Road to Perth (2021) - full transcript

This is Eric,
the photographer.

Nice to meet you.
Take a seat, please.

And the other talent
just got here.

- She's in hair and makeup.
- Okay, great, thank you.

- Here we go.
- Great.

Okay. Thanks.

Alright, here we go.

Look right to me, please.

Great. Thanks.

You know what?
Look to the right.

Hey, this is Alex.
Sorry, I missed your call.



Go ahead
and leave a message

and I'll get back to you
when I can. Thanks.

Hey, I just
got a text from Lisa.

Let me just read it to you.

"I think you need
to call your brother.

He'll probably explain
more but I'm pretty sure

he went to Australia
by himself."

Can you just call me
when you land or whatever?

Okay. Bye.

Hello.

Hey.

What are you doing here?

Um,
have you heard from her?

She said the trip was canceled
and that you proposed to her.



Look, could I just come in?

Uh, yeah.

Tea?

No, thanks. I'm good.

So I've got this bed
in the spare room

set up
inside and it's all...

Uh, the sheets are all clean...
I thought you were both coming.

And then the room next to
this room is full of towels...

Did she say
anything at all about me?

Anything?

Lisa's
one of my best friends, so,

of course,
I'm going to be on her side.

I have to be.

You've got other places
that you can stay, right?

Yeah, I'll be out
of here tomorrow. Don't worry.

I don't really
know what to do with him here.

I mean, I can't believe he
actually came here without you.

I'm so sorry again.

No, it's fine.
I think I can handle it.

Let me know
how it goes, okay?

What do
you want me to do again?

I want you to stand
over there by the fence

and I'm going
to take your picture.

No, the other part.

Well,
let's just get set up, first.

Come on.
Mm. Come on.

I want you to stand here...

And look in the camera

and tell me
what city we're in

and what's so great
about this place.

- Why?
- Well, that's what she

was supposed to do but
she's not here, so. Smile.

We're in Rye.
It's on the coast.

It's a bit cold at the moment,
as you can see.

And I just recently moved here.

I don't know
anything about Rye. The end.

Uh, just lie to me, tell
me something a little bit more.

It's got
a beautiful beach nearby.

That's why I bought the place.
Are we done?

Perfect.

You're a crazy person.

Hey, what's up, man?

Can I just get a beer?

Thanks.

Perfect.
Thanks, man.

She can go
and go fuck herself.

- You can't say that.
- She, she... Yes, I can!

And she needs to know...
She needs to know,

if she ever wants you back,
nah, you're not havin' her.

Fuck her.
Nah. Nah.

That's
easier said than...

So yes, that's my brother.

No.

Tell her, "Go away.

You lost me.
You had your chance.

- Fuck off now."
- I wouldn't say that...

- Says you!
- I can't say that to her.

You've got a wife now that's
devoted to you for 12 years...

- Hey, what's up?
- Uh, sorry.

I've been... I've been trying
to get a hold of you

this whole time
but I finally just got service

to be able
to send you a video.

So check out this
place that I'm staying in.

Wait, how drunk
are you right now?

- What?
- Wait, where are you?

Uh, I am in
this weird motel/pub.

There's a pub downstairs
here and there's like,

two hotel rooms, or two rooms
just around the corner here.

This is the blue room.
This is where I'm staying.

I met this guy downstairs.
His name is John.

And he said
that he conceived his son

- in that room...
- Okay.

Can you stop for a second?

Just stop, please.
Did you hit your head?

Are you in shock?

No.

I mean, I got, you know,
a couple beers deep

with the guys downstairs.

They were giving me shit
because I told them

that I was going
to come talk to you.

And then they're like,
"Why the fuck

are you trying
to talk to your sister?

You're with
a bunch of guys."

But this is the, uh,
the green room, right here.

If you want
to take a look at that.

It looks like a
rain forest or something.

But yeah,
I'm doing good and I miss you.

Can you just tell me that

you have some sort of plan
for where you're going

and you're not
just roaming wildly...

Hey!
We need another stand.

Okay, one second, please.

'Kay, Alex, I have
to go but you need...

Rach, I've got it figured out.

