Original subtitles

My name is Thomas Vail, or at least it was.

I'm a photographer.

I had it all. A wife, Allison, friends, a career.

And in one moment, it was all taken away.

All because of a single photograph.

I have it.

They want it.

And they will do anything to get the negative.

I'm keeping this diary as proof that these events are real.

I know they are.

They have to be.

In the past few weeks, my small palmtop computer has

produced a number of individual names or addresses.

I've been directed to various people in specific locations.

This time, however, all I've been given is the name of this town.

And considering the source of my information, a defector within the organization,

it's more than likely that not everything in Darby, New York,

is what it appears to be.

At first glance, Darby is America's dream,

a place we imagine from our youths and hope as adults to achieve.

At first glance, Darby looks as if it could have been torn from the

cover of Boys Life magazine and set right down on God's green earth.

At first glance.

How you doing today?

Morning.

Great day, huh?

Morning.

How are you?

How you doing?

Just make sure you call him when you get to... Oh, I'm sorry.

Excuse me, I guess one of us should have signaled, huh? No, sorry.

I'm Jim Hubbard.

Tom, Vail.

Tom, Vail. Well, I'm very glad to meet you, Tom.

I don't think I've seen you around here, have I?

Uh, no, I just came into town.

What, you have a job here, visiting friends?

Uh, no, I'm just looking for a place to relocate. Heard it was nice up this way.

Ah, it is nice, Tom.

It is nice. I've lived here more than half my life. Beautiful country, nice people.

You know, people who take an interest in who their neighbors are, who's coming,

who's going, who's up to what.

Well, that's great to know.

So listen, welcome to Darby. Nice to have some fresh meat on the hook around here.

Those of you who might have been out of town or in a coma for the last few weeks,

it turns out Dan's daughter, Erin,

has been chosen to represent Darby at the National Spelling Bee in Minneapolis.

Oh, did I mention that?

Modestly. Rarely less than six times an hour.

Well, you know his dance.

Well, last night was the big night. How did she fare?

Well, I'm proud to announce that last night Erin came home bearing honors.

She finished second, bringing back the Silver Speller Award

to share with her family and fellow students at Darby High.

That's wonderful, Ben, really. We're all so proud of her.

Great going, Aaron.

Do you believe it? We're already out of time.

So until tomorrow, good morning, Garby. And remember,

smoking isn't just bad for you, it's bad for your neighbors.

Bye.

You're watching the Hometown Network Community Television. Remember,

wherever you live is home.

Good morning.

Hi. I'm sorry. I couldn't hear over the television.

Oh, that's OK. I came about the room.

Oh. It's $25 a week.

That'll be fine.

Good. Come in.

Thanks.

I'll take you upstairs. Have you had breakfast yet?

I now had a room, a home-cooked breakfast, and a car, all courtesy of Elsie.

So I drove the streets of Derby.

From behind the wheel, Derby looked like any other small northeastern town,

far from the urban cry or even my own problems.

It was hard to see why I might have been directed here.

Hey, you all right? What are you doing, man? Look where you're going.

You're going to get yourself killed.

Please, man, you've got to get me out of here. Michael, what's going on?

You've got to get me out of here.

What?

I don't want to be here anymore. There's nobody left.

Do you guys have a fight or something?

No.

Come on, we were just fooling around.

We're friends, okay?

We're just kidding.

No, they're not my friends.

Nobody here's my friend. They've gotten to everybody.

You've got to get me out of here. Michael?

Don't make me go home with her, please. Listen, Michael,

everything's gonna be okay. Listen, guys, see you later. Come on, go home.

Nothing's gonna be okay, and it's never gonna be okay.

If you don't believe me, ask Miss Cowan. She

knows. She'll tell you. Who's Miss Cowan?

The new English teacher. She'll tell you. She knows. Don't make me go home with her.

Michael, are you all right? Who do you care?

Yeah, he just got into a scrape with some other

kids. He's a little shaken up, that's all.

Thank you very much. I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble.

Come on, Michael.

Michael, don't make me ask you again. Come on, please.

Hi.

If you're the new transfer student, then I'm much too young for this job.

No, no, my name's Tom Vale.

You can rest easy. I was paroled a long time ago.

Okay, well, now that I feel appropriately youthful...

