If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Movie Script

(STATIC CRACKLING)

♪ ♪

Subtitles by explosiveskull

(CHILDREN SHOUTING

IN THE DISTANCE)

(DISTANT VOICES

CHATTERING, LAUGHING)

(DISTANT HORN HONKS)

(DISTANT SIREN WAILING)

(WHISTLE TWEETS)

♪ ♪

You ready for this?

I never been more ready

for anything in my whole life.

TISH: I hope that nobody

has ever had to look

at anybody they love...

through glass.

(CELL DOOR BUZZES)

(PANTING)

(MUTTERS):

I need to tell...

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(SIGHS)

- Hey.

Alonzo?

Alonzo, we...

We're gonna have a baby.

TISH: I should have said

already, we're not married.

That means more to him

than it does to me,

but I understand how he feel.

Fonny is 22.

I'm 19.

I'm glad, Fonny.

I'm glad. Don't you worry.

(LAUGHING)

You tell my daddy?

- Not yet.

- You tell your folks?

Not yet, but don't worry

about them.

I just wanted to tell you first.

A baby.

What you gonna do?

I'm gonna do

just like I've been doin'.

I'm gonna work up to

just about the last month

and then Mama and Sis

will take care for me.

You ain't got to worry.

And, anyway, we'll have you

out of here before then.

Are you sure about that?

I'm always sure about that.

I love you.

I love you, too.

♪ ♪

(SAW BUZZING)

TISH: Fonny used to go

to a vocational school,

where they teach kids to mae

all kinds of shitty things,

like card tables and hassocs

and chest of drawers,

which nobody's ever gonna bu.

But Fonny didn't go for it

at all, and he split,

takin' most of the tools

from the workshop with him.

He started workin' as a short

- o rder cook so he could eat.

And he found a basement where

he could work on his wood,

and he was at our house

more than he was at his.

It was all so simple.

Learn this, build that,

get a job and work it

until the job became you.

But Fonny had decided

on a whole new view.

You see, he had found somethig

that he wanted to do.

And this saved him from the death

that awaited the children of our age.

And though it took many form,

the death itself

was very simple.

The cause was simple, too.

The kids had been told

that they weren't worth shit.

And everything

they saw around them...

proved it.

(DOOR OPENS)

(SIGHS)

Hey. How you doin', li'l bit?

How is he?

He's just the same.

He's fine.

He sends his love.

That's good.

Did you see the lawyer?

Not today.

I have to go on Monday.

He been to see Fonny?

No.

Mama?

Yeah, baby.

Mama...

♪ I saw you standin' there ♪

Sing, mama, sing.

♪ In a mist of a dream ♪

♪ I wondered ♪

♪ Why, oh, why ♪

♪ That you were not there ♪

Get the good glasses.

- What you doin' with that?

- What's it look like?

♪ That I stopped and I stared ♪

What's the

special occasion?

You the man of the house,

start pouring.

Oh, but of course,

madame.

All right.

I wonder what

all this is for.

Not too much

for Tish.

♪ I looked for you ♪

All right.

What's goin' on?

♪ You were nowhere

to be found ♪

♪ To be found ♪

♪ Could it be my... ♪

(CLEARS THROAT) Ooh.

This...

is a sacrament.

And, no, I ain't

lost my mind.

We are drinkin'

to new life.

Tish gonna have

Fonny's baby.

♪ You may not believe ♪

Drink.

Uh...

♪ This could happen to you,

pretty baby ♪

Uh, well...

That's... That's

one hell of a note.

Aren't you gonna drink

to the little one, Tish?

How long has this

been goin' on?

About three months.

- Yeah, that's what I figured.

- Three months?

You mean, while you two was runnin'

around here lookin' at places?

All right.

Tish...

you sure you want

this baby?

Yes.

And Fonny wants it, too.

It's our baby,

and, a-and it's not his fault

that he's in jail.

It's not like he ran away.

And we've always been

best friends

ever since we were little,

Daddy, you know that.

And we'd be married now

if it wasn't for that lady...

SHARON: Tish, he knows it.

He knows it.

Your daddy knows it.

He's just...

He's just worried

about you, that's all.

Hey, don't you go thinkin'

I think you're some bad girl

or any other foolishness

like that.

I just asked you

because you're so young,

that's all. And... (SIGHS)

Unbow your head,

sister.

To the newborn.

♪ We are ♪

♪ Next to the star ♪

(LAUGHS)

I hope it's a boy.

ERNESTINE:

Oh, Daddy.

That will tickle old Frank

to pieces, I bet.

(LAUGHING)

Tish, do you mind

if, if I break

the news to him?

No, Daddy.

I don't mind.

I sure would like to be the one

to tell them sisters.

JOSEPH:

Uh-uh, uh-uh.

You know what?

Joe, call 'em all over here.

- Oh, no...

- No, no, I'm serious...

- Ma.

- It's Saturday night.

We got a whole lot left

in that bottle. It's not late.

As I think about it, that's

the best way to do this.

SHARON: Go on,

call their asses on over here.

All right, look, all right.

I think you're right, love.

(LAUGHS)

Let's get them on over here.

All right. All right!

(CHUCKLES)

Woo!

- My baby sister's havin' a baby.

- Mm-hmm.

Hey, hey, Nipsey Russell.

(LAUGHS) Hey, what's up?

What y'all doin'? Hey, honey...

- What you wanna have?

- A boy.

- Fonny.

What?

(LAUGHING)

♪ ♪

TISH: The day I realized

Fonny was in love with me

was strange.

It was the day he gave

Mama that sculpture.

I dumped water

over Fonny's head

and scrubbed Fonny's back

in the bathtub,

in a time

that seems so long ago.

I don't remember

that we ever had any curiosiy

concerning

each other's bodies.

Fonny loved me too much.

And that meant that there

had never been any occasion

for shame between us.

We were a part of each othe,

flesh of each other's flesh,

which we so took for granted

that we never thought

of the flesh.

And yet,

it was no surprise to me

when I finally understood...

that he was

the most beautiful person

I had seen in all my life.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

FONNY: You know, I've slept

in this park sometimes.

Nah, it's...

it's not a good idea.

Why'd you sleep

in the park?

It was late.

I didn't wanna go home.

I didn't wanna wake

none of y'all up neither.

But I got me a pad

down here now.

So you wanna eat down here

or you wanna wait

till we get uptown?

Or, uh, do you wanna go

to the movies?

- (TISH CHUCKLES)

- Or do you want a little wine

or a little pot

or a little beer?

(CHUCKLES)

Or a cup of coffee?

Maybe you just wanna walk

around a little bit more

till you make up

your mind?

(CHUCKLING)

Come on.

