"I try to find the positive in my experiences." " Mom, I can't." "Darling, just remember, we're challenging their preconceived notions of sexuality." "Look at that!" "And he hit me and tore my dress." "They're mean, horrible boys." "Don't judge them, Placid." "They're the ones who are stunted and hurting." "You should feel sorry for them." "It's just a punch on the arm, little man." "B-but they-- they" "Now, I want you to take a deep breath and find a positive response to this, Placid." "So, when I remember that day I remember it as the day I met Gemma" " Crayon?" " Thanks." "Crayon?" " You have got to give those up, Gemma." "They're actually just vegetable gum, food coloring, and some kind of preservative, as yet unidentified on the packaging." "Where are you going?" "Out there." "Don't do it." "It'll be fine." "Hey, Sharon." "Great party." "Why did you two even come?" "You invited us!" "It was for everyone, wasn't it?" "The whole year?" "I mean, you're watching TV." "It's a great TV." "Which you truly need in a party environment." "You won't even try to fit in." "Loser." "So, babe, if I played you this song I wrote about you, you'd like..." "totally cry, man." "It's really touching." "Really?" "Mm." "You've always struck me as having a substandard command of" "English and an inability to see past yourself, which precludes you from any in-depth communication." " Jenny." "What's the problem?" "You seem to have a lot of anger." " Prick." "You tricked me into having sex with you." "How?" "By talking to you?" "By connecting with something deep within you?" "Yes." "Don't look at me like that." "I'm looking at a facade on top of a person who I think has something special inside her, who hasn't got the guts to show it who wants to hide who she really is but is torn because she wants to burst out and say," ""this is who I am, what I want, but have I the courage to be free of them?"" "Oh, God." "You're doing it again, aren't you?" "Placid." "Placid, listen." "I've been wanting to talk to you about Gemma." "You two got a "plutonic" thing, right?" ""Plutonic"?" "You don't root?" "No." "Good." "See, man-to-man, I'd like to be good." "See, man-to-man, I'd like to be giving it to her, but I just can't seem to break through, you know?" "That surprises me." "You're a suave bastard." "Yeah, I know." "They're usually slaves to me." "But you're her best friend." "Maybe you can help me." "Help you make her your slave?" "I would sure appreciate it." "You want the secret?" "There's a secret!" " I found school a challenging place." " Poofter." "Poofter." "Poofter." "Poofter." "I guess I could have told my poofter." "I guess I could have told my parents." "You're home early, honey." " And how did that make you feel, Lloyd?" " I guess I was scared at" " my feel, Lloyd?" " I guess I was scared at my anger..." "And at my choosing of anger as a anger..." " as a choice." " "Choice."" "Let's make that the theme for the day." "I tried to remain positive, but the monotonous regularity of it did occasionally get to me." "Aaaaaaaaaaah!" "I approached the problem in various ways." "Could we get this over with so I don't spend the whole day vainly avoiding you?" "Uh..." "Yeah, okay." "And?" "Poofter." "Thanks for your cooperation." "Fucking weirdo." "Let's get him!" "I tried to go one-on-one." "Aaaah!" "Even took the odd psychological punt." "Are you gay, Bull?" " Aaaaaaah!" " In the end, it all came down to who had the numbers." "But I had a plan." "Hmm." "Does it hurt if I do this?" "Ow!" "Gemma!" "Just as I suspected." "It's bruised." "Thank you." "No wonder you applied for medicine." "You are going to uni, Placid." "I noticed you didn't apply." "Promise me you'll go." "Doug and Sylvia went to uni." "They speak fondly of it." "They say it made them the people they are today." "Well, what are you gonna do, then?" "A national spoken word tour, followed by years of fishing in Montana." "Be serious." "I'm always serious." "I want you to come." "Bill would kill me." "Besides, I have that trip to Japan." "Two terrible things happened to Gemma when she was 8." "Her mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving her alone with Bill." "Gemma." "Oh, bunnies!" "He didn't quite get the parent thing." "Dissect one and put mascara on the other." "And he discovered she was a genius." "Have you ever done anything that Bill hasn't approved of?" "Yes!" "I believe the rohrich study of enzymes, whereas he believed the Ionbach was better." "I take it back." "You're a rebel, and you'll never be any good." "Go on." "Be any good." "Go on." "Just us and the fish." "So how are you gonna pay for this trip, anyway?" "I'm gonna win the Langton Prize." "You know what they want, don't you?" "I can do it." "McDonnel High is Super Dooper because there's respect for everyone." "¶ It's about you and me ¶" "¶ It's about you and me ¶" "¶ It's love." "The classrooms are filled with love." "The kids make it worthwhile." "You go home happy, proud to know the future is in their hands." "They just..." "get to you after a while." "Yeah!" "I think we have a surprise winner." "Leni riefenstahl would have been proud." "Show's over boys." "Nothing to see here." "Just go back to your homes." "Placid Lake." "What about a graduation beating?" "Look, I understand." "School's over and you've suddenly realized you've peaked." "Your dull but privileged lives are about to unfold." "You know where you'll work, you know who you'll marry." "Nothing to look forward to except fucking each other's wives." "You're gonna fuck my wife?" "It's all right." "You'll fuck his, as you all flail