Castle Rock (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - The Laughing Place - full transcript
We're searchers, you and me.
My dad, your grandpa-‐
that good old guy...
they don't make men like that,
little love, not anymore.
Annie Wilkes
from Bakersfield, California.
He would say to me,
"Annie..."
"There are two kinds of people
that made America.
Searchers and settlers."
He settled for nothing,
that one.
Now, my ma, she was a settler.
You set her down anywhere
and she would make a home.
She would make it perfect.
And me, well,
I'm kind of a funny
ol' oogy mess of both,
all mixed up sometimes.
I'm a searcher
who just wants to settle...
wants it bad.
Can't seem to find
that Laughing Place
that'll live up to you.
Did you do something, Mom?
"No matter how lonely,
everyone has a...
Lagging"?
Keep going.
"Brad Rabbit told Brad Fox,
everyone has a laughing place."
Very good, Diego.
Annie?
Is she even reading?
"Brad Rabbit knew
it was better to be friends
"than to fight, so he took..."
Is she reading the right thing?
"Bad Fox and Big Bear
to the Laughing Place,
where they lived there
as animal friends forever.
That's not what it says.
That's enough.
She can't read.
She's so weird.
Hey, A-tard.
Animal friends forever.
Bet you can't even read this.
"Ouch, my face."
What are you
tarding about, tard?
It's clear to me that we need
further screening for her sake.
No, my Annie
is not the problem here...
your cockadoodie school is.
You're not sending my girl
to a pen for mental midgets...
This is her third incident.
We're talking about...
pathological behavior.
Can I... can I just say...
Jiminy, Carl, can you not?
- The hell's this?
- Brad Rabbit?
- Carl, language.
- You mean Br'er Rabbit?
This is supposed to be
the Uncle Remus stories?
Yes, that is
a more contemporary edition.
"Politically correct,"
I think, is the term you're
rooting around for there.
Okay, you are feeding her
this... this touchy-feely
propaganda.
- Carl, Christmas.
- And she's... she's bored.
I really wish that
you'd let Annie wait outside
while we finish this discussion.
She's not leaving my sight
in this booby-hatch
you're running.
My Annie's pure,
and this place
is an open sewer.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes,
have you considered speaking
to a psychiatrist about Annie?
Because there are many
helpful new medications...
All of you people, you...
You're foisting chemicals
onto children!
We're taking it from here.
We are gonna be responsible
for her entire education!
Can you handle that?
We're not gonna know
until we try!
I am not willing to make
the discovery that...
I'm gonna do it, Crysilda,
and it's gonna work.
You'll see, you just have
to sit back and watch.
Come on, girl.
Let's go inside.
Now.
Not bad, right?
Up here, we're gonna make you
a real school...
a school of us.
Is there something
wrong with me, Daddy?
What? No.
Is that why I can't
be in a regular school?
Annie...
The kids are so mean,
and the teachers...
they just don't
look at me right.
Annie-bear,
listen to me, okay?
Do you know the real story
of the Laughing Place?
I'm not talking about
the hippidy-dippidy kumbaya...
Okay?
I'm talking about
the real story.
Br'er Fox isn't friends
with Br'er Rabbit.
Br'er Fox wants
to eat Br'er Rabbit,
and that is the real world,
Annie-bear...
killing and eating...
Running and hiding.
But do you know
what smart old Br'er Rabbit
figured out?
Your Laughing Place
is anywhere you say it is.
- It is?
- Well, of course it is.
And you know what else?
We're gonna have you
reading in no time.
How, Daddy?
I'ma tell you a story.
I love Daddy's stories.
I got a new story
to tell, Annie-bear,
and it's... it's so big
that you're gonna have
to help me.
"Down the gullet
of the dead gorge,
"past the Palace Wagon,
"oxen thin and foaming,
"stumbling in ruts, over bones,
"as Prester Jack, gun cradled,
scanned cliff tops
for savages."
This is your new story?
It is indeed.
They say that, uh,
Bach's daughters
worked the organ bellows
while he composed.
Well, that is what
we're gonna try.
You see,
I have to have the typewriter
to make my magic...
I... I love those deep keys...
but the modern
publishing world,
they need everything...
on computer.
Carl?
You are gonna type this
into the keyboard.
Every page, word by word.
Oh, Daddy,
I don't know if I can.
We're just gonna
set this right here.
Okay.
What's this
first letter here?
I don't want to get it wrong,
not a single word.
Oh, Annie-bear.
Warmer, warmer.
Warmer, warmer, warmer,
hot, hot, hot.
Boom!
You're already getting
the hang of it.
You're gonna be a writer
yourself in no time.
- Carl!
- I'm coming, damn it!
Go ahead and take her
for a dance
and I'll be back with more
pages soon enough, sweetheart.
More pages for who, Daddy?
My number one fan.
"Prester Jack, gun cradled,
"scanned cliff tops
for savages.
"He knew they were waiting
for night, craving it.
"A new moon would bring her in
"if their promise held.
"It was a promise
made at noon
"over water
on the Kiplinger Ford.
Annabel kept her word."
Um...
"Prester Jack kept his.
"And every night,
"they met," uh,
"Be... behind the pale-less..."
- Palace.
- Uh, palace.
- Palace, sweetheart.
- "Wagon."
Um, "Stepped out
of their buff...
"buffet... buffalo robes,
"stepped out of their lives.
And the western moon pain..."
Pain?
- Paint?
- Let me see...
No, no, I got it.
Pain... painted!
"Painted their bodies white."
Do you like it?
Daddy, I love it.
I love hearing my story
in your voice, Annie-bear.
It just, uh... it makes it real.
So, um, you really like
this version?
