The Children Act (2017) - full transcript

- Are you coming to bed?
- Hmm.

Fi?

It's tomorrow, the...

My conjoined twins. Judgement.

I've got the bloody
Archbishop of Westminster

breathing down my neck.

Oh, yeah.

OK.

Oh, do you wanna play doubles
on Saturday morning

with the Wards?

Hmm?



Singles.

"Michael's heart is normal
and sustains them both."

"Luke's brain..."

Judiciary guilty!

Let God decide!

Hey, hey.

- Court rise.
- You're cutting it fine.

If the twins remain joined,
both babies will die.

If the hospital is granted
permission to separate them,

Luke will die instantly,

while Michael
is likely to develop

into a normal healthy child.

The logic of the lesser evil
is clear,

one child flourishing better
than two dead.



But if the doctors invade
Luke's body and sever his aorta,

with the inevitable consequence
of his death,

why is that not murder?

The loving parents
of these twins

refuse to sanction such an act
of premeditated killing.

God has given life,
they have argued in this court,

and only God can take it away.

It has been difficult,

under such pressure of time
and intense public interest,

to arrive
at settled legal principle,

but the obvious
is worth stating.

This court is a court of law,
not of morals.

Do you think
the verdict was right?

Can you tell us
how you're feeling?

Just this way, please.

"Today the court has granted
the hospital a licence

to murder one of our children."

"Mrs Justice Maye
has taken a scalpel

to the heart of reason
and justice."

Royal courts
of injustice!

My Lady, I think you'll be fine
going out the usual way.

I will leave you
with Flaubert's

celebrated observation
regarding Lucretius.

"With the gods gone
and Christ not yet come,

there was a unique moment,
from Cicero to Marcus Aurelius,

when man stood alone."

So, there you have it.

Before Christianity
began to close the Western mind,

what was briefly possible then

was 'the fixity
of a pensive gaze'.

- Hi.
- Hey.

How'd it go?

I gave instructions
to slaughter a baby.

That's what it said in the...

Oh, yeah. Right, I saw that.

Sorry. Ridiculous.

Well, I'll tell you,

I'll make reservations
for dinner,

'cause I've had
a shit-awful day myself.

And we'll go
drink some wine and...

And I can get some opera tickets
for Saturday night.

No, I'm duty judge all weekend.

- You can't switch it?
- Mm-mm.

- Two judgements for Monday.
- Mmm.

- What?
- No, nothing.

It's just... like last weekend
and the 50 weekends before that.

Well, that's how it is.

Yes. Yes.

Um... look...

I don't know how to say this,
um, but here it is.

I think...

I think I wanna have an affair.

What?

Yeah, I'm going to, um...

I mean, you shouldn't be
surprised by this.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

Fi... when was the last time
that we made love?

- No idea.
- No, you wouldn't.

You once told me
that couples in long marriages

often ended up like siblings.

Well, here we are.

I love you, but...

- You're serious about this?
- Mm-hm.

You're being...

Do you remember how we were?

Do you remember how we...?

Don't you miss that?

OK.

Jack.

Jack. It's already started,
hasn't it?

Tell me the truth.
What's her name?

I can tell you honestly
that it hasn't started yet.

- What's her name?
- Melanie.

- Not the mathematician?
- She's a statistician.

The one who came round
for dinner

and talked us into a stupor

and wrecked our floor
with her stilettos?

That's absurd.
She's half your age.

Look, you wanna live like this?

Fine. I don't.
I'm going to have this affair.

And a divorce and the child
I've failed to give you?

No. No divorce,
no deception, no lies.

I love you
and we're meant to be together,

but... look, I could have gone
behind your back.

How very kind. I can't believe
how cool we are. Open marriage.

The time to suggest that, Jack,
was before the wedding,

not 20 years afterwards.

Such a cliché.

You do this, it's the end.

- Simple as that.
- Threat?

Promise.

- 11 months.
- What?

You said you had no idea,
so I'll tell you.

- What?
- 11 months.

It's been 11 months.

Almost to the day.

I marked it in my diary.
Special event.

Oh, God. Jack, this is...

This is so unfair. I have had
the conjoined twins case...

Yes, I know, and before them
the Orthodox Jewish schoolgirls,

and before them
the bad father from Bahrain,

and before him the baby
in the phone box...

Are you already
having this affair?

If you are, I'd like you
to pack a bag now and leave.

I told you that I'm not.

Well, you've had your answer,
so now what?

Don't you miss it, Fi?

Or is just 'cause you don't
want it, I can't have it?

Is that the deal?

You have to understand that
it's not just about the sex.

It's...

We don't even kiss any more.

Barely a peck on the cheek.
It...

Or is it just me you don't want?

- Yeah.
- Sorry to disturb you.

Go ahead.

A call from the out-of-hours
Urgent Business Associate

on behalf of counsel

representing
a hospital in Wandsworth.

They urgently need to give blood
to a cancer patient.

It's a boy of 17.

Now, he and his parents
are refusing.

Why are they refusing?

- They're Jehovah's Witnesses.
- Go on.

The hospital
is seeking an order

to proceed
against their wishes.

- How long have we got?
- Perhaps four days.

List it for hearing at short
notice the day after tomorrow.

Give notice to the respondents.

Direct the hospital
to inform the parents.

They'll have liberty
to apply for legal aid.

The boy will need
legal representation.

I want the hospital to serve
evidence by four tomorrow

with a witness statement
from the treating oncologist.

I'll need to know
why transfusion is necessary.

