Original subtitles

PRIEST: Thank you, Anna.

[SUMNER GROANS]

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

Will you eat something now?

Here.

-Let me help you. -[GROANS]

I could feed you better if you opened your mouth a little.

A-ha.

Now chew.

Surely you've not forgotten how to chew?

You'll not get the goodness out of it

if you don't chew it right.

-[SIGHS] -Good. Good.

[GROANS]

[MOANS]

-[SUMNER GROANS] -Here.

We'll try you with a mug of tea later.

See how you are with that.

[SIGHS]

PRIEST: The men who found you consider you an Angakkuq.

They believe that bears have great powers

and that certain chosen men partake in them.

Men... who have the bear as their genius

have superhuman strength.

They are closer to the darkness, to the primitive.

This makes for a better hunter, or so they believe.

I have seen the Angakkuqs in action,

and I can tell ya...

that they are naught but conjurers and charlatans.

They dress up in their gruesome masks

and other audacious gewgaws

and make a great song and dance about it in the igloo,

but there's nothing to it. It's nasty heathenish stuff,

the crudest kind of superstition.

[SIGHS] But they know no better.

How could they?

They'd never seen a Bible before I got here,

never heard the gospel preached in earnest.

Here.

It's slow and painful work.

I've been alone here since last spring.

It took me months to win their trust,

first with gifts, knives, and so forth,

and then acts of kindness,

giving help when needed, extra clothing, medicine.

They're a kindly people.

But they are very childlike,

almost incapable of abstract thought

or any of the higher forms of emotion.

The men hunt, the women suckle children,

and that forms the limits of their interests and knowledge.

They have a kind of metaphysics, it's true,

but it is a crude and self-serving one,

and as far as I can tell,

most of them don't believe it themselves.

My task...

[COUGHS]

...is to help them grow up, you might say,

to develop their souls, make them self-aware.

-[EXHALES] -And that's why I am writing my translation of the Bible here.

Because if I can get it right,

if I could choose the correct words

in their own language,

then they will begin to understand.

Well, they are God's creatures after all,

just as much as you or I.

[CLEARS THROAT]

-PRIEST: Yes? -[GROANS]

Medi... medi... medicines?

Medicines? Medicines? Of course. Of course, of course.

I don't have much,

but, um, I've used the salts a great deal of course.

Do you... Do you... Do you have laudanum?

-Laudanum? -[SIGHS]

No, we have none left.

I used to have a bottle, but it's been used already.

[SIGHS]

I see you speak plain English after all

because I was beginning to fear you might be a Serb or a Pollack

or some other godforsaken denomination.

Where are you from?

Oh... It doesn't matter.

PRIEST: Found in the body of a dead bear

as if swallowed whole.

Some...

might call that a miracle.

I wouldn't.

What would you call it then?

Perhaps you should ask the bear.

[LAUGHS]

Aye, you are a clever fellow, I must say. [CHUCKLES]

Oh, you'd lie there for days, quiet as the grave,

not a word from your lips, and here you are... [LAUGHS]

Up and making merry with me.

You... were sent here for a reason.

Why does there always have to be a reason?

Because there always is a reason.

I just don't know what the reason is yet,

but the Lord...

the Lord will have one.

I want no part of that rigmarole.

[DOGS BARK]

[BARKING CONTINUES]

[SNIFFS]

Do you know whose this is?

Yes.

PRIEST: Whose is it?

[SIGHS] He was from the ship.

Otto.

He's one of our harpooners.

PRIEST: They just found his body.

And two dead Eskimo.

[DOGS BARK IN THE DISTANCE]

Tell the hunters we know nothing.

-[DOOR OPENS] -[WIND WHISTLES]

[DOOR CLOSES]

Who murdered them?

A man named Henry Drax.

Why?

Perhaps he wanted their clothes.

Furs.

But why kill them?

He must have travelled north.

The northern tribes of Baffinland

are a law unto themselves.

He may be dead, but...

likely he traded the furs for shelter

and is waiting for the spring.

And what is your name?

I'm not Henry Drax.

I am very pleased to hear that.

