Parts Per Billion (2014) - full transcript
The interwoven stories of three couples which are forced to make life altering decisions in the face of a disastrous war. Inspired and sometimes blinded by their love, Len, Mia, Andy, Esther, Anna and Erik are as flawed and beautiful as any of the billions who are facing this human-made biological disaster.
[guitar music playing]
[music stops]
[music resumes]
(news anchor)
The situation on the ground
is ongoing
while the entire disputed area
remains closed
to news organizations.
As Iast night's
report of a series
of Iarge expIosions
awaits officiaI confirmation,
widespread fear
of a biological weapons launch
continues to spread
throughout the region.
[speaking Arabic]
Justine, what are you
seeing in the capitaI?
The Foreign Ministry remains
shuttered for a second day
as evidence mounts
that the insurgents
may have used
at Ieast some part
of their Iong-rumored
biological weapons stockpile
in the course
of last night's incursion.
Have you been abIe
to get any word yet
on the government's
response?
Well, it's hard to find
any officials here at all
in the capital, Mark.
But those who are willing
to speak off the record
confirm the regime's
plan for a massive
retaliation
in the next five
to seven days.
Well, while we are trying
to restore that image,
lTL News
has just obtained
amateur video footage
purporting to show
casualties from last night's
exchange of missile fire.
A warning. This footage
contains images
that may be disturbing
to some viewers.
Obtained from a junior
military officer
fleeing the site
of last night's clashes,
it seems to belie
assurances from both
sides of the conflict
- that no chemical
or biological weapons...
- Damn it.
...have been deployed.
Such images
are horrifying enough,
but there's an even more
horrific scenario
if the contagion spreads
beyond the region,
potentially
infecting tens...
if not hundreds of thousands.
- They're saying--
- Look, I'm...
if you want to,
I'm just going to go
to the guitar shop.
The pickup
fried out, so...
They can't just
keep fighting, right?
(femaIe reporter)
We are now going live
to a press conference
at the Centers
for Disease Control.
[man]
As of 8:00 a.m.
Eastern Standard Time,
the CDC has not measured
any airborne contaminants
beyond a 1 00-mile radius
of Iast night's advance
in the MiddIe East.
What this--
what this means
is the continentaI
United States has not
and wiII not be affected
by the reported use
of these pathogens.
(femaIe reporter #2)
Steven, the situation
in the larger cities
near the epicenter
of the conflict
remains tense
as persistent rumors
of mass deaths
in scores of towns
E and villages
gain credibility.
At least three
regional governments
have begun issuing
gas masks...
(maIe reporter)
Rumors abound in the capital
as the prime minister
and his cabinet depart
the city...
[speaking Arabic]
(transIator)
This is simply a precaution
in order for us to maintain
government function...
(femaIe reporter #3)
Meanwhile, a veritable
exodus of refugees
continues to stream
across regional borders,
desperately seeking safety
from a threat
that remains, perhaps
intentionally, undefined.
(maIe reporter #2)
ln Washington, the president
has issued a statement
urging calm and affirming
that no known pathogen
poses any threat...
(news anchor)
The trade winds
are spreading the pathogen
well beyond
the conflict's borders,
confirming officials'
worst fears about
the airborne virus.
Reports of mass casualties
as far north as ltaly
and Portugal
are pending confirmation.
(femaIe reporter)
What we're apparently
seeing here is a virus,
or a complex of viruses,
killing some almost
immediately,
while leaving others
fully mobile.
However, within hours,
nobody in the affected area
remains alive.
Stay tuned, please,
for further developments
on this breaking news story.
That pickup's all right.
But when l move around--
(strumming)
it doesn't have that punch
and it's just fading out
a lot.
- Don't worry...
- All right, so...
(strumming guitar)
Okay, cool. Thanks, man.
[faint rumbIing, screaming]
He says
it's going to be,
Iike, an hour.
There's something...
- I am so hungry.
- Oh.
[woman]
l don't even know why
we're fighting this thing.
- It was the fucking dishes.
- Yes!
You guys have maids,
you know?
So it's not Iike
you see a dirty dish
and you're Iike,
"Hey, here's a dirty dish.
I've got to do something
about it.
l'm going to wash
this dirty dish."
- You're--
- What are you-- l mean--
You're totaIIy
fixated on this.
It's not the dish.
- l'm not talking
about the dish anymore.
- It's a metaphor.
- Yeah, it's a metaphor--
- I know what you're
going to say.
- No, you don't.
- The dish is a metaphor
for my anxiety about
how different we are.
- [Iaughing]
- What?
- You did know.
- WeII, of course I knew.
- So, fuck it.
- Just wash the dish.
- Just metaphor the metaphor.
- Just address my anxieties
with dishwashing Iiquid.
We'd miss this
if we ever Iost it.
We'd be like, "l wish
we could go back
to when the worst thing
we had to worry about
was the dishes."
[woman]
Hey.
Hey.
Oh, my God. You guys,
congratuIations!
Let me see.
Oh, my God.
That is
so adorabIe.
So what's going on
with this shit
in the news?
[sighs]
- HonestIy,
I'm not watching it.
- Don't know, right?
- Nothing's changed.
- l am going to go
to the bathroom.
Oh.
[woman #2 giggling]
[car horns honking]
(news anchor)
Although state
and county authorities
have been almost unanimous
in urging residents
to remain calm,
a spreading, seemingly
spontaneous exodus along
the Eastern Seaboard
has caused state highway
patrol officials
to shut down six major
northbound arteries,
piecing together--
[water running]
[distant siren wailing]
[car horns honking]
Traffic's insane
out there.
Did you guys
eat my food?
I got you this.
[faint sirens]
[dishes clattering]
Anna, why have you
been so freaked out
IateIy?
So, what, I'm not
aIIowed to taIk to any girI
I've ever sIept with?
Are you going to go crazy?
ls that it?
No, it's
the exact opposite.
I think you shouId taIk
to aII the peopIe
you want to...
any girl
you've ever met,
whenever they caII,
whenever they stop by,
whenever you
bump into them.
Yeah, I think
you shouId take
as many opportunities
as possibIe to taIk
to them.
