Terror in the Family (1996) - full transcript

Do I have to lock you in your room?

I just went out
for a walk.

At 2:00 in the morning
you went out for a walk?

When you're grounded?

I've been locked up all day.

You haven't been locked up all day.

But you will be. I'll nail the
damn door shut if I have to.

Put that down, Deena.
Put that down right now!

What is wrong with you?

Drop it! Are you crazy?

Please, don't. No, Deena!



Stay back! Get out, or I'll kill you!

What are you doing?

Let go. Don't.
Don't, Deena, no.

My mom, she's bleeding.

Deena, let go. Let go.

Don't.

Get out of my way!

Stop it! You won't get away with this.

No!

You aren't going
anywhere. Drop it.

Don't touch me.

Adam, your dinner's
on the table.

Mom, I can't play
if you watch me.

I'm sorry, honey.



Your dinner's ready.

♪ The only thing
that I want the most ♪

♪ Is to have you here
next to me ♪

Deena?

Deena.

I've called her three times already.

I wish I could stop writing software and do this full time.

Look how beautiful that is.

I mean,
see the way the sap wood stands on the edge?

And the way the grain
just kind of flows around?

It's nice.
Yeah.

But I wish you wouldn't do this while trying to fix dinner.

Huh? Oh.

I gotta get these done
by the weekend.

I'm going to that art fair in Wenatchee.

For how long?

Just overnight. Saturday, Sunday.

♪ There isn't much
that you have to do ♪

♪ Except show me
what I want to see ♪

♪ And that's how much
you're in love with me ♪

What is it?

Room service.

What are you doing? I'm going out.

But you just got home.

I've been home for an hour.

Aren't you gonna eat dinner?

I'm not hungry.

What about this room? You
said you'd clean it last week.

I'll do it tomorrow. Aunt
Judith is coming tomorrow.

I'll do it
right after swim practice.

I promised I’d stay out of your room

if you kept it clean. I'll do it tomorrow.

I gotta go.

You forgot to turn off
your music.

♪ They ask the question
what's so special... ♪

♪ Nobody's coming around

♪ I know I won't be found

♪ Here beneath the river

♪ Life rushes...

Let's go. Shut up!

Your mom? No. One of her boyfriends.

You guys help me out here.1, 2, 3, 4.

She's going out every night.

Room's a mess.

Doesn't do the dishes.

She's never done the
dishes. She's supposed to.

Well then, why do you
keep doing them for her?

Because if I didn't do
them, they wouldn't get done.

Look what happened when
I stopped cleaning her room.

She doesn't want you to clean her room.
She's 15 years old.

Before she met Garret, I could
go in there whenever I wanted.

Now, she's being like a
complete stranger to me.

Hey, Mom, can you drive me? I'm late.

Okay. Be right there.

Hey, ask him if he wants
to go to Wenatchee with me.

Dad's going to Wenatchee
this weekend.

Maybe on Saturday we can go out
to dinner and take in a movie.

Yeah, maybe. Can't ask Deena.
She'd bite my head off.

I don't know what this kid's
done to her,

but I sure don't like it.

Maybe on Saturday I'll
follow her

and find out what he looks like.

Uh, well, I know
what he looks like.

I seen him at school. What grade's he in?

Senior.

That makes him what, 17?

I guess so.

What's he like?

He's in the Honors Society.

Really?

Think so.

Why doesn't he ever
come to the door?

Mom, this is the '90s.

Guys don't do that anymore.

Want to watch this with me?

I'll come up later.

Adam should be home any minute.

How was your evening?

Fine.

Where'd you go?

We just got something to eat.

Well, Adam was supposed
to be watching this with me.

You want to watch the rest?

No, thanks.

It's almost over.

I'm tired, Mom.

Come on, Adam, I need this.

Forget it. Why?

I'm doing enough for you.

Sitting with Mom
till she falls asleep,

lying about Garret,
going to Grandma's.

She asked about him?

She wanted to follow you
around to see what he looks like.

What'd you tell her?
Exactly what you told me.

But I can't keep doing that.

And you can't keep skipping school or you're gonna ruin everything.

Keep your grades up
and they'll leave us alone.

Isn't that what you told me?
What's gonna ruin everything

is if I don't get this note.

I've missed two days in a row.

All right, I'll make you a deal.

You go to the movies with Mom
on Saturday, and I'll write the note.

I can't. I'm going
out with Garret.

This is the last time
I'll ask, though, I promise.

Two days? Make it three.

I can't go tomorrow, either.

Okay.

Here. Got that?

Would you close the door, honey?

Grab that. Thanks.

And congratulations to
our winners, the Kramers...

Hi, Mom.

Hi, Grandma.

There's a button missing
on my sweater.

It's in with the laundry.

I'll find it.

Use some cleanser
on the sink this time.

I got coffee stains in it.

Why don't I see
your sister anymore?

Well, she's awfully busy.

Homework, swim team,
tryouts for the school play.

She's also got a boyfriend.

So it's goodbye, Grandma, huh?

Goodbye, Mom.
I hardly see her anymore.

That's what happened to Judith.

14 years old.

Remember that?

Ran off for six months.

I still say she got an abortion.

