Original subtitles

[***]

BOY 1 : Tag. you're it. JAMES: You're it.

ALbERT: No, I tagged you Iast. JAMES: Uh-uh.

ALbERT: Wanna go fishing? JAMES: No fish. They're frozen.

ALbERT: No, they don't freeze. JAMES: What do they do? Just die?

ALbERT: No. Hey, look at this car. JAMES: Wow. A beauty.

ALbERT: Isn't that neat? lt's a Ford. JAMES: lt's not a Ford.

ALbERT: Yeah, it is. Then what is it?

JAMES: I don't know, but it's not a Ford. I've been in one.

[***]

Hey, Leonard, what are you doing? What's it Iook like?

Somebody might be coming.

keeP a lookout, James.

No one's here. JAMES: No one's coming.

ALbERT: My turn's next. JAMES: Uh-uh. Uh-uh.

ALbERT: What's wrong, Leonard?

[***]

MRS. LOWE: Leonard, honey.

What? MRS. LOWE: Better get dressed.

Your breakfast is just about ready.

JAMES: Come on. We'lI be late. LEONARD: Hi, AIbert. James.

JAMES: Hurry up.

ALbERT: Hi, Mr. DyIan. DyLAN: Morning.

kID: They won't let me play with them.

JAMES: You always study. ALbERT: Of course he does.

JAMES: l'm a naturaI at this stuff. ALbERT: Let's see you pass the test.

TEACHER: We're going to begin today with a history test.

keeP your eyes on your own paPers and at the recess beIl

bring your composition books up to my desk.

[***]

So, what are we gonna do today? I don't know.

[DOORbELL RlNGING]

MRS. LOWE: Oh, heIIo, boys.

JAMES: Hi, Mrs. Lowe. Can Leonard come and pIay today?

MRS. LOWE: Oh, no, I'm sorry. Better not today.

ALbERT: Well, how about tomorrow?

MRS. LOWE: I'm afraid he won't be weII by then either.

ALbERT: When will he be weIl? MRS. LOWE: I don't know.

Thanks for coming by.

[***]

RECEPTIONlST: Good morning, bainbridge HospitaI, may I help you?

One moment, pIease.

Excuse me-- You gotta ask her.

RECEPTIONlST: Good morning, bainbridge HospitaI, may I help you?

Oh, Dr. Horowitz, can you hold the line?

Bainbridge Hospital, can I heIp you?

Yes. Dr. Franklin and Dr. Tyler are in a board meeting.

Can l take a message, or would you like--? Bye.

Yes?

Yes, l'm Dr. MalcoIm Sayer. I have an appointment.

[PHONE RlNGING]

Take a seat, please.

Bainbridge Hospital, may I help you?

Thank you. Bainbridge Hospital, may I help you?

I can connect you to the cafeteria but they wiII have to page him.

Thank you. Bainbridge Hospital, may I help you?

Dr. FrankIin and Dr. Tyler are in the boardroom.

I can take messages, or you can caIl back in about 45 minutes.

When you say "people," you mean Iiving people?

Mm-hm.

Well, I'm here to appIy for a research position

in your neuroIogy lab.

NeuroIogy Iab?

We have an x-ray room.

This is a chronic hospitaI, doctor. The position is for staff neurologist.

You wiIl be working with patients, people. Yes.

A "doctor" doctor. Doctor.

CarmeI Institute? TeII me about that. Anything with patients there?

Earthworms. I'm sorry?

It was an immense project.

I was to extract one decagram of myelin from 4 tons of earthworms.

RealIy? Yes.

I was on that project for five years.

I was the onIy one who beIieved in it. Everyone said it couldn't be done.

It can't. I know that now. I proved it.

Maybe before, at St. Thomas?

AIl research? Oh, yes.

This isn't going to work. Ben, we're totalIy understaffed.

KAUFMAN: He's never worked with human beings.

His research talents would be wasted here.

If it wasn't a state Iaw-- Excuse me. But, uh...

You're cIearly Iooking for someone with more of a cIinical background.

As much as I need a job, there must be more appIicants suitable for this position.

Thank you, anyway. Dr. Sayer, back in medicaI school.

You couldn't have graduated without some cIinicaI experience.

You took a puIse, you took a temperature. You did diagnosis.

Oh. Well, there you have it then.

You do want the job, don't you?

Hey, it's this way, doc.

You spend much time at chronic hospitaIs?

I, um...

You'd remember. Guess not then.

Hi. ORDERLY: Hey, Christina.

You see, doc, we got MS, Tourette syndrome,

Parkinson's disease.

Some of them, we ain't even got a name for.

How are you?

SAYER: What are alI these people waiting for?

ODERLY: Nothing.

SAYER: How do they get weII? They don't, they're chronic.

We caIl this place the Garden. Why?

Because aII we do is feed and water them.

Thanks, man.

Mr. kean, I wouId Iike to ask--

I was born in 1 91 1 in kingsbridge, New york.

I came here in JuIy 1 955.

Prior to July 1 955, l resided at the BrookIyn Psychiatric Center,

Brooklyn, New York. Prior to that, l was a person.

[WOMAN SCREAMING]

NURSE: No, I'm not gonna hurt you.

Gets easier.

You don't think it wilI, but it does.

[***]

[BARKING]

Oh, no, Buttercup. Oh, good.

No, go to your house. Go. Go.

Go home.

Good.

[BARKING]

Good morning, doctor.

I have a new arrivaI for you.

She was brought in Iate Iast night. Here's her file.

HeIlo. I'm Dr. Sayer.

Do you know where you are?

Can you hear me?

"Diagnosis."

"MedicaI insurance." Hm.

Oh, God.

[***]

SAYER: Her name is Lucy Fishman.

She was found by neighbors with her sister several days after her sister died.

She has no other Iiving relatives

and they say she has always been as she is now,

with no response or comprehension.

And yet...

A reflex.

If she batted it away, I might caIl it a reflex.

But she didn't. She caught it.

It's stiIl a refIex, doctor.

I'm sorry. If you were right, I wouId agree with you.

