To Sleep with Anger (1990) - full transcript

# Precious memories #

# How, how #

# How they linger #

# Yeah, yeah, how #

# Hmm #

# How they ever #

# Flood my soul #

# Oh, yeah, whoa #

# It's here #

# In the stillness #

# Whoa, of the midnight #



# Precious, sacred #

# Oh, yes #

# Scenes unfold #

# It's in the stillness #

# When everybody's gone #

# Whoa, of the midnight #

# Oh, yes #

# Echoes #

# Mmm #

# Echoes from #

# The past somewhere #

And breathe.

And breathe.

And breathe.



And breathe.

Now whenever you start feeling
those little contractions,

I want you to take the time,

find a comfortable place
and practice this exercise.

Understand?

I'll see you next week.

My mind must be playing tricks on me.

Looked all in my trunk
and I can't find my toby.

What's that?

It's a charm my great grandmother
gave to me.

It'll show up. Rhonda?

If my daddy calls,
can you tell him I walked home?

Uh-huh.

-You be careful.
-Okay.

-And thank you for taking care of Sunny.
-Sure.

-Bye-bye, baby.
-Bye.

Babe Brother and his wife
are taking advantage of a situation here.

Now I hate to be mean,

but this business of them
picking up Sunny whenever they choose

has got to come to an end.

And I'm gonna also ask him
why he wasn't at your birthday.

Gideon, don't bother the poor boy.

It just takes some people a little longer
to figure out who they are.

Yeah.

I don't understand
how two brothers can be so different.

-Suzie?
-Hmm?

Why don't you shut that door
and, uh, come on over here.

-Who is it?
-Babe Brother.

Babe Brother.

Oh, my, it's cold out there at night.

I...

I'm glad you came to the door
instead of him.

This does not make any sense.

You're going to drag that poor boy
out into the cold air

at this time of the morning?

Oh.

Mama, is he upstairs?

Where's Sunny now?

He's upstairs. Come on.

And don't wake up your daddy.

Oh.

- Thanks for taking care of him.
- Mm-hmm.

I'm gonna try not to be so long next time.

Babe Brother.

What time is it?

Now, do you think
you can just treat us like slaves?

It's after one o'clock!

I tried to call you
to let you know I was gonna be late.

That is a lie!

- Can we settle this tomorrow, please?
- Look.

Don't think you can get ahead
by riding our backs!

- I pay my own way.
- Since when?

Take Sunny home, please.

Oh!

I am late, late.

- Babe!
- Mm-hmm.

Here.

- Good morning.
- Hi, babe.

Need to take your vitamins.

Hey.

I'm the boss.

No!

Babe, I said no.

Well, he wouldn't want any if you
didn't try to keep it away from him.

Just because you were spoiled,
don't try and spoil Sunny.

Spoiled?

Spoiled?

My daddy never gave me anything
without my having to sweat for it.

Every summer,

we had to pip all of Big Mama's
hundred-odd laying' hens

and go to church all day on Sunday.

For Big Daddy, calluses and sweat
were the mark of a man.

Mark of a man.

Now, Sunny will never have
to bust his knuckles like we did.

Come on, baby, I'm late.

Come from a family
that's no different from farm animals.

The world goes by
while they stand along the fence,

chewing their cud.

Look, he needs discipline.

Now you are not helping
when I tell him not to do something

and then you allow him
to get away with it.

I love you.

I gotta go. See you later.

I wish that boy next door
would learn how to blow that thing.

So when are you gonna find time
to help me fix the roof?

You all don't believe me
when I tell you I'm afraid of heights.

You used that excuse to get out the army.

You always got something to say,
huh, bro?

Mm-hmm.

Your mother asked me not to mention it...

but her birthday was last week.

Uh, I hadn't forgotten.

I ordered some cloth.

Uh...

It didn't come in. And, uh...

I felt so bad, if I... if I would've come
to your birthday without that, I...

I just stayed at home.

What'd your wife get her?

We got the same thing.

Boy, you tell your wife to come in here.

Why don't you come in for a while?

What would I talk about?

I have not read this month's Almanac.

I do not care to hear about
how the corn was last fall

or how to get rid of gophers
by using garlic.

They pride themselves
on making life difficult,

and that's just not my cup of tea.

Come on.

Come on.

Just for a minute, one minute?

Quick. How much is cotton per pound

and how many gallons of water
does it take to water an acre? Gotcha.

Babe Brother, he's a poor boy.

Hmm.

Y'all should've been hard
on him like you were on me.

And he wouldn't be the way he is.

Junior, everybody got the same.

Why, I breast fed him,
just like I breast fed you.

So another preacher said,
"Brother, you are among friends.

Tell us what's troubling your soul.

Clear your conscience."

So the second preacher said...

"We have a bond
because we are confessing to one another.

So I must tell you my sin is corn liquor.

I just acts a fool
behind that spirit water.

I loves it more than preaching.
Ain't that a sin, Lord?"

So all the preachers are confessing
all their sins to one another.

