Silent Fall (1994) - full transcript

An autistic boy witnesses his parents' double murder. A controversial therapist seeks to probe the child's mind in order to solve the case.

There you go.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Let's go to the next house.

- Let's go to the next block.

- Major bummer.

- Told you they never do,
not even gum.

- Shut up.

- I hate to bother you, Dr.
Rainer.

But we have a situation, Doctor,

if you could just come with me.

- Right.



- Sheriff Rivers, Mitch, says
to say that you owe him one.

- Heat's a killer, huh, Doc?

My grandmother, she hated
Indian summer.

Her tribe believed that a
man's shadow would come alive

and wrestle with his soul.

She used to say that no one
was safe until the first snow.

Pretty weird, huh?

- Mitch finally made sheriff,
huh?

- Yep.

- Hot enough for you, Jake?

I just want you to take
a look at something.

Meet the Wardens.

Fred Warden, president,
Warden Properties Group,

500 thou a year.



Darla Warden, bought
things for a living.

Many many things.

Somebody had quite a
ball in here.

- So? I'm not interested.

- Not yet you're not.

They have an 18-year-old
daughter, Sylvie, or had.

No sign of her yet.

And a nine-year-old
son by the name of Tim.

He's why you're here.

- That a boy, that's good.

Just relax there, Tim,
no one's gonna hurt you.

I just want you to give
me that knife.

I'm gonna come over
there real slow.

I just want you to give me
the knife, all right, Tim.

Okay.

- Well that's not gonna
work, he' autistic.

- Mm-hmm.

- I'm retired.

- Quit, you mean.

Restraints, huh?

I know,
but he's armed.

- Hey, hey!

Hey.

All right, hey, Tim.

You are the next contestant
on I Want That Knife.

Now, let's just see if you
understand the rules, okay?

Excuse me,
is Sheriff Rivers in here?

- Shh.

- Tattoo, you wanna tell
him the rules?

The rules, Boss, the rules,
what rules?

Tattoo, remember the rack.

Oh, yes, yes, the rules.

All right, it's too late
for the rules.

It's time to introduce
our new challenger, Bruce.

Why don't you tell us something
about yourself, Bruce?

- Well, uh, I love
underwater ballet,

and I love voging and tennis
and old Ethel Merman records.

- What is this bullshit?
- Sh, sh.

- And I love my great
big rottweiler, Rodney.

And I love the movie
Spartacus.

Bruce, would you like
to meet Tim?

Tim, Bruce.

Bruce, Tim.

Oh ho ho.

That's a hell of a knife
you got there.

We've got a drawer full
of playing cards

somewhere around here,
find them.

That's a very cunning
outfit, if I may so so.

- Go look for some cards.

- Now, would you like to
start playing the game?

Tim, why don't you go first?

Okay, ladies and gentlemen,
the fabulous,

the wonderful,

the beautiful,

Tim.

All right, he's a little shy.

Let's give him a round
of applause, come on.

Let's give him a round of
applause, there you go.

There you go, okay.

Do we have an attitude problem?

Come on, dude, come here,
come here.

Gag me with a spoon, come
on, let's go, let's go.

Mm-mm.

- Jake?

- Yo.

Okay.

Now, this is the story of

this queen

and these four jacks.

Now, she would hide her jacks

all throughout the kingdom.

And the king went away.

Campaigning, pillaging,
plundering.

And then the queen would
call her jacks

up to her bed chamber.

Now.

You give me that knife,

and I'll give you

this deck of cards.

That's all you gotta do to win.

It's okay, kid.

You're safe now.

- Timmy, Tim, Timmy.

Timmy.

Oh Timmy.

- Hey, babe, look what I got.

- Awwwwwww.

Awwwwww.

- He likes the spinning.

Thank you.

I'd been at the mall.

When I got back, Tim
was standing

in front of my parents' door.

The way he was rocking,

I shoulda known
something was wrong.

I ran in, there was
blood everywhere.

He just kept stabbing them.

- Who, Sylvie?

- I don't know.

He was turned away from
me, leaning over the bed.

I didn't think, I just
jumped on his back.

I remember the knife
coming out of his hands.

The way it fell, so slow.

And then he slammed me
against the wall.

That's all I remember.

- Did you see his face?

- No.

- Did you recognize him?

Do you have any idea who he was?

- I got a dress.

- Beg your pardon.

- At the mall.

I got a new dress.

- It's the maid's day off.

Gardener's in town
buying plants.

Coroner says it's not
the boy, he's too short,

too weak, the angle of
the blade's all wrong.

Besides, he's doing one
hell of an imitation

of a garden salad inside,
just about now, huh?

Wouldn't give up my day
job.

- Yeah.

Hey, maybe it was the sister.