And the parents
should use their best endeavours

to file evidence
by noon on Thursday.

OK, thanks. Bye.

Why is blood
so important to God?

Why is God so insistent?

Yes, Sarah?

Because that's where the soul
is, right in the blood,

and therefore it belongs to him.

Very good indeed.

The soul, the life,

it's in the blood,
and it's not ours, it's God's.

Now let us pray
for our dear friend, Adam Henry,

and a prayer of faith
will make the sick one well

and Jehovah will raise him up.

Jack?

Good morning, My Lady.
I trust you had a good evening.

Absolutely marvellous. Quiet.

- And you?
- Very pleasant, thank you.

I went fishing with Dominic
on the River Lea.

Catch anything? Don't tell me.
What have we got?

You have the child
abducted to Morocco,

Hague Convention,
listed for ten,

some routine
maintenance pending suits,

an ex-parte application
to exclude a husband

from the matrimonial home,

and this Jehovah's Witness boy

listed for tomorrow
as requested.

The parents are making

an emergency application
for legal aid.

The certificate should
go through this afternoon.

A lot of press interest already.

Oh, and your singing friend,
Mr Berner,

will be acting for the hospital.

The boy has a form
of leukaemia...

The boy, the boy.
Let's at least give him a name.

Of course, My Lady.
Adam. Adam Henry.

An only child. Very devout.
Awfully precocious, they say.

His parents are Kevin and Naomi,
also very devout.

Mr Henry runs
his own small company,

groundwork, land drainage.

Apparently he's quite a virtuoso

with a mechanical digger.

- Whereas Mrs Henry...
- That's enough.

Sorry. Damn.

I'll get my own coffee.

Um, no, could you please send
the new keys to my clerk?

Yes, I'll let the porter know
to expect you.

Right, good.

Thanks.

Oh, Fiona. Fiona, Fiona.

Oh, Sherwood.

- Bloody hell. My coffee.
- Got a gem for you.

- I haven't got time.
- It won't take a second.

- I had it from Sedley.
- Look at this sleeve.

Listen. Cross-examiner asks
a pathologist

if he can be absolutely sure

that a certain patient was dead
before he began the autopsy.

"Absolutely sure,"
says the pathologist.

"Oh. How can you be so sure?"

"Because," says the pathologist,

"his brain was sitting in a jar
on my desk."

"Ah," says counsel.

"But couldn't the patient
be alive nevertheless?"

"Well," says the pathologist,

"it's possible
he could have been alive

and practising law somewhere."

Practising law.

- Let me take that.
- Yes, thank you.

Practising law.

Court rise.

- May it please you, My Lady.
- Yes, Mr Soames.

My Lady, may I refer you
to my client's undertaking...

Your client, Mr Soames,
is in direct breach

of his undertaking
to this court.

He's removed his daughter
from the jurisdiction.

Now, I hear, he's in Rabat,

with no intention
of returning her.

I was rather expecting
to find you

blushing on his behalf.

Your client claims
that the £7 million

he has been ordered to pay
his former wife

belongs to the company
and is not his to give.

I find this is not the case.

I am satisfied that the company
is nothing more than a fig leaf

for a beneficial
tax arrangement.

I shall make
the charging order forthwith.

- Yes, Mr Blackwell.
- My Lady.

This is an ex-parte application
to exclude

an unreasonable husband
from the matrimonial home...

Why in heaven's name are you
doing this without notice?

I see nothing in the papers
that would make that necessary.

What communication have you had
with the other side? None.

If the husband's willing to give
an undertaking to your client,

then you really shouldn't be
bothering me with this.

If he isn't, then serve notice
and I'll hear both sides.

All rise.

I've got another beginning
on Thursday.

It's just too soon.

My Lady, that Mr Berner,
who'll be before you tomorrow.

- Yes?
- His clerk called.

To remind you that you have
a rehearsal tonight.

- No.
- 7:30 at your flat.

As arranged.

Thank you.

Get them out.

Thank you, gentlemen.
Ten minutes.

Young man,
I really need to talk to you.

Bloody thing.

Well, why don't you
put that down, for a start?

Thank you. Thanks. Oops.

- Where's Jack, anyway?
- Oh, conference. Birmingham.

Poor sod. Right, there.

- You alright? You look a bit...
- No, I'm fine. Um...

They've given us 15 minutes,
which includes an encore.

Did I tell you
I'm giving up the law?

Not again.
Shall we do the carol first?

- Hmm?
- I just had this case.

So there's a pavement brawl
outside a pub in Kentish Town.

My poor fool, he's just standing
on the edge watching his mates.

The whole thing's on CCTV.

Someone gets a broken jaw,
so it's GBH,

and they're all sent down,
including my kid.

Two and a half years for a crime
he wasn't even charged with.

So-called joint enterprise.
Nothing I could do.

- Category three?
- Yep.

In front of Charles Mackay.

He went six months
below the guidelines.

Count yourself lucky.

A fight between
consenting adults.

Victim didn't even
need treatment.

Four working-class kids,
clean records,

two with babies, all in work.

They're taxpayers.

Mark, let's get started.

Where are the words?

It's bloody class warfare,
Fiona.

Pointless. I hereby give up.

No, you don't. You're in front
of me tomorrow and...

♪ Lully, lullay

♪ Thou little tiny child...

This is the BBC World
Service. The news at 0400 GMT.

Rescue operations continue
today across southern Europe

in the wake of Storm Ada.

Rail and road
connections to Montpelier...