What can I do for you, Mr. Vail?

Tom. Tom.

I'm not sure, actually. I'm new here.

And somebody just told me a little while ago that you're new here also,

and I thought maybe... Are you asking me for a date?

No.

I'm sorry.

No, no, you're sorry. No, it's just since I've been here,

you're the first person to walk through that door

that struck me as having even half a heartbeat.

The fact that you're not asking me out makes me feel maudlin.

Maudlin.

Tomorrow's wordless.

It means tearfully sentimental.

I know what it means. I don't know that I've ever made anybody feel it.

Ah, well, don't let it go to your head.

All right, Mr. Vale. Since you are obviously here

on a significantly less important mission, what can I do for you?

Well, you can tell me what's going on in Darby.

Well, Mrs. Williams, she's the last English teacher.

She was pretty much forced to retire. She developed glaucoma and was nearly blind.

So, here I am, all the way from the Big Apple.

Must be quite a change.

Oh, yeah.

Greeting card. Picture perfected 24 hours a day.

What about Michael? He seemed to feel a lot more comfortable

being with you than with his own mother.

Well, Michael's a good kid. He's one of the more spontaneous around here.

But he has had some problems fitting in with the other kids.

Maybe that makes three of us.

Maybe.

Michael had some severe learning problems a few years back.

His parents had him tested,

and they discovered he had some problems with his eyesight.

They prescribed him special lenses, but for a 14-year-old boy,

that just creates a whole slew of other problems.

I take it you're not one of his loyal constituents.

Far be it for me to criticize. Just ask anyone around here.

Jim Hubbard's the best thing to come down the pike in years.

Between you, me, and the Walls? I never even heard of this guy until I got here.

I see you're on town, Mr. Vale.

Everything all right, Janet?

Yeah, everything's fine.

I think maybe you and I need to have a talk.

It's 7 o'clock, kids, and what does that mean?

Time to do homework.

Homework, that's right.

And we want to do our homework because we all want to get... Good grades.

Good grades, right.

And remember, kids...

Don't trust strangers.

If you're ever frightened, a stranger approaches... Call someone in authority!

This is Officer Joe saying... Tom, I didn't hear you come in.

Hi.

Hi. Kids just love Officer Joe.

Come on, you two.

Careful.

Be safe.

I'm sure you've got plenty of homework to do.

This is Tom. He's going to be staying with us.

Tom, the beautiful one is Abigail,

and the future grand slammer for the Yankees is Daniel.

Are you going to watch our television?

No, I've got some of my own homework to do.

Come on, scoot.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, sir.

Aren't they neat?

Have you had dinner?

No, no, I was going to grab a bite down.

Don't be silly. We've got plenty left over. Besides, you can meet my husband, Ed.

That is, if he'll take a moment away from his work.

Ed, tear yourself away for a second. Say hello to Tom.

Hey, Tom.

Welcome to Darby. Hi, thanks, thanks. Oh, I see

you're a devoted Hubbard man. Oh, you bet, Tom.

Jim Hubbard's the best thing to come down the pike in years.

Hey, you know anything about him? No.

I'm afraid, Tom, if you're staying with us,

you're going to know more about Jim Hubbard than you ever wanted to.

Well, you should take a look at this in your spare time.

So, do you believe me now?

So what I want to ask you is what makes someone a follower?

What makes another person a leader? What makes someone a great leader?

These are questions that need to be asked if we want to choose our leaders wisely.

But we live in difficult times.

The fabric of morality has evaporated.

There are those among us who would see our basic values

banished in the name of intellectual correctness.

The time has come for concerned citizens to strike back,

to let their feelings be known.

Our police must once again be given the power and the authority

to deal with those who choose to live outside the system.

Our legislators must be given back the power to create and enforce

the laws and guidelines that once made this a great nation.

This will happen.

Weird.

You'd think the only things that anybody cared about are picking up

trash or doing schoolwork or listening to that guy blab all day.

Jim Hubbard? Yeah, what a jackhole.

So what does your mom think about all this?

You ask her, I'm the only problem around here.

She spends her time cleaning the park,

and the other half working at campaign headquarters, just like the rest of them.

Them?

Everybody.

They're all the same.

Well, except for you, Miss Cowan.

