All language subtitles for If.Beale.Street.Could.Talk.2018.720p.BluRay.x264-DRONES

You ready for this?

I never been more ready
for anything in my whole life.

I hope that nobody
has ever had to look

at anybody they love...

through glass.

I need to tell you...

- Hey.
- Hey.

Alonzo?

Alonzo, we...

We're gonna have a baby.

I should have said already,
we're not married.

That means more to him
than it does to me,

but I understand how he feels.

Fonny is 22.

I'm 19.

I'm glad, Fonny.

I'm glad. Don't you worry.

You tell my daddy?

- Not yet.
- You tell your folks?

Not yet, but don't worry
about them.

I just wanted to tell you first.

A baby.

What you gonna do?

I'm gonna do
just like I've been doin'.

I'm gonna work up
to just about the last month,

and then Mama and Sis
will take care for me.

You ain't got to worry.

And, anyway, we'll have you
out of here before then.

Are you sure about that?

I'm always sure about that.

I love you.

I love you, too.

Fonny used to go
to a vocational school,

where they teach kids to make
all kinds of shitty things,

like card tables and hassocks
and chest of drawers,

which nobody's ever gonna buy.

But Fonny didn't go for it at all,
and he split,

takin' most of the tools
from the workshop with him.

He started workin' as
a short-order cook so he could eat.

And he found a basement
where he could work on his wood,

and he was at our house
more than he was at his.

It was all so simple.

Learn this, build that,

get a job and work it
until the job became you.

But Fonny had decided
on a whole new view.

You see, he had found something
that he wanted to do.

And this saved him from the death
that awaited the children of our age.

And though it took many forms,

the death itself was very simple.

The cause was simple, too.

The kids had been told
that they weren't worth shit.

And everything they saw around them...

proved it.

Hey. How you doin', li'l bit?

How is he?

He's just the same.

He's fine.

He sends his love.

That's good.

Did you see the lawyer?

Not today. I have to go on Monday.

He been to see Fonny?

No.

Mama?

Yeah, baby.

Mama...

♪ I saw you standin' there ♪

Sing, mama, sing.

♪ In a mist of a dream ♪

♪ I wondered ♪

♪ Why, oh, why ♪

♪ That you were not there ♪

Get the good glasses.

- What you doin' with that?
- What's it look like?

♪ That I stopped and I stared ♪

What's the special occasion?

You the man of the house,
so start pouring.

Oh, but of course, madame.

All right.

I wonder what all this is for.

Not too much for Tish.

♪ I looked for you ♪

All right.

What's goin' on?

♪ You were nowhere to be found ♪

♪ To be found ♪

♪ Could it be my... ♪

Ooh.

This...

is a sacrament.

And, no, I ain't lost my mind.

We are drinkin' to new life.

Tish gonna have Fonny's baby.

♪ You may not believe ♪

Drink.

Uh...

♪ This could happen to you,
pretty baby ♪

Uh, well...

That's... That's one hell of a note.

Aren't you gonna drink
to the little one, Tish?

How long has this been goin' on?

About three months.

- Yeah, that's what I figured.
- Three months?

You mean, while you two was runnin'
around here lookin' at places?

All right.

Tish...

you sure you want this baby?

Yes.

And Fonny wants it, too.

It's our baby,

and... and it's not his fault
that he's in jail.

It's not like he ran away.

And we've always been best friends

ever since we were little, Daddy,
you know that.

And we'd be married now
if it wasn't for that lady...

Tish, he knows it. He knows it.

Your daddy knows it.
He's just...

He's just worried about you,
that's all.

Hey, don't you go thinkin'
I think you're some bad girl

or any other foolishness like that.

I just asked you because you're so young,

that's all.

And...

Unbow your head, sister.

To the newborn.

♪ We are ♪

♪ Next to the star ♪

I hope it's a boy.

Oh, Daddy.

That will tickle old Frank
to pieces, I bet.

Tish, do you mind

if, if I break the news to him?

No, Daddy.
I don't mind.

I sure would like to be the one
to tell them sisters.

Uh-uh, uh-uh.

You know what?

Joe, call 'em all over here.

- Oh, no...
- No, no, I'm serious...

- Ma.
- It's Saturday night.

We got a whole lot left in that bottle.
It's not late.

As I think about it,
that's the best way to do this.

Go on, call their asses on over here.

All right, look, all right.
I think you're right, love.

Let's get them on over here.

All rig ht. All rig ht!

Woo!

- My baby sister's havin' a baby.
- Mm-hmm.

Hey, hey, Nipsey Russell.

Hey, what's up?
What y'all doin'?

- What you wanna have?
- A boy.

- Fonny.
- Fonny.

What?

The day I realized
Fonny was in love with me

was strange.

It was the day he gave Mama
that sculpture.

I dumped water over Fonny's head

and scrubbed Fonny's back
in the bathtub...

in a time that seems so long ago.

I don't remember that we ever had
any curiosity

concerning each other's bodies.

Fonny loved me too much.

And that meant that there
had never been any occasion

for shame between us.

We were a part of each other,

flesh of each other's flesh,

which we so took for granted

that we never thought of the flesh.

And yet,
it was no surprise to me

when I finally understood...

that he was the most beautiful person

I had seen in all my life.

You know,
I've slept in this park sometimes.

Nah, it's... It's not a good idea.

Why'd you sleep in the park?

It was late.

I didn't wanna go home.

I didn't wanna wake
none of y'all up neither.

But I got me a pad
down here now.

So you wanna eat down here

or you wanna wait
till we get uptown?

Or, uh, do you wanna go
to the movies?

Or do you want a little wine

or a little pot

or a little beer?

Or a cup of coffee?

