Original subtitles

Just call when you get.

You need some help here? No, I got it.

Easy.

Oh, so you're Jamie, huh?

Yeah.

307. Yeah.

Bad news is, no elevator.

The good news is, I'm your roommate.

Oh, really? Great. Which one? I'm Greg.

Greg, hey.

So what about Max? Have you met him yet?

No, not yet.

But maybe we'll get lucky and that'll be him.

I don't know if it is.

You're totally buying the pizza tonight.

Isn't there a back gate or something?

Max, let me tell you something.

The first day I showed up here, I got off a bus.

And you couldn't afford a taxi?

No.

No, I couldn't afford a taxi. Gordon, pull over. This is the dorm.

And so, I hauled...

My mother's plastic suitcase up the hill while everyone stared at me.

And I swore that the next time anyone stared at me, I'd be getting out of a

limo.

And I am.

And the best part of it is, I'm getting out with you.

Don't worry.

It's only temporary.

In a couple of weeks, you'll be a pig!

Yeah.

Can't wait to be a pig.

Let's go.

Phi Iota Gamma!

Phi Iota Gamma.

Pig house.

That just about says it all, doesn't it?

Matter of test, you're not a frat rat?

Well, think about it.

A boy leaves his home and his family to start a new life.

And the first thing he does is join another family.

And sometimes a very strange one.

Excuse me.

Would you mind taking our picture?

Yeah, sure.

There was a pledge here about a million years ago. Now it's Max's turn.

I'm Sam Rigney. Good to meet you. I'm Raphael.

Ready?

Say cheese. Cheese.

Thank you.

What about you? Are you a member of the fraternity? No, I'm more of a free

spirit. How?

Thank you. You're welcome. See you around, Max.

Free spirits don't get the big bucks, remember that.

Something tells me that Max wouldn't mind being a bit of a free spirit

I'm telling you, Max, there's really something paying back here.

Everywhere I look, it's...

It's like a memory.

How many... I don't know.

Old ghosts.

Hello?

David? That was the old library.

Dad, I really want to set up my stereo, okay?

Hello?

Samuel Regnick.

God is watching, Samuel.

Dad, what do you think?

Nothing. Just one of those old boys.

Yeah. Let's go.

Let's go.

Till the sun don't even shine.

Walk with you.

Every time I tell you, I'll walk with you.

Walk with you.

Believe me, I'll walk with you.

Hey, Geek Boy.

How about we take these speakers, get them up in the ceiling, huh? Do a little

surround sound thing? Excuse me, Geek Boy?

Oh, come on. I mean that with the utmost respect. I mean, after all, you are

going to be my personal computer science nerd, right? Hey, you know, geeks are

running the world now. They're not just for helping jocks pass their classes

anymore. Well, sure they are. I mean, if they want to live.

Hey. Hey.

Raphael, these are my roommates, Greg and Jamie.

How you doing?

How you doing? Good to meet you.

I'm right down the hall, guys.

Oh, you're not a freshman, are you?

More like a transfer.

Where from?

Here, there.

Everywhere. Plunked out, huh?

Doing the old eight -year plan?

I guess I'll be here for as long as it takes.

So what are you guys up for for your first night of freedom, huh?

Definitely something major.

Have a little pool, huh?

Winner gets top bunk?

I already got dibs on the top bunk.

Dibs?

What are you, five?

I called it first. That's the rules, right?

I don't know about you guys, but I came to college to get away from rules.

May I help you?

No, I'm just losing my mind.

I hope you find it.

Hi. Hi.

I'm Sam Rigney, class of 77.

I think my name is actually on one of those plaques over there.

Yes, I remember seeing it.

Oh, this is very generous.

Well, if it weren't for this place, I wouldn't be where I am today.

I usually send my donations through the mail, but I thought I'd bring it in

person today because I'm dropping my son Max off.

He's a freshman, but I don't want any favors, no special treatment.

I, by the way, found this book. I think it belongs to someone named Monica, but

I'm not sure if she's a student or... Oh, no.

Monica is a visiting professor this semester.

She's teaching philosophy.

Oh, so she's a visiting professor. She's not here all the time.

That's right. And so I hope your son will take advantage of her class while

she's here.