There's a bit of a media scrum.

Say nothing.

- Naomi! Naomi! Kevin, this way!
- Let us through.

- Let us through.
- Look over here, love. Naomi.

- Please, let us through.
- Naomi, nice one, sweetheart.

- That's it.
- Naomi, darling.

Kevin. Kevin.
Talk to me, please.

They have absolutely nothing
to say at this stage.

- Now, please...
- Just something about the boy.

- Anything...
- Excuse us. Excuse us.

OK, the judge is ready for you.

No. There's nothing to say, OK?

- Yeah, they're ready now.
- Oh, thank you.

My Lady, they're ready for you.

Court rise.

In the matter of A, a child.

We are here
on a matter of extreme urgency,

of life and death.

Time is of the essence.
Please bear this in mind.

Speak briefly and to the point.
Mr Berner.

I... I shall indeed be brief,
My Lady.

The applicant in the matter

is the Edith Frances Hospital,
Wandsworth,

which is seeking
the leave of this court

to treat a teenager, Adam.

He's 17 years and nine months.

He first experienced
stomach pains at school.

I've read the papers, Mr Berner.

My Lady, I believe all parties
accept that Adam has leukaemia.

The hospital wishes to treat him
with four drugs,

a universally recognised
therapy, as I can show.

- No need.
- Thank you, My Lady.

Two of these drugs
have the side effect

of attacking the bone marrow,

compromising the body's
immune system,

therefore it's standard
to transfuse during treatment.

However, the boy and his parents
are Jehovah's Witnesses

and it's contrary to their faith

to accept blood products
into their system.

This apart,
Adam and his parents agree

to any treatment
the hospital can offer.

At this point I'd like to call
the consultant haematologist.

Fine.

Professor Carter, bring us
up to date on Adam's condition.

It's not good, he's weak,

and, as I would expect,
he's beginning to show

the first signs
of breathlessness.

His haemoglobin counts
are dropping steadily.

The norm is 12.5.
This morning it was 4.5.

And the white cell count?

Well, they should be
somewhere between 5 and 9.

He was showing 1.7.

- As for the platelets...
- Remind me of their function.

They're necessary for clotting,
My Lady.

The norm is 250. Adam's count
this morning was 34.

A healthy adolescent produces

500 billion blood cells
every day.

Adam is producing
no blood at all.

And if you could transfuse
this patient...?

Then he would stand
a decent chance.

Have you discussed
with Adam

what will happen to him
if he's not transfused?

Well, I've spared him the
details. He knows he could die.

What knowledge does he have
of the manner of his death?

Nothing at all.

Then perhaps you could tell us?

It'll be very distressing
for everyone,

including the medical team.

They simply can't understand

why they should risk
losing this patient.

He'll fight to breathe
and he's bound to lose.

It'll be frightening,
like drowning.

Before that, there will be
internal bleeding perhaps,

perhaps renal failure.

Some patients lose their sight.

He may have a stroke.
Patients vary.

The one sure thing is that
it will be a horrible death.

Do you agree, Professor,

that the freedom of choice
in medical treatment

is a fundamental human right?

In adults, yes, I agree.

Adam is very close
to being an adult.

If his 18th birthday
were tomorrow morning,

he wouldn't legally be an adult
this afternoon.

I think we can agree

that Adam
is very nearly an adult,

and isn't it the case
that he's expressed

his views to you intelligently?

His views
are his parents' views.

His objections
to blood transfusion

are the doctrines
of a religious cult

for which he's likely to become
a pointless martyr.

You took the oath.

- I assume you're a Christian?
- I am an Anglican.

Is the Church of England a cult?

Are you aware that
the World Health Organization

estimates that up to 20%
of new AIDS cases

are caused
by blood transfusions?

And transfusion brings
other dangers.

Hepatitis, Lyme disease,
malaria, syphilis,

Chagas' disease,
graft-versus-host disease,

transfusion-related
lung disease, variant CJD.

Very rarely happens
and never under me.

So if we added up
all the dangers,

wouldn't you say
there was enough

to give a rational person pause?

The blood products we use

are tested
to the highest standard.

But it wouldn't be
unreasonable, surely,

given all the potential
for infection and error,

for a patient to insist
his consent be sought.

You're playing with words.

If I'm not allowed
to transfuse this boy,

we may lose him.

Jehovah's Witnesses patients
are often treated now

by what's called
bloodless surgery.

Look, we're not dealing
with surgery here.

This boy needs blood
because his treatment

prevents him making
any of his own.

- It's as simple as that.
- Thank you, Professor.

Thank you for your time,
Professor Carter.

We'll take a break. 20 minutes.

Court rise.

- Jack?
- Oh, hi.

I thought
you were gonna be in court.

I was just gonna leave you
a message. Um...

- Where are you? What's going...
- You know what? I have to go.

- Sorry.
- Oh, for God's sake!

From that point on,
we never looked back.

I stopped drinking,
got my training,

and me... me and Naomi
became good with each other,

and looking after Adam properly.

And he was calmer, and
he started doing well at school.

And we had a lot of support
from our Kingdom Hall

and good friends there.

You know, the sort of people
who never let you down.

We were happy.
We've lived in the truth.

And now, Mr Henry,
your son has leukaemia

and you and Naomi are facing
the ultimate test of faith.

- Is that how you'd put it?
- That's exactly what it is.

Can you tell the court
why you and your wife and Adam

are refusing
a blood transfusion?

What you have to understand
is that blood,

it's the essence
of what it means to be human.