about in that spiritually empty hole you'll call success." "See, now we're really gonna hurt you." "Hey, Placid!" "Here's your ax." "Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Easy." "Easy." "Ah, the girlfriend's coming to save you." "Is that the kind of man you are, Placid?" "Apparently so." "You know that a hit on the right side of the skull, just at the top, a single blow, will split a man's skull right 'round one side, literally caving in the head." "Blood will flow into the cavity created, refusing to clot." "Neurons begin to die." "It takes about 90 seconds." "Aaah!" "I can't believe you sometimes." "They were about to pummel you again, and you taunt them with black visions of their future lives?" "Fuck 'em." "They're not gonna get the better of me." "Really?" "They generally do, Placid." "One day I'll win, Gemma." "See you at graduation." "Oh!" "Come on, boy." "Outside." "Outside?" "Oh, I mean, I suppose, if you really wanna." " Run free, boy!" "Run free!" " Oh, yeah, baby!" "Gemma?" "Gemma?" "Get away from me, dog." " So, my orgasms aren't important?" " Of course they are." "Just not tonight?" "Well, lately, not any night." "Do you hear how he's running from confronting this, Placid?" "I'm sure he's not, Mum." "He used to live between my legs." "Live there!" "Tell Doug I can't communicate with him tonight." "Placid!" "Tell him." "It took me a while to work out where I fitted in." "Drive-time Doug... you're on care F.M." "And in the next hour, we're going to talk pottery classes, political prisoners, and flavored lattes." "...And Sylvia, independent documentary maker." "It's about the indigenous tuvuluvuan tribes and the destructive influence of western values." "Most compelling, however, is my personal discovery that" "I am 1/12th tuvuluvuan, and my coming to visit my family, who pretend not to know me." "Courageous." "But you just went away for two months." "Honey, I'm an explorer of life's many roads." "If that hurts you, I'm sorry, but..." "Bad luck?" "Don't be hostile, Placid." " I'm really concerned that you did that." " Well, I think you're a cocksucker." "Well, that hurts me -- deeply!" "Well, I think you're a fucking, fuck-faced cocksucker." "We'll talk... when you're calm... and ready to relate." "The thing is, they need me." "Doug, apparently Mum still finds you incredibly attractive." "She wants you to love and treasure her, to make her feel like a woman again -- between her legs." "I'm tired and overworked and just don't feel centered in myself." "Can't she understand that?" "Sylvia, if it wasn't for the rigors and inhuman nature of contemporary society, Doug would want nothing more than to get down and dirty with you." "He still finds you a beautiful, desirable woman, and I'm sure wants to spend the next six hours making mad, passionate love to you." "Oh, Doug, that's beautiful." "I mean every word." "Oh." "Oh, Syl!" "Oh, God." "All I had to do was walk away, put it all behind me." "And the winner of the Langton Prize is Placid Lake." "10 grand is a lot of money." "And now we'll get to see Placid's film," ""Life is Super Dooper."" "But there's more to life than money." "There's closure." "Anyway, the host of "family feud" asked me over to his house to audition for one of the roles on the show." "Of course, I might have to suck him." "It'll be worth it." "Yeah." "And, you know, we had the group and then I did a couple of private sessions, and she said that I really, really..." "Helped her." "Yeah." "Because you're so -- you're so giving." "Well, she was, uh... she was very happy." "She felt very strong about it." "She kissed me, and it was... oh, I don't know." "It was just lovely." "And, um, so, it was warm and, you know... she was looking at me, and then we got down." "Yeah." "It was great." "Yeah." "You what?" "It just -- it just happened!" "One minute we were talking, and the next, I was..." "licking." "You fucking lezzo!" "You fucking lesbian!" "Fucking kids!" "I'd love to get a hacksaw and go around one night and cut the tops of their heads off, all of them." "You know?" "I hear you." "You know what I despise about them?" "Their youth and promise?" "No, that I can't get any of them to fuck me." "Not even the fat ones." "Jenny, future leaders awards." "Well done." "$25." "Ah, he's cool." "Yep." "I'm definitely gonna do law." "Corporate law." "$40 for you." "You owe us $50, as well." "The juice is flowing, you little prick." "Two points a week." "And I will hurt you." "Jesus." "My cock." "See this?" "My cock!" "This is what you eat!" "Is it rape if you hold down a girl with your elbow on her throat?" "Did she say no?" "Well, she didn't say anything." "She seemed angry, though." "Placid, make us a cup of chamomile, will you, darling?" "And see if you can find my undedrpants." "Bravo!" "Bravo!" " Bravo!" " Placid!" "Too far?" "You're in big trouble." "Angus, get him!" "I thought it was very good." "I got him trapped, fellas!" "I win this one, boys." "No beating you give me can win this one for you." "Still, we'd like to give it a shot." "Why don't you tell him the truth, Bull?" "Gonna live a lie the rest of your life?" "What?" "You can't carry it 'round forever." "I mean, think about it." "You're gonna marry some bimbo and end up loitering in parks, hoping for a furtive blowjob from some passing fisherman." "Is this the life you want?" "Bull?" "What's going on?" "All right, I'm gay!" "I'm a gay person." "Okay." "Yeah, whatever." "We gonna get him or what?" "Yeah, let's get him." "What?" "!" "I helped you come out!" "So?" "My sexuality doesn't define me." "You're still