Because I made some
pretty big changes.
Oh, I know,
I... I think it's beautiful.
Especially Annabel.
I hope she leaves McCall
for Prester Jack.
Oh, yeah?
Well, you know,
McCall is awful.
He cheats.
I... I want to hate him.
He's better to hate.
You know, the thing is,
he's complicated, McCall.
That's what makes him
interesting.
Well, bad doesn't
make you interesting.
Mama always says,
"It just makes you bad."
Well,
we're not all one thing,
Annie-bear.
We're all good.
We're all bad.
No, I say you make
McCall worse than he is now
so then we know
who to root for.
You should help your mom.
Oh, I... I can get that, Mom.
Thank you, little love.
There's a couple more bags
in the car.
Okey-doke.
Ugh.
No more smoking in the house.
I know.
She gonna be ready for the GED?
Girl thinks
like a chess master.
She's always three moves ahead.
Ain't her math
I'm worried about.
Mama?
Did we go back to alphabetical
order for the pantry?
Why don't you read
for me, Annie?
You know what?
So why don't you
take these pages?
Go type them
into the computer...
Nope, no, no,
I want to hear them.
Um...
"When..."
Um, Mc...
"When he...
"When Mc...
"When he," uh...
"When he sure... when he's..."
Sorry.
"When he super...
"Seized them from the...
Act, he..."
You make her nervous.
She's fine with me.
She is not getting any better.
I'm with her
every goddamn day...
Okay, you watch your mouth.
And I can tell you
that she is getting better.
You are here every day
because you don't have a job.
I work.
You pack garlic
in boxes at night.
That's not working.
I write better
in the morning.
- Oh, okay, of course.
- It's all about you.
I have a real job.
I run this house.
I clean your filth,
and for what?
So you can read our daughter
dirty bits
or make her read them to you?
- They're not dirty.
- It's historical fiction!
- It is twaddle, is what it is!
- "Twaddle."
You had ten years, Carl.
Ten!
It is not happening!
Don't you tell me what I'm not!
You couldn't
finish school, Carl!
Expect me to believe
you're gonna finish a book?
Ugh!
Gotta get just the right angle
or you'll be on the banker.
Oh, dude.
Oh, my daughter's killing me!
Oh!
- No, I'm winning.
- Oh, okay.
What?
Listen, I'm gonna be
staying with you from now on.
I'm only taking weekend shifts
at Dr. Nixon's,
and your dad is getting
his old job back at the bank.
- But Daddy teaches me fine.
- He does not teach you at all.
It's always recess
with you two.
Open.
What I want for you is more...
Than this filthy place.
You are much better than this.
I am?
Oh, honey, of course you are.
Don't let anybody
mix you up about it.
Forget Daddy's silly book.
Focus on that GED.
You get it,
and you get out of this place.
You wanna end up like your mom?
- Wearing these jammies?
- Mom, I like your uniform.
Get the white coat.
That's the uniform
folks salute.
Girls who wear these,
we just clean.
Nothing on Earth dirtier
than the human mouth, Annie.
You clean and clean...
and it just gets dirty again.
Ow!
Your dad has been letting you
eat candy again, hasn't he?
Only when
we finish a chapter.
Watch those molars.
The rot creeps from the back.
Come in.
I have to go somewhere.
- Yeah, o-okay.
- Uh, I'll be fine.
Yeah.
Hey, how are we doing?
Well.
Thanks for coming down.
Let me show you this.
Will it be ready for tomorrow?
Yeah, yeah.
I told Abdi five minutes,
and we're done
when I say we're done.
First,
I would never hurt you.
What happened at the lodge...
I hit a bad patch.
But I'm through it now,
and I'll be even better
when we leave this place.
You... you need
to talk to someone.
If I put my head
in the hands of those doctors,
that means I put you
in their hands too.
And I have seen enough
of that world
to know that
they cannot be trusted, Joy.
You checked yourself in
when we were in Missouri
and you got better.
I'm...
I am your mother.
Now, I don't need
to prove anything.
What's his name?
Who?
Dad.
The less you know,
the safer you are.
- I don't believe that anymore.
- He's a bad man.
That's not enough.
It's not a nice story, Joy.
Tell me anyways.
I... I'm a grown-up.
- No, you're not.
- Tell me.
We're... we're done.
Get out or... or I'll scream.
Little love...
- You okay in there?
- It's fine. She's leaving.
Get out.
Let's go.
Come on.
"'There are two kinds...
"'of people...
"'in this world, Annabel, '
"Prester Jack said.
'There are soldiers
and settlers.'"
Hello.
I'm Rita.
Annie, can you say hello?
Annie, we talked about this.
Your dad is not
a professional... at anything...
Fact is, little love,
you need some special help
before this big GED next year,
and Rita is it.
Maybe Annie and I
could have a moment,
get to know each other.
Oh.
Well, uh...
Cool, thanks.
Cool.
So, what do you like to read?
My dad's book, mostly.
Is this it?
You can't just
start in the middle.
It's a really big story.
Your mom says
you help him tell it.
Um, no, I... not really.
Um, I mean,
sometimes he loses his place
and forgets where he left off,
so I just make sure
that things match up.
I'm not very good at reading,
but I can understand stories.
Are you a fan of this one?
- That's a kid's book.
- Not really.
Not the real story.
This isn't like the cartoon.
In the original,
they burn his feet off,
and that's just the beginning.
- 'Cause he lies?
- That's right.
So the lying part's the same,
but there's just consequences.
I always tell my dad
with his stories
there has to be consequences
or else it's just
a bunch of stuff happening,
and that's not a real story,
I don't think.
Well, maybe there's more than
one writer in this family.
Pro...
"Prah"...
