I'm sorry." "Can I have a Coke, please?" "Come on in." "Look, you tell Roberta... that I said one cookie before lunch is okay." "Get better." " Mr. Banek." " Are you Mr. Finch?" " How are you?" " How are you doing?" " You look nervous." " Yeah, a little bit." "Don't be." "Have a seat." "Who's your God?" " Now, or hall of fame?" " Whenever." "Well, I'd say it's the guy who did the Volkswagen ad." "The one where the cop is giving the speeding ticket to a guy in a Bug." "Classic." "Doyle Gipson." "Shouldn't have told you he was in insurance." "Makes it too easy." "I tell my clients..." """Never tell anyone anything a bout yourself."" "Yeah." "Here's his state insurance license." "And that gives me his social security number... which gives me everything." " You don't fucking know." " I do know." " It's the one with the little kids." " The little kids, yeah." "He's sittin' around, you know." "I don't know what he is." "Like, an Indian kid?" "Cute little black kid." "Like, ""I'm Tiger Woods."" """I'm Tiger Woods."" "You had a fender bender, and the other guy's going postal." " That's not the way to do things." " I don't wanna kill any body, you know?" "I've just... never done this kind of thing before." "What kind of thing is that?" "I just want my file back, you know." "You'll get your file back." "How, exactly?" "It's like the dog collar that gives a little electric shock... when the dog barks." "You don't kill the dog." "You just want the dog to settle down." "Now we're torturing an animal?" "I mean" "We're all set." "May I?" "Is there any other way to" "Well, sure." "Call him up and just be nice to him." "All right, do it." " Are you guys in advertising?" " Yeah." "You too?" "No." "But" "I hope you don't mind, but I was intrigued by your conversation." "I just thought you were in advertising." "I wanna give you my dream version of a Tiger Woods commercial, okay?" " By all means." " Go ahead." "There's this black guy on a golf course." "And all these people are trying to get him to caddy for them... but he's not a caddy." "He's just a guy trying to play a round of golf." "Then these guys give him a five-dollar bill... and tell him to go to the clubhouse and get 'em cigarettes and beer." "So off he goes, home... to his wife and little son... who he teaches to play golf." "We see all the other little boys playing hopscotch... while little Tiger practices on the putting green." "We see all the other kids eating ice cream... while Tiger practices hitting long balls in the rain... while his father shows him how." "And we fade up... to Tiger winning four grand slams in a row... and becoming the greatest golfer to ever to pick up a nine iron." "And we end on his father... in the crowd on the sidelines... and Tiger giving him the trophies." "All because of a father's determination... that no fat white man-- like your fathers, probably-- would ever send his son to the clubhouse... for cigarettes and beer." "I'm sorry." "What did you say about our fathers?" " You better go." " Mr. Doyle Gipson." "You is now bankrupt." "And you owe me $5,000." " Come on." " Where'd he go?" "Where is he?" " Hello?" " It's me." " So you really bought a house?" " Yeah." " Wanna play a round of golf?" " Really?" "You actually own it?" "It's not a mansion on the hill." "It needs a lot of work, but it'd be yours." " It'd be your house." " Here we go!" " Gonna hit the ball!" " Oh, God." "What?" "This line's going dead." "I can't hear you." "I can't hear you." "Obviously, it would be better for the boys to be near their father." " What?" " To have you nearby." " What?" " No, we didn't like it." " I'll call you back." " Talkin' to your daddy?" " Oh, God!" "You hit me!" " I'll hit you again!" "You like it?" "Mister, please!" " I got kids, man!" " Yeah?" "Well, so do I!" "Doyle Gipson." "This is Gavin Banek calling." "I have something that I wanna tell you." "First of all, I wanted to shake hands, all right?" "I wanted to start over." "I gave you a chance." "And you did this." "Fine." "I have just turned off your credit." "You are now a spirit without a body, all right?" "Now, I can go on and on... pulling your life down around your ears." "You can turn it off." "You can go back to the way things were." "Just give me my file back!" "Just" " Today." "I mean,just-- I mean" " Thank you." "Give me my file back, get the credit turned back on." "Okay?" "Today." "Thank you." " Has he phoned yet?" " Not yet." " Look at this." " What?" " What is it?" " It's the life of Doyle Gipson." "His whole life." "We have his bank... his wife, kids-- two boys, Danny and Steve-- their birth dates, the school they go to, credit card balances... health records." "His cholesterol is high, but his blood pressure is normal." "I'm 29 years old." "That foundation has 107 million dollars in it." "My bosses are the trustees." "So why didn't they come to court with me?" "I don't know." "Mina Dunne hates