Alias Grace (2017): Season 1, Episode 6 - Part 6 - full transcript
I am going to kill Nancy
with the ax,
I'm gonna shoot Mr. Kinnear
when he comes back.
(GUNSHOT)
You'll help me if you know
what's good for you.
Otherwise,
you'll be blamed for it all.
The sentence
is death by hanging.
GRACE: Jamie's testimony
was the end of me.
Nothing is going on,
so nothing can stop.
Oh, no, no, no.
Perhaps we should consider
Jerome DuPont's
neuro-hypnotic experiment.
Have you ever
been hypnotized before?
SIMON: Please.
I should certainly
hope not, sir.
Sooner or later, we will
get to the bottom of it.
It would be
a relief to me, sir,
to know
the whole truth at last.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
Dr. Jordan,
a pleasure.
No, it is kind of you
to spare me the time.
(SIMON CLEARS THROAT)
(EXHALES)
You saved the life
of Grace Marks,
against considerable odds.
I'm curious to
find out exactly
how you managed it.
We lawyers always welcome
a chance to show off.
But, before
we get down to it...
Sherry?
No, thank you.
You acted for both Grace Marks
and James McDermott,
I believe.
Yes.
Though, that was wrong,
in retrospect,
as their interests
were in conflict.
But, the practice
of jurisprudence was
so much laxer then.
Why did McDermott take so long
to accuse Grace, I wonder?
Well,
until the very last,
he was hoping
for a commutation,
since she had
been given one.
And he could not
accuse her without
knotting the noose very
firmly around his own neck,
as he'd have to admit
to the ax play and so forth.
Whereas, Grace could accuse
him with relative impunity.
Just so.
Hmm.
Nor did she flinch
when the moment came.
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
That woman
has nerves like flint to me.
She'd have made
a good lawyer, if a man.
So, you've met
Our Lady of the Silences?
Is that what
you call her?
Yes, I've been spending
a good deal of time with her,
trying to determine...
Whether
she's innocent?
Whether she is insane.
Or was,
at the time of the murders.
Which, I suppose,
is innocence of a kind.
Well, I see
our fascinating Grace
has been leading
you on a merry chase.
Not so merry.
I must admit
I've been baffled.
What she says
has the ring of truth.
Her manner is sincere,
yet I can't
shake the suspicion
that in some way...
I cannot put my finger on,
she is lying to me.
Lying?
Mmm.
A severe term, surely.
Has she been
lying to you, you ask?
Let me put it this way.
Did Scheherazade lie?
Not in her own eyes.
Indeed, the stories
that she told
ought never to be subjected
to the harsh categories
of Truth or Falsehood.
See, perhaps Grace Marks
needed to be telling you
just what she told you
in order to achieve
the desired end.
Which is?
To keep the Sultan amused.
To forestall your departure,
and make sure that you'd
stay in the room with her
for as long as possible.
What on Earth
would be the point
in that?
Amusing me won't
get her out of prison.
Isn't it obvious?
The poor creature
has fallen in love with you.
A single man, more or less
young, not ill-favored,
appears to someone
so long sequestered,
deprived of
masculine company.
You are doubtless the object
of her waking daydreams.
Surely not.
I say, surely so.
I had the very
experience myself,
or the twin of it.
I had to pass
many hours with her
in her jail cell in Toronto,
as she spun out
her yarn for me
to as great
a length as it would go.
I mean,
she was besotted with me.
One hand placed on hers,
and she would have
thrown herself
into my arms.
Indeed.
And, I will admit,
I was tempted.
I mean, she was very young
and tender then.
Though prison life
has no doubt hardened her.
(COUGHS)
There has never been
any suggestion of that.
In my case.
Well, I was very lucky.
As was Grace, in fact,
that the Kinnear murder
was tried before the other.
I mean,
they had death sentences
pronounced on both
of them for his murder
and it was deemed unnecessary
to go through the details
of the second case.
So, Grace was
never even tried
for the murder
of Nancy Montgomery.
And if she had been?
Well, I wouldn't
have got her off.
Public opinion would
have been too strong for me.
She would have hanged.
But in your opinion,
she was innocent.
On the contrary. No.
(CHUCKLES)
In my opinion,
she was guilty as sin.
GRACE: What were you
doing in Toronto, Dr. Jordan?
Were you talking to people,
trying to find
out if I was guilty?
You wouldn't
find it out that way.
You don't understand yet
that guilt comes to you not
from the things you have done,
but from the things
others have done to you.
You were getting thinner.
I believed you were prey
to some nagging sorrow.
Dr. Jordan.
Grace.
What have they done?
What have
they done to your hair?
I had too many marks
against me for talking.
(GROANS)
(WHIMPERS)
(EXHALES)
I have been thinking
while you were away.
I've been thinking
what I will tell you.
I have been
thinking, too, Grace.
I wonder
if it's time we tried
other methods
to access your memories.
Dr. DuPont has said
he is willing to try hypnosis.
All you will have
to do is sit in a chair
and go to sleep when
Dr. DuPont tells you to do so.
How would...
(SNIFFS)
How will Dr. DuPont
put me to sleep?
He will explain
all that tomorrow.
I hope...
In this way,
we'll bring back your memory.
I am not at all sure
I want it back.
But, if it will help
I will do as you wish.
Mmm.
GRACE: Look.
Lydia has left her
keepsake album.
I wonder if
she wanted you
to find it?
SIMON: What would you
put in a keepsake album,
Grace?
A piece of cotton from my
penitentiary nightdress.
A square
of bloodstained petticoat.
A strip of kerchief,
white with blue flowers.
Love-in-a-mist.
I will see you tomorrow,
Grace.
I will watch
and listen.
Yes, Doctor,
I know you will.
GRACE:
♪ I once was lost
♪ But now I'm found
♪ Was blind but now I see ♪
I wonder
if I was named after the hymn.
I hope I was named after it.
I would like to be found.
I would like to see.
Or be seen.
I wonder if in the eye of God,
it amounts to the same thing.
As it says in the Bible,
"For now, we see through
a glass, darkly,
"but then face to face."
If it is face to face,
there must be two looking.
It is time.
Well, I see
that you are
all assembled.
And may I say,
I am deeply
gratified by both
your interest and your trust.
Grace,
you may sit here.