Each one worse than the last one.

Finally, they get to the last preacher.

Now, he has been very quiet
and listening to every word that fell.

So a preacher says to him.

"Brother, confessing
will lift up your burden.

Bare your soul. We did."

So the last preacher said, "No.

My sin is the worst of all."

So another preacher said,

"Oh, man, go on and stop...
s-stop all that sus-suspense."

So the last preacher said,

"Well, like I said,
my sin is the worst of all.

My sin is gossiping

and I can't wait to go out
and tell everything I've heard."

Gideon.

You really ought not
tell him stories like that.

Tell me another story.

No,no,no,no.
Now you tell me a story.

Once upon a time

when Mommy and Daddy lived in this big...

You stay back.

You might cut your fingers.

I looked everywhere for my toby.

Harry.

- Suzie.
-Is that you?

I can't believe it. It is you.

Gideon, Gideon, look who is here.

Harry! Oh, good God Almighty.

Oh, we haven't seen you in what,
what, it must be 30 years or more.

Suzie, we ain't seen Harry
since we left down home.

Uh-huh.

So, this is my... my grandson.

This is...
This is my youngest son's child.

Oh, he kinda favors one of my boys
when he was about his age.

Oh, yeah?

Boy, that's bad luck
to... touch a fellow with a broom.

Now, he knows better than that.

Now, Sunny, you apologize to Harry.

I'm sorry.

Yeah.

So, what brings you around these parts?

Uh, well, I came all the way from Detroit
by bus going to Oakland.

The bus stopped in Los Angeles,
I had to get off and take me a rest.

You stay till you feel better now.

- We would like to hear all the news.
- Mm-hmm.

Well, I'm worn out, but won't you feel
like you're taking in a stranger.

You put them boxes down
and you stay as long as you like.

Well, you sure... I'm not a bother?

Oh, man, come on.

Oh, I don't sleep on spring mattresses.

Always make me a pallet on the floor.

Poor ol' Harry.
He really must've been worn out.

He has been asleep all day.

- Yeah?
- Mm-hmm.

Uh, good evening.

Good evening!

How are you doing, Harry?

Oh, it must be all the time zones
I crossed made me feel this weary.

Well, you should go back and rest.

Oh, no, ma'am. If... If I rest any longer,
I won't sleep tonight.

Uh, may I use your bathroom
to wash up a bit?

Man, you make like
this is your home, hmm?

Oh, it's great to see you, Harry.

Well, I always ask to keep
from wearing out welcome.

Oh, man.

Harry, one can sure tell
you are from back home.

Nowadays, people don't even know
what good manners are.

Well, you had to know how to act right
where we come from.

Mm-hmm.

You had to know how to say
"Yes, sir," "No, sir."

You had to know your place.

That's right.

In those days, you could always
find something redeeming

in the very worst person.

Oh, Harry?

Oh, Harry.

I want you to meet my oldest son Junior,
his wife Pat and his daughter Rhonda.

Hi, how do you do? Oh!

Ooh.
This boy must be turning over.

He just kicked me again.

Anyway- --

I better sit down.

Mmm.

Pleased to meet you.

Oh, yes, yes.

Wake Harry and see
if he wants to go to church.

Let the poor man sleep.
Now, we are going to be late.

- Harry, come on.
- Next time.

- Hi.
- I'll take care of things here.

How you doing?

# Precious memories #

# How, how #

# How they linger #

# Yeah, yeah, how #

# Hmm #

# How they ever #

# Flood my soul #

# Oh, yeah, whoa #

# It's here #

# In the stillness #

Uncle Joe after Ella's death.

Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth,

I came not to send peace, but a sword.

For I am come to set a man
at variance against his father

and the daughter against her mother

and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law

and a man's foe shall be
they of his own household.

# Take me to the water #

# Take me to the water #

# Take me to the water #

# To be baptized #

Now...

So, what sort of work you in?

I'm a loan officer,
and my wife's in real estate.

That's how we met.

Mmm.

Real lovely.

Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed.

Mm-hmm. Hmm.

You're not like
the rest of Gideon's friends.

Most of them believe
if you're not hard at work,

then you're hard at sin.

Well, uh,

I'm more modern in my ways.

Yeah. I don't believe in sin,

though there is good and evil

and evil is something that you work at.

Nuh-uh, mustn't touch.

Your mother may not like
you handling knives.

I think he just wanted
to see your rabbit's foot.

Oh.

I let this rabbit's foot take the place
of my toby, which I lost years ago.

What's a toby?

A charm that old people
teach you how to make.

You don't wanna be
at a crossroad without one.

I had one for a long time

that used to belong to my grandmother
who had it since she was a child.

In my travels...

I misplaced it.

And I've been looking
over my shoulder ever since.

How do you like that?

-.I' Take me to the water J'
- I now baptize you

in the name of the Father,

-the Son and the Holy Ghost.
-# Take me to the water #

You, uh, have your child at home?

Have my child at home?