me." "I assume there's a reason." "Why am I always the last guy to know?" "What's in those files that I haven't seen?" " Can you get me a messenger?" " What for?" "I found something." "I wanna give it back to the person it belongs to." "Is there a reward or something?" " Yeah." " What is it?" "Doing the right thing-- giving it back." " That's it?" " That's it." " That's the reward." " How about that?" "Yeah, how a bout that?" "Mr. Gipson, it's Ron Cabot at Queen's Royal Federal." "There's something I need to talk to you about." "If you can give me a call today... or if it's convenient to stop by the bank, I'd appreciate it." " Thank you." " Doyle Gipson." "This is Gavin Banek calling." "I have something that I wanna tell you." "I lied to you this morning." "On my way to the court, I stopped off at a diner." "I took the files out, I looked them over." "When I was leaving, I put them back." "At least, I could've sworn I put them back." "When I got to the court, the power of appointment was missing." "And the court has given me until the end of the day..." " to produce the original." " Did you call the diner?" "I did." "All the trash has been picked up, but we're tracking it." "I think we'll probably get it back." "I just wanted you to know." "Why did you lie to us?" "I'm really sorry." "You're sorry?" "Who the fuck gives a shit about the struggles of your character?" "Get out of here, you son of a bitch!" "If you have to go through every fuckin' gar bage bag in this city... you fllnd that file, or you're gonna be the disaster of my life!" "Wait a minute." "We might get the file back." "But if we don't, we have to adopt a strong position." " I need to see those files." " You're not gonna see the files!" " Why do you wanna see the files?" " Who not?" "He's my goddamn client!" "Hey, what are you gonna do?" "Give me a lecture on law?" "Why did you send me to the court by myself?" "I'm your son-in-law!" " I hired you, you little shit!" " Steven, calm down!" " Quiet, please." " What are you doing?" " There's a way out of this." " What are you doing?" "A way out?" "By letting him bring the files into court?" "Calm down and stay with me here." "Okay." "We had a signed document, right?" "Didn't we?" " Yes." " Okay." "Now." "The power of appointment... is eight pages." "The living will, which also has his signature, is ten." "The living will, which also has his signature, is ten." "So we can reformat the power of appointment... and using the signature page from the living will... attach it to the new printout of the power of appointment." "And code the header to match the document." " What do you think?" "Will it pass?" " Yeah, this could work." "I didn't ask you, all right?" "Gavin, will it pass?" "We forge it?" "We just forge a document?" "You screwed this up." "You lost the fuckin' file." "No body's asking you to get yourself out of it alone." "We're willing to put ourselves on the line for you with this." "Making a file is fraud." "A new file is fraud." "Do you understand that?" "And we're saying we're gonna put our own careers on the line for you." "That's what it means to be a partner." "We're not inventing." "We're not." "We're not inventing." "We're just reproducing something that already exists." "Look, Gavin, you take this into the court... and, buddy, we can go on with our lives... like this never happened, huh?" " Let me think about it." " What are you gonna think about?" "Your high school ethics class?" "What choice have you got?" "You wanna go to jail?" "No, I don't wanna go to jail." "Get out of here!" "Leave it!" "Leave it!" "Go!" "Leave!" "What does it say?" "It says they pay themselves a million and a half dollars... each, out of the trust." "Out of the income of the trust." "Jesus Christ!" "Which is why they got rid of Mina Dunne and the rest of the board." " It's probably not even illegal." " It's probably just disgusting." "I did this." " I did this." " No, you didn't." " I did this." " No, you did not." "What do I do?" "You give me the file, and I'll take it back." " Take it back?" " What?" "You didn't know who these people were?" "You married into it." "Since breakfast, I've left the scene of an accident..." "I just bankrupted a guy I don't even know... lied to my bosses... pulled a false alarm at work... discovered I'm a party to defrauding a charity." "And now I'm sitting here... seriously contemplating forging a power of appointment." "Hey, mister!" "Mister, hold out your hand." " What?" " Hold out your hand." "How many hands you got?" "Two." "Thanks." " Oh, God." " It's the file." "Shit!" " Wait." "No, look, it's" " It's not the power of appointment." " It's a notice to appear in court." " Where's the kid?" "Look at this." "It's a phone number." " Who's that you're with?" " Is that your business?" " Is she your secretary?" " No, she's a lawyer." " Not your wife?" " No." "Guy leaves the scene of an accident." " Guy