Quiet River (2014) - full transcript

And so it happened

I found myself at a crossroads.

Things hadn't gone well
for my husband and I

and we needed a break.

So I packed up everything
and went back south.

I hadn't been there in 10 years.

I was hoping maybe the tight
spaces would help hold me in.

The thing is, I was right.

It was like a friend
of mine once said,

it was a good idea
that didn't work out.

Nice ax.



- I'm going to
put this away now.

This is the inside.

It's nice.

- Mm-hmm, yes.

- Did you do this
all yourself, or?

- Oh no no no no no, my
skills tend more towards

the intellectual
and the monetary--

- How long have you been here?

- Oh, a couple of years.

Mm-hmm.

Your shoes are very dirty.

- Well I was, I walked here

through the mud, so.

- And your hair.



- What about my hair?

- Well, it's just very

unkempt for your standards.

- Jesus, Daniel.

- Which, which I don't--

- Wow.
- I don't think

is a bad thing, it's
not a value judgment,

it's simply unusual.

- Mm-hmm, great thanks.

- How is what's his name?

- Neil?
- Mm-hmm.

- He's fine.

Hmm.

- He's fine we--
- Mm-hmm.

- What, we just

decided to take a
breath, you know?

- Oh, yes, yes.

And here you are.

- Here I am.
- Here you are alone.

Away from Neil.

- Why do you say it like that?

- Well I've always
said it like that.

You probably didn't hear
when you were next to him

and now that you have
gained some distance.

But, that's all right, that's
probably time for that--

- Can I?

Can I put my stuff down?

- Oh yes, yes, you can
put it down anywhere.

Great, thanks.

Will you
be here very long?

- Actually

I could use a place
to stay for a while.

I mean, not

not a long time, just...

Mm-hmm.

Neil is really
mad at me right now, so.

- Why?

- You know how things
build up, and...

And then.

Anyway, it's your fault.

- It is?

- Yeah.
- How?

- Not, no, I,

it was just a,

it was a stupid joke, I'm sorry.

Hmm.

- You know, growing up
with you it was just like

brutal truth kinda.

- Well I don't think you can
expect that from everyone.

I don't think you've ever
come to me for help before.

Yeah.

- You were

the normal one.

- Oh, come on.

Unbelievable.

It was tough to let things go.

When I was with people
I wanted to be alone.

When I was alone the
nagging came back.

The bottomless feeling that
my life had fallen away

when my back was turned.

Mornin'.

- There was one summer when
mom had all those vegetables

in the garden and she
was always weeding

and she never could
figure out why.

And she finally quit.

And it was because she was not

weeding well,

she was not pulling
up the roots.

She was only pulling
off the green.

- I see.

It's a lot more work though.

- It is, but you only
have to do it once.

- I thought you liked
living in the city.

- No I didn't really like anything about living in the city.

I think it was necessary
for work and research,

and necessary for

connections, but
it was, I never.

All the people.

- People can be good
for you, you know.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

- No more satellites.

- No.

Well, they're up
there somewhere.

They just don't have my
name on them anymore.

I think if they don't
have my name on them

I would rather be here.

- No more people, no
more city, no more--

- No no,
once they got interested in the parabolic ideas

and they ceased
to become my ideas

and became their property

I wanted to be somewhere where
my ideas were my own ideas

and no one else could
buy them from me.

It doesn't hurt
that somebody did buy them.

- No, well somebody
did so here I am.

- Right.

And you know, if you
ever got sick of it

the road's right there, so.

- They told me it wasn't very
much trafficked and anyway

this was the only property
with the two structures.

I didn't know if I was
going to live in the...

I hate the road.

- The old town.

River town.

Things hadn't changed
here in 30 years.

Or 30,000.

I couldn't figure out if
that was a good thing or not.

Part of my wanted
to see it again.

Part of me wanted to
know if I had any idea

what the hell I was
doing back here.

Ruby?

- Claire?

I know, right?

- Wow, what are you doing here?

- Wow, oh my gosh.