She whacks herself on the head,
drags herself in the closet,

passes out from loss of blood,
hmm?

I saw Rain Man, Jake.

That little boy has got
a picture of the guy

all locked up in his
tiny little brain.

I have an eyewitness, the only
problem is, he's not talking.

- Got any threes?

- Go fish.

- Got any sixes?

Hmm.

I wouldn't count too
much on that kid.

- It's not the kid I'm
counting on, Jake.

Okay.

I'll take a look at him,
but you call in Harlinger.

- Hi.

Hmm.

Come on, kid, you're
hurting my feelings.

What are you seeing in there?

- Clearly catatonic.

Probably a result of the
extreme shock.

Primitive attempts to
force or cajole him out

may lead to disaster.

Any of Dr. Rainer's
shenanigans will

simply send him deeper
into withdrawal.

- Shenanigans?

Perhaps permanently.

- What shenanigans?

This should draw
him out, quite effectively.

- I'll be going now.

- We'll find out what
you have hiding in there.

- Hey!

I'll send you the bill.

- What about the girl, Jake?

She's young, they need help.

- Well I think Rene
Harlinger knows exactly--

- Screw Harlinger,
they need you.

- So, so what do you think,
Counselor?

You think I should just
walk up to this kid

and say, who hacked up
your parents?

Hmm?

This kid doesn't speak
on a good day.

And he's just been through a
real, a real trauma, you know.

And the memory of it is
gonna be buried very deep.

You push this kid too
much and he'll shatter.

- All right, you won't
take the case, fine.

But don't bullshit yourself,
Rainer.

It's not the boy
you're protecting.

So what do you think,
Chief, robbery gone wrong?

- Cash left in the house,
jewels.

Guy comes in, takes
out the parents,

lets the boy and girl live?

Nah.

Something else.

Aw, man.

Old Apache proverb,
watched pots never boil.

- Ha ha.

Take care of the kids?

- Yeah, mother was an
orphan, father had an uncle

in Madrid and a
sister in Memphis.

Both were pretty jumpy
about the boy's condition.

I set up some temporary
accommodations.

- White magic.

Hmm?

Oh God, those cuts are deep.

Whoever did this was strong,
Bear, had passion, you know.

Real strong.

- Okay, got your napkins
in your lap, there you go.

No go on, honey, eat up,
it's good.

Well, I'm glad you got some
sleep, you look a lot better.

- I really wanna thank
you for everything, Carol.

It's very kind of you.

- It's nothing, Sylvie, really.

- It's okay, kiddo,
take it easy.

Oh, he doesn't eat
anything round.

- I'm sorry.

I can make something square.

- That's okay.

- How come we have to
eat peas if he doesn't.

- Well, today nobody has to
eat peas, how about that?

- What's wrong with him anyway?

- Timmy!

It's all right, Timmy.

Sh, sh, shhhh!

Sh, Timmy, sh, it's okay.

Shhhh.

- Isn't there some place else
you'd rather go, Miss Warden?

- No.

- Timmy?

Tim?

Timmy?

Tim?

- So I said to him,
Harry, I'm leaving you.

I'm a desirable woman
in the prime of my life.

I'm gonna find a man who
appreciates me.

So, I packed up all my stuff,

and I moved into the pool house.

I'm thinking of putting
an ad in the personals.

Maybe get my hair done.

If you were me, would you
have sex on the first date?

Dr. Rainer?

- Hmm?

- Play this note for me, Marcus.

That's right, that
one right there.

That's right.

Can you play it one
more time for me?

- Here we are, Timmy.

Timmy, look, there's a Dell.

Come and sit by me,
Timmy.

Look who's back.

Come here, buddy.

- How you doing, honey?

You having a good day?

There you go.

There you go.

Pick up this one here,
pick it up.

There you go.

- Here's something for you.

Autistic child
drowns in Rainer Group Home.

- Martha's gone.

I'm done.

- You cure her yet?

- Sure, I told her she'd
be crazy not to be crazy.

Can I charge her for that?

- You know, he wants to
use some drug

called lorazepam to
make Tim talk.

I checked the library
this morning.

It's got all these side effects

like massive respiratory
failure and inhibition.

I mean, what the hell
is inhibition?

- Disinhibition, it's
like a massive breakdown

of someone's
psychological defenses.

- Yeah, but that's my point,

don't people need
their defenses?

I mean, it could make
him psychotic, crazy.

- Dr. Harlinger knows
exactly what he's doing.

I'm absolutely sure that he
could administer this drug.

- But you worked without drugs.

You had a group home right here.

The Times called you a wizard.

- I don't work with
children anymore.

I've been out of the
field a long time.

I'm sorry.

- You know, I figured out
something about death.