Jesus, Anna.
Because, God,
there is so much time,
isn't there?
There is so much time
between aII the dishes
Iying around,
the fucked-up amps,
the fried-out pickups,
your rich grandparents...
and your boring,
stupid ex-girIfriends
coming to the "Gates
of fucking India"?
You know?
Because
between all that,
there's so much
time for...
Iaying in the bathtub...
and reading
the soap bottIe...
[sniffles]
and looking out together,
up at the leaves...
and hoIding each other,
because we're both so happy
that we're actuaIIy scared.
[sniffles]
Because if it
reaIIy is aII over--
Erik, if it was
just us,
and there really was
nothing left on Earth--
[Erik strumming softly]
What are you doing?
No, Anna, Anna,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
That's the song.
That--
that is the song.
Those are the Iyrics
to our song.
That's it.
It's going to be
beautifuI.
(MaIe newscaster)
No one is willing
to confirm or deny
what we're seeing here.
lt clearly isn't benign.
Even at this distance, David,
l've got to admit, l'm scared.
(maIe reporter)
We're getting unconfirmed
reports of rioting
at dozens of airports
as all domestic
and international flights
remain grounded.
(maIe reporter #2)
Hundreds of thousands
of people are now running
through the streets here
seeking any kind of shelter.
(femaIe reporter)
The president and his cabinet
have been evacuated
to an undisclosed location
while assuring
local authorities...
(newscaster)
...as yet another
American city reports
an almost unbelievable
casualty rate...
I, the Lord, have heId
My peace a Iong time...
(maIe reporter #2)
Just in the last several
minutes, it's really--
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
(femaIe reporter #2)
We are no longer
receiving reports
from the following cities
and municipalities--
Boston and the Boston
metropolitan area,
- Bridgeport and the...
- Philadelphia...
- Baltimore...
- "Then the fifth angeI
poured out his boweI
on the throne of the beast,
and His kingdom became
fuII of darkness
and they gnawed their tongues
because of the pain..."
- Jesus Christ!
- Oh, my God.
- Oh, my God.
- "They shaII become
refuse on the ground."
(announcer)
The following is a bulletin
from the Emergency
Management Agency.
lf concentrations
in your area have exceeded
80 parts per billion,
you must take
immediate shelter
and remain where you are
for a minimum
of eight days.
Authorities will continue
to broadcast hourly updates
as long as emergency networks
remain operational.
[birds chirping]
What does that even mean,
"parts per biIIion"?
Per billion what?
Per biIIion
of whatever eIse
was out there, I guess.
It's a beautifuI day.
Not a cIoud
in the sky.
[sighs]
We could read
something.
Sure.
[sniffs, exhaIes]
Remember this?
Oh, that.
That was a moment
of weakness.
WeII, at Ieast we're not
going to get divorced now.
It's so cIear out, baby.
The birds up there,
they're just fIying
around.
It's too bad
we aren't birds.
I wonder what
they're feeIing.
Like their favorite
TV show got canceIed.
[Iaughs]
I couId taIk to you
for another 20 years.
[scoffs]
Aw, shut up.
I mean it.
I was just thinking it
the other day.
[sniffIes]
I just reaIized that--
that you're my wife.
It took me practicaIIy
tiII just now
to reaIIy beIieve it.
[hissing]
We're going to have
to go to ChiIdren's.
- What?
- [groans]
There are no more
canisters here.
We're going to have to go
to ChiIdren's HospitaI.
Okay.
- Oh, my God.
- Don't Iook.
Oh, God.
That Iooks Iike...
that sweet nurse
in CardioIogy.
[man]
Sarah. Her name
was Sarah.
Sarah.
[sniffIes]
[praying in Hebrew]
[yeIIing, waiIing]
[monitor beeping]
Sarah?
Sarah. Sarah.
- Mr. Sachs, I--
- Wait a minute.
Look, I know
you're busy, but I
need a favor from you.
It's for my wife.
She's in there waiting
to see Dr. Henderson.
They took her
off Iife support.
They took her out of ICU.
We're just waiting, Sarah.
WeII, we have
an emergency--
WeII, this is
an emergency!
You understand?!
This is an
emergency, Sarah!
She's dying!
And the doctor's
just taken a three-hour
coffee break.
- Mr. Sachs--
- I'm sorry.
I know you're
a good person.
Esther and I reaIIy
think of you
as someone cIose to us,
Iike you're reaIIy famiIy.
PIease,
I'm begging you.
Just come with me.
HeIp me. HeIp me
get her to ICU.
Come on.
I'm not sure I'm going
to be abIe to do that.
We have an emergency--
Mr. Sachs?
- [groans]
- Mr. Sachs!
Jacob! Get me
an oxygen unit.
Jacob, get me
an oxygen unit, now.
Yes, right.
[gasping]
(Sarah)
Mr. Sachs? Lift your
head up for me.
[wheezing, coughing]
Try to breathe normaIIy.
- Okay?
- Yeah.
- I've got to go.
- Wait, wait.
Listen to me.
It's a bioIogicaI attack.
- lsn't it?
- They don't know.
People can't breathe--
oId peopIe...
kids.
Animals are okay.
We onIy have
about three hours--
[inhaIes deepIy]
It has to do with
how much materiaI
is in the air.
And winds and...
if it gets up to more
than 35 parts per biIIion,
you're going to need
one of these to survive, Sarah.
Now Iisten to me. Listen.
You got to get one.
Not a charcoaI fiIter.
Pure oxygen.
You'II be abIe to Iast
eight days. Okay?
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Good Iuck.
[woman]
Nurse!
I have to go!
[oxygen hissing]
"Connect me to something.
Give me something,"
I said. You know?
"Give me something,
CounseI.
Give me something
that connects my cIient
eating baba ghanoush
at some streetside cafe
somewhere in...
do we even know where
this was taken, Tracy?"
And then Tracy said...
And then I said,
"No, the prosecution
just gave us Exhibit 345,
defendants Hightower,
Esselen, and Sachs
and 'unidentified man.'1979."
"So, pIease.
HeIp me out here,"
I said, Iooking
sort of baffIed.