It's the gift of life that
we should all be grateful for.

Just as life is sacred,
so's blood.

So why would Adam refuse
such a gift from the doctors?

Mixing your own blood

with the blood of an animal
or another person

is pollution,
it's contamination.

It's a rejection of God's gift.

That's why
he specifically forbids it

in Genesis and Leviticus
and Acts.

And our son, Adam,

he knows that God's word
has to be obeyed.

Do you and your wife
love your son, Mr Henry?

Yes, we love him.

And if refusing
a blood transfusion...

should cause his death?

Then he'd take his place

in the kingdom of heaven
on earth that's to come.

And how will you and Naomi feel?

You'll be grief-stricken,
won't you, Mr Henry?

So this refusal is Adam's
decision, not coming from you?

He's a...

He's a very...
He's a very special person.

He's profound.

We couldn't change his mind
even if we wanted to.

I mean, no one could.

Mr Henry, these books
of the Bible you mentioned.

At the time of these Iron Age
texts, transfusion didn't exist.

How on earth
could it be forbidden?

It existed in the mind of God.

Many Jehovah's Witnesses
accept blood products

without compromising
their faith.

Isn't it the case that there are
other options open to young Adam

and you could, if you wanted,
play your part

in persuading him to take them
and save his life?

I don't know anyone

who departs from the teachings
of the Governing Body.

The elders give us
good guidance.

The same strict elders who've
been visiting your son every day

to make sure
he doesn't change his mind?

These are kind and decent men.

The other churches have priests
in the hospital too.

It's true, isn't it, that
if Adam agreed to a transfusion,

he'd be what you call
dis-fellowshipped,

cast out of the community?

Disassociated, actually,

but it's not gonna happen

because he isn't
gonna change his mind.

He's in your care and it's
your mind I want to change.

He's scared of being shunned.
Isn't that the term you use?

The only world he knows
would turn its back on him

for preferring life
to a terrible death.

Does that sound like
a free choice?

My Lady, if you spent
just five minutes with him,

then you'd understand that this
is a very, very special person

who knows his own mind.

Mr Henry,
have you told Adam

that if he saved his own life
and agreed to a transfusion,

you'd still love him?

We've told him we love him.

- Is that all?
- It's enough.

When were
the Jehovah's Witnesses

commanded to refuse
blood transfusions?

It's in Genesis.
It dates from the creation.

It dates from 1945, doesn't it?

A committee in Brooklyn
has decided your son's fate.

There are deep truths that
weren't previously understood.

The same is just as true
in science.

Not much room for dissent
in your church, is there?

You've probably no idea
what it means

to submit to a higher authority.

We do so of our own free will.

When you were Adam's age,

you wouldn't have known
your own mind.

He's lived in the truth.
I didn't have that privilege.

You say life is precious. Other
people's lives or just your own?

All life is a gift of the Lord
and his to take away.

Easy to say, Mr Henry,
when it's not your life.

Harder to say
when it's your own son.

- Is masturbation a sin?
- Yes.

- And abortion? Homosexuality?
- Yes.

Is this what Adam's
been taught to believe?

That is what he knows
to be true.

Thank you, Mr Henry.

He said,
"I'm my own man."

"I'm separate from my parents."

"Whatever their ideas are,
I'm deciding for myself."

"I'm prepared to die."

Thank you, Mrs Greene.

There's a crucial
difference between the right

to assent to treatment

and the right to refuse
life-saving treatment.

My Lady, the law is clear.

He has no autonomy in the matter
until he's 18.

Slice it as my learned friend
may, he is not 18.

In so important a matter,
there can be no sheltering

behind the couple of months
that separate him

from his 18th birthday.

It's clear that Adam
has a full grasp

of the religious principles

on which
his refusal of treatment rests.

It is a patient's basic right,
protected by common law,

to refuse treatment.

I submit
My Lady should not be tempted

onto the dangerous ground
of undermining

so fundamental a human right

and the precious dignity
it confers.

Given the unique circumstances
of this case,

I have decided I would like
to hear from Adam himself.

I need to know
if he understands his situation

and what he confronts

should I rule
against the hospital.

I'll go now to Adam's bedside
in the company of his guardian.

I'll give judgement
in open court when I return,

probably after 7pm.

Court rise.

- Unconventional.
- Very eccentric.

- But there's nothing we can do.
- Will it help...

She's not working
to our deadline.

Yeah, unbelievable.

I've never known a judge
to do this.

I know.
She's completely off the wall.

Who knows what will happen?

It's just down here.

- Hi.
- Hi, Marina.

- Donna. Hi.
- Hi.

- Hi, Emy.
- Marina.

- Hi, Marina. Good to see you.
- You OK? Nice to see you.

This is Mrs Justice Maye. Very
high up. Here to see young Adam.

- Hello.
- Pleased to meet you.

Hi.

I'll let him know
you're coming, My Lady.

He's made up his mind,
like living for his principles.

Dying, you mean.

Brilliant. I was right.

The judge has come to see me.
I knew it.

What do they call you?

Your Highness? Your Excellency?
Your Honourable something?

In court it's "My Lady".

My Lady. Oh, that's fantastic.

- Am I allowed to call you that?
- My name's Fiona Maye.

No, but I wanna call you...

I wanna call you My Lady,
please.

Do you want
to catch your breath?

My Lady.

You know, I told Marina,
and Donna, the sister,

and Jake, the dinner guy, and
all the doctors that you'd come.