It's contagious.

I know that sounds crazy, but

it's like when people
you love die,

you feel like you should
have died too.

And you don't want anybody
to know that you survived.

No one.

- He can keep the toy,
I have a patient coming.

- Jake?

Jake?

Telephone.

Hurry.

- I'm sorry, I can't
allow visitors right now.

The boy must learn
that acting out--

- I'm not a visitor,
I'm his doctor.

- The girl agitated him
before the needle

came near his skin.

She provides for him.

If he gets better, she
has no purpose.

- Open the door, Rene.

- This is what brought
on tragedy the last time.

You mean well, Jake, but
you go too far.

- Tim, Tim, shh, shh.

Tim, it's okay, it's okay.

It's all right, see,
your sister's here, Tim.

- Timmy.

- We'll get you out of
this right now.

Tim, relax.

Tim, be careful.

- There we go, there we go.

No, Tim, Tim, Tim, Tim.

Tim, Tim.

- Tim, stop.

- Shhh, shhh, shhhhh.

Shhhhh.

- Hi, Jake.

Miss Warden, hi, how are you?

So?

Couldn't just take it
when I asked you?

- I'm taking it now.

- Okay.

But I need some answers.

I'm hitting the wall on
physical evidence.

There's no usable
prints on the knife,

not even a measly tire track.

So get me a murderer,
Jake, or I'm gonna have

to use Harlinger's magic
potion on that boy.

- Come on.

Here we go.

Here we go.

There we go.

- Welcome home, Dorothy.

He's very
high functioning.

- Yeah, but he doesn't show
emotion like normal people.

I mean he hardly even
laughs or cries.

He'll never get things for you,

unless he knows you really well.

He basically just does
what he wants.

- What about sounds?

- He is a great mimic of
music and words.

But he only copies things, it's
like it's never really him.

- Sylvie?

- I don't understand
why I can't stay.

- Sylvie.

What do you know about autism?

- Autism is a pervasive
developmental disorder,

usually from birth, a
perceptual cocoon forms

around the child, trapping
him in his own private world.

- That's very good.

Nobody knows what autism is,
nobody.

2,000 years ago, autistics
were worshiped as gods.

And 300 years ago, they were
burned at the stake as witches.

Now we treat them with drugs,
and therapy.

I knew an autistic girl once

who could create the most
unbelievable sculptures.

She couldn't button
her own shirt.

There are autistics who
can play entire sonatas

after hearing them only once.

Nobody knows, nobody knows
what autism is, okay?

- Okay.

- Okay, now that we all
know what it is,

I'll tell you how it works.

Tim?

Bring me the cards.

- See, he won't do it,
he doesn't know you.

Tim, honey, bring me the cards.

Thank you.

Go play, go sit down.

- Many autistics like cards.

They like numbers,
they like music.

Anything in sequence.

Okay now.

Let's say that this 10
is your memory

of what happened that
night at your house.

You have 100 different ways
of getting to that memory.

The smell
of pumpkins, or

the creak of a floorboard.

But not Tim.

For Tim, the only way to
get to that 10, that memory,

is through the nine,
and the only way for him

to get to the nine is
through the eight,

and so on and so on and so on.

That's what Tim remembers,
the ace,

the beginning of the chain.

Now, what is Tim's ace?

It could be a sound, it
could be an image.

I don't know, but that's my job.

- Yeah, but he doesn't
like strangers.

He hardly even notices them.

- That's why you can't stay.

Tim and I have to
figure out a way

for us to relate, to
become friends.

Now I'm gonna give you
some fenneril.

I want you to take it
twice a day.

It'll help you with the panic.

- I'm fine.

- And the nightmares.

- How did you know?

- It's what I do.

- Shhhh.

Tim, Tim.

- How you doing?

Is something wrong?

- No.

I had a dress like that once.

- The piece de resistance.

Did you know that every great
relationship begins over food?

Did you know that?

Something is missing, ah.

Hey, Jolene, your
mother called.

- Excuse me.

Great spot.

You know the owner, or do you
have to have reservations?

- What in the hell are these?

- These are therapy bills.

Is this a quiz, do I
win something?

- Why didn't you tell
me Darla Warden

was a patient of yours?

- Well, because, therapy
is confidential,

even if they happen to be
dead, I thought you knew that.

- So she won't give a
shit who you tell.

- It's not relevant.

It happened over a year ago,

and I only saw her a
couple of times.

It was just a cursory--

- Goddammit, Jake!

- Okay.

She was having an affair.

- You didn't think that
was relevant?

- Well, I hate to bust
your bubble, pal,

but half the women in this
town are having affairs.

- Did she tell you
who the guy was?

No.

- Look, Jake, let's
just cut the self-pity.

