In Treatment (2008–2010): Season 3, Episode 1 - Sunil: Week One - full transcript

I've got a patient
coming to see me.

Is it a girlfriend?

I'd tell you if I
had a girlfriend.

No, you wouldn't.

You're seeing patients again?

I thought you were writing.

Just a book.
People seem to like it.

I don't think I'm
ready to read it yet.

You are recently divorced.

I really don't know
if I can forgive her.

Rose is at a friend's house.
They're working on a science project.



I only see her
two nights a week.

Whose choice was that, Paul?

Is this really how you wanted
everything to turn out?

Every day, it hurts.
I hate my life.

You're tortured by what you see
as your failures with your patients.

This isn't therapy, so
it's okay all of the sudden?

Don't tell me you haven't
had fantasies with us.

Your failures with
your parents.

My father's sick.

He's got late States Parkinsons.

Just tell me for once
what you really think!

You're a therapist who has remarkably
little insight into your own behavior.

You think I'm unprofessional.
You've always thought that.

You have done nothing but judge me
since the minute I came back into therapy.



I can't keep coming to you
for the mothering I didn't get.

I used to need to be with more people.

- Did you meet someone?
- Her name is Wendy, we live on the same block.

I'm sure we'll run into
each other again.

This is the point where I'm supposed
to say my door is always open but...

I'm not going to say that.

I understand.

Our time is up.

You've got to give him
a chance, Max.

Well, you've got...

You've got to try harder.

Max, I assure you he has
got blood in his body.

I really doubt that your
mother would move in

With an actual warlock.

Yeah, hi.

Hi, Kate.

Well, I mean,
what do you expect?

These things take...
take time.

No, I'm not... I'm...

I'm not turning Max
against him.

It's the opposite.

Yeah, but you're
obviously seeing

What you want to see.
That's...

Jesus.

What?

I just wanted to tell you
to have a good day.

I guess someone didn't
sleep again last night.

Wendy, I'm...

- Mr. Sanyal?
- Dr. Sanyal.

I'm actually his son Aaron.

- We spoke on the phone.
- Nice to meet you.

This is my wife Julia.

Thanks so much for seeing us, Dr.
Weston.

You're welcome.

So is your...
is your father here?

Oh, he's outside smoking.

Baba?

Baba.

Sunil?

He's just coming.

Mr. Sanyal.

This way, please.

Well, I...
I have to admit

This... this situation
is a little unusual,

Because I generally don't meet

With a potential patient
with the...

With the adult
children present.

No, we realize
it's a little unorthodox

And we really appreciate
you making the exception.

Thank you again,
Dr. Weon.

Mr. Sanyal,
on the phone

Your... your son
told me

That you've been going
through a tough time.

Is that right?

Baba.

My father is suffering,
Dr. Weston.

I think the last few weeks
have been

Especially difficult
for all of us.

Mr. Sanyal,
your son mentioned

That you've been
in New York for...

For what, four months?

- Five.
- Five months.

And that you might be having

Some trouble adjusting.

Would that be true?

I'm sorry, but I'm afraid

I'm not going to be
of much help

Unless I can get some more
details about the situation.

Mm-hmm.
Would you like me to...?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Uh, so lately
sunil has not been

Getting out of bed before noon.

He hasn't been eating.

He hasn't showered
or shaved in days.

And he hasn't actually left the
house in going on two weeks.

He actually got out of bed
at 11:20 today.

How do you know?

I called home.
Liza told me.

- Liza is...
- She's our nanny.

Okay, so your father
isn't sleeping

And he's not been showering.

He's also
been rude to Aaron.

Smoking in the courtyard
doesn't count, baba, okay?

Oh, he speaks.

Oh, he speaks beautifully,
just not to me.

And I see that he eats too.

Only his candy. Anything of nutritional
value is out of the question.

He's an adult, Julia.
He can eat what he chooses.

Dr. Weston, I do not
want to come across

As the disgruntled
daughter-in-law.