Yeah.

- What are you doing here?

I'm just
visiting, you know?

- Wow, yeah.
- Yeah.

- I haven't seen you, how
long have you been here?

- I just got in yesterday, so.

Yeah, and you're
staying with Daniel?

- Mm-hmm.
- Oh all right, yeah.

- Yeah.
- Yeah, well,

you know, he's our neighbor.

- Really?
- Yeah.

- Wow.
- Listen, yeah.

Well it's just, I'm
so shocked to see you.

- I know, it's--

- Okay, all right.

Well, uh--

- You look amazing.
- Well thanks, so do you.

I mean, it's like, I
mean, it's a time warp

because you're here
but you look the same.

Nothing has changed.

Gosh.

So...

Gosh, you busy?

- No.

Nope.

So, what are you, what
are you up to, it's--

Why am I
still in this town?

No, I--

- Yes.
- No.

Yes.

Yeah, Charlie Anderson,
did you know him?

You know, the
name sounds familiar--

- He's a little bit
older than us, yeah.

Anyway.

Fell in love and
never left, you know.

- You're still here.

- I am.

Who would have thunk
it, certainly not me.

You were smart.

No, I'm kidding.

This town does drive
me crazy but I mean,

I feel really lucky.

Charlie, fell in love with
him, and stuck around.

- That's really, I'm glad--
- How's Neil, how's Neil?

- He's fine.

Good good,
tell him I said hi.

- Yeah, okay.

Is he still
doing his thing?

- Still, still Neil, yeah.

- Yeah, definitely
say hello from me.

- Yeah.

- Never would have
thought you two

would have wound up together.

There is,

there is something I feel
like I need to share, Claire.

So also on our land, you know,
it's a pretty large property

and we're trying to maintain
it and keep up the farm

and venting is, it's expensive.

And one of the,

so we've been doing some
other stuff on the property,

some forestry work and

it's not real popular in town.

People are not real pleased
with us right now, and

someone's been dumping
poison down our well.

And, yeah, it's
herbicide actually.

- Jesus.

- And so um...

- That's, I'm

I'm sorry, that--

- Thanks, I appreciate that.

The part I really feel
like I need to tell you is

the prime suspect
is actually Daniel.

And--

- Oh.

- I'm sorry.

Has he mentioned anything?

- No.

- Yeah, I didn't
think he would, but

I just wanted you
to hear it from me.

It's awful, it's
terrible, I hate it.

It just makes my
chest tight, you know?

His land borders ours.

You know, you've

you've been gone a long time.

And I don't blame you,
trust me I don't blame you.

But I mean, Daniel's changed
a lot, you know, I mean.

He's really,

he's gotten really radical.

Really really strong beliefs

and really saying
them out loud a lot.

He actually ran into
Charlie on the dirt road

a month or two ago and was

really, flagged him down.

Charlie felt a little scared.

He was so vocal and
started talking about

the historical significance
of well poisoning,

I didn't even know.

Apparently like in
the 13th century

they would dump bodies
down wells, war tactics.

You should know the police
have been out to see him,

and I want you to know that.

- He didn't,

didn't say.

Wow.

- I'm sorry.

It just makes me, it makes
me sick in my stomach,

it hurts my heart, it just--

- Don't apologize.

- I feel awful, I feel awful,

I mean, his land borders ours.

I was
caught off balance.

But something inside
fell right into place.

It sounded like Daniel,
it felt like Daniel.

In one moment, I saw how
the framework of his ideas

could get him into real trouble.

Daniel?

Yes.

- What are you doing?

- I am attempting to tidy up.

- I just talked to Ruby.

- Ah, yes.

Yes.

Yeah, she had
some pretty interesting

things to say.

- Yes, I imagine she did.

- Yeah, she told me about,

she told me that you are accused

of poisoning their well, Daniel.

Mm-hmm.

- Do you want to
explain what's going on?

Well, well
poisoning has a long history,

a long tradition, a very--

- No, I don't want
to hear the history

of well poisoning Daniel,

I want you to tell
me if it's true.