"Give me whatever
it is you're hanging
your case on
"so that I can
defend my cIient.
"But don't keep giving me
"exhibit after exhibit,
"so-caIIed 'fact'
after so-caIIed 'fact'
"that doesn't add up
to A) trade secrets,
"B) any of your empIoyees
actuaIIy compromising
"your trade secrets,
or C)
"any materiaI damages
done to your company's
overseas interests,
"because if opposing
counseI doesn't or can't,
"or for whatever reason,
they won't...
"Your Honor,
I respectfuIIy request
that you
dismiss the case
against my cIient."
And the judge
dismissed it.
[footsteps approaching,
knock on door]
[woman]
You guys? We're...
we're evacuating
the buiIding.
(reporter)
...the news,
then a proliferation
of rumors and hearsay,
and then almost street
by street...
(man on recording)
Hey, man. Leave a message
and l'll get back to you.
[beeps]
Hey, man. I'm Ieaving
a message, dude.
Did you--
if you're watching TV,
- there's a...
- [screaming]
anyway, turn on the TV.
It has something to do
with the war.
We're supposed to...
[sighs]
(reporter)
...conflicting reports
of trade winds...
So, um...
meet me
back at the house.
And...
pIease change
your outgoing message,
though, baby.
SeriousIy.
(reporter)
...but efforts
to keep citizens calm
and encourage them
to maintain their normal...
l'm going to take you
left, then right--
- Ah!
- Busted!
- [buzzing]
- ...surprise myseIf!
Ah!
Take it back
right here.
And then I'm going
to score again.
[both Iaughing]
Perfect defense.
Oh, yeah!
That's game, baby!
- No, no, no.
- That's game.
No.
Okay, so here's
the deal.
If I sink this,
right here,
you Iet me
pay you back.
You don't owe me
anything, man.
You see,
that's exactIy
the kind of taIk
that won't be aIIowed
if I make this shot.
What happens
if you miss?
Uh...
You know, this is reaIIy
going to determine
my inner moraIity.
lf l miss,
then you never have
to hear about it again.
How's that? Okay?
Borrowed your Jeep,
fucked up the transmission,
we're square.
But if I make it,
you accept the cash.
[sighs]
AII right,
I'II trust your
subconscious.
You hear that,
Rick's subconscious?
You don't reaIIy
want him to make
this shot, do you?
- [chuckIes]
- Make him miss.
You're just--
you're going to stand
right there?
You never
said anything about
where I couId stand.
- Okay. Okay.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
It doesn't reaIIy matter.
That doesn't bother me.
- 'Cause you know why?
- Why?
'Cause I got it
Iike that.
I give up.
[elevator bell dings]
Nice work
on the Sachs case.
Thanks.
Where are you going?
Home.
That's it?
That's it.
[sighs]
Whatever.
[sighs]
Let's not end this
on a bad note.
You're
a wonderfuI guy,
and who knows what
wouId have happened
if we had met before.
But it was never
a question.
There was
in my mind.
I'm sorry.
[sighs]
It's the end
of the worId.
If it reaIIy is
the end of the worId,
how funny, you know?
For once,
it reaIIy wouId be
when it feeIs that way.
- How romantic.
- [elevator bell dings]
[woman on phone]
Anyway, turn on the TV.
lt has something to do
with the war.
Meet me
back at the house
and please change
your outgoing message,
though, baby.
- Come on, come on.
Let's go.
- Seriously.
I'm starting
to tighten up
a IittIe bit.
Let's go.
What?
She toId me
to turn on the TV.
- She wants me
to meet her at home.
- Now?
Yeah.
- So you're--?
- Sorry, man.
You know what, man?
You are so fuckin' whipped.
Hey, l canceled
a lot of shit for this
so we can
just hang out.
Yeah?
Like what?
Coffee at Saga?
Tarot card
reading?
- Yeah.
- I'II see you
on Thursday.
- You got to be kidding me.
- I'II see you Thursday, man.
Yeah, fuck you,
motherfucker.
- Thursday.
- lf you're lucky.
[distant siren]
Goddamn it.
(Erik)
Hey.
I finished the song.
I have an idea.
Why don't we
take a nap,
just forget
about everything?
- [distant siren]
- Listen to this.
"The souIs
of aII my dears
"have fIown
to the stars.
Thank God
there's no one Ieft
for me to Iose."
Hm.
You know what
your grandmother
said to me?
Mm.
She said...
that the onIy
important Ianguage
spoken in the worId
is spoken between
a man and a woman.
In bed.
I don't know.
Maybe you want
to watch the news?
- Nuh-uh.
- Or write
some more poetry?
No.
You know what?
We shouId probabIy
get up and do the dishes.
No, I don't think so.
[giggIing]
[faint ringing]
And so, finaIIy,
eight years Iater
or whatever,
at some
New Year's Eve party,
Grandpa finaIIy
got up the courage
and he kissed her.
At Ieast,
that's how my mom
used to teII it.
[engine stops]
They're going to Iove you.
SeriousIy.
Don't worry about it.
I'm not
worried, baby.
- HeIIo!
- Hi!
I'm so gIad
to meet you.
I'm so happy
to meet you, too.
Yes! Goodness!
Ooh!
Someone did very weII.
This is a beautifuI ring.
- That's right.
- He did very great.
How are you,
sweetheart?
Men are so
much Iike kids,
it's siIIy.
I mean, there's
the guitar
and there's
the garden
and there's basketbaII
and footbaII--
it's a wonder
they have any time
at aII
to devote themselves
to other responsibilities
for family.
But they do.
They do.
- Yeah.
- BIess 'em.
You know.
I'm going to have
to sit down, I think.
- I just got a IittIe pooped.
- Yeah, sure.
What you've got to watch,
of course, is when you
breed something
more and more
speciaIized,
it can onIy survive
under very narrow
and specific conditions.
- [groans]
- Here.
Thank you.
- Got something for you.
- No, Grandpa, I'm fine.
- No, no, no.
- I'm fine.
No, no, you can't
refuse me.
You just can't.
I'm not going to take no
for an answer,
- so you might as weII
just stop.
- Okay.