- Mm-hmm.
- Oh, please, mm-mmm.

I had my baby at Cedar and Sinai,
and that ain't no county hospital.

Yeah, some folks take
that natural stuff too far.

Mm-hmm. Junior's wife.

She kept her afterbirth
in the refrigerator.

That's why I don't eat over there now.

Whoo, country folks
have some strange ways.

Mm-hmm.

You ever use this thing?

Hmm.

It's for those bad-acting monkeys.

Or just the thing for a mean dog.

Now, I don't know
if I actually did what I did...

or if I got my life's story
mixed in with other folks' story,

but... I seem to recall

that I had to use my crab apple there,

on a boy from back home.

And in obedience to the great command,

I now baptize you
in the name of the Father,

the Son and the Holy Ghost.

I was coming down Beale Street,

and I heard this music
coming from a saloon.

Sure enough it was Emory.

He and another boy
had killed a boy named Hocker

and they balled the jack leaving town.

Uh, Emory had lost one eye

and had a scar running down his face.

Oh, bad luck, I say.

We went up to his girl's room.

He got to drinking that corn liquor.

Drinking will bring out
the worst in a fella.

I saw him reach into his pocket
for his knife.

At the same time,
his girl turned out the lights, man...

Ever I sit with a man that drinks...

I keeps my knife open in my pocket.

Don't pick up the cards.
You're not in the game.

So did you use the knife?

I don't know
what happened to him in the dark.

I know I protected myself,
and I always will.

Hey, you know, I-I got some old...

records I want you to hear.

You know, I-I like blues sung simple,
a man and his guitar.

How was church?

- Oh.
- Linda.

A woman in a family way reminds me...

of spring in my younger days.

That's nice.

You and your husband are special.

Gideon tells me you do volunteer work
to help feed the poor.

Mm-hmm.

How many people do you all feed?

Hmm. Last Saturday
we handed out over 200 meals.

Good God almighty.

Bless your bones, child.

Two hundred.

But the problem grows.

Week by week.

Crowds at the doors
just keep getting larger.

We just can't feed all the hungry.

Of course not.

You ever heard of a man
diving into a river

to save 500 drowning people?

No, you ain't.

You have to take just one
and fatten him up.

When you spread help too thin,
you just nickel and dime the situation.

If you try to help all, then all die.

But if you save one life, life goes on.

You just have to remember
that medicine that works...

leaves a bitter taste.

You have to take one.

I don't know if we could take one in

with Rhonda and me
at home alone at times.

Oh, I...
I wasn't pointing the finger at you.

I appreciate you lending me a hand.

That lazy ass brother of mine
was supposed to help me.

Well, some folks are still waiting
on their comeuppance.

Now, don't-don't take me wrong,

but you can't judge people
by how you act.

Yeah.

You're a caring person.

He should be caring.

That's not too much to ask.

Yeah, you and your... your wife
in your spare time

work with the less fortunate.

Now, I'm not talking
about you and what you do,

but some folks that are always,
uh, running to help the victim

deep down are attracted
to pain and suffering,

and they love to be near the dying.

But you can never tell
what's in the heart.

Here, let me give you a hand with this.

Yeah.

Good morning.

Excuse me, Harry,
could you come downstairs for a minute?

There's someone I want you to meet.

- I'll be right there.
- Okay.

All right.

Surprise.

I couldn't believe it when Suzie called
and said you was staying here.

How have you been?

Girl, you still sing and dance?

Oh, no, Harry.
I'm a different person now.

Haven't the years been good to Hattie?

It hasn't been the years,
it's been the men in her life.

Harry, that's not nice.

I'm in church now.

Why go run and close the barn
when the horse is gone?

I remember when you weren't saved.

That was way back when the Natchez Trace
was just a dirt road.

Some people grow up
and change their ways.

I know your mother ain't still
operating that house of hers.

My mother passed on some years ago.

My mother passed on...

years ago,

- Suzie?
- Hmm?

Uh, d-do you still have Joe's number?

I don't know.

I'll have to look for it.

By the way, I came across Okra,
your ol' childhood sweetheart.

Okra?

Shoot

I wish I would've catched
that egg stealin' skunk Okra.

I could sure do
with a little Swamp Root now.

What?

I haven't heard anyone mention Swamp Root
since button-up shoes went out.

You can certainly tell your age, my dear.

Do you know the saying
"your heart is in your left hand"?

Out of weariness,

I spoke to my own heart

to leave it all

and to die.

And I gave my heart
to know madness and folly.

Harry...

you know you remind of so much
that went wrong in my life.

I have no enemies,
because I don't live in the past.

No, sir.

As Pushkin, you don't know him, said,

"In the hope of glory and good,

I look without fear ahead."

An empty wagon makes a lot of noise.

You tappy head.

You ain't worth the salt
you put in greens.

And speaking of tappy heads...

Uh, we oughta have
an old-fashioned fish fry.

We can have it here next week.

Is this your house, mister?

I'm sorry.

Uh, what do you think, Gideon?