Oh, you do. Okay. Well.

Yes, I have a friend that
I'm supposed to meet up with.

- What friend?
- This guy? Mackie...

I met with him a few years back
on a forum.

Forum,
like an internet thing?

Oh my God. Okay.

Jesus, I can't with you
right now. I have to go.

Please don't die.
Love you.

- Hi.
- We've been waiting.

Sorry about that. I, um, I'll
get you the stand right now.

Okay?
Thank you for your patience.

All right, so, tell me
your name, what city we're in

and what's
so great about this place.

Sweet.

Now I'm talking
to the fucking koala.

You're kidding me?

Come on.

Shit.

Hey, this is Lisa.

Sorry, I couldn't
take your call right now.

If you just send me
a text or leave me a message,

I will be sure to get back
to you as soon as possible.

Okay.
I'll talk to you later.

Hey. Um, it's me.

I, uh, I figured
I'd give you a call.

I dunno. I just wanted
to hear your voice.

And I know, it's like
6:00 in the morning there.

So I figure you're
asleep but I just wanted

to get your voicemail.

Uh...

I'm staying in this place
in the countryside

about 45 minutes
away from Adelaide.

And it's solar powered,

so I currently
don't have any light.

I really don't know
what I'm doing here.

But, I just
wanted to call you

and... tell you that I'm okay.

Hello?

Hey, Mackie. Hey.

Uh. Yeah,
it's... It's Alex.

No, uh, Alex.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, man.

Uh, no, no.
It's totally cool.

Um, so listen,
I'm actually like 45 minutes

outside of Adelaide.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, yeah,
I was just wondering if maybe

you wanted to, I don't know,
grab a beer later.

I'm going to be down
that way, so...

Wait, what?

You want me to...
Are you serious?

You want me to pick her up?

But I, I don't
know where the airport is.

But yeah,
I guess I could look it up.

What time does she get...?

I'll tell you what,
I'll... Yeah, I'll go get her.

I'll just give you a
call when I pick her up then.

Is that okay?

Okay, cool.
Uh, well, yeah man, it's... Oh.

Hello?

Awesome.

So we are in Adelaide.

We are in the
Slick Lobster Barbershop.

And what's unique
about Adelaide is

we're kind of like
a big country town:

Everybody kind of knows
each other.

There are a lot of creative
people doing cool things

and we all get to experience
those cool new things

as kind of
like a small community.

We got good food,
we got good coffee,

we got good wine and we all
get to celebrate and enjoy

and partake of what is going
on in the city as it grows.

It's exciting to be
in Adelaide at the moment.

Hey. Uh, so I'm
pulling up right now.

I'm in a grey car.

Do you...
Do you see me?

Oh, well, what are you,
what are you wearing?

Oh, yeah, okay.
Definitely see you.

Do you see me?

I'm in the grey car,
I'm waiting.

- Hey.
- Hey.

How's it going?
I'm Alex.

Oh,
you can just drive.

You don't need to be
my friend today.

Okay.

Shit.

Sorry.

Shit.

Shouldn't
drive with your phone on.

Sorry. It's...

Jesus.

Sorry. It's my sister.
She keeps trying to call me.

How was,
how was the flight?

Um, yeah, it was fine.

There's a lot
of people out there.

Um, yeah.
Yeah, it's an airport.

Are you hungry?
Probably can get some food.

No, I'm good thanks.
Just, get where we're going.

Why have we stopped?

I have
no idea where we're going.

How's that?

I've never been here
before in my life. I...

- You don't have the address?
- No, I thought you had it.

I don't.

Just get some forward motion.
That'd be good.

Okay.

You're going
to need to turn around.

Yup.

Yeah, I'm here now.

No, they didn't
even know to expect me.

Because you were
supposed to come here with me.

That's the thing;
they're expecting you.

Well, I don't know
what I'm supposed to do now.

How do you expect
me to get to Perth?

Well, I don't know, man.
This is what

you were
supposed to organize.

Fuck. Between you and mum,
like, I just don't...

Yeah, that fucking random guy.
I don't know...

How
do you even know him?

I don't know what
you're expecting me to do now.