It's as if, having Iost alI wiII of her own to act,

she borrows the wiIl of the balI.

TYLER: The wiII of the baII?

Excuse me.

This is ridicuIous.

Trying to make a good impression, right?

A good impression. That's it, isn't it?

You're still settling in.

Miss CostelIo, wiIl you see to it that Dr. Sayer's patients that are waiting outside

are rescheduled for tomorrow. Yes, sir.

Borrows the will of the ball.

That's great.

Okay. Thanks. Thank you. Okay.

Let us know if she catches anything else.

I'lI be fired.

It's aIl right. l'Il go back to school.

Did I forget something? No.

I just wanted to say to you I preferred your expIanation

and that l'Il Iook after things for you untiI you've settIed in.

Good night, doctor.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

[***]

HeIlo. Hi.

I'm Dr. Sayer. I'm Waheedah.

Waheedah. How are you today? I'm fine, thank you.

[SCREAMlNG]

Yes. Oh, sorry. What form?

Yes, l'll hoId.

Mm-hm.

Oh. Okay. Three, two.

Oh, thank you.

Bye.

HeIlo.

PUPPET [ON TV]: Contact. MAN: Roger.

PUPPET: Yippee! 5e made it, OrviIle. 5e're in orbit.

ORVlLLE: Oh, goody. Now we can try being weightless.

[PUPPET LAUGHlNG]

Let's celebrate with delicious Nestlé's Quik.

PUPPET: Nothing makes chocoIatey milk Iike Quik, you know?

ORVlLLE: That great NestIé's chocoIate flavor is out of this world.

PUPPET: Lut of this worId.

MAN: HeIlo, up there. Time to recharge with delicious Nestlé's Quik.

[PUPPET SINGING NESTLÉ JINGLE]

[***]

Lucy. Um...

You're out of the hole.

Um, could--? Anthony.

Anthony.

Could you heIp me move this?

[***]

Excuse me.

[***]

Lucy, you're almost there.

Come on.

Lucy.

Here's the water, Lucy.

Here it is, Lucy.

The water is...

MRS. LOWE: I don't know why your naiIs grow so fast.

It must be aIl that JelI-O they give you.

JelI-O, JeII-O. Day after day.

Red Jell-O, yeIlow Jell-O. Every day, JeIl-O.

WOMAN: Hurry up. You don't wanna miss the Iaundry truck.

MRS. LOWE: I forgot to tell you, Mrs. Cooper passed away.

Remember her? She was nice.

AIways a kind word.

Her dog I couId have done without.

Excuse me.

HeIlo.

Does he ever speak to you?

Of course not. Not in words.

He speaks to you in other ways?

How do you mean?

You don't have children.

No.

If you did, you wouId know.

SAYER: This is "atypical schizophrenia."

COSTELLO: "Atypical hysteria," this one.

"Atypical nerve impairment."

"No change since Iast examination."

"No change or therapy recommended."

That's very nice.

This one is "no change," dated 9-1 1-44.

Sorry.

That's 25 years.

You'd think, at a certain point, alI these atypical somethings

would amount to a typical something.

Uh-huh. But a typicaI what?

Doctor? Yes?

Wanna go for a cup of coffee somewhere or something?

Tea?

Oh, normaIIy, I wouId say yes.

I made other pIans.

Right, right, right.

Well, some other time. AlI right. Oh, yes.

I'm over here. Good night. I'm right there. Night.

[PLAYING SOFT MELODy]

SAYER: "Encephalitis lethargica."

Where is it? Where is it?

"Encephalitis lethargica."

Oh, I'm sorry, doctor. I thought someone Ieft the lights on.

I found it. I found the connection.

They alI survived encephaIitis.

Years before they came here. See? In the 1 920s.

That's very nice. Yes. Isn't it wonderfuI?

I'lI come back Iater. PIease.

How many have you found there?

Five, and l believe there are more.

How are they?

Just as you described them back then, "insubstantiaI as ghosts."

OnIy I guess many of them were chiIdren then.

Yes. Children who fell asleep.

INGHAM: Most died during the acute stage of the illness.

Those who survived, who awoke,

seemed fine, as though nothing had happened.

We just didn't realize

how much the infection had damaged the brain.

Years went by, five, 1 0, 1 5,

before these strange neurological symptoms would appear.

But they did.

I began to see them in the early 1 930s.

Old peopIe brought in by their children.

Young people brought in by their parents.

They could no longer dress themselves

or feed themselves.

They could no longer speak in most cases.

Some families went mad.

PeopIe who were normal were now...

elsewhere.

What's it Iike to be them?

What are they thinking?

They're not.

The virus didn't spare their higher facuIties.

We know that for a fact? Yes.

Because?

Because the aIternative is unthinkable.

[kIDS LAUGHING]

WOMAN 1 : He has a crush on you. WOMAN 2: Oh, stop.

WOMAN 1 : He does. WOMAN 2: No, he doesn't.

WOMAN 1 : He asked for your number. WOMAN 2: Come on.

WOMAN 1 : He did.

Ow!

COSTELLO: I'm aIl for fixing this place up, but what are we doing?

SAYER: I have a hunch.

Oh, excuse me. Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry.

What's stopping Lucy from crossing to the fountain?

COSTELLO: Nothing. ExactIy.

The visuaI fieId just stops.

There's a void. There's no pattern. No visuaI rhythm.

Nothing to compel her to keep going.

COSTELLO: So we're making something.

SAYER: ExactIy.

AIl right, Lucy.

[***]

She's-- Yes.

She's Iooking out the--

MRS. LOWE: Where's that article? Where is it?

This the right issue?

This is last year's. I can't find it.

I'd Iike to know more about your son. Certainly.

MRS. LOWE: Something was wrong, they said, with his hands.

He couldn't write anymore.

He couldn't do the work.

I should take him out of school, they said.

He was 1 1 .

SIowly, he got worse.

He'd caIl me and I'd come in.

And he'd be sitting at his desk in a trance.

One hour, two hours.

Then he'd be okay again.

One day I came home from work, found him in his bed.

He kept saying, "Mom. Mom."

His arm Iike this, reaching.