Well, it's, uh... it's up to Suzie.

Well, it would be nice.

In the meantime,
Harry can slaughter us a hog.

I already have, my dear.

Eh.

Fred Jenkins.

Oh, Suzie, you haven't changed a bit.

And you, if you ain't John Henry.

- Hattie, Marsh.
- Hey, girl.

- Oh, you look so pretty.
- Where is everybody?

Marsh.

- Thanks for inviting me.
- You're welcome.

Hey, hey.

Oh, excuse me.

Okra Tate.

I'm still in love

and not too old to get in a fight...

(NET 3 woman.

How you doing?

- Where'd you get this nice jacket?
- That's my Saturday night jacket.

All right.

- Are you all right, honey?
- Mm-hmm.

Okay, go on in there,
and I'll bring you something.

Hey, Suzie, look who's here.
It's William and Loviray.

- Suzie!
- Oh, Phil!

- How you doing, Phil?
- This is, uh, Cherry Bell.

Hello.

- Thank you so much for having me.
-I'm Suzie.

-I'm Gideon.
- This is Gideon.

This is great.

Well, it's about time.

Oh, Linda, I'm so glad you could come.

You look very nice.

Mmm!

I'm sorry we're late.
Junior forgot his shoes.

- Oh! What did you bring?
- I baked your favorite cherry pie.

- Oh, thank you.
- I'll put it in the kitchen.

How you doing, son?

- You right behind me?
- Right behind you.

All right, yeah.

Ah!

What is that?

Boy, this is the real South.

That is real corn liquor.

Is that real corn liquor?

It ain't Geritol.

You serve this in teacups.

- There's a fight in every bottle.
- Get them teacups over here.

Yeah. Yes, sir.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Uh-huh.

# See #

# See rider #

# See what you have done #

# Lord, Lord #

# See see rider #

# Yeah #

# See what you have done #

# Stole my girl #

# Now that man's done gone #

# Yeah #

# I'm gonna buy me a pistol #

# Just as long as I am tall #

# Lord, Lord #

# Buy me a pistol #

# Huh #

# Just as long as I am tall #

# Shoot that girl #

# Catch that cannonball #

Let's get Hattie to sing a song
from the old days.

She used to keep them
juke joints steaming.

Right. All right.

Harry always tries to be the kingfish.

I told him I'm a different person now.

- I'm saved.
- Saved?

Grab yourself a teacup.

Get your socks knocked off.

Hey, listen, son, you ain't danced
with your wife all night.

There's something
I've always wanted to know.

Tell me, how did those boys die?

Now, who you talking about?

Miss Clara's boy Emory, to start with.

The Johnsons' Hocker,
that was another one.

Wasn't Hocker lynched?

You know as well as I do,

that was made to look like a lynching.

Now, who would hang somebody
from a persimmon tree, hmm?

What difference does it make,
a persimmon tree, an oak tree, a...

a huckleberry bush?

Hacker's death almost caused a race riot.

A lot of innocent people
could've been hurt behind that.

Strange as it may seem,
it might have cleared the water.

Sometimes the right action
comes from the wrong reason.

Let's go, Babe Brother, bring Linda.

Look, can you all tell me why me and Suzie
gotta be mother and father to your child?

Y'all don't ever take the boy anywhere.

If we didn't take Sunny to church,
he wouldn't have no sense of religion.

Why? You don't want us
to bring him over here no more?

No, no, that's not it.

It's when do you find time to be parents?

Y'all don't ever pick him up
before nine or ten o'clock at night.

Look, you all are into yourselves.

Now, Junior spends time with his child.

- Oh, here we go with that again!
- Yes!

Wow, I'm so sick of you
talking about Junior all the time.

# In the midst of tribulation #

# Stand by me #

Sing your song.

# In the midst of tribulation #

I think if anybody
had a hand in killing Hocker...

you oughta ask...

or you should've asked Emory and Chick.

Chick was outright killed by a mob.

He killed a white man
that owed him some money,

and when they caught him,

they tied him behind a car

and they dragged him
out of the hills back to town.

Them boys never did have good luck.

You're damn right they didn't.

Especially my cousin,

Emory.

Emory made a lot of enemies.

He had a big mouth.

Harry.

Yeah.

Get to Marsh.

# In the midst of tribulation #

# Stand by me #

Gideon, you better be careful,
you'll get a stroke arguing.

I don't care if I drop dead!
As long as he learns something from it.

- Why is he always picking on me?
- He's not picking on you. He's not.

He's just being like all parents,
concerned about the ones they love.

Yeah, well,
I don't need that kind of love.

I don't need to be reminded all the time
that Big Mama was born in slavery!

If you really care about me,
just show me how to make money.

- Babe Brother.
- He doesn't mean what he says.

Look, look, let's go back inside.

No!

Before anybody moves, you two...

shake hands
and don't carry this thing any farther.

# Thou who never #

# Lost a battle #

# Now stand by me #

# Ooh #

Honey, are you gonna lie there
and sleep all morning?