cheats on his wife." " Can I have my file back, please?" "It'll take me half an hour to get to my bank." "If my credit's not on by the time I get there, I destroy the file." " That's the deal." " Okay." "Understood." "Okay." " That was pretty fast, huh?" " It was great." "Listen, I need you to turn it back on as fast as you turned it off." "Amazing, wasn't it?" "Two hours!" " Two hours!" " Yes, it was great." "It was terrifllc." "I need you to turn it back on right now." "Thirty minutes, okay?" "Can you do that?" "That's a little harder." "Please, man." "Don't tell me that." "Please, do something." "Do something for me here." "You gotta do something, man." "I'll do my best." " Hey, ba be, how's it going?" " I need to see you." "Well, it's not a-- a great time right now." " I need to see you right now." " Is something wrong?" "I just need to see you." "Meet me at Refugio's in ten minutes." " I'll be right there." " Don't be late." " Okay, fllne." " Okay, honey, thanks." "All right." "I gotta" " I gotta go." "Okay?" "I'll see you in a bit." "You're gonna tell me my credit's off and I can't get the loan approved." " Right." " Check it." "Well, right here." "Well, that was strange." "You're right." "Your credit's back on." "So?" "Oh, this is so weird." "There you go." "That's what I thought." "I knew I saw that." "I knew it." " I can't help you." " What do you mean?" " You just saw." " There's still a problem." "No, no, no." "It's all taken care of." "It's all been solved." "Look in the computer." "It says you're bankrupt." "This is a mistake." "If it is a mistake... then clearing it up shouldn't take more than three months." "Ron, I've been having a bit of a tussle today with someone." "It doesn't matter who." "But what does matter... is that he got into my records." "I don't know how, and that doesn't matter either." " It's true, but" " You've seen what he did." "He's got some kind of a computer voodoo." "I don't know, but he's got it, doesn't he?" "Someone sure caused you some trou ble." "I need this loan, Ron." "I need it for my life." "Now, nothing has changed between yesterday and today." "I'm still the same guy." "I wasn't bankrupt yesterday... and I'm not bankrupt today!" "I'm sorry, Mr. Gipson." "The computer says you are." "Now it doesn't!" "Are you okay?" "What's wrong?" "Did you know that my father had a mistress for 20 years?" "Don't lie." "I didn't know it was 20 years." "My mother knew about it." "Why didn't she leave him?" "Because she loved him so much." "She decided it'd be hypocritical to leave a man for cheating at home... when the expensive life she enjoyed so much... was paid for by a man whose job was based on finding ways to cheat." "Is that your opinion of the law?" "What do you think the law is, Gav... at this level of the game, at my father's level of the game... at your level of the game?" "It is a big, vicious rumble, Gavin." "The people who founded this law firm... and the people who sustain it... understand the way the world works." "If you wanna continue to live the way we've been living" "You have to steal." "I could've married an honest man." "I could've lived with a professor of..." "Middle English, for example... if he was a moral man and had tenure at Princeton." "But I didn't." "I married a Wall Street lawyer." "Which means I married someone who lives in a world... where when a man comes to the edge of things, he has to commit... to staying there and living there." "Can you live there, Gavin?" "Can you live there with me?" "You're not gonna do anything stupid like leaving me." "You've had fantasies, I'm sure." "So have I." "But we're married." "I knew about Michelle." "I knew when it was happening, and I knew when it was finished." "And I know you love me." "You do love me, and I love you too." "I'm your wife, and I wanna stand beside you." "Just let me help you, Gavin." "Let me help you with this." "What do you want me to do?" "Take the signature page from the living will and attach it... to the newly formatted copy of the power of appointment." "Bring it to the courthouse, and then meet me for dinner tonight." "We're going out with Karen and Carl." "I forgot about Karen and Carl." "And I remembered." "We're a team, Gav." "We're partners." " Deal's a deal." " The credit's back on?" " I used my MasterCard just now." " Sir, we don't allow cell phones." "That was fast." "Okay, one second." "They turned my credit back on." "Now I owe you something." "Thank God you did not throw that away this morning." " So how you wanna do this?" " One second." " You wanna come to my offllce?" " No." " Why not?" " You got your car?" " It's at the office, yeah." " How about the courthouse?" "You do have to turn this thing in, don't you?" " Right." " See, I'm thinking about you." "Okay, listen, Doyle" "Look, please." "You aren't gonna get all soft on me, are you?" "I just want you to know that I'm sorry, and I just" "I'm