I am aware that our
current situation

Would be hard on any family.

But I don't think that
what we're experiencing

Is the usual
disruption.

The kids have started
asking questions and...

We are truly concerned
for Sunil's well-being.

Have you... have you been
living with your son

For the full five months?

Yes, as I told
you over the phone,

We brought him over
from Calcutta

Shortly after my mother passed.

Calcutta...
that's quite long way.

Just before
Aaron's mother passed,

She made him promise that we
would bring him to New York.

So can I ask you

If your father's
presence in your house

Has always been
this challenging?

At first things
may have been easier.

He seemed functional at least.

I mean, he was engaged
with the children.

He was affectionate
with them

And ate breakfast with them
in the morning.

They were crazy about him.

They still are.

I think he scares
them now, Aaron.

Did something happen?

No, it's just a sense I get.

So how old are your children?

Sam is six and Naya is four.

There was even a point when sunil
was teaching them Bengali words.

- That's not true, baba.

What's he saying?

He said he's no longer allowed
to teach them Bengali.

I simply asked you
to stop with Sam.

Sam is language delayed
and it confuses him.

We had him assessed, and he...

He's not performing
at grade level.

I knew we should have
come separately first.

Is there...
is there any way

That we could continue this
conversation without sunil?

Well, actually no.

If your father-in-law is
a potential patient, it's...

I don't think it's gonna
do anybody any good

To dismiss him
to the waiting room.

The fact is,
Dr. Weston,

That sunil has become
such a shut-in

That Aaron now runs
errands for him.

He works incredibly long hours

And then he comes home
only to have to turn around

And go and get his father
his candy or his tea

Or his papers and his tobacco
for his cigarettes

That he then smokes
inside the house.

He doesn't smoke in the house.

I caught him just last night.

The guest room's on the third floor.
It's where Naya and Sam sleep.

And I especially don't want
him smoking around them.

Neither do you, aar.

We've really tried to make this
transition a pleasant one.

We fixed up the guest room
on the third floor.

He has a nice TV,
a DVD player, cable.

We even put an orthopedic
handrail in the shower for him.

My father has arthritis
in his left knee.

So when it flares up,

Standing becomes
difficult for him.

He used to play
cricket, actually.

- Professionally?
- No, recreationally.

Sunil is a...
was a math Professor.

He used to teach at a prestigious
High School in Calcutta.

Yeah, they had him
retire early.

They're replacing
the older teachers now.

You've obviously undergone

A lot of changes,
Mr. Sanyal.

And it sounds like you had
a pretty full life before.

Is he alone in the house a lot?

Well, Aaron and I both
go to work every day.

And what do you do
for a living?

I'm a literary Agent.

What did he say?

He said he shares
the house with the nanny.

Liza.

Yeah, she's a lovely person,
I might add.

And occasionally
the housekeeper too.

And how do you feel

About all of this,
Mr. Sanyal?

Would you have preferred
to have stayed in India?

I realize that grief is

A delicate,
complicated process,

But it has been six months.

I'm sorry, what is it exactly

That you're trying to say?

Well, I'm saying it's been

A considerable amount of time.

And he's surrounded
by his family.

And we're making an effort.

I mean, we truly are.

! On the phone
you mentioned

That you have been prescribing

Effexor for your father.

- That's correct.
- And are you an m.D.?

- D.O.
- Oh, so you're an osteopath.

The Effexor isn't working.

Psychoactive medication
can be very effective.

But I do feel that
medication should be taken

In conjunction with
talk therapy.

In Bengali culture

Therapy is considered
a shameful embarrassment

Suitable only
for the truly insane.

I prescribed the Effexor

Because I knew he would
resist regular treatment.

Mr. Sanyal,

Do you feel like
you're suffering?

Do you understand
why Julia and Aaron

Wanted you to come here today?

I think he misses my mother.

Can I ask how she died?

Complications following
heart failure.

There was
an emergency procedure

And she responded badly
to the anesthesia.