JOSEPH:

Yeah.

SHARON:

Yeah. Ooh.

ERNESTINE: Y'all know

we can see y'all, right?

Yeah. Don't be lookin'.

Keep your eyes in there.

ERNESTINE:

Oh, y'all nasty.

- (CHUCKLES) Yeah.

- (KNOCKING ON DOOR)

- Oh. That old rattle.

- Oh!

- All right.

ERNESTINE:

I got it.

- Hey!

- Hi.

- Ernestine.

- Adrienne.

- JOSEPH: How you doin'?

- Miss Sheila.

JOSEPH:

Hey, it's so nice to see you.

Gotta call an emergency

or somethin' to see you?

- Great to see you.

- Good to see you.

TISH: Fonny's mother

didn't like me.

She just didn't think

I was good enough for Fonny.

Which really means

that she didn't think

I was good enough for her.

And in another way,

she felt that I was maybe

just exactly

what Fonny deserved.

- FRANK: Young lady.

- ERNESTINE: Daddy, I got it.

So you saw

my big-headed boy today?

Yeah. He's fine.

He sends his love.

Now, they ain't bein'

too hard on him, is they?

Now I ask you like that

because, you know,

he may say things to you

he won't say to me.

ALICE:

Lovers' secrets?

Well, he hates it,

you can see that.

- And he should.

- Come on.

But... he's strong.

He'll be all right.

But we gotta get him

out of there.

If he'd done his reading and his

studying when he should have,

he wouldn't be in there

in the first place.

- Girl, what you know about it?

- Hey! Hey, hey, hey!

I got some gin

and we got some whisky

and we got some cognac.

(CHUCKLES) We ain't got

no Thunderbird, though.

- I hope you ladies don't mind.

- Mind?

Frank does not care

if we mind.

SHARON: Well, Mrs. Hunt,

what can I get you, sugar?

I can offer you coffee, tea...

ice cream,

Coca-Cola.

- Coca-Cola.

- ERNESTINE: I got it, Mama.

How about an ice cream soda,

Mrs. Hunt?

I can do that for you.

Sheila, why don't

you help me?

Come on.

- Oh, Lord! Time flies.

- Yeah.

SHARON: I haven't seen you

since all this trouble started.

Girl, don't say a word.

I've been runnin' myself sick

all up and down the Bronx,

trying to get the very best

legal advice I can find.

I just pray

and I pray and I pray

that the Lord will bring

my boy to the light.

- That's all I pray for.

- Mm.

ALICE: Every day

and every night.

And then sometimes,

sometimes I think

this might be the Lord's plan

to get my boy

to think on his sins...

and surrender his soul

to Jesus.

SHARON:

Yeah, you might be right.

The Lord sure works

in mysterious ways.

Oh, yes, He does.

Now, He may try you,

but He ain't never left

none of His children alone.

What do you think about

that lawyer Ernestine found?

Um, that boy Hayward?

I ain't met him yet.

I just ain't had time

to get downtown yet.

I know Frank saw him.

What do you think

about him, Frank?

He's a white boy, been to

law school, got them degrees.

I ain't got to tell you what

that mean. It don't mean shit.

You're talkin' to a woman.

I'm hip.

And it's a mighty

welcome change.

- Uh...

- Like I was sayin'...

It don't mean shit. I ain't

sure we gonna stay with him.

On the other hand, as white

boys go, he's not so bad.

He's young and hungry,

so he's not as full of shit now

as he may be when he's full.

- Hmm.

- ALICE: That's what I keep tryin' to tell you.

It's that negative attitude.

You so full of hate.

If you give people hatred,

they give it back to you.

Every time I hear you talk

like that, it breaks my heart

knowin' my boy

is locked up in some dungeon

that only the love of God

will get him out of.

Now, Alice, I don't think that

Frank was talkin' about hate.

He was just speakin'

on the truth.

ALICE:

Well, I trust in God.

I know He cares for me.

Mr. Rivers, what exactly

is the purpose of this meeting?

You didn't call us

all the way over here

just to watch my father

insult my mother.

TISH:

Why not?

It's Saturday night.

Can't tell what folks won't do

if they get bored enough.

Maybe we just invited you

over to liven things up.

I can believe

you're that malicious,

but I can't believe

you're that stupid.

- (CLEARS THROAT)

- JOSEPH: Uh, um...

Let me go check on that,

um, ice cream float.

(LAUGHING)

Uh-huh. Pedrocito.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

Good to see you.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

(PEDROCITO SPEAKING SPANISH)

PEDROCITO: How can I

help you, senorita?

I'm sorry your company tonight

is less than desirable,

but, sadly,

that cannot be helped.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

(FONNY, PEDROCITO LAUGHING)

TISH:

I had never seen Fonny

outside the world

in which I moved.

I had seen him with his

father and his mother,

and I had seen him with us.

I had certainly never seen him

in the world in which he move.

(RAIN PATTERING)

Perhaps it was only now I was

able to see him with me...

because even though he was

turned away from me laughing...

he was holdin' my hand.

Good night.

FONNY:

Tish?

TISH:

Yeah?

Come and see my place,

won't you?

TISH:

But it's late.

FONNY:

It ain't far.

Okay, Fonny.

Okay.

(CHUCKLES)

♪ ♪

(RAIN PATTERING)

♪ Don't look so sad ♪

Hey.

(CLEARS THROAT)

Happy landings.

Here, Daddy.

JOSEPH:

Oh.

- FRANK: Hey, hey, hey, hey.

- JOSEPH: That's enough for you.

(LAUGHING)

♪ Keeps on turnin' ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Let's just be glad ♪

I called this meeting.

I had Daddy ask you all

to come over so I could tell you

what I had to tell Fonny today.

What I had to tell

Fonny today is...

Fonny's gonna be a father.

We're gonna have a baby.

You and me, we fixin'

to go out and get drunk.

(LAUGHING)

All right.

Oh, I'm glad. Don't

worry, I-I'm mighty glad.

And who's gonna be responsible

for this baby?

The father and the mother.

You can bet it won't be

the Holy damn Ghost.

I guess you call

your lustful action love.

ALICE:

I don't.

I always knew you'd be

the destruction of my son.

The Bible says,

"Put to death, therefore,

- all that is earthly in you."

- (FRANK SIGHS)

"Sexual immorality,

"impurity, passion,

evil desire, covetousness."

That child was

born of sin,

and the Holy Ghost

is gonna cause it

to shrivel in your womb.

But my son,

my son will be forgiven.

- My prayers...

- Oh!

- Oh.

- SHEILA: Mama.

- JOSEPH: Frank!

- Her heart!

I think you'll find

it's still pumpin',

but I wouldn't call it

no heart!