- No.

I mean,

not that I had
anything to do with it.

I don't think it's
a terrible idea,

but I didn't have
anything to do with it.

- They're investigating you.

Well--

- The police, right?

So, thank
you for your concern.

- You can't, you can't
treat this lightly, Daniel.

I'm sorry, but it seems like
you're, you have a very--

Tidying up,
yes I am, thank you.

I have some more
tidying to do now.

- This...

Hey.

Hey.

- You realize you're
on private property?

- No.

- What's your name?

- It's Claire.

- Claire?

Yeah.

- Why haven't I seen
you around before?

- Probably because
I just got here.

- Where you headed?

- Just home.
- Home?

Mm-hmm.

- Where's home?

I mean, I can give you a
ride if you, I wasn't--

No, it.

I guess
you won't get lost

with a coat like that.

Sorry.

- No, it's bright.

- I'm Barrett.

- Barrett, hello.

Well--
- What are you doing later?

- Nothin'.

Daniel.

- Yes.

- You awake?

- Yes, I'm awake.

What is it?

- Never mind.

Knock knock.

Hm, mm-hmm.

No rest
for the wicked, I see.

- No no, I do like to have things going,
projects for the...

- Did you sleep okay?

- Mm-hmm, yes.

Yes.

I did sleep okay,
did you sleep okay?

- You know, I had a lot
of bad dreams actually.

You know, my mind
just wouldn't shut up.

Mm-hmm.

- I keep thinking about
what Ruby said, you know?

I mean--
- Ah, yes.

- Why would, why would
she say that about you?

- Mm, well

I'm sure Ruby has many reasons

for doing many
things that she does.

- Right, but

I just don't understand.

I just don't understand.

Well I don't
think there's too much

to understand.

It's what they call
a local matter.

- Right.

But if it gets out of
hand Daniel, I mean,

you're by yourself
out here, and...

- Well, being alone out
here is very much the point.

- Are you gonna do
anything about it, Daniel?

I mean--
- Well.

This is what I'm doing.

- Right.

Daniel didn't have a
hostile bone in his body.

He wasn't angry or vindictive.

But growing up with him,

there were moments.

* I don't leave the
highway long enough *

* To bog down in the mud

* I got ramblin'
fever in my blood *

* Caught this ramblin'
fever long ago *

* When I first heard the
lonesome whistle blow *

* Some folks never
ever gave a damn *

* They damn sure
told you wrong *

* I've had ramblin'
fever all along *

* Ramblin'

* Fever

* The kind that can't
be measured by degree *

* Ramblin' fever

* There ain't no kind
of cure for my disease *

* There's times I'd like
to bed down on a sofa *

* And let some pretty
lady rub my back *

* And in the early
morning drinking coffee *

* Talkin' about when
I'll be coming back *

* I don't let no
woman tie me down *

* Never get too
old to get around *

* Want to die
along the highway *

- Anybody home?

Hello.

Daniel.

Daniel?

I felt dirty coming in here.

Sneaking around.

Like I'd found someone's
stash of girly magazines.

The more I looked, the
more I felt that solitude

had not been good for Daniel.

People lose themselves when
they're isolated and alone,

like a plant starving for
light in some forgotten corner.

You thirsty?

Yeah, sure.

- One of my finest reserve here.

- Thanks.

So,

what's this for?

- Oh, it

comes in handy once in a while.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

- Did you make it or?

- Yeah.

It's forged out
of a single piece.

- Impressive.

- It does the job.

- You used it yet?

- Sure, couple times.
- Really?

- Yeah.

In preparation for the
impending collapse.

- The collapse.

- I don't know, I just figure
we're not gonna have a lot of,

you know, guns and
that kind of thing

once everything
goes to shit, so--

- Which is--
- I try to train with--

Bound to happen.

- Absolutely it is.

Look at the way people
treat the land and

our economy, I mean,
come on, you know.

- Planning for the
end of the world.

- Yeah.

I'm kind of looking
forward to it, actually.