I said I want
to teII you something--
man to man, okay?
No matter how much
a woman may teII you
that she's happy
to support you,
that she's not interested
in materiaI things,
she wants you
to be free...
sooner or Iater, they
aII want the good things
in Iife.
- I know, I know.
But Anna isn't Iike that.
- WeII, I'm sure she's not.
I'm not teIIing you
that she's shaIIow.
ProbabIy is the most
naturaI, basic instinct
in a woman...
actuaIIy,
any human being,
make a home,
make a nest.
You know, I'm pIaying
a show at this thing.
It's caIIed
"South by Southwest."
And you know
there's a Iot of...
record company peopIe,
and managers go.
That's wonderfuI.
- I can make a Iiving
pIaying music.
- I'm sure you can.
And I'm sure you'II
figure it out.
Don't Iet anybody
pressure you, huh?
Just take
your time.
If there's anything
ever I can do
to heIp you,
you know I'm here.
So funny,
I was just thinking
this morning
that, God,
I have turned into
such a typicaI "girI."
[chuckIes]
I never thought
it wouId happen to me,
but I--
oh, God--
I am compIeteIy
obsessed with him.
Beyond obsessed
with him.
I mean, even when
I'm angry or jeaIous
or, I don't know,
maybe that's the same thing,
but God, he Ieaves for an hour
and I can't stand it.
I don't know
what to do with myseIf.
I feeI
kind of crazy and--
[sighs]
that can't be heaIthy.
WeII, I'm not sure
it's heaIthy,
but it is
the way it is.
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
And I'II teII you
something eIse.
You'd be somepIace,
at a party
or a friend's house
or something,
and he'II be over there
taIking to somebody.
And you see his face.
And you think,
"He and I
are going to make
some beautifuI babies."
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
You know what?
I don't think
I can take this.
No, no. I toId you
I'm not taking no
for an answer.
- No, Grandpa, I can't.
- Oh, Erik, come on.
I got it, you need it.
- What's the difference?
- I aIways appreciate--
I am not
taking it back.
That's finaI.
[rips]
- I'm sorry.
- ldiot.
You're too good
for my dirty money?
You think there wouIdn't
be such a thing as war
if it wasn't for me?
I got news for you, kid.
There are worse sinners
on this earth
- than your grandfather.
- No, no, no. I don't--
Wait tiII you have
a chiId!
Wait tiII you have
a sick chiId!
Then you'II Iecture me.
(attorney0
And if you have any trouble
at all remembering
or if you aren't sure
of your answer,
just say,
"l don't remember,"
or, "l don't have
any specific recollection."
Now, that Iast one
actuaIIy covers
quite a Iot.
If, for instance,
you "sort of" think you
might remember something,
but it's possibIe
that you aren't
remembering it cIearIy,
it's never perjury
to say, "I don't have
any specific recoIIection."
They were deveIoping
a pathogen.
I know, Mr. Sachs.
But the prosecution
won't be asking
about that tonight.
It wasn't even
my division.
I offered advice
to my cIients
on pharmaceuticaI
Iines.
Okay.
We have
about 1 5 minutes
until opening
statements.
They just offered me
so much money.
So much.
MiIIions.
Okay. Mr. Sachs,
Iook at me.
This triaI is not
about how
certain governments
got a hoId
of certain weapons
or formuIas
for weapons
over 30
years ago.
This trial deals with
the very narrow issue
of whether or not
you violated your contract
with Sichel Systems
by revealing trade secrets,
and you didn't
do that.
You didn't
break the terms
of your contract.
You're innocent.
Have you had
a chiId?
- No.
- You can't watch them die.
She Iived
another 1 5 years
and she gave us
our grandson, Erik.
But the prosecution
doesn't need to know
that, do they?
I took it.
I took the money.
I knew
it was wrong,
but I took it.
My wife is Iiving
in deniaI,
but I know
it's my fauIt.
I deserve
to be punished.
We reaIIy need
to Ieave, Mr. Sachs.
(Esther)
Oh, my God.
Oh, it's too far.
(Sachs)
We'II get there,
we'II get there.
HoId on.
If we can find some more
canisters up there,
it's going to get us
eight days of air,
and the poison
wiII be gone.
(Esther sighs)
To think
I was so scared
about having
that operation.
And instead,
Dr. Henderson died.
Esther, if you're
going to go through
aII the ironies
of the situation,
we're going to be taIking
another 20 years.
You know that?
I won't say a word.
I don't ever want
to say anything.
What?
What did you say?
Excuse me?
You don't want
to say anything?
Huh?
You don't want
to say anything...
about my pants?
Something
about my pants?
-They're too high.
-ExactIy.
Okay, here we go.
(Sarah)
Have you been
looking for a job?
[man]
Yeah, l've been
looking for a job.
I print out another
1 75,000 resumes,
I change my profiIe
on another miIIion
job sites.
- I mean, the thing is--
- l even call Human Resources.
I swear to God,
I feeI Iike "WiIIy Loman."
I said...
[sighs]
"If anything comes up,
do me a favor.
Keep my number.
Give me a caII."
I mean, you were
getting pIenty of work
when you were putting her
through Iaw schooI.
Yeah. PeopIe
used to hire writers.
You can get
any job you want.
Yeah.
One more job.
Pay some biIIs.
Buy some stuff,
get another job,
pay some more biIIs,
buy some more stuff--
Yeah, but it's that
or what?
PIay basketbaII
with your buddies aII day
and Iet Mia
buy your shirts?
You know what's
interesting to me,
is that why--
instead of printing
a bunch of resumes,
why we aII don't
just stop
in the middIe
of the street and say...
What the heII
is going on here?
What is this
aII about?
I mean, why am I
here on this earth,
you know?
- Oh, Len--
- No, I mean it.
I mean it.
Why does the universe
expand for eternity?
Wh-why--
(stammers)
how much Ionger
am I going to Iive?
Why am I the onIy
animaI that knows
it's going to die?
We aII asked ourseIves
those questions
when we were, Iike,
eight.
Yeah, but why
did we stop asking,
you know?
'Cause I never
got any answers.
[phone ringing]
Is this
about the war?
