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.

Have to be.

I've been wandering for six months without any connection to the life I

had. I spent the first 12 years of that life in Morrisville, Missouri.

And I've come back hoping to reestablish some kind of bond.

Searching for something familiar.

Something to reassure me that at least my memories are real.

What is your problem, Spazzo? Who the hell slides into first?

You did great, buddy. I screwed up. Well, you made a mistake, but the hit

solid. You just got to remember never to slide into first. You got that?

Yeah. Okay, come on, come on.

You got a game to play.

Show them what you got. Get a hit.

Sooner or later, one of us is going to have to say something.

You, uh... You look, um... different.

It's been 20 years. I suppose I could say the same about you.

It's not just that.

I guess I'm just surprised, that's all.

What are you doing here?

What do you mean what am I doing here? I live here.

Is that so hard for you to believe?

I tried to look for you. Don't you think this is one of the first places I would

have checked?

I tried for years. I finally gave you up for dead.

I've changed my name.

I'm Jonathan Crane now.

Dad, Dad.

Billy's dad said that if you wanted, I could get a ride home with him.

Yeah, yeah, that's good. Go ahead.

Just tell your mom I'll be home a little later.

I'll see you later.

A lot of changes.

Why did you change your name?

I don't know if you knew this or not, Tom, but after I left your mother, she

hired a private detective to try and track me down.

She made things pretty unpleasant.

Well, I guess after 20 years of marriage, she may have expected the man

shared her life with to have the decency to talk to her.

And not just disappear without a word.

Is that your mother's pain and anguish I'm hearing in your voice?

What did you expect?

Well, I'm not sure.

Maybe what I'm getting.

Or maybe a little understanding.

Maybe a fight and a chance to explain. What I didn't expect was that you'd

me like a stranger.

Well, isn't that what you are?

This is how it's going to be, then? This is the way it is.

Maybe we should just leave it the way it was.

You go ahead and live your life.

And I'll live mine.

Is your life so full that, given the opportunity, you can turn your back on

important part of it?

What's that supposed to mean?

Look, I'm sorry.

For everything that's gone before.

I know that doesn't amount to much, but I am sorry.

Now, neither of us planned this.

But since it's happened, I mean, can't we spend a little time trying to sort

things out?

Are you staying here in town?

No, I haven't made any plans. I'm just, uh...

Doing a little traveling, taking some time off.

Have dinner with us.

Call it a last favor from a father who doesn't deserve it.

Something wrong?

Here's my address.

It's about a mile from here.

Come to dinner.

Six o 'clock?

Over the last 20 years, I've often wondered how I'd feel if and when I

encountered my father.

Would I express anger and pain?

Or would I be enthralled, excited by the opportunity to regain what was lost

years ago?

But my life now has become a nightmare I could never have imagined.

As I looked at the man who claimed to be my father, I now had to wonder, had

someone gotten to him?

Has he become a part of this?

Is he my father?

And if he isn't, who is he?

Tom, I'd like you to meet my wife, Beth.

Hi, Tom.

Hi.

Um, it's not much.

I had some warning.

If you had some warning, we would have treated you like a guest instead of like

family. Please, sit down.

Beth, if it'll make you feel any better after dinner, we'll open up the break

front and show off our fancies.

Just to show how elegant we can really be.

Do you play ball?

Uh... I did, yeah.

What position?

Pitcher.

Cool.

Did Dad coach you, too?

No, we had a coach named, uh...

Mr. McGreevy.

Yeah, yeah, that's right, that's right.

Dad was, uh, too busy with other things back then.

do you do, Tom, when you're not traveling?

Beth, would you let the man take a breather and maybe have a little dinner

before we give him the third degree?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Jonathan's spoken of you so often, but I know so little about you.

We'll have plenty of time to catch up after dinner.

Can we say grace?

Dear Lord, we're really thankful for this very special day.

And Lord, we're also thankful for this food we're about to receive.

Amen.

Everything all right?

Uh, were you in some kind of accident?

Accident? No, no. Why do you ask?

I just, uh, I noticed a scar.

They're behind your ear.