Are you
quite comfortable?
Grace,
there is nothing
to be afraid of.
No one here
wishes you any harm.
I have explained to Grace
that she need only
listen to my voice,
and simply fall asleep.
Is that understood, Grace?
Very good.
Now, this is a completely
scientific procedure.
And so
I implore you to please
banish any and all
thoughts of mesmerism,
or other such fraudulent acts.
Please remain silent
until after Grace
has fallen fully asleep,
at which point you may
converse in low voices.
Is that understood?
Excellent.
Let us begin.
Grace, you are getting heavy.
Very, very heavy.
Your limbs
are of such a weight,
they are pulling
you to the ground.
You cannot move.
Your eyelids
are being weighed down.
You are feeling drowsy.
Very, very drowsy.
And now, your limbs
are floating, drifting.
As you slowly sink down, down,
down, as if through water.
Grace, can you
still hear me?
Yes.
JEREMIAH: Good.
Are you sleeping,
Grace?
Yes.
Very good.
When you awake, you will
remember nothing of this.
Now, Grace, I want you
to go deeper.
And deeper.
And deeper.
Now, Grace,
please lift up your right arm.
Your arm is an iron bar,
which no one can bend.
Would anyone
care to try?
No one?
So be it.
(STRAINING)
(CHUCKLES)
I am using all of my force.
Very good, Grace.
You may lower your arm.
Her eyes are open.
Which is normal
and of no import.
In this condition, a subject
may be able to discern
many things,
even with their eyes
fully closed.
Shall we proceed?
She looks so odd.
JEREMIAH: It's to help
with the concentration.
The inner sight,
you see, is keener
when hidden
from outward view.
Well, Dr. Jordan,
we may now travel
safely into the past.
What is it exactly that you
wish for me to ask her?
Ask her about
the Kinnear residence.
Which part of it?
One must be specific.
The verandah.
The verandah.
Grace...
You are now on the verandah,
of the Kinnear home.
What is it that you see?
GRACE: I see flowers.
The sunset.
I am so happy.
I want to stay here.
SIMON: Ask her to get up
and walk into the house.
Tell her to go towards
the trapdoor in the hall,
the one leading to the cellar.
JEREMIAH: Grace,
go into the Kinnear home.
(TRAPDOOR CREAKS)
(GASPS)
GRACE: It's like there's
a spirit in the room.
I'm frightened.
Open the drapes!
Not yet.
JEREMIAH: You must maintain
your composure.
I beg of you.
This is not a seance.
Shall we press on?
Ask her whether
she had relations
with James McDermott.
Grace.
Did you ever have relations
with James McDermott?
(IN DIFFERENT VOICE)
Relations?
What do you mean?
Really, Doctor,
you're such a hypocrite!
You want to know if I kissed
him, if I slept with him.
If I was his paramour,
is that it?
Yes.
Whether I did
what you'd like to do
with that little slut
who's got hold of your hand?
(GASPS)
(LAUGHS SOFTLY)
You'd like to know that,
so I'll tell you.
Yes.
I would meet him outside,
in the yard.
I'd press up against him,
and let him kiss me,
and touch me all over, Doctor,
the same places
you'd like to touch me,
because I can always tell.
I know what you're thinking
when you sit
in that stuffy
sewing room with me.
But that was all, Doctor.
That was all I'd let him do.
I had him on a string.
Mr. Kinnear as well.
I had the two of them
dancing to my tune.
Ask her why.
I would breathe like this.
(MOANING SOFTLY)
I would twist and twine.
After that,
he'd say he'd do anything.
But why?
Oh, Doctor. (SCOFFS)
You are always asking why.
Poking your nose in,
and not only your nose.
You're such
a curious man, Doctor.
Curiosity killed the cat,
you know.
You should watch out
for that little mouse
beside you
and her little,
furry mouse hole, too!
(CHUCKLES)
This is an outrage.
Lydia, come with me!
Modesty must take second place
to the interests of science.
Please remain seated.
But this is a spirit.
A spirit that has
taken hold of Grace.
This is not science!
I must insist on quiet!
Ask her
if she was in the cellar
of Mr. Kinnear's house,
on Friday,
the 28th of July, 1843.
Grace, the cellar.
Picture the cellar.
Go back in time,
descend in space.
(INHALES DEEPLY)
GRACE: Yes.
Along the hallway,
lift the trapdoor,
down the cellar stairs.
Barrels, whiskey, vegetables
in boxes full of sand.
There on the floor.
Yes, I was in the cellar.
SIMON:
Ask her if Nancy was there.
GRACE: Oh, yes, I saw her.
As I can see you, Doctor.
And I can hear you, too.
Was she alive?
Was she still alive?
She was partly alive.
Or partly dead.
She needed to be
put out of her misery.
Did you help
to strangle her?
It was my kerchief
that strangled her.
Such a pretty
pattern it had on it.
It was a shame
to lose that kerchief.
I'd had it such a long time,
it was my mother's.
I should have
taken it off Nancy's neck.
But James
wouldn't let me have it,
nor her gold earrings,
neither.
There was blood on it,
but that would
have washed out.
LYDIA: You killed her.
I always thought so.
Give me your handkerchief!
(GASPING)
GRACE:
The kerchief killed her.
Hands held it.
She had to die.
The wages of sin is death.
(GROANING)
Come on.
(PANTING)
DIANE: Grace, I thought
better of you.
All these years
you've deceived us.
You've deceived yourselves.
I am not Grace.
(CHOKING)
(STAMMERS)
Stop... Stop.
(CHOKING)
Grace knew nothing about it.
(HUMMING)
(THUDS)
GRACE: ♪ Let the water
And the blood
♪ From thy riven side
Which flow
I've killed her.
♪ Rock of ages cleft for me
♪ Let me hide myself in thee ♪
You are not Grace.
If you are not Grace,
then who are you?
You must answer.
I command it.
You can't command.
You must guess.
The spirits speak
through others,
in a trance.
But sometimes they lie,
you know.
I am not lying.
I am beyond lying.
It may be James McDermott,
come to accuse Grace.
Not James, you old fraud.
Please, Mrs. Quenell.
This is no spirit.
I believe that what
we are witnessing right now
is a purely
natural phenomenon.
Nancy then.
The spirits are often rude,
they call us names.
Some cannot
tolerate to be dead.
