Original subtitles

Sometimes factories close and people lose their jobs. I'm talking about

families. People are evicted. There's nowhere else to go. Those animals who

living in my building, they are the criminals.

Nobody belongs in a place like this.

They don't know their place.

We have got to keep going, Bill.

We will be rotting in prison, sir. Bring the gun.

I love you, Paul.

So you're the guy who's been causing all the misery.

Oh, they tell me of a home far beyond the sky.

Oh, they tell me of a home far away.

Oh, they tell me of a home where no dark clouds

rise. Oh, they tell me of a love...

Oh, the land of an unfilial day.

They tell me a moment when the storm clouds rise.

Oh, they tell me of an unfilial day.

Good afternoon, sir.

Good spare dollar, sir.

Please, I'm not a drunk.

I'm out of work.

I'm hungry.

Walk me to the pizza place. I swear to God I'll get something to eat.

20?

God bless you, sir.

God bless you.

God bless you, mister.

Don't do that.

It's a new car.

What do you do without him?

He evicted us.

What are you talking about? He promised us two more weeks. He lied to us. He had

an eviction notice, a cop, everything.

Jesus. No, no, no.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

It's going to be all right. I'm going to talk to him, all right?

It's not going to be all right, Bill.

Not this time.

Where's Billy at?

He's not home from school yet.

How are we going to explain this to him?

Where are we going to sleep tonight?

We stay in the van.

Stay in the van? It was ten degrees last night.

We got sleeping bags, right?

They're goosed down.

Remember Canada?

We'll be warm as toast.

Listen, I called around the neighborhood, Bill.

Everybody wants first month's rent plus a huge security deposit. It's going to

cost us an absolute fortune to get resettled.

What are we going to do?

Hey, you married a survivalist, kid.

Tomorrow morning, I'll bring you out the propane stove, and we'll have bacon and

eggs.

You'll be

loved for decades.

Oh, no, damn it!

The van!

Oh, my God.

I was a machinist, but everything's made in Korea now.

My factory, you know, it couldn't compete.

Instead of retooling, they diversified, went belly up.

A freelancer... We don't require your life history, Mr. Whitaker.

Yeah. Well, I just wanted you to know that we never had to do this before. I

understand, but I gotta tell you, from here on out, it's not gonna get easier.

To start with, you're going to have to live in one room along with your son.

Okay, families with a pregnant mother go to a welfare hotel.

More privacy than a city shelter.

You'll stay at the Alexandria.

Where's that at? Near Times Square.

Times Square?

That's no place for a child.

You're lucky to get this. Some of those people out there have been waiting two

days for an opening.

Your room assignment's 12 .03 tomorrow morning. I want you to go to this income

maintenance center.

They'll give you an ID card so you can pick up your food stamps and welfare

payments. I'm going to check on changing the schools for your son.

What do you mean? What's wrong with the school he's in now?

You're not living in that district anymore.

You'll have to go to school.

Equalizer? This is Billy Whitaker.

Somebody stole our van.

The police told us that stolen cars are hard to find.

How are we going to live in that van?

I don't know what to do.

We're in this kind of emergency place.

And I... And we have nowhere to go.

Hello. Robert McCall here.

Hello. Are you there?

Yes, I'm here.

What's all this about your...

You're having to live in your van?

We got evicted, Mr. McConaughey.

Yes, and you know where to go, is that it?

No.

And all my dad's tools were in there.

And my mom, she's going to have a baby soon.

Yeah, all right.

Billy, your name.

Where are you, Billy?

I need to go to a hotel.

The Alexandria.

All right.

I'll tell you what you do, Billy.

When are they going to get fixed?

Tomorrow, next week, who knows?

I got to go.

We'll make it do, Bill.

We've got to.

Mom, can I go downstairs?

No. Please, Dad.

No. You don't leave this room without one of us with you.

Jim Hardy.

What do you want?

I'd like to offer you $500 a month.

What?

Why don't you step outside here for a second so we can talk?

What is it?

What's going on? It's okay, Paula. I'll be right back.

So what is it? Do you know how much the state city paid for these rooms?

$3 ,000 a month.