I gotta go.

If my boys had lived,
I would've had the same worries as you.

I could sit and look at train tracks
all day.

We laid enough of 'em, didn't we?

Yeah.

Yeah. So many memories...

stretched along tracks like these.

We go a little further.

The walk will do us some good.

Suzie?

Suzie!

Gideon, what's wrong?

I'm worn out.

You stay in bed and rest.

I gotta feed them chickens
before they wake everybody up.

You stay inside.

I'll see to them.

I appreciate that.

Oh, Suzie.

Harry!

Harry!

Can you watch Gideon for a while?
One of my girls is going into labor.

Yeah, just run along.

Yeah, I'll fix him some soup,
he'll be all right.

The hard part is over.

It's gonna be okay.

Gideon.

Oh, my God.

- Careful on this doorknob.
- All right.

- Pat, get out of the way.
- Well, just hold...

- Careful of his legs. Don't hurt him.
- We're doing okay.

You got him?

- Medicine.
- Let me raise this up.

Okay, I'm almost finished here.

The doctor says
he'll be better off at home.

Let's put his robe on him.

Boy, I thought you were
about to cross the river!

Ah, you look good.

I say, daddy-o.

Would you do me a favor

and see if you can turn off
that tap in the bathroom?

My hand is too weak.

Hey, anytime you need somebody to do
something for you, you just let me know.

Hey, uh, would you do me another favor?

I don't like to ask it,
but could you clean the tub for me?

I kind of- My back kind of hurts
when I bend over, huh?

- Yeah, no problem.
- Yeah. Ah!

Yes, sir.

Mmm, that smells like fresh coffee.

- Hmm!
- Would you like a cup?

Oh, only if you can spare it.

Hey, uh, son, would you get me
an old newspaper, please?

Yes, sir, these dogs need to be buried.

Been on 'em too long.

Yes, sir.

I will leave you something in my will.

Okay.

Got him!

You think old Gideon's gonna live
to see this month out?

When I came upon the valley of bones...

Serpent said, "Make this your home.

Dry as my soul be...

Heaven is lost to thee."

We all gotta make a way.

A chicken hates to see
a preacher come to dinner.

Herman,
you gotta catch the next one.

You do it, 'cause I'm out of breath.

If I have to chase after one,
we won't eat.

Sister, we've come to see
how you are doing.

We came to ask you
if we could pray over Gideon.

Please.

Brother Gideon.

I put some Plummer Christian leaves
under his feet

to draw out the fever.

And what else have you been giving him?

I, uh, I crossed his stomach
with some cold oil,

and,uh".

I gave him some cow tea.

Well, Sister Suzie, I would think
that you would depend on prayer

rather than these old-fashioned remedies.

Let us read from the Bible.

"The Lord reigns, the peoples tremble.

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim.

Let the earth quake."

Never play with someone else's cards.

You always get a new deck.

Hey, look at this card.

See anything?

It's just a regular card.

Uh, son...

I could take everything
you got with that deck.

It's marked.

Now...

I'm gonna show you
how to make some money

in case you get stuck somewhere.

Harry just leeches off your parents.

He's a master at wearing out welcome.

Harry's the kind of guy
you'd love to take out in the woods

and leave under a rock.

And where did he get the power
to summon up all his old raffish friends?

They all smell like mothballs.

Mm-hmm.

Damn!

- Linda.
- Huh?

How come you don't see to it
that Sunny puts his shoes on right?

W-What are you doing?

Why don't -

Let's give old Dry Bones a call
and see if he's coming or not.

Okra likes to exaggerate a lot,
keep us waiting all night.

Come on, Sunny. Come on.

Stand up, stand up.

Okay.

Oh, come on, Babe.

What -
Get along! Get away from me.

Come on, honey.

Got to get the shoe tied.

Okay?

Come on.

Might have been the last time...

the last time I saw James, boys.

- How about the pork chops?
- Come down this way, girl.

That reminds me of the story about Oink.
Y'all remember the story of Oink?

You remember Oink?
He was making all this noise.

Oink-Oink.

Come on, give me the whole piece, girl.

Two highway patrolmen
coming down the street,

coming down the highway,

two colored boys
have got a pig in the car.

They asked 'em all for their ID.

So Oink said...

He just says, "Oink."

Come on, bro, talk to me.

What you talking about?
Put the cigar down.

- Come on, don't.
- What is it, grasshoppers?

Hey, sugar, you got a match?

You got a match, sugar?

- Look here, I'm talking to you.
- Ain't got but two hands, man.

Remember the time they almost put...
put him in jail.

'Cause of his breath.

But they didn't want him in
so they let him go.

Hit him in the head with a piece of cake.

She did hit me in the head with the cake.

That's good.

"Peter wiggled and wiggled.

He wiggled right out of his jacket
just in time.

Peter ran to the tool shed.

He saw a watering can
and he jumped into the can.

- And there was some water inside..."
- You okay?

I'm okay.