Philosophy? I don't think that's for my kid. I believe in more of a, you

know, meat and potatoes kind of education. That's what I'm paying for.

son know that?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a real chip off the old block, that kid.

So, it was nice meeting you.

Thank you.

I'll see you around.

Last week, I had a curfew. Now, I could stay out all night and no one would even

know.

It doesn't seem real.

Hey, Max.

Did you see that movie, The Matrix?

None of this is real.

This is all just a computer -generated fake world.

You know, behind the Matrix, we're all just stuck in incubation tubes and the

computers are feeding off our energy.

Yeah, right.

Hey, it's real.

It could be.

All right, Jamie.

Watch and learn.

So what class do you take?

Well, according to my dad, it's business, economics, accounting, and

Not what you want to study?

Well, it's not like I have a choice. It's his money.

Yeah, but don't you want to take at least one class you don't need a slide

for?

Like what?

I don't know.

What do you think of philosophy?

Philosophy? My dad would never go for that.

That wasn't the question.

The question was, what do you think of philosophy?

Come on, man. Can I go?

This is... If you want to get serious, I can get serious.

This isn't a lot of fun for me.

What is good? What is true?

What is moral?

These are the questions that the great philosophers asked, but not one of them

will be of any help to you in answering them.

And that's what this philosophy class is for, asking the questions that will

challenge you and help you define your philosophy of life.

Because let's face it, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, they were alive once

had great thoughts, but they're dead.

You're alive.

And the great thinking is up to you now.

Hello. Hi, Mom.

Yeah, I don't know don't worry about that. That's okay.

I'm just uh Just come for homecoming or something.

Yeah, it's just like just a little while anyway No, no, everyone's really nice.

There's this one guy actually really like and we're taking a philosophy class

together Yeah No,

I know I know but I mean I'm interested in it and I Just figured I take

everything else. He wants me to take them. What's the difference, right?

Look, is he there?

No, I just want to talk about the whole pig thing, you know. I've been thinking

maybe I'm not the fraternity type.

Well, Monica says Monica is my philosophy professor, and she says that

everyone's got to define their own philosophy of life, and I'm just

that maybe frat life doesn't really fit into mine.

No, no, no, no, no.

Don't bother.

It's okay.

I'll just talk to you guys on Sunday.

Okay, I gotta get back to the books, Mom.

All right, you too.

Okay, bye.

Let's order some pizza.

Only if you're paying.

Mac?

Dad, what are you... Come with me.

It's all going to stop.

What?

Tomorrow, you are going to drop that philosophy class.

You drove all the way down here to tell me to drop a class?

Could you excuse us, please?

I drove down here to remind you who's paying the tuition and who's making the

decisions around here.

You stay away from philosophy class and you stay away from that Monica woman.

And tomorrow morning, you get your butt down to that fraternity house and you

sign up to pledge. Dad. No discussion.

Just do it.

Or pack your bags.

You understand?

Yes, sir.

You want in?

You've got to prove yourself worthy.

Now, let's be clear about exactly what that means.

Humiliation and suffering are key.

That's right.

At any time, day or night, a brother can demand that you partake of a ritual,

and you will do so.

You will be asked to prove that the fraternity comes first, before sleep,

food, and before classes.

You will learn what the fraternity stands for, what it has stood for in the

past.

And on Hell Night, you'll be asked certain questions about its history, so

might want to study up.

That includes you, Max.

Some of you may already know Max is a legacy.

As a matter of fact, his father was once president of this very pig house.

So Max is a shoe -in.

But you still got to go through pledge week, Max.

That's right.

And for legacies like you, we like to make it even more memorable.

Oh, yeah.

Stand up.

I didn't say sit.

I want you to explain the swine chug to your fellow maggots here.

The swine chug is your last chance to get into the fraternity if you failed

the other tests.

You have to drink more beer than the last year's winner and you get in

automatically.

Beer?

No.

Tequila.

My dad said it was beer.

Well, welcome to the 21st century.

But you're doing so well.

Oh, my dad thinks it's a waste of time.

Oh, really?

Well, I have a note of time in the class.

Well, the deal is, I go...

He pays so he chooses.

I see.

That's an interesting ethical dilemma, isn't it?

You're accepting money from your father for your education, yet your father is

telling you what sort of an education you get.

So the question is, do you accept this free gift, or is it really a free gift

all?