[sighs]
This is about what
I'm supposed to be doing
with my Iife.
I just don't know
what I'm supposed
to teII Dad.
Oh, God, Sarah.
TeII him I'm happy.
I mean, you teII me,
X-ray vision--
am I horribIy
depressed?
You know what I just
reaIized the other day?
We're at some party
at Mia's office
and we'd
just gotten in
some stupid fight
and we're outside
in the parking Iot.
And I just
reaIized that...
she's my wife.
And I Iove her.
I mean,
I reaIIy Iove her.
She married me...
so I can't reaIIy be
that depressed, can I?
God.
I hope I meet someone
Iike you someday.
- Except with a job.
- Except with a job.
[engine knocking]
[engine stops]
Come on.
[engine sputters]
Come on!
[distant siren]
Fuck.
Shit.
[car horns honking]
[honking continues]
[ringing]
[tires screeching,
sharp thump]
[faint ringing]
Mia?
Sarah, what the fuck
is going on?
Listen,
they're not teIIing
the whoIe story on the news.
WeII, I haven't seen the news.
What's going on?
Just ignore
what everybody's saying.
You have to get back
to the house.
Get out your dehumidifiers
and ionizers--
anything you have
that fiIters air--
and seaI yourseIf
into the basement.
[panting]
What-- what is it?
Is this the war?
Just Iisten.
Remember how we put
Mom's oxygen tanks
up in the attic?
Yeah.
I got rid of those
months ago, Sarah.
[sighs]
Damn.
WeII, just stay down there
as Iong as you can.
l'm starting
to freak out here, Sarah.
What's going on?
How do you know aII this?
Because I-- I met
someone who knows
about this,
- and I--
- Hey, Sarah?
Sarah, listen to me, okay?
What the fuck?
HoId on a second.
I got to give you
a caII back, okay?
I'm going to caII you back.
Stay safe.
(recording)
Attention, please.
There has been
an emergency reported
in the building.
- [Sarah moans]
- Leave the building
immediately
using marked stairways
and exits.
Do not use elevators.
Hey, buddy.
Do you know
where your mommy
and daddy are?
You okay?
...using marked stairways
and exits.
Do not use elevators.
[sighs]
- [groans]
- Attention, please.
Attention, please.
There has been
an emergency reported
in the building.
Leave the building
immediately
using marked stairways...
It hurts.
What hurts?
My tummy.
Where does it hurt?
Hmm?
It--
[guIps]
Okay, okay, buddy.
Okay.
We're going to...
[man]
What the fuck
are you doing?
- Hey--
- Get the fuck away
from my boy!
Hey, man, it's okay.
Your kid is not doing--
Hey, whoa!
Hey, hey--
hey, Iisten!
Jesus Christ!
Hey, Iisten, man!
- Listen!
- Fuck you--
- Daddy!
- Damn it! Listen!
(grunting)
Listen!
Jesus Christ, man!
Stop!
Listen to me.
Take care
of your son!
[distant sirens]
[music playing, laughter]
Hey, do you have
any GoIdfish?
- Um...
- Yes, GoIdfish.
Maybe up there.
Thanks.
Uh...?
[Iaughing]
(Anna)
Wow.
Do you think
that they
stuffed everything up
Iike that for the party?
No, I think that is
just how they keep
their things.
- You know what's
weird about that?
- What?
Oh, shh-- Oreos.
- Look at this.
- Mmm.
- Mmm.
- Mmm, mmm.
Yummy, yummy.
What's...
- what's weird?
- Huh?
- What's weird about it?
- What's weird, what's weird.
- You said--
- It was...
I don't know.
It's just weird.
Ever since
we got engaged,
there's suddenIy
Iike aII these--
I don't know,
these waves that we--
No.
I know exactIy
what you mean.
There's, Iike,
a right way
and a wrong way
of doing everything,
and we're, Iike--
You know why?
It's 'cause we're, Iike,
we are Iike,
the Anna and Erik tribe.
You know?
And I mean
there's something
terribIy wrong
about putting the--
Iook, the cat food
next to the tea.
Yeah, but
for the Jess
and Henry tribe
probabIy the way
we stack things
and put things
together reaIIy neatIy
seems compIeteIy insane
and constricting.
- Right?
- Yeah, yeah.
I mean it aIready
feeIs so wrong
to do it any other way
than the way we do it.
Right, but that
is how it begins,
you know?
That is why countries
invade each other...
'cause of that.
"You don't put the tea
in the right pIace."
Yeah? Fuck you!
Fuck you, you're
the bad guys.
You have no idea
how to do it,
and we're better.
"You know what?
The green tea
goes on the top sheIf
next to the cocoa,
fuckwad, or I'm
going to kiII you."
The beginning
of civiIization.
I'm sorry.
I have got
to move this.
No, I mean,
it so doesn't
beIong there.
There is something
immoraI about it.
We'd be hypocrites
if we faiI that.
Future generations
wiII thank us.
The products here
wiII cry out
for Iiberation.
It wiII be a beacon
of proper sheIf
arrangement
for the entire region.
Oh, my God.
So good.
I can't find
the Goldfish.
He was up there.
God.
[faint screaming]
[car horns honking]
[wind rustling]
[birds chirping]
[crows cawing]
I hear you.
[faint echo]
[wind rustling,
birds chirping]
[chirping continues]
[wings fluttering]
[rustIing, crunching]
[birds chirping]
[footsteps approaching]
Hi.
- Was I taIking
to myseIf?
- No.
I've been feeIing
so weird these
past few days.
You know...
I see stuff.
Out of the corner
of my eye sometimes.
I don't even
teII my boyfriend--
my fiancé.
And these
past few days, I...
l mean literally,
last night,
for a second,
it was like there was
nobody left anywhere...
except animaIs...
running down the middIe
of the street.
[sniffIes]
God, and Erik was Iike,
"What?
What are you
staring at?"
You didn't say?
They say
schizophrenia starts
when you're, Iike,
1 9 to 25.
Rick:
You hear voices?
WeII, I just heard
a bunch of crows
[chuckIes]
WeII, they aren't
teIIing you
to jump off any
high buiIdings, right?