Help me, help her.

Come on, Mama, come on.

Joe, let the women take care

of her, man. Come on!

Joseph. Joseph, go on.

Go on, we don't need you here.

- All right, all right.

- FRANK: Come on.

It's okay, you got it.

I got you.

JOSEPH:

Frank. Frank!

(PANTING)

ADRIENNE:

Okay. You're okay.

That was a terrible thing

you said to me.

That was the most terrible thing

I've heard in all my life.

My father

didn't have to slap her.

- She's got a weak heart.

- She got a weak head.

The Holy Ghost must have

softened your brain, child.

Did she forget that that was

Frank's grandchild

she was cursin'?

I don't think you have the right

to sneer at my mother's faith.

ERNESTINE: Oh, don't

give me that bullshit.

You so ashamed to have

a Holy Roller for a mother,

you don't know what to do.

Y'all make me sick!

And who do you

funky niggers think you are?

She only asked

one question.

Who is going to raise

this baby? And who is?

Tish ain't got no education,

and God knows,

she ain't got nothin' else.

Fonny ain't never been

worth a damn.

So who is going to raise

this baby?

I am, you dried-up,

yellow cunt!

And you keep on talkin', I'll

take mighty good care of you.

Adrienne, baby!

Can I tell you somethin',

sweetie?

Ever since the first day

I laid eyes

on your very fine person,

I got caught up

in your Adam's apple.

Oh, I've been dreamin'

about it.

And I can't tell

whether I wanna tear it out

with my fingers or my teeth.

And if you touch

my baby sister,

I'm gonna have to make up

my mind real quick.

So touch her.

I knew

we shouldn't have come.

Oh, Sheila. I didn't even know

you could say that word.

SHARON:

Ernestine.

ADRIENNE: Come on, Sheila.

Let's go.

- Come on, Mama.

Just grab her purse. Come on.

Just come on, Mama.

We got you.

Hold her purse. Come on.

- (SNIFFLES)

- Come on, Mama.

I hope you're proud

of how you raised

your daughters.

My girls ain't gonna think

of bringing no bastards home

to feed!

I can tell you that!

- That's 'cause won't nobody fuck 'em.

- SHARON: Ernestine.

That child that's comin'...

is your grandchild.

I don't understand you.

It's your grandchild.

What difference does it make

how it gets here?

The child ain't got nothin'

to do with that.

Ain't none of us

got nothin' to do with that.

That child...

- That child...

- Come on, let's go, Mama.

- Go on home.

- That child...

(SOBBING);

That child, that child...

Get your shit!

Take your shit with you.

(PANTING)

(RAIN PATTERING)

♪ ♪

(RAIN PATTERING)

(DISTANT THUNDER RUMBLING)

(RAIN PATTERING LOUDLY)

(LIVELY JAZZ PIANO PLAYING)

(SLOW JAZZ SAXOPHONE PLAYING)

♪ ♪

(GASPS)

Don't be scared.

Just remember

that I belong to you.

Just remember

that I wouldn't hurt you

for anything

in this world.

You're just gonna

have to get used to me.

And we got all the time

in the world.

Hold on to me.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

(TISH GASPS)

(MUSIC FADES)

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

WOMAN (OVER PA SYSTEM):

...Salowski,

please report

to station master's office.

(INDISTINCT

ANNOUNCEMENT OVER PA)

(TRAIN CLACKING)

TISH: I like lying

here like this.

FONNY:

I do, too.

That was my first time.

Did you know?

FONNY:

Do you like me?

I mean...

When I make love to you...

do you like it?

You just wanna hear me say it.

- FONNY: So?

- TISH: So what?

FONNY: So why don't you

go ahead and say it?

TISH:

I just know that I love you.

♪ ♪

(MUSIC FADES)

TISH:

Mrs. Victoria Rogers,

née Victoria Maria

San Felipe Sanchez,

declares that on the evening

of October 5th,

between the hours

of 11:00 and 12:00,

in the vestibule of her hom,

she was criminally assaulted

by a man

she now claims to have been

Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt,

and was used

by the aforesaid Hunt

in the most extreme

and abominable sexual manne,

and forced to undergo

the most unimaginable

sexual perversions.

I've never seen her,

I know only

that an American-born Irishmn

went to Puerto Rico

six years ago

and there met Victoria

who was then 18.

He married her

and brought her to New York.

Having pumped three children

out of her, he left.

Her home is on Orchard Stree.

Orchard Street,

if you know New York,

is a very long way

from Bank Street.

Orchard Street is damn near

in the East River,

and Bank Street

is practically in the Hudso.

It is not possible to run

from Orchard to Bank Street,

particularly not with

the police behind you.

Yet Officer Bell swears

he saw Fonny

run from the scene

of the crime.

This is only possible

if Officer Bell were off dut,

for his beat is on the

West Side, not the East.

And yet, it is now up to the accused

to prove, and pay for proving,

the irregularity and improbability

of this sequence of events.

HAYWARD: I'm doing

everything I can to get him

back to you

just as fast as I can.

But Mrs. Rogers' refusal

to reconsider her testimony

has left us

in a very tough place.

- And now she's disappeared.

- Disappeared?

Well, how can

she just disappear?

I don't think

she's gone very far.

They certainly don't have

the means for that.

But her family may have

returned her to Puerto Rico.

In any case,

in order to find her,

I'll need special

investigators and...

- SHARON: That means more money.

- Unfortunately.

But doesn't it make it

look bad for her case,

for her to just disappear like

that? She's the key witness.

She's only one of the key

witnesses in this case.

You have to remember

this Officer Bell.

HAYWARD: His was the authoritative

identification of the rapis.

It's Bell who swears he saw

Alonzo running away

from the scene of the crime.

If he saw Fonny run

from the scene of the crime,

then why did he have to wait and

come and get him out of the house?

Wait. Tish, Tish, wait...

Let me get you straight now.

You're sayin'

that that Officer Bell

tells her what to say.

- Exactly.

- TISH: So you're sayin'...

There's no gettin' at

the truth in this case?

(SIGHS)

Look.

If I didn't believe

in Alonzo's innocence,

- I would never have taken this case.

- Call him Fonny.

Excuse me?

Call him Fonny.

When you call him Alonzo,

I see the judge

and the bars

and the chains and the...

I know you're doin'

my sister a favor,

and this

is a very fancy law office,

but if you're gonna do this,

you gotta be family.

So call him Fonny... please.

I understand.

Now, you and... Fonny insist

that you were together

in the room on Bank Street with

an old friend, Daniel Carty.

That's the alibi.

But your testimony,

as you can imagine,

counts for nothing.

And Daniel Carty has just been

arrested by the DA's office,

and I've not been allowed

to see him.