[PRIEST CLEARS THROAT]

[STRIKES MATCH]

So what isyour name?

-Patrick Sumner. -[PRIEST POURS WATER]

PRIEST: And your history?

I have none to speak of.

Every man has history.

Not me, not now.

Do you believe you were reborn from the belly of a bear?

[CHUCKLES]

If I have been reborn,

it does not mean l wish to learn anything anew.

I see nothing worth learning.

[SNIFFS]

[DOGS BARK]

[BARKING CONTINUES]

[WIND GUSTING]

[PANTS]

-[DOOR OPENS] -[WIND WHISTLES]

[DOOR CLOSES]

[EXHALES]

They say they want you to hunt.

But they don't really want you to hunt.

So why did they ask?

They just want you to be there. [SIGHS]

Despite what I tell them,

they are convinced that you have magical powers.

They think the animals will be drawn to you.

How long will I be gone for?

[PRIEST SIGHS]]

PRIEST: A week.

They're offering a new set of furs.

And a fair portion of the catch.

Tell them I said yes.

PRIEST: Are you sure?

You will not have the comfort of the cabin.

SUMNER: I will gladly do it.

There is little enough around here to keep me occupied anyway.

Maybe you could act as a good example of civilised virtues whilst you're among them.

-I'll be no such thing. -[SOFT CHUCKLE]

You know you are a finer man than you think.

You keep your secrets tight, I know that.

[SPEAKS INUKTITUT]

[DOGS BARK]

[SPEAKS INUKTITUT]

-[GROANING] -[WATER SPLASHES]

-[BOTH GROAN] -[SEAL WHIMPERS]

[SPEAKS INUKTITUT]

[BOTH GRUNT]

[SPEAKS INUKTITUT]

[CONTINUES SPEAKING INUKTITUT]

[SPEAKS INUKTITUT]

[WIND WHISTLES]

[SUMNER GRUNTS]

Go, go, go! Go, go, go. That's it.

-[SPEAKS INUKTITUT] -[ALL GRUNT]

[ALL GRUNT]

[QUIET SNORING]

[SPEAKS INUKTITUT]

[CONTINUES SPEAKING INUKTITUT]

[SIGHS]

-[DOGS BARK] -[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

PRIEST: So did you encourage their superstitions?

SUMNER: I let them believe what they want.

PRIEST: You do them no service by keeping them in ignorance.

[SIGHS] I have no better truths to tell them.

[SNIFFS]

What's wrong?

PRIEST: It's...

Badly bunged up, that's all. To me...

they seem closer to the animal world, don't you think?

Perhaps we are too far removed.

PRIEST: But they lead such...

brutish and primitive kind of lives.

SUMNER: UnsentimentaI.

But brutish? No.

They accept the reality of their existence

and the world as it is.

They have no great need to force change upon it.

I don't think that makes them primitive.

[GROANS]

I'll get you some brandy.

-Brandy, brandy, brandy. -[PRIEST GROANS]

[BOTTLE CLANKS]

[PRIEST MOANS]

[PRIEST MOANS]

[SUMNER SIGHS]

[PRIEST MOANS]

[DRAWN-OUT MOAN]

[CONTINUES TO MOAN]

SUMNER: Where is it, Father? Show me. Show me.

[PRIEST GROANS]

[GROANING CONTINUES]

[CRIES OUT]

[PANTS]

[PRIEST YELLS]

SUMNER: Your cecum is abscessed or ulcerated;

the difference is unimportant.

PRIEST: How do you know this?

I was a surgeon.

PRIEST: Have you done this before?

I've neither done it myself nor seen it done.

I read about it being performed by a man named Hancock

at the Charing Cross Hospital in London some years ago.

PRIEST: And?

On thatoccasion, the patient survived.

We're a long way from London.

SUMNER: I'll do what I can under these conditions,

but... we are going to need a large amount of luck.

Well...

You do your best...

and the Lord will take care of the remainder.

I'll need your help too, Anna.

[PRIEST PANTS]

I want you to hold him

and apply more of this whenever I say.

[PRIEST GROANS]

-SUMNER: In. -[PRIEST GRUNTS]

[PRIEST CRIES OUT]

SUMNER: Hold him. Hold him.