I'm an apocal-optimist.

A what?

- An apocal-optimist,
I think it'll be--

That's a new one.

- I think it'll be nicer, you
know, after the dust settles.

- That sounds familiar.

Do you know anything about

re-wilding?

- Yeah, I've heard
of re-wilding.

Yeah.

So, I mean, what is that?

- Just the idea that

I guess if you
wanted to reduce it

to its lowest common
denominator you could say

that it's the idea
of letting nature,

truly allowing nature
to take its course.

Maybe you help it along
even, a little bit.

Removing certain
obstacles from its path.

- Like people, or?

- Maybe.

You go about it the
right way, I mean, it,

not in every case.
- What's the right way?

- I'm just, you know, the
idea that okay, look you know,

a house gets old and falls down

and then the vines grow over
it and they help weaken it

and it crumbles
and rots and decays

and goes back into the ground.

- Okay.
- You know.

And then eventually it's like
it was never there at all.

You know, perfect, serene.

The way it was supposed
to be in the first place.

- Hm.

I see.

- Well Ruby's place down there.

You can't tell me that that
land is gonna be prettier

after that development goes in.

I didn't
know she was putting--

- Why do you think
she's clear cutting

the side of the mountain.
- I don't know.

Huh.

- It's senseless, I mean,
line your pockets for that.

And then those people,
they're gonna put two,

they'll cover the
side of the mountain

in the $2 million homes,

put a big ugly gate at
the bottom of the hill.

And then we'll have to look at
those eyesores all year long

when those people aren't gonna
be in them but three months.

When they can get to them,
you know, in the summer.

- Oh, I didn't know
that, I thought.

- I'm not gonna
tell somebody else

what to do on their land, but

I don't think, it's
not what I would do.

You can't do that to the
land without it finally

having enough and
turning back on you.

- I didn't know
that was happening.

Seems like a lot of people are

not happy with that.

- You blame 'em?

- Yeah.

- Shh sh-sh-sh.

So you think about this.

Would something be
a modern application

of a primitive warfare technique

or a primitive application of
a modern warfare technique.

Either way you look at it
it's always a soft kill weapon

that's used when you're messing

with somebody's water supply.

It's easy, you can use
an animal carcass, or

a diseased person that's
died in the battle.

Just throw it down the
well and whether it's

you poisoning somebody
else's well, shh, come here.

Shh, come here, come here.

There we go.

Open up.

It's not that hard to make sure

that they can't use
that water anymore.

Know what I mean?

Go on, girl.

- Ah! No.

Stop, wait, wait, this is not,
this is, these are, this is.

And my, these, these are mine,

this is my my my my my writing,
my ideas, these are my,

I will not, my ideas are
no longer for consumption

by anyone, by the government,
by corporations, by...

They are not to
be shared anyone.

They are my, I, not for
government nor corporation

nor, nor, nor--
- I was just.

Wow.

I'm sorry, I just, it was--

- It doesn't surprise me
at all that your marriage

is in such, you you...

- What?

You know what, I
don't want to hear it.

Look, I,

I should have known,
I should have known.

You've been alone
for awhile, I just.

- It must have been,
it must have been

easier for you.

When I left you must
have, what was it?

It must have been easier.

- Well, I don't, I mean...

You going to school
before me that, and I...

There's nothing
really easy about...

I don't
mean, I know that--

- A younger brother, who--

- You were, but because
they, they they they...

I took up a lot of attention.

Well.

- Not...

It was probably unnecessary.

But once,

once I was at school

you had

your life.

It's a good thing.

It's a good thing
that you're here.

I knew I could
keep piecing things together,

looking around for some
answer that may never come.

Or I could just call her.

- Hello?

Hello?

- Yeah hi, this is Claire.

- Oh, Claire, hey how are you?

Um, I'm good.

I'm good.
- Good.

- How are you?
- Oh, I'm good, good, good.

What's up?

- Well, I was just wondering if,

if you and I could,

well,

I was just, I
thought that maybe I,

you and I could have um, I
could come over for dinner?