Go on back to your friends.

And, uh, oh.

"There was some water inside

and Peter felt cold and wet

-and then he sneezed."
- You sure you're okay?

Kachoo!

- What did he do?
- Sneezed.

He sneezed. That's very good.

"And then he sneezed.

And..."

I want my daddy.

Rhonda, drag him in here.

Come on. Come on.

Come on!

You don't have to say anything
if you don't want to.

If you'll be nice,

I will take you to Disneyland.

I wanna hear what happened.

My brother is a jackass and a damn fool.

Both of you have been scarce as hens
till you come here.

- Calm down, Junior.
- I didn't know where to go.

I couldn't go to my family, my friends.

- Oh, what-what are we?
- Junior, Junior.

Rhonda, why don't you take Sunny
out in the backyard?

Oh, and get a bowl
and pick some strawberries.

I bet Sunny will enjoy that.
Now go on. Go on.

Now, you shouldn't be talking about
that boy's father in front of him.

This is family business
and we have to pull together.

The man is still a jackass!

Everybody should have
some mother wit.

Junior, please.

He just started staying out.

He just started staying out
all night long.

Oh, my God.

Watch them rocks.

Yeah.

Watch yourself.

Give me your arm lest you fall.

There.

You all right?

Yeah.

Here, give me your hand.

There you go.

- You all right?
- Yeah.

Peaceful.

I could swear I heard my son calling me.

You probably heard the wind stirring up
those dead leaves over there.

No.

No.

No, I heard his voice clear as day.

Maybe...

M-Maybe I better get back.
Maybe... Maybe something's wrong.

And I told Babe Brother, I told him.

I said, "If Harry steps foot in this house
one more time,

then I'm taking Sunny and leaving!"

And just as I said that
who you think is coming up the steps?

Harry.
Harry and his old resurrected friends!

Is that how you got that black eye?

This was an accident.

Sure.

- It was. It was unintentional.
- Hmm.

How's he doing?

As long as he keeps his throat clear,
he's able to get some sleep.

I made a fresh pot of coffee.

Okra and I thought you needed a rest.

- Hmm.
-I'll stand guard.

- Okra wants to talk to you anyway.
- Mm-hmm.

I brought you these greens...

and some salt meat.

That is very thoughtful of you.

I haven't had time
to tend my garden like I should.

Would you like some coffee?

I'd be much obliged.

You know, uh...

Gideon and I are lodge brothers...

and, uh, it's always been the policy...

to take care of the wives,

you know,
if something happens to a brother.

That's very sweet of you, Okra,
but, uh...

Gideon has taken care of everything

in case something happens to him.

He has a policy.

W-Well, now, if you become a widow...

you'll be needing somebody around
to fix the whatnots,

and we always like for the widow
to marry somebody from the lodge.

Now, I know Gideon ain't gone yet,

but there will be a lot of his old friends

-coming around to get in line.
- Okra!

And I would just like for you to sort of
consider this as a conditional proposal...

to be first in line...

so to speak.

Excuse me.

I have to go feed my dog.

Why doesn't he just park his car
and come in and apologize?

Babe Bro?

Babe Bro?

Hey, Babe Bro.
Roll down the window, man.

Roll down the window
and let me talk to you.

Babe Bro?

Hey, Babe Bro.

Babe Bro!

Babe Bro!

Roll down the...
Roll down the window, Babe Bro!

Come on, man. Shoot!

Grow up!

Why don't you grow up?
Why don't you just grow up?

Sit there!
Stay in the car, yeah!

Harry always shows his good side.

And like the moon,
the other side is black.

Back home, he always did try
to act like the colored gentleman.

I'm telling you,
Harry is nothing but evil.

I'm warning you,

you can't keep a wild animal
as a pet around children.

Before evening sun sets,

I would have his belongings
back on Route 55.

That old fox.

I can't accuse him just dry long so.

Everybody who have been
associated with Harry

end up with pennies over their eyes.

Hattie, what must I do?

If it was left up to me, I'd poison him.

Just take a look at Gideon
and ask yourself when did it all start.

How long has he been like that?

Just take a look at the calendar.

- Ah, good afternoon ladies.
- Good afternoon to you.

Good afternoon.

I'm gonna go take a look at Gideon.

As God is my witness,

I have never done anything to that woman.

You must have done something to her.

Since she has repented,
all she does is throw stones.

Mm-hmm.
Hattie's a different person now.

I don't make any bones about
where I'm gonna spend eternity.

I've always been wild and you know that.

When you're made to feel half a man...

what do you think the other half is?

I'm glad, uh...

you brought that up
as to who you are.

I, uh...

I have to know who is in my house.

You invited me.

Yes, I did...

but only if you are a good man...

a friend.

Are you a friend, Harry?

Like that boy next door playing his horn.

If he was a friend,

he would stop irritating people.

But if he stops practicing...

he wouldn't be perfect
at what he does someday.

I want you to leave.

Okra and MC and Herman
wanna go back home with me.