Maybe you just wanna walk around
a little bit more

till you make up your mind?

Come on.

Yeah.

Yeah. Ooh.

Y'all know we can see y'all, right?

Yeah. Don't be lookin'.
Keep your eyes in there.

Oh, y'all nasty.

Yeah.

- Oh. That old rattle.
- O h!

- All right.
- All right.

I got it.

- Hey!
- Hi.

- Ernestine.
- Adrienne.

- How you doin'?
- Miss Sheila.

Hey, it's so nice to see you.

Gotta call an emergency
or somethin' to see you?

- Great to see you.
- Good to see you.

Fonny's mother didn't like me.

She just didn't think
I was good enough for Fonny.

Which really means that she didn't think

I was good enough for her.

And in another way,
she felt that I was maybe

just exactly what Fonny deserved.

- Young lady.
- Daddy, I got it.

So you saw
my big-headed boy today?

Yeah. He's fine.
He sends his love.

Now, they ain't bein'
too hard on him, is they?

Now I ask you like that
because, you know,

he may say things to you
he won't say to me.

Lovers' secrets?

Well, he hates it,
you can see that.

- And he should.
- Come on.

But... he's strong.

He'll be all right.

But we gotta get him
out of there.

If he'd done his reading
and his studying when he should have,

he wouldn't be in there
in the first place.

- Girl, what you know about it?
- Hey! Hey, hey, hey!

I got some gin
and we got some whisky

and we got some cognac.

We ain't got no Thunderbird, though.

- I hope you ladies don't mind.
- Mind?

Frank does not care
if we mind.

Well, Mrs. Hunt,
what can I get you, sugar?

I can offer you coffee, tea...

ice cream, Coca-Cola.

- Coca-Cola.
- I got it, Mama.

How about an ice cream soda,
Mrs. Hunt?

I can do that for you.

Sheila, why don't you help me?

Come on.

- Oh, Lord! Time flies.
- Yeah.

I haven't seen you
since all this trouble started.

Girl, don't say a word.

I've been runnin' myself sick
all up and down the Bronx,

trying to get the very best
legal advice I can find.

I just pray and I pray and I pray

that the Lord will bring my boy
to the light.

- That's all I pray for.
- Mm.

Every day and every night.

And then sometimes,

sometimes I think
this might be the Lord's plan

to get my boy
to think on his sins...

and surrender his soul
to Jesus.

Yeah, you might be right.

The Lord sure works
in mysterious ways.

Oh, yes, He does.

Now, He may try you,

but He ain't never left
none of His children alone.

What do you think about
that lawyer Ernestine found?

Um, that boy Hayward?

I ain't met him yet.

I just ain't had time
to get downtown yet.

I know Frank saw him.

What do you think about him, Frank?

He's a white boy, been to law school,
got them degrees.

I ain't got to tell you what
that mean. It don't mean shit.

You're talkin' to a woman.

I'm hip.

And it's a mighty welcome change.

- Uh...
- Like I was sayin'...

It don't mean shit.
I ain't sure we gonna stay with him.

On the other hand,
as white boys go, he's not so bad.

He's young and hungry,

so he's not as full of shit now
as he may be when he's full.

- Hmm.
- I keep tryin' to tell you.

It's that negative attitude.
You so full of hate.

If you give people hatred,
they give it back to you.

Every time I hear you talk like that,
it breaks my heart

knowin' my boy is locked up
in some dungeon

that only the love of God
will get him out of.

Now, Alice, I don't think that
Frank was talkin' about hate.

He was just speakin' on the truth.

Well, I trust in God.

I know He cares for me.

Mr. Rivers, what exactly
is the purpose of this meeting?

You didn't call us all the way over here

just to watch my father insult my mother.

Why not?

It's Saturday night.

Can't tell what folks won't do
if they get bored enough.

Maybe we just invited you over
to liven things up.

I can believe you're that malicious,

but I can't believe you're that stupid.

Uh, um...

Let me go check on that,
um, ice cream float.

Uh-huh. Pedrocito.

Good to see you.

How can I help you, senorita?

I'm sorry your company tonight
is less than desirable,

but, sadly, that cannot be helped.

I had never seen Fonny

outside the world in which I moved.

I had seen him with his father
and his mother,

and I had seen him with us.

I had certainly never seen him
in the world in which he moved.

Perhaps it was only now
I was able to see him with me...

because even though he was turned away
from me laughing...

he was holdin' my hand.

Good night.

Tish?

Yeah?

Come and see my place,
won't you?

But it's late.

It ain't far.

Okay, Fonny.

Okay.

♪ Don't look so sad ♪

Hey.

Happy landings.

Here, Daddy.

Oh.

- Hey, hey, hey, hey.
- That's enough for you.

♪ Keeps on turnin' ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Let's just be glad ♪

I called this meeting.

I had Daddy ask you all
to come over so I could tell you

what I had to tell Fonny today.

What I had to tell Fonny today is...

Fonny's gonna be a father.

We're gonna have a baby.

You and me,
we fixin' to go out and get drunk.

All right.

Oh, I'm glad.
Don't worry, I'm mighty glad.

And who's gonna be responsible
for this baby?

The father and the mother.

You can bet it won't be
the Holy damn Ghost.

I guess you call your lustful action love.

I don't.

I always knew you'd be
the destruction of my son.

The Bible says,
"Put to death, therefore,

all that is earthly in you."

"Sexual immorality,

"impurity, passion,

evil desire, covetousness."

That child was born of sin,

and the Holy Ghost is gonna cause it

to shrivel in your womb.

But my son,
my son will be forgiven.

- My prayers...
- O h!

- Oh.
- Mama.

- Frank!
- Her heart!

I think you'll find it's still pumpin',

but I wouldn't call it no heart!