Maybe I could have dinner
with you and Charlie.

- You want to come
over to dinner?

- Well, yeah.

I thought it would be
fun, you know, catch up.

- Well, oh--

- Share a meal,
break some bread.

Are you
wanting to come tonight?

- Look, I don't make a habit

out of inviting myself over
to people's houses, I just,

it's just been such
a long time since,

since I got to spend
any time with you, so

what do you say?

Please.

- Thanks.

I'm sorry I'm so early, I just,

was running around
and just thought.

- It's fine, Claire, it's
not a problem at all.

We're glad you're here.

- Wow.

This is a beautiful house.

- Well thank you,
thank you very much.

This is where I was born.

The only house I've ever known.

- Really.
- Yep.

Used to roll around and
wrestle with my brothers

right here on the floor.

Listen, have a seat, please.

- Oh, thank you.

So, you grew up here.

- Yes, I did.

And before we had
the horse farm,

we actually used to keep,
because we got about six acres

across the creek, and that's
where we used to keep horses.

When we were first starting
out where we weren't really

doing as much breeding
as we are now.

And yeah, a lot of
great memories here.

It's a wonderful
place to grow up.

Funny thing, I can
remember being a kid

and when we first put the
horses in the back pasture

that we had the electric
fence running around

and I had a friend
who didn't understand

that it was probably
not a good thing to

take a piss on the
electric fence.

And so that's

definitely seared in my
memory, and his also I think,

of growing up here,
but it was a lot

of good stories like that,
a lot of good friends,

lot of good, lot of
good people here, so.

- That sounds really great.

- Yeah, it was a
wonderful place.

- I know this is

probably way...

Are you sure about my brother?

- Claire, excuse me,
how 'bout I get you guys

a glass of wine.

- Yeah.

- Would that be all right?
- Yeah,

I think that'd be
great, thank you.

- Excuse me.

- Thanks.

- Claire.

I'm sorry--
- No, it was a surprise.

I just,

I'm just trying to understand
exactly what's going on.

So I didn't--
- Sure, absolutely.

I understand that,
he's your brother.

I mean,

he rides all over our property.

We see his ATV all around.

We don't see anyone else.

I mean, you know the
types of things he says.

And he's certainly
made it no big secret

that he's not a fan of ours.

- I mean, there are things
that are happening that...

- I know, and I know that
you probably don't agree

and I don't want to make
this even more awkward

than it already is, but--

- No no no, it's your
property, I get it.

- Yes.

We have bills to pay just
like everybody else does.

- I know and it's...

I can't imagine...

I just wish there was, it
just doesn't seem like enough.

Enough what?

- Enough.

- I wish he wasn't, I wish
that it was someone else.

I wish that it was
someone we didn't know

or somebody we
didn't like, I just.

All we want is
clean water, Claire.

- Maybe this is maybe out
of line, I don't know, but

you know what Daniel is like.

And

I just don't want
to see this thing

escalate out of
control and have him...

- What?
- Nothing.

No, nothing.

- Ah, we been friends
a long time, honey.

I don't want this to
ruin it between us.

Stay for dinner.

Just stay.

We won't talk
about this anymore.

We'll just put it aside.

I've cooked a lovely dinner.

We'll turn on some music,
we'll drink some wine,

we'll talk about old times.

Please.

Ruby's farm.

Prime, relatively horizontal

riverfront mountain real estate.

Hard to come by around here.

It wasn't as big
as some, I guess.

What I was looking
for, I had no idea.

* Said I been walking
down your roads for days *

* And I swear I'm
gonna die of thirst *

* I been shittin' in the one
hand and wishin' in the other *

* I can tell you which
offend the first *

* If waking up could change me

* By that I see
a change in you *

* If what I do not know

* Cannot hurt me, oh Lord

* I think I'd rather be a fool

* Well well well

* What I do not know

* Cannot hurt me oh

* I think I'd rather be a fool

No, we been playing for
a year, year and a half,

something like that.