I don't know.

If you don't know, that means you haven't really made a decision yet,

I can't approve it.

Wake up, little piggy.

No rest for the wicked.

Wake up!

Come on, come on.

Get up, baby.

Come on.

Man,

it's freezing in here.

What are we supposed to do?

Well, we're going to go to sleep.

Yeah, until the bell wakes us up at two.

At three.

At four.

What's going on in here?

Nothing. We're pledging pig and they locked us up in here. It's like a hazing

thing.

Well, I can't leave you locked up here.

Well, then just leave us unlocked.

My mom told my dad about the philosophy class and he freaked out.

Freaked, huh?

I'll spare you the details.

So he got tough and you caved, basically, right?

You don't know my dad. I don't have a choice.

No, no, no, no, no. You always have a choice.

You just made the easy one.

That's all.

Well, I gotta do my rounds.

So sleep tight, if you can.

Night.

What's the matter?

I need my inhaler.

He's having an asthma attack.

All right, I'm going to run back to the dorm and get his inhaler for him.

Wait, all the doors are locked. No, remember the guard left it open for us.

Jamie, I'm going to be right back, okay? Anything happens, you start CPR.

Whoa, wait.

I'm the jock, I do the running, you do the CPR.

Where is it? It's on my desk.

All right, all right.

Hang in there, you'll be okay?

Yeah. All right.

Greg, give me back any second, okay? So just think about something else.

Like getting into a frat.

Soon you'll be a pig.

Remember?

We'll all be pigs.

We'll be in one big freaking stye.

I got it.

Don't do that again.

You are such a nerd.

Are you going to study all weekend?

I hope you're going to have some fun too.

Well, I'm not going to be studying much, but I don't think I'll be having much

fun either.

Tonight is hell night.

Hell night?

That doesn't sound like too much fun.

What is it?

It's this fraternity hazing thing.

The last night of organized torture.

Ah. Yeah. Wish me luck.

I don't make wishes, and I don't believe in luck.

That's right. You just believe in philosophy.

No, I believe in searching for the truth.

And I believe that search finally leads to God.

God?

No way.

What's so funny?

Oh, it's just that philosophy is so...

Intellectual and God is so... I mean, do you pray and stuff?

Yes.

This morning I prayed for the wisdom to be a better teacher.

I think you're a great teacher.

Then why don't you stay in my class?

I want to.

I was thinking that tomorrow night when my father comes up for the initiation,

hopefully he'll be in a good mood and maybe I'll be able to change his mind.

You know what I'm going to pray for tonight?

I'm going to pray that you change no one's mind but your own.

Don't care.

All right. You're a lot. Just relax.

Big trivia time.

Well, ladies.

Number of brothers that have been U .S. senators.

Two. Number of brothers currently incarcerated in U .S. prisons.

Four. No, five.

Sorry. Correct answer is six.

They were all white -collar crimes, though, I might add.

Oh, well.

Can't win them all. Thanks for playing our game.

No, no, no, wait.

swine chug.

Pigs, gather round. The nerd is going to take the swine chug challenge.

A couple of pledges went out and got drunk somewhere.

They came back and one of them passed out here on the grass.

That's all I know.

You sure that's what happened?

Absolutely. Stupid pledges.

What can I do?

He'll pump his stomach. He'll come back tomorrow with a major hangover.

Happens every year.

So back off, officer.

Pigs, over here.

Max?

You gonna tell me what happened?

Pledge, now!

Come on, man.

Let's go.

This house is already on probation.

Okay, everybody, listen up. If anybody asks, two pledges went out and got

One of them passed out here.

Nobody ever served them drinks inside the house that clear.

Who's the other pledge?

I am.

Jamie's going to take one for the team.

Jamie!

Jamie,

are you crazy?

Look, Max, they're already on probation. And they're going to lose their charge

if they get caught serving alcohol. So if I say that it's my tequila and Greg

and I are drinking it outside the house, then we're off the hook.

Jamie, they're asking you to lie.

Did you see that?

You see how Greg drank the rest of them for me?

You know, I never really had any friends until I met you guys.