MC is coming by to pick me up tonight.

I'll come back and get my things.

Well, I hope Gideon recovers.

Oh, uh...

You know, I got an extra picture
of one of my boys that I would...

like for you to put with those
baby pictures over your dresser.

It's better than keeping it
in this... old wallet of mine

with all these addresses

and... names of people
who are no longer on this earth.

I'll say my so-longs to Gideon
before I leave.

Suzie, I truly wish he gets well.

These damn things is unloaded, ain't they?

Mm-hmm.

I don't want to wear out welcome.

But you can stay in someone's heart
longer than you can stay in their house.

Come on and go with us, boy.
We gonna have a good time.

Come on.

It'd be a bad time
for me to leave right now.

I know your mind is on your... wife.

But you should never treat a woman
as an equal.

You wanna get your wife back?

Get another woman.

- Hey, MC!
- Hmm.

You ever heard of a real man
having one woman?

No, Lord.

One woman puts you out.

You have to have another take you in.

You don't drive around
without a spare tire, do you?

The more mules you hitch,
the easier the plow.

Come roll with us, son.

We'll show you
some steamin' hot juke joints,

steamin' hot women.

- Whose old piece of knife is this?
- It was my brother's.

I have to go by the house first.

We'll wait for you as long as we can.

Babe Brother.

Oh, God.

Take off this wet jacket.

Uh, I need to get my suitcase
out of the garage.

What for?

I'm going back home with Harry.

I've heard some foolish things
in my life.

He's coming to pick me up.

Well, you have lost your mind.

Have you given any thought
to your wife? Your son?

Not to mention your sick father?

And I need your help
to move your daddy's bed

away from that leak in that ceiling.

But I'm busy.

Babe Brother, don't make me
raise my hand to you.

All right.

You have to see for yourself that
you are going in the wrong direction.

But...

Suzie, don't try to move that bed.
Junior, come help your mother.

Now, don't you do that now.
Move away, move away.

Where's Babe Bro?

How come you didn't ask
Babe Brother to help you?

He said he was too busy.

So he is busy, huh?

Why in the hell didn't you help Mama?

I told her I would if she'd give me time.

I bet you if your master told you
to fix the hole in the roof,

you would've rebuilt
the whole damn house.

You always got the best of it
around here.

And whenever Dad talks
about "my son," it's always you.

So you fix the roof.

Oh, no.
That is a damn lie, and you know it!

Every time father asks you
to do something,

you either half-ass do it
or-or you run off and hide.

Mama asked you
to turn the dirt in her garden

and you told her with your smart-ass self

that you weren't a farmer,
get Junior to do it.

Every time somebody
asks you to do something,

you say, "Tell Junior to do it!"

Boy, you ought to grow up.

I told you about calling me boy.

See, I ain't no boy.

See, you and Dad got a bad habit
of calling me boy.

- Mm-hmm.
- You call me boy in front of my wife.

- Yeah.
- You think I'm gonna fix the roof?

- Yeah.
- Huh?

I hope the whole damn thing blows off
and it pours down rain.

- I ought to break your damn neck.
- Yeah, I'm leaving.

Don't even call me when the shoe falls

'cause all he ever did for me
was try to run my life.

I'm so sick of people trying
to run my life, you know?

"Babe Bro, this. Babe Bro, that!"

- What's my name?
- You dumb ass, it's Babe Brother!

- My name is Sam. Samuel!
- Sit down!

- Oh, my God!
- Back, now.

Stop it, Junior! Junior, please.

Stop it! Look what you're doing.

- Junior!
- Junior!

- Somebody get some lard.
- I'll get it.

Y'all got to get her
to the emergency room.

- Get some lard.
- Uh --

I can't -

I'll take her the hospital.

We'll take her to the hospital.

Why don't you two have a seat,

and I'll have the doctor get with you
as soon as possible.

Do you need to see the doctor, too?

Uh, no, just my mother.

Excuse me.

Why is it so crowded?

Well, it's Friday night.

It is a full moon.

She said it was a full moon.

Said tonight is the full moon.

That must be what really caused it.

- Yeah, tell 'em it's the full moon.
- And that with a thunderstorm.

You know what I'm saying?

Nurse Richardson,
report to nurses ' station.

Nurse Richardson.

I... I can't believe
what I heard happened.

I just came to get my things.

Babe.

I think you ought to go upstairs
and see how your dad is, huh?

You wanna change your shirt?

Wash some of the blood off?

How long is Harry gonna hang around?

What is it?

Harry.

There's nothing we can do for him.

Wait.

Well, a-aren't you gonna
take him with you?

If he would've died in our care,
we'd be required to take him.

But since we found him dead,

you have to wait for the county
to pick him up.

What? Well, how long will that take?

That depends on how busy they are.
I'm sorry.

You -

I cannot -

- Hi, Junior.
- Miss Hattie.

What happened?

He slipped on some marbles that
were on the floor and heart gave out.

Sunny, I've told you
over and over and over again.