Sounding good.

- We're having fun with it.

You know what you throw
a drowning bass player?

- What?
- His amp.

- Thanks.
- Wet your whistle.

- You read my mind.

So are you gonna take
your band on tour, or?

- We'll see.

See what happens.

Take it
as it comes, huh?

- It's not my main
drive right now,

I've got a lot on
my plate, you know.

It's just a fun way to
make extra money right now.

- Doesn't sound like
a bad way to live.

- Do what you love
you'll never work a day

in your life, right?

- Cheers to that.

So,

I've got a question for you.

- Shoot.

- I came across this
stuff called Atrazine.

- Atrazine?

Yes, thank you.

- That came out of nowhere.

I know.

I'm using you for
your knowledge.

- Oh, well I am a walking compendium of useless information.

Atrazine, that's
some nasty shit.

It's an herbicide, you
know, commercial farmers

use it all the time.

At least over here,
they banned it in Europe

like 10 years ago.

Yeah, they say it's supposed
to biodegrade in a year.

But it keeps turning
up in ground water

long after that expiration date.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

So it poisons the
drinking water, you know,

a lot of times in the
areas where it's used.

- And it gets
stuck in the water?

- Oh yeah, yeah.

Stuck in the ground water,
watersheds, you know, it's

a lot of nasty side effects.

- Like what?

- Birth defects, sure.

I've read, you know, a
lot of reproductive harm.

Infertility in women.

They did a study, right.

They dosed all these African
clawed frogs with the stuff.

And out of all of
the frogs they did,

75 % of the male frogs
turned up sterile.

And this is really weird,

like one out of every
10 of these frogs

turned hermaphroditic.

- Really.
- Yeah, so.

Yeah, I'd stay away from it.

- No, that sounds like
your kind of frog though.

What do you mean?

- Well it doesn't have to
rely on anybody for anything.

- Oh.

Have to be kind of
flexible, wouldn't it?

- Maybe, but.

But it would...

I mean, as far as putting it
in well water, it wouldn't.

No, I'm sure
that happens all the time.

There's an ass for ever seat.

You know, there's nasty
people all over the world.

- Yeah.

- You want another beer?

Sure.

What's going on?

- Can I help you ma'am?

- I'm sorry, I'm Claire Dunbar.

I'm Daniel's sister.

Is he okay?

- He's fine, I'm just
stopping by to talk to him.

- He's not being arrested
or anything is he?

There aren't any--

- No.
- Charges, okay.

- No charges.

- You realize that my brother
is not like everybody else,

so I'm just trying
to understand.

I didn't realize things
had gotten this far.

I just need to know

where he stands, I mean is that?

- I understand your brother's
special needs, I do.

Okay.

- The law doesn't
differentiate here.

He's a person of interest
in a DA investigation.

No charges.

Okay.

- But he is a
person of interest.

- So.

I mean.

I guess I just, I'm
wondering what comes next.

- Keep him out of
trouble, keep him in town.

And that's it.

- It's about all you can do.

- So--
- He's in a lot of trouble

potentially.

I just need,

I need you to be a
good sister to him

and make sure that
he stays in town.

- Okay.

- You might want to
get him a lawyer.

- Okay.

- You're not driving that
thing on the road, are you?

- No, of course not, just...

- Right.

- All right.

Daniel.

Mm-hmm.

You
can't ignore this.

- Well, Claire, I'm
not going to ignore it.

Okay.

- I'm going to

live my life, and...

Do you even
understand how serious

this situation is?

- Yes Claire, he
was very succinct

in his clarification
of the seriousness.

- Okay.

So what are you
gonna do about it?

- Well.

There's very little to be done

except to continue
to not have done it.

Which I will be doing.

- Daniel, look at me.

This is not in your control.

This is not going away.

You could be...

You could go to jail.

- Mm-hmm, no no.

No, I don't think so.

- If they arrest you,
you're going to jail.

- No no no, no no I will not
be going to jail, Claire.

I am not going to be arrested.