From now on in this case, what
you know, I know, you got it?

- Dr Rainer?

I'm sorry, Dr. Rainer,
it's Harry.

He says he wants a divorce.

And I love him.

- Poor Harry.

Dr. Rainer?

- I'll get rid of her.

I'm sorry, Dr.
Rainer.

Martha, you don't
have a session today.

I know, I just
really needed to talk to you.

He said he wants me to move out.

Martha, you
see, I do have a patient

that I'm seeing right now.

I just need a
few minutes of your time.

I never, ever expecting
him to take this seriously.

He wants me to leave,
he's very serious.

You should
talk about it.

I felt like
I had to talk to you.

I felt like you would know
what to do, what I should do.

Hi, where's Tim?

He's in the barn.

I moved into
the pool house,

you know, that doesn't
say I want a divorce.

Where is Harry?

- Timmy, oh my God.

Timmy!

Oh, baby.

Baby, are you okay?

Are you outta your mind?

What the hell is going on here?

You're supposed to be
helping him, Jake.

- I wasn't sure you were coming.

- Yeah, well, I had to
take him home

to change after his class.

- I do need your help.

- Well, for starters,
it's not the cards.

It's the voices.

- What voices?

- Graham family, please
proceed to Table 11.

Manager to the floor.

Hi.

- We'd like a table
for two please.

Mizelle, M-I-Z-E-L-L-E.

- Okay.

- Sylvie?

What exactly are we doing here?

- Just wait a minute, Jake.

- Jones, party of three,
please proceed to Table Nine.

Table Two needs a setup,
busboy to Table Two please.

I'm taking a vacation,

and I want you to come with me.

- Where you going?
- Oh nowhere really.

Martin,
party of four, Table 10.

- Martin, party of four,
please proceed to Table 10.

- Did you get to any
of the game?

- Oh yeah.

- You all are at the
wrong table.

- We're just
finishing right now.

- They just called our name.

- Table 17, you're at
the wrong table.

- Table 17, you're at
the wrong table.

Please move to Table Six.

- We've been here
for 20 minutes,

and we're at the wrong table?

- This is ridiculous.

- Today only, free hardshell
crabs for all of our guests.

- What the hell is going on?

- I don't know.

- Special, free pitcher
of beer for each table,

right on the spot.

- Well, if we could find
some help here.

- Why don't you push off?

- We'll just stand here
while you eat.

- Main cashier, please
report to the manager.

Come on, Timmy,
come on.

You know, I
sometimes wonder

if Tim really has a
voice of his own.

He's got a
voice all right.

- How come he never uses it?

- Well, most folks only
see the biology of autism.

They see it as a problem
with the brain wiring.

- Well, what do you see?

- I think autism is a kind
of great, overpowering fear,

of the whole world.

There's a boy in here.

I just think he's trapped
behind a wall.

And I think the fact that he's
trapped makes him terrified.

Take his not fetching things.

That's just his fear of
surrendering his will.

And not using his voice.

For Tim, it's safer to be other
people rather than himself

because when you use
your own voice,

it's an expression of who you
truly are, you know, inside.

- Well, you never really know
what's gonna set him off.

Except for this one thing.

- TV shows.

- Mm-hmm.

- It's called echolalia.

Look, up in the sky, it's
a bird, it's a plane.

- He'll never do it
with a stranger.

- Steve Austin, a man
barely alive.

We can rebuild him, we
have the technology.

What?

- What, you never heard of
the Six Million Dollar Man?

- No.

- It's before your time.

Huh, there's a
signpost up ahead.

Next stop, the Twilight Zone.

Space, the final frontier.

- Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of
the Starship Enterprise.

- Can I help with something?

- It's under control.

- I'll help make the salad.

- You and Jake seem to
be working well

together all of a sudden.

- I don't know.

He runs so hot and cold.

I really don't get him at all.

- Coulda fooled me.

God, I'm sorry, Syl.

- I know what you think,

but I'm really not
interested in Jake.

It's just that I feel like he's

the only one that can help Tim.

And if he can't, they might
take him away from me.

Come on, harder,
try harder, keep it up.

That's no help.

I'm not gonna play.

Come on.

- Good to see you, Jake.

- Everything okay?

- I'm fine, Jake, go on.

- Almost got it, watch out.

Try to get it now.

Try to get it.

- Not one single suspect.

- What about the lover?

- Dead end.

- Well for what it's worth,
I don't think two sessions

is a hell of a lot to base
a psychological autopsy on.

- What have we got to lose?

Why don't you give it
a shot anyway?

- Okay.

Darla Warden was
extremely well groomed.

She was very sexy.

- Yeah, I knew you guys
thought about that kinda stuff.