Help me, help her.
Come on, Mama, come on.

Joe, let the women take care of her, man.
Come on!

Joseph. Joseph, go on.
Go on, we don't need you here.

- All right, all right.
- Come on.

It's okay, you got it.
I got you.

Frank. Frank!

Okay. You're okay.

That was a terrible thing
you said to me.

That was the most terrible thing
I've heard in all my life.

My father didn't have to slap her.

- She's got a weak heart.
- She got a weak head.

The Holy Ghost must have
softened your brain, child.

Did she forget that that was

Frank's grandchild she was cursin'?

I don't think you have the right
to sneer at my mother's faith.

Oh, don't give me that bullshit.

You so ashamed to have
a Holy Roller for a mother,

you don't know what to do.
Y'all make me sick!

And who do you funky niggers
think you are?

She only asked one question.

Who is going to raise this baby?
And who is?

Tish ain't got no education,

and God knows,
she ain't got nothin' else.

Fonny ain't never been
worth a damn.

So who is going to raise
this baby?

I am, you dried-up,
yellow cunt!

And you keep on talkin',
I'll take mighty good care of you.

Adrienne, baby!

Can I tell you somethin',
sweetie?

Ever since the first day
I laid eyes

on your very fine person,

I got caught up in your Adam's apple.

Oh, I've been dreamin' about it.

And I can't tell
whether I wanna tear it out

with my fingers or my teeth.

And if you touch my baby sister,

I'm gonna have to make up
my mind real quick.

So touch her.

I knew we shouldn't have come.

Oh, Sheila. I didn't even know
you could say that word.

Ernestine.

Come on, Sheila. Let's go.

- Come on, Mama.
- Come on, Mama.

Just grab her purse. Come on.

Just come on, Mama.
We got you.

Hold her purse. Come on.

Come on, Mama.

I hope you're proud

of how you raised
your daughters.

My girls ain't gonna think of bringing

no bastards home to feed!

I can tell you that!

- That's 'cause won't nobody fuck 'em.
- Ernestine.

That child that's comin'...

is your grandchild.

I don't understand you.

It's your grandchild.

What difference does it make
how it gets here?

The child ain't got nothin'
to do with that.

Ain't none of us got nothin'
to do with that.

That child...

That child...

- That child...
- Come on, let's go, Mama.

- Go on home.
- That child...

That child, that child...

Get your shit!

Take your shit with you.

Don't be scared.

Just remember that I belong to you.

Just remember that I wouldn't hurt you

for anything in this world.

You're just gonna have
to get used to me.

And we got all the time
in the world.

Hold on to me.

...Salowski,

please report to station master's office.

I like lying here like this.

I do, too.

Lou was my first time.

Did you know?

Do you like me?

I mean...

When I make love to you...

do you like it?

You just wanna hear me say it.

- So?
- So what?

So why don't you
go ahead and say it?

I just know that I love you.

Mrs. Victoria Rogers,

née Victoria Maria
San Felipe Sanchez,

declares that on the evening
of October 5th,

between the hours of 11 and 12,

in the vestibule of her home,

she was criminally assaulted by a man

she now claims to have been
Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt,

and was used
by the aforesaid Hunt

in the most extreme
and abominable sexual manner,

and forced to undergo
the most unimaginable

sexual perversions.

I've never seen her,
I know only

that an American-born Irishman

went to Puerto Rico six years ago

and there met Victoria
who was then 18.

He married her
and brought her to New York.

Having pumped three children
out of her, he left.

Her home is on Orchard Street.

Orchard Street,
if you know New York,

is a very long way
from Bank Street.

Orchard Street is damn near
in the East River,

and Bank Street
is practically in the Hudson.

It is not possible to run
from Orchard to Bank Street,

particularly not with
the police behind you.

Yet Officer Bell swears he saw Fonny

run from the scene of the crime.

This is only possible
if Officer Bell were off duty,

for his beat is on the West Side,
not the East.

And yet, it is now up to the accused
to prove, and pay for proving,

the irregularity and improbability
of this sequence of events.

I'm doing everything I can to get him

back to you just as fast as I can.

But Mrs. Rogers' refusal
to reconsider her testimony

has left us in a very tough place.

- And now she's disappeared.
- Disappeared?

Well, how can
she just disappear?

I don't think she's gone very far.

They certainly don't have
the means for that.

But her family may have
returned her to Puerto Rico.

In any case,
in order to find her,

I'll need special
investigators and...

- That means more money.
- Unfortunately.

But doesn't it make it
look bad for her case,

for her to just disappear like that?
She's the key witness.

She's only one of
the key witnesses in this case.

You have to remember
this Officer Bell.

His was the authoritative
identification of the rapist.

It's Bell who swears he saw

Alonzo running away
from the scene of the crime.

If he saw Fonny run
from the scene of the crime,

then why did he have to wait
and come and get him out of the house?

Wait. Tish, Tish, wait...
Let me get you straight now.

You're sayin' that that Officer Bell
tells her what to say.

- Exactly.
- So you're sayin'...

There's no gettin'
at the truth in this case?

Look.

If I didn't believe
in Alonzo's innocence,

- I would never have taken this case.
- Call him Fonny.

Excuse me?

Call him Fonny.

When you call him Alonzo,
I see the judge

and the bars and the chains and the...

I know you're doin' my sister a favor,

and this is a very fancy law office,

but if you're gonna do this,
you gotta be family.

So call him Fonny... please.

I understand.

Now, you and Fonny insist
that you were together

in the room on Bank Street
with an old friend, Daniel Carty.

That's the alibi.

But your testimony,
as you can imagine,

counts for nothing.

And Daniel Carty has just been
arrested by the DA's office,

and I've not been allowed
to see him.