Yeah, it's a rip -off. So what's your point?

People like you don't belong in places like this.

Nobody belongs in a place like this.

I can offer you a way out.

How?

You leave.

We keep you on our books.

We get the three grand.

You get $500 a month.

Yeah, and you get another three grand when you rent it out to another homeless

family, right?

No way. Hey, this is where we landed, and this is where we have to start to

rebuild.

no misunderstanding here, man.

I know exactly what you are. If you knew exactly what I was, you'd be able to

know what I do. Are you threatening me now?

I never threaten anybody.

You must be Billy, huh?

Just for a while.

In case Mr. Harding decides to return.

Yeah, sure, thanks.

But I'm still going to make a police report.

Oh, fine.

That's good.

But the most important thing is that tomorrow you go round to all your

neighbours.

You find out which of them, have been threatened by Mr. Harding.

And you get statements from every one of them.

Right?

That way you've got a fighting chance.

See you soon.

Care to use Jimmy?

I'm already using Jimmy.

He's looking around for me. He's trying to find out the owner or owners of that

Alexandria Hotel.

I want to know who we are up against.

We?

Come on, I need your help on this one, Mickey.

I need these people protected.

Naturally, knowing how dangerous and possibly life -threatening the

of the Alexandria Hotel is, I naturally thought of you, and I thought you would

love it.

Tempting, McCall.

What's the problem?

Look, I'm just a regular working -class guy, just like these people.

And my folks have hit a lot of tough times, only we never ended up homeless

on welfare.

Oh, I am witnessing the natural superiority of the poor boy made good,

Give me a break.

I know a guy could hit a run of bad luck. Oh, you do know that? You do know

Yeah. Only in this country, in America, of all places, people should be able to

take care of themselves. I don't believe what I'm hearing.

Look, I'm not talking about bums or winos. Mickey, I'm talking about

Families who finish off on the street.

This country has changed somewhat.

Just look around you.

Right?

She's a whore.

Turning tricks.

Tricks? What kind of tricks?

You must be the new family, right?

Yeah.

Your daddy's the one that got beat up last night.

Huh. He didn't get beat up. Who put the little bumps all over his head? Your

mama?

Don't sweat the small stuff, man. We all losers.

My dad's not a loser.

He's not?

Then what are you doing here? What's your excuse?

Hell, most of us don't even got a papa.

Our papa's supposed to keep you out of places like this, huh?

You shouldn't have, Mr. McCall.

It's just a simple gift.

Oh, do we need this.

Thank you.

Pleasure.

We're not supposed to cook it here.

The guard pulls off.

That's a very safe contraption, Billy.

It's going to be a big help, Mr. McCall. Good.

Most of the people in this place have to eat in restaurants. You know, that kind

of stuff really cuts into the budget.

Bill might have some work, Mr. McCall. Tell him.

Yeah, there's a lady on the east side who wants to hire me to build her a

kitchen cabinet.

I should know more about it tomorrow.

Great, great.

I hope it comes off.

There you are. You see, Mickey?

Doesn't look as though they're going to be here for very long, does it?

No, it doesn't. No, it doesn't.

Mr. Costmeyer here is going to lend a hand.

Aren't you, Mickey?

Yeah.

Yeah.

He's going to pretend that he is the city inspector, so that if there's any

problems, he's right here.

Thank you.

It's okay.

Paula here's done some homework for you. I spoke to Mrs. Morales in 1232. She's

out at the end of the week. Harding came down on her.

Well, let's start with Mrs. Morales.

She's right down the hall.

Pay Mr. McCall for the hot plate, Dad.

I don't think he... We should pay him.

I think you better watch your mouth, young man.

Otherwise, we're going to go for a little walk. You can tell me what's

you.

You're bugging me, Dad. You always say we don't need charity. We should pay him

for that thing.

You lower your voice, young man. Billy, it's a gift.

I am not going to let you insult Mr. McCall like that.

You apologize right now.

Apologize.

Better go see Mrs. Morales.

I know this is difficult, Mrs. Morales, but will you help us?

I can't believe you're going to make things better.

I'm sorry.

I just don't want to make any trouble.