fucked, Lake." "For a second, you think you'll keep going, that you might fly." "Aah!" "Then gravity kicks in." "I've never seen anyone break every bone in his body." "I mean, fingers, hands, jaw, legs, arms." "It's unbelievable." "It's impressive, that's for sure." "I'm telling you, they threw him off!" "They say they didn't." "And we-- we can't prove it." "Look at him!" "If they did it, Gemma, they'll pay." "We just have to wait for him to tell us, Gemma." "Aren't you angry?" "Of course, but, you know, where does that get us?" "We'll just wait until Placid tells us what happened." "How can you be so fucking reasonable?" "!" "Can I have a word?" "Those bastards." "Why, Placid?" "Why did you make that film?" "Why couldn't you just let it be?" "Why do you have to be so fucking fearless?" "Gemma." "We've got an early start." "I have to go." "I have to go on that research trip with my dad." "I'll miss you." "I was trying to find the positive." "I thought we could have a chat." "How did this happen?" "I don't know." "I'd actually played their game." "I'd won the Langton Prize." "If I just stuck to that," "I'd be fishing right now in Montana." "But I couldn't." "You can't change who you are." "You have to learn to love yourself." "Blah, blah, blah." "Come on, can't you do better than that?" "Well, I'm not well-trained." "Say I love myself, but the self I love is, in fact, one society takes a severe dislike to." "Jesus." "That's a good point." "My approach to life may have been wrong." "I did this to myself -- that's the truth of it." "I have to change." "I have to be a different person, a new man." "Gemma will be pleased, at least." "True." "I drive her crazy." "So the past is past." "That Placid goes in memory." "Placid?" "Darling?" "What happened?" "I can't recall." "My daughter -- she's a genius." "Hi." "Hey." "It's me." "How are you?" "I'm terrific." "Did you get them charged?" "It's all in the past." "What?" "!" "You're so vengeful, Gem." "Getting them got me into this." "I can't remember anything, anyway." "From the fall?" "Really?" "Afraid so." "My mind's a blank." "You're blond with a harelip, right?" "The sons of bitches." "It's kind of liberating." "I'm back next week." "I'll come and see you." "No." "I'll come and see you." "I've got a surprise for you." "So, you want to work here at Icarus insurance." "You know, you're the first graduate of the university of Bogotá, Colombia, we've had here." "I, uh, have to inform you, all honesty, that..." "It's bullshit." "Yeah." "I thought so." "But I really want to work here." "What?" "Childhood dream, was it?" "No, but I had some problems, and I think it would be really good for me to work in a structured environment with a lot of normal people." "Right." "If you're looking for a place to flourish with structure, maybe a bit of fun, good view, good view, good bucks, no stress to speak of, then you've found it." "If you're looking for a place to hide, then you've found that, too." "I hoped as much." "I think I could be happy here." "Well, I haven't heard of that happening, but I'm prepared to take a chance on you being the first." "Welcome to Icarus, Placid." "No personal desks here." "Just grab a terminal when you need one." "You need someone to talk to, just feel free to grab anyone." "We're here for each other." "Latte?" "Thanks." "Sugar?" "Maybe a donut with that?" "Do you know what our business is, Placid?" "Could be a trick, but..." "Insurance?" "It's about people, helping them through, because in the modern world you're not safe." "You can be crushed in a minute." "The world can turn on you." "We try to make that not so bad." "Sorry." "Don't mean to bore you with why this biz is great." "Still, it's not all beer and skittles." "Your letter is "P."" " You're the new "P."" " Hi." "Placid Lake." "Pleasure to meet you." "Anton." "I'm an "A."" "You know what that is?" "Uh... a vowel?" "Remember it." "That's Edward." "Edward is a..." "A vowel." "I'm getting it." "Hi, Jane." "Hi, Albert." "It's Anton." "Uh, this is Placid." "Placid's the new "P."" "As in "pleasing to the eye."" "Mum, Dad, it's me." "Doug?" "Sylvia?" "Hello, Placid, darling." "We hope you're well." "Our thoughts are with you." "Our bodies, however, are in Tuvuluvu." "We felt we needed some time away and you would need to be alone on release... so we'll be back on the 10th." "Doug and I are exploring the tropical lives of the natives, and it's really fascinating." "Douglas?" "Yes, darling?" "I distinctly told him, "no ice."" "Oh, god." "Don't they speak English?" "I don't know, darling." "Uh, no icy." "No, no." "It's all right, darling." "Douglas, no!" "Shit!" "Oh, sorry, darling." "It's all over my new sarong!" "I was just telling Placid how much we miss him." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "We do." "Hi, son." "Free at last!" "Free at last!" " Placid." " Bill." " You're out, then." "What -- what happened up there?" "All my life, people have been telling me I couldn't fly." "Now, you're a man of science." "I couldn't just accept that, could I?" "What if I'd been born with the power of flight?" "And if I'd believed the wisdom of the day, I'd never know." "She's upstairs." "Oh, my god!" "Look at you!" "I thought you'd like it." "All part of my new plan." "Oh, no." "What are you up to?" "This one you'll like." "I have to reinvent myself." "To be a person acceptable to others." "Work within the parameters, the social mores." "In under three weeks, I intend to become a normal part of society." "I'm serious." "A new Placid." "Got a job." "Started today." "No way." "It was great." "I thought