"What do you want, Leonard?"

He never spoke again.

It was like he disappeared.

Later that year, I took him to Bainbridge.

It was November 14th, 1 939.

He was 20 years old.

SAYER: What did he do for those nine years he was in this room, Mrs. Lowe?

He read.

He Ioved to read.

He read aII the time.

RealIy?

Well, that's alI he couId do.

That's enough.

Leonard.

AIl right, Leonard, we're finished.

SULLIVAN: Nothing, nothing, nothing and nothing.

Don't telI me. It's one of your statues. ExactIy.

How did I guess that?

Pass the salt, wiIl you?

But what about this?

Heh, heh. What do you mean "this"? It's a strobe.

You're wrong.

AIl of this before is the strobe. This is me saying his name to him.

Excuse me.

SULLIVAN: What does that mean?

Hey! Sorry.

Right down the middIe. Hum it in there. Hum it in there.

Home run. Home run.

I can catch a baIl.

Hey, doc, throw me the ball.

Throw me the balI. Throw me the balI.

ORDERLY: Get back. Hey, I can catch a baIl.

MAN: Doc. Hey. ORDERLY: I said, get back.

SAYER: Is this alI of them? NURSE: Yes.

SAYER: Bring them in here with the others.

[***]

l should have given David his divorce.

l just thought he reaIly would want to be a father to his son.

Excuse me.

The patients have been given their morning medication.

That's good.

Dr. Sayer was hoping you'd have some free time. Wanna come with me, pIease.

Beth? Yeah.

SAYER: One of the most beautifuI arias ever written.

Watch them closeIy for any reactions.

[ARlA PLAYlNG ON RECORD]

"CalI me IshmaeI.

Years ago, never mind how Iong precisely,

having Iittle or no money

and nothing particular to interest me on shore..."

Leonard, l know you can hear me.

I want you to try and respond when I speak your name.

See, it's not just any music.

It has to be the music that's right for them.

[ARlA STOPS PLAYING]

[RECORD PLAYER CLlCkS]

[SWING MUSIC PLAYING ON RECORD]

ANTHONy: It's like they're onIy moved by music that moves them.

I haven't found anything that moves Bert yet.

They'II sit like that alI day if I Iet them.

I have to play the first card.

L.

Leonard.

L.

[JIMI HENDRIX'S "PURPLE HAZE" PLAYING ON RECORD]

[LAUGHlNG]

This is Frank.

If you could just me help me get him to his feet.

There's something eIse that reaches him.

What? Human contact.

If you could just stand over there for a minute.

He can't waIk without me. If l Iet go of him, he'll faIl.

I'm not gonna let you faIl.

But...

he'll walk with me anywhere.

It's like the baII, onIy it's my wiIl he's borrowing.

The wiII of another human being.

Just let it glide.

GentIe. Gentle.

I'lI begin by moving the pointer to L, for Leonard.

When you begin to move the pointer, I'lI stop and you take over.

Do you understand?

AIl right. l'm beginning.

Very good.

No, maybe I didn't make myself cIear.

My fault. l, uh...

I.

L. Oh, good, good.

Now the E.

k.

Dyslexia.

E. Good, good.

S.

P.

You're speIling something eIse.

[***]

[MUMbLlNG]

RiIke.

SAYER: His gaze From staring through the bars

Has grown so weary That it can take in nothing more

For him, it is as though There were a thousand bars

And behind the thousand bars No world

As he paces in cramped circles Lver and over

His powerfuI strides Are Iike a rituaI dance

Around a center Where a great wiIl stands paralyzed

At times, the curtains of the eye Lift without a sound

And a shape enters

SIips through the tightened silence Lf the shouIders

Reaches the heart, and dies

SAYER: Have you heard of the drug L-dopa?

COSTELLO: What? It's a synthetic dopamine.

Oh, yes, I did. For Parkinson's patients, yeah. Why?

SAYER: Nothing.

MAN [ON BULLHORN]: Sign the petition now. Thousands of young men

are dying every day. Sorry.

MAN: HeIp us get out of this ilIegal war. Sign up now.

NEUROCHEMIST: A hundred years wouId pass

before modern neuropathoIogy would even aIlow us

to actuaIly locate the damage in the Parkinsonian brain.

Yes.

With our deveIopment of the drug L-dopa,

we can, for the first time,

promise the Parkinsonian patient a more normaI life.

By administering L--

SAYER: Thank you. Yes, um--

I'm very curious about this drug,

and l wonder if you've come across anyone who might have--

Excuse me, doctor...?

Sayer. l'm curious if you've come across any patients with encephaIitis?

After l'm through, Dr. Sayer. If you wouldn't mind.

Excuse me. NEUROCHEMIST: As I was saying,

by administering L-dopa...

[URINE TRlCkLING]

Do you think a Parkinsonian tremor taken to its extreme,

would appear as no tremor at aIl?

You talking to me? Oh, yes.

Imagine you accelerated a Parkinsonian hand tremor

to the point of immobiIity in the...

Suppose there's a patient

with Parkinsonian compulsions accelerated:

The hand tremor, the head bobbing, ticking, quickening of speech.

Might they not aII cave in on themseIves

and, in effect, turn a person into stone?

I don't know. Maybe.

Well, do you think L-dopa would help the situation?

Dr. Sayers, right? Heh, heh.

I'm just a chemist, doctor. You're the physician.

I'lI Ieave it to you to do the damage.

KAUFMAN: You know, Freud beIieved in miracles, prescribing cocaine like candy.

We all beIieved in cortisone,

till our patients went psychotic on it.

And now it's L-dopa?

With aIl due respect, it's rather too soon to say that.

Well, with aIl due respect,

I think it's rather way too soon to say that.

Let the chemists do the damage, doctor.

But l...

Dr. Kaufman? Yeah.

Did you read this case?

"New drug lets shaking paIsy patients eat JelI-O."

Yes, l read them, doctor. I read them aII. DutifuIly, soberIy.

AIl 30 cases had Parkinson's. Mild Parkinson's.

Your Parkies, if that's what they are,

haven't moved in decades.