Trouble?

Being thrown out into the street isn't trouble to you, Mrs. Morales.

Harding said he would hurt me.

My baby.

Nobody is going to hurt you, Mrs. Morales. I promise you that.

You mean that, don't you?

You can bet on it.

Why?

Why do you want to help?

Nobody cares for people like us.

Perhaps it's time you started caring about yourselves.

Will you tell me something, Mrs. Morales?

How long have you been bringing up children under circumstances like this?

Three years.

Three years?

Well, there you are. You see, that proves it.

You're stronger than they are.

All right.

I'll file a complaint with the police.

Go on. Thank you.

Let's go back.

The thing is on, okay. Yes, we're doing a documentary on the Alexandria.

Can I please speak to your supervisor, please?

Why not? Why are there no cameras allowed here? Well, maybe you can tell

something about these welfare hotels.

Excuse me, what is your name?

Why? Why do we have to leave? What is the problem here? Why can we not talk to

your supervisor?

Well, let me speak to your supervisor. Maybe we can clear all this up.

We would like to know what is going on.

Hello? I'm sorry I'm standing you up, Jimmy. I'm just about to buy dinner for

certain television reporter called Jackie Chenier.

Yeah, I saw a report on youth gangs last week. She's got heart.

Yes, all right.

What do you have for me?

The Alexandria is owned by one person. His name is Amar.

No first name.

That's it? Just Amar? You are right.

His immigration file.

Does he have a criminal record?

Two arrests for assault.

Can't seem to keep his temper.

But he's a Teflon man. Nothing sticks. Not one conviction.

Well, I'll need more than that.

Find out everything you can about him. Will you find out, for instance, how he

got possession of the Alexandra Hotel?

Okay. Listen.

Bill Whitaker and the Morales woman filed their complaints, right?

Well, the cops haven't found this guy Harding yet. He seems to have

Well, perhaps he's in hiding.

Probably afraid he'll do time.

Listen, Jimmy.

I want you to go round to the Alexander Hotel.

The other guy is Bill Whitaker.

The guy that Harding was working on.

Not the Morales woman.

She's supposed to be out next week.

These people testify against Harding.

You fall apart.

Mr. Amar, Harding is a stand -up guy.

Harding.

He knows too much about my business.

Where is he?

Laying low like you told him to.

Find him before the police.

I could feel your stare.

What's up, Billy?

Where's Dad?

He's still out in the hall trying to get those people to stand up for

themselves.

Here, give me your hand. The baby's kicking.

There. Feel it? Yeah.

Kicks like a boy. More like a mule.

It's so ugly here, Mom.

We got the moonlight.

Billy, your dad's a good man.

Lots of things have happened, things we can't control.

It's cool. They're always telling us we're responsible for ourselves.

We are responsible for getting ourselves out of this.

But sometimes factories close and people lose their jobs and it's not their

fault. You've got to stop blaming your dad.

You've got to pull together.

Why can't Dad find a job?

A real job.

He will, Billy.

You've got to believe that.

Look at that.

Can't eat like a bird.

I don't think we should let him hang around out there anymore.

I can't keep him in all day. He'll go stir crazy.

Look.

This is home, Bill.

At least for a while.

You've got to start accepting that.

I can't accept that.

I'm sorry.

Don't understand.

I mean, if I slip this low, what the hell's happened to me?

Don't give me that, Bill Whitaker.

Don't you sit there feeling sorry for yourself.

I'm sorry, Paula.

Get away from me.

Hi.

Do you know what my days are like while you're out building some woman her

kitchen counter?

I wait in line.

I wait in line all day at welfare.

I go in at 9 a .m. and I stand in line until 5 p .m.

My feet swell.

I get to feeling so tired that all I want to do is lie down and go to sleep

a long, long time.

But then this baby in here gives me a kick.

Come on, Mom, keep going.

We've got to keep going, Bill.

We've got to.

You don't have to yell it, you know.

I'm sorry.

I love you very much.

I love you. I love you, Paula.

It's so noisy in that hotel at night. Billy's having trouble getting to sleep.

It's not the hotel, Paula.

Haven't you seen the way he looks at me?