they'd be, you know, drones, but I like Joel." "I could model myself on a guy like that." "And there seems to be latitude within the structure for a certain irreverence and disdain for the company and corporate life in general that provides an outlet but would never threat an actual upheaval." "Oh, my god." "This is big, isn't it?" "Whatever you're doing." "Yeah, it's big." "It's the biggest yet." "Are you gonna tell me or not?" "Gemma, I'm serious." "Fine." "Just promise me that it's not dangerous and you won't get hurt." "It's not dangerous, and I won't get hurt." "These are your uni books." "Can't wait." "Come and stay with me." "What about Doug and Sylvia?" "Last time I was there, she tried to give me a pap smear." "Their thoughts are with me, but their bodies are in Tuvuluvu." "You're joking!" "No." "At first, I, too, was outraged, but now I see it's a good thing." "I can pursue my plan in peace, and you can watch." "Go on." "Let's read them over the next week and then meet on Thursday to review, okay?" "You know to cohabit with a woman is the dream of every normal, red-blooded man." "You can't dick me or anything." "Understood." "It'll be like one of those rock Hudson/Doris day movies" " where she's a virgin." " Hey!" "It wasn't literal." "By now rock would have offered me a drink." " Martini, madam?" " Bring it on, you sweet-talking boy." "Hey, Placid." "What are you really up to?" "Nothing." "That's the beauty of it." "Nothing." "Ow!" "Kiss kiss." "I can't." "I have a headache." "Drinking problem or menopause?" "Oh, you don't understand me!" "Uh-oh." "Have you got your monthly bill?" "My electronic diary's supposed to run up the old red flag." "Maybe it's faulty." "Damn Taiwanese." "I don't want to kiss you because, well..." "I don't want to hurt your feelings, shnookums, but your breath -- have you been flossing with anchovies again?" "Well, gee, honey, thanks for being honest." "Unfortunately, I can't take criticism very well, so I may have to come home midmorning and cut you into pieces." "Can you make it after 11:00?" "The pool boy's coming to bang my ass off." "Okay, snuggly bugglikins." "Got to go." "I won't be here much longer." "They'll be choosing a candidate for the fast track soon." "Fast track?" "It's a program they have that launches you in the company." "Virtually assured this division's spot." "We'll see, Anton." "We'll see." "Sorry?" "Nothing." "Placid Lake." "Icarus Insurance." "Hey." "It's me." "I'm bored without you." "Can't you hurry this up?" "No." "This is gonna take time and commitment." "But I think you'll be pleased." "I really do." "We used to spend every day together." "You realize that?" "We were kids." "I think I'm depressed." "I can't finish this month's issue of scientific American or anything." "Puberty, finally." "Go to hell." "Have you ever thought maybe this is just your real personality coming to the fore?" "Do you think?" "No." "Underneath, you're Doris day, the scientist." "Yeah, see, that's what I think, too." "I'll see you tonight." "Was that a personal call, Placid?" "Hell no." "They were after a life policy." "Fearing the customer would be angry at being placed in the wrong department, I ran them through the various products on offer before transferring them back to sales." "Good work, Placid." " You're bullshitting, of course." " Of course." "Placid?" "Get in here." "Another day." "Another day." "So, you got a woman, Placid?" "I, uh, cohabit with a woman." "Yes, indeed." "Gemma." "I've known her since we were young." "She's fantastic." "She's a genius, and just like the only person I ever relied on." "How's the fucking?" "Come on, tell me." "Let me live through your young loins." "Oh, Gem and I don't actually..." "What?" "You don't..." "We don't actually, uh, do much else." "Eh?" "Yeah." "Fucking, fucking, fucking!" "Sometimes it's just like," ""Can't we just look at real estate for a change, eh?"" "You know what I mean?" "No." "Actually." "No." "You know, for a minute there," "I thought you were gonna say you don't do it." "What?" "That would be..." "Weird." "Weird." "That's right." " I think we should have sex." " What?" "!" " Hear me out." "There's something in it for you, too." "Oh, really?" "See, Gemma, this virginity thing can become an albatross around a young woman's neck." "As the years go by, it builds and builds into a big blockage on the road to partnership and love, leading to spinsterhood and bitterness." "It's like a monkey on my back, is that it?" "And you'd like to take the monkey's place?" "We can talk positions later." "You have to do it sometime, and a trusted friend would be the perfect person to do it with first." "I am good at it, I promise." "Oh." "Okay, then." "Stick it in." "Well, you got to woo me a little." "Why don't I pretend this conversation never happened?" "Some of the chaps at work were talking " ""The chaps"?" "It's not normal!" "Us being the way we are together, as close as we are, and not fucking." "What?" "What?" "You have to surrender yourself to a plan for it to succeed, Gemma." "Oh, and I need you to come with me to this golf day tomorrow." "It's a bring-partners kind of thing." "Must -- must have been hit by a car." "Women, huh?" "Let's move out." "Let's go." "Honey, I'm standing on the first like a goddamn fool." "I" "Mum." " Hi!" " Hi." "I forgot you were back today." "Oh, it's so good to see you!" "You look so well." "Yeah, good as new." "Is Gemma here?" "Uh... no." "Huh." "What's with the suit?" "Work." "I work." "Really?" "Where?" "Icarus." "The insurance company?" "We like to think of ourselves as more than