I can't get Deena to stay
in the house these days.

I can't even get her
to clean her room.

Of course not.

You pamper your kids
half to death.

Get in there
and clean up your room!

And if that won't work,

a well-placed open hand

does wonders.

I have to go home now.

What for?

'Cause my aunt's coming over.

She was out of town
for my birthday.

So she's bringing me a present.

It's not even 5:00.

Yeah. But you don't want
me to stay anyway.

I don't?
No.

I don't?
No.

You sure?
Yeah.

'Cause I'll start tickling you.
You will?

Uh-huh.
No way.

Get in here and clean your room.

You aren't stepping one foot outside of this house until this room is...

clean.

Hi, Adam.

You're not supposed
to come in here.

If you keep it clean. I
said I'd clean it today.

Honey, it's almost 6:00.I
don't care. This is my room.

These are my things.

You fold those back up
right now. What are you doing?

No. I don't want
my room clean. Stop it, Deena.

Let go. Get out of my room!

Why can't I keep it the way I want it?

What is wrong with you? This is
my room. Don't you understand that?

Deena... Deena!

Come back here!

Very funny.

Very stupid, if you ask me.

Deena!

Maybe I should go back.

What for?

Well, my aunt's coming over,

and she's a really nice person.

And she's bringing me a gift.

Ah.But, you know, I also

don't want to leave
my brother there alone.

And what about me?

Huh?
You want to leave me alone out here on these cold streets?

With babes on every corner waiting to jump out and attack me?

Tell you what.
We're gonna flip a coin.

Heads you go back,
tails you don't. Okay.

Well? Suppose I said I could
take you to a place

where all your problems
would disappear?

It was heads, right? A place I've never
taken anyone before.

Was it heads? It's a magical place.

And spooky.

And the only way
to get there is to crawl

over the bones of a dead dragon.

I warned her if she didn't clean her room I was going to do it for her.

She doesn’t want you in there.

Then she should have done it herself.

But now she can't,
because it's already done.

Why don't you ground her?

Take away her television.
Take away her stereo.

If you think it's that easy,
why don't you do it?

Because you never let me.

Well, she's got so much
going on these days,

she probably just forgot
you were coming over.

No, it's weird. I just
talked to her yesterday.

Well, maybe her swimming
practice ran late.

Well, I'm not going
to worry about it.

Remember how Mom used to worry about you whenever you were late?

She never worried about me. Oh, she still
worries about you.

I was just over there today and she
was talking about that time that you...

I don't want to talk
about her. I told you that.

Well, maybe if you had your own children,
you'd understand

how she feels,
never seeing you anymore.

I've spent a fortune
on therapists

learning how not to care
how she feels.

Let's see who can go
the longest without talking.

Great idea. You lost.

You lost.

Let's go into the living room.

Adam, you can play something
for us on the piano.

Now? That new piece
you've been learning.

I don't know it that well.

Come on. We'll be
a very forgiving audience.

Hey, you don't have to
if you don't want to.

Maybe just one
for your mother, huh?

Where are you going? To get my music.

Hey, that was great.
Thank you.

One more, one more,
I'm on a roll.

Go on, honey, go ahead.

Come on, we're almost there.

Keep coming.

Come on, don't stop.

Don't look down.

Come on, give me your hand.

No, I can do it.

Come on.

What if it starts snowing?

That's not a problem.

It's the wind you
gotta worry about.

This thing shakes so
bad, it'll make you seasick.

Come on, right here.

Last climb.

Come on.

Oh. How did you
find this place?

I was looking for a really weird place to kill myself.

Are you serious? I'm always serious.

Whoo!

So what happened?

I thought of something better.

Me?

No. This happened last summer,
before I met you.

Who knows?

Still might do it.

Not tonight, I hope.

No. Not tonight.

Tonight, I have
better things to do.

Hey.

Where you been?

Just out.

Your mom wants to see you.
She's upstairs.

Is she still mad? She just needs
some reassurance

that everything's okay.
So just go up and talk to her, okay?

And, uh, how about letting
her clean your room?

It'd mean a lot to her.

Okay?

Would you go up and talk to her?

Believe me, I'm sure now.

Can you understand that?

I understand.

You wanted to talk to me.

This movie's so sad.

Come on over.

Where were you tonight?

Out.
With Garret?

Mm-hmm.

When are we gonna meet him?

I don't know.

Must be quite a guy.

Yeah, he's okay.

Well, maybe he could come
over on Saturday

and we could all go
to a movie together.

Is he a good kisser?

Oh, come on, Deena.

I told you about the first time
a boy kissed me, remember?

I couldn't figure out why he
wanted me to open my mouth.

Oh, come on.
Why don't you watch the rest of this movie with me?

I'm really tired, Mom. Oh, come on.

I hate to cry alone.

Besides, it's almost over.

Still friends?

Yeah.

Sorry I cleaned your room.

Where were you last Friday?

What do you mean? And last Wednesday.

I was in school.

Not according to this.

This is crazy.
I was in school.

I called Mr. Pilney.

He says he has
three letters there

with my signature on them

saying that you were home sick.

I was in school, Mom. We're
gonna call him right now.