This is fine talk for the dinner table.

Jonathan's very sensitive about his cosmetic surgery.

He thinks it's womanly in vain.

And, uh, private.

What's cosmetic surgery?

So why? Why, uh... Why would you do that?

I just thought it would help if I... He thought it would help me.

He couldn't accept the fact that I loved his wrinkles as much as I loved him.

And how long ago did you have this done? Can we drop this, please? About six

months ago, Tom. And he's been cranky ever since he got back.

Beth! Well, it's true. You were a different person before you had it done.

Happier, more carefree.

You see what I have to put up with around here?

I'm sorry. It's fine. It happens all the time. Sorry.

Sorry.

Tom, are you okay?

Yeah, I'm fine. It was a little warm for me coming down with something.

Would you care for one?

No.

Thanks.

You never smoked cigars?

It's a reasoned vice.

The doctor said if cigarettes didn't go, I would.

Last I read in the newspapers, you were living in Chicago.

Sounded like you were doing pretty well.

Yeah.

Yeah, things were going pretty well.

Were?

Yeah, I've been through some hard times.

Personal problems.

What about other things?

Did you ever get married?

Yeah.

Yeah, I did. Her name's Allison.

Allison.

From the sound of your voice, do I take it that Allison is part of the hard

times?

You could say that, yeah.

Listen, you know, I'm not actually feeling too well. Maybe I should just

goodbye to everybody.

But we have an extra room.

It's being remodeled, but we'd be very happy for you to use it. You know, as I

glanced through the house, I didn't see a single thing from the old days

when we were a family.

Well, you know, Tom, it's awkward, this second marriage and all.

Yeah, but not a single artifact.

Not even a photograph.

A memento.

Probably have something stored around someplace.

I'd like to see it.

I'll tell you what.

You spend the night.

Tomorrow we'll go looking for some of it.

How does that sound?

Sounds like a deal.

Good.

Jonathan Crane said his plastic surgery was for private, personal reasons.

I'd like to be able to believe that.

But I'm plagued by the idea that it might be something else.

What if six months ago, Jonathan Crane, my father, went in for his plastic

surgery and someone else came back?

How could a man walk away from an entire life and not bring a single thing along

with him?

If Jonathan was telling the truth, if he was my father, there had to be

something down here from that past.

Something to validate the life we once shared.

Can I help you with something?

That's been collecting those things for years.

I'm sorry. I'm...

Look, I can replace it. I'll just... There'll be a store around somewhere I

can... There's no store.

You can't replace those.

What are you doing down here? You mentioned yesterday that you had some

stored down here from the old days, and I... So, you just thought you'd take a

look around?

Look, I apologize for being down here. You have no idea how important it is for

me to find something that, uh... Something... That what?

Something that connects us to the life that we had.

I don't think I understand.

There's nothing in this entire house that's even vaguely familiar to me.

Not even you.

Are you... You're not well. I'm feeling fine.

I'm feeling fine. But how do you explain this?

I mean, you really took nothing with you when you left? Was it that easy?

Nothing that you'd collected over a lifetime. Nothing irreplaceable there.

What do you want me to say?

I'll say it. What do you want me to say?

I think you've already said it.

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. There is something.

There's a photograph.

It's in that trunk there.

Go ahead.

Open it up.

Oh, it's stuck.

Ow! Damn it.

You all right?

Man, is it sharp.

Man, that is bleeding badly.

I think I better take you to the doctor, Tom. Oh, fine.

Don't argue with me.

Keep your hand like that for a minute.

So what is this place?

It's my doctor's office.

Why did you bring him here, Jonathan?

I told you we weren't ready yet.

I told you on the phone that this is a special case. This is my son.

I know who he is.

You sure this will take care of everything?

Who's the doctor here?

Okay. Okay.

What's that?

It's your tetanus shot.

Tetanus?

He said he cut himself on some rusty metal.

Yeah, that's right, he did.

Relax, Tom. It's for your own good.

Get away from me with

that. Give me your hand here, Jonathan.

I said get away from me.