just glad this thing is over." "Don't get too close." "Hey, my hero." "My champion." "It's all over." "He called me." "He's giving me back the file." "Really?" " What do you mean?" " Because there's" " There's one thing I couldn't do." " What couldn't you do?" "This damn bankruptcy has a life of its own." "What couldn't you do?" "I couldn't undo the bankruptcy." "Sorry." "Shit." "Are you drunk?" "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure." "It's nice." "Show me the house." "On which was hung the Savior of the world" "Come" "Let us worship" "This is the wood of the cross" "This is the wood of the cross" "On which was hung the Savior of the world" "Come" "Let us worship" "Do you know why I took the job in Oregon?" "To... get as far away from me as possible." "I looked at a lot of cities, and..." "Portland... has thousands of nice, dull, bearded guys." "And I thought, you know, guys like this just" "Guys." "I could find one." "A better version of you, Doyle." "A version of you, but a better version of you." "What I always... wanted you to be, and what you were for a little... when I met you." "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen." "I don't" " It's all right." "I don't want confession." "I just" " All the seats were full out there... so I came in here Just to listen to the song." "There's some seats up front." "I'll show you." "I don't want that." "Thank you." "Are you a Catholic?" "It's beautiful." "No, it's not." "But it could've been." "I don't know what's gonna happen, but..." "I don't blame you for wanting to leave." "Oregon." "The boys... it'll be good for them." "I know how hard it must be for you to say that." "I'm sorry I was late today." "We should've waited." "I came here for some meaning." "I'm trying" "I want you to give the world meaning to me." "Why does the world need meaning?" "Why does the" "Because the world's a sewer." "Because the world's a shithole and a gar bage dump." "Because my father-in-law got me to screw a good man... a decent man, out of his money." "And my wife cheers me on." "Because I got into a fender bender with this guy on the FDR." "I had a flight with him." "I tried to do everything to settle it." " But this guy just won't let it go." " Why?" " Why wouldn't he let it go?" " I don't know why!" "I don't know why." "Sometimes, God likes to put two guys in a paper bag and just let 'em rip." "Thank you." "Thank you for letting us go." "Are you saying he's a threat to his children?" "He's told friends that if his ex-wife got custody... he would kidnap his sons and take them out of this country." " And she got custody?" " We were in court this morning." "I don't know for a fact that he's coming here, but" " Doyle Gipson?" "Really?" " Really." "What does that mean?" "He comes to every play they're in, all the teacher conferences." "So a guy comes to a school play, you trust him?" "Doyle Gipson is a man of no honor at all!" "A low man." "But that's okay, because no body else has any honor either." "That's what makes life so hard for people-- is that we're taught this fairy tale." "The good and well, and the bad and poorly." " Do you believe that?" " I'd like to." "He's coming here." "Be ready for him." "Is he in?" "Hello." "Is he there?" "Well, I just need to leave a message for him." "I'm calling from his children's school." "Yeah." "I'm afraid there's been an accident." " How are my sons?" " Who are your sons?" "Danny and Steven Gipson." "I received a call that said they were hurt." " Danny and Steven Gipson?" " I haven't heard anything." "I wanna see my sons!" " Mr. Gipson" " Miss Miller, how are the boys?" "I think you should leave before we call the police." "Mr. Gipson, don't make me call the police." " So, they're fine?" " Yes, your boys are fine." " And all of this is just a mistake?" " Yes." "I'm sorry." "Call the police." "Daniel Gipson!" "Stevie Gipson!" "Can you hear me?" " Can you hear me?" " Call their mother." " Gipson boys, where are you?" " Daddy!" " Come back here." " Daddy!" "Get off me!" "Get off" " Danny!" "Stevie!" " Daddy!" "No!" " Calm down!" "They said you were hurt!" "You haven't been hurt or sick today?" "We're gonna pick you up nice and slowly." " All right?" "Got it?" " Okay." " Don't hurt my dad!" "Please!" " Okay, let's go." "Up." "Nice and easy." "Come on." "See that?" "I tried to make peace with you." "You know what I can do to you for trying to kill me?" "You know who I am?" "You know who I am?" "You see what I can do to you?" "You try to kill me?" "Motherfucker." "What's up now?" "Shit." "Empty your pockets, sir." "Keys." "Change." "Wallet." "Pager." "File." "Hey, how you doing?" "I'm looking for a Ron Ca bot." " Count your money, sir." " What?" "Count your money." "Mr. Cabot, I am Doyle Gipson's attorney." "I don't wanna talk about him." "Since we're closing, I don't have to." "I understand that." "Mr. Ca bot, I just need you to help