She was suffering
from a chronic,

low-level depression.

- Yeah.

- She didn't have any
close friends.

She didn't have any
extended family.

She talked a lot about
her children.

She also talked a lot about her

total dependence on her husband.

- Freddy.

Owned his own company,
secretary of the PTA,

that's all I got, want a beer?

- Darla Warden presented her
husband as ideal, you know.

As near perfect.

- Yeah, but nobody's that
perfect, Jake.

- No, I'm just saying that
she presented him as perfect.

- Yeah, so, what does that mean?

- Well, someone goes to
therapy, they give you a picture

and oftentimes that
picture is made up

of the same lies that
they tell themselves.

I mean, the real question
is, if Darla thought he was

so perfect, why was she
having an affair?

- So what you're saying
is, she didn't love him?

- Do you love your wife?

- Of course I love my wife.

- So what's upsetting her?

- What the hell has that
got to do with anything?

Could it be you?

- Jake, that's personal,
all right.

- That's my point, all
families have secrets.

- The smell of ghosts.

You're gonna have to tell me
what went on in here, kid.

Where's Mommy?

Come on.

Come on.

Come on, show me where
your mother is.

Good.

Now.

Where's Daddy?

Where's Daddy, Tim?

- Where's Daddy, on Nick
at Night, tonight at nine.

- Tim, you've gotta show
me something, come on.

- Come on, Tim, I've had
about enough of this from you.

Goddam, you stop this
rocking this instant.

- Tim?

Tim?

Tim!

Tim.

- I'm gonna tell Mitch that

I regressed the kid
back to that night

and he didn't see anything.

You know, that he
covered his eyes.

- You're quitting again, Jake.

Everything else is just words.

- Karen, listen.
- Don't.

- You're the one hiding from
the world, Jake, not Tim, you.

- You are overidentifying with
the problems of this child.

- Don't you dare
psychoanalyze me, you bastard.

Oh God.

God, Jake, what happened to you?

- I pushed too hard.

I pushed too hard, with Billy.

- Billy's suicide was a tragedy,
but you didn't kill Billy.

The truth didn't kill Billy.

- I lost him.

- You have to push.

I think I can, isn't that
what you used to say?

It's not that
simple, Karen, okay?

- Go on then.

You act like you died in
the goddam lake with Billy.

Well, take the final step.

I'm sorry.

You have to commit, Jake.

That's all Tim needs,
all I need.

- I want you to talk to me, Tim.

What happened that
night, what did they say?

Please don't hurt me,

I'll give you anything you want.

Oh my God, he's got a knife.

Please don't hurt me.

Oh God, I'm bleeding.

Don't let me die.

Please, don't kill my wife.

Leave my children alone.

Tim, somebody must have
said something.

I'm gonna cut you.

I want all your money,
I'm gonna kill you both.

Ow, shit, Karen!

Ow.

God.

Karen?

All right,
honey, this might sting

just a little bit.

There we go, there we go.

All right, just be still,
we've almost got it.

I'm sorry, I
just thought I'd

warm up on the swings before
my run, I didn't even think.

- Christ, Jake, we shoulda
had those swings fixed.

- Yeah, yeah.

I'm such an
idiot, I didn't even look

to see if they were like that.

- Oh, goddammit.

- Goddammit.

Goddam, you fuck, oh Jesus.

Oh no, oh my God, stop please.

I'll kill you, you bastard.

I'll kill you.

Oh God, let me die now,
sweet God, let me die.

Let go, let go!

Who is that?

That's my father.

- Who's he talking to?

What's he angry about?

- I don't know.

- Okay.

- Oh no, oh my God, stop,
please!

- Is that you talking?

- Mm-mm, no.

Then who?

- That's my mother.

She's frightened.

Maybe she sees someone coming
in, the man with the knife.

- I'll kill you, you
bastard, I'll kill you.

- My mother again.

Maybe she's trying to
save my father.

Maybe she's trying to stop him.

- Oh God, let me die now.

Sweet God, let me die.

- Sylvie.
- My mother.

- My dad was dead, she
wanted to die.

- Let go, let go!

- That's me.

I guess that's when I came in,

tried to get the knife from him.

- Okay, then what about Tim?

Was Tim in the hallway
the whole time?

Did he come inside the
room with you?

Did he run away?

Sylvie, he got the knife
after you went down.

Why wasn't he hurt?

- Stop, please stop,
I'm really tired,

I don't wanna do this anymore,
please.

- At the very beginning, your
father was raging at someone.

Who was he angry at?

Who did you ever hear
him be angry at?

When did you ever hear
him behave like that?

- Who was he ever angry--

- I don't know, I don't know.

- Goddam, you fuck, oh Jesus.

- Come on, Sylvie.