What are you doing? What is wrong with you? Let him go, Tom. I want out of

What is wrong with you? He's trying to help you. I don't need that kind of

I'm sorry, Hal.

It's okay.

There you go.

Unopened safety seal, stamped and certified by the Surgeon General.

Okay, maybe I overreacted.

Hal's a very good friend of mine.

I should have let him give you that tetanus.

Whose aspirin is going to do you no good whatsoever?

It'll do.

Tell me about the photograph.

What photograph?

The photograph of you and me when I was ten years old. Remember?

It was taken at the county fair, I think, 1965.

Your mother took it.

You're sitting on a pony.

I'm standing next to you holding the reins.

I think it was about the happiest time the three of us ever spent together.

I want to see it.

I'll look for it the minute we get home.

You need to give that aspirin some time to work.

And you need to get some rest.

If you need anything, we'll be downstairs.

I just wanted to see how you were doing.

Oh, my.

You're burning up.

Like you when he was your age.

I'm still a young woman, Tom.

A young woman with an older man.

Ever since you came here... Don't.

I don't know what it is.

Figured it out in the end, wouldn't you? The scars, the pretty wife, the perfect

house. Get out!

Who are you?

You ask too many questions, Mr. Vail.

You know there's no photograph.

You know I couldn't produce it.

You should have kept your mouth shut!

And you should have taken that injection.

It would have been far less painful.

Where are the negatives?

We don't need you alive anymore, Mr. Bale.

One last time!

Where...

Hey. They fight like this all the time now.

It might have something to do with me being here.

No.

It started last summer when Dad went away, when his face changed.

I'll tell you what, sometimes adults just need some time to work this kind of

thing out between themselves, you know?

You just have to remind yourself of that.

Deal?

Deal.

Hey. You're looking almost human.

I'm feeling that way, too.

Sorry if you got involved in any of that. You'd think I'd know better

by now.

You know, it would just be better if I left.

For who?

Look, what happened there this morning has nothing to do with you, Tom.

It's...

It's just been a difficult year.

What if... I mean, if you're feeling up to it, we give the family a break

from the two of us and we take a drive someplace.

Are you sure this is a good time?

I'm sure.

I'll just go and tell them our plans.

Meet you back here.

Tom, what's wrong?

Ever since you got here, I've had the feeling you were, you were, well,

something was deeply troubling you.

Something that had nothing to do with you or me.

Who was that man you were talking to the other night outside the house?

A business associate.

Oh, you do a lot of business at 2 o 'clock in the morning?

What is this, an inquisition or a conversation?

Well, why don't you tell me, Jonathan?

Why don't you try and tell me just what's really going on here?

You can't bring yourself to call me dad, can you?

You find that amusing?

I find that too much to ask.

I didn't call you dad when I was 17, packing my bags to leave home. Why

start now?

Because I'm your father.

We had 17 years together.

How does my bad behavior erase everything that came before?

Is that how it is with you, Tom? One strike and you're out?

You know, I can forgive you for not loving my mother.

We both know she was a difficult person to love, but I can't forgive you for not

loving me.

20 years without a word, you said to yourself, you saw my name in the

you followed my career. You know how many times I tried to find you?

How many times I tried to convince myself it was probably better if you

dead? I have never stopped loving you, Tom.

Never for a moment have I stopped loving you.

Jonathan was asking me for trust and forgiveness.

And for too many reasons, I didn't feel capable of either.

But maybe he was right.

Maybe the problem was mine and not his.

Maybe I needed to learn how to trust all over again.

They sleep in beauty.

Gonna make me feel like Mike Tyson or something, huh?

Mike Tyson doesn't use a crowbar.

So I take it that you

and Mr. Crane are connected somehow.

Is this the part where I'm supposed to say, what are you talking about? He's my

father. He's just being a smartass.

Thinks he's going to confuse us.

I'm not sure we're on the same page here, buddy.

Are you sure you know what's going down?

You want my negatives. Nice try.

You should have done a better job hiding the scars.

This is getting nowhere fast.

Do him.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. He's up here. Nobody wants any violence.

They must be running out of operatives. You guys are a bad joke.