- Prah...
- Prah...
It's not working!
Slow it down
and sound it out.
"Boys."
Um, "boys all"...
Just take a breath.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
You feel okay?
Mm-kay, let's try it again.
This is where
my daddy writes his book.
Oh, that's so nice.
This is pretty much
where he works.
Do you, um...
do you have your book?
"Pinocchio said to himself
with great content,
"'How ridiculous I was
"as a...'"
"'Marionette,
"'and how happy I am
now that I've become
a real boy.'"
So he just turns
into a real boy?
Yes, it's his redemption.
- Do you remember that word?
- Yeah, I... I know the word.
Um, but what's it doing
at the end of this story?
- I... I don't understand.
- Well, Pinocchio's a liar,
so why should
he get a happy ending?
Just because
he gave a fairy some coins?
- That's not how it works.
- Well, how should it work?
Well, they should have
killed him.
Funny thing is, is they did.
In Collodi's first draft,
that was the ending.
Well, there you go.
Now, why the heck
did he change it?
'Cause his editor thought
it was too dark.
He thought it would scare kids.
Well, sure,
they should be scared!
In this world,
you're either good
or you're bad, and...
and if you're bad, you pay.
Annie, did your mom
tell you that?
I'm sorry, I was...
could we have a conversation?
Could we have
a quick, uh, word?
Sure.
Uh, why don't you
go take a break?
You know...
Mr. Wilkes,
before you start...
I'm... I'm not a professional,
but you've got her
reading toddlers' books.
I don't know how
that's supposed to help her.
- Annie is intelligent...
- Yes, she is, I know that.
She's probably skipped
a few developmental steps
early on, and that's...
Let me, um...
let me tell you something
about how
my daughter's brain works...
Mr. Wilkes, I'm gonna ask you
not to interrupt me.
You posed a question
and I'm trying to answer you,
but you have to let me, okay?
Okay.
Your daughter is smart.
Very smart.
She can't grow as a reader
just reading you.
You're her father.
You loom large.
All this, this has promise.
Uh, "settlers and searchers."
That's beautiful.
But it's your story, not hers.
You have to let her
write her own.
You... you like that?
I'm sorry, uh...
well, yes, I... I do.
It's very good.
Uh, thank you.
I've been a writer, uh,
since a very young age.
Oh, I... I know.
Annie told me all about you.
Uh, lots of...
lots of other things
that I've written too.
I bet.
I have some
earlier drafts.
I... I love to hear her read it,
which is why I...
why I continue to feed her
those pages one at a time.
Even...
Evidence.
- Evidence.
- Evidence.
Now this one's a tricky one
because it looks like "bus."
- Some...
- Some...
- Ah...
- Some, uh...
Ah...
Sum-ma...
Remember with the "I."
Okay, shake it out.
Just let it all go.
- Okay.
- But that's an E.
Around your neck.
Like this one?
Mm-hmm, yeah.
And out.
"Shameless."
Marionette!
Come on, hurry up.
So good.
Trick or treat.
- "Opposition.
- Opposition.
"Oppositional.
Inter... interpretation."
Did you ever hear why
Mom and Dad took me out
of regular school?
That was a long time ago.
Well, they... they didn't
let me go back, so...
I guess that means
I didn't get better.
Annie,
none of that matters now.
The only thing that matters
is that in less than a month,
you're gonna pass this test.
Well, then
who will you teach?
This little one, I guess.
Oh, I can't wait to meet her.
Where's her daddy?
It's, um...
It's complicated.
He's complicated.
No, it isn't.
He's either a good man
or he isn't.
Annie,
nothing is that simple.
Well, you're good.
And that's simple.
Look what I learned.
Are they, uh...
Mom?
- Are you...
- Yeah?
Are... are you okay?
You poor thing.
You don't think I'll pass?
Oh, you'll pass.
You'll pass and pass
and that'll be enough.
- Mm.
- What's wrong?
Just getting by.
"Yeah, that'll be enough,"
they'll say.
Who... who will say?
Dirty birds
who want you close
and low to the ground
so they can snatch
what they want
whenever they want it,
just like your father did to me
when I was barely a woman.
"After the last dirt
was dropped on the coffin,
Prester Jack threw
the shovel in after it."
Rita's taught you so well.
"And then he took
Annabel's hand
"and they walked away
from the grave
"and towards the sun
and a horizon they'd hoped
they'd never find."
Do you like it?
I love it.
Do you know
I got a publisher interested?
Daddy!
Well, I... I mean, the fella
hasn't formally read it yet,
but I met him in the bank
the other day
and said I'd be finished soon
and he... he can't wait.
He'll love it.
- You found it.
- What?
Your Laughing Place.
Well, you know, that, um...
That's the thing of it,
Annie-bear.
There's, um... there's
something that I need
to talk to you about.
I'm gonna be moving out.
Um,
for how long?
A while.
I need...
I need to figure out
my place in this world.
Like Prester Jack?
Well, actually, maybe...
maybe a little bit more
like Annabel.
You know, she, um...
in the end,
Jack is a settler...
But Annabel,
she'll never stop looking,
and that... and that...
that's me, darling.
Well, what are you
looking for?
I... I don't know.
That's... that's part
of the looking,
is not knowing
what you're looking for.
Please don't go, Daddy.
- I have to, sweetheart.
- Daddy, please.
- Sweetheart, I gotta go.
- Please.
There's some stuff
I gotta take care of,
and it's grown-up stuff.
It's because of me, isn't it?
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Don't you ever say that.
No.
This is just stuff
between me and your mom.
Now, you listen to me.
Next year, we're gonna drive
to your school together
and... and I'm gonna
go on my book tour
and everything
is gonna be perfect.