Like,
you completely screwed me.

Fine. Fuck.
Fuck you, too.

Is that a coffee tin?

- It's my father.
- What?

Um.

Dementia mainly.
Cancer eventually.

Damn.

What about Mackie
and your mom?

What's going on with your mom?

It's not something I think we
should talk about

if you want
me to remain pleasant.

I mean, like we can

but I'm not going to be nice.

Okay.

Has anyone
ever called you abrasive?

Like, to your face?
Have they said that to you?

Well, what about you?
You don't seem

so terribly
affected by my abrasiveness.

Well, no, it's
because I'm the exact same.

I keep drinking and talking
to you all night, I mean,

I'll be standing on top of
tables, just yelling at people

and hiding in the corner,
crying my eyes out by myself.

It's not pretty either.

Not a pretty crier.
Totally.

- You'd cry?
- Mm. Yeah.

- Men don't cry.
- Mm-hm.

I can cry.
I can cry.

Yeah.

But you don't,
you don't talk about the things

that make
you want to cry, right?

Do you?

- Thank God.
- What?

I actually have power.

So you've just been staying at

random people's places
between Melbourne and here?

Yeah.

Why?

Poor life choices.

I'll take the couch.

Morning. Hi.

Hey! Good morning.
How'd you sleep?

Yeah. Good, thank you.

Um, I'm so sorry
about yesterday.

I didn't mean
to ruin your holiday.

Oh no, it's fine.
Are you gonna bounce?

Yeah, I've got to go.

Look, I...
I wanted to apologize.

I didn't mean to treat you
like one of Mackie's minions.

Huh.

You're dealing
with a lot of shit.

- I get it.
- Cool. Well, thanks.

Oh, wait. Um.

Uh, what are you doing?

I was going
to take a little road trip

with my brother
but he blew me off,

so I'm going to
go figure that out.

How far is it?

It's like a day trip
out of the city.

I could do a road trip.

Uh. Okay.

I'll be downstairs.

Fuck.

We're in Quorn in South
Australia's Flinders Ranges.

Quorn's a very historic town.

We've got fantastic
traditional old streetscapes

in our community
and we're a service center for

most of the Flinders Ranges,
which is one

of South Australia's
most beautiful parts.

Guy said there's
like some cellar down here

that we should check out.

Mm... no...

Whatever.

So you just, um,
ask people questions

and take their photograph?

Yeah.
I ask for their name.

And what city they're in
and I don't know,

what's so great
about the place.

Is that
something you came up with?

Uh, no, my girlfriend did.

Why are you putting it
in your pants?

Mm, keep it warm.

You want a coffee?
No. Thanks.

Hey, uh,
is the cellar down here?

Yeah mate, It's over
here. Just down the stairs.

- Alright, thanks man.
- No worries.

I am not going down there.

Yeah, you are. Come on.

Look at this.

What? You get scared?

No.

You
get scared a little bit.

Holy sh...

Oh my God, no.

Come on, come on.

Dad? Look at this.

You gotta go in the dark.

You left your baby here,
too.

Is it a bo...
Yup, it's a boy.

Let's go.

She's my ex-girlfriend.

Ex-girlfriend.
Not girlfriend.

What?

The photo idea I was talking
about earlier, said it was

my girlfriend's idea?
It was my ex-girlfriend's idea.

So why are you doing it?

Actually, I don't
even know what you call it.

What do you call it when
you propose to somebody

and they said no?

I think you say, "I never
want to see you again,"

and then you never see
her again.

I hadn't
really thought about that one.

I haven't felt so far
from home in my entire life.

Quorn.
Big Fan of Quorn.

Quorn.

How'd you find
out about this place, anyway?

My father grew up here.

Oh, wow.

Ah, geez.

This is just the first stop.

Sorry.

What now?
Wanna get some food?

I'm gonna go to Perth.
Scatter my father's ashes

along the way.

There's more
of him left in there?

Yeah.

How are
you going to get there?

You don't even have
any money, do you?

I can take you.

Why would you do that?

I'm not ready to go back yet.

- Okay.
- Okay?

Okay.

It's nice.

Fuck me.