No.
Good.
My name is Rick.
I'm Anna.
I've considered
the high
buiIding option.
But Iife is so
absurdIy short,
anyway.
Yeah, I've been
thinking that.
Makes you onIy want to do
the important things.
But what are
the important things?
I'm pregnant.
First time
I've toId anybody.
- Greyhound.
- You got it.
Vodka
and grapefruit.
Here you go.
Thank you.
You don't know
what a Greyhound is?
Hey, who got us
this job?
So, anyway,
aII I'm saying
aII of these
artificiaI
restrictions.
It's Iike going on
some radicaI diet
when you're
not even fat.
AII I'm saying is,
yes,
agreed,
congratuIations
Anna is hot.
She's incredibIy hot.
And, granted, you're
probabIy not going
to meet anybody
who's that hot
and whatever cooI
and interesting
and wonderfuI.
(Mia)
I don't know
what you're taIking about.
You're making
a scene.
WeII, what is he
Iooking at, then?
Right now he's
Iooking at you.
Having dragged me across
the room and yeIIing at me
- in front of
aII my coworkers--
- I'm not yeIIing at you.
Can I get a vodka
and tonic?
BriIIiant, that's
exactIy right.
- Yeah.
- Fucking more aIcohoI
because that's reaIIy
going to heIp.
Thank you.
See? He probabIy
thought he was marrying
the most magicaI,
beautifuI girI
on earth.
It's up to you, man.
I'm just saying
you couId be deaIing
with that kind of shit
for the rest
of your Iife.
Or I couId spend the rest
of my Iife saying,
"I met the one
true Iove of my Iife
"when I was 22 years oId
and I was too scared
- to ask her to marry me."
- If she is the one true
Iove of your Iife.
I mean, there are
biIIions of peopIe.
No, she's--
she's the one
true Iove of my Iife.
(chuckIes softIy)
Okay.
So you have the rest
of your Iife
to ask her
to marry you.
(mutters)
Fuck.
(exhaIes sharpIy)
It happens
every time.
I get dressed up
to come to a thing
Iike this,
and it's
a fucking disaster.
[sniffIes]
Len,
none of these peopIe
matter to me.
None of these peopIe
mean anything to me
except you.
[sighs]
Let's get out
of here.
Ah, fuck.
Oh, God.
I need water.
Water.
What's this?
l got it
at the museum.
(bottIe Iid cIanking)
It's a triIobite.
It's probabIy Iike
300 miIIion years oId.
And now they
just give them away
with a $50 membership.
There used to be
biIIions of them.
They must have had
a Iot of sex.
They couIdn't
heIp themseIves.
They were in Iove.
Or it was
just instinct.
Same thing,
I guess.
I'd have babies
with you.
I mean, not right
away, but...
we shouId,
you know?
(sighs deepIy)
[scoffs]
What?
I never said never.
I said, "Don't
marry me if you want
to have chiIdren."
But you wouId?
I couId.
Yeah, I wouId.
We shouId.
- Right?
- Right.
Think of how beautifuI
it wouId be.
"It"?
She. She.
Okay. We wiII.
You promise?
Not right away.
But someday.
Promise.
[key chain rattling]
[siren wailing]
[key rattling]
Mia?!
(Mia)
There you go.
lt's okay.
Come here.
So we need to--
I need you
to get everything
out of the kitchen
that you can, okay?
Get everything that you can.
Okay?
I'm going to go upstairs
and get some bIankets.
Okay?
We're going to bring it
down to the basement.
Okay? Yeah?
Sure.
Okay.
[announcer]
The following message
is transmitted
at the request
of the United States
government.
This is not a test.
All residents
of the United States
are strongly encouraged
to establish--
(Len)
We're going to need
some more tape.
We've got to seal
all the windows up here,
we've got
to seal the door.
(Mia)
Does creme soda
count as water?
What?
[cracking, Mia yelps]
- Come on, sweetheart.
- I'II just get that, okay?
Let's get everything
downstairs.
It's aII diet food.
It's aII fucking...
Iow carb crap.
AII of it.
It's okay,
sweetheart.
Hey, Iook--
I have a chocoIate bar
in my pocket, okay?
With aImonds, okay?
Go back
downstairs.
Okay?
Go back
downstairs.
- Come on, sweetie.
- Okay, okay, okay.
(Len)
I got it.
Do you need
this tape?
- Nope.
- Okay.
(Mia)
Did you call Sarah?
[sighs]
Mm-hmm.
You okay down there,
sweetheart?
[Sachs grunting]
Ooh.
Andy, it's...
it's time to stop.
I thought
you didn't want
to taIk anymore.
[groans]
(Esther)
I just don't
want to sit here
watching you
kiII yourseIf.
(Sachs)
We'II get there.
You see?
If we can just
make it up there,
we're going to find
some more canisters,
I know it.
Stop that, Esther.
Stop it, come on.
Take your hand--
(grunts)
Take your
hand off the wheeI.
(Esther grunts)
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry,
but Iook.
I've got to--
we can't afford
the energy it takes
to fight Iike this.
(moans)
I wish-- I wish
you wouId put
more energy into
finding soIutions.
There are no
soIutions, honey.
The news broadcasts
have stopped,
and...
everybody that
we Iove is dead.
Listen to me.
Everyone I Iove
is not dead.
The onIy person
on earth that I Iove
is stiII aIive.
Oh, you're such
a charmer.
You couId
charm the knickers
off of any girI.
WeII, there's no
girIs Ieft
but my girI.
[sniffIes]
Okay.
Here we go.
[grunts]
[plane engines whining]
(Anna)
I can't stand how much
I miss you when I'm gone.
(Erik)
I know.
Oh-- so, I got
a new book
that I reaIIy
want to read to you.
Okay.
(Anna)
Wait, l don't know
which one to read to you.
Wow, that song
is reaIIy good.
- Yeah, you know, I--
- Let me just
read you one.
What-- you don't
have to stop.
I know, I know.
I mean,
I just, I just--
I just wanted
to show you something.
ln the park.
l want your opinion
on something
that they're building
across the river.
Uh, what,
before we go home?
Yeah, yeah.