Maybe me.

It doesn't matter. What do you mean it doesn't matter? Why not?

If they don't like you, they'll just get rid of you like they did to Mrs. Williams.

I don't know.

She's gone. Miss Cowan's here now, and she's still new, like you.

I just want to leave. You know what I use when

I'm feeling the way you're feeling right now? This thing.

What is it?

It's a loop.

Photos.

See how small it makes everything look?

So what?

Well, so, I mean, I use it to remind myself what's important to me.

Who I am.

And I can always remind myself when people are really getting to me,

just how small they can be.

You know, it just kind of puts things in perspective.

It's only a piece of glass.

It's not to me, because it's part of my past. And it's been a good luck charm.

Why don't you keep it? It's yours.

It's kind of good luck.

Excuse me.

Hi. I'd like to talk with you. You've got a minute.

Not here.

What's the matter?

I was told not to talk to you.

Who told you that?

Principal Hopper.

After you left yesterday, he cautioned me about the wisdom of a young, single,

female school teacher associating herself with a stranger in town.

Well, maybe he was just looking out for you.

It was a threat.

You'd have been blind to miss it.

Like Mrs. Williams.

What do you know about Jim Hubbard?

What's there to know?

According to our best and brightest, Jim Hubbard is the knight on the white horse,

poised to save the nation.

Have you met him?

Holy cow.

Those people work?

Yeah, for Jim Hubbard.

Used to be mainly the housewife-mom contingent,

but now a lot of people have actually quit their jobs so they can work full-time.

That's a lot of dedication.

What's up there, the stairs?

Oh, I think I'd sub it to office.

Hey, Tom.

Well, great to see you down here. Hi.

I see you decided to go for the right man. Well, I'm thinking about it.

Nothing to think about. You've come to the right place.

Oh, Ed Marlow, Janet Cowan. Right. Oh, nice to meet you.

You're the new English teacher.

Word travels quickly.

Well, we like to know our neighbors around here. Yeah, well, it's good to meet you,

Ed. Well, same to you, same to you. Take a look around.

Everybody's very friendly. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Okay, you bet. Okay.

All right. Bye-bye. Thanks a lot.

All right, folks, let's all go to the door.

Get your coats, and let's go outside. Nobody panic. I think we're okay.

It's probably just a false alarm, but let's all just make sure, okay?

What are you doing?

Checking for smoke.

Are you?

Your date for tonight.

Well, I'll make sure to hide my diary.

The time will come when they will fight back.

The question is...

I don't remember the last time I watched TV.

Look at this guy.

He even watches himself.

This will happen.

As the good people of our state begin to find

themselves living behind walls inside gated,

secure communities, the time will come when they will fight back.

Fight back.

Janet? The question is, when the time comes for that fight...

Which side will I be on?

What are you doing?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Did you find anything?

Yeah, but I don't know what it is.

Well, would you mind going along with these gentlemen, please?

I think they'd like a word.

Good evening, Tom.

It's important to watch.

Mom, can I turn it on, please?

Go ahead.

And remember, you must use the real bread flour. That's the secret.

The regular flour you get at the supermarket is too low in gluten,

and it simply won't rise properly.

Oh, and water temperature is also very, very important.

Just right, and you will have perfectly lovely rolls. Now,

about 100 degrees is where I find I have my best luck.

After you've rolled out your dough, I want you to set it aside for the first rise.

And when we are done with the second rise... Come on, Michael.

Let's go inside.

Isn't that gorgeous? We take our rolls,

and we slip them into an oven at 350 degrees.

When they are done, oh, I can hardly wait.

Yummy, yummy, in the tummy.

We have perfect cinnamon toasty rolls.

Yummy.

Perfect cinnamon toasty rolls.

Morning, Tom.

Morning.

Great day, huh?

Yeah, just beautiful.

Morning, Tom.

Hey, Jim, how are you?

What are you staring at? You. Why? It's a beautiful

day, beautiful girl, what could be better?

People are beginning to notice.

Well, you can hardly blame them. You're hard not to look at.

Don't touch me!

Get away from me! What is wrong with you, young man? What are you doing?

I came here to talk to Tom.

Hey, hey, what's going on?

What are you doing?

I just wanted to talk to you. They wouldn't let me in.