Yeah, we're going to need
to get some food. And coffee.

- Alex?
- Hey!

Good, you're alive.

No, I know, sorry.
It's just been, uh,

been out of service
for a couple of days.

It's hard, you know,
between these cities and stuff.

Are you having fun at least?

Yeah.

Listen, you remember that...

You remember that guy that
we were talking about

- the other day from the...
- The internet?

Yeah.

Sure do. What about him?

Well, I'm going
to be driving his sister.

- To Perth.
- What?

Why would you
be driving his sister

to...
Why isn't he doing that?

I... You're going to...
Where even is...

How far is Perth from
where you are right now?

It's, uh, a bit more west.

Like, 2,000 K's...

- As in kilometres?
- Uh, kilometres.

- With some random girl, Alex.
- It's not random.

I've known her for
like two days. She's not bad.

She's actually pretty nice.
I'll introduce you.

Oh my God.

Well, I don't know.

She's got some stuff
she's got to deal with.

It's really not that big
of a deal, but listen...

What about Lisa?
You haven't even told me

what's going on
with you and Lisa.

She's supposed to be there
with you and I don't know

- why she's not...
- I'm not ready for that yet.

So I just need you
to give me some time. Okay?

Okay. I'll give you
some... I...

yeah, sure. I'll give you time
but can you please

just promise to call me
along the way?

No, look, just, I'll call you
in a couple of days

and,
uh, don't worry about it.

It's gonna be fine.
All right?

Okay. Bye.

Shit.

Is everything okay?
On the phone?

Sounded like you having a
pretty, um, heated discussion.

Oh no, it was fine.

Was that
your, your ex-girlfriend?

Uh, no, that was my sister.

- Oh, okay.
- Yeah.

She was just calling to make
sure everything is all right.

- Yeah, right.
- Checking in.

Cool.

- You guys are close?
- Yeah.

She's a couple of years
older than me so

- she just likes to keep tabs.
- Right.

It's just the two of us,
so I don't really blame her.

Your parents separated, or...?

Nah, they were
together for a while.

My dad died
when I was, like, six.

So, you probably know
just about him as much as I do.

- You ever been out here before?
- Never.

Why not?

I don't know.

I didn't think there was
anything worth coming here for,

I guess.

You don't think
that's worth coming for?

Look at that.

Yeah,
now that I'm here,

but
I didn't know it existed.

How
far do you think that is?

What?

Like,
to the end of the horizon.

Well, it's endless.

That's why
it's called a horizon,

just keeps going and going.

Yeah,
and that's not possible.

You gotta get to the end,
somewhere.

That's, that's wrong.
That's impossible.

There is no end.
It just continues to go on.

Like, you'll get to
that where you can see now

and then they'll be
more like those continue.

Didn't they teach
you that in school?

- Nice.
- Yup. Take that one.

So, I guess we can
check it out tomorrow,

if you wanna backpack
in the morning.

You have a missed call.

What the hell
is out there, I mean?

Dude, I have no idea
where the hell we're at

- right now, actually.
- We're in the Nullarbor.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

What's that?

It's this desert region
that we're in right now.

You don't know
what it is, do you?

It's an iconic piece
of Australian land

where the desert meets the
ocean, it's really beautiful.

It sounds lovely.

Well, my dad
loved it here.

He used to stop off when he'd
drive from Adelaide to Perth.

I think he liked how big
and empty and desolate it is.

Beautiful too, though.

I'm gonna take a shower.

Hey.

Don't call her.

Hello?

Hi, beautiful.

I can put my dick
in other people, yeah?

Hey. Hello? Lisa?

Who is this?

No, hang on.
We're gonna do this.

He's not
understanding what I'm saying.

What did you just say?

Who is this?

Is everything okay?

Who is this?

We need to see what we both
likeable and learn from it.

What the f...

Some guy was on the phone?

- What guy?
- I don't fucking know.

What's he say?

Hey, this is Lisa.
Sorry I...

Fuck.

Who is it...?

I don't know.

Sorry.

Amazing, isn't that?

You're making me nervous.

Come back... please.

Reckon anyone's
ever fallen off?

You scared?