I'll see you.

like to play for money but i have a feeling you'd clean me out baby you

even know what are you doing back on campus it's a big night for my kid

pig house is having their bonfire tonight it's where they separate the men

the boys sounds like a big night for you too yeah well i gotta tell you i

can't remember when i've ever been prouder of that boy than i am today

he Oh, I can drag him down here for a game of pool, but I figured I'd rather

hang out with his buddies.

He's probably tired of hearing his old man remembering when, so I thought I'd

come down here and remember when by myself for a while. He must have

lot of memories going to school here.

One of the best days of my life.

And a few of the worst.

That's the way it is with the past.

One worm spoiled a whole apple.

God is watching, Samuel.

You look like you've seen a ghost.

My whole head hurts.

Even my hair has a hangover.

Well, imagine how Greg feels.

Hey, guys.

Hey. Oh, so you're really going to join this thing, huh?

Yeah.

How come you hate fraternities so much, Raphael?

No, no, I don't hate them.

Actually, some of them do some great things.

Fundraising, volunteer work.

But when it's just about getting drunk and pouring liquor down each other's

throat, that's not fraternity. It's just stupid.

Hey, there they are. Two pigs in a poke. Look at them.

Big night for some of us, Raphael. Big night. Where's Greg?

Uh, he's gonna meet us there.

Oh.

Okay, well, you guys ready to go?

Yeah. Oh, um, Mr. Rigney, I wanted to ask you something.

Uh, I did some research, uh, on the history of the fraternity, and I found a

full file.

Um, it says that, uh, the pig house was on probation when you were president.

Uh... I don't know where you got that information, but, uh, it's not true.

We were never on probation.

Are you sure? Because I looked up... Why don't we get into this later? We gotta

get to the bonfire.

Okay.

As I call your name, step up to receive your candle and swear the oath of

brotherhood.

Jamie Larson.

By the light of this candle, for these gathered brothers and esteemed alumni,

I solemnly promise to be loyal to the Phi Iota Gamma fraternity,

to uphold its heritage and defend its honor.

for a Jamie Larson?

That's me. What's going on?

Jamie Larson, you're under arrest.

Wait, wait. Then what's the kind of mistake?

What are the charges?

Illegal purchase of alcohol by a minor providing alcohol to a minor.

You told me this was no big deal.

You told me that it wouldn't even matter.

No! No!

No, you've got to help me.

Max!

Excuse me, officer. Is this absolutely necessary?

You've come back, sir.

No, no, I'm not supposed to help him. No, I'm not supposed to get arrested.

Those charges are totally bogus.

I don't get it. I don't get it. What is the big deal?

The big deal is Greg's in a coma.

He's brain dead, Max.

Craig's family's on their way, but I don't know if they're going to make it.

I'm going to go to the hospital to be there.

Okay.

It's a tough break.

Tough break?

Dad, one of my friends is going to die and the other one just got arrested for

it. Jamie broke the law and he has to take the consequences. Dad, Jamie did

do anything, okay? He's taking the ramp to the frat house.

They were the ones that bought the tequila, and they were the ones that

it down Greg's throat.

And Jamie is covering for his brothers.

He never thought it would go this far.

But it did, and it's pretty clear now that no one is going to stand up for

Max.

Jamie took an oath to defend his brothers, and so did you. Remember that.

Something like this could shut down the whole chapter.

Who cares if the stupid house closes down?

I took that oath too, remember?

Phi Iota Gamma has never been shut down.

Wait a minute, isn't that what Jamie was talking about before? Something about

probation when you were there? It was a misunderstanding.

They tried to shut us down because of it, but we stood together and we fought

it. And all we got was probation. It was nothing. It was a misunderstanding.

You know, I don't see anything about... Misunderstanding here. I see police

investigation, abduction, attempted... It was nothing.

Okay?

When I was here, we had this tradition where we would

kidnap a co -ed just before spring break and take her out into the woods,

steal her clothes, and make her find her way back.

Interesting tradition.

All the girls knew about it. It was like an honor to be picked.

And this girl, Jill something, she didn't volunteer,

but the next day she freaked out and she pressed charges against me.

Just you?

Yeah, yeah.

Who knows why? Probably because I was the president, but...

Nothing happened to that girl, Max.

But I could have been in serious trouble. It could have ruined my life.

But my brothers covered for me. And they said I wasn't even there, just like

Jamie is doing now.

And that's why this is so important. And it's so important that you go along

with it, Max.