It's just been
bugging me. I pass it
every day on my run,
you know.
Right.
So do you want
to Iook at it?
Uh, sure.
You don't want
to hear this?
No, no.
Read it to me,
read it to me.
"At the red towers
of your native Sodom,
"the square where
once you sang,
"the spinning shed,
at the empty windows
"set into the house,
"where sons and daughters
blessed your marriage bed.
"A singIe gIance,
a sudden dart of pain
"stitching her eyes
before she made a sound.
"Her body flaked
into transparent salt.
Her swift Iegs
rooted to the ground."
Right?
That's--
that's incredibIe.
- You're so distracted.
- No, I'm not. I Iiked it.
No, you have no idea
what I just read to you.
Not no idea.
Come on.
Hey.
"DiIute."
(straining)
"DiIute. DiIute!"
DiIute. Okay.
Come on.
Let's go see your
weird-ass building.
(Anna Iaughs)
(ship horn blowing)
Okay. Uh...
this Iooks right.
See that...
that big red buiIding
with the arches?
It's that.
Right next to it
with the...
The water tower,
just right under that,
there's Iike this cIuster
of red buiIdings.
Like that red garage-
Iooking thing?
- Yeah.
- I can't reaIIy see it.
- Is it next to the--
- Yeah.
What am I
Iooking at?
(shuddering)
Hey!
I have to give this
to you now.
Oh, my God.
What does that mean?
What does that...
Is that a "yes"?
You have to say yes
if you're going to--
(sobs)
- You stiII
need to say "yes."
- (Anna Iaughs)
I Iove you.
I Iove you
so much.
- (Anna Iaughing)
- Say yes. You need
to say yes.
PIease.
Look at you.
♪ You Iove me... ♪
(giggIes)
(grunts)
Esther:
Well, what do you
think of our news?
- What news?
- Our news.
Erik and Anna.
Oh, that's fine.
(grunts)
Oh, honey. You don't
disIike Anna, do you?
I think she's wonderfuI
and I just Iove her.
I'm just so happy
about this.
I Iike her fine.
(grunts)
You know I offered him
some money and he wouIdn't
take it?
Oh, weII, he's
getting married.
You know,
he's going to be
the big macho man now.
Head of the famiIy.
He'II probabIy never
take money from us again.
WeII, I bet if I
made it in reaI estate
or cattIe ranching,
he'd take it.
- (Esther chuckIes)
- What are you Iaughing at?
Nothing--
weII, yes, I am.
I'm thinking of you
standing in the middIe
of a herd of cows.
Very funny.
(bangs jar)
- Honey, don't do that.
- (smashes)
Oh!
Oh, shit.
Goddamn it.
- Did you cut yourseIf?
- No.
Just Ieave it.
I'II get it Iater.
Come on over here,
my darIing man,
and talk to me.
What's the matter?
TeII me what's
reaIIy troubIing you.
[sighs]
I took their money.
They wouIdn't have
paid me so much
if they weren't
going to use my knowIedge.
Oh, no.
You weren't
working for them.
You were just working
at their Iaboratory.
They wanted
great scientists to work
at their Iaboratory.
It gives them
prestige.
I knew they were
working on pathogens.
They were just
picking my brain.
AII I couId
think about was Liza.
Listen.
That money...
gave Liza 1 5 more
years of Iife.
It gave her Erik.
What if they
use it, Esther?
What if they use it
and everybody dies?
WeII, I think
you're going
compIeteIy crazy.
I reaIIy do,
you know.
You are not to bIame
for everything
in this worId,
no matter
how smart you are.
And I'II teII you
something eIse.
I'm taking a IittIe
offense at this.
I didn't marry
a murderer.
I married
the kindest,
gentIest,
most Ioving man
in the worId.
I don't think
you ever knew
just how much
I Iove you.
I swear, it--
- Esther?
- Ow--!
- What is it, honey?
- Ow!
- Come on, Esther.
Come on. Come.
- Oh. No.
- Come on, come with me.
- I'm fine. I just got excited.
Come on, come on.
Let me take you.
I'II take you upstairs.
Okay, come on.
- One, two, three.
- (Esther grunts)
- Here we go.
- Oh...!
- [panting]
- Come on.
Come on.
I'm okay,
reaIIy.
(Len)
Well, whatever it is,
seven or eight days.
When we're done
with the water...
and there's
the tangerine juice, too.
When we're done
with everything,
then we go up.
Even though the radio
said eight days.
So maybe we only
make it seven.
But what the fuck
do they know, you know?
Air could be clear
at six.
CIear enough, anyway,
for me to go up
and get suppIies
and come back down here.
- What?
- The Iast thing
they said was...
"200 miIIion dead
in Europe."
So that's not
everybody.
Nothing's going
to be Ieft, Len.
We don't know that
until we see.
Len, nothing's Ieft.
The radio stopped.
[sighs]
There's no more pIanes
or heIicopters.
When's the Iast time
you heard anything
other than birds?
We'II stay down here
three more days.
- And then...
- (Mia sobs)
- we'II drive
to the marina.
- No.
[sighs]
We'II get a boat.
We'II go out
on the Iake.
- [sighs]
- And we'II keep going
untiI we find someone.
- I don't--
- What?
I don't want to...
wade through
a bunch of corpses
to go steaI a boat
to go Iook at more corpses
Iying on a bunch of docks.
[sobs]
Even--
[sniffIes]
even if we did
make it, Len,
what are we
supposed to do?
Do you reaIIy want
to pIay "Adam and Eve"?
BuiId it aII back up
so it aII just gets
destroyed again?
Maybe peopIe
wiII Iearn.
It's Iike that guy
who hit you for trying
to take care of his kid.
It's Iike that guy
I defended-- great guy,
good father,
aIways showing me
pictures of his grandson,
who heIped invent the shit
that kiIIed everyone.
PeopIe aren't
going to Iearn.
It's something
in us.
It's something
in the way
that we're made.
Then at Ieast...
we'II have more time.
At Ieast we'II go out
on the water together.
We'II find a boat
with a nice, big cabin.
Come on.
[sighs]
Len?