Yeah.

You eat the rest of that
and you're gonna get sick.

Making pretty good time.

Kangaroos have
started to come out, look.

Think we'll
stop somewhere tonight

and then head
on down to Esperance tomorrow.

Sound good?

There's this um, there's this
lake there that is hot pink.

I really want to go and see it.

I've seen it
in photos and stuff,

but never in real
life so it would be...

Pretty cool, I think.

It's like a natural phenomenon.

Um, the...

The salt, I think, affects the
color and makes it this like,

really bright, almost
like a cotton candy pink.

Reckon my dad'll like it there.

Probably stopped
there on his way through.

Can you pull over?
Can you pull over right here?

You okay?

Yeah. Can
you just pull over right here?

Ugh.

Fuck.

Mum. It's Ronnie.

Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna
be in town in a couple of days,

I've got dad.

Okay. Well.

Do with that what you will.

Yeah. All right.

Hello?

Alex?

Sorry, who's this?

Um, Lisa. Uh,
Alex's girlfriend.

Uh, he can't
come to the phone right now.

Look,
there was a call last night

that might have
been taken the wrong way.

And I don't
know what Alex heard

but it's not what
he probably is thinking it is.

If you could just pass that
on to him, I'd appreciate it.

Hello?

Alex?

Gotcha coffee.

How's your stomach feeling?

Good, great actually.

Good.

It's possible
Lisa's been cheating on me.

I don't know,
I think I'm okay with it.

You think you're
okay with her cheating on you?

I mean,
I'm okay that it's over.

It's been pretty rough
for a while now, anyway, so.

It is what it is.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Damn.

Not bad.

Wow,
this is really nice.

Yeah. Not bad.

Huh.
Probably get your own room.

Definitely smells better.

Hm.

Hey. You alive in there?

Yeah.

Should I come in?

I'll be a minute.

It's nice to have
a good bed for a change.

Yeah, for sure.

Smile.

We're in Esperance,
Western Australia.

It's a great
place because we've got

the whitest
beaches in the world,

the beautiful
wildlife in the ocean,

fishing, yachting, boating,
it's all at your doorstep.

Within five minutes, we can be

on the best
beaches in the world.

It's not
really that pink, is it?

I've seen the pictures.

It's called Pink Lake.

Sure is.

It looks a little bit
different than the pict...

Are
we definitely at the right one?

It says the actual
Pink Lake is on an island.

No way.

Yeah...

Why the fuck would
they say this is Pink Lake

if the actual
Pink Lake is on an island?

I don't know.
Maybe we can take a ferry.

No, that's bullshit!

I came here for a Pink Lake.

- Where am I supposed to put my dad?
- Fuck...

I don't know,
we can figure something out.

Kay, well, thanks for calling.

Yeah.

- You okay?
- Yeah.

How much further do you have?

Uh, it's about
an eight hour drive to Perth.

Is she getting
her stuff figured out?

It's getting there.

We've been... scattering her
dad's ashes across the desert.

I don't know.
It's been good for me.

To be here with her.

Uh... Do you know when
you're going to be home yet?

I haven't really
looked at flights yet,

but probably Wednesday.

Okay. Do you need anything?

Like, is there
anything I can do?

No.

Well, do you have
enough money to come back?

Yeah, I'm fine, Rachel.

Do you?

I'm sorry.

Don't be. This is
something that had to happen.

I get it. I'd
probably do the same thing.

Yeah.

Are you falling
in love with this girl?

Are you going
to come back married?

I'll try not to.

Okay, good.

How are you?

Things are good at work.

They gave me a number.
I went by the studio.

What? Rach, that's incredible.

Mm. Yeah, we'll see.

Okay, uh, it's early here
but just keep me posted, okay?

Okay.

I love you.

I love you.

Alright, bye.

Alright.

I know I'm being silly.

Sorry to drag
you all the way out here.

It's alright.

This was supposed
to be a big family trip but...

Your family's
full of shit bags?

Yeah.

Here you are.

Australia's
finest bottle of wine.

You like it?

Straight from a gas station.

How much do you want?
Is that good?

Um, yeah.

This doesn't
have to be awkward.