What they're doing

is really against the law,

but Daniel has a record.

They obviously intend to make

him change his testimony,

and... (SCOFFS),

I don't know this,

but I'm willing to bet

that that's why

Mrs. Rogers has disappeared.

So you see, I will do

everything I can.

(CRIES)

SHARON: How soon

do you need the money?

(SOBBING)

We're already tracing

Mrs. Rogers.

I'll just need the money...

uh, as soon as you can get it.

I'll also force the DA's office

to allow me to see Daniel Carty,

but they'll throw every

conceivable obstacle in my way.

(TISH SOBBING)

SHARON: Don't you cry.

Don't you cry, baby.

- Don't you cry.

- Here.

(SOFTLY): Here you go.

Wipe your face.

- (SOBBING)

- Wipe your face.

(CELL DOOR BUZZES)

♪ ♪

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Hey.

TISH:

You see Hayward?

Yeah.

What the fuck happened

to Mrs. Rogers?

Where the fuck did she go?

I don't know,

but we'll find her.

FONNY:

How we gonna find her?

We're sending people

to Puerto Rico.

- We think that's where she went.

- Yeah?

Suppose she went to...

to Argentina, hmm?

- Or-or Chile or China?

- How's she gonna get that far?

They can give her the money

to go anywhere.

- TISH: Who?

- The DA's office, that's who.

- Fonny, I don't think...

- Oh, what, you don't believe me?

- Huh? You don't think they could do it?

- I...

- I don't think they have.

- (FONNY SCOFFS)

How are we gonna get

the money to find her?

We're all workin', all of us.

Yeah, my daddy's working

at the garment center,

you're working

at the department store,

- and your daddy's workin' at the waterfront...

- Fonny, you need to listen.

- Listen to what?

- (POUNDS TABLE)

(PANTING): That lawyer

don't give a shit about me.

He don't give a shit

about nobody!

You want me to die in here?

You know what's happenin'

to me, to me in here?

(FONNY BREATHING HEAVILY)

(SNIFFLES, SIGHS)

I'm sorry, baby.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean

none of that for you.

I love you.

You know that.

(SIGHS) I do.

And I understand

what you're goin' through...

because I'm with you.

(SIGHS)

You take care of yourself

out there.

(CELL DOOR BUZZING)

(TRAIN CLACKING)

TISH: Fonny had been

walking down Lenox Avenue

- when he ran into Daniel.

- DANIEL: Fonny!

TISH: Time had not

improved Daniel.

He was still big,

black and loud.

At the age of 28,

a little older than Fonny,

but he was already runnin' ot

of familiar faces.

So they grabbed each other

on the avenue.

- What's happenin', baby?

- Why you askin' me, man?

Oh, because like the man say

about Mount Everest,

- "You there."

- Oh, come on.

What's goin' on with

these threads, though, man?

Hey, you know, I'm out here

lookin' for a job, man.

Oh, I can dig it, man.

All right.

Yeah. Come on back

to the pad.

We'll get some beer. Tish'll

fix us somethin' to eat.

TISH: And though he certainly

shouldn't be spending the money,

he pushes Daniel into a cab and

they roll on down to Bank Street,

where I am not expecting the.

But I could not be

indifferent to Daniel,

because I realized

from Fonny's face

how marvelous it was for him

to have scooped up

from the swamp waters

of his past an old friend.

TISH:

Oh, my God.

♪ ♪

DANIEL:

I get this, man.

No, Fonny, I'm serious, man.

I-I get this shit.

This is, uh...

the abstract, right?

Like, kind of that Negro...

- It will be something one day.

- Yeah, I know, man.

- Like, I mean... it's solid.

- (CLANKS)

(DANIEL LAUGHS)

I mean,

keep doing your thing, man.

- This is...

- (CLANKS)

- It's got weight to it.

- (BOTH LAUGHING)

(SNIFFLES, SIGHS)

- You wanna smoke, man?

- Hell, yeah.

Thanks, man.

They got lofts standin' empty

all over the East Side, man.

They all firetraps, too.

And some of them

ain't even got no toilets.

So you figure, finding a loft

ain't gonna be no sweat, right?

But, man...

this country really

do not like niggers, man.

(SCOFFS)

(CHUCKLES)

They don't like niggers

so bad, man,

they'll rent to a leper

before they rent to a nigger.

Sometimes,

Tish and I'll go together,

sometimes, she'll go by herself,

sometimes I go by myself,

but it's always

the same story, man.

And now I can't even

let her go by herself.

Dig this, right?

Last week we thought

we had ourselves a loft.

Cat had promised it to her.

- Okay.

- But he hadn't seen me.

Oh... (CHUCKLING)

You know, so he figures,

a black chick way downtown,

looking for a loft

all by herself,

- he think he gonna make it with her.

- Really? (LAUGHS)

He thinks

she's propositionin' him.

(DANIEL SIGHS)

I mean, that's

what he really thinks.

(SCOFFS)

She come back to tell me,

all happy and proud.

We go down there, and sure

enough, when that cat sees me...

he says, "Oh, there's been

some great misunderstanding.

"I can't rent you the loft

'cause, 'cause I got

"all this family

coming in from Romania

in, like, a half-hour

and I gotta give it to 'em."

Shit. I told him

he was full of shit.

Yeah.

And then he threatened

to call the cops on my ass.

I'm really gonna have

to figure out a way of getting

some bread together and getting

the fuck out of this country.

Oh, yeah?

How you gonna do that?

I don't know yet.

Tish can't swim.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

(COUGHS)

Come on, man.

- You all right?

- Yeah.

Fuckin' wrong...

You wrong for that.

Yo, man.

And, look...

(LAUGHS)

Maybe you

can go first.

Nah, man.

I don't think

I could do that.

I'd be too scared.

Scared of what?

I'd just be scared, man.

You scared of what

might happen to Tish?

I'd be scared of what might

happen to the both of us...

without each other.

Mm-hmm.

You know, I know I might seem

like a weird kind of cat, but...

I got two things

in my life, man.

I got my wood and stone...

and I got Tish.

Without them, I'm lost.

I know that.

You know, whatever's in me,

I ain't put it there.

I damn sure can't take it out.

DANIEL: I don't know if

you're so weird, man.

I mean, I know you lucky.

I mean,

I ain't got nothin' like that.

Can I have another beer, man?

- Hell, yeah, you can.

- Mm.

(CHUCKLES)

- Here you go, big fella.

- All right. Appreciate it.

- Yeah.

- Hey, cheers.

Cheers.

(SIGHS)

DANIEL: I just got

out the slammer, baby.

Two years.

They said, uh...

They still say

that I stole a car.