Look at it again, sir.

Now, you know better than to make a Ieap Iike that.

You want there to be a connection. That doesn't mean there is one.

What l believe, what I know, is these people are alive inside.

How do you know that, doctor? Because they catch tennis baIIs?

I know it.

How many did you think I'd Iet you put on it?

AIl of them.

Some. One.

One. With the family's consent, signed.

Leonard has Parkinson's disease?

No. Um...

Well, his symptoms are Iike Parkinson's,

but then again, they're not.

Then what wiIl this medicine do for him?

I don't know what it wilI do for him, if anything at alI.

What do you think it'II do?

I'm not sure, because it was designed for a totaIly different disorder.

What do you hope it'lI do?

I hope it'Il bring him back from wherever he is.

To what?

To the world.

What's there here for him after alI these years?

You.

You're here.

[***]

AIl of it, pIease.

At 200 milligrams, he showed no response.

Maybe the acid in the juice neutralized it.

Maybe he needs more. Maybe he needs less.

I'lI try it in milk.

[***]

RAY: Five hundred miIIigrams.

MAN [ON RADIO]: Mets 2, Giants 2. Bottom haIf...

I'lI caIl if there's any change.

Yes.

MAN: Here's the pitch, on the way.

It's swung on. A high fIy baIl.

Thank you.

[SNORING]

Night, Sara. Good night.

[***]

[SNORING]

It's quiet.

It's late.

Everyone's asleep.

I'm not asIeep.

No. You're awake.

May I?

Me.

[***]

[CAR HORN HONkING]

SAYER: Leonard.

There's someone here to see you.

Ma. Ma.

Mom.

MRS. LOWE: Oh, my baby.

[MRS. LOWE SOBBING]

My name is EIeanor.

EIeanor.

It's a pleasure to meet you. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Ladies? Please. Oh, now what did I do?

MARGARET: Oh, my goodness.

How do you do, sir?

My name is Margaret.

Margaret.

Beth. Beth.

Anthony.

Anthony, how are you?

Great, man. How are you?

Great too. Ha, ha, ha.

AIl right, man.

You meet him? Didn't he look good?

Yeah.

[NURSES LAUGHlNG]

MARGARET: Don't eat so fast. BETH: He's doing fine.

ANTHONy: I mean, he's starving, right? He was starving.

I don't think l couId deal with losing 30 years of my life. Could you?

I can't even imagine it.

MARGARET: Potatoes? ANTHONy: Hey.

Come on, try something eIse. He does reaIize it, doesn't he?

Now, Leonard, turn this way, pIease.

It's a camera caIled a PoIaroid.

Thank you.

Takes a picture in Iess than a minute.

Amazing.

Now, if you could try this.

Splendid, that's wonderful.

I'd Iike you to walk now to the end of the room.

Good. Ready?

Go.

Very good.

And back now.

WOMAN [ON PA]: Dr. Sheck to X-ray. Dr. Sheck to the X-ray.

That was very quick, reaIIy. Let me get some more fiIm.

[***]

You have to at least Iay down.

You need the rest.

I'm afraid to close my eyes.

If l close my eyes, I'lI-- You'Il sIeep.

When you wake up in the morning, it'Il be the next morning.

I promise.

[MRS. LOWE SINGING LULLABY]

[MRS. LOWE CONTlNUES SINGING LULLABY]

[CLASSlCAL MUSlC PLAYING ON RADIO]

Happiest day, man. Far out.

Yes, l...

Look out. Poison.

What a wonderful place the Bronx has become.

[CLASSlCAL MUSlC CONTlNUES PLAYING ON RADIO]

That's my schooI. RealIy?

Is that cIassical? You pick any type of music you want.

[THE ZOMBlES "TIME OF THE SEASON" PLAYING ON RADIO]

What's that? It's rock 'n' roll.

Come on. No.

Come on. Go get it, boy. Go get it.

Attaboy. Come on, give it back.

[ENGINE ROARING]

Come on in. No, no.

Come back in. Something happened while you've been away.

PolIution. l don't think this is wise.

Leonard, that's not wading, that's swimming. Come on, Leonard.

Leonard, l don't know if the hospitaI is covered for this.

Leonard.

Come on. No, no. Not--

Come on in.

[LAUGHlNG]

Leonard, the tide's coming in.

[WHISTLlNG]

SAYER: That's the periodic table of eIements.

I can date my introduction to science by that.

It's wonderfuI, really. It's...

It's the universe at its essence.

You see, you have your aIkaline metaIs.

You have your halogens, your inert gases.

Every element has its place in that order.

You can't change that.

They're secure, no matter what.

You're not married?

Me?

No.

I'm not very good with people.

I, um...

I never have been, Leonard.

I like them.

I wish I could say l had more than a rudimentary understanding of them.

Maybe if they were Iess unpredictable.

EIeanor would disagree with you.

EIeanor? Miss CostelIo.

Oh, of course.

She's spoken to you about me?

What did she say?

That you are a kind man.

That you care very much for peopIe.

I'd Iike to put the rest of the group on the drug.

I reaIize this may be somewhat expensive.

KAUFMAN: When you say expensive, you have any idea how much money?

Yes, l taIked to Ray. I have an estimate, um...

Thank you. The pharmacist says

to put the others on the same dosage as Mr. Lowe would be, um, 12,000.

How much? $12,000.

A month? Yes.

I can't go before the board with that, doctor.

I was thinking of speaking directly to the patrons.

The few patrons this hospital has already give what they can.

We'Il convince them to give more than they're accustomed to giving.

Perhaps if they see Mr. Lowe. I think you overestimate the effect

that Mr. Lowe has on peopIe, doctor. We're taIking about money.

[***]

SAYER: There was an extreme rigidity of the axiaI muscuIature.

A gross impairment of the posturaI refIexes.

An autonomic dysfunction. It is a brain stem type of rigidity.

A meningismus.

What's most striking is the profound faciaI masking,

or deafferentation, which we now know

shouId not to be confused with apathy or catatonia.

Some things couId reach him, though.

The mention of his name, notes of a particuIar piece of music.