What they're doing
is really against the law,

but Daniel has a record.

They obviously intend to make
him change his testimony,

and...,
I don't know this,

but I'm willing to bet
that that's why

Mrs. Rogers has disappeared.

So you see,
I will do everything I can.

How soon
do you need the money?

We're already tracing Mrs. Rogers.

I'll just need the money...

uh, as soon as you can get it.

I'll also force the DA's office
to allow me to see Daniel Carty,

but they'll throw every
conceivable obstacle in my way.

Don't you cry.
Don't you cry, baby.

- Don't you cry.
- Here.

Here you go.
Wipe your face.

Wipe your face.

Hey.

Hey.

You see Hayward?

Yeah.

What the fuck happened to Mrs. Rogers?
Where the fuck did she go?

I don't know,
but we'll find her.

How we gonna find her?

We're sending people
to Puerto Rico.

- We think that's where she went.
- Yeah?

Suppose she went to...
to Argentina, hmm?

- Or Chile or China?
- How's she gonna get that far?

They can give her the money
to go anywhere.

- Who?
- The DA's office, that's who.

- Fonny, I don't think...
- Oh, what, you don't believe me?

Huh?

- You don't think they could do it?
- I...

I don't think they have.

How are we gonna get
the money to find her?

We're all workin', all of us.

Yeah, my daddy's working
at the garment center,

you're working at the department store,

and your daddy's workin'
at the waterfront...

Fonny, you need to listen.

Listen to what?

That lawyer don't give a shit about me.

He don't give a shit
about nobody!

You want me to die in here?

You know what's happenin'
to me... to me in here?

I'm sorry, baby.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean
none of that for you.

I love you.

You know that.

I do.

And I understand
what you're goin' through...

because I'm with you.

You take care of yourself out there.

Fonny had been walking
down Lenox Avenue

- when he ran into Daniel.
- Fonny!

Time had not
improved Daniel.

He was still big, black and loud.

At the age of 28,
a little older than Fonny,

but he was already runnin' out
of familiar faces.

So they grabbed each other
on the avenue.

- What's happenin', baby?
- Why you askin' me, man?

Oh, because like the man say
about Mount Everest,

- "You there."
- Oh, come on.

What's goin' on with
these threads, though, man?

Hey, you know,
I'm out here lookin' for a job, man.

Oh, I can dig it, man.
All right.

Yeah. Come on back
to the pad.

We'll get some beer.
Tish'll fix us somethin' to eat.

And though he certainly
shouldn't be spending the money,

he pushes Daniel into a cab
and they roll on down to Bank Street,

where I am not expecting them.

But I could not be indifferent to Daniel,

because I realized from Fonny's face

how marvelous it was for him
to have scooped up

from the swamp waters
of his past an old friend.

Oh, my God.

I get this, man.

No, Fonny, I'm serious, man.
I-I get this shit.

This is, uh...

The abstract, right?
Like, kind of that Negro...

- It will be something one day.
- Yeah, I know, man.

Like, I mean... it's solid.

I mean, keep doing your thing, man.

This is...

It's got weight to it.

- You wanna smoke, man?
- Hell, yeah.

Thanks, man.

They got lofts standin' empty
all over the East Side, man.

They all firetraps, too.

And some of them
ain't even got no toilets.

So you figure, finding a loft
ain't gonna be no sweat, right?

But, man...

this country really
do not like niggers, man.

They don't like niggers
so bad, man,

they'll rent to a leper
before they rent to a nigger.

Sometimes,
Tish and I'll go together,

sometimes, she'll go by herself,
sometimes I go by myself,

but it's always the same story, man.

And now I can't even let her go
by herself.

Dig this, right?

Last week we thought
we had ourselves a loft.

Cat had promised it to her.

- Okay.
- But he hadn't seen me.

Oh...

You know, so he figures,
a black chick way downtown,

looking for a loft all by herself,

- he think he gonna make it with her.
- Really?

He thinks she's propositionin' him.

I mean, that's what he really thinks.

She come back to tell me,
all happy and proud.

We go down there, and sure enough,
when that cat sees me...

he says, "Oh, there's been
some great misunderstanding.

"I can't rent you the loft 'cause I got

"all this family coming in from Romania

in, like, a half-hour
and I gotta give it to 'em."

Shit. I told him he was full of shit.

Yeah.

And then he threatened
to call the cops on my ass.

I'm really gonna have
to figure out a way of getting

some bread together and getting
the fuck out of this country.

Oh, yeah?
How you gonna do that?

I don't know yet.

Tish can't swim.

Come on, man.

- You all right?
- Yeah.

Fuckin' wrong...

You wrong for that.
Yo, man.

And, look...

Maybe you can go first.

Nah, man.

I don't think I could do that.

I'd be too scared.

Scared of what?

I'd just be scared, man.

You scared of what
might happen to Tish?

I'd be scared of what might happen
to the both of us...

without each other.

Mm-hmm.

You know, I know I might seem
like a weird kind of cat, but...

I got two things in my life, man.

I got my wood and stone...

and I got Tish.

Without them, I'm lost.

I know that.

You know, whatever's in me,
I ain't put it there.

I damn sure can't take it out.

I don't know if you're so weird, man.

I mean, I know you lucky.

I mean,
I ain't got nothin' like that.

Can I have another beer, man?

- Hell, yeah, you can.
- Mm.

- Here you go, big fella.
- All right.

- Appreciate it.
- Yeah.

- Hey, cheers.
- Cheers.

I just got out the slammer, baby.

Two years.

They said, uh...

They still say that I stole a car.

I mean, yeah,
I had a little bit of pot on me

when they grabbed me,
but, man, I...