GRACE: Not Nancy,
you stupid fool.
Nancy can't say a word,
not with her neck like that.
Such a pretty neck, once.
But Nancy isn't angry
anymore.
She understands.
Nancy is my friend.
She wants to share things.
Come, Doctor,
you like riddles.
You know the answer.
I told you
it was my kerchief,
the one I gave to Grace,
the one she kept with her
after I...
♪ Oh
♪ 'Twas the truth in her eye
♪ Ever dawning
♪ That made me love Mary ♪
Not Mary.
Not Mary Whitney.
I told James to do it.
I was there all along.
JEREMIAH: There?
GRACE: Here.
Where I am now, with Grace.
I was so cold,
lying on that floor,
and I was alone.
I needed to keep warm.
But Grace doesn't know,
she's never known.
They almost hanged her,
that would have been wrong.
I only borrowed
her clothing for a time.
Her clothing?
Her earthly shell.
Her fleshly garment.
She forgot to open the window,
so I couldn't get out.
But I wouldn't
want to hurt her.
You mustn't tell her.
Why?
You know why, Doctor.
Do you want to see her
back in the asylum?
I liked it there at first,
I could talk out loud.
I could share things.
But they didn't believe me.
They wouldn't listen.
I was not heard.
Grace. Stop playing tricks.
I am not Grace.
Is that really you?
Don't be afraid.
Speak the truth.
You see?
You're all the same,
you won't listen.
You don't believe me,
you won't hear.
She's gone.
You can always tell when they
go back to their own realm.
You can feel it in the air.
It's the electricity.
Grace.
Grace Marks,
can you still hear me?
Yes.
JEREMIAH: Good.
I am going
to bring you up now.
Grace, you are now
lighter than air.
Nothing is weighing you down
as you float up, up, up.
Up out of the depths.
You see the light above you
as you break the surface
of the present.
When I snap my fingers,
you will be fully awake.
(IN HER NORMAL VOICE)
I must have been asleep.
Do you remember anything?
Anything of what
has just happened to you?
No.
I was asleep.
But I must have been dreaming.
I dreamt of my mother.
Floating in the sea.
She was at peace.
You, uh, (CLEARS THROAT)
you may feel a little dizzy.
Frequently the case.
Mrs. Quenell,
would you see that Grace
is brought to a bedchamber
where she may lie down?
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am at a loss.
I believe that these are
two distinct personalities,
which both coexist
within the same body,
and yet have different
sets of memories altogether.
They are,
for all practical purposes,
two entirely
separate individuals.
If you'll accept, that is...
That we are what we remember.
SIMON: Perhaps.
(CLEARS THROAT)
But, we are also
preponderantly what we forget.
The other voice,
whatever it was, was...
Remarkable,
for its violence.
Dr. Jordan,
what will you say about
this in your report?
I shall have to consider
my position very carefully.
I have always
believed Grace
to be innocent,
or hoped rather.
But, if what we have witnessed
is a natural phenomenon,
then who are we
to question it?
Was she really
in a trance or was she
play-acting
and laughing up her sleeve?
I know what I saw and heard
but she may have
been showing us an illusion.
Dr. Jordan, I take
great exception to this.
SIMON: No.
If I describe what
I witnessed in my report,
and it found its way into any
petition submitted
on her behalf,
it will immediately scotch
any chance of success.
Dr. Jordan,
let us think more on this.
I cannot write
the report you desire
without perjuring myself.
The safest thing to do would
be to write nothing at all.
But there are all those hours
you spent with Grace,
which must add up
to much more than just...
The fact is I can't
state anything with certainty
and still tell the truth,
because the truth eludes me.
Or Grace eludes me.
Dr. Jordan,
please reconsider.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(MOANING)
(SIGHS)
I always wanted to do
that with someone else.
Not you.
(SOBBING)
(THUDS)
(GRUNTING)
(SOBBING)
SIMON:
Dear Reverend Verringer.
The experience of witnessing
what we saw together
in the Governor's parlor
has raised
many questions for me
about hypnotism and mesmerism.
I wonder if they provide
an opportunity
for women to say
what they think,
and to express
their true thoughts
and feelings more boldly,
and in more vulgar terms
than they could otherwise
feel permission to.
(LAUGHS SOFTLY)
I wonder about
Grace's violent childhood
and her experience
as a young woman.
Abused constantly,
harassed on every side.
(DOORKNOB RATTLING)
I wonder how much
repressed rage...
(SOBBING)
...she must have carried
with her as a result.
The question is,
was this rage directed
towards Nancy Montgomery
and Thomas Kinnear,
resulting in their murder?
Or at me,
therefore making
her confession
during her hypnotism
a fraud designed to hurt me.
One thing is certain.
I cannot write
a report for your committee.
I must forget Grace Marks.
He will not be
returning to Kingston.
He is gone.
GRACE: When I heard
you went off so quick,
and without
sending any word to me,
I was very distressed,
Dr. Jordan.
I could not understand it,
that you would go
without a goodbye,
after all the talking
we had done together.
They also said
you were to write a letter
to the government
on my behalf,
to set me free,
and I became afraid
that now you would not do so.
I remembered when Jeremiah
claimed to see into the future
after looking at my palm,
and said that all would
come out well in the end.
I wondered
if he was only
trying to comfort me.
Thank you.
GRACE: I was afraid
of falling into
hopeless despair
over my wasted life.
And I was still
not sure how it happened.
SIMON:
Dear Reverend Verringer.
I must admit
that I have come very close
to nervous exhaustion
during the last two years
since I was in Kingston.
Thank you, ma'am.
SIMON: Not to know,
to snatch
at hints and portents,
at tantalizing whispers.
It is as bad as being haunted.
Sometimes at night her face
floats before me in the dark,
like some lovely
and enigmatic mirage.
I have intimations
of some vast discovery,
still though, as yet,
I wander in darkness,
led only by marsh-lights.
Murderess.
I'm almost thankful
that the prospect
for a peaceful resolution
between North and South
is not hopeful.
As it will be a relief
to have a duty
of some kind set before me.
No matter how deplorable
the occasion for it.
Your brain-sore and weary,
but affectionate friend,
Simon.
Grace, I have
the most astonishing news.
Your pardon
has come through.