Well, I'm not surprised after the mess you made here.

What do you want to talk about?

Not here.

Not with them.

Okay, yeah, maybe it'd be better if I talked to them.

Thank you, Tom. I'm sorry to be such a problem.

Hey, it's no problem. It's no problem.

Okay, champ, I'm all yours.

All right. Okay, Michael, what's up? What's going on?

What's Miss Callan doing here?

She's working hard on the campaign, just like your mother and the rest of us.

Jim Hubbard's a great man. It's important we get the word out.

He's a total tard.

Since when do you care?

Oh, I do care, Mike. You know, and maybe when you're older, you'll understand.

Just participating in a democracy is a serious business.

It's a responsibility, and we all share in it.

You know, Jim Hubbard is the best thing to come down the pike in years.

I liked you.

I really did.

Well, not like you, Mike.

But you know what? You gotta learn to start behaving yourself.

My name's Michael.

And you can take this back.

You didn't mean any of those things, did you?

I mean, knowing what it's like when everybody's after you or looking

through that thing and seeing things as their real size.

I don't want it anymore.

It's just a stupid piece of glass.

You're watching the Hometown Network Community Television. Remember,

wherever you live is home.

And right now I'd like to take a minute to thank all the community

groups for the magnificent display of cooperation for the campaign.

Tom, aren't you going to watch TV with us? Uh, no.

You ought to watch a little TV.

Sleep tight, Tom. So, keep up the good work, and remember,

what's good for Darby is good.

Moms and dads, boys and girls, the excitement is building at City Hall.

The deadline has arrived. The entries are all in. Hard work is going to pay off,

so I think this year's winners come to hometown and be part of our contest.

Remember, Big Speech is just a day away.

Hey, Annie.

Nice to see you.

Bye, sailor.

I thought we had a date. Tomorrow's Jim's big speech. We've got lots of work to do.

Well, why don't you just head on in there?

Because I've got a lot of chores to finish, and I can get it right in with Ed.

You're not going to keep me waiting?

No, I wouldn't dream of it.

Okay. Kiss, kiss.

Back at you.

Hey, Michael, I need to talk to you.

Why don't you just leave me alone?

You're just like the others.

No, I'm not. Lookit, I'm sorry about what I

said to you before, but they were listening.

Is your mom home?

No, she's at campaign headquarters.

I need to ask you a couple questions.

About what? Uh...

Do you watch television?

Not much, but sometimes. You wear your glasses when you do?

Yeah, I have to. Why? What difference does it make?

It might make a lot of difference. Look, you helped me yesterday.

Just don't stop now. Tell me what's wrong with your eyesight.

It's called myopic dysplasia.

I can't focus right without them. It's kind of complicated,

but things are really messed up when I don't have them on.

You watch the Hometown Channel?

Yeah, right.

What does any of this matter?

It matters.

Do you know where they broadcast the show from?

By the way, make sure you don't forget the negatives.

Yes, sir.

Yes, right after the speech tomorrow.

Good night.

You are a persistent son of a bitch, aren't you?

Yeah, just leave that on the table. Leave it on the table.

Thomas J. Vale.

From what I've been told, you're quite a renowned photographer.

Or you used to be.

Well, news travels quickly.

We have an extensive network.

Yeah, in more ways than one.

Ha!

Yeah, they told me you were a scrapper.

Somebody who still believes in the fight.

It's a shame you never learned the art of surrender.

I never really had the talent for it.

Ah, well.

We can change that.

I doubt it. You know, even with all your toys, you still haven't won the election.

And you might have convinced Darby.

It's still a long way to the White House.

What happened in the jungle?

I'm sorry? Come on, Hubbard. You were there, running the whole show. What happened?

Whose operation was it?

I'm... I really have no idea what you're talking about.

I have it on film.

All of it.

What do you think is going to happen to your

campaign when I release those photographs?

Nothing.

Nothing at all, Tom. Would you mind moving over this way, please?

Now, you may have noticed that the good people here are very enthusiastic about me.

Well, they may not feel the same way about you in Albany.

Well, maybe not right away, but you know how things are. A chicken in every pot.

Two or three Sonys in every home. We go online statewide tomorrow.

Why bother?

Why bother with what?

Having elections.