Hey, Pete.

Hello, Mickey.

Hey, Paula.

Bill. Nick.

How you doing, McCall?

What's wrong?

Harding got killed before I could get to him.

Drive -by shotgun blast a couple hours ago.

Oh, my God.

I couldn't get an idea on the tags. It was a stolen car.

Clean job.

Well, we know who's responsible for that, don't we?

Yeah, that hotel owner, right?

And Harding was our only chance to get the guy. It wasn't our only chance,

It wasn't.

The other chances to get Mr. Amar is don't give up so easily.

Mr. McCall, we have no intention of giving up.

I have to make a phone call and check on a job. I'll be right back.

Yeah, I'll be right back, too.

Hello, Billy.

What are you looking at out there, hmm?

All those people.

They all left and want to go.

Well, you've got lots of places to go.

Their whole life's in front of you.

Yeah.

But you've heard that before, haven't you?

You know what, Billy?

I think you've been a bit hard on your father lately, don't you?

My dad's a loser, Mr. McCall.

Billy Whittaker, don't you ever say that about your dad.

Let me tell you something.

Your dad loves you very much indeed.

Are you a dad, Mr. McCall? Yes, I am.

I have one son and a daughter.

Have you ever been evicted?

No, Billy.

I have not been evicted.

Let me tell you something.

Your dad is a better father than I ever was.

Why?

Because he's there for you. He's there for you all the time.

He wants you to be a part of his life and he wants to be a part of yours.

Even if it means living in some naughty, tatty, one room in that bad hotel.

He will never run away from you, Billy.

I have to go, Mr. MacArthur.

Yeah, of course.

Mean what?

I don't know.

You've got a friend who's homesteading, haven't you, Mickey?

Yeah.

What's this place?

A homestead.

Yo, Joey!

Hey!

The guy up in the fire escape's a buddy of mine from the old neighborhood.

He's part of the group that's homesteading this place.

Yeah, I heard about this kind of thing at the IM Center.

Oh, yeah, it's happening all over.

A bunch of regular folks pull together, get the deed to an abandoned building,

and fix it up.

Regular folks?

Does that include me?

Yeah.

Something about me bugs you, don't it?

I never said that.

You don't have to.

It's all over your face.

Let's pull it up over the fire escape.

They get a little seed money from the government, but they do all the work

themselves.

They build it with their own sweat.

Then one day, it's theirs.

It's all I want.

A chance to work for a place.

Somewhere I can call my home.

You know?

You know, Bill, when I first met you, I figured that if people lost their home,

there was a reason for it.

And that reason was them.

But I can't feel that way anymore.

Because now I know you and Paula.

This Homestead Association is meeting next week.

I think maybe you should be there.

In case there's an opening.

Thanks, Mickey.

A guy named Nichols used to own the Alexandria.

Bought it from the city for $100 ,000.

A few years later, The city is paying him 1 .2 million a year just to house

those people.

When did Amar's name first appear on the deed?

About six months ago, Amar became co -owner with Nichols. A few weeks after

that, it's just Amar alone, all for a consideration of $50 ,000.

I see.

So, Mr. Amar stole the hotel from this Mr. Nicholson?

extortion. You have an address for Nichols?

Mm -hmm.

You took my whole notepad the last time I saw you, Robert.

Oh, I didn't, Jimmy. A whole notepad?

Never mind.

I'll make it up to you one day.

Do we know if Amar owns or leases the apartment in the building?

He's leasing from Nichols, the same guy he stole the hotel from. Probably at a

reduced rent.

Really does get very interesting, doesn't it?

Jimmy, I'll tell you what I want you to do.

I want you to get a few colleagues together with a moving van. What for?

Well, I'm about to make things very unpleasant for Mr. Emerald.

Very unpleasant indeed, Jimmy.

building, it wasn't a hellhole.

Sure, I was a little slow in making repairs, but my tenants... Mr. Nichols,

I'm not here to judge you in any way whatsoever. I'm merely here to suggest

you a way that you can get back that which is rightly yours.

Amos stole the Alexandria Hotel from you. If it was extortion, that hotel is

still legally yours.