From Sir John Macdonald
and the Minister of Justice
in Ottawa.
Isn't it wonderful?
Is it not a cruel joke?
Oh, no.
It is really true.
You are pardoned.
(SOBS)
GRACE: It was strange
to realize that I would not be
a celebrated
murderess anymore.
But seen perhaps
as an innocent woman
wrongly accused
and imprisoned unjustly.
And an object of pity,
rather than of
horror and fear.
It took me some days
to get used to the idea.
It calls for a different
arrangement of the face.
(BELL TOLLS)
I wished to turn
and look back,
but I remembered Lot's wife.
I did indeed
have a sort of regret.
For the penitentiary
was the only home I'd known
for almost 30 years.
To go from a familiar thing
into the unknown
is always a matter
for apprehension.
And I suppose that
is why so many people
are afraid to die.
May I ask about the home
I am to be a servant in?
What has the household
been told about me?
There is a surprise
awaiting you, Grace.
I cannot tell you
what it is,
but it is
a good surprise.
I will tell you
that it concerns a man,
a gentleman.
What gentleman?
I cannot tell you.
But he is
an old friend
of yours.
GRACE: The only gentleman
I could think of, sir,
was you, yourself.
Here's our man.
Grace, don't you know me?
I would have
known you anywhere.
Jamie Walsh.
We'll give you two
a moment to yourselves.
The last time I saw you...
It was your
testimony that changed
the minds of judge and jury
so much against me.
I've been overcome
with guilt
for the part I played
in your conviction.
I was only a young lad
at the time,
and no match
for the lawyers.
They led me
into saying things.
It's all right, Jamie.
You needn't
feel guilty anymore.
It is the sort of thing
that could happen to anyone.
I beg you to forgive me.
You are forgiven.
Grace, this is my farm now.
It's mine.
Although I'm not a millionaire
I can offer you a good home.
In this country, you are not
judged by what you come from
but by what you have.
I do not want you
to marry me out of guilt.
I've always had very
warm feelings for you, Grace.
All right then.
GRACE:
It has been many years since
I was 16 years of age
and first went up
the long driveway
to Mr. Kinnear's.
Now I am on my own verandah,
and the scene
before me is so peaceful.
You would think
it was a picture.
We have white and red Leghorns
and a Jersey cow
for the cream and cheese.
There is nothing better.
We have two horses,
Charley and Nell,
who are a great pleasure
to me
and good company
when Mr. Walsh is not here.
Our cat is named Tabby.
She is the color you might
expect and a good mouser.
And a dog named Rex.
And a dog named Rex.
(KNOCKING)
(DOOR CREAKS)
Mr. Walsh wanted
to employ a girl as well,
but I said I would prefer
to do the work
of the house myself.
I wouldn't want
have a servant living in,
as they pry too much
and listen at doors.
I know my secrets
are safe with Jeremiah,
as his are safe with me.
(DOG BARKING)
On the whole,
Mr. Walsh and I agree,
and things go on
very well with us.
But there is something
that has troubled me, sir.
It is one of the reasons
I have written you
this long letter.
It is this.
To think of the sufferings
I have caused you.
You did not cause me
any sufferings, Jamie.
It was the others
that caused them.
Also, having plain
bad luck and bad judgment.
Tell me again.
Tell me again
about the lunatic asylum.
Tell me again
how you were ill-treated.
Often the doctor would visit.
He would put
his hand up my leg.
He said it was
to check my progress.
(SOBBING)
GRACE:
He likes to picture
the sufferings I have endured.
(YELLING)
(BANGING AT DOOR)
(SCREAMS)
He listens to all of it
like a child
listening to a fairy tale.
I must confess that it reminds
me of you, Dr. Jordan.
You were as eager as Mr. Walsh
to hear about
my sufferings in life.
Your cheeks would flush
and if you'd had
ears like a dog,
they would have
been pricked forward
with your eyes shining
and your tongue hanging out
as if you'd found
a grouse in the bush.
And, as with Mr. Walsh,
I may have changed some
of the details of my stories
to suit what I thought
you wanted to hear.
It did make me feel
I was of some use
in this world.
Could you ever forgive me?
GRACE:
He insists on being forgiven,
and who am I to refuse him
such a simple thing.
I had a rage in my heart
for many years
against Mary Whitney.
And especially
against Nancy Montgomery.
Against the two of them both
for letting themselves
be done to death
in the way that they did.
So I don't feel
quite right about it.
Forgiving him like that.
Because I am aware
that in doing so
I am telling a lie.
Though, I suppose it isn't
the first lie I've told.
As Mary Whitney used to say,
"A little white lie
is a small price to pay
"for peace and quiet."
SIMON'S MOTHER:
How is he doing?
Have you seen any
progress since the last time?
He still has no memory
of recent events.
I see no improvement
in his speech.
It has been years now
since your son
was wounded,
Mrs. Jordan.
I believe this will be
his permanent state.
I wish I had
better news to share.
I don't believe my visits
are of any use at this point.
Thank you, Doctor.
Simon.
Simon, how are you
feeling today?
GRACE:
I think of Mary Whitney
frequently these days
and of the time we threw
the apple peelings
over our shoulders.
And it has all come true,
after a fashion.
Just as she said,
I married a man
whose name begins with a "J".
And, as Jeremiah said,
way back then,
I first had to cross over
water three times,
and all will be fine
in the end.
And I really am here.
I open and shut
my eyes and pinch myself,
but it remains true.
Although I have made
many quilts in my day,
I am finally
making one for myself.
The pattern of this quilt
is called
"The Tree of Paradise,"
and I am changing it a little
to suit my own ideas.
On my Tree of Paradise,
I intend to put
a border of snakes.
Without a snake or two,
the main part
of the story would be missing.
The tree itself
is of triangles in two colors,
dark for the leaves
and a lighter color
for the fruits.
But three of the triangles
in my tree will be different.
One will be red,
from the petticoat
I still have
that was Mary Whitney's.
One will be faded yellowish,
from my prison nightdress.
And the third will
be a pale pink cotton,
cut from the dress of Nancy's
that she had on the first day
I was at Mr. Kinnear's
and that I wore
when I was running away.
I will embroider
around each one of them,
to blend them in
as part of the pattern.
And so, we will
all be together.
(SIMON'S MOTHER READING)
And so we will
all be together.