I don't even know how
to drive a car, Fonny.

But then it sounded a whole lot better

than a marijuana charge, you dig?

By the balls, huh?

By the balls.

I've been smokin' up
all your smokes, man.

Should have got Tish
to get you some more.

Shit.
You already made of money?

- There she go.
- Hey.

- Hey.
- You need help in there, baby?

No, I'm fine. Y'all all right?

Yeah, we good.
We just sittin' here starvin' as always.

I'm movin'. I'm movin'.

I'm... Tish, I'm playin'.
I'm-I'm jokin'.

I gonna put somethin'
real special on your plate.

She's takin' her jacket off, man.

She gonna put the dukes up.

Thank you, Tish.

Mm-hmm.
- Mm-hmm.

- You got a good one, man.
- Mm-hmm.

How long you been out, man?

Hmm.

About three months.

It was bad, man.

Very bad.
I mean, it's bad now.

Maybe I'd feel different

if I had done something
and got caught,

but... I ain't do nothin'.

They were just playing with me
'cause they knew they could.

And, look, I'm lucky that
I only got two years 'cause...

when you in there,
they can do with you...

whatever they want.

You hear me?

What...

ever they want.

And they dogs, man.

Mm.

You know, I found out
in the slammer

what Malcolm and them cats
was talkin' about.

The white man

has got to be the devil.

Because he sure ain't a man.

Some of the things I've seen...

be dreaming about it
until the day I die.

Hey.

It's all right, man.

You out now.

And you young.

Man, I hear what you're sayin'...

and I appreciate it, but...

you don't know.

The worst thing...

The worst thing is
that they can make you so...

fucking scared, Fonny.

Just...

scared, man.

- You cats hungry?
- Yeah.

- Yeah.
- Yeah, we starvin'.

Tish, you didn't happen to bring
back no beer with you, did you?

Um, I think we got some left.

- If y'all ain't drink 'em up.
- Never.

Mm.

♪ Don't try to blow out ♪

♪ The sun for me ♪

♪ Baby ♪

♪ I'm not asking
for what I know can't be ♪

Tish, come on.
Thank you.

Thank you so much, Tish.
Seriously.

I'm not gonna cry.

God is good, God is great,

and we thank Him for this food,

and we thank Him to help
Daniel at our table tonight.

Sounds like you got it
all figured out.

I mean, who you learn
that from, Fonny?

♪ I wouldn't ask you to lift up ♪

♪ This great ♪

♪ Big world, little baby ♪

♪ I'm not that kind ♪

♪ Of girl ♪

♪ All that I ask ♪

♪ Is a smile or two ♪

♪ And nothing in this world ♪

♪ Will be too good for you ♪

Get me out of here!

Get me out of here, baby, please!

Hey.

I know I can't help you
very much right now.

Lord knows what
I wouldn't give if I could.

But I know about sufferin'.

And I know that it ends.

And when you lyin'
in this bed,

you not by yourself.

You got this child right here
beneath your heart.

And we all countin' on you.

Fonny countin' on you...

to bring this baby here
safe and well and...

You the only one that can do it.

You understand?

Yes, Mama.

Okay.

I don't wanna sound foolish...

but remember,
love is what brought you here.

And if you trusted love this far,

don't panic now.

Trust it all the way.

I love you, baby girl.

I love you, too.

Hey, Jezebel.

Sis started calling me
Jezebel after I got myjob

at the perfume counter.
She said...

You smell like a Louisiana whore.

The store thought
that it was very progressive

to give this job to a colored girl.

I stand behind that counter
all day long...

smilin' till my back teeth ache.

And it isn't only old white ladies

who come to that counter
to smell the back of my hand.

Very rarely does a black cat come

anywhere near this counter.

And if he does, his intentions
are often more generous

and always more precise.

Perhaps for a black cat,
I look like a helpless baby sister

and he doesn't wanna see me
turn into a whore.

And yet, some black cats come closer,

just to look into my eyes
to check out what's happenin',

and they never smell the back of my hand.

A black cat puts out his hand
and you spray it,

and he carries the back of his own hand

to his own nostrils.

But a white man?

A white man will take your hand,

he will carry your flesh
to his nostrils...

...and he will hold it there.

He will hold it there for a lifetime.

Thank you.

All right.

You want the good news
or the bad news first?

Bad news.

See, that's how I know we family.

Okay.

The bad news is...

they found Mrs. Rogers,
but she's in Puerto Rico.

Somebody's gotta go
and talk to her.

Which we'll have to pay for.

- Okay.
- Hmm.

So what's the good news?

You smell nice.

That they found her, baby.

But how did she get
to Puerto Rico?

I can't go to Puerto Rico.

Mama and Daddy don't know.

I haven't talked to them yet

because I wanted
to talk to you first.

Do you think she was really raped?

Baby sis.

I actually do think she was raped...

and that she has absolutely
no idea who did it,

that the man could pass her
on the street

and she wouldn't even
recognize him.

But why Fonny?

Because he was presented to her
as the rapist,

and it was much easier
for her to say yes

than to try to relive
the whole damn thing.

Oh. Well, what about Daniel?

Daniel can vouch for us.
Daniel knows Fonny was with him.

And Hayward's gonna
talk to him tomorrow.

He might have been able
to talk to him today.

Some shit.

Yeah.

But we in it now.

And you, uh, you showed her
the ad, right?

All right, lady and gentleman,
here we are.

Hey, I know it doesn't look
like much right now,

but, um,
well, we're not done, you see?

You gotta, you gotta imagine
that there's like walls

all the way up and down here and...

I mean, yeah, it's a...
it's a work in progress.

Yeah. See, Tish, it's not done.

It's a work in progress.