me" "Seventy-seven dollars." "I'm asking you to try to help me help Doyle here." "He needs it." "He has had about the worst day of his life." "He had this credit problem that was not his fault." "It was caused by" "Someone who hacked away into his records." "I know." "How can we get this whole thing straightened out?" "What can I do?" "Nothing." "Okay." "Mr. Ca bot." "Ron, let's try this another way, okay?" "Let's say there's a different man." "You don't know this guy." "And he has some credit problems that are his fault." "And then another man-- you don't know him-- he wants to help the fllrst guy, okay?" "Now, what does he have to do to help the second guy take out a loan?" "Come on." "What do I do?" "Just cosign?" "What's the thing?" "What's the deal?" "Can you please tell me what I gotta do." "I'm asking you what I have to do to make this thing work." "You know this has nothing to do with you." "It's this guy." " He's been at me all day." " Some body you're fighting with?" "You had a fight with some body who hit your car... and then you spent the day in some kind of battle with him." "Then he went to the school to hurt you as hard as he could." "You believe me?" "Thank God." "Thank God." "This guy, this lawyer, Gavin Banek" "Doyle, stop!" "Stop, Doyle!" "I don't care." "Whatever this little drama you've gotten yourself into... it's just the kind of thing that always happens to you." "And it never happens to me unless I am in your field of gravity." "You went crazy like you always do, like you always will go crazy." "Drunk or sober, it doesn't matter, 'cause that's you." "A person can be loving... and a person can be crazy all at once." "That's life." "But this is not Just my life now or yours." "It is the life of two children... and I have to protect those two children." "Is that a misunderstanding?" "Is it?" "Is it, Doyle?" "I mean, is that this guy's fault?" "At least let me say good- bye to them." "I'm takin' those boys away, and you will never see them again." "You will never find us." "Do not try to come after us." "Do you hear me?" "It is over!" " Where's Ellen?" " She went home." "Why are you still here?" "You told me to wait." "Well, come on in." "Have a seat." " So why do you wanna be a lawyer?" " I believe in the law." "I believe in order and justice." "I believe that people are, by nature, good." "I believe that historical forces push us into conflict... and without the law as a buffer between people... we would have a world of vendetta... a world of violence, a world of chaos." "The law-- The law keeps us civilized." " I'm sorry." " I don't think it's" " I'm sorry." " I don't think it's funny." "That's why I am gonna give you this job." "Because I wanna hear what you have to say about the law... after you've worked here for five years... or three years, or a month... a week, a day, an hour." "I'm hired?" "Don't I have to see... a committee or something?" " You made bail." " Who?" "A friend." ""To the Honorable Judge Frances Abarbanel." "I have been unable to recover the power of appointment... signed by Simon Dunne." "But even if I had been able to produce the power of appointment..." "I want the court to know that the document was a fraud." "I induced Mr. Dunne to sign a document... when his mental status was diminished and he was incapable... of making an informed decision.""" "They set you up!" "They made hundreds of thousands of dollars." " And they're gonna make more." " And I made partner... and a bonus that could've paid for 200 pianos." "You don't say anything about them." "You're taking everything on your shoulder in this letter." "Why?" "You could send 'em to jail." "They gotta write their own letters." "Let me go." "Should've left me inside." "You're too important to me." "Come on." "Let's go to a meeting." "No, no, no." "I went to one yesterday." " Well, that was yesterday." " Yeah, one day at a time, right?" "Yeah, one day at a time, and do the next right thing." "Let's go." "There's a meeting at 6:00." """God, grant me the strength... to accept the things I cannot change.""" "It's an admirable gesture, but it's unnecessary." "It's unnecessary because you've already filed... the power of appointment with the court." "A bonded courier delivered it to the judge just before 5:00... and her bailiff signed for it." "Your note of apology was contrite, but it was absolutely professional." "Everything's taken care of." " You filed a forgery." " Bullshit." "I filed what I had to file." "What happened to" "You just disappeared." "Time was up." "Come on." "You scared the hell out of us." "I didn't know what to do." "So you finally hit rock bottom?" "Today you almost killed a guy." "Tomorrow you might go all the way." "Keep doing the next wrong thing, you could start a religion." "Convince the so ber to drink." "Don't tell them... to keep each other alive with hope." "You saw today that everything decent is held