Why? I'm gonna see him
tomorrow. I want to find out right now...

Why are you shouting
at me? I am not shouting.

You are. You are shouting at me.

until I find out what’s going on.
Now, don't walkaway when I'm...

Don't do that! I'm talking to you.

Let go of me!

Deena, come back here!

Deena!

Deena!

Deena!

What's she gonna do?

She'll probably knock off
a bottle of wine

and then say she's sorry.

Sorry for what?
You hit her.

She'll think of something.

I mean, it's crazy.

I mean, we both say "I love you,"
and it's over.

So then, what are you worried about?

The letter from school.

We could burn the school
down, destroy the evidence.

You know I hate to say this.

What?

This is gonna sound awful.

What?

I mean, I love my mom, but...

I think I do, anyway, but it felt good.

What did?

Hitting her.

I can't believe
I just said that.

Hey, come on. Don't worry about it.

She asked for it. Didn't she?

I don't want anything
physical going on in this house.

I shouldn't have grabbed her.

I think it’s the other way around.

She didn't do this on purpose.

If I hadn't tried to
grab... Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Why should you have to grab her?

Is that the only way you
can keep her from going out?

It's this kid Garret.
Ever since she met him,

the rules have gone right out the
window. She never had any rules.

That's the problem. Of
course she had rules.

Well, you never enforced them.

I'm sure you didn't
do this on purpose.

But when I bump
into someone on the street,

the least I can do
is say I'm sorry.

Sorry.

I'm sorry I grabbed you.

Did you show him the letter?

No.

I did skip school.

Why?

I don't know.

Where did you go?

Up on the avenue. With Garret?

No. I was alone.

Oh, Deena.

Deena, Deena, Deena,
talk to me. What's going on?

I don't know.

I'll never do it again,
I promise.

I believe you, sweetheart.

I'm just so glad you're
telling me the truth.

I need your help, Mom.

Anything.

Will you say you
wrote those letters?

I can't do that.

I'll never do it again,
I promise.

I was so confused when I called you.
I had my dates all mixed up.

We had a terrible flu
come through the house.

So you did write those letters.

Yes.

Well, to be honest with you,

I wouldn't have sent
a note home.

It's just that last month,
when Deena missed

so many swimming practices
she got kicked off the team,

I just... I began to worry... That's
when this flu thing started.

It came on really slow, and
I just didn't have any energy.

The doctor thinks that it
might have even been mono.

Until recently,
you've never done anything to call attention to yourself.

As a matter of fact,
you work hard not to call attention to yourself.

That doesn't always mean
there's a problem.

It just means that sometimes that person might have something to hide.

How could you let me go in there

without knowing
about the swim team?

What else don't I know?

Nothing. And how could you
lie like that?

Not just to him, but to me.

Let go of me.
I have a class.

Are you pregnant?

What? You can tell me...

God, Mom, no.

Let go of me.

What in God's name
were you thinking?

I had no idea she'd been
kicked off the swim team.

She's skipping school,
and you lied about it right in front of her?

I was trying to help
her. Your idea of helping

is letting her get
away with murder. It's this kid Garret.

The problem isn't Garret.
She was getting straight A's.

The problem is that you’re afraid to
say no. She was on the swim team.

No means yes around here. That isn't true.

And if she doesn't do what you tell her,
you twist it around

until it's your fault.

Either that,
or you pour another glass of wine and forget about it.

And what do you do?

Starting tonight,

I'm gonna do what you should have done a long time ago.

Now, you know this isn't
gonna be any worse

an hour from now.

Right?

So we could, um,

well, we could go up to the avenue.

I have to go in. And so do I.

Something we can dream about.

Hmm.

Bye.

Bye.

Deena.

Come in here and sit down.

Adam, come downstairs.

I have to go
to the bathroom first.

Now you've got us both
in trouble.

How did I get you in trouble?

He's making lists. Stuff
we're supposed to do.

How could you be so
stupid? I wasn't stupid.

Skipping school was stupid.

Hitting Mom was stupid.

I didn't do that on purpose.

I was standing right here. I saw you.

You better get your eyes checked 'cause it was an accident.

You better do something about your breath before you go downstairs.

Garret.

Garret.

You're gonna get me in trouble.

I told you I was coming in.

Come here.
Shh.

Get down, get down, get down.

I want you to come downstairs.

Right now.

Okay.

I'm going to make a few
changes around here.

Do you mind sitting down?

What for?'Cause we're talking.

I can talk standing up.

I want you to sit down. Look, I
don't care if she lies on the floor

as long as she can hear me.

Where have you
been going every day?

I told Mom.
Up on the avenue.

Doing what? Never mind.

I don't know if you'd be
telling me the truth or not.

The bottom line is I want you

to come right home
after school every day.

And I want you to do
everything it says on this list.

Clean your room, throw out the garbage,

homework, everything.

Fine. Read it.

Fine.

You miss one of those things,

you lose your stereo.

A second, you lose your TV.

A third, your telephone.

And it keeps going like that until this gets straightened out.

Any questions?

No.

That's it, then.

Shh.

I called the school today.

She made all her classes.

That's a good sign.

She's way behind,
but I got a list of the missing assignments.

I also found out
a few things about Garret.