It will?
You remember this,
Annie-bear.
No matter what,
I will always be
your number one fan.
What'll it be?
Vodka.
Mama's drink.
Rocks?
Yes.
Mom!
Mom!
Mom, I passed.
I passed.
Good for you.
I have to call...
I have to call Dad.
- Hello?
- Hi.
Hi, it's me.
L-listen, I passed the GED.
Can you believe it?
I just...
I'm so proud of you!
Tell me everything.
I miss you.
I miss you too.
I can't wait to see you.
How's the book?
Just where he wants you.
I know...
Wasn't the tour so cool?
Look, I... I know SPCC
is just a start, Mama,
but... but, I mean,
for a community college,
they even have
creative writing classes.
Can you imagine?
Why don't you want
to go further?
- "Further"?
- Away.
That's where
Daddy went to school,
and he said he'd come visit me
all the time in my dorm.
It's no place
for a good woman,
this dirty world.
Okay, well, then we'll just
have to clean it up, okay?
- I'm on your side, Annie.
- I know.
I'm the only one who's ever
really been on your side.
There are things
you don't know, Annie.
I just...
I see it now.
What?
How to make it right.
How to get away clean.
- Get away?
- 'Cause, Annie...
Once the rot takes root,
it's always there
whether you see it or not.
Mom!
I'm so sorry
that I left you here.
I never should have gone
anywhere with your mother...
like she was.
But I'm home now... to stay.
Annie-bear?
It's been three months.
We could fill out these
college applications together.
♪ Somewhere out there ♪
♪ Beneath the pale moonlight ♪
♪ Someone's thinking of me ♪
♪ And loving me tonight ♪
♪ Somewhere out there ♪
♪ Someone's saying a prayer ♪
Is someone coming?
Two someones, actually.
Rita.
Annie, hi, hi.
Hi.
- You had your baby.
- Hi, yeah!
Hey, hey.
Yeah, this...
this is, uh, Evangeline.
- Oh, she's beautiful.
- Yeah.
Isn't she, Annie?
Can I hold her?
Uh...
- Let's get her inside.
- Yeah, hurry up.
- Bring you guys inside.
- Whee!
I want to hear about the GED
and how you nervous you were
before you took it.
- I was really nervous...
- I bet.
But I just remembered
what you told me, and I...
and I got a 4 out of 4.
That's really great, Annie.
It's really good
to see you, Rita.
Yes, it is.
Due to Rita,
a lot of great changes.
You know, um...
Annie, uh... I...
Carl, I don't want to.
Because there, uh...
there was something that...
that we wanted to, uh...
to talk to you about.
Well, sweetheart...
sweetheart, um,
Rita and I have gotten
to know each other better
this last year.
But you already
knew each other.
Yes, uh, but...
We've been spending
a lot of time together.
Oh.
So... so you're...
Annie, I know this is a lot
to take in right...
You're her daddy too?
Evangeline.
And the river
was only six months ago.
Reading was my problem.
Not math.
Of course it's not, sweet...
Annie, Annie, Annie!
- How could you?
- Put the knife down!
I... she'll be fine.
It's just
the surprise of it all.
- All right, okay.
- So...
Yeah, so I think this box
and the one in the trunk.
All right.
If you put it
in the front room...
- Okay.
- You'll be good.
Yep,
this is all gonna fit
once we get Annie's stuff
into the attic.
Thank you, honey.
Yeah.
What about over here?
Mm.
You know, maybe you should
consider medication again.
- No.
- She doesn't need that.
Do you think I would be
almost done with my novel
if I was still taking lithium?
- Carl.
- I just...
just feel like Annie doesn't
need that garbage in her system
clouding the real her.
Could I hold her?
Hey, hi.
Yeah.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Annie?
Hi.
Hi.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's done.
It's done!
Rita, I finished!
Ah, 12 fucking years.
There you go!
Well, editors
are always on the lookout
for some published authors.
Take one, take two, take three.
- I printed 500...
- Annie.
- Hey, did you want anything?
- Did you need anything?
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Thank you, my friend.
Very excited about it.
Leave it in a public place.
To make a quick toast...
- Oh, my God.
- To Rita!
To Rita!
Thank you guys so much
for being here.
Oh, well, thank you.
Thank you.
"For Rita K. Green,
my Laughing Place."
"Rita K. Green..."
Annie-bear?
What's going on?
- Annie?
- "My Laughing Place."
4:00 in the morning,
what are you...
What's going on?
You dedicated it to her?
- Listen, Annie-bear...
- Rita is your Laughing Place?
Well, see, you...
You can have more than one.
Come here.
Dad!
Dad?
- It's okay, it's okay.
- No!
This will be fine.
It's good.
Just fine, sweetheart.
It's okay, it's okay.
It's gonna be fine.
It'll be fine, Annie.
- No.
- It's okay, it's okay.
Oh, my God!
Annie!
What did you do?
I thought you were good.
No, not my baby!
No!
"The end."
I'm on your side.
You poor thing.
But there's a way.
A way for us
to both get away clean.
You're laughing.
♪ You make me happy ♪
♪ When skies are gray ♪
♪ You'll never know, dear ♪
♪ How much I love you ♪
♪ Please don't take ♪
♪ My sunshine away ♪
♪ The other night, dear ♪
Want another?
♪ As I lay sleeping ♪
♪ I dreamed I held you ♪
♪ In my arms ♪
♪ When I awoke, dear ♪
♪ I was mistaken ♪
♪ Please don't take ♪
♪ My sunshine ♪
♪ Awa... ♪
Hello?
I-is this Rita?
Uh, you can just
take me off your list, I...
U-uh, do you know
about a book
called The Ravening Angel?