And that's been six...
six months, you said?

He said, uh,

"six months, one week
and two days."

We were wondering if it
would be helpful to sunil

To talk about his loss.

He won't talk to us,
but maybe with...

Are you kidding me?

Baba...

Sunil, you can't smoke in here.
It's rude.

It's his favorite Bengali candy

That he gets from the
confectionery on church Avenue.

You mean you get it.

Sorry.

Mr. Sanyal,

A few minutes ago

Julia mentioned
that she felt

That your grandchildren
were afraid of you.

Do you think there's any
truth in that assertion?

What did he say?

He said she's afraid
of herself.

This is what I mean,
Dr. Weston.

He's become cryptic and cruel.

I didn't want to say
anything, but if...

Sorry, go on.

He is making me increasingly more
uncomfortable in my own home.

- Julia.
- It's true, Aaron.

- For how long?
- For a while.

I don't like

How he looks at me.

How does he look at you?

- Huh? - I don't feel
comfortable describing it.

- Where?
- Everywhere...

In the kitchen, when we pass
each other in the hallway.

He looks at you?

Baba?

Okay, well, I think
I'm beginning to get

A sense of the situation.

Would you mind if I spent
some time alone with sunil?

Yeah, of course.

Oh, should we settle up now?

Oh, we can settle up later.

Uh, you can wait in the
room outside if you want.

Or there's a coffee shop
on the corner.

- Take some time there.
- Okay.

Back in about
half an hour or so.

Thank you.

- Thank you, Dr. Weston.
- You're welcome.

Baba...

Bye-bye.

When I was growing up
in Calcutta,

There was a man
in my neighborhood

Called Bankim.

When he was a boy,
his mother died

Giving birth
to his younger brother.

So he was raised by his father

And his mother's sister.

His father got killed

In an automobile accident.

So he was left

With his aunt.

He never left
the neighborhood,

Could not attend
university.

And when his aunt
grew suddenly ill,

They were left with nothing.

Years later,
as a mature man,

He could be found
on my street,

Polishing doorknobs

With his mother's sari
and his own leavings.

Leavings?

Feces.
Feces.

He was a great embarrassment
to the neighborhood

For many years.

People used to call him
Bankim Pagol.

What does that mean?

"gone,"

"crazy" in Bengali.

He wound up
taking his own life

At Pavlov mental hospital.

He hanged himself
with the same sari

He used to polish
all the doorknobs.

Where I'm from,

This is the type of person

Who needs
psychological treatment.

I think that here in America

Therapy is considered
much more commonplace,

Mr. Sanyal, and I...

Maybe we should
think of it just as a...

As a conversation between us.

How long have you
been smoking?

A long time.
Since university.

You know, generally
I don't allow my patients

To smoke in here,

But if it makes you feel
more comfortable...

Have you ever smoked?

Yes, quite a long time.

But I quit a few years ago.

I have to say I still...

I still enjoy the smell.

Then thank you for letting
me smoke, Dr. Weston.

This is one of my
few pleasures.

Things are obviously strained

Between you and your
daughter-in-law.

- Strained, yes.
- Mm-hmm.

So can I ask you

Why you choose
not to speak to her?

My son's name is Arun...

Arun, not Aaron.

In Hindi arun means

"the sun in the sky."

When did he decide
to change his name?

When he came here
for college.

Aaron is the name of a...

Of a spoiled child
in an American TV show.

That must have been
a disappointment

To you and your wife...

That he changed his name, yeah?

I cannot bring myself
to call him by this name.

There was a period of time
when Julia...

Julia wanted to call me Soony,

Like the name of a pet.

I'm sure that didn't last long.

She named her daughter after a
company that makes bottled water...

Naya.

Perhaps their next child
will be called iPod, Hmm?

So do you hold your son
accountable

For your granddaughter's name?

Sometimes I think
it might be possible

She is contaminating him.

My son is not what...

What he used to be.

In what way do you mean?