- I can't do this anymore.

- Goddam, goddam, you fuck,
oh Jesus.

- Please?

- Syl, help me out here.

I don't know.

- Goddam, goddam, you fuck,
oh Jesus.

- Stop! Please, just stop!

My father wasn't raging,
he didn't rage!

- Listen to his voice.

Of course he was.

What else could he be feeling?

- I think someone
killed my parents

while they were having sex,
okay?

- What happened in there?

What happened in there, kid?

Why didn't you get hurt?

- It's just too
awful to imagine.

I had a criminal procedures
guy who used to say,

put yourself in the place
of the victim.

Laying there, touching,

warming up to each other.

And then.

I mean, that can't be
coincidence.

Somebody must have wanted
to find them in bed.

Must have waited.

A lover?

- You should wear orange,
a man in the woods

without orange is liable
to get himself shot.

What's up, doc?

- You tell me.

- Nothing.

Decided to come out here and

clear my head, get a
little practice.

- What were you thinking, Mitch?

You think I was gonna
just keep quiet,

that I was gonna cover for you?

- Okay, Jake.

We were on an off for
about a year.

Women in town, they see
a cop, man in charge,

they wanna be rescued something.

Over the years, I've done
my share of rescuing.

Usually, once or twice,
that's it, you move on,

but Darla was different,
she was something else.

Good is not the word, Jake.

It just got outta control.

In fact, we were together
that same day.

Later on, the call came in
to the station.

I drove out to the house, and I,
uh.

I didn't kill her, Jake.

I was sleeping with her.

- Okay.

Then what else?

- What do you mean what else?

- What else are you hiding?

- I'm not hiding anything else.

I have been thoroughly
professional about this.

- No, this is not just
professional, Mitch.

This is personal.

This is murder.

You know more about her
than anybody else.

You heard her say things that
nobody else heard her say.

You know things.

That's where your
answers are gonna be.

- Jesus, Chief, you scared me.

Thought everyone was gone
for the night.

- No, I thought I'd look
at the effects again,

in case forensics
missed anything.

- Need some help?

- Nah, go home, get some sleep.

They'll still be dead tomorrow.

All righty.

- This one, is your sister.

This one's your mom.

This one's your dad.

- It's late, I made
up the spare.

- Wanna play some more tomorrow.

- Timmy, please stop it.

- What's this?

- That's Alvin.

When, uh, when there were
children around here,

I used to train the
staff with him.

People will tell a stuffed
animal a hell of a lot more

than they'll ever share
with another human being.

Sit down, talk to him.

- No, uh-uh.

- Why not?

It's good therapy.

Come on, he's only a bear.

- Hi, Alvin, I'm Sylvie.

This is too hard.

You know your friend Jake?

Well, I can see he's in pain
and that he wants to help us.

- Sylvie, Alvin knows
all about me.

- And I wanna help him too,

but I feel like we're the same,

like the only way we're okay
is taking care of someone.

I wanna take care of him.

I wanna help him.

- No.

No.

No.

- I better have won something.

Jake, look,
it's Mitch.

I need you down at the hospital
right now, and I mean now.

- All right, calm down.

Relax, what's going on?

I'll tell you
when you get down here.

And bring the boy.

- Okay, I'll be right down.

Bring Tim.

- Yeah, I'll bring him.

I love you too.

- Sheriff.
- Doctor.

- That was a slight.

We're supposed to be hurt.

I can
take your name and number.

Yeah, I'll have him call
you when he gets in.

Sit down, young man.

Tell him to sit.

He doesn't follow
commands, Rene.

- Right over here, Tim.

Many autistics have unique
and fascinating abilities.

I'd like to demonstrate one

which I think you'll
find revelational.

- Revelational, I don't
think that's a word.

Is that a word, I
don't think so.

- You said no drugs, Doctor.

- Oh come on.

You know that autistics
like this can't be

hypnotized into
remembering anything.

The most you can hope for sometimes is changing their mood.

What are you gonna do,
hypnotize him into being happy?

- Not precisely.

As we all know, one of the
keys to absolving the boy

was insufficient strength.

- I'm not gonna allow this.

- I spoke to the
judge last night.

- Don't do this, just
tell him, for God sake.

- The judge gave me a
court order.

I don't believe that
you're in charge here.

- In rare circumstances,
autisistics can show remarkable--

- Jake, Jake!

I need to see this.

- Now I'm gonna count
backwards from five, Tim.

And when I get to zero, you
will be perfectly asleep.

You understand?

Five,

four,

three,

two,

one,

zero.

Can you hear me, Tim?

Can you open your eyes?

Sheriff, would you
check the door

and confirm that it's
securely locked?

Tim, the lights are
going very dim.