That guy, Jay,
from the Iaw firm?
He feII in Iove
with me.
I never did
anything.
I never Iet him
touch me.
[sniffIes]
But I...
you know, I--
I made him think,
I guess...
that he had
a shot at it.
- Why?
- It was just a way to--
Just a way
to pass the time?
To feeI better
about myseIf, I guess.
Why do you need
to feeI better
about yourseIf?
It wasn't about you.
[sobs]
It was
just my curse.
Len.
Either we're
going to stay down here
Iike caged animaIs,
Or we're going to go
upstairs tomorrow...
and Iie down
on the grass.
Breathe in...
and die...
when and where
we choose.
We'II eat
the chocoIate bar
before we do it, okay?
Okay?
[pIaying softIy]
[Anna giggling]
- Oh, my God.
- What? What?
Did you buy
this weird soap?
What?
I seriousIy think
l've found my new religion.
Oh, yeah, that stuff.
Wait, have you
read this?
No. I mean,
the writing's
so tiny--
Wait a minute.
Listen to this.
"Einstein, 1 939.
"After Nazis
and Commies united,
"proposes 'space bombs'
"that destroys aII
"unIess we finaIIy
teach the moraI ABCs.
"The reaI Rabbi HiIIeI
taught Jesus
to unite aII in,
aII one, God faith."
[sighs]
(Iatch cIicks)
(oxygen hissing)
(hissing stops)
Did you find
a pay phone?
(coughs)
I got some noodIes.
Just got to add water.
And some drinks.
And there's
these things--
energy bars.
And napkins.
I couIdn't find a pay phone.
I don't think they make them
anymore.
What is this doing
on a soap bottIe?
And where
did you get this?
I mean, it was at
the heaIth food store.
- It was cheap.
- "We're aII one or none.
"There is no god
but God.
"Teach 'Love thy enemy.'
"One IsraeI-Moses-
Buddha-Jesus-Mohammed.
- One! AII one!"
- AII one!
"Dilute! Dilute! Okay!"
(giggling)
How about
the switchboard?
The hospitaI
switchboard.
Or aII of these
houses and apartments
around here.
They've aII
got to have phones.
Esther...
he's gone.
- Erik's gone.
- (Anna giggling)
Oh, Iook at this.
Read this.
"For on God's
spaceship, Earth"--
[together]
"With bomb and gun,
"we're aII one
or none.
"AII one, aII one,
all one!
Exceptions eternaIIy?
AbsoIuteIy none!"
"AbsoIuteIy none."
(Iaughs)
Oh, my God.
Why is the most
inspiring thing
that I've ever read
sitting
on a soap bottIe?
"DiIute."
[together]
"DiIute! DiIute!"
"DiIute!
Okay."
[Iaughing]
- You don't know that.
- It's just the way it is.
Because he couId be
with any of his friends.
That's just it,
honey.
You don't know it
for sure. You don't--
[sobbing]
No! No!
- Oh, oop!
- [Anna giggIing]
No...
[sobbing]
Oh, God, no.
Shh...
[rustling]
[rapid footsteps pattering]
[siren]
Okay, peopIe.
We're cIosing down
shop in two minutes.
You've got two minutes
to get your purchases
up to the counter.
Okay?
- That's it, man.
We got to go.
- Come on.
250. Let's go.
- Come on.
- Yeah.
Um... fuck.
[man]
Hey. We're done, man.
Let's go.
I-I gave
aII my money to--
here, just run this.
Yeah, okay, buddy.
That's it. We're outta here.
You're cIosing up shop.
Just-- just--
you're not seIIing
any more of these
anyway, right?
Don't be stupid, man.
We ain't giving them away,
either.
I understand that.
Just take this. Here.
That's aII I got.
It's aII I got.
Get the fuck
out of here.
Get the fuck
out now.
- Hey.
- Hey! Put down the kit!
It's the end of the worId.
Just Iet me waIk out of here
with a chance.
- Put down the kit.
- [gun cIicks]
What? The Iast thing
you want to do on earth
is shoot me?
This is how this shit
started, anyway.
Right? That's how
it started in the first--
[gunshot]
- You ready?
- I'm fine.
Good. If you're fine,
the tests are going
to show it.
Anyway...
[groans]
we haven't
seen Dr. Henderson
for a Iong time.
- Come here.
- That's right.
And here I was,
trying to cheer you up.
Oh, yeah.
(Sachs)
You remember when
we lived in Washington,
the Georgetown apartment?
Yes, l do.
We both got the flu
at the same time.
Yeah. And l
took care of you first.
l ran out
in the freezing cold,
went and got you
a nice, big bowl
of hot soup.
- lt was so cold.
- Yeah.
And I wrapped you up
aII nice and cozy
in a bIanket.
Remember?
Then I turned
the thermostat up
as high as it wouId go.
Then it was my turn
to baby you.
Tucked you in
real tight,
And l made you
some of those awful
poached eggs you like.
Mm-hmm.
It's been
a good Iife.
Yeah,
I think so.
A good life.
[no audibIe diaIog]
Oh, I forgot
to teII you.
What?
The best thing
in the worId.
[Anna, Erik moaning]
I have something
to teII you.
What...?
The best thing
in the worId.
We're going to have
a baby.
We don't
have to do this.
[sighs]
Whatever we said
Iast night,
we don't
have to do it.
Not today,
anyway.
Mmm, mmm.
I regret
every fucking diet
I ever went on.
[chuckIes]
Mmm.
Come on.
Let's get out
of here.
[gasps]
If you have to,
if that's what
you have to do...
go, but I won't.
I--
I don't think we're
going to run out of food.
I don't think
we're going to run
out of water.
I think that if we
just stay down here
another coupIe of days--
- No.
- if we go up then,
we're going to be fine.
- Mm-mm.
- Okay?
- No.
- Yeah.
Yes!
Yes.
Mia!
Don't Ieave me!
Don't leave me.
Stay with me.
I Iove you, baby,
I Iove you. I need you.
I need you, I need you.
I need you, I need you,
stay!
PIease stay!
Please, l need you.
Please?
[rustling]
[bird chirping]
[girI]
Mama, look
what l found.