I'm not going up against that madman.

And, of course, he's added insult to injury by forcing you...

To lease him an apartment?

How do you know about that?

I can protect you against Amar.

And in a few weeks, we will have got him legally.

Cole, I've made a lot of money in this town.

And I've met some pretty unsavory characters along the way.

But Amar was in a class by himself.

Plays by a different set of rules.

So anything he does is justified in his mind.

I've got nothing against turning a profit.

But I was no match for him.

When he started to threaten people I love.

I took that pretty seriously.

I gave up that damn hotel and I don't want it back.

Sir Nichols, there are hundreds of people in the Alexandria Hotel who are

suffering.

You could stop that.

I was born without a social conscience, Mr. McColl.

Well, then, why not look at it this way?

I am offering you profit and revenge at no cost

to yourself.

Begin construction on the building this summer. The load should be in place by

then. Mr. Amos.

Yes, what do you want?

Right.

My name is McCall.

I'm an acquaintance with a former business colleague of yours, Robert

Yes.

Yes, I know.

I'm here to tell you that Mr. Nichols is filing charges against you.

Charges of extortion. Gentlemen, please, please, go on.

The doorman will show you to the apartment. Thank you.

Yes, I know who you are, Mr. McCall.

And I know what you are trying to do to me.

You have aligned yourself with those criminals.

You're the only criminal here, Mr. Amos. They are the criminals.

Those animals who are living in my building.

They sell their bodies.

They devour drugs.

In my country.

People sometimes, they sleep in a room, but they have dignity.

These people, they live off the state, they wallow in filth, they destroy my

property.

While you destroy their families with your greed and send them out onto the

streets.

How dare you judge me?

Sir, you are an atrocity.

And within a very few weeks...

You will be rotting in prison, sir.

Good day.

Gentlemen, what is the problem? Mr. Amar, I don't understand.

What is the problem?

The owner, Mr.

Nichols, sublet your apartment.

Well, he understood that you wanted out of your lease immediately.

Didn't you just move?

right, Mr. Amor?

Who's that at the apartment?

What is his name?

It was a young couple. Give me the names! Yes, sir.

Whitaker. Bill and Paul Whitaker. Who are they?

All right. Out. Get out.

Now listen to me.

Listen to me very carefully.

I want you to meet me at the Alexandria Hotel in ten minutes.

Bring a gun that we can place in Bill Whittaker's hands.

He will try to kill me.

And I will defend myself.

You'll have to kill him.

Yes.

Yes.

Friend Mr. McCall will be next.

Got a 45 for you and a 38 for Whitaker.

What about you?

Is Whitaker still in this room?

Last time I checked.

Let it pay.

Mr. Martin, what are you doing with that gun in your hand?

This is an assault, ladies and gentlemen. The landlord of the

just broken into Bill Whitaker's room.

Amar, come on.

Let's get out of here.

Put the gun down, Mr. Amar. Come on, I told you.

Come on.

Just place the guns down carefully.

You put it off then.

Not me or Cosmo, all right?

Okay, up against the wall.

So you're the guy that's been causing all the misery around this hotel, right?

Look out!

Pass the bill, now!

on top of your head. Let's go.

No, Billy.

Come back here. Don't go in there.

Dad! No!

No, I'm... It's okay.

I'm going to be fine. I'm sorry.

You don't have to be. It's all right.

Sorry.

All right. Easy. Take it easy.

Okay.

Everything's going to be okay.

Everything.

That's about it.

Okay.

Yeah, the people down at the homestead have been really great. They just helped

us drywall the apartment. Oh, yes?

The Homesteaders Association, they voted to let us in a little early so we could

watch over the place while it's being renovated. It'll be like camping out for

while. Well, at least it'll be our own.

Our own, yeah.

You got everything?

That's it.

I don't know how to thank you guys.

Ah, the three of you guys pulled yourselves out of this.

All we did was remove an obstacle.

One hell of an obstacle.

What can I say?

Nothing.

Just enjoy your life.

Name the baby after me.

Kostmeyer Whittaker.

Only if it's a girl.

Go on, get off. I'll see you later.

See you later, Mr. McCall.