Who is this?
My dad, your grandpa-‐
that good old guy...
they don't make men like that,
little love, not anymore.
Annie Wilkes
from Bakersfield, California.
He would say to me,
"Annie..."
"There are two kinds of people
that made America.
Searchers and settlers."
He settled for nothing,
that one.
Now, my ma, she was a settler.
You set her down anywhere
and she would make a home.
She would make it perfect.
And me, well,
I'm kind of a funny
ol' oogy mess of both,
all mixed up sometimes.
I'm a searcher
who just wants to settle...
wants it bad.
Can't seem to find
that Laughing Place
that'll live up to you.
Did you do something, Mom?
"No matter how lonely,
everyone has a...
Lagging"?
Keep going.
"Brad Rabbit told Brad Fox,
everyone has a laughing place."
Very good, Diego.
Annie?
Is she even reading?
"Brad Rabbit knew
it was better to be friends
"than to fight, so he took..."
Is she reading the right thing?
"Bad Fox and Big Bear
to the Laughing Place,
where they lived there
as animal friends forever.
That's not what it says.
That's enough.
She can't read.
She's so weird.
Hey, A-tard.
Animal friends forever.
Bet you can't even read this.
"Ouch, my face."
What are you
tarding about, tard?
It's clear to me that we need
further screening for her sake.
No, my Annie
is not the problem here...
your cockadoodie school is.
You're not sending my girl
to a pen for mental midgets...
This is her third incident.
We're talking about...
pathological behavior.
Can I... can I just say...
Jiminy, Carl, can you not?
- The hell's this?
- Brad Rabbit?
- Carl, language.
- You mean Br'er Rabbit?
This is supposed to be
the Uncle Remus stories?
Yes, that is
a more contemporary edition.
"Politically correct,"
I think, is the term you're
rooting around for there.
Okay, you are feeding her
this... this touchy-feely
propaganda.
- Carl, Christmas.
- And she's... she's bored.
I really wish that
you'd let Annie wait outside
while we finish this discussion.
She's not leaving my sight
in this booby-hatch
you're running.
My Annie's pure,
and this place
is an open sewer.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes,
have you considered speaking
to a psychiatrist about Annie?
Because there are many
helpful new medications...
All of you people, you...
You're foisting chemicals
onto children!
We're taking it from here.
We are gonna be responsible
for her entire education!
Can you handle that?
We're not gonna know
until we try!
I am not willing to make
the discovery that...
I'm gonna do it, Crysilda,
and it's gonna work.
You'll see, you just have
to sit back and watch.
Come on, girl.
Let's go inside.
Now.
Not bad, right?
Up here, we're gonna make you
a real school...
a school of us.
Is there something
wrong with me, Daddy?
What? No.
Is that why I can't
be in a regular school?
Annie...
The kids are so mean,
and the teachers...
they just don't
look at me right.
Annie-bear,
listen to me, okay?
Do you know the real story
of the Laughing Place?
I'm not talking about
the hippidy-dippidy kumbaya...
Okay?
I'm talking about
the real story.
Br'er Fox isn't friends
with Br'er Rabbit.
Br'er Fox wants
to eat Br'er Rabbit,
and that is the real world,
Annie-bear...
killing and eating...
Running and hiding.
But do you know
what smart old Br'er Rabbit
figured out?
Your Laughing Place
is anywhere you say it is.
- It is?
- Well, of course it is.
And you know what else?
We're gonna have you
reading in no time.
How, Daddy?
I'ma tell you a story.
I love Daddy's stories.
I got a new story
to tell, Annie-bear,
and it's... it's so big
that you're gonna have
to help me.
"Down the gullet
of the dead gorge,
"past the Palace Wagon,
"oxen thin and foaming,
"stumbling in ruts, over bones,
"as Prester Jack, gun cradled,
scanned cliff tops
for savages."
This is your new story?
It is indeed.
They say that, uh,
Bach's daughters
worked the organ bellows
while he composed.
Well, that is what
we're gonna try.
You see,
I have to have the typewriter
to make my magic...
I... I love those deep keys...
but the modern
publishing world,
they need everything...
on computer.
Carl?
You are gonna type this
into the keyboard.
Every page, word by word.
Oh, Daddy,
I don't know if I can.
We're just gonna
set this right here.
Okay.
What's this
first letter here?
I don't want to get it wrong,
not a single word.
Oh, Annie-bear.
Warmer, warmer.
Warmer, warmer, warmer,
hot, hot, hot.
Boom!
You're already getting
the hang of it.
You're gonna be a writer
yourself in no time.
- Carl!
- I'm coming, damn it!
Go ahead and take her
for a dance
and I'll be back with more
pages soon enough, sweetheart.
More pages for who, Daddy?
My number one fan.
"Prester Jack, gun cradled,
"scanned cliff tops
for savages.
"He knew they were waiting
for night, craving it.
"A new moon would bring her in
"if their promise held.
"It was a promise
made at noon
"over water
on the Kiplinger Ford.
Annabel kept her word."
Um...
"Prester Jack kept his.
"And every night,
"they met," uh,
"Be... behind the pale-less..."
- Palace.
- Uh, palace.
- Palace, sweetheart.
- "Wagon."
Um, "Stepped out
of their buff...
"buffet... buffalo robes,
"stepped out of their lives.
And the western moon pain..."
Pain?
- Paint?
- Let me see...
No, no, I got it.
Pain... painted!
"Painted their bodies white."
Do you like it?
Daddy, I love it.
I love hearing my story
in your voice, Annie-bear.
It just, uh... it makes it real.
So, um, you really like
this version?
Because I made some
pretty big changes.