- That's not a decision
that you can make.

- Mm-hmm, yes.

Yes yes, there are any number

of steps one can take to

not go to prison, I--

- Daniel, stop.

Just stop.

Jesus Christ.

- I do live in the
mountains now, Claire.

- Daniel.

What are you...

- I'm not going to
go to prison, Claire.

I'm not going to go to prison.

I don't think it
would be good for me.

- How's it going?

- Look, I know this
isn't really your...

But it's, it's my brother.

I mean, he's in the middle
of this whole thing, and--

- And you think I can help?

Well, I, yeah.

I'm hoping that maybe--

- 'Cause I can't.

- Well I'm not
asking for you to--

You kind of are.

Asking me to help your
brother, it's kind of like

asking me to get involved.

But you live here.

- That doesn't.

Your brother understands,
your brother would do

the same thing for me.

- He should--
- He would

mind his own business
and stay out of it.

- Look, I'm not looking for...

- You're looking for help.
- What's happening right now

is what's happening--

You're
looking for, am I right?

You're looking for help.

- Yes, yes, okay.

- I can't.

Why?

- 'Cause it's not what I do.

Your brother would understand.

Your brother and I are
more alike than you think.

But I,
I'm not him, so I--

- He would do the same for me.

- I'm sick of just,
that's enough of that.

What I'm asking for
is just, I don't know.

You're, you live here, you're-
- You're asking for me

to get involved in something
that I can't get involved in.

- Why?

Because I don't
get involved in things.

I am not him,
and he could end up...

- Incarcerated?
- I mean, don't you see

what could, yes.

- Yeah, I do understand.

He should have been
a lot more careful.

And I hate it for you but
there's really nothing I can do.

- I just...

- It's how people survive.

Alone?

- Yeah.

One person's a lot
easier to take care of

than a whole group of people.

- That is just so--
- It makes a lot more sense.

Look, I'm sorry
about your brother.

I'm not gonna get involved.

- Right.

Okay.

Thanks.

- Good luck.

- Daniel?

Daniel.

Daniel?

Okay.

This is what we're gonna do.

Do you have a tie?

- Oh, hello.

- Hi.

Come in, please.

Thank you.

Do
you have an appointment?

No, we
don't actually.

- Ah, and who are you again?

- Oh I'm sorry.

This is Daniel
Crouse, my brother.

I'm Claire Dunbar.

- Daniel and Claire.

- Yes.

My brother owns the property
near Ruby Samuel's place.

- Oh.

Yeah, local ADA told
me about that case.

I must tell you it's very unusual for us to discuss matters

with someone who's involved
in an investigation.

- Oh--
- In fact,

your being here without
your attorney present

is ill advised.

But we can continue
if you'd like.

- Yes, yes.

We, yes.

I understand that charges
might be brought against Daniel

and that he, that he might...

Well I guess I just don't understand what happens next, so.

- I'll tell you what
I tell everyone else.

In criminal matters we
conduct an investigation.

We look into allegations.

If we find evidence of
an indictable offense

then we issue a warrant.

- A warrant?

- For the arrest of the suspect.

- Oh.

Okay, but,

my brother isn't, he...

It's just...

Daniel has Asberger's,
I really think that--

- No I don't, I don't.

- Yes you do.

- No I don't.

- You do.
- No, no I don't.

- Yes--
- I don't have--

- You do, you do.
- I don't, I don't.

My, my my my sister is
trying to help in her own way

but she doesn't understand
how she affects the,

when she says certain things.

It isn't even a viable
diagnosis anymore, it's--

- We were just, were
just wondering--

- I can't--
- We.

If there was any way that.

I mean, obviously you have a...

We were just wondering if there
was anything that we can do.

- If your brother is found to
be a suspect in a criminal act

then he will be arrested.

But at this point the
investigation is--

- But he didn't do it.

I mean, he.

Did you?

- It's obviously not
really the point of this.

It's not, look this man
obviously has no imagination.

All he can see is is is me here,

is is this,

is the town recluse whose
so-called private property

abuts their so-called
private property.