It is getting very dark in here.

Wouldn't it be nice to
get out of here?

Out into the light?

It's so dark in here.

It's getting darker, Tim,
the light is almost gone.

You've got to get out of here,
Tim.

The darkness is closing in.

Hurry, there's no time.

The light is almost gone.

Get out, now.

Stop.

When I snap my fingers, you'll
wake up.

- I'm really impressed,
Rene, really impressed.

You deserve the Marquis
de Sade Award.

- Well we know the boy's
strong enough, Jake.

- Okay, I'll give it to you.

Under certain extreme
circumstances, autistics can

demonstrate, can I remind
you that Houdini over here

had to hypnotize him
into hysterics in order

to get him to do it?

The boy had no motive at
all to kill his parents.

- We found semen stains
on the sheets.

- Aw, so what?

So the Wardens had an
active sex life.

As a matter of fact, as a
matter of fact,

I think the Wardens were
just about to get into it

when the killer showed up.

I got that already.

- I said semen, Jake,
but only semen.

There was no sign of a woman,

no sign of the wife in
the bed at all.

And, we found these.

I found the negatives for these

in the back of a picture frame.

Now I think that's motive
enough for the boy, don't you?

- It seems Fred Warden
wasn't using his wife

for recreation, he was
using his son.

- You glib, cavalier
son of a bitch.

- I'm gonna need to keep the
boy here for a couple of days,

run the medication in
a controlled setting.

Rainer, you're welcome
to stay and observe.

You might learn something.

- I'm gonna go arrest the boy.

- What about the angle
of the blade?

I can't figure that
one, either, but we'll give

him Harlinger's drug, and if
he didn't do it, we'll know.

- Mitch.

Mitch.

I'm close, and I can do this
safely without the drugs.

Just give me the day.

Come on.

- Lake's pretty well iced up.

Maybe it'll finally snow.

- There never was a man with
a knife, was there, Sylvie?

- No.

- Did you really think
that you could protect him?

- Right here.

Touching Tim, making him pose.

Tim must have hidden
the knife under the bed.

My mother, maybe she came in
in the middle, I don't know.

I tried to stop him, I
tried to get the knife away.

Are you gonna tell the police?

I'll kill you, you
bastard, I'll kill you.

Oh God, let me die now,
sweet God, let me die.

- Well.

I guess maybe you can

plead insanity, huh?

I'm sorry, son.

I'm so sorry.

- Sylvie, it's time to go.

- I cooked.

A toast.

Drink to us.

We're gonna need all the luck
we can get from here on in.

And to you.

For being unpredictable.

You know something funny?

When you were first gonna
take the case,

I went and read up on you.

Here's to me, girl genius.

Bonzai.

- Sylvie, enough now.

- I mean, Harlinger, all
his medications,

bet he woulda had Tim
talking in no time, huh?

But not you.

I read about it in the papers.

You're old-fashioned.

You're a failure, quitter.

To Jake, the quitter.

That's why I picked you, Jake.

I studied your credentials.

You were supposed to
give it a couple of tries

and then just give up.

That's all you had to do!

- Sylvie, Sylvie, Sylvie.

- What will happen to him?

No one's ever gonna need
you as much as I do.

As we do.

Stay with me.

- Sylvie, listen to yourself.

You're not making any sense.

- I knew you'd say no.

I'm sorry, Jake.

You know that medication you
prescribed for me, fenneril?

Well, I read about in your
Physician's Desk Reference.

Doesn't have any side effects

unless it's mixed with alcohol.

And then it causes
temporary paralysis.

For 30 minutes, you're
gonna be a statue.

What else can I do?

I can just tell them that
you tried to seduce me.

So, I ran out on the ice.

Because I didn't think
you'd chase me there.

You fell in.

You gotta save the
people you love.

Hello.

Sylvie,
Sheriff Rivers.

- Hi, Sheriff, what's up?

I need to talk
to you, can I come over?

- No, no, I have to
run to the store

to pick something up for myself.

Maybe I could come down there.

Come down here, uh.

- Okay?

- Okay, goodbye Sylvie.

- Bye.

Tim?

Tim?

Timmy, Tim?

Tim?

Tim?

- Tim.

Tim.

Tim.

Come in.

- Hi, Sheriff.

- Miss Warden, what can
I do for you?

- You called, you said it
was important.

- Not me, young lady.

- You didn't call?

- No.

- Sorry, Chief, Miss Warden,
I'm short on the night shift.

Could you take a look
at the board a second?

- Yeah.

Uh, can you wait just a
minute, I'll be right back.

- Yeah, I'll wait.

Okay, talk to me.

911 emergency.

911 emergency.

Please state your business.

Emergency 911.

- Surprise.