Oh, I know,
I... I think it's beautiful.
Especially Annabel.
I hope she leaves McCall
for Prester Jack.
Oh, yeah?
Well, you know,
McCall is awful.
He cheats.
I... I want to hate him.
He's better to hate.
You know, the thing is,
he's complicated, McCall.
That's what makes him
interesting.
Well, bad doesn't
make you interesting.
Mama always says,
"It just makes you bad."
Well,
we're not all one thing,
Annie-bear.
We're all good.
We're all bad.
No, I say you make
McCall worse than he is now
so then we know
who to root for.
You should help your mom.
Oh, I... I can get that, Mom.
Thank you, little love.
There's a couple more bags
in the car.
Okey-doke.
Ugh.
No more smoking in the house.
I know.
She gonna be ready for the GED?
Girl thinks
like a chess master.
She's always three moves ahead.
Ain't her math
I'm worried about.
Mama?
Did we go back to alphabetical
order for the pantry?
Why don't you read
for me, Annie?
You know what?
So why don't you
take these pages?
Go type them
into the computer...
Nope, no, no,
I want to hear them.
Um...
"When..."
Um, Mc...
"When he...
"When Mc...
"When he," uh...
"When he sure... when he's..."
Sorry.
"When he super...
"Seized them from the...
Act, he..."
You make her nervous.
She's fine with me.
She is not getting any better.
I'm with her
every goddamn day...
Okay, you watch your mouth.
And I can tell you
that she is getting better.
You are here every day
because you don't have a job.
I work.
You pack garlic
in boxes at night.
That's not working.
I write better
in the morning.
- Oh, okay, of course.
- It's all about you.
I have a real job.
I run this house.
I clean your filth,
and for what?
So you can read our daughter
dirty bits
or make her read them to you?
- They're not dirty.
- It's historical fiction!
- It is twaddle, is what it is!
- "Twaddle."
You had ten years, Carl.
Ten!
It is not happening!
Don't you tell me what I'm not!
You couldn't
finish school, Carl!
Expect me to believe
you're gonna finish a book?
Ugh!
Gotta get just the right angle
or you'll be on the banker.
Oh, dude.
Oh, my daughter's killing me!
Oh!
- No, I'm winning.
- Oh, okay.
What?
Listen, I'm gonna be
staying with you from now on.
I'm only taking weekend shifts
at Dr. Nixon's,
and your dad is getting
his old job back at the bank.
- But Daddy teaches me fine.
- He does not teach you at all.
It's always recess
with you two.
Open.
What I want for you is more...
Than this filthy place.
You are much better than this.
I am?
Oh, honey, of course you are.
Don't let anybody
mix you up about it.
Forget Daddy's silly book.
Focus on that GED.
You get it,
and you get out of this place.
You wanna end up like your mom?
- Wearing these jammies?
- Mom, I like your uniform.
Get the white coat.
That's the uniform
folks salute.
Girls who wear these,
we just clean.
Nothing on Earth dirtier
than the human mouth, Annie.
You clean and clean...
and it just gets dirty again.
Ow!
Your dad has been letting you
eat candy again, hasn't he?
Only when
we finish a chapter.
Watch those molars.
The rot creeps from the back.
Come in.
I have to go somewhere.
- Yeah, o-okay.
- Uh, I'll be fine.
Yeah.
Hey, how are we doing?
Well.
Thanks for coming down.
Let me show you this.
Will it be ready for tomorrow?
Yeah, yeah.
I told Abdi five minutes,
and we're done
when I say we're done.
First,
I would never hurt you.
What happened at the lodge...
I hit a bad patch.
But I'm through it now,
and I'll be even better
when we leave this place.
You... you need
to talk to someone.
If I put my head
in the hands of those doctors,
that means I put you
in their hands too.
And I have seen enough
of that world
to know that
they cannot be trusted, Joy.
You checked yourself in
when we were in Missouri
and you got better.
I'm...
I am your mother.
Now, I don't need
to prove anything.
What's his name?
Who?
Dad.
The less you know,
the safer you are.
- I don't believe that anymore.
- He's a bad man.
That's not enough.
It's not a nice story, Joy.
Tell me anyways.
I... I'm a grown-up.
- No, you're not.
- Tell me.
We're... we're done.
Get out or... or I'll scream.
Little love...
- You okay in there?
- It's fine. She's leaving.
Get out.
Let's go.
Come on.
"'There are two kinds...
"'of people...
"'in this world, Annabel, '
"Prester Jack said.
'There are soldiers
and settlers.'"
Hello.
I'm Rita.
Annie, can you say hello?
Annie, we talked about this.
Your dad is not
a professional... at anything...
Fact is, little love,
you need some special help
before this big GED next year,
and Rita is it.
Maybe Annie and I
could have a moment,
get to know each other.
Oh.
Well, uh...
Cool, thanks.
Cool.
So, what do you like to read?
My dad's book, mostly.
Is this it?
You can't just
start in the middle.
It's a really big story.
Your mom says
you help him tell it.
Um, no, I... not really.
Um, I mean,
sometimes he loses his place
and forgets where he left off,
so I just make sure
that things match up.
I'm not very good at reading,
but I can understand stories.
Are you a fan of this one?
- That's a kid's book.
- Not really.
Not the real story.
This isn't like the cartoon.
In the original,
they burn his feet off,
and that's just the beginning.
- 'Cause he lies?
- That's right.
So the lying part's the same,
but there's just consequences.
I always tell my dad
with his stories
there has to be consequences
or else it's just
a bunch of stuff happening,
and that's not a real story,
I don't think.
Well, maybe there's more than
one writer in this family.
Pro...
"Prah"...
- Prah...
- Prah...