Fonny, I'm sorry,

but how we gonna make this
into a home?

Look. Look, imagine
there are walls, right?

Over here and over here.

I mean, see, none of this
is gonna be here.

It's gonna be like
we got our own little space.

And maybe there'll be some
other young folks, over there

and, and over there,
like a community, right?

Uh, yeah, a community.
Yeah, sure.

But... where are we gonna cook

and sleep and bathe?
I mean...

Where are my mama
and them gonna sit?

Easy.

Look, I'll put a couch
right over here, huh?

Mama, Daddy, maybe even Ernestine, right?

And the bed,
I'll put all the way back there,

right against the wall,

so I can see that pretty light
on your face when the sun rises.

Some of my sculptures over here
and over here.

Right?

As far as eatin' goes,
I was thinkin'...

I was thinkin'
we could put a table right here.

What you think?

I don't know, Fonny.

As far as I'm concerned,

the only thing
we missin' is a fridge.

But I don't wanna
throw my back out

before we even have
a chance to make a kid.

Hey, Levy.

Come on, give me a, a hand
with this fridge, man.

- What, you want me to...
- Yeah, come on, help me out.

Okay.

All right, babe,
I need you to get the door.

Get the door, come on.

- All right. All right. You ready?
- Okay. Yeah, I'm ready.

- You ready?
- I'm ready.

- Three, two, one.
- Uh-huh.

Oh, okay, all right.
You good?

- Yeah, I'm good.
- All right.

- Slowly now. Careful.
- Okay, okay.

All right. Why am I straining
more than you?

I got you. I got you.

Right on back here.
Right on back here. All right.

- Right here?
- Yeah, right here. Perfect.

Right.

Whoo! Ha!

Hey, that sure took
a load out of me.

Yeah... me, too.

But what a man wouldn't do
for love, eh, Levy?

Amen.

Well, thank you for my fridge, boys,

but don't forget about my stove.

Oh! Oh, yeah, of course not.

Uh, you mind helpin' me out
with the stove?

- Not at all, no.
- Levy? All right.

We gotta make sure we get that.

You don't gotta worry
about your neighbors.

All you got down here
is sweatshops.

And the place on the ground
floor, though, it's legit.

So other than it bein' a firetrap,
what's the catch?

Catch?

I mean, no offense,
Levy, but...

we've been looking for a long time.

Don't seem to me like there's a reason

to treat two Negros so nice like.

I mean, clearly, we ain't got a pot

nor much of a drink to make piss with.

Pardon my French.

Look, man, with me,
it's, uh, it's pretty simple.

I... I dig people
who love each other.

Black, white, green, purple,
it doesn't really matter to me.

Just spread the love,
you know?

- Oh, so you a hippie now?
- No.

I ain't take you for no hippie, man.

No, man, I'm, uh...

I don't know,
I'm just my mother's son.

You know, sometimes that's all that makes
the difference between us and them.

All right, well, just, uh,
just keep in touch

about gettin'
that deposit together, yeah?

Will do.

Will do, Levy.

- Thank you.
- Yeah.

Whoo!

You ready for this?

I've never been more ready
for anything in my whole life.

I'm gonna grab some things for dinner.

I'm gonna grab me some smokes
from across the street.

What we gonna do?

Well, the first thing we gotta do

is we gotta stop blaming ourselves.

If we can't do that, man,
we'll never get the boy out

because he'll be so fucked up.

And we cannot fuck up now, baby,

and I know you hear
where I'm comin' from.

Yeah, I hear that, man.

But what we gonna do
about the money?

You ever have any money?

- You ever have any money?
- No.

Then why are you worried
about it now?

You raised them somehow.

You fed them somehow,
didn't you?

If we start worryin'
about the money now...

then we fucked,
and we'll lose our children.

That white man, baby,

he want you to be worried
about the money.

That's his whole game.

But if we got to where we are
without the money,

we can get further.

I ain't worried about their money.

It don't belong to them anyhow.

They stole it from us.

They ain't never met nobody

that they didn't lie to and steal from.

Well, I can steal, too.

And rob.

How you think I raised my daughters?

Shit.

And what you think is gonna happen?

- What we make happen.
- Man, that's easy to say.

Not if you mean it.

Man, I love Fonny more than
I love anybody in this world.

Makes me ashamed, man,
because he was a...

he was a real manly little boy
who wasn't scared of nothin'.

Yeah, except, maybe his mama.

And now he's in jail
and it ain't his fault,

and I don't know
how I'm gonna get him out.

I'm sure one hell of a man.

Well, he sure thinks you are.

He loves you and respects you.

Let me tell you somethin' else.

Your son is the father

of my daughter's child.

Now, how you gonna sit here

and act like can't nothin' be done?

We got a baby
on the way here, man.

You want me to beat
the shit out of you?

Now... I know some hustles,

and you know some hustles,

and these are our children,
and we gotta set them free.

So, let's drink on up, man,

and let's go on in.

We got a whole lot of shit
to deal with in a hurry.

The date for Fonny's
trial keeps changing.

This fact, of course,
forces me to realize

that Hayward's concern is genuine.

I don't think that he very much cared
in the beginning.

He'd never taken a case
like Fonny's before,

but once into it,
the odor of shit rose too high.

He had no choice
but to keep stirrin' it.

It became obvious at once,
for example,

that the degree of his concern
for his client

placed him at odds with the keepers

of the keys and seals.

He had not expected this,

and at first it bewildered,

then frightened and angered him.

It didn't help that I distrusted him,

Ernestine harangued him,

Mama was exhaustin' him.

For Joseph, he was
just another white boy

with a college degree.

Fonny's actual trial...

And so, I start
lettin' out my clothes

and go to work wearing dresses
that fit like sacks.