an insurance company, Mum." "We're a friend, an advisor." "But i-it's just" "You're so creative." "They'll soon knock that out of me." "Douglas!" " I don't know why I come here." " Because you miss her." "It's a strip of grass with a stone on top six feet of earth down to a box with some calcified bone in it." "It's not her." "Shouldn't you be at squash or watching hard-core porn with your colleagues?" "Is this about the sex thing?" "Oh, well, let's examine that, shall we?" "Did you want to have sex with me because you love and lust after me or because it's part of your plan?" "Both." "It's a synergy." "What the hell is with you?" "You were right about it at the hospital." "I don't have to be so fearless." "Look, there will be some teething problems, but it will be good." "It's not gonna work, Placid." "You can't change who you are." "Of course you can." "Society's built on repression and adapting to the environment." "Same guy, Gemma." "Different plan, that's all." "What is that?" "I've got a seminar." "Don't go." "I have to." "Why?" "I need structure." "See you later, okay?" "Call my people!" "We'll set something up!" "Um, Placid... we'd like a word about this, um... this rebellion." "Are you trying to hurt us, Placid?" "What are you talking about?" "An insurance company?" "So?" "What do you mean, "so"?" "I made a decision about my life, about who I am." "It's working out fine." "Oh, what did they do to you in that hospital?" "Are you taking something, Placid?" "I think we should do a piss test." "I'm trying to play the game between the lines, by the rules, in the groove." "Placid, we did not bring you into the world for you to end up like this!" "This upsets you?" "This?" "This gets your attention?" "Maybe it's just a phase." "¶ For he's a jolly good fellow ¶" "¶ For he's a jolly good fellow ¶" "¶ For he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny ¶" " You finished." " Yes, I have." " Placid." "A word." " Goodbye, Placid." "My concern is... the work thing." "You're bored, Placid." "Yes." "I'm out of my mind with boredom." "You don't belong out there." "I know, but I have to stay." "Please, Joel." "We have a program here called the fast track." "I want you on it." "You do?" "No way!" "You're too smart for that drone work." "You're an original thinker." "I know people think we're a dull, bureaucratic organization, but we need innovation." "We need you, Placid." "You need me?" "Why not?" "Business is fluid these days." "If you have the talent, you get the rewards, my boy." "And the chair comes in a choice of colors, too." "Purple?" "Uh, no." "Not purple." "Who'd want purple?" "Yeah." "Who?" "Purple." "What the hell's that all about?" "I'm meant, uh..." "We've got black in two shades." "Black." "Okay." "Black." "No." " Speaker." " Placid Lake." "Icarus Insurance." "Chaffering sucker!" "My mum." "They don't approve." "Oh." "Eh, fuck 'em." "Normally, I like to see their side of things, you know?" "Why?" "It seems only fair." "They're your parents." "There's no fair." "It's a war." "What's going on?" "Ah, Jane." "Jane is being fast-tracked, too." "So is Placid." "You'll be sharing the office." "Enjoy." "No." "Yes." "No!" "Anton, I..." "No." "I've done everything." "The rules..." " You busy, Placid?" " No." "How about we adjourn to the stationery room and you fuck me?" "I" "I'm real tense, and I've got hours of work ahead of me." "You'd really be doing me a favor, and I think you'd enjoy yourself." "I'm flattered, but" "But?" "We don't know each other." "Well, that will just add a sense of mystery to it, won't it?" "True, but..." "Look, I don't want to embarrass you." "It's just sex, Placid." "But if you don't want to... you don't want to." "There's no emotional connection, and there's other factors." "Hey, it's okay." "Go back to your work." "Placid Lake." "Icarus Insurance." "I've decided to take pity on you and your madness." "What are you doing for lunch?" "Um, nothing." "Meet me for lunch." "I..." "What's that noise?" "Um..." "Just a colleague." "Are you screwing someone while you're talking to me?" "No!" "Ow!" "You bit me!" "Put it back in!" "Put it back in!" "Gem?" "This stuff's child's play, Gem." "You'll outstrip it in months." "You're gonna have to focus your thoughts, though, on one specialty." "Now, I would suggest molecular biology." "Although you've always been chemistry-minded." "I'll think further on it." "Well, what about... art?" "Art?" "That's funny." "No." "Thanks." "I'm not hungry." "Come to see your little platonic buddy?" "How sweet!" "Gem, we don't do it." "Never have." "Never will!" "I wasn't anyway, but I have before, and you never cared." "Because even when you were with them... you were with me." "I still am with you." "A new decorator, I see?" " You're so not who you're trying to be, Placid." "You're just this ridiculous mimic." "You're just a company boy in your bad suit and your idiot haircut." "You're weird, Placid." "I am not weird." "I am anything but weird." "Well, maybe we just don't like each other anymore." "I like you." "You don't like me." "You want to be a child, fine." "I thought you'd... be pleased." "I'm trying to be like you." "Like me?" "Conventional, fearful, obedient." "That was the old me." "What?" "I have a plan, too." "It's time I explored who I am." "Maybe I'm a hard-drinking skank who likes to put out." "You're not a hard-drinking skank who likes to put out." "You're Doris day, the scientist." "So everybody seems to think." "I've tried that." "Maybe I should try something else." "No, no, no." "See, I need to do this, Gem." "You're fine." "You're