I could live with that.

Yeah?

No Cocklebiddy, though.

Mm.

Uh, there's this
thing called, "Arena football,"

which is a condensed
version of American football

where it's in a smaller
field but it's indoors.

And I always had a huge crush...

Wow, look at that.
It's beautiful.

I had a huge
crush on this girl.

She was my girlfriend.
I was 12 years old.

And at the end
of this arena football game,

I go down to the 50
yard line and it took me

four times to give her like,
a little...

Like, a little peck on
the mouth because every time

I did it, in her ear I like
whispered, "I love you..."

And then when it came to
me actually having to kiss her,

I... My like, heart
stopped and I like, ran away.

So my
first kiss was with a boy,

and we were about 11
or 12, 12, I wanna say.

And we went down
to the beach with...

This is when I lived in
Lake Byron Bay, near Byron Bay,

- Mm hm.
- and we went down to the beach

- with a group of friends,
- Steamy.

Like after school and everyone
was like, daring us to kiss.

Um. And I was
really embarrassed

that everyone
was gonna be watching,

so I said,
"I'll only do it if like,

people hold up
towels around us..."

So no one sees us kiss.

What's... Is that the worst
make out you've ever had?

Shit.

It's closed.

Yeah,
the pumps are locked.

Lights are off in there?

- Yeah.
- Yeah, it's definitely closed.

It's about two
hours 'til Perth.

- Yeah, we should be fine on gas.
- Okay.

If I was you,
I'd just book us a room.

Uh, yeah. Actually um...

What? You
already got us a room?

Well, I'm going
to stay with a friend.

Damn.

Sorry, Alex.

- I didn't mean...
- Damn.

It's right here.

Thank you.

It's not you.

Can I... see you tomorrow?

Yeah.

Hey. Your bags
are still in the back.

Look in the camera
and tell me what city we're in,

and what's so
great about this place.

Okay, so we're
in Perth, Western Australia.

Even though we're the most
isolated city in the world,

the thing I love
the most about Perth

is our beautiful beaches.

We have the best
beaches in the world.

Uh, but it's beautiful.
We have the best weather.

It's quite small.

We're currently in an area
of Perth called Leederville.

And yeah, one of the,
one of my favorite hangouts,

um, since I was
little, so welcome to Perth.

- Hey!
- Hi.

- How's it going?
- Good.

How was your night?

Yeah,
it was fine. How about you?

It was good.

So, where are we going?

It's a surprise.

It's right here.

That's it. This one.

- Wait, that's your mom's house?
- Yeah.

Jesus. Mackie makes
complete sense to me now.

I'll be a sec.
Keep the car running.

Oh, shit.

Go, go, go, go, go!

You gave
her the whole thing?

It was empty.

She doesn't get to keep him.

What are you going to
do when you get back to L.A.?

I dunno. Decompress?

Clear my head for a little bit.

But...

But what?

Wow.

What were you going to say?

I've been
irresponsible and reckless.

The rent-a-car place probably
thinks that I jacked their car.

Do you think I'd get a free
flight if I got deported?

Poor life choices.

A little bit to the left.

I wish you'd take
more ownership over this.

Perfect. What?

When I first met you,
you said this was Lisa's idea.

Just one
more step to the right...

She's not even here.

You're the one who's
doing all the hard work.

Just a little bit to the right.

Perfect.
She says, "Hi," by the way.

What?

She called. Lisa.

The answer
to your question is no.

What question?

Are you going to get
back together with Lisa?

Alright. So. Where are we at?

And what's so
great about this place?

I don't know where we're at.

And I don't know
what I like about it.

Should we head back?

Thank you...

I like this guy.

Which one?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, he's a legend.
He's the mayor.

- The mayor?
- Yeah.

I also did some interviews too,

if you think
you could use them.

Yeah, we could
do like an audio installation,

something like that.

Could be really cool.

Wasn't really planning
on doing anything with this.

Wasn't exactly my idea.

This is her, right?

Think you're
going to go visit her?

I have no idea. I haven't
really thought about it yet.

Mm-hm.

I'm gonna get a coffee.
You want one?

No.

Love you.