I mean, yeah, I had

a little bit of pot on me

when they grabbed me,

but, man, I...

I don't even know

how to drive a car, Fonny.

But then it sounded

a whole lot better

than a marijuana charge,

you dig?

By the balls, huh?

By the balls.

♪ ♪

I've been smokin' up

all your smokes, man.

Should have got Tish

to get you some more.

(CHUCKLES) Shit.

You already made of money?

- DANIEL: There she go.

- TISH: Hey.

- DANIEL: Hey.

- FONNY: You need help in there, baby?

TISH: No, I'm fine.

Y'all all right?

DANIEL: Yeah, we good. We just

sittin' here starvin' as always.

I'm movin'. I'm movin'.

I'm... Tish, I'm playin'.

I'm-I'm jokin'.

TISH: I gonna put somethin'

real special on your plate.

DANIEL: She's takin'

her jacket off, man.

She gonna put

the dukes up.

(LAUGHING)

Thank you, Tish.

- TISH: Mm-hmm.

- Mm-hmm.

(LAUGHING)

- You got a good one, man.

- FONNY: Mm-hmm.

(LAUGHS)

How long you been out, man?

DANIEL:

Hmm.

About three months.

It was bad, man.

Very bad.

I mean, it's bad now.

(SNIFFLES)

Maybe I'd feel different

if I had done something

and got caught,

but... I ain't do nothin'.

They were just playing with me

'cause they knew they could.

And, look, I'm lucky that

I only got two years 'cause...

when you in there,

they can do with you...

whatever they want.

You hear me?

What...

ever they want.

And they dogs, man.

Mm.

You know, I found out

in the slammer

what Malcolm and them cats

was talkin' about.

The white man

has got to be the devil.

Because he sure ain't a man.

Some of the things

I've seen...

be dreaming about it

until the day I die.

Hey.

It's all right, man.

You out now.

And you young.

Man, I hear

what you're sayin'...

and I appreciate it, but...

you don't know.

The worst thing...

The worst thing is

that they can make you so...

fucking scared, Fonny.

Just...

scared, man.

- You cats hungry?

- FONNY: Yeah.

- DANIEL: Yeah.

- FONNY: Yeah, we starvin'.

Tish, you didn't happen to bring

back no beer with you, did you?

Um, I think we got some left.

- If y'all ain't drink 'em up.

- DANIEL: Never.

Mm.

♪ Don't try to blow out ♪

♪ The sun for me ♪

♪ Baby ♪

♪ I'm not asking

for what I know can't be ♪

Tish, come on.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Tish.

Seriously.

I'm not gonna cry.

TISH: God is good, God is great,

and we thank Him

for this food,

and we thank Him to help

Daniel at our table tonight.

Sounds like you got it

all figured out.

I mean, who you learn

that from, Fonny?

(LAUGHING)

♪ I wouldn't ask you

to lift up ♪

♪ This great ♪

♪ Big world, little baby ♪

♪ I'm not that kind ♪

♪ Of girl ♪

♪ All that I ask ♪

♪ Is a smile or two ♪

♪ And nothing in this world ♪

♪ Will be too good for you ♪

(SONG FADES)

(TRAIN CLACKING)

Get me out of here!

Get me out of here,

baby, please!

(DOOR CREAKS)

(TISH WHIMPERING SOFTLY)

(DOOR CLOSES)

(TISH WHIMPERING)

- (SOFTLY): Hey.

- (GASPS)

(SIGHS)

I know I can't help you

very much right now.

Lord knows what

I wouldn't give if I could.

But I know about sufferin'...

and I know that it ends.

And when you lyin'

in this bed,

you not by yourself.

You got this child right here

beneath your heart.

And we all countin' on you.

Fonny countin' on you...

to bring this baby here

safe and well and...

(SIGHS)

You the only one

that can do it.

You understand?

Yes, Mama.

- Okay.

- (SNIFFLES)

I don't wanna sound foolish...

but remember,

love is what brought you here.

And if you trusted love

this far,

don't panic now.

Trust it all the way.

I love you, baby girl.

TISH:

I love you, too.

♪ ♪

ERNESTINE:

Hey, Jezebel.

TISH: Sis started calling me

Jezebel after I got my job

at the perfume counter.

She said...

You smell like

a Louisiana whore.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

TISH: The store thought

that it was very progressive

to give this job

to a colored girl.

(SIGHS)

I stand behind that counter

all day long...

smilin'

till my back teeth ache.

And it isn't only

old white ladies

who come to that counter

to smell the back of my han.

Very rarely

does a black cat come

anywhere near this counter.

And if he does, his intentios

are often more generous

and always more precise.

Perhaps for a black cat, I look

like a helpless baby sister

and he doesn't wanna see me

turn into a whore.

And yet, some black cats

come closer,

just to look into my eyes

to check out what's happenin,

and they never smell

the back of my hand.

A black cat puts out his had

and you spray it,

and he carries

the back of his own hand

to his own nostrils.

♪ ♪

But a white man?

A white man

will take your hand,

he will carry your flesh

to his nostrils...

(SNIFFING)

...and he will hold it ther.

He will hold it there

for a lifetime.

Thank you.

(LAUGHING)

All right.

You want the good news

or the bad news first?

Bad news.

See, that's how I know

we family.

(CHUCKLES)

Okay.

The bad news is...

they found Mrs. Rogers,

but she's in Puerto Rico.

Somebody's gotta go

and talk to her.

Which we'll

have to pay for.

- Okay.

- Hmm.

So what's the good news?

You smell nice.

(CHUCKLES)

That they found her, baby.

But how did she get

to Puerto Rico?

I can't go to Puerto Rico.

Mama and Daddy don't know.

I haven't talked to them yet

because I wanted

to talk to you first.

Do you think

she was really raped?

Baby sis.

I actually do think

she was raped...

and that she has absolutely

no idea who did it,

that the man could pass her

on the street

and she wouldn't even

recognize him.

But why Fonny?

Because he was presented

to her as the rapist,

and it was much easier

for her to say yes

than to try to relive

the whole damn thing.

Oh. Well, what about Daniel?

Daniel can vouch for us.

Daniel knows Fonny was with him.

And Hayward's gonna

talk to him tomorrow.

He might have been able

to talk to him today.

Some shit.

Yeah.

But we in it now.

(SIGHS)

And you, uh, you showed

her the ad, right?

(LOCK CLACKS, DOOR OPENS)

LEVY: All right, lady and

gentleman, here we are.

Hey, I know it doesn't look

like much right now,

but, um,

well, we're not done, you see?

You gotta, you gotta imagine

that there's like walls

all the way

up and down here and...

I mean, yeah, it's a,

it's a work in progress.