Pick up the marbles
when you're finished playing with them.

Honey, don't just leave them anywhere.

Honey, the baby boy didn't mean it.

Rhonda, take Sunny out for a walk.

Here, child, you go to the store

and you buy whatever you want.

- Okay.
- Now, if that ain't enough,

y'all just come on back here
and see Uncle Marsh, all right?

Junior.

- Howdy, son.
- Hello, sir.

Hattie?

- Where's the body?
- It's in the kitchen.

Anybody mind if I take a look at him?

I don't think Harry would like it.

I never noticed how big his eyes were.

Mmm.

Excuse me for cutting you off,
but we pay taxes too.

We shouldn't have to pay you
to take a 24-hour lunch break.

Coroner said he was out here already.
Knocked on the door and no one was here.

Hello.

Yeah.

Yes, I'm calling about the body.

Now...

Now, look, he's been laying
in that kitchen for hours now.

Yes, I...

Yes.

Well, when is somebody
gonna get out here?

Yes, well...

Well, yeah.

Okay, thank you.

He says he doesn't know
when he's gonna be out this way again.

You know, somebody downtown
is gonna hear about this.

They just do nothing
in the colored neighborhood.

If he was white, they'd have had him
on his feet and out of here.

Gideon.

Oh, my God.

Hey, man!

What, you having another party?

You better come sit down.

You are still sick.

Girl, you talking to John Henry.

When was I sick?

You've been out for almost three weeks.

We've had some long conversations
with the Lord about you,

didn't we, Sister Suzie?

I said, "We need him down here, Lord."

Who's that?

That's our friend Harry.

Not our Harry.

I wish it wasn't.

What happened to him?

He dropped dead.

Hattie, you're so mean.

How long has he been dead?

Since this morning.

What happened to your hand?

Oh, I cut it...

on an old rusty knife.

I hope you take care
of your mother better after I'm gone.

Babe Brother,
is that my shirt you're wearing?

Yes.

Why don't you have on my shoes?

Too big.

Cold out here, isn't it?

Yeah, what on earth
happened inside there?

- Oh, a man dropped dead.
- Well, you live next door, don't you?

I mean, I have more sense
than to give up everything.

My family, you and Sunny?

No, that wasn't me.

- Ow!
- I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, baby, go ahead.

It was like, uh... like I was
swimming in muddy waters.

You were swimming in muddy water?

- Ow!
-I'm sorry. I'm sorry, baby.

Go ahead.
Go ahead, you were saying?

It's like, uh, all the things
the old country people,

when they try to tell you
what hell is like?

- You were in hell?
- Yeah.

I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to hurt you.

I couldn't believe
some of the things I was doing.

It-It... I mean, it was... it was like...

Like there was an internal struggle
going on inside of me, you know?

Do you think you won?

Well, it was nip and tuck.

So, what lessons have we learned
from all this, Babe Br-

Sam.

Samuel.

Uh...

That you... really care about me.

Mmm.

I mean, you hung in there.

When you boys gonna fix the roof?

Soon as I rest up a bit.

Uh, I mean, uh,

soon as everything's
back to normal, anytime.

Well, here I am, thinking about myself

and... poor old Harry
is resting on the kitchen floor.

Did I ever tell you the story
about the man

who wanted to make up his own mind
about heaven and hell?

Now, he didn't want nobody's opinion
but his own.

Now he gonna check out heaven first,

then get him a round-trip ticket
to heaven.

When he get in heaven,
he sees it's much like it is back home,

people working in the field,

bodies all dripping sweat.

- Stevie.
- Barely surviving.

- He asked a man getting a drink of water.
- Charles.

He said, "I thought streets of heaven

-was supposed to be paved in gold."
- What if it's a girl?

"They are," said the man,
"but you'll never see 'em.

Boy, you got to work
day and night in heaven

'cause idleness is sinfulness."

Well, the man used the other half
of his ticket to take the express to hell.

He get there, he see everybody
all stretched out, kicked back.

"What y'all doing?" he said.

They all hollered back, "Sinning!"

Well, he sees the devil walking around...

I don't wanna hear any joke
about colored people being in hell.

No, no, I'm almost finished.
I'm coming to the punch line.

Now, the preacher...

I don't want to hear any tales
about colored people.

White people, anybody, huh?

Now the punch line is...

Gideon, I don't care to hear any jokes

about people being in hell.

This hand reminds me

that it is nothing to laugh at.

It's only a tale.

- What?
- Honey?

- Was that an earthquake?
- It was something.

I'm cold.

I need to get out in the sunlight.

- Hey, kids.
- Hi.

Hey, boy, you still got
that dead man in your house?

Hello, everybody.

Virginia.

Oh, I know you haven't had
a chance to cook or do anything

with that dead man in your kitchen.

Well, some of your neighbors
have got together

and we set up a picnic table
in my backyard,

and we got food
and everything for all y'all.

That's a great idea.

The dead wagon come,

we'll leave a note and tell 'em
we be down the street at a picnic.