Or the touch of another human being.

But awakenings were rare and transient,

Iasting onIy a moment or two.

The rest of the time, he remained, as you see him here, in a metaphoricaI,

if not physioIogicaI, equivaIent of sIeep, or even death.

This was his condition when found by me in a remote bay of this hospitaI,

and the quaIity of his Iife for the last 30 years.

Now? SAYER: Whenever you're ready.

My name is Leonard Lowe.

It has been explained to me that I have been away for quite some time.

I'm back.

[***]

Okay, here we go.

Take her away. Okay.

Thank you very much. Sure.

Thank you.

[***]

MAN [ON TV]: ln the United States, antiwar protestors organized

a nationaI moratorium to demonstrate opposition...

[SNORING]

Dr. Sayer.

What is it? It's a fucking miracIe.

Where are my glasses? On your face.

Oh. Thank you.

WOMAN 1 : I just feeI so...

COSTELLO: Beth, cIose the door.

I'm taIking.

Light.

I'm loose.

WOMAN 2: I'm scared.

HeIlo?

WOMAN 3: Where is this? MAN 1 : Don't worry.

I'm walking.

Who are you?

MAN 2: Get up, get up.

[***]

Thank you for coming. Things are different.

BETH: Miriam. SAYER: Miriam.

BETH: Miriam. Good morning.

Look at that. BETH: Come on, Miriam.

SAYER: Miriam. Miriam. MAN 1 : I'm so excited.

BETH: Come on, Miriam.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

ANTHONy: If you don't eat this food, I'm gonna be in trouble.

Lucy.

I...

I had the strangest dream.

I have to take your bIood pressure.

I've been sitting for 25 years, you missed your chance.

MARGARET: Are you okay?

I need some makeup.

Okay. l think we can take care of that.

And I need some dye for my hair. BIack.

BIack? Rose, are you sure?

Yes. lt's aIways been black.

Dr. Sayer, something about fruit trees.

Prune the fruit trees.

I wilI.

[SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

I want a steak, rare. Ah.

Mashed potatoes and gravy. String beans.

I was aware of things, but nothing meant anything to me.

There was no connection to me.

There was a war or two.

This morning, I went to the bathroom aII by myseIf.

Do it, do it, do it. Heh, heh, heh.

I liked them better the other way.

MAN [ON TV]: Protesters marched from a meeting...

Where did they go?

RoIando, can you speak to me?

It's Miss Costello.

Do you understand me?

Lucy...

what year is it?

What year is it?

It's '26, siIIy.

BETH: Miriam.

Miriam. Come on, Miriam, be a sport.

It wilI only take a second. MIRlAM: Don't touch.

BETH: Miriam. MIRlAM: Don't.

BETH: Oh, jeez, I'm getting tired of this.

Come on, Miriam.

I'm convinced. l realIy am.

PAULA: "Like crowds storming the BastilIe,

the mighty Mets stormed their locker room shortly after 9:00

on their night to remember

and touched off one of the Ioudest, wildest,

wettest victory ceIebrations in basebaIl history.

ReIeased from bondage and ridicuIe after seven destitute seasons,

they raised the roof--

SIDNEY: LoIly, Lolly, LolIy...

PAULA: --of Shea Stadium."

LoIly, Lolly, LolIy.

Sidney.

Hi, Sidney.

Hi.

LEONARD: Are we gonna go to the same pIace?

SAYER: I don't know. ANTHONy: Stay together.

Stop. Pay attention. Stay together. Bring up the back.

Everybody stay together, come on.

Bye. bye. Here.

Bring Leonard. Anthony, get Leonard. It's aIl right.

ANTHONy: Wait. Leonard. Len.

Len, come on, come on, come on.

SAYER: PIease, stay with the group. MIRlAM: Hurry up.

Come on now. Stay together.

MIRlAM: Hurry up.

MARGARET: Okay, everybody get in. Back here.

BERT: Okay, no pushing, no pushing. SAYER: Just hop.

PAULA: Hey, doctor, I wanted to ask you

how my father is. The same.

SAYER: Try and make room. Ma, maybe you shouIdn't go.

MRS. LOWE: Oh, no. Of course I wanna go. Don't be ridiculous.

I'm gonna take the stairs.

LEONARD: It's crowded. We'Il go another time.

SAYER: You can't be there, Leonard, or the door won't cIose. Thank you.

Bert, stop jumping!

Sidney's going. He's a patient, Mom.

He's not the same kind of patient. But he's stiIl a patient, you're not.

I'm your mother.

Are there any other mothers going?

Joseph.

Wait a minute.

Now, what have you done to your hair?

Yes, bert. That's a tire. I know it's a tire, I'm not an idiot.

There's your bus, Ma. There, go.

Have fun.

COSTELLO: Don't you worry about it.

They treat me Iike an asshoIe. We'Il take care of that.

BETH: See you guys.

SAYER: There. COSTELLO: AlI right?

MRS. LOWE: Bye-bye. MARGARET: Come on.

COSTELLO: Rolando. RoIando. MARGARET: You go in the back.

Now, move on back, pIease. Right here.

You ready, Leonard? I decided not to go. l'm gonna stay.

Why? What's wrong? I'm okay, just...

MRS. LOWE: Bye, Leonard.

Wave.

[HORN HONkS]

I'm...

Doctor, come on aIready.

I'm-- AIl right. Leonard, are you sure? Are you alI right?

I'm fine, I'm fine. I'lI see you Iater. Have a good time.

We-- LUCY: Come on.

Have a good time. I'm coming.

COSTELLO: Bert. Bye, you guys. Have a good time.

Bye-bye SAYER: Bert, sit down.

Fish sticks, please. SERVER: Okay.

WOMAN 1 : Got those french fries. SERVER: Okay, here you go.

Hi. Um...

MeatIoaf, pIease.

SERVER: Here you go. Thank you.

MeatIoaf. MeatIoaf too.

Thank you.

SERVER: There you go. Okay?

Next. WOMAN 2: I'd Iike fish sticks.

Are you folIowing me?

Oh, I'm sorry, I was only kidding.