perfect." "Just stay the way you are, and we'll be fine." "No." "This isn't some game, okay?" "I need to do this." "So go do it." "You're weird!" "That's the problem!" "I never realized it before, but it makes perfect sense now." "Why else would you have hung around with the old Placid?" "You're weird!" "I see that now." "Hello, sweetheart." "How are you?" "Let's go for coffee, hmm?" "There's a poetry reading at Dorset's little book room." "Guess what happened today, Mum?" "You quit?" "Promoted." "Oh, my god!" "You will be supportive of my choices, right, Mum?" "I mean, you always have been." "Of course, darling." "I want to understand." "But don't you realize these companies are evil?" "I want you to try and find the positive in it, okay?" "Bobby!" " Joel." "How are you, champ?" "Living the dream." "Good for you." "You hate that guy, don't you?" "If I could get away with it," "I'd kill him, have his windpipe bronzed and wear it on a chain around my neck." "How do you control it?" "Never show your true feelings to people, Placid." "Things go easier this way." "If I get into it with the guy, like I want to, where do I go from there?" "Jail." "Exactly, so I eat it." "Eat it." "Eat it." " Can we just start?" " It's okay, babe." "I know you're nervous." "I banged hundreds of women." "If you're gonna talk, this isn't gonna work." "Shit!" "Shit!" "Shit!" "Aaah!" "Shit!" "What are you doing?" "!" "Look what you made me do!" "What I made you do?" "!" "I don't do this anymore." "What?" "Act this way." "Well, it looks like you do." "He just dropped by and..." "And so you thought you'd fuck him?" "I don't have to explain it to you." "You're not there, are you?" "You don't even like him, Gemma." "Or is that the point?" "I'm sorry I smashed your window." "I'll send you a check for damages." "It's not like me to let my emotions get the best of me." "I was just passing." "I didn't realize you had company." "Got you a new bag for uni!" "She starts tomorrow, Placid." "The beginning of something special, I think." "I don't pretend I understand it." "Lord knows, how could I?" "I'm not in her league." "But some day, we are all going to be amazed and, I believe, blessed by the things she's gonna achieve." "Shut up!" "Jesus!" "Gemma." "Nerves." "Looking forward to fast-tracker Saturday?" "Placid?" "What's wrong?" "Gemma." "The girl?" "Yeah." "She's changing." "Ah." "Well..." "People change, Placid." "Oh, they say they won't." "They say, "we'll always love each other." "We're in this life together."" "And then one day your wife looks up at you and apropos of nothing says," ""When did all the interesting parts of you die?"" "Jesus." "Oh, no, it's not sad." "It's part of life." "You accept it." "You move on." "Take your pleasure where you can find it." "Are you okay, Anton?" "I saw you make a personal call." "Yes, Anton, but did you record it?" "Damn you." "You know what you need?" "Stationery." " That was really terrific, Placid." " Yeah." "Thanks." "So, uh... tell me about yourself." "Well, I work for an insurance company." "How 'bout you?" "I just thought we could get to know each other." "Why?" "Well, it just seems natural." "So we can get emotionally wrought and paranoid over each other?" "No, thanks." "Can we do this regularly, though?" "Sure." "Oh, you just get everything, don't you?" "Everything." "What are you doing?" "I'm going to talk to you until you see reason." "There will be no leaving this room until you admit you're wrong." "You've been brainwashed by someone." "You're gonna deprogram me?" "That's right." "Dad, we both know you're a fucking joke." "How can you think you can do this?" "Please, Placid." "I've told your mum I could." "Please." "No." "Well, we'll see, then, won't we?" "!" "Let me read to you from Ralph Nader." "Bring it on." ""Too frequently, the extension of corporate constitutional rights is a zero-sum game that diminishes the rights and powers of real individuals."" "Dad?" "You win." "I do?" "Then I realized what I should do." "The path of least resistance." "To be all things to all people." "It was the next level." "What have you got planned today, honey?" "Hang out talking philosophy in cafes, maybe smoke some dope, and listen to spoken-word cassettes later on." "Enjoy." "Come on, Gemma!" "First day of uni!" "Don't want to be late." "Big day!" "How long have we waited for this huh, honey?" "Okay." "You've visualized yourself as the victim in a fire and balanced your empathy for yourself against your corporate duty to report that the fire was your own fault." "Anyone?" "I... report the damage was my fault." "I take the financial hit, and yet I win." "How so?" "The company accepts my honesty as a pledge of loyalty, rewards me in kind, my salary rises, offsetting the financial burden of the fire!" "Totally right." "Okay, let's break for refreshments." "Well done." "Thank you." "Excellent." "That was great." "Thank you." "Your ability to combine the logical and the lateral is highly impressive." "Thanks." "I thought about what you've said." "The whole swapping-intimacies thing." "I think you're right." "You do?" "I've been wanting to find someone like me." "Someone who's committed to the company, on their way up." "It's synergy, Placid." "It is?" "The workload we'll have to endure will leave little time for the pursuit of partners." "This way we can snatch a few moments and not have it impact on our work." "Deal?" "Quite the revelation, aren't you?" " What" " You what?" " I felt sick." "What kind of sick?" "A kind of nausea." "Palpitations in my extremities." "Did you go to the doctor?" "Well, that was