Good. You can talk to her
about it when she gets home.

She's not home?

What did you expect?

Did she call?

Not a word.

But I can guarantee
you one thing.

I know who she's with.

You're always saying
"Don't upset Mom."

I thought if I told her
the truth, she'd be upset.

Did I tell you to lie?

No.

Garret's on suspension
for hitting a teacher.

Your mom should have known that.

Are you lying to me now?

No.

And you're absolutely sure you
don't know where Deena is?

I want the truth, Adam.

♪ I'm the one alone
at night ♪

I'm trying to find a number
for her friend Garret.

I thought maybe you’d have it.

Yeah, right.

Well, thanks anyway.

Well, who else can I call?

Um, try her friend...
Oh, what's her name?

Oh, oh, Donna somebody.

Donna. Yeah, Donna.

Um...

Hello? Hi, Dad, it's me.

Where are you?

I'm at a coffee shop with Elaine.

I told you to come
straight home after school.

No, you didn't.

I did, too. I was
very specific about that.

Oh.
I thought you wanted me to do my homework right after school.

That's what it says on the list,
and that's what I did.

I didn't think that I
had to do it at home.

Uh-huh.

So I went over
to Elaine's house after school

'cause I needed help
catching up on my math.

Is that where you are now?
At Elaine's?

Um, no. We're at a coffee shop.

I came out to get
something to eat.

Well, did you get
your work finished?

We're still working on it.

Look, I'm really sorry, Dad.

I thought I was doing
what you wanted.

When can you be home? What time?

11.

How about 10:30?

That's fine.
I'll see you at 10:30.

I love you.

I love you, too.

She's at a coffee shop
with Elaine.

Hi. This is Cynthia Marten.

I'm fine. Listen, is Elaine
there, by any chance?

♪ Turn out the sun

♪ Yeah

♪ Sun

♪ Yeah

♪ Go get your gun

♪ Treat her like foam

♪ Kingdom and come

♪ Shoot out the light

♪ Shoot out the light

♪ Shoot out the light

♪ Yeah

Hi.

Come on.

I gotta get home early

so I can start building
up some Brownie points.

Okay. See you. Bye, you guys.

All right, have a good one.

I'm not calling you a liar.
We just want to see the work.

I'll show you tomorrow.
I'm tired right now.

I don't care what it looks like.
I'm not gonna ask you to do it over.

Then what's the point? We want to see
that you did the work.

So you don't trust me. Do
you deserve to be trusted?

Why don't you just say it?
You don't trust me.

We don't trust you. Just
show us the homework,

and then you can
go to bed. Why are you yelling at me?

I am not. Yes, you are.

You're always yelling at me.
If you didn't do it, just say so.

Look, let me
just look at the... Don't!

Get out! Get out! Get out!

Get out! Stop that!

Oh!

Adam!

Get down here!

Get down here now!

Just get the ice. Oh, my God.

All right... We're going to the hospital.

Get the keys. Get the car started.

Just get the car started. Adam!

I didn't mean to. I'm coming!

I didn't mean it. The hospital?

Hurry up. Get your coat.

Deena, wait for me!

Slow down.

You're gonna fall.
Be careful.

Slow down.
This is crazy.

You're gonna kill yourself.

These boards are loose.
It's not safe.

Watch out!

Would you wait for me?

What are you doing?
Deena, wait.

Slow down. What's going on?

I can't go back there. Why?
What the hell happened?

It's just too intense.

My parents are crazy.

Or maybe it's me that's crazy.

Maybe I have too many violent hormones in me or something.

Don't you tell me about crazy.

You know why my mom’s got
mirrors hanging all over the house?

She thinks my dad was the devil.

It's supposed to reflect
away his evil spirit.

So what does that make you?
The son of Satan?

Maybe. You know, I actually
thought about killing her.

I was gonna use a baseball bat.

Why didn't you?

Because I came up with something better.

Shotgun? No. Something
even better than that.

Now, listen to me. This is
something I never told anybody before.

Not even the band.

Come here.

When the weather gets nice,

that's where I'm going.

I'm gonna hitch down to California,
I'm gonna sell a few songs.

Eventually, I'm gonna make
my way down to Austin.

Why are you telling me this?

Because I thought you
might want to come with me.

Are you serious?
Why not?

I'm ready.
I'll go right now.

No. We're gonna wait
till the weather gets nice.

You don't want to be out on the highway

with an icicle hanging off your thumb.

Believe me, anything's
better than going home.

Not anymore.

Everything's gonna be different now.

Different how? You've got a way out.

You can survive anything
if you've got a way out.

The bookcase fell on your hand?

Right.

Well, let's see what we've got here.

Must have been a heavy bookcase.

Mm-hmm.

See if you can open your fingers.

No.
No?

Well, I'm going to need to get an X-ray.

Why don't you wait here, and
I'll get the paperwork started.

I'll be right back.

Why don't you have her check
the bruise on your arm?

I don't care about the bruise. I just
want to find out if my fingers are broken.

Settle down.

We have to get her
tested for drugs.

We could do it right here in the hospital.

We've got to do it fast,
before this happens again.

It's not gonna happen again.

How you gonna stop it?