Mama starts preparin' herself
for a journey

to save Fonny's soul.

And Joseph and Frank
are coldly stealin'

from the docks and the garment center...

sellin' the hot goods
in Harlem or in Brooklyn.

They don't tell me any of this,
of course...

but I know it.

I know it.

Thank you.

Here she come.

Big as two houses.

Are you sure it ain't twins

or triplets?

Shit, we might make history.

Your daddy figure hisself a comedian.

You look good, baby.

Well, thank you, honey.

Better than anybody in here.
I don't care how big you get.

Well, as soon as that
ain't the truth, somethin' wrong.

You tell me,
'cause I'm out of here then.

How you doin', husband?

I'm good, wife.

You here now.
I'm okay now.

You know I love you.

No matter what happens
with all this shit,

you know I...

Tish! Guard! Guard!

Tish!

I'm all right.

I'm okay.

I'm fine.

- You all right?
- Me?

I'm not the one
who just got punched

by a midget inside
they belly.

I remember the night
the baby was conceived.

It was the day we saw our loft.

I can sure dig a tomato
who digs tomatoes.

Hey, sweet tomato.

You know I dig tomatoes.

Come on, brown sugar, give me a smile.
Come on, babe.

What the hell are you doin', man?

Hey! Shit!

- Get off me!
- Fonny, wait!

Get off me!

Fonny! Fonny!

Oh, Fonny.

What happened?

That man there attacked me.

And where were you...

while, uh... while all this
was goin' on

between junior there
and your girl?

- He was around the corner...
- I was buyin' smokes.

...buyin' cigarettes.

Is that so, boy?

He's not a boy, Officer.

You live around here?

Yeah.

- Bank Street.
- Uh-huh.

Hmm, I'm taking you down...

- No!
- ...for assault and battery.

No! Stop!

Oh, no, you're not.
Oh, no, you're not.

No, you're not!

I know both these young people.

They shop here very often.

What the young lady
has told you is the truth.

I saw exactly what happened.

That's a funny way
to run a business, lady.

You're not gonna tell me
how to run my business.

I was on this street
before you got here,

and I will be here
long after you are gone.

Okay.

Bye-bye.

Come on.

I'll be seein' you around.

You may.

Then again, you may not.

Tish.

Yes?

Don't you ever try
and protect me.

But you were tryin'
to protect me.

It is not the same thing.

Fuck!

Look.

Don't ever think,
don't ever think

that I don't know
that you love me.

Do you believe
we gon' make it?

- We have no money.
- Ah.

But we are very hungry.

And I will have some money
in a couple of days.

A couple of days?

That's what they all say.

And I guess
you also wanna sit down

while you eat, right?

Well, yes, if you can arrange it,
that'd be nice.

Ah, let me guess.

You need a margarita.

Caught me again.

Oh...

Oh, Tish.

We are beginning to have
a somewhat acrid dialogue,

this thing and I.

It kicks, and I smash an egg
on the floor.

It kicks, and suddenly the coffeepot

is upside down on the table.

It kicks, and the perfume
on the back of my hand

brings salt to the roof of my mouth

and my free hand
weighs on the glass counter

with force enough to crack it in two.

Be patient.

I'm doin' the best that I can.

Please?

And then it hauls off again
like Muhammad Ali,

and I'm on the ropes.

Come on, sweetheart. Right here.

I'll make some tea for you, all right?
Come on.

All right, nice and easy, baby.

Nice and easy, baby girl.
All right.

Come right here.
Come here.

Come here.

Come on,
sit right up there.

Lean into Daddy's arms.
Come on.

Come on.
I got you, baby.

All right. All right.

Take some deep breaths
with me, all right? Come on.

Inhale.

All right, come on,
I got you, baby.

You're doin' good.

You're doin' good, baby.

Mama gets to Puerto Rico
on an evening plane.

Senora Rivers,
you waiting for me?

Gin and tonic.

Thank you.

So, what do you want
to see me about?

I don't especially wanna see you.

I wanna see Victoria Rogers.

I'm the mother-in-law of the man
who she accused of rape.

Well, I don't know anything about that.

That can't be true.

You come all the way down here
just to call me a liar?

I came down here to prove
a man's innocence.

And you have to drag Victoria to hell
and back to do that, right?

Mm, she's been through enough,
more than enough.

Leave her alone.

A man is about to die
for somethin' he didn't do.

Can we leave him alone?

Do you believe I love my daughter?

To be honest, lady,
it's hard to believe

that you have a daughter.

Do you think I'd marry my child
to a rapist?

You might not know.

Why are you coming to me?

I'm not an American.

You-you-you, you,

you called them lawyers
up there, right?

I mean, look around. Shit.

I have my little thing here
and Victoria, she's-she's...

She's putting herself
back together.

And, lady, I don't need to put
her through anymore shit, okay?

No. No, no, no, no.
Buena noche.

Look at 'em.

Do you think I came here
to make you suffer?

Look at me.

I'm looking at you.

Do you think I came here
to make you suffer?

No. No.

Then take this to Victoria.

You take it to her
and you ask her, you show her.

I'm a woman...

and I know what women know.

I know she was raped.

But I also know...

I know Fonny did not rape her.

When Mama wakes in the morning,

Pietro sends a boy to take her
to Victoria.

She has become Pietro's responsibility

because like the man said
about Mount Everest,

"You're there."

How long were you in New York?

Too long.

Children still there?

Listen.

Leave my children out of this.

Why did you come back here?

If it happened to you...

what would you do?

Daughter, I was a woman

long before you was a woman,
remember that.

And I know...

I know you pay for the lies you tell.

You sent a man to jail,

one you ain't never even seen before.