together by a covenant." "An agreement not to go bat shit!" " You broke the contract!" " I didn't have a drink!" "Well, wow!" "Thank you for sharing!" "You didn't have a drink today!" "What an inspiration!" "That's the point, isn't it?" "God!" "You know, booze isn't really your drug of choice anyway." "You're addicted to chaos." "For some of us, it's coke." "For some of us, it's bourbon." "But you, you got hooked on disaster." "Fuck!" "Here's what you should do." "You get up Monday morning... and you get yourself on a plane to Texas." "Take that letter with you." "When you get to Texas... you get on the defense team of somebody on death row." "And then put all your energy into saving a man from execution." "And then come on back here in a few months." "You still wanna confess, go ahead." "Come on." "How the hell do you think Simon Dunne got his money?" "You think those factories in Malaysia... have day-care centers in them?" "Wanna check the pollution levels of his chemical plants in Mexico... or look at the tax benefllts he got from this foundation?" "This is all a tightrope." "This is all a tightrope." "You gotta learn to balance." "How can you live like that?" "I can live with myself because at the end of the day..." "I think I do more good than harm." "What other standard have I got to judge by?" "I have to thank you." "For the house?" "I understand what you were trying to do, but... my wife's moving, she's taking the boys." "The house is a little bit too much for me right now." "I'm sorry." "I was a horribly unstable father." "And Valerie says I'll never see them again." "But you know what?" "I will." "I'll see 'em in a year or two... may be three." "I'll go to Portland, I'll call her... and I'll find a way to be their father again." "How about you?" "Well..." "I have the file... but I don't need it anymore." "It's been taken care of." "You know." "It never happened." "But it did happen." "Right?" "Right." "So, now what?" "I'm going to dinner with my wife... her parents." "And this weekend, I'm gonna go look at a boat." "And then on Monday, I'm gonna come back in here and go to work." "And then... magically this whole... incredible day just somehow... becomes a memory." "It's like you go to the beach." "You go down to the water." "It's a little cold." "You're not sure if you wanna go in." "There's a pretty girl standing next to you." "She doesn't wanna go in either." "She sees you." "And you know... if you just asked her her name... you would leave with her." "Forget your life, whoever you came with... and leave the beach with her." "And after that day... you remember her." "Not every day, every week." "She comes back to you." "It's the memory... of another life... you could've had." "Today is that girl." "I'm sorry about what I did." "Me too." "You brought the file back." "When you're done, there's a lovely little place on the hill where-- where you can get a" " Cappuccino." " Yes, that's right, dear." "They're lovely cappuccinos, and it's clean and it's cool." "They have these prints on the wall." "They're really quite lovely." "I don't know who they're by." "They're by that artist" " Chagall." " Right." "They're Chagalls." "There's three of them." "They're early Chagalls." "I think he painted them when he was visiting there." "Am I missing something this evening?" " What is this?" " This, my dear" "This is Simon Dunne's... power of appointment." " I got it back." " No, you didn't." " Yes, I did." "This is it." " Please." "This is behind us, isn't it?" "Haven't we put this behind us?" "I was thinking about what you said to me." "About the end of the day-- about doing more good than harm." "That is what you said, isn't it?" " Don't you fuck with me." " I am not fucking with you, sir." " Don't you fuck with me." " I am not fucking with you, sir." "Can you imagine how unpleasant it would be... if the judge got ahold of this file?" "That's not gonna happen." "That's not gonna happen, Gavin." "I think I might order the snapper." "I'm gonna hold onto this file." "I'm gonna keep it in a very safe place." "But I'm not going to Texas." "I'm gonna come back into work on Monday." "I'm gonna start doing that pro bono work that you recommended that I do." "But I'm gonna do it from our office." "The first thing we're gonna do is help a man buy a house." " Gavin, can we please not do this?" " And I think..." "I would like to be the one to call Mina Dunne." "I'm gonna tell her that you and Walter... are gonna give back the three million dollars you stole... from her grandfather's foundation." "You were right." "I can do this." "I found the edge." "Can you live there with me?" "Can you?" "I haven't had a fucking thing to eat all day, and I'm starving." "So what are we gonna eat?" " Mrs. Gipson?" " Yes?" "My name is Gavin Banek." "What do you want?" "Five minutes, ma'am." "I owe your husband twenty." "Hell..." "I'm only asking for five with you."