Believe me, I'll stop it.

Well, we can't start hitting her back,
or we'll all end up in the hospital.

I'll call the police. The police?

What are they gonna do?

They'll settle her down.
She's not gonna hit a cop.

She's also not gonna see this Garret.
That's out, period.

No homework, just a bunch
of Fs and "incompletes."

Look at this.

15 years old.

I didn't try this stuff
till I was in coll... Shh.

No.

What are you doing?
She'll go ballistic if she finds us in here.

I told you, I'm gonna call the police.

You can't do that.
We'll have half the neighborhood standing on our front...

How am I supposed to work?

And how long has this been going on?

It's not mine.

Not anymore.

Where's your homework?

I didn't do it.

You lied, then.Yeah.

As of right now, you are
grounded indefinitely.

No stereo, no television,
no telephone, no nothing.

And you aren't going
to see Garret anymore.

Tomorrow you'll stay home,

and you'll complete every one
of your missing assignments.

Tomorrow is Saturday.

Good!

Then you'll have the weekend
to finish it.

And if you ever,
ever raise your hand to anyone in this family again,

I'll call the police.

The police? Yes.

What are they gonna do?

I hope you'll never
have to find out.

I could just tell them
it was self-defense.

Self-defense against what?

I could say you
tried to attack me.

Maybe even tried to rape me.Todd.

Who do you think they'd believe?

I can't believe she'd
say that to the police.

I don't know what
she'd do anymore.

I'm afraid to go to sleep
in my own house.

Whatever drug she's on,
it's a lot stronger than anything in this bag.

Adam.

Adam. What are you...

Shh. You're supposed to knock.

I need you to take this to Garret.

Why can't you?'Cause I'm grounded.

I can't even use the phone.

Why am I not surprised?

Adam. I need your help.

I need you to stop acting crazy.

You know what's gonna
happen next time?

There isn't gonna be
a next time.

I'm leaving. You're what?

I'm going to California
with Garret.

You can't do that.

Why not? Mom hates me,

and Dad never even wanted
me in the first place.

He never wanted me, either.

But I'm stuck here.

Just take the letter.

Please.

Give me one good reason
why I should.

One good reason.

She said you'd give me a joint.

What is it?

How's it going? Fine.

I thought maybe you'd
like a snack.

No, thanks.

Need any help?

No.
You sure?

I'm fine.

Would you like to come down and watch a movie with me later?

No, thanks.

We don't like doing this.
I hope you know that.

Anything special
you'd like for dinner?

No.

Maybe I'll make that deep dish pizza you like.

Fine.

Would you like me
to close the door?

Yeah.

She's been up there all day.

Do you think we're being
too hard on her?

After she broke my finger?
She didn't do it on purpose.

Maybe we could give her back her stereo.

At least she'd have something to listen to.

When she gets caught up on her work,
we'll give her back the stereo.

Not before.

If you want to give her back
her stereo, go ahead.

No, no, you're right.

No. She's been doing the work.
Let's give her some positive feedback.

Okay.

Do you want to tell her?

No. You go ahead.

Okay.

Garret?

Garret?

Where were you?

Got in a fight. With who?

Some bastard my mom brought home.
I'm gonna kill him.

Swear to God, I'm gonna bust him wide open.

Oh, my God, he really hurt you.

It wasn't just him. It was
my mom too. Your mom?

Yeah. He was pushing her around,
she was screaming,

so I jumped in, the next thing I know,
they're both kicking me.

I'm gonna kill them both.

Either that, or I'm getting
the hell out of here tonight.

Tonight? Tonight.

If you get your stuff,
I'll meet you

outside your house
in 20 minutes.

20 minutes.

Do I have to lock you in your room?

I just went out for a walk.

At 2:00 in the morning
you went out for a walk?

When you're grounded?
I've been locked up all day.

You haven't been locked up
all day, but you will be.

I'll nail the damn door
shut if I have to.

You're not leaving this house
until we get you to a doctor.

A doctor? It's for your own good, Deena.

Whatever's going on,
it has to stop. What are you doing?

And it's gonna stop now.
We're trying to help you.

Get away from me. Put that down.

Deena, put that down
right now. Get away!

Deena! Put the damn phone down!

Get away from me! Deena, stop it!

What the hell are you
doing? Put that down right...

Deena! Deena,
come back here!

Deena!

You're not leaving.

He's out there. He's
waiting for you. I know he is.

And you're not gonna meet him.

You stay...

Don't do this.

She's got a knife! My mom's bleeding.

Get out of my way!

What are you doing?
Are you crazy? Let me go!

Stay back. Stay back, Adam.
Don't come in my room or I'll kill you.

Are you okay?

Adam, stay down here.

Get the street
cordoned off for EMS.

I don't know what we're gonna do.
We've tried everything.

She's out of control. She breaks things.
She hits her mother.

What happened to your hand?

Uh, that was an accident. Look, if you
could just get that knife away from her,

calm her down,
I'm sure we could...

We're taking you
to the hospital.

No, you're not. She's under arrest.

Arrest for what? Assault.

Now, wait a minute,
wait a minute, we don't want this.

You can't arrest her.

Take her out. You can't do that.