Yeah. See, Tish,

it's, it's not done.

It's a work in progress.

Fonny, I'm sorry,

but how we gonna make this

into a home?

Look. Look, imagine

there are walls, right?

Over here and over here.

I mean, see, none of this

is gonna be here.

It's gonna be like

we got our own little space.

And maybe there'll be some

other young folks, over there

and, and over there,

like a community, right?

Uh, yeah, a community.

Yeah, sure.

But... where are we gonna cook

and sleep and bathe?

I mean...

Where are my mama

and them gonna sit?

Easy.

Look, I'll put a couch

right over here, huh?

Mama, Daddy,

maybe even Ernestine, right?

And the bed,

I'll put all the way back there,

right against the wall,

so I can see that pretty light

on your face when the sun rises.

Some of my sculptures over here

and, and over here.

Right?

As far as eatin' goes,

I was thinkin'...

I was thinkin'

we could put a table right here.

What you think?

I don't know, Fonny.

FONNY:

As far as I'm concerned,

the only thing

we missin' is a fridge.

But I don't wanna

throw my back out

before we even have

a chance to make a kid.

Hey, Levy.

Come on, give me a, a hand

with this fridge, man.

- What, you-you want me to...

- Yeah, come on, help me out.

Okay.

All right, babe,

I need you to get the door.

Get the door, come on.

- All right. All right. You ready?

- Okay. Yeah, I'm ready.

- You ready?

- I'm ready.

- Three, two, one.

- Uh-huh.

Oh, okay, all right.

You good?

- Yeah, I'm good.

- All right.

- Slowly now. Careful.

- Okay, okay.

All right. Why am I straining

more than you?

FONNY:

I got you. I got you.

Right on back here. Right on back here.

All right.

- Right here?

- Yeah, right here. Perfect.

(GRUNTING)

Right.

Whoo! Ha!

Hey, that sure took

a load out of me.

Yeah... me, too.

But what a man wouldn't do

for love, eh, Levy?

LEVY:

Amen.

Well, thank you

for my fridge, boys,

but don't forget

about my stove.

Oh! Oh, yeah,

of course not.

Uh, you mind helpin' me out

with the stove?

- Not at all, no.

- Levy? All right.

We gotta make sure we get that.

LEVY: You don't gotta

worry about your neighbors.

All you got down here

is sweatshops.

And the place on the ground

floor, though, it's legit.

So other than it bein'

a firetrap, what's the catch?

Catch?

I mean, no offense,

Levy, but...

we've been looking

for a long time.

Don't seem to me

like there's a reason

to treat two Negros

so nice like.

I mean, clearly,

we ain't got a pot

nor much of a drink

to make piss with.

Pardon my French.

Look, man, with me,

it's, uh, it's pretty simple.

I... I dig people

who love each other.

Black, white, green, purple,

it doesn't really matter to me.

Just spread the love,

you know?

- Oh, so you a hippie now?

- (CHUCKLES) No.

I ain't take you

for no hippie, man.

LEVY:

No, man, I'm, uh...

I don't know,

I'm just my mother's son.

You know, sometimes that's all that

makes the difference between us and them.

All right, well, just, uh,

just keep in touch

about gettin'

that deposit together, yeah?

(SIGHS) Will do.

Will do, Levy.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

♪ ♪

Whoo!

(SCREAMS)

(LAUGHING)

(BOTH SCREAMING)

♪ ♪

You ready for this?

I've never been more ready

for anything in my whole life.

♪ ♪

I'm gonna grab

some things for dinner.

I'm gonna grab me some smokes

from across the street.

FRANK:

What we gonna do?

JOSEPH: Well, the

first thing we gotta do

is we gotta stop blaming

ourselves.

If we can't do that, man,

we'll never get the boy out

because we'll be

so fucked up.

And we cannot

fuck up now, baby,

and I know you hear

where I'm comin' from.

FRANK:

Yeah, I hear that, man.

But what we gonna do

about the money?

You ever have

any money?

- You ever have any money?

- No.

Then why are you

worried about it now?

You raised them somehow.

You fed them somehow,

didn't you?

If we start worryin'

about the money now...

then we fucked, and

we'll lose our children.

That white man, baby,

he want you to be worried

about the money.

That, that's his whole game.

But if we got to where

we are without the money,

we can get further.

I ain't worried

about their money.

It don't belong

to them anyhow.

They stole it from us.

They ain't never

met nobody

that they didn't lie

to and steal from.

Well, I can steal, too.

And rob.

How you think

I raised my daughters?

Shit.

And what you think

is gonna happen?

- What we make happen.

- Man, that's easy to say.

Not if you mean it.

Man, I love Fonny more than

I love anybody in this world.

Makes me ashamed, man,

because he was a,

he was a real manly little boy

who wasn't scared of nothin'.

Yeah, except, maybe,

his mama.

And now he's in jail

and it ain't his fault,

and I don't know

how I'm gonna get him out.

I'm sure one hell of a man.

Well, he sure thinks

you are.

He loves you

and respects you.

Let me tell you

somethin' else.

Your son is the father

of my daughter's child.

Now, how you gonna sit here

and act like

can't nothin' be done?

We got a baby

on the way here, man.

You want me to beat

the shit out of you?

Now... I know some hustles,

and you know some hustles,

and these are our children,

and we gotta set them free.

So, let's drink on up, man,

and let's go on in.

We got a whole lot of shit

to deal with in a hurry.

TISH: The date for Fonny's

trial keeps changing.

This fact, of course,

forces me to realize

that Hayward's concern

is genuine.

I don't think that he very

much cared in the beginning.

He'd never taken a case

like Fonny's before,

but once into it, the odor

of shit rose too high.

He had no choice

but to keep stirrin' it.

♪ ♪

It became obvious at once,

for example,

that the degree of his concen

for his client

placed him at odds

with the keepers

of the keys and seals.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

He had not expected this,

and at first it bewildered,

then frightened

and angered him.

♪ ♪

It didn't help

that I distrusted him,

Ernestine harangued him,

Mama was exhaustin' him.

For Joseph, he was

just another white boy

with a college degree.

Fonny's actual trial...

TISH: And so, I start

lettin' out my clothes

and go to work wearing dresss

that fit like sacks.

Mama starts preparin' hersef

for a journey

to save Fonny's soul.

♪ ♪

And Joseph and Frank

are coldly stealin'

from the docks

and the garment center...

sellin' the hot goods

in Harlem or in Brooklyn.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

They don't tell me

any of this, of course...

but I know it.

I know it.

(DOOR OPENS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Thank you.

(FONNY CHUCKLES)

Here she come.

(CHUCKLES)

Big as two houses.