Just 22 years old, young...

and he wants to marry my daughter.

I did see him.

You saw him in the police line-up.

That was the only time
you saw him.

What makes you so sure?

I've known him all his life.

One thing I can tell, lady...

you ain't never been raped.

They took me down there...

and they told me to pick him out.

So that's what I did.
I picked him out.

But it was...

It happened in the dark.

- You saw Alonzo in the light.
- I saw enough.

Daughter,
in the name of God...

Get off of me.

- Daughter, please...
- Get off of me.

- Please listen...
- Get off of me.

No, no, no.
Get off of me!

Por favor. Por favor!

- Get off me!
- Shh!

Get off!

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, no.

No.

Damn!

Fuck.

You all right?

Yeah, I'm all right.

The baby all right?

Baby's fine.

Gotta get some meat
on your bones, hon.

Lord, have mercy.

Speak up.
He can't hear you.

Look.

There's something I gotta tell you.

Mama came home from Puerto Rico.

She found Victoria,
but the girl went crazy.

They don't know
where she is now, so...

so the trial might be postponed.

Fonny?

- Fonny?
- I'm fine.

Listen, I'm...

I'll be out soon.

I'm comin' home
because I'm glad I came.

Can you dig that?

You see...

See, now, I'm an artisan.

I'm like a cat who makes tables.

I don't like the word artisan,
I never have.

Guess I don't know
what the fuck it means.

I'm a cat who works from his gut,

with his hands.

See, I know what it is now.

I mean, even if I go under,
but I don't think I will now.

I know I won't.

Baby, I love you.

And I'm gonna build us
a great, big table.

And our family's gonna eat off of it

for a long, long time to come.

Don't you worry.

I'll be home soon.

I'm comin' home to you.

I wanna be in your arms.

I wanna hold you in my arms.

I gotta hold our baby in my arms.

It's gotta be.

Don't you worry, I'm...

I'm comin' home.

I wanna be in your arms.

I wanna hold you in my arms.

I gotta hold our baby in my arms.

It's gotta be. It's gotta be.

Hi.

Hi.

My little Fonny.
My little Fonny.

I got you. I got you.

I got you.

I promise I got you.
I promise I got you.

I got you.

I promise.

I promise.

I promise I got you.
I got you.

I got you.

Mommy's got you.

We're still not married.

After all this happened,
neither of us cares

what that means.

Fonny was once 22, I was 19.

But neither of us is young anymore,

can't afford to be.

They say we gotta live
the life we've been given...

and live it so our children can be free.

There aren't enough hours in
the day orjudges on the bench

to try all the cases
brought against these men.

The game has been rigged
and the courts see it through.

A trial is their right,

but to bury you beneath the prison

for forcin' the judge and the DA
to do theirjobs

is the court's right, too.

And so,
like many of these poor men...

Fonny took a plea.

Let's see.

I got something for you.

Here.

Yeah? Okay.

Wanna draw somethin'
for Daddy? Yeah?

Hey, little man.

- Hey.
- Hey.

I see you've been eating good.

Yeah, well...

Looks like I'm not the only one.

Nah, the apple don't fall
too far from the tree.

Hey, who all this for?

- You.
- For me?

Well, how'd you get the money
to pay for all of this?

What, you got a job now, man?

Hmm? You runnin' numbers on me?

Mm-hmm.

Say, "Dollar straight, dollar box."

Don't say that.

You gotta quit teaching him that mess.

Hey, what you drawin', Alonzo?

That's when you come home, Daddy.

Let me see.

Ever since I told him,

he just writes it everywhere.

Here, son.

Well...

I don't know about y'all,
but I'm starvin'.

You gotta say grace.

Oh, we...

- Mm-hmm.
- We gotta say grace?

All right.

You wanna say grace for us?

Thank you, God,

for the food we're about to eat

and for all of our blessing

and we have received

and for my daddy.

In Jesus' name, amen.

- Amen.
- Amen.

Hey, Alonzo, you wanna help me
with this, man?

♪ My country ♪

♪ 'Tis of thee ♪

♪ Sweet land ♪

♪ Of liberty ♪

♪ For this I sing ♪

♪ Land where ♪

♪ My father died ♪

♪ Land of ♪

♪ The pilgrims' pride ♪

♪ Oh, Lord ♪

♪ From every ♪

♪ Mountainside ♪

♪ Oh, let freedom ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Let it ring ♪

♪ My country ♪

♪ 'Tis of thee ♪

♪ Sweet land ♪

♪ Of liberty ♪

♪ Of thee I sing ♪

♪ Land where ♪

♪ My father died ♪

♪ Land of ♪

♪ The pilgrims' pride ♪

♪ From every ♪

♪ Mountainside ♪

♪ Oh, oh, let freedom, Lord ♪

♪ Freedom ♪

♪ Let freedom ring ♪

♪ My country ♪

♪ 'Tis of thee ♪

♪ Oh, Lord ♪

♪ Sweet land ♪

♪ Of liberty ♪

♪ Of thee I sing ♪

♪ I'm singing for the land ♪

♪ Land where ♪

♪ My father died ♪

♪ I'm singing for the land ♪

♪ Land of ♪

♪ The pilgrims' pride ♪

♪ From every mountainside ♪

♪ From every ♪

♪ Mountainside ♪

♪ Oh, let freedom ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Let it ring ♪

♪ Why, Lord, today ♪

♪ Please, Lord ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Let it ring ♪

♪ In America, in America ♪

♪ Lord, please ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Let it ring ♪

♪ Oh, all over the world
Lord, Lord, Lord ♪

♪ Let freedom ♪

♪ Ring ♪

♪ Mm-hmm-hmm-hmm,
hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm ♪

♪ Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm ♪

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