You've already got control.

People are funny, Tom.

They tend to fancy notions like democracy, freedom of speech, free elections.

It's an illusion, of course.

Nobody is really free, you know that.

But first things first, I want those negatives.

It was easy as that.

First play.

It's the beauty of cable, Tom. Always something on. Turn around. Look at the screen.

Look at the screen.

I said look at it.

Look. Look at it! That's right.

Just keep looking.

Just keep looking. Look at the screen.

You're just looking at the screen.

Just gaze at the screen. You see it, don't you?

Just you can't stop looking. You just must look.

The time has come for concerned citizens to strike back.

The question is, when the time comes for that fight, Which side will you be on?

Down, down, down, come down.

More, more, more, more, more, more, more.

A little more.

Oh, good, great, great.

You stood me up yesterday. Just don't hold it against me.

Just give me a chance. Janet!

Kiss, kiss.

I think we've been blind to the faults of the giveaway economics.

Let's stop giving to those who are not deserving.

Why are you here?

Jim, speaking of economics, how do you feel about education for our kids? Well,

that's a relatively easy one. I thought you weren't like them.

Why are you hanging out with this creature?

I'm sorry. Would you forgive me? I'll be back in one minute. I'm very sorry.

Why are you helping this guy?

Hello. Hello. How are you? Don't touch me.

Tom, can I have a word with you? You bet.

Well, it looks like it's going to be quite a day.

Yeah, it sure does. Everybody's pulling for you.

I know you are. Yes, sir.

I want you to get him out of here.

Tom.

Oh, he's just a kid, sir.

He's a bad apple, Tom, and you know what they say about bad apples.

What, you mean one spoils the bunch?

That's right.

See, we've put up with him this long because I didn't want to rock the boat,

but today... Today is very important, and I wouldn't want to take any chances.

Oh, I understand. I mean, this would be a bad day for something to go wrong. Okay,

I'll take him home. No, no.

Get rid of him, Tom.

Any way you see fit, I don't care. Just get rid of him. He's a troublemaker.

No, no, no, no, no. It's for the good of the campaign, Tom.

It's what's good for everyone.

I can see that.

Good.

Good. Gee, I better get back to this interview. You take care of things.

Ah, ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry for the interruption.

You realize it's a very big day. Come on.

Come on, we can talk better. There's not so many people around.

Fifteen seconds, everyone.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

And up on four.

Perfect.

My name is Jim Hubbard.

Like most of you, I'm just an ordinary citizen.

And like most of you, I'm concerned about what happens

in our country and about what happens in our state.

I'm concerned about a loss of direction, a loss of purpose.

It is time that we reclaimed America.

For the last decade, we've been assaulted by political promises and empty gestures.

It's time for a change.

I don't get it. First, say that everything's okay.

And now you're down here with them.

Well, I'll try to explain it. What are you doing?

Come on, learn something.

Empty gestures.

It's time for a change. And I'm ready for that

change, and I think that you are, too.

Now, the first thing that needs to be done is that

we have to get all these politicians out of office.

We need leaders who come from the ranks of the rest of us.

People who understand the day-to-day problems and the concerns that we all face.

I'm your neighbor. I've lived in upstate New York

for more than 22 years. I understand New York.

I understand it's ups and downs.

It's strong points and weak.

People here are quite enthusiastic about me.

They may not feel the same in Albany.

What is this? Call security. Find out where that's coming from, don't you?

No, no, no, no. Now listen to me now, no. Wait a minute, what is this?

What the hell is going on?

Now you have to listen to me now. This is a hoax.

What I'm telling you is the truth.

I want to know who's responsible for this.

No, ladies and gentlemen, let me explain.

This is an obvious attempt for somebody to try

to confuse the issues and pollute the campaign.

This is a terrible way for someone to try to keep the truth from coming out.

This...

I want those negatives.

So then what did you do?

Well, I change channels on them.

And I still don't care.

Well, I'm not sure that I do either.

Good show, Jim.

You really think you've accomplished something, don't you?

You really think you've stopped this?

I stopped you.

Your friends will see to it.

You're a fool, Vale.

You're a fool. It doesn't matter what happens to me. You can't stop them.

They're just getting started.

So what was that all about?

I guess he thought some people would believe anything.