Wait a minute, we didn’t ask
for this. We didn’t call the police.

I did.

It was your idea.

At the hospital, you said... I didn't
say you should call the police.

Here, you can see her in the morning.

This'll tell you what to do.

Come on. Outside.

Deena.

Deena, Deena, don't worry,
we'll be there... What happened?

What's going on? It's a complete
misunderstanding.

It's got... Somebody
called the cops. It's crazy.

Look, Deena, Deena, it's
only gonna be a few hours.

They said we can come down
first thing in the morning.

We'll get you
right home, sweetheart.

All the way in.
Give me your things and strip down.

Come on, let's go.

What are you doing? I'm
going down there right now.

We can go down first thing
in the morning, 7:00.

She's not spending the night in jail.

Maybe it'll teach her a lesson.

You know what kind
of lesson it'll teach her.

You know what kind of kids they
have in jail? Yeah, kids like Garret.

That's the first person she'll
run to if we bring her home.

Then what are we supposed to do?

We'll pick her up first thing in the morning and take her to the hospital.

Get her tested for drugs.

Taking any medications? No.

Drugs? No.

Feeling depressed?

No.Anxious?

No.Anything bothering you?

I just want to call
my parents.

This is the operator.
How are you billing your call?

Collect. Name, please.

Deena Marten.

Yeah. It's me.

Where are you?

I'm in jail. What happened?

My parents tried to stop me,
and we got in a really big fight

and I grabbed a knife.

A knife?

I wasn't gonna use it.

I just wanted to get
out of the house.

All right.
What's gonna happen now?

I don't know.

But I'm scared.

I... I'm going to court tomorrow, but...

Hey, don't worry about it.

I'll bust you out of there
myself if I have to.

I don't think so. Well then, you
remember this, okay?

And after I say it,
don't talk to anyone else.

Just go to sleep
with this in your head.

I love you.

I love you, too.

You're not in a position
to withdraw the charges.

But we're her parents.

She assaulted you with a weapon.

She had a knife, but she
wasn't going to use it.

I'm talking about the telephone.

The knife enters into it, but...

Look, we know she has problems.

And we're going to get her
whatever help she needs.

We think she's on drugs,
maybe cocaine.

There were no drugs
found in her system.

But whether there were or not,

what I see here is a pattern
of physical abuse.

That's a crime.

Physical abuse?

That's ridiculous.
We're her parents.

We're seeing more
of this every day.

Can't believe this.

We used to see it primarily
in immigrant families,

where the parents
don't know the language

and the children
have all the power.

That's not us. I'm just saying

that this seems to happen
when those roles get reversed.

When the children become the survival figures for their parents.

We're good parents.
We have a good family.

And we want Deena to come home.

And I'm asking you to help me
hold her accountable

for what she did.

I know that's hard.

This is the only place
in our entire justice system

where the victim is asked to help
prosecute someone they want to defend.

Okay, you'll plead not guilty.
That's automatic.

That's gonna give us time
to prepare the case.

How long will that take?

About four to six weeks.

I have to stay here
for four to six weeks?

Well, that's what the judge is gonna rule on this afternoon.

I'm no busboy. You pick it up!

You pick up the tray now.

I can't stay here. I'm not like these other kids.
I just want to go home.

Well, I don't think the judge is gonna let you do that, Deena.

Why? I didn't do anything.

Deena, look. I want you to be
very clear about something.

You attacked your parents
with a weapon.

Okay? This system is set up
to protect the victim.

Not the aggressor.

You're being charged with Assault Two.
That's a felony.

It's a very serious charge.

Since this is your first offense, I
don’t want to keep you in detention.

But the situation at your home is far too volatile

for me to send you back
until the case is resolved.

Uh, Your Honor,
if I could say something.

I don't think Deena was trying to
hit her mother with the telephone.

I think she was just trying... I
don't want to hear about that now.

I'm only interested in whether
I should keep Deena

in detention
until the dispo hearing.

Are there any alternative
placements available?

Your Honor, I spoke
with Deena this morning,

and she informed me
that if she can't go home,

she has an aunt she’d like to stay with.

But she wants to come home.

I can't allow that. Look,
let's just get her out,

then we'll worry about
the rest later, okay?

Do you have any objection
to the aunt?

Assuming that the probation officer approves.

No. No, Your Honor.

In addition to the placement order,

I want Deena to abide
by whatever guidelines

her probation officer sets forth,

and to begin counseling immediately.

If it were in my power, I'd order
the entire family into therapy.

But I can't do that.

What I can do is mandate

that between now and the dispo hearing,

you see your daughter only
in the presence of a therapist

approved by this court.

I got in terrible fights
with my mom, too.

Yeah, but I bet you never hit her.

No. She did all the hitting.

My mom never hit me.

She never even spanked me.

I think that she just swung way over in the other direction

trying not to do
what our mom did.

Yeah, but why'd I hit her?

I mean, why'd I grab that knife?
Where does that come from?

I don't know.

Sounds like everything
got turned upside-down.

What was it like growing up with her?

We were really different.

I remember her favorite book
was Lives of the Saints.

Hello.

Yeah, hold on.

It's your mom.

I'm gonna go get
your bedding ready.