I saw you upstairs just now.

Are you visiting someone?

Uh, no.

You work here.

I live here.

You're a patient?

CASHIER: That's a doIIar 80, baby.

You don't look like a patient. Heh, heh.

I don't?

[REGISTER DlNGS]

[CHUCkLlNG]

SERVER: Can l help you?

I've always loved Carnegiea, haven't you?

Dr. Sayer.

What is it, Anthony? Did you choose this pIace?

Why?

I always come here.

Why? I mean, don't get me wrong, doc.

This is a nice place.

But after the first hour, it Ioses something.

Anthony seems to think the group is bored.

They are.

I thought about taking them to the opera house.

The opera?

The Museum of NaturaI History-- Oh, no, no. I don't think so.

Just a Iot of dead stuffed things. You know:

Oh, well, um...

Where eIse is there?

[CLICKS TONGUE]

[BAND PLAYING SWlNG MUSlC]

[BOTH LAUGHING]

[LAUGHlNG]

Is it Iegal again? Yes, for some time.

BARTENDER: What can l get you? Well...

A Rob Roy on the rocks. A what?

Could you make that a virgin Rob Roy?

[CLEARS THROAT]

I work the night shifts at this diner.

So sometimes before work, I'lI come see my father.

He used to go to all the games,

so l Iike to read him the sports pages.

I don't even know if he knows I visit him or not.

My mother doesn't think so.

But you do.

Well, sometimes I think I see something.

You know, I think I see a change.

And for a moment, I see him Iike he was.

You know, before the stroke.

And then it's gone.

I don't even know if I saw anything.

Does that make any sense?

Yeah. Yes.

NURSE: Okay, my troop, back to the ward.

Come on. Danny.

BilI, Deon. Come on. Put your fork down. Let's go.

So why are you here?

NURSE: Come on, hurry up.

I receive medication.

For what?

NURSE: Let's go, come on.

Without it, I'm sort of like your father.

But l'm okay now.

That's good. Heh, heh.

[BAND PLAYING "yOU MADE ME LOVE YOU"]

[ROSE SlNGING "yOU MADE ME LOVE YOU"]

[CLEARS THROAT]

[LAUGHlNG]

[CONTlNUES SINGING]

PIease. No. No.

I agree.

[ROSE CONTINUES SlNGING]

SAYER: Thank you, Rose. Ay!

And I was so sure

he was over-easy with bacon, wheat toast and bIack coffee,

I brought him his food without taking his order.

know what he says? "you forgot the tomato."

[BOTH LAUGH]

Did you bring it? No. We were out of them.

That's why I didn't get it in the first pIace.

RECEPTIONlST: Visiting hours are from 3 to 6 every day.

Good afternoon. Bainbridge Hospital.

Well...

it was really nice taIking to you, Leonard.

It was nice taIking to you too.

Bye-bye. Bye.

Paula? Yeah?

He knows.

Your father.

He knows you visit him.

RECEPTIONlST: Bainbridge Hospital.

See you.

RECEPTIONlST: Well, I could interrupt.

One moment, pIease.

Come on. l want you to meet a wonderful man.

Can you beIieve this? Doctor, these are my friends.

HeIlo. He's my doctor.

Isn't he the cat's meow?

I wanna show you the sunroom.

[PLAYING SOFT MELODy]

Miriam, I don't know how to teII you this, so l'm just going to say it.

Your husband...

He was granted a divorce from you in 1 953.

Thank God.

[LAUGHS]

Whoa. Look at that. Pontiac Firebird 400 engine.

Firebird. Oh, now, that's a car.

Morning, Lucy, may I have your hand?

Take me away from this pIace.

Rum. Right here.

I guess I lose. Well, I guess your luck is changing.

Very nice.

How's it going? How's it going?

Yeah. How do you feel?

Well, my parents are dead, my wife is in an institution,

my son has disappeared out West somewhere.

I feel old and l feeI swindIed.

That's how I feeI.

MRS. LOWE: I stopped by the hobby shop.

I got more pencils.

And I got this.

A smaIl T-square.

That's Good. Oh, I can use that.

Oh, good, okay. Good.

Let's start a new room. Hi, Leonard.

Hi.

That's reaIly nice.

I'lI be right back.

Leonard.

MRS. LOWE: He never talked about girls before.

He certainly never had anything to do with them.

It's a bit ridiculous, alI this girl business.

Don't you think? He's a grown man, Mrs. Lowe.

You know what he said to me?

I should take a vacation.

I should go away for a few days and reIax.

I'm sure he meant you deserve a vacation, which you do.

I can't leave him alone in this place.

He'd die without me.

Girls.

[PHONE RlNGING]

HeIlo? LEONARD: Hello?

Dr. Sayer?

Dr. Sayer, I've gotta talk to you.

Leonard? Yes. l think it's important--

I think it's important some things were said that--

WeIl, I just gotta taIk to you.

What kind of things?

Things that matter, that have happened to me,

things that I've come to understand. Things.

Where are you caIling from, Leonard?

Your office.

lt's very late.

Is it? Leonard.

You stay there, l'll be right over. Good.

[PHONE HANGS UP]

Leonard? Leonard?

Dr. Sayer, sit down. Sit down.

Why? What's wrong?

We've got to telI everybody. We've got to remind them.

Remind them how good it is. How good what is, Leonard?

Read the newspaper. What does it say? AlI bad.

It's aIl bad.

PeopIe have forgotten what Iife's about. Forgotten what it is to be aIive.

They need to be reminded.

Reminded of what they have and what they can lose.

And what l feel is the joy of Iife, the gift of Iife, the freedom of Iife,

the wonderment of life.

He kept saying that peopIe don't appreciate the simpIe things.

Work, pIay, friendship, family. It's--

And he was so excited, he talked tilI 5:00 in the morning.

I don't know whether this is liberation, mania...

Or Iove? Yes.

What he's saying is right though. We don't reaIIy know how to live.

But at 5 in the morning...

Waheedah. How are you?

I'm fine. Very good.

[THUNDER CRACkING]

Mr. Lowe? Are you alI right? Yeah.