-[PRIEST GRUNTS] -Hold him. Hold him. Hold him.

[PRIEST YELLS]

[PRIEST GASPS]

[PRIEST PANTS]

[PRIEST GROANS]

SUMNER: Here we go.

[PRIEST SCREAMS]

[PRIEST GROANS]

[PRIEST GROANS]

SUMNER: That's it.

[PRIEST PANTS]

[PRIEST GRUNTS]

-[SUMNER GAGS] -[PRIEST WAILS]

-[PRIEST GROANS] -SUMNER: Nearly there.

[PRIEST CRIES OUT]

Oh, dear...

There we go.

[PANTS]

What did you find inside of me?

Oh, nothing good.

Then best be rid of it, I'd say.

Hm-hmm.

Well, for a man who puts his faith in life everlasting,

it seems you're awfully keen to linger on

amidst the pain and strife of this one.

I would like you to rest now, Father.

Will you be watching over me?

SUMNER: There's precious little else to do around here until the spring arrives.

Aye.

It's going to be a long, dark winter.

I thought you would be out hunting.

I'm not a seal hunter.

Come.

Sit with me awhile.

[SNIFFS]

You are a strange fella.

A constant source of mystery.

I know you have suffered, Patrick.

I know you've suffered a very great deal.

[CRIES]

All of my sufferings I have brought on myself.

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

I've made mistakes aplenty.

So many.

-[SOBS] -Show me a man who hasn't,

and I will show you a saint or a very great liar.

And let me tell you,

I have met very few saints in my lifetime.

[BOTH CHUCKLE SOFTLY]

What will you do now?

[SIGHS]

Well, I'm a surgeon.

I'll try to start again, the best way I can manage.

MEN: ♪ Oh, leave her, Johnny We'll work no more ♪

♪ Leave her, Johnny Leave her ♪

♪ Of pump and drown

♪ We've had full store

♪ It's time for us To leave her ♪

CREWMAN: Ease out!

CREW 1: Second bearing from the Western Pier.

CREW 2: Aye!

[SNIFFS]

[BIRDS CRY]

-[BACKGROUND CHATTER] -[CHURCH BELL RINGS]

-What's all this? -It's May Day.

It'll be lively tonight. -[LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[MAN LAUGHS]

[GIRL LAUGHS]

STEVENS: Mr Baxter.

I hardly believed it when I read your letter from Lerwick.

We thought we'd lost ya.

Drowned or frozen with all the other poor buggers.

-Yet here you are. -SUMNER: Yes, indeed.

Would you take something to eat?

Can l get you a plate of oysters or a pork sausage?

I know. Stevens, get this young man a nice morsel of calf's tongue.

I've come for my wages, and then I'll be on my way, thank you.

You will not!

You're not leaving here till you've sat down

and taken a drink with me. I'll not allow it.

-Stevens, that'll do. -STEVENS: Sir.

Both ships sunk, and you're saved by passing Yaks.

[SUMNER SIGHS]

Miraculous, don't you think?

SUMNER: So I'm told.

It's certainly quite a story to tell the waiting world.

Indeed.

But I won't be telling it any time soon.

Oh? And why is that?

Because I do not wish to become known

as the man who survived the Volunteer.

I wish to move on, the best I can manage.

Keeping quiet may be the greater kindness.

Let the poor buggers rest in peace, I say.

It was a terrible accident, but such things must be endured.

Wait.

You read my letter, I assume, about the killings.

Horrifying. Just horrifying.

I could hardly believe what I was reading.

Cavendish? Brownlee?

A cabin boy?

And you had no idea then before he signed on?

About Drax? What do you take me for?

The man was a great heathen, course he was.

But he seemed no worse than average for a harpooner.

Perhaps somebody should be searching for him.

You put Henry Drax behind you, far behind you.

He'll be judged soon enough.

It's what you do next that's important.

I know a man in London, a... a surgeon, name of Gregory.

-Heard of him? -No.

BAXTER: I'll write to him today.

We'll get you a bed for a night or two,

then when we hear back from Gregory,

we can put you on the train.