Okay.

Hi. Hi.

You okay?

Yeah, I'm okay.

I've been thinking
about you all day.

I was remembering
when you were little,

and I got out some of
your old baby pictures.

I kept asking myself what happened.

We were so close.

We were best friends.

What'd I do wrong?

I mean, I know I haven't
been a perfect mother,

but I have tried harder
than any mother I know.

I love you, sweetheart.

You don't have to
say anything.

I love you, too.

No, no, no.
I don't want you to say something you don't mean.

I do mean it.

Then talk to me, Deena.

You're the only one
I have to talk to.

I'm sorry I called.

Hello.

Hi. Can I talk
to Deena again, please?

Yeah, just a moment.

She can't talk now.

I... Look, I just want
to say good night, okay?

She can't talk.

Put her on the phone right now.

Oh, I don't know
what she said, but...

She's drunk.Yeah.

Why does it have to be me?

Why can't it be somebody else?

I don't have any choice.

If I leave,
they'll come after me

and they're gonna throw me
right back into lock-up.

That's cool.
We could be outlaws.

Bonnie and Clyde?

Six weeks, huh?

Yeah. But remember
what you told me?

You told me you could survive
anything if you had a way out.

She's not here. She's gone.
There's nothing we can do about that.

I'm still her mother.
And I'm still her father.

But I can't...
What are you doing?

She needs clothes. You can't take them.

I'm not gonna let anyone tell me
when I can see my own daughter.

I am not going to see
her with a therapist. Why?

Because it'll make everything worse. How?

Because she'll turn
everything around.

She'll say
that I drink too much.

She'll say that you raped her.

Then suddenly she’ll be the victim
and we'll be the misguided parents who...

That is exactly
what the attorney said!

She has all the power.

It's getting worse.
They're fighting all the time.

You shouldn't have called the cops.

You shouldn't have
pulled the knife.

I wasn't gonna use it, Adam.

How was I supposed to know that?

It doesn't matter.

It does matter.

Everything's a mess.

Mom's drinking every day.
Dad's yelling at her.

There's nothing I can do about it.

You can take me with you.

What?

To California.

I can't take you to California.

Why not? Because

you're too young.

Besides, everything will
be better once I'm gone.

No, it won't.

If you don't take me,
I'm going on my own.

I don't care what the court
says. She's your child.

And if you know what's good for her,
you'll get her away from Judith.

I don't have any choice.

Well, let her come here.

I'll straighten her out
in a hurry.

No. I have my own way.

Your way is pathetic.

Look what you've done to her.

And look what you've done to me.

And to Judith.

No wonder we're so messed up,
Mom, the way you've treat...

Ah.

Hi.

Deena around?

Yeah, she's in her room.

I made pizza for dinner,
and I made one for her.

May I come in, please?

Let me... Why don't you sit down?

No, no, that's okay. That's okay.

Deena. Honey.

Honey?

Honey, look, I made
you your favorite pizza.

See?

You're not supposed to be here.

What?

You're not supposed to be... No no no no.

I heard the words.

But I made your favorite thing
in the whole wide world,

and I drove all the way over here while it was still hot.

Can't you even say thank you?

Don't you appreciate
anything I do for you?

Oh, God.Hey. Hey, hey, hey.

Don't worry about it,
I'll get it. Let me... No no no no.

No! Don't. I'm leaving.

Deena doesn't want me here.

God knows she doesn't
want to come home.

Do you?

I could drive you home.

Do you know
who you remind me of?

My sister.

You two are just alike,
you know that?

You never could say
thank you, either.

You never thanked me
for taking care of Mom

so you could play
with your friends.

I didn't have any friends...

because of you.

And you never
cleaned up after Mother.

You still don't.
Because you're selfish!

Oh, man. Deena.
Deena! Deena!

♪ Careful
where you're going ♪

♪ Careful who you are

♪ Trouble gonna find you

♪ Check back
over your shoulder ♪

♪ Don't you ever rest

♪ Before you see
who's on the corner ♪

♪ Maybe that's the moment

♪ Where you feel ashamed

♪ Who's that at the window?

♪ Do you recognize
the face? ♪

Garret?

Deena! Who's Deena?

Deena, wait! Wait!

Garret, please stop!
Don't leave me.

Please don't leave me up here. Deena, wait!

Just slow down. Garret!

Slow down, damn it! Wait for me!

Deena, wait for me.

Deena!

She said something about going to see a movie with you.

No?

Okay. Well, look,
if she should stop by,

would you ask her
to call home?

Thank you.

Hi. She's back.

Why didn't you call us?

Because I want to talk
to you in person.

I don't need a lecture.

Do you remember that time
when Mom went out to get dinner

and came back so drunk

that she threw up all over the food?

I remember you ran
out of the house

and you left me
to clean up the mess.

Do you remember what that night felt like?

'Cause that’s how Deena felt tonight.

Don't compare me with Mother.

I am nothing like her. You were tonight.

You even sounded like her.

If I am such a terrible mother,

why do I have wonderful kids?

Deena was a terrific kid
until she met Garret.

Adam is still a terrific kid.

I am not saying
you're a terrible mother.

No, no, don't take it back.