And they all said, 'No, no,

judges don't do
that sort of thing.'

- But I knew.
- Well, there you go.

Underneath their clothes,
people are sheep.

So you've come
to change my mind.

Straighten me out.

No, Adam. I need to know
what's best for you.

Please, miss, set me on the path
of righteousness.

I have to be sure
you know what you're doing.

Leukaemia's
a very serious illness.

Refusing a blood transfusion
when it could save your life,

some people think
you've been unduly influenced

by your parents and the elders,

and others think
that you're awfully clever

and we should just let you
get on with it.

Should we?
Let you do yourself in?

Somehow I've got to decide.

I think it's my choice.

I'm afraid
the law doesn't agree.

The law is an ass.

So they say.

But let's just consider
the practicalities.

With a transfusion,

the consultant could add
two drugs to your treatment

and you'd stand a good chance
of a pretty quick recovery.

Without a transfusion,
you could die.

- You understand that?
- Yeah.

But how about this, Adam?
Partial recovery.

You could lose your sight,
suffer brain damage.

Your kidneys could go.

Is that going to please God?

If you don't believe in God,

you've no right talking about
what does or doesn't please him.

I haven't said I don't believe.

I need to know
you've thought this through.

Blind or mentally disabled,
or both.

For the rest of your life.
Ready for that?

I'd hate it.

I'd hate it.

But I'd accept it.

Wait.

Excuse me.

Now, you listen closely
to this lady.

Hey, Adam. Roast chicken, man.

Out.

Go away.

Do you have children, My Lady?

No, sadly. I wish...

Always too busy.

The law can take over your life.

Perhaps you will.

- I don't think so.
- Sorry. I didn't mean...

Tell me this, Adam.

I want to hear it
in your own words.

Why won't you have
a blood transfusion?

'Cause it's wrong.

Go on.

God has told us that it's wrong.

Why is it wrong?

Why is anything wrong, My Lady?

We just know it.

Murder, torture, lying, being
unfaithful in your marriage.

How do we just know it?

It's in our hearts.
God has put it there.

And so... like, even if
we get useful information

by torturing a terrorist,

we know,
we just know it's wrong.

Is transfusion like torture?

They're both wrong.

I wish I could
make you see this.

Blood isn't just
a biological thing

and it isn't just a symbol.

It's life itself.

It's what we are.

We've chosen to live
in God's truth

and he's told us not to mix
our blood with other people's.

It's a simple rule
we wanna live by.

We're not inflicting it
on anyone else.

We just wanna live our lives
in the truth as we see it.

As we know it.

Thank you, Adam.

And if I decided the hospital
can legally transfuse you,

what would you think?

I'd think My Lady

was an interfering busybody.

No, don't go yet, please.

Adam, I have to be in court.

Just wait till Donna
brings my supper.

Alright, before I go, will you
tell me about your guitar?

It's beautiful.

It belonged to my grandad.

It looks really lived-in.
Lovely.

- You know something?
- What?

I've been playing four weeks

and I can already play
ten tunes.

And this is the hardest so far.

No, it's a C. There.

- Oh, yeah.
- Mmm.

That's it.

♪ And on my leaning shoulder

♪ She laid her snow-white hand

♪ She bid me take life easy

♪ As the grass grows
on the weirs

♪ But I was young and foolish

♪ And now am full of tears ♪

Pretty good, only four weeks.

I never even knew it had words.

It's Yeats, a very famous poet
and a lovely poem.

I love "and on my leaning
shoulder".

Let's do the whole thing.

It's dinnertime for you
and I have to be in court.

My Lady, please...
stay a bit longer.

"She bid me take life easy."

Well, then,
can I have your email?

Goodbye, Adam.

Are you coming back?

I am bound
by the Children Act

and the clear injunction
of its opening lines:

"The child's welfare

shall be the court's
paramount consideration."

Assuming a good recovery,

this young man's welfare
is better served

by his love of reading

and his newly found passion
for the guitar,

by the exercise
of his lively intelligence

and by the expression of
a playful, affectionate nature

and by all of life and love
that lie ahead of him.

I find that A himself,

his parents
and the elders of his church

have made a decision
which is hostile to A's welfare.

He must be protected from
his religion and from himself.

In my judgement,

his life is more precious
than his dignity.

My direction and declaration
are as follows.

It will be lawful
for the applicant hospital

to pursue
such medical treatments of A

as they deem necessary,

including blood transfusion.

End of the affair?

Maybe.

Look, the only important thing
is that I love you.

- You fucked her.
- Yes.

But if it was a stupid mistake,
then so is this, because...

If you're staying,
then sleep in the spare room.

Hey, come on,
we can't avoid this any longer.

Our only option is to talk.

Excuse me. Long day.

- Uncle Jack!
- Hi, guys!

I'll collect them tomorrow
around ten.

- Yes, perfect.
- Thanks for this.

- Bye, girls. Be good.
- Bye!

Sally, Maisie,
you ready for some fun?

Yeah!

Let's go.

I love...

I love how she just
clings to you all the time.

- Look. She does.
- Got you!

Suppose...
Suppose she had to get you.

Would you still go after her?
Yeah, you would?

Alright, try to get me.

Hello?

- Hello, Michael. Fiona Maye.
- Fiona?

You got my message?

No, I meant it.

I need a solicitor. Yeah.

"The following morning,
ten-year-old Peter Fortune

woke from troubled dreams

to find himself transformed
into a giant person, an adult."

- "He tried to move his arms..."
- Uncle Jack.