It's not working!
Slow it down
and sound it out.
"Boys."
Um, "boys all"...
Just take a breath.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
You feel okay?
Mm-kay, let's try it again.
This is where
my daddy writes his book.
Oh, that's so nice.
This is pretty much
where he works.
Do you, um...
do you have your book?
"Pinocchio said to himself
with great content,
"'How ridiculous I was
"as a...'"
"'Marionette,
"'and how happy I am
now that I've become
a real boy.'"
So he just turns
into a real boy?
Yes, it's his redemption.
- Do you remember that word?
- Yeah, I... I know the word.
Um, but what's it doing
at the end of this story?
- I... I don't understand.
- Well, Pinocchio's a liar,
so why should
he get a happy ending?
Just because
he gave a fairy some coins?
- That's not how it works.
- Well, how should it work?
Well, they should have
killed him.
Funny thing is, is they did.
In Collodi's first draft,
that was the ending.
Well, there you go.
Now, why the heck
did he change it?
'Cause his editor thought
it was too dark.
He thought it would scare kids.
Well, sure,
they should be scared!
In this world,
you're either good
or you're bad, and...
and if you're bad, you pay.
Annie, did your mom
tell you that?
I'm sorry, I was...
could we have a conversation?
Could we have
a quick, uh, word?
Sure.
Uh, why don't you
go take a break?
You know...
Mr. Wilkes,
before you start...
I'm... I'm not a professional,
but you've got her
reading toddlers' books.
I don't know how
that's supposed to help her.
- Annie is intelligent...
- Yes, she is, I know that.
She's probably skipped
a few developmental steps
early on, and that's...
Let me, um...
let me tell you something
about how
my daughter's brain works...
Mr. Wilkes, I'm gonna ask you
not to interrupt me.
You posed a question
and I'm trying to answer you,
but you have to let me, okay?
Okay.
Your daughter is smart.
Very smart.
She can't grow as a reader
just reading you.
You're her father.
You loom large.
All this, this has promise.
Uh, "settlers and searchers."
That's beautiful.
But it's your story, not hers.
You have to let her
write her own.
You... you like that?
I'm sorry, uh...
well, yes, I... I do.
It's very good.
Uh, thank you.
I've been a writer, uh,
since a very young age.
Oh, I... I know.
Annie told me all about you.
Uh, lots of...
lots of other things
that I've written too.
I bet.
I have some
earlier drafts.
I... I love to hear her read it,
which is why I...
why I continue to feed her
those pages one at a time.
Even...
Evidence.
- Evidence.
- Evidence.
Now this one's a tricky one
because it looks like "bus."
- Some...
- Some...
- Ah...
- Some, uh...
Ah...
Sum-ma...
Remember with the "I."
Okay, shake it out.
Just let it all go.
- Okay.
- But that's an E.
Around your neck.
Like this one?
Mm-hmm, yeah.
And out.
"Shameless."
Marionette!
Come on, hurry up.
So good.
Trick or treat.
- "Opposition.
- Opposition.
"Oppositional.
Inter... interpretation."
Did you ever hear why
Mom and Dad took me out
of regular school?
That was a long time ago.
Well, they... they didn't
let me go back, so...
I guess that means
I didn't get better.
Annie,
none of that matters now.
The only thing that matters
is that in less than a month,
you're gonna pass this test.
Well, then
who will you teach?
This little one, I guess.
Oh, I can't wait to meet her.
Where's her daddy?
It's, um...
It's complicated.
He's complicated.
No, it isn't.
He's either a good man
or he isn't.
Annie,
nothing is that simple.
Well, you're good.
And that's simple.
Look what I learned.
Are they, uh...
Mom?
- Are you...
- Yeah?
Are... are you okay?
You poor thing.
You don't think I'll pass?
Oh, you'll pass.
You'll pass and pass
and that'll be enough.
- Mm.
- What's wrong?
Just getting by.
"Yeah, that'll be enough,"
they'll say.
Who... who will say?
Dirty birds
who want you close
and low to the ground
so they can snatch
what they want
whenever they want it,
just like your father did to me
when I was barely a woman.
"After the last dirt
was dropped on the coffin,
Prester Jack threw
the shovel in after it."
Rita's taught you so well.
"And then he took
Annabel's hand
"and they walked away
from the grave
"and towards the sun
and a horizon they'd hoped
they'd never find."
Do you like it?
I love it.
Do you know
I got a publisher interested?
Daddy!
Well, I... I mean, the fella
hasn't formally read it yet,
but I met him in the bank
the other day
and said I'd be finished soon
and he... he can't wait.
He'll love it.
- You found it.
- What?
Your Laughing Place.
Well, you know, that, um...
That's the thing of it,
Annie-bear.
There's, um... there's
something that I need
to talk to you about.
I'm gonna be moving out.
Um,
for how long?
A while.
I need...
I need to figure out
my place in this world.
Like Prester Jack?
Well, actually, maybe...
maybe a little bit more
like Annabel.
You know, she, um...
in the end,
Jack is a settler...
But Annabel,
she'll never stop looking,
and that... and that...
that's me, darling.
Well, what are you
looking for?
I... I don't know.
That's... that's part
of the looking,
is not knowing
what you're looking for.
Please don't go, Daddy.
- I have to, sweetheart.
- Daddy, please.
- Sweetheart, I gotta go.
- Please.
There's some stuff
I gotta take care of,
and it's grown-up stuff.
It's because of me, isn't it?
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Don't you ever say that.
No.
This is just stuff
between me and your mom.
Now, you listen to me.
Next year, we're gonna drive
to your school together
and... and I'm gonna
go on my book tour
and everything
is gonna be perfect.
It will?