There isn't much,
that's all he has.

And for two years
now he hasn't seen

the clear cutting, the roads,

the construction
that's all illegal--

- He, he, he isn't
poisoning their well.

He isn't.

- We only consider
information and evidence

collected by qualified
law enforcement officers.

We don't favor anyone.

We don't hold a
grudge against anyone.

If your brother is found to
be the most likely suspect

in damaging someone
else's property

and they choose to press charges,
we will formally file them

and he will be prosecuted.

With legal representation
and the assumption

of being innocent
until proven guilty.

- There must be something else.

I mean, there must be
something that we--

- The new MSD probably won't
even include Asperger's

as its own definition.

It's simply not, it was
only invented in the 1940s,

popularized in
the '80s and '90s.

It's only, it's an invention
of the pharmaceutical company

to sell their product
to more people,

to sell drugs to children.

It has nothing to do,
the autism spectrum

as traditionally defined,
of which Asperger's

is now considered a part,

is far more concerned
with language development,

with cog, with cog, it's...

When

when, when you, when you leave,

when you leave my house

you...

Tomorrow, tomorrow is fine.

Tomorrow will be,
tomorrow will be fine.

Mm-hmm.

I will give you,

I will give you some money.

Mm-hmm.

- Hello.

- Hey, it's me.

- Okay.

- No, there was just something
that I never got around to

talking to you about last night.

What?

All right,
you know how Ruby is.

Pretty much everybody in this
town's done some work for her

at some point or another.

- Okay.

- You know that old
house on their property?

There's something up there you
might want to take a look at.

- I thought,

I thought we were all,
you know, on our own.

- We are.

That doesn't mean we can't
do each other a favor

once in a while.

Anyway, I just thought
you might want to

sneak up there and poke around.

- Daniel and I are
done, I'm leaving.

- Well maybe you should
go look around up there.

- Why are you
telling me all this?

- Let's just say I
didn't want you to think

all anarchists are assholes.

- I had heard about this place.

Somebody'd won it
in a bad divorce.

Let it fall down rather
than give it to the ex.

That was when I had it.

Well poisoning.

Insurance.

Settlements.

And they needed
somebody to blame.

With a plan like Ruby's,

the payout would be huge.

You and me need to talk.

We need to talk about
something, you and me.

- Claire.

I'm busy.

- Meet me at the top of
your road in an hour.

Meet me at the top of
your road in an hour.

Do it.

- Claire, I'm--

What Claire, what do you want?

- I want you to
drop the charges.

- Why would I do that?

- I know about the
Atrazine, Ruby.

- Atra, Atra, I don't
even know what that is.

What are you talking about?

What's your brother told you?

What kind of crazy did he?

Claire.

I get it.

I understand.

You're here in town

because your life is broken,

your home is gone,
your nest is gone

and you're jealous of mine--

- Drop the charges and
everyone walks away.

- Fine.

Fine, Claire.

Whatever the fuck you want.

Have a nice life.

- Hey.

You,

you're packing?

- I'll be out of here
in just a minute.

Mm-hmm.

- You know, I don't
think anyone's

gonna bother your out here, so.

- Mm-hmm.

Well,

I do recognize that it

it isn't going away.

- I wouldn't worry about it.

- Well, I won't.

Good.

That's good.

- I don't think Neil...

Neil, he's all right.

- I know.

There's this

window in our kitchen.

And

right outside of it this

spider had made this huge,

huge web, you know, and

it was just this gigantic...

And I had to look
at it every day.

And the web just kept
getting bigger and bigger and

full of all these dead things.

And I just got sick of it.

You know, I didn't
want to look at this.

So one day I just

grabbed a broom and

went out there and

I killed it.

And,

you know, Neil came home and

saw, when he saw that it was
gone he just, he lost it.

How was I supposed to know?

I didn't know that
he was watching it,

that it was this...

That it meant something.

I just didn't know.

- You shouldn't kill spiders.

- Yeah.

- Where are you going?