Grace...
(THEME SONG PLAYING)
with the ax,
I'm gonna shoot Mr. Kinnear
when he comes back.
(GUNSHOT)
You'll help me if you know
what's good for you.
Otherwise,
you'll be blamed for it all.
The sentence
is death by hanging.
GRACE: Jamie's testimony
was the end of me.
Nothing is going on,
so nothing can stop.
Oh, no, no, no.
Perhaps we should consider
Jerome DuPont's
neuro-hypnotic experiment.
Have you ever
been hypnotized before?
SIMON: Please.
I should certainly
hope not, sir.
Sooner or later, we will
get to the bottom of it.
It would be
a relief to me, sir,
to know
the whole truth at last.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
Dr. Jordan,
a pleasure.
No, it is kind of you
to spare me the time.
(SIMON CLEARS THROAT)
(EXHALES)
You saved the life
of Grace Marks,
against considerable odds.
I'm curious to
find out exactly
how you managed it.
We lawyers always welcome
a chance to show off.
But, before
we get down to it...
Sherry?
No, thank you.
You acted for both Grace Marks
and James McDermott,
I believe.
Yes.
Though, that was wrong,
in retrospect,
as their interests
were in conflict.
But, the practice
of jurisprudence was
so much laxer then.
Why did McDermott take so long
to accuse Grace, I wonder?
Well,
until the very last,
he was hoping
for a commutation,
since she had
been given one.
And he could not
accuse her without
knotting the noose very
firmly around his own neck,
as he'd have to admit
to the ax play and so forth.
Whereas, Grace could accuse
him with relative impunity.
Just so.
Hmm.
Nor did she flinch
when the moment came.
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
That woman
has nerves like flint to me.
She'd have made
a good lawyer, if a man.
So, you've met
Our Lady of the Silences?
Is that what
you call her?
Yes, I've been spending
a good deal of time with her,
trying to determine...
Whether
she's innocent?
Whether she is insane.
Or was,
at the time of the murders.
Which, I suppose,
is innocence of a kind.
Well, I see
our fascinating Grace
has been leading
you on a merry chase.
Not so merry.
I must admit
I've been baffled.
What she says
has the ring of truth.
Her manner is sincere,
yet I can't
shake the suspicion
that in some way...
I cannot put my finger on,
she is lying to me.
Lying?
Mmm.
A severe term, surely.
Has she been
lying to you, you ask?
Let me put it this way.
Did Scheherazade lie?
Not in her own eyes.
Indeed, the stories
that she told
ought never to be subjected
to the harsh categories
of Truth or Falsehood.
See, perhaps Grace Marks
needed to be telling you
just what she told you
in order to achieve
the desired end.
Which is?
To keep the Sultan amused.
To forestall your departure,
and make sure that you'd
stay in the room with her
for as long as possible.
What on Earth
would be the point
in that?
Amusing me won't
get her out of prison.
Isn't it obvious?
The poor creature
has fallen in love with you.
A single man, more or less
young, not ill-favored,
appears to someone
so long sequestered,
deprived of
masculine company.
You are doubtless the object
of her waking daydreams.
Surely not.
I say, surely so.
I had the very
experience myself,
or the twin of it.
I had to pass
many hours with her
in her jail cell in Toronto,
as she spun out
her yarn for me
to as great
a length as it would go.
I mean,
she was besotted with me.
One hand placed on hers,
and she would have
thrown herself
into my arms.
Indeed.
And, I will admit,
I was tempted.
I mean, she was very young
and tender then.
Though prison life
has no doubt hardened her.
(COUGHS)
There has never been
any suggestion of that.
In my case.
Well, I was very lucky.
As was Grace, in fact,
that the Kinnear murder
was tried before the other.
I mean,
they had death sentences
pronounced on both
of them for his murder
and it was deemed unnecessary
to go through the details
of the second case.
So, Grace was
never even tried
for the murder
of Nancy Montgomery.
And if she had been?
Well, I wouldn't
have got her off.
Public opinion would
have been too strong for me.
She would have hanged.
But in your opinion,
she was innocent.
On the contrary. No.
(CHUCKLES)
In my opinion,
she was guilty as sin.
GRACE: What were you
doing in Toronto, Dr. Jordan?
Were you talking to people,
trying to find
out if I was guilty?
You wouldn't
find it out that way.
You don't understand yet
that guilt comes to you not
from the things you have done,
but from the things
others have done to you.
You were getting thinner.
I believed you were prey
to some nagging sorrow.
Dr. Jordan.
Grace.
What have they done?
What have
they done to your hair?
I had too many marks
against me for talking.
(GROANS)
(WHIMPERS)
(EXHALES)
I have been thinking
while you were away.
I've been thinking
what I will tell you.
I have been
thinking, too, Grace.
I wonder
if it's time we tried
other methods
to access your memories.
Dr. DuPont has said
he is willing to try hypnosis.
All you will have
to do is sit in a chair
and go to sleep when
Dr. DuPont tells you to do so.
How would...
(SNIFFS)
How will Dr. DuPont
put me to sleep?
He will explain
all that tomorrow.
I hope...
In this way,
we'll bring back your memory.
I am not at all sure
I want it back.
But, if it will help
I will do as you wish.
Mmm.
GRACE: Look.
Lydia has left her
keepsake album.
I wonder if
she wanted you
to find it?
SIMON: What would you
put in a keepsake album,
Grace?
A piece of cotton from my
penitentiary nightdress.
A square
of bloodstained petticoat.
A strip of kerchief,
white with blue flowers.
Love-in-a-mist.
I will see you tomorrow,
Grace.
I will watch
and listen.
Yes, Doctor,
I know you will.
GRACE:
♪ I once was lost
♪ But now I'm found
♪ Was blind but now I see ♪
I wonder
if I was named after the hymn.
I hope I was named after it.
I would like to be found.
I would like to see.
Or be seen.
I wonder if in the eye of God,
it amounts to the same thing.
As it says in the Bible,
"For now, we see through
a glass, darkly,
"but then face to face."
If it is face to face,
there must be two looking.
It is time.
Well, I see
that you are
all assembled.
And may I say,
I am deeply
gratified by both
your interest and your trust.
Grace,
you may sit here.
Are you
quite comfortable?
Grace,
there is nothing
to be afraid of.