Why are you sleeping
in the sitting room?

- Well...
- 'Cause he snores.

Auntie Fi throws him out.

- Our daddy snores.
- Course he does.

They're brothers, stupid.

Yeah, I'm a bad snorer.

"He had eaten too much as well,
because his stomach felt tight,

and he had been talking too much
because his throat was sore."

OK, we're gonna stop there and
I'm gonna turn out this light,

but I'll leave the night light
on, alright, girls?

No jumping on the bed, OK,

and maybe you'll both
wake up to be giants,

just like Peter Fortune.

Night-night.

Night-night, Uncle Jack.

- Shall we talk?
- No.

You've reached
Fiona Maye's phone.

Please leave a message
after the beep.

Hi. This is Adam Henry.

My Lady, I got your number.
It wasn't difficult.

I'm out of hospital at last,

and it's so great
to hear your calm voice.

I loved it
when you came and sat with me

and we did the Salley Gardens.

I look at that poem every day.

I suppose I like being
'young and foolish'.

But if it wasn't for you,
I'd be neither. I'd be dead.

My Lady, it's me again,
Adam Henry.

I'm having these wonderful,
impossible daydreams,

really stupid, like...

we go round the world
in an oil tanker

and we have cabins
next door to each other,

walk up and down the decks
talking all day.

Oh, and guess what?
I'm reading Yeats.

His doctorate's in good shape
and he'll defend it well.

The problem is Tony.
He'll be at the meeting, yeah.

I might be ten minutes late,
so start without me.

My Lady, it's me again,
Adam Henry.

I'm having these wonderful,
impossible daydreams.

Poor kid. He's lost Jehovah
and he's found you.

Drop him a note, for God's sake.

I can't go encouraging...

It's simply not professional.

No, no, no, of course not.

Alright, I'm...

I'm frightened.

Of... Of myself.

Assuming they want it,
what about an encore?

A few Christmases ago,
we did My Funny Valentine

and I forgot the words.

Right.

♪ My funny valentine

♪ Sweet comic valentine...

Well, well. A stalker.

It's nothing sinister, honestly.
I... I don't mean to harass you.

I'm... I'm just... I thought
you wouldn't recognise me.

- How did you get my number?
- It's not difficult.

I feel the top of my head
has sort of exploded

and all sorts of things
are coming out,

and so I just wanted
to give you these.

- Adam, look, I can't.
- Please, My Lady, please.

It's just poems
I've been writing

and letters I never posted
and... thoughts about...

about things.

You look a lot stronger.
How's it been?

Lots of rows with my parents.

School's OK, I suppose.

Sometimes the idea of having
a stranger's blood inside me

makes me feel sick, like...
drinking someone else's saliva.

Come on. You're alive.

Yeah, but I wanted...
Look, I've so many questions.

Couldn't we go somewhere
and talk?

Adam, there's something
I want you

to get very clear
in your mind.

For me, your case is over.

I've got lots of new cases,

babies and children,
all kinds of sadness,

and for you,
you've got your life back.

Everything's ahead of you now.

You're talented. You're going to
do very well, I'm sure of that.

But there's one thing
I want you to do for me.

Don't phone me again
or write to me or follow me.

Do you understand? Your future's
out there waiting for you.

- And you're going to have fun.
- No, but, My Lady...

No, that's it.
I'm gonna watch you walk away.

You were seen coming out
of Mike Morrow's office.

Divorce? Are you serious?
Without even telling me?

I hope he pointed out that
you might just be overreacting.

Perhaps it's time
I started overreacting.

God. You're the big authority
on family problems,

and yet when it comes
to your own,

you're like a sulking child.

You were ready to buy your
pleasures with my unhappiness.

- That was a discovery.
- Oh, Jesus. Jesus.

This is beyond self-pity.

What is the point
of your silence, Fiona?

What is the point?

Come on, wake up.

I don't trust you any more.

Listen, I left this marriage
for two days. Two days.

You left it years ago.

You might just think about that
while you're away.

Right, this is the last of it
and now I'm off.

Tickets are in the blue folder
and I'll see you in Newcastle,

the first stop
on our old northern circuit.

Your favourite city,
I seem to remember.

Yeah, beautiful.
I had cousins there.

It's the only place
I was ever wild and free.

Have you ever been
wild and free, Nigel?

No, never. Thank God.

I'd be hopeless at it.

My Lady, I've got
so many questions for you.

Why is Yeats such a great poet?

We just know, but how?

What is beauty in a poem?

It's more than
just lovely sounds,

and it has to be saying
something that's true.

Why has our wonderful song
got two sharps?

I don't understand
about sharps and flats.

My Lady, you never told me
what you believed in.

I bet it isn't God.

But what?

And me?

I just don't know any more.

Sometimes, in strange moods,
I think,

well, I'm an adult now.

This thing will come back.
I just know it will.

And then...

We will soon
be arriving at Newcastle.

Customers should ensure
that they take

all of their personal
belongings with them.

Thank you for your custom.

We look forward
to seeing you again

in the future.

- Thank you.
- Hello.

So I've listed a care case
for two days. Mother inadequate.

Two children in separate foster
placements hoping for adoption.

- Right.
- My dear Fiona.

- Welcome to Newcastle.
- Thank you.

Meet the High Sheriff,
John Baker.

We'll be joining you for dinner
tonight at the lodgings.

I'm afraid you'll find they've
gone downhill a bit. Cuts.

John would like
to join you tomorrow

if you have
anything interesting.

Well, do join me.