the curious thing." "As soon as I left the campus, I felt fine." "So I tested it, I went back-- same symptoms." "I left." "Fine again." "So I can't go." "To uni." "I'm allergic." "What?" "!" "You have to go." "I can't go!" "It's a health issue, okay?" "Because if you haven't got your health, then what have you got?" " Hi." " It's me." "How are you?" " Hi." "What do you want?" "I want to see you." "I..." "Placid, I have to go." "You want something, Anton?" "Hi." "It's me." "I win." "I want to see you." "You really shouldn't be in here, Alfred." "This is for fast trackers." ""Anton."" "Thanks." "I got you something." "Gemma, what's going on?" "Maybe I'm not the next Jonas Salk or Marie Curie." "I don't know, Dad." "I've never done anything else." "I've never tested anything." "Honey, you are the next Marie Curie!" "You don't listen to me." "No one listens to me!" "Jesus, if I had your gifts, the things I could-- that I would do!" "And you, you're" "Just fucking everything up?" "Yes." "I mean, what would your mother say?" "I wish I knew." "It's worn either draped around the shoulders or knotted about the waist." "Or you can tie me to the bed with it." "Well, I think I made my choice." "Drink tonight, then?" "Yeah." "Good idea." "Placid Lake." "Icarus Insurance." "Placid, come and see me tonight." "Midnight." "No later, no earlier." "Promise me you'll be here." "Yeah, yeah." "I'm on top of that." "Yeah." "Okay." "Bye." "Hey." "Tonight when we do it, I want you to hurt me a little." "You know, pull my hair, slap my ass." "Why?" "It helps me feel something." "I'm not sure I can" "I am about to blow you in a crowded bar." "You're what?" "Do not tell me you're not sure." "Hey, dude." "Did that blonde just do you under the table?" "No." "She's, uh, my tailor." "I had some... zipper trouble." "Oh, right." "See you, dude." "Yeah." "See you, Lachie." "How does he know your name?" "Hey, Lake!" "You dumb, little fuck." " This is bullshit." "I'm like you guys now." " You're what?" "Look, I'm here." "The girl, the haircut." "Come on." "Past is past." "Placid, is that you?" "Who was it?" "Was it that Carter kid?" "Placid?" "Who?" "Why?" "What are you going to do, Doug?" "I want to know who did this to you!" "Why, so you can find them and beat the living shit out of them?" "!" "Because that's all I want you to do, okay?" "Violence never solved anything, Placid." "I'm sure they're sitting around thinking exactly that, Mum." "If you're going to be hostile" "I am going to be hostile!" "I am going to be fucking hostile." "History shows I shouldn't expect anything from you, so stop pretending you have anything to give, okay?" "The past is a place where only bitterness lives, Placid." "I can't imagine what that does to property value, Sylvia." "Jesus!" "Why are you like this?" "!" "Gemma?" "What are you doing?" "You're early!" "I said midnight." "What, I'm supposed to find you dead?" "No!" "During a near-death experience, you leave your body and you walk along a tunnel of light, and at the end, you're met by the person closest to you." "I'm going to see my mum." "It'll work!" "I've worked it all out!" "The metabolic rates, chemical tables." "I'll vomit it up." "It won't kill me." "I just need you to take me to the hospital and give them this when you get me there." "This is insane." "It's brilliant." "I knew you, of all people, would appreciate this." "I can't do it without you." "Good." "I need to see her." "She'll tell me what I need to do." "You don't know what to do?" "Look, someone who can work this out, someone who can do all this-- not just do it, but someone who gets off on all this" "and you don't know what to do?" "Oh, I should take advice from you?" "You've gone from fearless to gutless in a single bound." "I'm happy the way I am." "Really?" "Yeah, it looks like it's all working out for you." "What happened to your face?" "I ran into some old friends." "I'm like them now." "They don't get that." "You'll never be like them." "Deep down, you know what you're doing is all fucked up." "Well, that's the beauty of my plan." "I don't need to go deep down anymore." "Just give it up!" "No!" "I need to be safe!" "From what?" "Myself." "It's not your fault that they threw you off a roof!" "You don't get it." "No, I don't." "I thought it was so brilliant at the time." "If I thought that was a good idea, what will my next stroke of genius be?" "You're still fucked, Lake." "I don't think so." "You see, evolution has come to call." "Once we were swamp creatures, then we could walk." "The next step, to fly." "I am that next step." "What?" "I can't fly far, but far enough." "Really?" "Shut up." "Get him." "See you, boys." "I jumped, Gemma!" "It's not funny." "I know, but that's just so you, Placid." "You know, this makes everything clearer to me." "I can't have it both ways." "What does that mean?" "It means people like me don't hang out with people like you." "Not if they want to stay people like me." "Placid!" "Can I?" " We love you, son." " So you say." "So you've always said." "I never know what you want from me, Placid." "I don't know either, Doug." "Maybe whatever it is just isn't there." "I just wish I knew what to do." "Yeah." "Me too." " Sorry." "I" " Mum." "It's okay." "I now welcome our C.E.O., Ralph Ellis." "It does my heart good to see the future, and that's what you are." "We're asking something of you." "Your loyalty, your heart, your mind, and your soul." "In exchange, you'll get saloon cars and big houses." "Joel, buddy, can I ask you a" "Are you okay?" "Yeah, it's just a little ulcer problem." "Looks like a car accident