Now, drowning,

that's pretty original.

A gun,

it's gonna be harder to construct a story about that one.

- I think I'll manage.

- I have no doubt that you will,

like you manage everything else.

You were always distracting me,

leading me to the voices,
cutting your hands.

King of Hearts, that's your dad.

Queen of Hearts,
that's your mother.

The jack, that's Tim.

And this one, the one that's
always standing, that's you.

Goddam.

- Goddam, you fuck, oh Jesus.

- That's the king, your father.

Just like we thought.

And he's right here, on
the bed, touching Tim.

- Oh no, oh my God, stop,
please.

- That's your mom.

You can actually hear
the fear in her voice.

I don't think she's
seeing the killer.

I think that she's here.

Accidentally walking in
on your father and Tim.

- I'll kill you, you
bastard, I'll kill you.

- This is where I
really blew it.

What did we say, that this was

your mother attacking the
killer, attacking her son?

Calling her own son a bastard.

I don't think so.

I don't think it's your
mother's voice at all.

Is it, Syl?

I think it's a voice
just like your mother's.

I think that you burst in here

and you went straight
for that knife.

It was him that you wanted.

Wasn't it, Syl?

Her being here was just
some terrible, coincidence.

But all those years of
turning a blind eye,

of her knowing.

And keeping quiet.

So you stabbed her too.

- Let go, let go!

- Now that is you.

That's you, and you are
struggling for that knife.

But it's not you trying to
take the knife away from Tim.

It's Tim trying to take
the knife away from you.

It wasn't just Tim, was it, Syl?

Tim came later.

He raped you first.

Over and over.

For years.

I should have seen it.

The symptoms were right in
front of me all the time.

The obsession with your
appearance, the exercising,

the way that you took on the
perfect role for each of us.

You were an ingenue for Mitch
and a daughter for Karen,

and a nymphette for me.

You know,

abuse victims are always
the best actors.

They have to be.

They live their whole
lives with pain, and shame.

Pretending that there's
nothing wrong.

It's the greatest
performance of all.

- Baby.

I'm so sorry.

I just couldn't let him
touch you like that anymore.

You can't know what it's like.

You can feel it on your skin.

You can feel it running
inside of you.

The dirt and awfulness.

- Sylvie, let me help you.

- Don't you understand?

No one can know.

They'd put me in jail and
take him to an institution.

There would be no one left
to protect him anymore.

Step away, Tim, move.

- Sylvie, please don't.

- Come on!

If we're gonna do this
thing, let's do this thing.

Wanna do this thing?

- All right.

I think we are too old for this.

How does it look
for us tomorrow?

- The precedents are
pretty strong.

I think I have a good
chance of getting her

transferred to a minimum
security hospital.

Assuming I can get her therapist
to show up for the hearing.

- I think that can be arranged.

- Where's the midget?

I feel ridiculous.

- You look ridiculous.

- You look ridiculous.

- Tim, use your own voice.

- You look ridiculous.

- Oh, you think so, my
little pretty?

Well, let's do some
trick-or-treating, boys.

How come he'll only talk
with you, Jake?

For a mimic,
right, change takes time.

Right, Timmy?

Catchy little
phrase for every occasion.

♪ Say goodbye to yesterday ♪

♪ Nothing standing in my way ♪

♪ There was a guarantee ♪

♪ But in my heart I know ♪

♪ There's got to be ♪

♪ Healing ♪

♪ Gonna take some time ♪

♪ I'm on the mend, I'm healing ♪

♪ Starting over at the end ♪

♪ And feeling ♪

♪ Stronger than I've ever been ♪

♪ I'm healing ♪

♪ Oooo-Hooooo ♪

♪ I can see me pulling through ♪

♪ Finding out I'm
somewhat ahead ♪

♪ Moving on and letting go ♪

♪ Picking up the pieces
on the road ♪

♪ To healing ♪

♪ Gonna take some time ♪

♪ I'm on the mend, I'm healing ♪

♪ Starting over at the end ♪

♪ I'm healing ♪

♪ Stronger than I've ever been ♪

♪ I'm healing, yeah ♪

♪ Oh yeah ♪

♪ The chapter's been written ♪

♪ It's all in the past ♪

♪ I can't turn the pages ♪

♪ And I'm here at last ♪

♪ I'm healing ♪

♪ Gonna take some time ♪

♪ I'm on the mend, I'm healing ♪

♪ Starting over at the end ♪

♪ I'm healing ♪

♪ Stronger than I've ever been ♪

♪ I'm healing ♪

♪ I'm healing ♪

♪ Stronger than I've ever been ♪

♪ I'm healing ♪

♪ Gonna take some time ♪

♪ I'm on the mend ♪

♪ I'm healing ♪