I'm afraid all I can promise you

is two neglected children.

Thank you.

No, no. I'll take them.

- Fiona.
- Caradoc.

You didn't invite anyone
for tonight?

No. Clean forgot.

Jolly good.

Well, let me introduce you
to my lot.

- John Baker, you've met.
- Yes.

Paul Rotman has
a fibre optics business here.

James MacLeish. What do we
call you, Jim? A mandarin?

Up here
for coastline conservation.

Mrs Justice Fiona Maye.

- How do you do?
- Pleasure.

I'll have the same as everyone.
Cheers.

- To your very good health.
- Slainte.

Rather than spending
millions on coastal defences,

we could let the sea
flood the fields,

let them revert to salt marshes,
compensate the farmers.

But the channel through which
or the conduit

through which they can come
to some agreement...

Oh.

Excuse me, gentlemen.
Something seems to have come up.

Oh.

I'm frozen. Could we please
get some heating into that room?

- Of course, My Lady.
- Thank you.

My Lady, I think
you'd better come and see.

It's just this way.

This is
the Jehovah's Witness boy.

You remember,
from the transfusion case.

Oh, yes.

It seems
that he followed you here.

They wanted to turn him away,
but I...

Thank you.
I'll deal with it now.

We'd better have
that heater in here.

Yes, My Lady.

I'm really, really sorry.

So here we are again.

- How did you find me here?
- Internet mostly.

Followed you to King's Cross
and got...

Look, I'm so sorry, My Lady.

Do your parents know
where you are?

- I'm 18 now. I can be...
- I don't care how old you are.

They'll be worried about you.

Uh, right, now, I know
there's a socket somewhere.

- I can hardly see a thing.
- Sit down.

Ah, right. Uh...

- Right.
- Thank you.

Um, I'll be...
I'll be right outside.

So...

I had another row
with my dad last night.

Biggest so far.

And then I walked out,
just left.

But I texted my mum last night
saying I was alright and...

Do it again now. Write to her.

Tell her
you're safe in Newcastle

and you'll write again tomorrow.

And then we'll talk.

But it's completely...

Do it. Come on.

Should I be frightened?
Are you really stalking me?

No, it's nothing like that.
I read your judgement.

You said you wanted to save me
from my religion, from myself.

Well, you did. I'm saved.

What do you want?

I'm not the person I was.

When you came to see me,
I really was ready to die.

Amazing that someone like you
could waste your time on me.

I was such an idiot.

- You seemed very sincere.
- Well, a sincere idiot.

I felt so noble telling
the doctors to leave me alone.

No one could understand
how profound I was.

I was so pumped up.

At night I used to think
about this video

I was gonna make on my phone,

like suicide bombers do.

It was gonna be on the TV news.

I could make myself cry
just thinking about my funeral,

everyone loving me,
everyone weeping.

What a sacrifice he made.

What an idiot.

Where was God?

He was there, behind everything.

I was obeying his word,
living in the truth.

But it wasn't only about him.

It was my delicious adventure,
my beautiful death...

More of an adolescent thing.

But if I hadn't been a Witness,

I would never have been
in that mess.

- So now you've lost your faith?
- No, no. Perhaps.

It scares me to say it out loud,
but the thing is,

once you take a step back
from the Witnesses,

you might as well
go all the way.

Why replace one tooth fairy
with another?

Top of your head has exploded.

I can play a piece by Bach.

I've read all of Yeats.

I'm in a play.

"All of life and love
that lie ahead of me."

- That's what you wrote.
- Yes, Adam.

I'm asking you again,
what do you want?

To thank you.

There are easier ways.

When you visited me
at the hospital,

that was one of the best things
that ever happened to me.

It's this way you have of...
of listening, of thinking.

I watched you thinking.

Why are you here?

When you hear it,
you'll think it's so stupid.

But, please,
say you'll think about it.

Well?

I want to come
and live with you.

I could do odd jobs,
housework, anything.

You could give me reading lists,

everything you think
I should know about.

And I wouldn't get in the way,

with you and your husband,
I mean.

I could be like a lodger.

I'd get a job,
pay you some rent.

Wait here.

Your taxi will be here
in five minutes.

No, no, you can't.

When I had the blood,
my parents were there.

I saw them hugging each other
and crying, really sobbing.

They'd lost the case
and they'd tried so hard.

But then I realised, no, no,
they were crying for joy,

'cause they'd always
wanted me to live

and they'd never told me.

It wasn't about God at all.

I felt cheated,
like I'd been really stupid.

The whole thing was a fraud.

And I've looked it up.

The courts always let
the hospital transfuse a minor.

You knew that.

You always knew
what you were gonna do.

They'd never let a kid die
for their parents' religion.

So what were you doing
at my bedside,

coming bothering me
and singing with me,

getting under my skin,
trying to get close to me,

asking me questions?

I didn't ask you into my life.

A rubber stamp,
that's all you needed.

You can't just send me away.

I don't care if you think
you're too grand

to explain yourself,

'cause I've a right to know.

What did you want from me?

And my parents,
if they loved me...

It's here.

Thank you.

My clerk will take you to
the station and buy your ticket

and put you on the train
to London.

To the station.

If you loved your son,
your only son,

why would you let him die?

I'm sorry.

Let's be off, then.

Goodbye, Adam.

I, Christine Samantha Delancy,
do swear by Almighty God

that I will well and truly serve

our Sovereign Lady
Queen Elizabeth II

and I will do right
to all manner of people

after the laws and usages
of this realm,

without fear or favour,
affection or ill will.