You remember this,
Annie-bear.
No matter what,
I will always be
your number one fan.
What'll it be?
Vodka.
Mama's drink.
Rocks?
Yes.
Mom!
Mom!
Mom, I passed.
I passed.
Good for you.
I have to call...
I have to call Dad.
- Hello?
- Hi.
Hi, it's me.
L-listen, I passed the GED.
Can you believe it?
I just...
I'm so proud of you!
Tell me everything.
I miss you.
I miss you too.
I can't wait to see you.
How's the book?
Just where he wants you.
I know...
Wasn't the tour so cool?
Look, I... I know SPCC
is just a start, Mama,
but... but, I mean,
for a community college,
they even have
creative writing classes.
Can you imagine?
Why don't you want
to go further?
- "Further"?
- Away.
That's where
Daddy went to school,
and he said he'd come visit me
all the time in my dorm.
It's no place
for a good woman,
this dirty world.
Okay, well, then we'll just
have to clean it up, okay?
- I'm on your side, Annie.
- I know.
I'm the only one who's ever
really been on your side.
There are things
you don't know, Annie.
I just...
I see it now.
What?
How to make it right.
How to get away clean.
- Get away?
- 'Cause, Annie...
Once the rot takes root,
it's always there
whether you see it or not.
Mom!
I'm so sorry
that I left you here.
I never should have gone
anywhere with your mother...
like she was.
But I'm home now... to stay.
Annie-bear?
It's been three months.
We could fill out these
college applications together.
♪ Somewhere out there ♪
♪ Beneath the pale moonlight ♪
♪ Someone's thinking of me ♪
♪ And loving me tonight ♪
♪ Somewhere out there ♪
♪ Someone's saying a prayer ♪
Is someone coming?
Two someones, actually.
Rita.
Annie, hi, hi.
Hi.
- You had your baby.
- Hi, yeah!
Hey, hey.
Yeah, this...
this is, uh, Evangeline.
- Oh, she's beautiful.
- Yeah.
Isn't she, Annie?
Can I hold her?
Uh...
- Let's get her inside.
- Yeah, hurry up.
- Bring you guys inside.
- Whee!
I want to hear about the GED
and how you nervous you were
before you took it.
- I was really nervous...
- I bet.
But I just remembered
what you told me, and I...
and I got a 4 out of 4.
That's really great, Annie.
It's really good
to see you, Rita.
Yes, it is.
Due to Rita,
a lot of great changes.
You know, um...
Annie, uh... I...
Carl, I don't want to.
Because there, uh...
there was something that...
that we wanted to, uh...
to talk to you about.
Well, sweetheart...
sweetheart, um,
Rita and I have gotten
to know each other better
this last year.
But you already
knew each other.
Yes, uh, but...
We've been spending
a lot of time together.
Oh.
So... so you're...
Annie, I know this is a lot
to take in right...
You're her daddy too?
Evangeline.
And the river
was only six months ago.
Reading was my problem.
Not math.
Of course it's not, sweet...
Annie, Annie, Annie!
- How could you?
- Put the knife down!
I... she'll be fine.
It's just
the surprise of it all.
- All right, okay.
- So...
Yeah, so I think this box
and the one in the trunk.
All right.
If you put it
in the front room...
- Okay.
- You'll be good.
Yep,
this is all gonna fit
once we get Annie's stuff
into the attic.
Thank you, honey.
Yeah.
What about over here?
Mm.
You know, maybe you should
consider medication again.
- No.
- She doesn't need that.
Do you think I would be
almost done with my novel
if I was still taking lithium?
- Carl.
- I just...
just feel like Annie doesn't
need that garbage in her system
clouding the real her.
Could I hold her?
Hey, hi.
Yeah.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Annie?
Hi.
Hi.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's done.
It's done!
Rita, I finished!
Ah, 12 fucking years.
There you go!
Well, editors
are always on the lookout
for some published authors.
Take one, take two, take three.
- I printed 500...
- Annie.
- Hey, did you want anything?
- Did you need anything?
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Thank you, my friend.
Very excited about it.
Leave it in a public place.
To make a quick toast...
- Oh, my God.
- To Rita!
To Rita!
Thank you guys so much
for being here.
Oh, well, thank you.
Thank you.
"For Rita K. Green,
my Laughing Place."
"Rita K. Green..."
Annie-bear?
What's going on?
- Annie?
- "My Laughing Place."
4:00 in the morning,
what are you...
What's going on?
You dedicated it to her?
- Listen, Annie-bear...
- Rita is your Laughing Place?
Well, see, you...
You can have more than one.
Come here.
Dad!
Dad?
- It's okay, it's okay.
- No!
This will be fine.
It's good.
Just fine, sweetheart.
It's okay, it's okay.
It's gonna be fine.
It'll be fine, Annie.
- No.
- It's okay, it's okay.
Oh, my God!
Annie!
What did you do?
I thought you were good.
No, not my baby!
No!
"The end."
I'm on your side.
You poor thing.
But there's a way.
A way for us
to both get away clean.
You're laughing.
♪ You make me happy ♪
♪ When skies are gray ♪
♪ You'll never know, dear ♪
♪ How much I love you ♪
♪ Please don't take ♪
♪ My sunshine away ♪
♪ The other night, dear ♪
Want another?
♪ As I lay sleeping ♪
♪ I dreamed I held you ♪
♪ In my arms ♪
♪ When I awoke, dear ♪
♪ I was mistaken ♪
♪ Please don't take ♪
♪ My sunshine ♪
♪ Awa... ♪
Hello?
I-is this Rita?
Uh, you can just
take me off your list, I...
U-uh, do you know
about a book
called The Ravening Angel?
Who is this?