Aside from the fact that I have no idea what you're talking about, a deal is a

deal.

I'm going to have to refresh my memory. I don't remember shaking on it.

This guy owes us, man. All we want is to collect and go home.

This is about money.

Yeah, money. What the hell else is there?

We have to talk.

I have something to do. I can't wait.

Yeah, I know.

I followed you last night.

This is none of your concern, Tom. How much do you owe them?

Please.

Please, I have to go.

How much?

$10 ,000, but this is the last payment.

This is the end.

Why?

I took some money from my company a few months ago.

I thought I had plenty of time to pay it back. I was wrong.

I finally have a good life here, Tom.

I don't want to lose it.

I just... I just got it over my head.

You always did have the most judgmental eyes.

All I can ever do in them is fail.

You want me to trust you.

You want me to believe you. It's not that easy.

Tom.

Maybe, maybe it's not going to work. Maybe it's better if you're not here

tonight when I get home.

We tried. We did our best.

But as always with us, it seems that our best is not quite good enough.

It shouldn't end this way.

We had 20 years to make things right, son.

We're still strangers.

You take care of yourself.

You're leaving?

Under the circumstances, it's for the best.

Now, last night when you were out, Jonathan searched this entire house

for that photograph.

Why is a photograph taken over 20 years ago so important to you? Not the

photograph itself.

It's... It's what it represents.

Tom Jonathan loves you very much.

Sometimes I think he loves you more than he does me or John Jr.

Why is that so hard for you to accept?

Things have been so much better since you've been here.

But... I have no idea.

The change in Jonathan.

He's... He's finally starting to act like the man he used to be before all

nonsense about money and meetings in the middle of the night. How much do you

know?

One of these men called earlier today.

He said to meet at the usual place, that they weren't going to ask again.

He's drained our bank accounts to every penny we'd saved.

I don't understand. If there are problems, we could work them out.

I think he was afraid of losing you.

I swear to God, you two have one thing in common.

You're both so blind, you can't see the love that's staring you in the face.

I promise you that. I'm not going to let them do that.

You either brought the goodies or the old man here gets

one right in the back.

Like I said, a deal is a deal. You finish with us, we finish with you.

Where's the money, Jonathan? What'd you do with it?

It's between those dumpsters there.

Give it to me.

I'm sorry, Tom. Bring it here now. Put the gun away and let him go.

That ain't the way it works.

That's the way it works this time.

I called the police just before I left. They're five minutes behind me.

He's bluffing.

Why take the chance, Morris?

Just do this my way.

Everybody wins.

Tom. Okay.

You get to keep the money or this makes it over.

It's over.

A deal is a deal.

Let's get out of here.

Nice job.

Thanks.

Look, I'll buy you a drink and get cleaned up.

I don't think that's such a great idea.

What's the matter?

Not now. You've got to trust me on this one.

What?

Because of the life I now lead, even the possibility of happiness is an

illusion.

If by chance Jonathan really is my father, then it's best for everyone that

leave.

Better to risk my own sanity than the lives of innocent people.

This has something to do with your troubles, doesn't it, Tom?

You know, it's just, it's better for everybody.

If I leave.

Why can't you talk about it? Why can't you tell me? You helped me with my

problem. Let me help you with yours.

It's not that easy.

It's not easy because you make it hard.

Look, you have a family here.

You have a life. You don't need my problems, too.

Tom, Tom, that's... That's what families are.

For better and for worse.

Cab's here.

Will you come back?

If I can, yeah.

There's still a lot that we haven't said, you know.

I know.

You still can't get rid of those walls, can you?

Oh, maybe someday.

You got that extra room, Tom?

It's yours anytime you want it.

Oh, thanks.

Maybe when you come back, you can teach me how to throw a curveball.

Okay.

So long.

See ya.

As I walked away from Jonathan and his family, it reminded me of everything

I've left behind.

My wife, Allison, my friends, any sense of safety or shelter.

But until I discovered just what's happened to me and who's behind it, I

choice but to continue my search alone.

Johnny, why don't you get your gloves?

We'll pitch a few.