No one here
wishes you any harm.
I have explained to Grace
that she need only
listen to my voice,
and simply fall asleep.
Is that understood, Grace?
Very good.
Now, this is a completely
scientific procedure.
And so
I implore you to please
banish any and all
thoughts of mesmerism,
or other such fraudulent acts.
Please remain silent
until after Grace
has fallen fully asleep,
at which point you may
converse in low voices.
Is that understood?
Excellent.
Let us begin.
Grace, you are getting heavy.
Very, very heavy.
Your limbs
are of such a weight,
they are pulling
you to the ground.
You cannot move.
Your eyelids
are being weighed down.
You are feeling drowsy.
Very, very drowsy.
And now, your limbs
are floating, drifting.
As you slowly sink down, down,
down, as if through water.
Grace, can you
still hear me?
Yes.
JEREMIAH: Good.
Are you sleeping,
Grace?
Yes.
Very good.
When you awake, you will
remember nothing of this.
Now, Grace, I want you
to go deeper.
And deeper.
And deeper.
Now, Grace,
please lift up your right arm.
Your arm is an iron bar,
which no one can bend.
Would anyone
care to try?
No one?
So be it.
(STRAINING)
(CHUCKLES)
I am using all of my force.
Very good, Grace.
You may lower your arm.
Her eyes are open.
Which is normal
and of no import.
In this condition, a subject
may be able to discern
many things,
even with their eyes
fully closed.
Shall we proceed?
She looks so odd.
JEREMIAH: It's to help
with the concentration.
The inner sight,
you see, is keener
when hidden
from outward view.
Well, Dr. Jordan,
we may now travel
safely into the past.
What is it exactly that you
wish for me to ask her?
Ask her about
the Kinnear residence.
Which part of it?
One must be specific.
The verandah.
The verandah.
Grace...
You are now on the verandah,
of the Kinnear home.
What is it that you see?
GRACE: I see flowers.
The sunset.
I am so happy.
I want to stay here.
SIMON: Ask her to get up
and walk into the house.
Tell her to go towards
the trapdoor in the hall,
the one leading to the cellar.
JEREMIAH: Grace,
go into the Kinnear home.
(TRAPDOOR CREAKS)
(GASPS)
GRACE: It's like there's
a spirit in the room.
I'm frightened.
Open the drapes!
Not yet.
JEREMIAH: You must maintain
your composure.
I beg of you.
This is not a seance.
Shall we press on?
Ask her whether
she had relations
with James McDermott.
Grace.
Did you ever have relations
with James McDermott?
(IN DIFFERENT VOICE)
Relations?
What do you mean?
Really, Doctor,
you're such a hypocrite!
You want to know if I kissed
him, if I slept with him.
If I was his paramour,
is that it?
Yes.
Whether I did
what you'd like to do
with that little slut
who's got hold of your hand?
(GASPS)
(LAUGHS SOFTLY)
You'd like to know that,
so I'll tell you.
Yes.
I would meet him outside,
in the yard.
I'd press up against him,
and let him kiss me,
and touch me all over, Doctor,
the same places
you'd like to touch me,
because I can always tell.
I know what you're thinking
when you sit
in that stuffy
sewing room with me.
But that was all, Doctor.
That was all I'd let him do.
I had him on a string.
Mr. Kinnear as well.
I had the two of them
dancing to my tune.
Ask her why.
I would breathe like this.
(MOANING SOFTLY)
I would twist and twine.
After that,
he'd say he'd do anything.
But why?
Oh, Doctor. (SCOFFS)
You are always asking why.
Poking your nose in,
and not only your nose.
You're such
a curious man, Doctor.
Curiosity killed the cat,
you know.
You should watch out
for that little mouse
beside you
and her little,
furry mouse hole, too!
(CHUCKLES)
This is an outrage.
Lydia, come with me!
Modesty must take second place
to the interests of science.
Please remain seated.
But this is a spirit.
A spirit that has
taken hold of Grace.
This is not science!
I must insist on quiet!
Ask her
if she was in the cellar
of Mr. Kinnear's house,
on Friday,
the 28th of July, 1843.
Grace, the cellar.
Picture the cellar.
Go back in time,
descend in space.
(INHALES DEEPLY)
GRACE: Yes.
Along the hallway,
lift the trapdoor,
down the cellar stairs.
Barrels, whiskey, vegetables
in boxes full of sand.
There on the floor.
Yes, I was in the cellar.
SIMON:
Ask her if Nancy was there.
GRACE: Oh, yes, I saw her.
As I can see you, Doctor.
And I can hear you, too.
Was she alive?
Was she still alive?
She was partly alive.
Or partly dead.
She needed to be
put out of her misery.
Did you help
to strangle her?
It was my kerchief
that strangled her.
Such a pretty
pattern it had on it.
It was a shame
to lose that kerchief.
I'd had it such a long time,
it was my mother's.
I should have
taken it off Nancy's neck.
But James
wouldn't let me have it,
nor her gold earrings,
neither.
There was blood on it,
but that would
have washed out.
LYDIA: You killed her.
I always thought so.
Give me your handkerchief!
(GASPING)
GRACE:
The kerchief killed her.
Hands held it.
She had to die.
The wages of sin is death.
(GROANING)
Come on.
(PANTING)
DIANE: Grace, I thought
better of you.
All these years
you've deceived us.
You've deceived yourselves.
I am not Grace.
(CHOKING)
(STAMMERS)
Stop... Stop.
(CHOKING)
Grace knew nothing about it.
(HUMMING)
(THUDS)
GRACE: ♪ Let the water
And the blood
♪ From thy riven side
Which flow
I've killed her.
♪ Rock of ages cleft for me
♪ Let me hide myself in thee ♪
You are not Grace.
If you are not Grace,
then who are you?
You must answer.
I command it.
You can't command.
You must guess.
The spirits speak
through others,
in a trance.
But sometimes they lie,
you know.
I am not lying.
I am beyond lying.
It may be James McDermott,
come to accuse Grace.
Not James, you old fraud.
Please, Mrs. Quenell.
This is no spirit.
I believe that what
we are witnessing right now
is a purely
natural phenomenon.
Nancy then.
The spirits are often rude,
they call us names.
Some cannot
tolerate to be dead.
GRACE: Not Nancy,
you stupid fool.