Mr. Sanyal,
is there any reason

Why your daughter-in-law
would feel

Uncomfortable around you?

I cannot imagine it.

When she was trying to describe

The way you that you
look at her...

I have no idea what my face is doing
when I'm looking at something.

Okay, that's fair enough.

Well, can you describe
what you feel

When you pass her
in the corridor?

I feel like passing her
as quickly as possible.

And so do.

When Julia suggested

That your grandchildren
were afraid of you,

You answered that she was
afraid of herself.

At least that's how
your son translated it.

Is that in fact
what you said?

Yes.

And what did you mean by that?

Sometimes one is fearful
of what...

What may be
an emptiness within,

So one enjoys the affirmation
of being bowed to

By the nanny, the housekeeper,

The man who comes to pull
up the weeds in the garden.

Do you think
arun bows down to Julia?

Have you noticed any effects
from taking the medication

That your son
prescribed to you?

The pills have no effect.

You're sure about that?

I'm positive.

How long has he been
prescribing them?

For two months.

And you are absolutely certain

That they have
no effect on you?

I am 100% absolutely,

Scientifically positive,
Dr. Weston,

Because I'm actually
planting them.

Sorry, what do you mean,
you're planting them?

I plant them in the soil
of the Siroi Lily

That Julia put in my room
before I arrived.

The Siroi Lily is the most
popular Indian flower.

So you're planting

The Effexor pills
in the potting soil?

It is the most happy flower,
Dr. Weston.

It's flourishing.

Fortunately for my
daughter-in-law's bank account,

It does not need therapy.

So does she handle
the finances?

She handles the therapy, yes.

She also gives me
an allowance...

$25 per week plus
an unlimited Metrocard.

She is my benevolent provider.

Do you think it's benevolent?

I... I do not trust it.

Is there anybody you do trust?

I trusted my wife.

Do you have a wife,
Dr. Weston?

No.
No, I don't.

Julia implied that your...

Your grieving for your wife

Hasn't eased
in the past six months.

Would you agree with that?

Dr. Weston,
my wife and I

Were married for 30 years.

From the age of 23
until the day she died

I spent practically every
day of my life with her.

I do not understand

The need to quantify
the process of grieving,

This need to count
the years and months.

I was a math Professor,
but this is not math.

This is the furthest thing
from math.

It is only a feeling.

And sometimes

It is only a blankness.

It must be
very difficult:

The loss of a wife;

Displacement from...

From your country;

Feeling trapped in a house

That you're not
made welcome,

Where you don't feel
you belong.

Whatever makes you say that, Dr.
Weston? I have so many things:

I have my small room,
my child's bed,

My flat-screen TV,
my Siroi Lily.

So there has been a discussion

About another child.

So they will eventually turn
my room into the baby's room.

And where would you go?

Basement,

Where there's not
so much sunlight,

So I'll have to leave
my poor plant upstairs.

You're not from here either.

No, not originally.

But we moved here
when I was a kid.

I had an Irish friend
in the university.

I recognized the accent.

They are waiting for me.

I'm very glad that you
came in today, Mr. Sanyal.

And I just want you to know

That I would like to help you

In any way that I can.

Perhaps you could
write me a prescription

That would allow me
to return to India,

Where my wife would be alive.

I would walk into my home

And we'd greet each other as if
I was simply away on a trip.

Then we would have
a wonderful dinner,

Talk about all the things
I did and saw

While I was away.

And later we would fall asleep

With a bright mo glowing
softly on the window.

Can you do that,
Dr. Weston?

What was your wife's name?

Kamala.

Kamala.

It's a beautiful name.

You know, Mr. Sanyal,
I really wish

That I could bring kamala back.

I really do.

When do I return?

Well, same time next week

Would be...
would be great.

Thank you for letting me
smoke, Dr. Weston.

I hope it doesn't offend
your other visitors.

I'll open a window.

You know, like I said,
I still miss the smell.

Good day, doctor.

Good day to you.