London's the place for your kind.

[CHUCKLES] You're too young and bright for Hull.

I'll have your wages sent over to the De La Pole

and, uh, when you've settled in,

I'll get Stevens to send you round a nice plump whore

to ease you back into the ways of civilised living.

[CHUCKLES] Hey?

It won't do, Henry. He knows too much.

Well, he don't know about the sinking.

He can't know that.

He knows it wasn't right.

Why turn the ship north

when every other bugger's sailing south?

-He said that? -He did.

What did he say about me?

-He swears he'll find you. -[CHUCKLES]

He says he'll find a man if needs be.

I think he's making enquiries while we're sat here.

What man?

Somebody in Canada.

To find out what became of you, to track your movements since.

Well, he'll never find me.

I told him you're likely dead by now. He wouldn't have it.

A man like Henry Drax doesn't just die, he said.

He must be killed.

Killed? Oh, yeah. [CHUCKLES]

He's just a fucking surgeon.

Yeah, he was in the army though, the Siege of fucking Delhi.

He's got some vinegar in him.

Where's he now?

l got him a room at the De La Pole,

but, Henry, we've got to do this tonight.

We can't delay.

If he gets to a magistrate in the morning,

there's no telling, no telling what trouble he'll cause for us.

I've been drinking all week.

You get that lazy sod Stevens to do it.

BAXTER: What? I can't trust Stevens

with a task like this one, Henry.

All our fortune's riding on it.

If Sumner blabs, they'll throw me into jail

and hang you by the neck.

What the hell d'you have Stevens around for, if not for this?

BAXTER: He's a good man,

but he doesn't have your experience.

Do it right, there won't be any struggle.

Aye.

BAXTER: Stevens?

I've a task for you. Listen carefully now.

I'm listening.

At midnight, you go to the De La Pole

and tell Sumner I need to see him urgently.

-Tell him I have important news. -About what?

Tell him it is about the Volunteer.

Now, he doesn't know where my house is,

so he'll follow wherever you lead.

You go up Trippett, past the foundry,

until you come to the warehouse.

Walk on through the building.

If he asks, tell him you're taking a short cut.

Henry Drax will be waiting.

-Drax? -Yes.

He'll shoot Sumner,

and after he's shot Sumner,

you'll shoot him.

[CHATTER IN STREET]

[FOOTSTEPS]

[KNOCKING AT DOOR]

-Yes? -STEVENS: It's Stevens.

-Baxter wants to see you. -Just a moment, please.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

MAN: Mr Stevens.

[LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING]

[MEN LAUGH]

[THUNDER]

[DRAX GROANS]

Others make oaths and promises,

but there are precious few who will do.

[MUMBLES]

Henry Drax will do.

[RAIN PATTERS]

[EXHALES]

[SIGHS]

-[COCKS GUN] -SUMNER: About what?

STEVENS: About the Volunteer. The sinking.

SUMNER: What about it?

-[DRAX PANTS] -STEVENS: I ain't sure.

[STEVENS SCREAMS]

-[BODY THUDS] -[FOOTSTEPS]

[DRAX PANTS]

[PANTS]

-Baxter, you fucking cunt. -[NEARBY THUD]

-[COCKS GUN] -[PANTS]

[THUNDER]

[LOCKS DOOR]

Why don't you show yourself?

Huh?

Well, lookee here.

I'll even put my gun down.

[GUN THUDS]

I'm offering a fair fight!

No weapons.

I've got a drink or two inside me,

even things up a bit! [LAUGHS]

If you plan to capture me, now's your best chance.

You won't ever get a finer one.

Baxter... [CHUCKLES]

Baxter says that...

you planned to hunt me down.

But here I am.

Right in front of you.

Alive, in the flesh.

Huh? Come on now, Sumner.

Come on, come on.

I know you're in here.

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

I can smell you.

Don't be bashful.

[CLOSES DOOR]

He's a sneaky cunt indeed, that Baxter.

I'd say there was more than one of us he wanted dead tonight.

[SUMNER SHUDDERS]

DRAX: Why might that be, Mr Sumner?