Nancy can't say a word,
not with her neck like that.
Such a pretty neck, once.
But Nancy isn't angry
anymore.
She understands.
Nancy is my friend.
She wants to share things.
Come, Doctor,
you like riddles.
You know the answer.
I told you
it was my kerchief,
the one I gave to Grace,
the one she kept with her
after I...
♪ Oh
♪ 'Twas the truth in her eye
♪ Ever dawning
♪ That made me love Mary ♪
Not Mary.
Not Mary Whitney.
I told James to do it.
I was there all along.
JEREMIAH: There?
GRACE: Here.
Where I am now, with Grace.
I was so cold,
lying on that floor,
and I was alone.
I needed to keep warm.
But Grace doesn't know,
she's never known.
They almost hanged her,
that would have been wrong.
I only borrowed
her clothing for a time.
Her clothing?
Her earthly shell.
Her fleshly garment.
She forgot to open the window,
so I couldn't get out.
But I wouldn't
want to hurt her.
You mustn't tell her.
Why?
You know why, Doctor.
Do you want to see her
back in the asylum?
I liked it there at first,
I could talk out loud.
I could share things.
But they didn't believe me.
They wouldn't listen.
I was not heard.
Grace. Stop playing tricks.
I am not Grace.
Is that really you?
Don't be afraid.
Speak the truth.
You see?
You're all the same,
you won't listen.
You don't believe me,
you won't hear.
She's gone.
You can always tell when they
go back to their own realm.
You can feel it in the air.
It's the electricity.
Grace.
Grace Marks,
can you still hear me?
Yes.
JEREMIAH: Good.
I am going
to bring you up now.
Grace, you are now
lighter than air.
Nothing is weighing you down
as you float up, up, up.
Up out of the depths.
You see the light above you
as you break the surface
of the present.
When I snap my fingers,
you will be fully awake.
(IN HER NORMAL VOICE)
I must have been asleep.
Do you remember anything?
Anything of what
has just happened to you?
No.
I was asleep.
But I must have been dreaming.
I dreamt of my mother.
Floating in the sea.
She was at peace.
You, uh, (CLEARS THROAT)
you may feel a little dizzy.
Frequently the case.
Mrs. Quenell,
would you see that Grace
is brought to a bedchamber
where she may lie down?
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am at a loss.
I believe that these are
two distinct personalities,
which both coexist
within the same body,
and yet have different
sets of memories altogether.
They are,
for all practical purposes,
two entirely
separate individuals.
If you'll accept, that is...
That we are what we remember.
SIMON: Perhaps.
(CLEARS THROAT)
But, we are also
preponderantly what we forget.
The other voice,
whatever it was, was...
Remarkable,
for its violence.
Dr. Jordan,
what will you say about
this in your report?
I shall have to consider
my position very carefully.
I have always
believed Grace
to be innocent,
or hoped rather.
But, if what we have witnessed
is a natural phenomenon,
then who are we
to question it?
Was she really
in a trance or was she
play-acting
and laughing up her sleeve?
I know what I saw and heard
but she may have
been showing us an illusion.
Dr. Jordan, I take
great exception to this.
SIMON: No.
If I describe what
I witnessed in my report,
and it found its way into any
petition submitted
on her behalf,
it will immediately scotch
any chance of success.
Dr. Jordan,
let us think more on this.
I cannot write
the report you desire
without perjuring myself.
The safest thing to do would
be to write nothing at all.
But there are all those hours
you spent with Grace,
which must add up
to much more than just...
The fact is I can't
state anything with certainty
and still tell the truth,
because the truth eludes me.
Or Grace eludes me.
Dr. Jordan,
please reconsider.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(MOANING)
(SIGHS)
I always wanted to do
that with someone else.
Not you.
(SOBBING)
(THUDS)
(GRUNTING)
(SOBBING)
SIMON:
Dear Reverend Verringer.
The experience of witnessing
what we saw together
in the Governor's parlor
has raised
many questions for me
about hypnotism and mesmerism.
I wonder if they provide
an opportunity
for women to say
what they think,
and to express
their true thoughts
and feelings more boldly,
and in more vulgar terms
than they could otherwise
feel permission to.
(LAUGHS SOFTLY)
I wonder about
Grace's violent childhood
and her experience
as a young woman.
Abused constantly,
harassed on every side.
(DOORKNOB RATTLING)
I wonder how much
repressed rage...
(SOBBING)
...she must have carried
with her as a result.
The question is,
was this rage directed
towards Nancy Montgomery
and Thomas Kinnear,
resulting in their murder?
Or at me,
therefore making
her confession
during her hypnotism
a fraud designed to hurt me.
One thing is certain.
I cannot write
a report for your committee.
I must forget Grace Marks.
He will not be
returning to Kingston.
He is gone.
GRACE: When I heard
you went off so quick,
and without
sending any word to me,
I was very distressed,
Dr. Jordan.
I could not understand it,
that you would go
without a goodbye,
after all the talking
we had done together.
They also said
you were to write a letter
to the government
on my behalf,
to set me free,
and I became afraid
that now you would not do so.
I remembered when Jeremiah
claimed to see into the future
after looking at my palm,
and said that all would
come out well in the end.
I wondered
if he was only
trying to comfort me.
Thank you.
GRACE: I was afraid
of falling into
hopeless despair
over my wasted life.
And I was still
not sure how it happened.
SIMON:
Dear Reverend Verringer.
I must admit
that I have come very close
to nervous exhaustion
during the last two years
since I was in Kingston.
Thank you, ma'am.
SIMON: Not to know,
to snatch
at hints and portents,
at tantalizing whispers.
It is as bad as being haunted.
Sometimes at night her face
floats before me in the dark,
like some lovely
and enigmatic mirage.
I have intimations
of some vast discovery,
still though, as yet,
I wander in darkness,
led only by marsh-lights.
Murderess.
I'm almost thankful
that the prospect
for a peaceful resolution
between North and South
is not hopeful.
As it will be a relief
to have a duty
of some kind set before me.
No matter how deplorable
the occasion for it.
Your brain-sore and weary,
but affectionate friend,
Simon.
Grace, I have
the most astonishing news.
Your pardon
has come through.
From Sir John Macdonald
and the Minister of Justice
in Ottawa.