in there." "How are you?" "You look a little nervy." "Well, I'm... feeling things." "Anxious, unsure." "I don't usually feel this way." "It's love and fear." "They offer you love, security, then they say, "you haven't got it just yet, and even when you do, we can take it away."" "Have these." "They'll numb you a bit." "Placid, uh, I hope I didn't disturb you with the coughing-up-blood and pill-popping thing." "No, not at all." "Well, a little." "I can see you're unsettled." "It's because you're a Maverick." "I'm not!" "No, it's okay." "I'm one too." "Really?" "You don't look like one." "Really?" "Jesus Christ." "Look at me." "I'm gray." "You've got a big house and a saloon vehicle, though, right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I have." "We're on a career path." "The road more traveled." "Just focus on that." "Career path?" "Sure." "I'll map it out for you." "You start young, taking the piss." "You're just staying a year or two here 'cause you've got hopes and dreams." "Then they rope you in." "You study for 'em." ""I'll just stay till I get a degree."" "You get a degree." "You move into marketing." ""Just another year or two."" "It's safe." "Mortgage, kids." "That's how they get you." "You hate it, but you just shove it all down deep into your gut." "No." "Lower." "You clamp it into your balls." "Then you turn around at 50, balls riddled with cancer, fat-gutted, really fucked, and a feeling in your stomach like you've swallowed a liter of sour milk." "But you haven't-- it's just what your dreams have turned into." "Anyway, better get in there." "They're about to start." "Well, all right." "Let's give it up for Anton." "I think it's time we tell him, huh, Joel?" "Yeah, sure." "Obviously, I'm not a fast-tracker." "I think we all know that now." "I'm a plant." "A what?" "From the consulting firm, young and young and younger." "What we were doing was testing your resolve." "What we were doing was asking," ""how much does he want it?"" "Oh." "And, Joel, I... think he wants it." "I wasn't going to" "I was just gonna scare-- you mean I can join?" "I think you're the sort of person we want in the company, don't you?" "I am." "I" " I want it so badly." "I think you're just who they need here." "Joel?" "Please, Joel." "I never meant" "Anton, you're not the first to think it." "Maybe we pushed you too far." "Let's go in and join the others." ""Young and younger," eh?" "That's right." "You coming in?" "There are moments when you need to do." "If you stopped and analyzed it, it'd be crazy." "You'd list pros and cons and think, "no."" "But you don't think." "You're listening to yourself." "These moments can save us." "What the hell?" "Placid?" "Take these off us." "The three of us need to talk." "Forget it." "We're not talking." "You take these things off us." "You're bloody hopeless parents." "You let me down every time I need you." "You put me second every time the choice is there." "I put up with it, sure, but I was just a kid." "You want to blame us, but... we're just flawed human beings!" "Oh, for god's sakes, Sylvia." "We're selfish." "No, we're not." "Are." "Aren't!" "Are!" "I don't want to blame you." "If we're so hopeless, Placid, why every time when I look at you do I feel proud?" "When you made that film at graduation, I was thrilled!" "You were?" "It was outrageous." "And deeply embarrassing for us." "But it was brave." "We love you, Placid." " I need more than words this time." " What, then?" " What do you want?" " A fight." " I still don't understand." " Oh, shit." "Ohh!" "Take your hands off my son!" "Mr. And Mrs. Lake." " Geez, that lady can punch." " Mm." "We did a good job with him." "We did." "Mm." " Placid, no!" " I quit." "I decided what I love." "Chemistry." "Seems obvious now you say it." "I'm gonna kiss you on the mouth now." "And I'm gonna kiss you right back." "I try to find the positive in my experiences." "¶ Well, we all just want a way to remember ¶ so, what's the plan now?" "¶ A way to surrender ¶" "I don't have one." "¶ A way to forever ¶" "¶ And we all just want someone to speak to ¶" "¶ Someone to see through ¶ ¶ Someone to be through ¶" "¶ So don't hide your love inside, 'cause in the end, other people, they just pretend ¶" "¶ You know, we never could fake it when we're naked ¶" "¶ Yeah, don't hide the love inside, 'cause in the end, other people, they just pretend ¶" "¶ You know we never could fake it when we're naked ¶" "¶ When we're naked ¶" "¶ Well, we all just want a way to stay broken ¶" "¶ A way to stay open ¶" "¶ A way to keep hoping ¶" "¶ And we all just want a reason to mess up ¶" "¶ A reason to fess up ¶" "¶ A reason to dress up ¶" "¶ So don't hide your love inside, 'cause in the end, other people, they just pretend ¶" "¶ You know we never could fake it when we're naked ¶" "¶ Yeah, don't hide your love inside, 'cause in the end, other people, they just pretend ¶" "¶ You know we never could fake it when we're naked ¶" "¶ It's underneath your skin ¶" "¶ It's always on your mind ¶" "¶ You want to let love in, but these are dangerous times ¶" "¶ It's underneath your skin ¶" "¶ It's always on your mind ¶" "¶ You want to let love in, but these are dangerous times ¶" "¶ Yeah, these are dangerous times ¶" "¶ So don't hide your love inside, 'cause in the end, other people, they just pretend ¶" "¶ You know we never could fake it when we're naked ¶" "¶ Yeah, don't hide your love inside, 'cause in the end, other people, they just pretend ¶" "¶ You know we never could fake it when we're naked ¶" "¶ When we're naked ¶" "¶ When we're naked ¶" "¶ When we're naked, yeah ¶"