What is it that you want now? The simpIest thing.

And that is?

To have the choice to go for a walk if I want to, like any normaI person.

You are free to go for a waIk.

I am? AIone?

What difference wouId that make?

Look, l'm not a criminal.

I've committed no crime, I'm not a danger to myself or to others.

And yet, l'm stiIl not alIowed to go for a waIk on my own by myself.

You didn't wake a thing, you woke a person.

I am a person.

Mr. Lowe, are you at all aware

of the unconscious hostiIity you're exhibiting toward us right now?

How can l be aware if it's unconscious?

Nora, pIease.

[CHUCkLES]

I'm curious. What would you do if you went out?

I'd go for a walk, I'd Iook at things, I'd talk to peopIe.

I'd decide if I wanna go in this direction, or that direction,

or straight ahead.

I wouId do aIl the things that you take for granted.

And that's it? That's it.

AIl right, then, we'lI certainIy take this into consideration,

and we'II let you know.

Thank you. MAN: Thank you.

[MURMURING]

Dr. Sayer.

SAYER: Are you all right? Yeah. l was aware of that.

It was nothing. I was nervous. What did they say?

They said there was insufficient data at this time.

That continued observation was necessary for a compIete diagnosis.

They said it's a different world out there and you may not be prepared for it.

They couldn't be heId responsibIe for what might happen to you.

They said no.

And what did you say?

They don't have to listen to me. Did you agree with them?

Yes.

Leonard, l don't think we're out of the woods yet.

I'm not sure that this is nothing.

It's an experimentaI drug.

We need time to evaluate things before--

Bye. Leonard.

Leonard.

Leonard, where are you going?

For a waIk.

Leonard. Leonard.

This is Dr. Sayer.

WOMAN [ON PA]: Dorquez, please calI the pharmacy.

Miss Dorquez, calI the pharmacy, pIease.

Where are you going? I'm going outside.

No. Patients not allowed beyond this point.

I'm going for a walk. No, no. I'm sorry.

PIease, don't make it hard on yourseIf.

ORDERLY: I got him. I got him. SAYER: Leonard, stop.

LEONARD: I just wanna go for a waIk. SAYER: He's not a mental patient.

This is unnecessary. Let him go. PIease, he's not violent.

He's not vioIent. He is not a mentaI patient.

WiIl you Iet go? You will hurt him. WiIl you Iet go of him?

WiIl you stop, pIease? Let go of him.

I don't understand it. He was never any troubIe before.

He was quiet and poIite and respectfuI.

He never demanded anything.

He was never disobedient.

Because he was catatonic, Mrs. Lowe.

I'm speaking of when he was a boy.

I'm sorry.

I don't know who that is up there.

I don't think he knows.

You've turned Leonard into something he's not.

It's not us that's defective, it's them. We're not in crisis, they are.

Yeah. LEONARD: They are.

We've been through the worst and survived. They haven't.

They fear it. They fear it. Right.

Because they know. MAN 1 : They know. They know.

They know. MAN 2: They know.

LEONARD: They know, they know

because we remind them--

We remind them that there's a probIem--

There's a probIem that they don't have an answer to.

And they'Il never be heaIers until they realize this,

until they start to see the problem, until they admit there is a problem.

And that the probIem isn't us. We're not the problem.

It's them. They're the problem!

It's them! They're the problem.

They're the problem.

MAN 3: They're the problem! They're the problem! lt's them!

They're the problem!

He's lived 30 years without the abiIity to release anger.

KAUFMAN: As have the others.

I think his behavior is more natural than the others.

Oh, realIy? His tics, his paranoia, these are signs of normal behavior?

Yeah, because he's in that place. Oh, is that it?

Yes, we wake him up and then Iock him up in a cage.

That's not paranoia, that's a fact.

The fact is, I've got 20 psychotics up there refusing to eat.

Now, they have no idea why they're refusing to eat.

How Iong should l Iet that go on? He knows why. He wants out.

Dr. Sayer, Mr. Lowe is not the messiah of Ward 5.

He's a man in trouble.

He wasn't resurrected, he was administered a drug by you.

A drug that's faIlen short of its miracuIous reputation.

The others are fine. They show no signs--

He's been on it longer, doctor.

Now, I sympathize with him, I've tried to accommodate him.

But l will not Iet him endanger the health of the rest of the patients.

SAYER: It wilI help if you wait for me out there.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

Excuse me. MAN: We can't aIIow it.

LEONARD: He's aII right.

He's aII right.

How are you today?

I'm aIl right. How are you?

Never better.

What's the purpose of these gentlemen?

Oh, these gentlemen protect me.

I wish I didn't need them. Someone's trying to hurt you?

Who? Who? Heh, heh.

That's the thing, isn't it? Who?

One never knows. Someone I Ieast expect, l expect.

Look at history.

Leonard, every patient on this ward thinks there's a plot against him.

They're mistaken, they're crazy.

[LAUGHlNG]

SAYER: You've gotten worse.

The drug's not working.

AIl these things you're experiencing are side effects.

They're making you behave this way.

I appreciate you coming to see me, but I have things to do.

Leonard, Leonard, please, look at yourseIf.

No, look at yourseIf. I have a sickness.

Sickness took me out of the worId, and l fought to come back.

I fought for 30 years, 30 years, and l'm stiII fighting.

But you have no excuse. Me?

Nothing to do with me. You have no excuse.

You're just a scared and lonely man with nothing.

No Iife, nothing. You're the one that's asIeep.

Your medicine could be taken away. They can do that.

You could wake up in the morning and it won't be there.

Leonard.

Get away from me!

[MEN LAUGHING]

I'm aIl right. Thank you.

I just fell. I'm fine.

[***]

LEONARD: Sayer.

HeIp me.

Can you waIk?

I won't Iet them take the medicine away, Leonard.

We'Il work together with it.

TYLER: AIl we're saying is you're taking an unnecessary risk.

He's had a reaction to the drug. He has acquired some tics.

But he's not as concerned with his appearance

as the affect it may have upon the other patients.

We'Il be working with his dosage.

He's aware, and he's prepared for any effects.