Don't take it back. No no no.

Maybe you're right.
Maybe I'm just fooling myself.

Why don't we ask Adam?

Adam!

He's in bed. He won't be sleeping.

Um, she's been under a lot of pressure.

Todd, she's an alcoholic.

Adam.
Hmm?

Honey, would you mind
coming downstairs?

What for?

Turn it off.
I'm sleeping.

She doesn't know
about last summer or about...

Um, you're right.
He's asleep.

Listen, we're all tired.

Can we talk about this tomorrow?

Go back to bed.

Go back to bed.

Adam, go back upstairs,
honey. Go...

Okay. Here, let me help you.

Here, let me help you.
Let me help you.

Let go of me!

Watch the glass.

This has never happened before.

Tell her.

Tell her.

Adam, come here, son.

He's asleep.

He was like this
once last summer

and again at Christmas.

You didn't tell me?

No.

How could you not tell me?

I knew it would upset you

and when you're upset,
you drink.

Things were bad enough
last Christmas.

Maybe that's because you
were off selling your bowls

and I was left
to do all the work.

Yeah, well, maybe you drank
because I wasn't around,

and maybe I wasn't around
because you drank.

All started so long ago,
I don't remember.

It started when we had Deena.

That's when you bought
all this equipment.

That's when I stopped
having a wife.

Oh, you've got such
a distorted view of things.

I remember when she
was a little girl.

She was the center
of everything.

She ran this house.

And every time she got angry with you and...

She could be
a vicious little girl.

You just rolled over
and took it.

It was always your fault.
Nothing she ever did was wrong.

It was like you needed
her to be your friend

more than you needed
to be her mother.

Maybe I needed her
because she was all I had.

Maybe you came down here
in this basement

and worked on these bowls
and you weren't there for me.

I came down to this basement 'cause all you cared about was the kids.

Oh, no, you got it
all backwards.

That is not how it happened. It
doesn't matter how it happened.

What matters is that I get out of
this basement and start being a father.

What matters is that you stop drinking

and be a mother.

Don't you talk to me
about being a mother.

Not when you've spent
our entire marriage

hiding in this basement
working on these stupid bowls.

Go ahead. Smash the
rest of them. I don't care.

All I care about is getting
help so we can go...

You're the one
that needs help, not me.

I'm gonna get it.

Starting tomorrow.

I hope you'll come with me.

What are you doing here? I want to explain
what happened.

I have a therapy appointment.

Does that mean
you won't talk to me?

Adam, let's go.

Sure you won't change your mind?

I wish you would.

It's something we need
to do together.

I broke up with her
the day I met you.

She wouldn't stop calling.

I mean, she's just
incredibly possessive.

How many other girls have
you taken up there? None.

None, I swear to God.

Did you have sex with her?

It didn't mean anything.

Then why'd you do it?

I wanted to make sure
it was over.

You had to have sex
with her for that?

Doesn't that sound a little warped?

Look, I'm just being honest.

I don't have any more
old girlfriends.

I love you.

And that's why I waited.

That's why I'm still waiting.

What?
It's my dad.

You want to come to my house?

I can't. If I miss this appointment,

they're gonna throw me back into lock-up.

I was hoping your mother would be here.

What for?

I want things to be different.

Why?

I love you.

Both of you.

And I love your mother
very much.

I know.

Just sounds like words. But...

You didn't want me
in the first place.

That's not true.

You wanted Mom
to have an abortion.

I wanted to wait, that's all.

The answer's still yes,
isn't it?

It doesn't mean
I don't love you.

That's why I'm here.

I just want things to be better.

Okay, thanks.
That was a really good session.

See you guys next week, okay?

Okay.

Hi, Deena.Hi.

Hi. I'm Todd Marten,
Deena's father.

Hi. I'm Wendy Tremaine.
I'm really glad you came.

This is my son Adam. Hi, Adam.

Come on in.

I think

we all need help.

I could send you to jail
for six months, Deena.

But since this
is your first offense

and since I've had some very good reports from your therapist,

I'm going to allow you
to go home.

But I'm also placing you
on probation for one year,

provided that you perform 300 hours hours of community service,

that you attend
anger management classes,

and that you abide by whatever
additional guidelines

your probation officer
deems appropriate.

I have high hopes
for you, Deena.

I've seen too many kids
fall by the wayside

because they did not have
the support of their families.

You've got that.

So don't let me see you
back here again.

Thank you.

Hey.Hi.

Oh. It's good news, huh?

Yeah, I get to go home.

When do we get to leave?

I can't go.

What do you mean you can't?

Everything's different now.

My mom's going into a treatment program.

My dad needs my help.

And my brother needs
all the help he can get.

What about me? I want you to stay too.

I can't do that and you know it.

You give it a try, Deena.
You at least owe me that much.

I'm being honest with you.

I don't owe you any more than that.

I've waited
six weeks for you. I know.

You lied to me, didn't you? No.

That's another lie. No, it's not.

You're coming with me. I can't.

You are coming with me. Let go of me.

Here, let me get
that for you.Thanks.

Hi.Hi, Adam.

Judith.Hi.

Hi, sweetheart. Hi, Dad.

Welcome home.