(CHUCKLES)

Are you sure it ain't twins

or triplets? (CHUCKLES)

Shit, we might make history.

Your daddy

figure hisself a comedian.

(CHUCKLES)

You look good, baby.

- Well, thank you, honey.

- (CHUCKLES)

Better than anybody in here.

I don't care how big you get.

(CHUCKLES) Well, as soon

as that ain't the truth,

somethin' wrong. You tell me

'cause I'm out of here then.

(CHUCKLES)

How you doin', husband?

I'm good, wife.

You here now.

I'm okay now.

You know I love you.

No matter what happens

with all this shit,

you know I... (GROANS)

Tish! Guard! Guard!

(GROANS)

FONNY:

Tish!

I'm all right.

I'm okay.

I'm fine.

(SIGHS)

You all right?

FONNY:

Me?

I'm not the one

who just got punched

by a midget inside

they belly.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

TISH: I remember the night

the baby was conceived.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

It was the day

we saw our loft.

I can sure dig a tomato

who digs tomatoes.

Hey, sweet tomato.

You know I dig tomatoes.

Come on, brown sugar, give me a smile.

Come on, babe.

FONNY: What the hell

are you doin', man?

Hey! Shit!

- Get off me!

- TISH: Fonny, wait!

Get off me!

Fonny! Fonny!

Oh, Fonny.

What happened?

That man there attacked me.

(GRUNTS)

(SNIFFLES)

And where were you...

while, uh, while all

this was goin' on

between junior there

and your girl?

- He was around the corner...

- I was buyin' smokes.

...buyin' cigarettes.

Is that so, boy?

He's not a boy, officer.

You live around here?

Yeah.

- Bank Street.

- Uh-huh.

Hm, I'm taking you down...

- No!

- ...for assault and battery.

No! Stop!

Oh, no, you're not.

No, you're not!

I know both

these young people.

They shop here

very often.

What the young lady

has told you is the truth.

I saw exactly

what happened.

That's a funny way

to run a business, lady.

You're not gonna tell me

how to run my business.

I was on this street

before you got here,

and I will be here

long after you are gone.

Okay.

Bye-bye.

Come on.

I'll be seein' you around.

You may.

Then again, you may not.

♪ ♪

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

FONNY:

Tish.

Yes?

Don't you ever try

and protect me.

But you were tryin'

to protect me.

It is not the same... thing.

Fuck! (GRUNTS)

(SIREN CHIRPING)

(TISH CRYING)

(SIGHS) Look.

Don't ever think,

don't ever think

that I don't know

that you love me.

Do you believe

we gon' make it?

♪ ♪

(PEDROCITO CHUCKLES)

(PEDROCITO SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

- We have no money.

- PEDROCITO: Ah.

But we are very hungry.

And I will have some money

in a couple of days.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

A couple of days?

That's what they all say.

And I guess

you also wanna sit down

while you eat, right?

Well, yes, if you can

arrange it, that'd be nice.

PEDROCITO (CHUCKLES):

Ah, let me guess.

You need a margarita.

Caught me again.

(CHUCKLES)

♪ ♪

(TISH MOANING)

Oh...

Oh, Tish.

(BOTH MOANING)

(PANTING)

(BREATHING DEEPLY)

(BREATH ECHOS)

TISH: We are beginning to have

a somewhat acrid dialogue,

this thing and I.

It kicks and I smash an egg

on the floor.

(GROANING)

It kicks

and suddenly the coffeepot

is upside down on the table.

It kicks and the perfume

on the back of my hand

brings salt

to the roof of my mouth

and my free hand

weighs on the glass counter

with force enough

to crack it in two.

Be patient.

I'm doin' the best that I can.

Please?

And then it hauls off again

like Muhammad Ali,

and I'm on the ropes.

(TISH COUGHING)

(RETCHING)

(COUGHING)

(GROANING)

(TOILET FLUSHING)

JOSEPH: Come on, sweetheart.

Right here.

I'll make some tea for you,

all right? Come on.

All right,

nice and easy, baby.

Nice and easy, baby girl.

All right.

(PANTING)

(SIGHS)

Come right here.

Come here.

Come on,

sit right up there.

Lean into Daddy's arms.

Come on.

Come on,

I got you, baby.

All right. All right.

Take some deep breaths

with me, all right? Come on.

- (TISH EXHALES)

- Inhale.

All right, come on,

I got you, baby.

You're doin' good.

You're doin' good, baby.

TISH: Mama gets to Puerto

Rico on an evening plane.

♪ ♪

(BREATHING DEEPLY)

♪ ♪

(ROCK AND ROLL SONG

PLAYING IN SPANISH)

(SONG CONTINUING)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(SONG CONTINUING)

(SONG FADES)

MAN: Senora Rivers,

you waiting for me?

WAITER:

Gin and tonic.

Thank you.

- (WAITER SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

- (MAN SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

So, what do you want

to see me about?

I don't especially

wanna see you.

I wanna see

Victoria Rogers.

I'm the mother-in-law of the man

who she accused of rape.

Well, I don't know anything

about that.

SHARON:

That can't be true.

You come all the way down here

just to call me a liar?

I came down here to prove

a man's innocence.

And you have to drag Victoria to

hell and back to do that, right?

Mm, she's been through enough,

more than enough.

Leave her alone.

A man is about to die

for somethin' he didn't do.

Can we leave him alone?

Do you believe

I love my daughter?

To be honest, lady,

it's hard to believe

that you have a daughter.

Do you think

I'd marry my child to a rapist?

You might not know.

Why are you coming to me?

I'm not an American.

You-you-you, you,

you called them lawyers

up there, right?

I mean, look around. Shit.

I have my little thing here

and Victoria, she's-she's...

She's putting herself

back together.

And, lady, I don't need to put

her through anymore shit, okay?

No. No, no, no, no.

Buena noche.

SHARON:

Look at 'em.

Do you think I came

here to make you suffer?

Look at me.

I'm looking at you.

Do you think I came here

to make you suffer?

No. No.

Then take this to Victoria.

You take it to her

and you ask her, you show her.

(SIGHS) I'm a woman...

and I know what women know.

I know she was raped.

But I also know...

I know Fonny did not rape her.

(VOICES CHATTERING IN SPANISH)

TISH: When Mama

wakes in the morning,

Pietro sends a boy

to take her to Victoria.

She has become

Pietro's responsibility

because like the man said

about Mount Everest,

"You're there."

How long were

you in New York?

Too long.

Children still there?

Listen.

Leave my children

out of this.

Why did you

come back here?

If it happened to you...

what would you do?

Daughter,

I was a woman

long before you was a woman,

remember that.

And I know...

I know you pay

for the lies you tell.

You sent a man to jail,

one you ain't

never even seen before.