Isn't it wonderful?
Is it not a cruel joke?
Oh, no.
It is really true.
You are pardoned.
(SOBS)
GRACE: It was strange
to realize that I would not be
a celebrated
murderess anymore.
But seen perhaps
as an innocent woman
wrongly accused
and imprisoned unjustly.
And an object of pity,
rather than of
horror and fear.
It took me some days
to get used to the idea.
It calls for a different
arrangement of the face.
(BELL TOLLS)
I wished to turn
and look back,
but I remembered Lot's wife.
I did indeed
have a sort of regret.
For the penitentiary
was the only home I'd known
for almost 30 years.
To go from a familiar thing
into the unknown
is always a matter
for apprehension.
And I suppose that
is why so many people
are afraid to die.
May I ask about the home
I am to be a servant in?
What has the household
been told about me?
There is a surprise
awaiting you, Grace.
I cannot tell you
what it is,
but it is
a good surprise.
I will tell you
that it concerns a man,
a gentleman.
What gentleman?
I cannot tell you.
But he is
an old friend
of yours.
GRACE: The only gentleman
I could think of, sir,
was you, yourself.
Here's our man.
Grace, don't you know me?
I would have
known you anywhere.
Jamie Walsh.
We'll give you two
a moment to yourselves.
The last time I saw you...
It was your
testimony that changed
the minds of judge and jury
so much against me.
I've been overcome
with guilt
for the part I played
in your conviction.
I was only a young lad
at the time,
and no match
for the lawyers.
They led me
into saying things.
It's all right, Jamie.
You needn't
feel guilty anymore.
It is the sort of thing
that could happen to anyone.
I beg you to forgive me.
You are forgiven.
Grace, this is my farm now.
It's mine.
Although I'm not a millionaire
I can offer you a good home.
In this country, you are not
judged by what you come from
but by what you have.
I do not want you
to marry me out of guilt.
I've always had very
warm feelings for you, Grace.
All right then.
GRACE:
It has been many years since
I was 16 years of age
and first went up
the long driveway
to Mr. Kinnear's.
Now I am on my own verandah,
and the scene
before me is so peaceful.
You would think
it was a picture.
We have white and red Leghorns
and a Jersey cow
for the cream and cheese.
There is nothing better.
We have two horses,
Charley and Nell,
who are a great pleasure
to me
and good company
when Mr. Walsh is not here.
Our cat is named Tabby.
She is the color you might
expect and a good mouser.
And a dog named Rex.
And a dog named Rex.
(KNOCKING)
(DOOR CREAKS)
Mr. Walsh wanted
to employ a girl as well,
but I said I would prefer
to do the work
of the house myself.
I wouldn't want
have a servant living in,
as they pry too much
and listen at doors.
I know my secrets
are safe with Jeremiah,
as his are safe with me.
(DOG BARKING)
On the whole,
Mr. Walsh and I agree,
and things go on
very well with us.
But there is something
that has troubled me, sir.
It is one of the reasons
I have written you
this long letter.
It is this.
To think of the sufferings
I have caused you.
You did not cause me
any sufferings, Jamie.
It was the others
that caused them.
Also, having plain
bad luck and bad judgment.
Tell me again.
Tell me again
about the lunatic asylum.
Tell me again
how you were ill-treated.
Often the doctor would visit.
He would put
his hand up my leg.
He said it was
to check my progress.
(SOBBING)
GRACE:
He likes to picture
the sufferings I have endured.
(YELLING)
(BANGING AT DOOR)
(SCREAMS)
He listens to all of it
like a child
listening to a fairy tale.
I must confess that it reminds
me of you, Dr. Jordan.
You were as eager as Mr. Walsh
to hear about
my sufferings in life.
Your cheeks would flush
and if you'd had
ears like a dog,
they would have
been pricked forward
with your eyes shining
and your tongue hanging out
as if you'd found
a grouse in the bush.
And, as with Mr. Walsh,
I may have changed some
of the details of my stories
to suit what I thought
you wanted to hear.
It did make me feel
I was of some use
in this world.
Could you ever forgive me?
GRACE:
He insists on being forgiven,
and who am I to refuse him
such a simple thing.
I had a rage in my heart
for many years
against Mary Whitney.
And especially
against Nancy Montgomery.
Against the two of them both
for letting themselves
be done to death
in the way that they did.
So I don't feel
quite right about it.
Forgiving him like that.
Because I am aware
that in doing so
I am telling a lie.
Though, I suppose it isn't
the first lie I've told.
As Mary Whitney used to say,
"A little white lie
is a small price to pay
"for peace and quiet."
SIMON'S MOTHER:
How is he doing?
Have you seen any
progress since the last time?
He still has no memory
of recent events.
I see no improvement
in his speech.
It has been years now
since your son
was wounded,
Mrs. Jordan.
I believe this will be
his permanent state.
I wish I had
better news to share.
I don't believe my visits
are of any use at this point.
Thank you, Doctor.
Simon.
Simon, how are you
feeling today?
GRACE:
I think of Mary Whitney
frequently these days
and of the time we threw
the apple peelings
over our shoulders.
And it has all come true,
after a fashion.
Just as she said,
I married a man
whose name begins with a "J".
And, as Jeremiah said,
way back then,
I first had to cross over
water three times,
and all will be fine
in the end.
And I really am here.
I open and shut
my eyes and pinch myself,
but it remains true.
Although I have made
many quilts in my day,
I am finally
making one for myself.
The pattern of this quilt
is called
"The Tree of Paradise,"
and I am changing it a little
to suit my own ideas.
On my Tree of Paradise,
I intend to put
a border of snakes.
Without a snake or two,
the main part
of the story would be missing.
The tree itself
is of triangles in two colors,
dark for the leaves
and a lighter color
for the fruits.
But three of the triangles
in my tree will be different.
One will be red,
from the petticoat
I still have
that was Mary Whitney's.
One will be faded yellowish,
from my prison nightdress.
And the third will
be a pale pink cotton,
cut from the dress of Nancy's
that she had on the first day
I was at Mr. Kinnear's
and that I wore
when I was running away.
I will embroider
around each one of them,
to blend them in
as part of the pattern.
And so, we will
all be together.
(SIMON'S MOTHER READING)
And so we will
all be together.
Grace...
(THEME SONG PLAYING)