Son, I found your Bible
in the hall

and all these pamphlets.

Mum, I don't want any of it
in my room.

You're not dressed yet, darling.
Your father's waiting.

Come on.
We're gonna be late. Let's go.

You go ahead. I'm staying here.

He doesn't wanna keep his Bible
in his room.

- What's up, Adam?
- Nothing's up.

So, get your suit and tie on.
Let's go.

I've just told you,
I'm staying here.

- Are you alright?
- I'm fine.

- What's the matter?
- Problems with your breathing?

I'm fine.

- So what's the problem?
- It's simple.

You're going to Kingdom Hall.
I'm never going again.

You wanted me to die.
Well, a part of me has.

- Sorry.
- It's alright.

- You look lovely.
- Thank you.

I'm not giving up.

Thank you.

- Evening, Jim.
- Evening, My Lady.

- Hello, Fiona. Break a leg.
- Thank you.

Jack Maye, just the man. We need
a Latin motto for a free school.

- I'll get us some drinks.
- "Every child a genius."

Can you do that?
Complete lie, of course.

- Good luck.
- Thank you very much.

You've just got to listen
to this.

The Mountjoy charge sheet.

Procuring cocaine,
dangerous driving, whores...

- You mean sex workers.
- Cross-dressing.

- What more could you want?
- Blasphemy?

Fiona, I'd like you to meet
Toby Marlowe.

- Yes, oh, hello.
- Brilliant barrister.

- Absolutely brilliant.
- Right.

- My nephew, actually.
- Super. What's your field?

- Crim...
- Criminal law?

- Yes, I'm...
- Good.

- Excellent. Good luck.
- My Lady, we need you.

- Yes.
- We need justice.

The men are getting
all the work.

We're starving to death,
actually.

And men are useless.
It's a scientific fact.

I heard that.
Keep it under your hat.

Um, Fiona.

Really?

Masters of Bench
and guests,

the Christmas Miscellany
is about to begin.

My Lady, I just had
word the Jehovah's Witness boy,

Adam Henry, is very ill again.

He's in St David's Hospice,

refusing treatment,
refusing to see his parents.

They think he might not
survive the night.

You OK? Where's your music?

- Look, take this.
- Oh, God.

This is my spare one. Take this.

Let's get going.

Are you alright?

Mark Berner! Maestro!

Thank you. Thank you.

♪ Lully, lullay

♪ Thou little tiny child

♪ Bye bye, lully, lullay...

♪ Lullay ♪

Thank you so much,
ladies and gentlemen.

We do actually have a couple
of encores up our sleeve.

Very arrogant of us, I know.

But as it's not February
and not the 14th,

we thought we'd do
My Funny Valentine.

Fiona. Fiona, that's the wrong
one. I haven't got the words.

Fiona. Fiona?

♪ Down by the Salley Gardens

♪ My love and I did meet

♪ She passed the Salley Gardens

♪ With little snow-white feet

♪ She bid me take love easy

♪ As the leaves grow
on the tree

♪ But I being young and foolish

♪ With her did not agree

♪ In a field by the river

♪ My love and I did stand

♪ And on my leaning shoulder...

My Lady, that was
so beautifully done.

- Thanks.
- Beautiful.

Thank you, Jim.

Taxi!

Camberwell.
St David's Hospice, please.

Adam Henry?

Adam.

Adam, it's Fiona Maye.

Adam.

Remember, all of life and love.

And poetry.

We could be on that ship
sailing round the world.

Talking about why some...

...songs are so...

Adam. Adam.

Adam.

My choice.

My Lady.

"My Lady, you never told me
what you believed in."

"I bet it isn't God. But what?"

"And me?
I just don't know any more."

"Sometimes, in strange moods, I
think, well, I'm an adult now."

"This thing will come back. I
just know it will. And then...

I could be free."

Free.

Fiona?

Fiona?

Fi?

You're soaking.

Fi.

What happened?

Fi, what is it?

Come on.

Even Mrs Justice Maye
owes an explanation sometimes.

Come on, darling, talk to me.

I heard about this young man.

And?

From the, um...
Jehovah's Witness case.

- The what?
- In all the papers.

I'm sorry. I don't remember.

He was in hospital
and I left the court

and went to his bedside.

- Uh-huh. Isn't that unusual?
- Yes, it was, very unusual.

And then?

A very strange and beautiful
young man, very, very ill.

We, um... sang a song together.

He followed me
up to Newcastle. He...

He walked through a storm
to find me.

He wanted to go round the world
in a ship with me.

He wanted to come
and live with us.

With us?

I mean, he...

He thought I could...
change his life...

answer all his questions.

He was just a dreamer, but I...

I thought I was being kind,
you see.

I should have...
I should have...

He couldn't understand
why his parents...

Their only son.

What happened? What's his name?
Where is he now?

Adam. His name is Adam. He...

I heard tonight
his cancer came back, his thing,

and they need to transfuse him.

And he's refused.

He's 18. There's nothing
the hospital can do.

He's refused and his lungs
are filling with blood

and he's dying.

He's dying for his faith.

Were you in love with him,
Fiona?

Oh, Jack.

He was just a child.

A boy.

A lovely boy.

A lovely boy.

It's OK.

OK.

I've been watching you sleep.

Thank you.

Jack, he...

Such a waste.

Yes.

I was cruel to him.

- No.
- But you don't know.

Then tell me. Everything.

Will you still love me?
powaquatsi