Just 22 years old, young...

and he wants to marry

my daughter.

I did see him.

You saw him

in the police line-up.

That was the only time

you saw him.

What makes you so sure?

(SIGHS)

I've known him all his life.

One thing I can tell, lady...

you ain't never been raped.

They took me

down there...

and they told me

to pick him out.

So that's what I did.

I picked him out.

But it was...

It happened in the dark.

- You saw Alonzo in the light.

- I saw enough.

Daughter,

in the name of God...

Get off of me.

- Daughter, please...

- Get off of me.

- Please listen...

- Get off of me.

No, no, no.

Get off of me!

Por favor. Por favo!

(SCREAMS)

- (SCREAMS): Get off me!

- Shh!

(SCREAMING):

Get off!

- (WOMEN SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

- SHARON: Oh, my gosh.

- (VICTORIA SCREAMING)

- (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

- (VICTORIA SCREAMING)

- (WOMEN CHATTERING)

(SOBS) Oh, no.

(SOBBING)

No.

Damn!

Fuck.

♪ ♪

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

You all right?

TISH:

Yeah, I'm all right.

The baby all right?

TISH:

Baby's fine.

Gotta get some meat

on your bones, hon.

Lord, have mercy.

(CHUCKLES) Speak up.

He can't hear you.

Look...

there's something

I gotta tell you.

Mama came home from Puerto Rico.

She found Victoria,

but the girl went crazy.

They don't know

where she is now, so...

so the trial

might be postponed.

Fonny?

- Fonny?

- I'm fine.

Listen, I'm...

I'll be out soon.

I'm comin' home

because I'm glad I came.

Can you dig that?

(CHUCKLES)

You see...

See, now, I'm an artisan.

I'm like a cat

who makes tables.

I don't like the word artisan,

I never have.

Guess I don't know

what the fuck it means.

I'm a cat who...

who works from his gut,

with his hands.

See, I know what it is now.

I mean, even if I go under,

but I don't think I will now.

I know I won't.

Baby, I love you.

And I'm gonna build us

a great, big table.

And our family's

gonna eat off of it

for a long, long time to come.

(CHUCKLES)

Don't you worry.

I'll be home soon.

I'm comin' home to you.

I wanna be in your arms.

I wanna hold you in my arms.

I gotta hold our baby

in my arms.

It's gotta be.

Don't you worry, I'm...

I'm comin' home.

♪ ♪

(RAIN PATTERING)

♪ ♪

(RAIN PATTERING)

(MUFFLED, AMBIENT,

UNDERWATER DRONING)

FONNY:

I wanna be in your arms.

I wanna hold you in my arms.

I gotta hold our baby

in my arms.

It's gotta be. It's gotta b.

(BABY WAILING)

(BABY QUIETS)

- (BABY COOS)

- Hi.

(SOBS) Hi.

(RAIN PATTERING)

(SOFTLY): My little Fonny.

My little Fonny.

I got you. I got you.

I got you.

I promise I got you.

I got you.

I promise.

I promise I got you. I got you.

I got you.

Mommy's got you.

♪ ♪

TISH:

We're still not married.

After all this happened,

neither of us cares

what that means.

Fonny was once 22, I was 19.

But neither of us

is young anymore,

can't afford to be.

They say we gotta live

the life we've been given...

and live it

so our children can be free.

There aren't enough hours in

the day or judges on the benh

to try all the cases

brought against these men.

The game has been rigged

and the courts see it throug.

A trial is their right,

but to bury you

beneath the prison

for forcin' the judge

and the DA to do their jobs

is the court's right, too.

And so,

like many of these poor men..

Fonny took a plea.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Let's see.

I got something for you.

Here.

Yeah? Okay.

Wanna draw somethin'

for Daddy? Yeah?

Hey, little man.

- Hey.

I see you've been

eating good.

Yeah, well...

(CHUCKLES)

Looks like I'm not the only one.

(TISH CHUCKLES)

Nah, the apple don't fall

too far from the tree.

Hey, who all this for?

- ALONZO: You.

- For me?

Well, how'd you get the money

to pay for all of this?

What, you got

a job now, man?

Hmm? You runnin'

numbers on me?

TISH:

Mm-hmm.

Say dollar straight,

dollar box.

Don't say that.

You gotta quit teaching

him that mess.

Hey, what you drawin', Alonzo?

That's when you

come home, Daddy.

Let me see.

Ever since I told him,

he just writes it

everywhere.

(SCOFFS)

Here, son.

(SCOFFS)

Well...

I don't know about y'all,

but I'm starvin'.

You gotta say grace.

Oh, we...

- Mm-hmm.

- We gotta say grace?

All right.

You wanna say

grace for us?

Thank you, God,

for the food

we're about to eat

and for all of our blessing

and we have received

and for my daddy.

In Jesus' name, amen.

- FONNY: Amen.

- Amen.

(CHUCKLES)

Hey, Alonzo, you wanna

help me with this, man?

♪ My country ♪

♪ 'Tis of thee ♪

♪ Sweet land ♪

♪ Of liberty ♪

♪ For this I sing ♪

Subtitles by explosiveskull

♪ Land where ♪

♪ My father died ♪

♪ Land of ♪

♪ The pilgrims' pride ♪

♪ Oh Lord ♪

♪ From every ♪

♪ Mountainside ♪

♪ Oh, let freedom ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Let it ring ♪

♪ My country ♪

♪ 'Tis of thee ♪

♪ Sweet land ♪

♪ Of liberty ♪

♪ Of thee I sing ♪

♪ Land where ♪

♪ My father died ♪

♪ Land of ♪

♪ The pilgrims' pride ♪

♪ From every ♪

♪ Mountainside ♪

♪ Oh, oh let freedom Lord ♪

♪ Freedom ♪

♪ Let freedom ring ♪

♪ My country ♪

♪ 'Tis of thee ♪

♪ Oh Lord ♪

♪ Sweet land ♪

♪ Of liberty ♪

♪ Of thee I sing ♪

♪ I'm singing for the land ♪

♪ Land where ♪

♪ My father died ♪

♪ I'm singing for the land ♪

♪ Land of ♪

♪ The pilgrims' pride ♪

♪ From every mountainside ♪

♪ From every ♪

♪ Mountainside ♪

♪ Oh, let freedom ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Let it ring ♪

♪ Why Lord today ♪

♪ Please Lord ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Let it ring ♪

♪ In America, in America ♪

♪ Lord please ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Let it ring ♪

♪ Oh, all over the world

Lord, Lord, Lord ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Ring ♪

♪ Mm-hmm-hmm-hmm,

hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm ♪

♪ Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm ♪

♪ ♪

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) - full transcript