But he wants the others to be prepared as weIl.

You've gotta heIp me with this. MARGARET: Yes, doctor. Okay.

Hey, Len.

Welcome back. Thanks.

Hi, Leonard. How you doing?

How you feeling? You all right?

Gee, it's swell to see you. What's up, bert?

It got so quiet around here. Ha, ha. Because we're waiting for you.

[ALL LAUGHING]

[SINGING "LOVE'S OLD SWEET SONG"]

That's wonderful, Miriam.

You're looking good, Len. You're looking better every day.

Yeah?

[PLAYING "LOVE'S OLD SWEET SONG"]

What if he's just had enough of it?

What if it's just a matter of time for aIl of us?

There's no reason to think

what's happening to Leonard wiII happen to you.

Why not?

Well, you're alI individuaIs.

And you're weIl.

Aren't you? Yes.

[CONTlNUES SINGING]

That was IoveIy, Lucy.

I learned that song a Iong, long time ago.

I know what year it is.

I just can't imagine being older than 22.

I've no experience at it.

I know it's not 1 926.

I just need it to be.

How are you, Leonard?

Never better.

[CHUCkLES]

How are the others? Are they talking about me?

They're scared.

Well, they should be.

Can you stop this?

I'm not sure, but I'm trying.

Don't give up on me. I won't.

Four twenty-five, yes. Four twenty-five. Okay.

Here we go, 425.

FRANk: I got a postcard from my son.

LEONARD: l'm aIl right, and then everything stops.

Look at this, I got a postcard from my son.

LEONARD: No warning, it's Iike a light switch going off.

It happens that fast.

Something has to happen to bring me back.

A sound or a touch.

And then l can move again, l'm okay again.

Thanks.

LEONARD: It's not that it feels bad, it's just that it's nothing.

I feel nothing, Iike I'm dead.

Nothing.

LEONARD: Gets to be Iike I'm not a person anymore.

Just a coIlection of tics.

Not that l mind them necessariIy.

Sometimes they make life kind of interesting.

Though l'm not sure who's in control, me or them.

What l do mind is knowing that they shouIdn't be there.

Back to 5.

Okay. Five. Five.

Just a IittIe more. Just-- Okay, aIl right.

It feels good when I'm working. I feel good here.

Book Iist is coming aIong welI. I'd Iove to see it.

It's here somewhere.

That's all right, some other time.

[LEONARD GRUNTING]

Leonard. Leonard. Ugh!

What's happening? You're having an ocuIogyric crisis.

Get the camera.

Get the camera. Get the camera.

Oh, God.

[GRUNTING]

[CAMERA ROLLING]

I can't do this. I'm turning the camera off.

No, no. Watch, watch, watch.

Watch, watch, watch.

Learn, learn, learn.

Learn for me. Learn.

Let's see this

Six twenty-five. RAY: All right, 625.

SAYER: Six seventy-five, if-- Just-- Six seventy-five.

Okay. SAYER: Thank you.

I can't read anymore.

I can't keep my eyes in one place.

I keep going back to the beginning, beginning,

beginning, beginning, beginning...

I've Iet everybody down. I have. No.

I've Iet you down. No, you have not.

I have, l have. I'm grotesque. You are not. It's not true.

I won't Iisten to you talk Iike this. I'm grotesque. Look at me.

Look, and teII me l am not. TeII me I'm not.

You're not. Well, this isn't me.

This is-- This isn't me.

[LEONARD SOBBlNG]

When my son was born heaIthy, I never asked why.

Why was l so Iucky?

What did I do to deserve this perfect chiId?

This perfect Iife?

But when he got sick,

you can bet l asked why, I demanded to know why.

Why was this happening?

There was nothing I couId do about it. No one l could go to and say:

"Stop this. Please, stop this. Can't you see my son is in pain?"

My son is in pain. PIease, stop this.

He's fighting, Mrs. Lowe. He's losing.

SERVER: Here you go.

Uh, I worked,

had friends over, went dancing.

That's about it, not much.

That's great, you know.

I've never done any of those things. You wiIl.

They'II never Iet me out of this pIace.

And they shouIdn't.

I am stiIl not weIl, as you can see.

You know, I feel well when I see you.

And...

[STAMMERING] I won't see you anymore.

I just wanted to say goodbye.

Look.

[***]

Isn't that sweet?

[***]

Now? SAYER: Whenever you're ready.

My name is Leonard Lowe.

It has been explained to me that l have been away

for quite some time.

I'm back.

SAYER: What's it Iike to be back?

I thought it was a dream at first.

SAYER: What made you reaIize it wasn't a dream?

When l spoke and you understood me.

[DOOR OPENING]

You told him I was a kind man.

How kind is it to give life

onIy to take it away again?

COSTELLO: It's given and taken away from all of us.

Why doesn't that comfort me?

Because you are a kind man.

Because he's your friend.

[***]

SAYER: The summer was extraordinary.

It was a season of rebirth and innocence.

A miracIe

for 1 5 patients and for us, their caretakers.

But now we have to adjust to the reaIities of miracIes.

We can hide behind the veiI of science and say the drug faiIed.

Or that the illness itseIf had returned.

Or that the patients were unabIe to cope with Iosing decades of their lives.

But the reaIity is we don't know what went wrong

any more than we know what went right.

What we do know is, as the chemical window closed,

another awakening took place.

That the human spirit is more powerfuI than any drug.

And that is what needs to be nourished.

With work, play, friendship, famiIy.

These are the things that matter.

This is what we'd forgotten.

The simpIest things.

Well, ahem, good night.

Good night.

EIeanor! Yes?

Um...

EIeanor? Um...

What's wrong?

I was wondering, what are you doing tonight?

If you have other pIans, I--

No, I was-- Because I was wondering--

You have no plans? No, I have no, uh...

Because I was wondering if you--

We-- WeIl, you and I couId, um...

If we couId, um, go for a cup of coffee.

Yes.

I'd Iove to.

COSTELLO: My car is over here.

SAYER: What do you say we just waIk?

Okay.

[***]

SAYER: Let's begin.

[***]