Just the two of us left now.

All the others silent in their graves.

Oh, Sumner.

Why do you think it is we travelled north

when every other bastard went south?

Yes, he's a sneaky bastard indeed, that Mr Baxter.

And a whole lot richer too since his two ships went down.

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

[SIGHS]

DRAX: Go on! Go on!

[GROANS]

[GRUNTS]

[CHOKES]

[GASPS]

[PANTS]

If it's an eye for an eye you're after,

or a tooth for a cabin boy's tooth,

you're looking in the wrong fucking place.

[STRAINED VOICE] You're a fucking monster!

But you and me ain't so different.

We're not so different at all.

[CHUCKLES]

[DRAX LAUGHS]

[PANTS]

I wonder

if your bollocks are mighty big enough.

[SUMNER YELLS]

Huh? Huh?

Huh?

[SUMNER GRUNTS]

[GROANS]

[GASPS]

[GRUNTING]

Aye.

[GASPS]

[GASPS]

[LABOURED BREATHING]

Shh! Shh!

[MUMBLES]

-[GRUNTS] -[GROANS]

[SUMNER PANTS]

[DRAX WHEEZES]

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

[WHEEZES]

[PANTS]

[WHEEZES]

[PANTS]

[SUMNER BREATHES HEAVILY]

[CLATTERING]

[WATER SLOSHES]

Baxter.

Baxter.

[LOUD KNOCKING AT DOOR]

MAID: What?

Could you tell Mr Baxter that I need to see him rather urgently, please?

MAID: And who are you?

I'm his surgeon.

MAID: Wait in here.

[DOOR CREAKS CLOSED]

[DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

[GUN CLICKS]

[BREATHES HEAVILY]

-[DOOR OPENS] -He'll see you in his study.

-[KNOCKING AT DOOR] -BAXTER: Come in!

[DOOR OPENS]

MAID: Is there anything I can get you, Mr Baxter?

No, thank you, Mae. You can leave me for tonight.

Me and Mr Sumner have much to discuss.

You don't need that.

I'd say that's for me to decide, not you.

Well, just a friendly suggestion, that's all.

Whatever exactly has happened tonight,

I'm sure we can resolve it without the need for firearms.

SUMNER: What exactly was your plan?

My plan?

SUMNER: Your man Stevens is dead.

Do not play the fool.

Uh... Let me, uh...

explain something to you, Patrick,

before you jump to any quick conclusions.

Stevens was a good man. Willing, loyal.

But there are some men who can't be controlled.

That's the simple truth of it.

They're too vicious and too stupid.

They won't take orders.

They won't be led.

A man like Henry Drax, for example.

A grave danger to everyone.

He obeys no master but himself and his vile urges.

Huh?

So, where a man like myself,

an honest man, a man of good sense,

discovers that he has such an unruly fucker in his employ,

the only question is, how best may I rid myself of him

before he destroys me and everything I've worked for?

So why did you pull me into it?

That was wrong of me, I confess.

I was in a tight corner.

You see, when, when Drax got back here a month ago,

I think it was,

I thought to make him part of me plans.

I had some doubts from the start,

but when I got your letter from Lerwick,

I understood for sure

that I'd bound myself to a monster.

But how to work it?

He's an ignorant fucker but he's no fool, as you know.

He's wary, he's guileful,

and he'll kill a man for the joy of it.

A brute like that can't be reasoned with.

Force must be employed.

I realised I needed to set a trap for him,

to lure him away and catch him unawares,

and I thought I might use, uh, you...

-As bait? -Well... [SIGHS]

It was reckless.

It was unconsidered, I see that now.

I shouldn't have used you as I did

and if Stevens is dead now as you say he is...

He was shot. Through the chest.

-By Drax? -Yes.

And what's become of that evil bastard now?

I killed him.

Oh, well... [CHUCKLES]

Oh.

Oh... Will you take a glass with me in celebration?

Or at least sit yourself down?

Yeah, you...

You've done well to come here tonight, Patrick.

-[PLACES GUN ON TABLE] -I can help you.

Oh, I didn't come here for your help.

What for, then? Not to kill me as well, I hope.