You're not just my son anymore. You're my brother.

And if you betray this fraternity, you betray everything I believe in.

And you betray me.

I think we could have been best friends.

You and me and Jamie.

I really think we could have.

Max?

And, uh, time to get by.

I guess you've already done that.

No, I don't say goodbye.

Just see you later.

That's optimistic.

Do you ever wonder if there's more to this world than we can actually see?

You mean like the Matrix?

Sort of.

What do you think that movie's about?

Uh, I don't know.

Um...

Life as we know it is a dream, some kind of computer -generated construct to

keep us from seeing behind the curtain the bad guys running the world. It's

science fiction.

What if I told you there is a kind of matrix, a sort of curtain that hangs

between this world and another?

I'd say you were stoned.

Okay.

What if I told you that behind that curtain, it's not at all bad, but really

beautiful?

And good.

You mean like a parallel dimension going on? Yeah.

And if it were true, wouldn't you want to know about it?

Yeah, sure, but... I can show it to you.

Right. Max, once you've seen this, nothing will ever seem the

same again.

Right now it doesn't sound so bad.

Go for it.

Hi, Max.

This is Tess.

Hi, baby. Nice to know you.

What's going on?

Monica, what are you doing here?

Don't be afraid, Max.

We're angels, all of us.

Angels? You've had angels surrounding you your whole life.

Everyone has.

So God really is.

Yes, he is, baby.

And he loves you.

That's why he wanted you to see this and to see us.

I can't believe this, Max.

A lot of people get a glimpse of what you're seeing right now and they decide,

oh, I can't believe this.

The truth is, they don't want to believe it.

When you've seen the truth, Max, and you realize that life doesn't just begin

with birth and end with death, suddenly everything matters.

Every act, every choice.

But the fact is that most people are afraid of that.

And they decide that it's easier to go back to the other side of the curtain

try to forget what they've seen.

That's what your father did.

I was there that night.

That night in the woods.

Jill Briscoe didn't volunteer that night.

She was very afraid and she had good reason to be.

A terrible tradition was about to become something even more terrible.

A crime.

Come on, Gil.

The party's just getting started, baby.

Go! Go!

Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

What is that?

Well, I don't see anything.

Take care.

Go for it. What is that? There's nothing there, Sam. You're just drunk. Shut up.

I said no names.

Oh, hey, we're cheap.

Let her go.

We got to split. What?

I said go now.

Come on, let's get out of here. All right. Let's go.

God

is

watching, Daniel.

And you are breaking his heart.

My father did that?

Yes.

Jill Briscoe left college and she never came back.

Your father was about the same age as you are now, baby.

Now, he did not invent this terrible tradition.

But he went along with it.

Now, God is not asking you to judge him.

But there is a decision you're going to have to make.

Keep on going along like you've always gone along.

And be the nice little boy everybody wants you to be.

Or be the man God made you to be.

So what's it going to be, Max?

You ready to live in the truth?

Yes.

Too bad that Greg didn't get a chance to see this.

Where have you been?

If you went to the police... I was at the hospital, Dad.

Greg's dead.

I'm sorry, Max.

Monica told me everything.

No wonder you didn't want me to take her class.

My God, Dad.

You've spent your whole life lying to me.

Lying to yourself.

Sending money to the college, hanging out with the old frat buddies, trying to

rewrite the truth about Bill Briscoe. But the truth doesn't go away, Dad.

Monica is lying.

Monica's an angel.

And you knew that.

For just one moment there, you knew that.

She saw what you were doing and she stopped you.

She saved Joe Briscoe, but she was trying to save you too.

God proved his existence to you, Dad, and you just ran away from him and hung

out with a bunch of drunk idiots.

Well, I don't want brothers like that.

I don't care if I don't have any brothers at all or a father either.

I don't care if I have to wash dishes.

I don't want your money anymore.

Because it was never a free gift.

I got a free gift tonight.

I know what that is now. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I love you, Dad.

But I don't want to be like you.

And I'm not going to go along anymore.

And I am going to the police.

You want to get some pizza, maybe? Shoot some 8 -ball?

I can't. I got econ.

He'd beat you anyway.

Hey, we're taking off. I just wanted to stop in and say goodbye.

Thank you.

For everything.

Hey, who are you talking to?

I'll tell you later.