What would be the good of that?

I don't believe that I was just there as a lure.

I believe that you wanted me dead.

Why would I want such a thing?

Because it was you who had the Volunteer sunk.

It is clear to me now that Cavendish and Brownlee were involved too.

And the only two people who are still alive

who might have known of this plan,

was myself and Drax.

Look, take heed now, Patrick.

You listen carefully to what I'm saying.

There are two men lying dead in that timberyard,

one of them murdered by your hand.

I'd say that puts you in fair need of my assistance.

If I tell the truth,

I have little enough to fear from the law.

Oh, come on, you're not so innocent

as to believe such a far-fetched notion.

You're a man of the world like I am.

You can tell the magistrate your theories, of course you can,

but I've known the magistrate for some years.

I wouldn't be so sure he'd believe them.

And who exactly are you?

An Irishman of uncertain provenance.

There'd be investigations,

probings into your past, your time in India.

You could make things uncomfortable for me,

I'm sure, but I can do the same for you

and a lot worse if I wanted to.

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

Henry Drax is dead now,

and both ships are sunk.

No bugger's coming back to life again.

-I promise you that. -I could shoot you dead.

Right there.

Yes, you... you certainly could,

but then, you'd have two murders on your hands

and what good would that do you?

You need to use your head now, Patrick.

This is your chance to put everything behind you

and start afresh.

How often in life does a man get such a rare opportunity?

You did me a great service by killing Henry Drax,

however it came about,

and I'll happily pay you for the work.

[SIGHS]

I'll give you 50 guineas on top of your wages.

[CHUCKLES]

And you can walk out of this house

and never look backwards.

Get yourself down to London.

Forget the Volunteer.

Forget Henry Drax.

[DRAWER RATTLES]

It's the future

that matters now, not the past.

And don't worry about... about the warehouse.

I'll make up some story about that

to throw them off the scent. Are we agreed?

Give me the rest of it and I'll leave you be.

The rest of what?

SUMNER: All the money that's in that safe.

Every bastard penny of it.

What, you've come here to rob me?

Oh, I'm using my head as you advised.

The truth isn't gonna help me,

but that pile of money surely will.

I don't believe you'll murder me in my own house.

I am so very sick and tired of men like you!

And tonight, I stabbed a man in the neck,

and I watched him die.

Do you really think that putting a bullet in your skull

is gonna strain my nerves at all?

No.

Now empty that safe.

[SNIFFS]

[BAXTER MUMBLES]

Th-This... won't bring you the peace you desire.

-[SIGHS] -Patrick.

Trust me, wealth brings its very own particular kind of suffering,

one I don't... I don't think you're made for.

Well, I'm prepared to take that risk.

We both know how the world is, how it works.

This isn't something you can get away with.

[COCKS GUN]

[GUNSHOT]

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

-[BIRDS SING] -[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[WHISTLING]

[WHISTLING CONTINUES]

[CHILDREN CHATTER]

[DISTANT ANIMAL NOISE]

[BEAR GROANS]

[GROANS]

[SNORTS]

[BEAR SNARLS]

[GROWLS]

[SUMNER BREATHES DEEPLY]

[BEAR GROANS]

[GROWLS]

[BEAR GROANS]

MAN: ♪ Oh, we'd be all right If the wind was in our sails ♪

ALL: ♪ And we'd be all right If the wind was in our sails ♪

♪ We'd be all right If the wind was in our sails ♪

♪ And we'll all hang on behind ♪

♪ And we'll roll The old chariot along! ♪

♪ We'll roll The old chariot along! ♪

♪ We'll roll The old chariot along! ♪

♪ And we'll all Hang on behind! ♪

♪ Well, a night on the town Wouldn't do us any harm ♪

♪ Oh, a night on the town Wouldn't do us any harm ♪

♪ Oh, a night on the town Wouldn't do us any harm ♪

♪ And we'll all Hang on behind! ♪

♪ And we'll roll The old chariot along! ♪

♪ We'll roll The old chariot along! ♪

♪ We'll roll The old chariot along! ♪

♪ And we'll all hang on ♪

♪ Behind!